What is the last Television series you watched?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I know what you mean. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

We finished Mindhunter this weekend.  Weird season, never felt like it really came into focus, but overall I enjoyed it.  I think it's definitely clear at this point that the underlying theme of the show is that this serial killer profiling stuff might do more harm than good, and that it doesn't actually help catch killers.  A lot of confirmation bias from Holden in the Atlanta investigation.

[Jay 37,266]

Mindhunter 2x03 Episode 3

 

I enjoyed both interviews this week, with the one guy with all the almost-right vocabulary and the other guy talking in circles.  It was interesting to see Holden basically check-out of both interviews, with the Atlanta field agent taking charge and being successful in both of them.  I thought it was funny that Holden thought he was gonna get laid when the hotel employee asked him out, only to find out she wants someone to help with the Atlanta child murders.  I didn't even know that was a thing but my wife is into all the true crime podcasts and such so she recognized it right away.  I love how this actual new case totally woke Holden up and he wanted to investigate it.  Back home, Tench finds out the dead body found was a toddler's, and he's able to get his wife's number off the sign.  I'm very intrigued to find out where this subplot is going because something about it seems to be bubbling under the surface...

[publicist 4,643]

8 hours ago, Jay said:

I'm very intrigued to find out where this subplot is going because something about it seems to be bubbling under the surface...

 

Not this season....

[Jay 37,266]

Mindhunter 2x04 Episode 4

 

Oh dip that twist at the end that Tench's kid was involved in the murders was unexpected!  The show nicely laid the groundwork for that without tipping its hand too early, well done.  I guess that's why he was wetting the bed again!  I loved that Wendy and Greg got to interview people this week with Holden and Bill tied up in Atlanta!  They did great, well Wendy did, Greg was not very good at it.  Interesting that everyone immediately assumed Wendy must have been making up her lesbian story.  Her date with the bartender was cute but they don't seem much like each other's type to me.  I liked Holden's plan to prove there must be a black predator behind a lot of the murders by having a black agent lure kids into a car and a white agent attempt to and failing miserably.  No surprise the mayor pulled the plug though

[Quintus 5,399]

On 8/12/2019 at 5:17 AM, Borodin said:

 

The Boys - Superheroes I guess is an important subject with people for some reason. The show has a slightly interesting twist on a concept that is unfortunately loaded with shallow direction, predictable story with not much connective world-building, and some utterly bad character-development. It feels like the plot's driving the characters, not the other way around. I have seen much better writing and direction in films that the public would dub "mediocre." I think one critic spoke succinctly when he said the title The Boys is in reference to its target audience. If people weren't so captivated by superheroes I think they would find the show to be hot air.

 

 

I'll admit I'm only two episodes in so far but I'm absolutely loving it. And you can ask anyone around here - I'm probably this forum's least enamoured guy when it comes to superheroes. But this show is my antihero antidote to all that blarg. 

[publicist 4,643]

I saw the blurbs on Amazon but couldn't bring myself to click. Has it a Nathan á la 'Misfits'?

[Quintus 5,399]

I haven't seen misfits. 

 

The Boys is meta AF and, well, the only reason this isn't off putting to me on this occasion is because it totally takes the piss out of it all - the social obsessions of modern western society. But rather than a deep dive study (this isn't a longwinded commentary) it prefers to instead whisk along with a cool skip in its step, decidely uncaring about how absurd this all is (in a real moviegoing world where fans take Marvel and DC lore extremely seriously). The Boys sort of points a mocking finger at how silly and grubby the under the belly of it all is. It's 'pulp cynicism', if you will. 

 

Definitely more Watchmen than Marvel. In fact, I can't help but feel the quality and effectiveness of The Boys could render the upcoming Watchmen series little bit redundant. Repeat disclaimer: I'm only two episodes in, mind. 

 

 

Oh and the script is top notch - first and foremost this is a great black comedy. 

[Jay 37,266]

Mindhunter 2x05 Episode 5

 

Wow lots of good stuff this episode.  Tench is gonna crack balancing the extra stress of his home life on top of the extra stress of having to keep an eye on Holden and everything else going on.  Poor guy.  Wendy gets royally screwed by her new boss at a party he throws when he unzips the top of her dress and throws her towards this creepy dude.  WTF!?  At least she had the best sex of her life finally, though I still get the feeling her and Kay won't work out, at least not yet.  Charles Manson was a fun interview though probably a bit too over the top.  Interviewing his follower was probably more enlightening.

[Jay 37,266]

Mindhunter 2x06 Episode 6

 

Was nice to see Wendy and Greg doing interviews again, but a bummer that this time Wendy wasn't able to get out of their interviewees what she wanted.  And her and Kay, man, they just don't seem to be on the same page about anything other than sex.  I have no idea where this is going.  Tench's son regressing even more, now into thumbsucking is sad as hell, especially with Tench wondering if his kid's fate is sealed.  The Atlanta murders picking back up was good, especially when they find 3 bodies in the woods, though it's for certain the guy they picked up with the porno mags is a total waste of time

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Episode 1

 

I enjoyed that!  The kind of original, magical young adult oriented fantasy I'd have eaten up if I was 11 or 12.  As an adult I can appreciate the artistry of the storytelling.

 

This is a prequel to the original film, an old favorite of mine, so I wonder exactly how it will connect by the end.  There are no Mystics in this story, I assume the Mystics are created when the Crystal cracks, which I also assume will probably happen at the end of this series.

 

In this story, the Skeksis are rulers of an existing a vast Gelfling civilization, which encompasses 3 or 4 different cities/tribes.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Any Trevor Jones music show up?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

2 minutes ago, Thekthithm said:

Any Trevor Jones music show up?

 

Just a short snippet of his original theme over the title.  Nothing else.  The music was not very impressive.

[A24 4,326]

 

Is he the reason why Quint calls himself Quintus?

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't remember that guy anywhere in Gladiator. 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Finally decided to watch Breaking Bad, since the movie was announced. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

1 minute ago, Koray Savas said:

Finally decided to watch Breaking Bad, since the movie was announced. 

 

It's not as dark and disturbing as I was expecting, but it's really good so far. I'm up to the end of Season 2.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Its very funny sometimes. I love the "antics" Walt and Jesse go though in the early seasons.

[KK 3,307]

It’s never “dark” for “darkness” sake. It’s a show with personality and a sense of humour.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

1 minute ago, KK said:

It’s never “dark” for “darkness” sake. It’s a show with personality and a sense of humour.

 

Yeah, for some reason I was expecting all so-called "golden age" shows to be dark, as in broody, moody and gloomy.

[Quintus 5,399]

3 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Its very funny sometimes. I love the "antics" Walt and Jesse go though in the early seasons.

 

I always said those early seasons, with the scenes between those two, were very Indiana Jonesey. When the descent into darkness does take over proper later on, I always sort of miss that earlier adventure and banter between Walt and Jesse. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The RV years!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

They're like an Abbott and Costello double act.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Three episodes in and I agree. It has a great Coen Brothers vibe. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,008]

On 8/31/2019 at 8:56 AM, Alexcremers said:

 

Is he the reason why Quint calls himself Quintus?

 

Hm, that looks like a colleague of mine.

[rough cut 1,714]

Ok, so just finished The Expanse S1-S3. Should you watch it?

 

Nah.

[Wojo 2,453]

On 8/31/2019 at 2:56 AM, Alexcremers said:

 

Is he the reason why Quint calls himself Quintus?

 

He looks serious there, but I can't see him as anything but the comic relief in the first two Mummy films. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Do something! Do something! Not that! Not that!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

You, lighten up. You, big trouble. You, get in the car.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'd never steal from a partner, partner!

[A24 4,326]

2 hours ago, woj said:

 

He looks serious there, but I can't see him as anything but the comic relief in the first two Mummy films. 

 

Quintus is a serious character, but at the same time, he's funny, sorta like J.R. Ewing in Dallas was serious yet very amusing.

 

9 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Three episodes in and I agree. It has a great Coen Brothers vibe. 

 

A Coen vibe at first, but after a while, it becomes its own thing.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Sanditon Episode 1

 

New ITV drama adapted from Jane Austen's unfinished novel, the last she worked on before her death.

 

Enjoyable, if slightly trashy, comedy of manners.  The usual cast of characters from different strata of the landed gentry, where everyone is jockeying for social positioning based on whether they have an inheritance or not.  The role of the main POV character is a bit unclear, she seems to be around purely for other characters to confide in, despite having only just met her.  There's also quite a bit of horniness going around, including I think a scene that's meant to look like someone getting a handjob???  There's also an implied incest subtext for a couple of characters, blame Thrones I guess.  I gather that what Austen was able to complete is exhausted before the first episode is even over.  It's all a bit bonkers and very anachronistic, but fun to watch.

 

I was bemused by the use of an arrangement of Aaron Copland's "Hoe-Down" in one scene (I promise I didn't know about this before watching!).  The folk tune it's based on has its roots in the UK, but it was obviously specifically Copland's arrangement they used and very strange to hear this music so emblematic of 20th century America being played in an 1810s English setting.

[Jay 37,266]

So what are your thoughts on the new season of British Bake Off, Stu?

 

Also, what do you think of recent Jeopardy episodes, are the contestants now following whats-his-name's strategy, or is it back to business as usual?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

14 minutes ago, Jay said:

So what are your thoughts on the new season of British Bake Off, Stu?

 

We watch on the weekends, so we won't see episode 2 until Saturday.  I don't really see the point of having 13 bakers other than to make one silly "Baker's Dozen" joke which is only applicable to the first episode.  So now they have to get rid of two in a single episode at some point, which slightly undercuts the generous, kind tone of the show.  Yes, they'd done it before (in 2013 I think), but there was a good reason they dropped it in the first place I think.

 

I will say though that I've been very unimpressed with bakers' showstopper decorating abilities in the past couple of years, really since the Nadia season. But from this very first episode I can see that there are more than a few in this new batch that are more skilled and imaginative decorators.

 

14 minutes ago, Jay said:

Also, what do you think of recent Jeopardy episodes, are the contestants now following whats-his-name's strategy, or is it back to business as usual?

 

It's a mixed bag really.  I would say it's still mostly people starting in the lower dollar amounts and following down categories.  The people that do try Holzhauer's strategy often fail because they simply don't have the knowledge to pull it off.  We'll see what happens when the new season starts (it's been reruns since July), because that will be ALL people that watched Holzhauer's run and maybe have had time to prepare and try the strat out.

[Quintus 5,399]

Jesus H Christ 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

A new low!

[Quintus 5,399]

How the mighty threads have fallen. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

4 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

A new low!

 

2 minutes ago, Quintus said:

How the mighty threads have fallen. 

 

[Quintus 5,399]

Next it'll be talk about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And demand more donations!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I've already talked about Wheel of Fortune in this thread.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

With Pat Sajak and Vanna White, or an Australian version?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Just now, Disco Stu said:

With Pat Sajak and Vanna White, or an Australian version?

 

The Pat one. They air it here. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Growing up, Wheel of Fortune was my mom's show and Jeopardy was mine and my dad's show.

[Quintus 5,399]

6 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

And demand more donations!

 

Jeopardy, cooking programs... Come back Alexcremers with his bigging up of The Voice, all is forgiven! 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Herb... Herb, wake up. There's somebody in the bathroom... Herbbbb!

[Jay 37,266]

We watched the pilot episode of Fleabag on Amazon. It was pretty funny. 

 

But the time between the giant asshole joke's setup and payoff was way too long

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I tried the first episode.  Didn't seem like a show meant for me.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Sanditon Episode 2

 

Goodness this show makes Downton Abbey look like Shakespeare!  Trashy trashy trashy.  But in a sort of faux-dignified way.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

So now that Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones are over (I'm up to Season 4 of BB, by the way), what are the current big zeitgeist shows that people go gaga over? I mean those extreme high-end type shows that all the snobs love. Do they exist? Does Westworld count? Because I've watched all that so far.