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They do upgrade the ship to modern standards. But the whole floaty nascelle thing looks daft.

And frankly? There’s no Culture Shock. Language drift is of course neatly covered by Universal Translators. But 1,000 years of technological advancement and the crew just…y’know…..sort of learn it with no bother? Nah.

That’s like expecting a Norman to just get on with a computer. And not freak out. Or even first gain a rudimentary understanding of the basics.

Season 4 I couldn’t watch all of. So perhaps there are answers I’ve not seen. But even so?

Bloody hell.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 nels1031 wrote:
Last episode of HBO Max’s Task just finished.

Much like the excellent Mare of Easttown(also HBO), it ends a dark, violent story on somber but heartfelt notes. Everyone involved is on their A game, and Mark Ruffalo might win an award imo. The cinemtography makes me want to visit Delaware County Pennsylvania.

9/10, a little slow in places, the family drama of Ruffalo’s character kind of dragged on but it did have a powerful pay off. Overall a very good modern day cops and robbers miniseries.

Do you think there's going to be a sequel series?

Possible, but I highly doubt it. It felt like pretty much every character had some form of closure and there were no loose threads. It had the same vibe of The Night Of, Mare of Easttown, We Own This City and on and on. All are great mini-series with a self-contained story.

I think the “prestige” mini-series format is probably HBO’s current bread and butter, with the occasional pop-culture relevant ongoing series during peak viewing season(if such a thing still exists).

Mad Doc's zombie thread reminded me that I hadn't posted a review of Talamasca: The Secret Order. I enjoyed the sneak peek airing last weekend with it setting up the backgrounds for the lead characters and connecting it to the other shows (it's always nice to see Eric Bogosian's Daniel Molloy). Here's hoping that they keep the little Easter Eggs like the one they had in the sneak peek

Helen: We watch vampires, witches, ghosts and demons...
Guy: ... and zombies?
Helen: Zombies don't exist. You've been watching ro much telly.

As this airs on AMC, it was a nice inside joke about that other franchise on AMC

Lie to Me

Entirely inoffensive. I think I mostly just like to watch Tim Roth in action

Invested in a bunch of spooky/horror themed kids’ tv shows from yesteryear.

Kicking off with Chocky. I was around when this first aired in 1984, but was likely far too young to watch it. And if I did? Much too young to have any memories.

Based on a John “Day of the Triffids” Wyndham novel, you know you’re in for a treat though.

The Clifton House Mystery 1977.

Yup, another kids TV ghost story. Whilst low on actual scares, this does atmosphere really well. Kinda like a family friendly The Conjuring, but better than merely mediocre.

I particularly enjoy the lighting here. The haunted house is old, and typically Victorian on the inside, all brown and beige. But once things are resolved and the spirits laid to rest? The internal lighting is enhanced, the walls are cleaned. Just a nice wee touch.

I can see why this is a cult classic. It’s well made and really enjoyable.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Invested in a bunch of spooky/horror themed kids’ tv shows from yesteryear.

Kicking off with Chocky. I was around when this first aired in 1984, but was likely far too young to watch it. And if I did? Much too young to have any memories.

Based on a John “Day of the Triffids” Wyndham novel, you know you’re in for a treat though.

I don't think I ever saw the show, but the book was one of my regular reads as a kid. We also had one of the sequels written by someone else (which I didn't realise at the time was a novelisation of the series), but it was awful.

Oddly enough, we also had the novel of Triffids, but I'm pretty sure I never got around to reading it.

Second and Third Chocky series are definitely lacking a certain something.

The tales on-screen are fine, but they lack the initial mystery of Chocky, what it is, and what it wants.

I can see why Wyndham just did the one book. That ambiguous and slightly sad ending.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And that’s the fifth season of Only Murders in the Building.

It’s such a damned good show. If you’ve not seen it thus far? Do give it a watch.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series one is now on ITV so I can see it without paying the craven turds that is CBS/Paramount. I haven't seen any of it before, nor Discovery.

And I'm quite enjoying it. Pike having had a premonition of his future (if not the bit where he spends the rest of his life after 'The Menagerie' having a great time) gives him a man embracing/fighting destiny vibe. The ship is a fond update and they get the hero shots out of the way in the title sequence. So far we've got to the first appearance of the Gorn (the Enterprise hiding a cloud - where do they get these ideas?) but I'm liking quite a bit. I'm getting strong The Orville vibes, but that might just mean we've come full circle.

King of the Castle

Originally a kids series from 1977, it was considered a bit too scary for kids on their own. A short delay in airing and it was bumped to the Sunday Teatime slot.

Grammar School Boy, who recently moved to the top floor of a tower block finds himself trapped in a slightly terrifying fantasy world when, fleeing bullies, he takes refuge in the malfunctioning lift. Which takes him down. Waaaaay down.

This is pretty good to be honest. Dated by fashion and effects budget limitations it nevertheless has some real atmosphere. For kids of my vintage, the staging reminds me of Knightmare and T-Bag. But with a slight surrealist, dreamlike quality.

Unfortunately the DVD transfer isn’t great. It is watchable, but it’s kinda VHS quality. But then, it’s of sufficient Cult Status to only justify publishing it, but not cleaning it up.

Macross II

Taking a break from my usual fare, and bought this on Prime. Very rare I watch anime, but felt in the mood. Happy to report the dubbed voice acting is solid.

It is of course stilted here and there, where the original dialogue runs longer in Japanese than it does in English, which is fine. The main thing there’s actual effort been put in.

Visual design is pretty gorgeous, falling somewhere between G1 Transformers and Akira.

Wait, just had an “ad break” ident. Turns out, I’m watching Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II, Lovers Again . Which I think was the show adapted in the US as Robotech?

Honestly had to google the plot as part of the first episode left me baffled. But now I know about the war singing thing I’ve settled down somewhat.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Macross II

Taking a break from my usual fare, and bought this on Prime. Very rare I watch anime, but felt in the mood. Happy to report the dubbed voice acting is solid.

It is of course stilted here and there, where the original dialogue runs longer in Japanese than it does in English, which is fine. The main thing there’s actual effort been put in.

Visual design is pretty gorgeous, falling somewhere between G1 Transformers and Akira.

Wait, just had an “ad break” ident. Turns out, I’m watching Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II, Lovers Again . Which I think was the show adapted in the US as Robotech?

Honestly had to google the plot as part of the first episode left me baffled. But now I know about the war singing thing I’ve settled down somewhat.

This takes place 80 years after the events of the Macross series that got turned into the first part of Robotech. The latter parts of Robotech are adapted from other anime and don't have anything to do with Macross.

You inspired me to rewatch one of my favorite Mecha shows... Megas XLR

I can’t find Megas to watch anywhere :(

https://archive.org/details/MegasXLRFullShow

It's also on Apple TV... but they want you to donate money.

Not in the UK it’s not :(

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Not in the UK it’s not :(

Hmmm... if you can't visit the Internet Archive, I'll keep looking.

The show even had an evil Bruce Campbell in it.

Really am digging Macross II.

The first episode really did throw me, what with the singers and that. But it does all make internal sense in the end.

Just sucks that, typically, I can’t find the other two parts of the overall tale.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Really am digging Macross II.

The first episode really did throw me, what with the singers and that. But it does all make internal sense in the end.

Just sucks that, typically, I can’t find the other two parts of the overall tale.

The prequel Macross Zero is on DVD.

Watch that. You'll like it.

Unless you don't like missiles.

I'm a little surprised films haven't tried to replicate the Itano Circus more.

The Institute
Burned through this one over the weekend... Solid adaption of the Stephen King book of the same name, about psychic kids being kidnapped and trained by a secret organisation for nefarious purposes. Definite 'made for TV' vibes, and some of the acting is a little shaky (but excusable given that much of the cast is a bunch of kids) but stuck close to the source material. It's been a while since I read the book, but it feels like there was a bit of stuff condensed or left out, but that's also to be expected. Actual changes were minimal, including an ending that sticks close to the book but seems to leave things open for a second season. (And after a quick google, it does appear to have been renewed, although that would presumably be based on original material as the first season finished the book story)

Anyway, worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.

We watched Only Murders in the Building, which was solid entertainment, excepting the second season.

Now we’ve started a series called High Potential or something like that, which is formulaic copaganda for the Big Bang Theory crowd. We’ll probably finish out the season to see how they wrap up the overarching plot, but I really need to find something more exciting to recommend before we start season 2.

What newish comedy or sci fi series are worth watching? Will Alien Earth be too gruesome for my squeamish wife?

Did you know there was a Transporter TV show?

It's not terrible.

Until season 2, where Canada appears to be a stand in for France.

Is that sci fi? I thought Transporter was a Jason Statham movie.

TNG, Disaster

The one in which Picard gets stuck with children, Worf helps deliver Molly O’Brien, and the crew are largely left without the fancy toys.

I feel this kind of an underrated episode. OK, the story itself isn’t really anything special. But there’s a lot of character development. Picard has to learn, pretty rapidly, how to best handle kids when they’re upset. Troi begins her interest in Command when she winds up senior officer on The Bridge.

And of course, there’s lots and lots of scrutting about in Jeffries Tubes, which is a firm favourite Trek Trope of mine.

We get to see less common cast combinations, and as I said earlier, some decent character development.

Also a nice way to build up Ro Laren, who was at the time a pretty new addition.

It’s kinda everything I miss from Modern Trek.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Is that sci fi? I thought Transporter was a Jason Statham movie.

It's a TV spinoff of the Jason Statham movies.

Filled with attractive European cars and attractive European ladies.

@BobtheInquisitor - it’s pretty gruesome in a lot of places, so I’m probably best to be avoided by the squeamish. The new alien beasties are inventive and utterly horrible to people, possibly even more so than than the title beastie.

 Flinty wrote:
@BobtheInquisitor - it’s pretty gruesome in a lot of places, so I’m probably best to be avoided by the squeamish. The new alien beasties are inventive and utterly horrible to people, possibly even more so than than the title beastie.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:


Now we’ve started a series called High Potential

Is this the OG French one or the American remake?

 Easy E wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:


Now we’ve started a series called High Potential

Is this the OG French one or the American remake?

It’s American. The LAPD are the selfless, devoted paragons of justice heartbroken over how much justice they were leaving behind until Hot Sheldon came along to teach them how to nerd down and loosen up.