Finished TV series—who watches?

[Pifanjr]

I finished the second (and last) season of Andor the day before yesterday, a series that acts as a prologue to Rogue One, which I watched yesterday.

I'd heard it was great and I wholeheartedly agree. It's an amazing series which is probably enjoyable even for people who aren't very familiar with Star Wars.

 

[Zuruchon]

I have not been watching movies recently due to work and family pressures. Movies were my escape route from the challenges of reality. But I am back on track since I have a more flexible work schedule.

My recent series was Godfather of Harlem. The battles for the control of the streets of Harlem between Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) and the Italian Mafia is the main plot. It showed how drug dealers only focus on making more money by destroying the lives of young people. In these criminal networks, there are no permanent friends or enemies; all that matters is interest, influence and money.

The addition of Malcom X as a character made the film more interesting. His brilliance, boldness and fearlessness are virtues to emulate.

 

[Johnway]

been busy watching a couple of things over the last few months.

First up, Anthony bourdain's, parts unknown. 8 part series that's a mix of travel, culture and food show. i watched all the seasons whilst i was doing my daily exercise.

next up, i watched all 3 seasons of jack Irish, an Australian crime thriller. The series revolves around down on his luck lawyer jack irish who stumbles into criminal activity and compels him to seek justice. Most of the culprits involved in corruption, exploitation and abuse of power. it was enteraining to watch, although the 3rd series is cut short and there seems to be a leap from season 2 and Season 3. i believe there were 2 jack irish movies between that so there is some disconnect to the story.


lastly the CBS/BBC drama kings and conquerors. A historical drama when harold godwinson of wessex and William the conqueror clash over the english throne and all ends at the battle of hastings. The series more revolves around the political machinations of the key players leading to conflict. For harold godwinson we see how his rise to power leads to his ruination as he slowly alienates his family and those around him leading to his downfall. meanwhile William the conqueror deals with betrayal and struggles to keep hold of Normandy, but more cruically trying to come to terms with the stigma of being a bastard and his legacy because of it.

Whilst the show isn't 100% historically accurate, the characters and the political drama is compelling enough to keep me interested to binge watch it on bbc iplayer.

 

[dxchase]

Ok, have been watching mostly sci-fi stuff. Its all been really good too.

Foundation (Apple TV- 3 seasons) - 10/10. I become more of a sucker for Isaac Asimov the older i get. Foundation was a book i never read or got into, but this show has sent me right into the books and, tbh, ive noticed changes already (im still on the first book) but the show does an excellent job with this.

Lee Pace is an incredibly underrated actor. Not just him, but the other 2 actors who portray technically the same person as well (Cassian Bilton and Terrance Mann) do a great job too, but Lee Pace really brings home the whole character he represents. The whole cast is rather great.

The graphics are stellar, the storyline is great, the "bad guys" are well casted. Just love this show and hopefully it gets all the seasons it wants which i believe they were shooting for 8 but 4 would be the cut off if it loses popularity so im getting at least 1 more season.

Alien Earth (Hulu- 1 season) - 9/10 - First off, i love the A. homage the show makes to the 70s classic Alien and B. its portrayal of civilian life under the ruling law of Weyland-Yutani. I havent see the finale yet but i have loved the storyline so far. Timothy Olyphant is obviously the main actor who stands out to me. He crushes the role he plays. The original story arc is good too, so far. Hasnt been re-newed for another season yet weirdly enough, but i hope it gets it.

Other shows im watching:
Futurama (has a new season)
Only Murders in the Building (has a new season)
SOUTH PARK (gotta see what these folks takes on the current political environment lol)

 

[Charagma]

Not sure about everyone's taste on this would be.

I personally love Fantasy/Adventure/Sci-fi movies and series.

I read a post (Do not know if it is correct but made sense so kept the statement of the OP) explaining that these kinds of series are the only genre where you are able to follow numerous characters and situations at the same time. E.g. Lord of the rings, you are following about 8 different story lines with different sets characters all to be combined in the end. This way each character has a full history of its own in the final chapters.

Just finished "Shadow and Bone" last night. Story about a young woman's (Sun Summoner) journey to overcome "The fold" which turns out to have been created by the Dark summoner. Few twists in the story but that is the main plot.

As far as I know there are only 2 seasons of this and season 2 Finale ends .......well not the way you expected it would.

If you are into things like Lord of the rings, Shannara chronicles and the hunger games, then this is something to watch.

 

[Charagma]

Finished a few series' recently. Keeps me busy while working.

1. IZombie

Not really my kind of thing but the wife enjoyed it. Must ad I had a few giggles in it so from a comical point of view I can give it a thumbs up. I am into dark humour so probably laughed at things most would not.

Would recommend watching a few episodes first to decide if it is your kind of thing.

2. Wheel of time

More my kind of thing. Read many bad reviews on it but since I have never read the books, I took it as a "New" story. It was said (By someone a long time ago, and the words stuck with me) that a good fantasy is when you need to follow multiple storylines to get the bigger picture of the final scene. So the whole movie or series is pretty much a character learning curve for you to understand the final Scene. From the start you start following the journey of 4 separate groups whose destinies are entwined, and they must meet up.

You meet some of the villains and key players very early on in the series but mut say I enjoyed season 3 the most which (sad to say) was also the last season made)

3. Dragon Age

Cartoon (Anime) based on Dragon age the game. The trailer made it look like it was based on part of Dragon age 2 when, where in the game, you need to Steel or assassinate to be able to pay to get past the city's main gates. In the actual Series you realise that everything is taking place after Dragon age 3 and a separate story with parts referring back to the game.

Even though I am a Dragon age saga fan, I started the series without expectations. Took a bit of time to get used to the Characters (Maybe two episodes) but was worth the watch and enjoyed it.

Something to keep in mind is that the "graphics" is not very well done hence I call it cartoon and not Anime. Fortunately to me I merely use it as a graphical interpretation to a story so what "type" of graphics are used to show a story does not really matter to me. They will never win any awards for the effort but worth a watch.



Just started Foundation based (Started season 2 just before writing this) on Isaac Asimov's works. After a VERY slow start it turned out to be a good series. Still a few slow parts (Which I need to strain myself from skipping) but the series turned out to be very entertaining. I remember reading some of Asimov's books when I was younger but honestly do not remember what they were about. Once you get past the slow starting part the series is gripping and interesting with a few characters I would like to strangle personally (LMAO)

 

[Johnway]

Another series finished, this time its Only Murders in the building a comedy amateur sleuth. 3 strangers with a passion for crime pod casts try their hand at solving a murder that takes place in the apartment complex.

i got the chance to watch it as a taste of disney plus on ITVX and i found it great. A top cast with a top performance. Plenty of twists and turns as to who the culprit, jolly entertaining stuff the first series is only 10 episodes long with 30 minutes sessions. if you have a passion for this stuff you won't be disappointed. Looking forward to watching season 2. one day.

 

[Charagma]

Is it possible to "out-grow" Star Wars?

Read about Andor (Further up in the posts) and also have not seen Mandalorian. Started with Mandalorian...... Could not get into it. Think after about episode 4 or 5 I just stopped it. Then started Andor. Even though I finished the two seasons, there is nothing "Great" or "WOW" that comes to mind about it.

Either I have outgrown Star Wars or Star Wars should rather look at more movies and leave the series making to the other guys. Really enjoyed the movies but the series does not work for me.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Is it possible to "out-grow" Star Wars?

Read about Andor (Further up in the posts) and also have not seen Mandalorian. Started with Mandalorian...... Could not get into it. Think after about episode 4 or 5 I just stopped it. Then started Andor. Even though I finished the two seasons, there is nothing "Great" or "WOW" that comes to mind about it.

Either I have outgrown Star Wars or Star Wars should rather look at more movies and leave the series making to the other guys. Really enjoyed the movies but the series does not work for me.

I liked the Mandalorian but I dont think it was anything special really. Watched Andor first season because everyone was raving about it but I couldnt tell you a single thing about it lol. I found it watchable but not amazing.

I liked Star Wars well enough but was never a total mark for it, preferred fantasy to Sci Fi when I was a kid. Now its mostly the other way around but still, Star Wars doesnt get me really excited.

I listened to a movie podcast a while ago where the guys were talking about the original movies. I wasnt born when the first film released but the way they described being 8 years old or whatever and seeing the special effects of the Imperial Destroyers in the first scene in the first movie. I can see why it was such a big deal for people of that age, there hadnt been anything like it before. For me when I first saw it, it was on TV and I'd already seen the kind of special effects involved before, so it lacked that sense of being something completely different to anything Id seen before.

So thats a long winded way of me saying I like Star Wars still, but I never really loved it anyway so maybe I dont see the decline a lot of fans of the series maybe have. I also havent seen a lot of the side series, theres so many and I'd rather spend time doing other stuff anyway, so that probably affects my perception of it as well.

 

[Pifanjr]

Is it possible to "out-grow" Star Wars?

Read about Andor (Further up in the posts) and also have not seen Mandalorian. Started with Mandalorian...... Could not get into it. Think after about episode 4 or 5 I just stopped it. Then started Andor. Even though I finished the two seasons, there is nothing "Great" or "WOW" that comes to mind about it.

Either I have outgrown Star Wars or Star Wars should rather look at more movies and leave the series making to the other guys. Really enjoyed the movies but the series does not work for me.

I re-watched the original Star Wars trilogy a while back and it was definitely not as good as I remembered from when I was a kid. I also didn't care much for the sequel trilogy, so I don't agree that Star Wars should make more movies.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

 

[Zloth]

Andor had that fun prison break-out, but the rest just seemed to drag on forever. That's saying something, given how short series are these days. Mandelorian also had a few moments but mostly didn't impress me at all. Ahsoka had more good ideas, but the light saber battles were really weak - I could see it redeeming itself and getting good. The Obi Wan series was the best of the TV series, IMHO, but I wouldn't bother with it unless you've already got Disney+.

I liked all the Star Wars movies except Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones is quite good IF you're watching at home and can skip the dreadful romance attempt (though 3PO's one liners are outright awful). And yes, I was just barely old enough to see Star Wars when it first came out. OMG that first Star Destroyer!

 

[Charagma]

OK, now I do not feel so bad.

I cannot remember how old I was with the first Star Wars I ever saw (Think was return of the Jedi). Pretty much followed the movie side of things since then. Last one I saw (Yes the name thing again) is the one where Luke's daughter comes to find him. So pretty much enjoyed I would say 70% of the movies. There was I think one or two tedious ones.

Star trek, remember one that I enjoyed where Mr. Spock travelled in some time machine thing. The rest, well was not of much entertainment. Must add I have never been a huge Star Trek fan so my opinion on this is biased.

I actually prefer Star gate above Star wars/trek for some odd reason. Saw the first movie years ago. Liked it and somewhere missed the rest. Eventually got hold of Stargate Atlantis which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, that killed universe and SG1 for me. Origins were not that bad but none of them got close to the "Atlantis" series in my eyes.

Real pity about Star Wars though. So many story line potentials and well we get what we got.

 

[Pifanjr]

OK, now I do not feel so bad.

I cannot remember how old I was with the first Star Wars I ever saw (Think was return of the Jedi). Pretty much followed the movie side of things since then. Last one I saw (Yes the name thing again) is the one where Luke's daughter comes to find him. So pretty much enjoyed I would say 70% of the movies. There was I think one or two tedious ones.

Star trek, remember one that I enjoyed where Mr. Spock travelled in some time machine thing. The rest, well was not of much entertainment. Must add I have never been a huge Star Trek fan so my opinion on this is biased.

I actually prefer Star gate above Star wars/trek for some odd reason. Saw the first movie years ago. Liked it and somewhere missed the rest. Eventually got hold of Stargate Atlantis which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, that killed universe and SG1 for me. Origins were not that bad but none of them got close to the "Atlantis" series in my eyes.

Real pity about Star Wars though. So many story line potentials and well we get what we got.

I do like Stargate better than Star Wars or Star Trek as well. I even liked Stargate Universe, but I haven't seen Origins, I heard it wasn't very good.

 

[Charagma]

I do like Stargate better than Star Wars or Star Trek as well. I even liked Stargate Universe, but I haven't seen Origins, I heard it wasn't very good.

Origins were pretty much where it all started. History of the stargate. More about the lady who found the star gate (Or her father found or something). Would pretty much say was the worst of them but was watchable.

Made me think of the season of Fringe where they went back in the past which might be the reason why I am saying it is the worst of them.

Just glad I am not the only one who did not like the Star wars serieses. Figured there was something wrong with me. LMAO

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I dont think many people like it all, Disney are ravaging the franchise for all its worth and most fans hated the last movie I think.

I liked Rogue One best out of all the new stuff, but I didnt mind any of the new movie trilogy. I thought the Hyper Space chase was kind of dumb in the second film, it kind of ripped off an episode of the newer Battle Star Galactica. Actually I liked BSG way more than any Star Wars property so far.

Star Trek TNG, DS9 and Voyager were great, Enterprise onwards its OK I guess what Ive seen, Picard first season, and I didnt mind Discovery. They lost the cosy utopian naivity with all the newer stuff, but I dont see how they could have carried that on for modern audiences anyway.

Star Gate was fun, but damn I havent seen SG1 in 20 years or more.

 

[Charagma]

Star Gate was fun, but damn I haven't seen SG1 in 20 years or more.

I am on Kodi and use paid scrapers. So every once in a while I would revisit my old favourite serieses. Things like "Heroes", "Bones", Eureka", "Fringe", "Flash forward"......... the list goes on and on, but I revisit regularly.

Never got into the SG1 "Vibe" Think if I am lucky finished Season 1. It was (in my head) just a fancy remake of star trek series I grew up with. Do not even know which one it was. Just instead of "Beam me up Scotty" it was now "Symbol 6 locked"

Atlantis spoiled me but must admit after watching a bit of SG1 many of the things in Atlantis made more sense.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Heroes was great! Feels to me like that was the beginning of what they call 'prestige TV' now. I think when they started making shows where the story arc lasted the whole length of the run shows got more interesting. I'm sure @Zloth could tell us more about Babylon 5 in that regard 🙂 I also remember liking Fringe, mainly because the professor was hilarious.

I have a terrible memory for some things, I think I saw Atlantis but I dont remember anything much about it. It would have been some time ago.

SG1, Star Trek TNG, DS9 and Voyager were the kind of thing the local network showed daily at 6 that I would watch after dinner on a week day back before the streaming times. I may not have watched them all otherwise but they were good at the time and I have fond memories.

 

[Charagma]

Heroes was great! Feels to me like that was the beginning of what they call 'prestige TV' now. I think when they started making shows where the story arc lasted the whole length of the run shows got more interesting. I'm sure @Zloth could tell us more about Babylon 5 in that regard 🙂 I also remember liking Fringe, mainly because the professor was hilarious.

Do not think I have seen Babylon 5 but have heard of it.

I have a terrible memory for some things, I think I saw Atlantis but I dont remember anything much about it. It would have been some time ago.

Atlantis is where the one where they end up on a spaceship built by the ancients and how they struggle to not just survive but get back to earth. They pretty much take a one way trip in the beginning.

SG1, Star Trek TNG, DS9 and Voyager were the kind of thing the local network showed daily at 6 that I would watch after dinner on a week day back before the streaming times. I may not have watched them all otherwise but they were good at the time and I have fond memories.

Here by us we did not have things like that. Back then we had 4 free TV channels and 1 paid. The paid version was like showmax. Great for 3 months and then all watched out because then you have seen all they have to offer. Now, today, most use streaming. This simply because we have 11 official languages and absolutely nothing on TV worth watching. Either you do not understand what they are saying or it is not worth watching. I personally do not even own a TV anymore (Have a large monitor). Laws here says if it has a "Terrestrial" input you must pay for a license so all TV's here still has a "terrestrial" port which means you must pay even if you do not use it. Somewhere along the way from where ever this port gets added to comply to the law.

Odd law since we do not have any Terrestrial signal anymore, but laws are laws and yes jailtime + hefty fines are forced on you if you skip your TV license.

Like I said I used Kodi which gives me access to numerous stream platforms at affordable rates in languages I do understand and I watch what I am in the mood for, not what they decided I need to watch.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Do not think I have seen Babylon 5 but have heard of it.

Atlantis is where the one where they end up on a spaceship built by the ancients and how they struggle to not just survive but get back to earth. They pretty much take a one way trip in the beginning.

Similar premise to Star Trek Voyager then, would have to watch it again to recall most likely. May not have seen it all.

Here by us we did not have things like that. Back then we had 4 free TV channels and 1 paid. The paid version was like showmax. Great for 3 months and then all watched out because then you have seen all they have to offer. Now, today, most use streaming. This simply because we have 11 official languages and absolutely nothing on TV worth watching. Either you do not understand what they are saying or it is not worth watching. I personally do not even own a TV anymore (Have a large monitor). Laws here says if it has a "Terrestrial" input you must pay for a license so all TV's here still has a "terrestrial" port which means you must pay even if you do not use it. Somewhere along the way from where ever this port gets added to comply to the law.

Odd law since we do not have any Terrestrial signal anymore, but laws are laws and yes jailtime + hefty fines are forced on you if you skip your TV license.

Like I said I used Kodi which gives me access to numerous stream platforms at affordable rates in languages I do understand and I watch what I am in the mood for, not what they decided I need to watch.

When I say local network I just mean the ones in the UK, there were only 5 terrestrial channels in the pre.digital era, maybe before 2002. You could get satellite TV from Sky BSB which had a lot more channels but cost a fair amount per month and you had to have a dish installed. All in English though obviously. There was a TV license fee too, I assume there still is because thats how the BBC is mainly funded.

These days I dont watch as much as I used too. When theres a kid around something has to give way, and for me it was mostly watching a lot of movies and TV shows.

 

[Pifanjr]

Heroes was great!

The first season of Heroes was great. Then they made two more that just kept getting more ridiculous.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

The first season of Heroes was great. Then they made two more that just kept getting more ridiculous.

I think I mainly remember the first season where Sylar was kind of gathering powers and being creepy and Hiro was being dumb and fun.

I heard on a podcast the other day, Masi Oka the actor that played Hiro is a bit of a polymath across media. He worked for ILM on the Star Wars prequels as a digital effects artist among other stuff, went on to act in Heroes and then moved into video games to work as a producer on The Outer Wilds.

 

[Zloth]

Do not think I have seen Babylon 5 but have heard of it.

<GASP>

Yeah, Babylon 5 was one of the earliest players in shows that broke the old syndication rule of making sure every show ended with everything being essentially the same (great for doing re-runs) in favor of making real story arcs that change how the show progresses. There were issues with actors wanting/needing to quit their roles over the 5 years of filming, but they were able to write their way out of them satisfactorily.

The idea wasn't totally new (soap operas had been doing it continuously for decades before B5) but it sure was new for most shows. It also pioneered CGI. Obviously, those parts could look far better 30 years later, but it's still good enough to get invested in the story.

It delves deeply into nationalism (planetism?), factions getting locked into a cycle of revenge, authoritarianism, and the role of the military when loyalties get tricky. It's got some good humor sprinkled around, too. And, being 30 years old, it's cheap!

 

[Charagma]

I remember "Save the cheerleader" - LMAO

I should revisited Heroes again, have not watched it for a while now. Hiro was the "time traveller" if I remember correctly.

*Remember I am bad with names*

Will try Babylon 5. At the moment just jumping around various titles looking for something interesting. Figured I have done several Fantasies now, did a few "crime solving" and several "Sci-fi" so leaning towards action or maybe apocalypse type series. Just to try it I will get Babylon 5 ready.

Right now, almost done with season 1 of "In the Dark". Story about a blind woman investigating her friends' disappearance (Murder according to her memory). Not something I would re-visit, but it has its moments.

 

[Johnway]

<GASP>

Yeah, Babylon 5 was one of the earliest players in shows that broke the old syndication rule of making sure every show ended with everything being essentially the same (great for doing re-runs) in favor of making real story arcs that change how the show progresses. There were issues with actors wanting/needing to quit their roles over the 5 years of filming, but they were able to write their way out of them satisfactorily.

The idea wasn't totally new (soap operas had been doing it continuously for decades before B5) but it sure was new for most shows. It also pioneered CGI. Obviously, those parts could look far better 30 years later, but it's still good enough to get invested in the story.

It delves deeply into nationalism (planetism?), factions getting locked into a cycle of revenge, authoritarianism, and the role of the military when loyalties get tricky. It's got some good humor sprinkled around, too. And, being 30 years old, it's cheap!

never was a fan of Star trek or babylon 5 at the time, but i did watch a fair few episodes of B5 in the mornings (it was the only thing on when i got ready for work) and did enjoy it. Did catch most of the key points of the series but i do have massive gaps i haven't watched. certainly didn't watch the movies which i believe came out.

not read the books either and its a shame there hasn't been a remake of the show. The Cgi i recall was made with an amiga which to my young mind is incredible. i had an A500 and i was like "wait, This can make graphics that good?"

 

[Charagma]

People usually "Crucify" me when saying the following but might explain a lot.

The first 10 Minutes of any movie, series, game or book (First few pages) is extremely crucial in my case. Whether it is a "Black and White", a 1980's movie (series or game) does not matter.

When I was a child, TV was the thing we walked past in the lounge on the way to the rest of the house or on the way to the front door. I remember watching 2 things on TV as a small child which was the royal wedding and the space launch. I cannot remember when we were allowed to watch TV more often, but it was not something we spent hours on doing.

Books was our entertainment. So, I spent a lot of time reading. The first "real" book I ever read (Start to finish) was a book about a guy with a glass owl and he was able to use it to travel with. I honestly cannot remember the author nor the book name but the whole story played out in Zanzibar.

From there on out reading became "A world of its own" and I spent many hours in the library with my nose in a book. Because of this when I eventually got into the TV/Movie/series world, all of them was merely a "Visual interpretation" of a story. CGI, SFX, popular actors/actresses mean pretty much nothing to me. They were in general much better than the worlds I created in my head while reading books. So, any visual interpretation was better than what I had or could imagine.

If the story line draws me in within the first few minutes, I will watch it whether the visuals are good or bad. Once the story line has grabbed your attention, after the first 10 minutes, the visual is not an issue and in a Series by the time you reach Episode 2, you hardly even notice old or bad GCI/SFX.