Topic: The TV Show Thread

@HallowMoonshadow Sorry to report that yeah, there are some crossovers, but they're not egregious.

There's a second season episode which turned out to be a backdoor pilot for a spinoff show. I didn't realise when watching it, because it's not obvious (the episode's all set-up, and so works as a standalone story) but when its central character returns in Season Three, he brings his new entourage and his own show's premise with him. Again, you can simply roll with this sequel episode as a simple follow-up, and it just about holds its own weight, but I got a very mild sense that I was missing something (which is what made me reach for Google and discover the existence of the spinoff show; I'd never even heard of it before, but apparently it ran for two seasons and boasted a pretty solid voice cast).

Also in the third season, there's a two-part episode which takes Batman out of Gotham City and brings in other elements from the wider DC universe. It's a perfectly fine adventure, but the episodes weren't my favourites, and I would've preferred a "regular" story in its place.

I'm not gonna go into more detail than that, but I'd brace myself if I were you.

I just recently started watching a series I put in my Netflix watchlist ages ago and it's really good. The Movies That Made Us is a series documenting the making of various big films, mostly 80/90s. So far I've seen the episodes about Robocop, Aliens, Elf and Back to the Future. It's edited in a fun way interspersing clips from the film itself in a jokey/reactionary way but still has decent insight into the films development. I'm glad I finally got around to starting it.

I've signed up to Apple TV+ on PS5 to take advantage of the soon to end 6 months free offer. Added a bunch of stuff to watch which should keep me going for awhile.

Was a bit off a faff to set up, which was probably due to me not having owned an Apple device. Ever.

@JohnnyShoulder Also did that deal thing but took literally 5 seconds since we just used my mum’s iPhone to sign in! Had a look and I’ll definitely be watching Ted Lasso, For All Mankind, Severance and Mythic Quest. Honestly buzzing that they have all the old Peanuts cartoons from the 60s and 70s in 4K too. Plus their library of shows to buy outright is huge. Loads of stuff I honestly couldn’t find anywhere other than old DVDs, especially the older adaptations of classics.

@nessisonett It took half the day on and off to get it sorted lol. First thing I added was Servent starring our friend Toby Kebbel.

@JohnnyShoulder Hahaha, I don’t really do horror or M Night Shyamalan but I’m tempted just for Toby Kebbell!

@nessisonett It would be rude not to, being part of the unofficial Toby Kebbel fan club! 😂

Finished up season 3 of the Man in the High Castle a couple nights ago.

Still pretty good, though I'm not sure how I feel about the more strictly sci-fi angle it's starting to take. I know they needed to explain the background logic behind the existence of the films (and it's something I've been asking myself) so I'm glad they've done that, but I'd still wish the core narrative would focus on the political tension between the Nazis, Japanese Empire, and how the resistance could take advantage of that, rather than going all in on chasing the multiverse angle.

That said, that lab scene in the final episode was pretty cool & almost Stranger Things-esque.

@ThereThere I quite liked how rubbish it was. I watch a lot of crap like the CW DC shows and I didn’t really think it was any worse. There were a lot of weird decisions but Lance Reddick alone made up for it.

@ThereThere It’s one hell of an undertaking given how interconnected the shows are. Wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t find the time!

@ThereThere Snap... 4 episodes deep and I had to call time on it! I actually can't recall the last time I ever quit on a TV show mid-season.

Lance Reddick is a saving grace though, and I've been a fan since The Wire. In RE though, its almost like he is acting in a completely different show to all the other characters.... especially when you consider his weighty performance vs. the likes of 'Baxter' (evil Scottish Umbrella antagonist).

I’m catching up with Stranger Things 4 at the moment and just finished episode 7. Blimey, that’s quite the finish there but it made me laugh how much they had to spell out the ending.

And I’ve been impressed at how episodes haven’t felt like they’ve dragged it all, despite the almost ridiculous run times they’ve had (and that’s knowing that there’s even longer ones to come!)

New Cutey Honey (Blu-Ray).

90's era anime OVA miniseries set in "Cosplay City", a crime ridden gothic/sci-fi metropolis (though this aesthetic is dropped for a more generic "New York/Chicago" style big city half way through) that's on it's last legs as the Demon Lord Dolmec(?) is bearing his will down upon it. Luckily, it appears that the mayor's aid, Honey, is really the (amnesiac) android/magical girl "Cutey Honey" whom saved the city from evil forces a generation ago (I take it this acts as sort of a follow up to the original 70's series).

It's absolutely metal & cheesy as heck, with biker gangs, demons, an OTT gritty atmosphere that includes a bit of gore & copious amounts of nudity & sexual innuendo (mostly reserved for Honey's numerous transformations, with her metamorphosis into her "main" form during each episode's climax particularly graced with lavish animation graphically detailing her form, but there's also room for multiple S&M Dominatrix influenced villainess's, a look Honey herself will don at least once, not even counting her stint as a stripper). Heck, even some of our protagonists get in some light bank robbery on the side.

It's garbage, but it's so fun it doesn't really matter (and the bad 90's dub makes it even better, IMO). It really doesn't end up doing anything narratively (they write off the big bad halfway through, & the last few episodes are individual monster of the week affairs that foreshadow a new threat that never materializes), but I absolutely loved watching it (binged almost every episode in a day) even if many of it's moments absolutely wouldn't fly today. It certainly helps that the main theme is an absolute earworm of a bop as well.

Maken-Ki! Season 1 (Blu-Ray).

Takeru is a first year high schooler excited to enroll in Tenbi Academy, a historically all girls school which just went co-ed. In his mind this gives him the chance to hit it off with lots of babes (including childhood friend Haruko, all grown up), but gets more than he bargained for when he learns it's a combat school of sorts, where everyone is required to train with magical weapons called "Maken", and most of the girls would sooner kick his butt than go out with him.

One quick look would tell anyone this is a fan service centric harem series, but when I watched it years ago I thought it balanced that well with the more action oriented battle stuff. Upon rewatch, it's a lot more harem fan service fluff than I remembered (in comparison to the action, which while present wasn't nearly as involved as I had remembered). It's certainly serviceable for the fan service aspect (it even does that thing where the female characters' features are often visible through their clothes), but it won't appeal to anyone who isn't already into fan service anime.

I finally got around to starting Lost in Space (Netflix) and I'm really enjoying it. I've discovered the recent 3rd season is the last but it was planned that way so if it can maintain the standard it has set so far (half way through s2) then it could end up being a favourite series.

@BearsEatBeets Ah I didn't realise the 3rd season was the last. That ending makes a bit more sense now as I thought there would be another season or two.

@JohnnyShoulder Without giving anything away what did you think of it as a whole? I thought there was a slight dip at the start of season 2 but overall think it's really well written and made so far.

Things get a bit bigger in scale towards the end of season 3 but I thought it was over too quickly. The quality didn't drop too much though.

Finished off Ms. Marvel last night.

I didn't go in particularly expecting anything with it, but I ended up enjoying myself in the end. I actually really enjoyed the moments with her & her family/friends (sure, it's a bit cringe, but much like Turning Red I think that's a bit intentional & think it had a similar vibe). I do think they tried biting off more than they could chew narratively, they should have either focused on her coming to grips with her powers while avoiding/dealing with the DoDC OR focused on the origin of her powers/family & the Djinn, but not both. I'm still not sure exactly why Kamran got powers after his mother died sealing the rift.

I know there was some controversy with how they changed her powers (& origin) from the comics, though as I'm not coming to it from that angle it didn't bother me.

Forgot to write about it but I finished watching The Boys season 3 earlier this week. I really like this show. It's refreshing to see a more realistic take on superheroes instead of making them out to be the "good guys". I definitely think it's more realistic that if superheroes existed, they would act like gods and think they can get away with anything. The corporate aspect of making money off of superheroes made sense as well. Then there's the parallel with Homelander and Trump, i.e. individuals who are basically brainwashing their followers into believing anything. It's a brilliant satirical TV show for sure.

I can't write about The Boys without also mentioning the batsh*t crazy stuff that happens in the episodes. It's absolutely the most grotesque show I've ever watched and I love it. I feel like the show has managed to shock me in almost every episode because something insane happens almost all the time. Considering I've watched so many TV shows throughout the years and basically consumed so much media that I barely get surprised by anything these days, I'm very impressed that The Boys has managed to surprise me so much. Definitely a great TV show to watch if you want something different and refreshing compared to your standard shows, even if you don't like superheroes and stuff.

Now that I'm done with The Boys, I've started watching The Expanse on Prime Video. I'm halfway through season 1 and I can't for the love of me understand why I dropped this show. It's much better than I remember it to be, the pacing is good and it feels like there's always something going on. Also, since I've been watching a lot of Mass Effect streams, I could use a good space TV show right now. I'm also loving the different perspectives of Earth provided by the people of Mars and how close to home they hit. We have everything, air, water and all these natural resources but we are destroying it all, while Mars is trying to get all these things on Mars and be more appreciative of them. Definitely puts things into perspective. I like that the show can be a bit thought-provoking even if it's Sci-Fi.

@LtSarge I also dropped off of The Expanse for some reason. Made is about 3-4 episodes in and just… drifted away. I need to get back to it.