Whatcha Watchin'?

Straight. That whole last ep just reeked of “Shit. We’ve only got a week left to do three eps before they pull the plug.”
It just didn’t work for any of the characters for me.

Still a better season finale than Dexter though.

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What isn’t, though? That’s a really low bar there - like 6 feet under in Death Valley low.

The shitshow that was season 8 was an utter insult to the fans; they should have stopped at season 5.

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I might have killed it after Lithgow as the Big Bad, mostly because that was impossible to top. But Olmos and Hanks the Lesser in S06 weren’t too shabby and some of the visuals in it were good, even if it the whole show was starting to creak alarmingly. After that… I wouldn’t have missed anything. :slight_smile:

Anyway, it’s all a bit quiet on the telly, so I’ve been binging on Lucha Underground. Any good, weird docos out?

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Santo vs. The Vampire Women
? err wait you said good and documentary… nevermind.

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True, but I have to disagree on S6, Olmos and Hanks Jr. not withstanding; that’s when the writing noticeably starting going to shit.

Unless it’s about a subject I’m personally interested in, I don’t get into documentaries much.

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Anyone else watched the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell series? We just started the first episode this week and so far, I’m enjoying it.

Also, finally getting around to the 4th series of Luther…

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I saw it last year. I thought it was okay, but much preferred the book.

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I was ambivalent, since I love period stuff but am not usually into fantasy. It was a lot of great production and acting in service of a story with many holes and WTF, like most fantasy. I read that the prose and style of the book was what made it terrific, and that the commentary about English regional culture was not obvious to Americans. I guess there’s a lot worse TV out there.

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I mean, doesn’t that always go without saying? :wink:

I think to really get into fantasy, you have to buy the world the author is structuring. In some ways, I think that makes good fantasy harder to write, because you’re not only building individual characters, but an entire universe, that needs to be internally consistent to be believable. I think the best fantasy has connections to the realities of our universe, but manages to set up a universe that has it’s own internal consistencies. But generally, I’m getting that if I like fantasy, I’ll probably enjoy this series. I can see it not being enjoyable to someone who isn’t a big fantasy fan.

I always love stuff like this, even if it’s outside my own knowledge. It makes me wonder about it and want to learn a bit more about it.

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The whole “magic” thing is usually rather vague as to it why’s, limitations and lack thereof, and this one is no different. I’m nearing the end of the HPMoR audiobook, and I like that he made a wizards magic a finite resource, that grows as you grow older and can be temporarily used up casting spells.

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The best bit of the book is the footnotes. Hard to fit into a TV programme. Although I did really like the Peninsular war bits.

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Oh! It’s been long enough since I read it that I forgot it had footnotes!

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Finishing up season 1 of The Moaning of Life.

A nice follow-up to An Idiot Abroad.

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Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels with Jr.
Season 1 of Ash vs. Evil Dead not with Jr.

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Present:
A most violent year

Past:
Sherlock season 4 episode 2
Enjoyed this quite a bit; toby jones makes for a very effective villain.

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I’d say it’s the best one they’ve done in years. A very welcome improvement.

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True dat. Fantastic ep.

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Ep 2 is out?

Noted.

Watched E1 of Taboo last night. Pretty damn good, like a love child of Penny Dreadful and the darker Dickens. Man thought dead in Africa returns to 1814 London to battle for his inheritance against grasping brother in law and the British E India Co. Very dark vibe and hints at lots of backstory. The casting of supporting players is amazing, some of the ugliest mugs you’ve ever seen, and it can’t all be makeup.

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Yeah, sunday 9pm on bbc1. Just one left.

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