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Current TV Boxset Addiction

Started by radiator, 20 November, 2012, 02:23:29 PM

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repoman

Quote from: PsychoGoatee on 08 August, 2020, 12:45:44 AM
I'm on Cheers season 7, it rules. The rise of Frasier Crane.

Cliff is low-key the best character.  :)

Funt Solo

Quote from: Dandontdare on 07 August, 2020, 09:18:19 AM
I'm halfway through that - It is better than the first season, it seems to hang together a bit more coherently rather then jumping about so much. It also works so much better as a TV series than a comic - I bought the first trade and was completely underwhelmed by the comic version, but this is a lot of fun. I love the MiB/X-files/Vector 13 type guy and Aiden Gallagher does a great job of portraying a 58 year old teenager. Ellen Page's fivehead is a bit distracting though.

The music choices are usually good, the only one that dropped like a clanger was "Golden Brown" over Diego and Lila's love scene. *cringe*

Your thoughts are the same thoughts I had, note for note. I bought the first trade on the back of the first series and was surprised to find that the series had clearly surpassed the source material.

The opening scene of Season #2 is more entertaining than a juggling unicorn at the Intergalactic Festival of Fun who's trying out her new flaming mini-Trump clones routine.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Rately

Last Chance U - Season 5.

Underdog Junior College American Footballers documentary that follows their struggles, triumphs, but mostly struggles with family, fitness and themselves.

Heart-breaking one moment, has you fist pumping like an eejit the next as you pray and hope that everything works out for the best for the kids.


Mardroid

The Rain

Pretty good post apocalyptic drama concerning a killer virus 😆 on Netflix. They just put the final series up recently.

Overall pretty good although the teenage angst of one of the major characters got on my nerves a bit. I thought the [spoiler]flower thing[/spoiler] was a bit of of nowhere.

pictsy

Finishing Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I don't have much more to say than what I did going in.  It has weak antagonists, a weak arc, lack of identity in a post-high school world (and lampshading it), but a few very good episodes.  Ultimately the problem with Season 4 is everything to do with The Initiative.  It's not like it's a bad premise, but it takes too long to establish it as a viable threat and by that time the focus switches to Adam with little time to flesh him out as a character.  Riley is also worse than Dawn.  Not more annoying, just a worse character.  He lacks charisma and I don't think that's the actors fault, I think it lies in the writing.

Nevertheless, it's still enjoyable.  Hush, Superstar and the faith double parter are all highlights, but the thing that shines through most for me is the season finale.  It is my favourite finale without a doubt.  I rarely sees decent depictions of dreams, but this episode has always impressed me.  I also rate this episode highly despite the antagonist being problematic and somewhat confusing.  I can't help but put that to one side and enjoy the well done dreamy visuals and narrative.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: Hawkmumbler on 16 July, 2020, 03:08:43 PMThe best Kolchak episodes are the ones that just go all the way into eldritichian, mythic abominations.

The show never quiet reached the heights of the first pilot movie


I prefer the sequel film The Night Strangler – which is more or less the same story as the first, only better, and more imaginative. The hidden history of Seattle's very own Undercity, complete with full streets and buildings from the previous century (the Bradbury building gets a big cameo), only adds to the sleazy brilliance of Kolchak's American underworld.


Colin YNWA

Primal

Well once you get over the fact that this mixes cavemen and dinosaurs this is a fantastic animated treat... well by and large. By episode 4 I was kinda sick of cool, beautifully and brutally realised hyper-violence stacked on cool, beautifully and brutally realised hyper-violence. Even when its between caveman, dinosaur combo and:

Giant carnivore dinos
Mammoths (I'm over it, I'm over it)
Giant water snakes
Raptors
Vampire man ape bat thingies
Gorilla gladitors

But episode 5 when our historically inaccurate but effortless charming odd couple are relaxing by an oasis perfectly defined the genius of the dialogue free characterisation and I was all ready and up for it when the gratitous man-ape shredding action started again ... and that ending... wow. I believe there's more on the way which I'm very pleased about as there's no way it could end like that, however savage the world of Primal.

wedgeski

A couple of Netflix updates: Cursed was reasonably fun, with a good lead character and one or two exceptional set pieces, but overall it felt a bit shoddy. A good script supervisor to make sure the series had some coherence wouldn't have gone amiss.

Umbrella Academy S2 has struck a chord with me this time around. I love its often surreal humour. I appreciate how it has rereshed a somewhat tired [spoiler]time travel[/spoiler] schtick, and I'm really enjoying the cast.

repoman

I've nearly finished Umbrella Academy s2 and yeah it's fantastic.  Enjoying it more than the first season.

The kid who plays Five is some actor.

Just finished rewatching Spaced.  Still good.  Felt dated and off at first but by the end of the second series I was sad it was over.

von Boom

Quote from: repoman on 14 August, 2020, 01:33:34 PM
I've nearly finished Umbrella Academy s2 and yeah it's fantastic.  Enjoying it more than the first season.

The kid who plays Five is some actor.

Just finished rewatching Spaced.  Still good.  Felt dated and off at first but by the end of the second series I was sad it was over.
I have two episodes of Spaced left myself. Yeah, it's still good.

Dandontdare

Quote from: pictsy on 11 August, 2020, 05:53:47 PM
Finishing Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I agree. Season 4 of Buffy is like 90s 2000ad - not as good as the fast-paced glory days of the Golden Age, and whilst you can see what they're trying to do, and there are some nuggets of gold scattered throughout, the thing as a whole doesn't quite work. And then they regrouped, got more ambitious, went a little darker and things got better for the remaining seasons. On your recommendation I went back and watched the S4 finale and it really is very good - the different lighting and camera techniques make every dream-scene different. I followed it up with Once More with Feeling from S.6- I know some fans hate this one, but I think it's a masterpiece (unlike 2000ad, in which I cannot stand stories written as songs!)

Quote from: repoman on 14 August, 2020, 01:33:34 PM
I've nearly finished Umbrella Academy s2 and yeah it's fantastic. ...
Just finished rewatching Spaced. 

Finished it myself the other night and it really is good - the plot ties up very nicely and there's a wonderful set-up for S.3

And I think Spaced is my favourite Sitcom ever - I can watch the nightclub episode a hundred times. How can you not love a show that references the death of Johnny Alpha?


I'm halfway through Staged on the BBC iPlayer - I'd heard of this and thought it was just David Tenant & Michael Sheen chatting and improvising, but it's actually a very funny scripted series of short episodes - excellent guest star in episode 3!

pictsy

Quote from: Dandontdare on 14 August, 2020, 03:11:17 PM
On your recommendation I went back and watched the S4 finale and it really is very good - the different lighting and camera techniques make every dream-scene different.

That's cool :)  I agree that the presentation really adds to selling what they were going for.

Quote
I followed it up with Once More with Feeling from S.6- I know some fans hate this one, but I think it's a masterpiece (unlike 2000ad, in which I cannot stand stories written as songs!)

That is a good episode, very well executed.  I also agree with the sentiment against written as songs comics.  The only one where it kinda works (but it still a chore) is an issue of Alan Grant's run on Demon and that's only because Etrigan speaks in rhyme all the time.

I have just started Season 5 and I forgot that this one doesn't get started as strongly as I thought it did.  It has a terrible opener with the Dracula episode, then there's the episode that introduces Dawn.  The third episode is one I enjoy.  I'm now concerned it's going to take a while for Riley to finally disappear, plank of wood character that he is.  Maybe it's the same episode that Dawn becomes her most shrill.  Rip that plaster off all in one go.

Dandontdare

Riley does take a while to disappear but I don't find Dawn nearly as annoying as many do - at least no more than her character is supposed to be. Did you notice the teaser from dream-Tara to Buffy in restless? "Be back before Dawn"


According to the trivia bit on Amazon, Whedon was aware that s4 hadn't quite worked, and instead of ending on beating the big bad, he wrote restless to consolidate where the characters were at and then move on.

I did like the way they dropped Dawn in and just didn't explain it for ages. There's a petition to cast Macauley Culkin in the Home Alone reboot with no other character acknowledging that he's a 39 year old man

pictsy

Quote from: Dandontdare on 14 August, 2020, 07:50:32 PM
Riley does take a while to disappear but I don't find Dawn nearly as annoying as many do - at least no more than her character is supposed to be.

The problem is largely that they did write Dawn to be annoying through a lot of S5.  It gets toned down in S6 and S7.  S6 sister bonding in the finale is a really good moment for the series.  She ends up becoming a much better character.  Initially however they made her annoying and that's a problem.  They should have showed tension between her and Buffy for sure, but made her relatable from the start.  Her intro episode utterly fails to do this and she gives a very negative first impression.  It all culminates, for me, with the scene in which she screeches "get out, get out, get out".  That's not going to make anyone get attached to the character.

Quote
Did you notice the teaser from dream-Tara to Buffy in restless? "Be back before Dawn"

Yeah, I did.
There is also foreshadowing in the first part of the Faith two parter in S4.  "So much to do before little sis gets here."

Speaking of Tara, I forgot to mention in my comments about S4 about how much I like the character.  She's a fave of mine.  I am bitter towards Joss Whedon for doing her character wrong by fridging her and doing the actor a disservice of not having a main cast credit because he wanted to do his "give them a credit then kill them thing".... again. 

That aside, Tara is so very likeable and comes across as being very sensible and sensitive. 

Now I'm thinking of it, I think they missed the opportunity of having a Spike and Tara lead episode.  I think their personalities would clash in interesting ways.

QuoteI did like the way they dropped Dawn in and just didn't explain it for ages.

I think there is a lot going for the character regardless of my complaints.  I think that the overall conflict she brings to the show raises it's standards much higher.  I think Dawn's interactions with Spike and the way that relationship develops (especially with the iffy moment in S7) is really endearing.  The episodes that follows The Body when she tries to [spoiler]resurrect her Mum[/spoiler] is a highlight of the season.

Riley, on the other hand, was a wasted effort that they either couldn't make work or couldn't be bothered to make work.

Dandontdare

Quote from: pictsy on 14 August, 2020, 11:03:22 PMInitially however they made her annoying and that's a problem.  They should have showed tension between her and Buffy for sure, but made her relatable from the start.  Her intro episode utterly fails to do this and she gives a very negative first impression.  It all culminates, for me, with the scene in which she screeches "get out, get out, get out".  That's not going to make anyone get attached to the character.

Gotta disagree there - the most important thing they had to establish at the start was that DAWN HAD ALWAYS BEEN THERE. She doesn't need to be relatable, or give a good impression as a person, she's the annoying little sister that's always been there and sisters have huge overblown fights all the time.