What is the last Television series you watched?

[Jay 37,287]

I some some consider it a sitcom, some would jut called it a "single camera comedy"

[Quintus 5,399]

I'd just call it a TV comedy series. Like Curb. 

[Jay 37,287]

Agreed

[Jay 37,287]

The AV Club gives Crisis In Six Scene a solid C

 

http://www.avclub.com/review/woody-allen-had-hard-time-crisis-six-scenesnow-you-243345

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Just finished Season 2 of Mozart in the Jungle. Not quite up to the standard set by Season 1, unfortunately, but an interesting and funny look into the world of classical music at the highest levels nonetheless.  Though not nearly as good as the show that inspired it, Slings & Arrows from Canada.

On 9/25/2016 at 11:34 PM, Marian Schedenig said:

Binged through both series of Broadchurch (or as Tennant says, "Brawdchech") over the past week. Compelling stuff and an excellent cast. Can't wait for the final series.

Did you watch Series 2? I thought Series 1 was excellent, but I heard the second was awful and didn't even bother with it.

If you liked Broadchurch, you should try Top of the Lake, from New Zealand. Very much in the same vein.

[Quintus 5,399]

Top of the Lake was very good, yes. Stunning, too. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

6 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Just finished Season 2 of Mozart in the Jungle. Not quite up to the standard set by Season 1, unfortunately, but an interesting and funny look into the world of classical music at the highest levels nonetheless.  Though not nearly as good as the show that inspired it, Slings & Arrows from Canada.

Did you watch Series 2? I thought Series won was excellent, but I heard the second was awful and didn't even bother with it.

If you liked Broadchurch, you should try Top of the Lake, from New Zealand. Very much in the same vein.

 

I wouldn't say that Broadchurch series 2 was awful, but it certainly didn't approach the brilliance of the first. And I'd say it's worth watching just because Colman and Tennant are basically always worth watching

 

Chibnall still has a chance to redeem himself with the final series.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Season 2 was fine. It had Gwen Cooper!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,500]

Wow, a DW re-union.

I've never seen either series of BROADCHURCH. Does this bode well for his upcoming tenure at DW?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It depends.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Everything depends!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That depends!

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

I wouldn't say that Broadchurch series 2 was awful, but it certainly didn't approach the brilliance of the first. And I'd say it's worth watching just because Colman and Tennant are basically always worth watching

 

Chibnall still has a chance to redeem himself with the final series.

 

Series 2 was fine. If it suffered from anything, it was the unavoidable problem of following a mostly self contained story and keeping all the characters. It may have started out a bit uneven because of that, and it doesn't have the "purity" and focus of the first series, but once it gets going, it works well. Juxtaposing the aftermath/trial of the first series and the reopening of DI Hardy's earlier case makes dramatic sense. And I think it was the first time I've actually seen Charlotte Rampling in anything. Excellent casting throughout.

 

Looking forward to the third series. I wonder how they will justify bringing the cast back yet again, so I guess it's a good thing that it's officially the last series, before things get too implausible.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

40 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Series 2 was fine. If it suffered from anything, it was the unavoidable problem of following a mostly self contained story and keeping all the characters. It may have started out a bit uneven because of that, and it doesn't have the "purity" and focus of the first series, but once it gets going, it works well. Juxtaposing the aftermath/trial of the first series and the reopening of DI Hardy's earlier case makes dramatic sense. And I think it was the first time I've actually seen Charlotte Rampling in anything. Excellent casting throughout.

 

Looking forward to the third series. I wonder how they will justify bringing the cast back yet again, so I guess it's a good thing that it's officially the last series, before things get too implausible.

 

I did enjoy Rampling, even though I think they couldn't figure out what to do with her character after setting her story up.

 

I grew up loving this 80s legal drama called The Verdict that starred Paul Newman and Rampling.

[crocodile 7,984]

Started watching Luke Cage. So far it's ok.

 

Karol

[nightscape94 965]

No desire to see it (the character is not remotely interesting in JJ), but I guess I have to since I've seen all the other Marvel Netflix series.  I'm in too deep now.

[A24 4,326]

On 30-9-2016 at 0:36 AM, Disco Stu said:

I grew up loving this 80s legal drama called The Verdict that starred Paul Newman and Rampling.

 

Love the pinball machine moments in the pub.

 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Hanai 0]

Last series I watched was a post about the lost ways Game of Thrones. Favorite series was 24.

[crocodile 7,984]

16 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

And that's how the Marvel empire keeps on growing...

 

"I have absolutely no interest in watching that movie, but hey, I've seen all the others so far. Might as well continue till the end..."

 

But will there ever be an end?

 

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't know how people can be bothered keeping up with all these superhero shows and movies, they're much of a muchness and the sheer amount of them doing the rounds at any one time feels completely unspecial and the polar opposite of extraordinary. Not exactly "super". More like normal heroes. Boring heroes. 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Doctor Strange will change all that, man!

[crocodile 7,984]

3 hours ago, Quintus said:

I don't know how people can be bothered keeping up with all these superhero shows and movies, they're much of a muchness and the sheer amount of them doing the rounds at any one time feels completely unspecial and the polar opposite of extraordinary. Not exactly "super". More like normal heroes. Boring heroes. 

 

Just live and let live, Lee.

 

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

Go with the flow? 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,500]

10 minutes ago, Quintus said:

Go with the flow? 

 

NO! Rage against the dying of the light, all you want. Lee. Someone's got to point-out that all these films and TV shows are just the emperor's new clothes. They say nothing, they mean nothing, they are nothing. They are morally bankrupt, intellectually backward, and emotionally constipated.

Their only justifaction is violence, violence, and more violence. The sooner the world is rid of these monstrosities, the better.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Indeed!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

4 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Love the pinball machine moments in the pub.

 

 

So good.  I'm a real sucker for the austere, drab "Boston in Winter" look of the whole movie.

[crocodile 7,984]

1 hour ago, Quintus said:

Go with the flow? 

All I'm saying there's  plenty of everything else for you to enjoy. Why waste your breath on moaning about stuff you don't even watch?

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't like watching reality "talent" shows either, of which there are many. Should I not "moan" about those either? Over saturation has been an issue with that form of entertainment and how audiences respond to them, yet there are still more superhero shows on TV and at the cinema than there are X-Factors and Big Brothers. Live and let live and all that, c'est la vie. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

We must continue to register our disgust! For the future of our children!

[Quintus 5,399]

What if on every other station, at the cinema and all over the streaming sites, there were endless different Star Treks constantly coming out? Can you imagine that? 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Or Star Wars!

[Quintus 5,399]

You were supposed to say you'd be in heaven! 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I don't want something like CSI: Vulcan!

[Quintus 5,399]

Oh you would be all over Celebrity Love Romulus.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Call Simon Cowell, stat!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,500]

PON FARR ON THE BEACH, anyone?

[bollemanneke 3,337]

House of cards, s2e7. I really liked how things are moving on, but am rather disappointed in Frank wanting to destroy Tusk. He's a great chracter and needs to remain in the game. Doug is getting creepy, but at least there was no weird Rachel micro-maniging today. The president, on the other hand, is really a stupid character. I already know how the season will end, but hope that he'll suffer and bleed.

[crocodile 7,984]

Anyway... I finished Luke Cage. It was better than I expected. given the lackluster introduction of this character in Jessica Jones. There are a lot of actors from The Wire in it. Which makes this both adorable... and disappointing, in comparison. But I enjoyed it for what it is. As with Jessica Jones, it tries to (bit clumsily) address some contemporary topics. And there are some really good performances. But as with any other Marvel/Netflix series, there is just not enough story to cover 13 episodes. The pacing and plotting is but ho-hum at times and characters are force to meander aimlessly for whole episodes without much development. I appreciate the score has a bit more flavour as well. It might be a bit cliched in its Shaft-like impression. But at least it had a flavour.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,287]

 

[ChrisAfonso 186]

Finally finished BSG last week. As was prophecied (?) to me, it did really grab me at some point in the first season, and never let go after that. Very emotionally engaging throughout, lots of engaging plot threads about timeless questions about the nature of humanity and civilization. It does bring up a lot of relevant questions, even if it doesn't answer them all - the achievement being that it makes you think about them. I'm a bit ambivalent about the coherence of the ending and the later events leading up to it - plot threads from all seasons were tied up quite thoroughly, and on a emotional level it worked really well, but compared to earlier parts of the show it drifted a bit too much into the metaphysical for my taste. Didn't really harm my enjoyment much, though, and I liked the pervading theme in the 4th season that everybody should strive to learn to live together. Perhaps Helo and Athena grew to become my favorite characters because they were at the forefront of that story thread. Also Tigh, who exemplified that it matters less what your origins are than what you do with your life.

I was astounded about the quality of the visuals, especially during space fights, given the budget they must have had to work with (crazy amount of stuff flying around during every major encounter). And of course, Bear's music really started to shine after a short while and provided excellent accompaniment throughout - awesome how they worked with him to integrate the music even more into the story during the latter two seasons.

 

This week now I started watching Agents of SHIELD (see the connection there?...). Without having seen any of the MCU movies, I noticed there are a lot of references made that allude to this or that character or event from the movies, but so far it hasn't been detrimental to following the story. I'm generally not that attuned to the whole superhero-craze (although I did enjoy the Spider-Man and X-Men movies of the 00s), so I like that this show is more of a MIB/Fringe/Alias kind of thing, with lots of funny lines and character interactions so far.

[Jay 37,287]

1 hour ago, ChrisAfonso said:

Without having seen any of the MCU movies,

 

Wow!  That's rare these days.  So you decided to check out the show based solely on its composer?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Agents Of Shield starts slow but becomes seriously good in the second half of the season. And S2 is excellent 

[nightscape94 965]

Aldnoah Zero

 

 

I'm apparently the only one that watches anime!

 

Anyway, this is a pretty solid mecha.  22 episodes, doesn't overstay its welcome.

[nightscape94 965]

Your Lie in April

 

 

Utterly fantastic show.  If you're a fan of music-based shows then I would recommend you check this out immediately.  It's about a music prodigy who loses the ability to hear his own playing as a result of a recent family tragedy and years of mental (and sometimes physical) abuse training with his dying mother.  His world has become monochrome and mostly joyless since the music abandoned him, but through the addition of a new face in their circle of friends, and all of their unwavering support, he begins a journey to have the music and color return to his life.

 

Although the story centers around a group of young teens this is in no way a "Young Adult" show and is appropriate at any age.  It's about coping with loss and being able to move forward even in the face of severe and gut-wrenching personal hardships.  Character relationships are taken seriously, and the scripting is very poetic and beautiful.  It occasionally comes a bit close to being overwrought, but it works.  It balances scenes of serenity, action, sadness, and humor very well, and is really a complete experience.

 

If you've never watched anime before then it may take some time getting used to the style.  It's mostly animated in a non-offensive style, but employs a technique where the characters and settings become intentionally cartoony during moments of heightened emotional content.  If you can get past that purposeful stylistic absurdity, then I think you'll enjoy it.  I can't recommend this enough.

 

[A24 4,326]

Finished S1 of Showtime's The Affair. Recommended!  I don't understand why Dominic 'The Wire' West didn't get the Emmy for his part.

 

 

 

Alex

[Quintus 5,399]

3 episodes into the new 10th season of Big Bang and it's absolutely terrible . 

[Jay 37,287]

SO MUCH YES

 

 

[KK 3,307]

Nice! Show looks better than ever.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Top Gear

 

Being going through all 22 series over the past few months in preparation for The Grand Tour, which Amazon will start airing/streaming in November.

 

Interesting now looking back on the (comparatively) humble beginnings of this show. Itself being a higher octane, revamped version of a car show which featured hosts such as Noel Edmonds and Angela Rippon.

The first season didnt even feature James May!

Eventually it began to develop into something that really did take the world by storm. While the BBC viewing figures went into the pleasing millions. Worldwide it's estimated that many hundreds of millions watch the show. And not just for a season or two, but that it has kept this number of viewers throughout it's lifetime.

 

Not surprising though. Because even though the presenters often label Top Gear as a pokey little motoring show on BBC 2, it actually grew into a very large production. Going all around the world, driving the most expensive cars in the most exotic locations. Or, often for no other reason then our amusement and that of the people who make the show, old crocks in inhospitable enviroments for which they were not designed.

 

That's probably why Top Gear was as successful for such a long while. There wasnt really any practical point to it. (they abandoned sensible consumer advise quite early on)

But it was fun to watch 3 blokes cocking about. And genuinely having fun. Many long running TV shows seem to go on and on mainly because the ratings remain good enough for advertisers to buy into it. And the people who are involved in it keep going because they are contractually obligated to do so or are just being payed really really well. Here you can see they have fun making it. Top Gear ultimately is an expression of love for the auto-mobile. And the acknowledgement that it is something more then a comfortable and practical way to get to work or to the shops.

 

I don't own a car, not have I ever taken a single driving lesson. Yet the passion, the arguing, the disagreements and the sheer joy displayed when they drive something truly magnificent has always been strangely familiar. It's what I experience when I hear a new Williams score, and a certain track or moment captures your heart. Film music should just be about supporting whatever happens to be going on in the film it's intended for. Very often that's all it is. But it can be so much more.

 

There's a very universal element to Clarkson, Hammond and May Who spend almost each episode bickering and arguing. But always in good spirits, like mates do.

 

Another element in it's favour is it's dogged refusal to grow up and become more sensible. The show was never much for political correctness and has in some circles been blamed for the rise of UKIP. (the appeal of Farage being very similar to that of Jeremy Clarkson). And while there may be some point to that. It was part of what made the show fun to watch. That slightly subversive edge (as subversive as BBC guidelines allowed anyway). There's nothing more boring then TV that's trying to be all-embracing and trying to please everyone.

 

I havent watched the new and revamped version with Joey from Friends and the ginger guy who replaced Terry Wogan on Radio 2. Apparently it isnt very good. Maybe I'll try one oneday when I'm really bored.

 

I'm far more interested in The Grand Tour. I don't know much about it. But it has the three correct presenters, so it should be alright.

 

I will miss Top Gear though. It was comfort food for many years. Brilliantly shot, expertly edited and often with great use of film music. And presented by three blokes who often seemed barely competent in what they were doing. Yet they apparently did do something right.