What are you watching? (television thread)

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
Anyone else check out Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp? It started promisingly enough, but sort of lost focus in the middle and just meandered through to the end. I think there was enough material for a fun follow up film in there, but there was also a lot of underwhelming filler and even at its best it never quiet took it as high(er and higher) as the original. On that note, while Meloni is fantastic at all times, Gene was criminally underrepresented; that they didn't have anything more to say with/about him was a pretty telling indictment to me.

I'm about halfway through it (geez, do I watch these Netflix series like an old man or what?), and I'm enjoying it quite a bit -- but it's just about what I expected it would be, and not much more. Big fan of the original; huge fan of The State. I literally grew up watching most of this cast develop their brand of weird comedy, so it hits a weak point for me. Even the lamest of jokes tend to work. I'm pretty much either smiling or laughing anytime Ken Marino is on the screen, warranted or not.

Agreed about Gene, at least so far. His "transformation" into the proper Gene felt like they'd wasted the first half of this show just because they needed to fill time. I feel that way about a lot of the scenes, primarily the musical bits (though seeing Electric City in action was worth it).

Ultimately, I feel like the format enables lazy writing. A leaner movie would have made more sense with the material they have here.

Also, my wife and I are watching The Sopranos (she's never seen it), are now about halfway through season 2, and HOLY SHIT the contrast with wannabes like True Detective 2 (which we were honestly bummed to watch in lieu of another Sopranos episode). I forgot how good this show was when it still had it's fastball. Even knowing that beforehand it impresses. Season 1 alone was better than anything I've seen lately. The novelistic approach to its overlapping themes and subtle delivery of them in a straightforward and easy to understand presentation makes even modern boutique television look like contrived, paint-by-numbers garbage by comparison. I'm sure I'll change my tune as we get to seasons 6a/b (
gutsbarf.gif
), but right now I'm partying with Tony like a TV critic from 1999.

Seasons 1-3 were fucking magic. Nothing on TV like it before or since, and the same can be said of Tony. I feel like that show began the current era of television, for better or worse (maybe that's not even a very profound statement at this point...) But it ... sort of trailed off after that, at least from my memory of watching it as it aired back then. As you and i have talked about before, it feels like success caught up with David Chase around that point, and he began dragging his feet.

It only took Nic Pizzolato ONE season though! :troll:
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
I haven't yet watched this, but it's something I'm looking forward too

and I just wanted to say that
I'm pretty much either smiling or laughing anytime Ken Marino is on the screen, warranted or not.
- Pretty much sums up every time I see Ken Marino in anything really. The guy just kills me for some reason. Criminally underused comedic actor.
 
Griffith said:
Anyone else check out Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp?

Like Oburi, it's on my list too. Gonna up it on my queue!

I forgot to post about House of Cards. I had one of those "I'm bored and don't know what I wanna watch" kinda nights, so I hopped on Netflix. The show popped up on my feed and I remembered Walter's and John's discussions on the show last year, so I gave it a shot. At the back of my mind, there was all this mega hype around the show so I spent the first few episodes cautiously watching it. The acting was there, I could see why everyone was ga-ga over Spacey but I couldn't help compare his performance with that of Cranston or McShane or McConaughey. His character reminded me of a toned down version of Grammer's in Boss but where Boss as a show lacked in charisma, House of Cards had a lot of. By the middle of the season I was hooked but by the end of it something didn't fit ... I expected more of how they ironed out some kinks. Decent-good season 1. Rolled over to season 2 and it was such a downer. It didn't have the same wit, charm or even smaller things I liked about season 1 where Spacey's character would talk to the audience and the direction the story took (and all it's sub-plots) fell flat. I didn't care for anyone's motives but, watched all of it just to get to the end. The Netflix player rolled over to the first episode of season 3 and I stopped.

How does season 3 compare with 1 guys? If it's not on par, I'll drop the show : /
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
IncantatioN said:
How does season 3 compare with 1 guys? If it's not on par, I'll drop the show : /

I did not enjoy it, not even enough to make a posting here whining about it as I have the last two seasons. But you don't have to take my word for it, it's pretty universally regarded as the weakest season so far.
 
Gotcha, thanks Walter. I'm going to skip it, maybe hop back on the show if there's a strong season 4. Aside from True Detective, Hannibal and Suits, I'm not watching any other TV shows at the moment.

Sometimes there's talk about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia among a set of friends and I've yet to watch the show, so I don't usually contribute or have anything to say. It's probably next in queue after Wet Hot American Summer.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
IncantatioN said:
Sometimes there's talk about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia among a set of friends and I've yet to watch the show, so I don't usually contribute or have anything to say.

I like it quite a bit. It's great for 1-2 episodes at a time, but certainly not something that you can binge-watch. The tone wears thin with that much concentrated viewing.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
IncantatioN said:
Sometimes there's talk about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia among a set of friends and I've yet to watch the show, so I don't usually contribute or have anything to say. It's probably next in queue after Wet Hot American Summer.

I'm a big It's Always Sunny fan. So much so that I recently bought the book they put out, which is pretty funny as well. The show is overall very funny once you get the hang of their style of comedy, but even that is understandably not for everyone. It took me a while to get into it but once I did I was hooked, and now I've seen every episode several times. It's great to quote with friends and recite with people at a bar and whatnot. My friends and I will often go through an entire scene as our favorite character to other unsuspecting people. Hilarity ensues.

I recommend starting at season one and just watching in order. The earlier seasons are among the best but overall it's pretty solid throughout.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
So i guess no one is watching Mr. Robot? It's like Fight Club with hackers. What's impressive about it is the direction and the soundtrack. Up there with True Detective S1. Very cinematic.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
I'm about halfway through it (geez, do I watch these Netflix series like an old man or what?)

:ganishka:

I was watching it a couple at a time too, but my wife and I finally just plowed through the last few episodes on a night off from The Sopranos.

Walter said:
I'm enjoying it quite a bit -- but it's just about what I expected it would be, and not much more. Big fan of the original; huge fan of The State. I literally grew up watching most of this cast develop their brand of weird comedy, so it hits a weak point for me. Even the lamest of jokes tend to work.
Walter said:
Agreed about Gene, at least so far. His "transformation" into the proper Gene felt like they'd wasted the first half of this show just because they needed to fill time. I feel that way about a lot of the scenes, primarily the musical bits (though seeing Electric City in action was worth it).

Ultimately, I feel like the format enables lazy writing. A leaner movie would have made more sense with the material they have here.

Yeah, the question worthiness aside (again, to Wet Hot American Summer =), I enjoyed it all the way through as well, and though my previous take comes off too serious about it, I can't help but compare it to the original and feel like it just wasn't quite up to it (especially with certain characters, like Gene and Beth, whereas Molly Shannon and John Slattery got to needlessly and endlessly waste our time). These latter day prequel-sequels are setup to disappoint basically, especially if you're hard to please to begin with, "Do justice to something I already really, really like while impressing me all over again!" It's like asking someone to wow you with the same trick twice while adding something new without deviating too much.

Walter said:
Seasons 1-3 were fucking magic. Nothing on TV like it before or since, and the same can be said of Tony. I feel like that show began the current era of television, for better or worse (maybe that's not even a very profound statement at this point...) But it ... sort of trailed off after that, at least from my memory of watching it as it aired back then. As you and i have talked about before, it feels like success caught up with David Chase around that point, and he began dragging his feet.

Just finished another one, "Bust Out," which added little to the overall arc of the season and was otherwise just a random episode, but was just fantastic in and of itself. I'm starting to compare Breaking Bad unfavorably here. :magni: But yeah, I remember that in a couple of seasons it starts liking the smell of it's own farts a bit too much.

Walter said:
It only took Nic Pizzolato ONE season though! :troll:

Speaking of BB, like to remind you that you were pretty bullish on TD2 but anti-Saul. Just sayin'. :iva:

Walter said:
I'm pretty much either smiling or laughing anytime Ken Marino is on the screen, warranted or not.
Oburi said:
I just wanted to say that - Pretty much sums up every time I see Ken Marino in anything really. The guy just kills me for some reason. Criminally underused comedic actor.

If you guys like Ken Marino, you should check him out in season 4 of Eastbound and Down. Might be him at his most Ken Marino-ist.

Oburi said:
I recommend starting at season one and just watching in order. The earlier seasons are among the best but overall it's pretty solid throughout.

The first few seasons are the best, but after that initial dip in quality almost all shows go through it's been impressively consistent ever since. I feel like everything between seasons 4 and 10 are basically on equal ground and every season has its standouts. I quite enjoyed Family Fight from last year. =)

NightCrawler said:
So i guess no one is watching Mr. Robot? It's like Fight Club with hackers. What's impressive about it is the direction and the soundtrack. Up there with True Detective S1. Very cinematic.

I actually saw a trailer for it in theaters a while back (might have been before Fury Road); it looked as potentially intriguing as ridiculous, but I'm not even sure how I'd feel about Fight Club today, let alone with hackers (all the 1% of the 1%er crap tossed in didn't help). If you say it's the goods though I'm inclined to take your word for it... though you're also a Prometheus apologist. :iva:

NightCrawler said:
I dare anyone to watch the pilot and not be impressed.

You challenging me to not like something?...

tumblr_nn9p1aZF6S1qdqzl4o1_500.gif
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Like Fight Club, it is as intriguing as it is ridiculous, but it has nothing in common with other shows on the same network. I dare even to say it's the best live action show on tv right now (not overall show because Rick & Morty is back on). The pilot alone - directed by Niels Oplev (from the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) - was the best since BB or Walking Dead.
 
Walter said:
I like it quite a bit. It's great for 1-2 episodes at a time, but certainly not something that you can binge-watch. The tone wears thin with that much concentrated viewing.

Oburi said:
I recommend starting at season one and just watching in order. The earlier seasons are among the best but overall it's pretty solid throughout.

Cool beans, thanks for the tip guys. I'll check it out in a week or two.

NightCrawler said:
I dare anyone to watch the pilot and not be impressed.

The hell ... when I read that last night, I was like "Frak it, let me get one episode" after watching The Midnight Swim (which I really liked by the way). The guy who plays Elliot is fantastic and the monologue about social media and the material money minded world that makes society hit the nail, especially about how everyone's plugged into Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, etc. Personally speaking I've wanted to get off it for years but my purpose was a bit different from what Elliot's character mentions in his monologue - it's acted more of a way my folks could know if I was safe or keep in touch through messenger since we're countries apart. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be on there. However, it's weird how corporate companies get suspicious about people who don't have Facebook, considering the fact that it's so normal to be on it that because of the reverse, the individual might have something to hide. Coming back to the episode, the plot hooked me in by the end of the episode and I watched up to episode 3. This wasn't just any bubbly show about hackers.

Good call Nighty, although when you mentioned Fight Club, I'm seeing things from a different perspective than if I hadn't known. Spoilers -

For a bit I thought Fsociety was a figment of his imagination because there's that scene when he comes back and they disappear and then there's an attack 19 days. But, maybe not all of it is a figment of his imagination and just Mr. Robot? In episode 3, Slater goes un-noticed when he's sitting at the bar and even at Elliot's office but what's-her-name-who-drops-by-his-apartment ... she seems real and Shayla too.

His relationship with Gideon was good to watch and progress but I think Gideon's going to come back at him. I wonder if he'll expose him if he finds that dat file on the second check he's authorised to get done. Tyrell's wife is as bad or badass as Tyrell and we see how motivated he is to get what he wants. I wonder if Elliot will come back and work with Tyrell when his let-me-think-about-this phase ends.

You think Mr Robot's behind hacking Ollie? I mean, it kinda makes sense if we're thinking Elliot is Mr Robot cos he hasn't shy'd away from hacking/ knowing everything about people he dislikes and brings em to justice but I don't know ... maybe it isn't Elliot and it's just a coincidence, someone else is after Evil Corps secrets.

Also, good nod to American Psycho on this episode with the tie-complimenting scene.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
I guess the hype is catching on. http://uproxx.com/tv/2015/08/summer-tv-best-2015/10/

I'm sorry if i spoiled it a bit by saying it's kinda like Fight Club.
I thought the same about fsociety not being real after that episode. Mr. Robot being Tyler Durden seems too obvious, so they might twist that around later in the show. And yes, Tyrell is basically Patrick Bateman, which makes him a joy to watch.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Holy shit, latest Mr. Robot was so fucking nuts that i might consider watching the whole season again. Do yourself a favor and watch this show before the internet ruins it for you.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Twin Peaks miniseries poster: http://kadrey.tumblr.com/post/126731424022/poster-for-the-upcoming-twin-peaks-mini-series-on#_=_
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Walter said:
Twin Peaks miniseries poster: http://kadrey.tumblr.com/post/126731424022/poster-for-the-upcoming-twin-peaks-mini-series-on#_=_

That looks shit.



Utopia's US remake helmed by David Fincher is probably dead (budget reasons), HBO still has the rights though. Nevertheless do watch this great series, only two seasons of 6 episodes.

https://youtu.be/uJnN3WMwDsk
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Are you serious? I love TP as much as the next guy but that poster is a photoshop abomination. The Mr. Robot one is just meh.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Not defending it, just saying that judging by the poster alone, Mr. Robot looks no less shitty.
 
Aazealh said:
I've seen most of them, and yeah, they're pretty nice.
I liked the relaxed feel of it, just like friends hanging out having a conversation and these are some really funny and interesting friends, so makes for good viewing. I also thought the novel car aspect of it was cool. Well, since I'm late to the party I've got 6 seasons built up to enjoy. :serpico:
 
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