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

[Thaluikhain]

Ok, so got seasons 3 and 6 of Buffy from a charity shop.

And people spoke clearly in season 3, but the mumbling thing that's really popular now have taken over by season 6. Didn't know it happened that early.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

So Fall of the House of Usher was... pretty good I guess. I love Flanagan's work. Hill House is up there as my favourite mini series of all time and the guy's Stephen King adaptations are the best out there but I have to say, this is his weakest yet besides Midnight Club (which I never really gave a chance tbh).

There's a lot of great performances in it and the overall story is pretty good but, while Hill House and Bly Manor felt like good modern adaptations/retellings/whatever you would characterise them as of their original creators' works, Usher kinda felt bogged down by it. The other two felt looser and more free. A bunch of awkwardly shoe horned in quotes from Poe's poetry (the bust of Pallas is above the mantel, so why does Roderick say it's "above my chamber door"?) Hill House is my favourite novel and I enjoyed The Turn of The Screw and despite being more familiar with those works than I am with Poe I found the allusions to them less jarring. Like I was able to recognise the parts taken directly from Poe's work, not because I recognised them themselves, but because that was when the show started stumbling to fit in lines and quotes that felt out of place so I knew they had to be taken directly from Poe's writing.

Its politics, despite being largely in-line with my own, feel really forced in. I could have done without the Trump reference for instance. Which is another thing, it directly references real world things like Goop, Trump and Tik Tok in a way that just feels like they're really gonna date the show in about 10 years time. They maybe could have been a bit more broad when referencing the real, modern world. Talking about social media itself rather than specific apps. Fitness/health and lifestyle grifts/borderline cults are a huge problem and I think are enough of an issue of the modern day to be deserving of satire but I think focusing on Goop will make it less of a timeless critique of the early 21st century than a more general take on the monster diet culture has become would. Midnight Mass uses 9/11 to frame what it was like to be Muslim in 00's America and that works because 9/11 was a huge tragedy that probably will define that decade in the history books when our kids have kids. But Goop? Do we really think Goop is going to be a thing we're still talking about in 20 years time?

An example of this done well is how it tackles animal testing for medical equipment. One character leaves a bunch of dead chimps in her wake and while I was waiting for a throwaway reference to Neuralink it never came. Which was a relief because, fuck Elon Musk, but that problem is bigger than him.

It tries very hard to have a take on modern capitalism but I think by being too specific in its targets it runs the risk of being full of things future generations will maybe know nothing about. Rather than these references making the show a critique of the 2010's/2020's it's just going to leave it filled with dated references that detract from the point it's trying to make.

Every performance in it is stellar though. Nobody let's the show down there. It's got the signature Flanagan monologuing without feeling like a drag the way Midnight Mass did. Almost every character is a bastard but is still somewhat relatable or at least you understand why they are the way they are. They're not awful in a two-dimensional way. They are just very broken people. Everyone in this show deserves recognition for their performances. And a couple of the individual storylines are amazing. Episodes 2 and 5 really stood out to me. It's definitely worth a watch in that regard.

How dare you scan my brainwaves and write this review. Definitely agree at the silliness of the constant Edgar Allen Poe quotes. The Nevermore reference in particular was hilarious. The politics too, the sister's monologue by the end was hard to sit through.

I think my biggest complaint is that the supernatural element was so uneven. Some deaths were earned for sure, others seemed just kinda mean. And yeah deaths in horror movies don't always need to be justified, but the show sure seemed to paint people's deaths as consequences of their actions.

Overall though, after 3 years of Disney+ shlock, it was quite refreshing to watch a "real" show.

 

[Cheetodust]

I think my biggest complaint is that the supernatural element was so uneven. Some deaths were earned for sure, others seemed just kinda mean. And yeah deaths in horror movies don't always need to be justified, but the show sure seemed to paint people's deaths as consequences of their actions.

Yeah definitely, Leo's death in particular felt a bit cruel. I know he did that bad thing while out of his head on drugs but overall he seemed the most decent of them all. Even Tamerlane was an asshole, but she didn't seem as evil as some of the others and didn't do anything particularly horrible apart from being a horrible spouse and an all around asshole. She was a bad person sure but she didn't do anything that made me think "I can't wait until she gets hers". If anything, Roderick, the guy who deserves to get got the most of them all, got off comparatively light.

I also think they could have done more with Pym.

Spoiler

He was this all powerful fixer for the Ushers but it turns out he was protecting people from harm that could never touch them. Literally anyone could have been their attorney and gotten the same results. Verna says as much herself, that he was just under the protection of the Ushers' deal. Would have been an interesting character development to have him realise that he was ultimately useless and nothing he did to protect the Ushers mattered. We know he felt guilt about what happened to the Inuit girl on his travel around the world, so having him realise that all the blood on his hands was pointless could have been interesting.

I also would have liked them to explore Auguste and Roderick's relationship more. Young Auggie had such a cool introduction. The show could definitely have used more of him.

But yeah, in a world of constant cinematic universes, spin offs, sequels and stories that will never end Usher still stands above most shows that came out this year.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Yeah definitely, Leo's death in particular felt a bit cruel. I know he did that bad thing while out of his head on drugs but overall he seemed the most decent of them all. Even Tamerlane was an asshole, but she didn't seem as evil as some of the others and didn't do anything particularly horrible apart from being a horrible spouse and an all around asshole. She was a bad person sure but she didn't do anything that made me think "I can't wait until she gets hers". If anything, Roderick, the guy who deserves to get got the most of them all, got off comparatively light.

I also think they could have done more with Pym.

Spoiler

He was this all powerful fixer for the Ushers but it turns out he was protecting people from harm that could never touch them. Literally anyone could have been their attorney and gotten the same results. Verna says as much herself, that he was just under the protection of the Ushers' deal. Would have been an interesting character development to have him realise that he was ultimately useless and nothing he did to protect the Ushers mattered. We know he felt guilt about what happened to the Inuit girl on his travel around the world, so having him realise that all the blood on his hands was pointless could have been interesting.

I found the treatment of Pym odd as well. I love Hamill, but it felt like they were putting the man on a pedestal the whole season just because he was being played by him. Frankly I was surprised they dedicated any time at all to him in the final episode.

 

[Dalisclock]

Finished LA One Piece Season 1.

And I gotta say I enjoyed it a lot. I know very little about the show and universe other then a general idea of how the planet works(and man it's a bit wierd) but I think I followed it pretty well.

And I strangely kind of like Luffy's Cheesy "I will win you over with my positive attitude or I'll beat the shit out of you otherwise" motif. It's like a LA Steven Universe in a way, you know, except Luffy isn't basically a god in human form(that I know of). I've even gotten used to some of the really interesting costuming decisions (Adm Garp's silly bulldog hat) and the Fish Pirates interesting makeup.

But yeah, I kind of love the moment when they unfurl the straw hat Jolly Roger at the end as a present to Luffy.

I don't know how much of the story they covered thus far in this season and that's one of the things I was skeptical about because apparently it's a very LONG MANGA/ANIME and been going for like 15+ years at this point and presumably next season they actually reach the grand line where I guess they'll be for most of the rest of the story(and I know the grand line runs the entire planet apparently?). One plot arc that I do know about that probably won't start until season 3 or so is the Impel Down arc where there's a massive super prison in the middle of the ocean and apparently all the worst criminals are placed and Luffy apparently ends up breaking into it to break someone else out or something.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Is this really based off of something else?

Anyway, found out it's still releasing new episodes. I was really ready to rip the band aid off and be done with it, but apparently, we've just caught up and are awaiting the next episode. A part of me wants to just stop watching and wait until all episodes are out, but given I'm already lost in present time, I can't imagine it all being fresh in my mind weeks from now.

Finished The Changeling last night.

My wife and I were starting to fall off the show half-way through and the last episode didn't do anything to change our opinion. The show ended up feeling like the author trying to sound smart and profound but it's just a bunch of.. stuff. Kind of an incoherent mess of ideas and themes.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Finished The Changeling last night.

My wife and I were starting to fall off the show half-way through and the last episode didn't do anything to change our opinion. The show ended up feeling like the author trying to sound smart and profound but it's just a bunch of.. stuff. Kind of an incoherent mess of ideas and themes.

We're going to finish it tonight; gotta wait for my gf to get home from work.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

So Fall of the House of Usher was... pretty good I guess. I love Flanagan's work. Hill House is up there as my favourite mini series of all time and the guy's Stephen King adaptations are the best out there but I have to say, this is his weakest yet besides Midnight Club (which I never really gave a chance tbh).

There's a lot of great performances in it and the overall story is pretty good but, while Hill House and Bly Manor felt like good modern adaptations/retellings/whatever you would characterise them as of their original creators' works, Usher kinda felt bogged down by it. The other two felt looser and more free. A bunch of awkwardly shoe horned in quotes from Poe's poetry (the bust of Pallas is above the mantel, so why does Roderick say it's "above my chamber door"?) Hill House is my favourite novel and I enjoyed The Turn of The Screw and despite being more familiar with those works than I am with Poe I found the allusions to them less jarring. Like I was able to recognise the parts taken directly from Poe's work, not because I recognised them themselves, but because that was when the show started stumbling to fit in lines and quotes that felt out of place so I knew they had to be taken directly from Poe's writing.

Its politics, despite being largely in-line with my own, feel really forced in. I could have done without the Trump reference for instance. Which is another thing, it directly references real world things like Goop, Trump and Tik Tok in a way that just feels like they're really gonna date the show in about 10 years time. They maybe could have been a bit more broad when referencing the real, modern world. Talking about social media itself rather than specific apps. Fitness/health and lifestyle grifts/borderline cults are a huge problem and I think are enough of an issue of the modern day to be deserving of satire but I think focusing on Goop will make it less of a timeless critique of the early 21st century than a more general take on the monster diet culture has become would. Midnight Mass uses 9/11 to frame what it was like to be Muslim in 00's America and that works because 9/11 was a huge tragedy that probably will define that decade in the history books when our kids have kids. But Goop? Do we really think Goop is going to be a thing we're still talking about in 20 years time?

An example of this done well is how it tackles animal testing for medical equipment. One character leaves a bunch of dead chimps in her wake and while I was waiting for a throwaway reference to Neuralink it never came. Which was a relief because, fuck Elon Musk, but that problem is bigger than him.

It tries very hard to have a take on modern capitalism but I think by being too specific in its targets it runs the risk of being full of things future generations will maybe know nothing about. Rather than these references making the show a critique of the 2010's/2020's it's just going to leave it filled with dated references that detract from the point it's trying to make.

Every performance in it is stellar though. Nobody let's the show down there. It's got the signature Flanagan monologuing without feeling like a drag the way Midnight Mass did. Almost every character is a bastard but is still somewhat relatable or at least you understand why they are the way they are. They're not awful in a two-dimensional way. They are just very broken people. Everyone in this show deserves recognition for their performances. And a couple of the individual storylines are amazing. Episodes 2 and 5 really stood out to me. It's definitely worth a watch in that regard.

Just started watching this one and yeah, so far I can say the premise has me intrigued with where it’ll go and everyone makes it as engaging a watch as they can. I only have passing knowledge of Poe’s work though so if anything, any glaring issues with how it’s used here will go over my head.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Hijack - Season 1 - 6/10

It's pretty much just fine and will keep you entertained well enough. The show starts with an interesting twist on what Idris Elba's character does at the start, and that piqued my interest but I don't feel like the show ends up executing that premise well. Elba's character at first decides to help the hijackers because he feels that's his best way to survive in the end, but he rather quickly becomes a standard good guy.

 

[Cheetodust]

Just started watching this one and yeah, so far I can say the premise has me intrigued with where it’ll go and everyone makes it as engaging a watch as they can. I only have passing knowledge of Poe’s work though so if anything, any glaring issues with how it’s used here will go over my head.

Honestly that's what threw me more. If I knew the references they would be less distracting, but because I don't I spend time going "Was that a reference?" But it's not a major issue at all. Midnight Mass had a few monologues that were kinda clangers. Flanagan always seems to have one stylistic choice in his shows that kinda eff up the flow a little and that's this shows one. I binged it in 2 night's though. So it obviously did something right.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Shrinking

Another Apple TV+ comedy about a shrink overstepping the patient-doctor boundaries in a really manipulative way. Although in this case the characters also live in Sitcom Land, where everyone is friends with everyone, so there are no recognizable, realistic boundaries informing character dynamics. This goes for the protagonist and his daughter, boss, colleagues, patients and neighbors. Everyone is always just around the corner, unrestricted by work or any kind of schedule, and swings from one kind of scene to the next: either they're berating or getting berated by the protag, or exchanging apologies. This is the kind of passive aggressive stop and start routine that really gets on my nerves. I don't know why I do this to myself.

Jason Segel - I think he's a likeable dude with a backhanded sense of humor who works well in supporting parts (ie. Winning Time) but not so much as the lead. I just don't find him *that* funny, nor do I think having your protagonist getting shit on by everybody all the time is very compelling.

Harrison Ford - Obviously the main draw. He's dry and funny and knocks every scene out of the park. He's not in it that much but I give the show points for integrating him with a bunch of different characters. And he's apparently having a lot of fun.

Christa Miller - She has the frozen, shocked, inexpressive face and slurred speech pattern of a person with five too many face fillers. Distracting as hell, especially remembering her from Scrubs.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Shrinking

Another Apple TV+ comedy about a shrink overstepping the patient-doctor boundaries in a really manipulative way. Although in this case the characters also live in Sitcom Land, where everyone is friends with everyone, so there are no recognizable, realistic boundaries informing character dynamics. This goes for the protagonist and his daughter, boss, colleagues, patients and neighbors. Everyone is always just around the corner, unrestricted by work or any kind of schedule, and swings from one kind of scene to the next: either they're berating or getting berated by the protag, or exchanging apologies. This is the kind of passive aggressive stop and start routine that really gets on my nerves. I don't know why I do this to myself.

Jason Segel - I think he's a likeable dude with a backhanded sense of humor who works well in supporting parts (ie. Winning Time) but not so much as the lead. I just don't find him *that* funny, nor do I think having your protagonist getting shit on by everybody all the time is very compelling.

Harrison Ford - Obviously the main draw. He's dry and funny and knocks every scene out of the park. He's not in it that much but I give the show points for integrating him with a bunch of different characters. And he's apparently having a lot of fun.

Christa Miller - She has the frozen, shocked, inexpressive face and slurred speech pattern of a person with five too many face fillers. Distracting as hell, especially remembering her from Scrubs.

My bias is that I'm blinded by my affection for the actors. Sure Jason Seigal's schtick can get a bit much but it's charming in small doses. Obviously we like Harrison Ford and while he's not exactly "good" here, it's just fun to watch him doing a comedy sitcom. And we're big fans of Jessica Williams from when she was one of the few bright spots in the last days of John Stewart's Daily Show and then really enjoyed her as one of Two Dope Queens podcast and live shows (in fact I'm taking my wife to see Phoebe Robinson, the other dope queen, do standup for her b-day).

So yeah basically this show can do no wrong for me.

 

[gorfias]

Shrinking

Another Apple TV+ comedy about a shrink overstepping the patient-doctor boundaries in a really manipulative way. Although in this case the characters also live in Sitcom Land, where everyone is friends with everyone, so there are no recognizable, realistic boundaries informing character dynamics. This goes for the protagonist and his daughter, boss, colleagues, patients and neighbors. Everyone is always just around the corner, unrestricted by work or any kind of schedule, and swings from one kind of scene to the next: either they're berating or getting berated by the protag, or exchanging apologies. This is the kind of passive aggressive stop and start routine that really gets on my nerves. I don't know why I do this to myself.

Jason Segel - I think he's a likeable dude with a backhanded sense of humor who works well in supporting parts (ie. Winning Time) but not so much as the lead. I just don't find him *that* funny, nor do I think having your protagonist getting shit on by everybody all the time is very compelling.

Harrison Ford - Obviously the main draw. He's dry and funny and knocks every scene out of the park. He's not in it that much but I give the show points for integrating him with a bunch of different characters. And he's apparently having a lot of fun.

Christa Miller - She has the frozen, shocked, inexpressive face and slurred speech pattern of a person with five too many face fillers. Distracting as hell, especially remembering her from Scrubs.

I enjoyed it but as a guy that only took a few Psych courses, even a beginner like me knows this guy is breaking every rule in the book.

Spoiler

which might be fine if it worked and was a Robin Williams style bucking of tradition to good effect, but it goes so horribly wrong I have no idea how Harrison Ford can ever look Segel in the face ever again, never mind not do everything in his power to see to it that the guy gets his ticket pulled.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Started up a mini-series on Netflix called Lost Ollie and it's looking promising. I haven't had time to watch more than the first episode though.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Hijack - Season 1 - 6/10
Elba's character at first decides to help the hijackers because he feels that's his best way to survive in the end, but he rather quickly becomes a standard good guy.

My thoughts: Elba's character never decided to "help" the hijackers; he used his negotiation skills to manipulate them and mitigate the immediate danger as best as and for as long as he could. I.e.: I don't think changing situations changed his mind from being an ACTUAL ally to the terrorists; he simply reacted to the hands he was being dealt.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

My bias is that I'm blinded by my affection for the actors. Sure Jason Seigal's schtick can get a bit much but it's charming in small doses. Obviously we like Harrison Ford and while he's not exactly "good" here, it's just fun to watch him doing a comedy sitcom. And we're big fans of Jessica Williams from when she was one of the few bright spots in the last days of John Stewart's Daily Show and then really enjoyed her as one of Two Dope Queens podcast and live shows (in fact I'm taking my wife to see Phoebe Robinson, the other dope queen, do standup for her b-day).

So yeah basically this show can do no wrong for me.

I like everybody in the show. I like that they like being on the show (from what I'm perceiving). I'm a little bit repelled by the Bill Lawrence world of "everybody is friends with everybody, speaks in the same voice and relates primarily by either berating or apologizing". But that's a me problem. I don't really like any of his shows and I'm just in it for Harrison Ford, whose presence isn't even that important to the show.

I think I just like Jason Segel better as a 70% drama, 30% comedy dude. Small doses like in Winning Time, where he's not tasked with carrying the whole thing.

I enjoyed it but as a guy that only took a few Psych courses, even a beginner like me knows this guy is breaking every rule in the book.

Spoiler

which might be fine if it worked and was a Robin Williams style bucking of tradition to good effect, but it goes so horribly wrong I have no idea how Harrison Ford can ever look Segel in the face ever again, never mind not do everything in his power to see to it that the guy gets his ticket pulled.

The funny thing is that Apple TV+ also has The Shrink Next Door, which has a manipulative shrink overstepping his boundaries and getting way too personally involved with his patients to the point he ends up living with one. In Shrinking, the shrink has the patient living in his pool house; in Next Door the patient ends up moving into his own pool house. And while both shows are ostensibly comedies and agree this is fucked up on more than a few levels, Shrinking seems more than happy to roll with it.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Finished The Changeling last night.

My wife and I were starting to fall off the show half-way through and the last episode didn't do anything to change our opinion. The show ended up feeling like the author trying to sound smart and profound but it's just a bunch of.. stuff. Kind of an incoherent mess of ideas and themes.

Finished it last night. 100% agree with everything you've said. That last episode in particular was very unsatisfying. I don't know how a show manages to spend 8 episodes presenting question after question without ever even remotely trying to resolve anything, and is satisfied to wipe their hands and call it a wrap for season 1.

Particularly infuriating was Jane Kaczmarek's character, Cal. She walked around the entire time with all the answers (or at the very least explanations,) but decided "cryptic" was the way to deal with everyone. No matter how crazy shit got, she spoke in riddles and refused to explain herself or actions to the very people she needed to "trust" her.

Just looked it up to see when season 2 begins, and found this article. Apparently, the enigmatic first season was by design. I'm not sure how effective this will be ultimately. Personally, I'm not sure how long I'm willing to wait or if I'll even remember enough of season 1 to make season 2 satisfying. There's a good chance that when season 2 drops (months from now at BEST,) The Changeling will have long left my mind, and when season 2 pops up, I won't want to be bothered to start it again.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Finished it last night. 100% agree with everything you've said. That last episode in particular was very unsatisfying. I don't know how a show manages to spend 8 episodes presenting question after question without ever even remotely trying to resolve anything, and is satisfied to wipe their hands and call it a wrap for season 1.

Particularly infuriating was Jane Kaczmarek's character, Cal. She walked around the entire time with all the answers (or at the very least explanations,) but decided "cryptic" was the way to deal with everyone. No matter how crazy shit got, she spoke in riddles and refused to explain herself or actions to the very people she needed to "trust" her.

Just looked it up to see when season 2 begins, and found this article. Apparently, the enigmatic first season was by design. I'm not sure how effective this will be ultimately. Personally, I'm not sure how long I'm willing to wait or if I'll even remember enough of season 1 to make season 2 satisfying. There's a good chance that when season 2 drops (months from now at BEST,) The Changeling will have long left my mind, and when season 2 pops up, I won't want to be bothered to start it again.

I am generally less inclined these days to check out a season 2 after a mixed season 1, especially with sci-fi/fantasy. Like I was gonna start season 2 of Wheel of Time and then it was like... eh.... buh... erm... no.

It's shame that "creepy black people sci-fi" hasn't had a better go of it. I really liked Lovecraft Country and it got canceled. Kindred stretched the brilliant original source material beyond coherence, and The Underground Railroad was just too much misery porn. These casts and ideas and cinematographers and sfx people are so so good and I just wish the writers and producers would crawl out of their own assholes and let them just make the great shows that are sitting right there.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

My thoughts: Elba's character never decided to "help" the hijackers; he used his negotiation skills to manipulate them and mitigate the immediate danger as best as and for as long as he could. I.e.: I don't think changing situations changed his mind from being an ACTUAL ally to the terrorists; he simply reacted to the hands he was being dealt.

Yeah, I get that but I didn't really feel the show did anything too interesting with fact that he's a professional negotiator, Elba's character for the most part is just a standard type lead character that mainly does what most people want to do in that situation but are just too scared too do (like the passenger guy that sat next to Elba). Thus, Hijack is sorta played rather, I guess, "straight" as basically DIe Hard on a plane but not nearly as good. It would be interesting to have a movie/show where the lead character joins the terrorists purely out of self-interest because they decided it was the best way they could survive, and I was kinda hoping the Hijack would go down that route after the initial episode.

I am generally less inclined these days to check out a season 2 after a mixed season 1, especially with sci-fi/fantasy. Like I was gonna start season 2 of Wheel of Time and then it was like... eh.... buh... erm... no.

It's shame that "creepy black people sci-fi" hasn't had a better go of it. I really liked Lovecraft Country and it got canceled.

I did the same with Shadow and Bone season 2, I watched like the first 20 mins or so of the 1st episode and was like "I just don't really care about this anymore".

I loved the first couple episodes of Lovecraft Country but feel like most of my positiveness towards that show was mainly the 1st few episodes and the potential of the concept rather than how good the overall season was because I definitely felt it meandered through a lot of that season.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Yeah, I get that but I didn't really feel the show did anything too interesting with fact that he's a professional negotiator, Elba's character for the most part is just a standard type lead character that mainly does what most people want to do in that situation but are just too scared too do (like the passenger guy that sat next to Elba). Thus, Hijack is sorta played rather, I guess, "straight" as basically DIe Hard on a plane but not nearly as good. It would be interesting to have a movie/show where the lead character joins the terrorists purely out of self-interest because they decided it was the best way they could survive, and I was kinda hoping the Hijack would go down that route after the initial episode.

Interesting take. I don't think the show you've suggested would be interesting at all, i.e.: a "protagonist" so self-serving that he would cooperate with terrorists despite the risk to +100 other innocent people's lives? I mean, where would a show like that even go when, from the onset, you've established the main character isn't morally likeable? People don't go to the movies to see people do what most of us actually would do in crisis situations; we go to see heroes, and escape from reality and likelihoods. At some point the terrorists had to lose, but by your definition, that would be rote "playing it straight." So I guess you would have preferred a show about the woman who killed the pilot and re-hijacked the plane? Should she have crashed the plane and the terrorists (the guys released from prison on the ground) see their elaborate stock scheme through to their millions?

And while we're comparing, hot take: Die Hard is good, not great. I think it survives on nostalgia, its few quotable lines, and the ageless debate over whether it's a Christmas movie or not. Hotter take: I much prefer Die Hard With A Vengeance.