It's Only People Pretending: New TV thread

[jebreject]

Man, how about this new season of Justified, eh?

[elpollodiablo]

Please spoiler-guard to the extent that it's possible. I've been meaning to rewatch the last few episodes of se. 2 and haven't gotten around to it yet, so I haven't started se. 3 yet. Good, though?

[jebreject]

Intense, so far.

[jebreject]

(I didn't really have much to say. I mostly just wanted to quickly and quietly kill that other thread.)

[DanielBurns11]

So I just recently finished Friday Night Lights, and now I need something to fill the big empty hole where it used to be. I tried Switched at Birth but it's fucking terrible. Any (Netflix instant streaming) suggestions?

[clare]

The bloke got snared by this the other night http://www.abc.net.au/tv/thestraits/ I suspect you won't be able to watch it unless you're here, so here's a wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Straits. With Rachel Ward on the list of directors, Louis Nowra on the list of writers, and Rena Owen on the list of actors, I can't see how it can go wrong. It was a bit violent and dark for my liking, but as I said, the bloke thought it was great.

[jebreject]

So I just recently finished Friday Night Lights, and now I need something to fill the big empty hole where it used to be. I tried Switched at Birth but it's fucking terrible. Any (Netflix instant streaming) suggestions?

If you haven't seen any of the following, I guess, which are all on Netflix:

Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, ummmm ...

[dieblucasdie]

Also, Party Down and Dead Like Me. I'd especially rep the latter, knowing what I know of DB11.

On a non-Netflix-tip, I've been catching up on Chuck, since it just ended its run. Despite loving it through S1-S2, I gave up on it late-S3, because of things-we-can-talk-about-if-anyone-else-cares, but it's really charming and sweet and light-hearted throughout. Light, but well-written and well-wrought emotionally, and with good performances all around. And, without exaggeration, I don't think any show in the history of television has been so adept at using guest casting. They did it over and over again, with has-been and flash-in-the-pan alike, seamlessly.  Even Nicole fucking Ritchie ca 2007 seemed like a part of that world.

[elpollodiablo]

My kids today were discussing Breaking Bad as allegory for the American worker and free enterprise. It was pretty awesome.

[hannah]

On a non-Netflix-tip, I've been catching up on Chuck, since it just ended its run. Despite loving it through S1-S2, I gave up on it late-S3, because of things-we-can-talk-about-if-anyone-else-cares, but it's really charming and sweet and light-hearted throughout.

I care! Because I think that's when I gave up on it, too.

[dieblucasdie]

Well, then you probably know as well as I do the problems with S3: the mishandling of the Shaw character and Brandon Routh, the annoying way Sarah was made into a plot device instead of a character, the increasing ridiculousness of the ongoing story arcs. (It should be noted that these things are not entirely the show's fault. NBC unexpectedly picked up the back 9 episodes in both S3 and S4, then unexpectedly renewed it. They did 5 episodes they thought would be the series finale before the real one).

S4 definitely has some of the same problems, but it's saved by a really awesome guest run by Timothy Dalton, and by the show realizing that it didn't have to keep finding ways to keep Chuck and Sarah apart. If you just watch it to enjoy the character interactions and the overall goofy-retro tone, realizing that the quality of the plot is going to vary wildly on an episode-by-episode basis (the S4 episode "Chuck vs. Phase 3" might be the best in the show's entire run, for example, and the S4 episode "Chuck vs. The Aisle of Terror" might be the lamest), you'll still really enjoy it.

[YojimboMonkey]

On my own tonight. Some Buck Rogers gon get watched.

So I've finally opened the box set of this I have. Pretty jarring difference in production values between the 2-part opener and the remainder. It's a pretty mixed bag quality-wise too. Some of it's hilariously bad and some of it's just bad. But it's mostly entertaining.

The fights are just ludicrously awful though. They're constantly having Buck Rogers do these roundhouse kicks and dude can hardly lift his foot above his knee.

[YojimboMonkey]

Also Ian laughs uproariously any time Twiki says anything which is entertaining in itself

[Thermofusion]

Is it me or are Twiki's "BIDI BIDI BIDI"s incredibly, horribly loud compared to the rest of the sound mix? I was watching that shit with my system on and every time Twiki spoke my whole living room rattled.

[davy]

Is it me or are Twiki's "BIDI BIDI BIDI"s incredibly, horribly loud compared to the rest of the sound mix? I was watching that shit with my system on and every time Twiki spoke my whole living room rattled.

It is loud, but it's also kind of essential. It's absence would bother me, I think. It's like the irregular heartbeat of the show.

I do wish they had increased the volume on the things Twiki actually says (with words).

In related news, I sort of accidentally won this unopened 1979 action figure of Dr. Huer on Ebay last week:



L wasn't impressed.

[Thermofusion]

I'm up at 1:17 AM and downloading The River, cause ya homeboy 'mo-'mo wants his riparian entertainments, in the Hyacinth Bucket sense

[davy]

I'm up at 1:17 AM and downloading The River, cause ya homeboy 'mo-'mo wants his riparian entertainments, in the Hyacinth Bucket sense

Ho man that was some terrible shit.

[Thermofusion]

No good? Was going to watch it tonight

[davy]

I'm guessing the concept was a seamless blend of LOST and Paranormal Activity -- that's basically what it is, but it's so badly acted, written, filmed, scored, paced, etc etc that it becomes a parody. Some neat scenes, some cheap ones, but on the whole, the damn thing is just embarrassingly subpar.

[Thermofusion]

Really? Man! My friend sent me excited texts about it last night and now I don't know what to think. I do think the found footage format is hokey, but jungle river expeditions, science experiments and unseen horrors all set my pulp receptors off, so we'll just have to see.

[dieblucasdie]

I haven't watched it yet, but FWIW davy's in the minority with that reaction. Especially given your love of AHS, you'll probably like it.

[Thermofusion]

Hmm well Davy's my boy, but I disagree with him a LOT of the time. The River needs to click because the nuclear option is to start watching Alcatraz instead, and nobody wants that to happen.

[davy]

jungle river expeditions, science experiments and unseen horrors all set my pulp receptors off

Me too man! I do find it hard to believe that I'm in the minority, though. I thought for sure it was going to get torn apart by critics.

[dieblucasdie]

The critics I follow all liked it, with some reservations, mostly about how sustainable the premise will be over the long haul.

Like I said, I ain't watched it yet though; it's definitely possible that I'll completely agree with you! Just think that it sounds like a good bet for Thermo. Certainly a better bet than (shudder) Alcatraz

[Thermofusion]

Did you get around to watching AHS or are you eternally boycotting it on principle? Or did I already ask you this?