What TV SHOWS are you watching?

Lots of binge watching as the end of the semester slams into me and I stare into the futility of teaching.

So overall I enjoyed this show. It felt like a cross between “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and a Hallmark Christmas movie. After binging it and thinking about the show, I realized they blacked out the “hitman/spy thriller bingo card. Spoilers ensue:



It’s not fair to make fun of this show because it is unrealistic--that is what you signed up for. But it’s interesting who well established all the hitman/spy tropes are.



This is probably the best movie about contract killers, something we can't get enough of. Look at how excited everyone is getting about the United Healthcare CEO getting shot. I realize that his company was killing people, but part of the celebration is the fact that the guy used a pistol with a silencer and rode off into the night on his bicycle.



This movie gets the Hitman thing right, and in 1967.

I used BBedit to automatically create the BBcode for a bullet list:

I picked up a free month trial of Paramount+ for doing ... something. I can't remember what. I decided to catch up on some recent Star Trek shows that I had missed.

First up was the third season of Picard. I had watched the first season a while back and hated it. It was dark, brooding, and boring as hell. I never watched the second season, as I heard that it was even worse. But the third season? The third season is your favorite band from the 80's coming back and playing the motherfucking HITS. It's a blast of pure, uncut nostalgia pumped right into your veins. I enjoyed it tremendously, even while I knew how easily and cheaply the writers were manipulating me. The cast, the ship, the music, everything. If you grew up watching TNG, and you don't get choked up when a certain starship swooshes past, and a certain musical cue drops ... then you are a green-blooded Vulcan.

I've only ever seen one or two episodes of Discovery, and I didn't like it very much, so I decided to skip that one, and watch Strange New Worlds instead. I knew almost nothing going into it except the basic premise -- the adventures of the Enterprise prior to The Original Series. It's pretty good! It looks great, with beautiful sets and pretty convincing special effects. The cast is okay, and I'm slowly warming up to them. Captain Pike is very sincere and earnest, which makes him feel a bit bland. The actor needs to find something to give the character a bit more of an edge. Is he reckless like Kirk? Erudite and standoffish like Picard? Stubbornly defiant (no pun intended) like Sisko? He needs something. The season 1 finale was a very fun reimagining of the classic TOS episode "Balance of Terror." Overall, I liked it. The show does a pretty decent job of balancing that old-school Star Trek feel of exploration and thinky sci-fi, with a modern audience's need for more action and pew pew phasers.

And then lastly, I've been watching Lower Decks, which honestly works so much better than it has any right to. The idea of a comedic Star Trek cartoon filled with SUPER deep-cut references and in-jokes is a premise that simply should not work. And yet, I think it's a blast. Clearly, the show was made by fans. It pokes fun at Trek tropes, but never in a sneering or mocking tone. The jokes come from a place of love, and I think that's why it works.

So yeah, lots of Star Trek! My free Paramount+ trial ends in a few days, so I likely won't be able to watch the second season of SNW. I'll catch it some other time.

DarthJoJo wrote: Even just a rotating human-picked list of ten top Westerns or romantic comedies every week could do wonders for Netflix. Let the degenerates find Ouija Exorcist on their own. Give the rest of us some guidance.

I've LONG wondered why there aren't quasi-celeb curated lists on these services. Just a list of "Arnies fav action films" would be a start, but what I'd really like to see is a series of curated content with a little wrapper before and after discussing the movie. Something fun, like what Gilbert Godfrey and Rhonda Shear used to do for "USA Up all night" would be a great way to pump up the entertainment value of these schlocky c-list films. I've watched my wife spend an HOUR looking for a fun comedy across all of our services, if there were better lists instead of the algorithm I think it would really drive engagment.

jason10mm wrote:

DarthJoJo wrote: Even just a rotating human-picked list of ten top Westerns or romantic comedies every week could do wonders for Netflix. Let the degenerates find Ouija Exorcist on their own. Give the rest of us some guidance.

I've LONG wondered why there aren't quasi-celeb curated lists on these services. Just a list of "Arnies fav action films" would be a start, but what I'd really like to see is a series of curated content with a little wrapper before and after discussing the movie. Something fun, like what Gilbert Godfrey and Rhonda Shear used to do for "USA Up all night" would be a great way to pump up the entertainment value of these schlocky c-list films. I've watched my wife spend an HOUR looking for a fun comedy across all of our services, if there were better lists instead of the algorithm I think it would really drive engagment.

Maybe 3 or 4 years ago, HBO went through a phase where they would promote a new movie or series on their service by having one of the stars provide a list of their favorite movies. HBO would then trim the list down to movies available on their channel and set it up with links to those movies. I don't remember which celebrities or movies, but I did find a few interesting ones that way.

jason10mm wrote: Something fun, like what Gilbert Godfrey and Rhonda Shear used to do for "USA Up all night" ...

Holy shit! Rhonda Shear! That is a core childhood memory unlocked. Just the way she used to say "USA ... UP! All night."

I just crushed the Netflix show "Madness" in two days. Eight episodes. I was watching during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

A little far-fetched, but it was a fun ride.

I finished The Penguin, and while I thought it was very good overall, it definitely started stronger than it finished. I also felt that one part of the dialogue didn't ring true:

hotseatgames wrote: I finished The Penguin, and while I thought it was very good overall, it definitely started stronger than it finished. I also felt that one part of the dialogue didn't ring true:

Warning: Spoiler!

In a show where literally everyone is a criminal, I find it hard to believe that NO ONE, EVER, sits around complaining about Batman, a guy who seriously just fucked up their shit. They don't mention the Riddler either. Several high profile people got killed in that film.

The Batman movie seems to be inspired by the Batman: Year One comics, so this is Batman at the beginning of his crimefighting career. Aside from going after the Riddler, he seemed like more of a hassle for Gotham police than most criminals. Riddler, on the other hand, had a huge impact on Gotham just before the start of the Penguin, and that impact is certainly mentioned throughout the season.

Anybody watching season 2 of Arcane?

Over the weekend, I watched the three-episode documentary Nothin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored Story of '80s Hair Metal. It's moderately entertaining, especially if you actually liked hair bands back in the day. Like most music scenes, there is a definite three-act arc to the hair metal scene. There are the early days of optimism, hunger, and small gigs. Then there is the big breakthrough to mass appeal. And then there is the inevitable decline, usually peppered with deaths from substance abuse. During the first year of the pandemic, I watched a bunch of music documentaries, and this same arc happened even in the Northern Soul dance scene in the UK. Another documentary that I watched that year was The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years (1988), and the third episode of the Nothin' But A Good Time actually re-ran a couple of very memorable scenes from The Decline, and talked to director Penelope Spheeris.

Three episodes was enough. Most of the people in the hair metal scene were pretty shallow and vapid, though some gained a bit of perspective decades later. The only nudity in this Uncensored documentary were a couple of brief topless shots from groupies in the first episode. It was a little shocking to learn that Guns 'n Roses was so degenerate, even compared to their peers in the scene. The saddest story was the fate of the band Hanoi Rocks. My favorite part was seeing hair metal abruptly displaced by the sudden ascension of Nirvana and their epic hit Smells Like Teen Spirit. Just a few minutes of that video and Kurt Cobain was enough to make the whole hair metal scene look garish and lame by comparison.

Sagrilarus wrote: Anybody watching season 2 of Arcane?

Not yet, but soon! I had to go back and rewatch season 1 since I didn't remember a damn thing that happened. I have a couple of episodes left of my rewatch. Remember when TV studios would make 23 episodes of television a year? And now we're lucky to get 8 episodes every 3 years??? I can't remember what the hell happened that far back!!

The animation continues to be nothing short of jaw-dropping.

I finished Interior Chinatown on Hulu. It's squarely okay. I guess I just don't much care for the premise of characters who are aware they are on a show. I will say that this show went a couple of places I didn't expect, which is always nice.

Joebot wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote: Anybody watching season 2 of Arcane?

The animation continues to be nothing short of jaw-dropping.

It's even better in season 2. This is perhaps the most beautifully filmed animation I've ever seen. French (of course) artistry taking it a step higher than everyone else. Even the smoke from the weapons is evocative.

Shellhead wrote: Over the weekend, I watched the three-episode documentary Nothin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored Story of '80s Hair Metal.

If you're not sure about watching the three-part documentary, it turns out that it was based on a book, and this article does a nice job of summarizing the subject matter of both the book and the documentary:

www.njarts.net/nothin-but-a-good-time-80...al-history-of-genre/

Btw, the other reason why the documentary is touted as uncensored is the occasional use of animation to depict some wild incidents described by some of the interview subjects. For example, one musician thought it would be funny to poop in people's shoes while they were all staying in a nice hotel where people usually left their shoes in the hallway. Immediately after this incident is related in the documentary, you get to see a brief animated cartoon of the prankster defecating in someone's shoes.

Upon discovering it's only six episodes long, I decided to give Dune Prophecy another spin. It doesn't get good until episode four but it does get good. For some reason, the third episode is a prequel of the characters when they were younger, which didn't work well. I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was originally the first episode, because it probably should've been.