TV Shows - General Discussion

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah I finally watched the first episode of Shogun over the weekend, very well done!

 

[vapviking]

Gonna take up Shogun now that we're all caught up with the THREE productions of Traitors.

I'm pretty sure almost everyone here thinks Traitors is bullshit. I'm loving it!
There now 2 completed seasons of US, 1 of Australia and UK is near the end of season 2.

Of the 4 completed seasons, 3 have ended with somebody getting screwed by another player or two. Sounds normal, hey, it's a game!
But the losers are devastated; trust and deceit are the two main themes of this show.
No violence, no nudity, no sex, almost zero cuss words. No police, lawyers, firemen, survivalists or private detctives. Or politicians (except in one US season one contestant is a former Speaker of the House of Commons!).

Separately, our whole family is happy to see that a new season of Amazing Race has started. I love watching with my grandkids, they get a very entertaining world tour!

 

[florduh]

Watched the first 2 episodes of 3 Body Problem. I dunno man. At this point I can only describe it as mid. It's hard to put myself in the shoes of someone who isn't familiar with the source material though, so maybe I'm wrong.

While it has a higher budget, something about it gives me the vibe of one of those early 2000's SciFi Channel made for TV movies.

I understand why they changed the main characters and action from China to the UK. Easier for a Western audience to watch. But there's something very irksome to me about it. Specifically, the only scenes from China they kept is the plotline about the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath. In the books it makes sense. The first book is a China based story, even in present day scenes.

I dunno. It was an interesting experience, reading the books. They're some of the most imaginative, interesting fiction I've ever read, and it came from a Chinese author. In addition, the modern day scenes of China made me think "wow, Chinese people live lives very similar to me and most Americans" which was a nice change of pace from Western Media constantly banging the war drums.

But it kind of seems like the Netflix adaptation took the most popular and successful series of books to ever come out of China and turned it into anti-Chinese propaganda. And I don't even think the Game of Thrones guys are trying to make a political statement. I think they're just incredibly lazy

 

[Shit Snacks]

At this point I can only describe it as mid... think they're just incredibly lazy

Haha yes, seems like a big property, with a lot of interesting stuff going on, had never heard of it before the show was being made, but them being the ones to do it makes me much less interested although I am still curious... Mids sounds about right, and probably lazy, but certainly they are some pretty damn hacky writers imo

I was actually clamoring for Palm Royale on AppleTV much more, pretty much what I expected lol well done first episode though

 

[florduh]

but certainly they are some pretty damn hacky writers imo

Yeah your lock on them was spot on. Don't let me put you off it though. I will say, at the end of both episodes I definitely wanted to continue.

The dialogue from the books was a little clunky, probably due to it being translated from Mandarin. So it was always gonna be tough. I just wonder what more talented writers could've done with it.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah your lock on them was spot on. Don't let me put you off it though. I will say, at the end of both episodes I definitely wanted to continue.

Haha as soon as I saw one of them wrote X-Men Origins: Wolverine it all became so clear (even though I also know it was the Fox studio that really fucked up a lot of that too)

We'll see if I can get my roommate to try it with me... I'm going to have to watch The Regime on HBO all by myself it seems! (created by the guy who wrote the movie The Menu, it was originally just called the palace, and you can't go wrong with Kate Winslet)

 

[florduh]

I finished 3 Body Problem and may have been a bit too harsh. Though the soundtrack is from the guy who scored Westworld and I often found myself thinking the WW creators may have been a better option for this series.

The thing is... in the Cixin Liu books, the characters, dialogue and interpersonal drama takes a back seat to the exploration of big ideas about the nature of reality and the universe. So adapting it for a broad TV audience was always gonna involve a lot of re-writing.

What's odd is... Benioff and Weiss made almost all of the main characters part of a single group of Millennial college friends from Oxford. Like it's a cosmic IT or Stand By Me situation? Seems like a weird coincidence.

Overall I'd give the series a solid 7/10. There's a good chance I'd rate it higher If I didn't read the books. The first two episodes are definitely the worst, but it picks up from there. The 5th episode slaps extremely hard. Truly chilling, horrifying stuff that will stick with me for a while.

This season exhausts the entire first book and the beginning of the second. The rest of the series takes place in the far future. Can the Game of Thrones guys handle making basically a Star Trek series going forward?

Bonus, they do a good job at normalizing cannabis usage. Though one character chooses to get high at a very inopportune time.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Haha he wasn't vaping though was he??

I've been seeing that shitty attempt at a recycler bong from China in some shows lately... (Ironically enough in the brothers sun and awkwafina show actually) With idiots smoking out of it instead of just a bong, so curious who did the props on those lol

 

[florduh]

Haha he wasn't vaping though was he??

LOL no. And now that you mention it... 3BP had an insane amount of smoking in it! I can't remember seeing this much smoking in a show/movie made after about 1995. Every 5 minutes someone's burning down a cig or a joint. Not a fuckcombustion friendly show

I've been seeing that shitty attempt at a recycler bong from China in some shows lately... With idiots smoking out of it instead of just a bong, so curious who did props lol

I don't remember this in 3BP, but I might be wrong. Lots of joint smoking. Some one hitter pipes.

 

[Shit Snacks]

don't remember this in 3BP, but I might be wrong

I don't know what happened, when I posted I wrote two shows where I saw it, but they vanished, I just edited and re-added them...

 

[florduh]

3 Body Problem: Exec Sentenced to Death for Producer's Murder

"3 Body Problem" tragedy: Former exec Xu Yao was sentenced to death for murdering the Netflix show's producer Lin Qi.

www.thewrap.com

The murder victim, Lin Qi, still has a credit on the show.

 

[florduh]

Watched the first two episodes of Fallout. Appears to be a banger! It's one of those streaming shows that looks like a movie. And yet another example of a show with an unambiguous anti-capitalist message, presented (bafflingly) by Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

It also gives me my Walton Goggins fix.

 

[badbee]

Watched the first two episodes of Fallout. Appears to be a banger! It's one of those streaming shows that looks like a movie. And yet another example of a show with an unambiguous anti-capitalist message, presented (bafflingly) by Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

It also gives me my Walton Goggins fix.

I just finished episode 3. So far it is everything I could ask for. The casting is excellent and they are leaning really heavily into the silliness, as I hoped they would. Even with the humorous approach that nuclear strike scene was one of the most horrific things I've ever seen. It was more effective and moving than most of the serious treatments. In fairness I should mention I'm a huge Fallout nerd with thousands of hours played on the various versions.

I wish I could help her out with a little assistance from the Holy Flame but I'm sure CX404 (the dog) will look after her.

 

[florduh]

that nuclear strike scene was one of the most horrific things I've ever seen.

Bro, that was one of the best opening scenes for a TV show I've ever seen!

In fairness I should mention I'm a huge Fallout nerd with thousands of hours played on the various versions.

That's the only question I have now. Does the show translate for people who aren't already Fallout fans? All of the themes are still very timely, unfortunately. After all, war never changes

 

[badbee]

Bro, that was one of the best opening scenes for a TV show I've ever seen!



That's the only question I have now. Does the show translate for people who aren't already Fallout fans? All of the themes are still very timely, unfortunately. After all, war never changes

That adorable little girl with her thumb out, holy shit (not really a spoiler for anyone considering watching, you'll know it when it happens). My wife asked if she would enjoy the show, I'm really not sure, maybe we'll rewatch it together.

 

[Shit Snacks]

I'm going to have to watch The Regime on HBO all by myself it seems! (created by the guy who wrote the movie The Menu, it was originally just called the palace, and you can't go wrong with Kate Winslet)

I did the first episode of this last night finally, hopefully can do the first of fallout today...

 

[florduh]

Gotta start using this response:

 

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah the first episode was pretty good!

 

[florduh]

Yeah the first episode was pretty good!

Nice! The first episode is definitely the weakest (minus the opening scene).

I'm about halfway through. Staring to wonder....maybe Bethesda should be in the TV Show business instead of games

I think it's phenomenal. By far the best video game show/movie. Captures the feeling of the games perfectly. And it's like a less dour version of Westworld.

Also...this might be how Walton Goggins finally gets an Emmy?

 

[olysh pops]

I liked Fallout a lot, I found the scenario rather dense and funny, the characters well worked (Walton Goggins plays too well), the costumes and the bestiary well done, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Oh yeah the second episode of Fallout was pretty great haha and I can see they kind of wrote it as a two-parter premiere, definitely see what you mean about this being their best work (from Westworld) and looking forward to the rest, Walton Goggins just too perfect haha I like the vault dweller girl's casting as well though...

Also watched the fourth episode of Shogun last night, really amping up!

 

[badbee]

Oh yeah the second episode of Fallout was pretty great haha and I can see they kind of wrote it as a two-parter premiere, definitely see what you mean about this being their best work (from Westworld) and looking forward to the rest, Walton Goggins just too perfect haha I like the vault dweller girl's casting as well though...

Also watched the fourth episode of Shogun last night, really amping up!

We are on the same viewing journey this month. I've read the novel Shogun probably five or six times so that makes me a big fan of the series. This is another one where they are doing as good of a job as you can ask for from a TV series. The novel is easier to understand, it's hard to explain the subtly of Samurai culture in a TV show. In the novel it's also clearer that Toranaga has an end game in mind, some kind of end game, you just don't know what. In the series he seems more reactive to events rather than shaping them (he is). I also love how Mariko can be one cold hard bitch when she wants to be. She crushes people with what she doesn't say.