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The TV thread

Started by rollntider, May 28, 2014, 01:06:50 AM

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TheNorm

Sometimes, all you need is some good martial arts action and this looks like it'll deliver. All on board for this, just need to start watching.

https://youtu.be/3tXQMq967PY
"But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr

Crewe

#241
Killing Eve
2 Seasons (3rd currently filming)
Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer

I've been a fan of Sandra Oh since Arliss. If you had to take a second to recall that show, I suggest it for your next archive pull.
After recently watching Fleabag and being exposed to the talent of Phoebe Waller-Bridge I moved Killing Eve up in my queue.
Normally, I wait until a series runs its course, or at least runs 3-5 seasons so Im not stuck in binging purgatory. But I made an exception here, as I did with Barry.

Sandra Oh plays Eve Polastri, an MI6 intelligence agent who is is fascinated by serial killers, is brought in to help solve a series of fascinating murders.
Her colleagues scoff when she offers her opinion that the killer is a woman so she lets it drop until she's approached behind closed doors by Carolyn Martens played by Fiona Shaw.
Eve is told she is on the money with her assessment and Martens wants her to head up an off book operation to apprehend this killer.
We are introduced early to Jodie Comer who plays said psychopathic murderer Oksana Astankova / Villanelle.
Through her handler (Kim Bodnia as Konstantin Vasiliev) Villanelle learns of Eve and her teams daunting task.
In short, they become obsessed with each other. Villanelle continues with her flamboyant ordered executions and relishes the thought of maintaining Eve's attention.
Like I said up top, Ive always been a fan of Oh and her acting ability and she performs very well throughout this series, but if you Google anything about this series, you are likely to hear about Jodie Comer early, and often. Deservedly so.
She plays Villanelle with such a cold empty heart, its enthralling to watch. The often humorous dialog, expressions and actions she delivers within the scope of this characters are rich, quirky and desires attention.
Ill desist on the character unraveling so you can enjoy for yourself.
The story unravels into a government vs evil cabal mystery thriller in addition to the cat and mouse game between our two female leads.
Oh and Martens close out the trinity of main characters with top notch performances in their own right. A good supporting cast and excellent writing rival Waller-Bridge's Fleabag offering....for Season one anyway.
In season two, she leaves the writing to Emerald Fennell and for Season 3, the honors go to Suzanne Heathcote while staying on as Executive Producer.
No spoilers, but Ill say that Fennell is sort of boxed in at the start of Season Two in her defense, but overall, it can't maintain the momentum of its predecessor. But don't write it off because while it has its wtf moments and some awfully directed sequences, it is still worthy of your time and attention.
Oh and Comer alone demand that much, and you won't be left in a Dexter like state either, I promise.
At eight episodes each, its an easy breezy binge and you can look forward to season three, although I have no idea who it is set to air.

4.25/5

Crewe

My queue is exhausted. I need a good drama series to sink my teeth in to, and I dont want a paint by numbers CSI esque pitch.
But something, Sopranos, Wire, Deadwood, Boardwalk, BCS like. Even something like SOA or Justified would be good, as long as it has real depth, development, directing and is correctly cast.
I just watched the first episode of Hunted with Melissa George playing a top spy and covert operative. Within the first 10 minutes we've already seen she runs like, well, a girl, and fight scenes are cut so supremely fast in order to cover the inability of the actress to make me believe her hand to hand combat skills. One episode and Im done with that nonsense.


TheNorm

Lol, I wouldn't even know what that means. I just keep adding more shit and then end up watching the same group of shows over again (Parks and Rec, West Wing, Batman The Animated Series, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Archer).

Jack Ryan Season 2 drops in November.
"But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr

Crewe

Quote from: TheNorm on September 21, 2019, 12:38:24 AM
Lol, I wouldn't even know what that means. I just keep adding more shit and then end up watching the same group of shows over again (Parks and Rec, West Wing, Batman The Animated Series, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Archer).

Jack Ryan Season 2 drops in November.
was going to watch season 2 until I realized this lol
Im thinking of firing up The Shield again. I've only see it once.
I might try Breaking Bad because of the new Aaron Paul project, but I'm one of those that doesn't classify BB as one of the best ever.

Crewe

So I did decide to go with Breaking Bad again in order to refresh for the movie, especially since it apparently takes place directly after th S5 finale.
Ill re iterate, BB was not one of the greatest of all time in my mind. Top ten? Yea. Top 5? No way.
Ill jump right in to one of the most hated characters on tv, Skylar White.

Spoilers btw....

I was a staunch opponent of hers after my first and only watch during the original run.
After a second viewing, I've softened on her a bit, but still hate her, although for more varied and nuanced reasons.
Skylar is a me me me me person and its irritating AF. Beginning with her "intervention" of Walt, she's so selfish and when her sister Marie sides with Walt, she goes ballistic. Bitch.
Fast forward, to her behaviors regarding Walt, the marriage and kids. Nothing here really increases my dislike of her even though Jr seems to channel the rage towards her most fans feel.
Then comes the cheating with Ted and the whole, "I fucked Ted" scene. This created more disdain from me. Walt was not a good guy, nor a great husband, but Skylar knew none of his bad deeds at this point. Her cheating was to hurt him, specifically. It was revenge for something, but she didn't know what.
Walt at least cared about his family at this time and was undeserving of the Ted bomb.
Things changed once she discovered he was a meth dealer. She saw that bag of cash and became so turned on. Now she's on board with him, but, once again, it's all about her. She has to know and run everything.
The storytelling waivers quite often with her character build. One instance, she chastises him for spending 3 bills on wine, or champagne, saying how stupid a decision that is because its a red flag. Walt spends I don't know how many scenes telling us and Jesse how to be careful. He wouldn't do something like this but the writers need a Sklyar plot.
Towards the end, she becomes fearful of Walt after the "Im the one who knocks" scene. Her behavior in this scope is rational to the character and believable but the overall arc is really annoying to me.
I realized that part of it may be I dont think Anna Gunn was the best choice to play Skylar, maybe its just me. But with that, or in addition to, her scenes just are not entertaining or are not delivering pertinent information. Squeeze all of those factors together and yea, Skylar White is a terrible character.
I have to add that Walter is as well. And what I mean is, I dont really root for Walt either. Know who I pull for? Jesse.
Now that is a well written and supremely acted character.
The range Aaron Paul displays is really special in my eyes. He is supremely sympathetic and I truly believed him having to kill Gale for instance.
I care about Hank. Such a locker room personality, tough guy talk, bury your feelings kind of fella. He's sort of annoying at first until you realize, he kinda is a tough guy, and not in a super hero manner. On top of that, he's really good cop. We see him second guess in private. We see his fear in private. In front of others its all bravado and a modicum of modesty when required.
I remember not really liking the ending and Im mid season 5 right now so we will see if my opinion changes but as of now, my opinion on BB still stands.
It's top ten because of the direction, cinematography, acting and writing. Its not top 5 because of the story idea.
His cancer was a pointless arc. It doesn't even matter through much of the story. You could have used any device to turn Walt into an asshole criminal.
Marie is a springboard for Skylar and a method to raise antagonism in a scene. What happen with her kleptomania? What was the point of that nonsense?
I also felt the BB world wasn't up to snuff, like say Sopranos is, BB is just about Walt, and that's ok, but to me, keeps it out of my top ten.


BojackHorsefella

I think the cancer thing definitely makes Walt more sympathetic than simply "I need money for x," but I do understand your point. It's basically a mcguffin and not really much of a plot point.


Also, ++ on the Hank thoughts. I HATED Hank when I first started watching. By the end, he was my favorite character (yes, even more than Jesse or Mike, but it's close. It's CLOSE).

Crewe

Quote from: BojackHorsefella on October 10, 2019, 04:02:40 PM
I think the cancer thing definitely makes Walt more sympathetic than simply "I need money for x," but I do understand your point. It's basically a mcguffin and not really much of a plot point.


Also, ++ on the Hank thoughts. I HATED Hank when I first started watching. By the end, he was my favorite character (yes, even more than Jesse or Mike, but it's close. It's CLOSE).

yea, I really like how they molded him throughout. He could have been a very cartoonish character but as you say, ended up being one of the best

TheNorm

Haven't seen a single episode of Breaking Bad lol.

Went through a Good Place rewatch (for the third time lol) in preparation for Season 4...not ready for this series to be over. 😕
"But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr

Crewe

Quote from: TheNorm on October 10, 2019, 10:19:20 PM
Haven't seen a single episode of Breaking Bad lol.

Went through a Good Place rewatch (for the third time lol) in preparation for Season 4...not ready for this series to be over. 😕

When is S4 due out? I just finished three recently

rollntider

I thought Skylar confronted walt as being a drug dealer when she found out about the money for the hospital Bill's and before sleeping with Ted. But agree with you on the characters. Skylar was a bitch. Hank grows on you. Pinkman is one of the faves. Marie's klepto does kinda go away like chuck Cunningham.



Crewe

Quote from: rollntider on October 11, 2019, 11:29:45 AM
I thought Skylar confronted walt as being a drug dealer when she found out about the money for the hospital Bill's and before sleeping with Ted. But agree with you on the characters. Skylar was a bitch. Hank grows on you. Pinkman is one of the faves. Marie's klepto does kinda go away like chuck Cunningham.



She banged Ted prior to knowing he was a meth dealer IIRC but I could be wrong

rollntider

Quote from: Crewe on October 11, 2019, 11:33:10 AM
Quote from: rollntider on October 11, 2019, 11:29:45 AM
I thought Skylar confronted walt as being a drug dealer when she found out about the money for the hospital Bill's and before sleeping with Ted. But agree with you on the characters. Skylar was a bitch. Hank grows on you. Pinkman is one of the faves. Marie's klepto does kinda go away like chuck Cunningham.



She banged Ted prior to knowing he was a meth dealer IIRC but I could be wrong


I could be also rewatching it now.... will let you know lol



Crewe

Quote from: rollntider on October 11, 2019, 12:56:07 PM
Quote from: Crewe on October 11, 2019, 11:33:10 AM
Quote from: rollntider on October 11, 2019, 11:29:45 AM
I thought Skylar confronted walt as being a drug dealer when she found out about the money for the hospital Bill's and before sleeping with Ted. But agree with you on the characters. Skylar was a bitch. Hank grows on you. Pinkman is one of the faves. Marie's klepto does kinda go away like chuck Cunningham.



She banged Ted prior to knowing he was a meth dealer IIRC but I could be wrong


I could be also rewatching it now.... will let you know lol

I just watched it and am not 100% sure lol so yea, let me know

TheNorm

Quote from: Crewe on October 11, 2019, 11:00:10 AM
Quote from: TheNorm on October 10, 2019, 10:19:20 PM
Haven't seen a single episode of Breaking Bad lol.

Went through a Good Place rewatch (for the third time lol) in preparation for Season 4...not ready for this series to be over. 😕

When is S4 due out? I just finished three recently

S4 started up on NBC a couple of weeks ago. Episodes should be on Hulu now...
"But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr