TV and Streaming: The Thread

[majestic]

On 1/25/2020 at 12:40 AM, 213374U said:

Yeah! It has a lot of words. The best words. It has slow sequences, where many words are exchanged. Do those words make any sense? Who cares, here, have some fan service and POW! BANG! BIFF! not Mary Sue here has some moves straight out of the Matrix. It wouldn't be a Kurtzman show without a needless plot twist but before you can think too long on that watch the introduction of this really foreboding plot device that promises to outdo the signals from the future from DIS in the scope of its stupidity. By the way, did you know Picard likes Earl Grey tea? Like, he really ****ing digs that ****. In fact, I believe his diet is now comprised of 1,000% Earl Grey, hot.

I guess "Star Trek" is just not for me anymore. Not judging anyone who enjoys this, of course. Don't want to ruin it for everyone else so just chalk this comment up to the Russian troll farm or whatever.

 

No, that's fine. I actively wanted to hate the show - who knows, I still might get to, we haven't seen the Romulan Samurai guy yet - and was convinced I would hate it after the initialy fight sequence with Matrix!Girl and her Foreheadalienoftheweek lover. Just somehow I didn't. This feels so much like Rise of Skywalker. Except that one was awesome for all the suck, and this one's at least somewhat interesting in all the scenes that probably aren't from Kurtzman even if they are completely misplaced because the Federation is the worst possibly plot device to reflect upon current political issues.

There's also a long list of things that don't make sense. Why would you create Androids in pairs, what's with recreating Data from a single positronic molecule, that entire Romulan supernova stuff - honestly, starts don't go boom over night Jar Jar, for Christ's sake. Why would Copy!Girl not know  that she's Copy!Girl but Original!Girl knows about her sister and probably her status as android. Cyborg? Is this Terminator now?

Also, what's up with everyone banning AI research except it's a hot topic right now because people have no idea what machine learning is and what it currently does. Gah.

Seriously, we've established that artificial sentient beings have the same rights as everyone in past Trek shows, so they also get the right to be terrorists if they like.

[Skazz]

In other words, what I managed to gather from this thread is that while Picard isn't exactly a great watch, at least most of you were...

*drum roll*

...engaged.

I'm so sorry

 

 

[Hurlshort]

So I've started watching ST:Enterprise. I am enjoying it, Scott Bakula is fun and it has been easy to jump into the story after a long time not watching ST. I also like that I can kind of keep it on in the background while I do other things. 

That opening theme song is terrible though.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Hurlshot

[Guard Dog]

8 minutes ago, Hurlshot said:

So I've started watching ST:Enterprise. I am enjoying it, Scott Bakula is fun and it has been easy to jump into the story after a long time not watching ST. I also like that I can kind of keep it on in the background while I do other things. 

That opening theme song is terrible though.

That show would have been so much better had they stayed away from the time travel nonsense. I HATE time travel story lines.

[kanisatha]

9 minutes ago, Hurlshot said:

So I've started watching ST:Enterprise. I am enjoying it, Scott Bakula is fun and it has been easy to jump into the story after a long time not watching ST. I also like that I can kind of keep it on in the background while I do other things. 

That opening theme song is terrible though.

Hehe. I guess I must be the only person who liked that theme song.

I was very sad when ST:E got canceled. Still consider it to have been one of the better shows out there.

[kanisatha]

2 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

That show would have been so much better had they stayed away from the time travel nonsense. I HATE time travel story lines.

Yeah this I totally agree with. Time travel immediately turns me off a show as well.

[Guard Dog]

DS9 was the high water mark for Star Trek IMO. That show was almost always good. It was sometimes outstanding. And when it was Trek was never better. Except the ending. That was kind of a mess. But let's face it, few shows ever end well. In fact the only one I can thing of that really stuck the landing was Cheers.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Guard Dog

[uuuhhii]

avenue 5 have a pretty interesting comedy on a cruise setting

but was hoping for more casino related content

Edited January 26, 2020 by uuuhhii

[213374U]

12 hours ago, majestic said:

Except that one was awesome for all the suck, and this one's at least somewhat interesting in all the scenes that probably aren't from Kurtzman even if they are completely misplaced because the Federation is the worst possibly plot device to reflect upon current political issues.

I haven't watched Rise, so I can't comment on that. But after the pilot, I am firmly convinced that this has all the markings of something I will hate. Melodrama, nonsensical plot devices, pacing that is all over the place, and most importantly a focus on wowing and shocking and moving the audience for the hell of it. Style over substance with a side dish of weaksauce political commentary. Exactly what put me off about DIS.

While the Federation not being the reflection of a mankind that has realized its potential in the way Roddenberry imagined isn't exactly a new idea, I would expect the commentary to continue and expand, considering it's apparently what Sir Patrick Stewart feels is needed in currentyear because orange man bad and he's kind of the linchpin in the whole project.

Regarding ENT, I think "Archer's Theme" would have been a better fit for the opening credits of a ST show, but I also liked Faith of the Heart.

Edited January 26, 2020 by 213374U

[Hurlshort]

Adam Driver on SNL. The show has been on a roll lately. Eddie Murphy was a huge boost, but I don't think there has been a weak show this season.

[Bartimaeus]

since we were on the subject

[Lexx]

Damn I shouldn't watch that, because I know what they say is true. Who knows, maybe the Picard show will improve a lot more in the net few episodes.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Lexx

[Raithe]

Things can be interesting to see what goes into it..

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Raithe

[Gromnir]

On 1/26/2020 at 6:49 AM, Guard Dog said:

DS9 was the high water mark for Star Trek IMO. That show was almost always good. It was sometimes outstanding. And when it was Trek was never better. Except the ending. That was kind of a mess. But let's face it, few shows ever end well. In fact the only one I can thing of that really stuck the landing was Cheers.

hate to say it, but am thinking ds9 were so good 'cause roddenberry had died, but hadn't died too remote. core star trek themes and characters and character development choices were still being used in ds9, but after roddenberry death, the star trek folks were able to do a bunch o' shows they never coulda' attempted with a roddenberry driven show. religion. moral ambiguity. war. ds9 were still everything most star trek fans loved 'bout star trek while embracing more difficult themes and less savory characters... especial when those unsavory characters were s'posed the good guys.

however, and am admitted repeating self, every star trek series we ever watched (admitted haven't seen more than first episode o' discovery and no picard) had at least a handful o' fantastic episodes. with so much star trek to choose from, watch a half dozen best options for each series has you with many choices and many hours o' some o' the best scifi tv entertainment evar... and some o' best tv period. thanks to stuff such as netflix, we watch those handful from each series every so often and am reminded just how good every star trek has been... when star trek was good.

as for shows which ended good we will admit cheers is near top o' the list but am having no difficulty naming other wins. breaking bad and angel (and we didn't particular like angel show) is stuff which would be known to the obsidian crowd. barney miller were too old for most folks to recall but were a near perfect finale and am doubting many watched newhart but can't help but smile when am recollecting end o' the show. an inexplicable ambivalent choice for us is the the wire which if you ask us next week 'bout the finale we may have a different opinion.

Spoiler

 

might be an outlier, but am recalling how much we disliked most o' the mash finale, so if such an admission complete undercuts what we has already observed, then so much the better as you may feel thorough justified in ignoring the rest o' our post.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[InsaneCommander]

On 1/26/2020 at 11:05 PM, Bartimaeus said:

since we were on the subject

I liked the first episode a lot but... damn it, they are totally correct! Too many incosistencies. And not small ones. Maybe some things may be explained later like Starfleet abandoning the rescue because of section 31's manipulation. But Mars' thin CO2 atmosphere on fire?!? And did I get it right, the planet is still burning after 10 years? Not even with terraformation it would happen.

[Guard Dog]

7 hours ago, Gromnir said:

hate to say it, but am thinking ds9 were so good 'cause roddenberry had died, but hadn't died too remote. core star trek themes and characters and character development choices were still being used in ds9, but after roddenberry death, the star trek folks were able to do a bunch o' shows they never coulda' attempted with a roddenberry driven show. religion. moral ambiguity. war. ds9 were still everything most star trek fans loved 'bout star trek while embracing more difficult themes and less savory characters... especial when those unsavory characters were s'posed the good guys.

however, and am admitted repeating self, every star trek series we ever watched (admitted haven't seen more than first episode o' discovery and no picard) had at least a handful o' fantastic episodes. with so much star trek to choose from, watch a half dozen best options for each series has you with many choices and many hours o' some o' the best scifi tv entertainment evar... and some o' best tv period. thanks to stuff such as netflix, we watch those handful from each series every so often and am reminded just how good every star trek has been... when star trek was good.

as for shows which ended good we will admit cheers is near top o' the list but am having no difficulty naming other wins. breaking bad and angel (and we didn't particular like angel show) is stuff which would be known to the obsidian crowd. barney miller were too old for most folks to recall but were a near perfect finale and am doubting many watched newhart but can't help but smile when am recollecting end o' the show. an inexplicable ambivalent choice for us is the the wire which if you ask us next week 'bout the finale we may have a different opinion.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

might be an outlier, but am recalling how much we disliked most o' the mash finale, so if such an admission complete undercuts what we has already observed, then so much the better as you may feel thorough justified in ignoring the rest o' our post.

HA! Good Fun!

 

We used to watch Barney Miller when I was a kid. I would have been about 10 when it ended. I don't remember the finale but I do remember liking the show. Breaking Bad is still on my "to-do" list. I've never seen an episode. I remember liking the ending to Miami Vice. That show had really lost it's way after the whole amnesia storyline. Crockett & Tubbs walking away from it seemed right. I haven't seen the last season of The Americans yet but from what I heard everyone like how it wrapped up. 

As for bad endings, did you watch Seinfeld? IMO that ending was like dropping a turd on the floor as you left the room. 

[Agiel]

Highly recommend the Philip Roth novel from which this is adapted from (and to which I also owe one of my signatures as well). Though I suspect much of the impact Roth's brilliant prose might be lost in its translation to the screen. 

Edited January 30, 2020 by Agiel

[ShadySands]

Hmm, still not entirely sure how I feel about Picardisode 2.

Spoiler

A lot of things I didn't like at all, most everything to do with Starfleet, and a couple things that I did, his RomuPals, but even they had things about them that I didn't care for like them conveniently having the knowledge needed at the right time and the whole Dahj apartment scene.

 

[Lexx]

Picard e2 was.... I have no idea what that was. Half the time it felt random and then it suddenly ended in the middle of something? Damn it, I really wanted to like this show, but it feels as if it gets as botched as STD. Even if it's not the same level as stupid, it's still not really great.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Lexx

[Gromnir]

On 1/30/2020 at 1:29 AM, Guard Dog said:

 

As for bad endings, did you watch Seinfeld? IMO that ending was like dropping a turd on the floor as you left the room. 

we saw a single full episode o' seinfeld and it weren't the finale.

while am able to name numerous good tv show finales, am admitting bad ends is even easier to identify. both battlestar galactica finales managed to be terrible?

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

It's so stupid, no doubt. Star Trek that you actively try not to think too deeply about is something I can't believe exists today but it's what we got.

Not sure why these are the types of Trek shows we're getting. This stuff is not art it's just a product meant to sell subscriptions so why not make just one show that appeals more to the Trek fans they already have and appeal to new fans that may want something smarter. They can keep doing the shows they feel like making as well since they've stated that they always want something Star Trek on but just give us something.

Read a rumor that Seth McFarlane and NBC were and maybe still are looking to buy Star Trek. Hopefully that's true even though the rumor also said CBS was so puffed up on initial Picard reviews that they were asking way too much.

 

I like to include the Seinfeld finale on lists of best final episodes to see if people call me out on it. Don't think it has happened yet.

[Gfted1]

Iirc, the finale to Newhart was the dreaded "it was all just a dream". :puke:

[213374U]

24 minutes ago, ShadySands said:

Not sure why these are the types of Trek shows we're getting. This stuff is not art it's just a product meant to sell subscriptions so why not make just one show that appeals more to the Trek fans they already have and appeal to new fans that may want something smarter. They can keep doing the shows they feel like making as well since they've stated that they always want something Star Trek on but just give us something.

As some random angry youtuber put it: it's Trek for people who don't like Trek, by people who don't know Trek.

[Malcador]

 

Test footage of the cancelled Star Wars TV show "Underworld,".

[Gromnir]

9 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Iirc, the finale to Newhart was the dreaded "it was all just a dream". :puke:

were more to finale than the last couple minutes o' the newhart finale. regardless, were obvious intentional satire o' dallas.  y'know, 'cause it were a comedy and all.

suzanne pleshette showing up in finale were brilliant.

HA! Good Fun!