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What TV are you watching and how would you rate it? [Revive from FRDB]

Happy!
8/10

happy-tv-show-cast-plot-wiki-syfy.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy!_(TV_series)

Just watched the first 2 episodes of this show, and, uh, it's one of the most demented things I've ever seen. The protagonist is an ex-cop turned assassin who can't die. No matter what happens to him, he comes back to life. He's become a bitter, horrible person as a result of whatever made him immortal.

A little girl gets kidnapped by a crazy man, and her imaginary friend goes off to find someone to save her, and finds the protagonist. So you have an extreme dichotomy of a grizzled, angry, violent asshole and an adorable flying blue unicorn that only he can see. It's horrible, dark, and violent, but also bright and happy, but above all it's absurd.

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Happy-tv-series-625x389.jpg

Panel from the comic book on which the TV show is based.
 
Underseer said:
Happy!
8/10

View attachment 13701

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy!_(TV_series)

Just watched the first 2 episodes of this show, and, uh, it's one of the most demented things I've ever seen. The protagonist is an ex-cop turned assassin who can't die. No matter what happens to him, he comes back to life. He's become a bitter, horrible person as a result of whatever made him immortal.

A little girl gets kidnapped by a crazy man, and her imaginary friend goes off to find someone to save her, and finds the protagonist. So you have an extreme dichotomy of a grizzled, angry, violent asshole and an adorable flying blue unicorn that only he can see. It's horrible, dark, and violent, but also bright and happy, but above all it's absurd.

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View attachment 13702

Panel from the comic book on which the TV show is based.
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I have only seen the first episode myself, but so far I love it. Christopher Meloni is perfectly cast for the role of Nick Sax (I guess it helps that he is also Executive Producer), and Patton Oswalt is great voicing Happy. This is one of those shows that I think is likely better when viewed in an altered state of consciousness, but then again, that is the state in which I watch most TV and movies.
 
Doctor Who - Twice Upon A Time.

In some ways, not much substance, at least one the first viewing. I suspect a second will be much more rewarding. And I very much intend to watch it again. Very soon. And it's so much fun.
10/10 - I imagine it has faults, but I couldn't care less about them.

And will someone recommend something Jodie Whitaker is in that appears on Netflix? I want to hear her accent. One word was not enough.
As for the shows future episodes, the last scene will surely make fans wonder. I must find a fan site with a good discussion forum.
 
The Colourful Jester said:
And will someone recommend something Jodie Whitaker is in that appears on Netflix? I want to hear her accent. One word was not enough.
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Black Mirror, season 1 episode 3, "The Entire History of You". (If you are not familiar, it's an anthology series so you can jump straight to that episode without having to watch anything else.)
 
Jayjay said:
The Colourful Jester said:
And will someone recommend something Jodie Whitaker is in that appears on Netflix? I want to hear her accent. One word was not enough.
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Black Mirror, season 1 episode 3, "The Entire History of You". (If you are not familiar, it's an anthology series so you can jump straight to that episode without having to watch anything else.)
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And Broadchurch. Is that on Netflix?

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The Colourful Jester said:
I want to hear her accent. One word was not enough.
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To be fair, she actually said two words. :p
 
The Punisher
9/10

Finally finished the whole thing. Loved it.

I don't generally care for the comic book because the Punisher is just a one-dimensional revenge story like we've seen in countless movies unless the writers are really good. This I enjoyed the hell out of.

When the Daredevil comic book is good, it's all about a man who desperately wants to see the world in black and white, and is forever tormented by all the grey of the real world. When Punisher is good, he is a source of grey. No character comes away from a Punisher story with clean hands or a clear conscience. His purpose is to force the heroes in the Marvel universe to ask themselves the difficult questions (such as face the fact that all of them are technically vigilantes).

Agent Dinah Madani is not from the comic books. She was created just for the show, and she is amazing. I expect she is good enough and will create enough buzz among comic book fans that like agent Coulson, she will start appearing in the comic books.
 
I have been watching Andromeda and SG Atlantis reruns. They are running back to back weeknights on Comet.

Andromeda has to be the worse scifi ever produced. Wooden characters and awful plots.

SG Atlantis doesn't hold up well. How many times can people be infected with storage parasites and diseases?
 
Just finished the Star Trek inspired episode of Black Mirror.

Honestly I thought it missed the mark.



The thing that stuck with me after "White Christmas" was the notion of the virtual characters (Potter and Greta's copies) being stuck in that simulated hell for an eternity. This one sort of glossed over that and had a - dare I say it - positive outcome. There was an escape for the copies. The bad guy got his comeuppance. It was depressingly optimistic.

 
To add a bit of context, the only time my family gets together every year is Christmas time. In that I don't think we're unique, but having so many cynical sarcastic misanthropes in the same house for a couple of days leads to some interesting discussions. But because John Clarke passed away this year, we watched back to back episodes of The Games. It still holds up and is absolutely hilarious.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17NKos-7GCo[/youtube]
 
The Colourful Jester said:
Doctor Who - Twice Upon A Time.

In some ways, not much substance, at least one the first viewing. I suspect a second will be much more rewarding. And I very much intend to watch it again. Very soon. And it's so much fun.
10/10 - I imagine it has faults, but I couldn't care less about them.

And will someone recommend something Jodie Whitaker is in that appears on Netflix? I want to hear her accent. One word was not enough.
As for the shows future episodes, the last scene will surely make fans wonder. I must find a fan site with a good discussion forum.
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She'1.s in Black Mirror, the episode where you have an implant in your eyes that records everything. Season 1. She's also stars in season's one and two or Broadchurch that are on Amazon but I don't know about Netflix.
 
Dark. 10/10. I don't think I've ever rated anything 10/10. This show is amazing. I think it helps that it's not American made. No tropes or formulas to get in my way of becoming completely lost in an intriguing story. This is the most depressing and creepy show I've ever seen. It's just relentless doom in ambience, but so beautifully and ever so quietly.

Maybe it's actually just mediocre for European TV and my brain is so pleased and refreshed at seeing quality TV that isn't American that I'm seeing excellence in television artistry. But from where I'm sitting, it's an artful novelty of something I'm familiar with (TV shows and genres) but freed of a lot of American context. I think this is why a lot of Americans love foreign TV shows. Our brains enjoy figuring out the mood and the story without Hollywood giving us a substrate of assumptions so we don't have to think.

Dark is abit like Stranger Things in that it involves a town and some kids disappearing and an evil or supernatural something takes our kids and hangs over our town. But Dark is what Strangers Things wishes it could be but isn't by a long shot. (Don't get me started on Stranger Things. Just take the hype and fandom with a grain of salt.) Anyway, Dark is incessant despair and quietly oppressive sense of doom. But rarely does it conjure up monsters, at least not obvious ones. Unlike other horror/thriller movies and shows, this one promises no such convenience but rather, at the moment where it seems you will see some meaning or the source of the evil, instead takes your mind straight to the human tragedy and the sense of loss so deep that it would be a heavenly escape to believe there really is a boogie man and we don't have to stare unprotected into the abyss of human sorrow after all.

I have yet to read anything about this show. I imagine at least some are accusing the show of melodrama. But, as the board ornamental hermit, I'm telling you that doesn't matter because no level of melodrama could survive this slow and quiet nihilation treatment. Some scenes are so cold, you'll have to dig up some human warmth from your own internal reserve or you'll go insane. All done beautifully and artfully and outside of the American bubble I live in. Even the English voice-overs don't diminish it and maybe even add to its appeal.
 
Ford said:
Just finished the Star Trek inspired episode of Black Mirror.

Honestly I thought it missed the mark.



The thing that stuck with me after "White Christmas" was the notion of the virtual characters (Potter and Greta's copies) being stuck in that simulated hell for an eternity. This one sort of glossed over that and had a - dare I say it - positive outcome. There was an escape for the copies. The bad guy got his comeuppance. It was depressingly optimistic.

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Yeah, I thought it was awful. Possibly the worst episode of Black Mirror so far. There were plot holes you could fly the USS Callister through. Charlie Brooker seems to think that scanning somewones DNA would give you access to their memories... Really?

I think good sci-fi needs one good conceit. One deviation from reality. And then it doesn't really matter how outlandish it is - we can run with it. But this just had so many that the whole thing became an incoherent mess.

And then there is the demonising of alternate sexualities thing. The "Captian" was clearly meant to be asexual (lack of genitals, chaste kissing etc) - so what's the message? That asexuals are repressed psychopaths?
 
Angry Floof said:
Dark. 10/10. I don't think I've ever rated anything 10/10. This show is amazing. I think it helps that it's not American made. No tropes or formulas to get in my way of becoming completely lost in an intriguing story. This is the most depressing and creepy show I've ever seen. It's just relentless doom in ambience, but so beautifully and ever so quietly.

Maybe it's actually just mediocre for European TV and my brain is so pleased and refreshed at seeing quality TV that isn't American that I'm seeing excellence in television artistry. But from where I'm sitting, it's an artful novelty of something I'm familiar with (TV shows and genres) but freed of a lot of American context. I think this is why a lot of Americans love foreign TV shows. Our brains enjoy figuring out the mood and the story without Hollywood giving us a substrate of assumptions so we don't have to think.
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Good observation about brains. Dark sounds up my alley. You might check out the Returned (Les Revenants) for another moody show with a strange premise.
 
Black Mirror (season 4)
8/10

Am I imaginging things, or is this show getting all about virtual realities and brain transfers? It's getting a bit stale and maybe the showrunner should consider hiring other writers for some variety. I agree with the earlier commentors that "U.S.S. Callister" is the weakest episode of the lot by far, it has way too many plot holes and the happy ending doesn't ring true to the series either. My personal favourite is "Metalhead", because at least it's different and deals with a technology that is topical to our times.
 
The Rose Parade on Amazon 7/10

Cord and Tish bring their combined half century of hosting experience and make it interesting enough to actually watch instead of just something on in the background.
 
The Handmaid's Tale, 7/10; I binge watched the first series and I think it was too much. The plot is basically about a very large cult in the USA that has taken over US government to some extent. Women are coveted as child bearing concubines (handmaids) and most of them are not happy about this sorry state of affairs. Lots of flashbacks to fill the viewer in as to how things came about. It's a good series but at times the dialogue can be excruciatingly slow.
 
Big Bang Theory - 9/10

Show about four science nerds who work at a university. They're all a bit off in their own way and their interactions and views about the world are hilarious. Well worth seeing.

The Flash - 7/10

This show is about the Flash. If you hear the sentence "This show is about the Flash", then you understand 99% of the show because it's pretty much exactly what one would expect a show about the Flash to be. There's a villain of the week whom Flash uses the powers of friendship and perseverance to defeat and then locks them up for the rest of their lives without a trial in a secret high tech prison which is run by a private corporation because the main point of the show is apparently that gaining super powers makes you an uber human who is not subject to the laws or protections of society.

Aside from the fascist context underpinning the show, it's quite enjoyable.
 
Big Bang Theory is a terrible show. I would give it more like 3 or 4 out of 10, and those few points are only for the occasional cool science joke and for the Aspergers character. The rest is just another obnoxious tween Disney sitcom.
 
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