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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
80’s Alternative Comedy Scene, predominantly The Grate One, Rik Mayall, and Ade Edmondson.

It warmed my heart on watching The Last Jedi, as the opening set piece starts up to cries of “holy crap, it’s Eddie Hitler”

Echoing a previous experience on the cinematic re-release of Empire to cries of “aargh. It’s Mr Bronson”

Vyv and Bronco!

A fascist marriage made in hell!

Anyone watch Superman & Lois? Is it worth watching? (this seemed the place to ask instead of starting a thread just for a quick recommendation)

 Ahtman wrote:
Anyone watch Superman & Lois? Is it worth watching? (this seemed the place to ask instead of starting a thread just for a quick recommendation)

I really liked it, enough to rewatch it. Second best Superman after Reeve, IMO.

This Superman is more relatable than past versions. He is responsible rather than infallible, and the scenes where he pretends to be a dork in order to be more involved with his sons lives are charming. There could have been a lot more of that actually. The super hero stuff all looks good and there is a decent amount of it.

The show can be pretty clever at times and knows what it is. They are able to subvert expectations in a good way, and make clever use of that in the first two seasons. Their spin on the "hallway fight" was pretty inspired I thought. They know they aren't Oldboy or Daredevil but were still able to put out (a) very cool Superman take on it. And if you told me I'd empathize most with what had been a cartoonishly terrible Silver Age villain from S2 beforehand I wouldn't have believed it.

On the negative side, its a show that is trying to appeal to all 4 demos and there is a LOT of filler if you aren't interested in the teen angst storylines with his sons or the saga of Lana Lang's family. S3 leans into the 35+ women demo more than the others and has two high Q rating actors playing the villains. I haven't seen the 4th season yet.

Secret Level

Being a good little Sosig and not jumping straight to the 40K one, instead watching them in order.

And I’m impressed. The animation is universally gorgeous, and the voice acting decent.

Definitely worth a watch.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The 40K one is superb! Very violent though, parental guidance strongly advised.

I think Secret Level loses out to love death and robots as the latter was entirely unconstrained. Of the 4 episodes I’ve watched so far, 3 were very much run as in-game cinematics and were therefore predictable and without a satisfying conclusion.

Pac Man, however, was properly interesting, primarily because the story was entirely unconstrained from what fans expect to see.

Sad I have to wait next week for Mega Man.

SamusDrake wrote:
Chronicles Of Narnia. The BBC production of C.S.Lewis' children's classic, is basically a cross between Oz and Middle Earth. Four children enter a Wardrobe in a game of hide'n'seek and step through to the magical land of Narnia. The forth story in the series - The Silver Chair - allows a good send off for the series, which the film series was tragically denied...

Box Of Delights. 40 years ago this series was shown on BBC1, and was about a young school boy - Kay Harker - who is entrusted with a magic box that is truly full of delights. Whats interesting about this show is that it used a digital effects system that allowed for some rather notable animated sequences, the most memorable is when Kay is transported into the titular box and enters the forest of Herne The Hunter. "Inform the commander that Lord Vader's shuttle has arrived" - yup, that's Herne The Hunter!

Just doing Box of Delights myself.

I’m old enough to have seen this when it first aired, and outside of repeats, that’s probably the last time I saw it.

The effects, especially for BBC effects budget effects stand up surprisingly well. But the music is clearly by the same guy that scored that era of Doctor Who. Very synth heavy with brass and woodwind.

Overall it’s definitely retained its charm. And honestly, in the wake of Harry Potter and similar, I’m surprised nobody has tried a new adaptation.

Secret Level

Since everyone is excited about this I thought I'd give it a go.

From a pure eye-candy perspective, it's amazing, but other than that I found it kinda meh.
It probably didn't help that I had little to no knowledge of the various IP's, but apart from the Space Marine and Pac-Man stories they felt very incomplete.

I watched the half of Secret Level for games I was excited for. Overall its all kind of grimdark, which kind of has a numbing effect that dilutes the stuff that is supposed to be grimdark. It's possible the ones I skipped break things up with more color, but judging by the thumbnails I doubt it. Anyway, on to the reviews in the order I watched them:

Space Marine

It's 40k and its well done. It doesn't offer anything fresh for existing fans, nor does it provide a hint of context for non fans, but its very well done and the art style of the series fits it well.

Armored Core

This is easily my favorite of the 4. Another setting that fits the style well and they really nailed the way the mechs move and fight. Had a story, though it'd be nice if there was a moment where he gets the job to hammer home the mercenary nature of it. Again, I fear if you don't know the games its all kind of obtuse, but it worked for me in a way not even Space Marine did.
 
Pac-Man

This was always going to be a mess but oh what a mess it is. Somehow its the most silly edgelord nonsense of the bunch and also the most corny and full of dumb references. All I could think of was Bomberman: Act Zero and every terrible dark reboot of the late 2000s. This was too cringy to laugh at.

D&D

This one had some color towards the end and overall was pretty solid. The opening had all the hallmarks of the others, hiding everything in shadows, probably for budget reasons. The end built to a pretty triumphant feeling hero moment and while I wasn't invested in the story it started capturing the setting well.

Century Falls

Possibly forgotten media, Children’s BBC folk horror type tale, by one Russell T Davies, some years before he brought back Doctor Who.

And it’s pretty damn good. Set in a small, fairly isolated English village, the eponymous Century Falls. A village with a secret, and a legacy.

Being a kids show it is relatively tame. But the undercurrent of paganistic, gothic horror comes through all the same. And I dare say it wouldn’t take a great deal to nudge it into a more terrifying shape for a more mature audience. But nobody should do that, because it stands as testament to horror not needing gore and violence. Atmosphere alone can do plenty.

I don’t know if it’s available to stream anywhere, but my copy is DVD. Well worth seeking out.

Just started a re watch of Stargate SG1.

I haven't watched this show in several years. I bought the full series on DVD and last time around I stopped before the end.

The Pilot episode is an hour and a half, not too bad. It sets the stage fairly well with one huge plot hole which had they realized at the time could have been a thing that the SG team needed to take care of in the first season or first few episodes.

Other than that I really like the ending of the pilot episode. It's ominous and says something close to, " buckle up it's going to be a wild ride."

Stargate SG1 is easily my favorite Science Fiction show. Probably because it reminds me of the original Ghost Recon game for pc.
" Ghost Recon in space and other places. "

SG-1, where as soon as mankind gains a reliable method of interstellar travel, we immediately pick a massive fight, and start nicking anything that isn’t nailed down.

And I love it.

Not you, Jonas Quinn. Parker Lewis couldn’t lose, but my gosh you could.

Be on the lookout for Colonel Paul Davis, portrayed by actor Colin Cunningham, who leads the much maligned SG-13.

In "Stargate SG-1," SG-13 is often the subject of recurring jokes and humorous references, primarily due to their reputation for being somewhat unlucky or inept compared to other teams. Some of the recurring jokes include:

1. **Unfortunate Missions**: SG-13 is frequently mentioned in the context of missions that go wrong or end poorly, leading to the implication that they have a higher casualty rate or face more dangerous situations than other teams.

2. **Team Composition**: The team is sometimes portrayed as being made up of less competent or more eccentric members, which adds to the humor surrounding their missions.

3. **Running Gags**: Characters like Colonel Jack O'Neill and others often make sarcastic comments about SG-13's performance or the outcomes of their missions, reinforcing the idea that they are not the most successful team in the Stargate program.

They really should've done an SG-13 show.

I still quote Jack O'Neill. Though a candle burns in my house no one is home.
Mostly due to my head injuries. I've exceeded the recommended number of zero by three.


I'd probably watch an SG13 show, at least 6 to 8 episodes.

I'm a fan of the HFY genre of modern silly sci-fi I found a year or two ago on Reddit, probably due to SG1.

What really makes SG1 work for me is the team dynamic, and the crossover of personal skills.

Teal’c, O’Neill and Carter are all lifelong military veterans, with O’Neill and Teal’c being the Noble Warrior more than just soldiers.

Carter and Jackson are the well qualified scientists, with complimenting fields

Jackson and Teal’c bring knowledge of the ancient civilisations and the Goa’uld.

And so when the team meet an issue in need of resolution, it’s rarely just one of them that provides the answer.

I think that’s why O’Neill’s replacement worked better than Jackson’s. The actor for Jonas Quinn was fine, but he never really filled the boots as well. Mitchell however, whilst carefully not a carbon copy, fulfils the same role as O’Neill. He’s decisive, but in a different approach.

Vala gets a pass because Claudia Black. Often in leather.

"Claudia Black in leather" ... naughty naughty Dok. lol

I also love that SG1 uses the formula. The formula you ask?
Yep. Just like the A team. Things go wrong when the characters are on their own, get captured then Zang! Magic. Put them all in the same room and watch them work. The bad guys never see it coming. Which is silly but lots of fun.

My favorite episode is the Jack O'Neill "groundhog day" episode where he keeps reliving the same day over and over... and is forced to not only listen to Daniel Jackson's science, but actually learn science.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
My favorite episode is the Jack O'Neill "groundhog day" episode where he keeps reliving the same day over and over... and is forced to not only listen to Daniel Jackson's science, but actually learn science.

This is hands down one of the best "groundhog day" episodes I've ever seen. And lord knows they were popular in any sci-fi/fantasy show for a long long time.

I can’t remember the episode, or the exact wording, but it’s a later one and the quote is along the lines of “if you two make me say “huh?” one more time, remember I’m allowed to shoot you”.

Makes me smile just thinking about it...

SG1 ep 1.

Just finished that last night.
I found it difficult to watch. It's a solid episode for sure. A conclusion to the pilot episode and a nice launch for the full team roster.

The scale of this show is wild. By which I mean the setting and how things work.

General Hammond talking with the visiting Col. about pushing things up the chain of command. It was intended as a threat but it fell laughably short once it's revealed Hammond works directly for the President.

I could not stop laughing.


It also displays how compartmentalized Jack really. Even though we don't at this time know all the details about his service and just how messy and distasteful it got. It's a nice peak inside without giving it all away.

I saw a "Chad SG1" meme a week ago and I think that's what brought on this re watch. Wish I had saved it.

Beavis and Butthead

Trying to find a specific music video commentary to share with a friend so watching through the new series.

God I love this show.

DanDaDan

So disappointing this one.
10 awesome episodes of wacky supernatural, shounen battle, rom-com anime hijinks absolutely ruined for me by the final two.
First problem was the late introduction of a prominent side character I found incredibly annoying, but the final nail in the coffin was deciding that the end of season cliffhanger would be

Probably won't come back for the next season, I'm so soured on the show right now.

I also rewatched SG-1 this past week. Ha. Funny.

Also thought the cliff hanger for DanDaDan really soured a show that otherwise managed comedy about sex and alien abductions in a way ridiculous enough not to be offensive. I've read through the manga and mostly watch the show for that reason, but the anime picking that as a point to leave off on was not the best move. Rumor mill is the series is getting a quick season 2 that'll go into one of its best arcs. I hope they didn't choose to end on that cliff after learning they'd get another season.

In the new department;

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld

This show is extremely similar to Star vs the Forces of Evil, but with less weirdness comedy and more relationship and teen drama. But the drama is pretty well managed and forms satisfying arcs by the end of the first season. If you liked Star when it was good, you might like this show. It's also very reminiscent of Life and Times of Juniper Lee for anyone who remembers that show.

We got to the episode of Twin Peaks where “It’s happening again” with some Bob action. My son said, “Now it’s really getting interesting.” I agree. The series is finally giving the flying rodent gak I was hoping for.

Love Twin Peaks, but the event series from a few years ago was just horrible to sit through. It still had a few good moments but far too few to be recognised as the show we loved back in the 90s.

Hmmm. Would you be able explain what made it not work without using spoilers, please? All the reviews I’ve seen praised the new series, so I’d like to know if it’s overhyped before I get my expectations up.

I’ve heard it increases the surrealism of the show, which is our favorite part.

Secret Level

Meh. Especially compared to Star Wars Visions and Marvel What If? most of these shorts aren't very good and some a very cryptic if you're not already familiar with the setting. If you'd not played either Space Marine video game, I think the 40k one would make basically no sense, but at least it's a slick 20 minute action sequence. Really captures that the Astartes are basically walking tanks. The Armored Core one has Keanu Reeves I think? That's neat.

Overall very meh. Visually impressive but narratively impenetrable if there even is a narrative.

Magnum, p.i.

It’s on Prime, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.

Like a suave A-Team. And pretty good fun.