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

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Widow's Bay rules. It's so fun. I just want everyone else to share in this joy.

They just dropped a double episode and I have to wait at least 10 days to watch them because my wife is on a business trip 'till then, so that sucks. I don't remember the last time I anticipated new episodes like this. Well, I guess Pluribus. Damn, Apple TV, they really are the new HBO.

Just watched it myself and was duly surprised by the double episode. Suffice to say it very suitably ties the past and present together in an unexpected way. The show really is a diamond in the rough and a nice midweek reward. It has that Goldilocks effect in blending its elements just right.

 

[thebobmaster]

Three more episodes down of Tales From the Crypt Season 2.

Episode 7 (The Sacrifice): Pretty solid episode. Not horror, more of a neo-noir, but those can be fun to watch, and unsurprisingly, Michael Ironside is great as the villain of the episode. Pretty solid ending twist, as any good noir should have.

Episode 8 (For Crying Out Loud): Possibly my favorite episode of not just the season, but show so far. It has a sharp comedic edge to it, as you might expect having the same writers as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and both Lee Arenberg and especially Sam Kinison are fantastic sources of humor through their performance. Nice little twist on the whole Tell-Tale Heart concept, but with rock. I dug it.

Episode 9 (Four Sided Triangle): Decent performance from all involved, especially Patricia Arquette (yes, Kirsten herself from NOES 3), and a solid enough plot directed efficiently by Tom Holland of Child's Play fame. Story overall was a bit generic, though, and a little drawn out. Again, though, ending was quite strong, enough to lift the episode up overall.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Caught up on Your Friend and Neighbors

Well, the season’s finally had what will likely be its defining moment, and all that’s left is seeing how the main cast will wash their hands of their involvement.


Shining Girls

Stephen King had said it was “exactly what streaming was made for”, and I can’t argue it’s at least a good example of it, if not “exactly”. Starring Elisabeth Moss as the sole survivor in a string attacks, it puts a little twist on a serial killer dark drama that may be a bit too slow going on the front end, but the back half makes up for it. I think one nitpick would be how much the twist relies on that which no explanation was really provided for, but as a mystery perhaps it’s also for the better.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Watched the first episode of Spider-Noir. It's a fun enough premise - Nicolas Cage, of all people, as a 1930s PI who also masks as a period-appropriate Spider-Man - but doesn't offer a very compelling narrative. The jig is up from the word go and there's not much to the central mystery ("What are the bad guys up to?") or the action, of which there is very little and 62 year old Cage adequately Mandalorians. I suppose it looks good enough, too, in black and white, but it ain't no Sin City. Best I can say about the show is Cage is having a blast and carries effortlessly while everybody else does their best "half-witted goon from Arkham City" impression.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Watched the first episode of Spider-Noir. It's a fun enough premise - Nicolas Cage, of all people, as a 1930s PI who also masks as a period-appropriate Spider-Man - but doesn't offer a very compelling narrative. The jig is up from the word go and there's not much to the central mystery ("What are the bad guys up to?") or the action, of which there is very little and 62 year old Cage adequately Mandalorians. I suppose it looks good enough, too, in black and white, but it ain't no Sin City. Best I can say about the show is Cage is having a blast and carries effortlessly while everybody else does their best "half-witted goon from Arkham City" impression.

Also watched this last night, first in color then maybe about half of the b/w option before falling asleep. It basically seems like a good filler show (with Nic Cage!) which might as well be viewed in color unless one really digs the “noir” aesthetic, because agreeably it doesn’t add much beyond that.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Also watched this last night, first in color then maybe about half of the b/w option before falling asleep. It basically seems like a good filler show (with Nic Cage!) which might as well be viewed in color unless one really digs the “noir” aesthetic, because agreeably it doesn’t add much beyond that.

For me it boils down to Nic Cage just being so darn watchable whenever he's having fun. I kinda don't even need the noir thing or even the Spider-Man thing. Nic Cage is enough of compelling a gimmick.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

For me it boils down to Nic Cage just being so darn watchable whenever he's having fun. I kinda don't even need the noir thing or even the Spider-Man thing. Nic Cage is enough of compelling a gimmick.

His best scene in ep. 1 is him watching Cat’s performance. So enraptured by it. Probably even real tears.

Fun fact first entry in its IMDb trivia -

After watching the full eight episodes for the first time, Nicolas Cage said it was one of the happiest and most fulfilling moments in his life, as the show combined his two passions - classic cinema and comics.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Widow’s Bay - Your Baggage

This show keeps on surprising, this time going for full-on old school slasher horror/suspense, while retaining its quirky humor. Only two episodes left, and I can’t wait for what’s next.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Cape Fear - An Apple Original *raises eyebrow*

Ok, this story has been done twice on feature film already that I’m aware of, and after only seeing one episode so far the jury is still out on how it translates to a series, but so far so good. You have Patrick Wilson and Amy Adams as the messy lawyer power couple, and Javier fucking Bardem as the tie that binds them. What could go wrong? Ohhh, guessing so, so much, but hopefully in the right kind of way.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Ok, so just started watching Babylon 5, intro movie (with somewhat different cast), first few eps of season 1.

It's impressive how dated it is...I'm a fan of the original Star Trek and Doctor Who and Blake's 7, which are somehow not nearly as dated as this. The acting is a bit questionable, but every now and then the writing is quite good.

 

[Gordon_4]

Ok, so just started watching Babylon 5, intro movie (with somewhat different cast), first few eps of season 1.

It's impressive how dated it is...I'm a fan of the original Star Trek and Doctor Who and Blake's 7, which are somehow not nearly as dated as this. The acting is a bit questionable, but every now and then the writing is quite good.

I know this is a broken record, but I promise you, power through Season 1. The back end of it is pretty good, and once Season 2 starts you're on a pretty unbroken quality high that lasts until the end of Season 4.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Went back to watching Half Man. It's quite depressing. It's a show built on, what if it's 1980s Scotland, everyone's a chav and your mom's gay, your roommate's gay, you're (closeted) gay and your stepbrother is Begby from Trainspotting who feels violently possessive of you? There's a beatdown every episode. What is it about a depressing show that makes it so much more depressing than a similarly plotted movie? Is it that every week I have to choose to continue watching?

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I know this is a broken record, but I promise you, power through Season 1. The back end of it is pretty good, and once Season 2 starts you're on a pretty unbroken quality high that lasts until the end of Season 4.

Check out my recent discovery:

APreciousBlueberry | BABYLON 5 The Sherlocked Edit

This dude re-edited all of B5 into 17 90 minute episodes. I guess the idea is to cut the fat and provide a streamlined version.
I haven't watched it yet since I recently re-watched the whole series but I did download it for a (near) future viewing.
I read through his explanation of the choices he made and it's interesting, especially how he re-framed some of the stuff that happens in the infamously messy shift from season 4 to 5.

For u/Thaluikhain or anyone checking out B5 for the first time, I wouldn't say this is a replacement for the full show but I guess something to consider if you lose patient with 110 episodes and want something shorter.

Re: the acting, I would agree it's a mixed bag but I will stress that the best acting are with the characters that stick around the longest, which is what counts.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Finished Spider Noir

It was mostly fun, with a satisfying conclusion if not having enough consistency getting there. Nic Cage does his best Nic Cage at least once or twice, and you can tell he’s enjoying the character throughout. The rest of the cast lives up to the “supporting” bill, as the plot flutters along like a kite catching a wind every now and then.

If it’s only one season I’d be satisfied for what it was. If there’s more, the writer’s well will have to be dug deeper.


Widow’s Bay - Emergency Shelter

Another short episode, but with more tell than show of the previous. That’s ok though, because it was told well and sets up the finale, which is thankfully back on the longer side. Another one where regardless of how it ends, I’d probably be satisfied overall since it’s been that good. Though given the writing and performances thus far, another season would be very welcome.

 

[Gordon_4]

Check out my recent discovery:

APreciousBlueberry | BABYLON 5 The Sherlocked Edit

This dude re-edited all of B5 into 17 90 minute episodes. I guess the idea is to cut the fat and provide a streamlined version.
I haven't watched it yet since I recently re-watched the whole series but I did download it for a (near) future viewing.
I read through his explanation of the choices he made and it's interesting, especially how he re-framed some of the stuff that happens in the infamously messy shift from season 4 to 5.

For u/Thaluikhain or anyone checking out B5 for the first time, I wouldn't say this is a replacement for the full show but I guess something to consider if you lose patient with 110 episodes and want something shorter.

Re: the acting, I would agree it's a mixed bag but I will stress that the best acting are with the characters that stick around the longest, which is what counts.

Babylon 5 isn’t really a series you can condense down that much in my opinion. You can not watch a few episodes of Season 1 - I think you can cut it from 22 episodes to like 16 if you’re brutal - but after that there’s just too much in the margins to do the same without compromising the meat of the story.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'm generally against fan edits (or official edits) done long after the initial release on principle, things were made the way they were for a reason.

EDIT: And I've finished season 1. It wasn't great, but it looked like people were trying a lot harder than usual for this sort of shows. Some of the B plots were annoying padding, though. Shows real promise in general, but leaving things on a cliffhanger at the season finale...gah.

I liked how they explained or lamp shaded some of the cliches of the genre, such as why does the commander of the place have to go on the dangerous missions all the time? His friend thinks he's a former war hero with a possible death wish. Ok, fair enough.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Babylon 5 isn’t really a series you can condense down that much in my opinion. You can not watch a few episodes of Season 1 - I think you can cut it from 22 episodes to like 16 if you’re brutal - but after that there’s just too much in the margins to do the same without compromising the meat of the story.

I actually watched the first of these.
It's interesting, I enjoyed it. I'm gonna continue.
The roughest part was the transition from the scenes in The Gathering to the main season because of the character changes.
What he chose to include and highlight:
- The Narn / Centauri conflict, and bringing Morden into it. He basically smushed the conflicts over Ragesh 3 and Quadrant 37 together. It was cool to experience as a story, but also some visual elements get noticed (like why is Londo holding a black box when Morden confronts him for the first time? The edit can't explain that, but the fan knows what it's for, but in the long run it doesn't matter).
- Ivanova's dad and reckoning- it felt like it was most of the "episode."
- Thalia, including Kosh's "negotiation" (this one actually surprised me for reasons I don't wanna go into to avoid spoiling for our friend watching the series).
What he chose to leave out:
- The Minbari. I mean, Delenn is in it, but barely, and of no consequence.
- Dr. Franklin, Lennier, Lyta Alexander- they're just not in it (even though the doctor and original 2nd in command are in a scene in order to set up Kosh).
- Adira (so I'll be curious how that will play out given what happens in season 3)
- Anything around SInclair's background mystery, but I know there is a whole separate "episode" what covers all that.

I expected the first one to be the roughest, mostly because of The Gathering. But I look forward to the rest, mostly because I think he's making a point to include some of the most memorable moments even if they're not most important to the plot (i.e., every scene with Rabbi Kaslov and G'Kar singing about fishies to his supper).

> I liked how they explained or lamp shaded some of the cliches of the genre, such as why does the commander of the place have to go on the dangerous missions all the time? His friend thinks he's a former war hero with a possible death wish. Ok, fair enough.

*nods vigorously*

Even fans hate that episode ("Infection") and I don't, because it's an early episode, it has some great guest actors, is still fun, and yes that scene with Garibaldi and Sinclair.
Fans generally agree that season 2 is leaps ahead and frankly I disagree- I think it's as spotty as season 1. But I hold season 1 in much higher regard than most, for whatever that's worth. I think season 1 is a gem- the mystery of the end of the Minbari war via Delenn, the dynamics of the Psi-Corps / Ivanova / Thalia/ Bester, and most importantly the Narrn / Centauri conflict as leveraged through G'Kar and Londo, which is IMO the best portrayal of space-countries at war I've ever seen in TV, and that must include this first season which is both aftermath and prelude.

I also wanna shout out to guest stars.
- Theodore Bikel, portraying Rabbi Koslov. Bikel is one of the leading lights of Jewish-American thespianism. He is the actor that portrayed Tevya the Dairyman- main character of Fiddler on the Roof-- more than anyone in history, starting as a stage actor in Mandatory Palestine. He was a leader of a major acting trade union, played countless roles across genres including in counterculture stuff like a Frank Zappa movie, and even in genre stuff like playing Worf's adoptive dad in Star Trek: TNG.

A lot of B5 is kind of reaction to Trek- as great as Trek is, there are gaps or prejudices that allowed other things to fill in when it portrays a future of humans in space. While Trek was good about showing diversity, it didn't show continuity. In B5, you will see African names and humans having different religions and clothes. Seeing a rabbi in space leading a shiva with Hebrew prayers was rather shocking to me. I also loved how he and Sinclair got along, and that Sinclair's background as a Jesuit student gives him an inherent appreciation for thoughtful religious leaders (I would have loved to see him get on with Brother Theo).

- Walter Koenig. I mean... Bester, by the guy what played Chekov, holy crap, how cool?!

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Hacks series finale.

I am generally easier on finales than most, I think- I mean if I enjoyed a show for years, I'm not gonna be down on just one ep. The premise of this finale- Ava accompanies Deborah on her prelude-to-suicide vacay... was quite jarring. To set up and resolve a whole drama around freaking cancer and euthanasia is wild. I was distracted by three things:

- Deborah chose to spend her last months on earth with her work buddy instead of her own daughter. I get why in the context of the show, but it's still crazy!
- The show begins and ends with this love letter to Vegas as some bastion of progressive virtue instead of the gaudy escapist resource-hog it is.
- My wife and I chose to abandon game 4 of the Knicks/Spurs finals after the first half in order to watch this, during which the Knicks pulled off the greatest come back in NBA finals history.

And everything with Jimmy and Kayla was stupid that applies to the whole final season so whatevs.

So the finale wasn't great. But the show as a whole was a solid B+ comedy, and the Deborah / Ava frenemy situation was maybe my favorite relationship on TV in years.
Most importantly, it's maybe the greatest and most honest love letter to stand-up comedy I've ever seen, and that's saying something considering how many shows are spear-headed by comedians and how many of them suck. It's also special to me since all of my favorite comedians either or have become MAGA chuds so it was nice to be reminded of why I used to go to comedy clubs and watch comedy specials all the time.

 

[thebobmaster]

Few more Tales From the Crypt episodes down.

"The Ventriloquist's Dummy"-Great episode, one of my favorites yet. It's rare to see Don Rickles in a dramatic role, but he pulls it off well. Plus, written by Frank Darabont, enough said.

"You're Not Yourself Today, Judy"-Eh. I liked Carol Kane and Frances Bay, but the episode itself was pretty mediocre, and if anyone used their brains, the episode would have been 10 minutes shorter.

"Fitting Punishment"-This is the kind of dark episode I can really get behind. 20 or so minutes of watching a character just be an absolutely monstrous person, and then 5 or so minutes of reaping what they sowed.

 

[Gordon_4]

I'm generally against fan edits (or official edits) done long after the initial release on principle, things were made the way they were for a reason.

EDIT: And I've finished season 1. It wasn't great, but it looked like people were trying a lot harder than usual for this sort of shows. Some of the B plots were annoying padding, though. Shows real promise in general, but leaving things on a cliffhanger at the season finale...gah.

I liked how they explained or lamp shaded some of the cliches of the genre, such as why does the commander of the place have to go on the dangerous missions all the time? His friend thinks he's a former war hero with a possible death wish. Ok, fair enough.

There's other reasons; in one episode one of the command staff goes out on a Starfury because if they don't get some hours in they'll lose their flight pay. Since this is a setting with an economy, most of them do it because its a way to get bonus income. I don't wanna dig it too deeply yet, so when you're like half way through season 2, quote this and I'll bore with my thoughts on the matter xD