The TV Series Thread

[sprout]

...But by the fifth of the ten episodes, the weird stuff is just random. There is a hatch under the cabin that leads to a bar in Reykavik in 1930 and the patrons there are all mimes. Some characters have keypads that they can use to turn off other characters and now there is no such thing as tamales. The crew forgot to steer the ship in a storm for like three episodes and the first mate has a Nintendo Gameboy. Five characters are actually the same person but they don't know it and fish invented algebra. ...

Wow.  I'm not sure if you're being hyperbolic or these are actual things in the show.  It reads like these are actual things, but....wow.

[mythbuster]

You know it's peak surreal when the Mimes show up! LOL.

[paddington_bear]

The problem with the Columbo-model 'how's you catch 'em?' detective shows is that, ahem, there's no mystery....   The show was well, done, of course, but, well...

I don't see it as a problem, but I get your point! I think that Law & Order: Criminal Intent used that model. Maybe that was the reason that L&O version didn't last as long as the other. The "we're going to show you who did and the show is about how the leads figure it out" isn't what most people want.

[mamselle]

I was 13 when Columbo came out and I didn't like it then.

Too much smoking and drinking....

M.

[Hegemony]

In this household we've started watching the BBC One reality show "This is My House." Four people insist that the house in question (quite a lavish one) is actually their house. A panel of celebrities — and the viewer — are left to decide which of the four is telling the truth. The first episode was a little more intriguing than you might expect. The liars are quite accomplished actors and ad libbers. The second episode had quite a surprise! It's essential to watch the episodes in order. I have my suspicions about something interesting coming in the third episode. They're available free on YouTube.

[Langue_doc]

I watched the Netflix series 1899. Produced by the same folks who made the German series Dark, it aims to be a moody and surreal historical drama about some folks on a transatlantic liner in 1899 where weird stuff starts to happen.

But by the fifth of the ten episodes, the weird stuff is just random. There is a hatch under the cabin that leads to a bar in Reykavik in 1930 and the patrons there are all mimes. Some characters have keypads that they can use to turn off other characters and now there is no such thing as tamales. The crew forgot to steer the ship in a storm for like three episodes and the first mate has a Nintendo Gameboy. Five characters are actually the same person but they don't know it and fish invented algebra.

Where anything can happen there can be no dramatic tension. By the time we get to the big reveal in the final moments of the final episode I was resigned to just another even more random denouement, which is of course what happened.

Do not recommend.

We watched the first episode over the Thanksgiving holidays at the recommendation of a twenty-something who raved about the series.

It was weird, to say the least, with smoldering looks, intense pauses, and far from subtle characters. Events and items that were supposedly symbolic and predictors of things to come were thrown at your face. Suggestions to watch the next episode the following day were politely ignored. The supposedly Chinese character looks Japanese, which added to the confusion.

I was hoping that one of the forumites would find the series to be equally blah/boring.

[jimbogumbo]

I just finished Season 3 of Barry and loved it! Going to finish Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones this weekend.

[Harlow2]

The Goes Wrong Show on PBS. Slapstick. The Christmas show was just right after a day of grading long papers.

[ciao_yall]

I just finished Season 3 of Barry and loved it! Going to finish Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones this weekend.

I hear there will be a Season 4, but not sure where it will go?

Meanwhile I'm in the middle of my K-Drama Crash Landing On You and I am so addicted. It's amazingly well done! Romance, humor, action, mystery... all in just the right levels to keep it interesting. I wish I knew more about Korean culture so that I could get more nuances but I don't want to read more about the show and accidentally get spoilers.

I did look up embassies in North Korea because at 3 AM I started wondering about a subplot.

[secundem_artem]

Just started in on Season 1 of White Lotus.  A series about rich assholes acting like rich assholes.  Some rich assholes can still be interesting or have some charm or depth to their characters.  Not this bunch.  We're not likely to finish it.

Watched the first 2 episodes of Harry & Megan.  The level of solipsism is off the charts. Mr & Mrs Markle need to find real jobs and STFU.  Whining to Oprah, a 6 hour doco about how hard they have it, and coming soon to a Barnes and Nobles near you - Harry spilling his guts in an autobiography.  And they do all this publicity in a bid to maintain their privacy.  My new name for Mrs Markle is that she henceforth be known as Yoko.  Both of them happily destroying some long standing institutions.

[ciao_yall]

Just started in on Season 1 of White Lotus.  A series about rich assholes acting like rich assholes.  Some rich assholes can still be interesting or have some charm or depth to their characters.  Not this bunch.  We're not likely to finish it.

There is more to it than that, but if you overthink the show some of the plots get pretty silly. Like, they didn't think to... oh, never mind.

[AmLitHist]

We've been enjoying a couple of CBS series this fall:  East New York (disclosure:  I'd watch Jimmy Smits read the phone book) and Fire Country. Also, FBI (LOVE OA) and FBI Most Wanted (still mad at them for killing off **spoiler**); the FBI: International doesn't do much for me.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Just started in on Season 1 of White Lotus.  A series about rich assholes acting like rich assholes.  Some rich assholes can still be interesting or have some charm or depth to their characters.  Not this bunch.  We're not likely to finish it.

Watched the first 2 episodes of Harry & Megan.  The level of solipsism is off the charts. Mr & Mrs Markle need to find real jobs and STFU.  Whining to Oprah, a 6 hour doco about how hard they have it, and coming soon to a Barnes and Nobles near you - Harry spilling his guts in an autobiography.  And they do all this publicity in a bid to maintain their privacy.  My new name for Mrs Markle is that she henceforth be known as Yoko.  Both of them happily destroying some long standing institutions.

I love this show. Great social commentary. And you aren't supposed to be charmed by the rich assholes.

[ciao_yall]

Just wrapped Crash Landing on You.

Wow. They make you work for that happy ending. My friend who recommended these may have created a monster.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'm about halfway through Winning Time, which is about the Showtime Lakers with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. So far, it is funny and smart, although I wouldn't mind if there was a little more onscreen basketball. I'll update if the last few episodes disappoint or exceed what I've seen so far.