TV & streaming thread

[Malcador]

 

Barring us finding out the Illuminati were behind this, don't expect much to be 'untold' at this point

[LadyCrimson]

The first couple minutes - Amazon/convenience addict - yeah that's me.

It's kind of an interesting series (it's on Netflix too) although for my tastes he forgoes info depth for humor bits or digestibility.

 

[InsaneCommander]

 

Barring us finding out the Illuminati were behind this, don't expect much to be 'untold' at this point

 

Maybe it was the Illuminati from American Gods?

[ShadySands]

We watched the first 3 episodes of the Order on Netflix. It's a college-age supernatural dramedy. It's really weird in its plot, pacing, and tone but my wife couldn't stop watching. It's got some familiar faces in the background like Matt Frewer and Sam Trammel as well as a lot of people that pop up in Canadian shows that you may recognize but not know the names of. I can't really recommend it unless this kind of thing is your jam. 

 

I also saw that the OA season 2 is out but I'm not sure if I want to jump back into that yet. I liked it okay but thought it was a bit pretentious.

Edited March 29, 2019 by ShadySands

[Lexx]

Finished Love, Death + Robots.

 

Was pretty good overall, some episodes are simply epic (Three Robots is amazing). Sonnie's Edge is still not good, except for the animation of course. Beyond the Aquila Rift reminded me a bit of the Outer Limits revival show episode Tempests.

 

I had no problems with Sonnie's Edge. Yeah it's kinda edgy, but I still liked it / thought it was interesting.

 

Beyond the Aquila Rift was the best episode, imo.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Lexx

[InsaneCommander]

The last episode of STD didn't explain

 

 

 

how the suit was used to instantly teleport the people from the chapel in episode 2. I don't see how that could be done with the tecnology they described or even with other techs in conjunction. Let's see if they will simply forget about it.

 

 

[Zoraptor]

 

Trouble or genius of time travel plots is that you can explain just about anything with it. In this case it certainly appears that not everything we've seen done by the red angel was done by the Kima Burnham version of it- unless she was lying the signals that triggered everything in the current timeline weren't hers only the Spock stuff was(?)* If she could transport one person she could transport all of them by going back in time and taking them one by one, and it would appear instantaneous to the observers.

 

 

*Bit iirc, as I zoned out every time there was pointless melodrama and there was a lot of pointless melodrama in that episode. Shame that, as it was a pretty solid episode otherwise with only a couple of glaring plot holes.

 

 

Why didn't Georgiou smash the transmitter rather than turning it off, or at least smash it before attacking Leland? That was straight after the most painful bit of overscripted emotion in the ep, so I may have missed something. Also, the AI cannot even stab someone effectively enough to kill them...

 

 

I'm definitely getting distinct 'closed circle resolution' vibes from the main plot.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Zoraptor

[ShadySands]

Ended up finishing The Order because my wife was hooked. I liked it overall though it for pretty angsty a bit towards the end along with the common problem of smart people doing stupid things to move the plot forward at times. It's easier for me to forgive in these types of shows than it is in Star Trek where I expect a certain level of common sense.

 

Speaking of which we did end up watching the last episode of Discovery. I found myself reaching for my phone quite a bit. Not as bad overall as the previous episode but still full of dumb as Zor already pointed out.

[BruceVC]

We watched the first 3 episodes of the Order on Netflix. It's a college-age supernatural dramedy. It's really weird in its plot, pacing, and tone but my wife couldn't stop watching. It's got some familiar faces in the background like Matt Frewer and Sam Trammel as well as a lot of people that pop up in Canadian shows that you may recognize but not know the names of. I can't really recommend it unless this kind of thing is your jam. 

 

I also saw that the OA season 2 is out but I'm not sure if I want to jump back into that yet. I liked it okay but thought it was a bit pretentious.

I have been deciding if I should start watching The Order, I do like supernatural series but only if the intended audience is suppose to be adult

 

I am on episode 3 of season 2 of OA and I recommend it, dont you want to see where Prairie ended up after the school incident  finale ..there are some interesting plot twists that make season 2 worthwhile so far 

[InsaneCommander]

 

Trouble or genius of time travel plots is that you can explain just about anything with it. In this case it certainly appears that not everything we've seen done by the red angel was done by the Kima Burnham version of it- unless she was lying the signals that triggered everything in the current timeline weren't hers only the Spock stuff was(?)* If she could transport one person she could transport all of them by going back in time and taking them one by one, and it would appear instantaneous to the observers.

 

 

*Bit iirc, as I zoned out every time there was pointless melodrama and there was a lot of pointless melodrama in that episode. Shame that, as it was a pretty solid episode otherwise with only a couple of glaring plot holes.

 

 

Why didn't Georgiou smash the transmitter rather than turning it off, or at least smash it before attacking Leland? That was straight after the most painful bit of overscripted emotion in the ep, so I may have missed something. Also, the AI cannot even stab someone effectively enough to kill them...

 

 

I'm definitely getting distinct 'closed circle resolution' vibes from the main plot.

 

That is a good explanation, but just make it even stranger that the Federation developed such technology (not to mention the spore drive) and it will disappear before TOS. Even if they have moral reasons to ban it or they go back in time and prevent its creation, why couldn't the Romulans or another less decent race develop something similar?

Edited March 31, 2019 by InsaneCommander

[Zoraptor]

Discovery spoiler

 

 

Up until last ep no one knew Kima Burnham had time traveled, pretty easy to make it so her knowledge of time travel is based on her future self being able to- if you're using time travel as a plot device that's an almost cliché resolution to its invention and a way to make it self contained since the inventor ends up in the future with their invention; and she is being anchored to something in the future too. That closes one circle to make her invention of time travel dependent on her time traveling in the first place and it then 'cannot' be invented until that future is reached.

 

And why not go the full figure 8 double circle- send Control back in time to become the sphere with the data it wants in the present time... Wouldn't be surprised if Leland ends up being catapulted across space to become the first borg though, despite the plot holes that would create. The writers may find it, er, futile resisting the temptation to use the borg.

 

 

Can't easily fix the Spore Drive though short of invalidating the whole timeline, which does have its appeals. Maybe it's like warp causing the unraveling of the universe, just kind of narratively self contained and never mentioned again.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Zoraptor

[ShadySands]

Regarding the Borg

 

they claim to be hundreds of thousands qqof years old so unless it's a lie Leland would have to go way, way back in time and across the Galaxy to be some kind of proto-Borg. I'm also recalling that in Voyager they were supposed to have already been modern Borg at least a thousand years earlier. So he'd have to go back at least before that.

 

 

I've been thinking about the show a lot and at first I thought the shorter seasons were one of the main reasons I thought it didn't feel like Trek. My reasoning was that they didn't have the time to explore the rest of the crew and the broader universe but then I realized that The Orville is also shorter than traditional Trek and they still do a decent job.

 

Probably just need to accept that STD is never going to be what I want it to be. Instead it's going to be one of the weaker Netflix Marvel shows in space.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Game of Thrones S1-S7.

 

I'd already seen this but my partner wanted to watch it because one of her friends was watching it. I took a different approach with watching this instead of getting asked a million questions about who, what, where, why etc. Before watching the first episode, one of the things I did was to print off the maps of Westeros and Essos. With a highlighter, marked out the different territories for each house and numbered them. I then said to my partner, write these names down for each house and gave her all the names of the major characters - Lord, Lady, uncles, aunts and their children. I also told her who Jon Snow is and who his father and mother were and how they're related to different characters. She doesn't care for spoilers and prefers to know instead of being surprised. Once we had all this worked out we watched the first episode.

 

It took about three hours to get through the first episode including all the prep before hand. A lot of pausing and questions being asked, who is this? Who's that? This wasn't very reassuring for me. I think it was around the middle of the first season that it all sort of gelled for her. I'm surprised we got through all seven seasons so quickly.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Hiro Protagonist

[ShadySands]

 

snip

I have been deciding if I should start watching The Order, I do like supernatural series but only if the intended audience is suppose to be adult

 

I am on episode 3 of season 2 of OA and I recommend it, dont you want to see where Prairie ended up after the school incident finale ..there are some interesting plot twists that make season 2 worthwhile so far

It's rated TV-MA but seems targeted to a younger crowd. There's no sex or nudity but there is a lot of cursing and a little violence and gore. I liked it more than The Magicians and it's less angsty and a little more humorous than that.

 

I'll probably be fine just reading about what happens in the OA

[BruceVC]

Game of Thrones S1-S7.

 

I'd already seen this but my partner wanted to watch it because one of her friends was watching it. I took a different approach with watching this instead of getting asked a million questions about who, what, where, why etc. Before watching the first episode, one of the things I did was to print off the maps of Westeros and Essos. With a highlighter, marked out the different territories for each house and numbered them. I then said to my partner, write these names down for each house and gave her all the names of the major characters - Lord, Lady, uncles, aunts and their children. I also told her who Jon Snow is and who his father and mother were and how they're related to different characters. She doesn't care for spoilers and prefers to know instead of being surprised. Once we had all this worked out we watched the first episode.

 

It took about three hours to get through the first episode including all the prep before hand. A lot of pausing and questions being asked, who is this? Who's that? This wasn't very reassuring for me. I think it was around the middle of the first season that it all sort of gelled for her. I'm surprised we got through all seven seasons so quickly.

I am very impressed with the effort you put in so your partner is able to understand and enjoy this ostensibly complex series, nice one 

[Lexx]

Finished watching Star Trek DS9 last week. The ending felt really rushed.. like, they knew it had to end and thus started ticking off plot points with a checklist.

 

Also the whole introduction of Esri was... not good. Took me a LONG time to get used to her and even then it was kinda... eh. Honestly, should have just not added that character. Oh yeah, and Vick... why? What's the point? Even worse, in the end he pretty much did the job of Esri, making it even more obvious that Esri was not necessary at all (at least in the form she was supposed to be).

 

All in all I liked DS9 quite a lot. There was rarely an episode where I thought "god, let it just end". For a while, though, I've seen it more as Ferengi Star Trek, as every other episode has something to do with Ferengi or the Grand Nagus.

[majestic]

I think Ira Steven Behr is a huge James Darren fan and at some point just asked him if he'd come on the show, and he agreed. That's the reason he was shoehorned into every other episode.

 

And sometimes I feel like the only one that liked the Ferengi episodes. Profit and Lace in particular got a lot of hate but I just laughed at the antics. It really helps being a fanboy sometimes, also Ezri didn't bother me one bit. I doubt I'll ever get tired of watching Bree Tristan* in anything. If anyone had to replace Joey Summerskill it's nice that it was her.

 

*Best bottle episode on TV in the history of ever. Fly of Breaking Bad comes close (and is obviously far superior in production values), but nothing really beats that look on the T-1000's face after realizing what he's done. Heh.

 

 

 

[ShadySands]

My favorite Ferengi episodes are the Magnificent Ferengi* and Little Green Men. I didn't really care for Ezri and my wife downright hated her but then Jadzia was her girl crush. Terry Farrell just wanted a reduced role so she could also do other projects and they decided to kill her off instead. 

 

My biggest Dax complaint was the evolution of Joran Dax. He went from having anger issues to being a manipulative psycho killer... qu'est-ce que c'est

 

*Iggy Pop as a Vorta was also nice

[BruceVC]

I just finished the second season of OA and it was brilliant, the summary below from Wikipedia  is a good encapsulation of the vast improvement of the second season

 

 

 

Jesse Scheden of IGN gave The OA: Part II a score of 8.8 out of 10, saying the season is "bigger, more ambitious and much weirder than its predecessor". Amanda Bell of TV Guide gave the season a positive review, saying that "the show isn't meant for everyone, but for true believers in the OA, Part II will be a welcome fellow-up to the first." Rachel Syme of The New Republic praised the season, labeling the show as "the best, most inaccessible show on television", saying that "[she wishes] more television was this unafraid to leave its audiences fumbling for understanding."

[kanisatha]

My favorite Ferengi episodes are the Magnificent Ferengi* and Little Green Men. I didn't really care for Ezri and my wife downright hated her but then Jadzia was her girl crush. Terry Farrell just wanted a reduced role so she could also do other projects and they decided to kill her off instead. 

 

My biggest Dax complaint was the evolution of Joran Dax. He went from having anger issues to being a manipulative psycho killer... qu'est-ce que c'est

 

*Iggy Pop as a Vorta was also nice

Yup. Was extremely pissed when they killed Jadzia off. My crush too.

[Gromnir]

 

 

*Best bottle episode on TV in the history of ever. Fly of Breaking Bad comes close (and is obviously far superior in production values), but nothing really beats that look on the T-1000's face after realizing what he's done. Heh.

 

 

 

 

am only mentioning our favorite tv episode 'cause,

 

1) am suspecting more than a few has never seen it, and

 

2) it is current available on Netflix... but for how long?

 

3) is kinda a cheat.

 

season 5, episode 22 o' the twilight zone. sure, the production values is dated, but am thinking folks forget just how fantastic were the twilight zone, and an occurrence at owl creek bridge were a singular noteworthy episode for multiple reasons.

 

rod serling intro

 

 Tonight, a presentation so special and unique that for the first time in the five years we've been presenting The Twilight Zone, we're offering a film shot in France by others. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival of 1962, as well as other international awards, here is a haunting study of the incredible from the past master of the incredible, Ambrose Bierce. Here is the French production of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

 

 

if you do not know the story by bierce, consider yourself lucky to have this opportunity. do not spoil.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps if we had to make a top 20 list o' favorite tv episodes all-time, at least three is gonna be twilight zone.

[majestic]

I'm not sure I could name a favorite TV series episode (or made for TV film) in general. Quality of Mercy was a fantastic piece of storytelling with only two actors and another guy in a really cheap plastic armor. It didn't feel like the showrunners were trying to cut down production costs. Heh.

 

It's surprisingly difficult to get Twilight Zone here. TV stations don't air it, it's on no streaming service and while there are box sets to buy they're not only ridiculously expensive but also riddled with production problems that were never fixed.

Edited April 2, 2019 by majestic

[LadyCrimson]

CBS Now put up the first episode of their new Twilight Zone on YouTube for free. I watched it.

 

Good production values, but zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I think they should have stuck with keeping episodes shorter. Even the original TZ's one hour episodes weren't generally all that great. Maybe they could have made them 40 minutes - an hour is too long.

 

I was half-tempted to sub to them just to watch the series but based on that first episode, I think I'll continue to skip.

[ShadySands]

Since I'll take whatever excuse I can to talk about Trek and Vic was mentioned earlier

 

https://observationdeck.kinja.com/midweek-trivia-1772078033

[LittleArmadillo0]

I felt the Twilight episode was definitely a little too long. I think that a half hour would have been better time.

Also I can't really get into the stories if it is a famous/recognizable person playing the main roles.

I couldn't take this story seriously nor any of the teasers for the upcoming ones because I will always remember them from a different show, movie, or stand-up.

I probably won't be delving into the Twilight Zone after this because I just don't want to get another streaming platform just for one show.