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

[Xprimentyl]

Sticks and Stones: 8/10

Has anyone else watched Dave Chappelle?s newest Netflix special Sticks and Stones? A giant middle finger to social justice [https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/06/dave-chappelles-netflix-special-is-a-giant-middle-finger-to-social-justice/]; punches were not pulled. Personally, I thought it was hilarious, but yeah, not for everybody. It?s less a series of setup-to-punchline jokes, and more a series of pointed and topical rants; think Bill Hicks or George Carlin, comedians who?ve reached maximum cynicism and deliver a message in a way that makes us laugh, but the undertone is very much ?no, assholes, I?m dead fucking serious.? If you know Dave Chappelle, you know he?s not for the easily offended, but in this one, it?s not just the ?N? word you need to brace for: child molestation, opioid addiction, LGBTQ community, school shootings, etc.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Sticks and Stones: 8/10

Has anyone else watched Dave Chappelle's newest Netflix special Sticks and Stones? A giant middle finger to social justice [https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/06/dave-chappelles-netflix-special-is-a-giant-middle-finger-to-social-justice/]; punches were not pulled. Personally, I thought it was hilarious, but yeah, not for everybody. It's less a series of setup-to-punchline jokes, and more a series of pointed and topical rants; think Bill Hicks or George Carlin, comedians who've reached maximum cynicism and deliver a message in a way that makes us laugh, but the undertone is very much "no, assholes, I'm dead fucking serious." If you know Dave Chappelle, you know he?s not for the easily offended, but in this one, it's not just the 'N' word you need to brace for: child molestation, opioid addiction, LGBTQ community, school shootings, etc.

I did, actually. To respond to your post.

It was like a high 6 for me.

I don't know. I just got into Clean Humor recently. I find it funnier. It doesn't rely on shock humor. Just real humor. For anyone who wants to know what I'm talking about, I suggest the channel Dry Bar Comedy [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvlVuntLjdURVD3b3Hx7kxw]. Mike P. Burton [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50gOLFJG6L8] is a personal favorite.

Anyway, to Chappelle. It was eh. It felt a lot like "God, here are my grievances. Oh, right. I'm supposed to make you laugh. Here's an attempt to go along with my grievances. Ok! Back to my grievances."

The more people are trying to be non-political, the sad truth is the more political they are becoming. Getting mad at censorship and trying to yell down people so you don't have to deal with their politics is simply a political move. It continually perplexes me why people do not understand that.

But, to be fair to the comedy, I like Dave Chappelle back with his maniac energy. He would have a well thought out point, and then he'd make his joke, and then he'd end it with a burst of Energy. His famous rant about Women and Men and the reason we have nice cars [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dowSfa-gkcE] is a great example of that. Ever since the Chappelle Show, his lack of energy drains me almost every single time.

 

[McElroy]

I just got into Clean Humor recently.

Ew... Not because it exists but because it has a name.

Stranger Things 1 & 2

Decent enough to keep you watching. Dustin is the best character because he acts most age-appropriately and isn't so perfect and precious as the rest of the teenagers (too much weird shit happens to Will, he is a completely different character in comparison). I like how the boys recognize how much movie and video game logic seems to affect their surroundings.

Now I watched the first 'chapter' of the third season and I'm already anticipating just how they will turn Steve's and Hop's (and Dustin's too, I guess) emasculation around. It sure is that familiar of a set up.

 

[Hawki]

An Evening With Paul Capsis (2/5)

It's crap.

It's a lot of screaming that professes to be singing.

It's crap.

Don't see it.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Sticks and Stones: 8/10

I did, actually. To respond to your post.

It was like a high 6 for me.

I don't know. I just got into Clean Humor recently. I find it funnier. It doesn't rely on shock humor. Just real humor. For anyone who wants to know what I'm talking about, I suggest the channel Dry Bar Comedy [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvlVuntLjdURVD3b3Hx7kxw]. Mike P. Burton [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50gOLFJG6L8] is a personal favorite.

Anyway, to Chappelle. It was eh. It felt a lot like "God, here are my grievances. Oh, right. I'm supposed to make you laugh. Here's an attempt to go along with my grievances. Ok! Back to my grievances."

The more people are trying to be non-political, the sad truth is the more political they are becoming. Getting mad at censorship and trying to yell down people so you don't have to deal with their politics is simply a political move. It continually perplexes me why people do not understand that.

But, to be fair to the comedy, I like Dave Chappelle back with his maniac energy. He would have a well thought out point, and then he'd make his joke, and then he'd end it with a burst of Energy. His famous rant about Women and Men and the reason we have nice cars [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dowSfa-gkcE] is a great example of that. Ever since the Chappelle Show, his lack of energy drains me almost every single time.

My preference for stand-up comedy is all over the board; about the only type I don?t like is musical comedy (when a comedian sits on a stool and breaks out an acoustic guitar, I can?t roll my eyes hard enough) or shock comics, those that put on a persona of ?asshole? and for whom it?s clear their ONLY purpose is to ruffle feathers and push buttons with no real substantive content or reason.

I don?t feel this time out (or any time, really) Chappelle falls into the latter category, neither do I believe him to be taking an apolitical stance, quite the contrary. Dave Chappelle has always been of the idea that ?hey, everybody?s fair game,? and the sociopolitical environment of today is now, more than ever, very much of an opposing mindset, and as comics? cynicism is often the biggest weapon in the arsenal, this latest shows was him firing back. In so many ways, he basically said ?it doesn?t matter what I do or say, someone?s going to find SOMETHING to demonize me at ANY given point; tomorrow or 10 years from now, I?m going to be ?guilty? of something, so why change who I am when it?ll never be good enough?? It was more an assertion of self; this was his acknowledging that he HAD allowed the industry to drain him and fighting back, ?sticks and stones.?

 

[Xprimentyl]

Snip

The oscar specials are... um. Exercises in endurance over how much cringe one can take? Witnessing a man's journey into megalomania and madness? The long-term buildup of this show is genius.
He's basically an alternative-universe version of Trump.
(also Turkington is a legend. Look up Neil Hamburger. And Faxed Head)

Just finished the Oscar specials as well, and yeah, brilliant. I couldn?t help but belly laugh at the start of each show where he apologized for his drinking and antics during last year?s special? shortly before starting to drink. And poor Mark!

?I?m sorta regretting praying to God for this show to work well because that seems to have bit in the ass. That?s the last time I ever pray to him. F*** God! And Guess what? Bad news, everybody, this IS full of booze. I thought it was organic soda, but it IS champagne. I finished a bottle.? XD

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

My preference for stand-up comedy is all over the board; about the only type I don't like is musical comedy (when a comedian sits on a stool and breaks out an acoustic guitar, I can't roll my eyes hard enough) or shock comics, those that put on a persona of 'asshole' and for whom it?s clear their ONLY purpose is to ruffle feathers and push buttons with no real substantive content or reason.

I don't feel this time out (or any time, really) Chappelle falls into the latter category, neither do I believe him to be taking an apolitical stance, quite the contrary. Dave Chappelle has always been of the idea that "hey, everybody's fair game," and the sociopolitical environment of today is now, more than ever, very much of an opposing mindset, and as comics' cynicism is often the biggest weapon in the arsenal, this latest shows was him firing back. In so many ways, he basically said "it doesn't matter what I do or say, someone's going to find SOMETHING to demonize me at ANY given point; tomorrow or 10 years from now, I'm going to be 'guilty' of something, so why change who I am when it'll never be good enough?" It was more an assertion of self; this was his acknowledging that he HAD allowed the industry to drain him and fighting back, 'sticks and stones.'

And you see, that's the thing.

He was very much everyone's fair game. "Let me talk about the world, dating, men, politics, race relations and differences..." He was everywhere. I loved it.

This special seems more "Let me tell you what's wrong with the world now".

And that's fine. I get it. His time, his choice of topics. But it bothers me that people pretend that this is all due to the #MeToo and the SJW-culture. How people are so sensitive in 2019 that it's stifling speech.

That's bull. That's been happening since I've been alive.

-Ellen was cancelled (literally) because uptight conservatives couldn't deal that a woman admitted to being a lesbian.
-Blossom [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-27-ca-36643-story.html] got too real with serious issues (like date rape) and NBC yanked it because they didn't want to upset anyone's sensibilities.
-White people got bugged that the Force Awakens had non-white males as the lead and tried to boycott [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/boycott-star-wars-vii-movement-833102].
-Ren and Stimpy got everyone yelling "WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN" which led to cancellation.
-Profit [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_(TV_series)#Controversy_and_cancellation] had not only the public, but business people calling in because the lead character was so morally against their grains that they couldn't take it any more.
-The Garbage Pail Kids [https://www.vulture.com/2013/04/the-gross-mess-that-was-the-garbage-pail-kids-cartoon.html] had a tv show. I never watched it. I never got the deal with it. But Protests came aknocking.
-Kid Nation [https://www.bustle.com/articles/57331-8-reasons-cbs-kid-nation-was-more-traumatizing-for-children-than-the-hunger-games] was a terrible idea. But a lot of coked up producers tried anyway. The protests put it to bed quickly.
-Heil Honey, I'm Home [https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/16/heil-honey-im-home-1990-sitcom-adolf-hitler-taken-off-air-one-episode/]. Yes, it was a sitcom about Hitler living in suburbia next to Jews. And yes, You're God Damned Right it was Cancelled
-Everyone shouted down the Bill Cosby accusers because he was Bill freaking Cosby.
-All My Baby Mamas [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_My_Babies%27_Mamas] didn't even get to air because the Black Community was all over it.
-Both the Dixie Chicks [https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-dixie-chicks-backlash-begins] and Politically Incorrect [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_Incorrect#Controversy_and_cancellation] saw nothing but Backs when they spoke out against Bush.
-GCB [https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/gcb-cancelled-season-two-22995/] actually saw a rise in its ratings. But Christians weren't happy. And it was weirdly cancelled.
-Hell, the comedian of all comedians, Lenny Bruce [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce#Obscenity_arrests] was censored by the more conservative mindset so many times that he was followed and observed after his obscenity arrest.

Like, I can go on. There's no shortage of people getting huffy throughout civilization and trying to get something cancelled that they weren't watching anyawy. But we have comedians like Joe Rogan saying it's never been as bad as this... When Lenny Freaking Bruce was even talked about not minutes ago on his podcast! The man who was arrested for saying c*cksucker vs protests and whining on twitter. Is that really a comparison?

I'm not a big fan of cancel culture. I never was. And it's been around since the 80's. 70's. 60's. 50's... Cancel Culture has always been a thing everywhere. You don't like it, call the advertisement people and threaten to boycott. Those people will pull their funding and that whatever will go away. It's happened so many times to count that I find anyone who say it's never been this bad to be disingenuous. That doesn't make it better under #MeToo. It just makes everyone false who pretend that this is something new and you just have to give up.

You can do that. Or, you can fight like Bruce. You can fight like Carlin. People got so used to the ease and sleaze of the early 2000's where you could get away with a lot more. There's a reason we haven't seen a "___ Movie" from the Wayans Brothers in a while. Other than those movies suck. People want to have a say but really do not have to deal with the consequences. And oddly enough, these are the same comics who say "Oh, women want all the power but none of the agency. They want to mouth off but don't want to actually rise above the level they deem appropriate."

Comics, the kettle and the pot are both indeed black.

... That was my long winded way of saying "I get it, but this is nothing new".

 

[Hawki]

The Last Wife (4/5)

Not that you'd know it from the title, but if I told you that this was a stage play based on the life of Catherine Parr, last wife of Henry VIII, then suddenly the title makes a bit more sense, right? Right?

Well, whatever. Play's pretty good. Very good actually. It can be considered to be an abridged form of Catherine Parr's life, from her marriage to Henry, to her death. I will admit that if you don't know the history of Henry VIII, you might be a bit lost, and speaking personally, me watching 'The Tudors' helped me get a sense of what was what. But in addition to Catherine and Henry, we also get Mary, Elizabeth, Edward, and Thomas Seymour. All of them play the parts well - above all else, the actress who plays Mary gets top honours. She's great at the deadpan humour of one who's been screwed over all her life, and remains screwed over as Edward's the one who's going to get the throne because he's a boy.

Did I just reveal that this is a feminist play? Well, yes, but I actually mean that in a good sense here, in that it explores its themes of motherhood and empowerment, but is never preachy about it. Henry's a brute, but the play still gives him some sympathy, showing a man who's past his physical prime, who's pining still for his third wife, and is worried about his legacy. That's not to say that Henry is justified in his past actions (y'know, the whole decapitation thing), nor is his treatment of Catherine at times condonable, but it does show the man behind the monster, so to speak.

If I had any criticisms, it would be that the play is sometimes a bit too sensual for its own good (clothing, lying in bed, etc.) and it does have a few modern coloquialisms that made me raise an eyebrow (e.g. "throwing a curve ball - yes, baseball was apparently a thing in Tudor England). I suppose you could point out that Shakespeare used anachronisms as well and no-one penalizes him for it, but for better or worse, it was noticable. Still, these are nitpicks in what's a very solid performance.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Dave Chappelle: Sticks and Stones and Bill Burr: Paper Tiger. Each clocking around 8 or 9 out of 10.

Watched with my girlfriend, enjoyed both of them. Maybe I've seen Bill in too many specials or talk shows but I'm catching him repeat his act a lot lately, especially when his wife comes into play in his routines. He's a great storyteller though. Chappelle I enjoyed the hell out of. The whole shotgun bit towards the end dragged on but otherwise he's outstanding as ever. Like Burr, a lot of it is "just" body language and pitch double-takes. What sells it is how effortless it looks. Like the joke's taking over.

Also finished Terror in Resonance, or Zankyou no Terror for the weebs. 6 or 7 out of 10.

So I can tolerate anime for 26 episodes, which apparently is the norm for conclusive "one season" anime like Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, etc. At 11 I guess Terror in Resonance is more of the mini-series equivalent. Top marks for a a simple yet ever-developing plot and the tight pacing to sell what's essentially a paperback thriller. It's effective and intriguing.

The characters I didn't care for though. Part of it is due to that tired anime clich? about having a secret government facility for raising autists that always renders the key players of "adult" plots as 15 year olds. Part of it is also because none of the kids are given much characterization. Nine is grim, Twelve is cheery. That's it. Lisa is a fucking wet blanket, and unbearable. I only liked Shibazaki because I caught a glimpse of Spike Spiegel in him, and the growing rapport with his partner made them more interesting to watch. Kinda wish that the story would've been told from their perspective, with them as the protagonists.

 

[Agema]

Jack Ryan (the TV series, season 1)

Dear god, this was one of the worst things I've watched in years. It's like they decided to make an entire TV series out of cliche and plot holes. It's saving grace is that it was generally slick enough to slip past without too much pain, even if I did find myself repeatedly wanting to twist my own brain out and stamp it into the carpet.

 

[Baffle]

Unbelievable. It's very good.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Power/Rangers Unauthorized [Bootleg Universe] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw5vcUPyL90]

I can't rate it. I think it's really cool, but there's just one glaring thing I don't understand.

Spoiler

Ok, so the video starts with telling us that the Machine Empire won. Ok, that's dark. And not only did Earth surrender, but the Power Rangers disbanded with their powers seemingly intact, as we see Zack Morph to take down North Korean gangsters.

... So why does Rita kill the Rangers? Yeah, I know. They are enemies. But Rita is completely outgunned here. No sign of Zedd, the Machine Empire not only has their position on the moon (if Zeo holds up in this canon), but the rest of the World covered with Machine Loyalists and Soldiers. Rita hates the Machine Empire as much as anyone else because they ran Rita and Zedd out of town.

It was clearly time for an alliance. They were the only people who actually could have helped stand a chance against the Machine Empire. And at the end, Rita took Kimberly's form in order to entice Tommy out of hiding because she DID need help trying to take over the planet. So side with the Rangers and betray them later. A full ranger team plus their Special Ranger is stronger than just the Special Ranger.

I mean, it's still a great spin on my nostalgia. But it just doesn't make enough sense for me to cement a rating. Maybe that in and of itself should justify a rating?

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Darling in the Franxx - 6/10

Been a while since I watch a mecha show. First things I noticed, it cribs liberally from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Like both shows were shoved into a blender, got the crap mixed out of them, then strained into a different color bottle. So yeah, it's not the most original show. It even has some similar overarching themes of children learning to grow up and forging their own destiny, though in this case with a heavy focus on discovering one's sexuality and (romantic) relationships.

For what it's worth, despite a rocky start, it does a decent job. The battles are well-animated and choreographed, with fun mecha designs. Most of the main characters receive a good amount of character development, as well as exploring their relationships with each other, particularly in the latter half of its 24 episode run. The show kind of craps the bed in the last 4 episodes though, when it radically shifts gears, literally taking the plot into space while any subplots are quickly, and often unsatisfyingly, resolved if not left dangling altogether. It also tends to forget its main characters are supposed to be entirely ignorant about things like love, sexuality and pregnancy in order to create drama or enable fanservice of the sexual slapstick humor variety.

All in all tho, I enjoyed the show for the entertaining but pretty superficial romp it is. I might just try the manga adaptation too. Supposedly it plays out quite different.

 

[Elfgore]

I finally decided to sit down and watch some Black Mirror to see what the ruckus is about. I think this show does one thing well, it draws me in real nice. I tend to play games like Civilization or Stellaris, you know easy to pause games, when watching TV. I found myself ignoring those to focus on the episodes. The problem is, the pay off is never as good or falls short and in the worst cases, makes no sense for the moral of the episode. Take episode three, season one.

Spoiler: Episode Three Spoilers

I thought I knew were this was going. The husband was quite literally driving himself mad with the ability to repeat memories again and again and see every little detail. He did it with work and he did it with his wife's interactions with another man. I genuinely wanted his wife to be innocent, it would have shown how mentally risky that technology could be to some people. Instead, she did cheat on him. It would have been better to just have him be wrong and obsessive over something that wasn't real and have it cost him his wife and child not be validated.

Also, the forced sex scene in every episode isn't needed. I don't need a scene of a buxom, Scottish women in her bra for five minutes. Episode four was bad as a whole, but that just had my eyes rolling. Your premise was interesting enough to keep my attention. I didn't need big boobies shoved in my face to continue being interested.

Edit: Oh no, I reached the criticism of Instagram episode. Send help. It's too awful.

 

[Dalisclock]

I finally decided to sit down and watch some Black Mirror to see what the ruckus is about. I think this show does one thing well, it draws me in real nice. I tend to play games like Civilization or Stellaris, you know easy to pause games, when watching TV. I found myself ignoring those to focus on the episodes. The problem is, the pay off is never as good or falls short and in the worst cases, makes no sense for the moral of the episode. Take episode three, season one.

Spoiler: Episode Three Spoilers

I thought I knew were this was going. The husband was quite literally driving himself mad with the ability to repeat memories again and again and see every little detail. He did it with work and he did it with his wife's interactions with another man. I genuinely wanted his wife to be innocent, it would have shown how mentally risky that technology could be to some people. Instead, she did cheat on him. It would have been better to just have him be wrong and obsessive over something that wasn't real and have it cost him his wife and child not be validated.

Also, the forced sex scene in every episode isn't needed. I don't need a scene of a buxom, Scottish women in her bra for five minutes. Episode four was bad as a whole, but that just had my eyes rolling. Your premise was interesting enough to keep my attention. I didn't need big boobies shoved in my face to continue being interested.

Edit: Oh no, I reached the criticism of Instagram episode. Send help. It's too awful.

I really want to like Black Mirror and to some extent, I do, but the fact the episodes tend to be Bleak as fuck makes it too hard to watch. The last one I watched was about the soldiers hunting "Roaches" which I almost immediately figured out the twist. The fact it feels far too close to real life right now just makes it too hard to watch the show, not when I can watch the news and feel instantly depressed. I could be playing something a little more lighthearted, like playing Dark Souls.

 

[Trunkage]

Dark Crystal TV

I'm going to be pointing to this as an example for the debate between real life models and CGI. These models look horrible, don't move in any natural sense, look completely lifeless and really detract from making any connection to the characters. But then, I think the old The Thing movie looks horribly plastic and doesn't engage me at all. And all the cuts between action moments were sickening, and they are only so fast becuase you can't do proper action with puppets.

That's not to say CGI is a better alternative, becuase some of this is show is clearly CGI and it looks terrible too.

Anyway, I haven't seen the movie since the 90s. I don't know why this is being made, and I don't feel like it adds much. I will reserve judgement when I rewatch the movie. But it explains the twist in the movie, making it redundant. If you know the movie, you know exactly what happens to these characters, making the tension non-existent. This is opposed to something like Rogue One, where the characters are in actual mortal danger (unlike other Star Wars movies, becuase plot armour.) But you don't know exactly what will happen, as you don't know who will survive or die based on previous iterations.

It's taken me a week to get through it. Sometimes exciting, sometimes pretty boring. 6/10

Billions (latest season, I think 3 or 4)

The set up for this season was great. Giamatti smashed it out of the park and was actually clever and manipulative. But that was completely ruined by the last moment, reneging on the deal from the end of last season with Axe and starting back at season 1. All without him becoming self aware in any sense. It made this whole season feel like filler. So was the whole thing with Mason and Axe. That felt like spinning wheels while the other main story was happening.

I'll give it 8/10 but almost 2 points should be deducted for the final 10 mins or so.

The Boys

I haven't read the comic but have listened to a rundown. I also sort of like Preacher, as it seems way to focus on story twists and shock value, rather than story telling. The Boys sound way better than the comics, and is way better than Preacher. Yes, it still has shock value but it's tied to the story and makes sense. The changed many of the characters, and generally for the better. Kripke knows how to use elements to tell an overall story, and was especially good at deleting elements that just sound like story padding. I can't say much more without spoiling but it's worth the watch. 9/10. One of the best shows I saw this year

Agents of Shield: After Endgame
There were like, four or five set for 13 episodes. Does that sound repetitive and breaking the stories back becuase they needed an excuse to not move to alternative sets? Yep. This could have been 8 episode. It's all the story they had, but they dragged it out for DRAMA! This is a downgrade from a few seasons ago and doesn't get me excited for the final season at all. 4/10 Last five minutes jumped the shark here too

 

[Kyrian007]

Disenchanted: Season 2 (3/10)

I may have to give up on Disenchanted. I gave the first season a 3/10 with the understanding that the creators were capable of much better and I had hope it could improve.

It didn't.

Its biggest failing... its a comedy, and I laughed twice in the second season. It just isn't funny. The Simpsons made me laugh every episode. Futurama makes me laugh about every time someone speaks a line. Disenchanted isn't funny, and doesn't have anything else to fall back on.

 

[Elfgore]

I finally decided to sit down and watch some Black Mirror to see what the ruckus is about. I think this show does one thing well, it draws me in real nice. I tend to play games like Civilization or Stellaris, you know easy to pause games, when watching TV. I found myself ignoring those to focus on the episodes. The problem is, the pay off is never as good or falls short and in the worst cases, makes no sense for the moral of the episode. Take episode three, season one.

Spoiler: Episode Three Spoilers

I thought I knew were this was going. The husband was quite literally driving himself mad with the ability to repeat memories again and again and see every little detail. He did it with work and he did it with his wife's interactions with another man. I genuinely wanted his wife to be innocent, it would have shown how mentally risky that technology could be to some people. Instead, she did cheat on him. It would have been better to just have him be wrong and obsessive over something that wasn't real and have it cost him his wife and child not be validated.

Also, the forced sex scene in every episode isn't needed. I don't need a scene of a buxom, Scottish women in her bra for five minutes. Episode four was bad as a whole, but that just had my eyes rolling. Your premise was interesting enough to keep my attention. I didn't need big boobies shoved in my face to continue being interested.

Edit: Oh no, I reached the criticism of Instagram episode. Send help. It's too awful.

I really want to like Black Mirror and to some extent, I do, but the fact the episodes tend to be Bleak as fuck makes it too hard to watch. The last one I watched was about the soldiers hunting "Roaches" which I almost immediately figured out the twist. The fact it feels far too close to real life right now just makes it too hard to watch the show, not when I can watch the news and feel instantly depressed. I could be playing something a little more lighthearted, like playing Dark Souls.

That episode and the one before it were the first two I genuinely enjoyed and thought had compelling commentary. We already try and paint enemies like monsters, why not take it further?

I do agree, I can only take so much of it at a time. Especially after the darker episodes.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I sat down an watched the first two episodes of Another Life the other day. So, brief plot run-down: Mysterious alien ship/artifact/beacon lands on Earth. After months of failing to deduce the reason for the appearance of this strange thing, a deep space mission is launched to the artifact's planet of origin under the command of Niko (Katee Sackhoff). The story itself has great promise actually, but it is spoiled by one quite glaring thing: the characters are assholes. Most of the crew are arrogant 20-somethings who display a lot of the negative qualities of 'Generation Y'ers and a chunk of the dialogue seems to have been written in deliberate 'Gen Y' slang, meaning the characters respond to serious, even life-threatening events with either quite flippant or quite passive-aggressive remarks which detract from the supposed gravity of the situation. That being said there is plenty of back-story plugged into the first few episodes, and a lot of the characters clearly have intermingled pasts that promise to add to the drama in later episodes.

TL;DR: A strong start to what promises to be an interesting Sci-Fi series, although the writing does grate on my old man nerves somewhat. Still enjoyable for all that, and I will definitely be watching the rest if the series. 4/5.

 

[Hawki]

Once Upon a Time: Season 4 (3/5)

So, been ages since I watched season 3, but having watched season 4, I can say that the show's strengths and weaknesses remain the same, for better or worse. Because in this case, we have the same traits of:

-The first half of the seasons is better than the second half.

-Regina gets to whine about not getting a happy ending while by this point she's well past the moral event horizon.

-Robert Carlyle is still the best actor.

-The series exists in some kind of in-between space of subverting fantasy tropes while also embracing them.

That aside, season 4 is weird. Like, not weird in the sense that what's on screen is weird (because of course it is), it's weird in the sense that what works and what doesn't aren't exactly what you might expect. For instance, what does work in the first half of the seasons is it being based on Frozen. Now, I don't doubt that from a marketing perspective, Frozen was chosen because Frozen is insanely popular, and brand recognition alone would be beneficial for the season. However, it actually works. Like, really works. Especially with Anna, who's arguably even more engaging here than in Frozen itself. The plot, as it unfolds, feels really natural to the Frozen setting which has even led producers to have to clarify that OUAT isn't canon with Frozen and is in its own continuity. Now, now that I ever expected it to be, but the first half of the season is pretty good. And while I've always had limited sympathy for Regina (a tragic backstory does not automatically make the character sympathetic), it does work here better than past seasons. Oh, and Belle wises up that Rumple is, at his heart, a jackass. Well done Belle. You became a bearable character, and in doing so, further demonstrated why Rumple is the best character here. So, first half of the season? Pretty good. if I was dividing seasons based on their halves, it would be a "good" season, and the best one here.

However, then we have season 4B, so to speak. Now, I previously divided season 3 into two halves, and as far as ranking of the seasons goes, I'm actually abandoning that. Granted, the two halves of season 4 feel better welded together than season 3, but I can't pick and choose. Or, well, I can, but I won't. But while they're better welded together in plot, their tone is...um...

Okay, season 4 is kind of nuts. The show's always had a convoluted continuity (the people who worked on Lost also worked on this, so go figure) with flashbacks in every episode), but at this point, I'm kind of lost (no pun intended). Or at least, lost in regards to when what occurs when in the past. Also, there's the character of "the Author," who can rewrite reality, or something, and Emma's going dark, only she doesn't, only she does, but her going dark has nothing to do with her being hinted at that early on, and...seriously, I can barely tell you what happens in the second half. God, I can remember the first half better. It's also at this point that we start getting into more traditional fantasy, whereas the show started not exactly as a subversion of fairytale fantasy, but sort of a winking reference to it. A sort of "yeah, this is what really happened, and it's not what your books say"). Now, it's destiny, and darkenss, and fate, and the Dark One, and gah! Not bad, per se, and I've always watched this show in the background, but then again, I did the same with Lost, and I had no trouble in following the plot. Granted, Lost is an overall much better show, but regardless...I've seen people say that season 4 marks a drop-off in writing quality, and that it's the point where it started playing its tropes straight. I don't agree with the first sentiment, but I feel that the latter leads to perceptions of the former. It isn't that the writing itself got bad, it's that it got convoluted. Or, rather, hit a convolution singularity. I'm sure it makes for great wiki material, but the boat's sailed for me there.

In spite of all this, season 4 is certainly one of the stronger seasons in the series. But it's still not a "good" one. And if I'm treating season 3 as being its own season, it's never been "good," only "average." Not the best track record in the world.