What TV SHOWS are you watching?

I'm a few episodes in on a couple of shows:
Wednesday - Loving it. I was really skeptical going in, but I just really jibe with the vibe it's going for. It's not super funny or super anything, really, but it hits its own mark really well.

Orville - Not loving it. I didn't realize the third season was out until someone mentioned it here. The episodes feel too long and they've steered away from the comedy. What once was an amusing send up of ST:TNG is now just another bad imitation. But, I'll finish the season anyway because I'm an idiot.

I don't know what happened with Willow ep4 but DAMN, what a come back from the deplorably written and edited ep3. I was shocked to see that there was the same director for both eps, so not sure WTF happened with ep3.

Way more of a horror vibe in ep4, even more Mythos name dropping with shoggoths, and using Balmora's accursed castle as a way to lay out backstory was inspired. More fights, alas like ep1 they were done in murky dim lighting (or artistic HDR, I can't tell) so you can't really see anything other than General Kael's skull helmet. Despite myself I continue to root for all of these characters.

Finished up Andor. I really like the show but that kind of obtuse writing, action-adjacent plotting, and methodical scene building is never gonna be as popular with the SW crowd. Still, I'm glad it exists and hope S2 builds on it without any network influencing.

Seems like Disney is kind of fine running a slow, talky prestige Star Wars series along with all its other various genre series. Which, honestly, is about the best you could hope for from Disney ownership of Star Wars.

So Willow ep5 veers off AGAIN into a more silly, campy vibe. Coming from the kinda creepy introspective ep4 it is jarring, and we see the same sort of continuity gaps that plagued ep3 show up again (how did they get out of that jail hole? why did no one at the party think to let out the other two team members?) as well as some unexpected backstory that the nefarious General Kael from the film . Boorman continues to be the star of the show, though I like how Graydon (the prince) has essentially abandoned all hope of marrying Kit in a loveless marriage of political convenience and is setting his sights straight on the empress with laser focus. Hearing the "say you're sorry, no matter what you actually did or didn't do" advice often given to men, here in a lesbian context, is a refreshing spin as well.

Yet another anachronism with the cover-all wearing Brownie with a rock band t-shirt (and a tail?) that is just a bizarre WTF? Can't tell if this kinda thing is meant to evoke something specific or if there are just some stoners on the crew trying for that wacky 80's vibe. Also odd to hear Willow refer to himself as a talentless hack a day after he torches a manifestation of prime evil and 2 days after he wasted a whole crew of possesses warriors. Hack? Really?

Still, things like the shower scene are just great, I just wish the show was more consistent with their jokes. Characters are moving along nicely, they rarely sleep on a chance to push someone forward, even if the actual plot is getting a bit lost in the weeds.

The Peripheral - started it last week, finished it this week. I liked it! The dialog was stilted in spots. Okay, lots of spots. And a lot of the characters had entirely too much folks wisdom or corny ways to say, "Do what I tell you or your ass is dead." But I liked it a lot. The plot was interesting enough to hold my attention, and didn't leave us stuck too far in Mystery Box Land.

Some characters were completely over the top (Cherise, Lowbeer); when was the last time someone in a show used the word "perspicacious." None of the characters were particularly subtle except maybe Wilf. But I found them enjoyable.

Spoiler for episode 7

Blood Origin - It was okay, I guess. All of the elves weren't unlikable assholes and all of the dwarves weren't unlikable assholes so it didn't really feel like Netflix's The Witcher universe. Which to be honest I lost interest in with the second season so I wasn't too invested in this like I would have been after the first season.

Detectorists - Christmas Special 2022 - Not many shows get a new episode five years after they ended. Was wonderful seeing the DMDC again and the show didn't miss a beat as usual.

Didn't know that came out! Thanks!

We're watching it later on tonight; good to hear it's on form as I have to admit some apprehension of a show returning after just the most perfect ending. More Detectorists has still got to be better than any amount of pretty much anything else though.

We're also working our way through the final season of His Dark Materials which is just okay. It feels like it's going somewhat off-track from the books but given that it's been a good couple of decades since I read Amber Spyglass it's more likely my memory that's at fault. We're at episode seven and character motives are all over the place at the moment, with a fair amount of things occurring just so that the plot can happen. In any case it remains perfectly watchable low-fantasy.

I watched the first episode of Blood Origin and it seemed like your typical "need a reason to pull all the characters together" kind of thing that starts most D&D adventures. Which is fine. Not terribly original, but they did a good enough job of it. I'll keep watching. The lead characters are very pretty.

All of these kinds of shows seem to fall into a very tried-and-true formula, which probably sells well. There never seems to be organized crime, the characters never seem to have a boss that directs them on how to proceed . . . it's always a couple of rogue actors, thrown together in spite of hating each other, trying to change the world. Oh, and by the way, palace intrigue so we can show beautiful people dressed well.

I'm just saying. I think they should all read a James Bond novel and understand that its basic concepts apply equally well to a medieval genre. The "I ride alone" character is way overused in the fantasy genre.

Oh, and by the way, in this thread's tradition I will now refer to this show as "BO".

ChristopherMD wrote: Detectorists - Christmas Special 2022 - Not many shows get a new episode five years after they ended. Was wonderful seeing the DMDC again and the show didn't miss a beat as usual.

Trying to figure out how to get it even on VPN. In the US, since I have no BBC license even with my vpn.

I watched in international waters so can't help you there.

Sagrilarus wrote: I watched the first episode of Blood Origin and . . .

. . . oh, and by the way, in this thread's tradition I will now refer to this show as "BO".

Ok ok, so BO turned out to steadily decline in quality as the episodes proceeded. But -- I did discover that I think women in leg armor are oddly attractive. That was a bit surprising.

As predicted, the first episode of the second season of Dirk Gently broke my heart. The same actors in the same surroundings give a perfect example of how fine the line between brilliance and utter shit actually is. If nobody speaks up, I will consider this show to have one season.
A wholehearted endorsement of Slow Horses season one. Loved Gary Oldman before, but he is just so fun in this. Top notch spy thriller with a welcome view of London. Very intense and smart (if a nittle on-the-nose by the end), Smiley reference included.

I liked it for the weirdness but second season is definitely a quality dive. You won't miss anything important.