The TV Series discussion thread

Happy Valley is a proper reason to leave everything else aside.

Recently caught a new series from England called A Discovery of Witches. Anyone else seen it? I haven't noticed any marketing for it, so it might have a limited release.

I'm watching The Haunting of Hill House and loving it. Just finished ep. 5 at 2AM and am too scared to go to sleep, so I decided to clear my mind checking RPGWatch.

Originally Posted by Corwin
Recently caught a new series from England called A Discovery of Witches. Anyone else seen it? I haven't noticed any marketing for it, so it might have a limited release.

It's on Sky 1 and has been running for a little while with two more episodes to go (for a total of 8). It is very focused on drama and interaction of the characters. Hidden in plain sight the demons, witches and vampires have an uneasy truce. It appears that they are also dying out. Along comes a witch who refuses to use her powers but is the fulcrum of the action that follows.

IMDB uses the keywords "Drama", "Fantasy" and "Romance" to describe this series. I would agree. It is not an "action" series but a slow burn with factions trying to use others to get what they want. No-one is really evil or good but trying to do the best for their belief system. But matters are coming to a head.

There is some beautiful acting, little reliance on special effects and lots of "history" between the characters. Well vampires live a long time.
Hope this helps.
regards

I highly recommend to read the famous novel, "The Haunting of Hill House" It is supposed to be very scary and considered a horror masterpiece in literature. I have always intended to read it, but have only read the first chapter some time ago, because I got distracted by other things. I can tell you just from the first chapter though that it really is that good, and the author, she knows how to create a creepy and eerie atmosphere. I want to return and read it in its entirety for sure eventually.



I didn't realize there was a netflix series now based on it. I will have to check it out sometime. (after I read the book, heh, don't want to be spoiled)

Originally Posted by wolfing
I'm watching The Haunting of Hill House and loving it. Just finished ep. 5 at 2AM and am too scared to go to sleep, so I decided to clear my mind checking RPGWatch.

Yep, finished episode 8 last night. I must finish it today. Mid-season there was a more quiet episode or two, but now it is ramping back up.

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
I highly recommend to read the famous novel, "The Haunting of Hill House" It is supposed to be very scary and considered a horror masterpiece in literature. I have always intended to read it, but have only read the first chapter some time ago, because I got distracted by other things. I can tell you just from the first chapter though that it really is that good, and the author, she knows how to create a creepy and eerie atmosphere. I want to return and read it in its entirety for sure eventually.

I didn't realize there was a netflix series now based on it. I will have to check it out sometime. (after I read the book, heh, don't want to be spoiled)

I agree. Shirley Jackson could actually write. From the first paragraph, you know you're in business:

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

Yep, and great example of her writing that you quoted. She also wrote what has been called one of the most famous short stories in literature, "The Lottery"
This is a short story we all had to read back when I was going through middle school. I don't know if they still have it as required reading, but it is a very famous short story.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lottery

Originally Posted by wolfing
I'm watching The Haunting of Hill House and loving it. Just finished ep. 5 at 2AM and am too scared to go to sleep, so I decided to clear my mind checking RPGWatch.

I watched the first episode and it sucked. Bad acting, cheap jump scares, and unbelievable characters. Terrible all around.

Originally Posted by Corwin
Recently caught a new series from England called A Discovery of Witches. Anyone else seen it? I haven't noticed any marketing for it, so it might have a limited release.

It's not limited. Didn't give it a chance as it smells like another yucky romance, avoiding it. I mean, the story is:

In a world where witches, vampires and daemons live discreetly among humans, Diana Bishop is the last in one long line of distinguished witches.
…
She encounters the enigmatic vampire, Matthew Clairmont, who offers to help her; their mutual attraction is immediate, undeniable and inexplicable because they both know that witches and vampires are not supposed to trust each other.

The story, not a side story. An instant buh-bye from me.

Originally Posted by wolfing
I'm watching The Haunting of Hill House and loving it. Just finished ep. 5 at 2AM and am too scared to go to sleep, so I decided to clear my mind checking RPGWatch.

If it's watchable with k+m, I'll give it a shot.

Yeah, Witches looks typical of the bad sort of British telly - bombastic, posturing melodrama, shot to look like a fragrance commercial.

I'm not sure if Shirley Jackson ever wrote a book that wasn't worth reading. Her novels, and I believe she only wrote six of them, are all worth reading. I keep meaning to check out some of her short stories as well, but haven't done that as of yet. One day I'll get there.

Originally Posted by Copper Coin
I watched the first episode and it sucked. Bad acting, cheap jump scares, and unbelievable characters. Terrible all around.

I'm not a movie critic so I'm not a judge of good or bad acting, I'm in for the story. There are actually very few jump scares (maybe about 2 per episode average), and unbelievable characters, well, that's part of the story I think.

Watched most of the first ep of S2 Making A Murderer .. It's still quite interesting, but its hard for me (who doesn't follow this thing outside Netflix) to know how biased it is or not.
The new judge and those "experts on blood" said he would have left blood all over the car if he had a wound in his finger, with "active bleeding". Um, no? Maybe he pulled his shirt over the hand, sometimes it slipped, there could be 100's of reasons. Also bleeding has a tendency to stop, it's kind of why we bleed, no? "experts on blood", okkk.

Originally Posted by wolfing
There are actually very few jump scares (maybe about 2 per episode average)

Too many. Jump scares have ruined the horror genre.

First two eps of the season for TWD weren't as bad as I'd thought they'd be. A good sign of recovery for an ailing long time series is when they start cleaning the stable, getting rid of certain horseshit characters or annoying ass whistles that bring the show down.



There's still good humor to be had here, and where there's good humor there's hope.

I was disappointed that the new series The Haunting of Hill House wasn't The House on Haunted Hill. Now there was a fun movie that should have a series based on it. (ignore that horrible remake behind the curtain!)

Originally Posted by Copper Coin
Too many. Jump scares have ruined the horror genre.

No. Jumpscares are good. "Modern" Hollywood jumpscares suck. Shouldn't be called jumpscares but ears health hazard. It's the earkilling loud sound added to jumpscares in "modern" Hollywood what ruined the genre. In Hollywood. You can still watch proper jumpscares in worldwide cinematography.

Check how Hitchcock and Carpenter made jumpscares. Silent. The eerines and fear came from silence, there was no damaging audience's eardrums.

It's not just jumpscares ofc that went wrong. Try to imagine Hitchcock's oven killing scene from Torn Curtain in "modern" Hollywood. Not ever gonna happen. Too graphic? No it is not.
Too scary? But of course. How can killing a man last so long? Dumb audience expects impossible assassins and litres of blood, not real stuff!
Hitchcock's scenes scare off the dumb ticket payers, screw people with taste.

Originally Posted by joxer
No. Jumpscares are good. "Modern" Hollywood jumpscares suck. Shouldn't be called jumpscares but ears health hazard. It's the earkilling loud sound added to jumpscares in "modern" Hollywood what ruined the genre.

The best jump scare in the history of the world was in the classic The Monster That Challenged The World (1957) when the old curmudgeonly watchman gets suddenly pounced on from out of frame by the creature that looks like a giant ambulatory glistening wet turd. It was accompanied not only by the roaring sound of the monster itself as it trumpeted triumphantly, catching its prey, but also by a nice LOUD musical cue in case the other two devices calculated to make you shit your shorts didn't work. It was a true triple-threat of technique in terror. No human being has ever watched this scene and not jumped the first time they saw it. It's impossible not to. Even jaded Joxer if he were to see this scene for the first time would jump like a jiffy-pop kernel. Hitchcock? A ho and a hum compared to that.

So it's certainly not a new thing, this Hollywood jump-scare thingy.

Originally Posted by JackOfOwls
The best jump scare in the history of the world <insert anything>

How about no.
There is no best one. There are only good and stupid ones.

Your "classic" example is something I've never heard about. The poster does resemble Killer Tomatoes from Outer Space 547856436737ology, so maybe it's classic among trash fans but I cannot confirm that. Now trash and horror are not the same genre. Just as other genre hybrids, trash horrors exist though.

A "jumpscare" that needs to yell "BOO!" in your ear? It's trash. Not horror.