Topic: The TV Show Thread

@Th3solution
I have had the exact opposite situation happen. The HBO Max app while not the worst had it's issues especially back in 2021. When it switched over to Max It has ran so much better for me. No lag that I have noticed when playing something, or when browsing. Plus when I download movies or episodes onto other devices I no longer have downloads just randomly disappear for no explainable reason. Not sure what is causing the issues you are having but hope it gets sorted out, I am streaming directly from my PS5 if that makes any difference.

@PegasusActual93 Interesting. Then I suppose it likely has to do with the Samsung app then. 🤔
I never use my PS5 for TV/movie watching, but I do use my phone and tablet sometimes, so I’ll experiment with those.

@Th3solution also on a Samsung TV and have noticed lagging during playback that didn't previously happen. Could just be a Samsung app issue but that's a pretty big demo so probably worth addressing.

That said I haven't been a fan of HBOs app from the beginning. It's better than it used to be but only barely. It's just not very user friendly imo. Like stuff that disappears from my "to watch" after watching and other stuff that doesn't. Or I constantly get content in my continue watching that I've finished. And the minimal subtitle options. Little quality of life stuff. And now it's far more cluttered with other needless programming but no need to beat that horse.

Overall I'll be happy to leave it behind when my year is up.

@Th3solution I had the same experience with the PS5 app. It was particularly egregious when I watched The Last of Us on release day (don't know if the timing was relevant). It would start with extremely poor quality and intermittent audio throughout the opening credits and sometimes into the episode itself before "settiling" on a stable stream. A couple of times it persisted so long that I had to switch to Chromecast, which didn't have the same issue.

Same with Tokyo Vice, but not as bad.

A couple of months ago, while visiting my aging mother, we watched The Last of Us via her Samsung TV app and that was all smooth all the way.

Haven't really watched anything on Max since I got a Samsung myself recently, but I expect that to be fine

Only time I remember having similar issues in the past was back in the GoT days when attempting to watch early on release day was often pointless.

currently busy binge watching Real World Season 4 on Paramount Plus. been a long long time Ive seen the old first 4 seasons of Real World.

then there's Season 8 of Real World which im watching on Youtube since Youtube has the whole season. Season 8 is the one with WWE's The Miz when Miz was really young back then

I do like Black Mirror, but it does make me a bit paranoid at times.

After watching the first episode of the latest series, I'm off to read the Terms and Conditions of everything I'm signed up to. Both currently and everything I previously was.

@JohnnyShoulder
As well done as Black Mirror is even I who can usually watch just about anything had to nope out. It's just too depressing for me. Yes me, the same guy who has seen Salo and A Serbian Film. It was too depressing for me.

Earlier today the old DVD collectors ediltion of X-Files Season 5 came in the mail so Ill be watching the entire season in July.

@PegasusActual93 The humour is can be very dark so it is understandable that it is not for everyone, along with other elements.

I almost could not get through the first episode of season 1 as it made for uncomfortable viewing, but I think that was as 'bad' as it got for me.

It is rare for me to rewatch anything tv wise, but I would like to watch all of Black Mirror again. In that alternative universe that I've got nothing else to watch.

@XandertheWise Nice! I'm currently rewatching my old X-Files DVDs as well. Only on S2, and man, that was a solid season!

Finished up the entire series of To-Love-Ru on Blu-Ray a couple weeks ago. Pretty much an homage (or knock off) of Urusei Yatsura that sees regular Earth high schooler Rito Yuki accidentally engaged to an alien princess (Lala) after she mistakes his confession to the girl he likes (Haruna) as directed at her, and romantic harem shenanigans ensue.

To-Love-Ru (season 1) - the longest of the 4 seasons at 26 episodes (the other 3 have 12-14 each), this is also the most run of the mill harem comedy of them all. It features all the staples, with Haruna as the "girl next door", Mikado as the "sexy nurse", Tenjouin as the "snobby rich girl", Yui as the "uptight student council member", and more (even a ghost!), but balances out the fanservice with other general humor, and even has a light narrative element in that Rito is constantly trying to become the "best in the universe" at something in order to sate the demands of Lala's father (the leader of the greatest empire in the universe, he will apparently destroy the Earth if Rito can't measure up). It has it's charm though, and is almost wholesome in comparison to the later seasons.

Motto To-Love-Ru (season 2) - This drops any narrative plotlines whatsoever and is straight up focused on comedic situations amongst the group. It's even structured like an old cartoon (think Garfield & Friends or Dexter's Lab) where each episode consists of three different disconnected skits. Kinda a unique approach for an anime, and it helps to keep everyone in the ever increasing cast to get their time to shine. The amount & graphicness of fanservice is also overall dialed up from the first season as well.

TLR Darkness/TLR Darkness 2 (seasons 3-4) - compiling these together has they have consistent theming & focus. They do a complete 180 in that they are much more narratively focused than the two earlier seasons (they even introduce a mysterious villain who has designs for the cast), but also rearrange the cast dynamic in a way that I never really grew to like. They still follow the same cast of characters (centered around Rito), however Lala & Haruna are sidelined in favor of Lala's younger sisters Momo & Nana (introduced as side characters in season 2). They also once again ratchet up the fanservice to new heights (really seemed to be trying to push the limits of what they could get away with on TV), in the one direction this franchise seems to agree on.

@FuriousMachine yeah i still prefer watching old tv shows for DVD even though a few of the old shows are on streaming sites like Freevee or Tubi but having them for DVD Is better since one day the internet might not exist anymore.

Season 5 i want to watch and remember a few things like the goofy Bad Blood vampire episode and the season finale that leads to the Fight the Future move.

Season 6 Im sort of not fond of since they ruin the debut of the Fight the Future alien stuff and change a few things of it in Season 6

@RogerRoger Enjoyed the trailer, will definitely check that out Thanks for the tip

@XandertheWise I actually don't remember much from S5 or 6, so I can't really speak to it, but I am looking forward to watching them again (I am a lifelong X-Files apologist and even liked the seasons "nobody" liked )

Just finished the third season of Ted Lasso, and boy howdy what a show that was. Probably one of the most heartwarming and feelgood comedies I've ever seen and I think it kept a fairly consistent high bar throughout its run. Maybe a little clichë-ridden in the finale, but they managed to make it work, I felt. Loved it immensely!

Gunbuster (Blu-Ray)

I'd only ever seen the abridged film cut of this until now, so when I learned that Discotek had released an HD remaster of the original OVAs in full I had to nab it. Glad I did too, as this is anime at it's peak.

The real star of the show are the various mechs, ships, aliens, and heck the world building & design in general. Immaculately detailed (the insane interior detail of the cockpits is head and shoulders above anything in modern anime. Chef's kiss) with a real "lived in" vibe, it's easy to get immersed in the world envisioned. The real cherry on top is how seriously it takes the fictional science of how it all works, providing in depth explanation of the theories involved while peppering in real world scientific discoveries, mostly during after episode "science lesson" skits hosted by the central characters.

The story itself follows young pilot Noriko from her days in high school (albeit one designed around grooming the next generation of mech pilots), to her days as a new recruit soon overwhelmed by the realities of war, culminating in her transformation into a warrior who will stand back for nothing in order to save humanity's future. It may perhaps be nothing particularly special on it's own, but I love how the tone of the series grows along with Noriko over the 6 part runtime. The first episode can be downright silly, with students doing everything from jump rope to personal after school scuffles in their training mechs, but by the last episode everything is presented in a striking widescreen monochrome view that really sets the tone for the gravity of the dire straights our heroines (and humanity) find themselves in.

Sure, there are a few things I could nitpick, such as a romance subplot surrounding "Coach" that feels underdeveloped, and the decision to depict a big battle in the last episode via a series of storyboard like sketches, however it's so strong elsewhere I don't think these amount to much.

Also, I'm very much not going to complain when they usually find the time once an episode to indulge in a little gratuitous nudity/fanservice.

So, just finished season 1 of Silo on Apple TV+ and as a lover of Hugh Howey's books I have to say that this show delivered in spades! On of the better adaptations of a sci-fi novel I've ever seen, as they keep everything that made the book great, but tweaked things to better fit the format. I think they nailed it! Cast was excellent too! If you like a little bit of dystopic sci-fi with a small murder mystery twist tossed in, you could do way worse than this.

@FuriousMachine Sorry to reply to this so late, but just wanted to echo what you said about Mrs. Davis. Really a very fun, special show. I had a great time with it myself as well. Damon Lindelof truly can do no wrong in my eyes after The Leftovers, Watchmen and now this! Such creativity it's honestly amazing. Glad to hear Silo ended on a great note as well. I fear I'm about six episodes behind, but I will definitely make it a point to catch up soon.

@RogerRoger I've been meaning to get back to Acapulco for a while! Watched the premiere of that when it came out but then slowly faded away into my backlog. Since I know you're also a fan of Ted Lasso, you should check out Trying on Apple TV+ if you haven't yet. It similarly fills the heartwarming, feel-good space that both Ted and Acapulco occupy and I think you would rather enjoy it too if you like both of those shows. It's another highly overlooked Apple gem, and personally my favourite comedy show on the service.

watched one of the last couple episodes of Gilmore Girls season 1 on Netflix. one of my old favorite guilty pleasure WB/CW shows

and just started binge watching X-Files Season 5 for DVD