Current TV Boxset Addiction

[radiator]

Been watching a little show called The Simpsons via Disney+.

While having every classic episode at my fingertips is amazing, I was planning on watching a bit beyond my usual cut-off of season 10 and giving the more modern episodes a chance - perhaps modern era Simpsons is due a reappraisal? But no, the drop in quality once you get into season 11 is just as jarring as I remember it being at the time. Sample season 11 joke:

The Simpsons are in Holllywood. Someone says "Look, it's Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche!"

Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche, holding hands on a swingset: "We're lesbians!"

That's it. That's the 'joke'.

It's toe-curlingly bad, it's just like they stopped even trying. Every episode feels more like a very rough first draft (more often like a loose idea for an episode) rather than a finished script. And it apparently got even worse after this?

[Proudhuff]

I want more Man in the High Castle!!! Binged over the weekend and NEED more....

[Mardroid]

I want more Man in the High Castle!!! Binged over the weekend and NEED more....

I just recently watched that series too. I think it ended on a good place, but I liked that a lot. Or could perhaps have used more material before reaching this place. Some stuff felt rather rushed, but it was good.

[Dandontdare]

I want more Man in the High Castle!!! Binged over the weekend and NEED more....

I just recently watched that series too. I think it ended on a good place, but I liked that a lot. Or could perhaps have used more material before reaching this place. Some stuff felt rather rushed, but it was good.

Rushed? Season one just seemed to take soooo long to advance the story, I couldn't be arsed with season 2. They were clearly in it for the long haul, and I can appreciate the modern appetite for epic box sets, but I just wanted them to bloody get on with it. Everyone's CV must have included "good at thoughtful brooding and meaningful silences". Did it pick up the pace explanation-wise in later seasons?

[TordelBack]

Quicksand.  Swedish rich-kid school-shooting thing on Netflix.  It's very nicely made and performed, rigidly adhering to the sole perspective of Maya, the only surviving suspect (to the point that we never get to see some key events, because Maya didn't, or learn some players' motivations, because Maya didn't).  In fact, the only time we get any alternative view on proceedings is through a phone video shown in court, which is then pretty jarring. 

Unfortunately, the climax is a truncated trial sequence, handled in quite a superficial way, leaving you wondering why the lawyers haven't done any homework. I appreciate that this is more of psychological drama than a courtroom one, but when it's the event that all 8 episodes build towards I'd have liked more meat in that bit. 

Still, it's definitely worth a look, although while noting that the central violence itself is not graphic, there is a horrid perfunctory rape in a later episode that I found pretty upsetting viewing, despite not being played in any way for titillation.

Currently watching Season 1 The Crown, which even my firey republican heart has to admit is a fascinating take on a subject I usually care nothing for, anchored by some spectacular performances from Clare Foy, Jared Harris and John Lithgow, excellent supporting turns from Victoria Hamilton and Ben Miles and some actually-not-bad gurning from Matt Smith.

It is however desperately uneven, with some great episodes (the Treetops and Coronation ones) sandwiched by cringey dross (the one about the Great Smog of 1952 is particularly terrible, the inclusion of both Churchill and Matt Smith making one wonder if one has switched over to Dr Who instead).  Edward VIII and Churchill make for wonderful panto villains, and Vanessa Kirby's Princess Margaret is quite alarmingly gorgeous, if you like that sort of thing, which I didn't know I did.

[Mardroid]

I want more Man in the High Castle!!! Binged over the weekend and NEED more....

I just recently watched that series too. I think it ended on a good place, but I liked that a lot. Or could perhaps have used more material before reaching this place. Some stuff felt rather rushed, but it was good.

Rushed? Season one just seemed to take soooo long to advance the story, I couldn't be arsed with season 2. They were clearly in it for the long haul, and I can appreciate the modern appetite for epic box sets, but I just wanted them to bloody get on with it. Everyone's CV must have included "good at thoughtful brooding and meaningful silences". Did it pick up the pace explanation-wise in later seasons?

It's pretty slow paced through most of the seasons but you get explanations from season 2 onwards. (Actually it starts in 1). I didn't mind, the slow pace too much but then I binged most of them on Amazon Prime. Much of the explanations concerning what happens is covered in the series in between and they didn't seem that slow coming, but it's as much a character drama as a sci fi mystery.

The last season is generally pretty fast-paced. Understandable as I'm sure they were aware that would be the last and they had limited episodes to fit it all in, but I actually feel a bit more time would have been nicer.

Some things are left ambiguous ([spoiler]the last scene itself is a bit of a head-scratcher, subject to interpretation -not in a bad way, in my opinions[/spoiler]) but you get answers where the main story is concerned.

[Proudhuff]

Yeah, that last series finale rushed along at breakneck pace, with a lot of 'WTF,...But, but'  moments.
But compared to recent, deadly dull and boring TWD its a breath of fresh air!

[broodblik]

The Man in the High Castle is a great show and I just need some extra time to binge the last season

[The Legendary Shark]

Looking forward to MitHC too. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying Pennyworth so far. It's like 1860 has crashed into 1960, which has bounced off 2060, trickled into its own pocket universe without touching the sides and landed on some charismatic berk pretending to be Michael Caine.

It puts me in mind of some of the tv from my youth, impossibly English Englishmen being all brave and noble in an impossibly English England. Like The New Avengers or that one with Roger Moore and Toby Curtains, all funny and dark and weird. And fair play to it for that.

Yeah, I'm proper enjoying this.

[The Legendary Shark]

Children of the Stones. 7 part children's tv mini-series from 1977 about a scientist (Gareth Thomas) and his son who turn up in an English village which is hard by a circle of ancient standing stones. Paranormal shenanigans and general eerieness accompanied by weird and screechy choral music ensue.

It's really good, like The Wicker Man for younglings - no wonder people of my generation grew up weird...

[karlos]

The Witcher is pretty great.

[broodblik]

Also start watching The Witcher and yes it is good.

[karlos]

So, it's a good night from season 1 of The Witcher, which is stonking and [spoiler]only just really getting going [/spoiler, as well finishing up The Mandalorian, which has just been a great space western and huge fun all around.

[Tiplodocus]

I'm really struggling to see what fuss is about THE WITCHER. So far it seems like one of my more boring D&D campaigns from 1980.

[Apestrife]

With Better Call Saul Season 5 out in February (teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMNlyBmReKY) I went through all of Breaking Bad, the movie El Camino and the four seasons of Better Call Saul. Can't wait. Hope it's as heartbreaking as season 4