What are you watching? (television thread)

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Beef House by Tim and Eric, which is a pretty direct send-up of 90s sitcoms, like Full House obviously, and their successors like Two & Half Men. The twist is they treat any absurd, disgusting and even outrageously disturbing situation with the same sitcom glibness and cheer, and of course there are no consequences the next episode. If you can't commit to the full hour of material, I heartily recommend episodes 1, 2 and 5, the latter of which will be hard to top. They're all worthwhile if you're into it though.
 
^ Adult Swim ... hopefully I have access to it through HBO Max. Speaking of, I watched all of S1 of Primal that's also on Adult Swim. It's bloody good. Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab) is behind the show and it's gruesome, thrilling, got tons of emotion and action - with not a single word of dialog. Cool soundtrack too. Episode 1 gutted me. Can't recommend it enough.

Was working late last night with Netflix's Jeffrey Epstein documentary playing in the background. I had to set work aside to focus and finished marathoning it last night. Among other things, I learned that the prison where he died is a 5 min walk from my workplace.
 
Among other things, I learned that the prison where he died is a 5 min walk from my workplace.

Do you live under a fucking rock? The whole story was under a microscope, day in and day out. There were probably federal officers in Chevy Tahoes blaring by your office taking him to and from court 4 days a week.

I’ve been watching the new season of billions, even though it sucks now. I’m going to watch 13th on Netflix, since a friend reccommended it.

I recently watched a documentary called Panic on Vice, which included new interviews of GWbush and Ben Bernanke, as well as Henry Paulson (then treasury secretary) and Tim Geithner (then fed reserve bank of NY pres). The interviews, having hindsight, were very interesting.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Do you live under a fucking rock? The whole story was under a microscope, day in and day out. There were probably federal officers in Chevy Tahoes blaring by your office taking him to and from court 4 days a week.

Wow, chill. A 5 minute walk in Manhattan covers a lot of ground.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
El oh el, this reminds me if the time Ron didn't know about the big prune shortage:


But seriously, why would Incantation know the exact location of Epstein's prison relative to his work from the coverage? It was focused on what he did and what happened to him in prison, he didn't kill himself, not the actual physical address of the prison. I'd say watching a documentary on it and knowing that info makes him especially well informed.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't post more video of the Beef House to give you an idea what's in store:


If you've ever had to endure something like the TGIF line-up, anything by Chuck Lorre, or the Disney Channel, this could be therapeutic.
 
Do you live under a fucking rock? The whole story was under a microscope, day in and day out. There were probably federal officers in Chevy Tahoes blaring by your office taking him to and from court 4 days a week.

Wow, chill. A 5 minute walk in Manhattan covers a lot of ground.

Haha yeah! There's also Brooklyn Bridge smack in between.

I appreciate the enthusiasm Pippin :???:.

Wrapped up S3 of Westworld this afternoon. This was the least complex season and it felt like everything went downhill. Weak story, there was no world building as such to explain how AI affected this world and big reveals fell flat. Maybe they could've taken more time with it - breaking this season into 2 parts. The characters and their motives are dumbed down. Fights were boring and drawn out - you'd expect AI to be quick and strong but not in this season. There's just less of whatever you may have liked in S1 and it never improved.

Also wrapped up S2 of Ramy that's on Hulu. We put a hold on our subscription for 6 months and forgot about it. Got charged and went "Oh, we forgot to cancel ... now that we have it for a month, I guess we can watch S2 of Ramy" and it was so worth it. I loved S1 because it wasn't outright funny in the normal sense. S2 feels more real and it gets a lot darker. It also dedicates a full episode for other main characters and those were some of the best this season, especially the one about his racist, misogynistic uncle Naseem. Mahershala Ali is awesome as the Sheikh.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't post more video of the Beef House to give you an idea what's in store:


If you've ever had to endure something like the TGIF line-up, anything by Chuck Lorre, or the Disney Channel, this could be therapeutic.

:ganishka: gotta check it out.
 
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Haha yeah! There's also Brooklyn Bridge smack in between.

I appreciate the enthusiasm Pippin :???:.

Wrapped up S3 of Westworld this afternoon. This was the least complex season and it felt like everything went downhill. Weak story, there was no world building as such to explain how AI affected this world and big reveals fell flat. Maybe they could've taken more time with it - breaking this season into 2 parts. The characters and their motives are dumbed down. Fights were boring and drawn out - you'd expect AI to be quick and strong but not in this season. There's just less of whatever you may have liked in S1 and it never improved.

Also wrapped up S2 of Ramy that's on Hulu. We put a hold on our subscription for 6 months and forgot about it. Got charged and went "Oh, we forgot to cancel ... now that we have it for a month, I guess we can watch S2 of Ramy" and it was so worth it. I loved S1 because it wasn't outright funny in the normal sense. S2 feels more real and it gets a lot darker. It also dedicates a full episode for other main characters and those were some of the best this season, especially the one about his racist, misogynistic uncle Naseem. Mahershala Ali is awesome as the Sheikh.
:ganishka: gotta check it out.

Yeah man dude... Westworld turned out to suck.

Ramy. Cool, I’ll look at that.

Griff, let’s all download the apps of our local news teams. Home grown news.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Anyone else gonna check out the last season of Dark on Netflix? It's landing on Saturday.

I watched the first two seasons last summer, and was surprised by how much I liked it. Up front: The show has a bad, obscure name, and it often gets unfair comparisons to "Stranger Things but ... better, and uh, in German!" All of these do the show a disservice, because there's a lot to like here. And I think explaining what makes it worth watching is pretty simple: Good production, good story, minimal streaming show bullshit.

But allow me break the spell that the show is badly trying to cast on you by keeping it enshrouded in obscurity:
It's a sci-fi about how time travel affects a small German town over several decades. The casting choices made to represent the characters over those years are uncanny. I know that's just a detail to most people, but it's incredible how consistently they've found talent that resembles their older and younger counterparts. It's a small component, but the authenticity of the casting makes the whole thing work, for me. You know how effective the casting is when you see a character for the first time, a 20-years-older counterpart to a character, and you already know who it is without need for introduction—even though it's a different actor. They pull that trick a few times. That's fuckin cool.

Now ... this show is not a knockout. I've seen many superlatives thrown its way online, but here's what I'll say: It's good! I'm a pretty harsh TV watcher in general, and I'm usually looking for something that doesn't waste my time. Anything that keeps me on the hook for more than a season gets an overall thumbs up. And a few B and C plots aside (there are some real "who gives a shit?" doozies buried in there!), the main story is pretty great. It doesn't slow down or make pivots that entrench developments from happening (the typical Netflix syndrome). And I have a lot of respect for a show that declared 3 seasons at the outset, and never stopped running toward that conclusion.
 
Anyone else gonna check out the last season of Dark on Netflix? It's landing on Saturday.

Read your post and checked it out over the weekend. It's definitely one of those shows that benefits from binge-watching and binge all of S1 we did. Agree on the part of your post in spoiler tags - definitely a standout. And the landscape of everything, colors (ambience) are just great. I have to figure a way to turn my sub-woofer off cos there are a lot of those mid-bass booming moments through the show. S1 was engaging and well-paced - nothing felt like a filler. Each episode pushed the narrative further. I do have a few questions but I'll hold off till I catch up with S2 and S3. So far, I'm intrigued by Charlotte.
 

Grail

Feel the funk blast
Anyone else gonna check out the last season of Dark on Netflix? It's landing on Saturday.

I don't normally check this thread, so I missed your message about this! Dark is a great show, and I enjoyed the first two seasons a lot. Watching the final season this past weekend was kind of surreal, because there was so many questions left to be answered and ends to be tied up that it would be herculean task to finally do so.

Overall, I was pleased with the conclusion, but felt like the pacing of the last few episodes leading up to the finale was just overwhelming! It just felt like they were desperately working to check things off their list, saying, "okay... this person goes back to year X, gets married to X, and has children who go on to do X. Alright, NEXT!" It all ended up making everything seem inconsequential. Bartosz is a great example of this. His character ended up feeling kind of like a puppet getting jerked around. A lot of season 1 theories ("Bartosz is Noah!") felt WAY more interesting than what they ended up doing with his character.

Complaints aside, it seemed to be a story that was told with more care than a lot of stuff you see coming out nowadays, and reminded me of great sci-fi and speculative fiction stories that I have enjoyed over the years. A real treat for Gene Wolfe fans like myself. :serpico:
 
Dark quickly became one of my favourites series, I put it on the same level as Twin Peaks.
I've watched the last season on Saturday... I couldn't wait to know the conclusion. I'm very pleased with the ending.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm at ep 5 of 8 of Dark season 3 so far, and to me it's been pretty weak. Hoping for a turn by the end. I really didn't need more Egon in my life... Christ, this guy. There was already WAY more than was warranted of this clueless moron in season 2, and here we go, Egon's back stumbling through scenes again in season 3. And to what end, exactly...?

I pick on Egon, but overall I find the intense focus on answering the riddles of parentage to be a pretty lazy approach. This is a fine detail for a time travel story, but I feel like the show has morphed to become mostly that. And I wonder if that was always the plan, or if the writer's room just really liked how the Jonas/Mikkel story played, and felt like "THIS IS THE THING!" Instead, I've always felt that the potential for storytelling is a bit deeper than where the "WHO FUCKED WHO?!" plots have taken us so far. I feel like with each scene the audience is placing down chips on a big Bingo family tree game instead of being taken on a journey through time — which is what launched my interest in the show to begin with.

*Sad_Ulrich.jpg*
*Musical interlude with episode wrap up montage*
*For some reason this time it's Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus*


I'd be happy to be proven wrong by the end, but with just 1/3 of the season to go, not super pleased with where we landed.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
If you've ever had to endure something like the TGIF line-up, anything by Chuck Lorre, or the Disney Channel, this could be therapeutic.

Glad you mentioned this. Watched the whole thing in one night. Im not a huge fan of Tim and Eric (their style gets old pretty fast and I think they limit themselves by staying constrained to the Adult Swim brand of absurdist random comedy) but when they hit, it's a home run.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Glad you mentioned this. Watched the whole thing in one night. Im not a huge fan of Tim and Eric (their style gets old pretty fast and I think they limit themselves by staying constrained to the Adult Swim brand of absurdist random comedy) but when they hit, it's a home run.

Glad you liked it. Yeah, if you find the Awesome Show to be a bit much, this is perfect because it forced them to follow a more traditional format even as they're taking it to absurd conclusions, my favorite of course still being when Eric becomes a big boy bus driver and drinks that bullshit decaf instead of the rocket fuel he needs, which results in hilarious hi-jinks thanks to a very special shirt. It's a slow burn of absurdity. =)
 
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Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Dark -- Finished the last season last week. I had few qualms with it. At the same time, I didn't think it was very memorable. As soon as it was over, it completely left my mind. Perhaps that was a result of so few lingering questions. It all seemed quite tidily packaged by the end, despite a few really big turns/reveals only alluded to instead of explicitly shown (Tronté's parentage, for example, ended up being the lynchpin for so much of the family tree, but it gets A scene addressing it, instead of the ... what, 6 episodes we get with Egon?). Overall, I'd recommend the series to anyone interested in decent modern scifi, but I wouldn't consider this a total knockout.

Hannibal -- I really feel like I tried with this one. Got maybe 5 episodes in. While I do quite enjoy Mads on screen in most scenes, the big problem I have is with Will Graham, AKA Edgelord McTryHard. Holy shit, this guy. His over-the-top serial killer re-enactment scenes are cringe-worthy every single time. And the sheer number of times just in 5 episodes that Hannibal cooks up a nice dish for an unsuspecting guest, then dramatically pauses to watch them savoring the taste of human meat, it's just so damned corny. I think it's already been 3 times, and it's pretty much the exact same set up every time. And yet they somehow manage to overplay their hand every time ("ya see what we're doing here? ya see it? you get it? YOU GET IT?!" "I get it.") I understand that the series gets better. Maybe I'll chew through the remaining episodes of the season one day, but I mostly found it boring, with very little to sink my teeth into.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
My wife and I are trading episodes of SVU for Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule. Never actually watched either in their entirety (oh, and of course we're skipping the Law & Orders we've already seen rerun ad nauseam).

Hannibal -- I really feel like I tried with this one. Got maybe 5 episodes in. While I do quite enjoy Mads on screen in most scenes, the big problem I have is with Will Graham, AKA Edgelord McTryHard. Holy shit, this guy. His over-the-top serial killer re-enactment scenes are cringe-worthy every single time.

This is his design. :griffnotevil:

Hey, glad you decided to try it. Will's bullshit does pay off actually, and if you don't like Will it might actually enhance the flavor of the show going forward.

And the sheer number of times just in 5 episodes that Hannibal cooks up a nice dish for an unsuspecting guest, then dramatically pauses to watch them savoring the taste of human meat, it's just so damned corny. I think it's already been 3 times, and it's pretty much the exact same set up every time. And yet they somehow manage to overplay their hand every time ("ya see what we're doing here? ya see it? you get it? YOU GET IT?!" "I get it.")

Well, it's Hannibal Lector for better or worse, so that's sort of baked in. It's what else they and Mads do with Hannibal that's unique from the books or films that has more sustenance.

I understand that the series gets better. Maybe I'll chew through the remaining episodes of the season one day, but I mostly found it boring, with very little to sink my teeth into.

Sounds like you're more satiated then you let on, even if you have picky taste. Unless Hannibal himself does nothing for you, I would recommend completing the season since you've half finished this portion already. You're basically past the appetizers and at the precipice of the main course as Hannibal goes from being sort of a background character in his own show, an out of place disruptor in a straight procedural, to slowly hijacking the entire feast in increasingly bizarre ways. I think the second half of season 1 is among the series' most delicious, especially the final confection, so if you're not hungry for more by then it might just be, uh, it tastes, like... shit food to you? Fuck, I'm already full on the food puns. No wonder they had to stop the show after 3 seasons, I don't know how they kept up their appetite for it.
 
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NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule is peak T&E. Equality funny, unsettling and poignant. Nothing can touch it. EDIT: Forgot about "On Cinema At The Cinema", it's definitely my favourite, but doesn't include Eric (which I don't mind, Tim seems to be the most creative of the two).

Dark is mostly busywork. Please tell me more about how all past, present and future relationships are extremely relevant, how everyone is connected to everyone and everything happens at the beginning and the end is the beginning. Also, who's that guy again? Do I need to make notes to enjoy this show? All subsequent twists after the first couple ones were just an insult to my intelligence.
I checked out after the season 2 finale, it jumped the shark and I (correctly, it seems) guessed that the 3rd season would be a mess. Also binging it was bad for me, because I was dreading how every episode ends with a slo-mo montage and an absolutely god awful song. Boy, does this show tries hard. It soured my experience.
Soundtrack was shit. Everything else was decent.
 
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Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Hannibal — I'm at the last episode of Season 1. But first, an anecdote. When I was in high school, I dated a girl who watched General Hospital. It was something she and her mom bonded over. For those who don't know, this is a stock-standard US "Soap Opera." The quality of the show being so low that it's pretty much there to be a flimsy cardboard cutout of entertainment propping up the commercials that it runs between. It's really that bad. When I visited her, sometimes I'd be subjected to the last 30 minutes of an episode, to the extent that I could weigh in on the conversations about where Sonny's true loyalties lied, with the mob, or with his wife. Deep stuff!

Now back to Hannibal. I've never struggled with maintaining interest in a show as much as this one. Mads is great, but feels underutilized. They don't push him, or give him interesting challenges on screen. Everyone else in this show is just a fucking bore to watch. It feels like shitty CSI with Mads Mikkelson tacked on. Welp, onto the season finale!

Dark is mostly busywork.

Aw, I give Dark a solid 6/10 overall. Better than mediocre. It does some cool stuff often in uncool ways. I give it merit for not treading water, never really feeling like it faltered in what it was trying to do with the story, even if I certainly didn't walk away loving it.

I checked out after the season 2 finale, it jumped the shark and I (correctly, it seems) guessed that the 3rd season would be a mess.

Nah, it's not as bad as you might expect. I was quite fearful of how they'd handle a multiverse. But it ends up alright.

Also binging it was bad for me, because I was dreading how every episode ends with a slo-mo montage and an absolutely god awful song.

:ganishka: These became worse and worse as the series progressed, and they kneecap any dramatics they were attempting in the montages. I couldn't BELIEVE they tried to get away with these so often, and usually for no real reason. Oh, and if you skipped season 3 you're really missing out on "the best" ones in the lineup. Maybe these are cooler if you're German?

Finally started watching The Wire. Only 5 episodes in, but what a show.

Now THAT's a fucking show.
 
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Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule is peak T&E. Equally funny, unsettling and poignant. Nothing can touch it.

I agree. At first it felt like a slower, tamer version of the Awesome Show that had settled on a specific subject so therefore was less unpredictable or exciting, but after finding its footing and truly establishing the Brule character it has something extra: pathos.

EDIT: Forgot about "On Cinema At The Cinema", it's definitely my favourite, but doesn't include Eric (which I don't mind, Tim seems to be the most creative of the two)

I appreciate On Cinema more than I actually like it or Tim's extremely unlikable version of himself (the universe is amazing though, especially the trial). I also think there's an irony in the Tim character taking himself way too seriously as a goof and a spoof, because Tim really does take himself that seriously, just with better talent and politics, though I'm not sure self-awareness unless he's just always on, which is admittedly possible. =)

BTW, can we all agree the Billion Dollar Movie is a real misfire? I literally enjoy everything else they've ever done and yet found it embarrassingly uninspired and genuinely unfunny. This was not their format to be sure, and the end result makes me think they didn't have an idea for a movie before they were offered one, and didn't really care (otherwise this would not be what you made with your shot). Happy to be proven wrong, like it was secretly a brilliant takedown of how bad movies are, but... it was more like if someone made a movie making fun of Tim & Eric comedy as hacky bullshit. Was that the joke!? No, I'm giving them too much benefit of the doubt; it was just bad.

Hannibal — I'm at the last episode of Season 1. But first, an anecdote. When I was in high school, I dated a girl who watched General Hospital. It was something she and her mom bonded over. For those who don't know, this is a stock-standard US "Soap Opera." The quality of the show being so low that it's pretty much there to be a flimsy cardboard cutout of entertainment propping up the commercials that it runs between. It's really that bad. When I visited her, sometimes I'd be subjected to the last 30 minutes of an episode, to the extent that I could weigh in on the conversations about where Sonny's true loyalties lied, with the mob, or with his wife. Deep stuff!

You watched a *gasp* "soap"... "opera"!? I do declare, Dr. Bennet, how bourgeois of you! Plus, GH is some poppy bullshit like The Bold and the Beautiful; you needed to watch some good OG shit like Guiding Light, All My Children, or One Life to Live, especially the Todd Manning era (the original Todd, not the new one after he has reconstructive plastic surgery =).

Now back to Hannibal. I've never struggled with maintaining interest in a show as much as this one. Mads is great, but feels underutilized. They don't push him, or give him interesting challenges on screen. Everyone else in this show is just a fucking bore to watch. It feels like shitty CSI with Mads Mikkelson tacked on. Welp, onto the season finale!

This is it then, the moment the teacup breaks for good, or... will it come back together?

Now THAT's a fucking show.

One of the best, but it is still full of ridiculous TV tropes which bely its purportedly realistic depictions and has more in common with those soap operas than we like to think. Like other cop shows, and it even crosses over directly with Simon's Homicide and Law & Order, it has its roots in prime time soap operas, as do most prestige dramas. Your description of the Sonny situation above could be a plot summary for an episode of The Sopranos.
 
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Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I appreciate On Cinema more than I actually like it or Tim's extremely unlikable version of himself (the universe is amazing though, especially the trial). I also think there's an irony in the Tim character taking himself way too seriously as a goof and a spoof, because Tim really does take himself that seriously, just with better talent and politics, though I'm not sure self-awareness unless he's just always on, which is admittedly possible. =)

I just finished watching a bunch of the highlights from the trial last week -- fucking fantastic stuff. I still can't tell if those were actors, or actual lawyers he hired. I don't even want to know.

 

Oburi

All praise Grail
BTW, can we all agree the Billion Dollar Movie is a real misfire? I literally enjoy everything else they've ever done and yet found it embarrassingly uninspired and genuinely unfunny. This was not their format to be sure, and the end result makes me think they didn't have an idea for a movie before they were offered one, and didn't really care (otherwise this would not be what you made with your shot). Happy to be proven wrong, like it was secretly a brilliant takedown of how bad movies are, but... it was more like if someone made a movie making fun of Tim & Eric comedy as hacky bullshit. Was that the joke!? No, I'm giving them too much benefit of the doubt; it was just bad.

Yea I agree, Tom Green already did that with his movie (although the opening where you need to synchronize with the screen by blinking furiously with each eye was pretty genius). Man it's frustrating because I know Tim and Eric are genuinely funny dudes and there are times when I crave their style of humor but after about 10 minutes I'm completely over it.

Now back to Hannibal. I've never struggled with maintaining interest in a show as much as this one. Mads is great, but feels underutilized. They don't push him, or give him interesting challenges on screen. Everyone else in this show is just a fucking bore to watch. It feels like shitty CSI with Mads Mikkelson tacked on. Welp, onto the season finale!

I'm with you man. I tried several times and never made it halfway through season one. I'm sure it's better than a lot of shows on tv but I can't watch 99% of anything on television.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I just finished watching a bunch of the highlights from the trial last week -- fucking fantastic stuff. I still can't tell if those were actors, or actual lawyers he hired. I don't even want to know.

YES, I'm always impressed by the authenticity of their dramatic presentations, and Tim's acting actually. He always has the best expressions (as evidenced by that thumbnail still).

Yea I agree, Tom Green already did that with his movie (although the opening where you need to synchronize with the screen by blinking furiously with each eye was pretty genius).

That's the big irony, all the short form hits were good, if a bit stilted because T&E's whole aesthetic is low-budget, public access/internet video style. It doesn't translate well to even modestly budgeted big screen comedy. They should have basically remade UHF with Weird Al's blessing.

I'm with you man. I tried several times and never made it halfway through season one. I'm sure it's better than a lot of shows on tv but I can't watch 99% of anything on television.

Well, it is network genre television, and part of the fun of this show is a certain level of trashiness or camp, so if you guys think you're just too sophisticated for that sort of thing, like you watch everything with a monocle, holding a glass of red wine with your pinky sticking out, you can always go back to your online poop videos and comic books like big boys. Or The Wire if you want to understand the real, true-to-life, authentic inner-city black experience from a real expert: a middle-aged white guy! I really liked that season 5 meta Pulitzer plotline where it turns out they BS'd the whole thing. :troll:

(just kidding, love The Wire, but you guys are no fun, prestige-fucking SNOBS... it's like looking in a mirror =)
 
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I'm trying to do a rewatch of The X-Files since many months. I'm at season 4 final episode right now.
It brings back some good memories from back in the days. :guts:
 
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