The TV we watch...
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FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Glad you're enjoying it but believe me, there was no "planning" involved in Lost. Several of the writers have confirmed it was virtually all seat-of-the-pants scripting.
"Lost" is a perfect example of an American series with absolutely no end game, no thought beyond the first series, continuing on with their ridiculous 24-episode seasons until the viewing figures finally drop to an unacceptable level and they have to find a way to somehow wrap it up.
davidm
Strata Poster
^ exactly that for so many (network-broadcast) US TV series. The point is never the "story" its just "can we get them to watch next week" (and thus keep selling advertising against it).
It's what is a bit refreshing about HBO/Netflix series, that they don't work under the same commercial pressures and are often much more satisfying because of that.
It's what is a bit refreshing about HBO/Netflix series, that they don't work under the same commercial pressures and are often much more satisfying because of that.
FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
I can understand that, but you're missing out on some terrific shows. We're in a golden age of American drama series.
One of the problems I have with long running dramas with a continuing plot is the gap between seasons. There's no way I can recall the finer details of what happened in a show a year on.
The solution I came up with a while back is to wait until a show is cancelled then watch it at a rate of one episode a night. This also has the advantage of being able to check there's a decent ending involved and whether the standard is maintained across the run.
There's a lot of patience involved. I had to wait six years to watch Breaking Bad and five years to catch The Americans. But it's really rewarding sometimes.
Finished watching the second series of American Vandal yesterday. I loved the first one, thought it nailed the vibe of the mystery solving documentaries/podcasts with some very funny moments. The second series wasn't as good in my opinion. It still nailed the mockumentary side of things but it just wasn't funny. I don't know if it was just the subject matter alone led to less jokes that amused me or if it just had less characters that made it work. I still enjoyed the mystery and the unveiling of clues so at least it had that to keep me interested.
Hutch
Strata Poster
I'm almost done with season two but so far I prefer season 1 as well. I'm still really enjoying the second season and do find it funny but I think the big thing is that season 1 has a more memorable cast of characters (ex. I think Dylan is much better than Kevin). I also like how season 1 took place at the producers' own school. There were more consequences for them, especially during faculty confrontations.
Great show.
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
Bump
Also, this might not be on topic but who wants the Gravity Falls pilot? Doesn't look half bad (in my opinion):
Also, this might not be on topic but who wants the Gravity Falls pilot? Doesn't look half bad (in my opinion):
Benenen
Hyper Poster
Bandersnatch. Some really clever ideas and jaw dropping reveals but once I was over an hour in constantly rewinding and picking the options I hadn't yet done instead of making actual decisions for Stefan it felt a little slow and I was kinda glad when it finished.
I watched it with two other people so every decision went through us all which made it less personal, I wish I'd watched it by myself in hindsight.
After watching I read some articles and online discussions about the episode and the scale of it is staggering. So much footage was recorded and the way the decisions link different sections of the plot together is so clever. On the Reddit page someone's made a decision tree of the whole episode and it's huge.
The choices definitely became a chore towards the end but if Netflix are churning out a series every year I'm more than happy for them to experiment with the format. The concept of Stefan becoming slowly more aware that he's not in control of his actions while you're simultaneously forcing him to make increasingly darker and more violent choices is textbook Black Mirror. I'm so excited for series 5.
I watched it with two other people so every decision went through us all which made it less personal, I wish I'd watched it by myself in hindsight.
After watching I read some articles and online discussions about the episode and the scale of it is staggering. So much footage was recorded and the way the decisions link different sections of the plot together is so clever. On the Reddit page someone's made a decision tree of the whole episode and it's huge.
The choices definitely became a chore towards the end but if Netflix are churning out a series every year I'm more than happy for them to experiment with the format. The concept of Stefan becoming slowly more aware that he's not in control of his actions while you're simultaneously forcing him to make increasingly darker and more violent choices is textbook Black Mirror. I'm so excited for series 5.
I agree, I thought it was very well done and a great mix up to the formats we usually see. Not sure I see it taking off big time due to the effort involved to produce, and not sure I want it to due to the effort involved in consuming, but really loved the concept and execution.
You got a link? I was wondering how long it'd take someone to produce something like that.
Benenen
Hyper Poster
Also watched Bandersnatch and thought it was great fun. Granted it can get a bit tedious when going back through to find more alternative scenes etc. Sounds like the process has inspired Brooker to maybe do another interactive episode as this one was just a massive learning curve for everyone involved. I wouldn't say no to at least one more.
The ABC Murders. I love a good detective show and the BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie novels have been extremely well made over the last few years. John Malkovich was a bit odd as Poirot but I think that's just because I'm used to Suchet portraying that character. I felt like the story in this one moved at a great pace and I felt that twist at the end coming but couldn't work out who.
Did anyone watch the new version of Watership Down? Not sure I can bring myself to watch it due to the CG rabbits looking dreadful.
The ABC Murders. I love a good detective show and the BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie novels have been extremely well made over the last few years. John Malkovich was a bit odd as Poirot but I think that's just because I'm used to Suchet portraying that character. I felt like the story in this one moved at a great pace and I felt that twist at the end coming but couldn't work out who.
Did anyone watch the new version of Watership Down? Not sure I can bring myself to watch it due to the CG rabbits looking dreadful.
Thekingin64
Strata Poster
Watched through iplayer the other day. Considering I've never seen any other versions of Watership Down and didn't fully know the story, I quite enjoyed it. CGI isn't amazing and it can move slowly at times but still very enjoyable to watch, do recommend you check it out.
I was going to, and then I saw that Olivia f**king Colman was in it. I can't think of anyone so mediocre being so massively overexposed in years.