TV you've just watched

[GaijinPunch]

I think I can guess why that might be. He's one of the most interesting characters this season. Parker Posey also makes me chuckle as affluent opioid abuser (shades of Tanya McQuoid). Apparently she was in Dazed and Confused, which I've seen multiple times, but which I can't quite place her in.

AIR RAAAAAAIIIIIID!!!! She's fucking awesome in everything, including Dazed and Confused.

My phone showed me an article on Forbes that literally said "this season of White Lotus is bad". Read a sentence, rolled my eyes, and closed it. I love this seasons. Also, Carrie Coon this last episode

Gah, maybe I'll just buy it on disc, or sail the seven seas. Wish amazon would fix the damn subtitle glitch.

That's annoying -- surely there's a nefarious solution out there though, no?

[RGC]

AIR RAAAAAAIIIIIID!!!! She's fucking awesome in everything, including Dazed and Confused.

Ahh, now it's coming back to me. May have to dig it out for another viewing.

My phone showed me an article on Forbes that literally said "this season of White Lotus is bad". Read a sentence, rolled my eyes, and closed it.

What worries me is how readily shit gets cancelled these days. Articles like the above can influence just enough people not to bother, and behold the viewing figures drop below the blade's edge, then down comes the axe. Me and the lady seem to be pretty good at getting into the shows that get cut short. I have found nothing to complain about with this series so far! Also, I'd better catch up -- didn't see yesterday's episode yet!

Edit: yeh, probably have to source Fargo s03 some other way.

[GaijinPunch]

AIR RAAAAAAIIIIIID!!!! She's fucking awesome in everything, including Dazed and Confused.

Ahh, now it's coming back to me. May have to dig it out for another viewing.

All right, all right, all right!

What worries me is how readily shit gets cancelled these days. Articles like the above can influence just enough people not to bother, and behold the viewing figures drop below the blade's edge, then down comes the axe.

And the other way -- apparently HBO paid a fuck load of money for media outlets to laud True Detective: Night Country with accolades, while the audiences absolutely pummeled it with shit bags. They should have - it was as subtle as a kick in the teeth. I won't bother w/ the next season. It was really that bad, despite a solid performance from Jodie Foster.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

American Primeval

This is far and away the best show I've seen i quite a while. Only problem is it's too short. I could probably watch ten seasons of this no problem.

[GaijinPunch]

Severance Season 2. Crazy stuff as usual... now to wait forever for season 3.

[Lord British]

Modern TV (I stopped watching in the early 90's) is a new thing to me. Guess it started with Firefly and new Doctor Who, but those are sort of sci fi exceptions. Started watching Breaking Bad (just the pilot) and am really impressed. Takes the idea of a full length movie (that I often have too short an attention span for these days) and instead serves up a small entertaining bite. Clever but not blowing its whole load. It seems something happened in the early 00's (starting with The Wire?) and TV started becoming a much higher production with all the talent going there instead of hollywood? Hmmm...

Anyway, I know I should see The Wire and I've head Mad Men is good. What TV is really outstanding?--not episodic sitcom bullshit like what I saw back in the 70's-90's. A friend loaned my the first copy of Falling Skies, which is back to sci fi and may not be great, but I'm sort of obligated to watch it and I can always get drunk while doing so.

Oh and as said in the movie thread (but should have gone here): Legend of Korra is fucking great. Can't wait for season 2.

It started with The Sopranos. Honestly I snubbed the Sopranos for years because I was tired of the cutesification and glorifications of Italian low-lifes, but I finally watched it in full like 6 years ago, and saw it for the landmark it was.

I was about 5 years late to The Wire, and it turned my world upside down watching that, still my goat show.

Breaking Bad is the best show minute-for-minute wise, another show I was late to.

Game of Thrones I caught halfway through the second season, and that was the show I was the most obsessed with from season to season until it declined a bit. Don't sleep on that one.

[GaijinPunch]

Did you do Better Call Saul yet? Fargo also seems absent.

[RGC]

Latest episode of White Lotus (S03E06).

Spoiler

I knew Schwarzenegger would get some form of karmic comeuppance, but was not expecting that! Ahh brotherly love.

What will (Rick) Walton G do next!

[Vexorg]

The Residence:

An 8 episode murder mystery miniseries on Netflix that seems to be aimed primarily at fans of recent whodunnits like Knives Out (in fact that's the name of this show's episode 2) and Only Murders in the Building. This one is set in the White House, where the chief usher (played by Giancarlo Esposito) turns up murdered during a state dinner which, as you find out as the series goes on, was already going really, really, REALLY badly even before that happened.

To solve the mystery, the DC Metro police bring in the usual Hercule Poirot/Benoit Blanc style quirky detective with near Mary Sue levels of observational genius in the form of Cordelia Cupp, played by Uzo Aduba (best known for Emmy winning performances on Orange is the New Black.) In spite of the shows setting, the POTUS is only a minor side character and the focus is mostly on the staff that run the White House itself.

The result is a rather formulaic whodunnit that ultimately turns into the standard comprehensive airing out of everyone's dirty laundry and presumably concludes when Miss Cupp figures out whose laundry is the dirtiest (I'm currently only 4 episodes in.) Making this an 8 episode series gives plenty of time for this, but makes for a rather slow pace. The show also manages to almost aggressively avoid going anywhere near partisan politics, which is probably for the best in the current political climate.

Ultimately it's still a reasonably entertaining show to pass some time while fans of the genre wait for Wake Up Dead Man (the next Benoit Blanc/Knives Out film due in late 2025) and the next season of OMITB, and there's plenty of snark to go around if that's your thing. And to their credit they do seem to be going by "fair play" mystery rules where all the clues seem to be made available to the audience to solve the case themselves.

[NYN]

BCS S5: always satisfied with it as the seasons changed, I feel as if this penultimate elevated its own high level, making me gasp at some of the intensity of the proceedings. Going for a second loop with the audio commentary, I'll keep expecting only the best for the final year. LIGHTNING B0LTS SH00T FROM MY FINGERTIPS!!

[GaijinPunch]

BCS S5: always satisfied with it as the seasons changed, I feel as if this penultimate elevated its own high level, making me gasp at some of the intensity of the proceedings. Going for a second loop with the audio commentary, I'll keep expecting only the best for the final year. LIGHTNING B0LTS SH00T FROM MY FINGERTIPS!!

You have some fantastic willpower. The wait between 5 and 6 was pretty lengthy due to the pandemic, but worth it. I would have binged that shit hard by now.

[NYN]

Ah, willpower sounds strong. I was called stubborn more often than willful. I don't know where it stems from, since childhood I was able to say N0 when some carrot dangled on a stick. Able to see what others would demand in exchange. The Machiavellian angle. Same here: I never got in the habit of watching digital. No home release, and I walk away, easy. I am just not the type for a binge, I did some. I get uncomfortable about the amount of things to go through. Even a fun thing. It's too much in too short a duration, the next stuff wipes out the one before. All for moderation. I am the anti-streamer.

[GaijinPunch]

I don't binge straight through but I don't wait for months on end either. I like the one episode a week cadence that everyone but Netflix does... but I don't follow it for older shows.

[BIL]

Been hopping around Game Of Thrones S1-4 and, as usual, wanting to eat red-hot shells n' cheese ala Cobain at how wonderful it used to be, and how arrantly shite it became. I've never seen something die of sheer laziness like that show did.

"Jaime. My name's Jaime..."

Writing, acting, filmmaking of such calibre, I almost forgot the gorgeous actress was stark naked. (*'ω' *) The gorgeous actor too, come to think of it! #homovibes (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

I don't even have the heart to joke about that fat lazy cunt GRRM finishing the series. If he did, I'd hope that advances in AI/CG might see a S1-4 calibre full adaptation in, eh, twenty years. For me to enjoy with my grandkids, while catching all hell for letting them watch it. Like fuck is he gonna manage it, though. Buddy's got D&D campaigns to run and sandwiches to eat. Happy for him tbh, I got enough hobbies, and God knows there are enough great books I'm too bone-idle to crack.

I'll kidnap him and get him into shape, the extra free testosterone should resurrect his auld sagging ballsack. I'll even buttfuck him with a reacharound to jumpstart his fighting spirit. Mods pls delete this post so he doesn't see me coming. Get it? That's a double entendre lmao! I mean so he doesn't call the cops and have me arrested ahead of time. Of course he'll see me coming, I'll rail him in front of this rad antique mirror I inherited from me granddad.

[emphatic]

Apparently, the old sack of lazy bones is working on the current book again.

[BIL]

Godspeed ;w;7 I really want him to make it, some of those later chapters are scintillating.

[RGC]

I stopped watching at the end of the penultimate season. In my mind, it was already a car wreck by that point. I just don't know how it could go so wrong though; from being one of the greatest creations of all time to some kind of kid's weekend school project in terms of writing quality. I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said, but damn what a waste.

[BIL]

Some solace in Dave & Dave's careers going off a cliff as a direct result. Would normally find saying that churlish, but holy fuck, they were shameless. Gotta get to Star Wars, that's the real Cultural Phenomenon™! Ohhh.

I take more solace in the prospect of later adaptations; strictly assuming GRRM gets his big backside off the pot. As superb as S1-4 are, there are a handful of immense scenes that they skilfully elided. I was re-reading the naval battle of Blackwater after the show ended, absolute bravura batshit crazy... the show understandably limited it to that decoy attack, before moving onto the landing. And the valiant escape - typed with no irony whatsoever - from the Wight onslaught at the Fist Of The First Men, which saw only a tiny epilogue, onscreen.

"RIDE!!!"

Ideally I'd like to see them give each book its own adaptation. Eh anyway. I hear House Of The Dragon's done well, but I just don't care to invest any more headspace until George sorts his shit out. The book rocked hard as per his usual.

God I just want to see Victarion and his trusty VOLCANO ARM given their due. My favourite pulp warrior poet outside of Howard he very self.

"It may be that I will need to take your hand."

"If you take my hand, I will kill you. But first, I will tie you over the rail and make the crew a gift of your arse. Get on with it."

"There will be pain."

"Always." Life is pain, you fool. "Do it."

Man's a riot.

Afterward he put their crews to death as well, saving only the slaves chained to the oars. He broke their chains himself and told them they were now thralls, and would have the privilege of rowing for the Iron Fleet, an honor that every boy in the Iron Islands dreamed of growing up. "The dragon queen frees slaves and so do I!" he proclaimed.

[GaijinPunch]

Apparently, the old sack of lazy bones is working on the current book again.

Yeah, right. I read the last book around the time season 3 was out. I recall reading a note in the last page saying, "if all goes out I should have the next book out in about a year" or something like that. Unironically, it's been 13 years since I read that so maybe it's the Mandela effect.

[vol.2]

Just finished the second season of Andor. I thought the first season was one of the best TV shows I have ever seen, and I got a little worried around episode 6 of season 2 as it felt... off. I'm glad to report that the story picked up a lot on episode 8, and it ended on a strong note.

I think that they really captured a sense of anxiety about being in police state with controlled media and also what it might look and feel like to be an active participant or enabler in genocide. Especially considering the Prequels were operating in a similar time span and did not (even attempt?) to address this. That was always a failure of those films to me. Lucas lost his stomach for adult subject matter, choosing instead to focus on the big characters and their small interactions.

[neorichieb1971]

Apparently, the old sack of lazy bones is working on the current book again.

Yeah, right. I read the last book around the time season 3 was out. I recall reading a note in the last page saying, "if all goes out I should have the next book out in about a year" or something like that. Unironically, it's been 13 years since I read that so maybe it's the Mandela effect.

I think GRRM is scared of where the show went. You can't get it out of your head. Its a bit like 100's of years of USA economic building and then Trump comes along.....


Andor.


I only started this 3 weeks ago and finished it all now. Not sure I like it. Its great in its own right but it seems like a Mission impossible show than a star wars show. There is literally no mention of the characters we all know and love from the same timeline, there are no music cues that you get in Star Wars in general and there is a hell of a lot of filler. I hate flashbacks as well especially if its after the character is no more.

One thing i've come to learn about Star wars in general is that the evil dark side had a death star and Palpatine and Darth Vadar. With that under the hood, you would think they would have some successes. But they don't.. They don't even get the smallest of successes. But the rebel scum, who have no magic, no death star win all the time.

And since we are talking Game of Thrones and Star Wars. They are one and the same to me. Except one does it gritty and the other child like.

The formula of first introducing the biggest threat of the almighty powerful evil bastards, then switching to some farmer guy going up against it by the end is a formula I think works best. You know the evil and the power, you know it seems hopeless, then you get on with the journey. But put some wins on both sides as it goes. I have little interest in watching powerful beings wielding power so badly.

The best movies ALWAYS have great villians. If you look at ANY top movie it has a fucking great VILLIAN.

[vol.2]

There is literally no mention of the characters we all know and love from the same timeline, there are no music cues that you get in Star Wars in general

This was a strong point of the show to me. I think it's wise that they left behind the same old tired characters and went with something parallel but separate. They were telling a related story, not the same story. This is exactly why the story in KOTOR was better than anything live action since the Empire Strikes Back.

They don't even get the smallest of successes. But the rebel scum, who have no magic, no death star win all the time.

Spoiler

That's not the show that I watched. I watched the Empire successfully pull off an act of genocide and cover it up in the media with no real interference from any Rebels. Mon Mothma is forced to leave her planet and is alienated from her people and family by the choices she makes. The rebels get away with their small acts of insurrection, but what they accomplish is tiny and has little impact on the seemingly endless hold the Empire has on the Galaxy at the time.

I'm extremely happy that they didn't involve the force much in Andor. Having magic available is tiresome. Why does Darth Vader need to run to ends of the Galaxy to stop this little group of rebels from committing a robbery? The big baddies of the Star Wars universe are hardly an appropriate match to stop a few insurgents. It wouldn't make any sense.

The best movies ALWAYS have great villians. If you look at ANY top movie it has a fucking great VILLIAN.

Denise Gough is an excellent villain, and so were the rest of the Imperial intelligence officers. Watching her arc was great, and I think she really nailed it. Yes, it's more of a political espionage drama than it is an epic hero story with a big, bad villain at the end. They are just totally different kinds of stories; not all genres tend to feature an end boss villain.