The TV and Streaming Thread: US Writers/Actors Strike Edition

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Ragnarok s3. In the states this would be a bad CW show, but since it's filmed in Norwegian it's hilarious. 

[Keyrock]

3 hours ago, Amentep said:

I'm not convinced today is better than when we were in classic eras with the territories (although some things are better now than the territory days and to be fair, the territories are never coming back), but I think its clear AEW has helped the sport(s entertainment) get out of the funk it had been in.

Unfortunately, I started watching at the very end of the territories era, Vince McMahon had already bought up/put out of business most of them. When I started watching the only companies left standing were WWF, Jim Crockett Promotions (soon to be WCW), Memphis, and the desiccated corpse of the AWA. I wish I could go back and watch the territories back in their glory days and I've found stuff from the early to mid 80s online, but stuff from the 70s and earlier is really hard to come by. I'd love to see Steamboat & Youngblood's tag run.

[Amentep]

I'm probably much of the same period.  I did see a lot of 70s wrestling when I was really young, but it wasn't multi-territory. Primarily GCW, but also got some of NWA Mid-America (Gulas), NWA Southeast (Fuller) and Continental Wrestling (Jarrett) depending on which relatives we visited. I remember tuning in on "Black Saturday" when GCW was replaced without notice by the WWF (as Vince had bought the Brisco's controlling interest to get the national time slot on TBS).  We were rescued by Crockett Promotions, lol.

About a year after Black Saturday Joe Pedicino and Bonnie Blackstone hosted a huge time block of wrestling (called "Superstars of Wrestling") culled from syndicated shows around the nation.  I seem to recall it was originally on from 8 pm to 3 am (starting just after WCW Saturday Main Event so as not to compete).  Superstars was syndicated a year later, so its possible you may have seen it.  

[Keyrock]

22 minutes ago, Amentep said:

I'm probably much of the same period.  I did see a lot of 70s wrestling when I was really young, but it wasn't multi-territory. Primarily GCW, but also got some of NWA Mid-America (Gulas), NWA Southeast (Fuller) and Continental Wrestling (Jarrett) depending on which relatives we visited. I remember tuning in on "Black Saturday" when GCW was replaced without notice by the WWF (as Vince had bought the Brisco's controlling interest to get the national time slot on TBS).  We were rescued by Crockett Promotions, lol.

About a year after Black Saturday Joe Pedicino and Bonnie Blackstone hosted a huge time block of wrestling (called "Superstars of Wrestling") culled from syndicated shows around the nation.  I seem to recall it was originally on from 8 pm to 3 am (starting just after WCW Saturday Main Event so as not to compete).  Superstars was syndicated a year later, so its possible you may have seen it.  

I was up in Connecticut so we got WWF, naturally, and ESPN had old WCCW shows on so I got to see the entire Freebirds vs Von Erichs feud. I had to rely on tape trading to get anything else. Later on I got into Crockett and Mid-South (which was defunct by then) and those became my favorites. I always liked that style of wrestling better than what I got from WWF. I'd say Crockett was my absolute favorite because I like tag team wrestling and Crockett always featured tag teams prominently. I wish I could see the alternate timeline where (more) PPV providers called Vince's bluff, Crockett didn't get screwed on PPVs and he never sold the company to Turner in late 88.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Keyrock

[Amentep]

Turner loved wrestling, but the sale to Time-Warner sort of screwed that up. Wrestling had kept TBS afloat prior to Turner superstation-ing it. T-W thought it was beneath them.

I saw some WCCW with the Von Erichs and Freebirds but not sure how. Definitely knew who they were when they hit GCW the first time.

[Keyrock]

I used to love seeing the Midnight Express obliterate some jobbers, that was the greatest joy. A heel team like the Andersons would come in and just steamroll a jobber team and be done with it in like a minute, minute and a half, they weren't getting paid by the hour. The Midnight Express, instead, would take their time so that they could inflict more punishment on the poor sods. They'd beat one guy unconscious then drag his carcass over to his corner so that his partner could tag in just so that they could beat him senseless too. Then Sweet Stan would distract the ref while Beautiful Bobby tossed one of the sods outside so that Cornette could get some licks in with the tennis racket.

[Amentep]

Yeah, one thing Vince doesn't like is Tag Teams so WWF has always been weak in that area.  Midnight Express & Cornette were great heels and it was fun seeing them come into a territory and cause havok.  Loved seeing them work.

[Keyrock]

10 hours ago, Amentep said:

Midnight Express & Cornette were great heels

They certainly were and also surprisingly good babyfaces (for the short time they were face). Corny cut arguably his best promo ever as a babyface:

Who knew he had a fiery babyface promo in him?

[ShadySands]

They Cloned Tyrone. We really liked it.

[Gfted1]

 

[LadyCrimson]

Anybody read Three Body Problem (sci-fi-drama-mystery)? I have not. I probably should, from the sound of it.

China apparently made a 30 episode adaptation, that is rated really well. Anyone seen that yet? Although given C-drama's typical styles, I'm not sure how much it would appeal to US audiences (lower budget, subtitles etc).
Netflix is also making a version, not released yet. I would expect that to be flashier and, er, well, Netflix. Likely less book-faithful etc.

I'm going to try the  Tencents YT channel  playlist first. The subtitles may be worse there (I hear) so I may move to Viki if it's too funky. Will report back.

[LadyCrimson]

Well, I watched three episodes of Three Body so far. I checked and the subtitles on Tencent's YT vs. Viki are exactly the same, at least 1st episode. But I liked the formatting/pacing of Viki's subtitles more.

So far I find the show quite fascinating. It's kind of surreal, kind of physics-speak tech (but not really?), I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet but it's doing a good job of making me want to know. Visually it's better than I expected. Nice imagery, scene framing, pulls me in. Haven't FFWD once. I think it's a keeper. I definitely need to buy the books.

Edited September 6, 2023 by LadyCrimson

[Bartimaeus]

9 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Anybody read Three Body Problem (sci-fi-drama-mystery)? I have not. I probably should, from the sound of it.

China apparently made a 30 episode adaptation, that is rated really well. Anyone seen that yet? Although given C-drama's typical styles, I'm not sure how much it would appeal to US audiences (lower budget, subtitles etc).
Netflix is also making a version, not released yet. I would expect that to be flashier and, er, well, Netflix. Likely less book-faithful etc.

I'm going to try the  Tencents YT channel  playlist first. The subtitles may be worse there (I hear) so I may move to Viki if it's too funky. Will report back.

I got like a third of the way through The Three-Body Problem book before I dropped it. The opening, which takes place in the throes of China's Cultural Revolution where Ye Wenjie's father is lynched during a struggle session, was awesome and I was super hooked from that...but after that, we quickly move forward to the present, and the book did almost nothing to capture my interest from thereon. I'd had quite enough when we got to the video game section of the book: I'd started to have this really sinking feeling that the series was massively derivative of (or otherwise painfully similar to) the

Spoiler

Ender's Game book

series, and so I started reading a summary of the rest of the book, and well...both yes and no, but regardless, I had zero inclination to get any deeper into the series.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[LadyCrimson]

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I got like a third of the way through The Three-Body Problem book before I dropped it.

How would you describe the writing style (in whatever translation language you read )?
In novels that's one of the biggest things for me. There are many well known/famous/revered sci-fi books I have either never read or didn't get past a few chapters because I disliked the writing style or already knew I didn't like the author's style.

I never read the other book you mention, but I did see the movie, and it was terrible (as a movie - the base story behind it might've been ok, I forget), haha.
I'm still liking the C-series version of Three Body so far (I'm on #5 now) however. It's a bit odd because I don't think the plot - what they're revealing/I'm understanding so far - enraptures me at all that much. It's more the visual/auditory mood. Or something. So it may end up being the opposite where I like a visual interpretation but would not like the original printed work.  Being a C-series however, it would not surprise if by the end I will at least think "it should have been 4, 6, 8, episodes shorter." 

[InsaneCommander]

17 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Anybody read Three Body Problem (sci-fi-drama-mystery)? I have not. I probably should, from the sound of it.

I read the first two books. Each book in the trilogy is kind of a separate story, so I ended up not reading the third yet. I found it interesting because they are written by somebody from a different culture so it's quite different from most of the sci-fi I know. The second book was far more interesting to me and the idea in it, although older than the book, became popularized as "The Dark Forest", that is (minor spoilers for the plot):

Spoiler

the universe is dangerous and nobody wants to announce themselves as other civilizations would attack you to be on the safe side in case you are hostile.

Personally I prefer the concept of the "park at night" since

Spoiler

unlike in a forest, you can't hide unless you don't emit any radiation.

Project Rho summarized it perfectly:
 

Spoiler

Quote

We ask that you try just one more thought experiment. Imagine yourself taking a stroll through Manhattan, somewhere north of 68th street, deep inside Central Park, late at night. It would be nice to meet someone friendly, but you know that the park is dangerous at night. That's when the monsters come out. There's always a strong undercurrent of drug dealings, muggings, and occasional homicides.

It is not easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. They dress alike, and the weapons are concealed. The only difference is intent, and you can't read minds.

Stay in the dark long enough and you may hear an occasional distance shriek or blunder across a body.

How do you survive the night? The last thing you want to do is shout, "I'm here!" The next to last thing you want to do is reply to someone who shouts, "I'm a friend!"

What you would like to do is find a policeman, or get out of the park. But you don't want to make noise or move towards a light where you might be spotted, and it is difficult to find either a policeman or your way out without making yourself known. Your safest option is to hunker down and wait for daylight, then safely walk out.

There are, of course, a few obvious differences between Central Park and the universe.

There is no policeman.

There is no way out.

And the night never ends.

 

9 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Well, I watched three episodes of Three Body so far. I checked and the subtitles on Tencent's YT vs. Viki are exactly the same, at least 1st episode. But I liked the formatting/pacing of Viki's subtitles more.

I heard they tried to extend the episodes as much as possible and some half an hour episodes could have been reduced to a few minutes without losing much. Do you agree with that?

Edited September 6, 2023 by InsaneCommander

[Bartimaeus]

7 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

I never read the other book you mention, but I did see the movie, and it was terrible (as a movie - the base story behind it might've been ok, I forget), haha.

The movie is quite horrid, and I actually foresaw that it might be someone's only frame of reference for it, which is why I ended up editing "book" into the spoiler, . The original book is pretty good, even if it has some issues...the sequels, uh, have some interesting ideas, but largely devolve into some kind of overtly philosophical soap opera. Not for me, to say the least.

7 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

How would you describe the writing style (in whatever translation language you read )?
In novels that's one of the biggest things for me. There are many well known/famous/revered sci-fi books I have either never read or didn't get past a few chapters because I disliked the writing style or already knew I didn't like the author's style.

Ken Liu's English translation: I thought the writing prose was fine. It's not particularly interesting or complex or distracting or...really anything. It's just fine. If you're interested in the ideas, perhaps that's enough, but it's difficult for me to say fo rsure.

[LadyCrimson]

16 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

I heard they tried to extend the episodes as much as possible and some half an hour episodes could have been reduced to a few minutes without losing much. Do you agree with that?

Can't really say with certainty with 5 out of 30 episodes watched. Looking at it, most episodes seem to be around 42-45 minutes, with a few over 50minutes and I only noticed one that was 30. The ones I've seen felt paced ok, no big urge to FFWD. But  I don't know what the pace of the book is like, plus I'm liking the visual cinematography/audio mood of the TV series, so maybe I'm more willing to sit through extended scenes of chr. walking thru the city or freaking out about his circumstances.

The main thing I dislike about many past C-dramas I've seen is the purposely minutes and minutes and minutes long-winded/extended and usually useless conversations or lectures between chrs. to pad out time.

Three Body has not suffered from that at all -  but some scenes - and perhaps "getting to the point" overall - do seem to linger a little long. Like, I get the sense the early Wang Miao arc/mystery+his interactions with this other character could have been more condensed. But so far, not really any worse than what many shows do on average. Certainly still plenty of time to switch into something aggravating to me in that regard, tho.

 

[Amentep]

 

[kanisatha]

ST: Strange New Worlds is being aired on broadcast CBS. I've not paid much attention to you guys talking about the show up until now because it was a streamed show. So what are people's thoughts on this show? Is it worth my time? I've set the DVR to record it, but ....

[LadyCrimson]

Not in the mood to binge watch TV, so haven't watched more Three Body (may try that tomorrow tho).

But I did try watching the first episode of Succession, the HBO series. I heard it's really good. And more importantly, finished (4 total seasons).
The first episode was interesting, occasionally amusing, but also pretty dense re: oodles of chrs and plot/situation setup. I can picture it being the type of show that after some episodes one may get really into chrs and love it for that but I don't think either hubby or I found that 1st episode a "wow, gotta watch more."  Maybe if we're bored over the winter.

[ShadySands]

Ahsoka episode 4. I think Sabine has cemented herself as the worst Padawan since Anakin.

[Gromnir]

2 hours ago, ShadySands said:

Ahsoka episode 4. I think Sabine has cemented herself as the worst Padawan since Anakin.

well, after murdering all the younglings, anakin kinda reduced the pool o' possible worst padawan competitors by a dramatic amount. add the order 66 purge and is gonna be incredible limited challengers for any worst since anakin trophy.  

nevertheless, am agreeing with the sentiment. ahsoka plot points thus far has been more akin to a slasher movie wherein one predictable marvels at the abject stoopid o' the protagonists.

however for ahsoka, the curious drive to self-destruction is not so much a character flaw o' the "protagonists" as it is o' sabine.  

HA! Good Fun!

[Amentep]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:14 AM, kanisatha said:

ST: Strange New Worlds is being aired on broadcast CBS. I've not paid much attention to you guys talking about the show up until now because it was a streamed show. So what are people's thoughts on this show? Is it worth my time? I've set the DVR to record it, but ....

I enjoyed the first season of SNW.  Of the new ST shows I've seen (Discovery season 1 & 2, Picard season 1, Lower Decks Seasons 1-3), I'd say its the most classic Trek feeling of the shows.  If you get caught up in continuity minutiae or why the bridge looks fancier ~10 years before TOS, it might not be for you though.

[majestic]

11 hours ago, Amentep said:

I enjoyed the first season of SNW.  Of the new ST shows I've seen (Discovery season 1 & 2, Picard season 1, Lower Decks Seasons 1-3), I'd say its the most classic Trek feeling of the shows.  If you get caught up in continuity minutiae or why the bridge looks fancier ~10 years before TOS, it might not be for you though.

Also if one likes their bridge crew at least somewhat professional. Not that this was a given in any of the Star Trek series, but the trash talk on the bridge of the Enterprise is really grinding my gears. Small wonder that the only episodes I really enjoyed where those where the writers conveniently forgot that the bridge crew is supposed to be utterly obnoxious and juvenile. If you like you can repeat your point about the showrunners not liking Star Trek so much and more wanting a cool Star Wars/rogueish crew. That's not making it any better.

The continuity minutiae aren't exactly minutiae either.

But yes, out of all the new Trek offerings (have not seen Lower Decks), it clearly is the best. Which is just saying that a pile of dog poop is preferable to cow pies or horse dung simply because they're smaller.

[Amentep]

I think the bridge crew comes down to the modern belief that the ST universe doesn't allow enough interpersonal conflict (i.e. people siding with Ellison that people in the future are just like they are now rather than going for a humanity that's learned some things and can dusagree but come together for the common good).

But much like Vulcans post TAS, the idea of professional crews that worked together slowly got eroded in TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT. Then blown up in DIS, PIC and LD.

(If you want a professional crew, Lower Decks ain't it, unless you can get into the send up).