TV Shows - General Discussion

[His_Highness]

My father, may he rest in peace, didn't have a mean or hateful bone in his body and he never met a stranger.... but he used racist terms constantly when I was a kid back over 50 years ago. They were simply words that were part of his vocabulary and being hurtful wasn't his intention and we all knew it. For example....decades later .... my father thought my wife, who is Puerto Rican, was the most wonderful person in the entire world (I'm pretty sure he loved her more than me ;-) but would use the term "spic", in front of her, when talking about Spanish people. I would cringe and ask him not to use those terms and my wife would say...."Leave him alone...he isn't saying it to be mean or racist....it's just a word to him and he doesn't mean anything by it". Then she'd walk over and kiss him on the head if he was sitting or give him a big ol' hug and say "Don't worry about it Dad".

Words that we were taught to use because they weren't "bad" words became bad over time. Think about some of the "they prefer to be called XYZ now" words from the past that are no longer acceptable. I think we can all come up with a word or two like that.

Here's the thing though....when my father was in his 60's he did stop using those words because he somehow internalized that they could be hurtful. So even though he didn't ever use those words with bad intentions he still felt the need to evolve because he didn't want to hurt anyone.

My father was never big on current events, the news, politics, etc. so if my father was sensitive enough to pick up on what is acceptable and what is hurtful and change up accordingly when his mind was failing....I'm not making excuses for anyone who can think past 2 plus 2.

As far as lowering the bar for what she said/did....The right BAR got lowered alright and it was Rosanne BARR.

 

[snaffle]

I find the Roseanne thing interesting. I've never seen the show, but something that speaks to Trump voters on TV sounds like a good thing to me. There is so much division in the USA now, a show that all sorts of different people throughout America could enjoy together seems like something that's really needed (not saying that Roseanne's show was that, I don't know, but maybe it could have been?)

I also don't find the gorilla reference that bad, but I think that's probably because I'm not from the US, and you guys have a really tough history with racism. I just hope her firing doesn't further divide people, by being seen by Trump voters as just another example of how "the politically correct coastal elite" is trying to censor them. Again, I'm not saying that's the case, but it's the sort of potentially divisive issue we really could do without right now.

Just some thoughts from an outsider, who has a lot of concern and love for my American compatriots.

@vapenerd yeah I watched The Wire for the first time a couple of years ago. It's great, ain't it? I wouldn't call it the best TV show of all time, but it sure is up there. Enjoy it! You know it's out in 1080p on BluRay now? Looks really good.

 

[CarolKing]

Calling a person of color an Ape is disrespectful in any Country. Rosanne has constantly been inappropriate over the years. Why ABC thought she would be different? She has been disrespectful of other religions in the past. She can’t control her tweets. Too bad she doesn’t have more self control.

This is beside the point but...The only reason Rosanne looks as good as she does is because of plastic surgery. Remember what she used to look like? Then has the gall to be calling out this women because of her looks? Valerie Jarrett is a beautiful woman.

Some other network like Fox may pick up this show. I wonder what the other actors in the show feel about this? What about the folks that do the camera work, setting people etc.? They are without a job because of Rosanne Barr and her mean twitter mouth. Really tired of her disrespect and hipocracy.

Other networks are pulling her reruns from Rosanne from the early years. The other actors in the original Rosanne from 20 years ago make money off those reruns. That really screws them over.

 

[Silver420Surfer]

Back to TV discussion...sorry for the derail.

Farewell to FX's "The Americans" after six great seasons . It was a really interesting show that captured the Cold War/USA vs Soviet Union spy v spy quite well. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell were great, as well as the supporting cast.


Lost two of my favorites over the last year, "The Americans" and "Halt and Catch Fire", two great shows to check out if you haven't seen them.

 

[lazylathe]

So I'm watching The Wire. Finally. Can't believe how good it is.
Is this the best tv show of all time? Seriously it's so damn good.

That was an awesome series to watch!!
Loved it!!

 

[His_Highness]

I find the Roseanne thing interesting. I've never seen the show, but something that speaks to Trump voters on TV sounds like a good thing to me. There is so much division in the USA now, a show that all sorts of different people throughout America could enjoy together seems like something that's really needed (not saying that Roseanne's show was that, I don't know, but maybe it could have been?)

I also don't find the gorilla reference that bad, but I think that's probably because I'm not from the US, and you guys have a really tough history with racism. I just hope her firing doesn't further divide people, by being seen by Trump voters as just another example of how "the politically correct coastal elite" is trying to censor them. Again, I'm not saying that's the case, but it's the sort of potentially divisive issue we really could do without right now.

Just some thoughts from an outsider, who has a lot of concern and love for my American compatriots.

@vapenerd yeah I watched The Wire for the first time a couple of years ago. It's great, ain't it? I wouldn't call it the best TV show of all time, but it sure is up there. Enjoy it! You know it's out in 1080p on BluRay now? Looks really good.

I watched the first episode of the new Roseanne sitcom where she stands up for "Trump and his ideals". In that first episode she argues with others in the family about making America Great Again and is the more forceful person in each case as she makes her Trump based case. I found it very entertaining. It was funny and often spot on in terms of how different folks from each demographic would ACTUALLY present their arguments. It was almost like she had been ease dropping on some of the Trump supporters I know. The point is...I enjoyed the first episode a lot and didn't take offense to any of it and it was decidedly more Trump support based than the episodes that came after.

IMO Roseanne got a little too full of herself with her new found success and maybe had the expectation that she was protected by Trump and his followers and didn't have to worry which lines she crossed. After all...controversy is what butters her bread. Where she went horribly wrong is .... only Trump can get away with saying things like that. Trump bashes McCain for getting captured and being a POW and survives intact. Anyone else tries something that despicable and it's lights out.

 

[vapenerd]

@vapenerd yeah I watched The Wire for the first time a couple of years ago. It's great, ain't it? I wouldn't call it the best TV show of all time, but it sure is up there. Enjoy it! You know it's out in 1080p on BluRay now? Looks really good.

Best tv show is a tough one of course... My top 5 looks something like this:

1. Bron/Broen (Sofia Helin at her very best)
2. The Sopranos (best tv show ending ever)
3. Breaking Bad (epic character development)
4. Freaks and Geeks (they cancelled this way too early)
5. Friends (yes, I love Friends)

It's too early to tell, but The Wire might be my new all time fav.

Honorable mentions: Dexter (what a crappy ending, seriously!), Better Call Saul (loved the slow pace), The Americans (went out in style yesterday, very good finale), Community (good fun), The Office (epic pranks and one of the cutest love story on tv), Halt and Catch Fire (sorry guys, not the biggest fan, but it's not bad either), The Get Down (yes, I actually enjoyed this one), Mindhunter (nice, slow pace, something a bit different), Mr. Robot (didn't like season 2), The Night Of (watch this! it's good!), Parks and Recreation (would be my fav comedy if it weren't for Aziz Ansari, can't stand him in this role)

Honorable mentions and still running: Silicon Valley (clever comedy, mostly), Game of Thrones (haven't seen the last 2 seasons yet), Happy Valley (season 1 was great, need to watch season 2), The Big Bang Theory (loved season 1-4, then it went downhill fast, now it completely sucks)

Got tired of it and stopped watching: Homeland (watched season 1-7, will not continue, bored of it), How to Get Away with Murder (started of really good, now it sucks hard, stopped mid-season 4), House of Cards (didn't like it for some reason), Misfits (fun at the beginning but lost interest pretty fast), Westworld (loved season 1, great season ending, hated s02e01 so much that I stopped watching it)

 

[grokit]

‘Roseanne’ Followup Without Roseanne Barr Inches Forward, Hurdles Remain

There is some cautious optimism that Roseanne, cancelled by ABC on Monday, could continue without co-creator and star Roseanne Barr. I hear the show’s producers will be meeting with Disney-ABC executives on Monday to pitch a revamped Roseannewithout the title star (and likely the original title too).

 

[Ricardo]

As part of an "uncluttering my life" style semi-serious project, I've decided to axe shows that I need 2 or 3 Internet episode recap guides, plus YouTube scene-by-scene explanations . And the first to go is Westworld. I'll stick with Legion because I kinda get it and it's great to watch high but there are a lot of shows out there on their last warnings!

 

[Marlon Rando]

yes Legion for the win! Westworld is ok but I can see what you mean it gets very confusing.

 

[Tranquility]

‘Roseanne’ Followup Without Roseanne Barr Inches Forward, Hurdles Remain

There is some cautious optimism that Roseanne, cancelled by ABC on Monday, could continue without co-creator and star Roseanne Barr. I hear the show’s producers will be meeting with Disney-ABC executives on Monday to pitch a revamped Roseannewithout the title star (and likely the original title too).

The best TV idea I ever heard was the producers should just replace Roseanne with Danny DeVito.

And, say nothing about it.

All the characters go on just as they were before, except DeVito. Maybe you could do some stunt casting and have a different Roseanne each week.

 

[arf777]

Yo sf types- Babylon 5 is FINALLY on a major streaming service as part of the subscription. All of it on Amazon Prime as of June 1.
Can finally stash my DVDs.
https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-on-...UTF8&qid=1528293316&sr=1-1&keywords=babylon+5

 

[Ricardo]

Anyone else miss the old days of Archer, International spy? These rabbit hole spinoff are entertaining enough but it's gone a bit meh IMHO.

 

[Silver420Surfer]

Anyone else miss the old days of Archer, International spy? These rabbit hole spinoff are entertaining enough but it's gone a bit meh IMHO.

I sure do.

Seasons 1 thru 4 were the best. Innovative, filled with laughs and good plots. It was definitely on another level when compared with other animated, adult cartoons. Season 5 and 6(FBI raids Isis headquarters) you could still see a shell of the first four seasons, but the slide downhill was unfortunately already starting.

Season 7(Veronica Dean/Figgis Agency) got unbearable and Season 8(Dreamland) and 9(Danger Island) make me feel like someone was trying to destroy a once great show. After 2 episodes of Danger Island...I tapped out. It's just not even funny anymore at all. Such a far fall from cartoon greatness. It's like the writer tried to sabotage his own creation.

Check out Adam Reed's other animated series "Frisky Dingo"(A philandering billionaire playboy who moonlights as the superhero, Awesome X, faces against his greatest adversary, Killface, but finds balancing his business and superhero lives difficult). It started in 2006 I believe.

 

[lwien]

Back to TV discussion...sorry for the derail.

Farewell to FX's "The Americans" after six great seasons . It was a really interesting show that captured the Cold War/USA vs Soviet Union spy v spy quite well. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell were great, as well as the supporting cast.


Lost two of my favorites over the last year, "The Americans" and "Halt and Catch Fire", two great shows to check out if you haven't seen them.

TOTALLY agree with this.

 

[Ricardo]

@Silver420Surfer
Awesome dude, it's like I have a vague vibe and you do the thinking for me

 

[Silver420Surfer]

@Ricardo --We're like that couple from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Master Blaster lol.

 

[Ricardo]

I'll be honest, I don't get that reference, but if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that you're spot on

 

[Silver420Surfer]

I'll be honest, I don't get that reference, but if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that you're spot on

 

[Marlon Rando]

For the Legion FX fans on here, the dance off!
love this scene!

 

[Silver420Surfer]

"I'm Dying Up Here" on Showtime is my new favorite I've stumbled upon. Season one was enough to keep me interested but Season 2 has really taken off, imo. I am a fan of timepiece movies/series and I feel this one is pretty(with how we remember things vs. how they really were factoring in) true to the era. The comedian part is almost taken a back seat to the historical era part for me almost. I won't ruin it with more of my thoughts, check it out. You can get a free trial of Showtime if you have Amazon prime and binge watch before the trial is up, or watch it on the myriad of steaming sites out there.

"Set in the celebrated and infamous L.A. stand-up comedy scene of the '70s, where the careers of most comedy superstars began, "I'm Dying Up Here" delves into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit the hilarious, but complex business of making an audience laugh. The series is based on William Knoedelseder's book of the same name."

 

[lwien]

Legion and The Who..........perfect. The music choices that are made in this show makes me smile like no other show can.

 

[GetLeft]

Dang The Expanse is good! It's had its down moments for sure but the most recent episode shows how good the premise can be. Thought-provoking writing for sure.

What I like most about the show is the way the concept of 'team' is worked. Each group has its own politics, and how the show considers each group's concept of rank and how it is earned and how it is respected and held has been fascinating. While the Rocinante is the main focus, I like the sorting out that's going on with the Belters.

 

[wkndwarrior]

Anyone else miss the old days of Archer, International spy? These rabbit hole spinoff are entertaining enough but it's gone a bit meh IMHO.

Yes - This! Archer was so great, I don’t know when exactly it jumped the shark for me but those first several seasons were gold!

 

[Marlon Rando]

Dang The Expanse is good!

The Writing improved, the storyline seems to branch out more and new characters introduced, I love all the different ships names and their purposes, my new favorite is the razorback. glad "M" is back too, I had a feeling after the first season that this would occur.