Which television shows are you watching? Part III

[EgonSpengler]

I couldn't stick with Altered Carbon or The OA, but I couldn't tell you why. I know people who like both shows, but... You could add The Witcher to that list, too. I think I watched 3½ episodes of that and then got distracted and then kind of forgot about it. Maybe I'll go back and give them another shot. I do find sometimes that I don't connect with a show, game, movie or music album on the first go, but then later I "get it" somehow.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Altered Carbon was extremely confusing. They should have trimmed some of the subplots and made the narrative a bit more straight forward IMO.

Disenchanted was a show I did not get on my first watch but now I love. It's a poor man's Futurama.

 

[civvver]

Oh boy add Altered Carbon and Better Call Saul to my backlog.

I used to be a huge fan of Archer but something happened around the Archer Vice season where it stopped being that funny for me. I think honestly the jokes and set ups got stale and the wacky changes in setting didn't really help that much. It's good juvenile humor but I feel it got repetitive. Or something. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that turned me off the show, I just stopped laughing and watching.

I too bailed on Archer. I watched Season 8, dreamland, and thought it was pretty good if a little weird. But the following season sucked. Reviews state the same. I watched one episode and lost interest. It's a shame.

Better Call Saul is probably my favorite currently airing TV show right now. It's high quality all around, writing, acting, production, the way it's shot. Really good.

 

[Synobun]

After 2 episodes of Mad Men, wifey decided she wasn't interested in following through with it after all, so instead we watched the first episode of The OA, which I think might be a keeper (it's reminding me a little of The 4400 — not a bad thing — and she already watched all 3 seasons of Stranger Things).

God, no. You're going to be disappointed if that's what you're expecting. The OA is more like a less psychedelic/edgy Legion. I loved The OA and The 4400; they're not that alike at all.

Note: You might seriously dislike the ending to season one. I didn't, but I know many others did. If possible, time it so you can watch the first episode of the second season the moment you're done the season finale.

Another note: The OA was a contained story and got cancelled, as Netflix likes to do. So you won't see a conclusion to the story at all. It got two seasons and, as far as I can tell, that's all it's ever going to get.

 

[tjs282]

God, no. You're going to be disappointed if that's what you're expecting

Not my expectation at all. Just a similar "who/why/how/where?" vibe I got from the first episode.

The OA was a contained story and got cancelled, as Netflix likes to do. So you won't see a conclusion to the story at all.

Well that sucks, but thanks for the heads up. I'll just do my best to enjoy the journey for as long as it lasts then.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Of the myriad Netflix sci-fi/fantasy shows, I think Russian Doll and Daredevil are the ones I'd recommend the most, with the caveat that they won't be for everybody. Both are definitely for adults; Russian Doll is very strange and doesn't provide answers to all of the questions it raises; Daredevil is pretty grim and very violent.

EDIT: Oh, and the first season of Jessica Jones. Duh. Again, it's not for everybody - it's about a survivor of an abusive relationship facing her abuser.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Mysteriously, my antenna fails to pick up every single episode of Stargate SG-1 that features the Russians.

Russian Illuminati, confirmed

 

[Takhisis]

Does that include the one where they get a new Stargate from the Russkies?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Yes unfortunately

 

[tjs282]

I couldn't stick with Altered Carbon or The OA, but I couldn't tell you why. I know people who like both shows, but...

How far did you actually get with AC? With all its action/combat sequences, I would have expected it to be right up your street...?

You could add The Witcher to that list, too.

It's already there, thanks!

Altered Carbon was extremely confusing. They should have trimmed some of the subplots and made the narrative a bit more straight forward IMO.

Subplots? Do you mean Kovacs' previous history as an Envoy, told in the frequent flashbacks? I didn't mind that so much, but I do remember the dialogue audio-quality being very muddy in places, which did make the story much harder to follow than it needed to be. Reading the book (afterwards) didn't help much, either, since the show's scriptwriters changed several fundamental plot-elements.

 

[EgonSpengler]

How far did you actually get with AC? With all its action/combat sequences, I would have expected it to be right up your street...?

I did, too. Having read the first two books - admittedly, a very long time ago - I was looking forward to the series. I think I watched 3 episodes. The last thing I remember is the party at the mansion, and Kovacs meeting whatsername's daughter using one of her mother's sleeves. I can't say I didn't like it, just that it didn't quite meet the threshold to keep watching it ahead of so many other things vying for my attention.

Speaking of which, I think season 3 of Babylon Berlin hits USNetflix this weekend.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Subplots? Do you mean Kovacs' previous history as an Envoy, told in the frequent flashbacks?

There were more subplots going on that had to do with the central intrigue of the season than just the flashbacks. The flashbacks were one of the easier arcs to follow.

 

[shadowplay]

The new season of Better Call Saul premiered on Sunday and I'm pretty excited for it. I think it's surpassed Breaking Bad in terms of story telling and presentation, although Breaking Bad had a more frantic urgency and pace underlying it because of Walter White's health. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould are truly masters. I can't wait to see how this ends.

I've also been watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, I just finished season 9 (Fatwa!) and at almost 70 Larry David is still getting funnier and better at comedy writing every year.

I've started watching the Marvelous Ms. Maisal which has a lot of appeal to me so far because of my love for Jewish comedy. I'm only a few episodes in but I'm already hooked.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I too bailed on Archer. I watched Season 8, dreamland, and thought it was pretty good if a little weird. But the following season sucked. Reviews state the same. I watched one episode and lost interest. It's a shame.

Better Call Saul is probably my favorite currently airing TV show right now. It's high quality all around, writing, acting, production, the way it's shot. Really good.

And it's filmed in Albuquerque.

Of the myriad Netflix sci-fi/fantasy shows, I think Russian Doll and Daredevil are the ones I'd recommend the most, with the caveat that they won't be for everybody. Both are definitely for adults; Russian Doll is very strange and doesn't provide answers to all of the questions it raises; Daredevil is pretty grim and very violent.

EDIT: Oh, and the first season of Jessica Jones. Duh. Again, it's not for everybody - it's about a survivor of an abusive relationship facing her abuser.

I just finished S1 of Jessica Jones and am into S2. I'm really liking it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I watched my recorded S1E1 of Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea. It was colorized! That was cool. It was full of early sixties special effects, which were interesting. And the submarine parts, while they were far beyond any possibility of suspended disbelief and just had to be taken with amusement, were not really any further off track than the submarine parts in the fairly recent Fast and Furious movie that featured a submarine, so why not?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Without spoilers, did E6 of Picard improve on E5? I don't know what happened in E5, just that people were pissed about it.

Do any of the streaming services allow account sharing?

 

[shadowplay]

And it's filmed in Albuquerque.

Yup. Everytime I see the park I think "that's birdjaguars park! I wonder if he's friends with Mike."

 

[Birdjaguar]

Yup. Everytime I see the park I think "that's birdjaguars park! I wonder if he's friends with Mike."

When I do my walking, I walk around it. It is 1/4 mile circuit.

 

[Arakhor]

Without spoilers, did E6 of Picard improve on E5? I don't know what happened in E5, just that people were pissed about it.

Definitely. Even compensating for ep 5 being so controversial, ep 6 was really very good.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

J. Lee in The Orville just isn't a believable actor. It's kind of frustrating when he's featured because he seems so fake and stilted in every scene. He also can't deliver a joke to save his life which doesn't help as the show has de-emphasized the humor in the second half of the first season.

Spoiler Romance :

They gave the first officer and the captain and 'out' which explains her infidelity. It's possible that she was under the influence of alien hormones/pheromones when she cheated on him in the past and now the captain has slept with the same alien so they're 'even stevens' and now can potentially date again. Not sure how I feel about this development. Could go either way.