Televisual Entertainments

I liked it too. I’ll be watching the second season for sure, though I think my other half will give it a miss: she hated the ending of the first season so much that I don’t think she’ll be up for any more.

I had a lot of good will towards it in the first episode with the Russian stuff and the magical realism but by the end it made me angry. Especially the school scene in the last episode. That scene in particular felt like a bleary 2AM decision intended to give weight to a series which, if it was any good, could have found a more appropriate way to say what it was trying to with that scene. Felt like they wanted to go out with a bang…
It was the first time in ages we'd stuck with a series neither of us were enjoying because friends had recommended it and also it was short enough to get through. By the end the intrigue of the early episodes felt exposed as an aimless stab at mystery without a clear idea behind it.

I'm not sure I ever watched it expecting to work out the "truth" of it. It's a show more about themes than events; I feel like I clicked with the theme in a big way (even though I'm not sure I could tell you what it was, beyond a vague "…belief in others?") and personally I found the scene you're talking about quite a powerful moment – though I can absolutely understand why a lot of people would have bounced off it.

A friend of mine was unable to give the show any time because someone linked him that sequence on YouTube, divorced from anything resembling context, and even with the preceeding episodes I know a lot of viewers found it jarring and more than a little silly.

Back on the old Soc I'm pretty sure I called The OA "the most YMMV show ever", and I stand by that - but I got a lot out of it.

I …respected it, I think? but didn't enjoy it enough to finish.

I think the Good Place has, to some extent, already jumped the shark. The relentless innovation in Season 1 and the ending was first rate, Season 2 began to decline and Season 3 is just desperate paddling. It's still a decent show, but I think its run its course and I can't see it going much beyond a fourth season.

I think the Good Place has, to some extent, already jumped the shark. The relentless innovation in Season 1 and the ending was first rate, Season 2 began to decline and Season 3 is just desperate paddling. It's still a decent show, but I think its run its course and I can't see it going much beyond a fourth season.

I'd agree with this, but Season 3 did kind of manage to turn it around a bit towards the end and the setup for the next season looks strong. I haven't quite written it off yet.

It does suffer from only having about six characters and having done all the jokes already, though. Doesn't detract from that amazing first season of course and I'd still recommend it to anyone.

On another note, I'm not sure if anyone here liked or watched Fleabag but the first episode of the second series is now on iPlayer and it's an absolute masterclass in sitcom construction. I've never seen a tighter 25 minutes of comedy, ever.

Fleabag season 2 is amazing so far. The opening scene of episode one was masterful.

Star Trek Discovery is now so bad that I'm only watching it out of a mix of misguided franchise loyalty and self-hatred.

I've given up on Discovery. The contrast between the ultra-modern, hyper-stylized aesthetic and the traditional Trek-type stories just doesn't work and I finish every episode exhausted. The overarching plot is crawling, but every episode somehow feels like it's a propulsive, desperate sprint.

The first season felt, at least, like it wasn't relying on its audience's established love of Star Trek, but with this whole arc revolving around Spock and the inclusion of Captain Pike (plus all the Section 31 stuff, which from my understanding is a relatively deep cut of Trek lore) feels much more beholden to what came before – and like the 2009 movie, Discovery seems to think that the audience's understanding of the franchise history will do all the heavy lifting, so it does no heavy lifting to make me care about Spock's predicament. (I don't know all that much about Trek, but I'm pretty sure that Spock never serves a triple-homicide prison sentence.)

Section 31 featured in a handful of late DS9 episodes as a kind of ultra-secretive black ops division that did all the dirty stuff that Starfleet didn't want to be associated with. Discovery's iteration, where they're absolutely everywhere and everyone knows about them and they've got flashy special communicators that identifies them to everyone, bears almost no resemblance to anything we've seen before. As with Spock, and even the Klingons, they're using something familiar then changing it out of all recognition so you wonder what the point even was.

It's the pacing of the thing that gets to me, it's all so desperate and action-packed all the time that none of it means anything whatsoever. There's no space for characterisation, ironically despite the fact the whole thing leans on about four characters the entire time. Captain Pike is brilliant, it's like he's been dropped in from an entirely different, better Star Trek show, but everyone else is simply terrible.

Is The Expanse worth watching?

I'm on a bit of a sci-fi binge at the minute, with Look to Windward and Mass Effect Andromeda on the go (sorry in advance for mentioning Andromeda and Banks in the same sentence, sci-fi fans).

Is The Expanse worth watching?

Yes.

I need to give that another go. I watched the first series and a bit and got to a point where I didn't really understand what was happening. It's pretty dense. But it's clearly very good.

Same here. Did the first season. Nodded thoughtfully and respected its dense-ness. Never watched any more.

First episode wasn't particularly dense, but it was difficult to hear. We missed half the lines spoken by Fedora.

Enjoyed it though, definitely going to give it a chance.

We missed half the lines spoken by Fedora.

There's a fair amount of belter creole in the early episodes which doesn't always help. I imagine headphones would make it better – or maybe a 5.1 system – but it's definitely not mixed for a TV's speakers.

Fuck me, Fleabag is something special! I've not laughed (or cried) so hard at a show in a long, long time.

That last scene in the latest episode had me in stitches Spoiler - click to showthat bit with the fox!!

I imagine headphones would make it better – or maybe a 5.1 system – but it's definitely not mixed for a TV's speakers.

It’s a problem with a lot of stuff these days: everything’s mixed like it’s a movie. I use a 3.1 soundbar (so it’s got a central dialogue speaker, and uses the subwooofer properly) and stuff sounds great, but you need to turn stuff up to cinema levels to hear the dialogue properly on anything with a surround mix. It means you get a proper movie-type experience (Discovery made my windows rattle in the last episode’s space battle) but it’s not always what you want, is it? Sometimes you just want the telly on.

Also, yes, Fleabag is incredible. I can’t believe how well-written it is. Not a line wasted.

Fuck me, Fleabag is something special! I've not laughed (or cried) so hard at a show in a long, long time.

That last scene in the latest episode had me in stitches Spoiler - click to showthat bit with the fox!!

I lost my mind when she Spoiler - click to showbroke the award

Has anyone else watched any Love, Death & Robots? I've got one left to watch and honestly… It's hard to know what to make of it.
I've definitely watched them… And enjoyed some of them. I'm a fan of anthology shows anyway but it's kind of damning to say the format more than the content has been what's kept me going back. While some episodes haven't gripped me as much as others there's no real room for any mundane filler and then it's done and you're onto the next thing.
Looking at the trailer it's a little too self satisfied with how edgy it all is. Also this Digital Spy article sums up why the series is problematic which is mainly to do with the male gaze and use of traumatic sexual experiences as plot devices.
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a26856709/love-death-and-robots-netflix-sexist-misogynistic/

I keep meaning to watch some but haven't gotten around to it yet. I've heard mixed things which has tempered my enthusiasm somewhat.

Yeah it's on my Watchlist, I would have probably watched it sooner but Charly has voiced that she wouldn't mind seeing it (although it doesn't look like something she'd normally watch).

I've just passed the half way point on Hi-Score Girl and am still not sure if I like it or not, if it was set now the lead character would be a full on fedora wearing neck beard.

We're all watching Norsemen right? Good. Carry on.

Finished The OA last night and I'm kinda :O

Anyone else watching? Gar..?

It’s next on my list after Umbrella Academy - which I am halfway through and absolutely loving.

It’s next on my list after Umbrella Academy - which I am halfway through and absolutely loving.

It’s next on my list after Umbrella Academy - which I am halfway through and absolutely loving.

I'm digging UA but that costume choice is very silly in a Dr Who man-in-a-rubber-suit kind of way.

Absolutely fair point but still great fun.

Absolutely fair point but still great fun.

I mean the whole 'silly rubber suit' thing as a compliment. Fuckin' love me some rubber suits.

Okay, so Netflix's probably-still-going-to-be-terrible Cowboy Bebop has a heck of an interesting cast, if nothing else.

Just finished the final episode of Star Trek Voyager that I started watching on netflix in July 2016. Had missed well over half the original episodes due to whatever was happening when that came on (gcses, 6th form, uni plus only being able to watch the ones well late at night as didn't have TV in my room for patches of that time other than for consoles)

Big fan of it and now need a new show to be my casual show I watch when at the in laws, or its the school hols when I am home alone. Thinking one of the other star treks as again would watch what was on BBC at the time but not avidly.

Babylon 5!

Just had a check and it's not in Netflix. I'd ideally like to avoid buying or paying for anything else. But will check if its on Amazon Prime.

I want it to be Sunday already…

Big fan of it and now need a new show to be my casual show I watch when at the in laws, or its the school hols when I am home alone. Thinking one of the other star treks as again would watch what was on BBC at the time but not avidly.

If you haven't seen it, Deep Space Nine is peak Trek. Same sort of vintage as Voyager but much, much better all round. The first season is a bit wonky as it finds its feet but after that it escalates steadily and the last four or so seasons is as good as Star Trek ever got. All on Netflix too.

Thanks. I have seen bits of it and did really like it as again used to be something I watched when on BBC2 back in the day.

I started the first episode of Next generation last night so am going to stick with this for a bit but might flip to DS9.

teleports behind u
heh nothing personal kid

So. Game of Thrones is a fucking disaster then.

GoT spoilers

Spoiler - click to showYeah, that was a pretty rough episode, in a number of ways. Difficult to watch in places, with the wholesale slaughter of innocent citizens, but also just bad in the pacing department. With a condensed season I'd expected them to be really clipping along, but there's so much padding. Arya and the Hound teleported to King's Landing and made it inside the Red Keep with no bother whatsoever, then Arya just… turns around and leaves? Her entire goal since season one was killing Cersei, but one earnest speech from Sandor Clegane and she just narps right outside to wander around some dusty streets for a bit.

Spoiler - click to showI'm utterly bewildered at what Danerys was up to, though. It seemed to make zero fucking sense, though that's almost certainly a result of the negligible time they've dedicated to character development and interaction this season in favour of slow-mo shots of Maisie Williams' badass horse whispering. Surely Dany's doomed now - John and Davos shared a look of "maybe we should go Jaime Lannister on Her Grace", and I assume Arya's still got a bit of regicide in her. Tyrion's been completely disillusioned as well.

Spoiler - click to showI guess the problem is that the big dramatic dragon-em-up wasn't really earned. If we'd had a few more episodes - or an entire season - of Dany in Westeros losing her grip on the troops and getting paranoid about John's popularity (not to mention Tyrion's continued miscalculations), then her salted-earth approach might be easier to accept. As it is, we got basically one line from her ("fear it is, then") to indicate she'd decided to lean into her forebears' penchant for indiscriminate slaughter - and that came before Tyrion had seemed to convince her to err on the side of benevolence.

Spoiler - click to show

Luscan's post

L M A O

I just watched the episode and…

Spoiler - click to showPretty much most of the things people have been shitting on in this episode is fair but I guess I'm in the minority here, while I agree it was pretty rushed I don't think Dany's actions were out of character like people have been saying. There's a certain…I dunno, poetry to the fact that Robert Baratheon was right to not trust her all the way back in Season 1 as well. (also watching that Dragon completely fuck up the Red Keep was amazing ngl)

Spoiler - click to showNot only was she terrible this season Besides, with Cersei's character having gone to complete and utter shit (and dragged Jaime's redemption arc with her :() I guess we needed a villain, right? :^) Not only was she terrible this season, her eventual end was the anti-climax of the century. I should have been practically cheering at her death, when it happened I didn't feel anything…

Spoiler - click to showThe real Loser of the Week for me was Tyrion, another character utterly ruined. Not only does he betray Varys he still for some reason bets on Dany not being a tyrant when it's pretty obvious by that point she's fucking pissed as hell, she even executed Varys. Maybe this is a shit idea but if she just arrested him it would at least give everyone cause to believe she's willing to chill. Dunno' how they can give it a satisfying ending next week to be honest, certainly hope Arya doesn't kill her with Faceless Man hax or something, if anything I think she should probably at least die in the attempt.

I'm a badge-carrying book reader, and I thought it was great.

Spoiler - click to showOkay they ruined Jamie, and show Euron has always been shit (but then I hate book Euron, and their whole awful clan. We do not sow. Fuck off. You're just petty thieves.

Spoiler - click to showThey've been foreshadowing Dany's descent into madness for years. 'The gods flip a coin' has been said multiple times, and Targ madness is firmly established. She's literally said "I will burn cities to the ground" more than once. We saw a vision of her inside a destroyed, ash-filled Red Keep. She crucified the nobles in Essos(?) with no second thought, and didn't show remorse when it turned out some were innocent. She's been burning people alive, including surrendering prisoners, since about season 2. That's a war crime in anyone's books.

Spoiler - click to showI thought it was great. Obviously lacking most of the subtlety we'll get from the book, but they've struggled with subtlety ever since they went off-book. I'd like to think a lot of the anger we're seeing now is misplaced mourning for a character people once loved. As far as I'm concerned it was one last knife to the audience's heart, in a show renowned for doing just that.

There’s a lot of criticism of the show floating around at the moment but the show runners have pretty much achieved the impossible in actually finishing this thing; which is more than the guy who actually wrote it is ever going to manage to do. Yes, the first four series, based on the three good books, were the best, but after that they had two rambling, incoherent volumes to adapt (which they wisely dealt with by throwing most of it away) then a yawning silence where a finished story was supposed to be. Under the circumstances I think they’ve done an amazing job.

Most of the problems with this episode, and in fact the last two seasons, are to do with pacing rather than plot. More time was needed to establish the motivations behind all of this. (I know it’s been foreshadowed since the beginning, but it still felt abrupt. Too abrupt). If they’d only just slowed things down a bit in the final stretch, people wouldn’t have been complaining half as much as they are, because the basic plot is sound, it’s just the execution that’s been a little disappointing.

My biggest problem with the pacing is how little time they're spending on character development in favour of lengthy spectacle. Time is precious, and they're wasting it on Cersei looking out a window.

I don't think we needed more time (as in more episodes/seasons) for the reasons to be established, just more scenes/editing would have sufficed.

The reasons have been explained, but as bullet points where we need at least a paragraph for them to feel natural. It's jumping forward to conclusions that it's logically prepared but hasn't really earned.

My reaction isn't "that doesn't make sense", it's "that was quick".

I'm with Aniki. It was a bit sudden in places. Much like Endgame.

The story isn't what I expected but it feels like I should have.

Spoiler - click to show You can't take a Throne just because you think you deserve it and trying to will only cause more suffering. And having a dragon to help doesn't actually help.

Spoiler - click to show Also, does no one remember Babylon 5? That must have been on the TV about the time GRRM was starting this…

This Twitter thread is pretty spot-on: https://twitter.com/Darren_Mooney/status/1127982253546643457