What TV SHOWS are you watching?

I tried to access HBO Max again. This time, I went to their website with the new six-digit code, and successfully used it. Then they asked me to name my provider that I am currently getting HBO from, and that became a huge problem because my provider is Roku, and Roku was definitely not on their very long alphabetical order list of providers. But Roku let me download the HBO Max app in the first place, so I went to their site and saw that I was now listed as both an HBO subscriber and as having access to the HBO Max channel.

I contacted customer service for both Roku and HBO Max. Roku responded within a minute, with a service rep instant messaging me. I explained the problem, and the rep told me that Roku is not a provider for HBO Max. HBO Max didn't get back to me for a couple of hours, but when they did, they emailed me this infodump:

Hi Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting HBO Max Customer Support. My name is Kimberly and I'm here to help. I understand you're unable to sign into the HBO Max on your Roku device.

Please use the following troubleshooting steps.

Step 1: Check your internet connection
To check your connection, press the Home button on your Roku remote. Then go to Settings > Network > Check connection. To improve your wireless connection, see Tips for improving your wireless Roku connection.

If videos are buffering, please see Video loads slow, pauses, or buffers.

Step 2: Update your software
Make sure your Roku has the latest software. Press the Home button on your Roku remote, then go to Settings > System > System update > Check now. This will install software updates for your Roku streaming device and your channels.

Step 3: Restart your Roku device
Roku streaming player: Go to Settings > System > System restart.
Roku TV: Go to Settings > System > Power > System restart.
Step 4: Delete and reinstall HBO Max
If your HBO Max subscription was not purchased through Roku, try removing and adding the HBO channel using the steps below:

On your Roku, highlight the HBO Max channel and press the Star button (*).
Choose Remove channel.
Choose Remove to confirm.
Restart your Roku streaming player or Roku TV.
Search for HBO Max in the Channel Store.
Select Add channel.
Open HBO Max and sign in.
Please use the following sign in steps.

Open HBO Max on your TV and choose Sign In (or try to play a show or movie).
Sign in Not Available? You may already be signed in. To see which account you're signed in with, choose your profile icon (circle with a letter in the upper-left), then scroll right and choose Sign Out. Here you can see your account email address. If you want to switch to another account, choose the Sign Out button and then sign in to your other account.
You should see a 6-digit code. Stay on this screen while you grab your phone or a computer.
Open a web browser on your phone or a computer and type hbomax.com/tvsignin in the address bar (this redirects to [ activate.hbomax.com ).] activate.hbomax.com ). This should take you to an Enter Code screen.
Enter the code that appears on your TV, and then choose Next. Code not working?
Choose Sign in Through TV or Mobile Provider.
Choose your provider from the list. I don't see my provider
Enter the username and password for your provider account that includes HBO Max. If you have trouble signing in, see Can't sign in through provider?
First time signing in? Enter or confirm your name and email and then choose Create Account. Account found? See the next section.
Once your TV updates (this may take 60 seconds), choose who's watching and you're ready to stream.
Thank you for contacting HBO Max customer support. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. You can reply to this message or call us at 855-4-HBOMAX (855-442-6629).

Thank you,

Kimberly J.

HBO Max Customer Advocate


But it was a waste of time, because HBO Max was not able to acknowledge that Roku is missing from their provider list. So I cancelled my HBO subscription, because they have taken some content off of HBO and moved it to Max, so I feel that I am getting overcharged. I can't believe that I am a special case, so there are likely many people struggling with the same Roku/HBO Max problem. So I'm just going to wait a while, maybe months, to see if they can figure out their problem.

Yeah, Roku and HBO Max specifically were in a big dispute where HBO Max wouldn't put their app on Roku devices. It's dumb as fuck.

If you have an Xbox or PLayStation, they might count as an HBO delivery mechanism. I have had similar issues with Twitch, Amazon-owned, not wanting to be on my Roku or AppleTV. Everyone wants those Fire thingies, right Jeff Bezos?

WandaVision is good, on Disney+, if you’re still an MCU diehard, like me.

So the wife is watching His Dark Materials and damn is this show annoying! Not just the plot and the turgid pace of what is ostensibly a YA show, but just the concept of each person having an animal daemon familiar thing that, if hurt, will hurt or even kill the human attached is just so f'ing DUMB because people are so careless with their little rat, butterfly, or lizard daemon and just squish it and the person is dead. Somehow all the bad guys have big tough dogs, primates, or the like and the good guys get by with little mammals and crap. You'd think folks would keep them in protective cages or just make sure they got a big animal, not a useless death token. I've never read the source material but I gotta think he had a solution because right now daemon killing is a flawless murder technique.

Anyway, when I nitpick a show to death like this it is a clear indication I'm not enjoying it, which is happening a lot with HBO stuff of late which is really weird. They usually hit the right notes with me but the past few years suggest that they are getting thin on talent, I think.

DarthJoJo wrote: So I watched the first episodes of WandaVision last night. It’s hard to talk about because it commits hard to its conceit of replicating old sitcoms from cinematography to writing to performance. It’s not winking at the audience either, like Community would. It’s wholeheartedly in on the ‘50’s and ‘60’s aesthetics, and it’s off putting as a modern viewer. And that’s before it takes a swerve into the Twilight Zone.

It’s not immediately fun like The Mandalorian, so it’ll be hard to recommend until the full thing is out and the story is told in full. Elizabeth Olsen’s performance is pretty great, if that’s enough for you.

I actually stopped watching it partway through, Right as they sat down to eat. It wasn't until after I read a review on Ars Technica that I gave it a second shot. The 60's schtick wasn't entertaining, and the unrealistic reactions to Vision's constant social fopah's is extremely off putting to me instead of funny. It's not until the end of the episode (last five minutes) when they start to question why they have no memory before they entered the house. They should have put that a lot sooner in the episode before things fall off. So far it's a miss, I'd give it to four episodes before I torpedo it.

Finished Season 3 of Preacher. I enjoyed the comic book and am hugely enjoying this adaptation. Great casting, looks great and is utterly refreshing. Last night the pope exploded.

Wife and I watched the first two eps of Wandavision and I have no idea what's happening or if I like it or not. Hard to judge until more stuff happens, but it's certainly a very strange 45 minutes of TV with absolutely no payoff, so far.

jason10mm wrote: So the wife is watching His Dark Materials and damn is this show annoying! Not just the plot and the turgid pace of what is ostensibly a YA show, but just the concept of each person having an animal daemon familiar thing that, if hurt, will hurt or even kill the human attached is just so f'ing DUMB because people are so careless with their little rat, butterfly, or lizard daemon and just squish it and the person is dead. Somehow all the bad guys have big tough dogs, primates, or the like and the good guys get by with little mammals and crap. You'd think folks would keep them in protective cages or just make sure they got a big animal, not a useless death token. I've never read the source material but I gotta think he had a solution because right now daemon killing is a flawless murder technique.

Anyway, when I nitpick a show to death like this it is a clear indication I'm not enjoying it, which is happening a lot with HBO stuff of late which is really weird. They usually hit the right notes with me but the past few years suggest that they are getting thin on talent, I think.

My girlfriend and I watched the first episode of His Dark Materials and didn't continue with it. Neither of us had read the books, and neither of us felt particularly engaged with the proceedings. The animal connection idea isn't inherently bad, as I have read a very good book using that premise: Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes.

My experience with HBO Max is the exact opposite of what's described here. Our HBO Now on our Roku just magically tuned into HBO Max.

My take re: WANDAVISION, it's not schtick, per se, it's a happy pleasant(Ville) for Wanda to enjoy with her love, Vision. Which is not possible, because the Soulstone was slurrrrrpped out his head by her, and then by Thanos after some time warp-ish stuff. She basically freaked the hell out, maybe went catatonic, and/or absconded to some reality created by her where she can live this life that she's wanted. But Vision isn't there fully willingly and is having trouble making sense of things that Wanda is not knowledgeable of, e.g., he has some job in computing, but he doesn't know what he's computing, and no one does, really, because it's not something she thought all the way through. It looks like SWORD is a thing and is watching/interfering with this, maybe trying to rescue her? Or maybe they are keeping her subdued? Anyway, I am looking forward to more.

Roku customer support sent a follow-up email, emphasizing that they are not a provider of HBO Max. I checked the Roku website and found HBO Max listed as a featured selection on their channel page. I sent a link to the customer service rep and said that I look forward to his response.

I am really enjoying Your Honor on Showtime. Bryan Cranston is a judge in New Orleans. When his son gets involved in a quite a situation, his initial move to do the lawful thing shifts as he realizes the implications of his son's actions. Tension is high, plot moves at a good clip, crazy stuff happens.

I'm not sure what thought process led to the writers essentially omitting the first third of the novel, but pretty much every structural decision that went into CBS's adaptation of The Stand was a poor one. It looks like the production was in 2019, so I don't think the choice to condense to the point of near elimination the Captain Trips phase of the novel was to minimize references to global pandemic--although that could've happened after initial production--but basically putting everyone at the start of the novel's middle part and flashing back, usually after something momentous happened that viewers wouldn't understand the significance of, undercuts any impact of the event and leaves the characters without mooring. It gets better around episode 5 of 9, but I'd hardly encourage anyone to bother, as the chaos of the first four episodes or so is an unfixable problem with the show. It's not that there wasn't room for improvement on the 1994-ish miniseries, and, in truth, this new iteration does make some positive improvements in both casting and plotting, but no one will fondly remember this take, I predict. I'm mostly sticking around now for the new King-authored coda to the story.

CBS's adaptation of The Stand

I'd just like to know if it featured Blue Oyster Cult music. It seems like a shoe-in for it.

It was in the end credits to episode 5. No real reason for it there, IMO, other than to tick off a box.

Thankfully, I don't recall any effort to try to perform "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?" though I think reference was made to it.