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TV Series Thread

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

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Hydra009

#1440
Quote from: the_antithesis on August 27, 2022, 11:00:41 AMSounds like me, but I haven't even watched the original show because I cannot be paid enough money to even care about game of thorns. At this point, watching or heaven forefend, reading game of thorns feels too much like work.
All you have to do is mentally keep track of 100-200ish characters whose alternating chapters appear in 5 extremely lengthy books published once every decade or so (better make flashcards) and their winding personal journeys through vast expanses, both geographic and temporal, filled with dense political intrigue, philosophic musings, prophecy, magic, and enough backstory that you could literally make another lengthy book series out of it.  I know this because the author did just that.  Twice.  Also, the geography is so detailed that it somehow makes real geography seems less lifelike, which is a very strange sentence to type.

Oh, and theorycrafting alone will utterly destroy your life.  Stuff like Bran is his own great great grandfather, an insane pirate king is changing himself into a mute woman and banging his own brother (this one might actually be true, and the last part is almost certainly true), and my personal favorite, all the educated healers and raven-senders are secretly part of a secret cabal trying their hardest to kill off certain factions to benefit another faction (knowledge is power)

P.S. - lots of extremely - and I mean extremely, like suspiciously so - extremely detailed descriptions of medieval meals.  It might literally be food porn.

P.P.S. - it might also be the darkest thing I've ever read.  Like Odyssey on Red River dark.  Like Vantablack if you dropped it into a black hole dark.

the_antithesis

See, now I need a nap.

GSOgymrat

Quote from: the_antithesis on August 27, 2022, 11:00:41 AMAt this point, watching or heaven forefend, reading game of thorns feels too much like work.

I read the first three books and gave up. Just picking up the book put me in a foul mood. I remember during the third book thinking, "I hate these characters and don't care what happens to them. If I have to read another word about Sansa Stark I'm going to scream. Someone needs to nuke Westeros and put everyone out of their misery."

Unbeliever

I read the first book in the series and that was enough for me. Never have watched any of the TV series. Too many other things to do.
God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

the_antithesis

So I got the UK series UFO and am a couple episodes in. Here's the intro for those unfamiliar:


This was released in 1970 and I've been interested ever since I saw the opening because the aesthetic reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Moon Zero Two.


Anyhoo, UFO was produced by Gerry "Thunderbirds Are Go" Anderson. I believe this was his first live action, non-puppet show, at least after his success with those things. It only lasted one season (or series) and the second morphed into Space: 1999 somehow. Mostly because the second season wasn't happening so all the money and ideas they had for it were retooled into a new show.

I am enjoying it. The dead serious tone contrast beautifully with the kitschy look of 1970. (incidentally, the show takes place in 1980. Looks like an episode of Stranger Things, don't it?) The moon base girls in the purple wigs, those are wigs and apparently part of their uniform because one of them takes it off when she visits Earth.

The show has a minor bit of trivia in that it inspired the XCOM game series. The original game, X-COM: UFO Defense, known as UFO: Enemy Unknown was sort of an unlicensed adaptation of the show, sort of like how Metroid is essentially Alien.

Hydra009

Quote from: the_antithesis on September 01, 2022, 01:04:56 PMThe show has a minor bit of trivia in that it inspired the XCOM game series. The original game, X-COM: UFO Defense, known as UFO: Enemy Unknown was sort of an unlicensed adaptation of the show
Yep.  I did get some XCOM vibes from the intro, particularly the part about monitoring radar and dispatching vehicles to investigate.  Though the aliens themselves were borrowed more from alien abduction accounts (grays and reptilians became Sectoids, Floaters, and Snakemen) than deliberate fiction, though the infamous Chryssalids were undoubtedly taken from Aliens.

drunkenshoe

"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

Butter Morty melting on a hot pan hit me like a truck.  I feel ya!

the_antithesis


Hydra009

Holy crap, Rick and Morty made a hell of a splash with their season 6 premier!

I won't spoil anything for yall, but Rick continues to be his own worst enemy and if I ever see something cute come close to me, I'm running like the wind for the nearest evac shuttle.  JFC!

Hydra009

I'm watching Star Wars Andor.  I'm three episodes in and I have no idea if it's good or not.

I love the setwork - lots of scrap and rust and a lot of grimy, industrial shots that are strangely beautiful.

As for the plot, I'll let you know when I see it.  Some stuff happens, other stuff happens, I don't know if there's any sort of meaningful connection.  I don't know who's who or what anyone really wants, so I can't predict anything nor can I assess if any character changes over time because I don't know what they'd change from.

For example, one character got in a ship, took off, and promptly crashed and I have no idea if how I should react to that because I don't know if it was sabotage or stupidity or pure accident or malfunction.  Like I said, stuff happens.

So far, I give it some loud banging on metal out of ten.

Blackleaf

Someone I know watched Andor and said it was boring. I like to tease them that they like stuff I consider to be complete garbage, so if they don't like it, I probably really won't like it. lol

Ugh. Why is Disney so inconsistent with their Star Wars content? I'm afraid The Mandalorian will come back and completely suck ass.
"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--

Hydra009

Don't jinx it!

And I have no idea why they're so inconsistent.

You know the phrase, "show, don't tell?" well, I'm afraid that on this show, no one shows or tells.

A lot of the shots look really dramatic and meaningful, and they probably would be if I only knew the significance of them.  It's like seeing Vadar dramatically walk down a hallway without knowing who Vadar is or what he wants or what he's going to do.  I mean, it looks cool, but that's about it.

You know how in TV shows, characters spew exposition and reiterate stuff unnecessarily?  Well, the folks behind Andor took the exact opposite approach.  Dialogue is very concise and implicit.  Nothing is spelled out.

Shiranu

I cant remember if it was mentioned here or elsewhere, but two episodes into Netflix's, "The Family", and uh... it feels like one of those shows you are on a list for watching. Essentially - man accidentally joins not just a 70 year old cult, but a 70 year old cult built around grooming men and women to be servants to an aristocratic class who are "divinely ordained" by Jesus to rule.

Oh, and they have heavy ties to our national politics, foreign politics as well as host the White House Breakfast Morning Prayer.

It's interesting, but don't know if I'm going to watch further. I've accepted there are powers at play in this world that, even at my sharpest, I am not going to out-think and out-maneuver even if they didn't have the game rigged against me.

----

On an entertainment note, also 2 episodes into, "Shtizel", an Israeli drama following a dysfunctional Orthodox family.  It's pretty good, god some rom-tropes but also some pretty deep criticisms of the Orthodox lifestyle.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Hydra009

I finished Andor and not to beat a dead horse, but it wasn't great.  It would be a phenomenal two-parter for Rebels, though.  Does it deserve to be a standalone?  No.  How about a 6-parter or more?  No.  Any sane creative team would either cut this thing from something like 5 hours down to 2 hours or just completely rework this thing to be engaging and exciting and have actually good scenes.

I also finished Obi Wan, which I found to be waaaay better and actually very touching and patched up a couple headscratchers from the original trilogy (e.g. Vader killed your father).  Leia's child actor was phenomenal.  I was puzzled and kinda terrified by Aunt Beru's willingness to throw down at a moment's notice.

Now I can finally rank all the live action star wars TV shows:
Mando > Book of Mando > Obi Wan > Star-Wars themed macaroni art from an insane asylum (the swastikas on the stormtroopers helmets are there to show how evil the Empire is...I think) > Andor