Watch, Watched, Watching: Easter Edition

[Ran]

22 minutes ago, RumHam said:

The only episode of season four that I mostly like is the documentary about Changnesia. Which only feels like Community because it's the show repeating itself. 

I did enjoy that one, as well as the riff on Shawshank in the Thanksgiving episode, the Christmas episode with McDowell's history teacher being their hostage, and the Freaky Friday episode with Troy and Abed (even if the Troy-Britta relationship lacked any sense of weight or reality this season). And some of that enjoyment was fairly mild. 

OTOH, season 5 is definitely feeling a lot better, especially the Fincher Zodiac/Seven riff with the Asscrack Bandit... heh.

[DMC]

I particularly like how Harmon makes fun of Season 4 in seasons 5 & 6.  It starts not so subtle - calling it the "gas leak year."  But after awhile he gets slyer about it.

[Jace, Extat]

Finished S3 of Sneaky Pete. One awesome byproduct of endless subscription services is that these niche actors like Gio Ribisi get their own shows to just flourish in. I'm waiting for Alfie Allen to get one.

[Ran]

2 hours ago, DMC said:

I particularly like how Harmon makes fun of Season 4 in seasons 5 & 6.  It starts not so subtle - calling it the "gas leak year."  But after awhile he gets slyer about it.

The "Repilot" opener for S5 was lovely because it also poked fun at the show (I mean, the entire show, not just S4) for how it fell into cliche with the characters. It was quite interesting to see him acknowledge the development of the characters from where they started in the first season to what they became in later seasons, particularly Britta (".... when we met, you were an eclectic anarchist. How did you become the group's airhead?") and Troy ("Troy, your entire identity has been consumed by your relationship with another man.") [His Clive Owen Tumblr reveal was LOL worthy, too]

That ability to be so self-aware and make fun of it all... that was really refreshing, and a very Harmon thing.

 

17 minutes ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Finished S3 of Sneaky Pete. One awesome byproduct of endless subscription services is that these niche actors like Gio Ribisi get their own shows to just flourish in. I'm waiting for Alfie Allen to get one.

Is this show about the younger brother from Pete & Pete and his life of crime as an adult?

[Jace, Extat]

I shouldn't think so.

[Corvinus85]

Homeland has come to an end. This season has been bonkers as usual, probably more bonkers than most. I actually enjoyed last season, and this season has been so-so. Once again, both Carrie and Saul enjoyed too much plot armor.

Spoiler

I hated the killing of Max.

Carrie becoming a secret spy for Saul in Russia is major BS. Someone like her would be watched, I don't know how she could learn any secrets.

 

[WarGalley]

Halfway through ZeroZeroZero. Excellent. Strong Gomorrah vibes which is to be expected -- dark and serious, betrayals everywhere, and virtually no humor or happy moments. I was a little surprised that half the show takes place in Mexico dealing with the cops, corruption and the Mexican cartels. 

[Nictarion]

27 minutes ago, WarGalley said:

Halfway through ZeroZeroZero. Excellent. Strong Gomorrah vibes which is to be expected -- dark and serious, betrayals everywhere, and virtually no humor or happy moments. I was a little surprised that half the show takes place in Mexico dealing with the cops, corruption and the Mexican cartels. 

It’s really good, and it’s not getting enough attention here. Anyone that likes Gomorrah should watch it. 

[WarGalley]

18 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

It’s really good, and it’s not getting enough attention here. Anyone that likes Gomorrah should watch it. 

Yeah, I'm tempted to blame Amazon's marketing department again even though that feels heavily repeated at this point. I saw the trailers when on the site but they didn't really convey what the show was about. I don't think I would have given it a shot if I didn't know that it's based on the book from Saviano and directed by Sollima and likely to be very similar to Gomorrah. I'm not sure how a new person, completely unfamiliar with the premise and background, would be hooked to watch the pilot much less the season. 

[Mexal]

On 4/26/2020 at 4:40 PM, Jace, Basilissa said:

Finished S3 of Sneaky Pete. One awesome byproduct of endless subscription services is that these niche actors like Gio Ribisi get their own shows to just flourish in. I'm waiting for Alfie Allen to get one.

Pretty sad that it's over. I did enjoy this show but not surprised.

I started Gangs of London yesterday. It's pretty interesting so far after one episode, looking forward to seeing a little Raid action as it goes on.

[Ramsay B.]

I finished The Leftovers the other day. The last few episodes were emotional roller coasters.

Spoiler

Episode 6 was really good. John telling Laurie he just wanted Evie to know she was loved choked me up. He was such a wrecking ball in S2 so nice to see how much he’s changed.

The ending with Laurie scuba diving was really sad. I thought she went through with the suicide until ep 8. I’m assuming the phone call from Jill changed her mind. Amy Brenneman killed it all episode.

I liked the finale focusing on Nora and Kevin. That was a weird ass tactic that Kevin initially tried by pretending he had no memory of anything. I’m glad Nora was like fuck this and left. Then her talking about crossing over and seeing her family was another heavy scene. It was a fitting end to a great series. 

I’m glad I finally watched it. The acting was phenomenal and I’m gonna miss the different versions of ‘Departure’ that played throughout. Absolutely loved the score the entire time.

I gotta get on ZeroZeroZero. It seems right up my alley.

[Nictarion]

10 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

I finished The Leftovers the other day. The last few episodes were emotional roller coasters.

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Episode 6 was really good. John telling Laurie he just wanted Evie to know she was loved choked me up. He was such a wrecking ball in S2 so nice to see how much he’s changed.

The ending with Laurie scuba diving was really sad. I thought she went through with the suicide until ep 8. I’m assuming the phone call from Jill changed her mind. Amy Brenneman killed it all episode.

I liked the finale focusing on Nora and Kevin. That was a weird ass tactic that Kevin initially tried by pretending he had no memory of anything. I’m glad Nora was like fuck this and left. Then her talking about crossing over and seeing her family was another heavy scene. It was a fitting end to a great series. 

I’m glad I finally watched it. The acting was phenomenal and I’m gonna miss the different versions of ‘Departure’ that played throughout. Absolutely loved the score the entire time.

I gotta get on ZeroZeroZero. It seems right up my alley.

The Leftovers

Well...what’s your take on Nora’s story? Do you believe she was telling the truth about crossing over, or you think she got out of the machine and was lying? Iirc most felt like it was the latter in the discussions here.

[Derfel Cadarn]

I’ve two eps left in my Rome rewatch. Good to see it again. Thirteen!

Also finally gotten round to watching seasons 4 and 5 of Ripper Street. 1 ep into season 5.

Watchinf the Shannara Chronicles...

so, the elves want 7 people to look after an ancient tree, the only thing stopping demons from entering our dimension. Do they pick 7 people with horticultural knowledge?

No, they bind the hands and blindfold the candidates and make them run blindly through a forest.

wtf?

[SpaceChampion]

3 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Watchinf the Shannara Chronicles...

so, the elves want 7 people to look after an ancient tree, the only thing stopping demons from entering our dimension. Do they pick 7 people with horticultural knowledge?

No, they bind the hands and blindfold the candidates and make them run blindly through a forest.

wtf?

Maybe they spent 1000 years trying methods the telepathic tree rejected all the candidates and finally found this one thing the tree wouldn't reject.  Like how some people do 100 wrong things to cheat the system before resigning themselves to doing the right thing they can't get out of.

These are American Elves after all.

[RumHam]

7 hours ago, Nictarion said:

The Leftovers

 

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Well...what’s your take on Nora’s story? Do you believe she was telling the truth about crossing over, or you think she got out of the machine and was lying? Iirc most felt like it was the latter in the discussions here.

 

It's definitely the latter. The director of the episode has all but confirmed it. But even putting that aside the show makes it clear enough that I was always mildly annoyed anyone believed her.  The whole point was that Kevin chose to believe her even though it was bullshit. As the promiscuous nun says earlier in the episode "It's just a nicer story."

Quote

“My theory is that she’s lying to me,” declared Theroux. “And she didn’t go to this other place, and she’s using that to try and get me to leave or to not be with her. It’s sort of implied, because our show, a lot of times when people would have monologues or say things, we’d flash back to those events. And in that monologue, there’s no flashback to the event. So I think it’s a defense mechanism. She’s like, I’m going to tell him this story and he’s gonna go, ‘You’re bats— crazy’ and he’s gonna leave. And he ends up saying, ‘I don’t care, you’re here, you’re the love of my life, and so I’m going to stay with you.'”

Quote

I [Director Mimi Leder] think that people have belief systems, and I think she believes she went through because I think we all need stories to tell ourselves to get through this life. We tell ourselves stories to survive. So, do I think she went through? No.

Never mind the fact her story makes no sense. The scientist built the machine, and it worked. But then he doesn't think to build another one and go back and tell everyone he's solved the mystery? The people in that world have no interest in traveling back to the main world? When Nora gets back she doesn't tell anyone she knows where the people went? 

[Ramsay B.]

8 hours ago, Nictarion said:

The Leftovers

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Well...what’s your take on Nora’s story? Do you believe she was telling the truth about crossing over, or you think she got out of the machine and was lying? Iirc most felt like it was the latter in the discussions here.

 

Spoiler

I mean Nora’s story was pretty far fetched and too good to be true, even for this show, but for the most part I believed it. Until I read RumHam’s post... now I’m really on the fence. I guess I just wanted Nora to get some closure with her family stuff so I took it at face value. It not being true makes more sense though.

It’s a good point that they didn’t flashback to anything when she was talking about it. That crossed my mind as odd during her monologue but I quickly forgot about it. 

 

[Mexal]

On 4/27/2020 at 4:51 PM, Mexal said:

Pretty sad that it's over. I did enjoy this show but not surprised.

I started Gangs of London yesterday. It's pretty interesting so far after one episode, looking forward to seeing a little Raid action as it goes on.

Ok. On episode 5... this fucking show is insane. Good lord.

[Ran]

10 hours ago, Ramsay B. said:

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I mean Nora’s story was pretty far fetched and too good to be true, even for this show, but for the most part I believed it. Until I read RumHam’s post... now I’m really on the fence. I guess I just wanted Nora to get some closure with her family stuff so I took it at face value. It not being true makes more sense though.

It’s a good point that they didn’t flashback to anything when she was talking about it. That crossed my mind as odd during her monologue but I quickly forgot about it. 

 

Spoiler

It's interesting to look back at the various people involved and what they said. Lindelof wouldn't give the definitive answer but he worked out explanations for the whys and wherefors if Nora's story was true, like why no one from the 2% world came back to the 98% world and told everyone. He also makes it pretty clear that there is a 2% world, because he couldn´t handle not knowing what happened to those who disappeared; that said, this doesn't mean Nora literally went there. 

The director wasn't sure but personally thought Nora's story was untrue.

Carrie Coon basically says that Nora believes what she says is true, but allows that she may have internalized a lie she's been telling herself.

And on to other stuff...

Stalled out on The Plot Against America thanks to Community, but I'll get there.

Just got to the "G.I. Jeff" episode and that's sparking so much childhood nostalgia. Holy cow. This is way better than the "gas leak" season's puppet episode.

Westworld is so action-driven these days, it's weird, but I really liked some of the elements they've pulled in.

[RedEyedGhost]

Watched Bad Education last night, that was pretty good.  Watched all six seasons of Grimm over the past two weeks   Now I need something else to binge.  Might clean up the stuff on my DVR that I haven't been motivated to watch: Legion, Mr Inbetween, What We Do in the Shadows, Mr Robot, Westworld, etc.

[BigFatCoward]

Is anyone watching gangs of London? Had so many conflicting reviews.