What are you watching these days?

radthemad4 · Post by **radthemad4** » Mon Aug 04, 2014 4:20 pm

Been watching My Name is Earl recently and I think it's a pretty awesome sitcom. It's continually hilarious and often rather heartwarming.

Edit: Yeesh, the show gets really really stupid sometime into the third season. The 4th season has a few good episodes on par with the early seasons but is mostly 'meh' and had a really stupid cliffhanger ending. Apparently it had something to do with the writers' strike. Oh well, at least the first two seasons were good.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu May 21, 2015 10:13 pm

OK. So the Gaming Den got me started watching Arrow. And I really, really like it. Enough to start watching The Flash, and I like that one even more. So then Daredevil shows up on Netflix... And I'm back to not giving a crap about superheroes again (though Vincent D'Onofrio is the bad guy - I'll keep watching for that).

I can't put into words the difference between the shows. Has anyone here seen them both/all and can explain it to me, please?

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri May 22, 2015 1:19 am

Daredevil isn't really trying to be a superhero show. It's a Law & Order spinoff for the Marvel universe.

Schleiermacher · Post by **Schleiermacher** » Fri May 22, 2015 10:14 am

I loved Daredevil. Haven't watched Arrow yet (going to watch Agent Carter first), but I guess that means it's even better. Score!

angelfromanotherpin · Fri May 22, 2015 12:03 pm

I found this review basically nails all the issues with DD, both standalone and in relation to Arrow.

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Fri May 22, 2015 1:52 pm

MOST OF THE INFORMATIONS POSTED THERE ARE JUST TRASH!

The Marvel and DC shows are amazing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Fri May 22, 2015 3:04 pm

"Sporadically brilliant" is definitely how I would describe Daredevil.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Fri May 22, 2015 6:26 pm

Some really good points there. Thank you for the commentary. I've been struggling with DD for a a couple reasons, I think...

1) Ancillary characters are ancillary. Foggy is a doughy-faced one liner generator who will play the stereotypical melodramatic foil in the reveal scene. He doesn't really do anything. A lot of characters are like this, and nothing makes me give fewer figs than writers who don't spare any to begin with.

2) The hero lives in a bubble. This is where I think the world of Arrow is entirely different... When the hero does something, it changes things. And stuff happening in the world changes the hero. I love hearing the changes in the opening credits.

I think those are my big issues. A lot of people, in writing about DD, have basically said, "Yay. A show without any drama. Just fighting. That's so much better." I've actually read a review that said What if you’re a viewer who’s less interested in thoughtful writing and more for sheer action? in reference to the awesome fighting in Daredevil. And then a paragraph later claims Daredevil has depth, compelling characters, thoughtful writing, and subtle references recognizing the larger Universe....

All that, and I found the opening scene to DD horrifically bad. Maybe it was a sour note that has colored the rest of my impression of the show.

---

I should add that I think Arrow has its issues. Season 3 made me

many times over, and the flashbacks - something I consider a strong suit of the show - were lackluster, even though they were relevant in multiple ways. I do think the last few episodes brought the whole thing back together, though. But there was a long wait to get there.

radthemad4 · Post by **radthemad4** » Fri May 22, 2015 8:07 pm

My biggest beef with Arrow is the sheer number of times someone says, "Are you okay?" or "You okay?". I don't know why this bugs me so much but it does. I really wish they'd mix it up sometimes with, "How're you doing?", "What's up?", "How're you holding up?", etc. I still like the show though.

Minor Flash spoilers (Season 1 Episode 17, Tricksters)

It kinda pisses me off that Flash never bothered to use his going through walls ability ever again.

The timeline of the Arrow Season 3 finale and the Flash pre season finale is extremely suspect.

Spoilers for the Arrow Season 3 and Flash season finale:

Flash is a dick. Okay, there are meta reasons accounting for his not sticking around but the writers really should've come up with something more urgent than "I need to 'talk' to someone who's already been captured and is currently in no position to do anything" or given him some bombs scattered across Starling to defuse or something. Heck, Ollie actually helped him fight his villain (somehow finding the time*) and he really should've returned the favor even if it meant ending the episode's conflict in 10 minutes.

*
"Hey Ra's, mind if I go out for a bit without an escort?"
"Starling is off limits!"
"No no, I'm just going to 'Central' City"
"Oh, no worries then. Be back by 10."
"Cool. Hey Ray, could I borrow some anti speedster nanites?"
"Sure, I'll whip some up... somehow. Here you go."
"Cool thanks!"
"Wait, don't we hate you now? Get back here damnit! I should really tell the others about this instead of completely forgetting about it."

I've started Constantine. It look promising.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri May 22, 2015 8:41 pm

radthemad4 wrote: I've started Constantine. It look promising.

I think I watched like 5 episodes before the constant permanent plot advancing stupidity of literally all the characters pissed me off too much to keep watching.

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:09 pm

I've been watching Orphan Black. It's very good, but the MacGuffin feels kind of nonsensical and has gotten more so.

There are two sets of clones (That we know of; I am firmly of the opinion that if there's a Castor project there's got to be a Pollux project). Their DNA includes some new sequences created by the cloning project and they're after the genome of the original to cure a disease that sterilizes the female ones and makes the males go nuts and die, presumably introduced as a control measure. There's two issues, though.

1. Sarah, one of the female clones, does not have it, so I am profoundly unclear on why the female clones need the original genome instead of taking a sample from her.

2. They've recently discovered that the disease is not a genetic disease but a prion disease, and according to lesbian science clone Sarah is immune but not in a way that will help anyone who already has it. So, uh, the original genome is entirely useless for this purpose. In fact, there's no special reason to believe the original was immune, since the disease can spread to non-clones.

Shady314 · Post by **Shady314** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 11:41 pm

iZombie and Person of Interest.

Nebuchadnezzar · Post by **Nebuchadnezzar** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:10 am

Bloodline has proven a better slow burn than expected, and has served as an ersatz placeholder for True Detective.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 5:35 am

name_here wrote:I've been watching Orphan Black. It's very good, but the MacGuffin feels kind of nonsensical and has gotten more so.

There are two sets of clones (That we know of; I am firmly of the opinion that if there's a Castor project there's got to be a Pollux project). Their DNA includes some new sequences created by the cloning project and they're after the genome of the original to cure a disease that sterilizes the female ones and makes the males go nuts and die, presumably introduced as a control measure. There's two issues, though.

1. Sarah, one of the female clones, does not have it, so I am profoundly unclear on why the female clones need the original genome instead of taking a sample from her.

2. They've recently discovered that the disease is not a genetic disease but a prion disease, and according to lesbian science clone Sarah is immune but not in a way that will help anyone who already has it. So, uh, the original genome is entirely useless for this purpose. In fact, there's no special reason to believe the original was immune, since the disease can spread to non-clones.

I think the idea is that Science Lesbian needs to look at the original genome as if it were a key to the cypher of the clone genome. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but they needed a mcguffin, I suppose there are more nonsensical mcguffins they could have gone with.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:25 am

Been rewatching my old anime DVDs are the early 00s. Finished Nadesico today, and it was as good as I remembered, but this time I went subs. The dub was worse than I remembered, even if it IS iconic to me.

Finally finished Afro Samurai. Saw the first 2 episodes back in 2007 or so, and finally finished it a few weeks ago. It was good.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:15 am

Arrow Season 3 had a lot of clunky character choices to make the story move forward. Ollie's xanatos gambit reveal at the end was pretty good, and mostly redeems a lot of the seemingly inexplicable choices he made to get there. But only mostly, and if you go back and think about it pretty hard it still doesn't make a lot of sense. And while you were actually watching it, his actions towards Merlin made basically no sense at all. In retrospect I like it better than I did in the middle, but it was kind of a long walk. I have high hopes for Season 4, since they've basically promised a more light hearted and over-the-top Green Arrow vs. HIVE.

I've watched the first couple episodes of Daredevil. It's not bad exactly. The cinematography and such are actually very good. The super senses special effects are very well done. But it's basically exactly the same as Arrow, right down to the interspersed flashbacks. And Arrow ties the flashbacks to the present day narrative much better. In fact, Arrow just does narrative much better in general.

-Username17

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:09 pm

Prak wrote:

I think the idea is that Science Lesbian needs to look at the original genome as if it were a key to the cypher of the clone genome. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but they needed a mcguffin, I suppose there are more nonsensical mcguffins they could have gone with.

Well, one thing the original genome gets them is the ability to tell what was changed. Since presumably the alterations weren't made for no reason, that is of considerable scientific value. But I'm not sure how it advances the clones' goal of curing a disease Sarah does not have and which isn't genetic in origin anyway.

Shady314 · Post by **Shady314** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 10:37 am

UnREAL and Mr. Robot.

Leress · Post by **Leress** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:20 pm

Shady314 wrote:UnREAL and Mr. Robot.

UnReal is having a real hard time trying to sell me on the whole awesome relationship that Rachael and Jeremy had since Jeremy is a boring secondary character.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:16 pm

I get the feeling, but I could be wrong, that there's more to Jeremy, and that it's his fiancée that's holding him in check.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:00 pm

radthemad4 wrote:My biggest beef with Arrow is the sheer number of times someone says, "Are you okay?" or "You okay?". I don't know why this bugs me so much but it does. I really wish they'd mix it up sometimes with, "How're you doing?", "What's up?", "How're you holding up?", etc. I still like the show though.

Minor Flash spoilers (Season 1 Episode 17, Tricksters)

It kinda pisses me off that Flash never bothered to use his going through walls ability ever again.

The timeline of the Arrow Season 3 finale and the Flash pre season finale is extremely suspect.

Spoilers for the Arrow Season 3 and Flash season finale:

Flash is a dick. Okay, there are meta reasons accounting for his not sticking around but the writers really should've come up with something more urgent than "I need to 'talk' to someone who's already been captured and is currently in no position to do anything" or given him some bombs scattered across Starling to defuse or something. Heck, Ollie actually helped him fight his villain (somehow finding the time*) and he really should've returned the favor even if it meant ending the episode's conflict in 10 minutes.

*
"Hey Ra's, mind if I go out for a bit without an escort?"
"Starling is off limits!"
"No no, I'm just going to 'Central' City"
"Oh, no worries then. Be back by 10."
"Cool. Hey Ray, could I borrow some anti speedster nanites?"
"Sure, I'll whip some up... somehow. Here you go."
"Cool thanks!"
"Wait, don't we hate you now? Get back here damnit! I should really tell the others about this instead of completely forgetting about it."

I've started Constantine. It look promising.

My problem with Arrow is that its Oliver is "Batman with a rap sheet" rather than JLU's snarky gentleman adventurer Green Arrow. I've been told it's actually somewhat comic accurate, but to me it's just jarring. I'm used to the JLU/Brave and the Bold kind of Green Arrow.

Shady314 · Post by **Shady314** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 11:33 pm

Leress wrote:
Shady314 wrote:UnREAL and Mr. Robot.
UnReal is having a real hard time trying to sell me on the whole awesome relationship that Rachael and Jeremy had since Jeremy is a boring secondary character.

Yes Adam has gotten basically all the screentime, development and chemistry and Jeremy has had a few seconds of looking at her and tackling a guy. Apparently if you don't let a psycho attack a woman you are totally in love with that woman. That is by far the biggest problem with the show at this moment. Still great overall.

Leress · Post by **Leress** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:47 am

Shady314 wrote:
Leress wrote:
Shady314 wrote:UnREAL and Mr. Robot.
UnReal is having a real hard time trying to sell me on the whole awesome relationship that Rachael and Jeremy had since Jeremy is a boring secondary character.
Yes Adam has gotten basically all the screentime, development and chemistry and Jeremy has had a few seconds of looking at her and tackling a guy. Apparently if you don't let a psycho attack a woman you are totally in love with that woman. That is by far the biggest problem with the show at this moment. Still great overall.

I just finished watching episode 6 and just fuck this show. It has shat on my suspension of disbelief, and now I'm just watching it to see how much worse it can get.

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:07 am

Bojack Horseman is probably the best show featuring but not focusing on bestiality ever made.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:38 am

Blicero wrote:Bojack Horseman is probably the best show featuring but not focusing on bestiality ever made.

Er, that's xenophilia, not bestiality. Unless I've missed something and Bojack fucks an actual horse at some point.