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TV Series Thread

Started by PickelledEggs, August 26, 2014, 06:28:36 PM

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drunkenshoe

Quote from: GSOgymrat on February 26, 2022, 03:31:08 PM
I enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor. It is more creepy, suspenseful, Gothic romance than horror movie. It deals with themes such as love, isolation, and regret.

Oh I'm glad to hear that. It says 'scary', and it didn't really look like that.
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

drunkenshoe

Well, I was told to watch The Haunting of Hill House first, so I'm there. It's good. Nothing so bad yet to watch between fingers or closing eyes,lol. If I get scared at night, I'm getting into my screen from here and go through to climb one of yours' bed over there to sleep. It will be day time there anyway.   :heehee:
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

trdsf

MST3K Season 13 premiered Friday, and they have still got it!  Can't wait for more!

Right now it's backers only, they expect to go live in May.  So if you're not a backer, you have a Mexican luchador time travel vampire movie to look forward to.  No, really.
"My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution." -- Barbara Jordan

Hydra009

Moon Knight

I've gotta say, I didn't have high hopes for this one, but I've been pleasantly surprised.

I can't talk about the plot much at all without major spoilers, but the show starts off kinda slow and confusing, then fast and confusing (in a good way), then it blew my mind, then it got fairly predictable, then the end credits scene blew my mind again.

Moon Knight episode 5 is pretty much on par with Wandavision in terms of engaging character exploration, if that makes sense.

And I absolutely loved Ethan Hawke as the villain.  If you're bored of cartoonishly evil villains and you want a more cordial, somewhat sympathetic villain, you're going to love him.

Unfortunately, upon analysis, the plot isn't actually particularly unique (macguffin this, save the world that, stuff that's been done to death).  But how it's presented is interesting enough to keep me tuned in, and at the edge of my seat at times.

Who knew an obscure marvel character would be so captivating?

drunkenshoe

True Detective. I'd watched the first season when it came out and loved it, but then forgot about it. I've watched it from the beginning and yeah, it's pretty good. I don't get why people didn't like the second season in general. Considering the generation, the flow and the characters fit it well imo, and I think it the 'differences' in handling the story that way was about all that.
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Blackleaf

I decided, for nostalgia's sake, to revisit one of my childhood favorite cartoons: Digimon. I started because someone on Reddit noticed it was being taken off of Hulu in a couple weeks. So I attempted to binge the whole original series. It was...a lot longer than I remembered it being.

So for reference, Digimon was based on virtual pet device by the same name, which itself was a Tamagotchi made for boys. The creatures would evolve based on how well you took care of them, and you could connect devices together to battle them. So despite the constant comparisons with Pokemon, it's roots are a little deeper than "Pokemon clone." I was obsessed with them as a kid, although I could never figure out the mechanics for how the evolution tree worked.

So on to the anime. I watched the dub, which I understand probably butchered the series, but I don't really care, because it's entertaining. The censorship is obvious to me now, as an adult. Like, there's a moment these characters get their drill sergeant drunk on "soda fizz." After drinking the "soda," the guy's face goes red, and he passes out. You know, as soda tends to do to you. The show also has a lot of toilet humor, but the dub calls the poop "sludge," so it's okay. lol

The dub is like a parody of itself. I was afraid when I revisited it that I'd find it annoying as an adult, but I think I actually like it better now. The show is actually really clever. All they had to do was make it a monster-of-the-week thing, so they can sell their toys, but the writers (the Japanese ones) really seemed to care about what they were putting out into the world. The series has a lot of interesting world building, when an emphasis on character development and drama.

To summarize the story briefly, the story takes place in the 90s. Strange weather events start happening around the globe, like snow in the middle of Summer. These Japanese kids at a Summer camp find themselves pulled into the Digital World, where they find their Digimon partners waiting for them. The kids are apparently the "Digi-Destined," those brought into the world by mysterious forces to help save it. That's the basic gist of it.

One of the show's coolest ideas was tying the growth of the Digimon to their human partners. Each kid has a virtue which is uniquely theirs. Tai, for example, is the courageous one. Each character has to go through a trail to develop their virtue, while the villains try to trip them up. When Tai finds out he's in a world made of data, he gets reckless, thinking himself invincible, because it "isn't real." When his computer geek friend tells him that what happens in the digital world affects the real world (sorta like the Matrix), he freaks out, suddenly realizing how much danger he's in. His friend Sora is kidnapped, and the kidnapper gets away because he hesitates. Later, he redeems himself, and that's when his Digimon partner unlocks the next stage of their evolution.

Izzy is also one of my favorites, because as a computer geek, he realizes he studies the digital world to figure out how it works. He can manipulate the code, making him potentially a god in this world. He finds ways to teleport them to save time, as well as ways to clip through walls. They really could have turned him into a super villain, if they wanted to.

What I also found interesting was when the kids got back to the real world. In most Japanese shows starring ten-year-old kids, the kids are an afterthought. Not very important and rarely seen. Here, they're fleshed out characters. They have complex issues. Matt and TK are brothers living in separate homes, because their parents are divorced. They don't treat this as something to be fixed, but just something they have to deal with. The parents, of course, don't want their kids to get hurt, but they also realize that they have no idea what's going on, so they're in an awkward position having to trust their kids to do what they have to do. It's handled in a well done and realistic way.

It's not perfect, though. Eventually, the series starts to drag on a bit. After a villain is defeated, the next big bad, who was secretly the true villain all along, appears right away. I mean, jeez. The kids can't catch a break. It still has some good moments, but I just felt like it went on a bit too long. The ending was satisfying and emotional, though.

There's also a sequel series taking place four years later. Since Hulu ended up renewing their license for the show afterall, I finished it. I was concerned at first, because I felt like it started off weak. The writing and character development wasn't as good. It was neat seeing the original Digi-Destined get older, but the newer characters sometimes got on my nerves. I stuck with it, though, and boy does it get better. The drama gets deeper than the original series at times. Fortunately, they stuck the landing, in my opinion, with a satisfying conclusion. There's even a time skip, where we get to see the kids all grown up, and with kids of their own.

Overall, I'm happy I watched the show. It's surprisingly mature for children's content with its lessons and drama. There's a time in the final episode where one of the kids says something to the effect of, "I won't give up on me dreams. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time." God damn it, kid. You're ten. You don't get to say that until you're in your thirties, and you're stuck working a dead-end job. Who was that line really directed towards? I feel attacked. lol
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

drunkenshoe

Love, Death and Robots V3 arriiiiived. Wohoooo!

My faves for now are Bad Travelling, Swarm, Mason's Rat. I also liked Jibaro. Overall, I'm happy with it. :D

"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Draconic Aiur

Quote from: Blackleaf on May 20, 2022, 12:54:10 AMI decided, for nostalgia's sake, to revisit one of my childhood favorite cartoons: Digimon. I started because someone on Reddit noticed it was being taken off of Hulu in a couple weeks. So I attempted to binge the whole original series. It was...a lot longer than I remembered it being.

So for reference, Digimon was based on virtual pet device by the same name, which itself was a Tamagotchi made for boys. The creatures would evolve based on how well you took care of them, and you could connect devices together to battle them. So despite the constant comparisons with Pokemon, it's roots are a little deeper than "Pokemon clone." I was obsessed with them as a kid, although I could never figure out the mechanics for how the evolution tree worked.

So on to the anime. I watched the dub, which I understand probably butchered the series, but I don't really care, because it's entertaining. The censorship is obvious to me now, as an adult. Like, there's a moment these characters get their drill sergeant drunk on "soda fizz." After drinking the "soda," the guy's face goes red, and he passes out. You know, as soda tends to do to you. The show also has a lot of toilet humor, but the dub calls the poop "sludge," so it's okay. lol

The dub is like a parody of itself. I was afraid when I revisited it that I'd find it annoying as an adult, but I think I actually like it better now. The show is actually really clever. All they had to do was make it a monster-of-the-week thing, so they can sell their toys, but the writers (the Japanese ones) really seemed to care about what they were putting out into the world. The series has a lot of interesting world building, when an emphasis on character development and drama.

To summarize the story briefly, the story takes place in the 90s. Strange weather events start happening around the globe, like snow in the middle of Summer. These Japanese kids at a Summer camp find themselves pulled into the Digital World, where they find their Digimon partners waiting for them. The kids are apparently the "Digi-Destined," those brought into the world by mysterious forces to help save it. That's the basic gist of it.

One of the show's coolest ideas was tying the growth of the Digimon to their human partners. Each kid has a virtue which is uniquely theirs. Tai, for example, is the courageous one. Each character has to go through a trail to develop their virtue, while the villains try to trip them up. When Tai finds out he's in a world made of data, he gets reckless, thinking himself invincible, because it "isn't real." When his computer geek friend tells him that what happens in the digital world affects the real world (sorta like the Matrix), he freaks out, suddenly realizing how much danger he's in. His friend Sora is kidnapped, and the kidnapper gets away because he hesitates. Later, he redeems himself, and that's when his Digimon partner unlocks the next stage of their evolution.

Izzy is also one of my favorites, because as a computer geek, he realizes he studies the digital world to figure out how it works. He can manipulate the code, making him potentially a god in this world. He finds ways to teleport them to save time, as well as ways to clip through walls. They really could have turned him into a super villain, if they wanted to.

What I also found interesting was when the kids got back to the real world. In most Japanese shows starring ten-year-old kids, the kids are an afterthought. Not very important and rarely seen. Here, they're fleshed out characters. They have complex issues. Matt and TK are brothers living in separate homes, because their parents are divorced. They don't treat this as something to be fixed, but just something they have to deal with. The parents, of course, don't want their kids to get hurt, but they also realize that they have no idea what's going on, so they're in an awkward position having to trust their kids to do what they have to do. It's handled in a well done and realistic way.

It's not perfect, though. Eventually, the series starts to drag on a bit. After a villain is defeated, the next big bad, who was secretly the true villain all along, appears right away. I mean, jeez. The kids can't catch a break. It still has some good moments, but I just felt like it went on a bit too long. The ending was satisfying and emotional, though.

There's also a sequel series taking place four years later. Since Hulu ended up renewing their license for the show afterall, I finished it. I was concerned at first, because I felt like it started off weak. The writing and character development wasn't as good. It was neat seeing the original Digi-Destined get older, but the newer characters sometimes got on my nerves. I stuck with it, though, and boy does it get better. The drama gets deeper than the original series at times. Fortunately, they stuck the landing, in my opinion, with a satisfying conclusion. There's even a time skip, where we get to see the kids all grown up, and with kids of their own.

Overall, I'm happy I watched the show. It's surprisingly mature for children's content with its lessons and drama. There's a time in the final episode where one of the kids says something to the effect of, "I won't give up on me dreams. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time." God damn it, kid. You're ten. You don't get to say that until you're in your thirties, and you're stuck working a dead-end job. Who was that line really directed towards? I feel attacked. lol

They made a reboot: Digimon 2020. I was excited for it because Digimon was my first anime.

Blackleaf

Quote from: Draconic Aiur on May 20, 2022, 05:15:51 PMThey made a reboot: Digimon 2020. I was excited for it because Digimon was my first anime.

I heard about it. I think it's supposed to be getting a dub eventually, but I don't know if they're going to bring back the old voice actors or use some other cast. There's also a midquel series called Digimon Tri, which takes place before the time skip. I haven't seen it yet either.

When I do get to Digimon Adventure: (weird that they have a colon, but no sub title), I'm going to view it as not a reboot, but an alternate universe sort of thing. It's canon in the original anime that there is a multiverse, and before the anime, there was a manga featuring Tai, but it was very different. There was even a time when the manga Tai and the anime Tai met in a crossover.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

drunkenshoe

Guys, has anyone seen the Night Sky series?
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Hydra009

#1345
Do you guys remember those old Simpsons episodes with Graggle?  Those were the best!



Do you remember the all-time funniest episode, the one where Bart and Graggle accidentally stole a car and then took it for a joyride to Cancun and then they had to sneak into the US?  It's the epsiode where Bart says "Aye carumba!!" for the first time.



I'll never forget the first time I saw it.  I didn't like The Simpsons before, but that epsiode made me a huge fan.  Such a shame about the voice actor.

the_antithesis

This is more millennial humor, isn't it?

I blame my generation. We should have told you about the Chuck Cunningham molested Joanie thing we did and how that didn't work either.

Blackleaf

Quote from: the_antithesis on May 29, 2022, 08:41:05 PMThis is more millennial humor, isn't it?

I blame my generation. We should have told you about the Chuck Cunningham molested Joanie thing we did and how that didn't work either.

"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

GSOgymrat

I was on a long flight and decided to revist a couple of sitcoms I had not seen in years. Big Bang Theory was disappointing. It was tired, the actors were phoning in their performances, and the laugh track was going off on things that were not even remotely funny. Bob's Burgers was laugh-out-loud funny and I had to remind myself I was on a crowded plane.

Blackleaf

#1349
So I didn't want to judge the Obi-Wan as a series until it was completed, but now that's over, I've just gotta say... I don't get it. The internal logic and character motivations make no sense, it doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about Star Wars canon. The series just felt like pointless fluff made to milk the Star Wars franchise, or a (sadly successful) attempt at baiting people with nostalgia for the prequel movies fans apparently decided they like now that they have a newer trilogy to hate on.

If you don't want spoilers, I will be getting into those now, so don't read further.

The show constantly broke my immersion when I'd stop and ask myself questions that the writers apparently never considered. Like...how did Reva know to use Leia as bait for Obi-Wan? Seriously, HOW!? The catalyst of the entire plot of the series, never explained. Reva didn't know Leia was related to Anakin, so what made her think, "I know how to draw out Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'll kidnap this random child, and he'll definitely travel across the galaxy to come to her rescue." WTF?

But that wasn't the only time I was taken out of the experience. So at one point, they have this group of rebels, a trade caravan or something, which smuggled people and supplies across the galaxy. The Empire tracks them down with a tracker that was placed on Obi-Wan's ship. They are trapped, with the hangar locked shut by a droid and the front door soon blocked by Reva and a bunch of Stormtroopers. The Empire is using this heavy blaster gun to try to break down the door, and it's taking forever. So Obi-Wan walks up to the door and, I think, uses the Force to communicate with Reva, attempting to reason with her. Then she cuts through the door with her lightsaber. Wait... She cut through the door...with her lightsaber. She could have done that this whole time!? Why did they need the heavy gun!?

Okay, okay. Whatever. So the good guys retreat into the hangar, locking themselves behind another door Reva could totally just cut through whenever she wanted, but just doesn't for some reason. Obi-Wan comes up with a plan, willingly giving himself up to Reva. He knows she just wants to use him as bait, because she wants revenge on Vader. So they agree to help each other. He'll keep Vader's attention on him, and she'll strike while Vader down while he's fixated. Sounds interesting. Okay. So how do they execute this plan? Vader shows up, Reva tells him he escaped back into the hangar, a ship tries to get away, and Vader uses the Force to hold them down. But it turns out that ship was just a decoy, and the real ship flies off behind the decoy. Why didn't Vader catch that one too? I dunno. Too slow, I guess. But now that the rebels have escaped, and Vader is no longer distracted, Reva decides this is the best time to strike. God... Why didn't she strike while he was holding the ship back? Of course, Vader senses her coming and fights back, winning the battle. The Grand Inquisitor she killed earlier is apparently not dead, and they leave her there instead of finishing her off. Why? I dunno! Like everything else, it's never explained! They're using Dr. Evil logic, and assuming she'll die after they leave her unattended.

Also...how did the rebels escape? The empire literally had them pinned. Did they not have a single X-Wing in the air, patrolling the hangar? You see what I mean? The show makes no sense! But apparently, there were so many people watching the show when it launched, Disney immediately confirmed plans for a second season. How they'll manage that, I have no idea. The show literally had zero loose threads left. What could they possibly do in season 2 that wouldn't feel even more pointless than season 1?

To be fair, the show wasn't all bad. Terrible execution and writing aside, it was nice to see Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan again. Hayden Christensen getting a little more screen time as Anakin/Vader was nice, and the deaging effect in the flashbacks was done well. I also liked most of the characters fine. Leia's ladybug droid is something I wish existed in real life. It's just such a shame they didn't put enough thought into the plot to make it actually coherent.

If you want Star Wars content and if you haven't already, go watch The Mandalorian, or The Clone Wars (skipping the first two seasons, unless you're very dedicated), or Rebels instead.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--