What are the TV series you're enjoying, current or past?

Discussion in 'Music, TV, Movies & other Media' started by CenterField, Aug 1, 2020.

  1. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    As I'm sure you recall, we spoke of this show, from it's beginning. It was pretty good, but I got out, a couple of episodes before the finale (after the one they spent down in the glacial crevasse).

    Like you, I'd been drawn to Avenue 5 by its cast and, as I'd said, 3 episodes had been enough for me; I could well imagine it becoming tiresome. I mentioned it as an example of the, "silly sci-fi," that I'd said I'd assumed Montegriffo was not looking for-- the idea had been, if he'd seen it, to either confirm or correct my assumption.

    If you'd wished to suggest Resident Alien to Griff, you should have included @Montegriffo in your post (though this show is also kind of silly, as far as the science goes, though is not as over-the-top as Avenue 5, which is clearly meant strictly as a comical farce-- somewhat along the lines of NTSF: SD: SUV (which I found entertaining)-- not a Dramedy, as Resident Alien.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
  2. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    After watching The Expanse I don't know if I have time for silly sci-fi.
     
  3. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    NTSF: SD: SUV is an over the top parody. It's funny, but I was in no way comparing Avenue 5 to that sort of show. Avenue 5 looked like it was trying to be a bickering workplace comedy, and I just don't think it worked.
     
  4. perotista

    perotista Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Here lately I've been on a binge watching several series on the science and travel channels, I got discovery plus. Some of the shows are:
    Egypt’s Unexplained Files, Mysteries of the Abandoned, mysteries of the missing, Secrets of the Lost, Secrets of the Underground, Secrets of the Viking Stone, America Declassified, American Mystery, Mysteries of the Outdoors. I also have the History Vault which included such series as Ancient Aliens, America, the story of us, Washington, Grant, America’s book of secrets, Ancient discoveries, Ancient impossible, Battles BC and many more.

    I'm also making the most of Amazon Prime Video. Way too many movies to list as well as old TV series. The Expanse is there which I've watched the first two seasons along with the original Star Trek, Star Trek the next generation, Farscape along with some very old western TV shows like Hoppalong Cassidy, the Cisco Kid, The life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Jim Bowie and more.

    Being retired, I've had plenty of time.
     
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  5. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    I was only putting things into general categories: Resident Alien falls into one category in which there is some legitimate drama, & some kooky comedy; my original post about it used the show People of Earth, as a reference. Actually the other show I mentioned, Reaper, I would consider the same genre, even though these three shows are distinctly different, as well.

    From what I saw of it, I would put Avenue 5 in the same, general, utter farcical category as NTSF: SD: SUV, even if the two shows themselves, go to different degrees of silliness & have somewhat different, overall feels.
    I'm sure you are aware of the vast range of films that all qualify as, "dramas," for example; it's the same principle.
     
  6. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    I can see grouping Resident Alien, and People of Earth together, even negating the Sci Fi elements. They are both "dramedys." But don't see a similar comparison between NTSF: SD: SUV and Avenue 5 together. That's like saying MASH and The Simpsons are both comedies and thus basically the same.
     
  7. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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    The Lone Ranger.
     
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  8. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    All I can say is that my opinion differs from yours on Avenue 5, from the 3 episodes I watched. I would not put The Simpsons in the same boat with M*A*S*H, & don't think that is a comparable analogy; more like M*A*S*H and All In the Family. Animation might be its own category. But one might possibly group The Simpsons with Aqua Teen Hunger Force, despite their many differences, if one was emphasizing each one's loose application of reality, in varying aspects of each show.

    If one were to compare the Simpsons to a live-actor show, you would still not use M.A.S.H., though it might not be easy to find a real counterpart. Though I don't watch this show, The Goldbergs strikes me as a show that might have a cartoonish style. If one was focusing on the seriousness of the ideas, however, one wouldn't put the Goldbergs w/ the Simpsons* or with M*A*S*H.

    With Avenue 5 & NTSF: SD:SUV, I qualified that I was referring to them both being complete farce, which I do see Avenue 5 as being.


    * I was a religious viewer of about the first 5 seasons of the Simpsons, then stopped either right after, or within a couple of seasons after the, "who shot Mr. Burns," plot-line. My favorite episode is the one about, "old time religion," when Marge was the Answer-Lady at church, Ned got chased by kids from his newly-opened Leftorium, and Homer found his look-alike image on a box of Japanese detergent, as, "Mr. Lucky."
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
  9. cristiansoldier

    cristiansoldier Well-Known Member

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    Just watched season 1 of Invincible on Amazon and I would highly recommend it for anyone that likes this gengre of show.
     
  10. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    I thought it was great.
     
  11. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    I think my calling Ave. 5 a farce, is more accurate than calling it a, "workplace comedy," which seems a pretty narrow category; often the workplace is mainly used as an excuse for the characters to be in the same place. I definitely did NOT see that show as of the same ilk as The Office. What other shows did you have in mind, for that classification?

    Though I still don't know what live-action tv show I would bundle with the Simpsons, it occurred to me that the offbeat, funny cartoon, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (which I'd said one might connect w/ the Simpsons, by way of a general, shared attribute) could accurately be said to have a character similar to the live actor-populated show, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (and Funny in Sillydelphia). I guess one could technically call that a workplace comedy, too, though it's rare you see any of the characters attending to bar-business. Still, I'd call that show more like The Office (because of the improv element) than I would group it together with Avenue 5. Also, Ave 5's characters seemed more shallowly-depicted, than Always Sunny or The Office (with the caveat that I'd only seen 3 episodes).Though, "Sunny," is more farcical, like Ave. 5. So I suppose all could be connected along various spectra, with the lines of classification being somewhat blurry.


    P.S.-- Two other amusing cartoons, IMO, are Dr. Katz, and Home Movies.
     
  12. The Rhetoric of Life

    The Rhetoric of Life Banned

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    I saw Bloods on Sky On Demand; I caught the pilot by chance on Sky One, liked it, set a series link on my DVR and found the whole series on Sky On Demand; only 6 episodes, only 22 minutes long an episode, it took me a day or two.

    Bloods makes this my third TV show I've enjoyed that stars Samson Kayo; that actor must be really busy as his career seems to have really sky rocketed.

    Also, this was filmed in my neck of the woods/South London, and I couldn't help but notice all of that when I saw it.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2021
  13. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    I just got the entirety of the series Legion from the Library. I'm going to Binge it once I get the player hooked up

    I heard on the radio that it was similar to Patrick Mcgoohan's The Prisoner, which I always thought was possibly the best series ever with the exception of Kung Fu (the original, the sequel was execrable) and Justified
     
  14. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    I'm not sure if anyone's tastes really match my own, in this thread, but if anyone's looking to sample something new, & doesn't mind that it's not sci-fi, or about the criminal element, per se, and that the focal point is on characters in their mid-teens, I have a recommendation. But don't get the wrong idea: this is not After-School Special material.

    The story is about a girl who is abducted and kept in a guy's basement for a year. She had been the most popular girl in school, and was a sweetheart (not the stereotypical queen bee bitch). When she is finally rescued, she finds that a previously awkward butterfly had essentially taken her place, including with her boyfriend. But that all changes when the newly-freed young lady accuses the usurper of having seen her, while she was in captivity, but never reporting it. This turns that girl, as you might imagine, into not just the town's, but a national, pariah. That is, until this girl's family, in turn, sue the family of the recently-rescued abductee, for defamation of character, saying that her charge is false.

    All this, by the way, is happening simultaneously, because of the writers' & director's adroit use of the story's unique caprice: it swiftly alternates between scenes from three consecutive years, while all this drama has been unfolding. So we see both girls, as well as their families, & shifting circles of friends, at each of three distinctly different times in their lives. I should give credit to the makeup & wardrobe people, as well, for making this device work, because the show usually doesn't even tell the viewer when they are changing the year, and yet it is always very clear when the timeframe changes. Nor does it get confusing, with a jumbling of the order of events, because the episodes do play out the story lines sequentially; it is only that they are playing out three stories at once: one occurring in 1993, one in 1994, and one in 1995.

    The series is called Cruel Summer, and it's actually on the Freeform Network (which is not a premium channel, at least not in my neck of the woods). They are only 4 episodes into this first season, most of which I've caught up on, ON DEMAND (for free). The first episode is kind of slow, but necessary, to ground one in the characters, in their different aspects, and the undulating dynamics of their personal relationships, for each of the given time periods, so they will be immediately recognizable, going forward. But as soon as episode 2 starts, be ready to fly through a kaleidoscopic plot, overlaid with layers of embellishing sub-plots. The story has been progressing about 3 weeks, with each episode; so one week, the program will begin saying that all the events occur on or around July 4, in 1993, '94, & '95. The following week, all the scenes will be from on or around June 26, in those three years. Then on July 18. (If it continues to follow this model, it will limit its run to 16 or 17 episodes before the full three year period gets covered, by I expect the jumps will begin getting shorter, say, once the defamation trial starts.)

    Anyway, it's not just the the same old thing you've seen in the past. And it's not just a gimmick-- it's good, intriguing drama. Give me a shout back, anyone who gives it a shot, to tell me what you think.
     
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  15. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    5th episode of Cruel Summer aired last night, and the show only seems to be improving, from its good start (see immediately preceding post). The episode ended by making clear a couple of the series' main themes, which I'd already picked up on: one being a type of parallel between the two main characters, the other having to do with the relationship dynamic between the future abductee & her future abductor. Interesting viewing.
     
  16. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It's called "19-2"
    a Canadian cop show.
     
  17. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    Behind Her Eyes
     
  18. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    The Kominsky Method, Season 3 just came out.
     
  19. Injeun

    Injeun Well-Known Member

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    My Wife and I are currently bouncing between Ragnarok(Norwegian series with English letterbox), Blacklist, and Blue Bloods. We love sci fi, but all of our favorite series have run out. We watch an episode of Judge Judy each day at dinnertime . Don't ask why...it just worked out that way. We much appreciate Netflix and Amazon Prime for all they offer in the way of entertainment.
     
  20. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    I've just started watching Game of Thrones.
    Only four episodes in so far.
     
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  21. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    @Injeun
    I don't know if you were only giving my description of Cruel Summer a, "like," for effort, but as no one else has expressed an interest, I can think of no one better, to whom to address this quick update. This past Tuesday was episode #7, and the quality has not faltered. The story has not only stayed interesting, but is ratcheting up the intrigue with this episode's ending revelation. It is going to be a 10-episode run (at least for the first season), so there are just 3 more episodes to go. It's getting harder to wait the entire week to see how things will continue to develop in all three of the stories, about the two girls, playing out over the consecutive years of their later teens. Though it is about a sensational situation, I think the idea of all the changes one goes through at that time in life, makes it very relatable to us all.
     
  22. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    You were so bored, you finally broke down, ay?

    How is it for authenticity, so far (as if I needed to ask)?
     
  23. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    I did finally run out of things to watch.
    Not great for authenticity.
    Bloody torches on all the walls.
     
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  24. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    Clarkson's farm came out today on Amazon.
    Just binge watched the whole series, very good.
     
  25. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    Loki premiered this week on Disney Plus. So far, it seems very promising and I can't wait until the next episode!
     

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