The TV Series discussion thread

Originally Posted by JDR13
It happens when a network is attempting to squeeze anything that remains out of their cash cow.

That I get, but do they really finish this main series with Maggie making up with Negan? Is that sort of stupidity that I have to be prepared for? It couldn't be that the spin-off in a separate universe with the same characters, right? Or are they not a duo in the spin-off? Or what the hell. I finally have some hope since it's actually been pretty decent for a few episodes now (aside from the episode which focused solely on Tara and the village of women). I really hope they're not gonna push the characters into making peace with Negan.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I've been thinking about doing a full re-watch of Blake's Seven, gonna have to research and see where online it might be available.

They were all on YouTube until last year I think. They seem to have been removed now, at least in the UK. All the episodes are now available (at least here) on the Britbox streaming service.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
That I get, but do they really finish this main series with Maggie making up with Negan? Is that sort of stupidity that I have to be prepared for?

I haven't watched any of the final season yet, but the answer to your second question is yes. The plotlines and characters only get less plausible the further you go.

I see Negan's story as reflective of the discussion over the how society treats our worst criminals. Which is better summary execution, or the long road to redemption? I could never forgive him, but I appreciate the message.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I haven't watched any of the final season yet, but the answer to your second question is yes. The plotlines and characters only get less plausible the further you go.

Man, talk about least plausible and stupid plotlines. Just when it was getting good, it falls off a roof with stupid plotlines like, even though they spent the last 10 episodes drilling in how fucked they are against Negan, how they have no chance of fighting back against their numbers, now they turn (on a dime pretty much) and they all become willful to fight back, even though they're in a worse hole than before, with no weapons, losing more of their people. But thank god they have the Kingdom (one of the stupidest ideas of the show, imo).

And man, is Morgan getting on my nerves, with his preachy and stupid no-killing morality. I mean, literally after seeing that sometimes you have no choice but to kill (when he saved Carol), he again wish-washes and refuses to convince Ezekiel to join Alexandria and Hilltop, since he's against killing. Holy hell is he getting on my nerves.

The whole plot of them trying to convince all factions to join against the Saviors is also stupid and superficial. It's like they really couldn't come up with something more interesting.

The comic books tell a similar story of Negan. So, it is not like it was invented for the series.

Originally Posted by Myrthos
The comic books tell a similar story of Negan. So, it is not like it was invented for the series.

Interesting. I wonder how overall faithful the tv series is to the comics. I just realized I kept seeing that the comics creator is involved with the tv series, but never until now pondered how faithful is it.

Also, does the main tv series, ending with season 11, also coincide with the end of the comics series?

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Also, does the main tv series, ending with season 11, also coincide with the end of the comics series?

No, not really. Carl was around a lot longer in the comics. So was Rick.

It truly wasn't very faithful to the comic books, and that had a lot to do with why I bailed.

The Last Kingdom season 5 came out on Netflix yesterday. Finally, after its long hiatus due to corona.

I saw that Peaky Blinders had finally started releasing season 6, after a long pause too. Unfortunately, it's their last season from what I've read.

Well, that would only be just if you'd ask me, with Helen McCrory no longer being part of it. She was one of the important characters.

If I still had Netflix, that Last Kingdom show would be one I'd watch, for certain. I did watch the first two series and they were done almost as well as the books, the casting especially being a good part. The book series is even better, I've read through them three times to date and know I'll be doing it again.

Three nights ago I started on the second series of Picket Fences. This is the season that they added Don Cheadle to the cast, and he brings much to the town.

Originally Posted by Eye
Well, that would only be just if you'd ask me, with Helen McCrory no longer being part of it. She was one of the important characters.

I didn't know she'd passed away.

The pandemic and the irregularity of this series alone were enough to justify the delay to me, so I wasn't too surprised. I just saw a brief statement about the last season and a movie that would enter production in 2023. Yes, this must have been a serious blow, she was indeed a significant character.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I've been thinking about doing a full re-watch of Blake's Seven, gonna have to research and see where online it might be available.

I've thought about rewatching B7 a few times over the years, but historically it was always pretty much impossible in the US, unless PBS happened to run it. Can't even get it on disc, was never released for Region 1. But just recently, I noticed it went up on BritBox streaming: britbox.com or subscribe to their channel inside Amazon. So I may finally get around to that at some point…

Reached S8E3 of TWD, and man is it getting boring. The last 3 episodes now have all been about the assault on various outposts of the Saviors, and it's pretty unremarkable.

There's loads of filler scenes, some even in the most inappropriate moments. And now I'm treated to Morgan doing a 180 on his stance towards killing. Now he wants to kill everyone, and has constant debates on whether they should kill the prisoners or not. The writers really did a number on him. It's like they wrote him having a mental breakdown, where he forgets that just a few days ago he was still high and mighty about all life mattering. If this is indeed what the writers wanted to pull off, they managed to do it in the most clumsy and superficial way.

Also, pulling Morales (who I had to google since I completely forgot who he was, for the little role he has in the 1-2 of episodes in season 1?) out of nowhere was really badly executed. I think I get what they wanted to do, to put a mirror in front of Rick maybe? But again, it was done so clumsily that I couldn't take it seriously.

Needless to say, they also half-assed the assault on Negan's main compound, and let him live. That was so bullshit, the way they handled that. I mean, he's within reach to execute once and forever, but then they go with bullshit like Rick saying this fight is not about him. Yeah, like Rick was the only one with a personal grudge against Nega.

Oh and in either this episode, or episode 2 of S8, it really stuck out how badly the editing is. Really basic and stupid cuts that try to seem smart, but they're so bad. The cuting from a speech to action, and then back to a speech being held, and then back to the action, and back to the speech is really getting old. The editors really do seem like they're really inexperienced or just half-assed it.

I think I need to just turn my brain off, in order to get through the rest of it.

Another thing I think I just noticed about TWD. Up until around season 5 or 6, there was very very little use of flashbacks. There were some right at the beginning, a couple, iirc regarding Rick and Shane. But after that, unless I'm misremembering, for a very long time there were none. Or at least I seem to remember that around season 5 or 6, I remarked that they used flashbacks for the first time, forgetting about the 1 or 2 times they used it in the first season. But after they restarted using flashbacks, it's just constant flashbacks. And most of them are so useless and pointless. For example, I liked flashbacks in LOST. But in this one it cuts the tention since they also have a nice habbit of cutting right in the middle of something.

@danutz_plusplus Like the viewers, the writers yearn for a time when the show didn't suck so much.

Community. I've previously seen bits and pieces enough to make up maybe two episodes if you mashed them together.

As someone that lived in the area while all this nonsense was gripping the country, about two weeks ago I started watching American Crimes: Impeachment. I've finished four episodes so far, and while not perfect, it's both entertaining and enlightening to revisit this troubling scenario.