Topic: The TV Show Thread

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy 😂 Ahhhh, marmite... I’ve suppressed that traumatic experience.

I still have my jar of it. I think the shelf life is like 3 years or something (probably because it has some ungodly preservatives that add to the putrid taste) so I could always open it back up and eat it while watching Doctor Who to get the full effect. I wonder if it will enhance the experience or exponentially nauseate me. 🤔

Lol I was right about it being foul then @Th3solution and it still holds true... Don't even think of trying it again it you madman

@RogerRoger nice one! I'm still waiting, perhaps in vein for a ln agents of shield season 6+7 blu ray announcement. I still haven't watched those two seasons!

Fair enough about UC, like I say, I do get tempted to try it out because of the positive word of mouth. It looks a bit like a less funny version of Doom Patrol (which is easily the best DC show that's ever been made). I'm not saying Elliot Page is a bad actor or anything, I think it's just that you gel with certain actors over the years and I never really gelled with Robert Sheehan or Elliot Page. But you know, there could be that one show that sets me on the path to being a mega fan. I used to hate Lee Mack but now I'm halfway through season 4 of Not going out!

@Th3solution The regeneration thing is a very clever way of getting around the issue of recasting!

When a Timelord dies, they regenerate with their memories but into a completely different body (and can even swap gender as we recently learnt!). They can only do this a limited number of times but thanks to some typical “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” writing, the Doctor has a few more in the bag!

It’s clever as it allows recasting but means that doctors can have quite different personalities; Capaldi is rather different to Tennant for instance!

I recently watched the first 5 or 6 episodes of Titans: Season 1, might end up watching the rest today along with starting Cobra Kai: Season 1, depends on how much time I spend on the computer haha.

(I only stream shows on my 65 inch TV, computer screen is too small for me)

I’ve been binging The Crown from the perspective of someone who’s not a Royalist in any sense of the word. I mean, coming from primarily Irish and German blood means that I have my gripes with the Royal Family. It’s pretty good though if you watch it like a soap. Mountbatten is literally Littlefinger. The Queen’s a bit boring but she’s boring in real life too like I’m not expecting her to start sniffing lines off a prostitute but I dunno, show some personality. Prince Phillip is a right tw*t but again, he is in real life too. Actually, there aren’t any likeable characters at all. It’s proper good though.

@RogerRoger nice one! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on AoS!

@RogerRoger It’s basically like Succession except they pretend they have a divine right to rule instead of just being rich.

@nessisonett I can't say I care about the Royals one way or the other, but pretty much think we should be a republic. It's good that the programme isn't a fluff piece designed to make us love them; it presents the characters as flawed and human, and therefore relatable in some ways. It's an interesting show, especially the first few series where it's set in a slightly more glamorous era, and we see the Queen struggling to settle into her role. The acting is brilliant, especially from Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby.

The producers arguably dropped the ball in series 3 as most of the characters are quite horribly miscast, and they chose to focus on stories that really aren't all that interesting. Bizarre given the immense social changes that occurred in the 1960s. They actually filmed a scene in the town my Mum lives while I was visiting, and lord knows how much that lone scene cost. They made all the pedestrians wait at the end of the road so that Helena Bonham Carter (looking like she was chewing a wasp) could be filmed. I can't blame her for being grumpy, it was a bitterly cold January day and the scene was set in the summer!

@RogerRoger I’ve dabbled in Doom Patrol also. Honestly I like Umbrella Academy better, but DP is also pretty good. It has only kept my attention for the first half of season one, so I need to pick it up again. In full disclosure, I’m not much of a Brendon Fraser fan. He’s always irritated me. Although I will say that he’s better in this than in the other roles I’ve watched him in (...couldn’t stand the Mummy movies). Also Diane Guerrero seems overwhelmed in her role. To me, she isn’t convincing at all in what is arguably one of the more difficult TV roles to try and tackle. When/if you watch the show you’ll see what I mean. At times she’s ok, but at times shrinks in the role. Timothy Dalton is great though. I should really get back into the show.

Edit: As an aside, I’ve got The Crown on a short list to try fairly soon also. I wasn’t sure what the British response would be to it though. I’m not sure if it’s deemed as pulp nonsense over there.

So, late to the party as always but... just finished season 1 of Cobra Kai and I absolutely bloody loved it (as did the missus who until recently really didn’t want to give it a chance). So many homages, so much nostalgia but also some really decent story-telling, acting and the season 1 finale gave me genuine chills.

Gutted that I only have two more seasons to watch, as we’re gonna smash it by Saturday I reckon.

@RogerRoger I like Brendan Fraser too, movies like The Mummy and George of the Jungle were a big part of my childhood after all. It’s truly horrible to hear what he went through which explains why he hasn’t really acted for years so it’s nice to see him coming back as he was also fantastic in Condor.

@RogerRoger @nessisonett Oof... I didn’t know about Fraser’s personal struggles either until I searched it. Now I feel like a complete heel for being critical of him. I guess it doesn’t make me appreciate his acting style any more, but it definitely makes me empathetic.

@nessisonett @RogerRoger A few years ago I read an interview with Brendan Faser, and felt really quite bad for the guy. He's actually a pretty good actor when the role demands it. I recently watched season three of The Affair, in which he plays a sociopathic prison guard. It wasn't remotely what I was expecting after the sort of roles he played in the '90s!

@RogerRoger I have the advantage of having very little interest in Hollywood gossip and I don’t engage in social media so I’m often way out of the loop as to what’s going on in celebrities’ personal lives. My apathy toward pop culture backstories is an advantage when trying to judge a performance, so I don’t think it’s any personal savviness per se in my case; and I will admit that knowing some personal background can often enhance an experience with a particular actor or performer. But you’re right, in general I think it best to “separate the artist from the art” and the Tom Cruise example is probably the perfect case in point. 😄

@Th3solution @RogerRoger It usually depends for me, like Tom Cruise for example isn’t really hurting anyone through his nuttiness and we all know that Scientology preys on these sort of people. Someone like Kevin Spacey though, I do tend to avoid his movies now. I probably miss out on some great movies in the process but just the sight of his face kinda takes me out of the movie and would only distract me.

@nessisonett I think Scientology does hurt people due to the way it operates. There are plenty of accounts from ex members, press who've received statements and threats and documentary filmmakers that describe situations like that. I am not sure if we are allowed to discuss it here though because it would fall under discrimination against religion within the community rules. I don't disagree with the rules here necessarily but I think in the real world that any religions perceived immunity to criticism is unwarranted.

@RogerRoger superman returns is so good though! I think Bryan Singer has directed too many of my favourite films (X-Men) for me to not watch them every now and then. I don't like him as a person but I do like his films. Similarly I dislike Kevin Spacey, but he is a damn good actor!

@ralphdibny Oh yeah, I’ve seen the documentaries but it’s more that I’m not sure Tom Cruise is doing the scary stuff and is more a blatant cash cow that they leech off.

@RogerRoger @nessisonett It’s tough, because we do all have our line in the sand that we draw; all have our specific passions and interests we champion or oppose (although a celebrity’s criminal behavior would likely be a shared deterrent amongst most reasonable people). Yet, I would surmise if we actually knew a lot of detail about these public figures’ lives, philosophies, practices, beliefs, and other skeletons they harbor — well, I figure we’d want nothing to do with any of them. Perhaps that’s an overly pessimistic view of the world and it sounds highly prejudicial and unfair, and I should temper that slightly - but I guess what I’m saying is I think it is sometimes naive to expect the role that a popular public person shows is anything even close to who they really are. I’ve come to expect that actors and politicians are more often corrupt than not, and then I’m pleasantly surprised when they aren’t.
(Gah, I sound bitter...)

@nessisonett this is a total guess but I reckon he is told to act reasonable and not try to indoctrinate people. The reason being is that he is the most famous scientologist in the world and for many people is the face of it. If he, of all people, were to act in the same way that less known members are publicly acknowledged to act then I think they could kiss their tax exempt status goodbye. Way more people who are less in the know would become aware of it and make a big stink (as is the case for every other bit of scandal in Hollywood these days) and the US government would potentially have no choice but to act on it.

@Th3solution not bitter at all! I generally the think the world is a bit like Game of Thrones which I guess is why the show is so popular because it fantasises some of society's most perverted desires. Nobody can really publicly admit to their scandalous behaviour so a facade has been created that people who don't subscribe to fringe perversions think that the whole world is actually like that.

Polyamorous coupling, sado masochism and certain other socially undesired behaviours are all perfectly normal in my opinion. The key thing is consent and everything should be consensual between two parties or not engaged in at all. Unfortunately, and this is just my speculation, the ostracism of these so called perverted behaviours leads people (especially famous people who have a specific image to sell) to act on them in secret, perhaps without consent (because they'd think nobody would consent based on their perception of society's values) and perhaps with a bully culture to silence the non consenting parties.

If the behaviours themselves became more normalised and less clandestine then I think that more people would be aware of them and like-minded people would be able to connect more easily with less disastrous results.