What TV series are you watching at moment?

Halfway through Shogun off the recommendations in this thread. I thought Fallout would end up being my series of the year but this is feeling like some GOT-caliber material. 

Anyone watching The Sandman spin-off?

  On 4/28/2024 at 8:45 PM, Hail Sagan said:

Halfway through Shogun off the recommendations in this thread. I thought Fallout would end up being my series of the year but this is feeling like some GOT-caliber material. 

Shogun is on my to watch list. Excited for that one.

Just started watching the Netflix version of 3 Body Problem - it's looking pretty good three episodes in. Haven't read the book so no comparison yet, but heard it's quite different.

  On 4/28/2024 at 11:57 PM, Rubin Farr said:

Anyone watching The Sandman spin-off?

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Not yet but Neil Gaiman seems to be extremely positive about it so that's a good sign.

Shogun is episode after episode of sexual tension. 

Also really good. 

I saw a clip of Fallout - the one where Walton Goggins is explaining to the little girl how to judge the severity of a nuclear attack by using your fingers, right before the bombs drop lol - and that did not look encouraging to me. pretty dumb scene, as if they didn't know looking directly at a nuclear blast at that range would likely blind you immediately.

so you guys are saying it's worth a go?

The jinx p2

True Detective s4: Night Country. more like Shite Country.

I tried watching this when it first came out and only made it 30 minutes in. now I've grit my teeth and started getting through it but it's really punishing me, I just quit halfway through the fourth episode and idk if I can go back. it's like eating a meal that is becoming increasingly rancid as you eat it. so much wrong with it. the new showrunner is a fucking hack, removing everything that made the show unique and interesting and replacing it with shitty Guillermo del Toro horror flick tropes. nothing is engaging, there are no hooks for the show to put in you, the music choices fucking suck (fuck Billie Eilish, the most vapid no-soul manufactured pop sensation out atm), there are weird random tonal shifts aping K-horror (which I can't stand most of the time), and the lame hamfisting of 'feminist' overtones (nothing to do with real feminism, literally just "men bad" slop for groveling critics and dumb Marvelbrain viewers to eat up) has absolutely no point.

for example, if the point of Jodie Foster/Danvers being annoying and generally dislikeable was to act as a counterpoint or parallel to men throwing their chauvinist weight around in similar positions of power or law enforcement, then said point is completely lost because nothing worthwhile is done with it. she is dislikeable just for the sake of being dislikeable. there is no grander meaning or message relating to her character or women in general or any sort of social or philosophical concept. in s1, Woody Harrelson/Marty was a walking sham and a philanderer, and while this was portrayed sort of glamorously initially with all those sex scenes etc, he ultimately paid a terrible price for it, as seen when he's finally sitting around in an empty house eating a shitty tv dinner by himself. that scene resonated, it drove something home, the idea that there is something deep-rooted in the man with authority, gnawing at him and driving him to ruin. I doubt there is any sort of skilful weaving together of ideas like that in the two and half episodes of this shit that I have yet to see.

I like Kali Reis/Navarro. she's done really well for someone with no acting background. that is literally it.

so much could have been done here. the setting itself provided an excellent opportunity for powerful storytelling. what a waste. and they've handed Issa Lopez the reins for a fifth season. TD is over. Nic Pizzolatto dissing this season himself is a lol. should've just broken away as a new show rather than assuming the TD mantle.

  On 5/1/2024 at 6:29 AM, usagi said:

I saw a clip of Fallout - the one where Walton Goggins is explaining to the little girl how to judge the severity of a nuclear attack by using your fingers, right before the bombs drop lol - and that did not look encouraging to me. pretty dumb scene, as if they didn't know looking directly at a nuclear blast at that range would likely blind you immediately.

so you guys are saying it's worth a go?

You do have a suspend belief a fair bit, that's the Fallout universe. But very entertaining.

  On 5/1/2024 at 8:55 AM, Mattthegoone said:

The jinx p2

Yeah great documentary series

Been watching shogun, am i too impatient or does the latter half kinda drag a bunch

the curse - so many definitely unintentional mr. oizo vibez on this... couldn't stick up with that nathan 4 u show but this is quite unique... uncomfortable af with some great laughs along the way... him & safdie did a great job... most helpful review on imdb is a 1/10 but I guess that person is missing the point? but you're missing the point sounds so condescendent... there's no point, I like how it makes me feel... ost is pretty good 2 and it really matches the dreadful paranoia... that melting logo is bonkers as well... I definitely don't recommend it to anyone... pls, don't watch it, for your own sake...

rewatching The X-Files....about halfway through Season 1 on DVD so far. great stuff

  On 5/2/2024 at 3:31 PM, GORDO said:

Been watching shogun, am i too impatient or does the latter half kinda drag a bunch

Quite disappointed at the ending. I hadn't read the book so while I know now that that's how the story actually ends I still can't help but feel they left it more as a cliffhanger than an open ending, more so because I felt they stretched it out quite a lot.

I guess I better watch this Baby Reindeer thing that every motherfucker is talking about.

Meanwhile I have finished Season 3 of Bates Motel. Hmmm season 3 not as good as the first two. Mainly because Normans brother isn't such a bad boy anymore and the story with the drug cartel stuff, with all the shifty dark underbelly of town folk hasn't been as prominent. He's been moping about the motel looking sorry for himself and worrying about his brother. Hopefully in Season 4 that comes back. 

A friend suggested I watch The Red King as it's massively influenced by The Wicker Man, was surprised I hadn't heard of this. If you like The Wicker Man then you will like this. An solid 8/10.

He also suggested I watch something called The Third Day with Jude Law. Again very much in the same vein as The Red King/Wicker Man. So plenty to get on with. 

  On 4/18/2024 at 3:43 AM, Rubin Farr said:

Looks like it was maybe an April Fool’s

This is probably a wake up call for you. Stop spamming everything on your feed. You're 53 and this won't be the last time you make a fool of yourself.

Shogun was good, favourite of the year so far. Fallout is surprisingly fun.Joe Pera Talks to You and Painting with John are my wind-down comfort watching at the moment. Tried watching the 3 body problem, but wasn't feeling it. Might give it another shot eventually.

Shogun was outstanding on almost every level although the last episode was the weakest. Feel bad saying this because I liked the character for the most part but the dude who played Blackthorne seemed out of his element when it came to showing grievance. During a few pretty pivotal scenes dude just came across as a bit of a goofball. Other than that I enjoyed him and his over the top, half-mad sea captain personality, but I’m pretty sure they had to CGI in some tears for him. Also what the fuck was that scream? Fortunately the rest of the cast really nailed it though.

Fallout: a little goofy, but good. I never played the games.

The Bear: I enjoyed it. Covers growth mindset, obsession, mental illness.

3 Body Problem: I liked it, but that woman is way too hot to be a scientist. More Hollywoody of an adaptation than I was expecting.

Mrs. Davis: quirky, fun and relevant for a lot of AI stuff.

X-Men '97: can't believe they made this, but it's cool.

Tokyo Vice: two episodes in, and it's just okay. I hear it gets better, but journalists are not as riveting protagonists as writers think they are.

Finishing off last season of Succession. A series I like but don't really love. Still enjoy the banter between Greg and Tom, and of course Romans quips and one liners. 

After many recommendations also watching Clarksons Farm. Which is great.

Baby reindeer: its good but I didn't  like it. I don like when characters don't do anything, even the most obvious basic step, to stand up for themselves 

Currently watching dark matter, its good but I'm already bracing for frustration.

Also catching up with xmen watching the OG animated series lol, my past self is happy.

Fallout is mid at best. in my view it was always going to be a mistake to make this "the video game you know and love but now as a tv show". I've spent over a thousand hours, really way too long, in the game universe. I don't need more of the same, particularly after it has become creatively stale under Bethesda in more recent years. they should've done something different and deeper for a tv adaptation, there was plenty of opportunity, even if it meant disappointing the hivemind and/or risking commercial suicide.

having an original storyline that adds to the lore rather than rehashing an old one was a credit, at least. my main issue is really with the direction. actually something funny happened there where I noticed a marked improvement after the first three episodes and couldn't figure out why til I looked it up: they were all done by Jonathan Nolan, with the remaining episodes being done by others. I've never seen anything else he's directed before (Westworld?). also almost all of the characters, with the exception of the main three, are just cardboard cutouts. it feels like they transposed the idea of video game main characters vs NPCs straight onto the screen in a way that doesn't work for screen. the guy playing Maximus was annoying to watch.

at this point I've seen up to ep6 and I'd have to push myself to finish the season.

Tires on Netflix. A very short series with some good laughs and an ugly cast that makes it all feel strangely authentic. Apparently it has already been renewed for a 2nd season.