What TV Shows are you watching? ι', a perfect I.

[Kyriakos]

Previous threads:

What TV shows are you watching?
What TV shows are you watching? β'
Which television shows are you watching? Part III
Which television shows are you watching? Series 4
Which television shows are you watching? 5 If it's Star Trek, wrong thread
What TV Shows Are You Watching? Series VI - Programmes of Power
What TV Shows are you watching? ζ: The seventh-season itch
What TV Shows Are You Watching? 8: Streaming Is The New Cable
What TV Shows are you Watching? The 9th is - Excuse Me - A Damn Fine Cup of Coffee

I literally just finished watching Sam Neil's Apples Never Fall. The plot was trash.

In other news:

 

[Takhisis]

That's going to be one long blog post.

 

[tjs282]

That's going to be one long blog post.

Assuming it ever gets written...

 

[Arakhor]

He'll write five sections and then never bother to finish it off.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Homicide: Life on the Street is, through 3 episodes, the best tv I've seen this year. If anything, this show is even better than I remember it being. The writing and acting on this show is "S-Tier."

Episode 3, "Night of the Dead Living", is like a 47-minute David Mamet play. A little bit Tarantino, too, except with no violence or swearing. ("So, not really like Tarantino, then" you're thinking, but he has done prime-time television - he directed an episode of E.R. back in the day, although he didn't write it.) I had intended to watch an episode of another show after I watched episode 3 the other night, but I didn't even bother. There was no point in watching anything else. I just shut it off and read a book. In addition to everything else, episode 3 was among the funniest hours of tv I've seen lately. And the Young Actor I Recognize Now in that episode: N'Bushe Wright, from Blade (1998). There was another young actor who I at first thought might be the kid from Fresh (1994), Sean Nelson, but no, it was someone named Kenny Blank. As it turns out, though, Sean Nelson does appear in an episode of Homicide later. Blank was a regular in a show called The Parent 'Hood (1995) with Robert Townsend, but I've never seen that.

Bummer note: It occurred to me while I was watching this episode that 5 of the actors in it are dead now. Jon Polito, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer, Yaphet Kotto and Andre Braugher. Except for Braugher, they were all in their 40s & 50s back when Homicide was filming. The cast of grizzled middle-aged character actors was part of the show's charm. (Braugher was only 61 when he died last year - I believe he was the youngest of the Homicide cast, at least in the early seasons.)

Grace note: Melissa Leo had rock-star hair when she was young. I don't know how realistic it is for a police detective to have hair like that, but dang, she looked awesome.

 

[Clubber Lang]

Whilst you wait for the new peice by R.R, read his rare praise for a recent TV show adaption -

The Adaptation Tango​

May 24, 2024



A few years back, Neil Gaiman and I did a joint event in New York City, when we were both in town.
It was a lot of fun, as events with Neil always are. We told some funny stories, talked about books and comics, about SANDMAN and WILD CARDS and days at cons… and touched on some serious topics too.
I would like to upload a video of the event if I could, but I am not sure one exists. If anyone was recording us, I have never seen the tape. But VARIETY had the best report of the session.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/ge...ollywood-changing-source-material-1235416651/

That was all back in 2022, but very little has changed since then. If anything, things have gotten worse. Everywhere you look, there are more screenwriters and producers eager to take great stories and “make them their own.” It does not seem to matter whether the source material was written by Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, or… well, anyone. No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it. “The book is the book, the film is the film,” they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound. Then they make the story their own.

They never make it better, though. Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse.

Once in a while, though, we do get a really good adaptation of a really good book, and when that happens , it deserves applause.
I can came across one of those instances recently, when I binged the new FX version of SHOGUN.

Must confess, I was dubious when I first heard they were making another version of the Clavell novel. It has been a long time, a long long LONG time, but I read the book when it first came out in the late 70s and was mightily impressed. (I really need to give it a reread one of these days, but there are so many books, so little time). And the 1980 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain as the Anjin was a landmark of long form television, right up with with ROOTS; why do it over again, when that version was so good?

I am glad they did, though. The new SHOGUN is superb. Better than Chamberlain’s version, you ask? Hmmm, I don’t know. I have not watched the 1980 miniseries since, well, 1980. That one was great too. The fascinating thing is that while the old and new versions have some significant differences — the subtitles that make the Japanese dialogue intelligible to English speaking viewers being the biggest — they are both faithful to the Clavell novel in their own way. I think the author would have been pleased. Both old and new screenwriters did honor to the source material, and gave us terrific adaptations, resisting the impulse to “make it their own.”

But don’t take my word for it. Watch it yourself.

Acting, directing, set design, costume… it’s all splendid here. Along with the writing.


And if SHOGUN is a big enough hit, maybe the same team will adapt some of Clavell’s other novels.


Current Mood: thoughtful

 

[Birdjaguar]

GRRM said" I really need to give it a reread one of these days." Yes he should. I just re read it and it was so good and even better than the new show!

 

[lymond]

Yep, Shogun was excellent. I hope we get more. And more of Sandman on Netflix. The first season was excellent and it that appeared a new season was forthcoming, but I'm afraid it is not.

First 3 epis of Rings of Power were very good. Is it better than the first or did it work out the kinks that some did not like in the first season, not quite sure? But the issue of too many storylines/characters remains. Regardless, any hobbithead should enjoy the deeper characterization and almost humanization of Sauron, as well as a story about the making of all the rings. Isildur's story has always seemed the weakest IMO, and to some related extent that of Numenor. Suaron and Celembrimor are excellent. The new season starts off with a cool little back story about Sauron. (One almost finds oneself rooting for Sauron)

 

[Kyriakos]

Yep, Shogun was excellent. I hope we get more. And more of Sandman on Netflix. The first season was excellent and it that appeared a new season was forthcoming, but I'm afraid it is not.

First 3 epis of Rings of Power were very good. Is it better than the first or did it work out the kinks that some did not like in the first season, not quite sure? But the issue of too many storylines/characters remains. Regardless, any hobbithead should enjoy the deeper characterization and almost humanization of Sauron, as well as a story about the making of all the rings. Isildur's story has always seemed the weakest IMO, and to some related extent that of Numenor. Suaron and Celembrimor are excellent. The new season starts off with a cool little back story about Sauron. (One almost finds oneself rooting for Sauron)

Bad-skin shaming against the orks has to stop. Or a combination of that and proxy-old shaming. Orks have a right to dreams too ;_;
Tbf, Warcraft went that way years ago.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I'm about halfway through Dark Matter (2024). Pretty good so far. I'm not blown away, but it's good. I really like Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly - I liked them before this, and both of them are more than holding up their ends - and unlike Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in The Fall Guy, I'm fully buying into Edgerton & Connelly as a couple, even with the series' twist in play.

Spoiler :

It's even more impressive because they're playing three couples: (1) Jason and Daniela. (2) Jason2 and Daniela. (3) Jason and Daniela2. Both actors played two different characters, and all three pairings (a) work and (b) feel different from each other. When Jason is getting turned on by Daniela2 and then feeling guilty because he knows she's not his Daniela, I was right there with him ("Don't do it, Jason! But gaddamnit, she's hot"

[/URL] ), and I was genuinely bummed out when she died.

The supporting cast is solid, though nobody has really distinguished themselves yet. I feel like I'm supposed to like Alice Braga more than I do right now, but there's still time. The plot is sort of a twist on the original alternate-universe story, It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and it's doing a decent job. I did read the book a while ago, but I'm finding that I don't remember it very well.

There's one fundamental flaw in the premise that I can't get out of my mind:

Spoiler :

The box should only allow you to travel to universes where someone - presumably another Jason, but I guess it wouldn't have to be - has also built a box. It wouldn't necessarily have to work, in those other universes, because one of the critical components is the serum Ryan invented, but it would have to be there for a 'pilot' to be able to exit. The box doesn't go anywhere, only the people inside do. Every one of those doors in the endless hallway is a door to another box. Any universe that doesn't have one of Jason's boxes wouldn't have a door in that hallway. That is, there would be plenty of universes in which Jason never built a box, you just wouldn't be able to exit into them. We can stretch our minds to accommodate the existence of boxes in those dead worlds. Maybe we have to lean into it, but okay, fine. But there's one universe that we know didn't have a box: The one our Jason is from, the one where Evil Jason decided he wanted to live. How did Evil Jason get into Jason's universe in the first place? There shouldn't have been a door there. The whole show rests on that premise, and it's fatally flawed. The writers [screwed] up, because there's an easy fix: Jason talks a lot about how he built a small box - the one sitting on his desk - that would allow a single particle to reach superposition, but he never got it to work. They should have said one of two things: (1) Jason built the full-sized box, but he couldn't get it to work because he couldn't overcome the problem of the human mind collapsing the system. Ryan never invented his serum, in that universe. Or (2) Leighton tried to build the box himself after Jason decided to marry Daniela, but he couldn't get it to work without Jason. Boom. Solved. Two different ways. The only problem (1) creates is that it would circumvent the fact that our Jason doesn't know how the box works or how to use it. I feel like that would be a smaller problem than this fundamental inconsistency, which seems to undermine the whole story. So (2) would probably be the better option, except that I just got to the episode where we meet our world's Leighton.

I can't remember if the novel handled this better. Maybe it didn't occur to me then, or maybe it did and I've just forgotten.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I finished Dark Matter (2024) last night. Decent, overall. I doubt it'll end up in my Top 10 for the year, but it was a good watch.

Spoilers for the whole series, including some theorycrafting on what a sequel could entail, now that the series has been renewed for a 2nd season, and a math problem, if you're into math. This first season covered the entire novel, so the 2nd season will have to be a whole new story.

Spoiler :

I did come around on Alice Braga. I liked Amanda, and was genuinely torn when she asked Jason to stay. If I was Jason, and I had fewer than a half-dozen vials of serum remaining, I would have stayed with her. At least given it a shot. I know that people can forge deep emotional bonds in times of crisis, and they don't always last when the crisis abates. It's possible the two of them wouldn't have worked after they were living normal lives for a while, much like Jason2 was getting frustrated with being with Daniela and Charlie after only a month or two. But I might've given it a shot. I was pleased to see her looking like she was building a life in Seattle, in the postscript. I took that to be our Amanda and not just an Amanda.

Something I was thinking about at the end: Some number of those Jasons left behind would have some vials of their own remaining, and some small number of those would have also been with Amanda in the utopian Chicago, and would try to go back there to find her. The closer and closer you get to the present on our Jason's timeline, the fewer and fewer alternate Jasons would share a given moment, until you whittle it down to 1 - our Jason, when he finally returned to Our Chicago. So the number of Jasons who went to Utopia with Amanda would be a subset, but that number wouldn't be zero, and the number of those who chose to leave her would be a subset of the subset, but that number also wouldn't be zero. It would be a relatively small number, because our Jason only had a few vials on him when he departed Utopia. Our Jason could only have 'spawned' another couple of alternate Jasons between leaving Utopia and arriving back in Our Chicago, but I bet one of them would try to get back to her.

Another thing: If some number of the Jasons on our world still had some vials left, Jason2, who seemed to be regretting his decisions, could go retrieve Ryan1 and send Drunk Ryan back to his world. Jason2 and Ryan1 might then be able to recreate Chubby Ryan's formula and make more serum. Jason2 - and every other Jason - could then go look for a world to live in, probably with a Daniela and a Charlie, but some of them would probably go look for an Amanda instead. Some of them might even look for a world that had a Daniela, a Charlie, and a Max. Hopefully most of them would look for a world that had no Jason, and then try to see whether the family would accept a new Jason from an alternate universe, but it's likely that some number of Jasons would take a "heel turn", as we know a few of them already did.

I'm assuming that a new Jason was spawned every time any Jason opened a door. If I'm right, one could calculate how many Jasons were spawned, because they all started out with a satchel of 50 vials, and with Amanda in tow. We don't know how many Jasons died along the way, and we don't know how many Amandas were lost along the way (which would leave Jason more vials to open more doors), or how many Jasons are still in one of the alternate universes (either by choice or by circumstance), so our guess would only be a guess, but it would be an educated guess. The number wouldn't be infinite. Any given Jason could only have opened 49 doors, if his Amanda was lost on the very first door. And we know at least one Jason - our Jason - only lost Amanda very near the end of his journey.

The number of Jasons wouldn't be 50², because every time a Jason opens a door, you reduce his supply of vials by either 1, if he's alone, or 2 if he has a companion. And we know every Jason started out with Amanda, so after he opens the very first door, he had 48 vials, not 49. Jason1 and the very first alternate-Jason would each have 48 vials. Then they'd each spawn another Jason (and another Amanda) and those four would each have 46 vials, provided each of the four and their Amandas survived and opened the next door together. And so on, until every Jason runs out of vials (or dies, or stays in an alternate universe for whatever reason, or reaches Our Chicago). It's also possible that some of the Jasons could lose some vials without losing the whole satchel, but we can't really account for that, except to acknowledge the likelihood. I suppose it's also possible that some of the Jasons could figure out how to get more vials (this wouldn't be inevitable, though, only possible, because remember, we're not talking about an infinite number of Jasons, and we know that none of these Jasons knows how to reproduce the serum). Like I said, we could only come up with an estimate, but maybe someone with better math skills than I have could calculate a range.

Leighton2 seemed to be having a bad time, but 'our' Leighton was really living it up. The way the box works really makes it a reason to live life with a positive outlook.

Addendum to my thought-problem above: At one point, Jason2 says you can only travel to alternate universes where you exist, or once existed. That makes sense to me. The box appearing in the middle of an open field does not. The box's existence in a universe where that universe's Jason didn't build one also doesn't make sense, with the caveat that someone else could have built it instead of Jason, in some universes. But I guess we just have to put our thumb over that inconsistency or the whole story falls apart. Oh, well.

 

[EgonSpengler]

First episode of Lady in the Lake (2024) was very good. I really liked the inventive directing, and it looks like Alma Har'el directed all of the episodes herself. The cast is all very good, so far.

Spoiler-free bits:

• I've never really thought about Baltimore having a big Jewish community, but indeed, I just looked it up and Pikesville is known for its Jewish population.
• I don't really care for 1960s fashion, but Moses Ingram is really making it work. I've seen her in a couple of things before, and this was the first time I thought 'wow, she's gorgeous.'
• I was thinking about Sarah Silverman's complaint about how few Jewish characters on US television are played by Jewish actors, and at first glance, I think a ton of the cast in this are Jewish.
• I see now that Natalie Portman's son is played by Noah Jupe. I did not recognize him at all. I guess he was probably 12 in A Quiet Place and 13 in Ford v Ferrari, and is 18 or 19 in this. When I go back for ep 2, I'm going to have to look closer.
• Arcane religious traditions always intrigue & mystify me: In this case, I really don't understand being strict about keeping kosher in the modern age. As a tradition for holidays or special events, I get that, but being serious about it in daily life just looks like OCD to me. Mild spoiler: Of course, Milton wasn't just taking it seriously, he was being a [donkey] about it. I mean, what a [tool]. I was sort of glad she left. (Don't get me wrong, I'm respectful of it. I work with someone now who has actual OCD, and I used to work with someone who kept strict kosher, and I give/gave them the same space to breathe and neither of them has ever inconvenienced anyone but themselves. But one of them was choosing that behavior and one of them has a disorder they would happily rid themselves of, if they could.)

 

[Birdjaguar]

I grew up in Baltimore and yes it has an important Jewish population. Pikesville was the center of the Jewish community. Many of my classmates were Jewish. I guess I need to give that show a watch. Where is it streaming?

 

[Kyriakos]

He'll write five sections and then never bother to finish it off.

Grrm - or in this case Grim - Martin must be really annoyed with the show, to provide spoilers for show season 3 - and also make it as obvious as possible that he finds the writing to be poor.
His post can be read, eg here.
Of course most show-viewers tend to agree with him; S2 isn't favorably regarded at all.
Spoiler unsurprisingly contains a spoiler, so don't click if you don't wish to know It's very snipey and condescending towards one of the show's heads, however.

Spoiler :

"In Ryan's outline for season 3, Helaena still kills herself... for no particular reason" -GRRM.

HBO trying to handle the fallout:

Nothing left to be said, given S3 is 2 years from now.

 

[Miniskirt]

I just finished watching all 3 seasons of Deadwood 2004-6. And the 2019 movie film, because I felt obligated as a completist.

Ugh. Not great. Was only useful to have something to watch while cooking which I did not care about.

The show started off reasonably but went nowhere. Had an actor do an important role in Season 1 who came back to do a completely different role in Season 2, which caused no end of confusion especially since the same other characters hated both characters. I eventually looked him up to figure out what was going on and found that he was a completely new character. In general the characters did not stay true to themselves. There were however some excellent and memorable characters, Calamity Jane in particular, and her pal Charlie Utter. Wild bill was great but one dimensional. Notice I have not mentioned any of the main characters.

I always wondered about this show, and I like most of the actors. But what a stinker. No pay off at all.

Considering Succession next, maybe.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I grew up in Baltimore and yes it has an important Jewish population. Pikesville was the center of the Jewish community. Many of my classmates were Jewish. I guess I need to give that show a watch. Where is it streaming?

Apple TV

 

[Smellincoffee]

Watched the first episode of Arrested Development. Was amused by teenage Jesse Eisenberg. May continue watching with a friend. Need to get back to my ST TOS rewatch.

 

[tjs282]

Watched the first episode of Arrested Development. Was amused by teenage Jesse Eisenberg. May continue watching with a friend. Need to get back to my ST TOS rewatch.

Michael Cera. But yes, it's easy to get those two mixed up.

(Or did I just get *whooshed*?)

 

[Smellincoffee]

Michael Cera. But yes, it's easy to get those two mixed up.

(Or did I just get *whooshed*?)

I'm over in the films thread confusing Helen Hunt and Jodie Foster. Good thing no one is paying me for reviews.

 

[EgonSpengler]

First episode of season 4 of Slow Horses was good. A good laugh in the very first scene.

Spoiler :

Roddy: I asked [Lamb] where the Christmas party was, and he gave me the details.
Louisa: Right. See if you can work out what happened.

I also guffawed at this line later (Kristin Scott Thomas' delivery was crucial, but if you've seen it, you know what I mean):

Spoiler :

Taverner: Don't say anything that can't be triple-sourced; don't tell them anything you don't want leaked; you can ignore the Defense Secretary, he'll only want to undermine you to boost the standing of Military Intelligence; and if the PM objects to anything you suggest, the Home Secretary will put the boot in, even though she's agreed to everything you've just said. But, I mean, you'll be fine.

The show's not strictly a comedy, but I think it makes me laugh at least once each episode.