What is the last Television series you watched?

[A24 4,813]

[Jay 42,449]

Black Mirror 7x04 Plaything

 

This episode was really good! Peter Capaldi was compelling in the framing scenes, and the core of the story kept getting more and more interesting as it went. When everything comes together at the end, it was very satisfying, and I loved the ambiguous ending.

[Director of Poltergeist 8,123]

On 11/6/2025 at 3:36 PM, Quintus said:

Yeah I agree with Edmilson. I didn't even finish Fallout.

A bit of a falling out I’m afraid.

 

I’ve been rewatching episodes of Step by Step when I doze off. I feel like this show had a cultish following in the 90s and was basically accused of being a Brady Bunch ripoff, but it’s clearly more realistic. The girls on this one were very attractive to me since I was a little squirt, particularly Dana (middle) who is now 50 and a lawyer and still hot.

 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

FRASIER, S1.

I've finished the first season.

It's funny (very funny, in places), and it's extremely clever and well-written, but I can't help but think that it's all a bit white.

It's white, middle-class comedy for white, middle-class people.

This was thirty years ago. How times have changed... and not necessarily for the better...

I look forward to watching the remaining ten seasons, and seeing how it progresses.

I don't have a favourite character, but Hyde-Pierce's 'Niles' is played to perfection, and Mahoney's 'Martin' grounds it with an often healthy, and necessary, dose of reality.

'Eddie' is a riot.

 

It contained the most terrifying piece of television that I have seen, in a very long time.

[Quintus 5,718]

Finished all of The White Lotus. Do people not like the most recent third season then? I enjoyed it, I thought it was a good one. I get that it was much less light and amusing than the other two, but the producers obviously like to play around with the theming from season to season, and now they can say they've done the dark one. Cool, it's valid. I love this show, the whole thing.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,904]

Yeah It was entertaining. The Jason Isaacs thread was the thread I followed most closely.

[Quintus 5,718]

Ya reckon Uncle Baby Billy was reincarnated at the end?

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,904]

I dunno, I'm a catho, that sort of thing is nehh

[Quintus 5,718]

Yeah, I think the symbolism was there with the boy who lived, but I didn't conclude that's what happened to him.

[Edmilson 10,522]

5 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

It contained the most terrifying piece of television that I have seen, in a very long time.

What scene is this? I've never seen Frasier so I'm curious about why an old sitcom would have such a terrifying scene.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

3 hours ago, Edmilson said:

What scene is this? I've never seen Frasier so I'm curious about why an old sitcom would have such a terrifying scene.

It's not about the episode, per se. 

Followers of the show (and CHEERS) will be familiar with a block of ice called Lilith Sternin. She happens to be Frasier's ex.

The reason it terrified me is because of the striking similarity of Lilith, and of her and Fraiser's relationship. It reminded me (very painfully, I might add) of my relationship with my ex. It was so painful that I have vowed never to watch another episode of FRASIER (or CHEERS, for that matter), with her in it.

Silly, I know, but it scared the living daylights out of me, and brought back a lot of extremely hurtful memories.

Other than that, the season was just fine.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,904]

Lilith was hot.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

No. She wasn't.

Roz is hot.

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

If what happened to the revival is anything to go by original Frasier was very much a case of the stars aligning, catching lightning in a bottle, getting all your ducks in a row etc. 

 

Just wondering ... would it be the most successful spin-off show ever? I think it actually had more seasons than Cheers. 

[Jay 42,449]

41 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

would it be the most successful spin-off show ever?

 

I thought it was Happy Days, but it looks like both are tied at 11 seasons (and Frasier made slightly more episodes)

[Yavar Moradi 3,599]

32 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Just wondering ... would it be the most successful spin-off show ever? I think it actually had more seasons than Cheers. 

 

So the criteria for "most successful" is "longest running"? (If not, I've got some ideas...)

 

Yavar

[Jay 42,449]

I forgot about the Law and Order franchise - SVU is in its 27th season

 

OH!  DUH!!  The Simpsons is in its 37th!

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

So the criteria for "most successful" is "longest running"? (If not, I've got some ideas...)

 

 

 

I guess you could count continuing to draw a substantial audience as a show's success marker, which in turn usually ensures that more of it is made. 

 

@Jay, point taken about Law And Order ... perhaps I should've said 'spin-off sitcom'. 

[Yavar Moradi 3,599]

45 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

I guess you could count continuing to draw a substantial audience as a show's success marker, which in turn usually ensures that more of it is made. 

 

Ah, in that case Star Trek: The Next Generation!

 

Hell, The Andy Griffith Show (eight seasons, not counting its own Mayberry RFD and Gomer Pyle spinoffs) was originally a spinoff... most people don't even know the show it originally spun off from (I'm not sure it's even been released on home video).

 

Yavar

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

As I said to Jay, possibly I should've specified spin-off SITCOM (and maybe to narrow it down even more, 'from another sitcom'. I wasn't expecting my original musing-out-loud post to undergo this amount of analysis, to be honest) ... that must at least make Frasier a strong contender on both the longevity and audience fronts. 

They're no guarantee of success, of course ... I'm sure the makers of Joey thought it would be a surefire hit, and we all know how that went. 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

18 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

(... I wasn't expecting my original musing-out-loud post to undergo this amount of analysis, to be honest) 

"We have Sweep on line 2. He's worried about being over-analyzed".

"Go ahead, Sweep... I'm listening." 

[Jay 42,449]

Black Mirror 7x05 Eulogy

 

Wow, this episode was really good!  The visual look of going "into" the photographs was done really well, and a little different each time to keep it fresh.  And the story of Giamatti discovering everything he discovers was compelling and touching the whole time.  Really good!

[Yavar Moradi 3,599]

4 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

As I said to Jay, possibly I should've specified spin-off SITCOM (and maybe to narrow it down even more, 'from another sitcom'. I wasn't expecting my original musing-out-loud post to undergo this amount of analysis, to be honest) ... that must at least make Frasier a strong contender on both the longevity and audience fronts. 

Pretty sure The Andy Griffith show fits the bill as a sitcom spin off of another sitcom (which had multiple sitcom spinoffs of its own). It’s an amazing show that often transcended being a mere sitcom I suppose, but it was still always a sitcom at heart.

 

Yavar

[Schilkeman 1,460]

Black and White Andy Griffith was the best. Color Andy Griffith was like a completely different show.

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

All I know of it really are some Simpsons gags about it. Don't think it was ever really a 'thing' on UK television.

[Yavar Moradi 3,599]

1 hour ago, Schilkeman said:

Black and White Andy Griffith was the best. Color Andy Griffith was like a completely different show.

 

On this we largely agree, but I don't think the series going to color was the big problem; I think it was the simultaneous departure of Barney Fife (Don Knotts) which most profoundly affected things. For the few episodes where he returns, lots of the old magic comes back. And there are still a handful of other good episodes of the series sans Barney. But basically Color Andy Griffith was more like the first three seasons of Mayberry RFD (only Andy Griffith was still there), the far less timeless follow-up show set in the same town.

 

Yavar

[Marian Schedenig 10,160]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

Black Mirror 7x05 Eulogy

 

Wow, this episode was really good!  The visual look of going "into" the photographs was done really well, and a little different each time to keep it fresh.  And the story of Giamatti discovering everything he discovers was compelling and touching the whole time.  Really good!

 

An absolute Black Mirror classic, in my opinion. And Giamatti was outstanding.

[Jay 42,449]

Yes, he was really really good.  Between this and The Holdovers, he's really cementing a great acting legacy (that was already pretty set!)

[Amer 2,528]

Just restarted watching BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - 1978-1980 Series! 

[Jay 42,449]

Black Mirror 7x05 USS Callister: Into Infinity

 

I tried to convince the wife that we should re-watch the original USS Callister episode before, since neither of us remembered much detail from it, but I lost that battle.  Luckily, the lengthy previously on, and exposition within the new episode, really filled in all the gaps I needed, and I was able to follow along with no problems at all.  I liked this episode a lot!

 

The cast was already impressive 8(!) years ago when the first one aired, and now with all the additional fame many of these guys have had, it was great they were all able to come back.  I thought that Milioti, Plemons, and Simpsons were especially really good.  Jimmi Simpson was having a ball as the caveman version, Plemons had a good innocent->evil rampup, and Milioti was just a good protagonist in both worlds.  The episode was long, but just when it seemed like it might have been unstaying its welcome, all the groundwork was set and we were off to a good and thrilling climax. I even noticed some fun original score, when I usually barely notice any score in this show.

 

Good episode, and overall a good season - easily the best season they've had since the first Netflix season

[Director of Poltergeist 8,123]

Watched some Alf free on YouTube

[Edmilson 10,522]

Just 2 episodes left to finish Fallout. It's a decent show, but I'm kinda getting tired of all the mystery boxes. Seems that with each new episode there's more and more enigmas that surely won't be resolved until season 2...

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

18 hours ago, Amer said:

Just restarted watching BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - 1978-1980 Series! 

What do you think, so far?

[Amer 2,528]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

What do you think, so far?

Nostalgia Galore. I bought this years ago but never got a chance to complete them. Also got my 4 volumes of the Intrada set out to listen to these as I re-live these series. 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

It's as camp as F., but it's still a fun watch.

The special effects were the best on TV, at the time.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that the edited-down pilot is available in Sensurround.

 

(edit) the US Blu is in Sensurround.

Yeah!

[tomsmoviemadness 4,276]

Light & Magic S1 & S2

 

Been watching this over the last couple days. It really is a fantastic watch. Especially to see how the very first Star Wars was made. Incredible!!!

[Director of Poltergeist 8,123]

They’ve been de-Industrialized

 

 

Tossed on season 3 of Buffy. It’s always a hootenanny.

[Edmilson 10,522]

Finished Fallout on the day before yesterday.

 

The last episode was pretty good. It answered some of the questions and mysteries that came up in previous episodes and was a nice and satisfying season finale. Actually, the pilot and the finale were the show's best episodes, while the middle was kinda wonky. 

 

Hopefully Nolan's little brother won't drop the ball on the next few seasons.

 

Twin Peaks fans should watch this just to see an older Kyle MacLachlan in a robot suit.

[crocodile 9,206]

Started watching Slow Horses. It is promising.

 

Karol

[tomsmoviemadness 4,276]

Fantastic show!!!! One of my favorites!!!

 

Can't wait for the 5th season to start.

And the fact that 6 is filmed and they're starting production on 7 is such a joy to hear!!!

 

Gary Oldman is having a blast. And Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas & Jonathan Pryce are also excellent!

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

I've heard so much about SLOW HORSES.

What's it about?

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

I THINK it's about Secret Service agents who have disgraced themselves in some way but their organisations still think they are of use, so they are removed from 'field work' and put to work in 'behind the scenes' roles. I admittedly say this as someone who's never seen it. 

[Tallguy 5,653]

3 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

I THINK it's about Secret Service agents who have disgraced themselves in some way but their organisations still think they are of use, so they are removed from 'field work' and put to work in 'behind the scenes' roles. I admittedly say this as someone who's never seen it. 

 

They're not of use. It's just easier to put them at Slough House than to fire them. (It's all British secret service.) Of course the "real" spies are arrogant and often just as stupid through oversight as the Slow Horses. Every once in a while they are used as scapegoats or just given the really terrible jobs no one else wants.

 

There are two (maybe?) characters who probably shouldn't be in SH. But even though we're rooting for them at the end of the day they are exactly where they are supposed to be.

 

It's a good show in general but Gary Oldman makes it next level.

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

Ah right. I've seen bits and pieces of Oldman in it, character looks like he's completely gone to seed.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,658]

"Come friendly bombs, and fall on Slough"

[Sweeping Strings 2,870]

'It isn't fit for humans now'. 

 

I admit I didn't know of the poem until Brent read it out in an ep of The Office, and then launched into a deeply unconvincing defence of Slough 😆 .

[Jay 42,449]

Poker Face 2x01 The Game Is a Foot

 

This was GREAT!!  Cynthia Ervo was AMAZING in this episode, playing 5 different characters, who were sometimes impersonating other characters, etc... it was all so well done.  We had to laugh at the New Hampshire setting though;  There ain't no beaches in New Hampshire that look like that, and certain none with train tracks on the beach like that  

 

The running bit about Kid Cop: Nights was hilarious too, and also, of course it was just great that this show is back, and we get Charlie Cale strolling in and solving everything with the quickness.  The running bits with the COMPLETELY INCOPETENT hit men shooting at her was a little silly though

[Jay 42,449]

Poker Face 2x02 Last Looks

 

This was really fun because Giancarlo Esposito made it fun!  It was good to see Katie Holmes again (where has she been?), but casting her as Esposito's wife was a bit of a stretch (20+ year age gap).  I think it's also the only episode where Charlie never uses her lie detector once, as Esposito chooses his words carefully enough that he is never lying.  Charlie solves the whole case without her power!  Seeing Rhea Perlman at the end was fun, and I hope it means an end to these silly hitmen scenes

[Jay 42,449]

Poker Face 2x03 Whack-A-Mole

 

Well, that was easily the worst episode of the season and whole series.  It was just a very clunky way to wrap-up the Rhea Perlman plot, and I don't really like the Simon Helberg character and whenever he shows up I'm usually expecting a less than great episode.  The best parts of the episode were all the scenes with Richard Kind, who was as awesome as he always is, and actually John Mulaney was pretty good as the mole.  The various twists and such just got tiresome and I was just happy when it all wrapped up and Charlie was free; Hopefully the rest of the season is just her in one-off adventures without dragging a bigger story into it!

[Quintus 5,718]

Got myself up to date with Invincible.

 

After bailing on The Boys in its third season, I think this is the only superhero media I'm following lately. Like The Boys, the main draw is that we get to see how people might really behave if they wielded crazy powers. But one of the main differences, and probably Invincible's biggest novelty, is that the claret red decimation of the hopeless civilian population "when it all kicks off" is depicted in unflinching graphic detail, and the 80s inspired cartoony art really comes into its own for servicing these gratifyingly grizzly requirements.

 

Regular folk of all ages, old and young, get smashed to pulp in this show, and that's what makes it feel real - at least compared to the endless Marvel/DC drivel which, for all their spectacular CG destruction, feature what feels like minimal stakes or danger, no real sense of human annihilation and its macabre aftermath. There are no winks and audience in-jokes in Invincible, when the heroes are at their most destructive.

 

In the myriad live action movies constantly doing the rounds (not just superhero ones), we stare glazed at  CG ragdolls being batted about and causing destruction, essentially like it is nothing to them. In Marvel/DC stuff, being waylaid through a skyscraper's office interior is but an uncool inconvenience. Well at my age, that kind of thing just sends me to sleep; to me there's nothing more boring than modern action scenes that are full of CG smash-ups and no real peril. 10 year old children think it looks cool, but I've seen it many times before. In Invincible, the warring super beings have their faces caved in, limbs torn off and their guts spilled on the asphalt. The super carnage on show is pleasingly consequential, your regular main characters might just die and it will be savage.

 

The chief reason they might die is due to this show's main existential threat and its other main draw (the distinct addictive quality of it): The Viltrumites. I can't think of a more badass recent entry in the cinematic baddies cannon than these guys. They're so 2D mean and cruel that you can't take your eyes off them whenever they feature. They're frickin' awesome to watch: it's like the artists took the words 'charisma' and 'wicked', sketched the definitions and put a moustache on it. But it's their speaking voices too, the majestic arrogance of every sentence uttered is just deliciously good fun. These guys are so good at villainy I almost root for them.

 

Luckily the goodies have the superbly strained tones of Walton Goggins' human Cecil character to bring rubberneckers like me down to earth. His role as the chronically troubled boss and organiser of The Guardians of the Globe (who are hard work) acts as a good foil to the sometimes tedious complaints or low level dramas of the big heroes. Cecil is another wonderfully visualised character design who grounds the story, the great human peril he carries as the huge weight on his shoulders. He's ruthless because he has to be to ensure the survival of the human race. 

 

The voice acting is definitely worth highlighting, as it is essentially perfect. One of the show's big complaints with fans is that it takes ages to produce each season, and I imagine assembling the stellar cast to record their dialogue has to play a part in that. Along with Goggins among what is a large cast, there's also Clancy Brown, Steven Yeun, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and finally this show's most essential contributor: J.K. Simmons.