TV - What's your passion (NON-sports)?

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I started Foundation today. Production values are high, the acting is great, and the first episode has been pretty enjoyable so far (I'm not quite finished yet).

They are making some wholesale changes to vast portions of the book's themes, characters, and plot. And it's completely unnecessary.
Episode 5 was pretty much 50% (?) unnecessary background story to one of the characters they changed significantly. :rolleyes: It didn't change the plot at all. So what was the point? That's the kind of stuff you can trim out with no loss to the story, save yourself some $$$, and not drag a story on for an extra unnecessary 1/2 hour - 30 seconds of exposition could have covered it all.

Still a pretty good show overall at 5 episodes in, but some of the combat scenes leave a bit to be desired in this particular episode - this was the weakest episode by far at this point due to all the above.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I started Foundation today. Production values are high, the acting is great, and the first episode has been pretty enjoyable so far (I'm not quite finished yet).
Pretty much carries through to the end. Other than my previous comments on diverging severely from the book, this show was generally pretty enjoyable and is recommended despite that "shortcoming".
 
Watched Night Sky on Prime…..watched in 2 days. Stars JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek. For those who like sci-fi and intrigue, this is a good watch.

Started Tehran on Apple. 3 episodes in and it’s solid, not great but solid

Better Call Saul mid season finale last night was damn good. An all time great show

Stranger things is back on Friday.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Started digging into Wheel of Time (Prime) and overall, not bad. Given the sheer volume of material they are working with they trimmed out a lot of the superfluous stuff and are keeping the story moving. The acting, etc., isn't quite as good as, say, GoT or some other other excellent shows, but I'm enjoying the show so far.
Finished season 1 - they are changing the story around a bit, some unnecessarily. They've cut huge swaths of the book(s) out (since season 1 covers basically the first book, plus some of the stuff in the prequel book and later books). Which is understandable - the books are so long and there is so much jammed in there you'd never be able to fit it all into a show. But they've also changed some stuff that just doesn't make sense, other than perhaps to just give other characters more screen time? Whatever the reason, similar to Foundation they are adding, removing, and changing some characters around, which I get for a book this complex, but some of it seems like pointless changes just to make a change instead of for any logical reason. That's the kind of stuff that I don't really care for.

Still, overall an entertaining show. Not quite to the level of GoT or anything, like I said, but still fairly well done.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Caught the first two episodes of Obi Wan Kenobi and I have some mixed feelings. I love the fact they are doing this, and with the original actors reprising their parts!

They did the same thing to Obi Wan that they did to Luke in his return, and it doesn't really play as well here either. I realize they are doing it for storytelling, but again it seems like overreaction on the character's part. Oh, and young Leia is a bit too smart to be so stupid at times.

But I'm liking the setup of the show and where it is leading so far. Looking forward to the next one!
 
Watched Night Sky on Prime…..watched in 2 days. Stars JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek. For those who like sci-fi and intrigue, this is a good watch.

Started Tehran on Apple. 3 episodes in and it’s solid, not great but solid

Better Call Saul mid season finale last night was damn good. An all time great show

Stranger things is back on Friday.
saul finale was jaw dropping
 
I've been seeing ads saying that Season 3 of The Orville has finally debuted on Hulu... which is also a handy way of being reminded that I've been paying for a Hulu account for over two years, that I have yet to actually log into.
I pay for the commercial free, if you have completely cut the cord (including YTTV with its excellent DVR) it's still a pretty solid service, otherwise you may as well just DVR your favorite shows. I plan on catching Pistol on Hulu shortly, probably should finish Winning Time first.
 
Way behind on Saul, but agree that Hacks is crazy good.
this season of Saul is amazing . Going to miss it when it’s over
Yeah hacks is about as close to a perfect show as I can think of. Hilarious, poignant, great acting and characters you really like and makes you feel good. And it’s a great show to watch with the wife lol.
 
So as it was, I binged Pistol over the last two nights. I enjoyed it, didn't love the creative decision to shoot in 4:3 (something I thought was more cleverly done in both Wandavision and briefly in the Pentaverate, but ok let's not do this anymore) and I really didn't much like the guy who played Lydon.

I was also pretty wowed to learn that Steve and Chrissie Hynde were lovers because as fan for 35+ years this was totally new info to me, well, nope, that was made for TV. so uh, I dunno, it was fun, I guess I should rewatch the docs to cleanse my palate and maybe even Sid and Nancy which I sorta hate. But it was fun. It gave them a little better treatment than the modern angle that they were nothing more than a boy band. The music soundtrack was amazing - both the actors performing the songs and the period music. Some of the trailers were very slick but the show itself was presented just as ugly as I had always viewed it in the past. The bit characters were great. The guy who played Richard Branson for 5 minutes was so perfect. I need to read the book.
 
At last wrapped up both volumes of Stranger Things Season 4

*Edit: Cleaned this up to streamline the spoiler tags.

Overall, I thought the season had some really good points: The concept of the Murder House and Vecna’s origin were super cool, the ties to Nightmare on Elm Street worked, the inclusion of the DND moral panic of the 80s was a nice touch, Max’s storyline was freaking superb, Eddie was an addition I eventually warmed up to,
(and his seemingly real connection and chemistry with fellow newcomer Chrissy was a genuine, pleasant surprise), and I applaud this season’s more ambitious ending.

That said, I rank this on about the same tier as Season 2, which was my least favorite of the series.

A few more spoiler positives, Robert “Freddy Kreuger” Englund as Vecna’s dad was a nice touch. The brief Nancy / Robin team-up was awesome. The more official introduction and development of Suzie was done really well. And of course Eddie’s Master of Puppets solo in the Upside Down is the thing of Metal Legends

However …

I wanted to care about and should have felt invested in Hopper’s escape from the Soviet/Demogorgon prison and Joyce rushing off to rescue him but it felt so separate from the rest of the storyline, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Same for everything going on with Mike, Will, Jonathon, and Argyle. Their whole narrative amounted to them riding around the Southwest in a pizza van all so they could spend the final act doing nothing but sitting around Eleven in her saltwater tub and occasionally asking distracting questions and yelling encouragement.

And even the main party in Hawkins felt like it was a lot of wandering around

School->trailer park->lake house->wheeler’s house->school->murder house->cemetery->lake house->skull rock->lake->upside down ->wheeler’s house->trailer park->gun store->murder house->trailer park->upside down

The upside down has just become another place now. Sure there’s deadly demobats … suddenly, but otherwise it’s no more dangerous than the streets of Hawkins with armed roaming jocks out for misguided revenge.

When Eddie jumped into the Watergate, my first thought should NOT have been “oh good, he’ll be safe there from the angry teenagers.” Really should be a much bigger deal when the party has to go there.

While Chrissy’s death was perfect, in a “first victim” you cared about even though she was only in one episode to set the tone and the stakes kind of way, the other two had little to zero impact.

The first guy, Nancy’s editor, I kept trying to Google to see if he was a minor character from previous seasons I’d forgotten about, because otherwise I had no idea why he was getting so much screentime, and by the time it was revealed he was going to be victim #2, his death wasn’t going to top Chrissy. And the basketball kid, I honestly can’t remember anything about him

Max’s near murder at the Cemetery and epic “Running up the Hill” scene was the highlight of the season … but after that she was essentially backbenched, (until the last episode of course) sniping sarcastic comments from time to time and listening to her headphones. They had to know she was the star of the show at that point.

On to Season 5. Final villain’s gotta be Tiamat right?
1987, Wall Street, Greed is Good. Fits yeah?

Of course, Stranger Things does have more of a Lost Boys vibe.
Eddie as the Vampire Kas … with vamp cheerleader Chrissy by his side.
 
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Some series I’m currently watching or have finished

The Old Man on Hulu or Fx….it’s great with Bridges on Lithgow.
Physical on Apple ok, gave it a shot and I do like it. Rose Byrne is awesome
For All Mankind on Apple. Continues to be stellar
Pachinko on Apple. Just started this and it took an episode or 2 to get into it as it was building its characters, very good
Terminal List on Prime. It’s been fine but I have found myself starting other series instead of finishing this one
Resident Evil on Netflix. If you need a fix for this type of genre, it’s ok….but it’s ok at best
Better Call Saul…..nothing is better than this show.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Finally started season 2 of only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

some of the stunt cameos don’t have the same magic as in season one but goddamn American Treasure Shirley MacLaine still has it and the stupid Steve Martin song introduced in episode 4 has been in my head all weekend.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Re: Ms. Marvel

I’ve been going through it pretty slowly and feel a little indifferent towards it. I like what they’re trying to do, but it’s the first that feels very ‘Disney’ to me in that it skews a little younger (which makes sense though, given the source material). I’m left wishing it had a bit more edge and moved a little quicker.
Agreed. I liked the nationality of the main character being something I don't normally get exposed to. Other than some bits in Eternals, I haven't seen much in the way of India/Pakistan (or similar)-related culture in these shows that I can think of. I enjoyed that aspect.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
I’ve been going through it pretty slowly and feel a little indifferent towards it. I like what they’re trying to do, but it’s the first that feels very ‘Disney’ to me in that it skews a little younger (which makes sense though, given the source material). I’m left wishing it had a bit more edge and moved a little quicker.
You wanted an "edgy" Ms. Marvel?
 
You wanted an "edgy" Ms. Marvel?
Not sure when a little more edge officially becomes ‘edgy’ but sure. If they do ultimately put together a Young Avengers squad in some fashion, I prefer the tone & vibe of Kate Bishop so far and feel like our Jersey girl with the sass & snark dialed up a bit isn’t too off base. Matters of taste I guess.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I'd put some TV watching on hold to finish a book, but just caught the five I am Groot shorts on Disney+ - generally cute and quick to run through, the best two for me were Groot's Pursuit and Magnum Opus.

I just noticed that they also have all the Marvel One Shots on Disney+ - if you haven't watched them, some are actually pretty good.