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As the movie review thread is getting more and more muddled with people talking about TV shows, which don't really work in the same way as a film in terms of the commitment in time, budget, pacing etc I figured it's easier to start a separate one.

Try and be mindful of spoilers even if you're reviewing a long finished show, and it's probably best to stick to seasons or entire runs than single episodes for completed shows, but if you're mad keen to talk about a specific ep of an ongoing show that doesn't have it's own thread space, don't feel you shouldn't.

To get the ball rolling..
Westworld Season 4

Surely one of the most high brow sci fi shows currently airing, if not of all time, Westworld continued to deliver superior acting and production.

I don't mind admitting I am occasionally struggling to hang on to the cost tails of the story. But when a show is asking big questions about the nature of identity, the existence of a "soul," the rights of intelligences other than human, the nature of humanity and a bunch of others as well as delivering solid action and keeping multiple threads running concurrently, that seems like an inevitability. Generally speaking all has always become clear with hindsight, and it takes a special sort of skill and confidence to reuse a plot device a second time in the shows history, and convincingly pull it off.

I was left wondering at the end of S4 if that was the conclusion, and it certainly wouldn't be a bad way to leave things, but apparently S5 is in the works, which is only a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

The Walking Dead

A show of varying quality. When it’s good, it’s some of the best TV I’ve ever sat on my arse and watched. And even when it’s in the doldrums, it’s still really not that bad, just a bit samey (run away, find safe space, safe space not safe, run away, find safe space).

And with the final episodes approaching rapidly, I’ve been watching it from the top.

I think it’s better binged than watched episodically, as whilst not always competently, it does set certain things up in advance, and that can be lost when your viewing is episodic.

For me it’s at its absolute best from season 9 onwards. The time jump draws a line under some long running plots that probably outstayed their welcome. And instead we get to see the Communities well established, and gaining a certain Frontier feel as a result. Some lands are tamed, civilisation is starting to assert itself, but it’s still a very dangerous world where you need your wits and skills about you if you’re to survive. And importantly, all our survivors feel like survivors.

But as I said, even when it’s not very good compared to it’s own high points, it’s still perfectly fine TV.

Much like…..

Supernatural

Man I love, love, love this show. I love it more than Rod Hull loves Green Jelly, and that’s a whole lot of love.

Lots of Creature of the Week shenanigans, and some satisfying season arcs. Sure like Walking Dead there are seasons you really don’t need to watch. But despite 15 seasons, for me it never gets boring. And as most Season Arcs don’t really cross into the next, nothing feels particularly drawn out. Well, maybe the Leviathan season. That one you can totally skip if you want to - but it’s still not that bad. I mean, if Supernatural was Steak, and like a sensible person you prefer it Medium Rare? That season is more Medium, bordering on Well Done. It’s still largely enjoyable for what it is, you just wish the Chef hadn’t buggered up your order.

And if you’re really keen on just trying it? It was originally written as a Five Season story. And you can absolutely watch Just The First Five Seasons and no further.

Speaking of now long running shows…..

American Horror Story

Another show I hold in high regard. It’s camp. It’s often a bit sillier than it really intended to be. But man it gets certain Horror Beats spot on.

AHS Hotel is still my personal stand out season. Lady Gaga is phenomenal in her role, and there’s a well rounded cast of characters and people portraying them.

AHS Cult is probably my least favourite. I mean it’s not exactly dire, it just never really grabbed me. A bit all over the shop plot wise and unfocused. And if I’m honest, not even all that scary.

Come to think of it, the next season should be out soon, and I know it’s spin-off American Horror Stories (yes, they’re separate shows!) has a second season yet to hit the U.K., or at least I’ve not checked for it recently. Will finish up this episode of TWD and check.

I hated Coven so much I didnt watch Freak Show or Hotel, and still haven't got around to Freak Show.

But I have at least enjoyed everything since, even the ones that the wider fandom haven't received so well.

Stories season 2 is up to episode 6 or 7, but hasn't premiered in the UK yet, which mirrors last year IIRC.

Coven took a while for me to get into, but when I did it was fab.

I think one of AHS’ strengths is also kind of a weakness, in that each season is kind of free to be its own thing. Asylum was genuinely disturbing, and Freak Show has some genuinely brilliant and truly horrifying moments. Roanoke is more stylised, being Show Within A Show which I’ll admit confused the hell out of me until I Got It. Still not that up there on my list, but perhaps one I just need to watch again to increase appreciation.

In a world where we’re used to a show picking a theme and largely sticking with it, AHS’ freedom in that regard can be confusing. But, at the same time, it does mean The Next Person might absolutely love one season or another, and have absolutely no regard for the others, and so they’ll still recommend it.

Definitely a curiosity of modern TV.


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Oh and another one in the horror vein. Sort of.

What We Do In The Shadows

Just…..absolutely amazing. Perfectly cast, well made. The Vampires aren’t idiots as such, just so incredibly out of touch (which would happen when you can’t go out during the day, are centuries old and need to be invited into places) that they can’t really function.

Absolutely give it a watch, especially if you didn’t enjoy the film it spun off from, as it’s simply better than it’s parent material.

Stranger Things S4+

Finally got rounds to it having picked up Netflix for a month to see Sandman.

Wasn't that impressed with S3 to be honest, it wasn't bad just felt un-needed, but the Algorithm must feed I guess.

Season 4, although it was really 4 & 5 but is set up in such a way that the plot strands most likely couldn't take a 6-9 month break

Felt over long, the whole Hopper story could have been snipped with little impact and for me to suggest less Winona would make a thing better is alarm bells indeed

And the whole it was Agath...err Vecna all along made the upside down a bit less Lovecraft as in there was a mostly human pushing the buttons rather than some cosmic indifference toying with ants

I think its maybe a victim of its own success as it could have wrapped up this season but the end was just not an ending, and the timer is ticking as the younger cast are more or less grown ups now, but not so sure the Duffers have one in mind

I'd go about 6/10



.

Just started watching the original HBO Game of Thrones..... Rome from 2005.

Just finished the first episode, but it seems legit so far.

 Easy E wrote:
Just started watching the original HBO Game of Thrones..... Rome from 2005.

Just finished the first episode, but it seems legit so far.

Is that the collab with the BBC? It is pretty good!

And as for shows in that time period? Spartacus. It’s not at all historically accurate. But….it is exactly the sort of titillating TV The Romans would’ve made!

The first season of Spartacus was amazing, but it is a different type of story than Rome.

We recently finished watching Gargoyles the Series. The first and second season were pretty strong, up there with the animated X-Men, but the third season was weaker, more cheaply animated, and ended pretty abruptly.

Is that the season where they split all the characters up and basically abandon everything they established in the earlier seasons? If so, that's where it lost me, didn't even make to to the end.

The Terminal List (amazon prime)

summary: Chris Pratt is the leader of a Navy SEAL team that all die except him, and he suffers serious injuries (mental and physical). He is convinced that his team was set up, and starts the titular Terminal List as a Arya Stark style "people i need to kill" list, and sets about finishing it.

At it heart its a straightforward revenge flick, with a few twists form the PTSD angle, most notably in the first few episodes as Pratt (and us) try and work out what, exactly, is actually happening, and what is his mind playing tricks on him, with several flashbacks to the same event, showing it playing out differently each time.


while I still tend to think of Pratt as a mainly comic or semi-comic actor, he pulls his weight here in a straight serious role, as do the others. its not deep or thought provoking stuff, but its decent fun, and i didn't see the ending twist coming at all. All in all, i'd recommend watching it, myself and the wife rather enjoyed it.

American Horror Stories S2

And it’s started on Disney+. First episode was pretty cool, and ties into Coven. Looking forward to the next episodes, and not Googling ahead as I do like my spoiler free viewing.

And tomorrow? The new Middle Earth show drops. Will it suck? Will it rock? Will it be a bit Lighthouse Family? Who knows!

Since my wife and I recently finished Highlander: The Series and enjoyed it, we went hunting for Highlander: The Raven which is a single season attempt at a spin-off featuring the Immortal Amanda.

It used to be on Tubi, where we watched all of the Highlander: The Series. However, it is no longer there. After hunting around, it is now an something called "Plex"? Which I have never used before.

No idea why it changed, because I do not recall the show being any good in the first place!

Surreal Estate

If there's still a Supernatural shaped hole in your heart, this may just go a little way towards filling it.

The show follows the exploits of Luke Roman and his team, who collectively run The Roman Agency, an estate agency that specialises in selling properties with "unique" challenges.

What this translates to is 10 episodes of essentially monster of the week stories where the various houses and their supernatural denizens provide a new challenge and a puzzle to overcome, so the property can be cleansed and sold. Woven around this are the now customary threads of ongoing narrative as the various characters deal with a variety of challenges which ultimately builds to put all the pieces in place for the finale.

This is a little gem of a show that surprised me with its heart and gravitas. Expecting a fundamentally silly show, much like Supernatural it somehow manages to take what's essentially a quite silly premise and, largely by playing it straight and honest, make it hard for the viewer not to get swept along.

Surreal Estate hasn't seemed to get the attention it probably deserves, at least in the UK, and although it was initially cancelled, SyFy have reversed their decision and renewed it for a season 2, hopefully that'll allow it to grow its profile and reach more people.

And we now enter Cosy TV Time.

Right now?

Wednesdays I get new American Horror Stories, Thursdays it’s She Hulk, followed by Andor and Friday’s it’s The Rings of Power, and possibly more new Beavis and Butt-Head.

I’m sure there’s something on Tuesdays, but my brain isn’t cooperating at the moment.

Come the end of October I get the final third of the final season of The Walking Deadl plus I’m fairly certain American Horror Story will be back around then too.

The BBC should also be airing the fourth season of What We Do In The Shadows before long. And if it’s like last year, that will be a bulk release on iPlayer.

I really, really wish I could remember what I’m expecting on Tuesdays!

I think Tuesdays might be this bad boy MDG

I….have no idea what show that’s from!

https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Dream_machine#:~:text=The%20dream%20machine%20was%20a,accompanying%20novelization%20by%20Raymond%20Benson.

Just suggesting a short healing evening might be beneficial after absorbing all that visual stimulus

Ahhhh!


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Oh, and Bad Batch S2 coming soon as well.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
American Horror Stories S2

And it’s started on Disney+. First episode was pretty cool, and ties into Coven. Looking forward to the next episodes, and not Googling ahead as I do like my spoiler free viewing.

And tomorrow? The new Middle Earth show drops. Will it suck? Will it rock? Will it be a bit Lighthouse Family? Who knows!

How connected to the main show is this ? I got to Season 6 (I think, the one after Hotel) and kind of gave up, but spooky season is a coming

Not all of the Stories have a particular link to AHS Seasons.

S1 does feature Murder House, but you don’t need to have seen Murder House.


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I’m also giving Halo a whirl.

I’ve no particular knowledge of the games, and so no particular existing affinity.

First episode is…odd. Not sure if it’s in-keeping with the games, but a lot of the action feels off. Especially where the shield can absorb a lot of firepower, but folds like a cheap suit as soon as a kneecap is brought to bear.

Other than that, I’m willing to give it a bash, see what shakes out.

Walking Dead resumes 3rd October. I am excite!

Since everything modern pop culture is awful I've entered the time warp machine and landed in:

Star Trek - TNG
First season is shakey, but not terrible. Things warm up quickly in season 2 and by 3 we're in the realms of good TV. There's a fair few naff episodes and these are usually the ones that are all about technology and aliens and discovering new things in the galaxy. As with all good sci-fi, the real strength is when a quirky situation is used to explore the humanity of the characters and all that sci=fi shenanigans is nothing more than the backdrop or an excuse for the scenario.
Some of the characters are surprisingly bad. The Troy centred episodes are particularly bad. She's either being controlled by someone, hurt by them, literally impregnated against her will or acting as nothing more than an excuse to showcase her mother. Troy sucks. Oh and Wesley Crusher. you, Crusher. You suck too.

Star Trek - DS9
I'm still only in the first season of my favourite Trek, but quite frankly I'm astonished it made it to season two. If you thought the first of TNG was ropey then this is staggering. Sticking with it because I know this gets immensely better.


and finally.....
Gaunt's Ghosts in Spain! (also known as Sharpe)
Given the production limitations this remains a surprisingly effective piece of TV. The stories are a bit thin (Sharpe is a great leader, has problems, bonds with his men, overcomes his superiors, resolves his problems, kills a lot of frogs) and the repetitive nature does not do well for binge viewing. But very enjoyable none-the-less and shows that a good cast and characters can carry a show without throwing tons of money at it.

I have many happy memories of watching Sharpe with my dad as a yung'un

Even then the larger battle scenes were a bit... understaffed... but it's a rip-roaring adventure where the cast chemistry worked well

Also fun to see the occasional young actor of the future coming through (looking at you James Bond)

Sharpe?

Bloody ‘ell, ‘Arper!

A TV adaptation of novels so very incredibly good, the author of the source material even retconned Richard Sharpe from a Cheeky Cockernee Spartan, to a proper Yorkshire Lad!

No. Really. That happened. And the world was better for it.


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As for TNG, I love the factoid that it seemingly got good because the cast all looked up to Sir Patrick Stewart’s skill, talent and importantly, professionalism.

And I genuinely think that is why it got so good. As the Crew became a family, so did the actors. Or vice versa, whichever you prefer. To see cast and characters all grow alongside each other really sold things.

The less said about TNG Ferengi the better thought. And massive, colossal props to Armin Shimerman, Max Grodenchik and Aron Eisenberg for being game for Comedy Relief Characters, whilst also pushing what could’ve been immensely forgettable one dimensional tropes into something more.

Indeed, that is the story of DS9, isn’t it? It’s all in the cast and their chemistry. And of course the writing where when they go against their established grain, there are reasons for it.

Unlike Janeway, who flipped, flopped, flapped, flypped, flepped, flupped and even flzpped depending on what the writers kind of needed for their half arsed efforts to be driven forward.

As ever my criticism of the character is categorically not a criticism of Kate Mulgrew. She made the best of a rough hand. Arguably better than others might’ve.

Finished the first season of Halo

I suspect they were going for faithful recreation of the game in the action scenes, but the whole thing landed flat for me. Won’t be back for Season 2.

Tekken: Bloodlines

As someone who doesn't consider themselves a particular fan of animé, I wasn't totally turned off by this show.

I haven't played a Tekken game since Tekken 2 on PS1, so I'm not that well placed to comment on the accuracy of that element, but certainly there were many characters and references I did remember, even if they did do my boy Yoshimitsu dirty.

It's not a great animé, but in the pantheon of video game adaptations, it's a long way from the worst.

Farzar

The latest show from the team behind Paradise PD and that tells you all you need to know. I find myself enjoying these shows despite the obviously low brow humour, and while this isn't their best, it offers all the gross out humour that one may expect, for good or ill.

Close Enough

While the team is different, the vibe of this show is very much "what if the guys who do Rik and Morty did a show about a millennial couple raising a child in modern LA." Not amazing, but better than a show with a comparatively low profile like this one should probably be.

Chicago Party Aunt

Fairly generic, not especially funny animated sitcom about what happens when the gay nephew of a woman with whatever the female equivalent of Peter Pan Syndrome is moves in with her, and the ensuing shenanigans. Also, it's in Chicago. Not offensively bad if you've got a half hour to kill here or there.

I've finished Sharpe and I must say that the last episode, Sharpe's Waterloo, is much of a let down. I rather liked the second to last, Sharpe's Revenge, as although it kept all the tropes that made the series repetitive it at least had good acting and the Gene Genie.

Waterloo on the other hand doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. There's no satisfaction in any of the plot lines and the whole affair seems chaotically uninterested in telling a story. A weak finale to an epic piece of TV.

Oh that’s not the last Sharpe. Oh no.

There’s Sharpe’s Challenge Sharpe’s Peril yet!

No I don’t know why they’re never part of the same boxed set.

Umbrella Academy 3

Just not feeling it. I think they introduced the world/universe/timeline/mulitverse destroying thingy too early so it basically became the B or C plot till the end. Hard to care about Luthor meeting a girl or Diego's kid when y'know, all reality collapsing and the city in flames.

7 of 8 (?) episodes in and just not that into it.