What are you watching? (television thread)

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.

3 episodes in...SOOO GOOD! totally hooked!
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
The wife and I finished our Sopranos run (second time for me, though I didn't see them all before). Anyway, it was better than I remembered, particularly the last few seasons, which weren't as great as the first few, but also not as as obnoxious as I originally thought either (I always thought the show was dragged down by the weight of it's own expectations, but I realize that problem was largely on our/my end and I likely suffered the frustration of release schedule syndrome I've so denounced with Berserk). The surreal dream/coma stuff that loomed so large at first was barely a blip, and not bad! Also, the wind-down and ending was kind of great. No drop off in quality or conspicuous change in demeanor, it wasn't trying too hard, it was nobly consistent; and the final episode, while still touching all the necessary bases in Tony's life and relationships, was largely just an organic slice-of-life right until the end. Anything that was a letdown, or anti-climatic, was sort of the point (like Tony's depressing final meeting with Junior that he obviously had great expectations for, only to find out life doesn't work that way). The infamous final scene has only improved with age as well (especially since I knew my cable didn't just go out this time =), and is obviously still discussed to this day (though from Chase's own comments and the available analysis out there I don't think it's much of a debate what happened unless you just didn't get it or were actually so affected by it as to deny it in favor of a delusional interpretation). Anyway, wholly unique, and I can't say any other show or even medium has managed to so successfully simulate an instant end like that for the audience. I'm still kind of in awe at it when you think of it as both a metaphor for the show as life and the end of show as a metaphor and simulation for death, and the lousy, empty, unfulfilled feeling it gives you... or, to put it another, bravo! :ubik:

I think I said of people's (namely Walter's) underwhelmed, if not disappointed, feelings with Breaking Bad's ending that what are the odds of doing a truly transcendent finale/ending to cap a transcendent run, especially with the expectations of doing it and the absence of the element of surprise (a mediocre show has a better shot of overachieving with it's ending). Rather than something a transcendent show would naturally build to it's almost two completely separate achievements; like winning the lottery twice, consecutively. Well, The Sopranos actually fucking did it. The ending is almost as famous and talked about as the show itself, and it's legitimately intelligent, meaningful, challenging, and an artistic achievement unto itself that's been debated and studied for years after the fact. Not a bad piece of work.


BTW, for fun I also checked our old 2-page (simpler times) Sopranos thread, which largely covers the end:

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=5703.0

I'm just fucking brutal and petulant as Hell (if I hated it so much, why was I watching!?), and Walter is level-headed, pragmatic, and consistent as ever; he might as well have written that yesterday, while I'm a complete maniac (glad I've mellowed out somewhat, yeesh =). Other highlights include nonsensical Square-Enix jokes by me, and Walter making a "Kojima's last Metal Gear game" crack TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO! And somehow I feel like, despite all implications, it's still not his last, the movie never ends, it just goes on and on and on and on. Don't stop believin'!
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
The wife and I finished our Sopranos run (second time for me, though I didn't see them all before). Anyway, it was better than I remembered, particularly the last few seasons, which weren't as great as the first few, but also not as as obnoxious as I originally thought either (I always thought the show was dragged down by the weight of it's own expectations, but I realize that problem was largely on our/my end and I likely suffered the frustration of release schedule syndrome I've so denounced with Berserk).

Damn, well that's great man. Reading this, I think I've been hoping for a while that someone would plumb the depths of this show and see if it was worth revisiting. Sounds like it is. It's been more than a decade since I watched those first seasons. I'm a completely different person now, so it's totally possible that my feelings have changed on it.

What'd your wife think of it, btw? I suppose if she stuck around til the end then she liked it.

BTW, no joke, a logical next step after you take a breather from Sopranos is The Wire. Equally great, memorable, character-driven show.

I think I said of people's (namely Walter's) underwhelmed, if not disappointed, feelings with Breaking Bad's ending

My feelings of BB's ending remain a pretty solid "shoulder shrug." That penultimate episode though.. wow! That's how I like to think of that show's final moments. The rest was fine. When the topic comes up in person, I often say: "I'm just glad it didn't shit the bed like LOST."

The ending is almost as famous and talked about as the show itself, and it's legitimately intelligent, meaningful, challenging, and an artistic achievement unto itself that's been debated and studied for years after the fact. Not a bad piece of work.

In my head, from the first time I saw it, it's still pretty fucking cool.

I think the rancor surrounding it online completely shaped its legacy, which is a real shame. It's one of the first massive cultural instances of that kind of phenomenon that come to mind for me -- a show being shaped by blogs and forum post outrage. The kind of negative sentiment that just feeds on itself until it's really difficult to separate those feelings from the thing itself. I still don't quite know what they had expected, or what would have been an "appropriate" ending. I'm not sure I want to know, because I liked Chase's.

BTW, for fun I also checked our old 2-page (simpler times) Sopranos thread, which largely covers the end:

Whew, that's a dangerous path you're walking, digging into the filthy past like that! Glad it wasn't TOO embarrassing :void:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Damn, well that's great man. Reading this, I think I've been hoping for a while that someone would plumb the depths of this show and see if it was worth revisiting. Sounds like it is. It's been more than a decade since I watched those first seasons. I'm a completely different person now, so it's totally possible that my feelings have changed on it.

Yeah, I remember we had a few bitter AIM sessions during the last couple seasons, but there's really nothing that ire raising about them. Certainly, the domestic drama is more easily appreciated with age, but I'm sure that comes around again, "I get enough of this in real life; just whack somebody!" :guts:

Walter said:
What'd your wife think of it, btw? I suppose if she stuck around til the end then she liked it.

She loved it, frankly. There was like only 1 or maybe 2 episodes in the whole run she didn't like (namely the first of season 3 with the lamp, just because it's so different, dry and technical), and she flatly states it's better than Breaking Bad, which she admittedly appreciated more than she liked, but... I have to agree, somewhat sheepishly. I love Bad, and it's certainly more purely entertaining and literally spectacular, but it just doesn't have the same depth, not at all. This show blew me away in seasons 1 and 2 with that and while it couldn't maintain that level for the entire run it never betrayed itself either. Plus, it actually went places Bad never dared (Tony/Chris as compared to Walt/Jesse and Tony as opposed to Walt in general). The Sopranos exposes Tony as the monster he is and washes its hands of him like Bad never quite could with Walt. If Walt is Mr. Chips trying to be Scarface, Tony is Scarface trying to be Mr. Chips, and believing he is, which is much scarier.

Walter said:
BTW, no joke, a logical next step after you take a breather from Sopranos is The Wire. Equally great, memorable, character-driven show.

I know! I'm already trying to use the success of our Sopranos viewing to leverage her back into The Wire, "It's supposed to be even better, hun... and about social stuff... you're into that." :ganishka:

Walter said:
My feelings of BB's ending remain a pretty solid "shoulder shrug." That penultimate episode though.. wow! That's how I like to think of that show's final moments. The rest was fine. When the topic comes up in person, I often say: "I'm just glad it didn't shit the bed like LOST."

You mean the antepenultimate episode (I looked that up =)! Yeah, they shot their wad a little early, but it was always the nature of the writers to lay out everything so meticulously, even the end of season 4 with the last shot. If there was going to be another season of Bad after 5, Ozymandias would have been the season finale. It was the true climax of the series, the last two episodes are more falling action, denouement and/or epilogue.

Walter said:
In my head, from the first time I saw it, it's still pretty fucking cool.

I think the rancor surrounding it online completely shaped its legacy, which is a real shame. It's one of the first massive cultural instances of that kind of phenomenon that come to mind for me -- a show being shaped by blogs and forum post outrage. The kind of negative sentiment that just feeds on itself until it's really difficult to separate those feelings from the thing itself. I still don't quite know what they had expected, or what would have been an "appropriate" ending. I'm not sure I want to know, because I liked Chase's.

It's funny you mentioned Lost earlier, because I think that's what took the heat off The Sopranos and forced everyone to reevaluate their standards. I think The Sopranos ending, especially critically, is much more appreciated today. A lot of people just thought it was a fuck you at the time.

hew, that's a dangerous path you're walking, digging into the filthy past like that! Glad it wasn't TOO embarrassing :void:

Speak for yourself, as for me, RE2 Trucker: "Guy's a MAIN-E-ACK!"
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
There was like only 1 or maybe 2 episodes in the whole run she didn't like (namely the first of season 3 with the lamp, just because it's so different, dry and technical), and she flatly states it's better than Breaking Bad

Speaking of which, one of my least favorite BB episodes is "Fly." :ganishka:
 
I've been looking for another live action show to watch for awhile now after Breaking Bad ended.

Some of my buddies recommend me Game of Thrones, so I'm going to be giving that a go sometime this week. I really hope that it's as good as people say that it is.
 
Currently rewatching all 3 seasons of Hannibal. On the second seasons finale, which was one of the only things on TV to ever really kind of 'break my mind'.

It's by far my favorite show of all time, so I have an insatiable need to watch it again after the third season ended.

Going to finish off the first season of Mr. Robot too. I absolutely love Mr. Robot, but I'm not terribly sure how I feel about some of the plot twists yet. But even if I don't care for them, I love the show enough to not really be bothered negatively by them.
 
I'm throwing a curve ball out here. I am going to watch the entire run of whedons buffy the vampire slayer with my wife. Boom! Honestly burnt out on television right now. Nothing excites me lately and that second season of true detective....The 3 episodes I sat through took a year off my life.
 
Salem said:
I am going to watch the entire run of whedons buffy the vampire slayer with my wife. Boom!
Man, that's a blast from the past! I really liked that show. It was on when I was in high school. My mom actually liked it, too, which surprised me a bit. She would always watch it with me. :ganishka:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Salem said:
I'm throwing a curve ball out here. I am going to watch the entire run of whedons buffy the vampire slayer with my wife. Boom! Honestly burnt out on television right now.

Where's the curve ball? That you chose to watch the best TV series ever after being burnt out on television? :???:

...
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/3/9446211/macgyver-cbs-tv-show-reboot-pilot-ordered said:
The TV studios just keep the reboots coming. CBS is working on bringing MacGyver back to television, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. This won't be your parents' MacGyver however; Furious 7 director James Wan is set to executive produce the series, and he's on board to develop what's sure to be an explosive pilot episode. The show hasn't yet been ordered to series, but CBS has committed to at least making the pilot.

Oh, and expect MacGyver to be a bit less scruffy than his ’80s incarnation: the rebooted series will follow a 20-something version of the quick-on-his-toes action star. The official description for the show says this greener MacGyver "gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening."

This isn't the first time James Wan has been attached to the quirky action hero. He was tied to a 2012 MacGyver movie that never happened. In an interview earlier this year, he said that he had to drop the film in order to blow up some cars in Furious 7, but he sounded genuinely excited about the proposition of bringing MacGyver back to life. He said, "I wanted to put my MacGyver story around something like a North by Northwest: He gets blamed for something that he had designed, something really big that’s something everyone wanted, and now someone has weaponized it and everyone’s coming after him."

If you're feeling reboot fatigue, you'll be saddened to hear that the studios show no sign of slowing down. Yesterday, Fox announced a new Lethal Weapon show, and it joins a long, long list of rebooted properties coming to TV, like Minority Report, Limitless, Full House, The-A Team, and Uncle Buck. Get ready.

Not your parents' MacGyver? Really? Am I already 50 or something? Oh and this is based on the director's fan fiction apparently. Great. :azan:
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQa0btC_Do

Miura thought he was going to be sued after watching Army of Darkness right? Well, maybe he's the one who can sue this time around.

Already renewed for a 2nd season. Hopefully it'll be good.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
Miura thought he was going to be sued after watching Army of Darkness right? Well, maybe he's the one who can sue this time around.

Didn't see that coming.
 
NightCrawler said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQa0btC_Do

Miura thought he was going to be sued after watching Army of Darkness right? Well, maybe he's the one who can sue this time around.

Already renewed for a 2nd season. Hopefully it'll be good.

Caught the first episode last night and it's got the same Evil Dead vibe (camera rushes, the horror, action, goof factor, funny script). Enjoyed it. I was not entirely convinced by
his decision to read out of the Necronomicon so easily, it felt random like he went through all that trouble to make sure it never came back but hey, that's also Ash being Ash - a dumbass
.

Was under the weather yesterday, so I caught up on some stuff like new episodes from S2 of The Knick (weak start) and Fargo. The first season of Fargo was really up there in terms of quality TV - dark humor, acting, cinematography and the writing. The new season isn't as witty but the writing's top notch and the build up has me excited. Favorite moments in the first 3 episodes come from Ed (remember Todd in Breaking Bad?) and Lou (replacing Molly from the last season because of the time jump). I need to read up on last episode's title reference(s). Anyone else watching it?

EDIT:

New Star Trek Series - January 2017

....
The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new Star Trek TV series. Kurtzman co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films Star Trek (2009) with Roberto Orci, and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. Both films were produced and directed by J.J. Abrams.

The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Kurtzman is also an executive producer for the hit CBS television series Scorpion and Limitless, along with Kadin and Orci, and for Hawaii Five-0 with Orci.
....

Whatcha think Griffith?
 
Aazealh said:
It's too early to offer any kind of insight. However I think the franchise has lived a long life, and I'm not sure there's much more juice left to squeeze out of it.

Agree with you.

I wasn't expecting a new series announcement. Thought about it after work last night and couldn't come up with what to expect and/or like about the announcement ... is it going to be a companion piece to the current movies like a Marvel Agents of Shield is to the Avengers or that Marvel universe ... is it going to be after Next Gen, Deep Space Nine, Voyager. As a fan of the original series, I'm kinda content with the exposure of the new Star Trek movies at the pace they're going at.

Which reminds me, I skipped Enterprise, is it worth checking out?

Joe Chip said:

Read the comic (maybe last year?) and loved it. Gonna see it with low expectations though ... Cassidy doesn't have his signature comic book look but the guy who plays him was decent in another show called Misfits.
 
IncantatioN said:
Read the comic (maybe last year?) and loved it. Gonna see it with low expectations though ... Cassidy doesn't have his signature comic book look but the guy who plays him was decent in another show called Misfits.

I was hoping this wasn't Cassidy. Was it really that hard to have him wear sunglasses ??
I've only read the first book of the series, but my brother is a huge fan. I've got to read the whole thing, i only hear good stuff about the rest of the series.
 
I read the Preacher comic book about 5 years ago, and while I don't remember all the details I did enjoy it greatly. I've heard that they have been trying to get a film or show based on the series for a while now and have run into a lot of problems along the way. I did see the preview trailer that just aired on AMC, and I have to say it didn't get me too excited. I will definitely give it a chance, but I'm very curious to see how they adapt this since I would think a lot of Preacher's content would be hard to show on this channel.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
NightCrawler said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQa0btC_Do

Miura thought he was going to be sued after watching Army of Darkness right? Well, maybe he's the one who can sue this time around.

Already renewed for a 2nd season. Hopefully it'll be good.
Aazealh said:
Didn't see that coming.

:ganishka:

IncantatioN said:

Well, I think it has as good a chance as any show, which is to say... not good. Not that I'm down on this or the people behind it, just that I don't think it being Star Trek changes it's odds of being a good show or not. It's a crap-shoot, basically, but with the burden of expectations. I certainly hope they do something great to add to the legacy of the franchise. Perhaps something more in line with modern dramatic TV but with hard science fiction thrown in, that'd be neat. If it's just another attempt at Next Generation or like the new movies I don't think I'll care for it much, though.


Update: I caught Ash vs. Evil Dead and quite enjoyed it. The heart and soul of the show is obviously Bruce Campbell/Ash, who I am happy to see has only grown more confidently, charmingly stupid. Besides his charms though there's not much else to the show yet, they reestablished all the old tropes, which was fun but the only new twist was some questionable CGI added in. Anyway, it's not taking itself too seriously, and maybe that's the trick; it just felt comfortable and like I was back in Ash's world and it was good to see him again. I wasn't really questioning it. So, if it never goes beyond hanging out with Bruce Campbell for a half hour a week that should still be good time.

BTW, has anyone else seen My Name is Bruce?
 
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