General Television Thread 2023

[Benji]

Man, the first season of Spin City is really good, but oddly disjointed. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Mike and his other half but then mid season they split up and it becomes basically the Mike dating show which was entertaining but just very jarring compared to the start where it focused more on City Hall.

Season 2 seems to go back to the City Hall crew thus far, and the rest of the cast absolutely shine as well as I remember. Paul in particular was always a favourite and he's just as much of a delight as I recalled. I had forgotten how good Stuart and Carter's chemistry was though, in particular the scenes with them trapped in a boiler room are great.

[Hobo]

TMZ are saying that Johnny Hardwick, the voice of Dale Gribble in King of the Hill, has died.

[Benji]

Torn on Colin From Accounts. I really enjoyed the first two episodes but there was a scene that felt extremely transphobic in the second episode and I don't really feel like continuing it now, which sucks because it was otherwise a different and interesting kind of show.

[RazorsEdge]

Only Murders in the Building is back for season 3 and kicked off really well with the first two episodes. Didn't know the big name guest star was going to be in it so that was a pleasant surprise.

Not even going to pretend that I have even the slightest idea of who the murderer is, though.

[Gabriel]

We watched the first 3 episodes of Twisted Metal last night, and we are impressed.

My partner didn't even know it was a video game, and she's quite enjoying it for the Mad Max-ness of it all. Mackie & Beatriz are both great.

"Sweet Samoan Tooth" William Joe Arnett worked out infinitely better than I anticipated.

There's a lot of love going into the characters, and the episodes are a nicely compact 30 minutes. I wouldn't complain about longer episodes, but I do feel like the pace at which the show moves with no real downtime is a really good nod to the games. Also, there really doesn't seem to be any boring or unnecessary filler in first 3 episodes because they're not padding things out to increase the run-time.

[Benji]

Watching Inside Man and it's... Eh. Definitely not as good as I hoped. The characters are shallow and the women outside of Janice are very poorly characterised. Thankfully David Tennant pulls some mediocre scripting up to a better level, but I'm two episodes of four in and I was most excited for seeing Tucci and Tennant together and they haven't shared the screen yet nor do they seem likely to. In fact Tucci's character feels like a Hannibal Lecter if he was sinfully boring, bored and going through the motions. Somehow I'm still watching, probably because it's only four episodes total, but I can honestly recommend it unless it pulls a lot back in the second half.

[Benji]

On 13/08/2023 at 19:31, Benji said:

Watching Inside Man and it's... Eh. Definitely not as good as I hoped. The characters are shallow and the women outside of Janice are very poorly characterised. Thankfully David Tennant pulls some mediocre scripting up to a better level, but I'm two episodes of four in and I was most excited for seeing Tucci and Tennant together and they haven't shared the screen yet nor do they seem likely to. In fact Tucci's character feels like a Hannibal Lecter if he was sinfully boring, bored and going through the motions. Somehow I'm still watching, probably because it's only four episodes total, but I can honestly recommend it unless it pulls a lot back in the second half.

It started to look promising then half way through the finale it got ridiculous.

Spoiler

The fucking whoosh noises with the knife. Just crossed the line from a bit silly but basically passable to beyond ridiculous.

 

[arwrestling]

Two series' I've really enjoyed are "From" on Amazon. I've worked with a few of the cast before so I was curious to check it out, and it is truly a great mystery / horror series. 

The other one I've been binging this week is Yellowjackets, and I'm sorry I slept on this one for so long. The writing is fantastic and the cast is really great, I have no complaints about it.

[Benji]

Two episodes into White Lotus season 2 and I'm already enjoying it significantly more than I did season one.

[gunnar hendershow]

Dan Stevens is a more than acceptable replacement for Justin Roiland. Can basically tell how little he actually did on Solar Opposites once the show got going as it hasn't missed a beat from what I've watched of season 4 so far.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

On 13/08/2023 at 14:31, Benji said:

Watching Inside Man and it's... Eh. Definitely not as good as I hoped. The characters are shallow and the women outside of Janice are very poorly characterised. Thankfully David Tennant pulls some mediocre scripting up to a better level, but I'm two episodes of four in and I was most excited for seeing Tucci and Tennant together and they haven't shared the screen yet nor do they seem likely to. In fact Tucci's character feels like a Hannibal Lecter if he was sinfully boring, bored and going through the motions. Somehow I'm still watching, probably because it's only four episodes total, but I can honestly recommend it unless it pulls a lot back in the second half.

Yeah, I covered this for the podcast network and thought it'd be fun with Tennant and Tucci but it's just pretty bad. There's some interesting themes and ideas but it's just not executed well.

[Gabriel]

16 hours ago, damhausen said:

Dan Stevens is a more than acceptable replacement for Justin Roiland. Can basically tell how little he actually did on Solar Opposites once the show got going as it hasn't missed a beat from what I've watched of season 4 so far.

Season four has been great. The explanation for his voice being different was funny and you're right, they haven't missed out on anything. Roiland out. Stevens in. Show feels the same, except now Korvo is played by a much more charming gentleman.

The first four episodes of season four are on Disney+, so we caught up with that after we demolished Twisted Metal over a 24 hour period.

Twisted Metal was great. Highly recommended. All of the major performances were very well done, and I really hope they get a second season for that. 10 episodes, about 5 hours total, and it was a blast all the way through.

Oh, and The Toast of Tinseltown... fuck, I love Matt Berry and Clem Fandango is my jam.

Only Murders in the Building is back for a strong opening few episodes as well. I'm getting spoiled right now... and there's still Ahsoka, Loki and The Fall of the House of Usher to come over the next couple of months.

[Benji]

17 hours ago, damhausen said:

Dan Stevens is a more than acceptable replacement for Justin Roiland. Can basically tell how little he actually did on Solar Opposites once the show got going as it hasn't missed a beat from what I've watched of season 4 so far.

I was sold just from the teaser. Was it the same as that where it's just a voice modulator or accident or something, they say they like the voice better and that's basically the end of it?

[Gabriel]

14 minutes ago, Benji said:

I was sold just from the teaser. Was it the same as that where it's just a voice modulator or accident or something, they say they like the voice better and that's basically the end of it?

Spoiler

Basically, yeah. They accidentally shoot him with the voice modulation ray, and then add in that it has temporal powers as well, so all of the flashbacks will be in Dan Stevens' voice also.

Stevens does a really good job of speaking the same way that Roiland did for the character, but the accent is obviously different. That's what makes it work so well. It's still the exact same Korvo, down to the finest details, except the accent.

[Benji]

I vaguely recall watching Home Improvement as a kid and thinking it was funny. Alex is watching it at the moment and just - holy shit this is bad - even excusing the toxic masculinity and blatant negativity towards the women, it's not even actually funny outside of scenes with Wilson.

[gunnar hendershow]

47 minutes ago, Benji said:

I vaguely recall watching Home Improvement as a kid and thinking it was funny. Alex is watching it at the moment and just - holy shit this is bad - even excusing the toxic masculinity and blatant negativity towards the women, it's not even actually funny outside of scenes with Wilson.

Yeah I watched an episode somewhat recently and it's so out-of-date 90s masculinity. Worst part might be the sensible guy, Al Borland, being a punchline. Like his presence is "haha look at this dweeb and his *logic*"

Easy to trace that attitude right through to the present.

[Benji]

Season two of White Lotus

Spoiler

Way better than season one. Much more likeable characters and better motivations, and the tension felt constant rather than like I was just waiting for the final episode to explode.

Tanya though

 

[Bobfoc]

3 minutes ago, Benji said:

Season two of White Lotus

  Hide contents

Way better than season one. Much more likeable characters and better motivations, and the tension felt constant rather than like I was just waiting for the final episode to explode.

Tanya though

 

Spoiler

I agree with this. I felt that the second series had some more interesting stories and a more developed cast of characters.

I also quite liked the fact that some of the good (or less bad) characters ended with some victories. The first series ended with all the rich wazzocks getting away scot free while the downtrodden had their lives ended or ruined. It's more realistic, but still rather deflating.

 

[RPS]

Finished The Other Two. It's great, watch it.

Spoiler

It's rare you see a TV show actively go out and ruin it's two leads over a season. The show started out with two siblings obsessed with wanting to be just as famous as their talentless brother. By the penultimate episode, they arguably are. Cary is getting Oscar buzz, Brooke a Peabody award. But to what do you sacrifice for success, especially success obtained with obsessive fervor. 

I thought Brooke's ending was pretty uninteresting. It was obvious since season 2 that her and Lance would end up together. It was a matter of how she would realize her obsession with doing better than Lance was toxic. But it's interesting - I never felt Brooke learnt her lesson. She merely atoned enough to merely get back what she had lost. And even in the post credits scene - which was tongue in cheek, a parody of our content filled world and may be not even canon - she's still wants to be a manager. 

Cary's ending was so much more interesting. Cary actually sacrificed it all. And he doesn't get what he wants. He realizes what an awful person he was to his manager, his mom, and his friend. He turns down the funding from his mom, but she was never going to give it. He apologizes to Curtis, but he doesn't get the instant gratification of friendship again. He does not want the movie anymore, but he can't tell his agent and he gets offered an Oscar buzz worthy movie. Cary has to walk away from it. And he finds solace in being solitary and stopping to obsess over fame. It's a really interesting ending as he walks along the beach, making friends with a group of older gay men who accept him unconditionally.  I'll have to let it crunch for a bit.

It was not the ending I envisioned but nothing in the show was conventional. I appreciated how it played by its own rules. 

 

[K]

Traitors AU Season 2 just started and they've replaced all the relatively normal people with former reality show contestants and annoying wannabe celebrities with vocal fry. it's really annoying.