Topic: The TV Show Thread

@RR529
I will always prefer the convenience of modern day streaming for obvious reasons but those experiences of watching things on late night cable from the 2000's into the early 2010's like anime on Adult Swim or just odd movies I would otherwise have never heard of is an experience I will always look back on fondly.

I was optimistic going in but damn that first episode of The Last of Us was everything I could have wished for. It hit every mark from the opening to that use of Depeche Mode at the very end. Good stuff.

Probably won’t bother watching the rest of The Last of Us after the first episode. It’s competent for sure, but not really for me.

@nessisonett as @LN78 mentioned, the fact that all other reactions to the show have been so overwhelmingly positive… your reaction is interesting. How did you feel about the game itself?

Well done to them for doing a good job with the adaption. I don't mind revisiting a great story in a different form of media but Naughty Dog's games feel like interactive films already. Considering how spoilt for choice we are these days, it's an easy pass from me.

@LN78 @colonelkilgore I think Ness has mentioned in the past that they don’t like the world & themes of the last of us. I mean we know where it’s going & I can imagine Neil & Craig really doubling down & showcasing the absolute worst in humanity by the time we get to the end of season 2.
I’ve not seen it yet though, so it might just be crap!

So the runtime is over 80min for the first episode. Is that common with HBO shows? I was expecting 45, 55-60 max.

If every episode is that long that would put season 1 at 12 hours. That is pretty much the time to beat the game.
We know that TLOU2 will be split into 2 seasons especially as they want to flesh out the Seraphites (& the other new faction that was introduced in 2).
They’re going to run out of source material well before TLOU3 release (2026/7 at the earliest?).
Factions will supposedly have story elements so that’s something & I guess they could do a prequel season.

Would Neil spoil TLOU3 via the show? He probably has an outline of the story already.

@LN78 Hope that’s the case. As much as I love TLOU that’s a tough 1 sitting commitment per episode.

@LN78 @colonelkilgore I enjoyed the gameplay of the game but I just felt like the story was a bit bog standard separated from the gameplay. Like, the whole section with Sarah didn’t hit anywhere near as hard without having you as a player controlling her and experiencing it through her eyes. It’s the problem with a lot of video game adaptations, the story might be good in the context of video games but when you take it to Hollywood, it doesn’t stand out in any conceivable way. Like I said, it’s well made, but it didn’t grab me at all. I guess that was my feelings on Chernobyl too but I lasted to the end with that.

@Fight_Teza_Fight The first episode is longer than the rest. They kind of mashed two episodes together for the first one as they felt it worked better that way.

@nessisonett fair enough… makes sense that if you weren’t a massive fan of the games narrative that it wouldn’t hit for you in a TV show also (as long as it’s faithful). I get it though, I actually think the first game’s narrative quality is overstated (imho anyway) and much prefer the sequel’s story for what it’s worth.

@PegasusActual93, yeah, I don't think I've ever really made an attempt to follow Adult Swim (& other linear TV) in years, but man when late spring/early summer comes around & the nights are thick & humid & the fans are slowly whirring it immediately brings me back to that first summer as a young teen staying up late to watch anime on AS (I think the lineup at the time was InuYasha, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, & Lupin III part 2. Oh, and something called Witch Hunter Robin which I don't think we ever watched for whatever reason. Odd too, as now that I think of it I don't think I've ever heard it mentioned in any anime circles, despite all the old AS anime usually being nostalgic for at least a few people).

I’m trying to hold out on The Last of Us so I can binge a few episodes at a time. They worked really well for Andor. But all this hype has me itching to just watch week to week with the rest of the world. We’ll see.

Unfortunately, as an idle time filler I tried that new National Treasure show on D+. Worst TV that I’ve seen in recent memory. Crossing that off the list to ever watch again. Just horrible. Disney has botched a few shows based on beloved IP here lately (Willow also getting panned, although I haven’t watched it yet). I am excited about some of the 2023 output though with Loki, Mando 3, and Secret Invasion. Also curious about the Black Panther spinoff, but I need to watch Wakanda Forever first (waiting for it to drop onto D+)

@LN78 I’ve actually enjoyed a lot of the Marvel shows (chiefly Loki, WandaVision, and Moon Knight), and I did like Mandalorian. Andor has set a new standard though and here’s hoping it’s a sign of things to come.

They say this show Secret Invasion is akin to the Winter Soldier movie with the whole espionage angle, and that was probably in my top 5 Marvel movies, if not top 3. It might be a swing back toward a more complex drama and away from the whole focus on levity like She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel and the recent movies like Love and Thunder.

So regarding TLoU, is my distaste for its ultra sharp, hyper clean look a generational thing? Because I can find very few complaints about this. And so I'm wondering, am I just old and used to movies with a softer picture, more shadows, less light? Like it has the look of a documentary or something, even down to the shaky camera work. Does this not distract anyone else? Just curious.

@zupertramp I get that, it’s an HBO show with an HBO look. I personally think that the show would have really benefited from being shot on film, with the aesthetic leaning into natural tones and a softer picture. If I’m not mistaken, it was shot on an Alexa Mini, which is the same camera that most modern productions of this type are shot on, so I would probably say that this was an intentional choice of the director to give it a handheld look.

@Kidfried but the game is swimming in film grain. And it's dark... visually.

@nessisonett yeah, I guess I wasn't aware this was a signature HBO look. Is this a new thing? Hated the new Matrix (for many reasons) and the visual aesthetic was one but on the other hand Mare of Easttown, True Detective, Big Little Lies... all among my favorite shows but I don't recall them looking like this.

Idk, this super bright and sharp look seems more beffiting something like Kissing Booth part 8 or whatever.

But I'm just glad someone recognizes what I'm taking about. Makes matters worse that I don't have the language to even describe what's off since I know very little about shooting but whatever they're doing, it's too crisp. Makes it look even more fake.

Anyway, done complaining. Show's fine I just am having trouble getting on board with the look.

@zupertramp I’ve noticed Euphoria, The White Lotus and Succession having a crisp, clean quality to the picture and I definitely think that it works for those shows. The Last of Us should be a bit muddier though, that’s the entire aesthetic after all, and the more desolate shots of scenery could have used a bit more of a rustic, grainy look. True Detective’s a good example of that, it was filmed on 35mm and that feeds into the entire aesthetic of the show. I’d probably point to Stalker and Come and See as movies that could have served as reference points for The Last of Us’ cinematography, except filtered through American influences like Hell or High Water or There Will Be Blood. With TV getting this expensive, I sometimes despair of the increasingly sterile visuals.

@LN78
I'm surprised Boardwalk Empire never comes up in the discussion about best shows of all time. Definently one of the best historical dramas I've seen for sure and the characters are all great. Nucky, Chalky, Richard, Margaret, Van Alden, love them all.

@PegasusActual93 @LN78 being a huge HBO Stan for years the missus and I watched the first season of Boardwalk Empire when it aired but never ended up going back for the subsequent seasons. I probably would’ve gone back to it but the missus just wasn’t keen at all, so we didn’t bother. In fairness to @missuskilgore the first season didn’t really click for me neither but I probably would’ve watched the remaining seasons anyway.

Do you guys think the show improved during its later seasons?

@colonelkilgore
It's certainly a slow burn show. Don't go in expecting a thrill a minute. The reason the show works in my opinion is that for one the characters across the board are fantastic. Even the characters whom actions I hated I could still sympathize with (save for one she was a little too creepy for my comfort), plus the incredible period accurate detail. As a major history buff I never once felt anything was historically innaccurate. Seasons 2-4 I believe are the shows peak. Season 5 I consider the weakest. Not because it's bad but because much of the season features flashbacks to one of the main characters past that I found unnecessary as most of that information was already relayed to us either through details or context clues. Highly recommend finishing it. I also would recommend another HBO show after you finish Boardwalk called Perry Mason as it is set in the same time period with the same production team and therefore feels like a spiritual sequel.