Random TV Show Thoughts

[SensEye]

Takes me back to the bad old days of cable. Terrible shows with few other options for viewing entertainment. I vaguely recall most of those shows but the only one I watched with any regularity was Benson. Nobody remembers them because they were nowhere near great.

 

[ceecee]

Watched Episode 1 of Shogun today.

Really enjoyed it so far -- although I am going to do a momentary bitch about length. I don't think most series can handle full hour-long episodes, just as a pacing mechanism. they all feel about 10-15 min too long. I would rather see 12 episodes at 50 minutes apiece as needed, honestly -- same time, but just chunks better in terms of attention... although I know it might not break as well with story points.

I don't recall if I watched the TV series (I was 12 when it aired). I just knew what it was about and starred Richard Chamberlain, although for some reason I recall him being a priest versus just an English trader/explorer/ransacker. I did read the book (it had that great white cover with the hilt of a Japanese sword, although with a shorter hilt it might be a wakizashi rather than a tachi).

I love that 80% so far is in Japanese and subtitled. It feels pretty real. That whole scene the execution of one of Blackthorne's crew was horrific -- you can hear the guy screaming off in the distance throughout the entire next scene (which is just a discussion between two characters), so you have to strain a little but it's recognizably there. I like it's starting to interplay with the complexity of the situation, like the Japanese politics vs customs, and also how the Portuguese Catholics are asked to translate for the other European Anglicans but lie, which leaves it up to the Japanese personalities to decide who is lying and who is truth-telling in part by body language and prudence.

I didn't even recognize Nestor Carbonell right away! I haven't really seen him in Lost despite him being in other shows over the years.

I read the book (there are several others written by James Clavell, not sure if they go together or not) and I vaguely remember the Richard Chamberlain series as a kid. I have not watched the last episode yet and I agree they do feel a tiny bit long but overall, I'm really enjoying it.

 

[Totenkindly]

Killing Eve continues to be pretty great. I just finished S2E6. I never quite know where this series is going, and Villanelle is always a source of entertainment. She can be as snotty as a cat, the way she baited Eve to watch her from a distance as she instigates the "bus incident" in this episode -- I about died when she did that. Jodie Comer is really so excellent, the way she can flip personas and accents and keep you wondering what she's going to do next, and she can play off anyone in the cast.

I also feel like this is the "real deal" in terms of the rule of cool. For comparison, "The Umbrella Academy" tries to be cool but isn't really that original -- the music choices and other creative elements often want to be unexpected and creative but seem to be obvious choices or just popular music -- but KE is kind of on the same level as Sam Esmail w/ Mr. Robot, the twists and turns and visual and audial choices are not what is expected but somehow work regardless.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Watched Episode 1 of Shogun today.

Really enjoyed it so far -- although I am going to do a momentary bitch about length. I don't think most series can handle full hour-long episodes, just as a pacing mechanism. they all feel about 10-15 min too long. I would rather see 12 episodes at 50 minutes apiece as needed, honestly -- same time, but just chunks better in terms of attention... although I know it might not break as well with story points.

I didn't feel like the pilot was too long. It seemed just right to me.

I don't recall if I watched the TV series (I was 12 when it aired). I just knew what it was about and starred Richard Chamberlain, although for some reason I recall him being a priest versus just an English trader/explorer/ransacker. I did read the book (it had that great white cover with the hilt of a Japanese sword, although with a shorter hilt it might be a wakizashi rather than a tachi).

I love that 80% so far is in Japanese and subtitled. It feels pretty real. That whole scene the execution of one of Blackthorne's crew was horrific -- you can hear the guy screaming off in the distance throughout the entire next scene (which is just a discussion between two characters), so you have to strain a little but it's recognizably there. I like it's starting to interplay with the complexity of the situation, like the Japanese politics vs customs, and also how the Portuguese Catholics are asked to translate for the other European Anglicans but lie, which leaves it up to the Japanese personalities to decide who is lying and who is truth-telling in part by body language and prudence.

That was brutal.

I was confused seeing Japanese people appear to cross themselves until I remembered that the Portuguese Catholics had already reached Japan.

It also seems to me that Blackthorne has absolutely zero sense of diplomacy; he's constantly insulting people although they can't understand him. I suppose as a pilot that would not have been his specialty.

I think my favorite character is the old general Toda Hiromatsu; I delighted in seeing him confront the psycho Yabushige, although I'm not sure if that was a good idea.

I also love when Blackthorne refers to "the Japans"; that's something I remember from the Richard Chamberlain version.

And finally:

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I watched the opening credits and they exceeded my expectations. Perhaps tonight I will watch the rest of "Heck on Earth." I'm so glad they didn't swear, or I would not have watched such filth.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I watched Out of This World, and I find myself wondering what the hell I just watched. It reminds me of Saved by the Bell but with aliens. There are the same broad stereotypes; in this episode we deal with 1950s bikers. There's a guy in it who is kind of like the Fonz (apparently the actor was Leo's Italian friend in Titantic). I can imagine stereotypical nerds in glasses and suspenders showing up in other episodes. The main character Evie escapes from an angry biker chick through magic, which saves the day. In the end, the biker lover triangle she finds herself stuck in is resolved, with the Fonz character ending up back together with his biker ex.

Some of the jokes in this are so bad they circle back around to being funny.

How did Burt Reynolds even appear in this? He was at the height of his fame at this time, wasn't he? The money answer doesn't work, he can't have got that much money for showing up here

The video says Out of this World 1, which makes me think this is the pilot, but it is not. I am actually grateful for this; I am not particularly interested in the set-up for this at this juncture, but I would like to know what an average episode is like. It turns out, an average episode is soooo dumb.

I may watch more episodes of this; it's like a trainwreck.

 

[The Cat]

I watched Out of This World, and I find myself wondering what the hell I just watched. It reminds me of Saved by the Bell but with aliens. There are the same broad stereotypes; in this episode we deal with 1950s bikers. There's a guy in it who is kind of like the Fonz (apparently the actor was Leo's Italian friend in Titantic). I can imagine stereotypical nerds in glasses and suspenders showing up in other episodes. The main character Evie escapes from an angry biker chick through magic, which saves the day. In the end, the biker lover triangle she finds herself stuck in is resolved, with the Fonz character ending up back together with his biker ex.

Some of the jokes in this are so bad they circle back around to being funny.

How did Burt Reynolds even appear in this? He was at the height of his fame at this time, wasn't he? The money answer doesn't work, he can't have got that much money for showing up here

The video says Out of this World 1, which makes me think this is the pilot, but it is not. I am actually grateful for this; I am not particularly interested in the set-up for this at this juncture, but I would like to know what an average episode is like. It turns out, an average episode is soooo dumb.

I may watch more episodes of this; it's like a trainwreck.

Burt Reynolds had a lot of fun acting, and by everything ive seen he had a good sense of humor about silly things.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Burt Reynolds had a lot of fun acting, and by everything ive seen he had a good sense of humor about silly things.

Maybe that explains In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege tale.

 

[The Cat]

Maybe that explains In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege tale.

Cash always spends.

 

[Totenkindly]

 

[The Cat]

View attachment 30754

View attachment 30755

I hope this is a sign of more things like this to come.

 

[The Cat]

This.​

 

[Totenkindly]

Finished Season 2 of Killing Eve a few minutes ago.

Gawd, i love this show, and despite it managing to do some pretty gruesome stuff in a tongue-in-cheek way, it's really focused on the casts' relationships with each other (all of which are constantly in turmoil or at least not being shared clearly with the audience, so we're always a bit surprised by how things might shake down.) Plus, looking and sounding cool while doing it.

I think I always knew what was going to happen to Gemma.

I guess the finale of S2 was payback for the finale of S1. Now what? Obviously there were two more seasons, so we all know the general outcome already, but I'm kinda trying to figure out where this is going to go. Plus, a new showrunner for S3.

Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer are just phenomenal.

 

[The Cat]

So the Hunter Gordon in Season 2 of Supernatural seems to be very similar to the WoD Hunter The Reckoning Creed of The Wayward. In general I think Supernatural fits better with Hunter: The Vigil, but it is a cool concept to explore in a Hunter game, how do the player characters handle meeting another Hunter only to discover that sometimes Monster Hunters become Monsters.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I watched episode one of the Bear last night.

First off, I did not expect to see an actual bear, especially not so soon, even if it was only a dream sequence. The bear is escaping a cage on one of those bridges over the Chicago river.

Second, the show is about an Italian beef restaurant. Italian beef sandwiches are to Chicago what cheesesteaks are to Philly. A significant part of the conflict of the first episode has to do with Carmy, who inherited the restaurant, coming into conflict with the existing staff. He wants to make everything gourmet and fancy and upscale and using all kinds of sophisticated CIA-approved techniques, while everyone else is like "Dude, it's just Italian beef." I would say I prefer these sandwhiches to cheese steaks; they don't ruin the beef by putting fake cheese on it, just gravy and spicy peppers if you wish.

It seems as though the main conflict for the show is between Carmy and his cousin Richie (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrachm, who was Skeen on Andor). It seems like there's also something with Carmy and his sister.

I found the show enjoyable, especially at only 30 minutes, but I'm not sure there is enough here to sustain more than one season.

 

[Totenkindly]

I watched episode one of the Bear last night..

I found the show enjoyable, especially at only 30 minutes, but I'm not sure there is enough here to sustain more than one season.

I watched e1 at one point too. Found it well acted and put together. But haven't watched any more episodes.

Still, it keeps winning awards. So....?

I actually watched an episode of Abbott Elementary and The White Lotus as well. None were bad. Probably The Bear and AE were the most interesting. I really felt nothing watching WL though. And apparently one episode wasn't enough to really get into it, because that was some weeks back and I haven't watched any second episodes. It might take more commitment to get into them.

 

[Totenkindly]

Killing Eve S3E1 has South Park written all over it:

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The Bear, Season 1, Episodes 2 and 3.

I quite liked the start of Episode 2, which starts with a flashback featuring Joel McHale as the head chef from hell. I found myself distracted during the slower-paced second half; this was perhaps because I was about to see Furiosa.

Episode 3 is the most solid of the episodes I've seen. This one goes into the mystery of what happened to Carmy's brother somewhat, revealing that he was an alcoholic. This motivates Carmy to step back in the kitchen and delegate to the CIA-trained Sydney. This episode finds Sydney trying to implement his orders with growing frustration upon encountering a recalcitrant staff and even some hazing. I felt this episode allowed me to get a good handle on our character; I want to say she's fresh out of school, but I'm not sure that's the case. I think this episode implies that she's worked at some places in between; because she says she wants to stand out and work somewhere "different". The episode is also bookended by shots of Carmy standing at the beach and staring at the lake and thinking probably about his brother.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I don't recall if I watched the TV series (I was 12 when it aired). I just knew what it was about and starred Richard Chamberlain, although for some reason I recall him being a priest versus just an English trader/explorer/ransacker. I did read the book (it had that great white cover with the hilt of a Japanese sword, although with a shorter hilt it might be a wakizashi rather than a tachi).

Three years after Shogun:

Love.

Unattainable.

Forbidden.

Forever.