The TV and Streaming Thread: Summer Reruns

[Raithe]

[BruceVC]

I watched the first episode of House of Dragons and it was excellent, I am looking forward to the rest of the series 

[Bartimaeus]

Three episodes in. The level of violence is...uh, pretty brutal: if you don't care to see various sorts of creatures bloodily disembowelled and eaten, probably not the show for you.

Spoiler

It can be difficult to watch when it's the sad old woolly mammoth that gets left behind by their pack and you watch the poor thing ripped apart in an absolute bloodbath of carnage

 

[Amentep]

 

[Zoraptor]

Netflix has cancelled their Resident Evil series after one season. Which, from what I've heard, may well have been one season too many.

[Keyrock]

1 hour ago, Zoraptor said:

Netflix has cancelled their Resident Evil series after one season. Which, from what I've heard, may well have been one season too many.

This is a mercy kill, it was excruciatingly boring. I literally fell asleep during ep 3 and never went back.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Keyrock

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

There never was a resident evil series, yall just hallucinated or got pranked like yall did with the fake Star Trek shows.

[InsaneCommander]

18 hours ago, KP From Another World said:

There never was a resident evil series, yall just hallucinated or got pranked like yall did with the fake Star Trek shows.

And The Wheel of Time show.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

28 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

And The Wheel of Time show.

No such thing.

[Raithe]

'Dune: Part 2's most important, untold story will be on HBO Max (inverse.com)

[LadyCrimson]

^ I don't care a lot about Dune but that article mentioned something about Netflix/other streaming service investor disgruntlement or something and led me into the wilds of the 'net to look up TV series budgets of the modern era.

I feel like the "big ones" are getting out of control, similar to film budgets. 15-25 million per episode? Everything Everywhere All At Once was 25 million, for two hours, not just one. Yes yes I know big blockbusters are 300 million+ etc but ... point is, do TV shows really need to have that gazillion dollar shine?

...if Netflix has 220million subs, at maybe an average of $10-12 (not everyone is top tier), isn't that around 2.5 billion a month? If it's consistent monthly numbers. How much are their contract/employee/CEO and marketing expenses? Taxes? Sure one can say "they can afford it" but without direct ad revenue to pad things out, and (persistent) subs likely to keep falling over time - yeah ... I can understand why they tend to cancel expensive shows often.

I think streaming services are going to go through a lot of changes in the next few/several years re: sub fees, ad-tiers, type and number of programming offered at any given time (HBO-Max as an example), budget risks taken. At the moment many seem to think it's a boon for certain IP's getting chances that movie studios no longer do, but I bet that won't last too much longer.  Edit: in the sense streaming TV will become just as vanilla and risk-averse as filmdom vs. being a place for maybe "more creative freedom".

Edited August 28, 2022 by LadyCrimson

[Raithe]

On further elements from that "expensive shows are hard to get renewed for another season"...

 

Neil Gaiman Says The Sandman Is "On Track" For Season 2 Renewal (comicbook.com)

[Raithe]

25 years ago, a stellar sci-fi show saved a broken franchise — and changed TV history (inverse.com)

A nice little wander back on SG-1...

[InsaneCommander]

House of the Dragons

No spoilers here, except for the beginning of the very first scene.

I'm still watching the first minutes of the first episode, but I had to google a family tree and I can't understand why they had a problem with the succession. Can't they establish some simple rules? The heir is the next older male or the next in line, whatever? What a mess.

This is supposed to be spoiler free for the start of the series, according to reddit:

Spoiler

I don't know who was born first, but it seems the heir should be Aemma Arryn, the pregnant lady in the first scene? She is also a granddaughter of the king, but her mother was the king's first child.

Of course, since they are Targaryens, everyone is marrying their cousins or siblings, so who cares who gets the throne, your grandchild will probably be the next heir anyway.

Edit: they explain later that Rhaenys' father was the eldest son of the king. So Aemma doesn't have a better claim. Still messy since they claim there is no obvious heir but suggesting a woman on the throne is not taking seriously, which would mean that the man is the ovious heir.

Edited August 29, 2022 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

2 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

I'm still watching the first minutes of the first episode, but I had to google a family tree and I can't understand why they had a problem with the succession. Can't they establish some simple rules? The heir is the next older male or the next in line, whatever? What a mess.

The Targaryens - and any family in old Valyria, if I recall correctly - had equal primogeniture, the Seven Kingdoms did not. When the Old King's (i.e. Jaehaerys I) firstborn died, he, for whatever reason, picked his fourth child (Prince Baelon) as successor, passing over Prince Aemon's daughter Rhaenys (who is now married to token black guy) who would logically be the next in line as direct offspring of the deceased heir apparent. The other male child of Jaehaerys (Vaegon) was a maester, and had forsaken any claims to land and titles. When Baelon unexpectedly died, the Seven Kingdoms were gearing up for a war of succession, hence Jaehaerys calling in the Great Council of 101 AC to pick a successor in some form that will prevent a civil war.

With the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms, the Maesters and the Faith deciding, Rhaenys was ruled out, as was her daughter and her son, who at the time was only seven years old, while Viserys was of age and had already fathered a child.

The rules were clearly in place before that. The problem here is - and the problem that will still exist in the future - is that Westeros isn't much into letting women rule because by tradition only male heirs are considered for succession. If you put one and one together now, you'll arrive at the plot of the show.

Plot twist:

Spoiler

The other contender against Rhaenyra isn't going to be Daemon Targaryen, but Visery's male offspring Aegon with Lady Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra's friend.

Spoiler

Daemon's like, gonna marry Rhaenyra. Civil war starts when Aegon is crowned, passing over his legitimate heir Rhaenyra, because them wimmin can't rule.

Spoiler

Their son (another Aegon, Aegon III) is going to end up on the throne after the ill-fated rule of Aegon II.

edit:

All  spoilers holding true only if the showrunners don't take liberties with the source material, obviously.

Edited August 29, 2022 by majestic

[Raithe]

Episode 2 of She-Hulk.   Has a nice performance from Tim Roth, and the way he plays it does add an interesting twist to how you look back at the film of The Incredible Hulk.

Lots of good performances, but it still feels like it's laying foundation rather than starting a story.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Raithe

[Zoraptor]

36 minutes ago, majestic said:

All  spoilers holding true only if the showrunners don't take liberties with the source material, obviously.

Can't see them taking liberties with things like who ends up on the throne. Not after all the distancing they've done from the B&W approach of the last few seasons of GoT and how GRRM is intimately involved in this one etc.

Some of that is definitely marketing for the people who hated GoT's later seasons, but end of the day they've gone out of their way to say it's in 'book continuity', and book continuity can't really have a... Blackadder season 1* type scenario of inserting a Richard IV between Richard III and Henry VII and be book continuity. Far more likely to be an 'I, Claudius' or 'White Queen' type scenario where the 'historical' facts are used as a backdrop for fleshing out the drama, but the end results are 'historical'.

*not that Blackadder is a serious historical drama, but Richard IV is the most obvious inspiration for Robert Baratheon there is, far more so than historical Edward IV. Despite the great job Mark Addy did it will always be a shame the world was deprived of Brian Blessed enthusiastically shouting 'Rumpy Pumpy' or similar at Ned Stark

[majestic]

26 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

Far more likely to be an 'I, Claudius' or 'White Queen' type scenario where the 'historical' facts are used as a backdrop for fleshing out the drama, but the end results are 'historical'.

It sure looks like it.

Spoiler

Couple of things like the first episode's tournament not being at the right time (Ser Criston Cole defeating Daemon was conveniently moved to the year where Aemma and Baelon die in childbirth and shortly thereafter, respectively), or Lady Alicent and Rhaenyra being much closer in age and very close friends to the point of it being suggestive of something more to make their eventual squabbling more poignant once her father marries Lady Alicent, or Rhaenyra actively picking Ser Criston Cole as Kingsguard, so it's more dramatic when he betrays her trust by crowning Aegon II instead of her.

Boy are the new fans going to be disappointed in her character arc because they all expect a Dany without the, uhm, mess.

Spoiler

Her marriage to Daemon alone is going to be a tough sell after that first episode. Let alone squicking people out a bit here and there.

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by majestic

[InsaneCommander]

2 hours ago, majestic said:

The Targaryens - and any family in old Valyria, if I recall correctly - had equal primogeniture, the Seven Kingdoms did not. When the Old King's (i.e. Jaehaerys I) firstborn died, he, for whatever reason, picked his fourth child (Prince Baelon) as successor, passing over Prince Aemon's daughter Rhaenys (who is now married to token black guy) who would logically be the next in line as direct offspring of the deceased heir apparent. The other male child of Jaehaerys (Vaegon) was a maester, and had forsaken any claims to land and titles. When Baelon unexpectedly died, the Seven Kingdoms were gearing up for a war of succession, hence Jaehaerys calling in the Great Council of 101 AC to pick a successor in some form that will prevent a civil war.

With the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms, the Maesters and the Faith deciding, Rhaenys was ruled out, as was her daughter and her son, who at the time was only seven years old, while Viserys was of age and had already fathered a child.

The rules were clearly in place before that. The problem here is - and the problem that will still exist in the future - is that Westeros isn't much into letting women rule because by tradition only male heirs are considered for succession. If you put one and one together now, you'll arrive at the plot of the show.

Plot twist:

  Reveal hidden contents

The other contender against Rhaenyra isn't going to be Daemon Targaryen, but Visery's male offspring Aegon with Lady Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra's friend.

  Reveal hidden contents

Daemon's like, gonna marry Rhaenyra. Civil war starts when Aegon is crowned, passing over his legitimate heir Rhaenyra, because them wimmin can't rule.

  Reveal hidden contents

Their son (another Aegon, Aegon III) is going to end up on the throne after the ill-fated rule of Aegon II.

edit:

All  spoilers holding true only if the showrunners don't take liberties with the source material, obviously.

That is a good explanation, thanks. I still think they should establish officially how it works, however that would make the story really boring.

I saw a family tree with spoilers, not that I remember much, although I saw some of the spoilers you mentioned. I don’t mind the others.

 

Spoiler

Rhaenyra’s uncle did seem to respect her, so it makes sense he will side with her. And she deserves more of that. The heir to the throne serving wine? Well done, king Viserys.

She had no idea that her friend was visiting her father. She could use some little birds.

Btw, I was expecting that Rhaenys and Corlys would try to marry their son to Rhaenyra, but instead they wanted to push her infant girl as queen. Wtf? Ok, I konw, nothing unusual in this setting.

Anyway, they were ninja’d by Otto, who had an older daughter.

I wonder what Rhaenys and Corlys will do once the things you mentioned happen. The smart move would be to marry their daughter to the new male heir, despite how episode 2 ended, with a possible alliance with Daemon.

 

[majestic]

16 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

Spoiler

Btw, I was expecting that Rhaenys and Corlys would try to marry their son to Rhaenyra, but instead they wanted to push her infant girl as queen. Wtf? Ok, I konw, nothing unusual in this setting.

That is actually what is supposed to happen. However, during the events of the show as they are depicted in the first two episodes, Rhaenyra should be eight, not 'a woman grown' as Viserys put it, and Alicent is supposed to be 18. The series plays in 112 AC, while the events depicted should happen in 105/106 AC (including the alliance that the final scene of the second episode hints at).

Spoiler

Corlys' son isn't interested in girls, so Rhaenyra keeps herself entertained elsewhere, hence she earns the title Wh*re of Dragonstone, making brown haired babies that are so clearly not of fully Valyrian blood while Laena is supposed to marry Daemon after his first wife passes.

The show is going to skip a bunch of years at some point in the first season. Probably as early as next episode, given the episode credits. Killer pacing there, pardon the pun.

[LadyCrimson]

On 8/29/2022 at 5:50 AM, Raithe said:

On further elements from that "expensive shows are hard to get renewed for another season"...

 

Neil Gaiman Says The Sandman Is "On Track" For Season 2 Renewal (comicbook.com)

I think that's popular enough they'd at least go for a 2nd season, as long as Gaiman convinces them of whatever they want to hear.

It all reminds me of when cableTV was supposed to do something re: altering TV landscapes/creativity/originality and less boundaries etc, then cable become a "joke" - now it's streaming's turn at bat. 20-40 years from now they'll find some other way to service media to the masses that will supposedly make the original and (after a while) reviled streaming concept a "joke". That's all.

Edited August 30, 2022 by LadyCrimson

[uuuhhii]

On 8/30/2022 at 1:43 AM, InsaneCommander said:

House of the Dragons

No spoilers here, except for the beginning of the very first scene.

I'm still watching the first minutes of the first episode, but I had to google a family tree and I can't understand why they had a problem with the succession. Can't they establish some simple rules? The heir is the next older male or the next in line, whatever? What a mess.

This is supposed to be spoiler free for the start of the series, according to reddit:

  Reveal hidden contents

I don't know who was born first, but it seems the heir should be Aemma Arryn, the pregnant lady in the first scene? She is also a granddaughter of the king, but her mother was the king's first child.

Of course, since they are Targaryens, everyone is marrying their cousins or siblings, so who cares who gets the throne, your grandchild will probably be the next heir anyway.

Edit: they explain later that Rhaenys' father was the eldest son of the king. So Aemma doesn't have a better claim. Still messy since they claim there is no obvious heir but suggesting a woman on the throne is not taking seriously, which would mean that the man is the ovious heir.

there will be conflict no matter how clear the line of succession are

because those have both claim and strength will not easily let law take title and land away from them

[Zoraptor]

Yeah- the 'real world' inspiration for HotD seems to be ~ The Anarchy, when Stephen of Blois 'usurped' the throne of England from Henry I's daughter Empress* Matilda. Same as the Wars of the Roses with its four 'illegal'/ might makes right throne changes were the inspiration for aSoIaF/ GoT.

Fun fact: if Matilda had won she'd be the only English Queen until Victoria to have had issue themselves become monarch, in Henry II. Liz I, both Marys and Anne had no direct heirs.

*at least theoretically by marriage only, though she seems to have largely worn the pants in her marriage. Indeed the HRE fought a war over the possibility of a Regnant Empress as late as the 18th century (Maria Theresa/ War of the Austrian succession; though the actual Austrian candidate was her husband rather than her). Pretty sure both France and Spain never had reigning Queens either- though Russia had a bunch.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Zoraptor

[InsaneCommander]

15 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

there will be conflict no matter how clear the line of succession are

because those have both claim and strength will not easily let law take title and land away from them

They could at least try to minimize it. But the decision making in Westeros seems to focus on the opposite.

[InsaneCommander]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power review: Amazon's prequel is kind of a catastrophe

Can it be that bad?