What is the last Television series you watched?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

LOST is far from a perfect show, inherently because there was no endgame for for the first three seasons. It just happens to be my favorite because even in its filler episodes (no doubt that there are) the character structure and development is so strong that it never hurts the program. "Stranger In A Strange Land" is the epitome of this example. An episode dedicated about learning how Jack got his tattoo, but ultimately containing worthwhile character moments. I think a rewatch would benefit your overall opinion. I used to dislike episodes like the aforementioned, but came to appreciate what qualities they contained on subsequent viewings.

 

So obviously less episodes and preplanned endgame of x amount of episodes, characters, plot details, etc would have resulted in a better show, but how they were able to salvage so much into a satisfying throughline makes it worthwhile in the end for me. I wouldn't change a thing mainly because I wouldn't know where to start. They are all pretty major season arcs, like you said, that would be hard to remove without sacrificing crucial character or plot development on the overarching whole. Walt's character, for example, was an important and relevant focus of the first two seasons, who is eventually just gone until a few brief moments in the end. 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

My biggest problem with Lost is that it has a rather large share of plot ideas that ultimately go nowhere and are just dropped, and of red herring easter eggs that appear to be important clues to core plot lines, but ultimately are entirely pointless. It's even worse when both combine, like the Hurley/Libby connection.

 

But I don't get the general hate for Exposé. It may not be relevant to the series plot, but I love the episode.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

"Exposé" is pure fan service and I love it for that. They tried to shoehorn two new characters in that everyone hated and then killed them off brilliantly.

 

I understand your complaint about red herrings. Walt's character was the prime example, but I think most of these were budding ideas that had to be dropped either due to real life occurrences (the actor growing too fast) or a byproduct of network television production. Ultimately though, I think a lot of the smaller stuff adds a great value to the environmental storytelling that I mentioned earlier. Room 23 is an example of that. Something that the audience thinks is a lot more important or relevant than it really was, but it becomes a nice backdrop to the mysteries and mythology of the show and gets a little bow tie explanation in the end. 

[publicist 4,643]

 

If they keep the humour i stay aboard.

[crocodile 8,018]

I don't know. Kinda feels nothing like the book.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

I don't know the book. And compared to its infantile multiplex counterparts this one feels at least like it has some subtext.

[Quintus 5,399]

Hey, Ash Vs Evil Dead is STARZ. I'd never heard of the channel before, but Bruce Campbell said they eventually went with them after shopping it around because the competing offers were only prepared to make "wimpy" versions of what they had in mind. Thank god too, because up until this show came along, The Walking Dead was the goriest thing I'd seen on TV, but this takes it to true comic book levels. The unbridled gore and endlessly cool novelty deaths are pretty much a dream come true for Evil Dead nuts like myself. 

[crocodile 8,018]

10 minutes ago, publicist said:

I don't know the book. And compared to its infantile multiplex counterparts this one feels at least like it has some subtext.

I will check it out at some point. Just worried my experience of reading the book will ruin the show, no matter how good it is on its own.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

You will always have a Marvel franchise to drown your sorrows. 

[crocodile 8,018]

Well, new season of Fargo has just started. Better Call Saul is on. The new Twin Peak is about to come out this month. I'll be fine.

 

I just realised all of those are either remakes, homages, prequels, sequels or reboots. Ah, well...

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Yep, Fargo, Better Call Saul ... I'm not quitting my Netflix subscription yet. Not sure where or how I'm going to watch Twin Peaks ...

[publicist 4,643]

I want to re-watch 'The Wire'. Shitty weather makes the prospect of that much more inviting.

[crocodile 8,018]

4 minutes ago, publicist said:

I want to re-watch 'The Wire'. Shitty weather makes the prospect of that much more inviting.

Please do, the Blu-ray transfer is absolutely fantastic. And it actually feels even more engrossing as "freed" from the 4:3 constraints.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Wasn't it composed for 4:3? It seemed to make sense at the time and even added to that The Wire atmosphere.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

4:3 only works on Selina's Trinitron, Alex.

[crocodile 8,018]

3 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Wasn't it composed for 4:3? It seemed to make sense at the time.

It was, yeah. And it some shots you may see that. But opening up the world makes it even more fascinating to watch. The transfer is just beautiful and the world feels more real than ever. Richer, more textured. I know that changing the format may sound like sacrilege. But it does make it even better, trust me. I actually compared the picture to my old DVD set and it's a drastic difference. It's like watching it for the first time.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

9 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Please do, the Blu-ray transfer is absolutely fantastic. And it actually feels even more engrossing as "freed" from the 4:3 constraints.

 

Nah, i got the dvd set years ago and don't plan to invest in it more. I faintly remember the fourth season about the kids being a real heartbreak.

[crocodile 8,018]

Well, it's worth a re-watch on any format. Still the best thing out there.

 

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm going to get on the re-release this year, definitely. 

[publicist 4,643]

Found another gift set from years ago in my closet, a Denis Leary series about firefighters in NYC, 'Rescue Me'. Wasn't half-bad, either!

[A24 4,345]

28 minutes ago, crocodile said:

It was, yeah. And it some shots you may see that. But opening up the world makes it even more fascinating to watch. The transfer is just beautiful and the world feels more real than ever. Richer, more textured. I know that changing the format may sound like sacrilege. But it does make it even better, trust me. I actually compared the picture to my old DVD set and it's a drastic difference. It's like watching it for the first time.

 

Karol

 

Dammit! Now I wanna see it again!

[crocodile 8,018]

13 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Dammit! Now I wanna see it again!

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

It's 80€!

[A24 4,345]

At one time the Blu-ray box was 50 Euro (on sale) and I didn't buy because I have it on DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

PS: It's 70 Euro at bol.com

[crocodile 8,018]

What about Amazon.co.uk?

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

That's DVD!

[crocodile 8,018]

Yeah, updated to Blu-ray now. Sorry, my bad.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

That's about as cheap or expensive as bol.com if you include shipping costs.

[crocodile 8,018]

It ain't cheap. The more obscure the series the more expensive it gets. Getting a reasonably priced Treme is impossible.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

I stopped watching that after 2 seasons because I felt it wasn't going anywhere and that everything was already said with the first season.

[crocodile 8,018]

True. But I'd like to finish it some day.

 

He's making a new show set in New York apparently.

 

Have you seen Generation Kill?

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Not a post 9/11 show, I hope?

[crocodile 8,018]

No, it's about 1970's porn industry.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Yes! Boogie Nights!

[crocodile 8,018]

Now this is something else, you have to admit.

 

Speaking of David Simon, he doesn't really strike you as a typical TV showrunner.

 

 

 

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

I don't know. Kinda feels nothing like the book.

 

Really? I thought it was quite like the book in that first episode.

 

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

I will check it out at some point. Just worried my experience of reading the book will ruin the show, no matter how good it is on its own.

 

I read the book last year and liked it, but didn't love it, and didn't see why it generally has such a special place among Gaiman's works. I thought it might be because I'm not American and also mostly ignorant about American geography, and much of the road trip aspect was probably lost on me. In that regard, I'm actually hoping the series might help me appreciate it more.

[Jay 37,372]

Silicon Valley 4x01 Success Failure

 

So glad this show is back!  Loved the little sabotage video chat pitch to open the episode, great re-introduction to the characters.  It was really weird to see Richard not do what he was supposed to for PiperChat, but actually fit his character when its revealed his heart just isn't in it.  The return of that douchey investor was funny (they were at the wrong school ), as was Gavin on the plane with Stephen Tobolowsky, squabbling over paths to take their private jet  Richard quitting PiperChat to focus on his new "New Internet" thing is reminiscent of the how every season pivots the crew in a new direction.  Can't wait to see where it goes!

[KK 3,307]

 

Better Call Saul S3E5 - Chicanery

 

Absolutely brilliant. One of, if not the best episode of the series so far. It best showcases BCS's more subtle hand at handling its tension, beats and characters. You've really got to give Gilligan and the writers credit for their incredible integrity when it comes to how they've wanted to run this show, because with episodes like this, the slow, well-crafted burn really pays off.

 

Not to mention, if you're a sucker for riveting courtroom dramas, this is the episode for you!

[Jay 37,372]

Silicon Valley 4x02 Terms of Service

 

Oh man was it funny seeing Dinesh as the CEO!!  Loved his new hair and new attitude, comedy gold.  Watching his rise and fall within a single episode was pretty epic actually, the COPPA angle used to end the Piperchat storyline was funny, and explains the kind of weird scenes with Gavin and Tobolowsky last week, it was all a setup for them to buy Piperchat.  So now I guess the gang at the house will pivot to working on Richard's "new internet" and we'll have our new status quo for the season?  Loved Erlich and Yang's octopus subplot too

[nightscape94 965]

On the recommendation of @BloodBoal, I decided to skip some shows I had in queue and go direction to Last Exile.  I'm only about a third of the way through, but outside of some unquestionably old-looking CG animation integration, and an overall digitized appearance, it's a nice little show.  It follows some standard tropes, but the characters and world-building are interesting enough to overlook them.  The story itself is told in a way where they don't really explain much right away.  You learn about the world  in how the characters talk and interact with each other.

 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm usually a fan of blended 2D and CGI animation, but in that first screenshot it just looks unnatural. Most shows reserve it for big set pieces and not the characters themselves. 

On the topic of anime, however, I finished up The Legend Of Korra a couple weeks ago. A great show, but for some reason I felt the last season was its weakest. Perhaps it had to do with network pressures and them being completely off the air at this point, but it wasn't a satisfying conclusion for the characters. I would have liked more of an overt development of Korra's romantic relationships. As is, it's just like, "Err, okay?" and the show ends. We get a one line stinger for Mako and her, and we don't even find out what happens to Bolin and Opal. Varrick and Zhu Li get a more statisfying development and conclusion than the main cast! The final battle is fantastic as expected, but I think they really fell flat with ending it all. 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Well then the animation just looks weird!

[A24 4,345]

[Jay 37,372]

Silicon Valley 4x03 Intellectual Property

 

Hilarious!  Richard's fit at the end could only be performed that way by Thomas Middleditch, so good!  I don't really get why they make Dinesh so pathetic dating-wise, seems a bit too much even for this show!  The Erlich / Jin Yang subplot was pretty good this week, I liked Monica's scenes too (they need to make her a more important character).  Big Head at Stamford was pretty funny too   Always so happy when a new episode of this show is out

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[nightscape94 965]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 7:19 PM, Koray Savas said:

On the topic of anime, however, I finished up The Legend Of Korra a couple weeks ago. A great show, but for some reason I felt the last season was its weakest.

 

The final battle is fantastic as expected, but I think they really fell flat with ending it all. 

 

If I recall correctly we definitely have some disagreements about season 2, but I will certainly agree that season 4 felt underwhelming.  I actually liked the whole set up with the metal bending military faction trying to usurp power.  I had been waiting for a great earth-bending baddy.  But when all was said and done, it was quite as dynamic as season 3.

 

I agree that, although I loved it, the last romantic pairing seemed a bit underdeveloped.  I would have loved for them to just commit to it and go for it all the way.  According to an interview I read with the creators, the studio did not inter with this and were supportive, so I wonder why they held back.

 

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 6:53 AM, Alexcremers said:

 

One day I will convince you to watch a really good adult-oriented anime!  Mark my words!

 

1 hour ago, BloodBoal said:

This article covers most of my thoughts about the finale, and the show as whole too, actually. Cowboy Bebop definitely is a unique show with a well-thought-out universe and interesting character relationships, but it falls a bit short on the story aspect, feeling too inconsistent from one episode to the next, and too fragmented as well (some standalone episodes, some episodes revolving around the past of the various main characters, some episodes focusing on one overarching plot... Would have appreciated having more connective tissue between the different episodes). Still, there's enough good material in there to make it worth watching, and see something that inspired quite a lot of science-fiction TV shows after that (Firefly is an obvious example, but there's also stuff like Futurama: the Mom character is a clear rip-off of Maria Murdock in the episode Gateway Shuffle).

 

Agreed.  One of the best things about its structure is that it allowed Spike and Jet to keep gathering new crew members by accident until they were a perfect little group of misfits.  First the dog, then Faye, then Ed...and this then created a better balance of story potential, taking the focus and pressure off of Spike as the lead, and making it a true collective.  The trade off, however, is that any overarching story for any one of the characters is sacrificed.  The problem here is that they tried to have it both ways.  They put all of their emotional eggs in one basket for the finale and it just didn't work.  By the time we finally meet Julia, I feel like she's around for like 5 seconds.  My opinion about how the show should have ended is this:  After Ed departed and went her own way, Faye should have followed suit at some point, leaving Spike and Jet to journey around to collect different members of their motley band as their space adventures continue on.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Popping in to say that, 5 episodes later, Handmaid's Tale continues to be practically perfect in every way.