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

Thaluikhain

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I fucking hated that mini series with a passion. I sincerely hope that David Thewlis was extremely well compensated for embarrassing himself in it. I mean of all the fun shit Dinotopia has in it - and it does have some fun stuff - this is what they made?
There was some cool stuff, yeah (in the last part they visit underground ruins via a steampunk magic submarine, for example) and a lot of not so cool stuff. And am sorta surprised that they had some big-ish names in there.
 

Gordon_4

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There was some cool stuff, yeah (in the last part they visit underground ruins via a steampunk magic submarine, for example) and a lot of not so cool stuff. And am sorta surprised that they had some big-ish names in there.
That part was from one of the mainline books: The World Beneath. Thewlis' character is actually meant to be a grandson of the antagonist of that book, Lee Crab. I mean its not like Star Wars where there's a lot of expanded universe stuff, but there is some. My personal favourite was the one about three teenagers who find a hidden society of Samurai Troodons BUT the one about what is basically a Dinotopian environmental officer on her first job was also kind of cool.
 

Hawki

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Looks at thread...

Huh. So I'm not the only one of my generation who remembers that Dinotopia was once a thing. Who knew?
 

Gordon_4

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Looks at thread...

Huh. So I'm not the only one of my generation who remembers that Dinotopia was once a thing. Who knew?
It was basically Dino-Riders for hippies :D I kid of course, DInotopia was really more a big art book - and what fucking art says I - that had enough of a narrative spun through it to make it less like a weird art piece. The second one - World Beneath - was a more traditional storybook with incredible artwork yet again. The side story stuff was basic ***** size 12-14 year old novel size.

Anyway, I watched Ripping Yards, episode 1: Tompkinson's Schooldays.

Good fun, the School Bully is a scene stealer, I wish I could remember his actor's name but he was a load of fun.
 

Trunkage

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Looks at thread...

Huh. So I'm not the only one of my generation who remembers that Dinotopia was once a thing. Who knew?
I remember seeing it. I remember being hyped seeing the ads for it. I literally cannot tell you a single thing about it. It was that forgettable
 

Hawki

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It was basically Dino-Riders for hippies :D I kid of course, DInotopia was really more a big art book - and what fucking art says I - that had enough of a narrative spun through it to make it less like a weird art piece. The second one - World Beneath - was a more traditional storybook with incredible artwork yet again. The side story stuff was basic ***** size 12-14 year old novel size.
Think I've actually got both of those books. Also had the Windchaser novel. That was fun.

Funny thing about Dinotopia, but I've operated under the impression that it was obscure. Like, dinosaurs will always be cool, but not necessarily Dinotopia itself. There's a Dinotopia book on the shelves of one of the branches I work at; I don't think it's ever been borrowed.
 

Trunkage

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Think I've actually got both of those books. Also had the Windchaser novel. That was fun.

Funny thing about Dinotopia, but I've operated under the impression that it was obscure. Like, dinosaurs will always be cool, but not necessarily Dinotopia itself. There's a Dinotopia book on the shelves of one of the branches I work at; I don't think it's ever been borrowed.
I'm getting the feeling, looking at the people who remember it, it was a very Australian thing
 

SupahEwok

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I'm getting the feeling, looking at the people who remember it, it was a very Australian thing
Nah. The author was American, it was over here. I very vaguely remember having a couple of Dinotopia books, but its been a very long time.
 

Gordon_4

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Nah. The author was American, it was over here. I very vaguely remember having a couple of Dinotopia books, but its been a very long time.
Could be just a regional popularity thing: The Phantom is an American comic character, yet his two biggest strongholds in terms of sales are Scandinavia and Australia.

Speaking of: The Phantom - 8/10

Much like The Mummy - similar time period setting means the two share a great deal of DNA - this is a grand pulp adventure with all the trimmings: Jungle chases, sky pirates - and Holy Fucking Shit Catherine Zeta Jones as a 30's aviatrix pirate is something I didn't know I wanted until I had it - gangsters, magical artefacts and even more traditional pirates. Everyone acquits themselves well and the visuals are pretty good for the year and budget.
 

Trunkage

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Could be just a regional popularity thing: The Phantom is an American comic character, yet his two biggest strongholds in terms of sales are Scandinavia and Australia.

Speaking of: The Phantom - 8/10

Much like The Mummy - similar time period setting means the two share a great deal of DNA - this is a grand pulp adventure with all the trimmings: Jungle chases, sky pirates - and Holy Fucking Shit Catherine Zeta Jones as a 30's aviatrix pirate is something I didn't know I wanted until I had it - gangsters, magical artefacts and even more traditional pirates. Everyone acquits themselves well and the visuals are pretty good for the year and budget.
My Nanna collected Phantom comics almost until she died
 

Thaluikhain

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Shadowhunters ep 1

After seeing the movie the remake Netflix series seems a bit weird, and the acting is not exactly great, or the writing for that matter, but Cassandra Calre, for all her many flaws, came up with an interesting world for people to run around not acting in.
 

TheMysteriousGX

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If y'all want a good Netflix anime, Great Pretender is a strong choice

Team of con artists take on rich bad guys, strong Leverage vibes. Worldwide setting, hugely diverse cast of characters, very strong, yet unconventional visuals fro Studio I.G., no fucking high-schooler.

Episodes are in 4-part mini arcs, so season 1 has three cons
 

Johnny Novgorod

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The Boys (Season 2)

I watched the first season earlier this year and while I enjoyed it I hadn't really given it much thought since. Now it's back and I'm hooked again. And I like that Amazon is releasing one episode once a week, I miss that in TV: making me hyped for this one day of the week.
 

Trunkage

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The Boys (Season 2)

I watched the first season earlier this year and while I enjoyed it I hadn't really given it much thought since. Now it's back and I'm hooked again. And I like that Amazon is releasing one episode once a week, I miss that in TV: making me hyped for this one day of the week.
Nope. Literally find it annoying. Maybe if they did 3 eps for week, Id be interested.

This just makes me find others shows to watch instead. And I like the Boyd. I'll probably wait a few weeks before watching more
 

Thaluikhain

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Finished watching season 2 of the Adam West Batman series.

Last episode, the Gotham City Police do something useful, they get kitted out in cold weather gear and get into Mr Freeze's iceberg lair to grab him while Batman and Robin beat up his goons.
 

Thaluikhain

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Ok, all of Shadowhunters season 1.

There's some good stuff in there, but the writing (and acting) is sloppy, just a bit more script editing would have helped a lot.

Will be getting the next series.
 

dreng3

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I started watching The Good Place a week and a half ago, and it is probably some of the best television I have ever seen. It poses some ethical quandaries and while it answers them in a somewhat simplistic way it also provides a fantastic mix of information and humor. The characters are part lifelike (I am acquainted with both Chidi's and Eleanor's), and completely unimaginable (Jason and Tahani), and the development of the characters are wonderful.

For a time I was afraid of beginning season 2 following the ending of the first season, for a fear of repetitiveness or jumping the shark, but ultimately the director and writers created a wonderful depiction of life as a human seen from an afterlife-centric perspective.
Ultimately the story ends at a comfortable place after four seasons (a total of 51 episodes) with resolutions for all characters involved and a satisfying ending. Leaving the attentive viewer with only one question "Why didn't anyone question the necessity of a good place and a bad place?".

9 stars out of 10 and a firm recommendation from me.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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The Boys (Season 2, first 4 episodes)

So far season 2 feels like the stakes have been lowered. One of the things I really liked in season 1 was the feeling of danger and paranoia both on the side of The Boys as well as The Seven themselves. The show made superheroes into these terrifying all-seeing, all-hearing, unredeemably self-centered bastards who wouldn't hesistate for a second to murder anybody in cold blood over inconveniences that were either caused by themselves or altogether imaginary. It was the kind of Stalinist nightmare fuel that made you dread anybody so much as look at a superhero in the eye.

In season 2, so far at least, everyone seems to have it a little easier. People get away with the kinds of things that would've met the standards of an all-or-nothing finale in season 1. There's not that much cloak and dagger anymore, which used to be the only reason why any of these squishy civs would be any bother to a squad of all-powerful sociopathic demigods. Luck and happenstance takes over to an unbelievable degree. And despite all of the points of no return that the season 1 finale crossed (regarding the identity and motivation of pretty much everybody) season 2 compromises with things that aren't quite retcons but take away from the severity of the situation.

I also don't like the feeling of a nerfed Homelander. He's killed people for much less than the shit he now puts up with for no apparent or convincing reason. Antony Starr is still awesome as Norman Bates meets Superman/Captain America though. I like Deep's continuing ridiculous journey of self-discovery, and that Black Noir is taking a little more presence. A-Train feels like he's got nothing left to do, which brings me to Hughie, who also flounders about. Like 80% of what drove season 1 was the revenge plot, and with that sorted the characters are just sort of there. Starlight also feels less protagonistic and more directionless. Season appears to be focusing mostly on Butcher and Kimiko while everybody else finds something to do.
 

PsychedelicDiamond

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Cobra Kai

Sequel series to the Karate Kid movies, of all things. Originally released on a streaming service called YouTube Red, which apparently exists, and now available on Netflix. Cobra Kai focusses on the original movies rival character Johnny Lawrence, now down on his luck, opening up the Cobra Kai Karate Dojo again and rekindling his old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, now the owner of a succesful car dealership.

It's a fun show, mostly on the virtue of Johnny Lawrence being a fun character, the "all grown up" version of the 80s bully archetype, now a lovable deadbeat trying to hold on to and pass down an understanding of masculinity to a generation that has mostly moved on from it. Daniel LaRusso, on the other hand, is living the American dream, an almost comically bourgeois life as a family man with a beautiful wife and two children. The old rivals have become a pair of goofy sitcom dads, and Cobra Kai is a mostly light hearted series, though that serves as a backdrop to the martial arts drama that one would expect out of this franchise. Daniel eventually starts to train Johnny's estranged son, Johnny's protégé, immigrant kid Miguel, starts to date Daniels daughter, conflict ensues.

By the second season the show starts to focus perhaps a bit too much on the teen characters, who were, in my opinion, the less compelling part of the show. They are mostly decent characters but there is an annoyingly soapy flavour to their overplayed high school drama and it feels like it's taking screentime away from the more interesting characters, even more so considering season 2 actually brought back an old villain.

That being said, Cobra Kai is still very likeable, in a way a lot of recent television doesn't try to be. It very much avoids the trappings of high budget prestige television in favour of something that embraces cornyness, rather than treating it as something to be avoided. It's a throwback to the sort of thing that would have been made in the 80s or 90s. It is, by all means, a very watchable show, if not exactly a very challenging one. It definitely fills a certain niche in modern television.