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

The Wire - 9/10

Really good cop show from the early 2000s about drug cops in Baltimore. It seemed to do an excellent job of deconstructing what it would be like to be a cop, politician, drug kingpin, low level street pusher, affected innocent civilian, etc. It really pushed home about how struggling against the corruption, entrenched interests, bureaucracy, etc can just be a weight on your soul as you make more and more compromises to try and make some sort of difference.

Also, no matter what you do or how hard you try, the system always wins in the end and the only way out is to quit trying or die. It's a depressing and realistic message.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
The Wire - 9/10

Really good cop show from the early 2000s about drug cops in Baltimore. It seemed to do an excellent job of deconstructing what it would be like to be a cop, politician, drug kingpin, low level street pusher, affected innocent civilian, etc. It really pushed home about how struggling against the corruption, entrenched interests, bureaucracy, etc can just be a weight on your soul as you make more and more compromises to try and make some sort of difference.

Also, no matter what you do or how hard you try, the system always wins in the end and the only way out is to quit trying or die. It's a depressing and realistic message.
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Doesn't get much better than The Wire. I was incredibly impressed how they could make even the rather redeemless characters compelling. After the first episode I had no idea if I was going to be able to handle the show. There were almost no protagonists at all.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Doesn't get much better than The Wire. I was incredibly impressed how they could make even the rather redeemless characters compelling. After the first episode I had no idea if I was going to be able to handle the show. There were almost no protagonists at all.
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It really was great how they had things like major characters just fade into the background for a couple of seasons while they focused on other plot lines and then show up as major characters again. You don't see things like that too often.
 
the boys: 9/10

show on amazon. adaptation of a comic book. take the basic superhero premise that we're now all familiar with, add realistic gritty drama and behavior you can believe for how the world would be if super powered people exist.
it's a great take on the formula, if you're into superhero stories and enjoy black comedy and TV nihilism this show is just god damn amazing.
 
prideandfall said:
the boys: 9/10

show on amazon. adaptation of a comic book. take the basic superhero premise that we're now all familiar with, add realistic gritty drama and behavior you can believe for how the world would be if super powered people exist.
it's a great take on the formula, if you're into superhero stories and enjoy black comedy and TV nihilism this show is just god damn amazing.
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They filmed this down the street from my house. If you see a scene in a park, that’s where they took over the lot by my train station and made me walk a couple extra blocks in order to get into work.
 
Angry Floof said:
Shadowy Man said:
Watching Travelers on Netflix right now. On final episode. This has been a pretty well conceived and written sci-fi show. I am enjoying it a lot. The no-spoiler premise is that there are a group of people who suddenly have very different personalities and an FBI agent looking into what's going on. Though they may falter a little on some of the technical aspects, it's more than made up for by the good writing and human element that's done so well. The spoiler premise is below in spoiler tags.


Spoiler premise is that the "travelers" are time travelers from the future sent back to take over people's personalities right when they were supposed to die. They then perform missions in the past in order to change the future. They work in small groups, each member with some kind of specialty, and aren't given much information except the specific missions they are to perform. There's a reference to a "director" in the future who is giving them the missions, but it isn't always clear to the team why they are doing anything or what impact it has on the future. Some of the technical time travel aspects and issues with paradoxes aren't really addressed, but the plotlines aren't heavily reliant on those so it's acceptable. The characters are well-fleshed out and interact well with each other. Good writing! I hope they make more seasons of the show.

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I just finished the end of season cliffhanger just now. Great show. Like Shadowy Man, there's a few things worth criticizing, but it doesn't take from the story, which moves fast, surprises constantly, gets you go care about characters very quickly. Confusing in many ways as time travel shows usually are, but somehow manages to keep you on top of things if you pay attention. Some moments here and there look like an episode of Scooby Doo, but that also doesn't take away from the absorbing story.

As for low budget effects, did anyone else notice in the cliffhanger

that the contraption for the Director to return to looked more like something from Star Trek TOS? lol

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I'm finally coming back to this series after watching the fantastic first season two years ago. There's two whole new seasons now. :love: I thought I would be disappointed after that wonderful first season, but at nearly the end of the second season, the show has yet to disappoint me.

I find TV in general to be stupid and boring, and I rarely get past an episode or two of any new series I try. Travelers grabbed me from the start and has not let me down.

I also like the cheesy props. Did you notice the ferrofluid that is supposed to be the nanotechnology? I guess they don't know we ignorant TV watching rubes have youtube. :rotfl:

Also, the skydiving episode! Kind of a diversion but so satisfying.

EDIT: And as soon as I post praise of this show, they do something totally stupid with Marcy's story. Reminds me of when a good show is starting to run its course and the writers get so desperate for plot twists it might as well be Misery's Return. Ugh.
 
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Gotham - 8/10

A surprisingly enjoyable cop show focusing on Commissioner Gordan from the Batman comics as a young detective dealing with the corruption and crime in Gotham city. It's half a regular police procedural and half a prequel to Batman. It does origin stories for a number of Batman villains which are surprisingly well written - I mean, if someone had told me there'd be a Batman show where my favourite character would be the frigging Penguin, I'd think they were a bit nutty. However, that's the case. It does lead to some plots not really working as well as they should, such as "Hey, the Penguin is fighting this random person on a rooftop to see who gets to control crime in the city. I wonder which one of them is going to get thrown off the building" or "Hey, Soon-To-Be Commissioner Gordan has been kicked off of the police force ... for like the third time. I wonder if he's going to find a way to get his job back". Since you already know the outcomes for so many of the main characters, the dramatic set ups to their being in danger falls flat on occasion.

They also have Kid Batman dealing with his parents' death and deciding that he needs to learn how to fight and change from a spoiled rich kid into the world's biggest bad ass while hanging out with Kid Catwoman (and those two are just really cute together). It's a B story line to the main plot of the series, but they work it into the show well.

I'm only a couple of seasons into it at this point, but I'm really impressed with the quality.
 
The Boys 9/10

Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis, this Amazon series is a different take on the superhero genre. It is about how superheroes become corrupted by their power, and centers on a team (The Boys) coming together to deal with those "Supes" who take things too far. Jack Quaid, son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan is in the lead role as Hughie, and does a great job playing the emotionally, and morally conflicted character. Karl Urban is another of the top characters, playing Billy Butcher, the leader of The Boys, and of course he is as good as he is in every role he plays.

The Amazon series diverges from the comics by quite a bit, they are telling a different story here, and one that resonates a bit more with the current political climate. In the comics, The Boys are already established, and a new member (Hughie) is joining them, whereas the Amazon series actually assembles the team as it goes. This gives the supporting characters in the team a bit more time to get established, and for the audience to connect with them more. Also, they spend more time fleshing out the Supes characters. It is very gory, this much will be apparent from early on in the first episode. There is also a good amount of profanity, and nudity (including male genitalia), so if those things turn you off, this show is not for you.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
Gotham - 8/10

A surprisingly enjoyable cop show focusing on Commissioner Gordan from the Batman comics as a young detective dealing with the corruption and crime in Gotham city. It's half a regular police procedural and half a prequel to Batman. It does origin stories for a number of Batman villains which are surprisingly well written - I mean, if someone had told me there'd be a Batman show where my favourite character would be the frigging Penguin, I'd think they were a bit nutty. However, that's the case. It does lead to some plots not really working as well as they should, such as "Hey, the Penguin is fighting this random person on a rooftop to see who gets to control crime in the city. I wonder which one of them is going to get thrown off the building" or "Hey, Soon-To-Be Commissioner Gordan has been kicked off of the police force ... for like the third time. I wonder if he's going to find a way to get his job back". Since you already know the outcomes for so many of the main characters, the dramatic set ups to their being in danger falls flat on occasion.

They also have Kid Batman dealing with his parents' death and deciding that he needs to learn how to fight and change from a spoiled rich kid into the world's biggest bad ass while hanging out with Kid Catwoman (and those two are just really cute together). It's a B story line to the main plot of the series, but they work it into the show well.

I'm only a couple of seasons into it at this point, but I'm really impressed with the quality.
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It was a great show for the most part, and just went in crazy directions with some of the characters. The final season suffered a bit from "how do we end this thing?", and the last episode was a bit of a disappointment as well, but still worth watching.
 
On a bit of a nostalgia trip with the reboot of Beverly Hills 90210. Some of the main characters have been brought together for the series. Obviously missing is Luke Perry and I'm not sure he even agreed to be in the show prior to his death. Anyway, the show is cheesy and delightfully awful. Episode one was a train wreck, a real shit show as the gang get together and old grievances are aired. It's a weird set up, it's sort of based on the actor's real life events and circumstances played out as drama. But it is great to see the gang together.
 
Treasures from the wreck of the unbelievable. 9/10 This is an incredible treasure... and the story even more so. But there is a catch.
 
Watching "The Family" on the Netflix.

Reminds me a bit of my fraternity days in college. If my fraternity brothers actually hated me and were a sinister religious organization bordering on a cult.

I mean yeah, we recited the Lord's Prayer at meetings, but we were really mostly about hanging out and having keg parties.


This is some messed up shit.
 
Got so sick of MSM, decided to watch The West Wing on Netflix, never having seen it when it was first aired.
That's a pretty impressive show as such things go. And there's a bit of eerie prescience about it...
 
Elixir said:
Got so sick of MSM, decided to watch The West Wing on Netflix, never having seen it when it was first aired.
That's a pretty impressive show as such things go. And there's a bit of eerie prescience about it...
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It was a well-written show, until the last couple of years after the creators left. But seasons 1-4 are excellent.
 
Frankie and Grace: Wife is watching it, so ...so am I. Pretty funny.
 
Just started season 3 of Lucifer. It’s been pretty entertaining. Just enough arc driven plot to keep me interested. The main actor has a tough job trying to be comical but also menacing without overdoing either. He’s mostly successful. I’m kind of on the fence about the detective’s acting though.
 
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

If you loved the original movie, then you will likely love this. As a prequel, there is a bit of feeling of doom for all the characters as we kind of know how this will end up, but it is well done. There are a few plot holes, or at least questions I have in trying to line up some of the back story from the movie with the expanded backstory here.

The skeksis look just like the orginal, even sound the same. Aughra was great. The puppeteering is augmented by a bit of CG, but still largely practical effects.
 
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