What is the last Television series you watched?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Can't wait can't wait can't wait!

 

My favorite Netflix show by a country mile.

 

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Gotham got good again! Thank God! After Gordon murdered the main villain of the first batch of episodes, the quality greatly improved. Nygma became The Riddler, Alfred kicked the shit out of a big black guy (WTF, Alfred?), Gordon was sentenced to 40 years in prison and Oswald moved in with Pee-Wee. The show is fully embracing its funny book origins and flourishing.

[Marian Schedenig 8,199]

6 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

 

I kept myself blissfully uninterested until they cast Olivia Colman.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

11 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

Gotham got good again! Thank God! After Gordon murdered the main villain of the first batch of episodes, the quality greatly improved. Nygma became The Riddler, Alfred kicked the shit out of a big black guy (WTF, Alfred?), Gordon was sentenced to 40 years in prison and Oswald moved in with Pee-Wee. The show is fully embracing its funny book origins and flourishing.

 

Yeah no more of this realistic and relatable crap!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I kept myself blissfully uninterested until they cast Olivia Colman.

 

Its really very good.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

1 hour ago, Baby Jane Hudson said:

 

Yeah no more of this realistic and relatable crap!

 

The characters on Gotham are more realistic and relatable. Oswald just fed his deceased father's widow her children and then stabbed her repeatedly.

[Jay 37,369]

Curb Your Enthusiasm 9x06 Accidental text on Purpose

 

  

 

The most I've laughed during any half hour of life in 2017. Multiple hilariously funny moments this week. This is everything Curb does right in one episode.

 

Nice work from June Diane Raphael, Begley Jr, and man Funkhouser was on fire this week - him and Larry's goodbye scene was comedy gold!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

 

This is some of the best shit I've seen since Bates Motel.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

22 minutes ago, Jay said:

Curb Your Enthusiasm 9x06 Accidental text on Purpose

 

  

 

The most I've laughed during any half hour of life in 2017. Multiple hilariously funny moments this week. This is everything Curb does right in one episode.

 

Nice work from June Diane Raphael, Begley Jr, and man Funkhouser was on fire this week - him and Larry's goodbye scene was comedy gold!

I’m about to watch it right now. Just caught up on the last two weeks. “Thank You For Your Service” was great!

[Jay 37,369]

Yup, this week and last were peak Curb

[KK 3,307]

Last night's Curb was a riot! Best episode of the season so far.

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm still amazed how they managed to get all the old cast together for the classic ensemble scenes (Jeff's house, dinner parties etc). Last night's was again like something straight out of an episode from eight years ago. Pleasantly amusing throughout, even though I barely laughed out loud at any one single joke. The cringe factor is comfortably dominating the mid season agenda at this point.

[Jay 37,369]

When he had to take his pants off in front of Lewis's girlfriend I had to cover my face with my hand! So much cringe!

[Quintus 5,399]

And then the completely unreasonable and rude behaviour of the woman in the room with him; standard implausible nonsense but a classic Curb scenario nonetheless.

 

I felt the same about the funeral rant actually. Completely within the behavioural boundaries of this show's main character.

[Jay 37,369]

"It's called concierge service!"

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Mindhunter episode 2.  Continues to be sort of middle-of-the-road interesting.  I'm compelled to watch episode 3 tonight but I can't say I'm entranced or especially fascinated.  My wife and I both kind of hate the main character.  I guess him being annoying is on purpose?

[Jay 37,369]

The main character is the worst!  He partner is way cooler, and even Ed Kemper is more fun!

 

The third main character of the show gets introduced in episode 3, and she's pretty great (unfortunately they don't really give her enough to do this season)

[KK 3,307]

3 hours ago, Quintus said:

And then the completely unreasonable and rude behaviour of the woman in the room with him; standard implausible nonsense but a classic Curb scenario nonetheless.

 

I felt the same about the funeral rant actually. Completely within the behavioural boundaries of this show's main character.

 

Only part that felt a little off for me was when he shoved the lady with the perfume. Seemed a bit much, even for Larry David.

[Jay 37,369]

I laughed out loud at that, rewound, and watched it again!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Brilliant episode. 

[Jay 37,369]

Yes!

[Quintus 5,399]

3 hours ago, KK said:

 

Only part that felt a little off for me was when he shoved the lady with the perfume. Seemed a bit much, even for Larry David.

 

I was borderline with that while my wife burst out laughing in bed at it. Larry had laid the groundwork for the moment earlier though, on the plane. He has never been okay with people entering his personal space, and that perfume girl was the straw that broke the camel's back on that day

[Jay 37,369]

The girl on the plane is the very talented June Diane Raphael!

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't know her, but sure. Doesn't surprise me that she's another cameo appearance on this, it's loaded with them.

[Jay 37,369]

She's great

[A24 4,338]

Have to agree with this article:

 

"Bates Motel Finally Got Good":

 

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/03/07/bates-motel-collins-crypt

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It was always good.

 

 

Is Norman/Norma transgender?

[A24 4,338]

It was always okay but like the article says most of it was filler. I'm glad they were others (not you, of course) who noticed a serious improvement with S5. 

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

What sets the last season apart is that it just goes off the rails. Improvement? I don't know.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Alex thinks Justin doesn't understand Bates Motel.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I understand it better than everyone.

 

It was obvious to me in the last season that they had no idea what to do with these characters. Almost everyone dies. Emma becomes boring married stay-at-home mom. No real closure there. As long as they were off the rails, they could have been a little more entertaining.

[A24 4,338]

I

3 hours ago, The Doctor said:

What sets the last season apart is that it just goes off the rails. Improvement? I don't know.

 

What sets it apart is that is was less about trivial and forgettable things like Emma and his brother's drug dealings or his dad. What sets it apart is that in this season, which is way more darker than the previous ones, we're finally seeing the birth of 'Norman Bates'. 

 

3 hours ago, The Doctor said:

 

 

It was obvious to me in the last season that they had no idea what to do with these characters. 

 

They finally understood they were trivial filler.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Wrong. Some of the series' best moments involved Norman's relationship with his brother and Emma. They were his anchors to reality, which was completely gone by season 5 where everything went wackadoo and he's hanging out with weirdos for no good reason and the ex-sheriff becomes a ridiculous villain. There wasn't much point in showing "the birth of Norman Bates" when he doesn't even survive the end of the series. I do think they failed with that narrative in the finale and it should have gone a totally different way.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I never said it wasn't.

 

Still no reason why he couldn't have survived and come back 20 years later rehabilitated.

[A24 4,338]

34 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

Wrong. Some of the series' best moments involved Norman's relationship with his brother and Emma. They were his anchors to reality, which was completely gone by season 5 where everything went wackadoo and he's hanging out with weirdos for no good reason and the ex-sheriff becomes a ridiculous villain. There wasn't much point in showing "the birth of Norman Bates" when he doesn't even survive the end of the series. I do think they failed with that narrative in the finale and it should have gone a totally different way.

 

Well, I disagree with all of this. I never thought Emma and Norman's brother were series' highlights. They were only there because they had to stretch everything into several seasons. I think that became quite apparent in the last season. It was always the unique mother and son relationship that was the most intriguing aspect of the show. 

 

 Actually, the sheriff became good, somebody who meant well and for whom the viewer could care for, certainly not a ridiculous villain as seen from your bizarre Selina perspective.

 

 

[Quintus 5,399]

Who else just knew Alex's reply to Justin, once it came, would end with a snide aside!  It's the only we he knows how to debate people! 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

His character's arc for an entire season was escaping prison to get revenge on "Norman Bates" by murdering him with a gun. You're supposed to sympathize with Norman because it's the Mother side of him that does the killing and he's not in control of. So why would we care for the ex-sheriff when he just wants to break the law yet again and murder someone that needs help? Romero was always dirty. A guilty pleasure to watch much of the time, but one of the least likable characters.

 

You just don't "get it", Alex.

[KK 3,307]

The last season was okay, but clumsy. You could tell that the writers had a hard time tying everything together.

 

Season 4 (the penultimate season) was the best one.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

While I basically enjoyed it, I could also criticize the heck out of the last season. To say it was the best season I think is just going against the status quo. The previous seasons with Norma still alive were all more entertaining because of it. The show needed her. The version in Norman's brain just didn't have the same presence most of the time and the show suffered. Keeping that mountain man Chick around for all that time was ridiculous. He's one of the worst recurring characters. The way they threw in a fucked up retelling of the original novel was pretty lame.

A really big issue is with Freddie's performance. The guy is really very good and went full Bates numerous times. His season 5 performance is so toned down, it doesn't even make sense. He's supposed to be channeling Norma and he's almost whispering. It didn't work at all.

 

They should just redo the last season.

[A24 4,338]

What do you mean? Norma was alive for 95% of the duration of the season. To say that she wasn't and that the show suffered because of her absence is downright silly. The last episode without Norma (alive that is) was beautiful ... A devastated Norman cut loose from his mom's umbilical cord. Way more fascinating then the drugs story line of the brother. That was hardly high quality TV.

 

3 hours ago, KK said:

The last season was okay, but clumsy. You could tell that the writers had a hard time tying everything together.

 

Not really how I experienced it. Norman gets locked up in the asylum (interesting on its own). Sheriff and Norma try to find happiness with each other. Norman finds a way to get out and deals with his competition. But he also is realizing that he and his mother don't belong in this world. His plan of going to a 'different place' where he and his mother can live happily together fails ... But she still lives inside Norman. And so our Norman Bates is born. There's something beautiful tragic about it, not clumsy.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Norma in Norman's brain was more boring.

[A24 4,338]

Every time things get interesting you call it boring. Of course, it's only normal that you think this season was the weakest. 

 

The tragedy of Norman without his mother probably went by you*. Still, how much time are we talking about? Most of the season Norma was still alive.

 

 

* went by you ... hmm that doesn't sound right 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Norma is a corpse and a personality assumed by Norman in season 5.

[KK 3,307]

1 hour ago, Alexcremers said:

Not really how I experienced it. Norman gets locked up in the asylum (interesting on its own). Sheriff and Norma try to find happiness with each other. Norman finds a way to get out and deals with his competition. But he also is realizing that he and his mother don't belong in this world. His plan of going to a 'different place' where he and his mother can live happily together fails ... But she still lives inside Norman. And so our Norman Bates is born. There's something beautiful tragic about it, not clumsy.

 

I agree with all of this. And funny enough, all the events you named occured in season 4. That's what made it so interesting. All these characters trying to find happiness in their own way only to be foiled by the demands of a very particular relationship. 

 

In the final season, everything suddenly became very black and white, and more desperate to tie it in to the original film than I would have liked. It had its moments, but overall, I felt very lukewarm towards it. And I understand where Justin is coming from. Norma was a real character in season 4, you actually felt for her and could understand her misery and conflict as a mother. In season 5, they just dialled the psycho-Farmiga to the highest dial. It was entertaining enough, but the more you think about that season, the more it falls apart.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

They also never let Freddie get brutally intense in season 5 for some weird reason. There was the time when it should have been happening, but he was frequently just mild-mannered and talking in a really soft voice when he became Mother. It's really weird direction.

No, he was at his best when he was going at it with Vera in seasons 1-4. The conflict in season 4 especially was amazing.

[A24 4,338]

I'm talking about the last season on my Netflix. The one where Norman trashes the big LCD TV and tries to take his own life and that of his mother. 

 

 

And so the tragedy starts ...

 

[Quintus 5,399]

The first couple of episodes of Mad Men season 4 and it's all change at the agency as they have moved into new, lo-fi premises (ace Daily Planet vibes), we seem to have left the early 60s and have progressed to circa '65ish. As such the dynamic feels fresh and revitalised from top to bottom in this show. It's fabulous.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

43 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

I'm talking about the last season on my Netflix. The one where Norman trashes the big LCD TV and tries to take his own life and that of his mother. 

 

 

And so the tragedy starts ...

 

 

We've been talking about season 5.

 

Mostly.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Mindhunter episodes 3 and 4

 

The show has slid from middle-of-the-road to almost downright dull.  I really hope it picks up soon or I'll be quitting.  I cannot fathom giving a crap about any of these characters or what they're doing.