May 30, 2019 5:20:45 GMT @admin said:

May 30, 2019 4:41:45 GMT mikec said:

Concur. I haven’t finished the season, but it isn’t the same show.

Apparently the head writer changed so that probably had a lot to do with it. On top of the general messiness of the storyline there was a noticeable reduction in the black humour which offset the violence really well in the first season. The reigns are being handed over again for season three so we'll see if that makes things any better, or perhaps worse...

In response to the showrunner change: she went back to her show Fleabag and made a second season which was worth it.

I've been watching a show called Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, I'm about halfway through the second (final) season of the series. I love James Van Der Beek on this show absolutely hilarious, still not a big fan of Krysten Ritter, however, I do find her more tolerable on this show, than I do on Jessica Jones.

I’ve recently restarted Parenthood on Netflix because apparently I like to cry once per hour.

I’ve been knocking off shows daily now I have the summer off. Watched 11 full shows in the last month.

I won’t bore you all with them all but the top 3 I’ve seen recently were all exceptionally good. Chernobyl, When They See Us and Killing Eve (season 2)

Stranger Things was so damn good. Sucks next season is most likely the end.

I'm (binge) watching Twin Peaks for the very first time and loving it. 10/10. All time classic (so far. I hear the show takes a nosedive in quality real soon). My only regret is realizing I wasted the last 28 years of my life by doing stuff other than watching Twin Peaks. I have a feeling this is gonna be my new thing. So apologies in advance for writing like The Log Lady speaks, which I'm sure is coming real soon.

Jul 6, 2019 1:48:08 GMT c said:

Stranger Things was so damn good. Sucks next season is most likely the end.

Agreed. Just finished it last night. Every season has been a home run so far. I think it could go five rather than four but once the kids grow too old, the charm of the experience will definitely be compromised to an extent.

It's one of the best shows ever though and I really hope it goes out with a bang.

Maybe I'm just imagining it because it's fresher, but season 3 seemed to have a lot more comedy than I remember from the first two, and I think that was great to offset all the creepy mindflare stuff. I've got mikec to thank for convincing me to watch it originally - so much fun!

I'm enjoying this season of the 100.

For some reason I find myself watching reruns of The Closer

Jul 9, 2019 23:08:36 GMT @admin said:

Maybe I'm just imagining it because it's fresher, but season 3 seemed to have a lot more comedy than I remember from the first two, and I think that was great to offset all the creepy mindflare stuff. I've got mikec to thank for convincing me to watch it originally - so much fun!

I have yet to start season 3, but I’m pumped.

I started watching a series called LA's Finest, which is a spin-off of the Bad Boys movies, with Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. I don't hate it, but It's your typical cop drama show, nothing groundbreaking but a decent enough watch.

Wrapping up Russian Doll. It’s weird but great.

Checking out After Life on Netflix. I've loved Ricky G in nearly everything I've seen of his and this is no exception. I assume a lot of the language is just normal british stuff because it's not something I'm used to hearing, particularly cunt.

Big Little Lies season 2 was so disappointing. I am so over the current trend of shows being dragged out beyond a successful first season even though they have no idea where to take the storyline. You can have as many good actors as you like, and you can make it all look super pretty with a great soundtrack but if there's no actual plot it's all just a waste of time.

Jul 23, 2019 1:34:45 GMT @admin said:

Big Little Lies season 2 was so disappointing. I am so over the current trend of shows being dragged out beyond a successful first season even though they have no idea where to take the storyline. You can have as many good actors as you like, and you can make it all look super pretty with a great soundtrack but if there's no actual plot it's all just a waste of time.

You should check out Russian Doll... though I heard it got a second season and have no idea what that is.

Jul 9, 2019 16:38:06 GMT Baker said:

I'm (binge) watching Twin Peaks for the very first time and loving it. 10/10. All time classic (so far. I hear the show takes a nosedive in quality real soon). My only regret is realizing I wasted the last 28 years of my life by doing stuff other than watching Twin Peaks. I have a feeling this is gonna be my new thing. So apologies in advance for writing like The Log Lady speaks, which I'm sure is coming real soon.

One of my favourite shows, I bought the box-set around the release of Inland Empire when I was going through my Lynch phase. Loved it, even the much maligned second season had enough 90s charm to see me through to the final episode which maybe one of the all-time great television episodes of all-time.

Have you caught up to Season 3 yet? I'd highly recommend watching Fire Walk With Me prior to. On the surface, the movie is a re-telling of the events surrounding Laura Palmer's death, but it also goes into depth about the Red Room and it's strange inhabitants which is pertinent for Season 3. Honestly, I didn't enjoy FWWM as much as the original series and Season 3 follows more in that vein.

Season 3 maybe one of the best series revival's of all-time. Unlike a lot of other shows that merely play the greatest hits and do nothing new with the show, Season 3 goes in another direction and does so at it's own pace. It's a pity you weren't a fan prior, half the fun of Season 3 was being able to re-live all the speculation and theores like it was 1990 all over again. Reddit and YouTube became a hot-bed of discussion and no matter how plausible the theory, nobody could really pick where the series was headed.

Jul 20, 2019 2:26:09 GMT mikec said:

Wrapping up Russian Doll. It’s weird but great.

Seconded.

Wife started watching. I was casually paying attention because I wasn't interested. By the end of the second episode, I was hooked. Good stuff, and great OITNB follow-up for Natasha Lyonne.

Just finished Season 3 of Stranger Things after binge watching all 3 seasons in a row as a first time viewer of this show.

And I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW!

I am so pissed we may have to wait until 2020 for the next season. I expect it to go 5 seasons, by the way.

As for Season 3, it was great. Season 1 is still my favorite and 3 finishes in 2nd. Season 2 was good but didn’t match up to these two seasons. I am so down about the ending to Season 3. Fucking with my emotions and the Hopper cliffhanger is stressful too. Great show. Love these kids. So happy I got into it and stopped being weird about it. It’s crazy because I loved Super 7 (I think that’s the name of the movie) so I don’t know why I was resisting this show. It’s fucking awesome. I hate finishing seasons and having to wait. Ugh. So good. So frustrating. So.... STRANGE!

Jul 23, 2019 5:33:52 GMT Big Pete said:

Jul 9, 2019 16:38:06 GMT Baker said:

I'm (binge) watching Twin Peaks for the very first time and loving it. 10/10. All time classic (so far. I hear the show takes a nosedive in quality real soon). My only regret is realizing I wasted the last 28 years of my life by doing stuff other than watching Twin Peaks. I have a feeling this is gonna be my new thing. So apologies in advance for writing like The Log Lady speaks, which I'm sure is coming real soon.

One of my favourite shows, I bought the box-set around the release of Inland Empire when I was going through my Lynch phase. Loved it, even the much maligned second season had enough 90s charm to see me through to the final episode which maybe one of the all-time great television episodes of all-time.

Have you caught up to Season 3 yet? I'd highly recommend watching Fire Walk With Me prior to. On the surface, the movie is a re-telling of the events surrounding Laura Palmer's death, but it also goes into depth about the Red Room and it's strange inhabitants which is pertinent for Season 3. Honestly, I didn't enjoy FWWM as much as the original series and Season 3 follows more in that vein.

Season 3 maybe one of the best series revival's of all-time. Unlike a lot of other shows that merely play the greatest hits and do nothing new with the show, Season 3 goes in another direction and does so at it's own pace. It's a pity you weren't a fan prior, half the fun of Season 3 was being able to re-live all the speculation and theores like it was 1990 all over again. Reddit and YouTube became a hot-bed of discussion and no matter how plausible the theory, nobody could really pick where the series was headed.

I have yet to watch Season 3 or rewatch Fire Walk With Me. Will probably start on them next week. I did burn through a Mark Frost penned Twin Peaks novel that came out before Season 3. It was nothing special.

The first 7 or 8 episodes of Season 2 rule. The big dropoff in quality coincides with the solving of Laura Palmer's murder. I still enjoyed it for the most part in spite of some painfully boring storylines and near shark jumping moments. They clearly had no idea what to do once the big mystery was solved. I thought they righted the ship a bit once they started focusing more on Windom Earle as the new top villain with the mystery of the Lodges lurking in the background. 

I did rent(!) Fire Walk With Me back in the early 2000s on the recommendation of my David Lynch fan friend. I thought it was terrible. The rare DUD. A movie with no redeeming qualities. Of course, I had no idea of the backstory, or what the hell was going on in general, and I remember absolutely nothing about it other than intensely disliking it. So I'm gonna give it another shot before starting on Season 3.



^This was my take on Twin Peaks for years- A show that was weird for the sake of being weird. FWWM certainly did not help matters. Sadly, Twin Peaks came out just a bit too early in real time. A year later and it almost surely would have been my then-favorite show, provided my parents let me watch it. 

Season 1 of True Detective and Game of Thrones (finally!) are on the docket after Twin Peaks. Given my glacial pace of doing stuff, I fully expect to finish True Detective by 2030 and GoT by 2040. 

Jul 28, 2019 1:40:14 GMT Baker said:

Jul 23, 2019 5:33:52 GMT Big Pete said:

One of my favourite shows, I bought the box-set around the release of Inland Empire when I was going through my Lynch phase. Loved it, even the much maligned second season had enough 90s charm to see me through to the final episode which maybe one of the all-time great television episodes of all-time.

Have you caught up to Season 3 yet? I'd highly recommend watching Fire Walk With Me prior to. On the surface, the movie is a re-telling of the events surrounding Laura Palmer's death, but it also goes into depth about the Red Room and it's strange inhabitants which is pertinent for Season 3. Honestly, I didn't enjoy FWWM as much as the original series and Season 3 follows more in that vein.

Season 3 maybe one of the best series revival's of all-time. Unlike a lot of other shows that merely play the greatest hits and do nothing new with the show, Season 3 goes in another direction and does so at it's own pace. It's a pity you weren't a fan prior, half the fun of Season 3 was being able to re-live all the speculation and theores like it was 1990 all over again. Reddit and YouTube became a hot-bed of discussion and no matter how plausible the theory, nobody could really pick where the series was headed.

I have yet to watch Season 3 or rewatch Fire Walk With Me. Will probably start on them next week. I did burn through a Mark Frost penned Twin Peaks novel that came out before Season 3. It was nothing special.

The first 7 or 8 episodes of Season 2 rule. The big dropoff in quality coincides with the solving of Laura Palmer's murder. I still enjoyed it for the most part in spite of some painfully boring storylines and near shark jumping moments. They clearly had no idea what to do once the big mystery was solved. I thought they righted the ship a bit once they started focusing more on Windom Earle as the new top villain with the mystery of the Lodges lurking in the background. 

I did rent(!) Fire Walk With Me back in the early 2000s on the recommendation of my David Lynch fan friend. I thought it was terrible. The rare DUD. A movie with no redeeming qualities. Of course, I had no idea of the backstory, or what the hell was going on in general, and I remember absolutely nothing about it other than intensely disliking it. So I'm gonna give it another shot before starting on Season 3.



^This was my take on Twin Peaks for years- A show that was weird for the sake of being weird. FWWM certainly did not help matters. Sadly, Twin Peaks came out just a bit too early in real time. A year later and it almost surely would have been my then-favorite show, provided my parents let me watch it. 

Season 1 of True Detective and Game of Thrones (finally!) are on the docket after Twin Peaks. Given my glacial pace of doing stuff, I fully expect to finish True Detective by 2030 and GoT by 2040. 

I really enjoyed how they amplified the paranormal aspects at the start of season two. As much as I enjoyed the soap opera aspects of the show and just getting to hang out with the characters, it was the American Gothic vibe, the woods, the owls etc. that held my interest. You can definitely see the executive meddling through out the show. Too many episodes, too many 'hot new actors' and of course wrapping up the central mystery. That's why I really enjoy the finale, becuase it was like Lynch revealing how good the show could have been and poking fun at all the gimmicks the show tacked on. 'How's Annie' indeed.

I'm curious to hear if you enjoy FWWM upon revisit. A lot of characters and concepts become integral to the plot in Season 3 so it's definitely worth a refresher. I didn't know you were a Lynch fan. You might end up enjoying Season 3 regardless just because he borrows a lot of ideas from his past works. It almost seems like a celebration of his work as a whole moreso than another chapter to Twin Peaks.

If I remember correctly, the Frost book has little in common with Season 3 and the show contradicts a lot of the revelations it came up with. I can't remember specifics, but I just remember that was an ongoing theme of the weekly threads on reddit. He wrote another book afterwards that just confirms a couple of fan theories had in Season 3.

So just finished Season 3 of Stranger Things , it took far too long but since my kids got into it we tried to make it a family thing and the times didn't always line up. Anyways this might be up there with my favorite show of all time after this season , never has a show (for me) been so one from season to season , episode to episode beginning to end. They manage to balance the stakes , the characters , the drama and the comedy so fucking well and write each character in such a way that you really like them all. Hell even Murray and Alexei mattered by the time they got their time on screen to do something and you felt for them. It's just a masterclass of show running and character development.

And honestly every time the kids come on screen , kick ass or return to form a group I mark out. Like when Eleven returned in Season Two to fuck shit up and when she chucks that car in the mall , or when the come with the fireworks - it's all just incredible and stuff that reminds me of being little and hearing the glass shatter in wrestler - or even better because there are actual stakes in this type of television. As I type this and await another full rewatch this sits as my #1 show ever. I don't know how I can fully encapsulate how much fun and joy I have watching it but fuck is it great.

Also we did a TV characters thing awhile back and I'm scared to think how many characters from Stranger Things would enter my Top 10-15. Hopper , Steve , Eleven , Dustin would all be locks for sure. Max is climbing the ranks , Nancy would be up there as would Joyce. Like all of them. Even Robyn is her lone season is awesome any I look forward to more of her.

Jul 30, 2019 17:16:24 GMT UT said:

So just finished Season 3 of Stranger Things , it took far too long but since my kids got into it we tried to make it a family thing and the times didn't always line up. Anyways this might be up there with my favorite show of all time after this season , never has a show (for me) been so one from season to season , episode to episode beginning to end. They manage to balance the stakes , the characters , the drama and the comedy so fucking well and write each character in such a way that you really like them all. Hell even Murray and Alexei mattered by the time they got their time on screen to do something and you felt for them. It's just a masterclass of show running and character development.

And honestly every time the kids come on screen , kick ass or return to form a group I mark out. Like when Eleven returned in Season Two to fuck shit up and when she chucks that car in the mall , or when the come with the fireworks - it's all just incredible and stuff that reminds me of being little and hearing the glass shatter in wrestler - or even better because there are actual stakes in this type of television. As I type this and await another full rewatch this sits as my #1 show ever. I don't know how I can fully encapsulate how much fun and joy I have watching it but fuck is it great.

Also we did a TV characters thing awhile back and I'm scared to think how many characters from Stranger Things would enter my Top 10-15. Hopper , Steve , Eleven , Dustin would all be locks for sure. Max is climbing the ranks , Nancy would be up there as would Joyce. Like all of them. Even Robyn is her lone season is awesome any I look forward to more of her.

How bummed were you when it was over though?

I felt like joy and innocence was being ripped out of me as they were separating.

And I am totally on board with the “marking out” when they reunite. It’s always bad ass and always clutch.

I’m still sticking to my opinion that Season 2 was bleh compared to 1 & 3. 1 & 3 were incredible where as 2 dragged at times.

Jul 30, 2019 19:17:20 GMT KING KID said:

Jul 30, 2019 17:16:24 GMT UT said:

So just finished Season 3 of Stranger Things , it took far too long but since my kids got into it we tried to make it a family thing and the times didn't always line up. Anyways this might be up there with my favorite show of all time after this season , never has a show (for me) been so one from season to season , episode to episode beginning to end. They manage to balance the stakes , the characters , the drama and the comedy so fucking well and write each character in such a way that you really like them all. Hell even Murray and Alexei mattered by the time they got their time on screen to do something and you felt for them. It's just a masterclass of show running and character development.

And honestly every time the kids come on screen , kick ass or return to form a group I mark out. Like when Eleven returned in Season Two to fuck shit up and when she chucks that car in the mall , or when the come with the fireworks - it's all just incredible and stuff that reminds me of being little and hearing the glass shatter in wrestler - or even better because there are actual stakes in this type of television. As I type this and await another full rewatch this sits as my #1 show ever. I don't know how I can fully encapsulate how much fun and joy I have watching it but fuck is it great.

Also we did a TV characters thing awhile back and I'm scared to think how many characters from Stranger Things would enter my Top 10-15. Hopper , Steve , Eleven , Dustin would all be locks for sure. Max is climbing the ranks , Nancy would be up there as would Joyce. Like all of them. Even Robyn is her lone season is awesome any I look forward to more of her.

How bummed were you when it was over though?

I felt like joy and innocence was being ripped out of me as they were separating.

And I am totally on board with the “marking out” when they reunite. It’s always bad ass and always clutch.

I’m still sticking to my opinion that Season 2 was bleh compared to 1 & 3. 1 & 3 were incredible where as 2 dragged at times.

Super bummed but that's a credit to the show , you don't want to be watching and engaging in something that you can't wait to be over. 

I don't rank the seasons compared to one another , I love them all and love Season Two for everything that it did and was. I thought that's where they hit their stride comedy wise. It introduced us to Max and Billy - a great hero and villain in their own rights. It had my favorite moment (maybe of the series) when Eleven came back to Joyces and started fucking shit up. It had Bob whom was a great fucking character and died a heroes death in a heartbreaking moment and it had the demidogs which I thought were a ton of fun. Also it gave us the Steve and Dustin pairing and turned Steve into a massive babyface in the process and I love Steve so there's that as well. 

I don't know what more they could have done , except for maybe scrap the forbidden episode but even that kind of served it's own purpose in allowing Eleven to harness her powers and defeat the monster. 

I guess. I rank, though so 2 is 3 for me.

It filled some gaps and Steve going babyface is awesome too. I honestly thought Bob was going to turn heel through the season and he didn’t. I actually thought they would bring back 8 in Season 3. They didn’t, which isn’t the worst thing in the world but it would’ve been cool to see those misfits in the mall helping out.

I'm happy they distanced themselves from any of the misfits and that episode in general. I will defend the idea of the episode and it's long term effect of El needing to learn to focus and better use her powers and accept it on that premise but I'll also admit that it wasn't a great episode in terms of entertainment or characters. It's probably the only misstep The Duffer Brothers have had in the series and conceptually it made sense so it's not that egregious in the grand scheme of things. If it served no purpose as a one off episode I would probably say it was an actual blemish on the series.

True Detective Season 3

It was a back to basics season after an extremely sloppy second season. There were parts of Season 2 I enjoyed, but overall I'm glad that they went back to the multiple time-lines format if only because it gave Mahershala Ali more material to work with and he delivered the best performance I've seen on television in quite some time. His comradarie with Steven Dorff and relationship with the alluring Carmen Ejogo completely over-shadows the central plot which almost feels incidental. I'll have to give it another watch later on, when I'm not spending half the time trying to guess the plot twists and ending.

Black Mirror Season 1 & 3 (And Most Of 5)

I've kept this show at a distance for a long time because I knew I'd love it, but I wanted to save it for a rainy day. Well that day finally arrived and not only did it meet my expectations, it exceeded them. As an anthology show I was recommended to start with Season 3 and wasn't disappointed. The first three episodes had me hooked, while the forth was one of those psychological thrillers that had me guessing two of the three ways through then completely engaged with the final third. I've since started looking at other episodes, namely from the first and last season. So far, the second ever episode is the one I've enjoyed the most. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's social commentary is extremely sharp and Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) is amazing in the lead.

Jul 31, 2019 1:39:09 GMT UT said:

I'm happy they distanced themselves from any of the misfits and that episode in general. I will defend the idea of the episode and it's long term effect of El needing to learn to focus and better use her powers and accept it on that premise but I'll also admit that it wasn't a great episode in terms of entertainment or characters. It's probably the only misstep The Duffer Brothers have had in the series and conceptually it made sense so it's not that egregious in the grand scheme of things. If it served no purpose as a one off episode I would probably say it was an actual blemish on the series.

I agree. I found adding 8 very unnecessary. However, it would've made the story mean a little more then a 'blemish' if she did return. Even if just to die. I thought it was a bit overkill adding a "sister", but it happened and an actual conclusion would've been better.

ALSO::::::: Guess what I just learned?

THIS MAY NOT BE NEWS TO OTHERS, BUT TO ME IT IS.

Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler) and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) ARE ACTUALLY DATING FOR REAL! WOAH! A REAL LIFE COUPLE MIRRORING THEIR TV LIFE COUPLE!

I didn’t really enjoy the Eleven steps out episode in season 2, but I would have had significantly fewer problems with it had it not come right after the most exciting episode conclusion to that point of the season. Holy fuck the hounds of hell are coming... now take an hour detour to a shitty side story you won’t enjoy.

A couple of days ago, I just found out that Chris Lilley released a new show on NetFlix called Lunatics. Somehow I missed out on all the uproar involving black face and the 0% Rotten Tomato score, so I decided to check it out, expecting the worse. While the show feels like a lesser We Can Be Heroes, 14 years after the fact, Lilley still seems to keep up with trends and pick out certain nuances that most shows miss. What I like about his style is that while he touches on some taboo subject matter, he doesn't do it to shock his audience, rather he approaches it in a matter of fact way that feels true to life.

I've read a few reviews and while I agree that Lilley stays inside his comfort zone, I don't think more of the same is really that bad of a thing, especially when so few share his brand of humour.

I really need to go back and watch Summer Heights High. I reckon anyone could pass the citizenship test simply by studying this show.

Watched Wire for the first time. Won't go into details since it's not really a current show, but was quite enjoyable even if I felt the post-Stringer seasons weren't as strong since I wasn't buying the Marlo push.