What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to now

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BanksIsDaFuture
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

I don't think there are any bad Black Mirror episodes, they're all fantastic in different ways. My favorite is San Junipero, from S3, which is very different from the rest of the series in its own way. And White Bear.

I actually just finished up the series, I hadn't watched the Domhnall Gleason ep for some reason and finally got to it earlier this week. Hayley Atwell put in a helluva performance there.

If I had to chose a weak episode, I'd point to Season 3's Men Against Fire, but only because the premise is obvious and you can see everywhere the plot is going where before the episode gets there. Or Season 3's Hated In The Nation - which is a little too formulaic for the series.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Unrelated, but I'd highly recommend the HBO mini-series Big Little Lies to everyone. Filled to the brim with fantastic performances, and the story structure elevates a simple Who Done It.

If anything, it's a reminder to everyone how great of an actress Nicole Kidman is, and always has been. But honestly, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Scott, Alexander Skarsgaard, and Shailene Woodley - everyone is A+.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by numbersix »

I've heard mixed things about it... like really mixed. Mates who love it, and others who despise it. Kinda tempted.

Started Fargo Season 3, which was a slow burn with a brilliant last 10 mins. Noah Hawley is a genius.

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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

I saw ads for Big Little Lies and it looked a little too self-indulgent to me. And I've never been impressed with Woodley.

Anyway, the new Twin Peaks doesn't premiere for another few weeks but I have gotten some of the Pops that have come out. There's seven in the set (one is a Chase, annoyingly) and I have five so far (a sixth will come in the next few days. The Laura Palmer Pop might be the best designed Pop I've ever seen up close. She's wrapped in plastic like in the pilot episode but instead of using a soft plastic that could disintegrate quickly, the Pop is encased in a hard plastic and is held up on a stand much like how collectable Barbies are held. And if you take it out of the box (like I do, I'm not into keeping things cherry), it has a very pleasing heft.

The seven in the line: Dale Cooper, The Log Lady, Laura Palmer, Audrey Horne, Bob, Leland Palmer, and The Giant (he's the Chase). Apparently, there also plans for a Leland Chase (the general release has him with white hair, the Chase has him with black hair). I'm hoping this series does well enough for a Series 2 but the more vocal collectors won't shut up about Overwatch and Stranger Things.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

I just gave the pilot to American Gods a watch and it might be the biggest disappointment in TV so far this year. Bryan Fuller is a showrunner master but it seems as if he stretched himself too thin by trying to handle three shows at once (this, the development of Star Trek: Discovery, plans of an Amazing Stories revival). The project also suffers from not having Scott Nimerfro (who had a major hand in Pushing Daisies and Hannibal) involved. His death seems to have really taken a piece of what made Fuller's work prior to this so good.

So anyway, the show is all style and deadly dull. Sure, Hannibal was a stylish show but it also had great scripts, a fantastic talent pool of directors, and one of the best casts assembled for a show in recent memory. But this is a padding laden mess that definitely could have used editing to 43 minutes an episode (the first 15 minutes could have easily been about 2-3 minutes, tops). And the protagonist is bland and has none of the qualities or sympathy of Will Graham or Ned the Pie Maker or Jaye Tyler. Or maybe I don't connect with Neil Gaiman the way I can with Thomas Harris.

In short, a misfire from Fuller but one that will find the popularity his other shows couldn't as it's on cable.

On the brighter side, Hap and Leonard got renewed. There was no way the show could end right there.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

In preparation for the new season of Twin Peaks, I've been reading what according to the creators of the show was the first companion novel to a TV show, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. The literary concept of a story told through diary passages has always been an intriguing one and this one (written by future film director and David's daughter Jennifer Lynch) is no exception. I received it from Amazon yesterday and am about two-thirds through.

I've also been wondering if Laura Palmer was based on Lynch herself. You can see similarities between Dale Cooper and David Lynch (as well as Gordon Cole, the role Lynch himself plays) in the series but I'm also wondering if Laura Palmer's drug addiction was based on Jennifer's own struggles with addiction. I'm also going to have to watch Fire Walk with Me again (as well as The Missing Pieces, its companion film) as both a primer for the Season 3 premiere (I have not heard or seen if Showtime will offer a free preview that weekend) and to find similarities between The Secret Diary and the film.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

It is happening again.

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BanksIsDaFuture
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Buscemi wrote:I just gave the pilot to American Gods a watch and it might be the biggest disappointment in TV so far this year. Bryan Fuller is a showrunner master but it seems as if he stretched himself too thin by trying to handle three shows at once (this, the development of Star Trek: Discovery, plans of an Amazing Stories revival). The project also suffers from not having Scott Nimerfro (who had a major hand in Pushing Daisies and Hannibal) involved. His death seems to have really taken a piece of what made Fuller's work prior to this so good.

So anyway, the show is all style and deadly dull. Sure, Hannibal was a stylish show but it also had great scripts, a fantastic talent pool of directors, and one of the best casts assembled for a show in recent memory. But this is a padding laden mess that definitely could have used editing to 43 minutes an episode (the first 15 minutes could have easily been about 2-3 minutes, tops). And the protagonist is bland and has none of the qualities or sympathy of Will Graham or Ned the Pie Maker or Jaye Tyler. Or maybe I don't connect with Neil Gaiman the way I can with Thomas Harris.

In short, a misfire from Fuller but one that will find the popularity his other shows couldn't as it's on cable.
You got all this from just watching the pilot...?
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

The pilot of a TV show needs to tell you everything that is important early on in advance (much like the first ten minutes of a movie) and Bryan Fuller was masterful in that with Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, and Hannibal. If the pilot fails, the show doesn't work. People who tell you otherwise are simply wasting their time rather than using said time for better things.

The American Gods pilot is a boring and overlong mishmash of ideas that don't work. And its protagonist is nothing more than boring muscle. Fuller writes great protagonists but this character is so forgettable and cliche (the actor's bland too). At least with the three shows I mentioned, the protagonists were well-rounded and you cared about them.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

I was going to watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me to get prepared for the new season (still seen nothing about a Showtime free preview, but on the bright side, I'm getting free HBO due to having DirecTV at the house) but my Blu-ray player crapped out trying to play the disc (I guess it's a firmware problem, I'd get the updates done but my phone jack is on the opposite end of the player). So instead, I went to Netflix to try to find some new shows but only got disappointment and agitation.

Transporter: The Series - this Cinemax reject (it ended up on TNT in an edited form, the Netflix versions are uncut) is a DOA spinoff of the movies. In addition to feeling like a bad syndicated show from the 90's with cable edginess, the lead is completely unconvincing in making people forget Jason Statham. In fact, why do they keep trying to do The Transporter without Statham? Statham was the franchise.

Terriers - forgettable one season wonder built on cliches and characters you don't care about. People online seem to love this show but they are probably the same people who will watch almost anything (and let actors like Jenna Elfman keep carrying shows).

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret - a misguided attempt at Americans trying a UK-styled show. It wants to be the original Office but it ends up putting raunchiness and predictable, by-the-numbers situations ahead of wit and caring about the characters. In fact, that problem also shows up in a lot of bad Britcoms too. I think I'll stick to classic UK comedies like Fawlty Towers or Father Ted.

On the other hand, I found out about a 90's cartoon on Reddit's Obscure Media page called The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. I watched the first two episodes and it's a fun one, being a weird show without pandering to adults who spend all their time getting high, posting on Tumblr, and watch things intended for children (or Bob's Burgers).

Meanwhile, the networks have been busy with canceling, renewing, and bringing out new shows. Some surprising moves (the Shawn Ryan curse has been broken, New Girl got renewed again), some groaners (American Idol's coming back), and we're getting a sitcom about a guy who lives life exactly like the Bible (CBS must be going for Evangelicals, I'm expecting at least one stoning accompanied by laugh track). Good thing there's cable and streaming (though I might give that X-Men show a shot solely for it being from the creator of The Good Guys).

On the other hand, I'm not happy that ABC canceled American Crime. But of course, it was never a hit with viewers (ABC paired the new season with Match Game, a show with a totally different audience) and much of the cast moved on to other projects (Hutton's on Jack Ryan, Huffman did a pilot with Courtney B. Vance, King's doing a show on Hulu, I think Lili Taylor might have a show coming). I'm hoping Netflix considers picking it up once they get the third season (I haven't gotten around to it yet, though this one's supposed to be the best one).
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by transformers2 »

Buscemi wrote:Terriers - forgettable one season wonder built on cliches and characters you don't care about. People online seem to love this show but they are probably the same people who will watch almost anything (and let actors like Jenna Elfman keep carrying shows).
Yep I'm sure the fans of a cult crime dramedy are the same people that were responsible for the production of Imaginary Mary.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

That relates more to a debate I had online with someone yesterday. I asked why TV networks kept giving Jenna Elfman chances when she hadn't had a hit since Dharma and Greg and this guy took it as an insult while another person was listing off these failed sitcoms of hers as good television. Then I realized that these are the kinds of people that seem to think anything on television is good (on this same thread where this happened, there seemed to be two people who wouldn't shut up about how great they think Last Man Standing is).

People like that make me thankful that I can seek out things that aren't limited to the Big Four and not turn out like them, believing lies fed by mainstream media such as "Jenna Elfman can carry a show".

Anyway, I don't get the following Terriers has. It simply felt like a show built around cliches with uncharismatic leads (Grounded for Life worked because Donal Logue was surrounded by other capable actors in an ensemble, Logue carrying a show on his own simply fails). I also think that it being created by the guy who wrote Killers (that Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl bomb that almost killed Lionsgate) should have been a warning sign.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by transformers2 »

Buscemi wrote:People like that make me thankful that I can seek out things that aren't limited to the Big Four and not turn out like them, believing lies fed by mainstream media such as "Jenna Elfman can carry a show".
I hear you. I'm so sick of CNN and MSNBC shoving the "Jenna Elfman can carry a show" narrative down my throat on a daily basis. I hope those crooked bastards rot in a Dharma & Greg -and-Growing Up Fisher-less hell.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

Post by Buscemi »

I meant Big Four mainstream media. But it's all part of a larger, single-minded, "conglomerates and their small circle" world where talent gets ignored in favor of connections. Why do we have four Chicago shows? Why is The Middle still on? Why are American Idol and Will & Grace coming back when no one was asking for revivals of those? Nothing makes sense on over-the-air TV.
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Re: What's on the ol' boob tube RIGHT NOW.... or close to no

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