Main Menu

Current TV Boxset Addiction

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

Previous topic - Next topic

Theblazeuk

Cowboy Bebop will send you to Samurai Champloo and all will be well in the world.

Professor Bear

Quote from: pictsy on 14 May, 2015, 12:45:41 AMDefining genres is pretty arbitrary

In the current world of multimedia cross-pollination, I can only agree, but as a caveat would exclude those who for some reason pronounce it "monga" on purpose.  Those people are the devil.

pictsy

Quote from: Lesbian Seagull on 14 May, 2015, 11:54:50 AM
...as a caveat would exclude those who for some reason pronounce it "monga" on purpose.  Those people are the devil.

This we are in complete agreement on.

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: M.I.K. on 14 May, 2015, 02:17:47 AM
*Brings up the original series of Mysterious Cities of Gold, Dogtanian, and Around The World With Willy Fog...*

*...and Ulysses 31...*

*Sheds nostalgic tear for lost childhood and departs to watch old cartoon theme tunes on Youtube*
@jamesfeistdraws

pictsy

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 14 May, 2015, 07:45:08 PM
*Sheds nostalgic tear for lost childhood and departs to watch old cartoon theme tunes on Youtube*

Huh, I never realised we are the same age.

Those were some fun theme tunes.

Dark Jimbo

Yep - recently turned the wrong side of 30.

Cities of Gold, especially, is a cracker. The cartoon itself went completely over my head at that age, but the tune stayed with me - along with Phillip Schofield introducing it from the Broom Cupboard with Ed the Duck and Gordon the Gopher!
@jamesfeistdraws

pictsy

Cities of Gold doesn't seem especially familiar.  There may have been something on the other side that I watched.  I do remember Schofield, Gordon the Gopher and Ed the Duck.  I still have an Ed the Duck calender mug from 1992.

Speaking of awesome cartoon theme tunes, let us not forget Trap Door. 

HdE

Quote from: pictsy on 13 May, 2015, 10:00:14 PM
Well GitS SAC is something I bought when the boxsets were first released.  I'm a massive GitS fan, although I have been very hesitant in watching the latest addition.

As you should be.

Being an equally big GITS fan, I bought the first two episodes of Ghost In The Shell: Arise earlier this year. The first episode is one of the worst written single episodes of ANYTHING I've ever witnessed, and does little to convince that the new direction of the show, basically giving us 'Section 9: The Early Years' is in any way a good idea.

I was actually so horrified at how crappy it was that I very nearly just didn't bother with the second episode. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised. Most of what the first episode did wrong, the second bypassed completely, and it had a much more appreciably GITS-y feel. However, it's still stymied by some pretty glaring faults. Action scenes literally happen out of nowhere. And there are some woefully ill-explained developments.

If you have to be paying rapt, unblinking attention to your entertainment, and look things up on wikipedia or spend hours scratching your head afterwards just to make sense of it, that's a bad thing.

So, check it out, sure... but go into it forewarned.
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

pictsy

Quote from: HdE on 15 May, 2015, 12:00:39 AM
As you should be.

Being an equally big GITS fan, I bought the first two episodes of Ghost In The Shell: Arise earlier this year. The first episode is one of the worst written single episodes of ANYTHING I've ever witnessed, and does little to convince that the new direction of the show, basically giving us 'Section 9: The Early Years' is in any way a good idea.

I was actually so horrified at how crappy it was that I very nearly just didn't bother with the second episode. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised. Most of what the first episode did wrong, the second bypassed completely, and it had a much more appreciably GITS-y feel. However, it's still stymied by some pretty glaring faults. Action scenes literally happen out of nowhere. And there are some woefully ill-explained developments.

If you have to be paying rapt, unblinking attention to your entertainment, and look things up on wikipedia or spend hours scratching your head afterwards just to make sense of it, that's a bad thing.

So, check it out, sure... but go into it forewarned.

Unfortunately this is all why I am hesitant.  I was first sceptical about it when I heard the premiss.  I'm not sure it works knowing too much the Majors past given that she is such an intentionally enigmatic character.  How SAC dealt with it was fantastic, especially in the second series.  I also heard that Motoko was made excessively vulnerable in the first part of Arise.  She certainly has vulnerability within the rest of the franchise but it was offset by how incredibly capable she is.  I would rather see her capability as a reaction to her childhood trauma and a necessity in dealing with a full prosthetic body at such a young age.

Then I think that Arise is probably going to be better than that inevitably disappointing live action film they're making.  Right?

Definitely Not Mister Pops

I'm thinking of getting stuck into DS9 again, but I'm torn on whether or not I slog through the early seasons, or just skip to when Mister Worf shows up.
You may quote me on that.

Goaty

Quote from: Bearshark on 16 May, 2015, 10:14:19 PM
I'm thinking of getting stuck into DS9 again, but I'm torn on whether or not I slog through the early seasons, or just skip to when Mister Worf shows up.

ha! Yep thoughts I am only one on that, but there some good episodes on 2nd half of Season 2.

HdE

Quote from: pictsy on 15 May, 2015, 12:02:57 PM

Unfortunately this is all why I am hesitant.  I was first sceptical about it when I heard the premiss.  I'm not sure it works knowing too much the Majors past given that she is such an intentionally enigmatic character.  How SAC dealt with it was fantastic, especially in the second series.  I also heard that Motoko was made excessively vulnerable in the first part of Arise.  She certainly has vulnerability within the rest of the franchise but it was offset by how incredibly capable she is.  I would rather see her capability as a reaction to her childhood trauma and a necessity in dealing with a full prosthetic body at such a young age.


This is part of the problem for me. I think Arise is guilty of humanizing Kusanagi a little too much.

The best way to go into it is maybe to approach it as a 'what if..?' kind of deal. That's easy to do as it's billed as a prequel to the '95 movie. It's certainly not in continuity with SAC, overwriting the origin that gave Kusanagi, as well as her first meeting with Saito (a real highlight of SAC - the line 'You're MINE now, you son of a bitch!' still makes me flinch!)

What cripples it for me is that the first episode follows a kind of mystery-thriller path, and it botches things badly. It DOES make use of some of the unique aspects of GITS, but fumbles the mystery / whodunnit aspect by having the central conundrum unravelled by the worst means possible. Instead of Kusanagi puzzling things out and revealing the truth with actual detective work, it gets parcelled out to us bite size by incidental characters who literally (in one case at least) simply walk in from stage right and start blabbing it all. 

It's not terrible, though. Arise has some good stuff. Like I say, episode 2 is much better, and actually has some pretty gnarly moments. The new voice actress for Kusanagi is great, as is the new Logicoma. And it does look pretty damned gorgeous on blu-ray.

Just... proceed with caution. You REALLY have to forgive a lot and treat it as its own animal going in.
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

Keef Monkey

Enjoyed Arise, and agree the second episode was way better than the first. Still to see 3&4 because although they're on Netflix I'm holding off for the blu-ray and can't find anything about a release.

Tiplodocus

Well into Season 3 of ALIAS and still enjoying it as it becomes more contorted.

Highlight so far has been a cracking episode called Facade which starts out as an M:I style caper with Rick Gervaise being the mark.  By the end of the episode the stakes have escalated beyond recognition. It's not only a great ensemble piece where everybody gets something significant to do but also a great standalone episode for the most part until they pull out a reference that ties together earlier story threads and ups the stakes even higher.   Fantastic stuff.

Jennifer Garner is mesmerising but I also love Victor Garber as Jack. Especially since discovering he starred in the 1973 movie of Godspell.


Be excellent to each other. And party on!

ThryllSeekyr

I was going to try and dig up a photo of that Garber fellow, as the original, original, original.....

Superman with a fro!

Was going to share it on the movie thread about that new film he's in now!