Colossal TV Show thread

[DigitalGypsy66]

The Gentlemen (Netflix, executive produced by Guy Ritchie) was very solid. Great cast, typical Ritchie type crime caper. Only 8 episodes, so not a big investment of time.

Still think Theo James could be a good Bond.

[NTP66]

Hijack

I thought the finale was terrific, and even almost got me a little emotional towards the end. Fantastic job by the cast all around. Lots of unanswered questions, though, and I wonder if they'll take that as an opportunity to do a second season where it's based on the ground, continuing the storyline. That seems like the most logical direction.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Shōgun Ep 6

5+ hours of storytelling and playing with language - and subtitles and Mariko's ever more selective translations - paid off beautifully in the Willow World scene. Exquisite.

Lady Ochiba creeps me the f**k out.

Absolutely. I see this is listed by IMdB as a mini-series. So are we on pace to finish the book, or could we see multiple seasons?

[tifosi77]

I've never read the book, but I know something of the actual historical events/people the story is based on. If book follows the same overarching trajectory and the FX series is faithful to the book, then I imagine we're approaching the outright end. It took like ten years to make this thing. It doesn't strike me as a serialization kind of deal. haha

Serious potential big spoiler for the end of the show:

I believe they are about to join the Battle of Sekigahara, which was a seminal moment in Japanese history, where the country was unified under one ruler for the first time in the age of contact with Western civilization......... after which the first ruler of that era promptly ended all those ties with the outside world and surrounded Japan with a cultural 8-sided fence that stayed up until the U.S. Navy showed up in Tokyo Bay in the mid-19th century and said "trade with us or we'll invade your s**t", which then brings us to the Tom Cruise movie. And I'll leave it at that.

[tifosi77]

Shōgun Ep 7

An episode that maybe in isolation didn't sing as loudly as others, but in the full context of the show will be vital.

I was not expecting to see the birth of geisha in this series, but here we are.

Toranaga has to have a plan. Why he isn't sharing it with his top advisors, I don't know. But Gin called him out - how could someone so careful get jobbed unless it was on purpose. Then again, he was the one writing a will this time.

I'm also hopeful Yabushige has a role to play. You're fresh out of angles to play, it's time to s**t or slit your belly, Yabu.

They've mentioned the Portuguese introduced firearms to Japan, but to this point aside from the canon incident no-one has been shot yet.

Did you know the art of being a second in seppuku was in severing the spine so death came quick, but not fully separating the head from the body? Because full decapitation would be disrespectful, see, and ruin the whole exercise. I just learned that last week, you were meant to have a neck flap holding your dome on. Fun.

[meecrofilm]

Slow Horses series 3 started back up. First two episodes out, and new ones out each Friday. Very good so far, and season 4 is on the way soon. I wonder if they film these back to back? It's cool how they have a promo for the following season out after the current season ends.

Finally finished S3. Very solid, as to be expected at this point. The show keeps on delivering. They definitely upped the action budget for this season.

Yall need to get on this train, the DG66+meecro stamp of approval is never wrong.

Speaking of, you all finally watched Warrior, but how many have checked out the showrunner's previous show, Banshee?

[DigitalGypsy66]

I need to watch Banshee. One of my friends from college is a "featured extra" in it. I need to go find him in it lol

[skullman80]

Watching reruns of Roseanne on TV Land and it pops up TV-G for the rating. That seems wrong lol. Great show and holds up very well.

[nocera]

Watching reruns of Roseanne on TV Land and it pops up TV-G for the rating. That seems wrong lol. Great show and holds up very well.

Yeah I’ll rewatch Roseanne every few years. Such a good show especially the earlier seasons. When I do a rewatch, I tend to skip the final season and I definitely don’t watch the reboot. There are very few shows that actually have a legit jump the shark moment but the Conners winning the lottery has to be up there with Fonz literally jumping the shark. Michael Scott moving to Boulder is another.

I’m still watching The Conners week to week for some reason. It’s bad.

[skullman80]

Watching reruns of Roseanne on TV Land and it pops up TV-G for the rating. That seems wrong lol. Great show and holds up very well.

Yeah I’ll rewatch Roseanne every few years. Such a good show especially the earlier seasons. When I do a rewatch, I tend to skip the final season and I definitely don’t watch the reboot. There are very few shows that actually have a legit jump the shark moment but the Conners winning the lottery has to be up there with Fonz literally jumping the shark. Michael Scott moving to Boulder is another.

I’m still watching The Conners week to week for some reason. It’s bad.

Yeah I like to pretend the final season just didn’t happen for Roseanne.

I think I watched a few episodes of the Conners but it didn’t click for me.

[nocera]

The season 10 reboot when it was stilled called Roseanne was fine. But it's weird just how much they decided to retcon. Jackie never had Andy and didn't marry Fred, Jackie is NOT a lesbian, Mark didn't end up with Darlene and David didn't end up with Becky, Dan obviously did not die, Jerry Garcia was working in Alaska as a crab fisherman but then he was just sort of forgotten about and never mentioned again (including in The Conners), Becky was pregnant in season 9 of Roseanne and that child just doesn't exist at all now.

Season 10 and The Conners exist in a world where season 9 never happened, but they also decided to pick and choose other random stuff to retcon as well (like Andy).

[nocera]

I watched the first 3 episodes of the new curbed season. I could watch this show forever. Even episodes that aren’t great are still hilarious.I thought the 3rd ep was the best of the three.

Agreed. This season has been solid. I have a weird hunch that the finale is heading toward a Seinfeld-esque finale with a trial and Larry getting sentenced to jail. If that happens, after how much hate the Seinfeld finale still gets, I’ll love Larry David even more.

Curb finale

I was pretty pretty pretty close. Fantastic finale.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Yeah, it was great.

[tifosi77]

Shōgun Ep 8

Talk about committing to the bit, geez......... Hiro's sacrifice had layered meanings, and he went out with honor and loyalty for a higher purpose. RIP

Since the series began poor Fuji has lost three family members by seppuku.

It's good to see Yabu and Anjin thrown (........or rather placed) together. They are essentially cut from the same cloth as men, so it's natural to see their partnership, no matter how contrived. Omi, Yabu, and the Christian fisherman are Blackthorne's oldest 'friends' in Japan, so I wonder if they'll all come together in the end. "Ajiro-jin......... assemble!"

Lady Ochiba managed to be creepy while taikō's widow died, so that was neat.

Also, the ins and outs of Sengoku funerary etiquette were probably quite a thing, but I can't figure out how Nagakado's body fit into the box.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

I just finished S03 of The Witcher. Writing was garbage, and really, the only redeeming quality was a few of the actors - first and foremost, Henry Cavill. So I'm at a crossroads. I have zero interest in a Hemsworth-led Witcher, but I'd like to actually see the conclusion.

I finally finished the last season too and completely agree. The quality of the show really dropped from the 1st season. I'll probably watch the next season to see where the story goes, but could easily bail if the quality of the show gets worse.

[NTP66]

I just finished S03 of The Witcher. Writing was garbage, and really, the only redeeming quality was a few of the actors - first and foremost, Henry Cavill. So I'm at a crossroads. I have zero interest in a Hemsworth-led Witcher, but I'd like to actually see the conclusion.

I finally finished the last season too and completely agree. The quality of the show really dropped from the 1st season. I'll probably watch the next season to see where the story goes, but could easily bail if the quality of the show gets worse.

I'll watch the first episode and likely decide then and there whether to continue.

[tifosi77]

Further Shōgun musings

Something that occurred to me last night while ruminating.

Ishdio has levied the charge that Toranaga aims to assassinate the heir to the throne - Yaechiyo, the son of the deceased taikō - and that is why there have been all the machinations with the Council of Regents and whatnot. Toranaga wants to forcibly take what is not rightfully his, and that is the source of all the fighting. There apparently is no heir in the book or the original miniseries, and the real heir during the events fictionalized here didn't meet his end until some number of years later as a young adult, so this subplot is new for the current telling of the story.

That got me thinking..............

What if Ishido is right?

Ishido is the one trying to form a bond of matrimony with Ochiba no kata (Yaechiyo's mother) to solidify his own claims to power peaceably. Toranaga is the only member of the Council standing in opposition, and thus the only real threat vector in terms out outright hostility.

Toranaga has said all along he does not seek the title shōgun, but the show is called Shōgun, not Pre-teen Heir, so...... spoiler alert. Ishido is not the obstacle to Toranaga accomplishing this.... the kid is.

Toranaga just let his best friend slit his own belly to maintain a ruse that he does not intend to fight. Surely it is within the character of such a person to murder a kid..... or have a kid murdered.

Which brings us to Mariko and the mission she has been chosen for because of her personal kinship with the mother of the heir.....

What if this whole time....... Toranaga has been the villain.

[Kane]

Fallout tonight! Hype!

[NTP66]

I love that right now I have so many shows to watch, but not enough time, because I won’t run out anytime soon.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Further Shōgun musings

Something that occurred to me last night while ruminating.

Ishdio has levied the charge that Toranaga aims to assassinate the heir to the throne - Yaechiyo, the son of the deceased taikō - and that is why there have been all the machinations with the Council of Regents and whatnot. Toranaga wants to forcibly take what is not rightfully his, and that is the source of all the fighting. There apparently is no heir in the book or the original miniseries, and the real heir during the events fictionalized here didn't meet his end until some number of years later as a young adult, so this subplot is new for the current telling of the story.

That got me thinking..............

What if Ishido is right?

Ishido is the one trying to form a bond of matrimony with Ochiba no kata (Yaechiyo's mother) to solidify his own claims to power peaceably. Toranaga is the only member of the Council standing in opposition, and thus the only real threat vector in terms out outright hostility.

Toranaga has said all along he does not seek the title shōgun, but the show is called Shōgun, not Pre-teen Heir, so...... spoiler alert. Ishido is not the obstacle to Toranaga accomplishing this.... the kid is.

Toranaga just let his best friend slit his own belly to maintain a ruse that he does not intend to fight. Surely it is within the character of such a person to murder a kid..... or have a kid murdered.

Which brings us to Mariko and the mission she has been chosen for because of her personal kinship with the mother of the heir.....

What if this whole time....... Toranaga has been the villain.

That would be something!

[blackjack68]

Shogun has to win so many awards next Emmy’s, right?

So much better than that Succession garbage.

[Dickie Dunn]

After starting The Expanse last year, getting side tracking in Season 3 and then deciding to restart the series, I have finally made it through Season 5...

I **** love this show. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close. As a huge fan of the Mass Effect series, this show spiritually feels like as close as I'll ever get to a live action Mass Effect show.

Season 1: I think this is a perfect world building season while also giving us Miller's noir murder mystery until our story takes a page out of a Johnny Gossamer novel and both cases are tied together. I love the contentious universe this series takes place in and the measures taken to add a significant level of realism. Thomas Jane is a complete scene stealer while Errinwright has the most punchable face.

Season 2: Loved the addition of Bobbie and giving us a Martian perspective on the universe, which continues to expand as we're introduced to places like Ganymede. Shohreh Aghdashloo carries a ton of weight in political scenes.

Season 3: Lots of shitty people finally get their due in this season, while the obvious transition between books felt a little wonky to me. Drummer grew into a favorite while David Strathairn was a hell of an addition to the cast. So glad this wasn't the end of the series.

Season 4: At times S2 and S3 felt like they could be an episode or two shorter, while I wish this season was an episode or two longer. Obvious budget upgrade from Amazon, but probably my least favorite season. While we get glimpses of the greater universe with Avasarala, Drummer/Ashford, and Bobbie playing black market with some actors getting paid scale, I thought too much time was spent on Ilus. For the first time in this show the universe felt small, which was weird since they were on a new planet in a different system. Loved the expanded, and still not answered, mystery of what the hell is going on with the protomolecule and whatever tried to destroy it and Murtry was a great antagonist.

Season 5: At the outset of this season I was a little perturbed by our crew being split up, and while it sucked that we'll never truly see them together again, I thought it worked well for the story and made the universe feel expansive again. Since S1 Amos quickly became my favorite crew member and it was great to learn more about him and watch him and Peaches play out their own version of The Road. Alex (second favorite crew member) and Bobbie was a great pairing and I loved them working together. The attack on Earth was fantastic and the surprise attack on Tycho Station was a complete surprise to me. I didn't think Holden had a ton to do this season but was okay with that. I thought Marco Inaros was a fantastic villain and his teenage kid is an annoying ****, so mission accomplished. I could have done with a bit less captive Naomi and the broken family, but thought her post escape struggles were fantastically done. Drummer is awesome.

I can't believe S4 is the last time getting to see Alex do cool **** with the Roci. I really liked the character and thought they handled his re-written death as good as could be expected given the situation. The character went out heroically trying to save a member of his family. Cas Anvar can **** off for his actions. Monica was less annoying than when she was being a documentary minx in S3 and I grew to really like Peaches and look forward to seeing her with the crew (Amos "convincing" Holden to bring her on was hilarious). I'm super excited for S6 but also can't believe the end is near and wonder how they're going to fit everything into what will likely be a 10 episode season again. Marco Inaros needs to be dealt with, the Laconians are out there waiting to cause trouble, and lots of protomolecule stuff still needs explained.

Season rankings: 1, 5, 3, 2, 4

Random musing: The guest casting on this show cracks me up at times. Thomas Jane was **** awesome and I'm glad he made appearances post-protomolecule obliteration. Same goes for David Strathairn and Burn Gorman. On the flip side, they paid decently well known actor Jay Hernandez to show up for half of S1 and do nothing. Elizabeth Mitchell's character could have been played by anyone and it wouldn't have made a difference. Jared Harris is in the show for like 30 seconds. Tim DeKay did nothing but die. Weird stuff.

Time to bring this one back. I finally got over my feelings of betrayal regarding the abrupt end to this show via an abbreviated final season and watched Season 6 (after giving seasons 1-5 another re-watch). All my comments about previous seasons stand, though I thought the transition between books in S3 flowed a bit better this time around. As far as Season 6:

I absolutely loved it while also feeling unfulfilled. The season often feels like a return to the quick pace of S2 and S3, but character moments and conversations are not given the time or space to breathe like in previous seasons. Alex's absence looms large, not just as a favorite character, but Holden pulling double duty as pilot and captain unintentionally lessens the importance of both roles. Can't imagine Holden calling the shots while simultaneously pulling off Alex's flight maneuvers of previous seasons.

Drummer and her story was great. I like the portrayal of Marco Inaros as a charismatic pretty boy narcissist who could round the troops and motivate for his cause, but was completely in over his head as a general, had no exit strategy for life after the war, and was too self-indulgent to realize he was just a distraction for Laconia. Speaking of, I was also a big fan of using Strange Dogs at the beginning of each episode to show life on Laconia and introduce future plot lines we may never get to see on screen.

While I don't like it, from Amazon's perspective I can see why this season had a reduced episode order. It is CGI heavy and the CGI looks pretty damn good. The space battles look absolutely fantastic, though I wish we got to see a bit more of the final battle with the UN and MCRN against the Free Navy and not just focused on the Roci. This could not have been a cheap season to film.

Other than quibbles due to the unfortunate time constraints, my only real complaint is that it's (currently) over. Fantastic story. Fantastic show. The resolution we got is pretty damn good and I absolutely loved the final shot of the season with the Roci venturing on into the great expanse of space, but the entire story deserves to be told on screen and I'll continue to hold out hope that one day it will. Alcon controls the IP and isn't exactly sitting on a pile of big name properties and the main cast (other than Wes in Ahsoka) hasn't seen their careers explode. Once Amazon's rights expire I have to imagine we'll see Alcon do SOMETHING with the final three books.

It wasn't necessarily "perfect" in the way a Breaking Bad or The Wire are considered, but this was easily one of my favorite shows ever. It may not have the big name gravitas of Star Wars or Star Trek, but for me it was the best representation of a space based science fiction show. Hell, I would include it up against movies in that genre as well.

10/10. Will watch again. Until then, I guess it's onto the continuation comics and to take another stab at reading the novels. I was almost finished with Leviathan Wakes years ago but then had kids and now get to read like 1 page a month.

Season rankings: 1, 5, 6, 3, 2, 4

[LeopardLetang]

Hmm i think i bowed out early season 4. Based on your rankings maybe I'll plow through it.

[NTP66]

Source of the post 10/10 5/7

Otherwise, agree with everyone you wrote.

[dodint]

Fallout tonight! Hype!

Whatchathink?