The TV Series discussion thread

Worse than the CGI salamander in season 2? :)

Lol. The CGI salamander named D'Art. :p

But yeah, some cringetastic moments in this one, and the overextension of the premise is starting to glare. Also, some of the performances are, yeah...

But, as I say, I still admire a lot of the qualities it has. They are superb at creating the atmosphere, and also they know how to pace a narrative, even when it's a bit lame.
 
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Earlier today I saw the first episode of the show, "City on the Hill", set in Boston during the early nineties. I liked what I saw, the cast is pretty good and capable, I'll likely watch an episode or two over the next few days and see what happens next.

I really enjoyed the pilot episode. The series has a really strong cast and as a whole the pilot was really well writen. This could turn out to be a really outstanding crime series. 5/5 so far.
 
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Stranger Things season one was like a slice of my childhood up on the screen -- the shock of recognition was honestly a little uncomfortable. Those were the shabby suburban streets I biked around in, those were the carpeted TV rooms I played D&D in, that was pretty much my mom, those were pretty much my friends.

Season three is instead like a slice of the TV shows from my childhood up on the screen. Being reminded of Square Pegs and Whiz Kids is still trippy, but doesn't have quite the same emotional impact.

That said, I thought the latest storyline was a blast, and for sure had a lot more energy than the direction-seeking season two. I liked the two new girls (you know you have charisma when your one-off bit as the bratty kid sister makes such an impression that you end up with a full story arc of your own), and the newcomers had the good fortune of joining the subgroup with the best comic chemistry.

My biggest caveat: The sheriff, our apparent adult male romantic lead, was just a fucking asshole this time out. Increasingly sour-tempered, increasingly unattractive physically, increasingly skeevy with his adoptive daughter and love interest -- and oh, hey, he's a cop who coerces confessions out of suspects with beatdowns and threats of torture, so that's topical. More dates for the science teacher, please -- he even has a better mustache.
 
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I quite enjoy the Good Place show, it's fairly amusing and has often made me think during the episodes.

For me, the best show on Broadcast television. Probably season 2's episode called The Trolley Problem was one of the most funny and thought provoking episodes I had ever seen on network television.
 
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For me, the best show on Broadcast television. Probably season 2's episode called The Trolley Problem was one of the most funny and thought provoking episodes I had ever seen on network television.

I thought the first two seasons were very good, but I think it's another one that started to run thin in the third series. I find the Asian goofball character to not work at all, and the more he features, the less I like it.
 
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I'm halfway through S3 of Stranger Things, and I'm not impressed so far. Considering the positive attention this season is getting, I assume the second half is much better?

Idk, I just found the first two seasons significantly better than what I've seen in these first 5 episodes. Regarding the suggestion that they might have jumped the shark with this one; I think that's an understatement...


The Russians built an entire underground laboratory beneath the town without anyone noticing…

thumb_right-quickmeme-com-right-dr-evil-right-quickmeme-54224037.png
 
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Speaking of The Good Place . . . .

About 3/4 of the way through Lucifer. It's a weird kind of show. It's funny and surprisingly thought provoking. The tone of the show has a Doctor Who feel to it but the lead character is both likeable and despicable. It is obviously blasphemous, but it's fun in a, I-wonder-if, kinda way.

Story line: Satan takes a break (escapes) from Hell and opens up a night club in Los Angeles. One angel is sent to bring him back and one demon accompanies Lucifer to Earth. Satan becomes a LAPD consultant on murder investigations and helps bring in the bad guys. In this story world Satan doesn't consider himself evil, only the punisher of evil. And he's sort of pissed at humanity for blaming him for all the evils in the world when they (we) should accept responsibility for our own actions. One neat twist in the series is that there is a human therapist that all the celestials consult with to discuss issues which clearly brings to mind the Sopranos.

Side note: When I lived in LA about 30 years ago, I lived right around the corner from his nightclub (as portrayed on TV) on Sunset Blvd.

I'm glad the show is now on Netflix (5th season starting soon) because the 26 episode 3rd season on Fox was way too long and the story lines drawn out just to fill programming space.

I'm really curious to see where they take this culture bending show.
 
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Well, sure. If I had to list the strengths of Stranger Things, plausible plotlines wouldn't be the first that sprang to mind. The secret base under the mall is at least a bit more internally consistent than the nutty tunnel-map plot from last season. ("Aha! This sick child's fragmentary scribbles clearly reflect the contours of the landscape by that local farm...")

I did reflect while watching that paranoia over Russian infiltrators wasn't an aspect of eighties culture I expected to see revived after 1989, and yet here we are.
 
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No, it's not plausible compared to real life obviously, but I think the first two seasons did a decent job for the most part keeping it plausible within the context of a Sci-Fi show. What I mentioned above, without at least an attempt of an explanation, borders on pure silliness imo.
 
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I'm watching the 1990's TV series of Sharpe starring Sean Bean, the ones where he's galavanting around Spain fighting Napoleon's armies etc. I've never seen them before, they're great fun and I hadn't realised how genuinely charasmatic Sean Bean is in the role. He's pretty impressive.
 
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About 3/4 of the way through Lucifer. It's a weird kind of show. It's funny and surprisingly thought provoking. The tone of the show has a Doctor Who feel to it but the lead character is both likeable and despicable. It is obviously blasphemous, but it's fun in a, I-wonder-if, kinda way.

…Sopranos.

…I'm really curious to see where they take this culture bending show.
Culture bending masterpiece is available worldwide in form of 4 "bibles" and 5th milk'em rubbish (skip that one):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(Vertigo)

Lucifer and other characters, the club Lux (it had so much impact worldwide, many bars were named also Lux) taken from the comics masterpiece to make live series have nothing with overrated junk Sopranos.

Of course I love the show, but it wasn't "TV" that makes it culture bending. The original source did that.
I wish people spent their $ on Sandman instead of lootboxes scam. Yes I have all 4 books and my biggest sin is I still haven't open "nonsuperhero comics" thread.

Additionally, Netflix decided to bring Sandman in form of series too, I'm unsure how will that work due to extreme media differences in this case (Sandman was not made as a drawn movie/series script):
https://jimheath.tv/2019/07/life-af...nancial-deal-could-tom-ellis-make-appearance/
Neil Gaiman’s beloved Vertigo comic Sandman is finally coming to television, leading many to believe Tom Ellis could return as Lucifer for a special appearance on the spin-off show.

More than three years after New Line’s failed attempt to turn the graphic novel into a feature film, Netflix has signed what sources describe as a massive financial deal with Warner Bros. Television to adapt the best-seller into a live-action TV series.

Sources familiar with the pact note it is the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment has ever done.

The drama has officially been picked up with an 11-episode order.

-------------------------------------------

I'm watching the 1990's TV series of Sharpe starring Sean Bean, the ones where he's galavanting around Spain fighting Napoleon's armies etc. I've never seen them before, they're great fun and I hadn't realised how genuinely charasmatic Sean Bean is in the role. He's pretty impressive.
These are movies, not series. ;)
Not a masterpiece, but came close. For whatever reason the show wasn't renamed into "bloody" or "bastard". :D


Mustwatch before you die.
 
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The Sharpe films are well worth viewing!! No, they aren't as good as the novels, but if you cannot lay your hands on those, watching comes a close second. For that time period, they still work well.
 
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Sharpe films are great fun indeed. If you like that kind of stuff, I should mention that there is also a series of films about Horatio Hornblower which are based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Navy officer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornblower_(TV_series)
 
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Midway through stranger things season 3, god what a borefest; first episodes are all about puberty crap. Dont know if i will finish it, first season is miles away.
 
Sean Bean must die.

At least 25 times thus far.

Yeah, I really enjoyed the Sharpe series of books.
 
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Still watching Wonder "I Shouldn't Be Alive", it's by far the best survival themed reenactment series i've ever seen. This episode was absolutely fantastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q10-mB2FG7s

Been trying to watch Stranger Things S3 but eh i guess i'm not in the mood for it, i don't get a feel for it.. will try it at some other time.
 
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In preparation for the final season of Mr. Robot, which is supposed to come at towards the end of this year, I restarted the series. Just got done with season 1, which I've already seen before. And it was still great. Love the social commentary, and the main character with all his flaws.
 
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I just finished Season 3 of Stranger Things.

Suffice to say, I was pretty disappointed. Imo, it's not anywhere near as good as the first season and was even significantly worse than season 2.

It speaks volumes when…

An homage to The Neverending Story was literally the highlight of the season.
 
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There's references to Neverending Story, Aliens, Terminator, and obviously Back to the Future. And a whole lot of Coke ad placement :p

I enjoyed Season 3 for the most part - more than the inconsistent Season 2 and Emochick Elle. The first season remains in a class of its own, however, with just how well they layered on the 80's nostalgia.
 
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That's too bad, that series three of Stranger Things isn't all that good. I'll take it as a positive, I can keep the decision on whether or not to re-get Netflix on the back-burner a bit longer.
 
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