The TV and Streaming Thread: Summer Re-reruns (it's always summer somewhere)

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, Raithe said:

Shall we start you off on the crazy rabbit hole that is https://tvtropes.org/ for your further education and obscene amount of tabs it can leave open on your browser?

I remember TVTropes being a huge thing on the internet like...ten or so years ago, seemed like everyone was going "egads, it's so addicting to endlessly wander through it", but I wasn't interested at the time because I actually didn't like being aware of and reducing everything to tropes. That's still kind of true today - takes too much of the magic out of my favorite things.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

It is also a lot less fun than it was ten (or more, by now, I suppose) years ago. The tropes stopped having reference names (e.g. the current Creator's Pet being formerly known as The Wesley on tvtropes.org), and it became more serious. Not necessarily a change for the worse in terms of quality content, but certainly for having fun while browsing through tropes.

[Lexx]

Imo the site became too big. Every little thing is turned into some trope now, and it has just gotten real tedious. I stopped browsing the site, not because it is a clickhole, but because it's a collection of lists, and I can't be arsed anymore.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Lexx

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Three Pines 3-6.

I watched 3+4 a while ago but didn't post about it. So each two episodes is a two-parter mystery, which makes this like watching a series of detective movies with an overarching mystery surrounding the disappearance of Blue Two-Rivers. I ended up sympathizing more with the killers of mystery 1 and 3 than I did the victims......which I suppose certainly says something about me.

[Zoraptor]

4 hours ago, majestic said:

The tropes stopped having reference names (e.g. the current Creator's Pet being formerly known as The Wesley on tvtropes.org), and it became more serious.

Plenty of tropes do still have reference names, eg Astronauts vs Cavemen for an inconsequential hypothetical argument carried on passionately far beyond the point it makes any sense to*. Think they've changed the ones where they think a reference name is 'mean' or controversial, mostly and by its nature that includes reducing most character types to tropes.

*why do I know this one in particular? it's a mystery...

[Lexx]

Just finished The Last of Us. Good season. Curious how they will continue in s2. If they will stick to the game, or change stuff around.

[LadyCrimson]

The only issue I had with the last episode of The Last of Us is ... it wasn't long enough. That was the fastest 40ish minutes ever. I wish they had found a way to stretch it another 10 minutes. Overall I'd give the whole series maybe ... an 8/10. Since some episodes were 7ish, others were 8.5-9 etc.

Edit: I'm not interested in a ssn2 if they stick to the game. I did not like the sequel's game story/direction.  Just me tho.

Edited March 13, 2023 by LadyCrimson

[InsaneCommander]

Night Sky

This is a great show. Much more character relationships and development than sci-fi, but having two great actors as leads is enough to make it worth regardless of the amount of sci-fi.

A pity it was cancelled, but at least they explained where each character was in the end.

[Lexx]

My main issue with The Last of Us tv show is ...

... what do they need a cure for? Based on the show it doesn't seem *that* necessary. Most of the time you don't see any infected at all. Instead they are showing multiple town/villages which seems to be doing fine. I mean, sure, it's crap living in most of them, but the biggest danger seems to be the people and not the infected... So basically... getting a cure will change nothing.

[LadyCrimson]

@Lexx

 

...yeah, there doesn't seem to be much reason for a cure in the TV show, after that many years, since it's not spread by airborne spores, only bites/direct contact or contaminated food. The danger is/was mostly re: being surprised, just like with any large predator/army in great numbers, and I think eventually those numbers would dwindle in most places since the human host seemed to eventually expire. Focus on expanding perimeter safety of multiple areas large enough to support safe food production of some kind and humanity would survive well enough, even if most didn't have modern conveniences. I know they didn't want the actors to wear gas masks all the time, but the spore concept was a bit more believable as a long-term threat.  

Edited March 16, 2023 by LadyCrimson

[majestic]

The third season of The Mandalorian is shaping up to be the worst one yet. Three episodes so far, two stinkers, and one that was "fine", except for the sheer stupidity of everyone involved. They really should have ended it with season two.

[ShadySands]

Didn't even realize the Mandalorian was back on. Will probably wait til a few more episodes are out before we start watching again.

[majestic]

Having had some unexpected free time, I've finished some odds and ends that piled up over the lockdowns (which were, working on supply chain b2c transport systems, a tad stressful).

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 7: Well, it was a time travel season, so not all of the plot makes sense, but that also was not the aim. Much like with the preceeding sixth season, it is clear that the series was finished with season five, and every episode afterwards was just everyone having fun. Clearly where the writers of WandaVision got some ideas from, as Coulson and the crew travel through the decades in what is probably best described as a balls-to-the-wall whacky adventure. The title cards of the episodes match the theme it conveys. As far as the cast goes, Joel Stoffer and Clark Gregg, as per usual, totally own every scene they're in.

Two of the absolute highlight of the season is an 80ies splatter episode with killer robots with Knight Rider sound effects and red running lights. One of them runs around and yells EXTERMINATE. It is titled The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and The D and features Clark Gregg as Max Headroom (it does make sense in context) and Deke becoming a pop star by writing 80ies hits before they actually came out. It's filled to the brim with fun 80ies allusions without it ever feeling obnoxious, but that is perhaps just my eternal infatuation with the decade I lived though my early childhood.

Where's my Deke Squad cover album? Hello, Marvel! Come on.

Like I said, this is just everyone having fun, at least until the final episode, which is probably one of the better series endings I've ever watched - it is arguably even better than what was probably intended as the series ending at the end of season five.

Said it before, still stand by it, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is easily my favorite Marvel outing. Outside of the weaker first half of the first season (so, not recommended for anyone who cannot look past middling first introductions, or has problems with "Asian Mary Sue ladies" in a universe populated with Thor, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, sentient Androids, killer robots, super soldiers... well, you get my drift) this is just the perfect mixture of mystery, action and character interactions. It does feature the occasional pacing issue, but which series running for seven season does not?

As always, Phil Coulson remains the best character in the MCU.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, episodes nine and ten:

Found myself not caring for either. The ninth episode, which is trying to be Alien(s) in Star Trek using the otherwise comical Gorn from TOS exemplifies the difference between what is actually a fairly decent nuTrek show and actual Star Trek. Arena makes a point beyond "Gorn bad", this here does not. In a way this is really similar to that one episode where someone tries to kidnap a child to prevent it from doing something that is necessary, which then just happens, with Captain Pike trying to stop it.

An actual Trek series would have had a morality debate in that episode, and a more modern Trek show would include a request for asylum instead of an attempted kidnapping. Alas, actual Star Trek is as dead as the horse I'm beating here, so I'll just leave it at that. Yes, it was the best nuTrek series to date. It might actually be the best first season of any Star Trek show, if it actually was Star Trek, not nuTrek with a less obnoxious coat of paint thrown over it, and all the pandering in the series? No, sorry, can't stand it. It's perhaps not as bad as it appeared, but such things are highly subjective after all. La'An Noonien-Singh? You might actually be a nice character, but with that name you go into the same trash bin as Noonien Soong's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather and his identical looking son from Picard.

The tenth episode is just a "what if?" alternate timeline exploration of The Balance of Terror. Kyouma Hououin would call Pike weak for giving up so easily. Well, that's how you end up with a saved Krisu in one series, and a soon to be mutilated Pike in another. Or whatever. Who cares.

**

One new thing, Star Trek: Picard, season three, episode five. I was already a lot more negative towards what was basically an unneeded The Next Generation style Wrath of Khan remake (like I said, I have no idea how Mike and Rich can be so positive about this, outside of perhaps being grateful that Star Trek: Picard makes one not wanting to gouge one's eyes out, but that's clearly not a bar I am comfortable with setting for any Star Trek series) than others, and this episode just seals the deal further. Good thing this is finally over after this season.

[HoonDing]

Mel Tormé was in a S2 Sliders episode

died in '99

[uuuhhii]

didn't know there was another season of avenue 5

take a long time for it to come out

[Lexx]

Didn't had anything else to watch so I said f it and went into House of the Dragon. Had no expectations, but ended up pretty good. I liked how it didn't feel like a big epic and had a more narrow focus. The jumps in time were a bit confusing at first, especially since I always have such a hard time remembering names anyways. Then suddenly everyone looks different and it's like you're watching a completely different show.

 

Thought it was nice that they avoided some of the very obvious story tropes. Especially Matt Smith's role, who started out as a very obvious antagonist but then just didn't.

However, I do always find it weird how everyone wants to sit on the stupid throne, but nobody ever shows me what exactly the king is doing all day long. Hell, if all I knew about kings would be from Game of Thrones, then basically everyone just wants to sit on this chair and that's it. They never tell me *why exactly* they want to sit on the stupid chair except "it's muh birth right".

Saw that s2 comes in 2024 and it's supposed to go for 4 seasons. Truth told, a part of me wished this would be only a 10 episodes mini-show and then done. Not sure if I want yet another epic that completely lets me down in the last 3/4 of it. Or if I want some epic anyways. Just give me a low-stakes show and I'll be fine with it as well.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Lexx

[LadyCrimson]

Besides maybe wanting to torture oneself with Nu Star Trek series, is there much reason to sub to Paramount+? A quick look made it just seem like a bunch of old to slightly newer shows/films I've either seen before or didn't care about, and NuTrek.

After missing the UHD/4k option on Prime - even on new/popular things - for a while now (thru the PS4 apps), it's back again. Guess the covid-bandwidth panic is over. Kewlbeans. Still not as good as netflix's "4k" video but much better than its been for a while.

[LadyCrimson]

Two episodes of a series called The English (on Netflix), starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer.

Beautiful camera work. The two leads are great together and the dialogue writing is pretty good. But the pacing is slower than molasses - punctuated with brief and rather violent Western type action - and the plot/story threads meanders quite a lot. I assume it all ties together at some point. It's interesting...going to try to stick it out to see where it goes.

[uuuhhii]

8 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Two episodes of a series called The English (on Netflix), starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer.

Beautiful camera work. The two leads are great together and the dialogue writing is pretty good. But the pacing is slower than molasses - punctuated with brief and rather violent Western type action - and the plot/story threads meanders quite a lot. I assume it all ties together at some point. It's interesting...going to try to stick it out to see where it goes.

really cannot handle how slow western are unless character are in a town

[Guard Dog]

Binge watching Tulsa King on Paramount. I really enjoyed it.

[ShadySands]

Paramount is a must for me because they have Nickelodeon and old Trek. My aunt logs into my account to watch Yellowstone and its spin-offs.

They seem to have a lot of content, just not a lot that really interests me at the moment.

[Raithe]

I've actually been doing a re-watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the background the last week. Some of  those episodes still hit the emotional punch points, although I find it weird that for some reason the music of the series always makes me think of Shadowrun.

 

On other matters:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-the-daniels-direct-skeleton-crew-1235356983/

[LadyCrimson]

I have TOS, animated TOS, the 2nd half of STTNG and all the movies on DVD which is mostly what I care about in that regard.

I've tried to rewatch fave old series from the 80's/90's (sitcoms and dramas) when HBO-M or Netflix has them etc. and I usually can't get into them for very long. Just certain few episodes. Rewatching in general isn't something I tend to do anymore. I miss the days when I could rewatch something once a year for years etc. 

[InsaneCommander]

Picard 3.6

This was actually a pretty good episode. Lots of interesting things happening, or perhaps I just got used to nuTrek. But...

Spoiler

Isn't it obvious that if you are running from the enemy they will simply go after your relatives that are not even hiding? La Forge's wife is next?

Edit: also

Spoiler

is the Federation still completely vulnerable to 23rd century cloaking devices? Really?

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

10 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

This was actually a pretty good episode. Lots of interesting things happening, or perhaps I just got used to nuTrek. But...

The episodes are only good when you check your brain out at the door, because the moment you start thinking about some of the things you see, it all pretty much falls apart.

Spoiler

Why, for instance, is using a cloaking device breaking treaties? The Romulan Empire no longer exists in this universe, rendering the agreement moot. Why are they going to gather the entire fleet for Fleet Day(tm)? How is that even possible with Federation space being so large?

Why is the Federation keeping most of its super secret technology in a vault that is well known (Daystrom Institute isn't a black site, for crying out loud) and in space, with absolutely no space defense grid and patrols check in once an hour? What the hell guys, any dolt can assault that willy nilly, as evidenced by the theft and Picard and Vadic just showing up there.

Then there's this whole fake warp trail nonsense after we've been shown that Starfleet had the ability to track its ships decades ago. Man, like, what?

Watched The Mandalorian, episode four. The series has established a rhythm by now. It's one stinker episode followed by one that is decent enough if - and there it has something in common with Picard - one just checks out one's brain before turning it on. The Mandalorians certainly deserved being bombed into oblivion, they're the dumbest people of the galaxy, by a great margin.

Spoiler

Giant predator bird shows up to bring Mandalorian children as food to its young. The Mandalorians fly after it, but run out of fuel, and they say: IT GETS AWAY EVERY TIME. Like, what? This giant predator bird has been around, and you never managed to track it because the fuel of your jet packs runs out? How about you post guards then, you dummies? Fly after it with a ship, which Bo-Katan manages to do instantly.

She comes back, then flies there, then they sleep through the night, and the giant bird still hasn't fed the Mandalorian boy to its offspring. They catch it just as it's retching him back up (fully alive, even, because... whatever, really).

This is just dumb with a capital D.

Edited March 24, 2023 by majestic