Television

Stranger things after ep 7:

I figured the orderly was One, but not Vecna. Some may feel the reveal/monologue was a bit too long, but I enjoyed the Voldemort-ness of it all (especially since the actor was in one of the Harry Potter films). Overall I quite loved this season so far, as I don't mind longer running times and occasional slow bits. Though, on one hand, I still wish Hopper had actually died in Season 3
 
Bull Shannon said:
I don't mean to be too harsh on it; I'm just feeling it creak under its ambitions. I mean, I'd be a lot further into this season (it's been out what, two weeks?) if the runtimes were shorter, as I've tried to consume each episode in one sitting.

And now I feel obligated to list some of the things I've enjoyed:
  • Eddie (I completely understand why there are too many characters in this show, because they introduce some real charming oddballs, and who would want to write them off??)
  • Dustin and Steve - feels like they (and everyone in Hawkins) deserve some credit for actually dealing with danger while everyone else is off ostensibly on spring break
  • The newspaper kid
  • The Kate Bush of it all (by the time I got to it I'd seen enough headlines/social media praise that I knew what I was getting into, but it still was effective)
  • I kind of like that Vecna is a monster-of-the-week (so far) unrelated to any overarching plot; there's a version of this show where a new monster shows up every week
  • The show sometimes approaches the idea that the core friend group is growing apart, and I hope they embrace it more
  • I like Nancy and Robin's interactions; one of the great strengths of the show is mixing and matching characters
  • This was more prominent in the first episode, but I like the Satanic Panic angle this season is making overtures towards. The last few episodes have really focused on the protagonists and not the town at large, but it'd be totally plausible for the general populace of Hawkins to descend into a moral panic in the face of all the weird and terrifying stuff going down in their tiny town.
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I was annoyed by Eddie at first, but then remember that I was slightly too young in 86 to know what a high school metalhead/D&D player would've acted like. Then I had a friend who's several years older than me post that he definitely understood the character as a metalhead in the late 80s.

Also, this made me remember all the weird clique names my parents/older brother would use back then, such as "heads" which I think was some kind of hybrid name for metal fans and stoners.
 
I thought that that was the end of this season of Stranger Things before learning that there's another part coming later in July.

What is up with TV shows chunking up their final seasons recently?

Breaking Bad started the trend with their final season so it's not surprising to see Better Call Saul do the same. This final season of Ozark is doing in in halves along with Stranger Things. I guess it gives the opportunity to do a big plot over the course of a mini-season but I'm assuming they film all these at the same time... So, just release them in a sequence or all at once (if it's streaming).
 
wokeupnew said:
I thought that that was the end of this season of Stranger Things before learning that there's another part coming later in July.

What is up with TV shows chunking up their final seasons recently?

Breaking Bad started the trend with their final season so it's not surprising to see Better Call Saul do the same. This final season of Ozark is doing in in halves along with Stranger Things. I guess it gives the opportunity to do a big plot over the course of a mini-season but I'm assuming they film all these at the same time... So, just release them in a sequence or all at once (if it's streaming).
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At least it's only a two-month gap between season chunks; I remember when Mad Men and Breaking Bad split their "super sized final seasons" between two years, effectively delivering two mini-seasons (this worked better for BB, which split that season into distinct story arcs, while MM struggled I think due to exploring a single thematic arc through the two semi-seasons despite splitting them timeline-wise).

I think a weekly release schedule could really serve Stranger Things with its longer runtimes; I haven't binged this season like I did previous ones, and basically rushed myself to get to episode 4 because the internet was abuzz about it. Frankly, by the time I got to it, I knew what was coming, which is a bit disappointing. Either way, for both Saul and Things, I kind of like that I have time to catch up before the finale (I slept on this season of Saul, then gulped up the entire thing once I heard people buzzing about the midseason finale).
 
wokeupnew said:
What is up with TV shows chunking up their final seasons recently?
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This isnā€™t Stranger Things final season, this is the penultimate season. Their 5th and final season has yet to film but likely wonā€™t air for a year or two.

I think splitting the season allows for a show to stay in the cultural conversation for a longer period of time. For shows like Mad Men, The Sopranos, GOT, Breaking Bad, etcā€¦ it also allowed for longer seasons overall and calling them one season as opposed to two mini seasons I would assume has a lot to do with promotion, filming, and production cost.
 
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TenderLovingKillerĀ® said:
This isnā€™t Stranger Things final season, this is the penultimate season. Their 5th and final season has yet to film but likely wonā€™t air for a year or two.

I think splitting the season allows for a show to stay in the cultural conversation for a longer period of time. For show like Mad Men, Soprano, GOT, Breaking Bad, etcā€¦ it also allowed for longer seasons overall and calling them one season as opposed to two mini seasons I would assume has a lot to do with promotion, filming, and production cost.
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I like that they split it with the final eps coming 2 months later. I rarely binge stuff, so Mrs and I are watching an ep every 4-5 days (too many other things to watch right now). We probably will finish in a couple more weeks and be ready for the last eps in July.

I do hate when they do it like BB or MM and have a huge gap in between
 
Bull Shannon said:
(I slept on this season of Saul, then gulped up the entire thing once I heard people buzzing about the midseason finale).
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My friend was gushing about the mid-season finale of BCS a couple of weeks ago so I had to quickly catch up with it. I think, like your other example with knowing what was already going to happen and/or with their being so much hype behind it, it wasn't as shocking for me.
 
livinsmall said:
Honestly I've absolutely loved this season of Stranger Things.....feel like I'm watching a different show than some people. It's just fun as hell. A perfect summer series, to be honest.
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Yeah same. Just a ton of fun. And I binged it all pretty quickly even with the looong episode lengths. I am almost done rewatching season four now, and feel the same. Though that one might be my favorite. Cause it balances all the tones and storylines best. I donā€™t think of the show too deeply, itā€™s more just a great fun watch.
 
HELLO. iā€™m sure i missed all the Severance talk, but holy fucking fuck i loved that show.

other shows iā€™m currently watching/v into but have like, 3 weeks to catch up on cause my friend and i watch these together and heā€™s been gone:
  1. barry
  2. atlanta
  3. the staircase
  4. the apple tv space show with joel kinnamen and michael dorman (please watch Patriot on prime if you havenā€™t and thank me later) because i love both of them so much
oh wee are the shows i wouldā€™ve talked about had i not been gone for 3-4 years (in no particular order because time is a flat circle):
  1. LETTERKENNY
  2. INSECURE (perfect show)
  3. black monday (have not seen the latest season bc at&t took my showtime away, but it is also a perfect fucking show).
  4. beforeigners, HBO
  5. EUPHORIA (another perfect show. iā€™m legitimately mad at how fucking good it is).
  6. the investigation, HBO
  7. SCHITTā€™s CREEK (i havenā€™t finished it because i donā€™t want it to be over)
  8. Pen15
  9. POSE
  10. umbrella academy
  11. derry girls
  12. shrill
  13. RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES
  14. ted lasso
i know iā€™m missing shit. i rewatched ALL of the americans (SO GODDAMN GOODšŸ¤ŒšŸ½), veep, happy valley, patriotā€¦ i know thereā€™s more. oh, in a deep dark depression, i watched every single SVU. all 26 or 27 seasons. and you know what? iā€™d do it again.

anyway. itā€™s good to be back.
 
6od said:
  1. the apple tv space show with joel kinnamen and michael dorman (please watch Patriot on prime if you havenā€™t and thank me later) because i love both of them so much
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This. When it finally clicked....both blew my mind and made me happy to figure it out...then I was sad there was no more Patriot.
 
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6od said:
HELLO. iā€™m sure i missed all the Severance talk, but holy fucking fuck i loved that show.
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Yeah, that was one of my favorite recent shows. Creative, quirky, dark, funny, artistic. It really has it all...or all the things I personally like in TV and movies. I probably said it before on here, but it reminds me of a Kaufman script or maybe David O Russell.

6od said:
SCHITTā€™s CREEK (i havenā€™t finished it because i donā€™t want it to be over)
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So great. The good thing is, you can watch it twice, then it's not really over yet. Not that I've heard anything of the sort, but I have hopes that they'll do a reunion movie or short season or something.

Also, welcome back!
 
ranbalam said:
reminds me of a Kaufman script
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YES!!! i like this comparison. also have you ever heard mike birbigliaā€™s story about d oā€™russel? itā€™s all i can think about whenever he comes up.

ranbalam said:
you can watch it twice,
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i probably will. i could watch tv all day, apparently. so itā€™s good i donā€™t have one. but my bf lives downstairs and has a good tv set up (and every video game set up) so iā€™m there watching shit a lot.

itā€™s good to be back! i never shouldā€™ve left
 
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Impression after seeing episode one of Obi Wan:
So Ewan McGregor has taken up the mantle passed to him by Liam Neeson, like Jedi master to padawan, and is starring in Space Taken. He has a unique set of skills, you seeā€¦

 
nolalady said:
Impression after seeing episode one of Obi Wan:
So Ewan McGregor has taken up the mantle passed to him by Liam Neeson, like Jedi master to padawan, and is starring in Space Taken. He has a unique set of skills, you seeā€¦

Click to expand...

After seeing episode 2, I sort of amend my take, but, not really.
 
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