Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

[Drarok]

Yeah, I think it was just right in length – didn't overstay its welcome or flounder around and peter out having been cancelled. It arrived, got its story done and finished on a high.

[Sly Boots]

Oh, absolutely. Parks and Rec went on one season too many and it showed, Good Place meanwhile was more like Fawlty Towers in that it went out on a high without its quality dropping, or leaving its story unfinished because it got cancelled (RIP Last Man on Earth, Santa Clarita Diet etc).

But I'll still miss it.

[Drarok]

Yeah, P&R got weird towards the end. Overall still worth the watch, but not quite as polished an experience. Good to see Schur learned his lesson.

[Wrathbone]

I've also just finished The Good Place, having binged most of season 4 last night after not having watched it for a few months. It's one of the most satisfying endings I can recall from a TV show. There were parts of season 4 where I wasn't sure exactly which direction they were going to take it, but it's a show that earned trust right from season 1:

Spoiler

I remember distinctly about halfway through season 1 wondering (even though I was enjoying it) whether its take on the afterlife was as simplistic as it appeared to be on the surface, or whether it was intentionally portraying itself that way for something more substantial. And then THE big reveal happened and I knew I was in safe hands.

While I'd venture that much of its philosophical explorations are probably things that a Philosophy 101 student would scoff at, it didn't stop them being meaningful or worth thinking about. And of course it was damn funny throughout (with the possible exception of Derek, who never worked for me). A stellar show all round.

[DjchunKfunK]

This is probably going to come as much of a surprise to people on here as it has to me but Top Gear is actually good again. I was very sceptical about the change to Paddy McGuiness and Freddie Flintoff, I thought it might devolve into a bit of a macho mess but it turns out the three have pretty good chemistry and for the first time in a long while I have found myself laughing quite hard at the show. I think it helps that they have done away with most of the studio stuff and most episodes focus on one main 'challenge' with one review by Chris and maybe one other item.

They are currently on their second series and have also done a Christmas special. I started out with the Christmas special over the break and then when I found out there was already one series with the new trio I have been devouring that over the last few days. The new series is currently two episodes old and I recommend fans of the old show check it out, I honestly think that it is better than most, if not all of The Grand Tour.

[Snowy]

I agree, it has been absolutely superb. The three of them really spark off one another and frequently have me laughing like a drain.

Flintoff bungee-jumping a mini-metro off a huge dam showed that he has plums like Buster Gonad, and Sunday's episode had me absolutely howling with laughter, especially McGuinness' trial run at a quarter-mile in his knackered old Pontiac Firebird.

[eny]

Yep, TG has definitely returned to greatness, with 3 very likeable presenters indeed. Boom!

[Drarok]

I had absolutely no idea they were back on. Marketing team been fired?

[Snowy]

This is the second season - I think after the Evans/LeBlanc era of completely forgettable broadcasting they stopped trying to engender interest in it.

The new presenters are a real return to form.

[Hatredsheart]

Really enjoyed Season 1.

[Rossell]

Count me in on the new top gear I too started with the Christmas special and it's been great so far.

Thumbs up to altered carbon too.

[Animalmother]

So Altered Carbon..

Spoiler

same character but in a different body?

[Hatredsheart]

So Altered Carbon..

Spoiler

same character but in a different body?

Spoiler

Yes, still Takeshi Kovacs

[Achtung Englander]

The Staircase

This one is really tricky to judge (see what I did there...). No seriously this is a very fascinating documentary in 13 parts. It is overly long and could be edited better with stronger focus on the trial and less on the family. The issue is that the documentary is very much one sided on the defense. There is almost nothing from the pov of the prosecution - thus the documentary takes a very opinionated view that Mike Peterson is innocent of murder. There seems to be a very compelling case to presume he is guilty but we never hear it.

Spoiler

The fact the story takes over a period of 15 years it was fascinating to see that as people get older the technology gets better. So the SD resolution of the early 2000s is replaced with HD when we pick up the story in the teens.

Personally I actually do not know if he did it. Sometimes I think he did it from his mannerism, lack of sincere remorse but since I do not know the man he could be grieving in his own way. The wounds to Kathleen were horrendous and you have to question what kind of a fall would result with that. On the other hand so much of the evidence against him is questionable. Without having all the facts in court I could not make up my mind

It is interesting but not brilliant as many the media have made this out to be. I liked the defense lawyer, David, he made the case fascinating.

5/10

[Sly Boots]

The Staircase

This one is really tricky to judge (see what I did there...). No seriously this is a very fascinating documentary in 13 parts. It is overly long and could be edited better with stronger focus on the trial and less on the family. The issue is that the documentary is very much one sided on the defense. There is almost nothing from the pov of the prosecution - thus the documentary takes a very opinionated view that Mike Peterson is innocent of murder. There seems to be a very compelling case to presume he is guilty but we never hear it.

Spoiler

The fact the story takes over a period of 15 years it was fascinating to see that as people get older the technology gets better. So the SD resolution of the early 2000s is replaced with HD when we pick up the story in the teens.

Personally I actually do not know if he did it. Sometimes I think he did it from his mannerism, lack of sincere remorse but since I do not know the man he could be grieving in his own way. The wounds to Kathleen were horrendous and you have to question what kind of a fall would result with that. On the other hand so much of the evidence against him is questionable. Without having all the facts in court I could not make up my mind

It is interesting but not brilliant as many the media have made this out to be. I liked the defense lawyer, David, he made the case fascinating.

5/10

Go check out the owl theory.