DMC Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 25 minutes ago, Kalibuster said: The closest critical success to any of the above by anyone else is breaking bad. I think Mad Men is comfortably up there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 4 minutes ago, DMC said: I think Mad Men is comfortably up there too. Maybe. That one seems less universally agreed to than, say, sopranos or the wire or breaking bad. Doesn't really change much - the biggest critical hits and the biggest appointment tv shows have been on HBO, and the only thing that has so far come close is a shitty live action version of clone wars fanfic on Disney. I'll also say that a lot of those shows - deadwood, Rome, even wire - were not acclaimed at the time they were showing. It sometimes takes time afterwards to see how good something is or how groundbreaking something is. Could be wheel of time or the boys or peacemaker or any number of things gets there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 1 minute ago, Kalibuster said: Maybe. That one seems less universally agreed to than, say, sopranos or the wire or breaking bad. Agreed, but at the same time I'd put its universality ahead of Six Feet Under and probably Deadwood. I mean people had problems with the later seasons but you could say the same thing about Sopranos..or Breaking Bad's early seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumHam Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 Mad Men > Better Call Saul > Breaking Bad. I always thought Breaking Bad had some really amazing high points but was a little uneven. The cousins are a little cartoony, I hate the extended "crawling" sequence that introduces them. Not a fan of all the season two "something bad happened / pool" teasers and what that ended up being. Also the fact that when they wrote and filmed Walt buying the big machine gun they had no idea who he was going to use it on bugs me. And all they could come up with was Nazis. It worked out, don't get me wrong I think the show got better as it went on and ended really strong. But how do you not have the story somewhat plotted out by that point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarGalley Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 7 hours ago, Mark Antony said: Season one of deadwood absolute perfect tv Flawless. Still makes my list of best single seasons of television ever. The finale with Al overlooking the bar while the piano plays and Jewel and Doc dance was just a perfect stage close after wrapping up all of the storylines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annara Snow Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 6 hours ago, Heartofice said: Yeah some of the mentions already make it clear they have not stopped making great tv. It’s not like AMC, who have much spottier track record (fuck you walking dead) AMC has The Walking Dead franchise, HBO has True Blood and the later seasons of GoT, FX has most of the American Horror Story in the overhyped trash department. All of their records are spotty. HBO has nothing on the others. I guess the universality of Mad Men's appreciation doesn't work for me, because I could never get into that show and dropped it after season 2, if I even finished that. I tried to get back several times because it is supposed to be so great, but I just didn't care about Don, didn't care about most of the characters and wasn't interested in the story. Even though some of the shows that are supposedly similar to Mad Men - Halt and Catch Fire, The Americans- are among my favorite shows of all time (and also some of the best, IMO. If I'd have to pick one show and say "This is the best show of all time", it's The Americans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DireWolfSpirit Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 What is this "Peacemaker" being mentioned? Have never even noticed that series, will have to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briantw Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 21 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said: What is this "Peacemaker" being mentioned? Have never even noticed that series, will have to check it out. Note: Would highly recommend watching James Gunn's The Suicide Squad prior to watching Peacemaker, as it introduces the character and the show picks up directly where the movie leaves the character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 I thought Peacemaker was a lot of fun but I don't think it belongs anywhere near a conversation about Sopranos, The Wire, etc. -- and I don't think any amount of time is going to change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briantw Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 hour ago, DMC said: I thought Peacemaker was a lot of fun but I don't think it belongs anywhere near a conversation about Sopranos, The Wire, etc. -- and I don't think any amount of time is going to change that. I think you rank it against other comedies, not dramas like The Wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 2 hours ago, DMC said: I thought Peacemaker was a lot of fun but I don't think it belongs anywhere near a conversation about Sopranos, The Wire, etc. -- and I don't think any amount of time is going to change that. I think that's what a lot of folks said about breaking bad season 1. Or game of thrones season 1. My point simply is that the only show that was appreciated in its time like a crazy hit from its first season was sopranos. Even the wire wasn't thought of as absolutely incredible. And judging whole series compared to single seasons and saying how nothing is as good is myopic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 minute ago, Kalibuster said: I think that's what a lot of folks said about breaking bad season 1. It got off to a rocky start, yeah, but the potential was still clearly there. I agree with brian that Peacemaker should be evaluated with other comedies. It really isn't shooting to be a Sopranos or even a Breaking Bad. 3 minutes ago, Kalibuster said: My point simply is that the only show that was appreciated in its time like a crazy hit from its first season was sopranos. Even the wire wasn't thought of as absolutely incredible. And judging whole series compared to single seasons and saying how nothing is as good is myopic. Yeah I generally agree with your point. I'd say a lot the shows mentioned during HBO's golden age did receive universal critical acclaim pretty much right off the bat, but it took a long time for a lot of them to really get the recognition they deserved. And give me a break about the "myopic" crack. I'm judging Peacemaker based on one season because that's all there is to judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 15 hours ago, Annara Snow said: Halt and Catch Fire Halt and Catch Fire's first season was very heavily informed by Mad Men, it must be said. No surprise, given that it was from AMC who was trying to fill the Mad Men-sized hole in their lineup after Mad Men ended. Once they gave that up, though, the other seasons were stellar (and I liked the first, mind you) as they tacked a different course. Given that I very recently binge-watched all seven seasons of Mad Men, you can guess where my views lie as to whether it fits in the Golden Age pantheon or not. Of course, Weiner first pitched it to HBO, and they just happened to reject it. (So, too, was Breaking Bad.) The Americans is another really excellent show which I loved, start to finish. That finale... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumHam Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 27 minutes ago, Kalibuster said: I think that's what a lot of folks said about breaking bad season 1. Or game of thrones season 1. Huh I think of GoT season one as its best season. Probably because it's the least divergent from the books. (Though I hadn't read them until season one ended.) Apart from the infamous "Littlefinger explains his motivations while breaking in a new prostitute" and incredibly stupid "Lannister guard randomly intervenes in what is clearly a one on one dual after a few minutes" scene I think it's really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumHam Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 27 minutes ago, DMC said: It got off to a rocky start, yeah, but the potential was still clearly there. I agree with brian that Peacemaker should be evaluated with other comedies. It really isn't shooting to be a Sopranos or even a Breaking Bad. I don't know, I think you could argue that both The Sopranos and Peacemaker are dramas and comedies. Sopranos is a hilarious show. Peacemaker has some emotionally impactful stuff. But yeah I don't think Peacemaker is a top tier show. I don't really expect it to become one either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 3 minutes ago, RumHam said: I don't know, I think you could argue that both The Sopranos and Peacemaker are dramas and comedies. Sopranos is a hilarious show. Peacemaker has some emotionally impactful stuff. I think Peacemaker is classic James Gunn formula - equal parts action, raunchy jokes and clever banter, with heartwarming characterization sprinkled in...along with way too much Gen Xer music Gunn likes. I really like that formula! But it'd take a radical shift in tone and structure - which would probably be off-putting to many of his viewers - for it to approach the "prestige" level those other shows were shooting for (and achieved). I suppose anything's possible, but I think it's very unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadlines? What Deadlines? Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 22 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said: I can only echo your praise for both Nicola Coughlan and Derry Girls. Special mention to Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin) and her very expressive eyebrows. Great scene. Spoilers BTW. Interestingly, "Shipping up to Boston" appears a few times in these Channel 4 clips but not in the Canadian Netflix version of the show. This scene and the detention scene are scored differently here. Must be some kind of weird rights issue or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhaenysBee Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Ah I can’t wait for Derry Girls…! bridgerton suuuuuuuuuucks. I watched season 1 twice but season 2 is so bland and annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadlines? What Deadlines? Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 hour ago, RhaenysBee said: bridgerton suuuuuuuuuucks. I watched season 1 twice but season 2 is so bland and annoying. Gasp. Filthy lies. The main marriage plot was a bit random but I liked the Featherington and Whistledown sub plots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 How have you both finished so quickly? I really can't binge watch things anymore, I can manage a max of two hours TV per day, and usually less than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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