Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)

[Kwak]

Lost In Space, enjoyed it up to episode 5 of the first series and then it really just pissed me the fuck off with the bullshit with Will and the robot and he wouldn't even fight back while getting torn to bits until Will said he had to 'be bad' again and Dr Smith is just being unfathomably sociopathic and manipulative beyond all logic.
Fucking bullshit fucking nonsense.

The setting is good.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Stargirl Season 2: Summer School

Short Opinion:
This is more Marvel spirit than any Marvel movie has been with a villain that goes "Yeh Thanos was a threat but did he ever actually just eat a person alive?"

Long Opinion:
So I mentioned watching a few episodes earlier in this thread and having watched the full series I maintain this is the best DC show still being made and sits as my 2nd favourite ever DC live action show (Poor Swamp Thing killed before you time).

What with Covid & the series making the jump from being financed by big daddy DC and their streaming service plans with CW joining in with some money to basically CW picking up the bill here it was always a concern that the series would be impacted and well, the impact seems rather minimal with some fairly clever cost saving tricks in place seemingly and if anything some of the fights seem improved with impressive use of what I can only guess were destructible props to save on CGI budgets.

Story wise this one manages to carry on from the first season and and explore some of the issues and things that might come about from the first seasons ending which saw the super villain team defeated but said super villain team were also running the main town business owning one of the main sources of employment in the town. Also it explore the impact of people of climactic season 1 battle. The story I will say goes dark, the may be the darkest a CW show has gone with a villain I'd consider far more villainous. As an example at one point the main villain ends up in a fight with 2 other villains one of whom has Wolverine esc blades bound to their bones. The villain pulls the blade from the characters bone then uses it to stab the other villain.

This really has been a show for lesser known DC villains to show up and really get some time in the spotlight and this season brings in Shade the master of shadows who may be one of the most entertaining villains to watch yet.

The show continues the pacing style from the previous season too with the show being more about the ongoing story than episodic storytelling which actually makes the show better to binge watch as some episodes literally are plot development ones where 0 fights at all will happen but conversely there are pay off episode to the build up which are like 20 - 30 minute long well shot fight scenes (as in not shakey cam Bourne fight scenes).

Absolute credit to the show also for making villains who seemed like absolute monsters actually characters I cared about and in one case just literally wanted to hug and tell them everything would be Ok somehow.

Compelling characters,

8 characters having their own story arcs which mostly paid off throughout the series it's a testament to how good the writing is

 

[Agema]

Lost In Space, enjoyed it up to episode 5 of the first series and then it really just pissed me the fuck off with the bullshit with Will and the robot and he wouldn't even fight back while getting torn to bits until Will said he had to 'be bad' again and Dr Smith is just being unfathomably sociopathic and manipulative beyond all logic.
Fucking bullshit fucking nonsense.

The setting is good.

To be fair, I don't think Smith is a sociopath. There are hints of kindness and sympathy amidst the generally rampant self-interest, just enough so that she doesn't get kicked into a ditch and left there.

 

[Gergar12]

I haven't finished the season yet, but I find it funny that you said you found it amazing but gave only negative criticisms. What exactly did you like? No spoilers though please!

My own thoughts on the show so far: Yeah I hated what they did with one of the main witchers. They also made the witchers more plentiful, so why they felt the need to foist that role unto a "beloved character" is beyond me. The action so far has been unremarkable, especially when the first season started with the Butchering at Blaviken.

In general, it just feels too much like another Netflix show. Aka, lots of violence and sex and characters making the dumbest decisions possible until it all gets tidied up at the end. I much preferred the first season's "monster of the week" format than the overarching plot of the second. I was excited to see wholesome Ciri and the witchers content, but so far it's been lacking. My SO and I were really keen on watching this season together, but we dropped off after a few episodes. I'll still probably finish it, but I'm in no hurry to.

I like the swordplay, CGI, and I liked the fact that it was long which I think Disney plus shows need to do. The monsters were cool as well.

 

[Agema]

I like the swordplay, CGI, and I liked the fact that it was long which I think Disney plus shows need to do. The monsters were cool as well.

It started season 1 with a fantastic swordfight routine (much as The Witcher's icepick grip in it offends my sensibilities - that's a truly horrible way to hold a sword). They've never quite equalled that - although I guess with the big scene-setter done, they didn't so much need to.

 

[Gordon_4]

To be fair, I don't think Smith is a sociopath. There are hints of kindness and sympathy amidst the generally rampant self-interest, just enough so that she doesn't get kicked into a ditch and left there.

No; Smith a sociopath. She’s good at feigning kindness and sympathy - a lesson apparently not many people learned from the Sopranos - but what she does goes beyond self interest. I am amazed John Robinson hasn’t put two in the back of the *****’s head by this point.

 

[Agema]

No; Smith a sociopath.

I disagree: she shows signs of remorse and compassion that are inconsistent with a sociopath.

Sociopathy is - as far as we can tell - permanent. The best we can do is persuade them to "obey the rules" on an intellectual level, even though they lack the emotional components like empathy that motivate the rest of us to be decent citizens. Smith's general arc is redemptive: increasingly coming to terms with being a shitty human being and feeling for other people, suggesting that for all she's mightily damaged, she's not beyond salvage in the way a sociopath would be. She has empathy, it's just extraordinarily atrophied at the start.

 

[Gordon_4]

I disagree: she shows signs of remorse and compassion that are inconsistent with a sociopath.

Sociopathy is - as far as we can tell - permanent. The best we can do is persuade them to "obey the rules" on an intellectual level, even though they lack the emotional components like empathy that motivate the rest of us to be decent citizens. Smith's general arc is redemptive: increasingly coming to terms with being a shitty human being and feeling for other people, suggesting that for all she's mightily damaged, she's not beyond salvage in the way a sociopath would be. She has empathy, it's just extraordinarily atrophied at the start.

I disagree, any kind of 'regret' she expresses is for my money a feigned response to save her own skin. But I guess we'll see how the showrunners decide to play it.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I watched the first episode of Brave New World formerly of Peacock streaming service.

It's an adaptation of the books with some things changed to bring it more up to the modern world. So for example they've added in a sort of always online augmented reality social media system built into contact lenses people wear so they're never alone and never have true private time. The Savage lands are now a sort of Red Neck styled town area but it's actually all just a put up job by the residents of the savage lands as a set up to get money from the New World state by putting on a fake show of how awful and messed up the place is with a theatrical show bit which is a shotgun wedding they put on for the tourists. Also the world is controlled by an A.I. which monitors peoples activities to flag up rule breaking such as monogamous relationships and people being too private. Also while not fully fleshed out yet I think they gender switched Bernard's friend and made her an entertainment media creator and not a writer as such, which I oddly have no issue with because it's Hannah John-Kamen playing the character and to be honest it's a fresh new spin so far rather than the boring tortured male writer trope character.

 

[Piscian]

Station Eleven

New series on HBOMAX if I could summarize my feelings in a gif



Dude this shit is heart breaking. Adapted from the novel of the same name, it follows 3 people from the start of an epidemic to 20 years later. It time jumps similar to The Witcher, but they very clearly tell you whats happening, every scene says like DAY 1, DAY 90, etc. The show starts out with this overly good hearted, but immature typical lost Manhattan millennial Arabic dude Jeevan getting saddled with an 8 year old little actor girl after a bizarre tragedy strikes at a play and shes forgotten about in the chaos. Hes escorting her home on the L train when his doctor sister calls him from the ICU informing him that everyone is dropping like flys from a new flu thats deathrate is like 99% and is killing people inside of hours. She demands he drop whatever hes doing, get as much food as he can and barricade himself in at his brothers apartment inside the hour. As hes having a panic attack he realizes hes still stuck with this little kid. "OH NOES"

The show is a real trip. Its very much a tearjerker scifi drama but with black comedy elements. The writing and acting is phenomenal. This is not cable TV writing, this levels way up above. It was a random click, but I was locked on the edge of my seat for the full 7 episodes available. I would suggest not skipping this one. Ironically id forgotten I own the book because it won a bunch of awards but never got around to reading it.

Ive sort of noticed this trend where HBOMAX is doing what Netflix does as far as Adapted programming goes, but the writing is consistently more homed in, like someone actually has a purpose rather than just getting paid to write.

You have all these Netflix shows like the Marvel stuff, Cowboy bebop, sweet tooth etc where its like Netflix bought something, had some good ideas or a solid show runner, but cant consistently writr good stuff. Its not always true, Squid game was above average, but on top of that Netflix has been just shoveling so much shit onto the service they are starting to get a bad reputation, where as even RLM commented the other HBO seems to at least now be focused on trying to put out good, meaningful content. I imagine that will change when they get as big as Netflix.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

You have all these Netflix shows like the Marvel stuff, Cowboy bebop, sweet tooth etc where its like Netflix bought something, had some good ideas or a solid show runner, but cant consistently writr good stuff. Its not always true, Squid game was above average, but on top of that Netflix has been just shoveling so much shit onto the service they are starting to get a bad reputation, where as even RLM commented the other HBO seems to at least now be focused on trying to put out good, meaningful content. I imagine that will change when they get as big as Netflix.

I don't disagree about your criticisms of Netlix (Daredevil is the single show I can think of that didn't go off the rails), but from all I heard HBOMax did terribly this year. I have my doubts if they'll ever get as big as Netflix.

 

[gorfias]

You have all these Netflix shows like the Marvel stuff, Cowboy bebop, sweet tooth etc where its like Netflix bought something, had some good ideas or a solid show runner, but cant consistently writr good stuff. Its not always true, Squid game was above average, but on top of that Netflix has been just shoveling so much shit onto the service they are starting to get a bad reputation, where as even RLM commented the other HBO seems to at least now be focused on trying to put out good, meaningful content. I imagine that will change when they get as big as Netflix.

Back in the 1980s there was an Indy comic taking place in the Alien's continuity. The corporate heads wanted the Aliens in combat to film to get people's attention as, currently (1980s) people wear virtual reality glasses with over 5,000 channels and it is almost impossible to get their attention as they skim from channel to channel. Kinda became reality! There are some gems out there. Lot of stinkers too. The challenge is finding the stuff you will like.

I've started Station 11, thanks for the advice that it is worth my time.

ITMT: Just finished Season 4 of Cobra Kai on Netflix.

This show is way better than it has any right to be. I loved the 1st, liked the 2nd, the rest of the movies were trash. And yet here is 4 seasons of really good nostalgia bait that introduces us to terrific new characters and situations.

OG characters played by Ralph Macchio and William Zabka return as 50 somethings with kids, whose lives have gone in very different directions when circumstance causes them to get involved with Karate again.

Sometimes this feels like High School musical with fight scenes that seem more like dance hall theater. Worst aspect: they sometimes treat Zabka (Johnnie) like an idiot. But get through that you have some high art fantasy action drama. This Season left loose threads that are going to make me crazy for another year till the next season drops.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Ive sort of noticed this trend where HBOMAX is doing what Netflix does as far as Adapted programming goes, but the writing is consistently more homed in, like someone actually has a purpose rather than just getting paid to write.

You have all these Netflix shows like the Marvel stuff, Cowboy bebop, sweet tooth etc where its like Netflix bought something, had some good ideas or a solid show runner, but cant consistently writr good stuff. Its not always true, Squid game was above average, but on top of that Netflix has been just shoveling so much shit onto the service they are starting to get a bad reputation, where as even RLM commented the other HBO seems to at least now be focused on trying to put out good, meaningful content. I imagine that will change when they get as big as Netflix.

I think the Netflix thing is they don't know what will work anymore and are aiming for programs for as many people as possible too so with Squid Game being some show they likely picked up cheap and thought nothing of it and it blew up they're trying to repeat that success. It's why for a few years a UK tv channel was rapidly buying up ton of US comedy shows because it started and got a very cheap deal on a show no-one had heard of at the time called The Big Bang Theory. It's funny really with Netflix as pumping out more stuff for people to watch costs them ultimately because you don't want people constantly watching and with you because that's server load, you want people tuning in to watch something good not as often really. At least with Amazon there's the argument of royalties so Amazon buying the rights and pumping out the stuff stops you watching stuff other companies have on the service and them getting revenue but Netflix doesn't pay royalties.

 

[Piscian]

I think the Netflix thing is they don't know what will work anymore and are aiming for programs for as many people as possible too so with Squid Game being some show they likely picked up cheap and thought nothing of it and it blew up they're trying to repeat that success.

I 100% believe Squid Game blew up all over the internet and some producer ran into the CEOs office to talk season 2 and the CEO said exactly "What the fuck is a Squid Game?". I bet half the people working at Netflix had no idea it existed. "We bought a what now?" I don;t recall there being a single news story leading up it. It was just some random show they bought and threw on with zero fanfare. They sure focused on Cowboy BeBop though *face palm*.

 

[Agema]

Stay Close (Netflix)

8-part UK drama based on a Harlan Coben book. Presumably relocated from the source, as I'm pretty sure Coben is American and will have originally set it there. It stars a healthy supply of UK TV stalwarts (although the main lead, Cush Jumbo, may be more famous for her stint in US drama), who do a perfectly good job.

The first episode is very good, and sets up an intriguing murder mystery. Then it sort of becomes this slightly strained tangled mess as it turns out all the characters appear to be interrelated in a highly implausible way in a huge jumble of circumstances and backstory. Even the lead cop is partnered with - of all people - his ex-wife. (Is that good practice for police? What does it add to the story except an extra layer of unlikely interconnection?) Then, astonishingly, two characters appear a few episodes in - and you'll know them when you encounter them - that appear to have walked in from a completely different TV show. In what is a show beginning to labour a little heavily, they create a WTF??? effect that really hurt my engagement.

It's not terrible, it's not even bad. But it starts with plenty of early promise, and then sort of dribbles away to middling potboiler.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Landscapers (HBO)

Olivia Colman and David Thewlis play a couple from real life who murdered the missus' parents, buried them in the backyard, siphoned their bank account and then went on the lam for 15 years while pretending the old folks were alive and well. The show - only 4 episodes - is more about studying their oddities, a bizarre obsession with movies and memorabilia (fleshed out in some very meta dream-like vignettes) and the co-dependent relationship that is either very sweet or very sick depending how you look at it. Ultimately it seems like a very poisonous relationship, albeit the best they could possibly aspire to given how broken they are.

The bulk of the show takes place after they deliver themselves. There's a bumbling commissioner and a couple of hot-and-cold detectives leading the true crime angle, which is minimal. The couple turned themselves in simply from running out of options and most of the show is structured around the police interviews, in which they incriminate themselves with little to no prompting. The conclusion is foregone - every episode ends with archive footage and a text reminding you of their sentence - so not much in the way of suspense. Not much going on in general, to the point even some of the meta asides feel like padding, but still kind of fascinating for the two great actors and the weirdo characters they play. I imagine the murderers would be much duller and less sympathetic in real life, so that's a compliment.

 

[Trunkage]

Enterprise season 2

What happened to Hoshi shirt? That is nonsense

Man, this show is way better when using races they've developed previously. Even the Kreetessan episode is better than an average episode because you know they demand apologies at the drop of a hat.

But the truce that Archer was trying to ram onto the Vulcans and Andorians makes this series finally feel like humans are justified in this universe. They are generally shown as weak, irrational, illogical and dumb. But putting your life on the line for peace that doesn't even involve you and not giving up when everyone else has... perfect

Now, I do have to talk about the episode Cogenitor. This is even worse than the first ep of Discovery or even Shades of Grey from TNG. Star Trek consistently shows Starfleet bettering other races, taking them outside how they normally stereotype themselves. They also consistently do this without asking permission. Garak and Quark make jokes about it. But Tucker helping a slaves. Bad Tucker. Just evil.

Get fucked whoever wrote that episode. I swear to god it has to be the same writer who wrote Dear Doctor, another (hopefully unintentionally) pro-slavery episode

WTF/10. Do some proofreading before making episodes

(Edit: I highlighted these two episodes because Archer was forcing his ideology onto other groups who said they didn't want it. But then he tears Tucker a new one.)

 

[Piscian]

Enterprise season 2

What happened to Hoshi shirt? That is nonsense

Man, this show is way better when using races they've developed previously. Even the Kreetessan episode is better than an average episode because you know they demand apologies at the drop of a hat.

But the truce that Archer was trying to ram onto the Vulcans and Andorians makes this series finally feel like humans are justified in this universe. They are generally shown as weak, irrational, illogical and dumb. But putting your life on the line for peace that doesn't even involve you and not giving up when everyone else has... perfect

Now, I do have to talk about the episode Cogenitor. This is even worse than the first ep of Discovery or even Shades of Grey from TNG. Star Trek consistently shows Starfleet bettering other races, taking them outside how they normally stereotype themselves. They also consistently do this without asking permission. Garak and Quark make jokes about it. But Tucker helping a slaves. Bad Tucker. Just evil.

Get fucked whoever wrote that episode. I swear to god it has to be the same writer who wrote Dear Doctor, another (hopefully unintentionally) pro-slavery episode

WTF/10. Do some proofreading before making episodes

(Edit: I highlighted these two episodes because Archer was forcing his ideology onto other groups who said they didn't want it. But then he tears Tucker a new one.)

I think enterprise main redeeming quality is every scene Jeffrey Combs is in as that Andorian guy. He's an absolute joy. I kinda feel like producers and studio didn't have enough faith in the show, story writing always just barely scrapped by and I suspect they just didn't have a well funded writing staff. The dialog and acting was always pretty solid, but the writing felt cheap and unpolished through as much of the run as I tolerated. I gave up sometime shortly after season 2 out of boredom.

 

[Trunkage]

I think enterprise main redeeming quality is every scene Jeffrey Combs is in as that Andorian guy. He's an absolute joy. I kinda feel like producers and studio didn't have enough faith in the show, story writing always just barely scrapped by and I suspect they just didn't have a well funded writing staff. The dialog and acting was always pretty solid, but the writing felt cheap and unpolished through as much of the run as I tolerated. I gave up sometime shortly after season 2 out of boredom.

Well, I wouldn't say TNG was well written. The characters personality change based on the needs of the story and that makes them feel so discordant. So it's been a consistent Star Trek problem, including the new ones.

It's just that this is new (only series I missed). I'm up to ep 5 of season 3 and it's makes Archer's rant even stupidier with all the stuff that he's pulling. Mind you, I'm enjoying this season way more

 

[Xprimentyl]

Welcome To Earth: Meh / Great

Will Smith stars in this documentary series doing shit most people in their right mind would never do. Going into an active volcano, going over 3000 feet under the sea in a 3-person submersible, spelunking and diving in an underground lake, turning off the headlights whilst standing outside of a vehicle in a savannah filled with wildebeests and the lions that prey on them, etc. It's an series which focuses more on Smith's awe than actually informing the audience. And that's fine; there's something to learning to appreciate the world vicariously through someone with more money than God who could easily have done this stuff without cameras should he should have chosen to. It's Will Smith, basically impossible to dislike, but just underwhelming enough that it's mostly riding on his star power, i.e.: had this have been hosted by some no-name with nothing to risk/live for, it probably wouldn't be worth it in lieu of a regular, informative documentary.