TV news and views

[Snoopy]

The best thing about Lasso was it lead to Juno Temple getting her role in Fargo. She was actually great in that.

[Polident]

Daredevil the new one

It’s odd. It feels they’re trying to copy the grittier style of the Netflix show only there’s a bunch of awkward CGI thrown in. Maybe it’s a reference to the Ben Affleck movie where he turns into a rubber cartoon man doing parkour. The first episode he’s growing pains of explaining shit from other disney marvel shows, where I’m treating it as a continuation of the Netflix series. But all that aside, pretty good!

As I’ve continued watching this and these events kept getting referenced, I felt the need to read up on what happened.

tl;dr Kingpin showed up in Hawkeye. At some point after Daredevil Netflix, he takes some super deaf girl as a protege. She or the girl in Hawkeye shoots him in the face? And then he’s in a coma? After recovering, he vanishes and this is where the friction with Superman’s mom forms. Kingpin emerges again in a show called “Disney’s Marvel’s Echo” that nobody has ever seen. In it, the super deaf girl uses her powers to heal his emotional trauma (???). Show ends with him saying he wants to become Mayor of New York. Also in those others shows they put him in a comical fat suit? So now he’s normal fat and characters comment on his weight loss.

[Eric Cartman]

Even Jeff Marvel forgot theres a show called Echo

[Polident]

Mostly enjoying this season of White Lotus. Honestly a great formula where it’s like “rich people who visit these resorts are messed up”…but also it’s scenic and it incepts the idea of visiting. With Thailand this season, yeah, I’d need to go with others. The optics of traveling solo aren’t getting better with age.

I like the contrast of Walton Goggins’s incredibly symmetrical and straight teeth next to his girlfriend’s British teeth.

[Polident]

First episode of The Studio was good. Think I’d like it more if it weren’t Seth Rogan as the lead. But what convinced me to keep watching was mentioning it was actually Flavor Aid at Jonestown. Respect that type of research for historical accuracy.

[Potato]

Watched the first episode of The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. 

Was really really good and I can't wait to watch the rest.

[Alpacx]

So season 3 of The White Lotus ended up meh.

Worth it for the Rockwell monologue pissing of the trans.

[Polident]

So season 3 of The White Lotus ended up meh.

Worth it for the Rockwell monologue pissing of the trans.

Pacing was off imo. I get that it’s popular for HBO but it felt like the material was really stretched to eight episodes, with the finale nearly movie length.

[Alpacx]

So season 3 of The White Lotus ended up meh.

Worth it for the Rockwell monologue pissing of the trans.

Pacing was off imo. I get that it’s popular for HBO but it felt like the material was really stretched to eight episodes, with the finale nearly movie length.

For sure.

And I think it got too wrapped up in the murder mystery instead of the characters.

[DavidCroquet]

So season 3 of The White Lotus ended up meh.

Worth it for the Rockwell monologue pissing of the trans.

Pacing was off imo. I get that it’s popular for HBO but it felt like the material was really stretched to eight episodes, with the finale nearly movie length.

For sure.

And I think it got too wrapped up in the murder mystery instead of the characters.

Bummer to hear. I watched (and greatly enjoyed) S1, and have been puzzled by all of the "whodunit" whispers regarding S3. I kept thinking well sure, someone died in S1 also, but the show isn't really like...about that. 

I guess it became that.

[Polident]

Think it’s funny how one character, Mook, is played by a mega huge kpop star. So she can’t do anything, really. She’s essentially, in story, a trophy. She couldn’t even kiss the love interest because I guess fans would go after the guy.

[Potato]

The tone is all wrong. I think they've fucked this up.

Murderbot should have been female-coded too or at least a lot more androgynous.

[chronovore]

The tone is all wrong. I think they've fucked this up.

Murderbot should have been female-coded too or at least a lot more androgynous.

Weird coincidence. I just posted something nearly identical to a friend's feed. Yeah, the novels, Murderbot is androgynous and unsettling under the helmet/mask. I'm ready to watch and enjoy whatver this is, but it doesn't feel like "ALL SYSTEMS RED." 

Kinda hyped to watch some "Sanctuary Moon" in context though.

[Besticus Maximus]

Everyone seems to know what Murderbot is but I've never heard of it until that trailer

[Potato]

Everyone seems to know what Murderbot is but I've never heard of it until that trailer

One of the coolest sci-fi book series I've read in the last few years. If you like to read sci-fi, get on it.

[Polident]

The Studio episode 4

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

great “forget it. It’s Chinatown.” joke

[DavidCroquet]

Crossover content time.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/lttp-white-lotus-s1-thats-it.1162518/#post-138417171

Jumped on this since I purchased an HBO Max sub for TLOU and Bill Simmons won't shut up about it... It was extremely vapid with a bunch of cardboard cutout characters. Nothing much happened and the only character that had a decent arc was Steve Zahn...

Just a bunch of insufferable people being insufferable and not much really happening in the way of intrigue, drama or humor.

All I can say is...what? I literally just finished (as in, 30 mins ago) a rewatch of S1 and it's borderline visionary TV. I maintain that the thesis of the show is that we limit others (and ourselves) in the way that we box them in with our own limiting perspectives and assumptions. Like, the characters are clearly presented as "cardboard cutouts" to inspire the viewer's reflexive eyeroll, and then we are encouraged to question that reflex when they turn out to actually be capable of change and self-reflection--and then when the characters fall back into their comfortable bad habits, so do we by judging them harshly again.

I can't speak to other seasons but S1 of White Lotus rocks.

[Polident]

Reacher season 3 is so far pretty good. Not season 1 quality but better than the second.

It’s like the old Sonic and his shitty friends joke. Reacher alone in a new place is fun. Reacher with his old squad is lame because he has to be weak in order for them to have purpose. There’s a bit he calls one for info and Amy Rose keeps saying she wants to join the mission, and he keeps saying “no fuck off” and hangs up his shoe phone.

Reacher also gets naked a lot this season and the women around do the “I shouldn’t look… but abs and dick” blushing thing. Also reveals how the actor, like most actors, does not train legs.

[chronovore]

I loved Reacher s1, it felt like it perfectly represented the first book, except for introducing Neagley, which isn't in the novel. 

Season 2 never felt like he was in danger, and his team had some chemistry, but Reacher is the glue that holds them together as well as the shield that protects them. 

Season 3 felt like a comic book version of the character, everyone felt like they were performing for the back row, everything cranked to 11 and juuuust past my ability to suspend disbelief. 

I'll re-watch s1 several times, but am fine with one watch of the others.

[Potato]

Started watching The Last of Us. 

Just finished the Big Gay Al episode and, while it is  definitely above average TV as you would expect from HBO, what exactly is it bringing to the table that The Walking Dead didn't already bring?

Not sure we needed another bleak zombie show, even if it's a well made one like this.

Pedro Pascal is wonderful as always, and Bella Ramsay is sufficiently annoying as Ellie, but what it is doing for me is putting a massive spotlight on how awful video games are as a storytelling medium for this type of character-driven drama.

I played The Last of Us on PS4 and none of the characters had anywhere near the sort of emotional pull that those same characters had for me after one episode of television.

It's also really highlighting the ridiculous dichotomy of the theme of the value is human life vs the reality of the wanton butchery of other human beings necessitated by the video game format. 

Every time Joel kills someone in the TV show, there's a clear emotional impact on him and on Ellie. He might be a cold-blooded killer when necessary, but you can see he's losing a part of himself in the process. In the game, you go from brutally killing hundreds of people to scenes where they try to impart some humanity into the characters.

I know this is a well-trodden criticism of videogames as a medium, but the contrast is stark here.

Anyway, I'll keep going because it's good enough to keep me interested.

[Snoopy]

Unfortunately the Big Gay Al episode was the peak. It's all fairly average from there. It's not terrible though. It's definitely better than TWD. I haven't watched new season. I'll wait until it's all out then download it. Can't say I'm all that interested in it considering how drawn out and relentlessly grimdark the 2nd game was.

[Potato]

The Walking Dead suffered from the Dexter effect of dragging out a cool idea and becoming relentlessly stupid in the process.

[Eric Cartman]

new Black Mirror is something of a return to form... arguably its strongest series since it went to Netflix?

Its recycling a few ideas (even within this season) but its still at the least watchable as an anthology, and it still offers some interesting things to say about what it fundamentally means to be human, even while technology blurs the lines of what that even means.

I particularly enjoyed the IRL McDonalds ad interupting the episode about subscriptions services ongoing enshittification

[Eric Cartman]

I also watched the Netflix Kill Tony which uhhhhhhh is just a random episode of Kill Tony (the free Youtube Podcast) that Netflix bought and paywalled?

I mean, it kind of wasn't, because it was obvious they brought what they thought were the big guns out as its a Netflix Special rather than sticking to the usual format, and it seems half of them thought it was a Roast Battle, to the extent they brought Jeff Ross in?

They also seemed to want to bring in the 'big guns' of people who already have Netlfix Specials in Joe Rogan and Tom Segura for the panel, but both of them were shit and didn't really contribute anything while Shane Gillis was hard carrying by doing his Trump impression (and the other impression guys were also killing it as Elon Musk, RFK and Dr Phil). It also accidentally exposed how full of shit Joe Rogan is, as he looked really uncomfortable with the pisstakes of Trump, Musk and RFK, Musk especially.

I'm only really bringing this up (because if you watch Kill Tony you probably already watched this anyway) because it had an incredibly solid burn that Tony Hinchcliffe looks like a boxer from Mike Tysons Punch Out

[DavidCroquet]

I watched the first episode of Season 2 of The Last of Us last night, and my biggest complaint with the whole enterprise remains the same:

Their clothes look too nice! 

I don't need them to be moth-eaten, tattered rags, but these people look like they're dropping bands at the Suburban Swag Store. There's a kid in s2e1 that looks like he just snatched his shirt off the rack at target 10 minutes prior to filming. In one scene I swear every character is wearing a functional G-shock.

I mean, just consider that any machine printed t-shirt would be, at minimum, a quarter of a century old at this point. There is no sensible reason why these characters are on my screen looking so crispy! My own wardrobe looks more post-apocalyptic, and that's just from going through the wash a few dozen times.

[Snoopy]

I also watched the Netflix Kill Tony which uhhhhhhh is just a random episode of Kill Tony (the free Youtube Podcast) that Netflix bought and paywalled? 

I mean, it kind of wasn't, because it was obvious they brought what they thought were the big guns out as its a Netflix Special rather than sticking to the usual format, and it seems half of them thought it was a Roast Battle, to the extent they brought Jeff Ross in? 

They also seemed to want to bring in the 'big guns' of people who already have Netlfix Specials in Joe Rogan and Tom Segura for the panel, but both of them were shit and didn't really contribute anything while Shane Gillis was hard carrying by doing his Trump impression (and the other impression guys were also killing it as Elon Musk, RFK and Dr Phil). It also accidentally exposed how full of shit Joe Rogan is, as he looked really uncomfortable with the pisstakes of Trump, Musk and RFK, Musk especially. 

I'm only really bringing this up (because if you watch Kill Tony you probably already watched this anyway) because it had an incredibly solid burn that Tony Hinchcliffe looks like a boxer from Mike Tysons Punch Out     

I gave up on it when Tony started handing out Golden Tickets to every hack going. I thought David Lucas was about as low as it could sink then Hans Kim turned up. That was when I noped out.

[benji]

Just discovered that this is a show:

[chronovore]

The Walking Dead suffered from the Dexter effect of dragging out a cool idea and becoming relentlessly stupid in the process.

I loved Dexter for the first season, maybe even two... ? It's great to watch a deconstruction of Batman. Dexter is traumatized as a child by his parents' death at the hands of a criminal. It spurs an obsession with bringing fear to the criminals who caused it in him. He uses forensics and detective skills to determine his next targets. 

Hell, Dexter even favors a black and grey form-fitting costume when he's hunting. 

But by third season I was no longer able to suspend disbellief.

[chronovore]

Just discovered that this is a show:

Honestly assumed this was going to be about using stadiums post-NOLA style for mass incarceration. 

Jesus. 

It seemed far too viable these days.

[Potato]

The Walking Dead suffered from the Dexter effect of dragging out a cool idea and becoming relentlessly stupid in the process.

I loved Dexter for the first season, maybe even two... ? It's great to watch a deconstruction of Batman. Dexter is traumatized as a child by his parents' death at the hands of a criminal. It spurs an obsession with bringing fear to the criminals who caused it in him. He uses forensics and detective skills to determine his next targets. 

Hell, Dexter even favors a black and grey form-fitting costume when he's hunting. 

But by third season I was no longer able to suspend disbellief.

Absolutely. People who think season 3 was good need their head read.