What TV SHOWS are you watching?

Been watching Party of Five on Netflix.

I liked this show when it first aired and, speaking only of the first season here, it really holds up. This is some smart and well written and acted TV.

The basic premise of these five kids, or 4 kids and one 20 something, so desperate for the guidance and for someone to explain what its all about or what they should do but having no one to fall back on but each other is really really great. The ghosts of the parents overshadowing everything.

As a 20 something myself when the show first aired I could relate from the point of view of a young adult trying to find his or her way. Now as an old man, it really stirs my parental instincts. As my wife said as we both teared up a bit during the pilot episode, "You just want to sweep them all up in your arms and let them know it's going to be OK".

Other things I like:

I like how the siblings can be so casually cruel to one another even though they all love one another.

I like how the characters all make bad choices and then have to deal with the consequences. Not everything works out as they hope.

I like how well done Julia's lack of self esteem is presented. How she knows how fleeting life is and how she feels the need to start "having fun" before it all comes crashing down.

I like some of the touches in the set design too. How the kitchen is filled with pizza and chinese food boxes.

I also like little touches that give it a sense of authenticity. Like for instance, Baily, the 16 year old is talking to his buddy about a girl he likes. Baily is in the foyer putting on some shoes and the buddy is at the top of the stair case to the first floor. The buddy is holding one end of the slinky and letting the other end drop to where it almost hits Baily on the head. And he does this repeatedly as they have this earnest conversation. It's at once funny and very real because that's the kind of silly childish thing a 16 year old would do.

That scene also has the great line where Baily says "I told her it was him or me. All or nothing. But the truth is I'd of settled for a lot less." Good lord, I think we've all felt that way at one time or another.

I also really like that Baily's first girlfriend, the one he's talking about in the above quote, isn't some sort of goddess. She's looks like an ordinary girl.

Anyway, I seem to recall that the show degenerated a lot as the seasons went on. But this first season is really great.

I only watched that show for JLH

Party of Five is the show that finally turned me against the tv drama genre. I really liked the characters, but eventually I realized that these characters would never be allowed to experience any sort of lasting happiness. Not even for like two consecutive episodes. Instead, the characters exist to be tormented by the writers, and apparently the audience is supposed to enjoy that. I suppose sitcoms are similar, but at least the suffering is played for laughs.

Black Barney wrote: I only watched that show for JLH 11 year old Lacey Chabert

Fixed that up for you Barney. In the interest of Truth.

lol I could actually never get attracted to Lacey later in life cuz she always looked exactly like that kid on Party of Five.

Anyone else watching Harrow?

I've watched the firs two episodes of True Detective Season 3 and I see what people mean. It's odd as it hews closely to the format of season 1 but it's clearly inferior and trying to be different in several respects. I believe there's a degree of self-awareness there as Pizzolatto is sort of throwing up his arms and sacrificing his creativity. You can hear this reflected in the unsettling covers of both the intro and outro song, both covers inferior to the material they're parroting but still amusing in their own right. The truth of the matter is, unless you're Jack White you shouldn't be covering a Son House song.

I'm still enjoying it but the most interesting aspect thus far are those dolls.

I'm caught up so far on True Detective season 3. I like it, but it does feel like they are stretching the story just to do it. I am amazed at how convincing Mahershala's elderly performance is.

Last night I watched episode 1 of season 2 of Punisher on Netflix. I'm glad I did... that show is fun as hell.

I haven't bothered with TD season 3 yet. I really enjoy Ali, but what season 2 indicated to me was that season 1 was Pizzolatto's baby. He crafted that thing and nurtured it over years. Then he had the good fortune to have one of the better directors of the current era helm the entire series and cast one actor at the height of his powers and another one who rarely fails to deliver. Put that combination together and you have dynamite. Ask the same writer to deliver an entire other series in less than a year, with lesser talent, and after his ego has demanded that he cut the director loose, and you have season 2. Everything I've heard about season 3 mirrors what you're saying, Charlie: He's aping season 1 in an attempt to recapture some of its magic. I'm just not interested in that.

Sagrilarus wrote: Anyone else watching Harrow?

Not a lot of character development in this one.



Sorry about that.

I just watched The Worricker Trilogy [ www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/worricker/ ] with Bill Nighy, Christopher Plummer, Helena Bonham Carter and a bunch of BBC actors they keep recycling that are in everything, like the police chief from Sherlock. Basically, it's a very John LeCarre sort of spy thriller, BBC style, terribly cynical, pretty good performances, and a lot of fun. In the "making of" clips that are included, the director raves about Christopher Plummer's performance, but there are parts where he sounds like he is reading from cue cards. Other scenes are better.

One thing I have noticed lately is the ways that directors hide things from us, like the lack of mobility of older actors, or somebody's unflattering proportions. Once you start seeing what they're hiding you can't unsee any longer.

I also saw this person while walking to the library this morning. Are they someone famous or did I waste my (digital) film? The Sundance film festival is in town so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for celebrities.



I just typed "How old is lacy chabert" into Google, instantly putting me on a hundred different pervert monitoring lists.

I'm a few episodes into Punisher season 2. They keep trying to get me to care about characters who aren't the Punisher. Not going to happen.

There are some stupid bits this series.
Jigsaw's horrifically disgusting facial scarring for example. Just wait till you see it. You'll have to turn away and vomit like we did.
Then there's the dumbness of Madani.
But if you like Punisher there's plenty of good stuff coming your way.

Im installing Crave tonight. I’m really worried I’m about to watch way too much tv

I watched a documentary series called The Impossible Peace on Amazon Prime. It's about the 20 years between WW1 and WW2.

I think it was well done and very interesting. It shows how many different events happening all at the same time led the world down the road to a new war. The early episodes are particularly interesting as they describe the immediate after effects of The Great War in terms of societal and economic repercussions.

I was also impressed that even though it mostly deifies F.D.R. it does have the courage to give brief play to some criticism and even says that the New Deal programs were not effective in ending the depression. It does do a good job of giving reasons as to why the Depression was so protracted.

Well worth the watch.

Watched all three seasons of From Dusk till Dawn: the Series. I loved the original movie but skipped the sequels. Overall, I recommend it to anybody who liked the first movie and likes a lot of action.

There are a lot name actors on this show, but the lead characters are new faces with real talent. The new Seth Gecko is every bit as charming and cool as George Clooney's Seth. The new Richie Gecko is just as awkward and menacing as Quentin Tarantino's Richie. And these guys actually look more like brothers than Clooney and Tarantino ever did. The show also features Don Johnson, Danny Trejo, Robert Patrick (in the Harvey Keitel role), Jake Busey, and Wilmer Valderrama. Jake Busey plays a very different version of Sex Machine, as a smarmy, thrill-seeking professor. Tom Savini (the original Sex Machine) is in the third season but plays a new character. There are at least a couple of scenes where Tom and Jake make meta-jokes about the Sex Machine role. Robert Patrick doesn't look a lot like Harvey Keitel, but mimics his voice and performance perfectly.

The first season re-tells the story from the first movie and expands it various ways. There are some flashbacks to flesh out the characters. The Fuller family gets a darker backstory leading to their RV roadtrip. We even learn more about the unfortunate bank teller hostage and her nasty demise. There is a little padding along the way, but most of the expanded story takes interesting elements from the movie and builds upon them. The first season is the best, and Robert Rodriguez even directs the pilot episode.

The second season delves more into the intertwined nature of the Mexican underworld and the vampires, as well as the layered characters of the Gecko Brothers. Demi Lovato plays a recurring character in season two, but she didn't impress me. The third season builds upon the setting by bringing in more elements of Mayan mythology, and the main characters are eventually fighting to seal a gate to another dimension.

Summary: From Dusk till Dawn: the Series offers a lot of story and action that might especially interest AmeriTrash gamers. If you liked the original movie, the first season is worth watching. If you enjoy the first season, go ahead and watch seasons two and three.