Topic: The TV Show Thread

@Keith_Zissou That's a great attitude to have, and I completely agree!

Today's new episode of The Book of Boba Fett is utterly superb, by the way. I don't wanna start rambling too much, in case I spoil anything for you, but... well, let's just say that I might have difficulty killing Tusken Raiders in Star Wars videogames from now on!

Watching the second season of The Witcher, I'm now 5 episodes in. The first season felt not too focused because of the constant switching between time periods. I think the second season suffers from switching between perspective. Many things are happening at once, but at the same time not a lot is happening either. I think this series could have benefited so much from an approach similar to the games: just tell it all from the perspective of Geralt.

There are these political kind of scenes, to describe what's going on between the kingdoms. They are pretty boring, make every episode feel oddly paced. Instead they could have just Geralt enter Oxenfurt on some quest, to show the fallout of the political happenings. Add some flashbacks when something more needs to be told and voila.

I also hate how the series seems to be engaged with setting things up for an exciting final episode, instead of trying to make every episode at least a bit exciting on its own.

Anyway, that's my rant. I'm still enjoying the series, but it could have been really special instead of a decent tv show.

Just finished watching Arrow season 8 as well as Crisis on Infinite Earths, which I realised I really had to watch before wrapping up Arrow.

Man I just can't believe it. I started watching this show when I was in upper secondary school, almost a decade ago, and after school I would always discuss the recent episode with my friends who were also watching it. It was such a good show and I'm so glad that the final season was a great sendoff for Oliver Queen and the show as a whole. Because the whole season was pretty much a gift to the fans who have been watching the show throughout all these years. It was just so wholesome and I genuinely couldn't imagine a better sendoff than this.

Thank you Arrow for all these years of entertainment.

@Keith_Zissou Yeah, I think you're right, it's definitely a childhood thing. I was a Trekkie first so already knew I liked space stuff, but then the Special Editions hit in 1997 and that was that; suddenly it was all Darth Vader action figures on the Christmas wish list, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight on our creaky old PC, and schoolbooks full of doodled dogfights between X-Wings and TIE Fighters. I was the perfect age to get caught up in all the pre-prequel hype, which also made me the perfect age to grow up with that trilogy. It became a huge part of my formative years, to the point where I can't separate myself from it now, and it's why Disney's recent spamming of the nostalgia button has worked on me, no matter how much older and wiser I've become.

I've known a few folks "get" it later in life, but they're often coming at it from an appreciation of the series' technical achievements (its revolutionary cinematography, special effects and overall high quality of presentation) and all-consuming cultural status more than anything.

Hope you enjoy the new episode! It's one I'll definitely be watching again sometime, for sure!

@RogerRoger yesterday's episode was absolutely incredible. It's one of the best they've done so far, if I were to make a top 3 episodes so far I imagine that will easily be in it. Really enjoyed the series so far, and I think yesterday's episode has really set up the rest of the story much better than the first!

On your point about weekly Star Wars content, I'm not sure myself. As much as I love seeing it, I think having it every week risks taking away some of the magic of it. However, if the stories are unique and explore all different areas I could be completely wrong. What do you think?

@NedStarksGhost Wasn't it just?! Even after letting it sink in a bit, just to make sure I wasn't caught up in the excitement of the moment, I'm pretty sure I'd rank that episode by itself as one of the best things Disney have done with the franchise, if not the best, and took a real good shot at being the best piece of Star Wars ever made, period. I adored every second of it, and am here for wherever it leads!

You make a really good point about variety. I'm all for lots of Star Wars but "franchise fatigue" has done some damage before, so things need to be kept fresh. I think alternating The Book of Boba Fett with The Bad Batch and Obi-Wan Kenobi could be risky, as there's a lot of overlap there (clones, mercenaries, everything happening on Tatooine, etc.) but then I love what they're doing with Fett right now, and I adored The Bad Batch and am hungry to see more of their adventures, so... yeah, mixed feelings. I reckon I want them to try and obviously, I want it all to be good, but I'm also wary of the risks.

For now, I'm glad you're enjoying The Book of Boba Fett so much! I guess we'll just have to see what happens next, and what Disney decide to release, and when.

@RogerRoger agree with everything you've said. I've been thinking about the episode today a lot, speaking to a friend as well. Still feels amazing.
Let's hope they have a good plan to avoid fatigue. Having Jon Favreu and Dave Filoni behind things I'm feeling quite optimistic.

@NedStarksGhost Oh yeah, the good bits are far less of a fluke when they come from those two, and have been way more consistent. I have an underlying level of faith in their projects regardless!

@Keith_Zissou After such an amazing flashback in that episode, I'd be okay with more and expect that most weeks will have 'em but, generally speaking, I agree that we need some proper forward motion soon, because the present stuff still feels like set-up. I'm sure we'll get there eventually!

A bit late, but I recently binged What If?, which I thought was utterly fantastic (I put more detailed thoughts in the Marvel thread), though I think it'll be hard to follow it up with a story that hits as hard.

Since I prefer waiting until a season is complete before watching a show I'm holding off on Boba Fett for now, and instead have started Clone Wars season 6. It's off to a good start, but I'm not expecting a successful ending to the current storyline.

Elsewhere, on the anime front, I'm just over halfway through Keijo!. It's unrepentantly silly, centering on a womens' only martial art where they can only attack with their chests & butts, and is just a fun time (definitely a cheesecake filled show, but surprisingly has avoided any actual nudity thus far).

Started Boba Fett on Disney+ the other day and just like Mandolorian I am really enjoying it. I like how they included flashback sequences so we see how he becomes who he is.

@RogerRoger what did you make of this week's episode of Boba Fett? I'll be honest I felt quite disappointed after what we both agreed was a stellar episode last week.

Without using spoilers, certain aspects felt so out of place and a certain event looked really bad (I'm sure you know the bits I mean).

@NedStarksGhost Thanks for asking, and sorry you were a bit disappointed by it. I wasn't, but I also wasn't blown away; it was just a stepping stone, introducing elements that'll be much better in weeks to come. Robert Rodriguez's episodes always tend to be a bit blunt and "matter-of-fact" (he directed the first episode, too, as well as the episode of The Mandalorian in which Boba reclaims his armour) and lack any kind of emotional weight, but they're cheesy fun and work well as intermediary set-up adventures.

It's a shame that, after last week's episode, the slaughter of the Tusken tribe was almost brushed over as a bulletpoint, with its resonance immediately shattered by the sudden fight with Krrsantan. And yeah, I think you're referring to the biker gang and their retro scooters? And the speeder chase which felt really, really slow? I liked 'em enough, but they're certainly one of the show's weirder choices.

Still, mega bonus points for Danny Trejo bringing Boba a new rancor!

@RogerRoger to be honest I think your opening sentence sums up my actual feelings on it. I enjoyed it because, star wars, but storytelling wise it was just about okay. I can definitely see things really ramping up now

Side note; your new avatar is immense, love it!

It’s fair to say I’ve been enjoying Tom Baker’s run on Doctor Who 😂

@NedStarksGhost From the beginning, I've felt that the entire show will be one that's remembered fondly as a whole, and that the week-by-week experience of viewing it "live" would have the potential to be patchy. Only four episodes to go, but I have a feeling most of its best content will be towards the end (and hey, if nothing else, that second episode will go down in history as a unanimous victory regardless).

There's always a chance for more flashbacks, given the non-linear nature of the show. We also saw the Tusken Chief's body and the kid's makeshift gaffi stick, but we didn't see anything connected to that badass Tusken Warrior who trained Boba and helped him stop the train. I'm hoping they survived somehow, and will pop back up later, maybe joining Boba's army in the coming gang war? I kinda wanted that wookiee to stick around, as well; perhaps they'll come back and team up, too.

And yes, I kept leaning forward expecting Danny Trejo to say "people used to call her Muchi" but I kinda like that they're an entirely new rancor, unless they're saving that reveal for later!

Thanks! Saw it and couldn't resist. "Like a bantha!!"

@nessisonett Sweet, nice addition! Keep seeing those collections; gorgeous artwork, and don't they have remastered special effects in some episodes, too?

@RogerRoger Yep, the reason I plumped for this season was because it has the remaster of Shada, the unfinished story written by Douglas Adams. I think a couple others have new special effects too, and the scenes I’ve seen from YouTube makes them look really natural. Nothing like the dodgy Star Wars touch-ups that look a bit out of place! I’ve almost finished season 16 now, which has been surprisingly fantastic since it didn’t have that great a reputation. It was the first time they tried a serialised story so with Flux last month, it was being talked about a lot.

@nessisonett Yeah, I've seen a side-by-side on YouTube (think it was from one of the old Pertwee episodes, as I'd been watching some clips) and the new effects reminded me of when they converted Star Trek: The Original Series to HD, and made sure everything was kept respectful. And that's interesting; often the reaction to a trailblazer is harsh at first, and then its reputation steadily improves over time, so it's good to see folks re-evaluate. I'm real glad the older episodes have been holding up for you!

@RogerRoger I feel like Season 16 in particular you’d really enjoy. If you were ever wanting to catch a Tom Baker story, I’d recommend The Ribos Operation over most of the stone cold classics as it might not be as serious as Genesis of the Daleks or Pyramids of Mars but it’s just very well written fun!