[psmith2.0]

I watched about the first 5-6 episodes when it first came out. It just reminded me too much of the annoying yank-fest 24 (my most hated show in the history of TV), so I wasn't around long.

I, too, always liked Agent Coulson, one of the better aspects of the whole MCU thing. Unfortunately he wasn't enough to offset the nonsense and bullcrap.

[709]

You people. Watch Season 2. You'll love it.

[psmith2.0]

[709]

[chucker]

I thought Agents or SHIELD was extremely hit and miss. Started out poorly, got strong with the Hydra stuff, got weak again. Ups and downs.

Anyone watching Severance?

[drewprops]

I have actually forgotten all of the story arcs for AoS so I went to look on Wikipedia and was reminded of the love story between the two scientists, and I sighed. Because none of that shit ever connected for me. They were likable, but again: melodrama.

"Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental..."

They all did great with what they had and I hope they get more work on juicier roles. Per Niven, it's tough to break out of the sci-fi ghetto.

Pause and consider that my best work has involved cardboard, so do I have room to criticize?

Yes, I am watching Severance.

It's more of a puzzle to solve than a show that makes you fall in love with characters. And while I don't "love" it, I am definitely hooked on seeing where things go.

Some interesting folks in that cast.

...

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by drewprops Pause and consider that my best work has involved cardboard, so do I have room to criticize? ...

Top five funniest AN comment.

[Mac+]

Am watching Severance. Agree with Drew’s take.

I just binged Drive to Survive and, whilst not a creative series, the strategic unpacking of the machinations behind the sport has led to a genuine appreciation of F1. I may even watch a few races now!

[drewprops]

If you have not watched the BBC comedy Ghosts, find it (HBO in the States) and give it a spin.


...

[psmith2.0]

Hard to believe, but I guess they ran out of "who my baby daddy?!" guests/paternity test subjects?

Good riddance, about time. This screwhead ghoul - along with Geraldo, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones and the others - was among that initial wave of TV-is-going-to-shit "pioneers" from back in the day. Now he and his old lady can sit around in their twilight years and debate about who sucks more at their job.

I'd call it a dead tie. They can saw the trophy straight down the middle.




I'll be completely honest...I thought this fool died about 12-13 years ago.

[Brad]

His show was the obvious inspiration for this one internet comic from — oh gods, fifteen years ago — that I also got on a T-shirt and still have today in my casual rotation. I have no idea what breed of mystical mythril-infused cotton fibers it's weaved from, but this thing has far outlasted nearly every other tee I've owned.





The text is juuuuust fine enough that nobody can read it to get offended at a glance, and if anyone does get close enough to read it, it always gotten either a good chuckle or a confused WTF head-tilt.

[psmith2.0]

That's all that show became, I think...just constant "are you the father?" tests/reveals.

Kinda sad, actually...enough loose skankery (and stick-it-in-anything dudes) running around out there to where nobody quite knows where the kids are coming from, and who's knocking up who. How should such a thing be an ongoing, widespread mystery?! If only irresponsible sperm donating were an Olympic event...

Great contribution to the culture, Maury. You should be proud of your important work and journalistic achievements.






Said no one, ever, in the history of the solar system.

[kscherer]

Halo bits moved over here.

[Ryan]

Any other What We Do In the Shadows fans?

[turtle]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has responded to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the face at the Oscars on Sunday, saying in a tweet that it did not condone violence.

What ever happened to the day when you could say something like don't talk about someone else's wife?

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by turtle What ever happened to the day when you could say something like don't talk about someone else's wife?

"Group that once awarded Best Picture to Gladiator and No Country for Old Men condemns violence"

[psmith2.0]

Yeah, they're a rich bunch. Their industry is built on violence (and all the others they want to pretend it isn't). I realize there's a difference between real-life slapping and make-believe shootouts, but they don't need to get all pearl-clutching and precious about it. Violence is half the reason their silly industry exists, and enjoys the fame and riches it does. So knock off the throat-clearing, "we don't condone..." horseshit. You most certainly do.

[turtle]

I watched the first episode of Moon Knight while on the treadmill today...

It was... yeah.

The buildup took forever and was painful to watch. I feel like it might be better in the future, but so glad I've not been waiting for this series to come out. Schizophrenia is a thing here. I guess that is part of the story.

I'll keep watching because I already cut my nails and had my hair done.

[psmith2.0]

Interesting to see how Star Wars isn't the only "space franchise" who can't quite ever seem to escape its original, establishing roots.

We now have a Star Trek (1966) prequel, set 10 years prior to the original series, with Pike's Enterprise, a younger Spock, Uhura, ties to Khan, etc. Of course we do.

I blame 1999 and The Phantom Menace with this ongoing fascination in going backwards to fill in all the holes/answer all the questions (and coast on those coattails of All That Came Before™).

Spock appears to be the Artoo of the Trek stuff...appearing in every single iteration - past, present, future, hallucinations, holograms, animation, games, novels, etc. 🖖 Has anyone thought about putting those two into something together? "Your beeps are highly illogical..." BEEP-BOOP-BOOP-BLARRRRTT

I've truly come to hate prequels - any form, any property - because there's really only so much that can be done with them. However, that other big "space" property clearly showed what can happen if you go too far into the future, without any purpose, grounding or coherency. So it's a balancing act.

Moral of the story: probably best to just make stuff about Kirk and Picard until the end of time. If they can make bridge troll Mark Hamill look like he did ~40 years ago, they can probably do wonders for Shatner. We have the technology (oops, wrong show).

[turtle]

Still working through Moon Knight on the treadmill. I can't say I would recommend it really. It is just kinda there. References to old Egyptian gods is kinda neat though. :shrug:

[Ryan]

Any other Central Park fans?

[chucker]

I tried to get into it but… I guess there's a lot of inside jokes I don't get.

[Brad]

I finally caught up with folks and binge watched Severance over last weekend.

Great stuff. I had zero knowledge about the premise before getting into it, and I actually thought it would be some kind of zany workplace comedy since it starred Adam Scott and Ben Stiller did a lot of the production and direction (and I think writing too?), but my assumption couldn't have been more wrong. I highly recommend it now, and I'm actually watching it a second time as my wife it watching it for her first.

In fact, I'd encourage anyone just to watch at least the first 15 minutes cold, having no foreknowledge of the setting or premise.

My only real complaint is

I'm kind of disappointed that it wasn't just a one-season series. I could feel an eye-roll and sigh coming when I saw the runtime ticking down on the last episode, just knowing that they were going to give it a cliff-hanger to drag out. I have a hard time imagining a way for the creators to squeeze out a whole second season without a major tone shift. It makes me think of Lost or Prison Break; once the big mystery was revealed, what's next? More details about "deeper" mysteries? Turn it into some kind of action thriller instead of a mystery/psychological thriller?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Brad In fact, I'd encourage anyone just to watch at least the first 15 minutes cold, having no foreknowledge of the setting or premise.

Yep. I enjoyed the pilot because I had very little clue what I was getting into.

Originally Posted by Brad It makes me think of Lost or Prison Break; once the big mystery was revealed, what's next?

While Lost got worse in its latter half, I’d argue season 2 masterfully added a whole other layer to the story.

[turtle]

The Good Place was a show that worked well even after the season 1 finally. At times it too drug on after the first season, but overall it worked really well.

Mrs T and I watched it a while ago without a clue of what the show was about. People talking about "forking this" and "piece of shirt" really grabbed us.

[turtle]

Moon Knight... I'm glad there is only one more episode left in this series.

I'm going to watch it just so I can get the thing completed (thinking of Book of Boba here) but this show is tough to get through. There is always interesting action and such. Generally a little bit of fighting and all to make it more interesting...

but it is like they really wanted to delve into mental health rather than make a "super hero" show. Maybe it is just because I don't read that comic, but the last few episodes are all mental health with a hair of action in them.

[psmith2.0]

I've started back (third episode last night) with the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul. I'm a little lost, as it's been so long since the last season (and the one before). But it's starting to pick up and I look forward to Monday nights at 9pm for the next couple of months(?). Not sure how many episodes are slated, but I'm expecting some (confirmed) cameos from Breaking Bad, which this show takes place before in the timeline (a prequel, of sorts).

This filming style on Better Call Saul is so interesting...colors, weird closeups, random stuff that eventually makes sense later on in the episode, long moments of silence/stillness, things left vague/tricky (they don't spell things out for you, the viewer), etc. It's one of those shows I could probably watch on mute and still enjoy visually. Always a nice desert shot, it seems. I love the desert. I'm kinda worried about a character or two, but I suppose it could go a couple of ways (why she's not shown/mentioned on Breaking Bad, etc.).

I believe I mentioned upthread somewhere, some time ago, that I'm watching BCS without having ever watched BB. But I've read up enough to know the major players and all. I know, at some point, I will indeed sit down and take in Breaking Bad. I basically watched the very first episode, and the series finale and about 2-3 episodes somewhere in between (and some snippets/clips from others). But I know I've barely seen anything, big picture.

Oh, Bryan Cranston...you'll always Dr. Tim Whatley to me.

[drewprops]

I am fully up to date on BCS and I think it is going to be a barn burner. There's a lot of moving pieces. It is VERY Breaking Bad. I would like to shake Vince Gilligan's hand.


...

[psmith2.0]

Lalo Salamanca is a great villain. He’s scary/intimidating even when he isn’t trying to be. He’s smart, making him even more of a threat.

PS - Kim’s husky voice. 🥰

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Oh, Bryan Cranston...you'll always be Dr. Tim Whatley to me.

I haven’t seen BB either, but yes… “Gimme a schtickel of fluoride.”