Your favourite stuff of 2024

[Tommy]

Ella Purnell (who I love incidentally), seems to have come out of absolutely nowhere. Is she lead in Arcane?

I quite enjoyed Sweetpea also (though it’s not one for this thread).

[Raid]

Ella Purnell (who I love incidentally), seems to have come out of absolutely nowhere. Is she lead in Arcane?

She's lead three of my favourite TV shows of the last few years; Jynx in Arcane, Gwyn in ST: Prodigy, and now Lucy in Fallout.

[Mantis]

I did love Helldivers 2 initially, it had a good sense of fun and challenge, and was a good laugh with friends. It made you simultaneously feel like a badass, yet vulnerable. But then a pattern started to emerge; they started to ruin the power fantasy, and it was all down to one particular enemy - the Charger. They're common and dangerous enough for me to have felt the need to build my loadout around the necessary anti-armour weaponry, and every time I found a new weapon that let me do that, the devs decided that it made killing Chargers too easy and they nerfed it. When they released the flamethrower-themed warbond *immediately* preceded (we're talking less than a week) by a nerf to all flamethrower weapons, that was the final straw for me. I'd kept playing for far too long just not enjoying myself, and it absolutely killed any remaining enthusiasm I had for it.

I think they've fixed a lot of my issues with the game now, but I just don't enjoy it any more.

Yeah they've patched a lot of the weapons so they aren't as weak now. It was getting a bit much at launch that every time I unlocked a new weapon which seemed quite fun a patch would come out that nerfed it. The balance is in a much better place now so everything feels pretty strong. I've been doing random groups on Super Helldive difficulty and having a right blast with it.

[Tommy]

Ella Purnell (who I love incidentally), seems to have come out of absolutely nowhere. Is she lead in Arcane?

She's lead three of my favourite TV shows of the last few years; Jynx in Arcane, Gwyn in ST: Prodigy, and now Lucy in Fallout.

I first saw her in Fallout and thought she was excellent. I think the fact she already comes across kooky means it feels less forced with her character than others.

I can’t envisage me watching Star Trek, but given the recommendations I might give Arcane a go.

[Wrathbone]

On a slightly different note, my most disappointing tv show of the year was Masters of the Air. Apple trying to make what HBO were experts at, while it certainly wasn't bad I just found it dull and never finished it. The effects were surprisingly adequate for something made in 2024.

It was no Band of Brothers, but I enjoyed it overall. I got to the end, too, which is more than I can say for The Pacific (despite multiple attempts to watch it over the years).

[Stormbringer]

I am genuinely struggling to remember anything from the past year. Feels like a bit of a blur (actually, that's true of the last five)! I have been quite busy, I suppose, with real life, but even so, not a lot springs to mind. It's been something of a dry year for me as far as digital entertainment goes.

I have watched numerous TV shows and films with my wife (we're mostly into period dramas) but can barely remember any of them. I think many of them are from the previous few years anyway, rather than 2024 specifically.

In terms of board games, Talisman 5th Edition came out. Rules-wise, I would say it is the best edition yet; very streamlined (as much as Talisman can be streamlined) and lots of little legacy rules oddities finally ironed out. It feels like the 'definitive edition' in that respect. Unfortunately, I believe most, if not all, of the new artwork is AI-generated and there's a 'soullessness' to it. A symptom of the times.

Just this week I watched Terminator Zero on Netflix, which came out last year, and that was enjoyable. I am not a massive anime fan (quite the opposite, normally) but I got into this one and I want more, so it must have been all right!

Some people have mentioned their least favourite things from 2024, and the one that stands out for me in terms of films is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. I am astounded at how bad that was. It felt like a work of fan-fiction, rather than something that came from the mind of George Miller.

[Stormbringer]

I have watched numerous TV shows and films with my wife (we're mostly into period dramas) but can barely remember any of them. I think many of them are from the previous few years anyway, rather than 2024 specifically.

I DO remember something now, and this was definitely from 2024.

SHARDLAKE

It's on Disney+, and is based on a series of books about a lawyer who lives and works in Tudor-era England. Sean Bean plays his boss, Thomas Cromwell. I haven't read the books (my wife has read some of them), but the show was magnificent.

If I had to pick one TV show from 2024 as my favourite, I'd choose that, for sure.

[Snowy]

I am genuinely struggling to remember anything from the past year. Feels like a bit of a blur (actually, that's true of the last five)! I have been quite busy, I suppose, with real life, but even so, not a lot springs to mind.

Hey Doug, nice to see you back posting

[Stormbringer]

I am genuinely struggling to remember anything from the past year. Feels like a bit of a blur (actually, that's true of the last five)! I have been quite busy, I suppose, with real life, but even so, not a lot springs to mind.

Hey Doug, nice to see you back posting

Thanks, Snowy!

I came back because I was missing you describe everything negative as "BALLHANG" so I'm hoping you won't disappoint!

[Snowy]

I am genuinely struggling to remember anything from the past year. Feels like a bit of a blur (actually, that's true of the last five)! I have been quite busy, I suppose, with real life, but even so, not a lot springs to mind.

Hey Doug, nice to see you back posting

Thanks, Snowy!

I came back because I was missing you describe everything negative as "BALLHANG" so I'm hoping you won't disappoint!

I aim to please

[Stormbringer]

In all seriousness, is "ballhang" a common expression, or is it unique to you?

I've actually Googled this over the last few years, and even asked ChatGPT but got no conclusive answers!

[Raid]

Ian has a slew of very entertaining insults, but Ballhang is one I'd heard before.

[Stormbringer]

I'm obviously living in the wrong part of the UK!