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Watched the season premiere of La Brea last night. While the SFX aren't up to Jurassic Park quality, they're better than some of the B movies out there.

Gladiators

Eeeeeeeeeeh! It’s back! And it’s like I’m a pimply little Herbert once again!

Happy to say they’ve not fiddled with the format so far. But as the first episode of the revived series, the Gladiators themselves are yet to establish themselves as booable. They are however in frankly incredible shape.

Very odd to have a father and son announce team though. I’d expected a male and female team, because….that’s just what we’re used to.

Importantly? It’s still fun! And remains ideal Saturday Tea Time entertainment.


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OK that was genuinely exhilirating, particularly the men’s Eliminator.

The only new game in the first episode was rather fun. Basically the contenders play at the same time, and need to get to the centre to hit the button, go back to the perimeter and do it again. But each has a Gladiator marking them.

Really really good fun!

Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)

Animated series about a Samurai's quest for revenge against the 4 white men in Japan that wronged them. One of them might well be their father, the reason the Samurai has blue eyes, something abhorred and vilified in 17th Century Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ1yQn17lbE

This is written by the writers of Logan and Bladerunner 2049 and it shows. It's beautifully written. The animation, which is a mix of 3d animation which is then repainted to look 2d and mocap is absolutely gorgeous. The voice acting is fantastic (Kenneth Branagh and George Takei in particular stand out).

This is Season 1 and it does end with the set up for Season 2, and it better get made because this was one of the best things I've watched in ages, animated or live action.

It's as good (if not better IMHO) as Arcane so if you liked that you'll like this. BUt even if you didn't, watch it because it's just great.

StraightSilver wrote:
Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)
.

I've seen one review of this which was discussing the issue of making bad-ass but characterless female heroes (I know, low hanging fruit these days). The enthusiasm the critic had for this show has persuaded me I need to get Netflix to watch this, if only for a month.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Gladiators

Yeah, we really enjoyed it too. My boys (15 and 11) absolutely loved it, they were literally bouncing with excitement.

I liked Sabre...

Announce Team need a bit of work, as the younger one felt a bit forced. But, it is the first episode so we can probably put that down to overall nerves.

Also, I saw Sabre first so yeah

Do they still have the game where the Gladiator shoot tennis balls out of a cannon at the contestants. Meanwhile, the competitor tries to scramble through cover and find one-shot weapons to fire back at a target?

That was my favorite game on the old show.

Highlander the Raven.

I've been watching Highlander the raven. Not the best show but not all that bad either. Fits the highlander format well enough. Episode 12 was funny. They brought in Joe Dawson from the series and true to form end up in a sloppy 5 way stand off with pistols drawn and of course the bad guy is more or less allowed to leave because of good guy bickering.
It seemed like a train wreck right out of a rpg.


And after that they all move to France. a mid season location switch. So far Amanda has only taken maybe 4 or 5 heads in 16 of 22 episodes.

It's nice to see the Highlander "universe" expanded on but over all I can't see that this show really has any direction. Leads me to wonder if they had no idea they were only getting one season or who knows what. I like this show enough to whish they had made a few more spinoffs following other immortals.
Just because they could have and it might have been fun.

6 more episodes to go.

Britannia on amazon video.

I'm only 2 episodes in but this has Ian McDiarmid as a Pre-Roman Celtic King, and Hugo Speer (Musketeers) is one of the romans. Similar production quality to the last season of musketeers. Decent shot at showing a caricature of the Roman war machine.

I'm interested to see if the rest of the 1rst season holds my attention.

 warhead01 wrote:
Highlander the Raven.


6 more episodes to go.

I also miss that Lucy got lost in the switch to France. Lucy was one of my favorite characters.

Scoobynatural

AKA Supernatural episode 16, season 13.

A genuinely perfect crossover. It works as a Supernatural episode, and as a Scooby Doo episode.

 Easy E wrote:

 warhead01 wrote:
Highlander the Raven.


6 more episodes to go.

I also miss that Lucy got lost in the switch to France. Lucy was one of my favorite characters.

She looked really familiar but I haven't looked up who she is. Was she in Twin Peaks? Lura's Mother? That's who she reminds me of.

I really prefer the Paris setting as a back drop. There's something about it that just works better than when they are suppose to be state side. I like the big set pieces that we already know from Highlander the series. Just a good looking location.

side not, that's the way I like my battlefields set up. Hate balanced terrain. I really like the idea that my armies are fighting somewhere other than a table top.

Episode 17 was a tad comical, Amanda's ex husband ... A goofy Duncan showing up would have been brutally funny, taking care of her light work. Missed opportunity but not really.

I did finally check and they are both different actresses.

Agreed, I liked the Paris episodes more.

It is interesting to me how much happens along that canal in front of Notre Dame where Duncan's boat used to be! LOL

I don’t know if this is the right place to vent, but I gotta vent.

We’re watching DS9 via Prime, and before every episode we have to sit through a minute(s)-long ad for some show on Paramount Plus. One show is a drama about gay men in the 1950’s. One show is a drama about a boat crew doing shady boat stuff. One is a dramedy about airplane medics. One is a horror drama about child-abducting nuns. One for a western about a black sheriff that isn’t funny. All of these ads are annoying and the dramas pretentious as feth. I have never hated a streaming service more—which is saying something!—than I hate Paramount Plus for this tedious parade of ads targeted at the kind of people who wouldn’t be caught dead watching 90’s Trek.

Why don’t they show Lower Decks or Strange New Worlds or TOS or TNG ads? What the hell is Paramount Plus even playing at? Why so much contempt for their bread and butter customers?


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I forgot to mention they all have that same slow-hum/sudden-violin-sting soundtrack that gets on everyone’s nerves.

I guess advertising Trek on a Trek show is preaching to the choir, so they’re trying to tempt the casual viewer to their other (somewhat limited) fare.

Customer: I choose to watch lighthearted escapism.

Paramount Plus: I will tempt him with these grim-faced misery jesters.

Mind you, YouTube was bad for that. Maybe still is, as I’m a sucker and went for Premium.

Would be sat sitting there on the coach home, listening to my usual Punk-Britpop eras, and every ad, I swear “here, have some Hip-Hop. Or maybe Dubstep! Try some Dullard Braggart of an MC telling you how super he is”

All valid genres, but at no point like anything I listen to.

Oh ALGORITHMO! We are your humble servants. Why do you treat us so?

Someone once said the algorithm for Facebook shows customers things they hate because outrage feeds engagement. But the Facebook algorithm merely holds the beer for the YouTube algorithm.


Fortunately, YT ads are easy to skip on a phone. Unfortunately, any time we want to watch a YouTube video on the TV, we end up watching the same length of time in unskippable ads. For products we’d never buy featuring music we detest.

Mind you, with my own nascent YouTube channel, I should be careful what I say.

We’re a mere 9,999,990 subs away from dying our hair pink and becoming atrocious human beings after all.

Is the Black Sheriff show Bass Reeves?

I am pretty interested in seeing that one, but won't go out of my way for it.

Edit: In a way, the streaming wars make me nostalgic for Blockbuster and the video store.

Maybe? It’s “Lawman” something-or-other.

I miss Blockbuster, but I miss the independent video stores even more. And the smaller chains like Sam Goody and Licorice Pizza.

I’m not nostalgic for a particular video store. But I’ll tell you what I do miss?

3 for 2 rentals. Because you’d always have two Easy Picks. Typically those just off Premiere Rotation (or whatever you call it, I trust you catch my drift) and have fancied seeing, but didn’t want to pay the premium.

But that third pick? That was the spin of the side, the roll of the deck, the shuffle of wheel. Speaking purely for myself? The Cover Ruled All. Basically pick the film with the raddest looking cover art/montage and go for it.

Most often times, it was utter, utter tripe. No, not Internet ‘I no like, therefore awful’ tripe. Actual honest to goodness crap script, wooden acting, nicked effects and confused editing tripe. The real deal of crap films.

But the flip side? Sometimes. Just sometimes? You struck gold, and something you’d never heard of but greatly enjoyed, even if it’s actually a bit gak.

Glorious days, peeps. Glorious days.

I actually recommend Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Falls apart a bit in the last 2 episodes, but otherwise a very fun western TV series.

But yeah.

The wave of ads on streaming is just the enshittification of another corner of life but fething ads.

I’m gonna try to resist paying Prime’s forthcoming “ad free” premium for as long as I can.

Because I fear that whilst £2 a month isn’t gonna break the bank? Who knows where that pricing structure ends.

£2 today? OK. £5 next year? Then £6, £7, £8?

If I can reacclimatise to advertising, I can remove myself from that.

Just run a script blocker. That'll break subtitles on some streaming services (hulu), but I haven't sen an ad in years because the moment the ad tries to run the blocker blocks it. Some ad blockers still work in blocking video steaming ads, but as we've seen with Youtube (and Hulu) they're trying to stop this but they're focused on commonly used ad blockers which still load the ads but just don't display them.

A scrip blocker stops the ad from running at any point, like it's not there at all. They'll get around to trying to ban that too but then we'll just move onto something else because that's life now. We're in a mortal battle for our time and attention against fething ads.

feth ads.

Finished Highlander the Raven.

The last few episodes were probably the best of the series. I've only seen this show just the one time now but I will watch it again in a few months. It was quite a ride but I think 22 episodes gives the viewer a fair bit to watch and think over. More than an 8 ep run for sure.

One of the strongest episodes was a bout the immortal living as a priest and how that came to be. He was willing to die because his convictions were that strong. A nice spin on Darius from Highlander the Series. He was clearly meant to b the same type of character/ supporting character.

And then the last episode.

I had partially expected Nick to become Immortal but also thought there was a strong chance he wouldn't be one, given the way the show worked. Another reason for a rewatch later is to look for any hints or Easter eggs.

He had been poisoned and was going to die but I don't know if that would have "turned him" of if he would have just dies. One of the key factors is a violent death. What I kinda liked was how angry about being immortal he was. He seemed to have lost all of his moral high ground. A second season would have at least been interesting.
I can't see any real reason to not have more of these spin offs aside from viewer burnout.

I'd watch more at least once given the chance.

This was a good recommendation.

Terrahawks

A Gerry Anderson puppet show from when I was a tiny wee snivellin’ lirrul Grot.

It’s still good fun, but through adult eyes it quickly becomes apparent Dr “Tiger” Ninestein is an utter utter utter utter utter utter utter utter utter Male Chicken.

Racist. Disparaging to Hiro and the Zeroids. Also throws a strop when Sgt Mjr Zero beats him at his favourite computer game, greatly exceeding Tiger’s long standing high score.

Still want a Zeroid of my own though.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

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I forgot to mention they all have that same slow-hum/sudden-violin-sting soundtrack that gets on everyone’s nerves.

That's because they all use the same trailer music composition groups.

I can recognize audiomachine's (a music group) work immediately when i watch trailers now.

Heh. I went through a phase of listening to Two Steps From Hell a lot, and suddenly noticed their stuff on adverts, and even one of the UEFA European cups