Current TV, regardless the year

[TheLeviathan]

 

Sci-Fi fans (even fans of Stranger Things) should out Netflix's The OA.  Was surprised by how much we liked it; binged the whole season in two days.

 

My wife and I hated it.  The last episode was a total ****-show.  It built an interesting premise (if drawn out and full of plot holes), but quickly it became apparent they had no satisfying conclusion to the mystery they started to tell.  

 

And then not only didn't they just settle for an unsatisfactory conclusion, they went straight to "WTF is happening right now?....I spent 8 hours for this!?!" territory.

 

Just our two cents.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I had no idea Hawley was attached to Legion.

 

Yes, please.

 

Yeah, I don't know how it came to be, but Noah is using the character to tell a story and they are just using the X-men universe to tell it.  But Fawley's two years on Fargo have sold me on him.  He's simply one of the best writers on television.  

 

I love his combo of whacky, profound, consistent and his ability to pace a story.  I'm absolutely counting the days until I get to see this show.

[PseudoSABR]

 

My wife and I hated it.  The last episode was a total ****-show.  It built an interesting premise (if drawn out and full of plot holes), but quickly it became apparent they had no satisfying conclusion to the mystery they started to tell.  

 

And then not only didn't they just settle for an unsatisfactory conclusion, they went straight to "WTF is happening right now?....I spent 8 hours for this!?!" territory.

 

Just our two cents.

One's taste for such a show might be a matter of one's capacity and willingness to suspend disbelief.  For our part, we found that last episode oddly moving, and my need for logical consistency waned as I became emotionally invested in the characters.   (That said, there's less masterful production in The OA than in Strangers Things, but that's a mighty high standard). 

[TheLeviathan]

I suspended disbelief for most of the first seven episodes.  And I was ok with that, there was enough to like to do so, but the ending was so "WTF is even happening!", so out of tone with the rest of it, so unsatisfying I couldn't possibly endorse to anyone.

 

(Unless, out of some desire to punish themselves, they really want to feel how blindsiding the last hour is.)

 

 There was just a real lack of narrative and tonal consistency overall and the last hour lit that problem on fire and danced on it.  (Literally)

[PseudoSABR]

 

I suspended disbelief for most of the first seven episodes.  And I was ok with that, there was enough to like to do so, but the ending was so "WTF is even happening!", so out of tone with the rest of it, so unsatisfying I couldn't possibly endorse to anyone.

 

(Unless, out of some desire to punish themselves, they really want to feel how blindsiding the last hour is.)

 

 There was just a real lack of narrative and tonal consistency overall and the last hour lit that problem on fire and danced on it.  (Literally)

Well, I wasn't blindsided.   I recommend it, you don't.  /shrug

[Brock Beauchamp]

Finally finished Westworld.

It could have been 7 or 8 episodes instead of 10 but I can't complain too much. The last few episodes were throwing curveballs left and right and it was fun to just keep up with what was happening.

The one flaw is the pacing. Too many dead spots in the show as it slows down for no apparent reason but the payoff is so good that it's worth the wait.

[TheLeviathan]

Westworld was great.  Other than The OA I've enjoyed just about every show I've invested time into this year. 

 

So far the new 24 has promise too.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Westworld was great.

It was. It did a thing that makes me want to rewatch the show because I don't fully understand the mechanism that triggered it:

 

In every single reveal, my wife and I figured it out between 3-15 minutes before it happened. Not far in advance, just a few minutes. We basically took turns going "AH! IT'S THIS PERSON!"

 

It's a really enjoyable process. It removes the blindside of a reveal but gives great pleasure to the viewer as they "figure it out" and then it immediately rolls into the reveal to keep the suspense high.

 

And I'm not sure exactly what they did to engage us that way (some times, anyway). The first Bernard revel was a gimme because of the door he couldn't see. The second was because of his child and the hint-dropping about cornerstones. But a few others I can't remember, such as the Wyatt reveal (which we figured out well in advance, actually, at least half of an episode).

 

The writing was super-clever in that show (when it wasn't miring itself down unnecessarily, that is). The last two episodes of the season are basically a writing master class unto themselves.

[nicksaviking]

 

 

 

So far the new 24 has promise too.

 

I watched the first episode simply because the TV was still on after the Super Bowl, however my wife had two other shows recording last night so I didn't see Monday's episode. I think I'll pass though. More moles in CTU, and I'm pretty confident in who it is already, plus the lead is an Army Ranger and he looks like he'd get blown over in a stiff wind, but hey, he sure looks attractive!

 

And while I might be giving up too soon before the writers have a chance to redeem themselves via plot twits, the bad guys are foreign terrorists again and it appears one of them is a high school girl who has seduced her teacher while the "All-American" boy next door is on to her. Seeing as this is on Fox, I see great potential for that storyline to be an endorsement of a-hole white guys everywhere to be suspicious of foreigners and take action against them. This is 24 so motivations can change at the drop of a hat and she'll probably end up being a "good guy" spy or something, but if I stuck around only to see her villainous ways come to fruition I'd probably have a broken TV.

[Vanimal46]

I'm with you, Nick. Zero interest in 24 Legacy. 

[nicksaviking]

 

I'm with you, Nick. Zero interest in 24 Legacy. 

 

Muslim looking terrorists, the African American brother is a drug-dealing, gang-banging thug in the ghetto and since it's 24 surely there will surely be tons of torture interrogation scenes.

 

I thought Fox gave up on 24 because ratings were down; I think this show has new showrunners, and while this is probably conspiracy theory stuff on my end, it's on FOX so I can't get it out of the back of my mind that this show was only brought back, ratings be damned, to celebrate and push political agendas.

 

Again, probably conspiracy theory gibberish, but I'm not going to waste my time to find out.

[Mike Sixel]

I hope the drug dealing thug ends up saving the world.....I watched the first episode. It was entertaining, but mainly because I stopped watching 24, so it isn't the same story to me, and because I didn't think too much about all the other stuff you are all bringing up.

[TheLeviathan]

Yeah, I'm with Mike.  I thought it was entertaining.  If the show ends up having all those plot threads turn out the way you describe nick, then I'll be disappointed as well.  But some of the appeal with me is I really did love the show way back when.

 

I'm going to give it a shot and see if they can't surprise me.  I can always bail if it doesn't continue to entertain me, but those are all valid criticisms/concerns.

[Mike Sixel]

I didn't watch Monday, how was it?

[nicksaviking]

 

Yeah, I'm with Mike.  I thought it was entertaining.  If the show ends up having all those plot threads turn out the way you describe nick, then I'll be disappointed as well.  But some of the appeal with me is I really did love the show way back when.

 

I'm going to give it a shot and see if they can't surprise me.  I can always bail if it doesn't continue to entertain me, but those are all valid criticisms/concerns.

 

I liked it back in the day as well. I'm wondering what I'd think of it today if I watched it with fresh eyes. The current political climate would probably make me skeptical of motivations, though that's probably more on me than anyone else. After all, with the old show runners it was always the Democrat presidents that were good and the Republican presidents that were bad. Ha, FOX didn't care I guess if it was making the station money.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I liked it back in the day as well. I'm wondering what I'd think of it today if I watched it with fresh eyes. The current political climate would probably make me skeptical of motivations, though that's probably more on me than anyone else. After all, with the old show runners it was always the Democrat presidents that were good and the Republican presidents that were bad. Ha, FOX didn't care I guess if it was making the station money.

 

Plus it frequently portrayed right-wing thinking as flawed on torture and a host of other things. 

[TheLeviathan]

 

I didn't watch Monday, how was it?

 

I missed it as well, damn west coast time zone.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I missed it as well, damn west coast time zone.

 

I miss prime time starting at 7.....

[nicksaviking]

 

Plus it frequently portrayed right-wing thinking as flawed on torture and a host of other things. 

 

Sure, when the bad guys were doing it, but when Jack Bauer absolutely positively needed information now, then it usually worked.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I miss prime time starting at 7.....

 

Same.  Not to mention sometimes things do start when I expect them to and other times they don't.  Maybe I just haven't figured it out, but last night forced me to realize that the DVR must now be my best friend at all times.  I can't just hope to remember at a given time and day.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Sure, when the bad guys were doing it, but when Jack Bauer absolutely positively needed information now, then it usually worked.

 

Hmmm, I thought I recalled it failing Jack a few times too.  Those seasons all sort of blur together now.

[Mike Sixel]

Rich white guy goes to Asia to save world thru mystic arts......where have I seen that over and over?

 

oh, and why not just shoot him with a gun from a distance?

[Craig Arko]

 

Rich white guy goes to Asia to save world thru mystic arts......where have I seen that over and over?

 

oh, and why not just shoot him with a gun from a distance?

You're right. Might as well go back to discussing the Doomsday Clock. 2-1/2 minutes; maybe they should make a (very short) series about that.

[Mike Sixel]

 

You're right. Might as well go back to discussing the Doomsday Clock. 2-1/2 minutes; maybe they should make a (very short) series about that.

 

You don't think that's a fair question? ok, comment and question?

 

why not just shoot him? I don't recall much of iron fist, frankly, but I don't recall if he's indestructible or not. Also, looks like batman or iron man, billionaire dude fighting for his father's company/legacy. Or Arrow, iirc. haven't watched Flash, is he rich too?

 

edit: the previews look cool, but I feel like I've seen the story before someplace.

[TheLeviathan]

 

You don't think that's a fair question? ok, comment and question?

 

why not just shoot him? I don't recall much of iron fist, frankly, but I don't recall if he's indestructible or not. Also, looks like batman or iron man, billionaire dude fighting for his father's company/legacy. Or Arrow, iirc. haven't watched Flash, is he rich too?

 

edit: the previews look cool, but I feel like I've seen the story before someplace.

 

Doctor Strange.  And pretty much everything Chuck Norris ever did.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Doctor Strange.  And pretty much everything Chuck Norris ever did.

 

batman, Arrrow...

[Brock Beauchamp]

Having a hard time getting excited about Iron Fist.

 

So tired of origin stories, particularly when half of them are the same thing over and over again.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Having a hard time getting excited about Iron Fist.

 

So tired of origin stories, particularly when half of them are the same thing over and over again.

 

I'm not particularly convinced I'm going to like The Defenders either.  I've liked some of the parts building up so far, but Luke Cage and DD Season 2 were both a bit of a let down for me personally.  (Well, at least everything in the second half of those seasons.)

[Craig Arko]

You don't think that's a fair question? ok, comment and question?

 

why not just shoot him? I don't recall much of iron fist, frankly, but I don't recall if he's indestructible or not. Also, looks like batman or iron man, billionaire dude fighting for his father's company/legacy. Or Arrow, iirc. haven't watched Flash, is he rich too?

 

edit: the previews look cool, but I feel like I've seen the story before someplace.

I've seen King Lear before but still thought Ran was a pretty decent film. In any event, I promise not to force anyone to watch anything against their will.

 

Including the 10-part miniseries on Einstein coming soon on Nat Geo.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I've seen King Lear before but still thought Ran was a pretty decent film. In any event, I promise not to force anyone to watch anything against their will.

Including the 10-part miniseries on Einstein coming soon on Nat Geo.

 

I don't get the snark, I'm asking a question....