Jump to content

What is the last Television series you watched?


Jay

Recommended Posts

It's not just Netflix; That's all that aired last year.

The final 7 episodes are airing right now; 2 have aired so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm hoping that the second part of season 7 goes up on Netflix quickly instead of waiting until next year. I don't want to start the first part until I know the second part is not far behind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though only half of season 2 is actually worth watching.

The first half of them are great as well, that's a lot of episodes. Then it takes until the final 2 to get bearable again, and the Lynch directed finale is stellar.

The bad episodes are made more frustrating by the fact that there's still good, important moments within some of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though only half of season 2 is actually worth watching.

The first half of them are great as well, that's a lot of episodes. Then it takes until the final 2 to get bearable again, and the Lynch directed finale is stellar.

The bad episodes are made more frustrating by the fact that there's still good, important moments within some of them.

Yup! It was frustrating to see the show become exactly what it so cheekily satirized - a soap opera. At least it ended on a decent note.

Don't let any of that deter you though Steef. The highs of the show more than make up for its lows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watched the first 4 episodes of Community last night, after intending to only watch the pilot. Tell me why I left it till now to watch this?

Exactly my kind of humour! It was genuinely laugh out loud hysterical and frequently. That shit is rare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh I don't think we're disagreeing. I haven't seen the latest ones but the last one or two seasons were sort of a sharp decline from the earlier utter brilliance, I think most agree on that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watched the first 4 episodes of Community last night, after intending to only watch the pilot. Tell me why I left it till now to watch this?

Exactly my kind of humour! It was genuinely laugh out loud hysterical and frequently. That shit is rare.

Unfortunately its early heights don't last. The dead writer leaves for a season then comes back, one by one cast members leave the show, and its never the same as the original 3 seasons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea, I just meant I didn't point him out specifically when I wrote about it, so I guess he didn't make much of an impression on me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watched the first 4 episodes of Community last night, after intending to only watch the pilot. Tell me why I left it till now to watch this?

Exactly my kind of humour! It was genuinely laugh out loud hysterical and frequently. That shit is rare.

Finally! Took you long enough!

Used to be the best comedy on television, sitting alongside the likes of Arrested Development. Unfortunately, after the 3rd season, the head writer got kicked out and the show became shit. 5th season, he was brought back, but it couldn't quite recover because of the limited number of episodes and half the cast leaving.

This new season is pretty good, but not up there with the first three...comedy gold, those seasons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Second season of Community might be my favorite season of TV comedy ever...it at least ranks up there with Seasons 4-6 of The Simpsons for me. They went to some inspired places there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon didn't get along. NBC kept Chase, so Harmon left.

3/4 of the way through season 4 Chase left too, so Harmon came back for Season 5.

Then Troy left.

Then Jon Oliver left.

Then Jonathan Banks left.

Then Shirley left.

Now Season 6 is not quite the same...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Community S05E06 - Basic Email Security

Hilarious stuff! The story is alright, basically parodying the Sony hack but it's the gags and the writing that's at the top of the game here. Love all the references to the past, referring to classic moments and the "Golden Age". The whole thing is steeped in meta self-awareness and nostalgia. Dan Harmon and team know exactly where they are with the show and how to treat its audience. Best part of the episode was probably when Elroy and Frankie (who've become cool additions to the team) find out that this used to be a study group and that Chang used to be their teacher finishing it off with hilarious but true observation: "Frankly, I haven't been well utilized since!".

Ultimately, this show really isn't where it used to be, and this episode doesn't really add much to the grand scheme of things. But the writers know that, and instead of trying to relive that "Golden Age", they'd rather just let Community be Community, however much that's changed over the years. And frankly, that's enough to keep this fan going :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon didn't get along. NBC kept Chase, so Harmon left.

3/4 of the way through season 4 Chase left too, so Harmon came back for Season 5.

Then Troy left.

Then Jon Oliver left.

Then Jonathan Banks left.

Then Shirley left.

Now Season 6 is not quite the same...

I don't think Chevy Chase had that much to do with it, and Harmon didn't leave but was fired by NBC. He is quite brilliant but apparently irresponsible, a bit of an asshole, and generally a difficult person to work for. On the first three seasons he was always pushing budget and schedule to their absolute limits (I remember hearing that he wayyy overspent on the paintball and stop-motion episodes). He'd sleep on the job and he was also a big procrastinator and would put off writing until they had to cancel table reads and staff would be pulling all-nighters to finish episodes. So the show was always kind of a mess in production which riled NBC, but mostly the cast and staff put up with it and supported him because he had such a clear vision for the show and the material was so great.

Also it never did very well in the ratings and NBC felt the show was too niche and not reaching a big enough audience. It was always on the verge of cancellation, but I think for Season 4, they decided to lower the budget of the show which they didn't trust Harmon with. So for that and all those other reasons they got rid of him...and I guess in the process, hoped the new guys they brought in could make something that would be a little more broadly accessible. That didn't happen, and so then they somehow reached an agreement to bring Harmon back for Season 5, mostly because of Joel McHale. This article lays it out pretty well: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/communitys-dan-harmon-reveals-wild-586084

I think it became a better situation after that, but the show still wasn't improving in the ratings so they finally cancelled it, leaving Yahoo! to pick it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I abandoned it about halfway through season 4.

Karol

The end of that season, for me. I'll be watching it all through though once it ends. Mad Men is a very peculiar show and I was never really able to articulate why I liked it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Into Season 2 of Twin Peaks now and a lot of it is already diluted. Yet it remains strongly watchable, even though a lot of it seems irrelevant or incoherent.

The Lynch directed episodes seem to be the key ones. And he really pushes the boundaries of what you could show on TV in that time. Some really nightmarish imagery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Community 6x06 Basic Email Security

Meh. Putting our main characters in a room together for 10 minutes reading mean they've they've said about each other was not pleasant to watch at all.

I guess some of the meta comments about the golden age were nice.

This show is so up and down... it's really hard for them to string even two good episodes in a row together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well the 4th, 5th and 6th episodes of season 1 last night were already a marked drop in quality. The laughs quota was hugely reduced compared to the first three. Hopefully a blip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Twin Peaks

It's classic status is undeniable. But it's kind of hard to describe something which main strengths are indescribable.

This show inspired many others that would follow. From X-Files to True Detective. But where did Lynch get his own inspiration from?

Certainly from his own fetish for classic cinema of the 50's and 60's. The James Dean, Lana Turner kind of drive inn fare. While Twin Peaks is apparently set in the then present time of 1991, the aesthetics, set design, costumes etc look decidedly from past America. (i can't recall seeing many modern cars in the show)

The show starts out with the famous Lara Palmer mystery that Lynch originally didnt plan on ever solving. It became such a phenomenon however that what season 2 rolled around the network rather forced him to.

And therein lies the fundamental problem. Season 2.

The first season had a tidy 7 episodes, the second has 22, and after the shows original enigma is solved, there really isn't much substantial left. Twin Peaks slowly descends into uncoordinated story lines that seem wholly unconnected and feel like little but soap opera at times (complete with characters presumed long dead returning). Out of the ashes of this slowly a new mystery takes form. The madman Windom Earle as he forces his reign of terror upon Twin Peaks, and things do pick up quite a bit, but the damage is largely done.

It's also very noticeably that season 1 and the first halve of season 2 have rather excellent camerawork and excellent production values for it's time. But after that the look of the series becomes very mundane.

The casting is overall excellent, with some of the ladies becoming icons for at least a short period. Especially Sherilyn Fenn stands out with her portray of Audry Horne, mixing her Liz Taylor looks with a sort of Marilyn Monroe behavior.

None however stands out more then MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper. With his Men in Black suit, impeccable slicked back hair and keen mind which seamlessly mixed inductive reasoning with asian philosophy Cooper is truly one of the most unique characters in TV history. With impeccable manners and morality and a boundless enthusiasm for the smallest things like a good cup of coffee (though I remain unconvinced that the USA has good coffee).

Partnered in the show with the town sheriff Harry Truman. MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean create one of the best cop buddy teams ever. Perfectly complimenting each other and both showing an natural and unwavering loyalty towards each other.

It is actually a great shame that this show fell prey to the normal conventions that influence the course of TV shows. Dwindling rating, internal politics, constantly shifting air-times and eventual cancellation.

However. what the series needed wasnt more episodes but less. Had season 2 been half it's length, and many of the dull storylines dropped and managed to keep its focus on the original murder, then it would have been a true classic. Not "just" a cult classic, which is what it is today. The show ends on several cliffhangers. Were they really hoping to be renewed?

When judged on it's finest qualities the show is utterly brilliant. It's also interesting how the episodes that Lynch personally directed are often the weirdest, funniest and most nightmarish? (the final one is brilliant in it's utter bizarreness)

But judged as a whole it really loses a lot of points just for sheer lack of focus. And frankly some piss poor storytelling.

Nevertheless it will be the highlights of the show that will stay with me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you know David Lynch never intended this murder plot to be resolved? It was network that forced him to do it. It was meant to be merely a trigger to open up the world of that show and its characters. But then, he wasn't as involved in season 2.

Karol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didnt I actually write that?

The series is strongest when it does revolve around the Palmer murder imo, and after it lost that it never truly regained itself. Though there are flashes of brilliance in the muck. Ben Horne's self fueled redemption for instance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The show starts out with the famous Lara Palmer mystery that Lynch originally didnt plan on ever solving. It became such a phenomenon however that what season 2 rolled around the network rather forced him to.

Do you know David Lynch never intended this murder plot to be resolved? It was network that forced him to do it.

Oh no, Cremers disease is affecting you too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.