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Post by volleylearner on May 16, 2019 11:27:12 GMT -5
Home Fires - finished both seasons, a bit soapy for my taste but my wife liked it Bramwell - finished all four seasons, generally enjoyable (except the 4th season, which was bad) Unforgotten - finished two seasons, kinda meh characters, plots are pretty grim Paranoid - finished only season, ok Bosch - stopped after four episodes, not interested in the plot Case Histories - stopped after two episodes, unsatisfying plot and characters
Shows stopped watching after one episode because we didn't like them: Dexter (repulsive), McLeod's Daughters (soap opera), Jack Ryan (cliché and violent), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (neurotic), Silent Witness (slow moving), Donovan (characters), DCI Banks (grim), Lucifer (characters), Rebellion (characters), How to get away with Murder (plot and characters)
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Post by yoda on May 16, 2019 11:34:42 GMT -5
I try to give most new shows at least 2-3 episodes before making a decision. A lot of shows get better after the pilot episodes where they are rushing to develop characters, etc.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 16, 2019 12:41:53 GMT -5
Also, a lot of TV shows haven't figured themselves out yet early in the game. As the episodes fly by, the show slowly starts to take shape and finally realizes its potential, see, e.g., Seinfeld, The West Wing, Stargate SG1, Buffy the Vampire Hunter.
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Post by volleylearner on May 16, 2019 13:08:06 GMT -5
I am familar with TV shows that improve or decline over time. Home Fires and Bramwell both got better (and then worse). On the other hand, life is too short to spend time watching stuff I really don't like. I am just never going to enjoy shows that are very grim or violent, or where none of the characters have admirable qualities. Also, I'm probably not going to enjoy shows that are basically 10 hour movies unless I can binge-watch them. I could only handle Unforgotten, for example, by reading about the plots online so I knew what was going to happen. And those were "only" 6 hours per case. My overall impression is that the desire to make longer, more "realistic" shows has led to material that I find unappealing because the characters are generally screwed up as a way to create more drama.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 16, 2019 13:21:14 GMT -5
Sitcoms are generally populated by happy people. Well, sometimes screwed up but they have a great sense of humor.
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Post by volleylearner on May 16, 2019 16:33:04 GMT -5
Sitcoms are generally populated by happy people. Well, sometimes screwed up but they have a great sense of humor. Those parameters do not seem particularly helpful. Take two old examples: Laverne and Shirley and Mary Tyler Moore. Aren't they both generally populated by happy people sometimes screwed up with a sense of humor? I did not like Laverne and Shirley but I did like Mary Tyler Moore. Many modern sitcoms remind me of Laverne and Shirley (or worse). Some, such as Big Bang Theory, are just not consistent enough for me to want to watch regularly. Some scenes are funny but a lot are meh.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 16, 2019 17:02:44 GMT -5
Sitcoms are generally populated by happy people. Well, sometimes screwed up but they have a great sense of humor. Those parameters do not seem particularly helpful. Take two old examples: Laverne and Shirley and Mary Tyler Moore. Aren't they both generally populated by happy people sometimes screwed up with a sense of humor? I did not like Laverne and Shirley but I did like Mary Tyler Moore. Many modern sitcoms remind me of Laverne and Shirley (or worse). Some, such as Big Bang Theory, are just not consistent enough for me to want to watch regularly. Some scenes are funny but a lot are meh. You remind me of the stereotypical rich uncle whom everyone tries to please because they stand to inherit $$$ from him but everyone is unsuccessful because he's so old and grumpy. I don't know how to please you, man! You don't like anything! I give up.
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Post by mikegarrison on May 16, 2019 18:11:00 GMT -5
Anyone who knows anything about this series (or the fantasy series of books this show is based on) can illuminate? I did not ever read Sword Of Shannara or any of the sequels, but it was widely panned as a cheap Tolkien ripoff. Didn't stop it from selling a lot of copies.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 16, 2019 18:26:00 GMT -5
Anyone who knows anything about this series (or the fantasy series of books this show is based on) can illuminate? I did not ever read Sword Of Shannara or any of the sequels, but it was widely panned as a cheap Tolkien ripoff. Didn't stop it from selling a lot of copies. Yes, it looked derivative of The Lord of the Rings and also Game of Thrones, but what I find interesting is that it’s set in a distant future of earth, specifically along the western coast of America. During the very first scene of the first episode, there was a recognizable structure that had been damaged and fallen sideways on the ground, so I immediately remarked to my wife, “Isn’t that the Space Needle?”
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Post by Millennium on May 16, 2019 19:17:42 GMT -5
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Post by volleylearner on May 16, 2019 19:49:03 GMT -5
You remind me of the stereotypical rich uncle whom everyone tries to please because they stand to inherit $$$ from him but everyone is unsuccessful because he's so old and grumpy. I don't know how to please you, man! You don't like anything! I give up. LOL. Don't worry, you weren't going to inherit anything from me anyway. I like lots of entertainment but am definitely, um, particular. Think of me more like the Mikey character on the old Life cereal ads (maybe you are too young to remember those).
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Post by Wolfgang on May 16, 2019 20:27:57 GMT -5
You remind me of the stereotypical rich uncle whom everyone tries to please because they stand to inherit $$$ from him but everyone is unsuccessful because he's so old and grumpy. I don't know how to please you, man! You don't like anything! I give up. LOL. Don't worry, you weren't going to inherit anything from me anyway. I like lots of entertainment but am definitely, um, particular. Think of me more like the Mikey character on the old Life cereal ads (maybe you are too young to remember those). I remember those clearly.
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Post by yoda on May 17, 2019 11:28:39 GMT -5
I enjoyed the first season. Second one comes soon. I am also a sucker for great location settings.
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Post by yoda on May 17, 2019 11:31:47 GMT -5
Anyone who knows anything about this series (or the fantasy series of books this show is based on) can illuminate? I did not ever read Sword Of Shannara or any of the sequels, but it was widely panned as a cheap Tolkien ripoff. Didn't stop it from selling a lot of copies. The movie Tolkien is out. Anyone planning to see it? On Rotten Tomatoes, Critics gave it a 54% and Audiences gave it 84% so far.
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Post by yoda on May 17, 2019 11:33:44 GMT -5
Also, a lot of TV shows haven't figured themselves out yet early in the game. As the episodes fly by, the show slowly starts to take shape and finally realizes its potential, see, e.g., Seinfeld, The West Wing, Stargate SG1, Buffy the Vampire Hunter. I read a critic's review of the new Catch 22 mini-series on Hulu. He said that he was glad that he stuck it out through the first two episodes because the final four were excellent. Have not seen it yet.
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