The TV Series discussion thread

abharsair said:

I think this image sums up best the last GoT episode:

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Crowdfunded scene inspiration: grand ideas and no funding attached to match them.

Could be a case of frustration management. Lack of technical quality was unbypassable so introduction of unsatisfying plot resolution to divert, overriding frustration with larger frustration.
Potentially, incoming plot twist that could wipe off the larger frustration, people will only remember the larger frustration and how they were saved out of their misery by the plot twist, day saving movement etc

As a sidenote, the author is now facing a make or break moment: it might be all on him to provide an proper version to bring a sense of closure.

wiretripped said:

Oh, I'm definitely an armchair general.
I think they could have used their cavalry a lot smarter than they did. They could have been kept at a distance, then have flanked the undead host once the infantry was engaged, for example. But this was just "throwing them away", IMHO. "All they could do was charge, so they just charged" seems like poor reasoning.

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Perhaps, but would that have worked in the blizzard created by the white walkers? How can you flank someone when you can't see 10 feet in front of you?

One of the so-called experts in the article Couch posted said it best - I think the tension between good military tactics and good television came into conflict here.

abharsair said:

JDR13, why so defensive when it comes to criticizing some aspects of GoT?

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@abharsair; How so? I thought we were "discussing" it, remember? Besides, it's not the show that's being criticized here, it's just the tactics of one battle. Judging from your response, I'd say it looks like you're the one who has an issue with alternative opinions.

JDR13 said:

Judging from your response, I'd say it looks like you're the one who has an issue with alternative opinions.

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Wait, what?

JDR13 said:

but I expected the usual nitpicking

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JDR13 said:

The only thing sputtering here is your imagination.

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JDR13 said:

Grognards will be grognards.

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JDR13 said:

I get that some G.R. Martin fans are incapable of acknowledging anything positive about the show…

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JDR13 said:

Spoiler – For all you armchair generals

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Oh well, sorry. Clearly I should have been more respectful of your opinion. My bad.

Thank you for proving my point. I have no problem responding to opinionated comments, and you're having an issue with that for some reason. Evidently, the people I was responding to were allowed to have an opinion but I wasn't.

Was there anything else? Or did you actually have something useful you wanted to add?

JDR13 said:

Thank you for proving my point. I have no problem responding to opinionated comments, and you're having an issue with that for some reason. Evidently, in your eyes, the people I was responding to were allowed to have an opinion but I wasn't.

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Quite frankly I am somewhat perplexed by your claim I don't allow you to have an opinion. While going through my previous posts I can't really see where I could have written such a thing, unless you refer to me calling you "defensive when it comes to the last GoT episode", which is in my opinion pretty harmless and tame compared to the language you have used before. What I do have a problem with, though, is the somewhat derisive language you're using while responding to other people's opinions.

JDR13 said:

Was there anything else? Or did you actually have something useful you wanted to add?

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Nah, I'm good now, but thanks for asking. I do think however, that our little dispute might slowly become annoying and/or boring for everyone else on the forum, so I would suggest you and I continue the squabbling via PM if you feel the need to continue. Or, if you prefer, I'll be a good sport and let you have the last word in this thread.

abharsair said:

Quite frankly I am somewhat perplexed by your claim I don't allow you to have an opinion. While going through my previous posts I can't really see where I could have written such a thing, unless you refer to me calling you "defensive when it comes to the last GoT episode", which is in my opinion pretty harmless and tame compared to the language you have used before. What I do have a problem with, though, is the somewhat derisive language you're using while responding to other people's opinions.

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Yes, you seem to get perplexed quite easily. I'm referring to your previous post where you decided to quote only parts of posts where my opinion obviously didn't sit well with you.

I'm curious about the "derisive language" you mention though. What would that be exactly? Grognards? Out of curiosity, do you even know what that means?

I guess maybe my opinions are just a little too direct for you. I suppose that shouldn't be surprising since you're proving to be the passive-aggressive type.

abharsair said:

Nah, I'm good now, but thanks for asking. I do think however, that our little dispute might slowly become annoying and/or boring for everyone else on the forum, so I would suggest you and I continue the squabbling via PM if you feel the need to continue. Or, if you prefer, I'll be a good sport and let you have the last word in this thread.

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Oh? You're quite the gentleman.

So, uh.

Anyone watching "What We Do in the Shadows"? It's great.

I loved the movie. I was wondering if the show could be good. I shall look it up

I was doubtful too, because the chemistry among the movie's cast seemed like something they wouldn't be able to duplicate for the show. Wisely they didn't try -- the tone is the same but it's a new group of characters, and they're all great.

I've been watching What We Do in the Shadows, and for the most part I'm enjoying it. I wouldn't say it's as good as the film version, but it is pretty darn funny. I find myself rooting for the familiars was too much!!

About to finish my re-watch of Farscape. (wifey calls it the muppet sci fi show) I kinda really liked it when it first came out. Now that I watch it again some years later, I find its just okay. The acting is really, really good and the story line is pretty nice but the actual writing for the individual shows is kind of weak.

Of the nearly 3 of 4 seasons I have watched thus far, while there has been some good episodes, there has only been one of the mind blowing thought provoking experiences (they time travel and f*ck up). Voyager at the same stage had about 3 or 4.

One big problem for me was that they changed the Farscape theme song in season 3. The show runners said they changed it to match the changing circumstances of the story line in the show. The initial theme song had a strong tribal underpinning to the orchestral theme. Throw in some female chants and male grunts and you get a very unique sound for an episodic television show. I had to rush to my remote to make sure that Amazon Prime didn't skip over 90% of the end theme (same as beginning but the complete song).

In season three they took out 75% of the tribal feel and just dumbed it down to a typical tv theme song. Welp, no rushing to the remote for the balance of my viewing… straight to the next episode. Thank you amazon prime for not making me suffer.

Hexprone said:

Anyone watching "What We Do in the Shadows"? It's great.

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No.
Unless it's filmed in the same country as the movie was. For all I know it's not so even if my life depended on it for such stuff I have only one message: get off my property.

If North Korea made Fargo series, would you watch that? Dunno about you. Even my thirst for exotics has limits.

The Bodyguard, BBC, 2018. Thriller with a lot of unexpected turns, you never know what to expect. Addictive, I could not wait to see what would happen. With Keeley Hawes, I always love to see her and in this series she plays a bitch of a Home Secretary. Richard Madden (Robb Stark) is her bodyguard.
The end is a bit disappointing in comparison to all the other episodes, as if they were in a haste to finish the series.
9/10.

Carnifex said:

I agree with a lot of what you've stated above, Ripper, and I lay the fault for that in the current show runners. It's quite obvious that, since about season four, they've no longer enjoyed having the pre-set format just handed to them by the author. When you compare and contrast some of the first years of the show with the latter ones, you can see a huge drop-off in overall quality. It'll all be over in a few more hours, and then we can all hope we get the finished novels in the future!

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Re: GoT,
The lessening quality is due to the divergence from the books. Which started in season 5. I don't really see the quality, or lack thereof, being connected to anyone on the production staff - unless you mean the writers trying to meld their sophomoric plot and pacing with that of the original book content.

At this point in the series, I have little interest in watching GoT beyond wanting closure for the character story arcs. The writing/pacing was horrible last season.

joxer said:

No. Unless it's filmed in the same country as the movie was.

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It's not, but the creative team is the same -- Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi do most of the writing and directing between them.

They're in New York, but it's Staten Island -- a sleepy outer borough of the city, so you have a similar vampires-in-the-suburbs feel.

Again it's not an exact remake -- they haven't recast the same characters with American actors as the IT Crowd so disastrously did. [edit: no wait, I'm wrong -- I just remembered that actually was Richard Ayoade looking desperately miscast in the role that he himself created in the American IT Crowd. But it was like he was a bad clone of himself. So weird.]

I do miss the movie's werewolves, and I think their deadpan blend of brute and nerd really was culturally specific to down under. But the show's newest material is some of its best, as with Colin the Energy Vampire below.

George R.R. Martin confirmed this week that three Game of Thrones spin-offs are still in the works for HBO. He shared details about the prequel but HBO had no comment.

“We have had five different GAME OF THRONES successor shows in development (I mislike the term ‘spin-offs’) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely,” Martin wrote. “The one I am not supposed to call THE LONG NIGHT will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of FIRE & BLOOD and come up with your own theories” — Fire & Blood being Martin’s history of House Targaryen.

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Link - http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2019/05/04/stuff-and-nonsense-3/

Doesn't look like he will finish those books now.

He's turned into a lazy fuck if I've ever seen one. How about finishing the books you promised 8 years ago instead of shilling your old stuff while writing useless blogs?

As far as spinoffs go, I suppose they're inevitable, but I'd rather they didn't milk the franchise. To anyone familiar with GoT lore, it's obvious what a series titled 'The Long Night' will be about, and I can't see it being a very compelling TV series especially since we already know the outcome.

I keep hoping someone will pick up the Wild Card series and put that in a television format. They just need to follow the novels, and it would be glorious. As long as Martin keeps contributing and editing those books, he'll have my support. At this point, I've very low expectations on seeing an actual conclusion to the Ice and Fire books, but I'd be pleased to be wrong about this.

i've been pretty happy with GoT, but this.. no. This was unbelievable stupid, on too many levels.

The final twist … they've been on earth all along!