Topic: The TV Show Thread

@JohnnyShoulder @Jimmer-jammer I’m a huge Preacher comic book fan but, while I watched the whole tv show through... I couldn’t say I enjoyed it much. They nailed Cassidy... but not much else IMO.

Cutie Honey Universe (HiDive via VRV) - Reboot of a classic Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Devilman) property, that follows Honey Kusaragi, a seemingly average high school student who is really the magical girl superhero Cutie Honey (and can take on other forms as well, such as the biker persona Hurricane Honey), who battles a terror group of female beast people called Panther Claw.

It was okay, but I wasn't terribly enthralled by it. Though it did have some cool action scenes, in general it had a feeling of cheapness about it, I didn't care for the general enemy design, and most of it's attempts at humour didn't click for me. That, and you'd have to have a unique taste in fanservice (the standard transformation & bathing scenes are one thing, but it also has a bit of a masochistic bent with female characters often getting their clothes torn off by whip, including leaving marks, if not by that episode's villain, than by the surprisingly harsh teachers at the school).

Invincible season 1 (Amazon Prime Video) - Mark is your average high schooler, except that his dad is Omni-Man (the "Superman" like figure in this world of superheroes), and when he finally develops his own powers he's eager to get his start in on the family business, however pops' mission on Earth is quickly revealed (to the audience) to be not so benevolent, and there's only one other person on Earth who, might, be able to go toe to toe with him.

This was actually pretty good. Much of the character design screams "Justice League" knockoff, but that's pretty obviously intentional, but the show is varied by it's intense action sequences (which are often very gory), and the unravelling drama of Omni-Man's family & co-workers slowly discovering his secret. There's also some personal romance drama centered around Mark that's not as interesting.

the Sacred Blacksmith (Funimation) - Medieval fantasy series that focuses on young knight Cecily Campbell & how she gets mixed up in the affairs of the blacksmith Luke, the only one in town who can forge Katanas (blades much superior to what people usually carry around). However he has a chip on his shoulder & refuses to make any more, and Cecily gets dragged into a decades long struggle involving demons, magical demon swords, & more.

I remember watching this a long time ago back when I was still watching anime via unofficial means and really liking it, and I still really enjoyed it. It's generally animated quite well with a few fantastic action sequences, I liked the character design overall, and it has the right mix of light hearted humor, surprisingly dark moments, and light fanservice that I think would go over well with fans of shows like Is it Wrong to try & Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Unfortunately it clearly didn't hit it's mark back when it aired & it only has one season, with plenty of plot threads left dangling.

Watched through the office last week and extras this week. Such brilliant shows, had me cracking up. I always felt like Gervais fell off a bit after that but I have heard After Life is good so I might give that a try at some point soonish.

Just lookin at what Gervais stuff is available on Netflix, I think I've seen the first two movies and I don't remember them being very good. I haven't seen that special correspondents. I remember watching a bit of Derek when it came out on channel 4 and thinking it could have been good if Gervais hadn't used a similar persona as a joke in previous shows. Was a bit cringey but not in a good way. Might give it another go when extras is less fresh in my mind and maybe it will gel with me a bit better. It looks like a good show, just not a good show for Gervais to be in. Might just be too depressing, I mean extras and the office are depressing too but they laugh at how pointless life is so they are mega funny.

Also watched the first two eps of Loki last night. Enjoyed it, it is good so far. Bit similar to legends of tomorrow I guess but I am excited to see where it goes.

That Sean Bean prison thing was proper good. Now I want a second season directed by Guy Ritchie like Prison Break UK.

Been spending the past month rewatching all seasons of Better Call Saul. Really phenomenal show. It's possibly better than Breaking Bad imo. At times it's a heist show. Other times a court room drama. There's plenty of subtle social commentary mixed in, which I don't really recall of Breaking Bad (but in fairness it's been awhile). Plenty of humor, some dark some not. And the multiple character studies at the heart of the show are just so incredibly compelling. I honestly don't know how every arc seems to maintain the same level of quality.

Anyway, just found that I had a much deeper appreciation for the show on my second watch. I also want to know where Rhea Seehorn has been all this time. She's really incredible. Michael Mando too. Just recently found out he's Canadian which was a bit of a shock to me. Gilligan and Gould probably deserve much of the credit but in any case, I look forward to seeing many of these actors in other projects.

Watched The IT Crowd over the last few days/weekend. It's not top tier comedy for me but it's still really funny. Not as good as Father Ted.

Just watched the first season of After Life, blimmin' brilliant! Really glad I watched it. It's really sad but also really funny, it's a good mix. Can't wait to watch season 2 tomorrow.

I was thinking of getting a trial of that BritBox streaming service so I can watch Father Ted. Free trial for 30 days then there's an offer for 2.99/month after that for 3 months. One problem, no app on Xbox or PlayStation... What is the point lol. Aparently there's an app for Roku so I'll have to see if my partner's nowTV box can get it as I believe they are branded rokus. Not that I could watch it when I get home though 😅. Maybe I can find a currently unused Chromecast knocking about in a drawer at home somewhere

@ralphdibny After Life was really good. I didn't like it at first as I found Ricky Gervais' character quite unlikeable, but I think that was intentional as you warm to him the more the season goes on.

@RogerRoger Good to hear about the Loki show. I think the Falcon show may have taken the wind out of the Marvel sails. Well, I’m sure the pandemic madness also hasn’t helped in halting momentum too. I found myself really enjoying WandaVision but then after watching one episode of Falcon, I just kind didn’t feel compelled to make it a priority. And you know how big a Marvel fan I’ve been. Even the new Black Widow movie has me feeling, “Eh, oh yeah — I forgot about that” whereas before I’d be champing at the bit to see it. I dunno, maybe it’s a me problem rather than an issue with the products themselves. Knowing Loki is turning out good has me motivated though to push on through Falcon.

@RogerRoger I’ve seen the first two episodes of Loki and while I’ve quite enjoyed it, it does feel a bit flat. Like might be a Covid thing but every scene feels kinda small, as if the set is a wee room and there’s about 4 people in it. The soundtrack’s great and Owen Wilson is brilliant as usual but yeah, it’s a weird one. Interesting to see Ravonna though, which makes me think this will massively tie into the next Ant-Man given who the baddie in that was confirmed to be.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah he does start off as a bit of a dingus but has a redemption arc. I don't know, it's quite understandable and somewhat relatable considering the stuff the character is going through

@nessisonett There's a theory going around that THAT guy is supposed to be one of the Time Keepers based on that little animatic narrated by Miss Minutes and while I don't really find that plausible, bringing Renslayer in is definitely leading to that. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ends up cameoing as a post-credits thing since they already cast Jonathan Majors

@TheFrenchiestFry My current theory is that the Time Keepers are just completely made up. It’s a cover-up so that Kang can continue influencing the timeline to be beneficial towards him and his legacy.

@nessisonett That honestly kind of works considering one of the topics this show really seems to be exploring is how it feels to be influenced by higher powers or how people in the TVA have more of a free will than those being dictated by them on other worlds. Considering Lady Loki seems to have an end goal of literally destroying all of time and space continuity based on the last episode, that might be a front to the truth about what the Time Keepers actually are

@RogerRoger CGI cheating isn't new to pandemic productions! I've been on some films where they stitch together shots of the same big crowd multiple times to make it look like an even bigger crowd. (War Horse)

I've even been on one film where they literally filmed us walking individually or in pairs in front of a green screen on a treadmill that had been painted green! (Victor Frankenstein) so they could insert us in to shots later in production!

Then there's practical cheating methods too. Lookalikes etc

I know that's not exactly what you mean for the covid restrictions etc but it seems like they use the same/similar/adapted methods only much more frequently!

Watched after life S2 last night and boy did moments of it have me hiding tears from my partner sitting on the sofa next to me. Brilliant show!

Started watching Father Ted on BritBox too. Have to watch it on the computer because BritBox doesn't have an app for PLaystation or Xbox. I just don't understand it, probably won't let my sub renew for that if I have to watch things on the computer instead of the TV

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy yes adverts 😤😤😤 😂😂😂

Can't stand them! I remember it taking an hour and a half to watch a 42 minute episode of agents of shield on 4OD or all 4 or whatever it's called lol. I've just given up on it.

To be fair, sometimes there were no adverts whatsoever but sometimes there were more than you would get watching it on TV. It's just a weird streaming service.

I might just have to pick up the DVDs of some of these older British comedies to watch when I'm feeling low. Can be difficult with the really really old ones like Dad's Army where there are lost episodes and then they find some more and you don't know what DVDs have the most complete records of the show 😅

@RogerRoger haha it wasn't that involved really 😅. I did a few days on it here and there, people were joking/worried that the the green screen treadmill would be the end of the extra as a whole. The set kept burning down or something so filming was heavily delayed and I don't think I could have done more than ten days on it, all in.

I've looked for myself in the scenes that I know I was there for. I can't remember if I found myself though. I didn't watch the whole thing and look for any green screen insertions of myself though, It would probably take days to do for very little result 😅

@RogerRoger I tend to do it more nowadays if I know where I am going to be in a film or TV show. It's actually a bit harder to do in TV because it will be random episodes so they are harder to find!

I have the potential for infamosity from one role. I don't think anyones noticed it though so should be ok. Not sure if I can send screenshots/YouTube clips over PSN but I'll look into it next week and send it over if I can. It is actually ridiculous 😅. Can't post here because it will reveal both my true identity and also raise my infamous profile haha.

I've changed my look a lot over the years though (through both laziness and necessity) so I look quite different in things that have come out over the years anyway!

@RogerRoger what, like Tuvok in Star Trek 6 or whichever it was? 😂 I wish! Nah, there's just one specific scene in a film I was in that was notorious for a while for bizarre reasons. I'll try to explain it better over PSN. It's probably not that exciting really, I just find it quite funny because i was in it. I doubt anyone else would give a monkeys about it to be honest!

@RogerRoger @ralphdibny

Are you ever following along with a conversation going in the forum but have nothing to add but then feel weird for coming in out of nowhere to talk about something else? Lol, anyway, just wondering if I'm the only one. I am curious about this bizarrely noteworthy extra role though.
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And yeah, caught up on Loki. I'm starting to think these characters just fit the superficial blockbuster formula better because this watching superheroes/villains walk around and talk and get turned down for bank loans and talk some more and take out generic train security guards is kinda boring for me.

Also the rules in Loki make no sense. So that's bothersome.

And last thing...I don't think they could have found a more bland counter Loki if they'd tried. Disney confuses me. They get a half Columbian half Polish chick to play the whitest character in animation history and then the blandest white chick in the world to play a character who could have been played by anyone.

Ah well.