The TV Series Thread

[larryc]

I just finished the first season of Kleo, a German spy drama set at the end of the Cold War. The protagonist is a female Stasi assassin, who is thrown into jail by her own government a few years before the Berlin Wall fell. When the wall falls, she is released from prison and is looking for revenge. She gets revenge. It's stylish and fast moving and very entertaining.

[sprout]

Been bingeing Homeland and wrapped up season 6 last night (two more to go).  I have my issues with it, but it's fun and suspenseful and I get caught up in the crazy convoluted plots.  Season 6 (and from what I hear, season 7), though, touch a little too closely on 2016/17 political issues.

[hmaria1609]

Tomorrow night, "Miss Scarlet & the Duke" and "All Creatures Great & Small" have their season 3 premieres on PBS's "Masterpiece."

Not part of "Masterpiece" brand, the season 3 of "Vienna Blood" also premieres on PBS. This series is adapted from the "Max Liebermann" series by Frank Tallis, set in early 1910s Vienna.

[ciao_yall]

I have 4 shows going:

Bojack Horseman (Grownup cartoon)
Dear White People
Thirty-Nine (K-drama about 3 women friends - very good.)
Touch Your Heart (K-romcom - silly but sweet.)

I'm really liking the Korean shows. Really great stories! Maybe I wouldn't feel the same way if they were English/Western because there are differences in Korean vs American culture that add to complexity - at least for me.

[ab_grp]

It's been a while, and we've watched a few shows.  I think that last time I checked in, we were back to Hot in Cleveland for our comedy, and I thought it was good but not side-splittingly funny.  There were definitely some very funny episodes later in the series.  Overall, it was very enjoyable, but I am not a superfan.  We liked the fact that there were so many actors from "the past" who appeared in cameos here and there along with winks and nods and subtle-ish homages.  Now we've been watching Wings in that timeslot.  I think we had both seen it in whole or in part.  Some of the 80s humor has aged... interestingly.  I also wish that it had subtitles, because the audio quality isn't great.  Again, it's enjoyable, but the laugh-out-loud moments are hither and thither.

For our "serious" timeslot, we have gone through parts of a few shows and two whole shows.  After Revenge, we decided to watch Pretty Little Liars, because I told my husband that the schemes and plots were even more jaw-droppingly ridiculous, and he didn't believe me.  It really should have ended without jumping in time in season 5 or whenever.  It's a very fun show for a while, but there's only so much disbelief one can suspend.  It's a little harder for me, because some of the locations were places that I know very well, and what was being shown was obviously not those places.  But to be fair, that is the least of the issue.  The sheer number of murders going on and that involve the main (teenage) characters might raise a few eyebrows.  Where are the parents? Most are just MIA throughout the series.  Luckily, there is plenty of money that the teens can use to get into even more trouble, and they have fantastic wardrobes.  I'm not sure I've ever gotten dressed up as much for a formal occasion as they do to go to high school on a normal day.  I don't think I had seen the last three seasons, and we were curious to see how it would end up.  If it helps anyone decide whether to watch it all the way through, at one point in the finale my husband cried out "Oh God, now what?!"

After that, we went back and forth, but I'll just keep the series separate.  First, Cobra Kai, which we have now seen 4 seasons of and can't wait to see the remaining seasons of.   I think Sun_Worshiper commented about not being a huge fan of the Karate Kid movies but being a big fan of the show, and we are in that same boat.  There is something about that show that is just a delight.  It evokes some kind of nostalgia for me, and it has an awesome soundtrack. 

Next, Justified, which we watched the first two seasons of, and I think that's about what I watched before.  We are getting back to that shortly, and though I was not as hyped up to watch it as I was some of the others, I definitely got into it.  Walton Goggins is just something else.  I think he stands out in everything I've seen him in.

Next up, Better Call Saul, which a search of the thread reminds me was well loved universally.  Totally agree.  What an amazing job done by the writers, producers, actors, everyone.  Great characters, great dialogue, great action, great acting.  One person in particular knocked my socks off and appears to be a major fan favorite, with good reason.  And that's not easy, given that there are so many lovable, hateable, funny, weird, manipulative, genius, evil, evil genius roles on the show.  As much as I have liked Bob Odenkirk in the past, I wasn't sure I'd like this show, at least not as much as Breaking Bad (despite what literally everyone has said to the contrary), but I am not surprised that some of the episodes are 9.8 or 9.9 out of 10 on IMDB.  There are so many memorable scenes.  Wow!

Finally, Killjoys, which we finished last night after a 2 year hiatus, and which I nearly forgot about completely while going on and on about BCS.  I agree with what I said previously, that it had a lot of potential, and there were some very fun and clever parts, along with some characters that I enjoyed watching (and some who were really, really annoying).  But I also agree with myself that it tried too hard to be cool, and that gets tiring.  We also just could not follow the plot, though I don't think it mattered that much.  I'm not sorry that we watched it, but it just didn't really strike us as much as so many other shows have, so I doubt we'd watch it again anytime soon.

[hmaria1609]

On Kanopy: "Aristocrats" (1999)
Based on the best selling book by Stella Tillyard, this 6 part limited series tells the story of the four Lennox sisters (Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah).  Features a great cast and fantastic costumes!
I remember watching it when it first broadcasted on "Masterpiece Theatre" but didn't see the last episodes. Glad to see it available on Kanopy!

[jimbogumbo]

I've watched a ton lately.

Interview With the Vampire: A
The Mayfair Witches: B-
Yellowjackets Season 2: A+ (just great!)
Lucky Hank: A (based on the Russo 1990s novel)
The Last of Us: A+ (not a gamer; all new to me, and wow!)

The final episodes of Snowfall are riveting.

[little bongo]

I enjoyed Shrinking. Just started season 2 of Schmigadoon, which continues to be good fun.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I watched season 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm on a couple of long international flights in March - laughing the whole time, sometimes out loud. Since then I've been catching up on the prior few seasons, which I had never gotten around to watching, and then will pick up with season 10.

Great show. Really some of the funniest tv I've ever seen.

[Hegemony]

I've just started Better Call Saul. Yep. all the praise is justified.

[ciao_yall]

New series of Succession, Barry and Black Lady Sketch Show are keeping me busy. And Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, to boot!

Too many shows, too little time.

Speaking of Barry, our local Alamo Drafthouse played the first two episodes last night. It was so much fun to meet other fans of the show! I many need to rewatch them just because being so close to the big screen it was hard to catch all the visual details.

[ab_grp]

We watched some Barry on our trips out of town for the surgery, but I don't remember much about them except that I thought they were reasonably entertaining.  Do you recommend that one, ciao_yall?

And I think my husband has all the Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons, but we had each seen at least one or two episodes previously and didn't get right into them.  Maybe we need to start at the start and give it more time.  We will be moving to a new comedy soon.

I think we are about halfway through the final season of Wings.  It's been a little uneven at times but is generally pretty funny if a little dumb and obvious.  We are mostly enjoying watching the transition scenes and tracking the people and vehicles. 

For serious shows, we just finished season 5 of Justified (awesome! and one more season to go, though I read they might do some kind of miniseries) and will start season 6 of Once Upon a Time later tonight after a palate-cleansing movie.  Then there will only be one more season after that as well and then time to pick new serious shows.  We are accumulating a stock of them, and I am looking forward to them!

[hmaria1609]

Ab_grp, I watched 2 seasons of "Once Upon a Time" on ABC and lost interest. The show was canceled after its 7th season. There were some good actors on the show though!

[ab_grp]

Ab_grp, I watched 2 seasons of "Once Upon a Time" on ABC and lost interest. The show was canceled after its 7th season. There were some good actors on the show though!

I think it has its ups and downs, so I totally see that.  Some of the plotlines just go on way too long, and I confess that I was not super interested to get back to it for this season and the next given other shows in the queue, but I do want to finish it at this point.  I think early on it was interesting to see how various tales came into the picture, and they wove some pretty involving stories, but they have had to go deeper and deeper into the well to find more tales to introduce, and the interactions between the characters have gotten more iffy.  Some of the characters and plotlines have just disappeared, and that's always a little odd.  I agree that some of the actors are really good! I'm not surprised it eventually got canceled.  It would have been better off as a few seasons, or shorter seasons, or something.  Having 7 seasons of 22 or so episodes is a lot to try to carry when there are almost too many characters and possibilities, and yet not enough.  How many times can the magic bearers keep fighting each other? How many different realms and timelines can they visit that all start to look the same anyway? That kind of thing.

[hmaria1609]

Watched the series finale of "Sanditon" on PBS's "Masterpiece" Sunday night.  It felt rushed, checking off boxes for characters and their endings.

I think I'll check out the new adaptation of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding this Sunday.