Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

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Raid
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Raid » Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:18 pm

Star Trek: Picard

Am I mad, or was this not supposed to be on Amazon this year? I was a little surprised to find it available.

The style of this hasn't changed much since the first season, but they have changed the status of several characters. Picard, Rios and Raffi all seem to have resumed their Starfleet careers with no explanation given. It's not obvious how long has passed since the events of season one, but Romulan Legolas (I still haven't learned his name) has graduated Starfleet Academy, so it's presumably several years. Perhaps that's why there's pretty much zero mention of the events of that season except for a passing reference from a returning character.

Speaking of returning characters, everyone (with one exception) that came from previous series still feels like they're a fan doing a poor imitation of themselves. At one point Seven looks at something mysterious and exclaims "What the hell is that?" instead of looking at the sensor readouts before deciding it's an inverted tachyon field with a photonic sub matrix, which is what she'd have done aboard Voyager.

There's a fairly decent hook to kick the story off that will probably appeal to fans of TNG and Voyager.... but that may also go completely out of the window depending on how they proceed.

The rest I'm going to spoiler:
Spoiler
Yeah, the whole "Picard is now an artificial lifeform" thing just isn't talked about. Guinan makes a reference to it, but she could just be talking about Data or the Synth race. That was the one thing they needed to follow up on from the first season; you can't kill off one of sci-fi's most popular characters, bring them back in an artificial body, and then just ignore the philosophical ramifications of that. It's just episode one, Q has just turned up there's time yet, but if they just dive straight into the main plot and ignore that pretty significant character development, it's going to be pretty disappointing.

I did curse slightly when it was made apparent that this new Borg Queen has something to do with Picard's mother. If it turns out to actually *be* his mother I may well turn it off completely - Discovery already did the "helmeted character is the main character's mother" reveal two years back, and it was terrible then too.

I mentioned above that one person gets their characterisation right, and that's John De Lancie, who 21 years later picks up right where he left off. Even the digital de-aging they did on his initial appearance was convincing. He's only said a few sentences, hopefully this continues in the next episode as he was his usual menacing self.
I'm probably going to watch this as individual episodes are released, but I don't think it'd be a bad shout to just ignore it until the season is over to find out if it's worthwhile.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Tommy » Sat Mar 05, 2022 1:57 pm

Watched the latest season of Cobra Kai. Really enjoyed it. I know earlier in the thread people were saying it was a bit weak but I thought the inclusion of
Spoiler
Silver made it far more exciting since he's clearly got a screw loose. The inclusion of Stingray again was bloody stupid though, got to be a better way to get to the arrest. Thought the scene with Miguel carrying Jonny to bed was raw. Also thought that the actor who plays Robby was a lot better in this season.
Assume there's a long time to wait for the next season but will be looking forward to it.

Next up, the next season of Ozark and want to start watching Mythic Quest.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Raid » Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:47 pm

Tommy wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 1:57 pm
Spoiler
The inclusion of Stingray again was bloody stupid though, got to be a better way to get to the arrest.
Spoiler
I get the feeling Stingray is just there to get properly beaten up by the adult antagonists, because doing so to one of the kids would be a step too far for censors. I know they've gotten into a few fights, but having Silver put one of them in the hospital might be considered too violent. But yeah, I can't say I'm a fan of the character, he hasn't really added anything to the story and just seems to be the token incompetent (particularly now that Demetri seems to suddenly have become pretty good).

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Tommy » Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:54 pm

Raid wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:47 pm
Tommy wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 1:57 pm
Spoiler
The inclusion of Stingray again was bloody stupid though, got to be a better way to get to the arrest.
Spoiler
I get the feeling Stingray is just there to get properly beaten up by the adult antagonists, because doing so to one of the kids would be a step too far for censors. I know they've gotten into a few fights, but having Silver put one of them in the hospital might be considered too violent. But yeah, I can't say I'm a fan of the character, he hasn't really added anything to the story and just seems to be the token incompetent (particularly now that Demetri seems to suddenly have become pretty good).
Spoiler
I think you're right. It's a strange setup though - he was there as a clear comedy character in season 2, and he was so out of place.

I was surprised they didn't explore the Tory plot a little more. I don't know if that's been stretched out becuase of Season 5 or what. Also, what was the point in introducing Ali (is it Ali? I've never seen KK) then not using her at all?
It's been a while since I saw the previous season so I can't remember whether there's an answer to my latter question there.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Raid » Sat Mar 05, 2022 4:18 pm

Tommy wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:54 pm
It's been a while since I saw the previous season so I can't remember whether there's an answer to my latter question there.
Spoiler
My guess is that Elizabeth Shue wasn't available, or simply didn't want a larger role in the series. She played a fairly important role in bringing Johnny and Daniel together in season 3, which I think was significant enough to justify her inclusion.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Tommy » Sat Mar 05, 2022 4:21 pm

Raid wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 4:18 pm
Tommy wrote:
Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:54 pm
It's been a while since I saw the previous season so I can't remember whether there's an answer to my latter question there.
Spoiler
My guess is that Elizabeth Shue wasn't available, or simply didn't want a larger role in the series. She played a fairly important role in bringing Johnny and Daniel together in season 3, which I think was significant enough to justify her inclusion.
I think that's what I'm forgetting tbh. Thinking about it now, I think I remember one of those scenes.

I did think overall it was good though, but there were a few untied ends. In some ways it felt like a final season part one (Tory and Sam's plots in particular). But I'm okay with that - it's not an all-time great, it's just good fun, engaging telly.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Wrathbone » Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:59 pm

Anyone else been watching this final season of Killing Eve? It’s really gone to the dogs, utterly glacial and devoid of the personality and wit of the first season. It’s dying a slow death in the gutter and I’ll be glad when the last two episodes are over with.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Sly Boots » Mon Mar 21, 2022 1:44 pm

I saw the reviews and decided to swerve it, the last couple of series had been getting steadily worse as it was.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Alan » Mon Mar 21, 2022 1:52 pm

We'll get to it at some point. We're watching Inventing Anna right now which is pretty shit. If you happen to have seen the first 3eps of it I recommend checking out the SNL skit, it was surprisingly funny.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Raid » Mon Mar 21, 2022 1:54 pm

Wrathbone wrote:
Tue Feb 15, 2022 5:56 pm
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 15

Finally getting round to watching It's Always Sunny last year was an absolute treat, one of those things that I'd heard nothing but praise about which actually lived up to its reputation. Season 15 is no different - I can't think of another series that has been this consistently funny over so many episodes, and they're still producing moments that have me desperately wiping away tears of laughter, trying to catch my breath. I think it's good that they're not afraid to mix things up a bit too, while keeping everything that makes it work.
Spoiler
The end of the last episode really hit me out of nowhere too. Charlie Day is an incredible actor to be able to move so quickly between hilarity and heart-wrenching pain without it being jarring in the slightest.
Always Sunny has been one of the most consistently funny TV shows I've watched... up until about season 12 or 13 (the one after Dennis leaves and comes back). I just feel they've lost their edge a bit. I thought this new one was pretty poor for the most part, although that final episode was excellent and worth all of the build up. I believe the chap who plays Dennis left the writing team, and I'm not sure if the studio has made other changes in the background, but the writing doesn't seem as good any more.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by ManBearSquid » Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:18 pm

I agree with this, although I still enjoy it enough. I thought the first two episodes of the latest season were on form, wasn't too fussed for the rest.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Lenny Solidus » Mon Mar 21, 2022 5:34 pm

The Punisher

Decided to do a complete series rewatch now it has landed on D+. That gravely voice and rough demeanour, such a great series I can think of no better way to while away the evenings. Once I'm done with that I will get back on Daredevil before the arrival of Moon Knight.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Sly Boots » Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:46 pm

We're always on the lookout for things we can watch altogether as a family with two youngish kids, and today we spotted Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em on Britbox.

I've probably not watched it for, at a conservative estimate, 25 years, and to my surprise it still completely stands up today. Michael Crawford is an excellent physical comedian, and had me regularly belly-laughing. The unadultered chaos that results from the simple act of trying to take a pee in his brother-in-law's futuristic bathroom is breathtaking to behold.

We've only (re)watched the first few episodes, so I've no idea if there's anything problematic by modern standards later on (the 70s being the 70s after all), but based on this viewing still highly recommended.

The kids loved it, incidentally.

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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Alan » Sun Mar 27, 2022 5:20 pm

It’s one of the best sitcoms ever, up there with Ted and One Foot. The stunts in it put most movies to shame! The things Crawford did it’s a miracle he’s still breathing!
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Sly Boots » Sun Mar 27, 2022 5:23 pm

Alan wrote:
Sun Mar 27, 2022 5:20 pm
It’s one of the best sitcoms ever, up there with Ted and One Foot. The stunts in it put most movies to shame! The things Crawford did it’s a miracle he’s still breathing!
In the second episode, when he was getting his head stuck in the loo after falling from the ceiling... I have no idea how he didn't break either his back or neck, or both :lol:

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