My Random TV Thread

Monster/ Ed Gein on Netflix.

If you want to be entertained and the facts are irrelevant? 3.5 out of 5 ham radios. Charlie Hunnam of Sons of Anarchy fame deserves an award for his acting.
If you want to see the fake character redemption arc of a notorious serial killer? 4.5 out of 5 FBI interviews.

It is a Ryan Murphy show and while he's known to play fast and loose with historical accuracy, two entire episodes were fabricated out of thin air. (Gein did not help catch Ted Bundy)
 
AWP said:
Monster/ Ed Gein on Netflix.

If you want to be entertained and the facts are irrelevant? 3.5 out of 5 ham radios. Charlie Hunnam of Sons of Anarchy fame deserves an award for his acting.
If you want to see the fake character redemption arc of a notorious serial killer? 4.5 out of 5 FBI interviews.

It is a Ryan Murphy show and while he's known to play fast and loose with historical accuracy, two entire episodes were fabricated out of thin air. (Gein did not help catch Ted Bundy)
Click to expand...

My mother met him during a rotation at Mendota Mental Hospital while in her medical residency. He sat down at a lunch table she was at and introduced himself before aimlessly talking about lots of his life experiences. Mom said it was a wild encounter.
 
We finished Wayward last night. Set in a small Vermont town it covers a school for troubled teens with super cult-like tendencies. The school founder and lead is the default government of said town. The protagonists are two students and cop who has recently moved to the town.

As the story progresses you see the good and bad of everything in the town and school. The ending can be closure or deserving of a second season depending on your imagination.

An odd, quirky series. The cast is decent, writing's okay, twists are few. It isn't a must see, but worth it if you're in between another series or movie.

3 out of 5 invasive frogs only because I'll watch a second season if available.
 
Finished the binge of HALO. Pretty solid. Makee chick, just has this hotness to her. Don't care for some of the storylines that come off as people trying to write the same way as George RR Martin of plans within plans within plans.

Never played Halo to the point where I have an understanding of the story, my idiot brother read the books. Watched a lot of Red vs Blue but that probably isn't helpful.

Character development was pretty solid. Too bad they cancelled it.
 
AWP said:
We finished Wayward last night. Set in a small Vermont town it covers a school for troubled teens with super cult-like tendencies. The school founder and lead is the default government of said town. The protagonists are two students and cop who has recently moved to the town.

As the story progresses you see the good and bad of everything in the town and school. The ending can be closure or deserving of a second season depending on your imagination.

An odd, quirky series. The cast is decent, writing's okay, twists are few. It isn't a must see, but worth it if you're in between another series or movie.

3 out of 5 invasive frogs only because I'll watch a second season if available.
Click to expand...
The ending (especially re: the cop) seemed a bit lazy, but I loved what they explored in the show, having known places and communities like these that did and (to some extent) still do exist.

I'm convinced at this point that the limited series format is the best blend of producing a compact plot-moving story that avoids needless filler while allowing for an extension/second season whenever there's still more story to tell.

There are enough ways to spin off this story that I'd toadally watch a second season.
 
Locksteady said:
The ending (especially re: the cop) seemed a bit lazy, but I loved what they explored in the show, having known places and communities like these that did and (to some extent) still do exist.

I'm convinced at this point that the limited series format is the best blend of producing a compact plot-moving story that avoids needless filler while allowing for an extension/second season whenever there's still more story to tell.

There are enough ways to spin off this story that I'd toadally watch a second season.
Click to expand...

I'm a huge proponent of 2-3 seasons per series.

1-2: story to season-ending cliffhanger/ gotcha and finish the story in Season 2.
1-3 Traditional act structure: Setup, Confrontation, Resolution.

Watch most series running longer than 3 seasons and you'll notice how the story is wonky, slow to develop (Vince Gilligan), and relies on increasingly unlikely/ stupid outcomes (Game of Thrones and Dexter). If you NEED a long format then make it 5. Milking a cash cow is horrible for story telling and the fans.

Also, nicely done with that Easter egg.
 
AWP said:
Watch most series running longer than 3 seasons and you'll notice how the story is wonky
Click to expand...
I agree. For me, Hell On Wheels comes to mind. First two seasons were killer, by the middle of season three you could see it going sideways and I stopped watching it. Disappointing because for the first two seasons, its one of my favorites.
 
I was a huge NCIS fan until it got stupid. Right around the time when Abby left; was really looking forward to the new Tony and Ziva series, but the show still refuses to acknowledge that they’re in any type of romantic relationship. Please, they have a fucking kid together.
 
Ooh-Rah said:
I was a huge NCIS fan until it got stupid. Right around the time when Abby left; was really looking forward to the new Tony and Ziva series, but the show still refuses to acknowledge that they’re in any type of romantic relationship. Please, they have a fucking kid together.
Click to expand...

My last unit as enlisted our CO was a NCIS agent in real life. Never forgot him, Boris Frank-Nazaroff, great guy, about 5'4" and 120#. I remember the stories he told about his cases. NEVER a murder or anything like on TV, stuff like Marines or Sailors stealing from S4, or financial matters, etc. In the office spaces his nickname was Ziva lol, he had a great sense of humore.
 
Topkick said:
I agree. For me, Hell On Wheels comes to mind. First two seasons were killer, by the middle of season three you could see it going sideways and I stopped watching it. Disappointing because for the first two seasons, its one of my favorites.
Click to expand...

Original Star Wars, Godfather could have used some better guidance, The Bridge needed a third season, Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, I don't have the energy to run down others. A trilogy is perfect, 5 seasons can work if you build it appropriately (The Wire). Telling the story should be the easiest part.
 
AWP said:
I'm a huge proponent of 2-3 seasons per series.

1-2: story to season-ending cliffhanger/ gotcha and finish the story in Season 2.
1-3 Traditional act structure: Setup, Confrontation, Resolution.

Watch most series running longer than 3 seasons and you'll notice how the story is wonky, slow to develop (Vince Gilligan), and relies on increasingly unlikely/ stupid outcomes (Game of Thrones and Dexter). If you NEED a long format then make it 5. Milking a cash cow is horrible for story telling and the fans.

Also, nicely done with that Easter egg.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, and I think we only seem to get that sweet spot when they are cancelled prematurely (Rome, Firefly), originally intended to be a shorter limited/miniseries (Squid Game, Queen's Gambit, Band of Brothers), or designed as an anthology with new stories each season (True Detective, The Haunting of Hill House/Bly Manor).

They very rightly extended X-Files past its fist season, but I still give them grace even after season 5 since they were one of the first shows on that subject that got the fan reception to try riding that wave as long as they could, especially with all the conspiracies they could incorporate floating around at the time about the upcoming next millennium.
 
Back
Top