TV Series (Opinions, Recommendations, Flaming, etc) ***BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

[slimjasi]

On 7/28/2023 at 7:14 AM, Nolder said:

Fair point. Not sure why SOA rubbed me the wrong way more than any of the others.

 

Definitely. I think there are people that wont be able to get past that but imo that's their loss.

 

Yeah I'd say it's definitely still up in the air I'm not married to any theory yet.

 

I think so. I mean I was told this second hand so I'm not really sure maybe someone who watched Lost can chime in but yeah I think that was the big mystery and why weird things happened like the polar bear on the island or the one guy who couldn't walk was able to walk again. They were already dead.

 

I've actually watched a lot of "breakdowns" and "reviews" and whatnot for TWD so I'm semi aware of where the show went after I stopped watching and from what I can tell you're basically right, the show took a dip in quality for awhile but by all accounts it picked back up...but by then a sizable chunk of the audience, myself included, had abandoned the show. It seems like the tipping point for most people was the Glenn fake out followed by the actual Glenn kill. Most people felt like the way he survived was cheap and then the way he was killed was gruesome even by TWD standards. I know Glenn dies in the comics but he was such a fan favorite and the actor played him so well I think this might have been a case where a TV show would have been better off deviating from the source material and giving Glenn some plot armor even if it pissed off a portion of comic fans because the majority of show watchers would have preferred it.

The last few seasons of TWD were much better than seasons 7 and 8. But boy were those two seasons a disaster. More so than the Glenn death itself, the first half of season 7 (Negan’s reign of terror) was just super depressing - it was basically torture porn. 

The first season of the Negan and Maggie show (dead city) is also pretty good. 

[JetsfaninNorthHollywood]

Black Mirror is pretty good. New school Twilight Zone 

[LionelRichie]

Not sure how you all feel about subtitles and foreign language - personally I can only do it on airplanes with the iPad.  If you can do the subtitles I recommend Fauda.  I think it’s a combination of Arabic and Hebrew about an Israeli anti-terror group that operates in the Arab territories to fight terrorism.   It is a very intense show and great for long flights.  

[JustInFudge]

I got weird the other night and decided to watch a few of the final episodes of The Wire, just to see if it still hit the way it did...and it does.  Such great writing.  I've steady maintained its up there as one of the best ever...like how many actors got there start from that show?  I loved that show so much and I dont know why I didnt have a problem w/ it then maybe because these shows were still kind of new and maybe there wasnt an expectation but man, I really hate the ending to The Wire.  lol  Like, way to feel good for such a deep and somewhat depressing show and there were so many stories that just went untold in the end.  And more specifically, how they did Omar too...probably the lamest way one of the coolest characters in the history of TV has died and just a montage of the city to close it out? 

15 years later, I'm frustrated so I thought I'd share.  lol 

 

[greenwichjetfan]

2 hours ago, JiF said:

I got weird the other night and decided to watch a few of the final episodes of The Wire, just to see if it still hit the way it did...and it does.  Such great writing.  I've steady maintained its up there as one of the best ever...like how many actors got there start from that show?  I loved that show so much and I dont know why I didnt have a problem w/ it then maybe because these shows were still kind of new and maybe there wasnt an expectation but man, I really hate the ending to The Wire.  lol  Like, way to feel good for such a deep and somewhat depressing show and there were so many stories that just went untold in the end.  And more specifically, how they did Omar too...probably the lamest way one of the coolest characters in the history of TV has died and just a montage of the city to close it out? 

15 years later, I'm frustrated so I thought I'd share.  lol 

 

Omar is still my favorite character in all of TV. I actually don't have an issue with him going out the way he did. They spent 5 seasons showing us that he was the most prepared and gritty character in their world. He wasn't going to go out in battle. It had to be a dirty sneak attack from someone noone would suspect. 

I do agree that my only criticism watching it the first time around was that I hated that there were so many unfinished arcs. I thought the final shot of the city to close it out was perfect. 

[Scott Dierking]

This season of Righteous Gemstones is a classic. Only half way through.

[JetsfaninNorthHollywood]

3 hours ago, greenwichjetfan said:

Omar is still my favorite character in all of TV. I actually don't have an issue with him going out the way he did. They spent 5 seasons showing us that he was the most prepared and gritty character in their world. He wasn't going to go out in battle. It had to be a dirty sneak attack from someone noone would suspect. 

I do agree that my only criticism watching it the first time around was that I hated that there were so many unfinished arcs. I thought the final shot of the city to close it out was perfect. 

When you look at Omar, he was the only character who had a sense of ethics or a code. Love how explained that to Bunk when Bird was about to get his a$$ kicked in the interrogation room. And Landsmans eulogies were brilliant...."Sharing a dark corner of the American Experiment".

 

[JustInFudge]

5 hours ago, greenwichjetfan said:

Omar is still my favorite character in all of TV. I actually don't have an issue with him going out the way he did. They spent 5 seasons showing us that he was the most prepared and gritty character in their world. He wasn't going to go out in battle. It had to be a dirty sneak attack from someone noone would suspect. 

I do agree that my only criticism watching it the first time around was that I hated that there were so many unfinished arcs. I thought the final shot of the city to close it out was perfect. 

True and good point on how he would have to be dealt w/ based on the character but if you remember, at that point he was out in the streets calling for a battle, screaming for Marlo, doing obvious and deliberate sh*t to make a scene, talking sh*t trying to draw him out.  That's how he was identified.  After he made a scene on Mike's corner, that little dude w/ the big mouth saw his face for the first time, then recognized him when Omar was out in broad day light sticking up one of Marlo's collection spots and just took liberty and killed him in the convenient store.  It wasnt like a devious dirty plot.  Just got him while he was buying smokes being a little reckless, especially for Omar. 

I wish it would have been a battle like he was calling for or a devious dirty plot but it was like spontaneous, which to your point might be the only way Omar would have been killed but they built it up for a few episodes and then boom, he's gone.  So sudden, lack of suspense, no drama, nothing crazy, just I'll take a pack of menthol's and pop, he's gone by that little punk corner boy, who they did show getting arrested I assume for the murder in the montage but still, idk, just feel like you could have written a more epic scene for such an epic character.  

Like, kind of to my point, I forgot to an extent that's how it went down...like I did think it was planned but then in the moment watching it again, I was like oh yeah, nothing epic, this is how he gets got,  down during a basic throw away scene. 

 

 

 

 

[JustInFudge]

1 hour ago, JetsfaninNorthHollywood said:

When you look at Omar, he was the only character who had a sense of ethics or a code. Love how explained that to Bunk when Bird was about to get his a$$ kicked in the interrogation room. And Landsmans eulogies were brilliant...."Sharing a dark corner of the American Experiment".

 

Man, Money aint go no owners, only spenders. 

One of my favorite lines of all time.

[LionelRichie]

25 minutes ago, JiF said:

Man, Money aint go no owners, only spenders. 

One of my favorite lines of all time.

Check out the HBO miniseries called ‘we own this city’.  It’s based on a true story (and book) about the police corruption endemic in Baltimore.   The hbo version was written by Simon/pelacanos - if you like the wire you’ll like this one too. 

[Nolder]

Final season of Jack Ryan was good, just binged it the other day.

Show was pretty solid the whole way through.

I wasn't sure on the main guy at first because the only thing I'd known him from was The Office but I think he did fine.

[Jet_Engine1]

Just a cool thing for my fellow Sci Fi nerds here...

Sci fi fan-porn. 😆  Assault Troops on Expanse Season 6, Ep. 6 references:
Akbar- Star Wars
Quaid- Total Recall
Bowman- 2001 
Shepard- Mass Effect
Amos Burton-duh
A. Rogan-Last Starfighter
Duncan Idaho-Dune
Buck- Halo
E. Ripley- Alien(s)
Vaxquez - Aliens
Hicks- Aliens
J. Nesmith-Galalxy Quest
Cooper-Interstellar
Hudson- Aliens
Anderton- Minority Report
J. O'Neill- Stargate 
R. Deckard- Blade Runner
L. Starr- Asimov/Spaceballs
Banks-Arrival
Flynn- Tron
Neary-Close Encounters
Johnny Rico- Starship Troopers
K.Thrace-Starbuck, Battlestar Galactica
Connor- Terminator
Stone- Gravity 
W. Riker- StarTrek

[PFSIKH]

On 8/24/2023 at 6:04 PM, slimjasi said:

The last few seasons of TWD were much better than seasons 7 and 8. But boy were those two seasons a disaster. More so than the Glenn death itself, the first half of season 7 (Negan’s reign of terror) was just super depressing - it was basically torture porn. 

The first season of the Negan and Maggie show (dead city) is also pretty good. 

I am the opposite.  

I had no issues with those seasons.  Afterwards, to me, it was just a slow decline.  Once Rick was effectively ''killed' off, the series had no central focus point. It was no longer Rick protecting his family (both actual and adopted).  There were too many uninteresting characters.  By the end, I wished Negan clubbed Eugene instead of Glenn who I thought was a meh character.

[#27TheDominator]

On 8/25/2023 at 12:18 AM, LionelRichie said:

Not sure how you all feel about subtitles and foreign language - personally I can only do it on airplanes with the iPad.  If you can do the subtitles I recommend Fauda.  I think it’s a combination of Arabic and Hebrew about an Israeli anti-terror group that operates in the Arab territories to fight terrorism.   It is a very intense show and great for long flights.  

Ha.  We don't mind subtitles and will try this out, but the one thing I try to completely avoid on all flights is terrorist content!

[Nolder]

I know a lot of people in this crowd probably wont want to give this a try but the new live action adaption of One Piece on Netflix was really good. Yes a lot of the characters are over the top and act a little weird and have goofy hair, that's anime for you. All I can say is I enjoyed every episode and most of the characters. Nami (red haired girl) was kind of boring tbh but the main cast and bad guys were awesome. I really liked Buggy and the Vice Admiral Garp of the Marines. It definitely gears towards a young adult to teen crowd they worked really hard not to get an M/R rating so there's that but overall it's reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies just a good pirate adventure.

[Nolder]

 

[PFSIKH]

Well, Justifed Primeval ended with a meh.  It never came close to capturing the magic of the original series.  Of course, Raylan is now a lot older so that should be expected. 

Writing was never on the same level.  Of course, they set-up Season 2 with Boyd's last scene escape.  

[#27TheDominator]

12 minutes ago, PFSIKH said:

Well, Justifed Primeval ended with a meh.  It never came close to capturing the magic of the original series.  Of course, Raylan is now a lot older so that should be expected. 

Writing was never on the same level.  Of course, they set-up Season 2 with Boyd's last scene escape.  

Elmore Leonard died in 2013.

[PFSIKH]

17 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

Elmore Leonard died in 2013.

That explains alot.  🤣

[Nolder]

8 hours ago, PFSIKH said:

Well, Justifed Primeval ended with a meh.  It never came close to capturing the magic of the original series.  Of course, Raylan is now a lot older so that should be expected. 

Writing was never on the same level.  Of course, they set-up Season 2 with Boyd's last scene escape.  

That's disappointing. I was waiting until the season finished to check it out. I'll still watch it eventually but I might put it on the back burner for awhile until I get around to it now.

[LionelRichie]

On 9/5/2023 at 9:14 AM, PFSIKH said:

Well, Justifed Primeval ended with a meh.  It never came close to capturing the magic of the original series.  Of course, Raylan is now a lot older so that should be expected. 

Writing was never on the same level.  Of course, they set-up Season 2 with Boyd's last scene escape.  

I quit after 2 episodes, was just a hokey show and not how I remember the original.   It’s possible I misremembered but either way, new one sucks 

[Nolder]

I really don't think this needs to be said but, like Rings of Power, Amazon's The Wheel of Time continues to be absolute garbage and completely demolishes the lore and source material in favor of...I don't even know what. I don't know what the goal was. It's a shame because SOME of the casting is very good if not the writing and SOME of the effects and set pieces are great. And I can deal with bad costuming or cheesy interpretations of the magic with sh*tty CGI but the writing and pacing is unforgivable. I guess it's better to flop early than 8 seasons in like Game of Thrones did. Oh well.

[JetPotato]

Not sure if it was the writers' strike, but is it me, or is there nothing on right now? Sometimes you just want to veg in front of the TV. No local playoff baseball, Jets suck as always, no hockey, basketball yet. What's on?

[#27TheDominator]

Been watching Pieces of Her on Netflix.  I think it is older and seems full of the usual tropes.  We went with it because we like Toni Collette.  Not bad, but seems pretty stock.  The first episode had a real grabber and I doubt the rest will ever match that.  

I watched all of the new Justified.  It seemed fine to me.  I enjoyed it but would not strongly recommend.  Basically like a mid to lower regarded episode of the old show.  The one thing I always appreciated about Elmore Leonard's writing is that every character has their own story and they are the star of it.  That means that they all are "the cool one" in their mind and their own justification for doing whatever they do.  Get Shorty was pretty effective with that IMO.  I don't know that this really fed into that, but I know the characters from the books, so I kind of read that into it.  In the book it is the Paul Calderon detective character in the lead, but they wedged Raylan into this.    

[PFSIKH]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:20 AM, JetPotato said:

Not sure if it was the writers' strike, but is it me, or is there nothing on right now? Sometimes you just want to veg in front of the TV. No local playoff baseball, Jets suck as always, no hockey, basketball yet. What's on?

Only thing I look forward to is the RedZone every Sunday. 

[Jet_Engine1]

On 10/4/2023 at 8:20 AM, JetPotato said:

Not sure if it was the writers' strike, but is it me, or is there nothing on right now? Sometimes you just want to veg in front of the TV. No local playoff baseball, Jets suck as always, no hockey, basketball yet. What's on?

Aside from House of the Dragon, I haven't watched a damn thing since The Expanse ended.

[Nolder]

20 hours ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

Aside from House of the Dragon, I haven't watched a damn thing since The Expanse ended.

That…is actually a solid choice. Besides One Piece which probably isn’t for everyone there hasn’t been much to watch really.

[southparkcpa]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:15 AM, The Gun Of Bavaria said:

Has anyone started watching The Diplomat on Netflix yet? Wife and I started last night and had to stop before we binged it until 5am. Great writing and both Keri Russel and Rufus Sewell are brilliant in their roles. 

So I am half way through... it's good but not great.  I loved Keri Russel in The Americans. But this series is just a bit.. "non believable" for me. I will finish it, I am enjoying it but not a top series I will remember.  The cast is quite a woke selection as well. 

[Jet_Engine1]

On 10/6/2023 at 6:17 PM, Nolder said:

That…is actually a solid choice. Besides One Piece which probably isn’t for everyone there hasn’t been much to watch really.

I watched the first episode with my kids. Too silly for me, and the kids were kinda disinterested. 

[Nolder]

3 hours ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

I watched the first episode with my kids. Too silly for me, and the kids were kinda disinterested. 

That’s fair. Like I said it’s definitely not for everyone.

[PFSIKH]

I watched Loki Season 2 episode 1 this weekend.

It was a good start.  I thought the same after Secret Invasion.  So, we shall see.

 

[JetPotato]

3 hours ago, PFSIKH said:

I watched Loki Season 2 episode 1 this weekend.

It was a good start.  I thought the same after Secret Invasion.  So, we shall see.

 

Still so blown away by how bad the ending of Secret Invasion was. Should've kept it a secret.

[PFSIKH]

56 minutes ago, JetPotato said:

Still so blown away by how bad the ending of Secret Invasion was. Should've kept it a secret.

I know right.

I will watch Loki through the end of the season because I am an idiot.  The show, IMHO, actually seemed to be a part of the Phase 4 through 6 storyline unlike other Marvel series which might have had some connective words, but not connective tissue with the Kang storyline.  A video I saw said Secert Invasion should not have been part of the phase 4 through 6.

[PFSIKH]

Loki Episode 2 was another solid episode.

On a related note, one of the channels I follow on You Tube had a pod that talked about a book that came out about Marvel and a related article.  They both outlined how Marvel handled things from phase 1 to now.  The article went into details of some of the issues that have plagued shows and movies since End Game.  The belief is Marvel realizes what went wrong and has taken efforts to fix their issues.  This new process was attributed to why Daredevil was canceled.  We shall see.

[PFSIKH]

Loki Season 3 has been solid.  I would give it a B+.  Unlike recent Marvel TV shows, it does not seem to scatter shot with plot lines all over the place.  It is sticking to a storyline that seemingly has a beginning, middle and end.  Let's see if it sticks the landing.