What TV SHOWS are you watching?

hotseatgames wrote: Watched episodes 6 and 7 of Tokyo Vice tonight. This show is really working for me, and I can't wait to see more.

Agreed, next week is the finale. I’m hoping for a second season.

jason10mm wrote: Outer Range on amazon. This is a modern western with Josh Brolin with weird elements. TOTAL mystery box show, the first 2 eps are almost completely inscrutable as it lays the ground work for the "weird stuff", sets up all the requisite interpersonal conflicts and family drama, and brings in all the sinister or odd-ball characters. But then it totally stumbles and stalls out for the next 2 eps (of 10?, 8? no idea) as it gets mired in the mundane stuff and mostly ignores the weird.

Brolin is perhaps overly stoic in this, he seems almost pathologically uninterested in the core mystery of the show, either because he is too "salt of the earth" to care or his own mysterious past is guiding him. Imogen Poots, a name I never tire of saying, makes the most of her "hippy chick until she's not" role, her crazy eyes and ear to ear leer are put to good use. The rest of the cast is serviceable, though some think they are in Twin Peaks, a few think they are in Longmire, and I'm not sure anyone knows exactly there the show is going.

I'm cautiously optimistic that this show will stick the landing, but right now it is falling prey to the mystery box problems of "too much unexplained and likely unexplainable". I hear Severance NAILED IT and I hope this show does as well, but maybe wait for the full season to come out unless you actually like mystery box shows with no resolution.

A very good assessment of where it's at with the first four episodes. I'm interested enough to give it more time. Brolin is good, I don't care for the main villain, the owner of a rival ranch. However, one of the rival sons fancies himself a singer, hating the fact that he is thrust into the life of a rancher. He's probably the most interesting character to me so far.

Finished the first season of Reservation Dogs. I enjoyed it a fair bit. Solid acting from top to bottom and a well-realized setting. Really appreciate the setting, actually. The first two episodes had me a little concerned it would be a Oscar Wao for rez kids in Oklahoma, the sort of middle-class entertainment that you’re not sure if it’s actually good or not but you learn enough to say it’s good, but characters always came first. Nothing really like it that I’ve seen in its balance of emotional struggle and poverty and the intrusion of the supernatural. Kind of curious how the obsession with venison backstraps plays with other viewers. That was not so different from my experience growing up when Deer Hunting Monday was a school holiday.

Feels kind of hard to recommend, though. There’s no sense of urgency to the eight episodes. The first two episodes set up the season’s plot and antagonists, but then drops them almost entirely until they’re resolved in the finale. In between are spotlight episodes that push a different member of the gang to the front. I liked them a lot, but I never felt like I needed to watch the show. Compared to the cliffhangers of Better Call Saul or the drive to the big finales of the Marvel and Star Wars series, Reservation Dogs never demanded my attention. It was better than most of these comparisons and more worthy of my time. Just an odd feeling. Maybe it would have worked better in the ‘90’s when there were more serials and fewer very long movies.

I enjoyed Reservation Dogs but didn't love it. Great characters but I'm not sure there are enough moments or scenes that stick out to leave any lasting impression.

I just wanted to chime in again about Severance. This is one of the most interesting shows I've seen in years.

I've heard that Reservation Dogs is a huge watch among the indigenous people around here (I live in an extremely indigenous region). Supposedly Longmire was also huge too.

Gary Sax wrote: I've heard that Reservation Dogs is a huge watch among the indigenous people around here (I live in an extremely indigenous region). Supposedly Longmire was also huge too.

Can confirm. Both those shows big with those folks. I've hung out in the little town square where Longmire was filmed. Alas, it was before there was any chance of Katie Sackoff being there was well

Yeah, it's funny to watch that show when it's supposed to be in Wyoming but if you've spent any time in NM it is OBVIOUSLY NM. Same with Walt's house, which we've been to several times to snowshoe at (Valles Caldera).

Watched the first episode of We Own This City on HBO. Any fans of The Wire should check this out, as it has many Wire alums on it. In at least two cases, former corner boys are now grown up adults playing cops.

Jon Bernthal is in his element as a cop who "gets results." I loved every second of it.

And yes, you did see Gabrielle Carteris from Beverly Hills 90210.

I’m about as far along as Charlie in Severance and I’m tempted to say it’s the best thing I’ve seen since Twin Peaks: The Return. I can’t describe much of it because even the initial conceit of the show is best discovered after a very intentionally disorienting (and ) first set of scenes.

Also binged the first season of The Leftovers. It’s sort of the eschatological melodrama I was expecting, and I think the Max Richter tracks & perpetually recurring piano cover of Where Is My Mind carry a good deal of it, but I’m hooked by a few of the mysteries and hints for the observant that they actually follow up on throughout the series.

IMO, Severance nailed it! You are correct sir. I don't know if it will stand the test of time as it is as much a social critique of the American tendency to value one's job as it is a mystery to unravel.

The finale of Severance was fantastic. Sad now we have to wait for the next season.

The Leftovers is great, Paul. I watched it a couple of years ago and it really captured my attention. Overall, it reminded me of the better parts of Lost.

Kind of underwhelmed by the first episode of The Great. My favorite part is probably Nicholas Hoult’s Peter III. That blend of petulance, self-obsession, inability and absolute disdain for anyone else’s life while enjoying it all to the hilt makes him the fun and happy Joffrey Baratheon.

My problem is Catherine. This isn’t a knock against Elle Fanning’s portrayal but her very conception as a character. She’s our protagonist, and we’re meant to be on our side. Why? Because she suffers unduly. Fine. Legitimate. But also because she’s read The Social Contract, met Descartes (Side note: who cries reading Descartes? Was Orlo that relieved to realize there was not a devil on his shoulder lying to him constantly?), quotes Diderot and supports the education of women? She’s the model for the Enlightenment! Of course it’s better that we had the Enlightenment than otherwise, but it’s not like it ended slavery or war or colonization. It was just as often employed to justify those very things. Even in Russia, it took another century to emancipate the serfs.

We’re supposed to love Catherine because we, as inheritors of the Enlightenment, identify with her as an early adopter. We’re supposed to support her because we’ve heard of these French writers and also believe women should read. It’s hard to set a lower bar and fails to acknowledge the failings of the Enlightenment. I’m probably asking too much from an anachronistic comedy, but it bothers me nonetheless.

Still watching Young Justice season three. Recent episodes made subtle references to Doc Savage ("I'll be super-amalgamated") and Scooby Doo (disguised villain reveal plus meddling kids rant). The show has generally featured a brief end credits scene, and season three has always used this spot for a depiction of domestic tranquility, often a sleeping dog that belongs to one of the heroes. It was jarring at first, but now I like these quiet moments as a brief reprieve from all the super-drama and action.

DarthJoJo wrote: We’re supposed to love Catherine because we, as inheritors of the Enlightenment, identify with her as an early adopter. We’re supposed to support her because we’ve heard of these French writers and also believe women should read. It’s hard to set a lower bar and fails to acknowledge the failings of the Enlightenment. I’m probably asking too much from an anachronistic comedy, but it bothers me nonetheless.

Catherine loves the idea of herself. As the show goes on, the rough edges of that are what make it good. You're right, she shows up as a shining light to drag backwards Russia into a glorious future. But things don't always go to plan, right?

So, don't always believe the character's bullshit. You're right that Nicholas Hoult does a spectacular scenery-chewing job, and Archie the priest is a stronger character in later episodes too.

I mean, don't watch it it if you hate it, but Ep1 is setting the stage, not defining the arc. We know it's not going to work out well, it's Russia. But she doesn't know that yet.

TOKYO VICE just aired the final episode of the season. At first I thought it was a limited series, but the way it ended sure makes it seem they are leaving things open for a second season. I hope they follow through, the series overall is pretty damn good.