The TV Series discussion thread

Originally Posted by Ripper
I thought the short run of Firefly was a pity. I think it had the legs for a good long run, and was so much better than most of the crappy SyFy shows. I find Whedon hit and miss, but I really like the tone he hit in that one.

It's one of my favorite shows of all time, even with only 14 eps. I would love to have four or five times that many to watch. Though I have to say, the potential future episodes I've seen mentioned sound terrible (Inara gang raped by Reavers? No thanks)

Yeah I've watched and re-watched Firefly about four times in total, I'd say. It easily could have gone on for a couple more series, yet that wasn't meant to happen, I guess. The film was pretty good as well, though I'm a much bigger fan of the show.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
Yeah I've watched and re-watched Firefly about four times in total, I'd say. It easily could have gone on for a couple more series, yet that wasn't meant to happen, I guess. The film was pretty good as well, though I'm a much bigger fan of the show.

I saw the film before I saw the series and I always considered it good as if not better than the TV show. But in my recent rewatch that flipped for the first time. The show held up as well as ever, but I had several quibbles with the film this time.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
I saw the film before I saw the series and I always considered it good as if not better than the TV show. But in my recent rewatch that flipped for the first time. The show held up as well as ever, but I had several quibbles with the film this time.

Same. I saw Serenity years before finally watching the show. I really ike both, and I think the film was a worthy finale, but I can understand why some fans didn't care for it.

It's a crime that Firefly wasn't better received. The same goes for Serenity which barely broke even at the box office.

A quick round up of some period drama classics:

Sense And Sensibility (2008) was ok, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. 7/10

Emma (1996) was pretty boring, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. 5/10

Pride and Prejudice (1995) Was pretty good, notable for a young Colin Firth as Darcy, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. 8/10

Far from the Madding Crowd (1998) was desperately frustrating, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. 5/10

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1998) was desperately frustrating and crap, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. 3/10

Wuthering Heights (1978) was hard going, about many a psychopath's dramas while waiting for marriage and then mourning death in the 19th Century UK. 5/10

Middlemarch (1994) Was ok, about women's dramas while waiting for marriage in the 19th Century UK. Made very confusing by having two almost identical characters play different roles, leaving one bewildered how many scenes didn't seem to fit together. Oh, right, they were different people. Whoops. 7/10

Cranford (2007) Was excellent. Judi Dench leads an all star cast of old ladies and sundry other people as a small town of gossipy old matrons adapts to the encroaching modernity in the 19th Century. Also has women's dramas while waiting for marriage. 9/10

I saw Cranford a few years back, I enjoyed that show a great deal, especially the time period in which it was set. I always wondered if they might do more episodes, perhaps a following generation.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I saw Cranford a few years back, I enjoyed that show a great deal, especially the time period in which it was set. I always wondered if they might do more episodes, perhaps a following generation.

They did do two extra episodes called Return to Cranford a couple of years later, but I haven't seen those yet, they weren't in the set. I'm definitely picking them up at some point in the future though.

Ahhh I'd no idea they did extra episodes, I'll have to keep an eye out for those and see if I can catch them somehow. Thanks for passing that on!

I've seen the first season, 4 episodes, of Castlevania. It's pretty decent. But somehow I got into the feeling that I was just watching stuff to pass the time. I need a better filter on what I waste time on.

I finished the second series of Farscape, and now I'm onto the third. I kind of miss the story of the week format, yet the continuing arc is at least interesting, so I'm sticking with it for now. If nothing else, I'm curious to see how it all ends!

I tried to re-watch but I couldn't get past the first seasons slow pacing and plot. Guess that goes to show your tastes change as you get older. I'll try to continue watching.

If not I'll go back and watch an old Sc-fi classic Babylon 5.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
I've seen the first season, 4 episodes, of Castlevania. It's pretty decent. But somehow I got into the feeling that I was just watching stuff to pass the time. I need a better filter on what I waste time on.

I've had a few people tell me Castlevania is pretty good, and the review scores seem to support that, but I just can't get into watching animated shows anymore. I used to really enjoy the game series though.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I've had a few people tell me Castlevania is pretty good, and the review scores seem to support that, but I just can't get into watching animated shows anymore. I used to really enjoy the game series though.

The animation and art style is very beautiful. I don't often watch animated series, but this one is quite nice. The series it self is pretty cool to decent. Sometimes you do get the feeling that it was written for what adolescent men find cool. And the voice actors range from good, to sometimes weird. Other times I really like the writing. I've not seen anything cringy yet. The worst is that it sometimes dips into emo-dark stuff, where certain characters act all brooding. But it's nothing you can't get over.

Also, it does seem to have the narrative structure of most rpg games.

Another thing I find funny is the absolute basterdization of how they pronounce some of the locations/towns. I live in the heart of Transylvania, in Romania (we don't have them vampires mind you, neither does the catholic church hold that much power here. ) and I find it hilarious how they keep pronouncing the same cities in different ways. Sometimes the same actor pronounces the same city differently. Also, I had no idea that the Dracula in Castlevania was actually based on Vlad Tepes, a real historic character who's dad had some affiliations which I guess spawned the whole myth around him. Plus the killing of people by driving a big stake through their groin area and leaving them out to bleed. I guess that'll do it.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Also, I had no idea that the Dracula in Castlevania was actually based on Vlad Tepes, a real historic character who's dad had some affiliations which I guess spawned the whole myth around him. Plus the killing of people by driving a big stake through their groin area and leaving them out to bleed. I guess that'll do it.

Afaik, the Dracula in the game series is based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'm not sure how much in common the show has with the games though.

I didn't know you were Romanian. I always thought you were Scandinavian for some reason.

All Dracula stories are based on that Vlad guy in the end, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler.

Last night I finished re-watching the third series of Mr. Robot, and some of these episodes are among the finest in the show. Lots of past truths are revealed, and you get a better idea of exactly what Elliot has been driven by, for good or ill. You also get spelled out for you Angela's true lineage, which was fairly obvious if the viewer had been paying attention. And of course, this is only setting up what is sure to be a smashing finale in the fourth series!

The Blob: A Genius Without a Brain. Good BBC documentary on an ancient, single-cell organism we call a slime mould, and its remarkable abilities that raise questions about the concept of intelligence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00103fr

Originally Posted by Ripper
The Blob: A Genius Without a Brain. Good BBC documentary on an ancient, single-cell organism we call a slime mould, and its remarkable abilities that raise questions about the concept of intelligence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00103fr

Nice catch, thanks!

It's UK-only access but I think I've found it on Youtube, just by looking for the same title:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbIiRk8s02o

I'll watch that tomorrow

I finally started watching season 3 of Mr Robot. I'm halfway through, and so far I like it more than the first two seasons. The only disappointment for me was…