What are you watching? (television thread)
- Thread starter Oburi
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NightCrawler
Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Griffith said:Don't forget the polar bears, the experimental rabbits, the birds, and oh it all doesn't mean anything! Ho ho ho.
Still bitter over Lost, come on, you have no idea what you're missing. Check reviews if you think i'm out of my mind (http://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-leftovers/season-3 - nº1 of the year).
Saul is ok. I'd prefer if the show didn't try to tie in to BB. Surprisingly it's more boring when it treads familiar waters.
How do you endure your spouse's questionable taste in tv/movies?Griffith said:
Not watching Twin Peaks is such a shame. Mine can't watch animations, magical/sci-fi stuff (unless it's more grounded), and can barely tolerate medieval settings. So no Berserk for her 
Nothing wrong with that! Married with two toddlers and trying to watch twin peaks is a patient task. In the Lynch mood and watched Lost Highway. Still took us three evenings.Aazealh said:My wife and I are re-watching all episodes of The Twilight Zone. That's how refined we are.
Griffith
My posts are better.
NightCrawler said:https://i.redditmedia.com/XqFoFVdXTxo2okygp1dqpMl3QD2POeGBClAPKsLSQu0.jpg?w=432&s=0c3da1a58202962a1157f86c51e50f82
Oh, I've heard, and it's not that I don't trust you here, but I have two criteria now: all-time transcendent must-watch prestige television, or any crap that my wife will enjoy and I can stomach, and oh the joy if the two ever meet (the best example is probably The Sopranos). So, The Leftovers falls through the cracks. It also means I need to be careful what reruns we're lazily watching unless I want to sign up for the whole run, and I better be ready with the good alternatives when the time to choose a new show comes. We occasionally will barter one for another as well. =)NightCrawler said:
Our greatest shared experiences by how much we BOTH like them:
1. Buffy
2. Magnum P.I.
3. The Sopranos
I also had the good fortune that the first movie I ever showed her she really liked: Bram Stoker's Dracula. So, I knew right away that the requisite weirdness was in her somewhere.
Yeah, I still haven't started season 3, haven't heard anything that makes me want to, and I'm not missing it. Sorry, Saul, it's not you... and that's the problem.NightCrawler said:
Keep an eye on her movements, I think we could be married to the same woman leading a double life. Pretty much the same rules apply here, except she'll go for most animation except anime (99% fine by me). Though I still got her to watch the 1997 Berserk anime and I tell myself she even started coming around until Griffith ruined everything!NightCrawler said:How do you endure your spouse's questionable taste in tv/movies?
I haven't bothered with the new movies or animation even though she offered because even I don't want to watch that shit and degrade the series. But on the whole she dislikes most everything I like, so the exceptions are sweet, and to her credit she keeps giving my stuff a chance even though it's usually a bust (I think I'm finally having an effect though, she actually liked Westworld even though it has several of her red flags). On the contrary, I'm far less generous about sharing her tastes outside empty TV calories.Anyway, you might be interested to know we're going to watch Alien 3 Assembly Cut this weekend!
...After I complete two more gym visits with her that is, and I'm trying to work a field trip to the theater for Covenant into the deal with hiking as well (though it sounds like it's not worth the exertion, let alone the viewing capital =). Should make for a romantic weekend. Every once in a while I suggest the entire Star Trek canon, only half jokingly.Aazealh said:My wife and I are re-watching all episodes of The Twilight Zone. That's how refined we are.
I've considered soloing it, but it would require me to lead a double life where I'm watching when I should be sleeping. I'm sure that would enhance the experience in this case though.Salem said:
Oburi
All praise Grail
I'll throw my hat into the ring when it comes to the difficulty of trying to find things to watch with the significant other. A lot of the time, I'll get her to watch the first episode of a show that I've sold her on but unfortunately, we never really get beyond that due to lack of interest. But, like you Griff, we did successfully watch the Sopranos entirely because it's the great uniter. Beyond that though, she's way too much of a girly girl to take interest in anything overtly sci-fi and fantasy. But there's some other stuff that we can watch together such as Entourage, Breaking Bad, Flight of the Conchords, Freaks and Geeks, The Office and now most recently, Curb, which is a show that sometimes can take a person a good chunk of episodes before it has them hooked, especially if that person is new to the style and comedic sense of Larry David. So basically, it's an interesting little game trying to feel out what shows to not only introduce her to, but which ones are worth it to keep at it because they have the potential to stick. She had a real take or leave it attitude with Curb at first, but now at season four she's very much hooked, which is good because I wanted to rewatch the whole thing again anyway.
We've just started Twin Peaks, so I'm curious to see how that goes (I secretly left out any hint of the ultra Lynchian weirdness that creeps in), and I'm still grinding her down to Game of Thrones but that one's tough because the fantasy aspects are such a turnoff to her. As far as something like Berserk, forget it. Or even manga and comics in general. And animation? Unless we're talking Disney movies that's usually a no. We watched a few Miyazaki movies but that's no accomplishment, how can someone dislike those?
Now that I think about though, there was one anomaly. Early on when I was still naively overloading her with tons of nerd stuff because I thought any chick would get into what I'm into because I'm into only the coolest of shit (and I'm a great salesman) so I was stupidly throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck. To my surprise, she did pick up on one thing. The manga (her first ever) Battle Royal. I have to say that is a pretty great piece of work for someone with no experience with manga to pick up with. 15 volumes. It's an easy read. It's exciting and has a lot of tense and suspenseful parts. It's pretty gory and can be very explicit with it's graphic sex and violence but as long as someone doesn't have a problem with that I can see how Battle Royal can be a page turner for someone reading a geeky Japanese comic book for the first time. Anyway, she really loved it and read the whole thing super quick. I actually forgot that until I started writing this post. So, maybe there is hope for Berserk after all...
We've just started Twin Peaks, so I'm curious to see how that goes (I secretly left out any hint of the ultra Lynchian weirdness that creeps in), and I'm still grinding her down to Game of Thrones but that one's tough because the fantasy aspects are such a turnoff to her. As far as something like Berserk, forget it. Or even manga and comics in general. And animation? Unless we're talking Disney movies that's usually a no. We watched a few Miyazaki movies but that's no accomplishment, how can someone dislike those?
Now that I think about though, there was one anomaly. Early on when I was still naively overloading her with tons of nerd stuff because I thought any chick would get into what I'm into because I'm into only the coolest of shit (and I'm a great salesman) so I was stupidly throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck. To my surprise, she did pick up on one thing. The manga (her first ever) Battle Royal. I have to say that is a pretty great piece of work for someone with no experience with manga to pick up with. 15 volumes. It's an easy read. It's exciting and has a lot of tense and suspenseful parts. It's pretty gory and can be very explicit with it's graphic sex and violence but as long as someone doesn't have a problem with that I can see how Battle Royal can be a page turner for someone reading a geeky Japanese comic book for the first time. Anyway, she really loved it and read the whole thing super quick. I actually forgot that until I started writing this post. So, maybe there is hope for Berserk after all...
Griffith
My posts are better.
Lol yeah I tried that of course, "The first interracial kiss on TV!" but Shatner and those damn mini-skirts give it away! >_< The cultural impact is a double-edged sword too because she's probably more likely to think of The Big Bang Theory guys than MLK saying it was important, and really, which view does society promote more? We're never getting liberal space utopia. =(Aazealh said:She should watch it because of the socio-cultural impact it has had over the years.
(that's the best I've got)
She did like Khan though, naturally.
Yeah, this is a pet peeve of mine because first episodes, like first seasons, are almost never as good as what's to come. They have to setup and explain too much for too little payoff (See: The Wire Ep. 1Oburi said:
), and half the time it's just a pilot trying to prove the concept before doing anything with it. Plus, you're only seeing one idea or side of the show instead of a kind. You gotta have this in mind going in and grade first episodes on a curve (I immediately fired up the 2nd episode of Rick & Morty while she was still shaky on it from the pilot, and from there we never looked back =). The only exception to this that comes to mind is Breaking Bad; hit the ground fucking running and STILL got better, but that first three episode arc could have been a good indie crime movie or something on its own (God knows there's been a lot of that sort that were much worse).The exception to the first season rule, but not because it just kept getting worse like Lost, but because that first season is a fucking masterpiece. It's a film with a novel's depth that really showed the serious potential of the long-form nature of the medium. I still remember the awe watching it wrap up in the first season finale.Oburi said:
Yeah, far too often I've swung for the fences and whiffed.Oburi said:
Oburi said:
Yet you haven't been able to sell the most popular show on television and a bonafide cultural phenomenon!? It's not exactly stuck in the fantasy nerd box (as a matter of fact that's from where it gets more of a backlash *cough* ahem *cough*) . Anyway, you got any Hamilton tickets for me you haven't been able to unload?Oburi said:
Eh, you reach a point where rather than trying to share everything you're grateful for having some shit to keep to yourself.Oburi said:
Good stuff, I bought my father a Hulu subscription mainly for him to re-watch all of The Twilight Zone and Stark Trek, he was very content.Aazealh said:My wife and I are re-watching all episodes of The Twilight Zone. That's how refined we are.
I've recently been on a Sci-fi kick, I just started Stargate SG-1. So far it's been entertaining.
Oburi
All praise Grail
Speaking of which, how much does The Big Bang Theory suck? It's just completely dreadful and cringefully not funny. I honestly can't believe how popular that show is. It's cashing in on the acceptance of nerd culture being the quirky funny norm now, but it's such a sham. The characters are no more nerds than That 70's Show actually looks like it's from the 70s. Look! They're a bunch of super smart virgins with calculators who love comics, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and they reference them constantly and have no social skills! I understand this show is serving vanilla flavored crackers to the most common of denominators but it still ... Once again I overestimate our current society. I thought we were beyond the point where this was funny and the number one rated sitcom in the country.Griffith said:
It's been years since I've seen it so maybe I'm forgetting something but I've seen this said about the Wire before and I don't get it. I thought the first episode was great. I remember at the time the show had been built up so much that I was eager to witness it's greatness, and right from the get go I thought "ok, I get it. I can tell this is going to be good", admittedly it was more like the Michael Scott kind of way ("The Wire. Greatest show I've ever seen. I don't understand any of of it"). I've only seen it once and it was years ago so maybe I'm forgetting how embarrassing that first episode is. Not sure if I should even revisit it lol.Griffith said:Yeah, this is a pet peeve of mine because first episodes, like first seasons, are almost never as good as what's to come. They have to setup and explain too much for too little payoff (See: The Wire Ep. 1
Well, admittedly I have made progress in this department. She's agreed to watch it, although begrudgingly. Although your post will still help the cause. "See! even he's saying it's a cultural phenomenon. You don't want to be left out, do you? And you love Hamilton"!Griffith said:Yet you haven't been able to sell the most popular show on television and a bonafide cultural phenomenon!? It's not exactly stuck in the fantasy nerd box (as a matter of fact that's from where it gets more of a backlash *cough* ahem *cough*) . Anyway, you got any Hamilton tickets for me you haven't been able to unload?
The first episode of The Wire is good. I was sold on the show by the end of it, and second season aside, I only liked it more as it went. But it is indeed a little dry, and it's not going to immediately reward skeptical viewers who have been shoved in front of the TV by their raving friends. But it's a solid start.Oburi said:
Griffith
My posts are better.
I think you're overreacting where society is concerned.Oburi said:
I'm as baffled as you by the popularity of The Big Bang Theory, but also the backlash; it's sort of overrated and underrated at the same time. I've seen quite a bit of it in reruns and it's just your average sitcom in the wacky I Love Lucy, Three's Company mold with a "nerd premise" and more emphasis on wordplay and one-liners (it's not even crude or anything). I also don't think it 100% "cashed in" on the popularity of traditionally nerdy stuff becoming more mainstream so much as helped to facilitate and ride that wave at the right time. Really, it's astonishing to me that a show with this focus has such mainstream popularity, and I think the nerd backlash is similarly ridiculous, and says more about us than the show, because "nerd culture" isn't a real thing to appropriate like black culture or something; it's just a type of pop culture that's gone from semi-cult to fully mainstream and people that liked it in the first place should be complimented if not thrilled ("we were right all along!") be so accepted unless they were more into the cult aspect (or just the smugness, which I've also seen Big Bang effectively mock, maybe too effectively =). Anyway, it's no more stupid or offensive than wacky cop or doctor comedies (do cops and doctors hate Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Scrubs respectively? Maybe). So, I give it credit for its subject matter actually, even though it doesn't have a lot of depth or the more grounded social messaging of something like Roseanne (also with Chuck Lorre) or Norman Lear's work. Basically, it's no worse than most of the "nerdy" comedies out there going back to Revenge of the Nerds, it's actually better than that, on par with the supposedly more authentic ones, and far better than Chuck Lorre's lowest common denominator comedies (like Two & Half Men
Tl; dr: it's not especially deserving of praise or scorn, the correct opinion, as with most sitcoms, is, "who cares?"
Oburi said:
Oh, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean it was bad, it's incredibly impressive, but also incredibly dense and complicated so it's not like you're going to get a narrative or emotional payoff to match that exposition right away (thus why it's a good example of the challenges even the best openers face). It's going to leave you going, "Whoa...?" It's like a technically impressive symphony you'll appreciate cerebrally more than it's going to make you nod your head, tap your foot, or feel exhilaration like, say, Breaking Bad's opening hour. Ironically, Saul hasn't achieved in 3 seasons what Bad did in its first episode, so there's no accounting for these things.Walter said:
NightCrawler
Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
The first 4/5 seasons of the Big Bang Theory were fun to watch before they got very popular and it sort of became self-aware for it's strengths and hit them harder than they used to. I haven't gone back to it since. I found myself enjoying all of The IT Crowd or all of Silicon Valley in comparison, if we're talking tech-nerdy-TV series. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's first 2 seasons I've gone back to and they have the occasional funny episode or situation but it's not as solid and the first 2 seasons.
Johnstantine
Skibbidy Boo Bop
God DAMN these electric sex-pants!IncantatioN said:
Bit of an update ...
Edit:
Season 4 of Silicon Valley finished this past weekend and it didn't disappoint. The show continues to evolve characters with every season and I think the acting went up a notch in this outing. A solid and consistent 8 or 9/10 is what I'd give it thus far.
I think the season ended last week, I'm playing catch-up and am two episodes short of it. My impression of the show hasn't changed - it's decent and the ideas are dark but I also feel like the plot moves slow and there's that small bit that's lacking to make it an overall good show. It's decent, don't get me wrong and I love most of the acting (Elizabeth Moss, Strahovski who has this constant look of sadness + resentment, Joseph Fiennes who's a bit understated and regal~esque) and soundtrack, it's just the pace at which is plot moves episodically.IncantatioN said:
Finally caught up on this one and it's good! The first 2 episodes I found a bit jarring from the perspective of viewers who hadn't read the book and knew what was happening. But it's atmospheric thanks to Bryan Fuller. If you were a fan of Hannibal (the TV series), I recommend checking this out.
Edit:
Season 4 of Silicon Valley finished this past weekend and it didn't disappoint. The show continues to evolve characters with every season and I think the acting went up a notch in this outing. A solid and consistent 8 or 9/10 is what I'd give it thus far.
Death May Die
"That day you left, that's when I knew."
Woke up this morning to find the animated Castlevania series is on Netflix.
I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is faithful to the Castlevania lore, is based on what has to be the most interesting game for an adaptation (Dracula's Curse), and has decent enough production value (especially compared to what they did to Berserk...). However I'm surprised they only released 4 episodes out of what I assumed must be a total of 10 or 12.Death May Die said:
EDIT: Well Netflix has officially ordered 8 more episodes, which should conclude the series. No release date however.
Kompozinaut
Grail Serpico!
Agreed. I thought it was a nice pilot since that's essentially what it felt like. The series was only just getting on it's feet when it ended. I assume Netflix didn't want to make full commitment. The only animated series I've watched in the last two years is Berserk 2016, so it was extraordinarily refreshing to watch a well executed 2d series. The fight scenes were pretty nice. I just hope that the series maintains the quality we've gotten.Aazealh said:
A little disappointed that the music is pretty standard fare.
The V.O. work for that show was seriously strange. I don't think I've ever heard so much murmuring and whispering on a TV program - I actually had to turn the captions on for some of Dracula's lines because I couldn't make them out over the distortion effects.Aazealh said:
Still, despite that and a little wonky animation the show was fun and actually quite charming. I hope it does well enough to go on with.
I enjoyed Castlevania quite a bit -- which is pretty crazy, since I thought it would be garbage. I think Berserk fans will have a hard time not comparing this lovingly crafted show with what happened to Berserk over the past year.
First and foremost, it's gorgeous. I took a peek at a few scenes before dedicating myself to watching it, and was instantly struck by the designs of everything -- the buildings, the characters, the overall polish that went into the backgrounds. The writer (Warren Ellis of comics such as Transmetropolitan, Planetary) put a lot of care into each character. Only a few feel like cliches, which is impressive considering the stock they had to work with. Voice acting was indeed a little muffled, but I didn't mind it, and I usually hate "dubs," so that's something. I also appreciated that it felt like a film, chopped up into 4 parts, and not 4 episodic stories set in the Castlevania lore. It has a straight story to tell and each episode felt pretty significant.
Obviously, there's many more places for the story to explore, since it ends virtually at the start of the game it's based on, so I hope the team behind the show can maintain the quality as it continues.
Other than that, Twin Peaks continues to be a joy and a surprise to return to each episode. Anyone on the fence about it should hop off now and re-watch the first season or so. Joining in fresh for this season would be inviting frustration.
First and foremost, it's gorgeous. I took a peek at a few scenes before dedicating myself to watching it, and was instantly struck by the designs of everything -- the buildings, the characters, the overall polish that went into the backgrounds. The writer (Warren Ellis of comics such as Transmetropolitan, Planetary) put a lot of care into each character. Only a few feel like cliches, which is impressive considering the stock they had to work with. Voice acting was indeed a little muffled, but I didn't mind it, and I usually hate "dubs," so that's something. I also appreciated that it felt like a film, chopped up into 4 parts, and not 4 episodic stories set in the Castlevania lore. It has a straight story to tell and each episode felt pretty significant.
Obviously, there's many more places for the story to explore, since it ends virtually at the start of the game it's based on, so I hope the team behind the show can maintain the quality as it continues.
Other than that, Twin Peaks continues to be a joy and a surprise to return to each episode. Anyone on the fence about it should hop off now and re-watch the first season or so. Joining in fresh for this season would be inviting frustration.
Griffith
My posts are better.
Walter said:
"I DED ETT!!!"
Now, continuing with Rick & Morty Season 3, with some background from the Twin Peaks thread...
Griffith said:
Eluvei said:
Griffith said:
The latest episode, The Ricklantis Mixup, may be the most balanced since the first episode of this season, it's over the top fun and continues the dark character development of our heroes, but implicitly for once this season. It's both far better as a wacky multi-story adventure and a character dive that let's you fill in the blanks and shows how smart the writers are ("Put it in your blog") without shoving the message down your throat. I'm glad we're likely coming back around to this to end the season, and that it'll likely help payoff this season's almost neurotic pathos. Prediction:Eluvei said:
Eyepatch Morty knows Rick C-137's weakness, his genuine love of his Morty, and will kill Morty C-137 to fully break Rick. This will ultimately lead Rick to find a way to revive Morty, via Superman-like time reversal, or "hopefully something less hacky" or a much darker alternative where an angry Rick violently triumphs but starts over with a new Morty and truly loses what secret thread of humanity he had. Possible alternatives that changes everything: Eyepatch Morty is Morty C-137 from the future, and the only one with the balls/lessons learned to go against Rick(s)! 
or what becomes of experimental dramatic Morty. Whatever.
or what becomes of experimental dramatic Morty. Whatever.