Television

Ozark is hard not to draw comparisons to Breaking Bad, but it has a pretty different, somewhat lighter, tone. I don't think it is quite as well done but is good and entertaining nonetheless.

Ooooo, I'm not as far off base as I thought!

See, I was really into Breaking Bad when it was on. Maybe because it was some of the last TV that you had to wait for each week and I got all swept up in the water cooler talk, "OMG, did you see last night's episode". I have zero desire to ever see another episode. And I actually don't know if in hindsight I really liked the show. Lol. I know I'm in the minority on that opinion though. I like Better Call Saul far more. I would say that the things that turned people off about BB are not present in Ozark.
 
What's the next communal television we can watch as a nation? Tiger King was a wild ride. What's next?
 
Hmmmm…. It has a gritty quality to it like Rectify. It has aspects of the Mexican cartel to it but the actual cartel is not the main focus. It's kinda an innocent family falling into the clutches of the cartel and how they not only embrace it but start to thrive and maybe enjoy it? A bit of Breaking Bad but not as violent - so maybe more Better Call Saul. Jason Bateman's role is unlike any other he's played. Julia Garner is really great in it.

Well, how many times through are you on PnR?
Is it similar to Narcos at all? I started that several years ago but never bothered going in past a handful of episodes because it was boring.

Honestly this might be the first time I've done a full series run through. I started watching during season 2 and watched each episode live. Then afterwards I'd download the episodes and watch each one again a couple of times during the week, along with Community, The Office, 30 Rock during the Thursday night comedy block on NBC. So I've seen each episode at least 3 or 4 times but haven't seen them all at once in short running.
Ozark is hard not to draw comparisons to Breaking Bad, but it has a pretty different, somewhat lighter, tone. I don't think it is quite as well done but is good and entertaining nonetheless.
Interesting! I might check it out.
 
Is it similar to Narcos at all? I started that several years ago but never bothered going in past a handful of episodes because it was boring.

Honestly this might be the first time I've done a full series run through. I started watching during season 2 and watched each episode live. Then afterwards I'd download the episodes and watch each one again a couple of times during the week, along with Community, The Office, 30 Rock during the Thursday night comedy block on NBC. So I've seen each episode at least 3 or 4 times but haven't seen them all at once in short running.

Interesting! I might check it out.

I did not like Narcos. I, too, abandoned it after a few episodes. No, it isn't like Narcos.

I have enjoyed learning about that unknown-to-me part of the country. There is apparently a huge party atmosphere on the Lake of the Ozarks that looks similar to my experiences on Bourbon Street. There is a big class divide on the lake also. It really is a well done show.

I have watched PnR 7 or 8 times through. All back to back. I love it so. And I always skip S1. I say it all the time but I hate the character Mark.
 
I did not like Narcos. I, too, abandoned it after a few episodes. No, it isn't like Narcos.

I have enjoyed learning about that unknown-to-me part of the country. There is apparently a huge party atmosphere on the Lake of the Ozarks that looks similar to my experiences on Bourbon Street. There is a big class divide on the lake also. It really is a well done show.

I have watched PnR 7 or 8 times through. All back to back. I love it so. And I always skip S1. I say it all the time but I hate the character Mark.
Season 1 always felt very "Office-y". Leslie is too much like Michael Scott in that season and Andy in crutches is a dick. It continues on into some episodes in season 2 with that same feel for a while but Season 2 is definitely where it made its mark. Mark is /okay/. I don't really hate him, but he's boring af. I do hate his relationship with Ann and how they are always so sarcastic with each other all the time. I think he was essential for leveling Leslie's actions/ambitions in the first two seasons but her character developed to where he's not really needed anymore later on.
 
Season 1 always felt very "Office-y". Leslie is too much like Michael Scott in that season and Andy in crutches is a dick. It continues on into some episodes in season 2 with that same feel for a while but Season 2 is definitely where it made its mark. Mark is /okay/. I don't really hate him, but he's boring af. I do hate his relationship with Ann and how they are always so sarcastic with each other all the time. I think he was essential for leveling Leslie's actions/ambitions in the first two seasons but her character developed to where he's not really needed anymore later on.
I love that the first episode of S2 is the gay penguin episode. Cause I have told so many people that have tried to get into PnR but couldn't to just skip right to S2 (and they all have become fans after that). That episode cracks me the eff up.
 
Ooooo, I'm not as far off base as I thought!

See, I was really into Breaking Bad when it was on. Maybe because it was some of the last TV that you had to wait for each week and I got all swept up in the water cooler talk, "OMG, did you see last night's episode". I have zero desire to ever see another episode. And I actually don't know if in hindsight I really liked the show. Lol. I know I'm in the minority on that opinion though. I like Better Call Saul far more. I would say that the things that turned people off about BB are not present in Ozark.
Yeah, I get the divisiveness of Breaking Bad. I think it just comes down to how you feel about watching a show that becomes more of a character study of a descent into evil where pretty much everyone loses any redeeming qualities they may have had, or meet some dark fate. If someone needs more positivity or at least hope than that in a show, I don't think BB is for them. I experienced a little of that a few seasons in before I embraced the fact that I wasn't really going to root for anyone as much as just watch where it went.

I love Better Call Saul. I never expected it to be half as good as it is and can't wait to see where it goes. I'm still mid whatever the last season added to Netflix is. I think the fact that he has more redeeming qualities but still huge flaws helps with that aspect of the character development.
 
I think Ozark is what Breaking Bad would have been if it had ended up on Showtime. It's a similar story plus the freedom of premium cable TV, but minus the very specific creative trademarks of someone like Vince Gilligan. Ozark is more about straight up plot and shock value; there was quite a bit of that in Breaking Bad too, but it was almost always in service of the show's more literary themes. Ozark doesn't appear to have an overall plan/structure, so it's also not as tightly plotted, which makes some of it feel a little more gratuitous, where shocking events in Breaking Bad usually carried both short- and long-term consequences. If Ozark had a weaker cast I don't think it would hold together nearly as well as it does, but all that said, it's still very watchable.

Aside from being set in the rural South, I'm not sure I see any parallels to Rectify, though.

I think the class stratification is what I was going for. And the dampened yet nuanced emotions. If that makes sense.
 
Yeah, I get the divisiveness of Breaking Bad. I think it just comes down to how you feel about watching a show that becomes more of a character study of a descent into evil where pretty much everyone loses any redeeming qualities they may have had, or meet some dark fate. If someone needs more positivity or at least hope than that in a show, I don't think BB is for them. I experienced a little of that a few seasons in before I embraced the fact that I wasn't really going to root for anyone as much as just watch where it went.

I love Better Call Saul. I never expected it to be half as good as it is and can't wait to see where it goes. I'm still mid whatever the last season added to Netflix is. I think the fact that he has more redeeming qualities but still huge flaws helps with that aspect of the character development.

I'm really interested to see what happens with (if you haven't watched BB or Better Call Saul, don't click)

Kim. Because she isn't in BB. That I remember. So, what happens between Jimmy and Kim that makes her disappear.
 
I know nobody will be interested in this, but in the second season of this magnificent mindfuck called Da Vinci's Demons, Leonardo Da Vinci crosses the Atlantic Ocean to discover... Machu Picchu.
 
I know this is the TV thread, but I don't go into the Movie thread. It got big really fast and I can't keep up. So.....

I watched The Platform on Netflix so you all don't have to. That movie about the tower of prisoners - 2 to a floor - and a platform with food visits each floor. And the higher floors clearly get more of the food and the lower floors well, don't.

OMG.

Not the best choice I've ever made in my life.
 
I know this is the TV thread, but I don't go into the Movie thread. It got big really fast and I can't keep up. So.....

I watched The Platform on Netflix so you all don't have to. That movie about the tower of prisoners - 2 to a floor - and a platform with food visits each floor. And the higher floors clearly get more of the food and the lower floors well, don't.

OMG.

Not the best choice I've ever made in my life.
Yep ..I’ve posted about this on the movie thread...once seen..never forgotten..my wife still hasn’t forgiven me
 
Yep ..I’ve posted about this on the movie thread...once seen..never forgotten..my wife still hasn’t forgiven me

Ok, so it seems some of the volunteered to be in there? To get a degree? I didn't understand that at all. What degree?
 
Ok, so it seems some of the volunteered to be in there? To get a degree? I didn't understand that at all. What degree?



I think the degree was just bait you could have whatever you wanted to take part as a sweetener ..obviously the point was no one would ever get out ..as unless humanity works together and shared the food equally ..eventually everyone would starve or murder each other ..literally those at the top shitting on those at the bottom ...heavy handed message but an intriguing film, ending was weak but think he died so the child could live and hopefully bring an end to the experience
 
Haven’t watched it yet, actually, just seems like a similar premise. It’s a YA novel that’s basically Cube x Lord of the Flies x Breakfast Club.
5 teens wake up in a space with no walls or ceiling, just endless flights of stairs. On a landing they find a device that dispenses food, but it starts conditioning them by only dispensing the food if they modify their behavior in certain ways. Also: puberty.
But Platform has added sausage dog factor
 
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