Current TV Boxset Addiction

[The Legendary Shark]

Yeah, I'm enjoying Constellation but I have the horrible feeling that it might go all Lost on me. Just finished that Richie guy's The Gentlemen and quite enjoyed it (would Theo James make a good Bond?), and I'm also loving the new iteration of Shōgun and the sumptuous world of The Regime. What with The Bad Batch, Krapopolis, Halo, Resident Alien and The Completely made-up Adventures of Dick Turpin, I'm rather spoiled for choice at the moment.

And only five months to wait until the next Umbrella Academy!

[Angry Vince]

Loving the new series of Shogun - amazing sets, great writing and more Toranaga-focused. When the episodes drop, I watch them in the evening with my son. (Don't tell him that I watch them earlier in the day and then tag them as unwatched.)
Struggling to get through Masters of the Air. Great aerial scenes, but it took me 4-5 episodes to work out who anyone was.
Rewatched Game of Thrones with the wife, final season is not as disappointing as I remember it (or the hype). Were people just pissed that Dani turned evil and John didn't become king? Oops spoilers...

[Jim_Campbell]

Were people just pissed that Dani turned evil and John didn't become king? Oops spoilers...

Basically, yes. (At least that's what the vast majority of the whining I saw online was about.)

I had several issues with that final season, but those specific things weren't amongst them.

[Funt Solo]

My GoT cod-psychology theory is that you could've ended that season almost any way at all, and the audience reaction would've been similar. Folk were just upset that it was ending. (I wasn't as invested once GRRM wasn't the author.)

There were Dani worshippers that couldn't handle the "my favorite is a baddy now" aspect, for sure.

Baking close relatives into pies and serving them to your enemy seemed a little convoluted, as assassinations go. I think that was a strong sign that George wasn't in the writers' room anymore. He, having gained access to all the pies he could ever want, doesn't see the need, or has lost the ability, to finish his opus. We're left with this odd, mixed-media saga.

[Tjm86]

With Jim on this one.  Not read the original source material beyond the first book which I found boring as hell (and this is speaking as someone currently working through the Oxford History of England!)

That said, this aspect of the storyline really didn't gel.  I'm not sure what the writers were thinking at this point. Making sense of the multiple story arcs didn't figure though.

It was up there with Lost as a series that ran out of steam.

[Hawkmumbler]

Tyrion: 'Is faced with a supernatural force he knows is capable of raising the dead.'

Tyrion: Everyone! Lets hide in the crypts!

-

In my personal estimations GoT fell off way before anyone was willing to acknowledge it, Seasons 1 through 4 are all excellent but you can basically time the entropy of the shows shelf life in direct correlation to how cold Tywin and Oberyns bodies got.

[pictsy]

I don't think I even got through season 2 of GoT.  It's a bit of a blob in my memory.  I might have got into season 3.  I don't know... it just couldn't hold my interest.

I did read the main five books of SoIaF.  I really wish I hadn't.

[edgeworthy]

Unlike so many shows Rome does not suffer from "Hero Helmet Phobia". (Although Hero is a subjective concept in this case)

Game of Thrones was diabolical on that. (Admittedly Rome had the advantage of their helmets being designed to provide maximum vision and hearing, while still providing more protection than contemporaries)

[GoGilesGo]

This is the best analysis I have read explaining why GoT tell off a cliff

Seasons 1-5 employed sociological storytelling then (coincidence that the source material dried up?) the writing became more psychological.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/the-real-reason-fans-hate-the-last-season-of-game-of-thrones/

[Angry Vince]

This is the best analysis I have read explaining why GoT tell off a cliff

Seasons 1-5 employed sociological storytelling then (coincidence that the source material dried up?) the writing became more psychological.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/the-real-reason-fans-hate-the-last-season-of-game-of-thrones/

Well, shit, she's not wrong.

Also, apparently there is no point in going back in time and killing baby Hitler. There's my weekend plans ruined.

[Jade Falcon]

There's also the fact that people blame the showrunners, when in fact Martin hasn't written a book in the series since before the first episode of the series aired.  Frankly that's inexcusable and he should be one of the targets to blame.  No one would want him to do the apparent James Patterson level of writing, but taking more than 10 years is just taking the mickey.

[Funt Solo]

He's not beholden to write a book, is the thing. Neil Gaiman probably put it best when he said (with a little more context) "George R.R. Martin is not your bitch", in this blogpost.

[Hawkmumbler]

MOBILE SUIT ZETA GUNDAM

Nigh on impossible to condense such a dense 51 episode saga down into a few concise words but here we go.

It's good. Very good. Perfect? Not quite. But very goddamn good. You will believe a space opera can make you well up.

The child supporting duo could get jettisoned into the sun though, faaaack off.

[pictsy]

I tried watching the first Gundam series after having a miserable time watching the first Macros series.  I did not enjoy it at all and just stopped.

I don't know what the other series are like, but I have certainly been put off for a while.

[Hawkmumbler]

If the original MSG didn't gel with you, just forego anything else in the UC. No matter what decade, look or medium, it's all under the same general philosophical umbrella.
That being said if SDFM didn't work for you either it's tough to recommend any other entry under the Gundam banner, and maybe the 'Real Robo' genre just isn't for you. It's a pity but we can't all like the same stuff, and a 50 odd episode show commitment when you're just not feeling the vibe is nothing short of a folly.

Aura Battler Dunbine might be worth a shout, it's certainly an atypical entry in the pantheon but one of the very best and is pretty much entirely self contained.