Television

TenderLovingKiller® said:
As a kid growing up in a small town with not much to do me and my friends used to “field destroy” old Tube TVs that were left by the curb during the citywide Spring Clean Up. This usually meant throwing bricks through the tubes which would cause a mini explosionas the gases inside were released. Occasionally we through them off the bridge that went over the Vermilion River. Those were some wild times.
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You guys were young rock stars, clearly.
 
I just started watching Only Murders in the Building on Friday and already caught up to the most recent episode. It's been pleasantly entertaining but felt like it started to lag over the last couple of episodes - right up until that cliffhanger ending. Yeesh!

I was skeptical about Selena Gomez going into it, and my opinion on her hasn't really changed. The couple scenes where she's supposed to be a serious dramatic actor in an intense situation just felt kind of awkward to me, but she handles the comedic bits decently enough. Sometimes, I'm just confused about what's going on with her because her facial expressions and tone of voice seem really disconnected from what is going on with her character.

I love Steve Martin and Martin Short, though. I really hope they keep making things together, even if it's just pointless shows on hulu, haha. Some of the jokes don't really land or they seem like they're trying a little too obviously to be funny in a way that boomers and zoomers can both enjoy, but then they'll do something that reminds you how, no matter their age, they rank in the small handful of the absolute funniest people alive. They play off each other so well - it's not that it's anything new that they haven't done before or that we haven't seen before, but I just can't think of anyone else who can do what they do as well as they do it. They commit so fully to the characters and the interplay between them. It just feels so natural for them, and it's a joy to watch.
 
Too Many Diaper Babies said:
OH SNAP! They're making a Sandman show?! Oh boy, it better be good. Such a great story, they need to pull out all the stops on this one. It's def one of those franchises where fans will not be forgiving.
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Yeah, have been watching this through development and am super nervous. Sandman is an all-timer but it always felt difficult to adapt unfilmable to me. But they did better than I expected with The Witcher (admittedly a vastly inferior work) so fingers-crossed.
 
CroutonBoy said:
Yeah, have been watching this through development and am super nervous. Sandman is an all-timer but it always felt difficult to adapt unfilmable to me. But they did better than I expected with The Witcher (admittedly a vastly inferior work) so fingers-crossed.
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I thought that Starz did American Gods well, as far as Neil Gaiman goes. I remember when I first read Sandman, the thing I loved was how the paneling was done and the flow it created in the beginning (when Dream is imprisoned; it's been a while since I've revisited the series so imma be light on details). But this may just be a limitation of going from one medium to another. Although, live action may open up some new avenues of storytelling not possible in print.

I think the biggest issue when adapting these things is pacing and scope. The original run was paced out over what - like 7/8 years? And it drew in so much mythology, depth, crossovers (Constantine, Swamp Thing, Lucifer, etc). TV has its own set of rules and expectations. It is capable of great storytelling but it can also suffer from rounding corners.

Sandman is a magical world. Because of expectations, I don't think there will be a middle ground. Either it will meet those expectations and be amazing; or, if it doesn't, fans will not overlook any perceived shortcomings and - even if executed with some degree of mediocrity - will be hated.
 
Ericj32 said:
I just started watching Only Murders in the Building on Friday and already caught up to the most recent episode. It's been pleasantly entertaining but felt like it started to lag over the last couple of episodes - right up until that cliffhanger ending. Yeesh!

I was skeptical about Selena Gomez going into it, and my opinion on her hasn't really changed. The couple scenes where she's supposed to be a serious dramatic actor in an intense situation just felt kind of awkward to me, but she handles the comedic bits decently enough. Sometimes, I'm just confused about what's going on with her because her facial expressions and tone of voice seem really disconnected from what is going on with her character.

I love Steve Martin and Martin Short, though. I really hope they keep making things together, even if it's just pointless shows on hulu, haha. Some of the jokes don't really land or they seem like they're trying a little too obviously to be funny in a way that boomers and zoomers can both enjoy, but then they'll do something that reminds you how, no matter their age, they rank in the small handful of the absolute funniest people alive. They play off each other so well - it's not that it's anything new that they haven't done before or that we haven't seen before, but I just can't think of anyone else who can do what they do as well as they do it. They commit so fully to the characters and the interplay between them. It just feels so natural for them, and it's a joy to watch.
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Big fan of “only murders in ..” ...really great tv .

Also a shout out for “Sweet Tooth” on Netflix..great series
 
Too Many Diaper Babies said:
I thought that Starz did American Gods well, as far as Neil Gaiman goes. I remember when I first read Sandman, the thing I loved was how the paneling was done and the flow it created in the beginning (when Dream is imprisoned; it's been a while since I've revisited the series so imma be light on details). But this may just be a limitation of going from one medium to another. Although, live action may open up some new avenues of storytelling not possible in print.

I think the biggest issue when adapting these things is pacing and scope. The original run was paced out over what - like 7/8 years? And it drew in so much mythology, depth, crossovers (Constantine, Swamp Thing, Lucifer, etc). TV has its own set of rules and expectations. It is capable of great storytelling but it can also suffer from rounding corners.

Sandman is a magical world. Because of expectations, I don't think there will be a middle ground. Either it will meet those expectations and be amazing; or, if it doesn't, fans will not overlook any perceived shortcomings and - even if executed with some degree of mediocrity - will be hated.
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Season 1 of American Gods was indeed good...I'd actually forgotten about that! And the more involved Neil Gaiman is the better. In the right hands a visionary director and show-runner could really take some cues from the paneling and the dreamlike way it was laid out and inked to make something really magical.

Interestingly I think Sandman was often at its best after it established the character of Dream and the other Endless and became less of a narrative and more of an anthology. That way it could explore a particular corner of mythology or the subconscious and tease out moments of beauty and human tragedy. The serialized nature of TV leads to more of an emphasis on plot beats, although that's by no means always the case (see also: the Coach Beard episode of "Ted Lasso"). Striking that balance will be essential.

But you're 100% right...it will either hit it right or get absolutely demolished on the fanboy message boards. Either way I'm watching it. :)
 
We binged half the series of 'Clickbait' today.

I didn't really expect much going in but it's actually quite captivating. Plenty of cliffhangers to keep you hooked on each episode.
 
Selaws said:
Has there been any mention of Squid Games on here?

We finished the series tonight and thought it was really good.
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wokeupnew said:
I was going to come here to say the she thing. I’ve got two episodes left so I didn’t want to talk about it until I finish it. For some reason it’s giving me strong Breaking Bad vibes. It’s good.
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My wife and I have two episodes left, and probably will finish it tonight. I have to say E6 (the marbles) was a near masterpiece...but E7 had some really bad acting. The VIPs were ridiculous. Overall, we're really enjoying it though.

Did you finish it @wokeupnew ?
 
ranbalam said:
My wife and I have two episodes left, and probably will finish it tonight. I have to say E6 (the marbles) was a near masterpiece...but E7 had some really bad acting. The VIPs were ridiculous. Overall, we're really enjoying it though.

Did you finish it @wokeupnew ?
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Out of interest are you watching it with English dubs? I think that has a big part to play when it comes to certain performances or scenes feeling overly cheesy or bad. These been a few articles online about the dubbing being particularly bad.
 
Selaws said:
Out of interest are you watching it with English dubs? I think that has a big part to play when it comes to certain performances or scenes feeling overly cheesy or bad. These been a few articles online about the dubbing being particularly bad.
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No, we are doing subtitles which I always prefer. I love hearing the language even though I don't understand a word. It was the un-dubbed English speaking characters that were nearly impossible to watch/listen to - their dialog was sophomoric and irritating. I'm glad they weren't main characters.
 
ranbalam said:
No, we are doing subtitles which I always prefer. I love hearing the language even though I don't understand a word. It was the un-dubbed English speaking characters that were nearly impossible to watch/listen to - their dialog was sophomoric and irritating. I'm glad they weren't main characters.
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Ah I see, yeah it was a bit jarring for us as well. Pretty much the whole scene of them watching the game was cringe.
 
ranbalam said:
My wife and I have two episodes left, and probably will finish it tonight. I have to say E6 (the marbles) was a near masterpiece...but E7 had some really bad acting. The VIPs were ridiculous. Overall, we're really enjoying it though.

Did you finish it @wokeupnew ?
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yup! I finished it a while ago I have my thoughts in the spoiler box below. I agree that the two episodes before the finale were the best. The VIPs were definitely cringe, but could have been because of how goofy their masks were. They weren't really that vitriolic for what they were participating in. other than that one guy who went with Jun-ho to the other room. It would have been much more interesting to learn more about them, like if one was a world leader or a famous person. Just some additional background would have given them more substance.
Selaws said:
Out of interest are you watching it with English dubs? I think that has a big part to play when it comes to certain performances or scenes feeling overly cheesy or bad. These been a few articles online about the dubbing being particularly bad.
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I started watching with dubs and subtitles and then noticed that the dubs and subtitles were both differently translated. I switched it off to only english subs with korean voice acting after the first 10 minutes in the first episode. It was much more enjoyable after that.

wokeupnew said:
I was a little annoyed that the old guy was behind everything. It makes his appearance outside that market when he runs into Gi-hung feel less genuine, unless that was planned for some reason. Also I was hoping that Jun-ho survived, but maybe that sets up a sequel where he somehow survived that fall and is alive. I was rooting for him to take the whole thing down but that didn't pay off in a satisfying way. Gi-hung at the very end mirrors Walter White as an anti-hero because he's kind of a bad person. He's going to go back into the game and leave his daughter hanging again? smh. His mom died, his friends died, but he's just sulking and not spending his money. He could at least give it away to the less fortunate, a charity or something. I did a 180 on him throughout where I was rooting for him and then just didn't understand his actions.
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ranbalam said:
No, we are doing subtitles which I always prefer. I love hearing the language even though I don't understand a word. It was the un-dubbed English speaking characters that were nearly impossible to watch/listen to - their dialog was sophomoric and irritating. I'm glad they weren't main characters.
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The VIPS kept making me think of NPCs from games like Skyrim, where the dialogue was sooo stilted and on-the-nose. Like the line "oh, another student of the Bard" was so awful, but somehow I still enjoyed the episode because of the actual stakes involved.
 
mrjoshuamccormack said:
The VIPS kept making me think of NPCs from games like Skyrim, where the dialogue was sooo stilted and on-the-nose. Like the line "oh, another student of the Bard" was so awful, but somehow I still enjoyed the episode because of the actual stakes involved.
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Yeah, so cardboard...all that dialog was throwaway, but the scene end up being very important. It didn't ruin it, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest tonight.
 
Too Many Diaper Babies said:
Agreed. I really enjoyed this show. Margaret Qualley and Andie MacDowell were both fantastic. Honorable mention to Nick Robinson as Sean.
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Just finished and thought it was very well done.

My mom is here visiting from out of town and watched it with us and I think she put it best when she said "it's got all the elements of a Lifetime movie but it doesn't feel like a Lifetime movie", which I think we can attribute to the excellent performances and well-crafted dialogue that lends an incredible amount of respect to a difficult topic that doesn't get talked about enough.
 
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