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Post by elevationvb on Jul 4, 2014 10:45:34 GMT -5
1st episode of The Leftovers on HBO last Sunday was good.
1st two episodes of the final season of True Blood have been terrible.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 5, 2014 23:01:44 GMT -5
I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 1). I started on this several weeks ago but had to stop because I watched other shows. Now I'm back to it. So far -- and I've only watched the first 6 episodes of season 1 -- I don't see the appeal. But I'll stick to it because, from what I've heard, it gets better with each season.
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 5, 2014 23:37:48 GMT -5
I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 1). I started on this several weeks ago but had to stop because I watched other shows. Now I'm back to it. So far -- and I've only watched the first 6 episodes of season 1 -- I don't see the appeal. But I'll stick to it because, from what I've heard, it gets better with each season. The first season is hit and miss, but definitely gets better as it goes along. The second season is great. The third and fourth seasons play with a lot of the expectations set in the first two seasons. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 are the peak as seasons, though many of the best single episodes came later. The fifth season got a bit problematic -- no one liked Buffy's "sister" Dawn, although she did eventually improve. The sixth season had some great individual episodes but some of the chances they took on the overall season arc just didn't end up working. The seventh season tried really hard to wrap up everything in the series, and it was a mixed bag compared to the best seasons.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 6, 2014 0:09:04 GMT -5
I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 1). I started on this several weeks ago but had to stop because I watched other shows. Now I'm back to it. So far -- and I've only watched the first 6 episodes of season 1 -- I don't see the appeal. But I'll stick to it because, from what I've heard, it gets better with each season. The first season is hit and miss, but definitely gets better as it goes along. The second season is great. The third and fourth seasons play with a lot of the expectations set in the first two seasons. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 are the peak as seasons, though many of the best single episodes came later. The fifth season got a bit problematic -- no one liked Buffy's "sister" Dawn, although she did eventually improve. The sixth season had some great individual episodes but some of the chances they took on the overall season arc just didn't end up working. The seventh season tried really hard to wrap up everything in the series, and it was a mixed bag compared to the best seasons. Thanks for the high level summary. You did it without any spoilers, which takes some skill. Well, you did reveal the existence of a sister Dawn, but this is not a big deal to me. You can always expect a mystery sibling/mother/father/ex/son/daughter/aunt/uncle.
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Post by jayj79 on Jul 6, 2014 0:39:34 GMT -5
spoiler alert: Dawn in fact is not only Buffy's sister, but also her mother, father, ex, son, daughter, aunt, and uncle. That Joss Whedon has some crazy twists.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 6, 2014 15:02:59 GMT -5
Buffy the Vampire Slayer seems so silly (and not in a good way). The acting is horrible (except for the librarian/Watcher with the British accent), the writing is sloppy, and the production values are low. The duo of Willow and Xander are annoying. I don't actually mind Willow because she seems smart, but Xander doesn't seem to contribute anything of value to the team. And yet, I don't mind watching it because there's something about it that is entertaining -- what exactly, I'm not sure. And I'm also trying to get past the first season so that I can look forward to all the good that is supposedly in the future seasons.
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Post by volleyguy on Jul 6, 2014 16:47:26 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the Battlestar Galactica series that aired on Sci Fi channel. Apart from one of the female leads that always seemed a little over the top, the series was well written and acted I thought. www.syfy.com/battlestar/episodes
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 6, 2014 17:28:45 GMT -5
I've seen the entire Battlestar Galactica series. Great show.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Jul 7, 2014 15:16:41 GMT -5
Watching House of Cards (season 1) w/ the wife. This is my second time. I watched it alone in the daytime several months ago b/c the wife didn't want to watch it. Then, the wife changed her mind recently, so we're now watching it together. The wife -- and women in general -- always changes her mind. Drives me nuts. Watching it again, I remembered how much I enjoyed the Peter Russo storyline. It started out uninteresting -- bad boy politician busy with drugs/alcohol/sex -- but got better with several key twists and turns. The actor who plays Russo does a great job. the first season of house of cards was so satisfying. i'm near the end of binge-watching season 2, which for me didn't start out as good, but has gotten better over the course of the season.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 7, 2014 17:18:49 GMT -5
If you liked the American version of The House of Cards, you all should watch the original British series from which it is based: The House of Cards, To Play the King, and Final Cut. I watched them 10 years ago, I think, and though I've forgotten most of the details, I do remember how much I loved them. Like the American version, the original version has the lead character (Frances Urquhart vs. the American Frances Underwood) speaking directly to the viewers. Riveting.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 7, 2014 20:08:19 GMT -5
Well, I just finished the 1st season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I feel like it's a major accomplishment for me because Buffy has been on my list for the LONGEST time. I had a lot of false starts where I started watching the show and then got bored with it and took a long break, only to return to it much later, and then got bored with it again, etc. etc. Simply finishing the 1st season, I feel triumphant.
A few questions though:
1. The prophecy said Buffy would die. Well, she didn't die. She was resuscitated from drowning by Xander. If you are saved from drowning, you have NOT died! You die from drowning because of either oxygen deprivation or water inhalation or a combination of both. After a few seconds (I forgot exactly how many seconds), you're dead. Once dead, you can't be revived -- someone correct me if I'm wrong here. You can only be revived if you're within the critical seconds (again, I don't know how many seconds) before death. From the episode, Buffy was face down for a LOOOOOONG time, bitches.
2. Where did Buffy get her reinvigorated strength? She's stronger than she ever was! Where did that come from? The vampire bite?
3. Speaking of the vampire bite, is she a vampire now? This could explain her renewed strength. But then again, her slayer strength was much greater than vampire strength.
4. If she's not a vampire, why isn't she a vampire? She was bit, for crying out loud!
5. If she's a vampire, does that mean she's no longer a slayer?
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 7, 2014 20:40:30 GMT -5
Well, I just finished the 1st season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I feel like it's a major accomplishment for me because Buffy has been on my list for the LONGEST time. I had a lot of false starts where I started watching the show and then got bored with it and took a long break, only to return to it much later, and then got bored with it again, etc. etc. Simply finishing the 1st season, I feel triumphant. A few questions though: 1. The prophecy said Buffy would die. Well, she didn't die. She was resuscitated from drowning by Xander. If you are saved from drowning, you have NOT died! You die from drowning because of either oxygen deprivation or water inhalation or a combination of both. After a few seconds (I forgot exactly how many seconds), you're dead. Once dead, you can't be revived -- someone correct me if I'm wrong here. You can only be revived if you're within the critical seconds (again, I don't know how many seconds) before death. From the episode, Buffy was face down for a LOOOOOONG time, bitches. 2. Where did Buffy get her reinvigorated strength? She's stronger than she ever was! Where did that come from? The vampire bite? 3. Speaking of the vampire bite, is she a vampire now? This could explain her renewed strength. But then again, her slayer strength was much greater than vampire strength. 4. If she's not a vampire, why isn't she a vampire? She was bit, for crying out loud! 5. If she's a vampire, does that mean she's no longer a slayer? It was mentioned early on that the vampire has to let you feed on the vampire in order for you to change. You don't automatically become a vampire just because you got bit by one. (But there are times later in the series when they seem to have forgotten this.) You are wrong about drowning (in cold water, anyway). People have been revived from cold-water drowning after many minutes of immersion. The saying regarding drowning/hypothermia is, "you aren't dead until you are warm and dead." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_death#Hypothermia_during_clinical_deathBut leaving that aside, because probably it wasn't all that cold where they were, you will see in Season 2 (assuming you keep going) that it was pretty important that Buffy did actually die, for a short period of time. Also, in this series death itself is not always so permanent.... But at least if someone is brought back from death, there are always consequences. By the way, you have to go a long way into the series before they explain the real origins of slayers, why there is only one, why they are always girls, etc. etc. As for the reinvigoration, one thing about the series is that slayer strength appears to be a bit like Roadrunner physics. How much slayer strength you have depends somewhat on the needs of the plot but mostly on whether you are pissed off enough to actually use it.
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 8, 2014 12:42:43 GMT -5
It's also stated many times over the series that part of being a slayer is that you heal really fast. (Not Wolverine fast, but it explains why Buffy isn't constantly bruised up all the time.) So maybe this healing factor could be used as a justification for her quick recovery from clinical death.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 8, 2014 12:51:09 GMT -5
Thanks, Mike. I shared your answers with the wife, who was as confused as I was. I'm glad you're explaining this without spoilers. This is the reason why I don't look up Buffy info online -- I hate spoilers.
I vaguely remember something about how being bitten doesn't necessarily turn you into a vampire. In Supernatural, a vampire has to inject his vampire "juice" into the veins in order to turn someone. In Buffy, I guess you have to be fed by a vampire. But, as I said, this is a vague memory.
I don't recall at all that slayers have the ability to heal fast. I'm not questioning you. I simply don't remember it.
And yes, I plan on watching Buffy until its conclusion.
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Post by Wolfgang on Jul 10, 2014 19:07:45 GMT -5
Now on True Detective (season 1). Anyone else think Matthew McConaughey is a much better actor in recent years than he has ever been in his entire career? Am I fooling myself? Do I just think this way because of his Oscar win for the Dallas Buyer's Club? I don't think so. Even after Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, and Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for their respective roles, I never considered them good actors. (And why am I being so unfair to female actors?)
So far, True Detective is slow. I don't mind the slow pace, but the wife is somewhat impatient. For the sake of our marriage, I want the pace to pick up.
I have to say this: Almost every episode of Criminal Minds could be made into a 2.0-2.5-hour movie or even a season-long series like True Detective. But they don't. They solve the case neatly in one hour. But the potential is there for more. This is not to say that I want all cases to be solved this quickly. I'm just saying Criminal Minds has very interesting material which gets reduced to one-hour episodes.
Anyway, I've heard lots of good stuff about True Detective. I hope it delivers.
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