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Owling Howl
Jul 17, 2019
Tribes of Europa is a German post-apocalypse show. I enjoyed it - the genre is stale at this point but it avoids the worst tropes and dodges obvious plot lines while working through some questionable morals. Pacing is good, things happen without being rushed.

That said it recycles a lot of stuff from the genre, it just didn't actively annoy me. Lot of comparisons to The 100 but I hated that show and quit it after half a season. Your mileage may vary.

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Solaris 2.0
May 14, 2008

Killer robot posted:

My point is that while the relative quality of any era of TV is inherently subjective, the explosion and fragmentation of the market is objective. If you compiled a list of good shows today and started talking about them at the water cooler, half the group won't have heard of most of them. The era of multiple simultaneous cultural touchstone series everyone knows about has kinda faded, and it's because of changes in distribution and viewing habits way ahead of any changes in content.

Yea this. Like a few weeks ago I binged Cobra Kai. Absolutely amazing show, and one that most hadn't watched since it was previously on Youtube TV.

Yet of my circle of friends, only two other people had seen the show, amazingly a bunch hadn't even heard of it! Even on these forums, there is a thread which discusses it but A) there are not that many posts and B) given the binge-watch nature of the show, there isn't any long detailed discussions about what may happen next epsiode, ect.

This is changing a little now that streaming services (besides Netflix) are going back to weekly releases. I've had good discussions regarding The Expanse or Wandavision for example, but again this is all online in specific sub-reddits / SA/Discord.

Gone are the days where I could message a group of friends, or just talk to a random co-worker and say "Hey did you see what happened in the latest episode of Heroes/Lost/Battlestar/GoT??" and more likely than not the reply would be "oh yea that was crazy!".

If I do the same thing now and say "hey did you see what happened in The Exapnse/Cobra Kai/insert random streaming show here" the response will range from "oh I haven't seen it yet" to "Never heard of it". :(

Shimrra Jamaane
Aug 10, 2007

Obscure to all except those well-versed in Yuuzhan Vong lore.
People keep saying that the Netflix model is being proven to not work as well but Neilson ratings show that Bridgerton is just about the loving biggest thing ever going on two months. And Cobra Kai is just behind it.

Solaris 2.0
May 14, 2008

Shimrra Jamaane posted:

People keep saying that the Netflix model is being proven to not work as well but Neilson ratings show that Bridgerton is just about the loving biggest thing ever going on two months. And Cobra Kai is just behind it.

Oh for sure Netlfix shows are popular. But I’m curious what the Nielsen ratings for Bridgerton are compared to, say Lost season 1 which debuted with something like 19 million people watching it. The Office would get 5 million people per episode.

I think with Streaming being as fragmented as it is you’re not going to get the numbers that shows of the 90s-mid oughts pulled. I could also be completely wrong in this tho!

*edit*

Ok I’m wrong 82 million viewers goddamn

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomnun...amble-pays-off/

Still, those shows feel like outliers and I think figures for every other streaming service are way smaller

Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Feb 20, 2021

graventy
Jul 28, 2006

Fun Shoe

Solaris 2.0 posted:

Still, those shows feel like outliers and I think figures for every other streaming service are way smaller

I think it just feels like there are far fewer cultural zeitgeist shows than there were before, because there is just so drat much content. Bridgerton was one. Tiger King. After that I think it gets fuzzy.

The Boys, maybe? I think Ted Lasso would be one if it were on any of the bigger services.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

Owling Howl posted:

Tribes of Europa is a German post-apocalypse show. I enjoyed it - the genre is stale at this point but it avoids the worst tropes and dodges obvious plot lines while working through some questionable morals. Pacing is good, things happen without being rushed.

That said it recycles a lot of stuff from the genre, it just didn't actively annoy me. Lot of comparisons to The 100 but I hated that show and quit it after half a season. Your mileage may vary.

I enjoyed it, but it's very, very obvious how much of a Game Of Thrones clone the show is. You've got White Walkers, Stark kids, a King's Landing style political setting (except everyone there wears Death Metal)... I enjoyed it though, even if it didn't set my world on fire.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!
Just started up Mr. Mayor. Hopefully Ted Danson can work his magic.

sticklefifer
Nov 11, 2003

by VideoGames

graventy posted:

I think it just feels like there are far fewer cultural zeitgeist shows than there were before, because there is just so drat much content. Bridgerton was one. Tiger King. After that I think it gets fuzzy.

The Boys, maybe? I think Ted Lasso would be one if it were on any of the bigger services.

Mandalorian, The Boys, The Witcher, and now WandaVision are probably the most recent big zeitgeist shows I've noticed. I imagine all the new Star Wars & Marvel spinoffs will enjoy the same level of attention moving forward, and possibly some of the new Star Trek content once that comes out.

sad question
May 30, 2020

nwin posted:

Fargo season 2: holy poo poo that was amazing and had so many well-known actors. Kinda slowed its pace the last few episodes, but I really liked it.

Season 3, episode 1: this is moving pretty slow and I don’t recognize many of the people. Does it get better?
It's in a weird space where at times it feels like a drag to watch but also has some brilliant moments throughout.

Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



These shows are huge but the problem for me with the on-demand (rather than for instance WandaVision) is that the conversations often go along the lines of:

"Have you seen X"
"No, not yet" "Yes! Where are you up to? Oh, I'm 5 episodes ahead/behind" at which point it becomes hard to discuss again.

RestingB1tchFace
Jul 4, 2016

Opinions are like a$$holes....everyone has one....but mines the best!!!
HBO Max finally added The Knick. I've already seen it a few times....but only two seasons (for now) and it is one of the best shows of all time, imo.

Memnaelar
Feb 21, 2013

WHO is the goodest girl?

sad question posted:

It's in a weird space where at times it feels like a drag to watch but also has some brilliant moments throughout.

I mean, if you can't watch and love it for Thewlis alone, I dunno... It wasn't as consistently good as Season 2, but I liked it a lot more than Season 1. Loved Carrie Coon, Ewan's two characters, and most definitely Thewlis.

nwin
Feb 25, 2002

make's u think

sad question posted:

It's in a weird space where at times it feels like a drag to watch but also has some brilliant moments throughout.

Ok cool-the second episode was better.

How would people rank the seasons you think? Curious if 4 is worse than 3 or not.

HOLY FUCK
Mar 31, 2007

Cats are terrifying, everyone knows that! 'Cause they're witches! And they've got knives in their feet!


Oh god, I accidentally got addicted to Law and Order SVU and binged my way through 7 seasons in like three weeks :shepicide: now I’m all hosed up and I hear the :doink: noise in my sleep. Also Barba owns.

Now I’m watching Mindhunter which I’m really enjoying. It’s one of those shows where an episode just flies by and the hour’s over before I know it.

After that I swear I will finally get around to watching Schitts Creek like I’ve been meaning to forever.

drrockso20
May 6, 2013

Has Not Actually Done Cocaine
Started binging The Muppet Show now that it's on Disney+ and yup that's still some good TV

BetterLekNextTime
Jul 22, 2008

It's all a matter of perspective...
Grimey Drawer
I started Jack Irish (on Acorn), an Australian show starting Guy Pierce as a tragic former attorney who's basically a low rent PI and accomplice to some sketchy folks who are way too into their horse racing. I guess I'd call it modern detective noire? Thematically they're kind of like Chinatown -- a small case that has threads that end up revealing some huge conspiracy of the rich and powerful.

Anyway, they're pretty good for slow burn stories and the supporting cast adds just enough humor and humanity. I accidentally watched what's called S1 first (because that's what Amazon's Acorn interface showed me first :argh:) , but then when I finished it I realized there were 3 "movies" that preceded the 6-episode first season. I probably enjoyed S1 and the first movie ("Bad Debts") more than the middle movie ("Black Tide"). I haven't watched the third movie or second season yet.

Rollie Fingers
Jul 28, 2002

nwin posted:

Ok cool-the second episode was better.

How would people rank the seasons you think? Curious if 4 is worse than 3 or not.

2
.
.
.
.
1
.
3, 4

I've watched all of them. Season 2 is so much better than the others it's almost unbelievable it's from the same people. The casting is great. Can't think of a bad character or actor in S2.

Looten Plunder
Jul 11, 2006
Grimey Drawer

HOLY gently caress posted:

Now I’m watching Mindhunter which I’m really enjoying. It’s one of those shows where an episode just flies by and the hour’s over before I know it.

Season 2 is pretty rough.

bewilderment
Nov 22, 2007
man what



I watched through all of It's a Sin and it was pretty good. I'm not normally one for dramas but they keep up the high energy of the show so that when weighty moments happen they're given their appropriate time before moving you along to relieve some tension.

My partner was a blubbering mess towards the end, but the story keeps a focus on the happy moments the characters had in amongst the crisis. Since it's literally about 10 years in the life of young London gay men in the 80s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnR5DxP2e2g

Remy Marathe
Mar 15, 2007

_________===D ~ ~ _\____/

We just finished Marco Polo (dropped by Netflix after 2 seasons), Kublai was an unexpectedly nuanced and absolutely awesome character, as was his wife Chabi. The tail end of s2 seemed to founder a bit but overall just a great series that died too soon, scratched the same itch as the Last Kingdom.

Ms. Marathe found a 30-min episode "Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes" afterwards, not sure when this originally aired but it was a good way for us to close it out.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!
Just finished binging Avenue 5. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and eagerly awaiting season 2.

Also, LOL at that airlock scene. Probably my favorite of the season.

Randallteal
May 7, 2006

The tears of time
I think I've run out of steam in my Lost rewatch at about the same place I originally dropped it, season 3 episode 2. The episode has Jack and Sawyer figuring out their new jail cells and doing some escape room-style puzzles while Kate gets dressed up and taken to lunch by Ben and then dumped with Sawyer in a rock quarry with some creepy henchmen. I like this show for the sappy emotional beats and flashy plot swerves, but this episode focusing so much on the core trio made me realize I don't care about them (especially Jack). I'm also burned out on watching Kate eat poo poo constantly. It feels like the writers only know one trick to push this love triangle forward, and it's having Kate bluster that she can do something and then immediately mess it up so she can fall into Jack or Sawyer's arms after they graciously take it out of her hands. I had to laugh when she foiled Sawyer's escape attempt in the quarry by getting captured offscreen during the two second shot of him grabbing the goon's gun.

Collateral
Feb 17, 2010
Watching Colony.

Did they get to end it or did it get cancelled mid story?

Elias_Maluco
Aug 23, 2007
I need to sleep

Collateral posted:

Watching Colony.

Did they get to end it or did it get cancelled mid story?

Cancelled, sadly

Doctor Spaceman
Jul 6, 2010

"Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Randallteal posted:

I think I've run out of steam in my Lost rewatch at about the same place I originally dropped it, season 3 episode 2. The episode has Jack and Sawyer figuring out their new jail cells and doing some escape room-style puzzles while Kate gets dressed up and taken to lunch by Ben and then dumped with Sawyer in a rock quarry with some creepy henchmen. I like this show for the sappy emotional beats and flashy plot swerves, but this episode focusing so much on the core trio made me realize I don't care about them (especially Jack). I'm also burned out on watching Kate eat poo poo constantly. It feels like the writers only know one trick to push this love triangle forward, and it's having Kate bluster that she can do something and then immediately mess it up so she can fall into Jack or Sawyer's arms after they graciously take it out of her hands. I had to laugh when she foiled Sawyer's escape attempt in the quarry by getting captured offscreen during the two second shot of him grabbing the goon's gun.

One of the many reasons I like seasons 4 and 5 is that they solve that stupid love triangle.

Collateral
Feb 17, 2010

Elias_Maluco posted:

Cancelled, sadly

Oh I know it got cancelled, I was just wondering if at least a couple of the mysteries about the aliens gets any resolution (or if it has a book to end it). I am currently on s2e9.

Like why* did the aliens pick such a diabolical way of getting what they wanted. Perhaps they left the method up to humans, but even then, its a bit inefficient when capitalism is right there. Or they are just massive shitbirds who are getting a kick out messing with warm blooded civilisations, while also getting what they want.

Are those wall things their spaceships? Are they actually the drones and the bipedal things are for show?

*Other than for the reasons of premise.

It's a good show, I am on team Schneider.

Elias_Maluco
Aug 23, 2007
I need to sleep

Collateral posted:

Oh I know it got cancelled, I was just wondering if at least a couple of the mysteries about the aliens gets any resolution (or if it has a book to end it). I am currently on s2e9.

Like why* did the aliens pick such a diabolical way of getting what they wanted. Perhaps they left the method up to humans, but even then, its a bit inefficient when capitalism is right there. Or they are just massive shitbirds who are getting a kick out messing with warm blooded civilisations, while also getting what they want.

Are those wall things their spaceships? Are they actually the drones and the bipedal things are for show?

*Other than for the reasons of premise.

It's a good show, I am on team Schneider.

I didint watch S3 but it seems it ends quite abruptly with some cliffhangers still hanging

Thats why I never even bothered with S3

Ishamael
Feb 18, 2004

You don't have to love me, but you will respect me.

drrockso20 posted:

Started binging The Muppet Show now that it's on Disney+ and yup that's still some good TV

The level of puppeteering is out of control, they were insanely good at finding ways to show things through puppets that shouldn't have been possible. It is also a very funny show, but also a very strange show, probably because it is a parody of a show type that doesn't really exist any more, the variety show. A lot of the jokes are "here's a song, but sung by a pig", and there is no additional joke other than that. So much of the comedy just comes from the interplay between the personalities backstage, which is still as good as it gets.

Henson was a genius who hated the Swedes, that's what I am saying.

WhiteHowler
Apr 3, 2001

I'M HUGE!
My wife and I have been binging through various space-related shows the last few months, because... space and sci-fi are cool.

We decided to watch Another Life on Netflix, and after finishing the first season, I felt it was my solemn duty to report here.

The premise (no spoilers, this is all the first half of the first episode): An alien probe shows up on not-too-distant-future Earth and roots itself as a big, impenetrable crystal tower. It's beaming a signal to a distant star system, so the United States -- no word on the rest of the world -- prepares to send its first interstellar-capable spaceship to that system to make contact, while the "B-story" follows a team of scientists on Earth working to understand the probe itself.

Sounds like an interesting premise, right? A bit like the film Arrival, with lots of possibilities for fun alien mysteries. Well, buckle up for disappointment.

Holy poo poo. What a goddamned dumpster fire of a show.

So, ask yourself, who do you select to crew such an important first-contact mission? Experienced diplomats, nobel-laureate level scientists, and veteran military leaders, right?

Nope! You recruit the cast of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, of course!

Apparently a ship full of young, dramatic, and (this is important) hot twenty-somethings is humanity's best hope of contacting a strange new alien civilization. Think of the worst group of people you could run into at a trendy dance club on any given Friday night, and you've got the crew of the Salvare.

This isn't "we need to send young people because it's a decades-long trip"; it's only set to be a few months, and they're supposed to spend most of it in "cryo-sleep" anyway. Not-a-spoiler: They don't spend most of the trip in cryo-sleep. They're not typical "young military", either -- most of them seem to be civilians. Character interactions are on the level of a show like Big Brother, Real Housewives, or Survivor. Basically nobody on the ship is at all suited to anything other than bitching, fighting, and/or loving.

The writing is absolutely atrocious. The acting isn't great either, though it's sometimes hard to gauge, given the poo poo dialog the actors have to deliver. Katee Sackhoff is the lead and does her absolute damnedest to navigate through the awful scripts. It's an admirable effort, and she does have some stellar moments, but her ability to perform just makes everyone else in the cast look even worse.

At some point the series briefly turns into a "monster of the week" show before finishing its dumb season one story arc, which ends predictably and disappointingly. Turns out the aliens are genocidal assholes, and the season ends with the crew of the spaceship preparing to go to war with them, the least satisfying outcome for a premise that at least looked interesting on paper.

Another Life is absolutely the worst TV show I've watched in many years. It's so bad that my wife and I made a pact to finish watching through the season finale, just to see how bad it could get. For each episode we finished, we'd reward ourselves by watching an actually good show (Search Party, which is great so far!).

Oh, and this got renewed for a second season! Certainly deserving over other, obviously inferior shows Netflix canceled, like GLOW, Santa Clarita Diet, The OA, Tuca and Bertie, Mystery Science Theater 3000, etc.

So, uh, don't watch this. I'm not sure if we have the mental fortitude to watch the next season when it's released, but if we do, I'll be sure to report back!

BetterLekNextTime
Jul 22, 2008

It's all a matter of perspective...
Grimey Drawer
I’ve blocked out all the details of that show but I had the same visceral reaction to it, like it was actively bad and not just boring waste of time bad.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with sexy-people-in-space shows (early seasons of Dark Matter?) but they just can’t take themselves too seriously.

I just felt bad for Katee Sackoff mostly. Imagine having to represent this at a comicon.

LampkinsMateSteve
Jan 1, 2005

I've really fucked it. Have I fucked it?

WhiteHowler posted:

We decided to watch Another Life on Netflix

Yes, this was a real stinker. But I am really bad on bailing on shows (sunk time fallacy), so ended up seeing it through.

WhiteHowler
Apr 3, 2001

I'M HUGE!

LampkinsMateSteve posted:

Yes, this was a real stinker. But I am really bad on bailing on shows (sunk time fallacy), so ended up seeing it through.

I'll usually give a show three episodes to get going, as some series just have a slow start and take a bit to find their story. If it doesn't pick up by then, I have no problem bailing after that point.

Another Life was extra-special, next-level bad, and I felt like I had to finish it.

SLOSifl
Aug 10, 2002


WhiteHowler posted:

I'll usually give a show three episodes to get going, as some series just have a slow start and take a bit to find their story. If it doesn't pick up by then, I have no problem bailing after that point.

Another Life was extra-special, next-level bad, and I felt like I had to finish it.
Another Life was so goddamned bad. Absolutely none of the motivations, scientific explanations, or basic human interactions are realistic. It's totally incoherent. If there are more than 3 and 1/4th episodes I can't imagine how much worse it must get.

Jingleheimer
Mar 30, 2006
I watched the first episode of Another Life a while back and didn't feel the need to go past the first episode, looks like I made the right decision. But this talk about Another Life reminds me of when I watched Warrior Nun a few months ago. It's a very average show with a premise just interesting enough to keep me from stopping after the first episode. But the season ended so stupid and terrible that I hate myself for wasting my time watching the whole thing.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

RestingB1tchFace posted:

HBO Max finally added The Knick. I've already seen it a few times....but only two seasons (for now) and it is one of the best shows of all time, imo.

Bold claim! I've only heard the show name in passing, never paid it much attention. I just finished up Avenue 5 and am looking for a new show to dig in to...

Poo In An Alleyway
Feb 12, 2016



I recently binge-watched seasons 1 and 2 of Kidding and got super excited at the prospect of there being a third season. Then I found out it got shitcanned last May. Now I feel like poo poo for not watching it when it was new.

Keyser_Soze
May 5, 2009

Pillbug

WhiteHowler posted:


.....Another Life was extra-special, next-level bad, and I felt like I had to finish it.

I barely got through the 1st episode and just wanted poor Katey Sackoff to just fly the ship into the nearest star.

FPyat
Jan 17, 2020
Finished season 3 of Better Call Saul. It's been a bit therapeutic to see Jimmy break free of his relationship with his brother, because I've had the misfortune of knowing someone who behaved towards me a lot like Chuck.

Cactus
Jun 24, 2006


Well, poo poo. I'm going to have to watch this now, I loving love mad-watching terrible sci-fi shows. Especially since I'm under lockdown.

I'm still reeling from getting through the entire season of Utopia Falls last year.

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isaboo
Nov 11, 2002

Muay Buok
ขอให้โชคดี

Keyser_Soze posted:

I barely got through the 1st episode and just wanted poor Katey Sackoff to just fly the ship into the nearest Basestar.

Fixed it for ya

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