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X-Men '97

Been putting off watching this one, but my fears were unfounded, it's a pretty faithful continuation of the old X-Men series.
Only have a couple of minor niggles with it, the breakneck speed at which it rattles through plot points (Although that was a weakness of the original too) and the somewhat icky Rogue x Magneto pairing (I think the writers forgot that Rogue was still a teenager when she was part of Mystique's gang), but overall definitely worth a watch if you were a fan of the show back in the 90's.

Now they just need to continue the 90's Spider-Man series, I don't think we ever did learn what happened to Mary Jane.

Fargo Season 5

Another pretty damn good season of storytelling. Kind of impressive, given the linked and ensemble nature of each season. This time set in 2019, where a woman is abducted(after like 3-4 attempts) by a corrupt Sheriff, setting off a series of events that leads to mass violence. There’s a lot of quirky characters and strange storytelling, which is the hallmark of this series. It was great, but I don’t rate it over season 4, personally. I know critics prefer S5 over S4, but I really enjoyed the back and forth war and betrayal in S4.

I think thats mainly because S4 was essentially a mob story set in the 50’s. I love that era of mafia history when they are at their peak and still an unkown/unacknowledged quantity in America, up until the big Apalachin Meeting raid in 57.

And after a cold, soggy, but importantly Doggy trip to my friend’s woods, followed by a nap, ifs finishing up V, The Final Battle.

It’s genuinely thrilling. The action sequences are punching well above their weight for a tv movie, which is all the more impressive when you realise it could’ve quite easily gone a bit A-Team.

This, and the first series, have genuinely blown my socks off with their quality.

I’ve gone ahead and ordered a physical copy of the follow up TV series.

It is hard to share with folks what a cultural event V was when it first hit. It was one of those things like The Matrix or Blair Witch. Everyone was talking about it and watching it.


Renegade Nell

A woman of ill-repute has a fairy companion for an unknown reason that gives her super-powers. This is set in 1705 IIRC and mentions the Battle of Blenheim and the War of the Spanish Succession to place it. There are also Jacobites and Queen Anne as a central part of the plot. If I was English, I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it as there are many nods to English folklore and class structures.

There are two things that are striking to me:

1. This show is strongly anti-oligarchy in the themes, dialogue and messages. Despite eventually having a Monarchy theme, that is more of a "rescue" and save the status quo element, because the alternative is worse!

2. There is a anti-media narrative as well. I find this particularly rich coming from Disney, but there you go.

The story and sub-plots wrap-up nicely, but the main question on why Nell has a Fairy is left unresolved. Therefore, there is room for a season 2 involving more of the Fae realms.

It definitely feels that way to me. Whilst I didn’t see it at the time (this being my first proper watch), I am familiar with that era of telly. Its production values alone, let alone the overall ambition is easily understated.

I found the Visitor’s poisoning the well against scientists particularly chilling, given the conspirasphere of today, and other things Qe Don’t Discuss On Dakka.

DVD of the series arrived earlier, so I’m looking forward to that, even if it’s apparently not very good.

 aku-chan wrote:
X-Men '97

Been putting off watching this one, but my fears were unfounded, it's a pretty faithful continuation of the old X-Men series.
Only have a couple of minor niggles with it, the breakneck speed at which it rattles through plot points (Although that was a weakness of the original too) and the somewhat icky Rogue x Magneto pairing (I think the writers forgot that Rogue was still a teenager when she was part of Mystique's gang), but overall definitely worth a watch if you were a fan of the show back in the 90's.

Now they just need to continue the 90's Spider-Man series, I don't think we ever did learn what happened to Mary Jane.

Rogue/Magneto is a major bit of the Age of Apocalypse storyline in the comics. I assume they're setting the stage for that. And yes, its icky in the comics if you think about it too.

 Easy E wrote:
It is hard to share with folks what a cultural event V was when it first hit. It was one of those things like The Matrix or Blair Witch. Everyone was talking about it and watching it.


Renegade Nell

A woman of ill-repute has a fairy companion for an unknown reason that gives her super-powers. This is set in 1705 IIRC and mentions the Battle of Blenheim and the War of the Spanish Succession to place it. There are also Jacobites and Queen Anne as a central part of the plot. If I was English, I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it as there are many nods to English folklore and class structures.

There are two things that are striking to me:

1. This show is strongly anti-oligarchy in the themes, dialogue and messages. Despite eventually having a Monarchy theme, that is more of a "rescue" and save the status quo element, because the alternative is worse!

2. There is a anti-media narrative as well. I find this particularly rich coming from Disney, but there you go.

The story and sub-plots wrap-up nicely, but the main question on why Nell has a Fairy is left unresolved. Therefore, there is room for a season 2 involving more of the Fae realms.

There won't be a second series I'm afraid, Disney cancelled it :(

So, once again it seems I may be a filthy lying turd.

For yet again, I’ve found an anime I greatly enjoy - The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Whilst adapted for a Western audience, it has its roots in Japan and remains as superb today as when I first saw it as a nipper.

Sing it with me!

Doo doo doo doo doo doo, ahhhh ahhh ahhhh!

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
I'm watching my favorite 1980s show and my favorite show I watched as a youngin: Airwolf!

Its a communist conspiracy!

RE: Renegade Nell

This is my shocked face. Most streaming shows only seem to have 1 season in them.

Also, while I am on the topic I think the lady who played Lady Winscott also played Morgana in the Merlin TV show. Talk about being type-cast!


Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands
This looks like an old syndicated TV show, but I am not sure from where. It has some weird editing and I also have this odd suspicion that some parts are dubbed.

That said, they put all of their budget on the screen in the form of set design and costume design. There is a very distinct visual palette for the show. It looks really great.

The storylines are okay enough, but it really comes to shine with the political storylines that they keep growing each episode. The individual episode plots and characterization are not great, but the overarching story is pretty solid.

Of course, CGI for the period (2016-ish) and for a syndicated show leave a lot to be desired.

I have only finished the first part of the season, but I intend on finishing it. You can find it on Tubi.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
So, once again it seems I may be a filthy lying turd.

For yet again, I’ve found an anime I greatly enjoy - The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Whilst adapted for a Western audience, it has its roots in Japan and remains as superb today as when I first saw it as a nipper.

Sing it with me!

Doo doo doo doo doo doo, ahhhh ahhh ahhhh!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
So, once again it seems I may be a filthy lying turd.

For yet again, I’ve found an anime I greatly enjoy - The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Whilst adapted for a Western audience, it has its roots in Japan and remains as superb today as when I first saw it as a nipper.

Sing it with me!

Doo doo doo doo doo doo, ahhhh ahhh ahhhh!

It was a French and Japanese co-production. Have you seen the openings for seasons two and three? They look incredible.

I'll have to look up the other openers if someone posted them as I only remember that one and that song. Regardless, I do remember watching that as an 80s kid and enjoying.

The later seasons are from a second run that started in 2014? or so. I didn’t watch the seasons because I couldn’t get my son interested in the show and didn’t have time to watch on my own. The music is slightly different for each of the locations where the seasons take place.

Ah, thanks for the info and I never would have guessed something so obscure would have gotten rebooted almost 30 years later. That definitely explains why I wasn't aware of it! For me, watching that cartoon (and others like Robotech) on the same UHF local channel or two I'd later watch old samurai/kungfu flicks and old b&w sitcom reruns like Munsters/Adams family defined an era the era for me.

Yesterday we finished the original run of Twin Peaks. It had a good ending, if a bit of a downer. The non-Cooper stuff kind of reminded me of the series finale for SOAP. Later this week we’ll see Fire Walk With Me.


Anyway, we followed that finale up with the TNG episode Sub Rosa, the one where Crusher boinks a space ghost. Weird day.

Starting the series Arrow today. 170 episodes should keep me occupied for a while.

I’m always struck by just how casualty smoking featured on old shows. Not without good reason (expensive, smelly, pointless addiction) you just don’t see it anymore. Even on baddies.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I’m always struck by just how casualty smoking featured on old shows. Not without good reason (expensive, smelly, pointless addiction) you just don’t see it anymore. Even on baddies.

There was a lot of censorship attempts stateside to get smoking out of films and TV shows.

For a little while there was even an attempt to increase the ratings for films that had smoking in it.

Same in the UK. And I can’t say I’m against it. I smoked for many years, and it never did me any good. It really is the worse drug to be addicted to.

Through quirk of fate, I was out drinking on the respective days Scotland then England introduced a smoking ban in pubs. Was weird at first. But I soon adapted.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I’m always struck by just how casualty smoking featured on old shows. Not without good reason (expensive, smelly, pointless addiction) you just don’t see it anymore. Even on baddies.

Yeah I really notice it in something like Cowboy Bebop where casual smoking happens all the time and you compare that to modern shows; even those set in times when smoking was common, and its just not there at all. These days you might get a lead character who makes a point of exotic smoking - pipe or something - but otherwise its very much gone.

Go to the 12:49 mark in this video to see some of the reasons why smoking was so casual in the US up until the 80's. A large portion of the adult US population smoked, cigarette ads were everywhere and there were really no barriers to purchasing them (just drop some money in the vending machine and pick your poison). Big Tobacco really had had as much influence in the US then as social media does today.

When I began my working life, in a hotel, we had a cigarette vending machine. I always remembered that being a rip off. Not only was it 10% or so more expensive? But you got fewer tabs per pack to boot. So an already expensive and frankly pointless addiction became more expensive, and I suppose more pointless if you relied on that.

Heck, thinking back to the 80’s, when we’d visit Grandad’s print house, his staff would be smoking at their machines.

Anyways. The A-Team, a retrospective.

I absolutely adored this show as a kid, and of course Mr. T was my favourite.

I’m now getting through season 3. And this is genuinely one of those shows You Couldn’t Make Anymore.

Not because of pc or woke or what have you, but because so much of it is just done and dusted.

Never a show to take itself terribly seriously, it’s well known for ridiculous gun battles where nobody gets hurt, and like GI Joe, anytime a vehicle gets squished we see the occupants safely escape. Which means the violence is all sterilised.

I’m aware there was much clasping of pearls over the violence showing, but in the modern day it’s mostly silly rather than thrilling.

Add in the ridiculous builds they do when inadvisably locked in a shed, and you end up with a unique, if not exactly high rent show.

I’m sure there’s typically someone, somewhere convinced they could remake this. But to do so and recapture the silliness played largely straight, without trying to nod and wink or play against expectation? That I just don’t think would work.

Also? Mr. T is…kinda singular. He wasn’t just popular because he’s well ‘ard. But though out the show he’s the friend to the kids. He loves his Mum, drinks his Milk and takes his vitamins. So he acts as a pretty positive role model.

They did remake it (although it ended up as a movie not the TV show that was initially talked about) released in 2010

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_team

it was an adequate move but without a lot of the charm of the original

I love that film. I haven't watched the series for about 35 years, but I thought the film hit all the right points. It doesn't double down on the "building random stuff when locked in a cage" aspect of the original, but there is a bit of fabrication going on.

I am now sad to think that even the film is 15 years old at this point :(

I never took to the film. It’s one of those I know I’ve seen, but other than the tank parachuting scene, is one of those I couldn’t tell you a damned thing about.

Not gonna dump on it though.

Law & Order, Special Victims Unit

Fell down a YouTube clips rabbit hole for this series, and so bought S1 on Prime.

It’s very good, isn’t it? A drama without being dramatic about it as CSI and NCIS would become. At least the first season, I dare say it’ll jump the shark at some point over the years. But so far it’s top notch stuff.

Please no more L&O it's always on TV in America. The USA network ran a SVU marathon that lasted for months. Months if nothing but L&O:SVU.

It was especially heinous.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Please no more L&O it's always on TV in America. The USA network ran a SVU marathon that lasted for months. Months if nothing but L&O:SVU.

It was especially heinous.

All copaganda, all the time!

Rewatched the first episode of Panty and Stocking, absolute insane whirlwind of quality anime animation, sex and poop jokes, swearing and satire of america, it's completely mad, but really entertaining.

Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin

Lot of UC zealots didn't like this OVA series when it came out for continuity reasons, but UC zealots are always wrong anyway.

Good animation. Good story. Maybe hinges a bit too close at times to 'Zeon did nothing wrong' in tone, but avoids Unicorn's missteps in that Zeon is never presented as the idealistic state it posits itself to be. In addition to the prequel exploring Char's origins, it's as much about the Zabis and the Zabis are presented as a colorfully dysfunctional band of misfits who lead millions (billions) of people off a cliff. Against all of that is the story of the creation of mobile suits, both the Zaku and the Gundam itself.

It's a good series of OVAs. Slow at times and with large recap sections from back when it had a long and messy release schedule but still a solid series.