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

[Ford]

I recently got a Roku for my living room TV, and an Amazon Fire stick for the one in the bedroom. Not having cable or satellite I've been casting about for streaming stuff that's free, and have come across a couple good ones.

Pluto TV. It's basically like a little cable network of it's own. There's movie channels, news channels, music, and some on demand stuff that's nothing special, but worth every penny.

Dustx. This is the streaming version of the YouTube channel Dust. Independent short science fiction films. Some of them are surprisingly good. Like this:

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Fi5o4WUrw[/YOUTUBE]

It's like having a new short Twilight Zone episode available every week.

Some of these channels haven't quite figured out the best way to run ads just yet...the same 2 or 3 commercials will interrupt the show/movie at random times...but that's a minor quibble. There's a smorgasbord of great content out there, and it's all free.

 

[Sarpedon]

Well, I just got done with the Americans and give it a 9.5/10. It is a truly excellent piece of work, with brilliant writing and exceptional acting, especially from Keri Russell, who made you worry she was going to have a coronary several times.

What should I watch next?

 

[blastula]

^Bosch

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I Zombie - 8/10

A very funny show about a doctor who gets bitten by a zombie at a party and takes a job in the morgue in order to get herself enough brains to eat so she doesn't turn into a mindless monster and rampage across the city, since a steady diet of brains keeps her close enough to human. One of the twists is that eating the brains lets you get flashes of memories from the person, so she ends up pretending to be a psychic by eating the brains of murder victims and helping the cops find the killers. She also kind of takes on the personality of the person, so they get her playing completely different characters from show to show, depending on what the person who got killed was liked, which is a very nice addition.

Fun and entertaining, but it went on for four seasons and they kind of ran out of ideas after the first two. It ended strong, though.

 

[blastula]

Daredevil season 3
8/10

Jessica Jones seasons 3
6/10

I had liked the earlier seasons of Jessica much more than Daredevil. This last one, I didn't like what they did with Trish, making her the bad guy for trying to help people. I was team Trish the whole way., but they kept putting these artificial plot points in her way. It was disingenuous of the storytelling to have that one lady get hospitalized from Trish when it's just (unrealistic) luck that none of the people Jessica throws across a room get paralyzed. And what's so wrong about wanting to kill the serial killer? Jessica was so fucking sanctimonious. The Hogarth and Malcolm storylines were disposable. And I didn't really get the Erik character, guess I had a problem with his evil detector, metaphysically.

And what's so wrong about wanting to kill Kingpin? I love his character, but the whole weird "it's okay to pummel someone's face in just so long as you don't kill them" prime directive feels like a plot hole to me. I think Murdock acknowledged that hypocrisy once at least. But the main weakness of this show has been the 2 sidekicks. The worst episode was the Karen episode. I hate how they write her, especially as a reporter - she's a good reporter because other people say she is, not because they show us she is. I did like Foggy better this time, the actor seemed more comfortable in the role. Kingpin's presence overcame all the weaknesses and I liked Daredevil without the costume. The fighting scenes continued to be the best of those shows.

I will miss Netflix Marvel, their whole action/drama daily life of the powereds vibe they had going through all of them. It was a good run.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Unbelievable 10/10

Excellent limited series on Netflix about the victims of a rapist and the police hunt for the perpetrator. It was just as much about the victims and what they had to endure during and long afterwards as it was about the detectives searching for this guy.
It’s an emotionally engaging series.
I would expect this will be up for awards.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Strange Things - Season 3 - 5/10

They seem to have lost the plot of this show. The characters are still interesting, but the situations they get themselves into are much less so. For instance, the whole thing with the Russians was funny and campy, but it just seemed out of place with the rest of the series. They need to all sit down and decide what the show is about and then write a show about that, as opposed to whatever it is that they're doing now.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

SPOILERS!

Daredevil season 3
8/10

Jessica Jones seasons 3
6/10

I had liked the earlier seasons of Jessica much more than Daredevil. This last one, I didn't like what they did with Trish, making her the bad guy for trying to help people. I was team Trish the whole way., but they kept putting these artificial plot points in her way. It was disingenuous of the storytelling to have that one lady get hospitalized from Trish when it's just (unrealistic) luck that none of the people Jessica throws across a room get paralyzed. And what's so wrong about wanting to kill the serial killer? Jessica was so fucking sanctimonious.

This is a fair point, but I at least think they handled Trish's state of mind and how she developed to this point much better and organically than they did that dragon woman from that little heard of HBO show that ran for 8 years.

The Hogarth and Malcolm storylines were disposable.

The Hogarth story line felt a lot like filler and cheap plot points. Malcolm makes a bit more sense, but how he got to where he was when he decided he needed to break free seemed a bit out of character in the first place.

And I didn't really get the Erik character, guess I had a problem with his evil detector, metaphysically.

No complaint about Mr. Perfect Serial Killer accidentally stabbing Jones to begin with? Or why her poor health as a result of her stabbing disappears as a plot issue at some point? And why is Grand Central always used for an Amtrak station?!

I like Jessica Jones in general. Her character just works for me. What I didn't quite get was the very ending where she turns around and gives this odd smile and just stands there on a long zoom out. It reminded me a bit of the end of Season Two of 24, where Bauer is having a tiny moment in the car... resets and then remains Jack Bauer. In Jones' case, her sister just shipped off to enhanced people prison. She really took a few psychological knocks. She just magically gets over it. And finally... is it really necessary to put Mike Coulter's name in the guest star position when the show is starting?!

And what's so wrong about wanting to kill Kingpin? I love his character, but the whole weird "it's okay to pummel someone's face in just so long as you don't kill them" prime directive feels like a plot hole to me. I think Murdock acknowledged that hypocrisy once at least.

Murdock is big on causing concussions. Yeah, I'm going to make you have headaches the rest of your life and you won't be able to remember your child hood, but I'm taking the moral high ground. Of course, it'd be tough to win fights if you just punch them a couple times. It isn't like he is fighting storm troopers.

But the main weakness of this show has been the 2 sidekicks. The worst episode was the Karen episode. I hate how they write her, especially as a reporter - she's a good reporter because other people say she is, not because they show us she is. I did like Foggy better this time, the actor seemed more comfortable in the role. Kingpin's presence overcame all the weaknesses and I liked Daredevil without the costume. The fighting scenes continued to be the best of those shows.

Except the costume was necessary because Daredevil is human. My problem is that in the beginning of the season one, I'm thinking, how can a normal person take that beating... over and over... against so many people?! Yes, I can handle the blind guy super fighter, but if he is just human he shouldn't be able to handle such punishment with a bandage. Then the suit comes about, alright, I'm good with that. In Season 3 he outgrows the suit mentally, but... umm... what about physically?

I will miss Netflix Marvel, their whole action/drama daily life of the powereds vibe they had going through all of them. It was a good run.

Agreed. I don't know if I'll do the Disney+ thing. The Marvel shows weren't perfect, but they were definitely entertaining.

 

[marc]

SPOILERS!

What I didn't quite get was the very ending where she turns around and gives this odd smile and just stands there on a long zoom out. It reminded me a bit of the end of Season Two of 24, where Bauer is having a tiny moment in the car... resets and then remains Jack Bauer. In Jones' case, her sister just shipped off to enhanced people prison. She really took a few psychological knocks. She just magically gets over it. And finally... is it really necessary to put Mike Coulter's name in the guest star position when the show is starting?!

I think it is because they had to change the ending a bit after finding out there would not be another season.

Her first season was the best of the Netflix Marvel stuff. Iron Fist was starting to get it right, and would have liked the Colleen Wing / Misty Knight spin off.

 

[Ford]

I've been watching Ken Burns' "Country Music" on PBS.

Granted, I'm biased because a good portion of the last two decades of my professional life was entwined with country music, but this is so damned good it's scary. Burns has done great work with his documentaries about baseball, Vietnam, Prohibition, and other topics, but this one seems deeply personal to him. He clearly loves this music and wants to wants very much to explain why it is important, what makes it important, and who made it so.

So far he's hit all the right notes. He pauses to focus on the greats (Hank, Cash, Dolly and others) but doles out praise to so many other artists, writers, innovators, etc. that it risks becoming muddied but he always brings it back to the music.

 

[Harry Bosch]

^Bosch

Love the Bosch series. The books are better BTW.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I've been watching Ken Burns' "Country Music" on PBS.

Granted, I'm biased because a good portion of the last two decades of my professional life was entwined with country music, but this is so damned good it's scary. Burns has done great work with his documentaries about baseball, Vietnam, Prohibition, and other topics, but this one seems deeply personal to him. He clearly loves this music and wants to wants very much to explain why it is important, what makes it important, and who made it so.

So far he's hit all the right notes. He pauses to focus on the greats (Hank, Cash, Dolly and others) but doles out praise to so many other artists, writers, innovators, etc. that it risks becoming muddied but he always brings it back to the music.

Can a person that hates country appreciate the mini-series? My wife is recording it and I need to know whether I can at least drag something useful from it.

This has nothing to do with my disdain in the Rock Hall for having more on Country than Prog Rock (of which they have a Moody Blues single and Geoff Downes jacket when with The Buggles).

 

[Ford]

I've been watching Ken Burns' "Country Music" on PBS.

Granted, I'm biased because a good portion of the last two decades of my professional life was entwined with country music, but this is so damned good it's scary. Burns has done great work with his documentaries about baseball, Vietnam, Prohibition, and other topics, but this one seems deeply personal to him. He clearly loves this music and wants to wants very much to explain why it is important, what makes it important, and who made it so.

So far he's hit all the right notes. He pauses to focus on the greats (Hank, Cash, Dolly and others) but doles out praise to so many other artists, writers, innovators, etc. that it risks becoming muddied but he always brings it back to the music.

Can a person that hates country appreciate the mini-series? My wife is recording it and I need to know whether I can at least drag something useful from it. .

Sure. I was watching the series last week when I was visiting my mother. She's not a fan of country to put it mildly. She absolutely hates yodeling, and said so while we were watching an episode.

Thing about my mom is that everything stops when the 11 o'clock news comes on. Doesn't matter what else is on...it has to be stopped so she can catch the news and the first part of Colbert before she goes to bed. When 11 came around that night, I picked up the remote to change the channel and she stopped me. "No, you can keep watching this." She sat down the next night to watch it. The night after, too.

It's not just about country music. It's about American history, and how the music was born from that history. The Depression. The Dust Bowl. Singing cowboys in the movies. The early days of radio and television. Even if you don't like the music, you'll still gain an appreciation for how it fits into the story of 20th Century America. Like his other series on Jazz and Baseball, it takes a topic you may not be into, and makes it compelling.

 

[prideandfall]

lodge 49: hhmm / ehh?

this is a weird one - it reminded me a lot of the path, a hulu original series that ran for a few seasons about a cult. (side note: lodge 49 has a lot of really weirdly specific imagery and ties to the path, but in a way that i have no idea if it's intention or not, but it's interesting)
anyways, both the path and this show follow this formula: i hate every character because they're insufferable and annoying, everything is stupid, i don't care what's going on, i don't want to see any of these people change or grow, and i didn't stop watching it until i'd binged the entire thing.
but, the show is well done and there's enough quirk and interesting little side bits going on to keep one relatively engaged.

 

[Ford]

Currently re-watching "Heroes."

I remember the first season being really good, and then it went downhill. So far, that memory is holding up. Think I'm going to stop at the end of the first season.

 

[KeepTalking]

Watchmen (HBO series) 9/10

The new Watchmen series on HBO is one of the best TV shows I have seen in recent years. It is billed as a re-imagining of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic, but it feels much more like a sequel, at least from the first 3 episodes. Of course, as usual Alan Moore would have nothing to do with it, though Gibbons is a consultant on the show. Moore has always maintained that his work is a comic book, intended to be read exactly as he originally wrote it, and should never be transferred to another medium. Take it for what you will, but his refusal to work with anyone on further developing the story, is likely more complicated than that, but not something to delve into here.

This show is set 30 years after the events in the comic, in the present day, but if you have never read the comic, or seen the movie, it is not a problem. The show stands on its own, and jumps right in to setting its own tone from the very start. It is set in present day Tulsa, Oklahoma, but the first scenes are from the 1921 Tulsa massacre, and it is that event that sets the stage for this show. Watchmen tackles racial strife, and fascist authoritarianism head on, and will likely be uncomfortable for some. It is very relevant to current events, and much like the source material, it turns conventional superhero storytelling on its head. Fans of the comic will find a few nods that make it clear that the series is building upon that foundation, rather than the movie, and I often found myself trying to figure out how it tied into the comic at various points. Since it was billed as a re-imagination, I was particularly looking for places where it diverged from events covered in the comics, but have yet to notice anything that doesn't fit with the comic being a historical document for the series. For the most part, the "superheroes" in Watchmen do not have super powers, and they are mostly very flawed characters as well. The series continues with that, and takes it a step farther, by having the police use masks and costumes when performing their jobs, while the "superhero" vigilantes are outlawed.

The acting is top notch all around, as is the direction and cinematography. Jeremy Irons stands out in the scenes he is involved in, but given his role, that is not surprising. The character he is playing is not revealed until the third episode, but readers of the comic (or viewers of the movie) will likely realize who he is before that point. It is definitely worth watching, even if you do not typically go in for shows in the superhero genre.

 

[Patooka]

Watchmen (HBO series) 9/10

The new Watchmen series on HBO is one of the best TV shows I have seen in recent years. It is billed as a re-imagining of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic, but it feels much more like a sequel, at least from the first 3 episodes. Of course, as usual Alan Moore would have nothing to do with it, though Gibbons is a consultant on the show. Moore has always maintained that his work is a comic book, intended to be read exactly as he originally wrote it, and should never be transferred to another medium. Take it for what you will, but his refusal to work with anyone on further developing the story, is likely more complicated than that, but not something to delve into here.

Moore got fucked over HARD by DC comics over royalties and ownership of his works in the late 80's. As a result he is very bitter and cynical about his works being adapted into other forms of media. To paraphrase Dr Manhattan, I understand why his feels that way without condoning or condemning. But yes, I had serious reservations about the show when I found out Damon Lindelof was the frontrunner (fucking hell, The Leftovers was fucking terrible), but it turns out my fears were pretty unfounded. The show excels in the "show, not tell" type of storytelling and Trent Reznor's music is very appropriate for the tone the show is trying to convey. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hasn't read the comic, however. The backstory is kinda essential.

 

[OLDMAN]

The King Netflix 8/10 King Henry V as a young lad. Leading up to the battle of Agincourt. They added some current theories that made it interesting, and it is very well done.

 

[KeepTalking]

Watchmen (HBO series) 9/10

The new Watchmen series on HBO is one of the best TV shows I have seen in recent years. It is billed as a re-imagining of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic, but it feels much more like a sequel, at least from the first 3 episodes. Of course, as usual Alan Moore would have nothing to do with it, though Gibbons is a consultant on the show. Moore has always maintained that his work is a comic book, intended to be read exactly as he originally wrote it, and should never be transferred to another medium. Take it for what you will, but his refusal to work with anyone on further developing the story, is likely more complicated than that, but not something to delve into here.

Moore got fucked over HARD by DC comics over royalties and ownership of his works in the late 80's. As a result he is very bitter and cynical about his works being adapted into other forms of media. To paraphrase Dr Manhattan, I understand why his feels that way without condoning or condemning.

Of course that is the way Moore tells it, but it is likely that he signed a standard contract for comic book writers at the time. Regardless, he did sign a contract with DC that stated rights would revert back to him if the book ever went out of print. He probably should have realized that if the comic was a hit it would never go out of print, and if it was a flop it wouldn't matter because the rights to it would be worthless. It turned out to be a huge hit, and had Moore had the foresight he might have held out for a better contract, but chances are he would have ended up with no contract. Creator owned comics did not take off until a decade later, so he had no real leverage. It was unfortunate for him in the long run, but that was the state of the industry in the '80s. Had he not taken the DC contract, he would likely have been in worse shape, at least in the short run. It is worth noting that the he did end up working for DC again, thus making his protestations about Watchmen much less compelling to me.

But yes, I had serious reservations about the show when I found out Damon Lindelof was the frontrunner (fucking hell, The Leftovers was fucking terrible), but it turns out my fears were pretty unfounded. The show excels in the "show, not tell" type of storytelling and Trent Reznor's music is very appropriate for the tone the show is trying to convey.

I had no idea going in that Lindelof was running the show, and not really having watched much of what he has done in the past, that never caused me any heartburn.

I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hasn't read the comic, however. The backstory is kinda essential.

So far it seems that the only really essential backstory to have is the Tulsa Massacre (an actual historical event), and the White Night, neither of which tie into the original Watchmen series. My wife has been watching it with me, and she seems to be enjoying it as much as I am, though she has not read the comics. She has seen the movie, however, so she does know a bit about the original story. I also tend to fill her in on what I am picking up, having read the comics (trade paperback, anyway) multiple times. So, there may be some merit to having familiarity with the original Watchmen. For one thing, I doubt people who are not familiar with either the comics or the movie would have much interest to begin with, but I am doing my best to drum up that interest, because I think it is fantastic.

 

[Elixir]

Never binge-watched a network tv show until the last 2½ weeks. Been watching The West Wing, and it has been amazing. It seems to have covered every moral, ethical and practical dilemma ever faced by a President. At the same time, it is so quaint - almost like there was a time when Presidents had concern for the welfare of the American population rather than for themselves and their Parties.
All in all, I give it an A: great acting, great writing, very good plot development... the weakest aspect of the series is the cinematics, which tend toward dark or poorly lit scenes that get tiring after a while. Other than that though, probably the best series I can name offhand*.

* May not be saying much, as I don't watch network tv as a rule...