@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.
Born too early to explore space and born too late to explore Earth, but born just in time to explore memes.
@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.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
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.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
@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
@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!
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.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
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.
@Tjuz Thanks (again!) for the recommendation! Will definitely check out Trying as and when; likewise, I mentioned it a couple pages ago, but Shrinking is a similar Apple TV+ gem. They've definitely nailed the formula for these kinds of shows.
@FuriousMachine Glad you enjoyed Ted Lasso as much as you did. I also loved it, and am surprised at some of the knocks it's been taking. I'm pleased the show was allowed to end on its own terms, and that it was given plenty of room to breathe before doing so. Also, thanks for coming back with that Silo endorsement; am looking forward to giving that a shot at some point, too!
When it comes to that point we were discussing in the Marvel topic, about streaming shows being immature in their maturity, I feel like Apple TV+ have gotten the balance more right than wrong. Ted Lasso is a prime example; given the nature of the show, it could've (and some might argue, should've) been a lot more "graphic" than it was. Instead, you can now buy Richmond F.C. kits at Build-a-Bear and Brett Goldstein has appeared on Sesame Street a couple times because, in spite of its colourful language and adult themes, it's actually mature, and therefore safer and more universal.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@XandertheWise Gilmore Girls is pretty dear to my heart because it used to be shown during the afternoons over here and I’d binge it with my mum growing up. It’s only when you get older that you realise how flawed the characters are and despair of their decisions! Shame the revival was such a massive disappointment.
@nessisonett im about done with Season 1 and frankly, Lorelai was pretty much a bitch towards her mother.
sure her mother was the old school hoity toity mother but jeez, there were times where Lorelai really needed to chill out when her mother came to visit her and Rory.
Even the grandmother was pretty bad also with the attitude. at least Richard was the only one that was reasonable when he was hanging out with Rory most of the time anyway.
that and they had to cram in Rachel, Dean, and the whole thing with Tristen and Paris. too many story plot stuff going on in season 1. plus the school teacher being a creeper and trying to go out with Lorelai
@Tjuz Yeah, Lindelof has really delivered many hours of high quality TV. Which reminds me of the shameful fact that I still haven't seen The Leftovers, so I need to get on that. I was going to pick it up right after Watchmen blew me away, but something got in the way.
Added Trying to my list, too. Sounds like it might be my kinda jam Apple TV+ is a really strong service for me and my tastes. There's a lot on there I haven't seen, but the hit rate of what I have seen is off the charts compared to the other streamers.
@RogerRoger Yes! Ted Lasso is the perfect example of your original point! It is mature in its tones, themes and, yes, language, but it just makes it feel more... real. Natural, even.
I'm also currently watching a quite gory "Lost"-like horror series called From and the f-bombs are flying really fast and loose on that show, but it actually enhances the dialogue and makes it feel more natural as quite a lot of people would use that kind of language in those kinds of situations. In other words, it doesn't feel speculative and it enhances rather than distracts. Same with Lasso, I feel (minus the blood and gore, of course... think Lasso would have been a different show with more blood and gore )
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