What are you watching?

[El Jefe]

Highlight away if you want to read. It's spoiler-y enough, and still somewhat recent. But your answer follows, Phoebe.



This really is a weird fucking show, and I'm still confused on the appeal.

[mimekiller]

I think you've mentioned this about Professor X as well, that he's a giant dick, I imagine for similar reasons. I mean the scope of Brans power is never 100 percent clear and prob for good reasons, gives the writers more freedom, and I know its a theory that he used his magic powers to play the "game" well enough to end up with him on top but I don't know, I think it was just a natural ending to the story

I loved the finale, some nitpicks, the impact of the last big death was barely explored in any meaningful way or glossed over completely, but other then that, I dug it a lot. Will probably re-watch the series when a new book is published.

[El Jefe]

Funny side note I just remembered, after somebody else reminded me. There's actually two effectively immortal rulers now. The Red Lady's eternal youth/beauty/life magic necklace is just sitting in the snow outside Winterfell. There's no chance that doesn't end up on Sansa. All hail the (Undying) Queen of the North.

[El Jefe]

While waiting for the next seasons of Flash/Legends to hit Netflix, I decided to go back and try Supergirl. A bunch of folks told me it got better after the first season, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I'm about to finish up Season 2, and will probably tackle Season 3. I'll also admit that I'm not very familiar with source material here, because I was never a huge DC reader, and anything with the Supes logo is automatically 1,000% more boring and dull in terms of comics.

The Good: It's a ridiculously cheery show, and that's say something from a Flash fan. So that's a nice change of pace, in some ways. They also finally found the formula on how to avoid making Supes stories boring...give the Supes character a team in the usual CW style. And that works here. I don't find the cast/acting quite as strong as some CW series, but it's certainly not hitting the low marks found in Arrow. There's even some fun choices made with some bigger names from the Supes comics family.

The Bad: The usual with CW shows. Writing inconsistency. As much as I adore Legends, and dig Flash, the CW shows generally all have one noticeable flaw. Characters and the capacity/competency with which they are given by the writers varies from week to week. That's not a new thing to TV in any way, but it is something that looks a little dated today. When you were dealing with largely episodic shows where things don't matter from week to week, that's not a huge deal. When you're dealing with largely serial formats, and stories and characters build across seasons, that's a problem. Supergirl isn't the worst of the CW shows in this regard, but particularly among the supporting cast, the writers have some issues with knowing how to create hurdles for characters without dumbing down the character on a given week. Expert agents (and agencies!) suddenly have no clue how to handle basic tradecraft, because TV DRAMA! And I'm fine with TV drama. I get that it's got a role. But Flash's first two seasons (the first in particular) show that you can very much have a smart foe outsmart/fool the heroes without making the heroes dumb in a random episode.

This never happens enough in Supergirl to be a dealbreaker, but it does happen with more frequency than in Flash/Legends. (Not more than in Arrow, but that's just because everybody in Arrow is dumb at all times, forever. Because they're in Arrow, a show that makes the Game of Chairs look like a well-written show 100 times over.)

The Verdict: I'll definitely finish out the current seasons. It's a fun show, though it comes in 3rd behind Legends and Flash. Maybe 4th, if I ever get around to watching Black Lightning. Even at 4th, that puts it approximately 7 billion squared times the amount of time until the heat death of the universe slots better than Arrow. Because even with 5 CW shows, Arrow still ranks somewhere down below "Fuck that goddamn show."

[Phoebe]

Supergirl is the favorite show of one of my kids, and she won't let anyone else be in the room with her while it's on, apparently a highly personal event she does not wish other talkers/distractors/mockers etc to ruin.

[El Jefe]

I should add that Supergirl is a bit of surprise in just how well they manage to dance around the issues built into most Supes stories. Having the focus split on the team, as well as having the team do more things; all that really works to avoid the usual problems that come with a character built around having a ridiculous power level/set and then just basically punching things to win. It's probably one of the best live action versions of a Supes character I've seen, in terms of how to avoid the usual pitfalls. I also kind of dug the way they reinterpreted the Luthors in this. Some folks have said it sort of resembles Smallville, but I have no clue, having never watched that show.

[Ronster]

Just binged GoT...I honestly must have missed an ep or 2 of the previous season. I tried to like the ending, I REALLY did...but I CANNOT

I am currently watching Man In A High Castle. I am still in season 1

[Phoebe]

Let us know if you like it! I consider. Have been watching Marie Kondo, not so much to implement as to work out various passive aggressive feelings of hostility.

[Phoebe]

[Tahlvin]

Chernobyl. That is all.

[Phoebe]

To experience the full bounty of that show one needs to arrange for another person to turn it on as one sleeps. One's dreams will then be populated by a low-level sirenny droning and scattered, inchoate phrases indicating something really bad and essentially concerned with radiation poisoning is happening. O, the dreams one shall dream! Then you can wake up in a cold sweat and watch the show with a fuller appreciation.

[mimekiller]

IT"S ALMOST DEADWOOD MOVIE TIME COCKSUCKERS WHOSE READY, WHOSE PUMPED FOR THE RETURN OF THE BEST SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF THE COCKSUCKING WORLD

[yes_I_like_pie]

Is anyone excited about this? I cant wait!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSV42j8 ... qD5vuLzfWg

[Phoebe]

Big Little Lies, I think that's the name. Despite my complaints, I was sucked in gradually and then had to see how this ended. Then read the description of season 2 and decided I wouldn't watch it, until I discovered the new main character is played by Meryl Streep, so now here I am having to watch it. Yeah I know, Meryl has been in some real stinkers, but this looks fun. In the first episode of season two she screams and it is already iconic.

Anyway, I am sorry to state the following truths but here they are: after the first episode or two I was like, this is some kind of show purportedly about women, and I enjoy it insofar as the main characters are being blasted out by incredible actresses doing a great job, but at the end of the day this is actually a man's vision of women and definitely written by a man, and on some level that limits what we can do with this in the imagination. Again, I am sorry but that turned out to be correct, as I was surprised to discover it is yet another David Kelley show like Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, etc. It's "good" in the sense that some deep insights about human beings come through (again, well-acted by many people), and the script hangs together in an interesting way. Unfortunately, I was able to predict the whole plot of the first season by around episode 2-3, and I am the champion NON-predicter who trots along gullibly to every surprise, so it must be extremely predictable and telegraphed. My other major complaint, which may seem trivial but Not So!, is the droning of pretentious musics throughout. The music is "Curated". It nauseates me. It's very special, very atmospheric, it says something - it says something like "turn this show off, Phoebe!" but I was busy being amused by Reese Witherspoon as always, so I watched intently.

Bottom line - it must be doing its intended job well, because I'm watching! But it's not doing it that well, because I'm watching it like an insect being slowly covered in the sticky films of heavy-handed soundtracking and Deep Sensitive Men's Thoughts About Us Ladies.

[mimekiller]

Liane Moriarty is also a credited writer on all episodes.

Kind of OVERWHELMED with my TV options so I've just been mostly watch films but shows I have in my immediate to do list

Season 5 of Bosch
Good Omens
Preacher season 3
Legion season 2
chernobyl

[Mike]

Crap. Good Omens. I forgot about that one.

I'm currently in the middle of:
Lucifer
The Haunting of Hill House
El Ministerio del Tiempo
Black Mirror
Umbrella Academy
Speechless

But I want to see Good Omens

[mimekiller]

so I was aware that it existed but honestly had no idea the ERIC ANDRE show was a masterpiece of surreal comedy/prank show. Just amazing, honestly shocked Andre didn't get killed while making it haha

[Phoebe]

Ya, Moriarty is the one who wrote the book Big Little Lies, but the male gaze is being served courtesy of Kelley, who wrote the tv version, and his director.

[Phoebe]

Started on season two - things have improved.

[Phoebe]

Spoke too soon! These people should not be writing black characters until they can ask themselves Why? and take some needed advice, and that is all. Was so happy that Black character 2 showed up at last, only to instantly fall into absurd stereotypes without any adequate justification or explanation in the story. I like, however, that they showed likely consequences of blabbing about secrets all the time with other people in the vicinity.