The TV Series Thread (Fall/Winter 2023)

[ab_grp]

Hegemony, thanks, it's helpful to hear that you haven't had any issues! We have tried the solutions we've found through googling, but they haven't panned out yet.  Maybe there are better keywords we could use.  It always starts out fine, but then the delay starts at some point and keeps growing.  We did managed to watch a movie this weekend on my Fire TV with the ethernet plugged in directly and did not have that problem, so maybe it has to do with our wifi.

Ciao_yall, if you get a chance to check with your husband, I'd be grateful for any possibilities to follow up on!

[ab_grp]

We recently finished two shows.  First was our comedy, Designing Women, which started out very well but got pretty dumb toward the end, so we were not too sad to finish that one up (especially my husband).  Now we are watching Sports Night in its place.

For serious shows, we finished His Dark Materials, which we both thought was very good.  The books may have a bit more detail, but I ended up feeling for the characters as much in this adaptation.  The two main child/teen stars (Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson) were both very good in general and as their characters (Lyra and Will).  Ruth Wilson is always fun to watch (I mainly know her from Luther).  Now we still have final seasons of Damages, Prison Break, then onto a new triad of serious shows.

Since we had luck with streaming the movie on Prime, we started watching more of the The Expanse at breakfast and lunch when my husband is here.  I didn't take to all the actors at first (just didn't match the characters as I had envisioned them), but they are starting to grow on me.  Sadly, despite having read the first however many books (5 or 6? have to check reading thread), it is still hard for me to follow at times! There is just so much going on, so many people and factions involved.  But we are almost done season 2 and are enjoying it.

[ab_grp]

We finished Damages, and I finished Mozart in the Jungle.  The former had some really good seasons and was a pretty intense thriller at times.  I thought it ended reasonably well after becoming slightly dumb at times.  The battle between the two main characters got to be a bit much.  We just have one more Prison Break episode to watch on Sunday after the movie weekend, and then we are on a new triplet of shows.

As for the latter, I had heard good things about it when it came out but had stayed away.  I guess it sounded a bit more artsy than I usually find appealing, and it was at times a bit on that side.  But I really ended up looking forward to watching more.  It's about the NY Symphony and the musicians and conductors that work there, primarily.  Various story lines focus on personal relationships, professional relationships and rivalries, and the work of an orchestra.  The music was wonderful, the characters were interesting to get to know, and there was just something about the feel of it that I loved.  It was at times funny, sad, moving, dramatic, and the actors did a great job with the characters.  I will probably watch it again at some point.  I'm watching Northern Exposure in that slot now since that's free on Prime.  It's another that I had heard a lot of raves about but had never watched.  Cute so far!

[Larimar]

Mr. Larimar and I are watching the first season of the next-generation Quantum Leap. He checked the blu-ray set out of the library. It's pretty good. I like the characters, and the pacing has been good. Viewers find out what's going on little by little as the main character Ben slowly regains his memory and the mysterious Janice drops more clues about why Ben stepped into the time travel machine without telling anyone his plan, and why he made a plan with Janice and not his own team. I don't think I'd want to time travel the way Ben is doing, though, inhabiting the life of someone in the past. I do like that the way out of a "leap" into someone else's life is to fix something that went badly wrong around that person in the past. Each episode Ben  has to figure out what that is and what to do about it.

[RatGuy]

Mr. Larimar and I are watching the first season of the next-generation Quantum Leap. He checked the blu-ray set out of the library. It's pretty good. I like the characters, and the pacing has been good. Viewers find out what's going on little by little as the main character Ben slowly regains his memory and the mysterious Janice drops more clues about why Ben stepped into the time travel machine without telling anyone his plan, and why he made a plan with Janice and not his own team. I don't think I'd want to time travel the way Ben is doing, though, inhabiting the life of someone in the past. I do like that the way out of a "leap" into someone else's life is to fix something that went badly wrong around that person in the past. Each episode Ben  has to figure out what that is and what to do about it.

As a massive fan of the original, I have found that the second season of the revival has found its footing a little more. I'm less interested in project drama (esp the stunt casting of Susan Diol) than I am with the heart of Ben's leaps. The 2nd season gives Ben more to work with in a way I really like

I also think it's weird that they initially tried so hard to connect the show to the original, while also retconning so much of the original mythology. I just wish they'd make the period scenes look less 2024 sound stage.

[Antiphon1]

Monsieur Spade on AMC.  Oh, so stylish and noir.   

[Larimar]

Mr. Larimar and I are watching the first season of the next-generation Quantum Leap. He checked the blu-ray set out of the library. It's pretty good. I like the characters, and the pacing has been good. Viewers find out what's going on little by little as the main character Ben slowly regains his memory and the mysterious Janice drops more clues about why Ben stepped into the time travel machine without telling anyone his plan, and why he made a plan with Janice and not his own team. I don't think I'd want to time travel the way Ben is doing, though, inhabiting the life of someone in the past. I do like that the way out of a "leap" into someone else's life is to fix something that went badly wrong around that person in the past. Each episode Ben  has to figure out what that is and what to do about it.

As a massive fan of the original, I have found that the second season of the revival has found its footing a little more. I'm less interested in project drama (esp the stunt casting of Susan Diol) than I am with the heart of Ben's leaps. The 2nd season gives Ben more to work with in a way I really like

Cool! I look forward to it.

[hmaria1609]

I watched "Miss Scarlet and the Duke" Season 4 finale on PBS last night. (Quick checks on the Super Bowl scores during the breaks and trailers for upcoming PBS shows) It ended with Eliza's move back into her dad's old office space and her own name painted over the door on the street level.
It's not been announced if there will be a Season 5.

[Langue_doc]

Not exactly a TV series, but I was happy to see Jon Stewart on the Daily Show yesterday. The show was almost an hour long, with the typical Stewart zing, despite the more than a decade long absence.

[ab_grp]

We finished Prison Break the other night.  They really should have stopped after season 4 and not done season 5.  It was somewhat confusing, because season 4 supposedly had 24 eps, but we only had 22 on discs.  We also had a season 5 set and a TV movie, The Final Break.  After starting season 5, I googled and found out that the TV movie was actually the final 2 eps of season 4, so we went back to watch that.  Yikes.  There are so many plot holes and storylines that just never get mentioned again, let alone resolved! It's a shame because the show started off really well, and even though later seasons were not as good as the first the characters were still people to root for (for the most part).  It's sometimes clear when shows have been in cancellation territory and have made attempts to wrap things up but then have to extend the story.  There was an ep in season 4 that wrapped things up very well, and it should have stayed there.

For the new triad, we are starting with Succession, trying to be a little bit more current.  The eps are longer, so we're only a few in at this point, but it's pretty intriguing! Not a lot of likeable folks on this one.  It seems to be about a media mogul's family and who will take over his mogulship.  I'm hoping to finish it before reading spoilers.  I've managed to avoid them so far!

[ciao_yall]

Not exactly a TV series, but I was happy to see Jon Stewart on the Daily Show yesterday. The show was almost an hour long, with the typical Stewart zing, despite the more than a decade long absence.

The DVR only recorded the first half (darn computerized things) and I didn't feel like looking for the second half online. So I am hoping to catch the moment of Zen.

[Sun_Worshiper]

We're four or five episodes into the new season of True Detective. So far it has been great. The actors are terrific all around and it is especially nice to see Jodie Foster in top form. There are probably half a dozen or so episodes to go, so we'll see if it holds up, but for now I have nothing but good things to say.

[onthefringe]

Finished season 5 of Fargo — probably my second favorite season.

Working our way through Better Call Saul, which is outstanding. Wondering if we might engage better with Breaking Bad after watching it? (we bounced hard off Breaking Bad during COVID).

Glad Abbott Elementary is back.

Embarked on a second watch of Derry Girls which we love (and which is the only show in existence that gets fringehusband to voluntarily turn on the subtitles).

[hmaria1609]

Started the 2nd season of "Emma: A Victorian Romance" on YouTube last night.

[ciao_yall]

Jon Stewart is back on The Daily Show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!