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

[Raid]

I re-watched the 2004 Galactica remake last year, and I think it still holds up. As much as I'd enjoyed it back when it was airing, I can understand how people were put off by the conclusion, and it's maybe a little easier when you know what's coming.

[Animalmother]

Watched The Ark of Truth last night, it was fine. Basically a usual episode with a bigger budget. Sad it's over but glad I was a long for the ride....16 years later.

[Raid]

I finished the first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End last night. I'm not really much of an anime watcher (I dabbled when I was a teenager, but I've probably not seen a new series in 20 years other than my long-running infatuation with the Gundam franchise because Giant Robots Good), but I think I'd recommend this for a general audience. I actually only discovered it because Spotify served me up a piece from the fantastic soundtrack and I wanted to see where it came from. The setup is that Frieren, an extremely-long-lived elf who was part of the obvious-RPG-party that saved the world 80 years prior, reminisces about her experiences with a little bit of regret because human lifespans are so short compared to hers, and she takes on an apprentice as one of the other party-member's dying wish and they travel together.

It's not really what I expected, there's surprisingly little action in it and it's far more of a light-hearted journey with minimal stakes, but it's told in such a sweet manner and the characters are all quite likeable. There's a little bit of Naruto-esque anime bullshit (what is it with Japanese productions and describing in detail the systems behind abilities), but it does keep it to a minimum. There are a couple of arcs in the first 28 episode season (a second has been greenlit) which are quite combat heavy, but it's far more sedate than the genre norm, and it's more about talking while everyone walks glacially slowly. It's just very relaxing, and the artwork is particularly nice.

[Mantis]

Finally got caught up and finished the final season of The Expanse today.

Man, what a crummy end to an otherwise amazing show. Amazon really did it dirty by rushing towards that ending and not even funding a full length final season. The last episode still felt like there was so much to unpack and deal with, then suddenly a convenient plot device happens and it's all over. I don't know how much that particular point deviates from the plot of the novels but it really just felt so unsatisfying for the whole show to end so abruptly there.

I know they changed the source material a little bit for certain characters over the course of the show, but the first three seasons of this show have been some of the best television I have ever watched. Seriously excellent stuff. It meandered a bit in seasons 4-5 but some of the newer characters made up for that (Ashford in particular). Such a shame it was prematurely ended because Amazon bought the rights but then couldn't be bothered to fund further seasons.

[Drarok]

With that ending in mind, would you still recommend people watch it overall?

I've had it on my "to watch" list for ages but haven't got around to it.

[Raid]

I can't speak for Mantis but The Expanse is the best TV programme I've ever watched. I do agree to some extent on the ending, but frankly the journey to get there is staggeringly good for much of the series' run - it's not like Game of Thrones where the ending ruined the credibility of what happened prior, it just maybe ends a little too soon. I think the human political situation is resolved in a satisfying way, but I suspect I'll need to go to the books for the real ending to the harder sci-fi stuff.

[Sly Boots]

It's simply one of the best sci-fi shows ever made, highly recommended viewing.

As for the books, I read the first few but petered out a little bit after that, they're good but after a few novels I needed a bit of a change in my reading and haven't returned to them yet (though I plan to)

[Mantis]

I'd echo those opinions to be fair.

Whilst the later seasons aren't quite the same standard as the first three, I still thoroughly enjoyed it right up to the end. I think the main downside is that the final season continues to build a number of story arcs and is very high quality but then it's wrapped up so rapidly and some of those threads are just left unresolved because they were clearly hedging their bets that they would be able to continue the show. I could have easily watched three more seasons, it was gripping right to the end, I'm just sad it had to end how it did. The quality not standing up to the level of the first three seasons is more of a testament to how damn good those first ones are rather than the later ones being poor. I absolutely would recommend the show from start to finish, it has been fantastic to watch, the best sci fi show I've ever seen.

I haven't read the books yet but do have the first one and will be bumping it up my reading list now.

[Animalmother]

The Penguin
Finished the last episode and can say that it is some of the best TV I've seen in a good while. Farrell is amazing and unrecognizable as Penguin, a mid level criminal trying to move up in the world. He's a ruthless scumbag in one moment and a likeable rogue in the next. It's closer to The Sopranos than anything based on a comic character, has very little to do with Batman. It's the one thing the DC universe has going for it, the characters can be very dark.

[Snowy]

With that ending in mind, would you still recommend people watch it overall?

I've had it on my "to watch" list for ages but haven't got around to it.

100%. I can do the odd sci-fi but they have to be something special to hook me, The Expanse is absolutely top drawer and you should definitely watch it.

[Alex79]

We started watching FROM last week and are already halfway through season two. Really enjoying it so far. Shades of Lost and The Leftovers, which are probably my two all time favourite shows, but this is becoming a contender if it stays strong.

[Animalmother]

The Day of the Jackal
Modern tv adaptation of the novel and 70's film. Eddie Redmayne is the super elusive assassin and Lashana Lynch (from the last Bond film) is the MI5 agent trying to identify him. It's pretty good and moves along at a good clip. Redmayne is good but he's no Edward Fox. He's a a bit too emotional and leaves a ridiculous amount of loose ends. There's scenes taken directly from the film and these work really well. It has a definite Bond look to the production, I wouldn't be surprised if they were involved. 8 episodes out so far (of I assume 10) and it's worth a watch.

[Rusty]

I watched all of the Jackal mainly because I hated it so much I wanted to see how they could mess it up more.
Eddie is an awesome actor but his character goes from a super spy type assassin to a complete rookie in seconds.
The female officer tracking him is unlikeable and has no redeeming qualities.

I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be siding with. The actual sociopath assassin (he does kill a lot of innocents with no remorse) or the annoying as hell officer, who also treats other people very poorly.

Anyway, just started watching Dune prophecy. Still unsure as the films are a tough act to follow. Seems to be lots of British actors so far which is a plus

[Animalmother]

Yeah the MI5 character is very unlikeable. I get why you didn't enjoy it, there's definitely much to pick at but it has its moments.

[Raid]

Arcane

I am bitterly disappointed that this only lasted two seasons. The first was one of the most striking TV series I've ever seen, wonderfully executed with great voice work and a story that somehow felt both epic and personal at the same time. It had time to breathe, to present its characters as sympathetic but flawed, with stakes that felt grounded. The second is a travesty, an absolute crime against all of the phenomenal artists that worked on it, because it feels like three seasons of content shoved into one. I'm glad that it gets a conclusion at all, a lot of Netflix shows don't, but this is probably the most staggeringly beautiful piece of visual media I've watched, and it's unbelievable that Netflix didn't think it was worthy of more.

Ok, ok, allow me to indulge in hyperbole for a minute; this hits every one of my aesthetic buttons, but it just feels rushed. There's clearly so much more of a story that the production team wanted to tell, but it's forced to inhabit just nine episodes. Those nine are brilliant, don't get me wrong, but of all the shows Netflix have decided to cut short, this is the one that hurts the most. It's breathtakingly pretty, like they just skipped the step where concept art is broken down into production frames, and they just let the artists run amok.









Netflix are becoming one of my least favourite media companies. They keep giving us a taste of things and then cruelly snatch them away.