Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Three Body Problem.

Having detested the book's writing style, I am pleasantly surprised by the TV show. Turns out the underlying plot is actually interesting, and the shorter format TV series enables them to cut out a lot of the random waffling and exposition that was seriously damaging my calm.

Also, holy crap, Benedict Wong is British... No wonder his accent is excellent

Also, Renegade Nell shows that Nick The Useless Junkie Liability from the woeful Fear The Walking Dead can genuinely act!

 Flinty wrote:
Three Body Problem.

Having detested the book's writing style, I am pleasantly surprised by the TV show. Turns out the underlying plot is actually interesting, and the shorter format TV series enables them to cut out a lot of the random waffling and exposition that was seriously damaging my calm.

Also, holy crap, Benedict Wong is British... No wonder his accent is excellent

I'm not sure if I want to watch this version of the story having watched the Tencent adaptation.

The Netflix version seems to have really changed things from what I have heard. Concepts like the cosmic background radiation flickering being not that any more.
I had been excited to see it until I saw who was involved.

The Netflix version is quite different to the books. They have broken the main book characters out into more individuals to cover a bit more ground for instance. I skimmed through the book so quickly I couldn't identify any other major changes though.

As I disliked the books, it is a definite benefit to me

If you liked the books, maybe avoid as it might just annoy you.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
One highlight for me was Eddie Hitler turning up

Watched all episodes of 3 Body Problem, a resounding 'meh'.

The premises is interesting, but the execution is done in a very cack handed way. I've not read the books, so I imagine therenis a lot of important details missing, but the part where the aliens discover Humans can lie was absolutely idiotic.

I think this will be another infamous Netflix hype for season 1, and them gets cancelled or not renewed for a second season.

Also all of the characters are either arrogant, or wet blankets. The lad who had a very comical fate ahead of him was the equivalent of a human doormat, come to think of it, they could have saved some money and just used an actual doormat.

Twisted Metal (Season 1) Paramount+ (UK)

Just finished this. I never played the games, but was certainly aware of them and recognised Sweet Tooth right away.

This was fun. From the get go it's cheap, cheesey, with slightly dodgy CGI, but that's all part of its charm. It doesn't, in any way, take itself seriously, runs with its tackiness and seems to have fun with it.

It reminded me a lot of Ash vs the Evil Dead, short, 30 minute episodes that just get the job done, with similar cheesey humour.

In the future, after some huge internet catastrophe, people live in walled cities, whilst criminals, outlaws etc have to eek an existence outside in the wasteland (although it implies that essentially the rich get to stay inside and the poor get shafted....).

However, the cities need supplies, so they send out Milk Men (so named as they have a short expiration date) in suped up, armed and armoured cars to do delivery runs for them.

Season 1 sets up the premise and introduces many of the game characters, Season 2 looks like it will follow the game more closely, which is a tournament that pits the best Milk Men against each other in a Winner kills all death match tournament.

It's 10, half hour episodes, so very easy to binge in a weekend and I had a lot of fun with it.

Stranger Things

Got myself a month of Netflix. So decided to binge Stranger Things.

Seen the series before, but only series by series. Binged, it’s really rather good.

My only complaint is that 1-3? Will is just a drippy little weenie. Season 4 is up next, so maybe he’ll start to serve a purpose then. Been ages since I last watched that one so I don’t actually know.

Tokyo Vice (HBO Max)

Finished the last episode of season 2. Pretty wild ride, last few episodes were pretty damn tense.

It took a fair amount of liberties with the book it was based off of, but it was still a fun watch. Doubt there will be a 3rd season, as it seems to have all been brought to a natural, mostly satisfying conclusion.

Fallout kicks off tomorrow on Prime.

I’m rather looking forward to it.

And here we go.

Fallout

On the first episode, and they’ve nailed the look of things. No reinvention, no reinterpretation. And it’s feeling about right so far, though having only played Fallout 4 I accept there are going to be more informed opinions than my own out there.

And with the whole shebang up for viewing, that’s today’s entertainment well in hand.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
First episode down, and this is so far head and shoulders above Halo, another beloved video game franchise recent adapted for the small screen.

We have interesting characters, some intrigue and all made in a compelling way.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also?

Not for kids. Soooooo not for kids! Not from E2 onward! Like. At all. Much violence and people going kaboom splat.

Arrested Development

A cult classic show I never saw till I binged it over the last month or so. It ran first from 2003-6, then revived in 2013, then again in 2019.

And on balance, it's pretty darn good.

The first episode just ropes you in. We meed the Bluth family rich California property developers where the father gets arrested for embezzlement and maybe "light treason" forcing his wife and grown kids to fend for themselves when their assets are frozen.

It's rapid fire, absurdist and at times brilliant. And great narration by Ron Howard.

There was a jump the shark moment for me (and not the literal shark jumping they get Henry Winkler to do) and that's the Mr F plot line. It introduces Wee Britain, a Chinatown like British neighborhood in California and English spies who seem connected to the whole Light Treason plot. Oscar winner Charlize Theron plays a new love interest with a hidden agenda and... All the set up is for a joke at the expense of the developmentally disabled. There is no Mr F, it stands for Mentally (word for developmentally disabled which we shall not use here) Female. It's not funny, it's cruel, and it sinks like the Queen Mary. After that the show was still good, but never great again.

Your millage may vary of course.

The two Netflix reboot seasons were uneven but, again, at times truly great. Finale, meh, not the worst I've seen.

So uh, watch? If you have 30 hours or so you're not using.

Dr Who - Four to Doomsday

The Fifth Doctor’s second tale, following on from the not very good Castrovalva. Companions at this time are Tegan, Nyssa and unfortunately, Adric.

Poor old Peter Davison. Whilst his time in the role would become a classic, he had a fairly rough start in my opinion. But I guess that’s just part and parcel of regeneration. The actors and writers need time to bed in and figure out how to support each other’s strengths. Which in the case of Colin Baker was “oh god, oh god, just burn it all down”.

The story here really isn’t terribly interesting. But we do get some very impressive special effects, such as one of the Androids casually flipping up its human face like a visor, providing a squizz at the gubbins underneath.

We also get a fairly well choreographed fight scene between two Greek Androids. When one loses, some clever editing allows for a pretty impressive sword through the chest.

The sets are also pretty impressive, if generic. Certainly I suspect they’ll have been recycled from other Dr Who stories and sci-fi serials. Because that happened all the time and helped get the most out of the typically scant budget.

We also have some interesting concepts, which didn’t really get the best outing here. And it does improve as we delve into the third episode, despite Adric’s single minded commitment to being a drippy wet blanket. Even when he’s in awe of the baddies’ technology, he conspires to somehow sound utterly bored by the whole thing.

Of course, this is looking back from some 42 years of intervening TV, so is perhaps too harsh a judgement.

But Adric can still Get In The Bin. Dreadful character. Worse than Clara and Clara is pretty bloody awful.

Is this one of the stories where Adric just randomly joins up with the bad guys?

Worse companion ever!

Yeah.

As ever I’m not keen to blame the actor, as there’s writers, directors and producers involved too before it hits the audience.

But Adric the character really is a drippy bore.

Renegade Nell

(on Disney+)

Superhero highwaywoman family entertainment with her out of Derry Girls. Was slightly put off when I first learned about the super-powers aspect, but needn't have worried. Whole family are absolutely loving it so far (got one episode left to watch). Louisa Harland is amazing. Just slightly sad to see that one of my big-time crushes when younger, Joely Richardson, is now playing the older woman...

It wasn’t anything like I was expecting, but it’s a cracking show right enough.

Dr Who - The Visitation

Davison’s fourth outing, and definitely finding its feet. We’re going back in time to the Great Plague and eventually the Great Fire of London.

Memories wise this one is confusing. It’s one that’s always stuck in my mind. And whilst I was alive at the time? I’d have been maybe 19 months old. Now my memory is surprisingly good, but it’s not that good. But I definitely remember the Android thing from a book in my Primary School a few scant years later. And I remember recalling the serial. So I’ve probably caught a re-run at some point, or a friend had it on video. Which would’ve been a home recording for certain.

We introduced our son to Red Dwarf with the first four episodes. I find a Red Dwarf works best in small batches and can become more tiresome than entertaining after too many episodes in a row.

I’d agree with that. And I think we can argue it shows why, in the age of steaming, writing and directing for the small screen is a different challenge to a couple of decades ago.

Whilst individually most Red Dwarf episodes are bloody good fun, it was of course made and written as a Once A Week Treat. And it still works as that today.

But once binged? You see it is somewhat repetitive.

Dr Who - Earthshock

A very solid serial, with the Cybermen returning to menace the Earth.

Costumes are fantastic, especially for the tiny budget. The acting is also…alright, I guess. I mean this is 80’s Dr Who so whilst above par, it’s not a difficult achievement.

Best of all? Adric’s final appearance. Again and as ever not needling at the actor. But i was glad to see the back of him. Whiny, mopey, ineffectual git.

It was a big thrill, back in the day, to see the return of the cybermen. But Beryl Reid! Come on John, dial it back a bit! Farewell Adric, you weren't worthy of the silent credits.