Topic: The TV Show Thread

@WanderingBullet You mean you don't like the suit in Batman and Robin with the nipples?

@JohnnyShoulder To me that movie never existed.

@WanderingBullet How can it not? It's my second-favourite Batman movie.

Whilst I'm actually being serious, don't worry. I'm fully aware that, between the two of us, I'm the weird one when it comes to Batman & Robin. Sorry to hear the finale of Gotham disappointed you, though. I'm looking forward to it when it comes to Netflix, but I've seen a picture of the bat-suit and... yeah. Looks a bit Poundland, which is a shame.

@RogerRoger All good, man. Everyone's taste is different. Tbh, it really is my least favourite Batman movie. This and The Killing Joke.

Regarding Gotham's suit, it looks a bit like Nolan's Batman which I wasn't a fan of either. I get that he was going for a more practical and grounded look but I still find it ugly. My least favourite was the cowl. Even though, they tried to make it comfortable for Bale the fight scenes were still kinda, meh. Affleck's version is how Batman should be fighting.haha

@WanderingBullet Oh, heck yes, everybody involved with the animated adaptation of The Killing Joke should be ashamed of themselves. On that, we can most definitely agree.

And yeah, I never liked the Nolan suit either. Batman Begins was okay, but then the irony was that, in the two sequels, he looked like he was wearing hockey pads (despite his protests to the contrary). Another agreement; Batfleck's suit was near-perfect from head to toe, at least in terms of fitting with his interpretation of the character. I do like the Batman Returns batsuit as well, though... and yes, the Kilmer and Clooney suits. But we've already established my weirdness, so let's move on.

@RogerRoger Yeah, Affleck's suit looked quite good too. Also, his suit was mostly made of fabric I think. Most of the other Batman suits had a lot of leather and padding which I guess hindered the actors movements.

@WanderingBullet @RogerRoger
I still remember that black & white first reveal photo of Batfleck! Pretty much silenced the naysayers instantly.

Brilliant bit of work that suit. Massive shame about the alterations to it for Justice League. I mean, the 'battle suit' for the latter part of the film was crap looking, but that cowl redesign really spoiled the look!

@RogerRoger @KALofKRYPTON Do you guys think they should go with the white eyes like the comics instead of applying black makeup around the actors eyes? I mean maybe something like Deadpool but without the CGI animation.

@WanderingBullet It would be interesting to see.

I've seen a couple of mock ups of the BvS suit with white eyes, and it does look pretty good. I'd say that film makers are concerned with conveying performance - which they shouldn't be really for a character who's meant to be largely stoic anyway.

If they could pull off a good Jim Lee style suit using what they'd learned with the BvS suit, that could look great with white eyes.

I think if they ever get around to a Batman Beyond movie, I'd want them to go full on CG for that - mouth & all!

@WanderingBullet

@KALofKRYPTON Haha, I actually like the white eyes version better.

@WanderingBullet @KALofKRYPTON The white-eyed version of Batfleck above does look cool, but since a heck of a lot of acting is done with looks and reactions, I think it'd be a mistake to bury an actor's eyes behind white screens indefinitely. Remember that Batfleck's armoured suit had white eyes for his fight against Superman and it worked in that brief context, where he's just there to be a badass, but then it got smashed up so that you could see the emotional payoff when he finally relents. Also, think of the "oh sh--" moment when he later sees Doomsday; it would've been an empty moment if you couldn't see his eyes.

Because I agree with KAL when he says that Batman is supposed to be "largely stoic" but the beauty of all the bat-films is that they've had the freedom to explore Batman's humanity. That's why I like them.

Dragging us back to television (on topic, on topic) it's why the white eyes worked in Batman: The Animated Series, because it was a cartoon that had to exaggerate the eyes, face and everything else to convey emotion. That's tougher to do in live-action stuff.

@RogerRoger You make a good point. Funnily enough here's what Chris Evans had to say about wearing the Capt.'s head gear.

@WanderingBullet "Can we get more eyeball anger?"

I just wanna take a moment to write down my thoughts about Star Wars: Rebels.

This was a show, I mentioned previously, that I pre-judged and avoided for a couple years. I thought it was a kid-friendly betrayal of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a middle finger to the prequel era. And I'm happy to stand up and say that I was wrong, on every single level.

A couple times before, I've watched a movie and loved it so much, I've watched it again the following day, or the same week at least... but that's a movie. That's two hours. Never before have I finished watching an entire television show and immediately gone back around to start it again. And yet, as soon as the credits rolled on the Season Four finale, I popped in the first disc of Season One and watched the entire thing through a second time. Such was the surprising depth, charm and near-perfection of Dave Filoni's craftsmanship, coupled with the respect he demonstrated for all eras of Star Wars and for the fans who notice detail and know a little more beyond "this guy's called Luke and droids are robots".

But I took the second run slower; first time, I'd watch four or five episodes a day (and I watched all of Season Four in a single weekend) but this time I watched one or two. It gave me more space to think about the characters, the storylines, the interweaving history and the little hints so masterfully sprinkled throughout. Ironically for a "children's animated show", the writing is ten times more mature in thought and structure than anything else Disney has produced thusfar. Oh sure, there are a handful of episodes (particularly in Season One, just like The Clone Wars) where folks get into trouble, do silly things and end up spending ten minutes on a single page of script which simply says "they fight" but it's done with genuine competence and logic, so it's entertaining and engaging.

And it does all this whilst straddling a tricky transition period in the Star Wars franchise. It picks up on a lot of unresolved issues from The Clone Wars, at a time before we knew that show would return for a proper ending. It nods towards the future of the sequel trilogy and includes major, potentially crucial revelations about the Force and the nature of the galaxy (some of which help the trailer for Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker make a lot more sense). It has to share a couple seasons with, and lead towards, the characters and events of Rogue One.

Despite all this plate-spinning, it remains a family drama at its core, introducing six new characters who are instant favourites among the hundreds already out there. That's perhaps where I'll admit Rebels has an edge over The Clone Wars. It was awesome seeing Anakin and Obi-Wan dash about the galaxy, and they had so many layers added to their characters, but their fates were sealed. You knew they'd always escape. Other original characters around them weren't so lucky, and that's where the power came from, but when you craft an entire show around newcomers (newcomers you've never seen in the original trilogy) you have much more freedom. Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Garrazeb Orellios and C1-10P (a.k.a. "Chopper") were the anchor for every episode, no matter what else was going on around them, and they were presented and voice-acted to perfection every single time.

The villains, too, were spot-on. Darth Vader was a presence, of course, as was Grand Moff Tarkin, but they were used sparingly, only when it was necessary for the story or made sense. The new villains were much better and had much, much more interesting roles and dynamics. The Grand Inquisitor served his purpose in Season One, and obviously Grand Admiral Thrawn was a big deal later on, but my favourite remains Agent Kallus. His character arc really was something special, even if it became a bit obvious. It only took up a handful of episodes across the entire four seasons, but it's one of the elements of the show which has stuck with me.

As has the ending. I'm less nervous about the forthcoming finale to The Clone Wars now, because Dave Filoni has proven he can stick a landing. Equal parts decisively conclusive and mysteriously unresolved, it's a beautiful crescendo and payoff which doesn't necessarily mean we've seen the last of these folks... although it would be totally fine if we have. It's exactly what I wanted from my Star Wars. Something I can call finished, but with the tantilising promise of more someday.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Just like The Clone Wars, I'd give any Star Wars fan the same advice; give it a fair shot and stick with it through the first season. You won't be disappointed.

Because it took a lot of willpower not to immediately start watching it all a third time.

@KratosMD I'm currently watching season 2 and was surprised to see that come up about season 3 as I just assumed every Marvel show on Netflix had been cancelled.

Not hearing great things about the latest series of Black Mirror. A friend who generally has decent taste really isn't impressed with it at all. She says it's gone a bit 'Hollywood'.

Black Mirror.
OK really. The Miley Cirus episode turned out to be the highlight.

Just finished When They See Us.
As if I needed more reason to be thankful that I didn't grow up in America!

Started watching Warrior on Sky One, through Now TV. Apart from some slightly cheesy dialogue in the first episode, I think this is great. The fight scenes are brilliant, best I've seen since The Raid films.

Man it's been awhile, lol.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix original) Seasons 2 & 3 - I was a big fan of the book series as a kid so I was really excited to re-experience it through this show (watched the first season awhile ago), especially since my memory of the last few books was a bit hazy, and while it was nice reacquainting myself to the series, overall I felt that it was just okay.

Maybe it's because I read the books at a young age, but the Netflix series comes off as much more camp & silly than I had imagined things being when reading the books (though I'll admit to finding Neil Patrick-Harris' version of Count Olaf pretty amusing, and is probably the standout part of the show). Also, I didn't think it had a satisfying ending. I suppose most secrets were revealed, and I don't think it needed to be longer, but it felt like it was missing something, but what I can't exactly pinpoint. Maybe I was just really hoping they would find their parents alive, or expand upon their romantic inteterests upon the end, I dunno.

Overall, worth a look if you're really into the books, but I really can't recommend it otherwise.

Other than that I've recently watched the Last Hope (Netflix original) and a couple of the Netflix exclusive Godzilla films, but as those are all anime I've either already, or will, post more detailed thoughts in the anime thread.