What are you watching? (television thread)

To be honest, I'm not enjoying The Witcher S2 as much as I hoped. While I enjoy the more linear storytelling, S1 had that additional level of intrigue due to somewhat parallel events happening decades apart or something like that. As for the production... I feel like the visuals, although clearner and brighter, lost something that S1 had. I'm not really sure what that was. Also, I don't really like how over half of the main characters wear colorful contact lenses and it just adds to the show feeling even more lifeless to me.
Not to mention that the show doesn't make the slightest effort to properly establish its worldbuilding or lore, so whenever people travel or mention politics, kings, nations or even Gods (and their motivations), so for me it's really confusing and just a lot of pointless exposition.
It's as if they take for granted everyone in the audience knows the games / novels / lore already or are ready to look up information online any time something is mentioned in the episodes... which isn't exactly what a good story should do.
 
I just finished the latest season of Ozark, all I can say is meh, it's fine I guess it's an okay show, but whoever has watched breaking bad will be constantly comparing them due to the similarities. Even smaller story moments they just took from breaking bad but slightly modified them and put their own spin on it, one in particular this season the second to last episode made me laugh at how similar a specific moment is to the Jane scene. The plot is a guy gets involved with the cartel and the drug trade and money laundering, but what if his entire family new about it? and you can imagine what that would do to a family, it would fracture it and then the story basically writes itself. It's an enjoyable watch but if you've seen breaking bad I wouldn't bother with it. There is a Jesse-like character, a Walter-like character that is slowly becoming prideful and an antihero, a Gus fring type too but Navaro in Ozark is a very hollow one dimensional villain unlike Gus, it's really like the bootleg version of breaking bad in my opinion. All these articles I've been seeing saying Ozark as of season 4 is better than breaking bad, go fuck yourself it's just absurd.

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Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
My wife and I are re-watching Batman: The Animated Series. I got the complete set for Christmas, and man is it awesome. First off, the show looks amazing for how old it is. Warner Bros. really seems to have taken care of the original film. Second, it very much holds up. Not all of the episodes are winners, but even the ones that aren't that great are still a lot of fun to watch (Moon of the Wolf, anyone?). We're about 30 episodes in, and we couldn't be enjoying ourselves more. We both watched it when it first came out back in 1992, so it's been fun seeing what we remember from 30 years ago.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
My wife and I are re-watching Batman: The Animated Series. I got the complete set for Christmas, and man is it awesome.

Yep, my wife and I did the same thing a few years ago and it did not disappoint. If anything it was more impressive this thing existed. Another follow up in that vein: the 90s X-Men animated series! It's not as great or consistent, but it's impressive in its own right.

Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett - Not Mando-tory viewing until recently, it's essentially The Mandalorian season 2.5, and it might have been better off presented that way. It feels like a spin off of a spin off, but also falls into the bad Star Wars expectations/trappings, which Mando mostly avoided by being its own remix, instead of purportedly an important story about an iconic character (which it's not sure what to do with). Basically, Mando already did The Boba Fett Show better than the actual Boba Fett show, which has dual timelines that are starting to thematically cross over, but overall its pretty rote and the premise, that he's taking over as a crime lord in Jabba's place, isn't credibly setup or executed (it's ridiculously simplistic and purile because the show has no interest in being a crime drama).

They've also whitewashed his character completely as a generic man of honor, and sometimes he acts so naive it's like he's never been to Tatooine before. I thought he was fine in Mando because he was still threatening to sniper 50 year old babies while also maybe over-respecting that a deal's a deal, but here they don't even give him an arc from the flashbacks post-Sarlacc, he was supposedly a good guy then too, but now he's practically been bumped from his own show for other, better, characters. That's literally been the highlight of the season.

Without going into more detail, episodes 2 and 4 are good, 1 and 3 aren't, 5 is great, but in a way that kind undermines the rest of the project, and 6 occupies the uncanny valley in more ways than one, but is definitely a major point of interest for just about any Star Wars fan. If that sounds vague, messy and uneven, that's because it is, but in this weird sort of handcrafted way where you can't say the creatives involved aren't doing exactly what they want to do on their own terms, for better or worse. Still one episode left to go, so let's see if they stick the landing and justify the strange trip there.
 
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Thanks for your input on the Boba Fett show. I haven't started it yet (I've grown overly tired of all these Disney+ shows, of all I watched, none of them felt completely worth it for me), also because I kept hearing negative buzz about it, for the first half at least... then it turns into Mandalorian S2.5 halfway through and hearing about what they have in it, I think I may just jump straight into the worthwhile stuff. I think I may watch ep.1 just to see how he got out of the Sarlacc then switch straight into the Mando episodes (starting from 5, I think).

I think I prefer to keep the "Boba is a badass and the less you know about him, the better he is" aura about him in my head and not ruin it by watching the entire show.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Thanks for your input on the Boba Fett show. I haven't started it yet (I've grown overly tired of all these Disney+ shows, of all I watched, none of them felt completely worth it for me)

Yeah, there's something low stakes and disposable about all these Disney+ shows. Mando is probably the best of them all, but its greatest appeal is vicariously watching someone play with full-sized Star Wars action figures.

also because I kept hearing negative buzz about it, for the first half at least... then it turns into Mandalorian S2.5 halfway through and hearing about what they have in it, I think I may just jump straight into the worthwhile stuff.

I'll give them that, at least they're trying stuff and the actors and characters are all actual adults over 30 (unless they're CGI altered to look younger =), but for all the impressive stagecraft, I wouldn't say there's a lot of artistry to any of it. Unlike the simple adventure-of-the-week model of Mando, the whole structure of this season is clumsy as fuck. At least there's the possibility of this sort of rudamentary alchemy of Star Wars karaoke evolving into something more, because I do appreciate that just doing almost any scene from the latest episode is technically incredibly difficult and a Herculean effort unto itself. So, if it feels a bit stilted or paint by numbers, that's probably because they needed to do it that way to execute it at all. What I'm getting at is, if they ever get past this literal worldbuilding phase with all the cameos and potential backdoor pilots, they could then really do some amazing storytelling. That's the dream, anyway, or the generous outlook, but more likely it's just going to keep going on like this, growing more more inconsistent and unruly as it continues branching off.

I think I may watch ep.1 just to see how he got out of the Sarlacc then switch straight into the Mando episodes (starting from 5, I think).

Honestly, I wouldn't even recommend the first episode past the all-too-brief Sarlacc portion. The second and fourth are the best of Fett, though it all sort of shatters the mystique as you allude to.

I think I prefer to keep the "Boba is a badass and the less you know about him, the better he is" aura about him in my head and not ruin it by watching the entire show.

That's a perfectly defensible position because you're not missing much. My joke tagline for the show was "Boba Fett: There's even LESS to him than you knew!" They should have called this season The Mandalorian: The Book of Boba Fett, started with episode 5 and then jumped back to the Fett arc, that would have better contextualized everything, Boba, like the drink, is a treat and not a meal, and it would feel like it's all coming together now instead of like a detour one way or another.


At least the state of Star Wars somehow isn't as bad as Star Trek. Every time I see a Paramount+ ad for one of their hip new self-help Trek shows this plays in my head:

 
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Speaking of exhaustion and Disney+, I'm still slowly crawling my way through those Marvel superhero TV shows because of being burnt out on superheroes in general. And I think it hit me when I saw the new Spiderman movie which's supposed to be SUPER GOOD according to everyone I know that's watched it, and yet, it didn't excite me in the same way - it averaged 'good' to me compared to 'amazing' and maybe that's the fatigue talking or the fact that there's a better one - Into The Spiderverse.

Back on topic - I recently started Ozark because it's a complete show, so I could go through all of it without waiting on a new season ^_^.

Sisyphus on Netflix - probably a 2/5 kind of show that I pushed through and was first intrigued by because it involved time travel. It drags its feet mid-way through the show when some reveals are made, but I get that they were trying to tie all knots and show all sides of the story/ backstory with the main protagonists (baddies included). The end felt under-whelming for the initial promise of what could have been.

The Silent Sea - this was fun in the beginning too but gets predictable by the end. I loved the concept - secret mission to the moon to recover what could potentially save humanity from a water drought by bringing back 'lunar water' but there's something the mega corporates aren't disclosing (in true fashion like a Weyland) and the crew finds out what happened to the folks station when they get there. Worth checking out? Yeah, if you're OK with slow pacing.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Basically, Mando already did The Boba Fett Show better than the actual Boba Fett show, which has dual timelines that are starting to thematically cross over, but overall its pretty rote and the premise, that he's taking over as a crime lord in Jabba's place, isn't credibly setup or executed (it's ridiculously simplistic and purile because the show has no interest in being a crime drama).
I will never, ever understand how stupidly they wrote the entire scene of Fett and Shand going to the sarlacc pit and pretty much going balls deep into it with the Slave I. It's the equivalent of checking if a gun is loaded by looking down the barrel.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I will never, ever understand how stupidly they wrote the entire scene of Fett and Shand going to the sarlacc pit and pretty much going balls deep into it with the Slave I. It's the equivalent of checking if a gun is loaded by looking down the barrel.

See, I couldn't even get mad about stuff like that because I still don't even understand what Boba's goal on the show is; he doesn't even want to do crime! At one point a character asks him what his angle is, then later says he tried to go straight... he's supposed to be running a crime family! That's the OPPOSITE of going straight! Watching them talk out of both sides of their mouths about this premise is like being on crazy pills.

Anyway, I actually liked that dumb scene for making good on the potential of the Sarlacc and even utilizing the Special Edition version. BTW, how about make the whole first episode about getting out of the Sarlacc pit, isn't that inherently more interesting and relevant? The best parts were the flashbacks of his life since Jedi, that should have just been the show. Basically, this show is the definition of nostalgia; my favorite parts of it are references to stuff I actually hated from the special editions and prequels but can now laugh at or engage in revisionist history about. I actually laughed out loud when Mando correctly used the word, "Wizard."

Finally, I guess I should point out the finale was satisfying enough, though I expected to hear more from the sand people, and if you didn't take this all too seriously it was all fine and entertaining enough show (just not great). Episode 1 kind of sucked, 2 was great, 3 wasn't great, 4 was good and actually covered a lot of ground you'd want to see in "The Boba Fett Show," 5 was a transcendently great episode... of The Mandalorian, 6 was a live action, mostly, Clone Wars episode (which I think all these shows will eventually become), and 7 was your predictable action packed finale that didn't quite wrap everything up nicely because the pieces never completely fit.

The good news is that the best part of the show was the Mandalorian, so he's still good, bring on season 3, etc. The bad news is that in the subplot of three episodes of Fett they basically undid the closed-ended storytelling of the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, which was admirable but now looks like more bullshit for the endless Disney+ Star Wars churn.
 
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Good job Netflix for pushing more K-dramas to me, now that I watched those 2 that I mentioned in an earlier post.

Juvenile Justice - not bad, although it drags on its feet by the end of the series. The supporting case does a good job with their acting and the show focuses more on the effects of the crime on the victim/ victim's families. Every mini-story (there are about 3 or 4 I think) has a bit of mystery that takes you on this journey to solve it.

Currently in the middle of Stranger on Netflix - crime drama with 1 linear murder mystery plot, and it isn't melodramatic. So far, so good.
 
I'm currently watching a few shows (at an irregular pace, I've started a new internship a couple weeks ago and I still need to learn to manage my short free time):
- Ousama Ranking: this weekend I managed to catch up to the latest episodes! After a couple of somewhat stagnant episodes, the last 4-5 have been really good and it keeps being incredible.
- Star Wars Rebels: I just started S2. Enjoyable show, maybe it doesn't reach the average quality of Clone Wars (animation and writing-wise), but I find the group of protagonists, their dynamics really fresh and I hope it'll get better.
- Peaky Blinders: I only watch the pilot and it's quite intriguing. Gangster / mafia films / shows aren't my thing and usually turn me off by default, but I think I'll enjoy this a lot, once I'll fully dedicate to it.
- Castlevania: my main motivation is to make my own opinion on it since there's a lot of discussion online and I suppose, if Netflix might get the rights to make a Berserk adaptation, its creators will do it considering the producer expressed an interest. Also, on Reddit I constantly see people praise it for Berserk references, but I've often heard mixed opinions and I want to make my own mind. I'm also interested since I like vampire anime such as Hellsing Ultimate and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but so far it's not even close to them. Oddly enough, S1 was pretty much just an extended pilot for the actual story, now I've just started S2, I'll see how it goes. As for the animation, I'm conflicted. I really like the designs and backgrounds, but I find the animation to be really too static (the camera hardly ever moves) and while it's quite detailed, they can't make a lot of smooth animation. I find the direction to be somewhat mediocre, honestly (so in this regard I'd rather trust a Japanese team) but there's still talent in this animation studio, I just find that they can't channel it that well. As for the writing / cast, it's not great but it could be interesting. I guess it's too early to judge at the point I'm at.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Better Call Saul - What a new baby has taken from my gaming time, it has added to my late night TV time, as I've basically caught up on 4 seasons of Saul in a month. Anyway, glad the show's slow burn finally turned up the heat in season 5, the desert stuff was fantastic, and all the beats with Jimmy becoming more Saul have all rung true and make more sense than I ever expected. I love the addition of the Lalo character as a wild card to challenge Gus, even though we know Gus isn't going down just yet, and given what's just transpired maybe it won't matter as much as Lalo's effect on Saul after all.

Barry - Only saw the first two and it wasn't a ton of fun as Barry seems to have become a full fledged psycho (or always was), but the funny thing is despite all the casual executions the most jarring thing he did onscreen was yell at his girlfriend at her work. :ganishka:

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Kind of both better and worse than expected. There's a Leia plot, which was actually a pleasantly surprising justification to get Obi Wan off world, but still basically swapping one kid protection plot for another, which is almost all Star Wars these days.

It doesn't feel vital or necessary though, like it's fun seeing Ewan McGregor doing this again, but I'm not convinced he needed to. One issue is these shows just don't have the gravitas of the movies, no matter how much they spend. I think that works in Mando because it's largely more down to earth with him doing some skuzzy bounty hunter stuff, but I just have innately, involuntarily higher expectations for Obi-Wan. They probably should learn from the success of Mando, and the more middling reaction to Boba, that doing the Obi-Wan show might have been better with a different Jedi survivor as a stand-in, think Jedi Fallen Order, because that allowed Mando to be a better Boba Fett show than The Boba Fett Show for the same reason; unencumbered by character lore baggage and expectations.

There's also some Last Jedi syndrome here where they're arbitrarily diminishing Ben's heroic qualities in the beginning so that... he can rediscover his heroic qualities in the end! Wow, regression to the mean; what an arc!

You know who was most impressive actually? Joel Edgerton as Uncle Owen, really channeled a younger version of the guy in his voice telling Ben to fuck off, "You gonna train him like you did his father?" Pretty sick burn on a Jedi for a moisture farmer.
 
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Agreed on Obi-Wan Kenobi. I watched episode 3 earlier this evening and I found it atrocious considering the potential in it. I'm shocked that Disney managed to make Darth Vader's return to screen, him meeting and actually fighting Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel absolutely bland, uninteresting and forgettable. Even worse that they didn't even use the Imperial March once for any of those moments and they clearly don't want to use any of John Williams' music for the show, or even anything similar to that. Actually ironic, since this show actually had John Williams write an original theme for Obi-Wan.
I honestly think I'm dropping any Star Wars content Disney touched from now on.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Better Call Saul: I'm all caught up now, and this season has already been a helluva ride. It's one of the few shows I don't mind paying for as it comes out (and I did the same for Breaking Bad). There's a level of care they're treating this franchise with that's almost overly reverent. Like the reoccurrence of the Zafiro bottle stopper, which is meaningful for Jimmy and Kim's little role-playing date, but also plays a role in Don Eladio's eventual death. The show is fixated on these little obscure references as if they hold meaning unto themselves. But I've mostly found that aspect of Saul distracting, if a little cute I guess? Mostly I've found those moments to be reaching for something that just isn't there for me.

By now, the show has blossomed into what feels like an extra season of Breaking Bad. But in the process, it's close to shedding its identity. That's not necessarily a criticism—just calling it like it is. Because all of that is for better and for worse. Things began transitioning almost immediately after Chuck's death, which coincided essentially with the birth of Saul. It's all thanks to Michael McKean's acting, but I've felt his absence like few show deaths. He was a crucial counterweight to Jimmy's chaotic bent. And since he's been gone, there's nothing to hold Jimmy back except for Kim, and she's been edging not so subtly closer to Jimmy's side of the table.

Speaking of which, it's Kim who holds the most stakes for this show now. We know where all the other major players land by the end (though, they haven't returned to Saul's "present day" storyline, I suppose.) Their stories are almost sideshows as a result. But Kim is a wild card. The show has invested a lot into her, and I'm pretty nervous about what happens with her next.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Agreed on Obi-Wan Kenobi. I watched episode 3 earlier this evening and I found it atrocious considering the potential in it. I'm shocked that Disney managed to make Darth Vader's return to screen, him meeting and actually fighting Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel absolutely bland, uninteresting and forgettable.

Well, I haven't seen the third Obi-Wan episode yet, but now I've heard everything from it's the best bit of Star Wars TV yet to... well, what you said. I have a bad feeling I'll be in the latter camp.:shrug:

Update: Yeah... this was some B grade Star Wars fanfiction. Woof.

It makes me wish they'd just done the Obi-Wan movie because the constraints of streaming TV, even for Disney, are just too small for what should have been a huge cinematic moment. Instead, it felt like, in the most pejorative sense, a "made for TV" movie.

It's kind of an odd thing given how much television has become the new cinema, just look at the direction and cinematography of Better Call Saul, but that works with dramatic character work, better than movies sometimes in fact because you got all the time in the world, whereas movies have become dominated by big budget spectacles for a reason, and that reason is that to do Thanos or Darth Vader justice you gotta spend big screen resources, otherwise it's going to look like your dad and uncle got carried away at the pop up Spirit Halloween store.

Even worse that they didn't even use the Imperial March once for any of those moments and they clearly don't want to use any of John Williams' music for the show, or even anything similar to that. Actually ironic, since this show actually had John Williams write an original theme for Obi-Wan.

I kind of get this because they obviously need to actually score these shows and scenes and can't just reuse John Williams greatest hits forever... On the other hand, this shit's obviously some of the most iconic music ever and it's not like Williams was scoring them to the beats of the scenes himself back in the day, it's more tonal and character or theme based, so as far as scores go it's actually good for recycling. I wish they were as willing to go their own way with the actual writing of the story! How many heists and kid protection plots can you do before you're sick of hearing yourself talk about it?

I honestly think I'm dropping any Star Wars content Disney touched from now on.

Yeah, it's a simple matter of the more they make of it, the more disposable it is. To me it's now just a matter of who is involved making it worth giving a look. Mando works because that's a couple of guy's very strong vision of Star Wars, which happens to align with my own and a lot of fans'. Other than The Force Awakens and Rogue One though, which were straight A New Hope karaoke, we haven't gotten a lot of that. It's a lot of sterile, focus-grouped feeling shit, and I say feeling because I don't even think it is focus grouped, more what they THINK people will like or extrapolations of what Star Wars is supposed to be, which is a very narrow lane. Plus, whatever purportedly progressive initiatives they're just trying to sell to a whole different audience and then get endlessly litagated ad nauseam online (they shoehorn in diversity in all the wrong places too, like the Empire, who are essentially supposed to be Nazis =).

Better Call Saul: I'm all caught up now, and this season has already been a helluva ride. It's one of the few shows I don't mind paying for as it comes out (and I did the same for Breaking Bad). There's a level of care they're treating this franchise with that's almost overly reverent. Like the reoccurrence of the Zafiro bottle stopper, which is meaningful for Jimmy and Kim's little role-playing date, but also plays a role in Don Eladio's eventual death. The show is fixated on these little obscure references as if they hold meaning unto themselves. But I've mostly found that aspect of Saul distracting, if a little cute I guess? Mostly I've found those moments to be reaching for something that just isn't there for me.

This. This show is so detail and process oriented you end up wondering what it's all for sometimes, because despite all that we're still written into the same prequel box where we already know what basically HAS to happen concerning the big set piece they've been setting up, unless the show now pivots in a completely unexpected direction, which would be cool, but also... overcomplicated, like the double and triple feints Saul and Kim have to pull to trick their marks. It just has never had the simple, forward momentum Breaking Bad had naturally, whether it completely made sense or not. I mean, this show is top quality, but it's like a model ship in a bottle, whereas Breaking Bad was a fucking runaway speedboat loaded with dope and cash flying out the back.

Speaking of which, it's Kim who holds the most stakes for this show now. We know where all the other major players land by the end (though, they haven't returned to Saul's "present day" storyline, I suppose. Their stories are almost sideshows as a result. But Kim is a wild card. The show has invested a lot into her, and I'm pretty nervous about what happens with her next.

Ok, let's do this: it would be pretty weird if Kim were tragically killed and Jimmy then doubles down on being Saul Goodman with even more gusto (it would make his rebound from Chuck look sentimental). I feel like that's something you do when you get dumped or mutually part ways for everyone's own good, not when your significant other gets murdered in a cartel dispute. =)

It also sets up a purpose and destination for those flash forwards and Jimmy's life in general. Can he redeem himself and/or Kim and reunite? If that's a little too trite and romantic, to me the most thematically satisfying ending, without replaying any of the notes of Walt's and Jesse's, would be if Saul actually, finally, took Chuck's advice: face the consequences, turn himself in, do the right thing, cooperate, make a good deal, do his time, and come out clean as Jimmy again on the other side. For most characters in a show like this, that would represent a loss, but I can't think of a better ending for Jimmy.

My fear though, especially when they didn't follow up on that thread as usual to start the season, is it was always just a callback and narrative device they never had any payoff in mind for and they're just going to improvise something in the end.
 
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Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Obi-Wan Kenobi - The latest episode introduced my favorite Star Wars character ever: Wade. Wade was on the show for approximately 60 seconds, he comes in on a snow speeder (over water, strangely), covers Obi-Wan and Leia while they make their escape, and is tragically taken down by the Third Sister as he's making his departure. The other pilot is very upset by this, "Wade!" Then when they get back to the proto-Rebel base, Ice Cube's son asked at the same moment I jokingly did, "Where's Wade?" Lots of long faces. RIP Wade. He really meant a lot to some people, apparently.

Sorry for the major Wade spoilers, I'm just so emotional about it right now I can't contain myself. They should really put trigger warnings on these shows.

Stranger Things - I've only gotten through the first episode and a quarter because they're fucking huge and save for the opening nothing happens except monsters are very apparently showing up. Still the best show ever, allegedly.

Barry - This season has felt really haphazard and unstructured to me but it's still better than the rest of this crap and I'm looking forward to the last episode this Sunday.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Barry - This season has felt really haphazard and unstructured to me but it's still better than the rest of this crap and I'm looking forward to the last episode this Sunday.
I really enjoyed the previous seasons, but after watching the first episode of the third season, I was so underwhelmed that I haven't picked it up since.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I really enjoyed the previous seasons, but after watching the first episode of the third season, I was so underwhelmed that I haven't picked it up since.

I wouldn't try to convince you either. It's ok, has had its moments, but they're clearly just meandering as they go so Hader can do all the filmmaking stuff he wants without the stakes of having to make a movie that works. The story is just reacting to itself at this point and they're trying to stich together a theme by the end, but there was no big idea being built to here. It's like a very smart version of stuff just happening because it's cool. The dumbest version of that? Obi-Wan Kenobi.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Ranked in order of how little they're pissing me off:

Stranger Things - Welcome to the party pal, it only took four episodes for a payoff! I question though if the big emotional music montage of flashbacks was effective because of the significance for the character and the moment or if it's because for the audience that's when the kids were still cute and therefore the show was good.:shrug:

Barry - The last episode was underwhelming too. This season just went from one thing to the next with no structure or cohesion. The five main characters are all on almost completely separate tracks so there's no interconnectedness, and it's a half hour show! Everything is undercooked. Barry and Hank share like two scenes and he should basically be cut, Barry and Sally, maybe twice that, same with Henry Wrinkler. Actually, the best character this season was Fuches. Anyway, it's likely not getting better next season because Bill Hader is reportedly directing every episode and I think that's what he's passionate about doing at the expense of everything else, unfortunately.

Obi-Wan - This was probably the best episode of Obi-Wan, simply for successfully reconciling and playing on the fact that Anakin AND Vader are impatient and petulant and having Obi-Wan recognize and use that strategically. It also gave Vader some actual character work in the episode rather than just being a good looking cosplay. Unfortunately, as I said in the chat, everything else about it was as rote, predictable and perfunctory as ever. The plot also completely cannibalizes the story of the far superior Jedi Fallen Order, except while inserting legacy characters, both adding, and adding to, their baggage. I thought of it like if Disney offered to put more beloved characters side by side with elements from the Holiday Special. I'd rather Darth fucking Vader, all time great iconic big screen villain, be associated as little as possible with mediocre streaming TV where this incarnation of him would fit in just as well on Power Rangers.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I Think You Should Leave on Netflix is still the best sketch comedy I’ve seen in a decade. Ive rewatched this show (both seasons) more times than I can remember, and it somehow still holds up. I watched People Can Change again tonight and yeah. Still hits me!

I’m also rewatching The Wire again this past month due to the recent anniversary. Nearing the end of Season 1, which in retrospect is a solid “if this isn’t working for you then don’t bother with the rest” season. It’s still my favorite TV show.
 
I’m also rewatching The Wire again this past month due to the recent anniversary. Nearing the end of Season 1, which in retrospect is a solid “if this isn’t working for you then don’t bother with the rest” season. It’s still my favorite TV show.
Is the new David Simon show on hbo max any good? What is it called, we own this city, I think?
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
The Last Dance - This was the season, team and player that got me hooked on basketball as a kid when I got really sick and couldn't eat or even talk (Walter is researching a temporary electronically transmitted variation of the illness for the pod =). This brings back a lot of memories, new info (they had footage of the infamous Dream Team scrimmage!) and is generally a pretty retrospective. I think I'm right around when Jordan comes back from baseball in '95.

Stranger Things - This season was pretty slow and meandering overall, I kind of don't get the point anymore, but the horror movie villain is interesting and I haven't decided yet if how they've weaved him into the branching storylines of the show is clever or cheap (feels like the latter, but I don't think it's technically unsound or a plot hole, so I guess clever; maybe too clever by half is the cheesy feeling I'm getting). I guess that's enough reason to watch the finales this Friday, even if they're... 4 fucking hours!?

Obi-Wan - Oh yeah, shit sucked, bro. Not only was the whole plot a big nothingburger from start to finish, but it actually managed to undermine the prequels, sequels, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, you name it. The finale had some cool lightsaber fight visuals and Vader stuff, but it was all ultimately in the service of franchise diluting wheel-spinning. The worst part was they had these meaningless, too little, too late cameos of legacy characters that were nakedly useless; like, if you get these actors to film, or zoom, scenes you might as well have them say something interesting. Anyway, these guys continue the search for rock bottom.

I Think You Should Leave on Netflix is still the best sketch comedy I’ve seen in a decade. Ive rewatched this show (both seasons) more times than I can remember, and it somehow still holds up. I watched People Can Change again tonight and yeah. Still hits me!

Like Tim & Eric back in the day, I've seen a bunch of the skits on YouTube but not one episode, and like then I must rectify this situation! It's officially in the late night baby feeding queue after Last Dance.

I’m also rewatching The Wire again this past month due to the recent anniversary. Nearing the end of Season 1, which in retrospect is a solid “if this isn’t working for you then don’t bother with the rest” season. It’s still my favorite TV show.

Looking forward to season 2 at the docks!? Huh? Huh!? HUUUUH!!!

I may have asked this before, but as a professional journalist what was your take on the more out there elements of season 5? Completely bonkers, or a dramatization of games reporters and police actually play to varying degrees?

Is the new David Simon show on hbo max any good? What is it called, we own this city, I think?
Haven’t bothered. I didn’t like anything he’s done since.

I've heard spiritually it's the closest thing to The Wire that he's done, but I haven't watched it either.:shrug:
 
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