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Mycelia Board Game Review

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What TV SHOWS are you watching?

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28 Oct 2019 10:21 #302848 by Josh Look
Fuck Lindelof and just about everything he works on. He’s more responsible for the sheer stupidity of the projects he’s done with Abrams than JJ is. I’m not going anywhere near that Watchmen show, I’ve been burned too many times by that moron.
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28 Oct 2019 12:56 #302852 by mezike
I’m going to wait for season 5 of Watchmen and the inevitable rushed finale after cancellation halfway through before I even think about watching any of it.

Meanwhile I am enjoying the second season of Kaminsky Method, the humour is wry and dry and the acting is stellar and now they’ve gone even higher by adding Jane Seymour to the mix. Pacing ourselves at one episode a week not to spoil it.

Binged on the first half of season 6 of Bojack. It initially took a second look for me to get into the show but now I’m hooked, I enjoyed it a lot even though I’m dazed by how increasingly weird and wonderful it is with every screw coming loose.

Two episodes into Living with Yourself. Along with Maniac and Russian Doll it feels like Netflix are trying to channel Spike Jonez with all this oddball modern-day science fantasy they are investing in. I’m not going to complain because it’s something I tend to enjoy but so far the content isn’t living up to the aspiration. Without Paul Rudd involved I don’t think this one would even register, it’s ticking boxes for quirky and unusual but so far there isn’t any clear direction or development. Just a fun idea that’s being stretched far too thin. Probably going to binge the rest of the show to see if it goes anywhere interesting.

Stalled out on the Dark Crystal show and the kids have lost interest, so another one I’ll likely plod through the rest on my own.

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28 Oct 2019 13:26 #302855 by Joebot

Michael Barnes wrote: But the mystery box stuff is already grating. Half the damn episode was “Will” saying cryptic shit with this “what, you don’t know?” tone.


Totally agreed! The scenes between Angela and the old man were like watching scenes between Jack and Ben on Lost. It's all cryptic nonsense, with stupid questions and irritating non-answers. Human beings don't talk like that!! I thought the dialog in the premier was really sharp, but this episode seemed to fall back on all of Lindelof's worst writing habits.

Apparently there's some additional content on HBO's website that fills in some of the details from 1985 (end of the Watchmen book) and 2019 (when the show picks up). Again, very reminiscent of the Lost days, when there was all this supplemental content in other media. Fuck. That. I'm not doing homework to watch a goddamn TV show.

On a positive note, the world-building in the show continues to be fascinating. It's an interesting mix of low-tech (no smartphones?) and high-tech, like Angela's goggles.

I was watching with my son (19), and by the end, we were both openly laughing at how absurdly and intentionally WEIRD the show is. When Veidt takes a big bite of a tomato, then squeezes the rest of it to pulp in his hands, my son said, "I'm glad he did that. Really brought the character into focus." HA!

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28 Oct 2019 15:29 #302859 by Shellhead

Joebot wrote: Apparently there's some additional content on HBO's website that fills in some of the details from 1985 (end of the Watchmen book) and 2019 (when the show picks up). Again, very reminiscent of the Lost days, when there was all this supplemental content in other media. Fuck. That. I'm not doing homework to watch a goddamn TV show.


For what it's worth, all but the final issue of the original Watchmen comic series included supplementary documents. For example, one issue included an excerpt from the original Nite-Owl's autobiography, Under the Hood. At the time, DC had trouble pitching ad space in the title due to the unfamiliar characters. They marketed and priced Watchmen as a prestige-format book, with high-quality paper and no ads. But just because supplementary material worked for the comic medium doesn't mean that it's a good fit for television.
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28 Oct 2019 17:06 #302868 by Joebot

Shellhead wrote:

Joebot wrote: Apparently there's some additional content on HBO's website that fills in some of the details from 1985 (end of the Watchmen book) and 2019 (when the show picks up). Again, very reminiscent of the Lost days, when there was all this supplemental content in other media. Fuck. That. I'm not doing homework to watch a goddamn TV show.


For what it's worth, all but the final issue of the original Watchmen comic series included supplementary documents. For example, one issue included an excerpt from the original Nite-Owl's autobiography, Under the Hood. At the time, DC had trouble pitching ad space in the title due to the unfamiliar characters. They marketed and priced Watchmen as a prestige-format book, with high-quality paper and no ads. But just because supplementary material worked for the comic medium doesn't mean that it's a good fit for television.


Yeah, that's true. I've only ever read Watchmen in the single, collected trade paperback, so reading those supplementary documents just seemed like part of the book. You read an issue, then read whatever the extra thing was, then moved on to the next issue. It's all right there, so it felt integrated. That's a different experience than having to read some website to get the background exposition before I watch a TV episode. If it's important to the story, then put it in the show.

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28 Oct 2019 17:46 #302869 by Jackwraith

Joebot wrote: Yeah, that's true. I've only ever read Watchmen in the single, collected trade paperback, so reading those supplementary documents just seemed like part of the book. You read an issue, then read whatever the extra thing was, then moved on to the next issue. It's all right there, so it felt integrated. That's a different experience than having to read some website to get the background exposition before I watch a TV episode. If it's important to the story, then put it in the show.


This is exactly what Moore was objecting to when he talked about the inability to translate the story from one medium to another.

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02 Nov 2019 14:49 #303059 by Shellhead
I am nearly finished with season three of Babylon Five. I disagree with the conventional wisdom that says the show was great after the first season. I think the first season was adequate entertainment, second season was better, and finally season three is pretty good. The turning point was the two-part episode that resolved the fate of Babylon Four, and brought back Sinclair, who I still think is better than Sheridan. But I am damning Babylon Five with faint praise, because I feel only vaguely interested in watching each additional episode.

I was a big fan of True Detective season one, and I was crushed by the disappointing second season. So it was with caution that I finally gave season three a try, and it blew me away. More than even the first season, the show finally truly deserved the name True Detective. The show aims higher than just delivering another police procedural, but this mystery offers a wealth of clues for both detectives and viewers to ponder. The main characters have great depth, and tend to reveal themselves only under stress. The opening credit music is a beautiful cover of Son House's Death Letter. The scenes involving an older character with Alzheimer's were surprisingly scary at times. The acting is good, and often great. This is the best season of True Detective, so far, and I hope we get another season at some point.
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04 Nov 2019 08:48 #303079 by Michael Barnes
I’ll give Watchmen a chance to make up for last night’s episode before I quit and just watch it all in fast forward when the full season is available. It was not good, and it points to troubling signs.

Instead of the plot moving on and all of the mystery box crap resolved, we wind up focusing on Laurie Blake/Silk Spectre II. This is fine, really, and Jean Smart was great. The scenes with her and Regina King were excellent. It ties The Comedian directly into the story and I felt she was authentic and misty wel-written. But I found myself wishing that she had been engaged from episode 1.

The show’s world building and narrative, which started out so strong, now has that “oh wait, you didn’t know this already” tone that the Will character had and that is just stringing the audience along.

The Veidt thing is interesting but tiresome I think he is actually somehow Dr. Manhattan or vice versa, but there is some repetitiveness creeping into this regularly scheduled scenes. And I’m already tired of “how does he fit into the Tulsa story”.

The suicide bomber thing was cheap.

I like Looking Glass, but try to tell me he is not an ersatz Rorschach. If we didn’t specifically see Rorschach die, I’d say that he may -be- Rorschach.

Veidt (?) putting on the costume was the most Watchmen moment of the whole episode.

But the biggest head-shaker was the giant blue dildo. That is some Zack Snyder levels of juvenile cluelessness. I was shocked at how locker room that came across- “hur hur she misses that big blue D amirite”. It’s sexist and gross because it feels like a man writing about a woman’s sexual desire from a male viewpoint. Her attraction and desire for Dr. Manhattan should be expressed, but that was done so much more effectively in the call box than showing her with a cartoonishly large blue sex toy. Utterly classless and tasteless.

There is not actually a Dr.Manhattan call box in front of the Iberian Pig. We eat at two restaraunts immediately to the left of it and I can assure you that isn’t there. Oddly, those glowing blue obelisks are actually real.

I like the idea of the call boxes...but there again that is like “oh yeah, they have this.” Next week might have cops riding in dragons and a character would be all like “oh yeah, after they passed the Targaryen Act back in ‘98 cops have always rode dragons”
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04 Nov 2019 09:11 #303083 by hotseatgames
Watchmen, as mentioned, is still leaning heavily on teasing the audience. I will keep watching for now. I'm actually re-reading the book and marveling all over again at how damn good it is. "All we ever see of stars are their old photographs."

Watching the final season of Silicon Valley. I wonder when they decided to take out all the jokes?

Started season 2 of Kengan Ashura on Netflix. It's basically Bloodsport the anime. Mindless fun.

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04 Nov 2019 09:31 #303084 by charlest

Shellhead wrote: I was a big fan of True Detective season one, and I was crushed by the disappointing second season. So it was with caution that I finally gave season three a try, and it blew me away. More than even the first season, the show finally truly deserved the name True Detective. The show aims higher than just delivering another police procedural, but this mystery offers a wealth of clues for both detectives and viewers to ponder. The main characters have great depth, and tend to reveal themselves only under stress. The opening credit music is a beautiful cover of Son House's Death Letter. The scenes involving an older character with Alzheimer's were surprisingly scary at times. The acting is good, and often great. This is the best season of True Detective, so far, and I hope we get another season at some point.


Huh, interesting. I thought it was definitely better than season 2 but nothing compared to the dialogue and chemistry of Harrelson and McConnaughey. I really enjoyed the supernatural elements floating at the corners of season 1. I've rewatched that season twice already and I'm not sure I'll ever rewatch seasons 2 or 3.

Also, no one should cover Son House except for Jack White.

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04 Nov 2019 09:50 #303085 by Shellhead

charlest wrote:

Shellhead wrote: I was a big fan of True Detective season one, and I was crushed by the disappointing second season. So it was with caution that I finally gave season three a try, and it blew me away. More than even the first season, the show finally truly deserved the name True Detective. The show aims higher than just delivering another police procedural, but this mystery offers a wealth of clues for both detectives and viewers to ponder. The main characters have great depth, and tend to reveal themselves only under stress. The opening credit music is a beautiful cover of Son House's Death Letter. The scenes involving an older character with Alzheimer's were surprisingly scary at times. The acting is good, and often great. This is the best season of True Detective, so far, and I hope we get another season at some point.


Huh, interesting. I thought it was definitely better than season 2 but nothing compared to the dialogue and chemistry of Harrelson and McConnaughey. I really enjoyed the supernatural elements floating at the corners of season 1. I've rewatched that season twice already and I'm not sure I'll ever rewatch seasons 2 or 3.

Also, no one should cover Son House except for Jack White.


Maybe I'm wrong. I started re-watching season one of True Detective yesterday, and it holds up great. But I feel that season one sometimes relied on grotesque shock value to keep viewers interested, while season three was more low-key and nuanced in approach. Season sometimes needs the viewers to suspend disbelief, especially in the episode featuring the stash house raid, while season three is almost completely realistic. Also, at times, I wanted to reach through the screen and slap Woody Harrelson's character for his ridiculous hypocrisy. We're talking Thomas-Jefferson-writing-the-Constitution-while-owning-200-slaves-level of hypocrisy. The eventual friendship of the detectives in season three feels more real because it isn't made up of two completely opposite personalities.
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04 Nov 2019 10:46 #303087 by Jackwraith

Shellhead wrote: Also, at times, I wanted to reach through the screen and slap Woody Harrelson's character for his ridiculous hypocrisy. We're talking Thomas-Jefferson-writing-the-Constitution-while-owning-200-slaves-level of hypocrisy. The eventual friendship of the detectives in season three feels more real because it isn't made up of two completely opposite personalities.


Those kinds of flaws are what make characters feel like they're human. Harrelson's hypocrisy (can't see the forest for the trees) is essential to the story that's being told, because he's completely judgmental about the people they're pursuing and cognizant of his own failings, but willfully hiding them so that he can keep deriving the pleasure from life that's he's come to feel that he's entitled to; at least in part BECAUSE he has to hunt down people he regards as the TRUE deviants.

Also, the friendship and conflict between the two leads in season 1 IS the story. That's the only thing it's really about, as they try to come to grips with each others' viewpoints and the experiences that have shaped those viewpoints, while still working on the public case. You haven't ever known someone who seems like they're the complete opposite of you? Or known of a friend or family member who has an attachment to someone, platonic or otherwise, that they can't really explain? Those strike me as very real experiences for many people (they're the origin of the phrase "blood is thicker than water"; when you feel like you have to support family, despite detesting them or what they do.) That stuff is what makes season 1 (Pizzolatto's baby that he nurtured for years, unlike the deadline work of the other two) the best.

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04 Nov 2019 11:58 #303090 by Sagrilarus
Anyone else watching Finding Alaska?

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04 Nov 2019 12:43 #303092 by Gregarius
Gonna have to disagree with Mr. Barnes here. I thought ep.3 of Watchmen was fantastic. I loved all of it.

Absolutely Looking Glass is an ersatz Rorschach. There are so many parallels to the original book that I think this is more of a remake than a sequel. I think I've heard Lindelhof refer to it as a "remix" (which actually scares me, but I'm onboard for now).

And I'm probably completely wrong here, but I suspect that thing wasn't actually a dildo. I know, I know, it's heavily implied that it is, but I just have a feeling that's a misdirect for a laugh.

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04 Nov 2019 12:55 - 04 Nov 2019 13:06 #303093 by Josh Look
I’ve hated all of Watchmen so far and as per my “Give It 3 Episodes” rule, I’m checking out.

On the other hand, I’m finally getting around to Over the Garden Wall, a 10 episode mini series that was on Cartoon Network. It’s weird, creepy, and occasionally wonderful. Really digging it so far.

I’m also a handful of episodes into What We Do In the Shadows. I hate to say it, I like it better than the movie. Where I feel the movie wears thin in areas, the half hour format works better for the concept than feature length. The new characters are great. I literally can’t stop laughing the entire time Colin the energy vampire is on screen.
Last edit: 04 Nov 2019 13:06 by Josh Look.

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