Topic: The TV Show Thread

@Arugula So forgive my ignorance, but is Korra some kinda of offshoot from Avatar The Last Airbender? Does it pick up at the end of the series or is it entirely side content in a shared universe?

@zupertramp Netflix does seem to be losing its mojo. A couple years ago they were just nailing it with each new show, and now they just seem to have lost their way — good shows that they cancel, new shows that are big misses. And with the immense amount of competition now with so many streaming services, they gotta be sweating about gradual loss of market share. I don’t know the numbers but I’m just guessing based on gut instinct.

@Th3solution I quite liked The Witcher but other than that, their output is 99% extremely cheap and nasty rom-coms.

Well whatever they may have been, I'm solidly anti-Netflix at this point. That's like the 6th show I've had cancelled on me. And there must be a handful of others I intended to start but never did because they got cancelled anyway.

@nessisonett I really enjoyed The Flash for a while there but right around season 5 I just stopped caring. The villain didn't help along with other things but, y'know, spoilers and all that. Also watched Supergirl for a few seasons but it just got so, er, unsubtle that I had to stop. Never got into Arrow though. Would have liked to but there's just too much to catch up on now.

@zupertramp I found a really good guide that just lists every episode of the Arrowverse in order. I’ll be starting Legends of Tomorrow in the coming days and that’ll be basically every show at once for the foreseeable future. Supergirl’s alright so far, it feels a bit naff but honestly so have literally every Superman-esque adaptation in some way.

@zupertramp The G.L.O.W. cancellation really is a shame. I loved that show, even if the third season was quite weak. I can understand the reversal from a business perspective, but that doesn't mean it doesn't really hurt! This is after truTV also reversed their decision to renew I'm Sorry for a third season... after they were already filming and had to shut down. Damn it! I hope all my other shows stay safe, because I don't know how much more of this I can take before turning into a grumpy old man.

On a more happy note, The Haunting of Bly Manor is out on Netflix today! I'm typing this as I'm about to start the first two episodes in a little bit. Anyone else gonna watch it today?

@Tjuz Doubt I'll watch it tonight as Friday is usually film night for me, but will defo catch it over the weekend! But really looking forward to it, manage to avoid all trailers and stories about it, so hopefully will be full of surprises. Got the final episode of The Boys to watch too, so that comes first.

@Tjuz Guess I don't know what's keeping them from just postponing things. Similarly with I'm Not Okay With This. They were just like well Covid so it's cancelled sorry, not sorry.

I'll probably check out The Haunting of Bly Manor eventually, I just don't know much about it. Guess this would be a good month for it though.

@zupertramp I really liked I’m Not Okay With This although considering they didn’t renew it, they should have just kept the original ending!

@JohnnyShoulder I purposefully avoided all promotion for it as well. It's made for a fun experience these first two episodes, discovering both the setting and the characters! I didn't know anyhting about the Turn of the Screw source material either, so that's good. Hope you enjoy the finale of The Boys! I've fallen behind by... three episodes I think? I can only pray they don't kill off Stormfront.

@zupertramp I think what's keeping them from postponing is contracts. They'll have to pay talent for contract extensions, and apparently GLOW wouldn't have graced our screens until 2022 at the earliest. I suppose they figured that extra cost mixed with the long wait was just no longer worth the investment. A real shame. You definitely should try out The Haunting of Hill House before Bly Manor if you haven't already seen that. It's easily my favourite miniseries I've ever seen and my second favourite TV show in general (after The Leftovers). Absolutely recommended.

@Tjuz Yeah when people ask my favorite scary movie I just say The Haunting of Hill House. I don't care if it's television. It's that good in my opinion. But I wasn't sure if this new The Haunting Of... was related in any way, be it by way of anthology or actually connected.

Never could get into The Leftovers. I tried because it seemed like my kind of show but idk, I just couldn't bring myself to care. And all the smoking didn't help either. I know it's weird or whatever, I just find it gross even in small amounts and this show took it to extremes. I'm told the show gets much better but I gave up.

As regards contracts, that's true but I'd think there might be workarounds for unforeseen events like this. Plus they can't cancel everything. They need some shows to film when it's all said and done. Or maybe not. Maybe it'll just become the nothing-but-Stranger Things-and-crap-movies streaming service.

@zupertramp The Haunting of Bly Manor only connection to The Haunting of Hill House is that its made by the same people, Mike Flanagan writes and directs them both. As far as I know, there are no story connections between the two series.

@zupertramp Totally agree! It really is that good. It turned me from someone who didn't want anything to do with horror to someone who now loves the genre. Not many shows or movies are able to make that much of an impact! As JohnnyShoulder mentioned, Bly Manor is the second part of the Haunting anthology, so they're related in that way. Not so much in terms of story or characters, although you'll recognise some of the same actors from season one. I'll give one minor correction in that Mike Flanagan only directs and writes the first episode of this new installment, and the rest is given over to other writers and directors.

Interesting that you say you couldn't get into The Leftovers. I've always thought of The Haunting of Hill House and The Leftovers to be a little bit of one and the same. Both explore very similar themes, except one does it via horror and one does it more in a fantasy setting. I personally didn't really get into the show until episode six, but I quickly got it and had it rise to my favourite after that. Fair enough on the smoking though, they do that a lot.

@Tjuz Now I'm worried I quit it too early. Who knows maybe I'll try it again eventually.

@Tjuz You have made me pay attention to The Leftovers, I've never really noticed it before.

Finished off season 2 of The Boys there. Brilliant final episode, although this season has not been as good as the first imo with more episodes not quite doing it for me. Still high quality stuff though, the cast all round do a fantastic job. Anthony Starr as Homlander has been consistently great over the 2 seasons and manages not to over act which can be an issue in the kind of roles. Can't wait for season 3 which has already been commissioned.

@RogerRoger I didn't even know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat until around 2004 when I voted for what I think was the first time. Needless to say political shows weren't really my thing back then so I never got into The West Wing.

Though I've never heard anything but good things about it, I'm hesitant to watch as I worry it won't translate well. By that I mean things are so different today. Surely they cover universal themes and all but I just imagine it all coming off so naive in contrast to our current political landscape.

@zupertramp Naïve is the word for it. I’m not really an Aaron Sorkin fan anyway but The West Wing always came off to me as really quite flag-waving. The problem is that at that point, Bush was in charge and Sorkin felt that making a ‘what if’ show of if the Democrats were in charge was a good idea. Nowadays after both Obama and Trump, there’s no way it could be taken seriously. Considering that people were wanting Martin Sheen to actually stand for President after the show, it somewhat shows the utter stupidity of the voter pool. It’s decent drama, with a somewhat saccharine, bum-licking take on the Democrats.

@RogerRoger That's a well reasoned and persuasive write-up. I guess my concerns were that the show would depict politicians as "a bunch of ... characters trying to do what they think is right." Just seems like a bridge too far. A high school science teacher turned drug kingpin? Sure, why not?! But politicians acting in good faith to solve problems for the good of the country? Har har. But I take your point about it just as easily being a book club for all you care.

This does make me wonder if I'd be more likely to enjoy a similar show about British politics. It's all so far removed from what I know politics to be, I'd probably have an easier time with it. Especially since, with the exception of someone like Nigel Farage, from my view everyone seems somewhat on the level. I know I'm probably wrong but it's all foreign enough that I can believe that.

@zupertramp Just watch The Thick of It. Sure it is probably not a very accurate portrayal of British political life, but it is not supposed to be being a satire. It's hilarious however and I've never been able to see politicians and those that work with them in the same way again. A word of warning though, it is extremely heavy on the swearing.