I greatly enjoyed the lesser known, knock-off live action movie version.
I just don’t see the appeal, based on what I’ve seen of Dragonball Z, and its whole “very little happens for a long time, then quite a lot happens in a very short time” shtick.
If others enjoy it? All power to them. It’s just not for me.
You may be thinking of my General “I just don’t get it” take on most, but not all anime.
Which Live Action DragonBall movies? The Interwebs mention 2 of them...
There's one from Korea "Dragon Ball: Son Goku Fights, Son Goku Wins", and one from Taiwan "Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins", as far as I am aware. They are both charming in their own ways, I think.
We do not speak of the American live action knock-off movie.
So, it’s 3:49am in New York. But my brain knows it’s really 8:49am and won’t sleep further right now.
Telly is therefore on. Oh man, the ads are doing my nut! Not only do I only very, very rarely watch broadcast TV back home, and so am not used to ads. Some of them are quite odd to me. And so frequent!
So, it’s 3:49am in New York. But my brain knows it’s really 8:49am and won’t sleep further right now.
Telly is therefore on. Oh man, the ads are doing my nut! Not only do I only very, very rarely watch broadcast TV back home, and so am not used to ads. Some of them are quite odd to me. And so frequent!
We do not own a TV set and whenever I am in a cinema (rarely) I am reminded how dumb and intrusive commercials are, because I do not see them on day to day basis. It is always a culture shock of sorts.
Binged through the latest Devil May Cry anime and its... enjoyable? It's definitely not good and its not a very good adaptation by most measures, but its fun and the franchise is always more about being fun than anything. Also the last 5 minutes are the purest form of "subtext is for cowards" I've ever seen.
It actually annoyed me, not because I disagreed with the message per se, but because 'we're using demons as a metaphor for politics' is the most hamfisted backward ass look me in the eye and tell me you don't see the problem with this metaphor move the director could have made.
Honestly, the weirdest thing about that show is that there is one 10/10 episode in it, and its the episode that has really jack all to do with Devil May Cry and it is unfathomably better than the rest of the show by being a bit too disconnected.
A neat little animated, sci-fi series about people stranded on a rather hostile, alien world.
I rather enjoyed it, could've done with being shorter, quite a few episodes boil down to nightmarish monster/environmental hazard of the week (And there was one whole subplot I just didn't get), but I loved how bizarre and alien the planet was depicted as, even if it occasionally veered into the absurdly convoluted.
I was preparing to scream at my TV over the ending, but it turns out I didn't have to.
Spoiler:
Kris getting no comeuppance for her actions might have been more realistic (Selfish jerks usually get away with stuff precisely because they're selfish jerks), but I was going to be very annoyed if she didn't.
LordofHats wrote: It actually annoyed me, not because I disagreed with the message per se, but because 'we're using demons as a metaphor for politics' is the most hamfisted backward ass look me in the eye and tell me you don't see the problem with this metaphor move the director could have made.
Honestly, the weirdest thing about that show is that there is one 10/10 episode in it, and its the episode that has really jack all to do with Devil May Cry and it is unfathomably better than the rest of the show by being a bit too disconnected.
Yeah, you could try to ask some very big questions about who the monsters really are, but then the series is also happy to revel in ultraviolence without ever giving it meaning so it just ends up coming across as thoughtless. It definitely tries to have its cake and eat it too in that regard. I feel like if they had made the rabbit's crew more direct parallels to Lady's agents there could be something, but ultimately its just kind of like, "killing bad, except when it looks cool."
LordofHats wrote: It actually annoyed me, not because I disagreed with the message per se, but because 'we're using demons as a metaphor for politics' is the most hamfisted backward ass look me in the eye and tell me you don't see the problem with this metaphor move the director could have made.
Honestly, the weirdest thing about that show is that there is one 10/10 episode in it, and its the episode that has really jack all to do with Devil May Cry and it is unfathomably better than the rest of the show by being a bit too disconnected.
Yeah, you could try to ask some very big questions about who the monsters really are, but then the series is also happy to revel in ultraviolence without ever giving it meaning so it just ends up coming across as thoughtless. It definitely tries to have its cake and eat it too in that regard. I feel like if they had made the rabbit's crew more direct parallels to Lady's agents there could be something, but ultimately its just kind of like, "killing bad, except when it looks cool."
LordofHats wrote: It actually annoyed me, not because I disagreed with the message per se, but because 'we're using demons as a metaphor for politics' is the most hamfisted backward ass look me in the eye and tell me you don't see the problem with this metaphor move the director could have made.
Honestly, the weirdest thing about that show is that there is one 10/10 episode in it, and its the episode that has really jack all to do with Devil May Cry and it is unfathomably better than the rest of the show by being a bit too disconnected.
Yeah, you could try to ask some very big questions about who the monsters really are, but then the series is also happy to revel in ultraviolence without ever giving it meaning so it just ends up coming across as thoughtless. It definitely tries to have its cake and eat it too in that regard. I feel like if they had made the rabbit's crew more direct parallels to Lady's agents there could be something, but ultimately its just kind of like, "killing bad, except when it looks cool."
Soooo.... worth watching?
It's under 4 hours and regularly has some cool fight scenes. I've definitely spent more time on worse.
I could list faults for days, particularly as a DMC fan. I wouldn't call it a good respresentation of the source material, but then again, the source material has never let telling a good story get in the way of looking cool, so maybe it's a better representation than I think?
I definitely don't regret watching it, if only for the the opportunity to discuss some of its..... choices.
It's amazing how every time I watch it, Walt is worse and worse. You notice more and more of his insecurity, his arrogance and recklessness. And it gets weirder and weirder that people hated Skyler so much. Not that she's perfect but Skyler calls Walts bs from day one, is gaslit by everyone around her, and is actually a better criminal than Walt.
And Gus is just. Man. What a character with a phenomenal actor and performance behind him.
So the latest Dr Who is pretty mental. Fun, but mental.
Reminds me of “Frauditors”, sad little gimps with nothing better to do in their pathetic tragedy of a life than try to provoke a reaction from military or emergency services personnel, for the sake of claim “halp halp I are the oppressed”.
Though given those goons rarely gain any real traction this episode is a wee bit far fetched.
Paradise on Disney+ really took my wife and me by surprise. This show is so well done on every level. We enjoy immensely unpacking the story, layer by layer.
Do yourself a favour and don't watch reviews to avoid spoilers, just check the first episode to see if it is your cup of tea.
It’s definitely a landmark tv sci-fi. I still feel the space borne CGI is a bit naff looking. But the design work, and especially the physics of the thing carries it all the same.
The brilliance of the plot takes a bit to get going, and like all sci-fi that turns out amazing, it’s entirely expected that a fair chunk of the first season is working out the kinks and getting the fine tuning in.
Even so? Like SG-1, that first season lays an incredibly solid foundation.
Reminds me of “Frauditors”, sad little gimps with nothing better to do in their pathetic tragedy of a life than try to provoke a reaction from military or emergency services personnel, for the sake of claim “halp halp I are the oppressed”.
Though given those goons rarely gain any real traction this episode is a wee bit far fetched.
I didn't enjoy this one too much. I've always hated how inconsistent the show is about how much humanity knows about aliens, so poking fun at the problem just annoyed me!
Plus the whole "On-line disinformation grifter" angle is bringing too much current real world bs into my sci-fi escapism.
A bit of fantasy anime I've had on my "To watch" list for a while.
Unfortunately, I didn't think too much of it. It's not a bad show, it's just very disappointing because it has quite an interesting premise that it does very little with.
It was popular enough with others to get a second season, but having had a quick skim of the episode details, it still doesn't seem to really go anywhere, so I'm not going to watch further.
aku-chan wrote: I didn't enjoy this one too much. I've always hated how inconsistent the show is about how much humanity knows about aliens, so poking fun at the problem just annoyed me!
Plus the whole "On-line disinformation grifter" angle is bringing too much current real world bs into my sci-fi escapism.
Felt like another one where the need to push some kind of writers/show runners agenda got in the way of a better story.
Rework it as a plot about people 'broken' by whatever has been going on mindwiping the population. The old robocop concept of "I can feel them, but I can't remember them". What kind of person do you get when their family is blown away by a dalek except that now there was no dalek, no invasion, never had a family...
Stories aside what are they doing with all that run time? The show is almost an hour long and nothing happened.
Its a top secret program that no one knows about. But....
1. We have super awesome technology.
2. We have starships, that are being manned by the US Military.
3. The Gou'uld like to show up to Earth in giant ships.
4. We had an alien invasion and a giant battle over Antarctica.
5. But no one outside of the President, The SGC, Congress, the Joint Chiefs, various government agencies, the Air Force, etc. knows about the StarGate.
When a show is starting out, you can get away with the secrets, but as a show continues and you up the "danger of the week," to ridiculous levels, plausibility sometimes has to take a backseat to a good story.
Stargate did get what I consider "long in the tooth" near the end. Another one was how at some point they gave up with translation and had most factions speaking English.
I do think that once they had the Pegasus in space they should possibly have done a big reveal - but I think the issue that TVshows - esp basically a self funded one and back then before big-streaming - it becomes a huge cost to try and do justice to a big reveal. You need SO many more actors and a lot more wide-scope scenes and such and probably a bunch of other sets.
It's also hard because whilst its realistic it can also drastically change the tone. Stargate was always this "4 friends gating around in space" and whilst they can go up to 5 and down to 3 and mess with it that way; you can't really do "sensible" things like. "US military invades planet with 10,000K soldiers trained and using Zzat weapons and such".
Because lets be fair there were a LOT of worlds they could have taken over with a handful of teams considering how insanely effective just the SG1 team were.
Whilst I agree, I do wonder what they would do with a planet. They would have a very tenuous supply situation, and wouldn't really be able to bring back resources in large quantities. Even after the spacecraft come in, I think humanity is still very much at the narrow end of the interplanetary imperialism spectrum.
10,000 troops is about a division. Random WW2 stats I found that sound about right suggest such a force needs 80 tonnes of supplies a day, even if they are doing nothing at all. Heavy fighting turns that up to over 1,000 tonnes a day.
Just watched the episode where the Beta Gate is discovered. The theory is following a failed rebellion, the Beta (Antarctic) Gate was lost to Ra. But as he remained in control of the planet and his holdings, he had a second one brought from another world.
Just watched the episode where the Beta Gate is discovered. The theory is following a failed rebellion, the Beta (Antarctic) Gate was lost to Ra. But as he remained in control of the planet and his holdings, he had a second one brought from another world.
I wonder if the SGC still rents the gate from the Russians.
(And if we want to be a nitpicky douchebag, there were 3 gates at one point... In "Touchstone," the rogue NID team replaced the real second Stargate with a fake one)
I know there was an RPG, and scale models of the Gate. But I honestly don’t know if there was a miniatures game.
But you’re right, it’s well suited to a skirmish, especially as it allows for asymmetric battles, where the Tau’ri need to box clever, perhaps having a greater selection of tactics than the Goa’uld.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: It’s definitely a landmark tv sci-fi. I still feel the space borne CGI is a bit naff looking. But the design work, and especially the physics of the thing carries it all the same.
The brilliance of the plot takes a bit to get going, and like all sci-fi that turns out amazing, it’s entirely expected that a fair chunk of the first season is working out the kinks and getting the fine tuning in.
Even so? Like SG-1, that first season lays an incredibly solid foundation.
Yeah, the CGI stopped me from getting into B5 when it first launched, but when I came back to the show some years later, I thoroughly enjoyed it. What it lacks in special effects, it makes up for with a solid storyline and some fantastic characters.
Elementary (2012-2019) A Sherlock Holmes set in the modern day but not the one with Benadryll Cucumberwater on the BBC. Sherlock Holmes (Johnny Lee Miller) and Joan Watson (Lucy Lui) solve cases in New York working with the NYPD after Sherlock has left London to get clean from drug addiction. I vaguely recall when it launched and watching it a bit then but was busy on other things. Popped up on streaming so watched the first season and it is fine. A little better than your average US crime procedural type though I'm only going by season 1, so it may have devolved into generic procedural over time. Was surprised to see it went seven seasons. It did remind me that I am kind of glad shows aren't standardized at 24 episodes a season anymore. Might watch the final season as a bookend.
A slightly shaky ‘huh?’ start, but definitely picks up into a nicely satisfying tale, with some interesting ideas.
It was a good episode, but one where I really miss the Classic Who multi-episode format, there were a lot of ideas they were trying to cram into 45 minutes.
Wife and I started in on the Wheel of Time a week or so ago.
Currently halfway through season 2. Neither of us have read the books, so can't speak to how faithful it is, but even with it being incredibly predictable, it's enjoyable enough.
Some of the acting and overuse of exposition in the first season took some getting past, but it got better...
Not a fan of the Mat recast for season 2. I understand it was unavoidable, but the new guy is just a completely different character, and having people use his name as often as possible to remind you who he is supposed to be doesn't quite cut it.
Likewise the suddenly colourful magic streams... From a bit of quick internet sleuthing, it appears the season 2 version is more like how it should have been, and the new VFX head who took over this season wanted to do it 'right'... but after a whole first season of the magic just being white (or black) having all the colours all of a sudden was just jarring.
And it features some of the most non-threatening looking 'wolves' I've ever seen on screen. That's a pack of very good boys, right there.
They're all pretty minor quibbles, though. The characters are (mostly) likeable enough, and the story interesting enough despite its predictability, to keep us going for now.
Got a bunch of British Film Institute curated British TV Horror from the 70’s coming today. And in the same genre from the same era? Tales of Unease.
No. Really. That’s its name!
Needless to say I’ll be back with thoughts and comments in due course.
First episode is entitled Ride, Ride. And whilst definitely dated (sound mix isn’t great, especially the bits filmed in a gymnasium), what could’ve been a fairly short and predictable ghost tale is nicely crafted into something longer and pretty satisfying. It could’ve been more atmospheric, but for a low budget 55 year old bit of telly, it’s perfectly acceptable, what with censorship standards in those days.
One thing of peculiar interest? Despite many scenes of young people at a dance, in a show from 1970? Hardly anyone is smoking.
Anyways, this could well stand a remake if you ask me.
Calculated Nightmare
Oooh, an early computerised office story! I can see an influence here on Black Mirror, however indirectly given this all aired the year before Mr Brooker was born. Same with Inside No 9. And again, despite being an early “careful what you automate” tale? It doesn’t go exactly where you might initially think.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Black Goddess.
Men trapped down a mine. One more touching that tense. Notably I think they actually filmed it down a mine. Either that or the set dressers really went to town.
It’s Too Late Now
Not gonna say too much about this one on the off chance you want to actually get a copy of the DVD for yourself. It’s oddly effective in its way, all done through monologue for the most part. And I dare say it would’ve resonated with a good percentage of the population at the time.
Superstitious Ignorance
Interesting opening of two Hip Young Cats, the equivalent of modern day influencers, driving an impractical buggy car thing. Dunno what the plot is about, but I can tell you right now they almost certainly deserve whatever unpleasantness is about it happen to them.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Bad Bad JoJo
Another interesting one. Wee bit predictable from around the middle of it, but still an enjoyable tale, and like the others, told reasonably well.
The Old Banger.
More of a black comedy, in which a couple are stalked by their old car, which rather than dispose of properly (this is the 1970’s!), the abandon elsewhere. Only. For. It. To. Slowly. Make. It’s. Way. Back…..including into their front room, which genuinely gave me a giggle.
And that’s that. All seven episodes.
Definitely showing its age (some of the language in Bad Bad JoJo would not pass muster today, despite being a pastiche), but all decent examples of doing a fair amount with not a lot. And whilst I can’t be sure if it originated some tropes, they at least feel somewhat original here.
Whole of the thing is on YouTube if you want to check it out.
Not terrible but it feels like it would be better off in the Blake's 7 universe, than Star Wars. Sadly, there just isn't enough to keep the viewer's interest going unless they hang tough for episode 3, but even then - and I hate to say it - it feels like they took the least appealing parts of Rogue One and made them into a TV show.
Sure, it doesn't make the most sense, but I'm enjoying the heck out of the best 1994 had to offer (I'm looking at you X-Files).
So Adrian Paul aka Duncan Macleod, is a relative of movie Highlander, Conner Macleod (who appears in the Pilot and has the Queen soundtrack follow him around), and has an odd habit of staring off into space whenever someone mentions a potential villain.
The historical flashbacks are fun as long as you don't think too hard about how Duncan spent the last 400 years traveling non-stop around the world, joining every nation's military, without ever changing his name.
So far, my favorite is Duncan Macleod, soviet soldier (Episode: The Sea Witch).
Also, I don't mind Ritchie, the human Macguffin, whose sole job is to find trouble week after week. I know a lot of people thought the character was dumb, but every TV show in the 80s and 90s had the friend whose sole position in life was to get captured, falsely arrested, witness drug deals gone wrong, or just be haphazardly at the scenes if murders, robberies, and other shenanigans.
Finally, having a new, different sword fight scene every episode is fun.
It's not the highest form of entertainment, but I'm looking forward to watching more.
P.S. I'm also enjoying listening to the Princes of the Universe by Queen everytime an episode begins.
Not terrible but it feels like it would be better off in the Blake's 7 universe, than Star Wars. Sadly, there just isn't enough to keep the viewer's interest going unless they hang tough for episode 3, but even then - and I hate to say it - it feels like they took the least appealing parts of Rogue One and made them into a TV show.
My advice is to stick with it. The work they put in on Ferrix, establishing the people and the culture of the community, in those first three episodes pays off.
I love my the Highlander TV Series. Season 1 is rough, especially the first episode; but it keeps going from strength to strength.... until the final season when they were desperate to get a spin-off going of some type.
I also did not hate Highlander: The Raven either.
If you like Highlander, you might want to check out the free RPG I made from the TV Series for some added Highlander goodness:
Not terrible but it feels like it would be better off in the Blake's 7 universe, than Star Wars. Sadly, there just isn't enough to keep the viewer's interest going unless they hang tough for episode 3, but even then - and I hate to say it - it feels like they took the least appealing parts of Rogue One and made them into a TV show.
My advice is to stick with it. The work they put in on Ferrix, establishing the people and the culture of the community, in those first three episodes pays off.
Well, those episodes were free on the Star Wars Youtube channel, but if I get the opportunity I'll give the forth episode a try. As far as I'd go with it.
One thing I will say is that I was worried they were going down the same road as Battlestar Galactica, where they threw in swearing and sex, and over the top violence. I think I would quit Star Wars altogether if it ever got that bad, but so far Andor was keeping it reasonable.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Easy E wrote: I love my the Highlander TV Series. Season 1 is rough, especially the first episode; but it keeps going from strength to strength.... until the final season when they were desperate to get a spin-off going of some type.
I also did not hate Highlander: The Raven either.
If you like Highlander, you might want to check out the free RPG I made from the TV Series for some added Highlander goodness:
Not terrible but it feels like it would be better off in the Blake's 7 universe, than Star Wars. Sadly, there just isn't enough to keep the viewer's interest going unless they hang tough for episode 3, but even then - and I hate to say it - it feels like they took the least appealing parts of Rogue One and made them into a TV show.
My advice is to stick with it. The work they put in on Ferrix, establishing the people and the culture of the community, in those first three episodes pays off.
Well, those episodes were free on the Star Wars Youtube channel, but if I get the opportunity I'll give the forth episode a try. As far as I'd go with it.
One thing I will say is that I was worried they were going down the same road as Battlestar Galactica, where they threw in swearing and sex, and over the top violence. I think I would quit Star Wars altogether if it ever got that bad, but so far Andor was keeping it reasonable.
Really, stick with it. It’s the same with the second season. You watch the first triad of episodes and it’s a really slow burn intro, but then the pressure and drama and trauma all just build up and it gets under your skin.
The most interesting thing I find is that Andor himself is mostly a spectator to the story. He has important roles to play and critical points to deliver, but it’s the weaving of the other stories around him that I find most compelling.
I agree, the first episodes were so acutely boring, I gave up, but people on a boardgaming forum convinced me to continue and it was worth it.
It's similar to what Watchmen did to the superhero genre - deconstructed the infantile, dumb premise to build something familiar but compelling and mature. Not every episode is good but overall it is excellent fiction.
Also it is interesting to see "sci-fi" going back to offering relevant social and political commentary, instead of pure escapism or power fantasies for 10 year olds. And Star Wars of all things! New Daredevil also gave off this eerie vibe with the story of Kingpin becoming mayor. I expect more shows in the "formerly embarassingly infantile escapism" genres to do that.
Finished "The Batman" and it's pretty good. It suffers from being made right after the Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League Unlimited trifecta and got overlooked. It has has similar quality but it's its own thing. OK it could be written off as BATMAN EXTREME!
Everyone is leveled up, everyone knows kung fu and jumped like ninjas, even the Penguin. The Jeff Matsuda designs (a protege of Rob Liefeld) really add to that.
Season 3 brings in Batgirl, who is a lot of fun.
Season 4 has Robin who is even more so.
Season 5 suffers from the introduction of their version of the Justice League, so suddenly instead of The Batman, we get episodes about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Hawkman, just the people I want to see when I watch a show called The Batman. It's OK but again it invites the TAS comparisons.
It's on US Netflix until the 21st so I finished it just under the wire.
Just started watching Castle again. The first few episodes are so whimsical and bad guy of the weeky. It’s a very comfortable watch being able to meet old friends all over again
Saw season 1 many moons ago and never realised they made more of it!
Re-watched that first and it's still an awesome bit of telly, season 2, not so much.
It's lost most of it's creepiness, and it's attempts at being different and kooky, often just make the episode kinda boring, overall, it just goes really downhill, really fast compared to season 1, and ends with some of the dumbest, plot-induced stupidity I've ever seen in a show.
Still want to watch season 3 though, just to see if they salvage anything, or if it gets even stupider.
Look. I’m not enthused by the opening bit. This is threatening to be the RTD Episode Of Excess. Fingers crossed I’m mistaken. But if this goes a bit Space Babies, I won’t be terribly chuffed.
OK, glad I withheld judgement. And there’s stuff afoot I won’t even spoiler tag!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ending is dreadful though.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh for gods sake PICK AN ENDING.
Flinty wrote: Just started watching Castle again. The first few episodes are so whimsical and bad guy of the weeky. It’s a very comfortable watch being able to meet old friends all over again
Yeah, a definite comfort viewing show, I do think they make a mistake with having the Beckett's mother plot just keep spiralling out, though.
The world of the show just isn't set up to handle it, unlike say The X Files where the entire premise is built around conspiracies.
I think my favourite is the Halloween episode where we see him dressed as Mal, and his daughter just extracts the urine.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Battlestar Galactica]
The original series.
As a TV show, for its era, this is pretty cool. The effects and even the dialogue aren’t up to Star Wars standards, but they’re still well above par for its time, and shockingly well invested in for a Made For TV Cash In.
Plot wise my main bugbear is whilst in one another’s presence, the other Battlestar’s just do nowt whilst Galactica is clearly having a good old punch up.
Gonna do the whole of this, then ideally the (vastly superior) remake.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Finished "The Batman" and it's pretty good. It suffers from being made right after the Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League Unlimited trifecta and got overlooked. It has has similar quality but it's its own thing. OK it could be written off as BATMAN EXTREME!
Everyone is leveled up, everyone knows kung fu and jumped like ninjas, even the Penguin. The Jeff Matsuda designs (a protege of Rob Liefeld) really add to that.
Season 3 brings in Batgirl, who is a lot of fun.
Season 4 has Robin who is even more so.
Season 5 suffers from the introduction of their version of the Justice League, so suddenly instead of The Batman, we get episodes about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Hawkman, just the people I want to see when I watch a show called The Batman. It's OK but again it invites the TAS comparisons.
It's on US Netflix until the 21st so I finished it just under the wire.
Yeah. Aside from a bit of an odd interpretation of Joker visually, I think The Batman is a really good show that just has the misfortune of following the DCAU of old.
I actually though Kung Fu Penguin was a good twist for the character.
Loved the original Battlestar but not so much for it's awkward and sometimes embarrassingly bad pilot story Saga of a Star World. While the rest of the series is variable, and suffers from the curse of overused stock footage, it does eventually shake off it's shameful cash-in of Star Wars and become it's own Space Opera.
The remake has the same core concept; intergalactic refugees fleeing a ruthless enemy, in search of Earth...with space battles. But otherwise they're two completely different shows where one is a Star Wars-esque family show, while the other is strictly adults only with very nasty situations.
Personally I wouldn't rate one over the other, but I would recommend Babylon 5 instead as a comfortable middle ground. If there is a future for Battlestar Galactica then a continuation of the 2004 series should definitely go ahead, but there is also a good opportunity to make an animated show remake of the original much like Clone Wars.
It definitely retains its charm, even if it is pretty dated in acting and sets. And yeah, the reliance on stock footage does wear thin. But that’s a budgetary constraint I’m happy to accept. At least it’s good stock footage.
The remake is excellent though. Loses it a bit toward the end, but whilst we’re taking account of eras and unusual challenges? A chunk of that is on the writer’s strike and its inevitable impact.
What I really like is how it shows the unavoidable stress of the Colonial Fleet’s situation. Also, Baltar is a fascinating character. He screwed up, big time. But he crucifies himself too much. A horrific error in judgement, but an innocent one. Nobody else new about Skinjobs after all, so how could he have foreseen the outcome?
As a TV show, for its era, this is pretty cool. The effects and even the dialogue aren’t up to Star Wars standards, but they’re still well above par for its time, and shockingly well invested in for a Made For TV Cash In.
Plot wise my main bugbear is whilst in one another’s presence, the other Battlestar’s just do nowt whilst Galactica is clearly having a good old punch up.
Gonna do the whole of this, then ideally the (vastly superior) remake.
The original BSG is underrated, many of the episodes contained over 40% new content vs reused footage from the pilot.
Feels like every week, they find another human world, riddled with ‘orrid smelly hoomans. And at the end of the episode, just sort of leave them there.
Maybe it’s a cunning plan to slow the Cylon pursuit down by giving them endless targets of opportunity?
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Finished "The Batman" and it's pretty good. It suffers from being made right after the Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League Unlimited trifecta and got overlooked. It has has similar quality but it's its own thing. OK it could be written off as BATMAN EXTREME!
Everyone is leveled up, everyone knows kung fu and jumped like ninjas, even the Penguin. The Jeff Matsuda designs (a protege of Rob Liefeld) really add to that.
Season 3 brings in Batgirl, who is a lot of fun.
Season 4 has Robin who is even more so.
Season 5 suffers from the introduction of their version of the Justice League, so suddenly instead of The Batman, we get episodes about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Hawkman, just the people I want to see when I watch a show called The Batman. It's OK but again it invites the TAS comparisons.
It's on US Netflix until the 21st so I finished it just under the wire.
Yeah. Aside from a bit of an odd interpretation of Joker visually, I think The Batman is a really good show that just has the misfortune of following the DCAU of old.
I actually though Kung Fu Penguin was a good twist for the character.
Honestly, even the Joker is good in hindsight. We just, at that point, hadn't gotten many alternate takes and reimagings of the character outside of the comics. We had iconic interpritations by Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamil and had not quite seen the character in other forms. Honestly, in retrospect, I wish the straight jacket had stuck around longer.
As I delve ever deeper into the original BSG, I’m surprised at just how much of its plots/ideas, in one way or another, were adopted, refined and improved by the remake.
I have seen all this before, as it aired on BBC2 at teatime when I was a smelly teen. But it was sufficiently long ago I’ve no detailed memories.
And I must tip my hat to it for being an early example of Season Arc type storytelling.
But yeah, the original I think still stands as a surprisingly mature bit of telly. Albeit one done in by its budget.
Only thing I remember of the original was that I tapped out when the show got to Earth. Think my parents enjoyed them, but I had discovered Star Wars and to a lesser extent Star Trek by then and they gave me the sci-fi fix that my pre-teen brain could handle at the time.
The 2004 series was so stellar (to me) that I personally have no interest in going back to the OG series. I actually tried in between seasons of the remake, but I wasn't feeling it.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I would say give the OG a whirl. To see the nucleus of so many remake plot points and that is something I’m finding very interesting. As is a first, if somewhat faltering, foray into televised sci-fi saga story telling, rather than entirely episodic.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I would say give the OG a whirl. To see the nucleus of so many remake plot points and that is something I’m finding very interesting. As is a first, if somewhat faltering, foray into televised sci-fi saga story telling, rather than entirely episodic.
Galactica 1980 is important as it's spinoff is amazing...
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: As I delve ever deeper into the original BSG, I’m surprised at just how much of its plots/ideas, in one way or another, were adopted, refined and improved by the remake.
I have seen all this before, as it aired on BBC2 at teatime when I was a smelly teen. But it was sufficiently long ago I’ve no detailed memories.
And I must tip my hat to it for being an early example of Season Arc type storytelling.
I still watch the odd episode of the newer BSG but there was too few of them that I genuinely enjoyed. The Cylon starfighter stalking the asteroid field was a good thriller, and the liberation of New Caprica was exciting. The show's ending was at least interesting. But most of the time it was torture, sex, wife beating, 9/11, selling children, guantanamo bay, the white house, swat teams. Sigh...CGI Cylons if they could afford more than that party dress.
I'm just glad they didn't get their hands on Little House On The Prairie!
There's talk of a new version of BSG but I honestly think both incarnations could co-exist if the 78 show was revived in the Clone Wars style, while they do the expected live action continuation of the 00s show.
I was a big fan of the new BSG for the first two seasons. After the New Caprica arc and the reset making it clear there was no actual plan, the series got worse and worse and unforgivably worse for me. I didn’t think much of the ending, either. I can’t go back and watch any episodes because the whole thing just a one big story, one continuous mystery box used to keep the audience invested in self-indulgent misery porn.
I’ll still watch the OG series opening two parter every now and then for the cheese.
Took me two tries and a span of years to get into the new BSG, because I didn't enjoy the pilot at all the first time around. Second try a decade later I got hooked, and enjoyed it right up until the last season, where it completely missed the landing.
Meanwhile, we have one episode to go on Wheel of Time season 3, and it's been a fun ride so far.
And the battle of Two Rivers managed to actually surprise me on a couple of fronts...
Spoiler:
Perrin and Dain don't have a moment where they save each other's life, or wind up fighting back-to-back, ideally with a moment where they link arms and spin around to kill each others' current opponent...
And when Dain comes back for Perrin the next morning, he actually does take him into custody, instead of saying ''Well, right, you've proven to be honorable, so just, I dunno, don't kill my dad again..."
Minor things, but it's nice to have something not turn out as expected after such a steady stream of predictable tropes.
It’s a right royal cockney barrel of monkies, as two Laaaaaahndaaaaaaahn crime families go to war. Because someone’s grandson is a jumped up little gimp with no sense of responsibility.
Tom Hardy, Paddy Considine, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are our big names. So I’ve reasonable expectations that this will be good.
Grandson can’t go squish fast enough though. Think ‘Skins’ for the sort of obnoxious yoof we’re dealing with here.
I wish I had left Doctor Who at Jodie's era, as curiosity killed the cat with the return of Davis. Shame, as I hear he's brought back two classic villians since.
insaniak wrote: Took me two tries and a span of years to get into the new BSG, because I didn't enjoy the pilot at all the first time around. Second try a decade later I got hooked, and enjoyed it right up until the last season, where it completely missed the landing.
Meanwhile, we have one episode to go on Wheel of Time season 3, and it's been a fun ride so far.
And the battle of Two Rivers managed to actually surprise me on a couple of fronts...
Spoiler:
Perrin and Dain don't have a moment where they save each other's life, or wind up fighting back-to-back, ideally with a moment where they link arms and spin around to kill each others' current opponent...
And when Dain comes back for Perrin the next morning, he actually does take him into custody, instead of saying ''Well, right, you've proven to be honorable, so just, I dunno, don't kill my dad again..."
Minor things, but it's nice to have something not turn out as expected after such a steady stream of predictable tropes.
Did you hear? They canceled Wheel of Time. [Insert Lame Time Puns Here]
Yeah, we had actually held off getting into the series in the first place on the assumption that they would never finish it (which would be ironic, since it was the same reason I never got around to reading the books...) but then when it got to season three and seemed to be doing well, we thought 'Hey, why not give it a go?' ... and then they immediately cancelled it.
Enjoying the show, shame about Now TV’s obnoxious ads.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Episode 2 is really good! Lovely to see a township well prepared, with effective defences, something The Walking Dead never quite cracked in my opinion.
I am still somewhat baffled at how such an infection could run so badly out of control. I mean, Cordyceps takes time to mature, and the initial mutation must’ve been fairly well isolated. But I guess if it didn’t, we wouldn’t have much of a show!
Turns out it had infested cereal crops in South America. Which only partially makes sense, but I’ll allow it.
An animated Marvel series from a time before everything had to be connected.
I haven't watched this in a few years, and it still holds up very well.
It's not perfect, its biggest flaw is being overly ambitious with all the plot threads it tries to juggle, this becomes very noticeable towards the end where they're running out of episodes and start speed-running through the rest of the story.
(I also hate that they replace the exceptionally cheesy pop-rock opening theme for a weird Nick Fury monologue at the start of season 2).
But, overall, I think it's the best bit of Marvel animation they've done to date.
Marginally better than season 2, it manages to recapture some of the earlier whimsy the show had, and has some standout moments (Like Oliver fighting the personification of humanity's darker elements in a rap battle), but by doubling down on the weird direction the plot took at the end of last season and ending rather anticlimactically, it ultimately feels like I should never have bothered watching past the first season.
At least I streamed it instead of tracking down the rather rare DVD sets like I originally planned!
First one is tricked by a lass he really fancies into murdering his love rival, only it turns out she’s a ghost, he lost the duel, and now he’s just as damned as she is.
First one is tricked by a lass he really fancies into murdering his love rival, only it turns out she’s a ghost, he lost the duel, and now he’s just as damned as she is.
The harridan.
Eh, sounds like a skill issue on the guys end. Shoulda just won the duel
Ghaz wrote: For those who liked the 2010's The Librarians series...
So that's certainly a thing that happened.
Not terrible, still campy, still over the top. Like the new guy better than Noah Wyle but hope he doesn't get annoying. the time travelling fish-out-of-water trope has been done to death
Nice links to the previous series, hope we get cameos from the rest of the librarians
New crew are interesting and good characters.
Spoiler:
kind of wish they'd recruited the goth girl from the first episode
Recurring villain setup was bad.
Second episode was booooring. Not bad, but jesus it was hard to stay focused
Easy E wrote: Nothing against the original Librarians, but if that is getting a re-boot I hope some of our other old syndicated favorites get a chance too!
I am thinking of stuff like Relic Hunter, Forever Knight, Highlander: The Series, etc.
Easy E wrote: Nothing against the original Librarians, but if that is getting a re-boot I hope some of our other old syndicated favorites get a chance too!
I am thinking of stuff like Relic Hunter, Forever Knight, Highlander: The Series, etc.
Yeah, like TekWar and TimeTrax!
Well, the kids have to learn about TekWar sooner or later.
There is not enough alcohol in the world to make that disjointed incomprehensible mess enjoyable. I've loved the show my entire life, Classic and New, and that episode makes me want to throw in the towel.
I can normally forgive Doctor Who a lot of things, but I was pretty disappointed with that.
Spoiler:
For the second series in a row, a powerful legacy foe is dispatched in short order. Most of the episode was just shouting in rooms with plenty of green screen. The reliance of Poppy as a catalyst for the regeneration (Ncuti leaving too soon) seemed tacked on and barely connected to the rest of the plot, and in fact shortened the time for the adventure proper. I was starting to feel it was too many flashbacks to previous Doctors, but ultimately didn’t mind Thirteen turning up for a real cameo, if only for the gag about Ten/Fourteen (“that other guy’s always turning up”).
It’s still not Space Babies or Fear Her or The Twin Dilemma, so C plus.
So….im at 33 minutes in, exactly half way as it happens.
It’s good thus far. Not amazing. But good. The remaining run time has me worried though, as the last two episodes ran on and on and on and on, wearing out their welcome.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Today? Today is my birthday. 45 years old. First without the parents around.
Will Doctor Who seasons finale make it a happy, or a crappy birthday?
Happy Birthday!
How drunk are you?
The answer is almost certainly "not enough"
Save it for a less important day (if you can avoid spoilers)
Happens I’ve had 6 pints over the course of the evening, so whilst still coherent of thought and voice, I’m considerably beyond driving (do not drink and drive. Ever. Stay entirely sober. It ain’t what you might do to yourself, which is your own stupid fault, but what you might do to others. No, I’ve no personal experience of that. But even so. Enjoy your soft drinks instead).
Overall this was….fine, I guess? Certainly more coherent than the last season finale. But I do wish RTD would stop it with the “last of the Timelords” thing. It’s not needed. For me, it doesn’t bring anything to the table.
I’d also prefer a return to the serialised stories of yesteryear, rather than this season long arc of the reboot. But TV has of course moved on.
Oh, and you can take that finale scene and stuff it right up RTD’s bahookie. Sideways. Wrapped in barbed wire. Seriously. Enough. Enough enough.
Ah, but how about Gerard Butler trying to sing as the Phantom of the Opera? Which often devolves into him shouting, skip to 1:30 for the beginning of his part, and for references sake, here's this song from the original musical cast recording.
So much good TV recently, and I am usually not that much into TV shows.
Paradise - great writing, cool characters and their development, nice twist even just in the first episode (don't read about the show, just watch the first episode!)
Andor - much has been said already, s-f at its best, never expected infantile SW to grow into something like that
new Dearedevil - solid watch, nothing special compared to others but still enjoyable
TLOU2 - a few blunders (a switch of perspective in the middle of the game where you just keep on playing and in the middle of a show where you wait 2 years for continuation are different things) but all in all the atmosphere and the setting and characters work great to build up a compelling, emotional story
Shrinking - an incredible late discovery as the show doesn't get enough appreciation in my bubble. Wonderful, relatable characters who are trying so hard to be good people even when they sometimes just aren't. Derek proudly joins my hall of fame of best TV cahracters of all time, easily. Great dialogue and acting, funny and emotional. Feel good without being preachy. A real gem.
Yellowjackets S3 - just keeps getting better. I like how it dances between thriller, horror and dark comedy without fully committing to any of these, keeping you guessing. I felt like there was more young Yellowjackets stuff this time, which I guess is what everybody wanted
All in all, it's not even half of the year and I have already watched more really good shows than in the entire last year.
I actually didn't mind the Doctor Who season finale.
Spoiler:
Once they revealed that the top half of U.N.I.T Tower could be spun around via a big ships wheel because it only had laser cannons on two sides, I realised we were in for a very stupid episode and just went with the flow.
Plus it still had some good moments, I liked the visual of Poppy's jacket being absentmindedly folded into nothingness, plus Flood Rani exiting on a Two Ronnies gag.
Despite that though, I'm not too keen on the idea of a Billie Piper Doctor. Even though I enjoyed the episodes, bringing back David Tennant for another go felt like extremely lazy fan-bait, and now they're doing it again so soon.
If they're that stuck for ideas, maybe they should just let the show die?
aku-chan wrote: I actually didn't mind the Doctor Who season finale.
Spoiler:
Once they revealed that the top half of U.N.I.T Tower could be spun around via a big ships wheel because it only had laser cannons on two sides, I realised we were in for a very stupid episode and just went with the flow.
Plus it still had some good moments, I liked the visual of Poppy's jacket being absentmindedly folded into nothingness, plus Flood Rani exiting on a Two Ronnies gag.
Despite that though, I'm not too keen on the idea of a Billie Piper Doctor. Even though I enjoyed the episodes, bringing back David Tennant for another go felt like extremely lazy fan-bait, and now they're doing it again so soon.
If they're that stuck for ideas, maybe they should just let the show die?
I don’t think
Spoiler:
Billie is the Doctor, not as such anyway. She wasn’t called out as such in the credits. She didn’t sound like Rose. The Moment, maybe?
I’m a bit disappointed that the Granddaughter hints never went anywhere. Why mention it, why bring Carole Anne Ford back if it wasn’t supposed to be signifiant? Chekhov’s Gun isn’t just about guns.
I think it’s entirely possible that the actor at the end of Doctor Who is playing themselves as themself being aware that they are in the show. I feel that would very much be in keeping with RTD.
Season 4 of Love Death and Robots. Meh. Animation is all very impressive as usual, but none of the stories caught me as much as previous series. Quite a lot of similar themes as previous series, but nothing that really landed for me.
Flinty wrote: Season 4 of Love Death and Robots. Meh. Animation is all very impressive as usual, but none of the stories caught me as much as previous series. Quite a lot of similar themes as previous series, but nothing that really landed for me.
Yeah, I thought it was a bit weak. The Red Hot Chili Peppers music video was a real lowlight.
I watched the first episode randomly, expecting nothing. Thought it was pretty good, surprisingly so. Now I am close to finishing the first season and what an excellent show it is! Watching the main character navigate his first days at the CIA with chutzpah and resourcefulness, whether it's foreign agents trying to kill him or unlikable collegues stealing his copying machine paper.. Great dialogue, smart characters, interesting relationships. A pleasure to watch.
The Kazon showing up a lot did at least make sense, it was just let down by them not being particularly interesting as antagonists. It was nice when they finally made it out of Kazon territory.
And, yeah, the whole setup with the combined crews should have led to an ongoing narrative to and they just sort of glossed over it with just the occasional episode to remind us it was a thing. The first casualty of the studio's insistence on a largely standalone episode format instead of an ongoing narrative.
Happens I’m currently watching BSG, like, right now. And Voyager could’ve gone a similar route.
With its fancy new tech in bio-neural gel packs, there’s reason for it to survive the trip to the Caretaker in space worthy order. From there, find out there’s a bunch of other, stranded Alpha Quadrant ships and crews. With nothing else for it, and following negotiation a flotilla is arranged, with the bio-neural tech adapted and shared, leading us to a ragtag fleet of Alpha Quadrant ships of differing eras trying to get home.
Mix up the crews for greater trust and interdependence, and of course reason for tensions. See the various approaches of species tested, especially if you’re brave enough for Starfleet to not Always Be Right.
Or as has been proposed before? Make it a Generational Voyage, with ships falling ever further into disrepair due to lack of proper spacedock style maintenance.
Alas, it was not really the era for it, and instead we got Captain Inconsistent and her crew of abject dullards.
Which, as ever, is not a criticism of the cast, but of the writers.
I watched the first episode randomly, expecting nothing. Thought it was pretty good, surprisingly so. Now I am close to finishing the first season and what an excellent show it is! Watching the main character navigate his first days at the CIA with chutzpah and resourcefulness, whether it's foreign agents trying to kill him or unlikable collegues stealing his copying machine paper.. Great dialogue, smart characters, interesting relationships. A pleasure to watch.
It's a genuinely good show. I was definitely surprised when I watched it. Sad that it got cancelled as it set up a solid season 3. I think it was the better of the two between it and The Night Agent but apparently they felt they could only keep one and went Night Agent.
It's a genuinely good show. I was definitely surprised when I watched it. Sad that it got cancelled as it set up a solid season 3. I think it was the better of the two between it and The Night Agent but apparently they felt they could only keep one and went Night Agent.
Oh, that's a bummer :( maybe they'll reconsider, although, most likely, they won't.
We are mid season 4 of Futurama and burning out. Bender has become really unlikeable over a short span of episodes. It took Homer 8 or 9 years to become an irredeemable jerkass.
The jokes that land are fewer and farther between, and all the characters have become flanderized psychopaths to facilitate them.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: We are mid season 4 of Futurama and burning out. Bender has become really unlikeable over a short span of episodes. It took Homer 8 or 9 years to become an irredeemable jerkass.
The jokes that land are fewer and farther between, and all the characters have become flanderized psychopaths to facilitate them.
Time to start Andor, I guess.
Was Season 4 after they got shut down and then restarted? Cause yeah that season honestly feels rough, esp cause a lot of the episodes feel like the creators just showing a middle finger to the producers/managers from the first network where they were cancelled. I also noticed that after that point the long running story aspect that they had going kind of fell to the side. It becomes a minor subplot to "theme of the week" and those themes became a bit more outlandish.
My recollection is it never quite recaptures the charm of the early seasons but it DOES get better
Season 4 is the last of the original run and contains a lot of the most iconic episodes (Jurassic Bark, Why of Fry, The Sting, Where No Fan Has Gone Before).
Season 5 is the direct to DVD movies that got re-edited into episodes and Season 6 is the relaunched series where they had a few too many episodes that tried to be topical in a really hamfisted way with things like the eyePhone episode that felt dated before they were new.
I do agree that overall the series tends to find itself. It's also one of those things where over time every episode gets held up against the handful of truly exceptional episodes from the past, even though the original run has its share of duds too.
Yeah, I want to finish out season 4 for the remaining great episodes, especially Jurassic Bark. Unfortunately, we just had a run of episodes through a Pharaoh to Remember that we’re just not fun.
Finished Star Wars-Space Goonies and wow, really enjoyed it. The kids are halfway decent (though having the fat kid be a literal elephant was a bit much) and Jude Law carries his part.
Might check out Star Trek-Space Goonies the Animated Series next.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ahtman wrote: Futurama started losing me when they retconned Jurassic Bark. Still has its moments after season four but it just wasn't the same.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Finished Star Wars-Space Goonies and wow, really enjoyed it. The kids are halfway decent (though having the fat kid be a literal elephant was a bit much) and Jude Law carries his part.
Might check out Star Trek-Space Goonies the Animated Series next.
Funny. It never occurred to me that Neel was playing the part of the fat kid.
insaniak wrote: I think they did a good job, aside from him being an elephant, of staying away from the usual stereotypical fat jokes.
There were a few bits, mostly at the Spa Planet that were a bit "after school special". Neel complains he can't climb well because he doesn't have long spider legs like you do. Some other bits that took it up to the line of "We are all special in our own way group hug" but never does. So I liked it. Sometimes it is possible to say something and be subtle.
Most of all? They’re recognisably kids. Foolhardy, but genuinely pretty wily and smart. Brave, but not in a silly fearless way, the overcoming your fears way.
Gilligan's Island meets Star Trek Voyager IN SPACE!
It's THE FUTURE! and we have space cruise ships. But when the Avenue Five is knocked off course an 8 week trip around the solar system turns into 8 years.
The Captain is played by House, Neelix plays the 30th man to walk on Mars, there's an insane billionaire, an executive whose face is so botoxed she can't smile, the engineer who is the only one who knows how to fly the ship, and Rav's hair which should get its own spin off.
Only lasted 2 seasons due to Covid/steaming fatigue/whatever and the science is doggy at best, but it's fun and the cast make it work.
Zany British Time Traveler Season 436 (Jio Hotstar)
What did I just watch?
OK I liked the start with Planet MissBelindaChandra, and some of the others, and Ncuti Gatwa has tons of charisma... And I really liked the Goblin King story that kicked this off but...
I mean...
You do a Eurovision parody and don't actually finish one song?
The climax is the Doctor vs a Giant CGI Skeleton which he takes care of by zapping it with a gun that has the power of 10 billion supernovas? Because one thing the Doctor is known for is shooting people with huge guns.
And the emotional climax hinges on a character we only met in the last two episodes?
Clumsy, forced, random, they really need a new show runner.
The finale was a real disappointment. Another villain from the classic era, steeped in lore, dismissed in seconds. A great new Rani gone after less than what? 15 minutes screen time. The reason for the regeneration seemly tacked on, unconnected to the rest of the series. There was no reason for Rose Noble to be at UNIT HQ except to tick a box...
The latest Private Eye magazine's TV section was focused on Doctor Who where 'Remote Controller' pointed out the average age of a Doctor Who viewer is 50! Food for thought to someone.
Also, I’m pretty sure Omega, last time we saw him during Peter Davison’s era had the slight problem, continued over from the Three Doctors of now being made from negative energy.
And please RTD. Please stop killing off all the Timelords off screen. It adds nothing.
And didn't we find out in Matt Smith's finale that Galifrey is in fact totally fine and OK and everyone's alive? Just hidden somewhere in the multiverse.
Or was that resolved? I did miss a few seasons when the Wonder Twins were born.
And Time Lords are sterile? Way, way back wasn't one of the companions the First Doctor's daughter or granddaughter?
Honestly the more I look at the plots they use the more I think one problem with modern Who is Marvel/DC. It constantly feels like they are getting the same writers/influenced by the same kind of plots as superheros. Which results in the same kinds of problems - lots of needs to soft-reboot everything because they saved the universe last week.
If memory serves, Timelord is a title. All Timelords are Gallifreyan, but not all Gallifreyan’s are Timelords.
The sterile thing is just bloody stupid. Especially given The Doctor and The Master were at school together, and are far from the eldest or youngest Timelords. Romana for instance was either 124 or 140 when she first started travelling with the Doctor., compared to his declared “around 750”.
I’ll always appreciate and be thankful RTD brought it back, but he really needs to be keep under a close guard.
Also, why not use the Jennyrator from that early season? Take a sample, rearrange the DNA a smidge, kick out a new member of that species, genetically distinct from the donor. Gosh, that would’ve been a handy thing to mention to the Rani, wouldn’t it?
Jenny (who in real life is both the Doctor's daughter AND the Doctor's wife, time travel is complicated) seems a natural for this plot twist if they run with it.
Her one episode was fun and she is Dr Who royalty after all.
Once in a Bluemoon a sitcom comes along that requires no bedding in. Where the setting is perfect, and the cast chemistry instant. Where from the first episode, it feels like you’ve know the characters for years.
Frasier is exactly such a sitcom. And for me, it works because it’s predominantly skewering Frasier and Niles for the outright pomposity, without making them seem like Bad People.
Transformers Season 3 (1986)
aka The Post-Movie One
aka The Space One
aka The One No One Likes
The Transformers was a toy commercial, and a darn good one.
Until the Transformers Movie came and the heroes they'd sold to millions of kid were casually killed off to make room for next Christmas' toys. Season 3 was the aftermath and it is interesting...
Most of the series is set in SPACE with a lot of time spent on the machinations of the Quintissons (who are not nearly as interesting as they hope, and didn't even have toys to sell) and some funky alien races.
All in all it's like a half notch more mature than Transformers S1 and 2, but ultimately has to chicken out and bring back Optimus Prime to stop the angry letters from kids. But seeing the big guy back did make me smile.
Transformers Season 4 (1987)
aka The Once I Never Even Heard Of
aka Three Episodes is not a Season Guys!
So as the Transformer brand began to stall out things became more gimmicky, Head Masters (whose heads turn into littler robots), Target Masters (whose guns turn into littler robots), more combiners, you get the idea. Later Hasbro would just give up on the whole 'transforming' part of 'Transformers' and just make them Action Masters, who yeah, at least you could pose.
For the last season Hasbro for some reason decided that their 30 minute (22 minutes without commercials, 18 when you take out intros, outros and plot summaries) toy commercials were not worth continuing but also, for some reason, decided to do five final episodes. Which were then cut to three.
So you get a crapton of new characters shoved in your face, a whole new alien world, Spike and Daniel get to bond with transformers, and all that in 90 minutes, more like 54 minutes.
Nice they got a send off, with a new Golden Age of Cybertron and Optimus alive again, but it's not really something to hunt down.
After this there were several seasons just in Japan which sound completely bonkers, if I find them somewhere I may give them a look.
As with Season 3, available for free on Tubi and Youtube.
With the upcoming release of Superman, there was a very appropriate episode of Rick and Morty last night where Rick invents a machine to get his favorite film series back on track (and kill off a character added to the series just to sell toys). Guest stars are James Gunn and Zack Snyder (playing themselves)
I recently finished Masters of the Universe: Revelation. I'll admit, the majority of my familiarity with Prince Adam and the adventures of his musclebound alter-ego comes from re-runs and pop culture osmosis. That said, I enjoyed this greatly — a nice bit of epic fantasy television.
The very relisten-able soundtrack by Bear McCreary lends the action appropriate grandeur and awe, especially while the heroes are farming aura, as the kids say nowadays.
Gave Nyaight of the Living Cat a shot last night. A bit disappointed to learn its a series, as I thought it was going to be a film and frankly, I can't see the premise lasting long. The core joke is solid, but I'm not sure how many variations of "cats clawing at the door to be let in" they can come up with. Worth watching the first episode at the least though.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: And didn't we find out in Matt Smith's finale that Galifrey is in fact totally fine and OK and everyone's alive? Just hidden somewhere in the multiverse.
Or was that resolved? I did miss a few seasons when the Wonder Twins were born.
They brought Gallifrey back, but then sealed it away in a bubble. But then during the Timeless Child storyline they're all killed off again.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Meanwhile, I was looking for something to watch, so have started in on the Defenders shows again, since the first seasons were a few years ago, now...
Just finished Daredevil season 1. Still excellent, although I was remembering from very early on how irritating the whole 'keeping things secret from Foggy and Karen' becomes. Overall the show has aged well, though, thanks in no small part to keeping everything real, and effects practical. Will be interesting to see if Born Again looks as good in 10 years time. I expect not.
The priest is still by far the best character in the show - and that's coming from someone who is very, very solidly not religious.
LunarSol wrote: Gave Nyaight of the Living Cat a shot last night. A bit disappointed to learn its a series, as I thought it was going to be a film and frankly, I can't see the premise lasting long. The core joke is solid, but I'm not sure how many variations of "cats clawing at the door to be let in" they can come up with. Worth watching the first episode at the least though.
Yeah as much as I enjoyed the first episode, I'm not seeing how the concept stretches out over a whole series (I'm assuming the plot elements are most going to stem from the amnesiac main character finding out who he is).
I'm getting the same vibe from With you and the rain. Fun first episode, but the whole "That's obviously not a dog" thing is going to get old very quickly.
Overall, the new anime season has been kinda disappointing so far.
I'm mostly looking forward to some of what's coming for DanDaDan after it catches up with what they showed in theaters. A few of my favorite moments from the manga are just ahead.
It's overall a LOT of returning shows this season and a lot of them are on my good, not great list like Kaiju 8 and Dress-Up. Rascal is odd having been so hard to access for so long. I also can't tell if Gachiakuta is actually any good or just another Solo Leveling hype farm.
A series I know frighteningly little about, other than it being an influence on much that was to come, such as X-Files.
It’s very 70’s, but quite good with the supernatural shenanigans and a man never quite being able to believe what he sees.
Do yourself a favor and skip the remake. No es bueno.
...
Just started Season 3 of Star Trek Voyager.
Was there no competition for their time slot? How did this show last for 7 seasons? Why is the show so bad? Did we have no sense of quality back then? Why does no one remember anything from a previous episode? Why does every bad thing that happens quickly forgotten about? Why can't I stop watching?
Why is the Doctor the only likeable character on the show? Who repaints the ship every episode? Are warp cores easy to manufacture, 'cause "eject the warp core!" seems to be their go-to response!
Was there no competition for their time slot? How did this show last for 7 seasons? Why is the show so bad? Did we have no sense of quality back then? Why does no one remember anything from a previous episode? Why does every bad thing that happens quickly forgotten about? Why can't I stop watching?
Why is the Doctor the only likeable character on the show? Who repaints the ship every episode? Are warp cores easy to manufacture, 'cause "eject the warp core!" seems to be their go-to response!
On the quality issue, keep in mind this show was made in an era where shows quite often took a few seasons to get up to speed. Nobody expected the first three seasons to be amazing.
Everyone forgets about previous episodes (except where relevant to future plots) because the show's producers insisted on the story of the week format in an era where season-long story lines were not yet as popular, and they got away with it because that's what everyone still expected from a Star Trek show - DS9 was something of an outlier, and even they still featured a lot of stand alone stories. These days, everyone pretty much agrees that Voyager would have benefited greatly from a proper ongoing narrative.
The likeability of the various characters is largely down to the whims of the writers for any given episode, and managed to be more inconsistent than most other Trek. But yes, the Doctor is consistently the best character in the show.
Was there no competition for their time slot? How did this show last for 7 seasons? Why is the show so bad? Did we have no sense of quality back then? Why does no one remember anything from a previous episode? Why does every bad thing that happens quickly forgotten about? Why can't I stop watching?
Why is the Doctor the only likeable character on the show? Who repaints the ship every episode? Are warp cores easy to manufacture, 'cause "eject the warp core!" seems to be their go-to response!
On the quality issue, keep in mind this show was made in an era where shows quite often took a few seasons to get up to speed. Nobody expected the first three seasons to be amazing.
Everyone forgets about previous episodes (except where relevant to future plots) because the show's producers insisted on the story of the week format in an era where season-long story lines were not yet as popular, and they got away with it because that's what everyone still expected from a Star Trek show - DS9 was something of an outlier, and even they still featured a lot of stand alone stories. These days, everyone pretty much agrees that Voyager would have benefited greatly from a proper ongoing narrative.
The likeability of the various characters is largely down to the whims of the writers for any given episode, and managed to be more inconsistent than most other Trek. But yes, the Doctor is consistently the best character in the show.
Voyager aired on UPN, i.e., the United Paramount Network. They were making their own TV series instead of buying TV series from another production company.
Voyager was an attempt to move away from DS9 and back to the perhaps mid-season TNG style of Startrek. Going back to "alien of the week" events rather than a stronger story narrative that DS9 ended with. It had its own slew of issues and problems, but honestly it was still a solid series of Startrek that upheld most of the values and styles that ST had.
It was more an attempt at classic-trek of its day than an attempt to evolve with the changes DS9 presented.
A series I know frighteningly little about, other than it being an influence on much that was to come, such as X-Files.
It’s very 70’s, but quite good with the supernatural shenanigans and a man never quite being able to believe what he sees.
Do yourself a favor and skip the remake. No es bueno.
...
Just started Season 3 of Star Trek Voyager.
Was there no competition for their time slot? How did this show last for 7 seasons? Why is the show so bad? Did we have no sense of quality back then? Why does no one remember anything from a previous episode? Why does every bad thing that happens quickly forgotten about? Why can't I stop watching?
Why is the Doctor the only likeable character on the show? Who repaints the ship every episode? Are warp cores easy to manufacture, 'cause "eject the warp core!" seems to be their go-to response!
It gets a bit better after S3. It's still not fantastic, just better.
Yes. It lasted for six episodes in 2005 (ten finished episodes eventually aired a year later in 2006 on the Sci-Fi Channel} and featured Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak.
Got caught up on Rick & Morty yesterday. New season is solid. Nothing really as high concept as what made the original stand out, but there's a lot of loveable nonsense and nothing that's a real dud except probably the weird "Superman comes out this week" episode I watched after watching Superman.
In my spin through Jurassic material I shrugged and said feth it? Let's watch the kids show on Netflix?
And you know what?
It ain't bad! One of those kids shows that I think perfectly hits the 'family friendly' sweet spot where it is both appropriately fun and dandy for kids, but something that an adult won't roll their eyes at or become nauseated watching themselves. The plots are season long. Slick. Well paced. The characters are all likeable with a nice balance of positive and negative character traits, fun adventures, growing up, lessons learned, it's good. It's a fun time. Has thrills but also captures that sense of wonder from the first movie at times.
Family friendly show. I give it an 8/10.
As a fun fact, this movie firmly places Biosyn as the real villain of the entire franchise as its really their fault both parks failed. Rather directly, as a point of fact. This inadvertently makes Jurassic World Dominion an even dumber movie.
Jurassic World Chaos Theory
The sequel series. Not quite as good imo. It relies a lot more on melodrama and characters keeping pointless secrets and doing stupid things to make them argue in circles with one another. That annoys me. The show is a bit darker than Camp Cretaceous and more of an 'early teens' kind of program, but if anything the characters despite being older are far more childish than in Camp Cretaceous.
It also commits the, imo, cardinal sin of any global conspiracy plot.
Why are the heroes involved in anything? Because the villain tried to kill them. Why did the villain try to kill them? Because the heroes might try to stop them so they had to die! But villain, the heroes didn't even know you existed*. They'd never have stopped you if you hadn't tried to kill them and gotten them involved in the first place!
*(except for 1 who promptly didn't tell anyone about it... for... shut the feth up and stop asking questions that's what!)
It's not as good but overall it's still a fun enough show I guess? The decline in quality and the insertion of agitating melodrama might appeal more to the actual demographic of the show but it definitely decreases the cross appeal but maybe that's intended since kids at the age to presumably watch this show aren't really into family viewing anymore.
It's still an okay movie. I guess it's closest to Jurassic Park III. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's maybe a bit better than III. Has fewer dumb points in the plot. Really if anything the movie's biggest draw back is that it takes no risks at all. that means it never feths the feth up, but it never really shines either.
It's still an okay movie. I guess it's closest to Jurassic Park III. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's maybe a bit better than III. Has fewer dumb points in the plot. Really if anything the movie's biggest draw back is that it takes no risks at all. that means it never feths the feth up, but it never really shines either.
Hmmm.... not as good as Dominion is what I'm hearing. I'll add it to the list of things to watch, after Superman and the Naked Gun.
Eric Bana stars as an investigator at Yosemite Park, with the always reliable Sam Neil co-starring. Pretty good whodunnit, though a bit heavy on sideplots that seemed unnecessary.
Wilson Bethel, the actor that played Bullseye from Daredevil season 3 and the Marvel revival season is in it, and man is he good at playing a scumbag. Just feel grimey every time you see him. Great acting from him.
A nifty collection from the British Film Insitute. A collection of supporting films from an older age of film, restored and preserved for posterity.
So these all promise to be entirely new to me, not being the sort of thing that had home media in its era (earliest here is from 1949), or wasn’t long enough to warrant a home media release.
The first two are narrated stories by one Algernon Blackwood. What I’m really enjoying here is they’re delivered as a rambling reading from memory. And he never addresses the camera directly. This makes you feel like you’re his sole audience, or that you’re party to a private conversation.
As a long time fan of horror and the genre’s history, this promises to be a real treasure trove of treats. I’ve also Vols 2 and 3 ready to go,
Eric Bana stars as an investigator at Yosemite Park, with the always reliable Sam Neil co-starring. Pretty good whodunnit, though a bit heavy on sideplots that seemed unnecessary.
Wilson Bethel, the actor that played Bullseye from Daredevil season 3 and the Marvel revival season is in it, and man is he good at playing a scumbag. Just feel grimey every time you see him. Great acting from him.
8/10. Pretty good mini-series.
Yeah, it was fine, although nature shots were the best part of the show for me. That's one amazing place you have there, take care of it.
Tim Allen and Kat Dennings sitcom. Only just put it on, so too early to say if sitcom has a silent h.
So…Tim Allen runs an auto shop and Kat Dennings is his estranged daughter, who’s returned to live with him. With kids in tow.
I’m gonna give it a fair shake, but I’m immediately reminded why I don’t like audience laughter.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Two in. It’s alright.
It’s no Frasier, but at least it’s no Big Bang Theory.
In traditional channel programming? This isn’t something I think I’d tune in for. But, if it was bridging two shows I did want to watch? I’d stick on the same channel
I have been watching the Ncali Gutawa (sp) Doctor Who and frankly I have a few thoughts:
1. The writing feels a bit like re-treads and the Pantheon does nothing for me as villains. Some of the episodes actually feel a bit like a drag.
2. The Doctor is actually a very different take, and I am enjoying it. I like that so many of the episodes feature him dancing around. He loves to dance! The problem in the series is not the Doctor, but that he doesn't have that much to do.
3. The new Companions are.... fine...... nothing special really. Ruby Sunday feels like a poor man's Rose. I don't know enough about Miss Belinda Chandra yet as I am still watching the show.
4. Too many Member-berries. Yeah, I saw Doctor Who before and I like it. Please stop reminding me what a Nerd I am and how I have wasted too much of my life on it. Thanks.
Overall, it feels like they have never rebounded from Tennant and Smith and can not find their footing. It has been downhill since that zenith in Russel T. Davies Who.
Easy E wrote: I have been watching the Ncali Gutawa (sp) Doctor Who and frankly I have a few thoughts:
1. The writing feels a bit like re-treads and the Pantheon does nothing for me as villains. Some of the episodes actually feel a bit like a drag.
2. The Doctor is actually a very different take, and I am enjoying it. I like that so many of the episodes feature him dancing around. He loves to dance! The problem in the series is not the Doctor, but that he doesn't have that much to do.
3. The new Companions are.... fine...... nothing special really. Ruby Sunday feels like a poor man's Rose. I don't know enough about Miss Belinda Chandra yet as I am still watching the show.
4. Too many Member-berries. Yeah, I saw Doctor Who before and I like it. Please stop reminding me what a Nerd I am and how I have wasted too much of my life on it. Thanks.
Overall, it feels like they have never rebounded from Tennant and Smith and can not find their footing. It has been downhill since that zenith in Russel T. Davies Who.
I agree with everything you've written, and I'm a died hard fan. RTD had trouble sticking a finale these days. Big build up to a villain drenched in history to be cast aside in a moment. And the wrong Rani died. Archie Panjabi is obviously too expensive for more than a couple of day's filming, but The Good Wife which the wife and I are watching atm, is now The Rani Show. RTD is perilously close to being the new J-NT. Loved at the start, fallen star at the end.
The problem with RTD is that he wants the writer to be the clever one, not the character.
Hence a lot of Deus Ex occurs, and the endings fall flat.
Also he’s obsessed with killing off the rest of the Timelords. He’s done it, entirely off-screen, twice now. Twice. To absolutely no narrative gain.
The Rani’s whole plan was to re-establish the Timelords as a race. And The Doctor conveniently forgets the cloning-but-not-cloning machine he encountered in The Doctor’s Daughter. Which, Y’know….would’ve been a valid answer to that problem. At least for long enough to establish a valid breeding stock, those “clones” instead being a mulligan on the genetics of the donor.
Honestly I also think that too much modern Who is influenced by US comics. I think this is where some of the "kill off all the Time Lords" "Daleks rule the galaxy war" type stuff keeps coming from.
It's that whole aspect of wanting/needing to raise the stakes to insane degrees. Whilst if you look at a lot of old classic Who a lot of the adventures are way smaller in scale.
Granted part of that is because they had one TV set; a few school-theatre props and a gravel pit to work with; but at the same time everything was very different in scope and scale. Even the big impacting events felt smaller.
Old Who was made on a shoestring, and at times had that squeezed even further.
It may be a prejudice of mine, but I do consider that the lower your sci-fi budget, the more creative the runners of a successful show have to get.
After all, if you’ve a total of four sets? Your plot needs to work with that limitation, especially when outside location filming was considerably more experience.
For Dr Who? This seemed to manifest as carefully considered plot writing. Sure, a camera angle shift here and there and a slight mixing of which wall is where helped - but they were still strict limits.
I’m gonna be a Lazy Critic Slag here and cite a classic, and a high point for the entirety of Dr Who - Genesis of the Daleks.
Cheap sets. Reused Dalek props. Costumes definitely on the cheap. But oh, what a wonderful tale. Couple of futuristic looking kinda guns? No problem - Skaro has been at war for centuries, so those still standing make do with what they can get to work. Domed Cities = cheap and easy corridor shoots. The fancier sets used multiple times, being central control rooms, labs and that.
Modern Who just doesn’t seem to have the focus on doing a lot with a little.
And frankly, Omega looked far more concerning and impressive when he looked like this
And this
Than this drivel
Now, I’m not saying the show should just go back to yellow smoke, bubble wrap and spray painted cricket gloves. Just that….less is more. Think about what you want to achieve. And if it can only be achieved through CGI? Stop and think it that’s really necessary.
Easy E wrote: Overall, it feels like they have never rebounded from Tennant and Smith and can not find their footing. It has been downhill since that zenith in Russel T. Davies Who.
Having just finished Ncuti's first season, this has been a frustrating ride, indeed. I really, really like Ncuti's Doctor, but as with Whitaker, Capaldi and around half of Matt Smith's run, it's a fantastic Doctor let down by really shonky writing.
I did like that Ruby, while initially just presenting as Blonde Clara, turned out to be a really likeable character, and that they managed to find a twist on the now-slightly-tired 'companion is super-important, actually' trope.
I’m gonna be a Lazy Critic Slag here and cite a classic, and a high point for the entirety of Dr Who - Genesis of the Daleks.
Cheap sets. Reused Dalek props. Costumes definitely on the cheap. But oh, what a wonderful tale. Couple of futuristic looking kinda guns? No problem - Skaro has been at war for centuries, so those still standing make do with what they can get to work. Domed Cities = cheap and easy corridor shoots. The fancier sets used multiple times, being central control rooms, labs and that.
It's also fun when you consider it with the rest of the season it was a part of... Season 12 opened with a super expensive space station set for Ark in Space, so they chose to use it twice, for two completely unrelated stories with two different antagonists, and then filmed the rest of the season in quarries.
On the companion thing? I’ll echo the suggested Stop Making Them Special thing.
Just let them be human, dragged into a Universe of wonder we’re probably not yet ready for. Let them foul up. Let them call The Doctor out. Let them be, for want of a better word? Pure.
Amy Pond and Rory were that. Bill Potts was that. And they worked so much better than actually being a super secret MacGuffin which will only ever disappoint the audience (well, me at least).
By all means let their journeys change them. That’s cool, that’s literally life. And like Amy and Rory, let the Doctor’s many foes use them for their own ends. But don’t make them special because effective and interesting development is hard.
Yup. Ace, my favourite companion ever was, despite Fenric’s machinations and a genius level intellect? Still just a regular Smelly Hooman - though if she was smelly, it would be the finest fragrance I’m sure.
And she was the prototype for Rose - just written much better.
I mean, surely one of the top lines of Dr Who ever must be “Ace! Give me some of that Nitro-9 you’re not carrying!”
Also, sure her Baseball Bat had been enhanced by the Hand of Omega? But I’m pretty sure Ace would still given her Six Nowt regardless.
I’m well chuffed she finally got something approximating a proper send off.
But that RTD returned the dreadful Mel for the last series must surely tell you all you need to know?
Not being mean to Bonnie Langford like, but Mel was and is dreadful. Not Adric bad. But close.
I do feel like Capaldi's last season was a bit of an uptick. The writing was better, Capaldi seemed to have finally got his stride, Missy was the best thing since whatever your chosen best thing ever was previously... And then they introduced Jodi and gave us a whole season of 'Social Injustice: Exposition Edition'.
His monologues were superb. And whilst not brilliantly written, Capaldi and the whole Zygon/Human “and now none of you know who’s what” was still really solid.
He had that avuncular eccentricity, and was for me, a necessary break from The Dishy Doctor.
Y’know? I think I could argue that the classic Doctors and Capaldi had, to my mind, a touch of Pratchett to them. Underneath their mucking around and pretending to be a clown was anger. Well kept. Perfectly channelled. But Anger at the heart of it.
As if the universe had no right to be as beholden to rank stupidity as reality is. That if only more people stop and took even a second to think, we might all be better off. That it doesn’t and has never had to be this way if we were only, collectively, brace enough to at least respect the next being, no matter who they are or what they look like. If just talked to The Other, we’d find common ground and build up from those foundations.
In old Who, McCoy was the most ruthless. His Doctor still clove to the same ideals, but was more willing to simply allow a foe’s overconfidence and megalomania be their downfall.
I mean, just witness this scene
Literally gives Davros every chance, and with it? Enough rope to hang himself. Just…..perfect. He tells him, straight up, Don’t Lick That. But is now angry enough to let him Lick The Death Rock if that’s what he wants.
Also? UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING!
I do like Ambrosia Rice Pudding, so that’s going on my shopping list.
Overread wrote: See the whole point of the companions was to be the audience in the show. To be the "regular Joe/Jane" brought along for the ride.
Honestly, I think that evolved over time. Initially, Ian Chesterton and Barbara were brought in for the more "physical" side of the show, since the Doctor was an elderly guy. Susan was to be a bit of the old Sex Appeal, with both Barbara and Susan great potential Damsels in Distress, or other roles as needed by the plot. However, all the Non-Doctor characters were great foils for exposition drops from the Doctor. The character Ian Chesterton and Barbara were also Teachers as well so could drop some exposition of their own.
William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton; was also the main star of the Lancelot TV show. Therefore, he had some bonafides at the time as a "Two-Fisted Man of Action".
So now I've been back through JJ season 1, DD season 2, and Luke Cage season 1, and two episodes into Iron Fist and... Oy...
The first time through, Iron Fist was... Ok. Not excellent, but enjoyable enough, and I liked Danny as a character.
But this time around, coming into it straight off the back of the other shows without a pause really highlights how much worse it is than the others. Of particular note are the Himalayan flashback and meditation scenes that appear to be shot in front of matte paintings, and the significantly lower effort put into the script and making the characters seem like actual, real people. If this was a standalone series, it would be ok as a comic book adaption, because that's exactly what it feels like - These are very 2-dimensional comic book characters in live action.
As a part of the Defenders stable, though, it really doesn't fit with the rest of the shows.
Watching Naruto with my son. Such lazy animation. They get a whole 20 minute episode out of basically one frame. And the exposition folding into flashbacks folding back out to shouty rants. When they actually have some action it’s ok, but thankfully my son doesn’t mind me getting grumpy at the pacing.
Both of these explore the world they now live in, beyond the horizons of the original.
3. Daryl Dixon
It’s not quite working but it is trying some.
4. Fear The Walking Dead
You shouldn’t make your launch cast so intensely unlikeable. Also, don’t promise to explore the earliest days of the apocalypse then Just Skip That Bit.
5. The Ones Who Live
Rick and Michonne retread the finale of the main series. Because reasons.
I’m still yet to see Tales Of, as nowhere has aired it in the UK. And I couldn’t find it streaming on my New York holiday.
Flinty wrote: Watching Naruto with my son. Such lazy animation. They get a whole 20 minute episode out of basically one frame. And the exposition folding into flashbacks folding back out to shouty rants. When they actually have some action it’s ok, but thankfully my son doesn’t mind me getting grumpy at the pacing.
Naruto definitely suffers from being from the age of needing to be a weekly show, both in terms of pacing and animation quality. They very intentionally went cheap on some stretches so they could afford to make the big moments really big. Overall, the manga is just a MUCH better way to experience the story, with a few of the fights absolutely worth seeing animated.
I've found I prefer Daryl Dixon better than Dead City. I'm looking forward to the new season come September as it looks like they're leaving France behind.
I’m interested enough in the new season of Daryl Dixon to watch it.
Particularly as given they entered the Channel Tunnel*, Daryl and Carol would be popping up really near my house, as I live in the town nearest the English end of the tunnel.
Particularly as given they entered the Channel Tunnel*, Daryl and Carol would be popping up really near my house, as I live in the town nearest the English end of the tunnel.
Maybe I’ll give it a second watch.
It doesn't look like they'll be in Jolly Olde England for too long...
Both of these explore the world they now live in, beyond the horizons of the original.
3. Daryl Dixon
It’s not quite working but it is trying some.
4. Fear The Walking Dead
You shouldn’t make your launch cast so intensely unlikeable. Also, don’t promise to explore the earliest days of the apocalypse then Just Skip That Bit.
5. The Ones Who Live
Rick and Michonne retread the finale of the main series. Because reasons.
The world beyond spends most of its run feeling like a kids show that inexplicably has zombies in it. It's a really weird show.
Daryl Dixon was my favourite of the spinoffs, just because Daryl. The Ones Who Live was largely just an exercise in screaming at the tv because Rick is going through one of his periodic idiot phases for most of it. And Dead City is let down by being based around one character I never really liked much, and another who almost caused me to drop the main show... I hate that they are giving Negan a redemption arc. Should have just killed him off back in the main show.
To me, he represents the arguably justified desperation of the early days, with the selfishness once things are a bit more organised.
In the comics, he concedes that Rick’s way is better. And we’re sort of seeing that here. He’s using his skills as a talented organiser and manipulator, and his knack for outright brutality, to try to remove those like him. Not so he can be top dog, but so that others can live in peace.
But I do absolutely accept the writing isn’t bang on there, especially if watched episodically.
To me, he represents the arguably justified desperation of the early days, with the selfishness once things are a bit more organised.
There's nothing remotely justified about Negan. At all. As proven by the fact that other groups survived without doing it his way.
That said, my visceral reaction to Negan is very much a me thing - as a result of my own upbringing, I really don't enjoy those sort of 'villain holds all the cards and everything is absolutely hopeless with no way out' style storylines. If he had been a single season villain, and/or if Rick's gang had a few more wins along the way rather than everything consistently going against them up until the very end, it would have been a lot more tolerable, but as it was, it was a difficult watch. And then keeping him around and gradually humanising him was a constant irritant.
To me, he represents the arguably justified desperation of the early days, with the selfishness once things are a bit more organised.
There's nothing remotely justified about Negan. At all. As proven by the fact that other groups survived without doing it his way.
That said, my visceral reaction to Negan is very much a me thing - as a result of my own upbringing, I really don't enjoy those sort of 'villain holds all the cards and everything is absolutely hopeless with no way out' style storylines. If he had been a single season villain, and/or if Rick's gang had a few more wins along the way rather than everything consistently going against them up until the very end, it would have been a lot more tolerable, but as it was, it was a difficult watch. And then keeping him around and gradually humanising him was a constant irritant.
From what I understand, was the loss of Rick Grimes in the TV show, left a large hole to fill, and they used the Neagan character and Darryl to fill the void.
I can't remember the actor's name who played Rick, but much like the actress who played Maggie, leaving the show to pursue other acting avenues didn't seem to pay off...
I can't remember the actor's name who played Rick, but much like the actress who played Maggie, leaving the show to pursue other acting avenues didn't seem to pay off...
He didn't leave to pursue other gigs. He left because he had a young family he wanted to spend more time with.
I can't remember the actor's name who played Rick, but much like the actress who played Maggie, leaving the show to pursue other acting avenues didn't seem to pay off...
He didn't leave to pursue other gigs. He left because he had a young family he wanted to spend more time with.
Oh... Huh.
That changes my views then. Thanks for the course correction!
Well, we’re off to a fun start with two examples of “Quiz Crime”, 1943 short films, no doubt shown as part of a wider cinema billing.
Here, our host one DI Frost, invites the audience to play detective, spotting the clues to find whodunnit.
Being only a few minutes long, and at least for the first one, there only being three characters (DI Frost, The Deceased, And The Other Person And So Only Possible Culprit), these are still fun, as you’re challenged to spot the crucial evidence (such as the victim being left handed, his supper being laid out for a left handed gent, and the landlord wot definitely doned it claiming to have never actually met the deceased).
Granted I doubt that would stand up in court like, but they’re fun little movies, and fascinating relics of wider lost media.
The Three Children is an early Public Safety film, warning parents of the danger of letting your kids go unattended in the street, the three presenting the children killed on the roads every day. It’s pretty effective, and quite different in tone and target than the ones I grew up with, which were far more about scaring children off from doing silly things (like playing on railways, mucking about in electricity substations and that). Again, a fascinating little slice of British cinematic history.
Did you like King of the Hill? Here's more King of the Hill. It's still got the heart. The characters are still lovable little midwesterners. The references to pop culture and trends are still endearing and funny even if the show is never quite 'laugh out loud.'
Highlights imo really are just Bobby's entire deal being Bobby. Hank and Peggy kind of come off as 'Boomers' in such a heartfelt and honest way, but the show never quite does anything really clever with them. But seeing Bobby as an adult, making his own way in the world, and being his endearing enthusiastic and 'that boy just ain't right' self is maybe the greatest highlight of the revival season. Peggy is still Peggy and Dale remains a very funny character even if the noticeable change in the voice actor is a bit jarring (he performs great, he's just clearly got a different voice).
Except for Episode 5, which has what may be the funniest joke in the entire series as the very premise of its A plot.
Spoiler:
Hank became a fan of Soccer while in Saudi Arabia, which is just so damn funny but earnest. As a bonus, the B plot has a fantastic callback to Peggy being the only member of the Hill family who is good at buying cars while also acknowledging that buying cars just ain't the same process it used to be. Very amusing!
Easy E wrote: Point of Order: King of the Hill is not Midwesterners. Pretty sure they are Texans, which is a whole different breed than Midwesterners.
That is all.
There's parts of Texas that aren't particularly distinguishable from the rest of the Mid-West and I'd say the show falls fairly roundly into that broad area, even if the literal setting is in Texas somewhere within comfortable driving distance of Dallas.
And I’ve realised something that makes the setting really work.
The God’uld, being power hungry nutters determined to high technology for themselves inherently limit their effectiveness by refusing to use what we might consider modern techniques for mining. Instead, they stick to slave labour.
Given their prior dominance (outside of the Asgard Protected Worlds) this worked for them.
But then….us grubby little thieving tech monkies figured out the Stargate, rustled some important jimmies, and suddenly? They had a foe they weren’t prepared for.
Not only did the SG team scuttle about the Galaxy, inflicting losses on Goa’uld forces and frankly, stealing absolutely anything that wasn’t nailed down/vital to a planets safety from the Goa’uld. And so in a few short years, we outpaced them, striking right in their complacency.
And claiming to be Gods kind of limited their responses. After all, a God does not know fear. A God doesn’t need to change tactics and strategy just because a relative handful of gits are starting to smash up their toys.
They’re a wonderfully stagnant race. One so use to having it all their own way, they struggled in the face of a dynamic new foe. And as the Tau’ri racked up their successes? So spread the Jaffa Rebellion, only adding to the system lord’s troubles.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Space, Above and Beyond
One of those sci-fie shows of the 90’s which sadly fell through the cracks. Probably because being another show on the Fox Network, one of the Fox Execs woke up one morning, realised it wasn’t The Simpsons, and so arranged for it to be killed off.
Which is a shame, because there’s an awful lot to like here. In terms of show style and atmosphere, I’d say it straddles both eras of BSG. It had the slightly silly melodrama of the original BSG, but the concerted attempt at some kind of military realism of the BSG reboot.
Airing 1995-1996 for one of an originally five intended series, it’s still one of my favourite sci-fi shows ever.
Possibly too bold in its vision and just a few years ahead of its time.
Definitely worth obtaining on home media if you like your sci-fi.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Holy crap it’s the same Drill Instructor as him from out of off of Platoon!
Ah man! So many nice little touches here and there on this show. For instance? Pilot has to eject.
The whole cockpit assembly then becomes a life raft. Once on the ground? It’s covered with camo netting.
Hawkins, our Invitro “Tank” character, where the umbilical cord connected at the base of his neck, modified the padding on his helmet to accommodate the nub.
The landing craft being akin to portable bunkers and not just “now you’re planetside, leg it”.
The effects do look a bit dated to modern eyes, with a lack of fine detailing. But for mid budget mid 90’s tv CGI? It’s a superior example.
The sets are physical, and like BSG and the Tau’ri Ships of SG-1? Not especially sci-fi. Oh there are futuristic touches here and there. But it’s still bulkheads, rivets and narrow corridors, which all helps with the realism.
This could be divisive but bear with me. Lately, we've got into Clarkson's Farm. If you're not aware of it, in a nutshell former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson starts running his farm in the Cotswolds and films the results.
Now, I know Jeremy Clarkson is a fairly Marmite sort of a character. And there are definite displays of his Top Gear persona (probably didn't need to spend a fortune on an enormous Lamborghini tractor for instance) and his, well, boorishness. BUT - he has definitely mellowed in recent years, and his genuine enthusiasm is infectious.
The show also gives a deep insight into the plight of the modern british farmer - covering issues like the staggering costs of basically everything farming-related, the endless regulations they have to follow, the loss of EU subsidies following Brexit, the struggle of farmers to diversify to actually turn a profit in the face of painfully strict and labyrinthine rules and restrictions from local government, how random things like the weather being alternatively too wet, too dry or too hot can ruin your crop and your income for the year, the scourge of TB for cattle farmers, and so on.
As something of a spoiler, in their first year of operation they make a grand profit of about £140. It really makes you wonder how any farmer that doesn't have the bank balance of a successful TV presenter, and the backing of Amazon, can stay in business.
Overall it's made me feel a hell of a lot more sympathetic towards our farmers, who previously I probably largely only considered as a pain in the backside to get stuck behind on a country road. Also, Clarkson's assistant Caleb is amazing, he takes no gak whatsoever and is wonderful to watch.
Check it out, even if you're not a Clarkson fan. You might be surprised. Has probably put me off moving to the Cotswolds though - they seem to be stuck in the 1930s.
Huh. Another reference lost on us on the other side of the Atlantic.
Time for Wikipedia to fill in the blanks....
☆☆☆
In other news.
I've finished Seasons 3 & 4 of Captain Janeway, Destroyer of Worlds and Selfish Cow Extraordinaire.
Once again it's the Doctor that gets good episodes, like dealing with the death of a child in a holographic family.
Kes – on the other hand – is little more than window dressing and a plot device. With the same level of respect as a psychic dog.
"Do you detect the invisible aliens? You do? You're such a good crewman, aren't you?"
The Maquis debacle of seasons past has turned into something of a joke. Almost a shared tale of getting drunk together and doing a crime, but no one really got hurt, so its all OK now.
The lost opportunities in storytelling continues in Voyager.
I would love if they allowed someone to explain that Voyager's computer files had been corrupted.
So when an event that happened almost scene for scene in a previous Star Trek TNG episode, the viewers could at least watch it and say, "They obviously don't remember when this happened to the Enterprise and they have no way of looking it up."
...And then there's the Borg.
What the absolute feth is this? How do you take the most frightening group from Trek and bend them over a barrel and say, "If the Borg can't assimilate something, they can't figure out how to defeat it."
What nonsense is that Captain Janeway? Thankfully you are there to save the Borg from the Vorlons Species 8742! Yep, your plot armour is cheat code level strong.
Gotta doom countless worlds to assimilation, because you gotta shave a couple years off your trek back home.
(I had a fantasy that Star Trek Picard would start off with Picard sitting in a Penal Colony after he murdered Janeway after reading what she did in the Delta Quadrant.)
Thankfully, the Borg and Voyager can work together! Yep. Much like Starfleet and the Maquis, old foes can get together!
Sure the Borg have tried to assimilate Earth. Sure, Picard killed the Borg Queen. But now, everything's hunkydory. Garrrrrrr!
Why did no one try and stop me from watching this garbage? This is your fault! You did this to me!
I didn't even mention the God awful Q-Junior stuff, or the Dinosaur people with super-technology who fled earth!
People said, "The show gets better!"
I say, "Are you saying that there were one or two good episodes in a season as opposed to zero good episodes as being better?" "Maybe. But Seven of Nine is hot," they say.
Jeri Ryan's attractiveness notwithstanding- I am not looking forward to Seven wrestling the Rock in a future episode.
My sympathy for Clarkson is absolute zero. When he was a mouthy tv presenter of a car show then he was tolerable in his box, but unfortunately, the boxes do touch and he is a man of influence. He openly confessed the farm was a tax dodge because of the way the legislation for farmland was crafted. I have absolutely no desire to watch his show.
As for farmers in general.... it depends on the issue and depends on the farmer.
Yeah the farm was absolutely bought primarily as a way of avoiding paying inheritance tax on some of his wealth, as you say he has openly admitted this. I would say calling it a tax dodge or a tax fiddle is a little disingenuous though - I am not a financial advisor but as I understand it, it is just as legitimate a means of avoiding paying tax on wealth as, say, saving money in an ISA.
Regardless of the origins though, he is clearly now enthusiastic about working his farm, and genuinely sympathetic to the issues of the modern farmer. If nothing else he's just not that good an actor to fake it!
Not going to try to change the mind of anyone who genuinely hates Clarkson - but, for anyone open to having their mind changed, this may well be the programme to do it. I've personally swung from loving to disliking to had enough - but I am liking how he is coming across in this.
I've always enjoyed his fooling around and generally approach it like "Last of the Summer Wine" at least when it was the trio.
Also I'd say that the other thing it highlights about how well he's done with the show is that we really don't have an equivalent that talks from the farmers side. Countryfile is "supposed" to be it but they've always come across as catering to the very "london/urban" view. There's a sort of sanitised feel to it all.
Also lets face it whilst Clarkson is 100% buying a farm for financially sensible reasons; it doesn't ignore the fact that inheritance tax hitting farmers is going to impact all the smaller scale farmers who are not backed by a big firm or have major other revenue sources. If anything it makes farming even more likely to end up like that because your smaller scale farmer who is dedicated to just farming won't have the money to pay for all the death duties. So the only option will be to sell the whole farm or bits of it; which means more opportunity for big firms to invest and buy up larger and larger mega-farm setups.
We won't feel that hit now, but give it a decade or two and we'll likely see a whole swathe of smaller farming generations close up all the faster than they already are under all the other pressures and equipment/feed/material costs.
Buy a farm (or other low turnover business) in order to dodge taxes is one of the oldest tricks in the book!
At least, he is actually using his tax dodge to try and do something and employ others as well. I see many folks buy up buildings and purposely leave them vacant to claim the losses. I also people with Businesses expense everything they touch through said Business even stuff that has no business being part of their business, like their huge pavement princess that has a small decal with their business name on it.
Tax dodging by buying a business is weak sauce, but in the world of tax dodges that is the easy button. You only have to show profit 1 year out of 7 or so and any sod can manipulate their expenses to make a few hundred dollars once in 7 years!
It's a bit more specific than that in the UK - as I understand it, farm land was exempted from inheritance tax, so that working farms could be passed down within the family without having to be broken up to pay the tax bill. This has led to a number of people buying tracts of farm land as an investment. James Dyson (of the Dyson vacuum cleaners etc) is another well known example.
Inheritance tax is applied at a much lower level in the UK than in the US, it looks like you guys have to be properly rich before it affects you. When my parents go, for instance, my brother and I will probably need to pay the tax man somewhere upwards of half a million quid...
For a married couple, leaving their domicile to children (birthed or adopted), you’ve a shared threshold of £1,000,000.00.
Whomever passes first, if they don’t breach their personal threshold of £325,000 (£500,000 if property left to kids), any remainder is added to their surviving spouse’s allowance/threshold.
It was originally intended only to hit the wealthiest, but with one thing and another it hasn’t kept pace with middle classes, especially where property is concerned.
There are ways round it (leave land/property in trust is one), but a sudden change in the law will always catch an unlucky few flat footed and with a bigger than expected tax bill.
It’d also arguable that those who Land Banked to dodge tax drove up the value of farmland, and so are also partially responsible for farmers getting hit in the short term. Greenbelt land can’t be freely built on, so it’s comparatively low valued compared to towns and brownfields. Until someone finds tax dodging value and suddenly there’s a market Just Wanting A Little Bit.
Anyways, little bit of politics but commented without judgement.
I’ve not been Ben Elton, goodnight ladies and gentlemen.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alien Earth tomorrow! First two episodes on Disney+ in the UK.
I’m six minutes in. If absolutely nothing else? Aesthetic has been nailed! And we get a little exposition about The Company, and its competitors.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh wow! There’s Ade Edmonson! Didn’t know he was in this.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And it’s right up there with Romulus.
Rejoice, Dakkanauts! For in the past year, the Alien franchise has been well and truly resurrected, full of vim, vigour and genuinely interesting, incredibly well made.
I’m six minutes in. If absolutely nothing else? Aesthetic has been nailed! And we get a little exposition about The Company, and its competitors.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh wow! There’s Ade Edmonson! Didn’t know he was in this.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And it’s right up there with Romulus.
Rejoice, Dakkanauts! For in the past year, the Alien franchise has been well and truly resurrected, full of vim, vigour and genuinely interesting, incredibly well made.
Good to hear (read?). I'll be putting it on my watch list.
So now I've been back through JJ season 1, DD season 2, and Luke Cage season 1, and two episodes into Iron Fist and... Oy...
The first time through, Iron Fist was... Ok. Not excellent, but enjoyable enough, and I liked Danny as a character.
But this time around, coming into it straight off the back of the other shows without a pause really highlights how much worse it is than the others. Of particular note are the Himalayan flashback and meditation scenes that appear to be shot in front of matte paintings, and the significantly lower effort put into the script and making the characters seem like actual, real people. If this was a standalone series, it would be ok as a comic book adaption, because that's exactly what it feels like - These are very 2-dimensional comic book characters in live action.
As a part of the Defenders stable, though, it really doesn't fit with the rest of the shows.
So, done with Iron Fist S1, and just finished Defenders...
The 'surprise twist' in the middle of Iron Fist still annoys me as much as it did the first time, on account of having practically no set up and making no sense with the entire first half of the series. Other than that, some characters did at least get some growth (Ward in particular remains annoying, but does at least progress beyond his initial 2-dimensional self). Harold remains the most comic-booky villain in the entire Netflix-Marvel stable.
Defenders is... a show that happened. They were aiming for spectacle but didn't really reach it. And it still irks me beyond belief that despite drawing from 4 separate superhero shows, the only characters in any sort of costume are Daredevil and Elektra. Because, no, a colour-coded hoody doesn't count.
On the plus side, with Defenders out of the way, that would mean it's time to move on to the Punisher!
A rewatch as we approach the 10 Year Anniversary. remember being young? I member. We're getting the Urdr-Hunt movie later this year compiling all the animated scenes from the mobile game and fleshing them out into a feature length film so I decided to watch the series once more.
And I still love this series so much, even with its warts.
IBO is imo still the most artistically complex series in the franchise. A story with so much to say about so many things if you bother to tease them out of the purposefully un-anime-like way the story avoids internal monologues as much as possible, often doesn't explicitly explain its characters, and is willing to do the hard thing like killing off its heroes in heart-wrenching ways.
IMO people who didn't get this story or its ending committed a cardinal mistake of misunderstanding what the show is. They walked in reading the series as Mobile Suit Gundam: Red Dawn but what they were really watching was Mobile Suit Gundam: Beasts of No Nation taken almost literally in the case of Mikazuki and his wolfish tendencies. It's a series that both deconstructs shonen anime heroism while reconstructing why we love that goofy thing in the first place. It's a story about the glory and folly of loyalty, the complexity of family and group identity, a harshly given moral aesop that even the best things in life don't last forever and asks 'are they worth it' while boldly saying 'yes they are.' And most of all its a story about tragic beauty of childhood and the callous and self-serving abuse of youth.
A fething doctoral thesis could be written on this show and probably run out of pages to talk about everything you could chose to talk about in it.
And of course, Gundam Barbatos remains one of the most visually pleasing Gundams in the entire franchise, complete with a big ass mace and a demon motif that slaps literally and metaphorically to the backdrop of a soundtrack that is 10x better than it ever needed to be.
10/10. Maybe the most underappreciated Gundam show.
Something I feel like I should be into. But mostly I can only get it on Crunchyroll. Got fingers burned there trying to watch One Piece, only to find it was subs only, and subbed well out of sequence.
However UK Netflix has Requiem for Vengence and Hathaway.
Are they any good? Will I get a fair impression of the property from those two?
Something I feel like I should be into. But mostly I can only get it on Crunchyroll. Got fingers burned there trying to watch One Piece, only to find it was subs only, and subbed well out of sequence.
However UK Netflix has Requiem for Vengence and Hathaway.
Are they any good? Will I get a fair impression of the property from those two?
Did you get a fair impression of Star Trek from Discovery and Section 31?
Go watch the series O8th MS Team.
It's the Vietnam War with Gundams. And it asks questions about killing and loyalty that other series don't touch on.
Start with a self contained series like 08th. It's free on the Internet Archive (if you don't mind copied from a shifty VHS tape quality).
There's some other series that I can recommend that are shorter and don't require an encyclopedic knowledge of the Gundam universe to get some joy out-of.
Do not watch G-Saviour. It's a live action Gundam movie that looks like it was filmed in an afternoon by some extras who were bored between takes on SeaQuest DSV.
Hathaway is tough because it's a deep cut. The main character is a side character in the sequel series to the original series that's the son of characters from that series. A lot of the Universal Century stuff is very "war history nerd" coded, and while that's definitely part of the charm, it means starting with it without seeing the original series is very tough.
I'll second 08th MS Team though. That is both one of the best stories in the franchise, part of the Universal Century, and one of the few that isn't dependent on seeing the original show.
I'm sure it's all out of order, but my son absolutely loved Gquuux, and came at it without much background.
He found the modern animation more approachable than most of the older ones. Unicorn worked quite well too, and is certainly more true to Gundam's usual feel than Iron Blooded Orphans.
Although he has come away thinking that Zeon are the good guys.
However UK Netflix has Requiem for Vengence and Hathaway.
Are they any good? Will I get a fair impression of the property from those two?
Neither are good entries to the franchise. Requiem is kind of bad, and Hathaway would only make sense if you'd seen Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, and Char's Counterattack.
The best entry points are the alt-timelines because they don't have baggage and all of them are self-contained stories.
-Mobile Report Gundam Wing -Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and it's sequel series Seed Destiny -Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (00 is very approachable for anyone who lived through the 00s given the show is very very based in that period of history)
-Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans -Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
There are several good series based in prior shows that stand well on their own because they don't hinge on prior knowledge of the franchise
-Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team -Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt -Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
And then if you want to be really wacky;
-Mobile Fighter G Gundam the Gundam series made on crack cocaine and meth
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Gitzbitah wrote: Although he has come away thinking that Zeon are the good guys.
Unfortunately even Japan has habitually struggled to remember Zeon are a Nazi Germany analogue. Zeon has frequently become the subject of 'Imperial Japan did nothing wrong.'
Early 2000’s Steven Coogan show, spoofing the 60’s and 70’s British Horror films I so adore.
The spoofs are gentle. Basically they take the archetypes of those films, and gently prod them into the absurd. So not taking a rise or punching down, so much as love letters celebrating the underlying silliness.
Sadly a one season wonder, as whilst this well made and entertaining, it didn’t finds its audience. But, perhaps that’s for the best, as it’s always possible a second series would find itself short of new material and jokes.
Someone mentioned this show in the Alien Earth thread, and I was fairly sure I had seen it but jumped over to Disney+ to confirm... and it turns out there were three seasons and I somehow only watched the first one. Maybe they only put up the first season initially, or something, because it seems weird that I wouldn't have finished it. But that seemed like a good excuse to go back and check it out again.
2 episodes in so far and my word it's good.
It's definitely one you need to watch, rather than streaming in the background, so will be confined to lunchtime and evening viewing, I think... but this show is fabulously put together. The whole thing constantly jumping around, back and forth in time, with no way of knowing what's real, what's just in David's head, and what's... something else entirely should be annoying and difficult to follow, but somehow they managed to cobble this together into a coherent (if deliberately muddled) story that leaves you needing to know what the hell is going on.
It's beautifully made, and a nice example that everything inspired by a comic book doesn't have to fit neatly into a single canon.
Someone mentioned this show in the Alien Earth thread, and I was fairly sure I had seen it but jumped over to Disney+ to confirm... and it turns out there were three seasons and I somehow only watched the first one. Maybe they only put up the first season initially, or something, because it seems weird that I wouldn't have finished it. But that seemed like a good excuse to go back and check it out again.
2 episodes in so far and my word it's good.
It's definitely one you need to watch, rather than streaming in the background, so will be confined to lunchtime and evening viewing, I think... but this show is fabulously put together. The whole thing constantly jumping around, back and forth in time, with no way of knowing what's real, what's just in David's head, and what's... something else entirely should be annoying and difficult to follow, but somehow they managed to cobble this together into a coherent (if deliberately muddled) story that leaves you needing to know what the hell is going on.
It's beautifully made, and a nice example that everything inspired by a comic book doesn't have to fit neatly into a single canon.
I did the same thing a little while ago, went back and watched the whole thing because I had only seen the first season for some reason.
Unfortunately, I felt that the show kinda went downhill after that amazing first season, which was disappointing.
Another one from my DVD archives, and one I’d completely forgot I had.
A 1991 short tv series about a human/chimpanzee hybrid (not to be confused with the similar First Born from the same rough period) and why mucking about with genetics often ends with people getting their faces kicked in, the natural state of any such genetically engineered hybrid beasty being, not unreasonably, Really Rather Miffed At The Whole Thing.
Like the original run of Dr Who? The plot and acting are fine, but you have to be willing to overlook the budget limited effects and makeup. It’s not that they’re bad, just kind of basic.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Been so long since I’ve saw this, I didn’t realise Roy from out of off off Coronation Street, and the late Paul O’Grady starred!
I saw that! The big thing I remember is that it pulled that trick in the first episode where you think the protagonist is one person but then they die at the end of Part One. Oh and the end where the evil government (who wanted to carry on the experiments) thought the best way to covertly bump off the survivors was to [i]blow their house up[/!].
But the most important thing about this is that it taught me the correct way to pronounce Chimera, and I will spend the rest of my life correcting those who say "Shimmerer".
MarkNorfolk wrote: I saw that! The big thing I remember is that it pulled that trick in the first episode where you think the protagonist is one person but then they die at the end of Part One. Oh and the end where the evil government (who wanted to carry on the experiments) thought the best way to covertly bump off the survivors was to [i]blow their house up[/!].
But the most important thing about this is that it taught me the correct way to pronounce Chimera, and I will spend the rest of my life correcting those who say "Shimmerer".
Same way to pronounce Chasm (K-asm), Christmas (K-rist-mas) or Church (K-ur-k).
12 years too late and I am watching Elementary I was expecting a bit of a boring police procedural, but instead it is a re-imagining of Holmes and Watson in modern day.... ish..... so far I am entertained but I think it might get old really fast.
Normally I hate police procedurals, much preferring detective and underworld focused small screen stories.
I've not seen it but my big issue with a lot of Holmes interpretations is that they tend to lean heavily into "he's just godly right all the time because he's Holmes".
They kind of lose track that the original was smart, but also backed up by a lot of things like forensics, reference books (several his own creations of course) and so on and often explained them out.
Granted its tricky because part of original Holmes was "I'm doing forensics before everyone else" so if you re-interpret in the modern day its kinda hard to stand out because forensics are a normal every day part of policework. If anything it kind of shows that the character concept works better going backward instead of forward in time
Easy E wrote: 12 years too late and I am watching Elementary I was expecting a bit of a boring police procedural, but instead it is a re-imagining of Holmes and Watson in modern day.... ish..... so far I am entertained but I think it might get old really fast.
Normally I hate police procedurals, much preferring detective and underworld focused small screen stories.
Yeah, it starts out fun, but Holmes gradually becomes increasingly annoying as the novelty wears off and his abrasiveness becomes less amusing.
We're watching the BBC Sherlock series at the moment, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in it. Think my wife and I saw some of it when it first aired, but definitely didn't see all of it, and introducing the kids to it for the first time. Only a couple of episodes in so far but it's very good.
I'm putting Star Trek Voyager on hold, now that I'm firmly into Season 5, and can see the light at the end if the tunnel...
So I decided to switch gears and watch something from my youth that I remembered fondly... and now am starting to believe that I suffered a traumatic brain injury sometime during my life.
Transformers... the generation 1 cartoon is fething horrible.
I would rather watch all the Kazon episodes of Star Trek Voyager followed by a chaser of Klingon inanery on Star Trek Discovery.
My brain had concocted some wonderful memories of watching Transformers as a youngling... these were apparently conjured by a wizard and replaced the poor acting, animation, and "storylines" of the American commercial known as Transformers.
I challenge you to strip away the nostalgia and attempt to watch all of Season 1 of Transformers... if you dare!
I challenge you to strip away the nostalgia and attempt to watch all of Season 1 of Transformers... if you dare!
The trick is to watch it with kids.
Although it helps that I went into it remembering that it was pretty awful to begin with... Even as an 11 year old the problems with it were pretty obvious, but it got a pass because Transformers were just so cool.
So I went into it as an adult fully prepared to just laugh at the dodgy bits, and enjoy it through the lens of my daughters' eyes... and they loved it.
Having said that, the same trick did not work for me with Battle of the Planets. Discovering how awful that cartoon actually was, was definitely a bit of a downer.
I challenge you to strip away the nostalgia and attempt to watch all of Season 1 of Transformers... if you dare!
The trick is to watch it with kids.
Although it helps that I went into it remembering that it was pretty awful to begin with... Even as an 11 year old the problems with it were pretty obvious, but it got a pass because Transformers were just so cool.
So I went into it as an adult fully prepared to just laugh at the dodgy bits, and enjoy it through the lens of my daughters' eyes... and they loved it.
Having said that, the same trick did not work for me with Battle of the Planets. Discovering how awful that cartoon actually was, was definitely a bit of a downer.
Yeah, kids would probably make a difference.
I'm just afraid that my three other loves as a kid might not hold up as well either...
Voltron, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand)
One of my friends went all-in on DVD box sets for 80’s cartoon series, and no matter how much he tried, how much we were there to help, we couldn’t get more than a handful of episodes into any of them.
Voltron largely holds up fine because its got a fairly focused narrative. The others definitely suffer from "this is just a toy commercial" syndrome.
That said, its 100% worth remembering that most of these shows were in no way intended to be watched in their totality. You got 20ish minutes a week and if you missed an episode you just waited and caught the next one without needing to know what you missed. Most of them have great individual episodes that are still worth watching, but they're also full of stuff churned out to keep the timeslot. Binging them was not designed to be possible nor enjoyable.
That said, its 100% worth remembering that most of these shows were in no way intended to be watched in their totality. You got 20ish minutes a week and if you missed an episode you just waited and caught the next one without needing to know what you missed. Most of them have great individual episodes that are still worth watching, but they're also full of stuff churned out to keep the timeslot. Binging them was not designed to be possible nor enjoyable.
Indeed. For most people, binging them wasn't even something considered possible. Nobody had any idea that we would one day have access to these shows on demand, on hi resolution screens.
That said, some hold up better than others. Transformers is awful, but the movie still rocks (despite also being awful). He-man (My other big love from the time period) is surprisingly watchable - for all of the recycled art, dodgy storylines and general silliness of it all, there's a surprising amount of actual humour in there. And, as with Voltron, the shows that were designed around the story first rather than just as a vehicle to advertise the toys, generally hold up better. At the same time as my friends and I were watching Transformers, MASK and He-man, we were also glued to Robotech (which was really confusing if you missed chunks of it)... and that one holds up quite well. As does Star Blazers, which I was watching around the same time as Battle of the Planets (which doesn't, as I mentioned).
So... if you have an urge to go check out those childhood loves, absolutely go for it, but definitely keep in mind that they may not be what you expect, and be pleasantly surprised when one of them turns out to still be enjoyable.
insaniak wrote: Transformers is awful, but the movie still rocks (despite also being awful).
I'm sorry wait WHAT THE HECK NO that's an awesome film!!
Honestly it was the first Transformers thing I ever saw - on VHS a random buy from a car boot sale. I was always sad that whilst the film clearly aimed for high production values, strong animation and a teen market; the cartoon was basically aiming for the pre-teen market in tone/style of writing and animation.
The movie is full of awesome things, but suffers from a disjointed plot and a host of new characters introduced at the expense of existing ones, so that new toys could be sold. As much as I liked that characters were dying and staying dead (something that had always bugged me in the series) it all happened right at the start of the movie just to get the old guard out of the way, and that felt hamfisted and left me with a bunch of characters I didn't know or care about aside from, coincidentally, the characters whose toys sold the best...
As a kid watching it for the first time, I also hated that the entire rest of the galaxy seemed to be inhabited by robots. It always felt to me that Cybertron should have been unique, rather than Earth and its organic life being the apparent exception to life in the universe.
And also, also... I've never been a fan of futuristic vehicle designs in transformers. For me, the whole appeal is that they look like everyday things. Seeing their cybertronian forms in flashbacks in the series was fun, but not something I wanted all the time, and so the movie moving the story into the future and having all of the new characters look like fantasy vehicles just didn't appeal.
I remember seeing it in the theater as a child and feeling nothing but excitement at the carnage. Don’t think I even shed a tear for Optimus Prime. The novelty of killing main characters outweighed any emotional attachment I had for any of them.
Also, I didn’t have any of their toys. Maybe that had something to do with it.
I mean they all but shout that he's coming back at the end of the film.
I certainly went into the film with no pre-connections to anything so some of the characters being killed off had no effect on me because they were just background characters at that stage.
Optimus of course got a much more emotional send-off after a very epic fight.
I still enjoy the G1 Transformers run. Galaxy Rangers remains solid and vastly under rated.
He-Man is still camp fun, but isn’t ageing terribly well. I tried to watch M.A.S.K. again a few years ago, and I just couldn’t stand it. Toys still kick ass though.
A lot of the others I dont recall airing in the UK at all. Not even GI Joe, though we got the toys, initially under the Action Force branding.
As a toyline, GI Joe is notable for being around for a long time before it jumped the shark. Sure, it got more futuristic and improbable in terms of designs, especially for vehicles. But it wasn’t until the Eco-Warriors range in 1991 that silliness crept in.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: I still enjoy the G1 Transformers run. Galaxy Rangers remains solid and vastly under rated.
He-Man is still camp fun, but isn’t ageing terribly well. I tried to watch M.A.S.K. again a few years ago, and I just couldn’t stand it. Toys still kick ass though.
A lot of the others I dont recall airing in the UK at all. Not even GI Joe, though we got the toys, initially under the Action Force branding.
As a toyline, GI Joe is notable for being around for a long time before it jumped the shark. Sure, it got more futuristic and improbable in terms of designs, especially for vehicles. But it wasn’t until the Eco-Warriors range in 1991 that silliness crept in.
Basically, in the early 90's the brand started failing hard and they did whatever they could to try and keep it relevant. It's big part of the reason the Street Fighter movie and follow up cartoon is the way it is. Hasbro and Capcom had basically decided that Guile and the gang were going to be the next generation of Joe's with Shadowloo/law/whatever replacing COBRA.
I just found out that [b]Vena: Warrior Princess{/b] is 30 years old today, September 4th 2025.
Yikes, that made me feel old.
Edit" You guys are talking about the big THREE (G.I. Joe, Mask, and Transformers) but have you ever gone back and watched some of the also rans of the time? I am talking shows like Dino-Riders, Inhumanoids, Visionaries, Silverhawks, Bravestar, Centurions, Bionic Six, Defenders of the Earth, and King Arthur and the Knight's of Justice? That takes some doing!
BBC sci-fi serial I bought on a whim on DVD, and originally broadcast in 1975.
Premise is a mysterious sound drives Briton’s to destroy all their machines and gadgets and doohickys, reverting us to a pre-industrial state.
Seemingly based on a trilogy of children’s books, this had otherwise escaped my notice. First episode is really good, though given its kind of folk horror, it’s right up my street in terms of appeal. For a kids’ show this has pretty good production values.
Easy E wrote: I just found out that [b]Vena: Warrior Princess{/b] is 30 years old today, September 4th 2025.
Yikes, that made me feel old.
Edit" You guys are talking about the big THREE (G.I. Joe, Mask, and Transformers) but have you ever gone back and watched some of the also rans of the time? I am talking shows like Dino-Riders, Inhumanoids, Visionaries, Silverhawks, Bravestar, Centurions, Bionic Six, Defenders of the Earth, and King Arthur and the Knight's of Justice? That takes some doing!
I remember really enjoying Ulysses 31. I am afraid to reopen it in case its bad
I did pick up the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, but I haven't managed to get my son into it yet. He has recently started playing the game, so maybe that's a way in after we finish Delicious in Dungeon
Easy E wrote: I just found out that [b]Vena: Warrior Princess{/b] is 30 years old today, September 4th 2025.
Yikes, that made me feel old.
Edit" You guys are talking about the big THREE (G.I. Joe, Mask, and Transformers) but have you ever gone back and watched some of the also rans of the time? I am talking shows like Dino-Riders, Inhumanoids, Visionaries, Silverhawks, Bravestar, Centurions, Bionic Six, Defenders of the Earth, and King Arthur and the Knight's of Justice? That takes some doing!
Silverhawks is on a crappy local broadcast channel called MeToons at some ungodly hour in the morning. I discovered it once by accident... and much like the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders it's best to keep your eyes closed.
MarkNorfolk wrote: Caught a few episodes of ‘Arrow’ today. Not that far back but I didn’t realise how bad the script, acting and music was. Quite disappointing.
Now 50 years old, the overall premise is still solid. Mysterious noise occurs, driving those living in Briton to destroy and subsequently shun technology.
Seen through the life of teenager Nicky, we see that whilst she’s also affected and gleefully joins in smashing up a car? She’s no idea why she did it. Nor can she readily explain why she considers technology Sinful all of a sudden.
We also see community leaders in the aftermath being pretty medieval. Show trials and deciding to stone Nicky to death, just because she was found in the vicinity of a tractor. Raiders kidnapping children to ensure compliance.
Now the plot never gets too deep, as this is a kids’ show. But it feels all the more poignant in the modern age, given how reliant we are on the internet and that. It could certainly withstand a hefty dose of modernisation, and has real potential to be a terrifying show. Though with excellent writers, a lot of the terror could be subtextual in nature for an on-screen family friendly job,
Kicking not quite so old but still pretty old school with The Equalizer
Edward Woodward stars in this not-quite-a-vigilante-but-more-involved-than-a-P.I. televisual thriller series.
A show I used to love when I was almost certainly too wee to be watching it, and one I’ve had on DVD but not really sat down for a proper watch in while.
Soundtrack is superb. It’s a rare example of mature themes presented maturely without shock or camp. It’s not even particularly bombastic.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, that’s William Zabka playing McColl’s son. So that’s nice!
Conflicted. Confused. Its Gunn unfettered and I’m not sure I like it.
First season was so off the wall and different from almost all other DC/Marvel superhero stuff(Deadpool being the closest in tone) that it was kind of charming. This season seems to crank it all up to the next level and it doesn’t entirely land.
The dialogue is more “The Boys” than a DC/Marvel movie, and there’s a fairly graphic orgy which, with this show being billed as part of the Superman continuity, is a wild choice. I’ll probably stick it out and watch the whole thing, but some of the “humor’ is so jarring that I find myself hitting the fast forward button quite a bit. Its cool to see Joel Kinnaman back, and Frank Grillo is always fun too, and the reliable David Denman (who will always be Pam’s ex-fiance from The Office to me) has a role as Peacemaker’s brother in a strangely idyllic alt-DCU.
Conflicted. Confused. Its Gunn unfettered and I’m not sure I like it.
First season was so off the wall and different from almost all other DC/Marvel superhero stuff(Deadpool being the closest in tone) that it was kind of charming. This season seems to crank it all up to the next level and it doesn’t entirely land.
The dialogue is more “The Boys” than a DC/Marvel movie, and there’s a fairly graphic orgy which, with this show being billed as part of the Superman continuity, is a wild choice. I’ll probably stick it out and watch the whole thing, but some of the “humor’ is so jarring that I find myself hitting the fast forward button quite a bit. Its cool to see Joel Kinnaman back, and Frank Grillo is always fun too, and the reliable David Denman (who will always be Pam’s ex-fiance from The Office to me) has a role as Peacemaker’s brother in a strangely idyllic alt-DCU.
It's a very strange one, isn't it? I'm really hoping it comes together- the first one was sort of Peacemaker's journey to become a reasonably likable human being. Now, so far he's struggling to find a place in the world, and rapidly discovering that redemption in his own universe isn't possible. The most jarring bit for me is that we've had no suits by Peacemaker or Vigilante. Which I get for Peacemaker, as he's trying to distance himself from that identity... but Vigilante taking a break from casually murdering folks, and lurking behind dumpsters? I'm shocked.
I didn't watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, but I read the manga.
Hard pass. Every element is horribly dated. Some of the more controversial scenes don't even show up in the manga, but it's still awful.
Getting Jiohotstar (Indian streaming service) was the best thing I did in a long time, all of Disney plus most of HBO, Paramount and apparently Peacock too all for like Rs100/$1.20.
Anyhoo, The Paper is a spin off of The Office, same producers one character carried over. This time the documentary crew is following a failing mid-sized city paper the Toledo Truth Teller. Lots of humor about the current state of local news, some cool characters. My only beef is the 'hero' Ned (played by the same Irish dude who played General Hux for what it's worth) is too noble, too pure. And the villain, Esmeralda, too evil. Both are too cartoony.
In the Office the characters felt like real folks most of the time, even Dwight. I just never got why Dwight didn't own like a hundred guns and belong to a militia.
trexmeyer wrote: I didn't watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, but I read the manga.
Hard pass. Every element is horribly dated. Some of the more controversial scenes don't even show up in the manga, but it's still awful.
I saw the anime and honestly I think the thing that keeps it going is that it basically asks a LOT of questions and doesn't really answer them by the end. IT doesn't help that they ran out of money/the creator loathes the fanbase and the last 2 episodes were recycled "dream/retrospective" and then they wrap the whole thing up with the lamest "it was all a dream" ending. IT's a bit like how Firefly caught in the fanbase mind as well because it ended without a conclusion until the Serenity film.
trexmeyer wrote: I didn't watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, but I read the manga.
Hard pass. Every element is horribly dated. Some of the more controversial scenes don't even show up in the manga, but it's still awful.
I saw the anime and honestly I think the thing that keeps it going is that it basically asks a LOT of questions and doesn't really answer them by the end. IT doesn't help that they ran out of money/the creator loathes the fanbase and the last 2 episodes were recycled "dream/retrospective" and then they wrap the whole thing up with the lamest "it was all a dream" ending. IT's a bit like how Firefly caught in the fanbase mind as well because it ended without a conclusion until the Serenity film.
Similarly, did you catch the concluding film for Eva? It's significantly more satisfying than the TV ending, though the TV ending explains the movie.
Worth noting that the manga is different in its own way and the remake film series is also dramatically different as well. Neither has quite the same impact of an author dumping his problems on the page as the original. I still have a soft spot for it, but so much of its appeal is in how raw and messy and experimental it was at the time that definitely hasn't all aged well.
I think I may be getting a little extra out of this than the average viewer. Specifically McCall’s efforts to better connect with his son.
Like my Dad and I, there’s no bad blood. Just a father whose career meant in Important Years they weren’t around. Not in a neglectful way, and neither is difficult about it.
Just two grown men acknowledging their relationship isn’t what it could be, and committing to building it stronger.
I think the whole absent father/grudging child thing may be more a 90’s trope. But this still feels refreshing in its more mature, nuanced approach.
I just lost my mojo on that one at the start of S3. Nothing wrong with the show, but I just lost interest in it for some reason. It is a good show though. I might need to go back and try it again.
A good start with the first three episodes. The doorman's own episode was quite sweet(they do that quite well). Getting former cast members to pop back for a micro cameo was a nice touch.
Conflicted. Confused. Its Gunn unfettered and I’m not sure I like it.
First season was so off the wall and different from almost all other DC/Marvel superhero stuff(Deadpool being the closest in tone) that it was kind of charming. This season seems to crank it all up to the next level and it doesn’t entirely land.
The dialogue is more “The Boys” than a DC/Marvel movie, and there’s a fairly graphic orgy which, with this show being billed as part of the Superman continuity, is a wild choice. I’ll probably stick it out and watch the whole thing, but some of the “humor’ is so jarring that I find myself hitting the fast forward button quite a bit. Its cool to see Joel Kinnaman back, and Frank Grillo is always fun too, and the reliable David Denman (who will always be Pam’s ex-fiance from The Office to me) has a role as Peacemaker’s brother in a strangely idyllic alt-DCU.
It's a different tempo so far and yeah. I can't say if I like or not but I'm at least intrigued.
Also. Please someone tell me I'm not the only one noticing something in the ambiance of the happy-universe. There's something very very conspicuous but I honestly can't tell if it's something I'm just reading into too much or if I'm entirely meant to take notice of the complete absence certain people in every shot of that universe >.>
Also. Please someone tell me I'm not the only one noticing something in the ambiance of the happy-universe. There's something very very conspicuous but I honestly can't tell if it's something I'm just reading into too much or if I'm entirely meant to take notice of the complete absence certain people in every shot of that universe >.>
I know exactly what you mean, and had that same feeling when watching the German show "Dark". Strange to see in a modern production. With the kinds of subversive messaging Gunn has been injecting into the DCU it might turn out to be intentional, or it might just be that the portal opens up in a place with different demographics than your average western city.
IMO while some of the jokes (including the "shock value" orgy scene) have missed the mark, Tim Meadow's character has been hilarious as Economos' new partner. So far I am enjoying the season.
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