Dom Harvey
Contributor
Talk about TV here
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The TV Thread
- Thread starter Dom Harvey
- Start date
Rick and Morty is back. Well, two leaked episodes.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I hardly ever watch TV, unless the Tour the France is on. This is the most interesting edition in years by the way!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Bruh Steven Universe!
I'm 4 seasons into Murder, She Wrote and I'm loving every minute of it
...I'll see myself out.
...I'll see myself out.
Have you seen Sense8 yet? I'm so excited to see where it goes.
I'm being forced to watch IT Crowd and Wakfu. It could be worse, but yeah rick and morty would be better.
I'm up to about half-way, really enjoying it so far even though i've had what's up by 4 nonblondes stuck in my head all week.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
This is gonna be weird, but One Punch Man is really great.
I can't remember the last time I got off my ass to watch anime at all
I can't remember the last time I got off my ass to watch anime at all
I haven't! I'll add it to my list of things to consume my attention
Masters of None seems pretty wonderful so far, which I didn't really expect because I haven't previously really been on the Aziz train.
I've been watching SyFy's adaptation of "The Expanse". It's somewhere around Firefly is terms of quality with a much more driving plot. Like GoT is fantasy for the masses, it aims to be easily consumable scifi. I've not been high on some of the acting/effects but overall have enjoyed it. Prob best to consume in large chunks as the 40ish minutes of each episode often don't encompass a rewarding solitary watch.
@Safra: I jumped ship on Sense8 around ep 7; am I fucking up? The interpersonal relationships were boring me to tears, but I will suffer humanity if it means shit gets weird.
@Safra: I jumped ship on Sense8 around ep 7; am I fucking up? The interpersonal relationships were boring me to tears, but I will suffer humanity if it means shit gets weird.
Shit gets weird.
I actually think it's really clever to have the entire first season do what the first two episodes might in a less ambitious show - sketch out the characters, introduce them to each other, let us think of them as people - since there's going to be so much dissolution of self and identity boundaries down the line. It actually kind of reminds me of JMS (J Michael Straczynski, the non-Wachowski showrunner)'s 90s scifi cult hit Babylon V, which I love more than is reasonable; the first season of that show aimed to give viewers a slice-of-life on a space station, because upending that routine means nothing unless we know -- really know -- it's a routine to begin with. If you finish the season and still have reservations, idk, but I love the interpersonal shit so I'm not the best judge there for you. I really think you'll like it if you keep going though, it's some of the best television I saw last year. The greatest superpower, I think it argues, is being able to be there for the people you care about.
Actually, that's an interesting topic, too. What did you guys think stood out to you this last year? In the sci-fi genre I liked Orphan Black (although not as much as earlier seasons?), the Earthsea show was hella whitewashed but still decent, in comedy Nathan For You probably is unbeatable (the season finale holy shiiiiit.) and Broad City is right behind it.
Masters of Sex was almost irredeemable but [ONE EPISODE] was worth watching the entire rest of the show for
Rectify continues to be the most sacred, beautiful drama on television
Hannibal continues to be the second best show on television, Better Call Saul takes first place
I am continuously baffled at the praise Rick and Morty receives, it's fine but nothing special and imo the "depth" people praise can be found better elsewhere. That said I didn't really like the mainlined pathos of Bojack Horseman either. I want to like it b/c the cast are doing such great stuff but idk it's just not there for me. I guess I like it when people care about each other!!! Orange is the New Black's third season finale was full of pathos (the baptism!!!!!!!!!!) but in a way that spoke to me much more than Bojack did.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ruled, Fey and Poehler can do no wrong (maybe I should go see Sisters?)
Mr Robot was really really good and I don't wanna talk about why I loved it so you'll just have to not google it and watch the entire first season.
Netflix's Bob and David proves those two old fuckers have still got it, even if it does drag from time to time. Cyriak did the opening credits!
s2 of Transparent was even better than s1 of Transparent, somehow. What a fucking great show. (isn't jeffrey tambor basically getting major cred for the same character points he grossly hit in late Arrested Development? maybe but who the fuck cares this show is beautiful and emotionally fulfilling)
I keep meaning to see The Americans because all i hear are good things but I haven't actually watched it yet so uh, instead here's more shows i heard were good but can't vouch for:
now that Mad Men is finished i really oughtta see it through as well. same with Gravity Falls, which I remember liking. I watch a lot of TV.
TV is pretty good right now, I watch way more than I should. TV shows, Magic and basketball are my three hobbies that I devote way more of my time to than I should.
I guess I'll start with Netflix offerings:
Love Game of Thrones so I make sure to watch every season (started watching right after the 1st season had ended) and I remember last season being pretty sweet though it's been a long while. I do remember that it sucked that there were leaks for like the first half of the season so I ended up being ahead for like a month b/c I couldn't help myself. That probably took away a bit.
2015 was kind of bittersweet in that two shows that I had been watching for years (Mad Men and Parks and Recreation) both came to an end and I was really happy with how they closed them out. Parks and Recs final season was kind of like one giant epilogue though, so that was kind of annoying but still enjoyable. Mad Men had an excellent finish and closed out strong. If you haven't watched either and are planning to, I'm just going to say that the first season of both shows are a grind but it's well worth it. Parks picks up considerably midway through the 2nd season and reaches it's prime from seasons 3-6. Mad Men season 1 is ridiculously slow, but the show picks up the pace in a big way. It's one of those shows that you'll just watch once and be done with since it's so dense.
Oh and I watched all of the Wire last Spring quarter with like 3 episodes a night when I hit a lull between classwork. It was one of the best shows I had ever seen, highly recommend it to anyone and everyone that hasn't seen it. I think it's my 2nd favorite show of all time behind The Sopranos.
There's a good bunch of shows coming out with their next season in the next few months and I'm looking forward to that, but right now I've started watching The Leftovers on HBO. I've heard rave reviews for the 2nd season of the show which apparently redeemed it and vaulted it towards being must-watch TV for a few people I know so I'm giving it a watch. First season is a grind though, I'm only two episodes in but it's definitely slow and trying to build up the world right now. Basically the premise is that 3 years prior to the current events, there was something that happened on Earth that caused 2% of the world's population to just outright disappear. No explanation. The series is centered around not the actual disappearance and the factors of it, but with how people cope with this sort of thing and move on with their lives. The premise is good enough and the 2nd season payoff seems high enough to stick with it.
I guess I'll start with Netflix offerings:
- Finished Master of None a few weeks ago at the beginning of winter break, it's a solid show and was a good watch. His Dad was the best character by far b/c that's EXACTLY how like 80% of my older male relatives act. It was too real.
- I loved the first two seasons of Orange is the New Black, but I really wasn't digging the 3rd one. I think I stopped watching maybe 6 episodes in just because I found something better to do at the time or got busy and haven't picked it up again since. Just wasn't as compelling the third time around.
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a really fun watch, can't wait for the next season. Ellie Kemper was some A+ casting, I loved her as Erin on The Office (my go-to show whenever I'm sitting around eating at home and need something to watch/background noise). I watched all of Narcos last week, it was pretty interesting and had a cool documentary like format to it. Great acting, great camera work, and I also learned a lot of bad words in Spanish.
- Better Call Saul was a great watch early in 2015 as well, I was looking forward to that ever since Breaking Bad was done nearly two years ago. I'm really looking forward to season 2. Bob Odenkirk is such an awesome actor.
Love Game of Thrones so I make sure to watch every season (started watching right after the 1st season had ended) and I remember last season being pretty sweet though it's been a long while. I do remember that it sucked that there were leaks for like the first half of the season so I ended up being ahead for like a month b/c I couldn't help myself. That probably took away a bit.
2015 was kind of bittersweet in that two shows that I had been watching for years (Mad Men and Parks and Recreation) both came to an end and I was really happy with how they closed them out. Parks and Recs final season was kind of like one giant epilogue though, so that was kind of annoying but still enjoyable. Mad Men had an excellent finish and closed out strong. If you haven't watched either and are planning to, I'm just going to say that the first season of both shows are a grind but it's well worth it. Parks picks up considerably midway through the 2nd season and reaches it's prime from seasons 3-6. Mad Men season 1 is ridiculously slow, but the show picks up the pace in a big way. It's one of those shows that you'll just watch once and be done with since it's so dense.
Oh and I watched all of the Wire last Spring quarter with like 3 episodes a night when I hit a lull between classwork. It was one of the best shows I had ever seen, highly recommend it to anyone and everyone that hasn't seen it. I think it's my 2nd favorite show of all time behind The Sopranos.
There's a good bunch of shows coming out with their next season in the next few months and I'm looking forward to that, but right now I've started watching The Leftovers on HBO. I've heard rave reviews for the 2nd season of the show which apparently redeemed it and vaulted it towards being must-watch TV for a few people I know so I'm giving it a watch. First season is a grind though, I'm only two episodes in but it's definitely slow and trying to build up the world right now. Basically the premise is that 3 years prior to the current events, there was something that happened on Earth that caused 2% of the world's population to just outright disappear. No explanation. The series is centered around not the actual disappearance and the factors of it, but with how people cope with this sort of thing and move on with their lives. The premise is good enough and the 2nd season payoff seems high enough to stick with it.
The ASOIAF books were pr. important to me as a kid so I stopped being as into the show when it got all rapey between Jamie and Cersei. totally not how that scene played out in my head and I think a much, much worse directorial idea. When it got rapey with Sansa and Littlefinger I stopped watching. Shame, I have this absurd crush on Rose Leslie (Ygritte) and have since Downton Abbey.
The Leftovers is definitely slow but I'd say it's a meticulously choreographed slow, with no lost plot threads or characters out of place. Some incredibly profound television about the choice to live in a world full of grief. s2 is less obtuse, and then more obtuse, and then less obtuse again. Highly recommend.
Just putting this out there, if you at all like Girls you should watch Please Like Me. It's kind of the gay, Australian equivalent (written, produced and acted by one talented twenty-something), but the characters are far more endearing. Every episode has wonderful dialogue, and there are three seasons to dig into if you're so inclined.
The Expanse books are just fantastic, would definitely recommend them.
As well as stuff that others have mentioned like Master of None and Sense8, I saw And Then There Were None on BBC over Christmas and that was very good. I hadn't read the book so I can't say how faithfully it sticks to it, but it was somewhere between murder mystery and horror/thriller.
Game of Thrones this year was pretty bad - they're on to books 4 and 5 which were in my opinion far weaker than 1-3, so they don't have much source material to work with. Apart from Hardhome, which was a great episode, there was nothing really approaching season 3-4 level.
Game of Thrones this year was pretty bad - they're on to books 4 and 5 which were in my opinion far weaker than 1-3, so they don't have much source material to work with. Apart from Hardhome, which was a great episode, there was nothing really approaching season 3-4 level.