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Edward Mass
Sep 14, 2011

𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen
𝅘𝅥𝅮
The character of Harrison Wells in the Flash is based on Elon Musk, right? Because it's uncanny.

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CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK
Sep 11, 2001



Unlikely, as his inventions and ideas work.

oh jay
Oct 15, 2012

He's Stephen Hawking (wheelchair) with maybe a little Carl Sagan (cosmic mumbojumbo). He's not really actually an inventor, which was the initial niche Cisco filled.

Ccs
Feb 25, 2011


Shadow and Bone is probably too YA for my tastes but these film studies make me want to watch it. Unfortunately the real thing isn’t this vibrant.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ArchApolar/status/1388386339482050560

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

Ccs posted:

Shadow and Bone is probably too YA for my tastes but these film studies make me want to watch it. Unfortunately the real thing isn’t this vibrant.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ArchApolar/status/1388386339482050560

I found it very frustrating. Not sure why, YA isn't a problem for me (e.g. Cursed from last year, Cruel Summer and even Kung Fu now).

I think it's partly the characters being a bit flat, not helped that a lot of the Brit actors have been ordered to go full American RP. I think I struggle with the stakes as well: for a story about wars and genocide and fantasy allegory taiwan, the entire thing feels very fluffy.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


It's not a great show from a writing standpoint, but I do have to get Netflix props for improving their productions a lot, it looks really good and is actually really well-directed compared to absolute drek like Cursed from last year or the incredibly cheap look of Witcher.

Edward Mass
Sep 14, 2011

𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen
𝅘𝅥𝅮
Well, I finally finished Battlestar Galactica. Frak! *blows brains out*

AARD VARKMAN
May 17, 1993

Edward Mass posted:

Well, I finally finished Battlestar Galactica. Frak! *blows brains out*

What were your, spoilered, thoughts on the finale and the last 2 seasons in general?

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Edward Mass posted:

Well, I finally finished Battlestar Galactica. Frak! *blows brains out*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDjAFi7oJ4&t=67s

Edward Mass
Sep 14, 2011

𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen
𝅘𝅥𝅮
On the Final Five: I had a false memory that I had read on Wikipedia that Starbuck was a Cylon, so when Ellen Tigh was revealed I was a bit shocked.

On Daybreak: The first two parts are a breeze, but Part 3 just goes ON and ON. I know you have to give resolutions to all the characters, but The Lord of the Rings had a better kind of encompassing ending. Wasn't a fan of Starbuck blinking out. Didn't mind the whole ancient Earth thing.

On seasons 3 & 4: I had actually seen the first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica about ten years ago on Hulu, back when Hulu was free. Eventually, when I was gifted the Blu-ray box set years later, I started back from the mini-series and watched the whole series, on-and-off, for the past five years. Looking back, I can say that Black Market, Hero, and the Woman King are the weakest episodes by virtue of being bottle episodes that could easily be ignored without effecting the overall story. Oh, and I forgot that D'Anna Biers/Number Three decides to stay on old Earth in Sometimes a Great Notion, so that confused me at the finale. I'll give Moore & Eick this: they knew when to end their story. It wasn't the most satisfying of endings, but at least there's an ending.

-Blackadder-
Jan 2, 2007

Game....Blouses.

-Blackadder- posted:

So I finally got my dad setup with internet and a roku TV so he has something to do besides shovel snow all day. He's never been a big television watcher, so he mostly just watches Maddow, but he recently got into The Mandolorian and made his way through that fairly quickly.

Then about two weeks ago I connected him to our Hulu account and kind of on a whim set him up to watch Lost. I wasn't sure if he'd like it so I told him he had to watch at least the first two episodes to give it a real chance. I talked to him the other day and asked him about it, he bursts out laughing and says he's just starting season 4. He said he's never experienced anything like it and thinks it's the greatest show ever. He's a 75 year old black guy who grew up on a farm and flew airplanes, so he never really had the time to watch television before this so I guess serial dramas are like crack or something if you don't know how they work.

Anyway, I'm actually pretty happy he's enjoying his time these days so does anyone have any good serial drama recommendations, "Lost-like" or otherwise, for someone who's basically never experienced Peak TV?

Update:

Dad has now chewed through the following in record time:

1. Lost - ^^^

2. Prison Break - This is his favorite so far. He loved all the planning and strategizing people were doing. He was also amazed at what a scumbag Bagwell was. I had him skip season 5 because I really felt like season 4 was the best way to end the show. Since he liked this one so much I was thinking of trying to find him more shows abut conspiracies. He loves those alien conspiracies shows. He's already seen X-Files so that's a no go, but anything else could work.

3. Battlestar Galactica - He was hesitant at first, but he got into it by 33. He said it was a lot more emotional and people didn't really have plans, they were just reacting. The Pegasus two-parter (which I remember being a high point when I watched it as well) had an impact on him. He said they needed to realize that even though the cylons were robots they had spent so much time copying humans, that they felt like humans and so you couldn't treat them like animals. He also thought it was hilarious that Baltar just wanted to bang all the women. He started really zooming through episodes and I realized that he was falling asleep and letting them run, so I started telling him he needed to make sure to go back and restart from the last part he could remember whenever he woke up. Some kind of app that can tell when he's asleep and then turn off/pause his show would be great.

4. Justified (beginning Season 4) - He's liking this a lot, I think he jives with the lighter nature of the show. Lost and BSG are heavy and slow, but this and Prison Break are definitely lighter and move quicker. He said he was going to keep a count of how many people got killed on Justified but forgot, but he said it was a lot; "they're dropping them like flies".

If anyone has any more suggestions they think he'd like I'm happy to get him to try them.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Has he seen 24? There's a new government conspiracy every few episodes.

Oasx
Oct 11, 2006

Freshly Squeezed
I need to re-watch Prison Break, the first season is really good and there is no reason to watch the others imho.

theflyingexecutive
Apr 22, 2007

-Blackadder- posted:

Since he liked this one so much I was thinking of trying to find him more shows abut conspiracies. He loves those alien conspiracies shows. He's already seen X-Files so that's a no go, but anything else could work.

I bet he'd love Fringe and Person of Interest

-Blackadder-
Jan 2, 2007

Game....Blouses.
Yeah, I actually have a list of upcoming show ideas for him. But anything not on the below list that i should add? Especially newer shows, because I feel like I haven't added much new stuff from the last few years. I feel like this is a pretty good list, but I'm not sure what I'm missing. (Also, he doesn't really get into comedies or comedy-dramas).

OPTIONS
24
Game of Thrones
Breaking Bad
Heroes
The Americans
The Shield
Sons of Anarchy or The Mayans
Fringe
The Last Kingdom
The Strain
The Wire
Dexter
Spartacus
The Outsider
Banshee
Fargo
The Witcher
The Boys
Deadwood
Sleeper Cell
12 Monkeys
Added:
Person of Interest
Jett
Warrior
Counterpart
Rubicon
Flight Attendant

-Blackadder- fucked around with this message at 16:42 on May 2, 2021

Cactus
Jun 24, 2006

Put Jett on there, of all the shows I ploughed through the last year that was my favourite.

Ugly In The Morning
Jul 1, 2010
Pillbug

theflyingexecutive posted:

I bet he'd love Fringe and Person of Interest

Though stacking two slow start shows at the same time might be rough.

Man I need to watch Fringe again. It’s a bummer PoI isn’t streaming anywhere anymore.

E:also that Jim Cavizel is a fuckin nut.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


If you want a show about conspiracies, fuckin Counterpart. It's a prime dad show I think.

Edit: Also it's very old at this point, but Rubicon is an underrated gem. Both shows were cancelled before their time but they do have mostly proper endings.

Hakkesshu fucked around with this message at 15:01 on May 2, 2021

theflyingexecutive
Apr 22, 2007

Flight Attendant if he has HBO Max and Patriot because why not?

Watermelon Daiquiri
Jul 10, 2010
I TRIED TO BAIT THE TXPOL THREAD WITH THE WORLD'S WORST POSSIBLE TAKE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID AVATAR.

Ugly In The Morning posted:

Though stacking two slow start shows at the same time might be rough.

Man I need to watch Fringe again. It’s a bummer PoI isn’t streaming anywhere anymore.

E:also that Jim Cavizel is a fuckin nut.

Lol I'm still thinking about him crying so much over 6 days in fallujah or whatever he bought a camero in tribute

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
If you have Banshee and Jett on there Warrior is another good option

-Blackadder-
Jan 2, 2007

Game....Blouses.

theflyingexecutive posted:

Flight Attendant if he has HBO Max and Patriot because why not?

I haven't actually gotten him HBO yet, I was planning on getting it long enough for him to watch Game of Thrones, whenever he starts that though. I should also probably note that he never seems to end up getting into comedies or comedy-dramas.

e: vvv Corrected and added. The trailer looks pretty good so I'll have him give it a shot. I just know any kind of comedy-ish show, especially the quirky/satirical kind that are popular these days don't usually click for him. But this actually looks like a good mystery and he's definitely into those, as long as they aren't too slow burn (there's a few on my list that I think will be too slow for him.)

-Blackadder- fucked around with this message at 16:41 on May 2, 2021

MiddleOne
Feb 17, 2011

Flight Attendant is a high-stakes murder mystery. :colbert:

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
Prolific Simpsons writer and noted recluse John Swartzwelder has given his first ever major interview, and its great: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons

quote:

Grimey was asking for it the whole episode. He didn’t approve of our Homer. He was asking for it, and he got it. Now what was this you were saying about heart?

Conrad_Birdie
Jul 10, 2009

Escobarbarian posted:

Prolific Simpsons writer and noted recluse John Swartzwelder has given his first ever major interview, and its great: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons

Thanks for posting, this is very cool.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


Man, that final battle in Invincible was brutal.

I also feel like it was calling out "Man of Steel". You have two superheroes battling out in a city, THIS is what's going to happen. It might have given Batman's motivations in Batman vs. Superman some actual weight.

IRQ
Sep 9, 2001

SUCK A DICK, DUMBSHITS!

Open Source Idiom posted:

I found it very frustrating. Not sure why, YA isn't a problem for me (e.g. Cursed from last year, Cruel Summer and even Kung Fu now).

I think it's partly the characters being a bit flat, not helped that a lot of the Brit actors have been ordered to go full American RP. I think I struggle with the stakes as well: for a story about wars and genocide and fantasy allegory taiwan, the entire thing feels very fluffy.

I finished it the other day, and frustrating is a good way to describe it. It wasn't bad, and netflix has really stepped up their production quality, just it felt like a lot was missing or very underdeveloped. I don't know the source material though, so that could just be the YA trapings. But some of those plot elements desperately needed more time to breathe. That's excusing all the normal YA stuff like ridiculous coincidences and the off-the-shelf protagonist.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

bull3964 posted:

Man, that final battle in Invincible was brutal.

I also feel like it was calling out "Man of Steel". You have two superheroes battling out in a city, THIS is what's going to happen. It might have given Batman's motivations in Batman vs. Superman some actual weight.

And yet the actual most brutal thing was Omni Man's line about his wife being more like a pet

SimonChris
Apr 24, 2008

The Baron's daughter is missing, and you are the man to find her. No problem. With your inexhaustible arsenal of hard-boiled similes, there is nothing you can't handle.
Grimey Drawer

IRQ posted:

I finished it the other day, and frustrating is a good way to describe it. It wasn't bad, and netflix has really stepped up their production quality, just it felt like a lot was missing or very underdeveloped. I don't know the source material though, so that could just be the YA trapings. But some of those plot elements desperately needed more time to breathe. That's excusing all the normal YA stuff like ridiculous coincidences and the off-the-shelf protagonist.

I was disappointed that the protagonist being a cartographer ended up being of no significance to the plot. I had no idea what the story was about and was getting all excited to watch a show about fantasy cartographers who go on perilous journeys to map the world. They even have a scene in the beginning of her badassedly drawing a map during a bumpy wagon ride because she is such a hardcore cartographer. Have these writers never heard of Chekhov's gun? There should at least have been a scene towards the end where she saves the day by drawing a map, somehow.

Cactus
Jun 24, 2006

Checkovs rule is bollocks, not every gun has to fire.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


Mu Zeta posted:

And yet the actual most brutal thing was Omni Man's line about his wife being more like a pet

Very true. I'm definitely hyped for the next two seasons.

IRQ
Sep 9, 2001

SUCK A DICK, DUMBSHITS!

Cactus posted:

Checkovs rule is bollocks, not every gun has to fire.

Ironically, Shadow and Bone did have a Chekhov's bullet.

feedmyleg
Dec 25, 2004
It's not about every gun having to fire, it's a metaphor about properly anticipating and managing audience expectations.

Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


Was it The Nevers or Shadow and Bone that you guys said was bad?

feedmyleg
Dec 25, 2004
Both have their fans, I think. I haven't heard anyone actively dislike Shadow and Bone, the most negative things I've heard is that some people find it a bit generic, but is otherwise a solid YA thing. Haven't caught The Nevers but it seems like the measure of how much you like it is how much you have enjoyed Joss Whedon's work in the past.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer

Josh Lyman posted:

Was it The Nevers or Shadow and Bone that you guys said was bad?

Shadow and Bone is the one that was being discussed in this thread as bad before. I could be wrong but I don’t remember anyone dissing The Nevers in here. Honestly it’s been better than I expected so far

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Everything about the Nevers is pretty good except for the dialogue. It really depends on your tolerance for characters who are 80% quips.

Cactus
Jun 24, 2006

feedmyleg posted:

It's not about every gun having to fire, it's a metaphor about properly anticipating and managing audience expectations.

It just leads to predictability. Something is shown early on. It could be innocuous just like in real life, but because we're watching a scripted thing produced in a universre where Checkov said that thing, we all know it's going to feature later on. Sure enough it does, and we all predicted it, and that isn't satisfying anymore.

It's ok that the main character is a cartographer, and that a big deal is made of that... She surely thought it was a big deal because hell, she just devoted the last 4 years of her life getting that qualification! The portrayal of it being a big deal is her POV. Then she gets into the next thing she does and her qualification doesn't end up meaning poo poo.

That's actually pretty realistic imo. gently caress checkov and his "everything you show has to pay off in the third act" poo poo. No, it actually doesn't, that isn't how reality works at all, and if you're trying to tell stories based even tangentially on how reality works, you'll acknowledge that sometimes poo poo just comes up once, doesn't really mean anything, and never comes up again after that.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
I mean I doubt that Netflix YA series Shadow and Bone is as good at that as like Sopranos or something though

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Cactus
Jun 24, 2006

Escobarbarian posted:

I mean I doubt that Netflix YA series Shadow and Bone is as good at that as like Sopranos or something though

well obviously. I haven't even sat down and watched it yet, I'm just ranting generally about the whole checkov's gun trope and how I don't think it has a place in modern storytelling anymore.

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