Topic: The TV Show Thread

@graymamba yeah I'm not convinced a realistic enough 'muscle suit' exists. Part of the reason I was convinced it was almost an impossible task to cast. Either you get a good actor who struggles to bring the physicality or someone who has the physical build is probably not likely to be an great actor.
The best way I think to do it would be an Avatar style with a realistic CGI characters keeping the cast from the game. This would never happen though due to the cost of doing so.

I still think Sony overlook their animation studio for doing film/tv with their IP. When you think of the level of critical and commercial success they had with Spiderverse and K-Pop Demon Hunters I don't see why they couldn't use that for the gaming stuff. It would have to be easier than trying to make a believable real life version.

@BearsEatBeets I get you mate but don’t underestimate the gains Hurst could make if he went to the right S&C coach. The guy who used to work with Zach Snyder (on 300 and Man of Steel) does some great work… and I’m sure there are others who could be even better.

Just work the absolute **** out of him consistently for 6 months, with an incredible diet (I say diet but I mean hunderds and hundreds of grams of protein daily together with the minimal amount of carbs that will still fuel his sessions) and he’ll be fine no doubt. He’s already a big guy, tall with a big frame… he’d probably surprise himself.

That gave me a good laugh 😁

Who here is excited for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? It seems to be reviewing well and the first episode drops Monday

@Ravix 😁

Yeah I’m always excited for more Thrones content. I know very little about this one but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it if GoT and HotD has any bearing on it.

@Ash_uk1

She looks good but the thing is; she is a terrible actress.

Enjoyed Seven Dials on Netflix. Genuinely nice to have an Agatha Christie adaptation that’s good after the abysmal Towards Zero last year. Good to know Chibnall still has it too, I didn’t enjoy his Doctor Who at all but he clearly knows how to write mystery.

Peacemaker season 2 - the missus and I thoroughly enjoyed this. I remember thinking season 1 was pretty good, though can’t really remember much of what happened… pretty sure 2 was better though. Probably better than the vast majority of, if not all the MCU shows.

Just finished Last Samurai Standing on Netflix. It’s so, so good! I hope we get season two soon!

@Girlversusgame I did see you alert me to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms somehwere (don't know where) but yes, I am aware of this new series. It is a Game of Thrones spin-off/adaption from another book. But I have yet to start it. I am definitely looking forward to it as it is definitely the kind of thing I like. I may wait until a few more episodes are out, though.

Have you ever seen Game of Thrones? I always assumed everyone has, but then again it took someone to make me first watch it with them after it had already been out for quite a while, so obviously it is possible to have not seen it haha.

What I have been watching lately is
The Lowdown

An almost coen-esque, weird and flavourful neo-noir crime caper. A good mix of serious themes, tension, weird characters and funny moments.

If anyone is yet to see it, i'd say it is worth a watch if you like that kind of thing.

Ethan Hawke and the legendary Keith David are particular highlights. But the overall cast is strong and well assembled. There is also a good cameo from Peter Dinklage, who I assume they would want to expand the role of in S2, if possible as he and Hawke's chemistry on screen is off the charts.

@Ravix I was looking forward to the The Lowdown after seeing the trailer before it aired, but then it failed to materialise around these parts when it started airing over the pond, so I forgot all about it. I see it's finally available on Disney+ over here, which is good timing because I just re-subbed to catch the new Marvel show.

@Ravix
Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't heard of it. The word coen-esque definitely piques my interest so will add it to the list.

@sorteddan no problem! The use of that comparison was definitely made easier by it starring Tim Blake Nelson. But anything influenced by noir with a comedic edge and extravagant characters has that kind of feel. It's a good genre mix, one of my favourite. It's why the Fargo tv show worked so well, too 😄 So, although I wouldn't rate it as highly, I certainly want to see more.

@FuriousMachine Good timing, indeed. It took me a while to fully engage with it; I watched a couple of episodes over the course of a week or so, and then there was a bit of a gap before I returned to the third. However, once I did, I found myself genuinely wanting to see more of the characters, flaws and all (binged 4 in a row) Nothing does flawed, quirky characters quite like a pulpy noir 😄

I feel like it may well be your cup of tea, so let me know when you've seen it.

I kind of want to talk about it a bit more, but I also don't want to even hint at or ruin the potential natural discovery of certain moments. Some of it does seem to have a kind of improv feel, though. Just subtle little things in some scenes, and some (one, for sure) moments had me guffawing like a prize fool 😁

@Ravix Will absolutely keep you posted. I'm having a bout with the dreaded manflu, so I may get to it sooner rather than later, but I also don't want to "waste" it when my head isn't fully in the game.

Not sure if it counts as a TV Show but the first couple of episodes of The Harry Hill Show on YouTube have had me giggling like a fool. Just what I needed.

Just finished of The Lowdown on D+. A really nice chilled out surprise. Had a little bit of The Big Lebowski about it, in so much that Ethan Hawke plays a middle-aged liberal has-been (or never-was) that gets drawn into the machinations of men-of-power and the murders that follow such people… and how he fulfils the role of an unlikely gumshoe/Brother-Seamus to uncover the truth. No where near the level of my favourite Coen Brothers film but it felt real comfortable all the same.

Edit. Oh **** just scrolled up and back and seen that theres already been some talk about this show. Good to know it ain’t just me.

@graymamba aha! A most gratifying confirmation that our assessments are fairly similar. It definitely is one of those shows that just feels good to watch, the balance of humour to drama and tension is pretty perfect. It just has that something about it

Do not click if you haven't finished watching the show yet, nosey people. Have some restraint 😄

Keith David has been seriously undervalued in live action roles like this, thankfully he's been in a bunch of games and animation, but when he's this good it makes you wonder why he hasn't been used more in these kind of roles.

Cast chemistry is truly off the scale in The Lowdown.

@Ravix totally agree on all points. And loved Keith David since The Live… unbelievable that he isn’t a bigger star.

@Ravix A television thread? Well I haven't much to say but I did see maybe three seasons of Game of Thrones last year and it was odd because so many Metal guys I'd known were doing extra work on the show so the realism was shattered (Vikings too, all unwashed drummers etc who were instantly hired) They'd show pictures from the set on their phones after gigs etc. Most of them were wildlings, one of them made more money as an extra on that show than he did drumming for a well known Metal band. There is very good money in extra work, especially if you have lines. He's done maybe fifteen or so movies too, what you'd call a professional extra. I think maybe two hundred people showed up for that first Vikings casting call. Far more for Game of Thrones, they were looking in multiple countries for talent. I'll have to finish the series, it's five in the morning here. I have to be getting ready soon for the last day of PFW, but I'll think about what other shows I've seen. I don't think you want to hear about Big Timber, all that lumber and those men with axes. I'll check my Netflix history later today, I'm curious too.

Squid Games, I watched them all some time before Christmas. I don't remember how many seasons there were but I ended up watching them all in bulk over maybe three days. Then read some books about the series. It was one of those 'this will be bad because everyone says it's good', it genuinely was brilliant. Alaskan Bush People, was good until I did some digging and saw that pretty much everything was scripted. I liked the dog on the show though and some of the Alaskan scenery. Big Timber, I have a thing for watching shows about men chopping lumber. Axe Men too, also the scenery.

There was also a show (I don't recall the name) about a couple who move back to a small town, one of them becomes a Sheriff and there is some strange cult who want their baby. There weren't many episodes, then I didn't use Netflix again for months. Wednesday was good too, especially the music. I wasn't expecting the cello, especially Prokofiev and Vivaldi, it was good to see an instrument I do play get some recognition. Maybe it introduced some people to Apocalyptica (Metal band who play three cellos, that scene with Metallica's Nothing Else Matters, that was them) Other than that it was Gilmore Girls (not your cup of tea) and a lot of Hallmark. I think I watched Fallout last year too, I finally watched some of the show Friends too. I didn't know it was thirty years old, I finished Ally McBeal too. I'll catch up to you soon. I have to watch an episode of Pokemon too, I need to see why the hype.

The missus and I started Wonder Man last night and watched 3 or 4 eps. We’re liking it so far… and that’s from people who’ve been pretty disappointed with the majority of D+ Marvel shows on the whole. It’s an ode to cinema, which fits very well with the Simon Williams character and I’ll honestly take anything that has Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery in it. We always appreciate Abdul-Mateen II too… so much so, that we’re planning on going back and re-watching The Get Down sometime in the next few weeks.