Current TV Boxset Addiction

Barrington Boots · 28 October, 2020, 10:53:17 AM

Started watching Dragons Dogma on Netflix and it's just dreadful. I gave it a few episodes to see if it picked up, but there's hardly anything to recommend it: the voice acting is stilted and slow and the animation seems to have been done on a computer, but badly, meaning everyone moves in a slightly weird way somewhat reminiscent of a PS2 cutscene and the dragon, griffin etc look pretty dire. Avoid!

Will add my love for Black Sails, I think season 2 is it's peak but it's mainly great throughout.

Proudhuff · 28 October, 2020, 03:05:17 PM

Black Sails had always been on my horizon, but thought it might just be a half ersed Capt Jack Sparra, is it more than this?

Currently enjoying The Alienist, no not the GRennie droid's one, th eone on the telly, it reminds me of Penny Dreddful bu without the visual flare and Billie Piper's jubilees.

Jim_Campbell · 28 October, 2020, 03:18:55 PM

Quote from: Proudhuff on 28 October, 2020, 03:05:17 PM
Black Sails had always been on my horizon, but thought it might just be a half ersed Capt Jack Sparra, is it more than this?

The first half of S1 is a bit of a slog, but it quite suddenly hits its stride and doesn't really let up after that. It's more like Deadwood with pirates than Pirates of the Caribbean.

Proudhuff · 28 October, 2020, 03:23:20 PM

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 28 October, 2020, 03:18:55 PM
It's more like Deadwood with pirates

That's a great elevator pitch! I'm in

Cheers
Jim

Bolt-01 · 29 October, 2020, 08:48:52 AM

Sweet Jovus Jim, I wasn't interested before but now...

pictsy · 01 November, 2020, 09:52:36 AM

I have now finished the first season of Discovery and I think the whole thing has improved immensely with a second viewing. I liked the show the first time I watched it, but this time round I felt I could appreciate all the things the show does well. I am glad to rewatch it before going into the second season, which I haven't seen yet.

I think my initial hesitance towards the program comes from the media landscape it is in and the legacy it came from. This show leans much more heavily towards the bespoke sci-fi serialisation, like The Expanse and I don't think it thrives in the comparison. Also it ditches the Star Trek formula by having it so heavily serialised and having an actual main character that we focus on throughout. On its own merits it is nonetheless very good and is very much a good direction to take the franchise in.

Michael Knight · 01 November, 2020, 02:15:21 PM

Enjoy Season 2. The episode in the second season revolving around Captain Pike and away team beaming down to a Planet to investigate a settlement reminded me of old School Trek at its best. I cant wait for thePike spin off series.

pictsy · 01 November, 2020, 08:01:50 PM

Quote from: Michael Knight on 01 November, 2020, 02:15:21 PM
Enjoy Season 2. The episode in the second season revolving around Captain Pike and away team beaming down to a Planet to investigate a settlement reminded me of old School Trek at its best. I cant wait for thePike spin off series.

I hope I do, thank you and I'm looking forward to the Pike spin off series just for more Trek.

shaolin_monkey · 02 November, 2020, 12:03:30 AM

Truth Seekers on Amazon Prime, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - chained it this weekend.

Quite good fun - spooky in places. Keeps you guessing!

Jim_Campbell · 02 November, 2020, 09:20:40 AM

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 02 November, 2020, 12:03:30 AM
Truth Seekers on Amazon Prime, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - chained it this weekend.

Not a lot of Simon Pegg, who seems to be channelling Martin Jarvis, in the couple of episodes we've watched so far but, yes, great fun. Has that same knack of the Cornetto movies to really lean into the tone of whatever genre it's gently taking the piss out of.

TordelBack · 02 November, 2020, 10:45:40 AM

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 02 November, 2020, 12:03:30 AM
Truth Seekers on Amazon Prime, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - chained it this weekend.

Quite good fun - spooky in places. Keeps you guessing!

Excellent timing, just finished both the sublime Fleabag and Spaced, and looking for something amusing, and something in the Pegg/Frost line.

Dandontdare · 02 November, 2020, 07:20:20 PM

Late to the party as usual, but I'm half a dozen episodes into Altered Carbon and really enjoying it. Took me while to suss who's who (especially as they all have different faces in the flashbacks). I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not Nathan-Fillion is good in the lead role, as are all of them really (took me ages to remember where I'd seen his sister - it was Agents of Shield). The world feels very well fleshed out, with bits like the family party where Grandma turns up in the body of a biker gangster really add depth to the backstory. Surprising amount of gore and nudity, but I'm fine with that

Radbacker · 05 November, 2020, 03:18:19 AM

Why haven't I watched Ash vs The Evil Dead before?
Just started it on Netflix 4 episodes in and it's great, lots of splatter and very like a direct continuation of Evil Dead 2.
It's groovy

CU Radbacker

The Legendary Shark · 08 November, 2020, 07:11:57 PM

Dipping back into Star Trek, watched a few random Voyagers before returning to my favourite Trek of all, Enterprise. I always approach this series with trepidation because - what if it's not as good as I remember? After all, we've had the Kelvin timeline, Discovery and Picard since then. I needn't have worried.

S04E13 - United confirms it. Archer pulls together squabbling species to combat a mutual threat - the first glimmer of the Federation to come, and the spirit behind it.

And that's what I think modern Trek lacks - that spirit of building something great and noble and worthwhile out of disparate peoples. Modern Trek seems to be more about defending that spirit, with TOS and the rest more about expanding it. And that's why I think I like Trek better than Wars, which (to me) is more about maintaining the status quo. And it's the story of the struggle to build the future that only Enterprise has that makes it my favourite.

Maybe modern Trek does show us the error of our ways, shows how we're too busy defending what we got to worry about the future. Maybe we need to slice a few more Andorian antennae off for ourselves, metaphorically speaking of course.

Yeah, it's been a long road. And light years still to go.

pictsy · 08 November, 2020, 08:00:43 PM

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 08 November, 2020, 07:11:57 PM
...that only Enterprise has that makes it my favourite.

I suppose it has to be somebody's favourite.

I am now half way through Discovery Season Two and I think I'm decided that it is already more engaging than the first season. The mystery is being presented well and at a good pace and the interpersonal drama is actually quite engaging. It's starting to develop into more of an ensemble show, which I think I might prefer. I'm definitely enjoying it and hope the second half of the season keeps the quality.

I was considering watching Picard once I was finished with Season Two, but I am pretty much decided now. After many, many years since I watched the entirety of it I have chosen to return to Babylon 5.