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

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Tommy
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Tommy » Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:46 pm

Snowy wrote:
Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:08 am
The Shield is a very good show, funnily enough we were debating the merits of it against The Wire in our TGA co-op gaming chat the other night on Discord. For me while it is very good, it isn't quite at the same level as The Wire, but then The Wire is my favourite show of all time.
Initially when I read this I thought 'well yeah, The Wire is about corruption and drugs whereas...'

I think the difference is fairly simply, one is far more geared towards entertainment. Which I think is fine, not every show needs to be wildly intelligent etc. And in its defence (or to its credit?) it doesn't pretend to be.

Presumably it pre-dates The Wire too?

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

Post by Hatredsheart » Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:18 pm

They both aired from 2002-2008.
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Tommy
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Tommy » Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:46 pm

I don't know where I got the idea from that The Shield aired in 1999. Live and you learn.

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

Post by Tommy » Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:15 am

Tommy wrote:
Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:46 pm
I don't know where I got the idea from that The Shield aired in 1999. Live and you learn.
The difference is obvious having watched some more - not once do you root for the criminals in The Shield.

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

Post by Lenny Solidus » Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:57 am

Spoiler
I know I doubt I need to really say it, but Vic Mackey is a criminal. He is the shows primary centralised core criminal.

And I rooted for Vic Mackey the entire run because he always kept the shows dynamic spinning like a top only with a considerable amount of either cracks or weights attached to it that would often unbalance it to a ridiculous degree. There's no question or concern that Vic himself was truly a criminal parading as a cop, right along with the rest of the entire strike team. Lem often skirted around the edges when it came to morality, but he was still in way over his head involved in everything.

And he was allowed to be a criminal for the majority. Vic's relationship with the barn - Aceveda Dutch and Claudette, all who knew his true persona but allowed his methods to wield the end results the barn so desperately required to continue to function unless it ended up effecting them directly, which it so often did.

What I'm getting at I guess is that nobody Vick and the team can go after will ever be as interesting as what could be set up by them next or randomly occur that splintered them all the more, or the very complexities of Vick working both sides as he does.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by eny » Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:08 am

Justified

The first series was sublime, the writing, the characterisation, the casting...everything just brilliant. I am now halfway through series 2 and the delight continues. The dynamics between Boyd and Raylin are so well realised by Goggins and Olyphant. My favourite characters are Ma Bennet and Art...tempered somewhat in finding out today that the actor who plays Art, Nick Searcy, is an avowed Trumpist/election denier/J6er...so many good people spoiled by the grand psy-op.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Raid » Tue Mar 14, 2023 1:35 pm

Babylon 5

I seem to be doing a lot of things lately that I've been meaning to do for a very long time. One of these things was watching Babylon 5, a show I've been told for decades was equal to the 90s Star Trek that I grew up with. Well, it isn't. I think it would have been a good series of novels, but it's such a lacklustre piece of television. The overall story is strong for the most part, but the acting and dialogue isn't. Londo's probably the notable exception, his gloriously over the top performance fits the character and script perfectly, and his character arc is surprisingly believable. The infamous early CGI is actually pretty good, and they managed to do things that obvious contemporary DS9 just couldn't manage with its expensive miniatures, and even after that moved to CGI I still think B5 had the edge in terms of frequency of use.

But its biggest problem is that the script is lousy. I'm generally not a fan of scripts that rely heavily on prophetic language, tales of myth and legend and the like, and the show is absolutely full of it. They set Sinclair up as if he'll be some mystical figure, but then O'Hare's health problems mean he can't continue in the role full-time, so they get another lead in and now he's also treated as mythical. Everything is the worst it's been in a thousand years, it's all ancient this and shadowy that. It's a stylistic choice, but it's one that I just find very difficult to enjoy. DS9 did this too throughout, but mostly as a counterpoint to the science and logic, and it was always treated with scepticism by most of the characters. It too suffered when it took centre-stage, particularly in its final season.

I'm not going to bother watching any of the surrounding films or spinoffs, I'd had enough by the mid-point of season 5, and only really kept going to see if there was a big finale. There wasn't, just multiple episodes of winding down which gave the show a real melancholy ending.

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

Post by Alan » Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:00 pm

Babylon 5 is a big pile of shit.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Achtung Englander » Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:07 pm

Blake's 7 Series 1-5 (Britbox)
Watching this now as a middle aged man instead of a kid, its certainly rough around the edges. You can see the lack of budget on show. Your imagination has to fill in the gaps. On many times I felt like saying "bless 'em" as you could see they were trying their best with what they had. Some episodes are great, some a terrible. Avon definitely makes a classic anti-hero, Paul Darrow is seriously cool and was made for that role. The program brought back lots of memories. From the opening credits to Orac to Zen to the Liberator. I was 8 went it first aired and I recall some scenes to this day. Pure nostalgia fun.
7/10

Currently re-watching Monkey!
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Achtung Englander » Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:12 pm

Andor (Disney+)

The best Star Wars since The Mandorlian. The Star Wars bit plays second fiddle on what it takes to form a rebellion. It could be set in historical times. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Pacing and script treats us like adults. Andor is a character who is fleshed out.

To me Star Wars is
Andor
Rougue One
Ep 4 - 6
Mandorian

The rest I am not interested in.

8/10
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Snowy » Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:45 pm

eny wrote:
Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:08 am
Justified

The first series was sublime, the writing, the characterisation, the casting...everything just brilliant. I am now halfway through series 2 and the delight continues. The dynamics between Boyd and Raylin are so well realised by Goggins and Olyphant. My favourite characters are Ma Bennet and Art...tempered somewhat in finding out today that the actor who plays Art, Nick Searcy, is an avowed Trumpist/election denier/J6er...so many good people spoiled by the grand psy-op.
The entire show, start to finish, is superb. One of my favourites, and gets a re-watch every few years.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Animalmother » Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:29 pm

What's it about? Where's it on? Will I like it!?

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

Post by Sly Boots » Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:37 pm

Animalmother wrote:
Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:29 pm
What's it about? Where's it on? Will I like it!?
Justified?

It's a show with Timothy Olyphant as a US Marshall solving crimes n stuff somewhere in the American South (forget the exact state), it's really good. Last I checked it was on Amazon Prime.

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

Post by eny » Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:09 pm

Yeah it is set in the hollers of Harlan, Kentucky, (short valleys in the mountainsides) following Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen and his Deputy Marshals as they weave their way through the criminal clans and their fuckery, shining it right back at them! Foremost among the Deputies is Waylan, who grew up around the families, who skirts the edges of ethical behaviour, but is "Justified"...just about. I'm on the final series and don't want it to end, it is fucking brilliant!

Find it on Prime.
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Re: Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

Post by Achtung Englander » Wed Mar 22, 2023 12:25 pm

Hello Tomorrow (Apple+)

I have watched the first 3 episodes (of 10) and I genuinely do not know if I like it or not. I will give it until episode 5 and if it cannot grab me, I think I will move on.

Has anyone seen it? Does it get better?
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