General Television Thread

[Bobfoc]

I watched the first six episodes of GLOW over the last week or so. Honestly, and I hate to say this, I'm not feeling it.

There have been one or two scenes of drama I was somewhat engaged with, but on the whole, the characters aren't doing anything for me. I don't feel as though their arcs are going anywhere significant, and I'm not finding the dialogue to be particularly impactful.

Now, I understand that I might be barking up the wrong tree by looking for meaningful drama, but that's not the only problem. I haven't laughed once yet, and as a piece of comedy, that's not a good sign. It feels like the kind of humour you'd see in a Richard Curtis film, only a bit raunchier. It just isn't landing for me on any level.

I really want to like this show. I'm a wrestling fan and I know how popular it is with people on this board. I'm simply not sure what I'm missing. Does it get better or am I going to just have to accept that it isn't for me?

[Gabriel]

1 hour ago, Bobfoc said:

I watched the first six episodes of GLOW over the last week or so. Honestly, and I hate to say this, I'm not feeling it.

There have been one or two scenes of drama I was somewhat engaged with, but on the whole, the characters aren't doing anything for me. I don't feel as though their arcs are going anywhere significant, and I'm not finding the dialogue to be particularly impactful.

Now, I understand that I might be barking up the wrong tree by looking for meaningful drama, but that's not the only problem. I haven't laughed once yet, and as a piece of comedy, that's not a good sign. It feels like the kind of humour you'd see in a Richard Curtis film, only a bit raunchier. It just isn't landing for me on any level.

I really want to like this show. I'm a wrestling fan and I know how popular it is with people on this board. I'm simply not sure what I'm missing. Does it get better or am I going to just have to accept that it isn't for me?

If you liked Community and are a Marc Maron fan, I'd say to stick with it. It could be one of those shows that grows on you, and then you go back and watch the first bunch of episodes again and enjoy them way more. That's how Community was for me too. First few episodes were alright, but I was about ready to call it quits... then we started getting deeper and I loved the show. Now when I go back and watch the first season, those episodes are infinitely better than when I first watched them for some reason.

GLOW, to me, feels like Marc Maron-type comedy (which tends to be depressing), female empowerment and relationship-based comedy, and the wrestling narrative. I can entirely see why people, even wrestling fans, wouldn't be big on the show... but it is definitely something I look forward to, and something I've recommended to several friends.

[Adam]

GLOW I don't really consider to be at all like Community. Community is very silly and fairly formulaic, GLOW is episodic and leans more on overt character development. Alison Brie is really the only commonality between the two I can see.

@Bobfoc, if you're not getting GLOW by now then maybe it's just not for you. Season 2 is better than Season 1 but I loved both, I think the characters are really fresh and relatable, some take a while to get into more depth with but Ruth, Debbie, Bash and Sam more than carry the load on that front. I think the show has a unique energy about it, it's very fun but not afraid to explore deeper themes and obviously I live for the connection to wrestling and, particularly, the 80s.

[Gabriel]

8 minutes ago, Adam es Tranquilo said:

GLOW I don't really consider to be at all like Community. Community is very silly and fairly formulaic, GLOW is episodic and leans more on overt character development. Alison Brie is really the only commonality between the two I can see.

@Bobfoc, if you're not getting GLOW by now then maybe it's just not for you. Season 2 is better than Season 1 but I loved both, I think the characters are really fresh and relatable, some take a while to get into more depth with but Ruth, Debbie, Bash and Sam more than carry the load on that front. I think the show has a unique energy about it, it's very fun but not afraid to explore deeper themes and obviously I live for the connection to wrestling and, particularly, the 80s.

I should have written it out more clearly. GLOW and Community are nothing alike in terms of style. I was more using it as an example of something that didn't click for me (and a lot of others, from conversations I've had) at first, but that I absolutely grew to love. It's weird to go back and watch those first episodes, because I just can't pinpoint what it was that didn't work right away, because there's nothing wrong with them. The quality is as good as any other season, it just took some acclimating to get into the swing of the show, and then I was in love. I've heard people talk about GLOW similarly.

The one thing about GLOW that I've found seems to be a running theme, is that people I've talked to who can't stand Marc Maron's stand-up or solo show... they can't do GLOW. He's got a very particular style of comedy, and it may not have influenced GLOW, but there's a reason why he is in the role he is in. He's perfect for it. But yeah, people who don't like Maron really can't seem to get into GLOW, I've found.

[Bobfoc]

I think I'll take a break from GLOW. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

If it really isn't for me, you know what? That's fine. You win some and lose some. I'll just move on and live and let live.

[Adam]

56 minutes ago, Bobfoc said:

I think I'll take a break from GLOW. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

If it really isn't for me, you know what? That's fine. You win some and lose some. I'll just move on and live and let live.

Absolutely. I learned to give up on shows if they stopped bringing me enjoyment, instead of soldiering on for the sake of it like I did with things like Dexter.

My girlfriend at the time watched the first season of GLOW with me and she thought it was just okay, she wasn't too bothered, whereas I loved it. No show is for everyone.

[Gabriel]

There's too much quality programming out there to just force yourself to sit through something because you feel like you SHOULD like it. It's definitely important to give things a fair shake, because stuff will grow on you like I talked about earlier... but realistically, after half of a season for a show, or half of the run-time for a film, it's probably a good point where you can make that call and go forward or just move on from it.

[Lint]

Recently started The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  This show is so kinda wonderfully cheesy I love it

[Krabby]

5 hours ago, Lint said:

Recently started The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  This show is so kinda wonderfully cheesy I love it

My wife reallllllly enjoyed it and is waiting for more episodes to come out. I watched a few with her and they were interesting I'd say.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

The finale of The Good Place was fucking amazing. 

[Josh]

I cannot wait to watch it tonight.

[Benjamin]

1 hour ago, Ms. Canadian Destroyer said:

The finale of The Good Place was fucking amazing. 

Fuck's sake, was that the finale? Already?  

Spoiler

I cried so hard during the video of Chidi and Eleanor. That was incredibly moving, and I felt so much of that.

I love this show so much.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

13 minutes ago, Benjamin said:

Fuck's sake, was that the finale? Already?  

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I cried so hard during the video of Chidi and Eleanor. That was incredibly moving, and I felt so much of that.

I love this show so much.

The season finale, yeah. 

Also, I can't believe I missed the opportunity to say "the finale was forking amazing". 

[Benjamin]

Modern Family this season is really firing on all cylinders. Even the Cam & Mitch one was good. Splitting up Jay & Gloria's plots and especially putting them with Claire & Phil respectively always brings forth more positive results. 

[Owen]

Great News is a nice show. I've not seen her in anything before, but I really enjoy Briga Heelan in the lead role.

[Lint]

So I've finished Sabrina and, based off the suggestion of my older sister, started to watch Riverdale

[Benjamin]

Riverdale is super fun for a season and a half.

[Josh]

And after that?

[Monkey D. Lars]

Rewatched the first six seasons of the shield in about a month. That show is still the best. 

[FLiam]

31 minutes ago, Monkey D. Lars said:

Rewatched the first six seasons of the shield in about a month. That show is still the best. 

If I recall, I stopped at the Glenn Close season. How many are after that? 

I thought it dropped in quality around that time.