The big TV-series discussion thread

[Tokage 5930]

Idk if it was just me but some moments in the first ep felt like REALLY fucking blatant product placement and it kinda took me and my gf out of the flow lol, like the fucking KFC scene

[Bear 1817]

I usually don't mind product placement at all. While it most often doesn't improve on a film, it doesn't take anything away from it either. I can't imagine having problems with Wayne's World, E.T., I, Robot, Superman II, Casino Royale and Skyfall (and the rest of the James Bond franchise I guess), Toy Story, Risky Business, The Wizard, Back To The Future II and so on just because of product placement, and all of these have really blatant product placement.

 

Some films, like Wayne's World and I, Robot are even strengthened by it. Especially I, Robot as it says a lot about our main guy and who he is, and it just adds a lot of credibility to him. But it's some of the more blatant product placement I can think of in a good film. 

 

 

But to each their own of course. Liked the KFC scene a lot meself.

[Tokage 5930]

I mean, product placement in certain cases works and it can certainly be done well, but in this particular case it reminded me more of something like this: 

 

 

[Bear 1817]

I know there's been plenty complaint about Stranger Thing season 2, but I don't get it. A bit weaker than the first season, and I miss some of the atmosphere. But fuck it, most enjoyable TV-series I've ever seen, and I have seen a pretty fucking huge amount of TV-series. But this just puts everything I love in films and TV-series into one big fucking TV-series, and it gives me these wonderful feelings I rarely get from films and TV-series anymore. You know, the type of feelings I got when I watched films like Big Trouble in Little China, The Goonies, Back to the Future, Gremlins, Raiders of the Lost Ark and so on for the first time as a little brat in the mid-to-late 90's.

 

 

By the way, I recommend the TV-series Eerie, Indiana to anyone who likes Stranger Things. Eerie, Indiana is a bit like a semi-campy Stranger Things for teens/young adults, with a lot of The Twilight Zone in it as well. Highly recommended!

[Bear 1817]

 

Oh hell yeah! That last one is amazing.

 

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Loved the new season of Stranger Things too. <3 

[Bear 1817]

I honestly felt empty as fuck after the season was over. So I started and finished Beyond Stranger Things in a go as well. 7 episodes that ranges from 15 to 25 minutes that takes a look behind the scenes, talks with the cast and so on.

 

I really enjoyed how the characters grew this season, I must say that this TV-series is just filled with superb supporting characters. It's a TV-series where I enjoy and find as much interest in the supporting characters as I do with the main characters. Hopper, Bob, Nancy, Steve, Murray, all MVP's in my eyes. Some incredible strong performances from the likes of David Harbour, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser and Brett Gelman too.

[Bear 1817]

Three episodes into Mindhunter and this is top notch so far, and Cameron Britton is the fucking shit. He is so good!

[Bear 1817]

Mindhunter was superb! Totally recommended.

 

 

The Punisher - I really liked the two first seasons of Daredevil (The Punisher was the best part of the second season!), Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, but Iron First really let me down and I still haven't managed more than 20 minutes of the first episode. Dreadful as fuck! I've also seen a lot of the fights in Iron Fist and it's nothing short of embarrassing, even though this is the series that should be offering the best choreographed fights. And because of this, and some words of friends, I haven't started on The Defenders yet.

 

And because of this my hopes and expectations for The Punisher was lowered like hell. Anyway, The Punisher delivers the good. Ultraviolent and bloody with a bloodthirsty Frank "The Punisher" Castle driving it forward. My only real disappointment is the Lewis Wilson side-story. I get what they are going for, but it just doesn't do the show any justice or good. It just drags it out. Should've been left out, which would've made the season 2-3 episodes shorter. But aside from that this was real fun!

[Bear 1817]

Just finished Ash vs Evil Dead season 2, and what a season. I thought the first season was very good (8/10), but I was quite often taken out of it by horrible special effects. It wasn't only poor CGI, but it felt like it was a lot of it. But with the second season it seems the creators got more money and time to do their thing. There's some poor CGI every now and then (jumping car and titty milk wtf!), but for most part the special effects are practical and they are awesome as fuck. Beautiful, old school special effects. But aside from that it can offer a more Evil Dead-esque story as it used most of the first season to establish our main characters, and now it digs deeper into both the story and the characters.

 

Episode 2 (I think), offers what's probably the most childish and funny scene ever shown in a TV-series. I was in tears. Hilarious as fuck!

 

Huge step up from season 1. 9/10

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Finally watched Mindhunter too, top notch! Excellent cast, direction, visuals and pacing. I know it's nothing new but I'm constantly amazed by the high quality of TV series being released these days in general. Can't wait for season 2!

 

Catching up on season 3 of Rick and Morty too, as brilliant as ever. Holy shit, the whole episode inside the Citadel of Ricks!

 

Also can't wait to gobble up the new Black Mirror season... only a bit more than 2 weeks to go!!

Edited December 12, 2017 by Jigsaw9

[Bear 1817]

Godless was fucking brilliant. Despite not bringing too much new into the world of westerns story-wise, the plenty female characters really does make a difference and the depth to them all, as well as the males, are out of this world. Some truly amazing characters here.

 

Jeff Daniels, best known for his role in Dumb and Dumber alongside Jim Carrey, gives us a performance worthy of an Oscar. He's a God throughout the entire season. Fantastic job!

[Bear 1817]

Finished season 2 of Hap and Leonard yesterday. I though the first season was really good (8/10), but I think they've stepped it up quite a lot for the second season. The humour and lovely chemestry is still present, but this time around they find themself in deeper trouble and the story is a lot darker, dealing with more serious subjects. It works as a crime/noir series, and it works as a comedy-drama. Proper overlooked gem of a series that deserves so much more.

 

James "Solomon Kane!" Purefoy and Michael "Omar Little" Williams are both truly excellent and manage to drive this series alone. Excellent performances!

[platy 3018]

I binged Hannibal over the Christmas period. Not a cheery series by any means. I thought it was great, the murders were very creative and sometimes shocking. The dynamic between the main two rivals reminded of Death Note, that is, if the live action of the anime had been decent it would pretty much worked like this series. Hannibal himself was terrifying, fantastic job by Mads Mikkelsen.  The downside for the series imo, was that some of the motifs were very repetitive. Will Graham's trauma had a huge impact on him, I get it. But I was sick of seeing it haunt him every single episode. 

It's a very serious show, full of psychological babble and metaphorical images so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but I definitely found it enjoyable and very well made. 

[Bear 1817]

Watched and finished Westworld last week. I was really looking forward to the series, but due to my immense love for the movie I kinda struggled to see how they were gonna turn this into a long TV-series. But after I was done I was incredibly impressed. I feel like they've broken down the original film(s) and expensed on the original ides into something deeper, more intelligent and unique. Now, I will forever consider the film a masterpiece and better than the series, much of it because the original idea is so original and cool and it's got plenty charm. But this was fantastic tbh!

 

I loved the performances, the characters, the dialogue, the violence and use of blood/gore, the nudity and so on. Thought it was all-around amazing! Really looking forward to a new season.

 

 

 

 

Also started on The Deuce. So far so fucking good. James Franco has really turned into a brilliant actor. Watched The Disaster Artist last week (review will come later), and he's just turning into pure gold. Holy shit! He's no longer just this funny guy with the punchable face. He's a seriously talented and loveable guy with a punchable face. Amazing!

[Bear 1817]

Watched Louis Theroux' mini-series Dark States which is about three different dark, destructive subject in three different american towns. The first episode is called Heroin Town and is about a small town where something like 1/4 adult is an heroin addict. My favourite episode for sure. Dark, bleak and destructive.

 

Next up is Trafficking Sex which is about prostitution and the dark, negative sides about it. But what Louis gets right is that he doesn't paint a picture where every single of the girl is innocent and were only used by their pimp. It does touch into that subject too, but it's very nice and balanced.

 

In the third episode, called Murder in Milwaukee, he checks out Milwaukee which has got an insane homicide number. Again, it's so balanced. He questions the murderers and why this happens, but he also asks brilliant questions about the police force and how they work. He don't put the blame on either side of them, nor does he make anyone the hero. It's not as black and white as too many human beings seem to think, and Louis does right by painting it with a lot of colours. It's not as easy as pointing fingers and call someone villain and someone heroes. There's villains and heroes on both side of the fence, and Louis points this out brilliantly.

 

As usual, Louis Theroux comes off as incredible nice and professional, and he always knows which strings to pull to get the best information out of his subject, but at the same time he also knows how to make a joke without saying something that's out of place. Such a likeable chap and his awkwardness is amazing. And he just makes such honest documentaries.

[Bear 1817]

The End of the F***ing World is one of the best new shows in recent years. Holy fucking cow! Eight 20 minutes long episodes of pitch black UK humour. Fantastic character development, story, direction and cast. Damn! So good.

[Bear 1817]

Finally finished The Deuce and thought it was very good. Lots of fleshed out characters, a great story and a beautiful setting really makes it good. James Franco is SUPERB!

 

Also watched Ugly Delicious and found it really good. David Chang travels around the world, tastes different food, talk about food, talk about culture and much more. I really enjoyed it!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Just finished catching up on Channel Zero and I gotta say this has quickly and easily become my favorite horror series, at least in the one-story-per-season anthological format (byebye AHS's dried-up corpse).

 

Season 1 (Candle Cove): strong and atmospheric start

Season 2 (No-End House): pretty unsettling, solid stuff

Season 3 (Butcher's Block): things get proper freaky and I LOOOOVE IT

Edited March 25, 2018 by Jigsaw9

[Bear 1817]

Gonna check out Channel Zero some day. Just have a few other planned out first. Looks really interesting, and I like creepypastas and shit.

 

 

Finished Black Lightning and thought it was really good, really powerful and awesome. Totally recommended!

 

Batman: Abyss - Fanmade animated series with 10 episodes ranging from 5 to 25 minutes. The visual style is somewhat weird, and the animation is very amateurish and lackluster. But the story are top, top notch and the voice acting is very good too. DC should hire Coulter Rail to write a story and Screenplay for them, and make him oversee the direction. Could've been good as fuck.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Just finished watching The Terror. Quality suspenseful horror series, with a cool historical setting. It dragged a little bit towards the end, but still a really solid experience with awesome performances and ample doses of atmosphere and tension. Made me really want to check out the original novel too.

 

[Bear 1817]

Will check out The Terror sooner or later. Every single time you post something in this thread you manage to make me interested. But with The Terror and Channel Zero, does this mean that people finally have found a way to make proper horror TV-series? Would be about damn time.

 

 

Finished Dope season 2 and like the first season it's very interesting. Everything shown might not be real, the statistics they throw forward might not be 100% accurate, but the series is interesting anyway. I don't use drugs, I have never tried drugs, but TV-series/documentaries about drugs and drug cartels and all that is so interesting.

 

 

Also finished the new Netflix true crime series Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist and this was exceptional. While the quality itself might not be better or higher than series like Making a Murderer and The Keepers, I was definitely a bit funner to watch for me. It's short (4x50min), don't waste any time and so on. But what makes this so fun is how fucking absurd and bizarre the entire case was. What the hell was that? Everything about the entire case was so weird, and it was so interesting. Top, top true crime documentary!

[Bear 1817]

Wild Wild Country - Documentary about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Ma Anand Sheela, his followers in the Rajneeshpuram community and how they more or less wanted to build a better America. Complete and utter madness, though far from as crazy and over the top as Evil Genius. But it was really good!

 

The Confession Tapes - A series that takes a look at the american justice system, mostly focused around how fucked up the law enforcement is. It's seven episodes and six cases where the confessions might have been false due to how the police work. But the interesting thing here isn't finding out about how the crime actually went down, if they are guilty or wrongfully convicted. Nah, the interesting thing is how the police work and how they get their confessions. Some truly shocking footage, and I hope they make a sequel that digs even further into their methods and how they work and are willing to do anything to find someone to take the blame, even if that person had nothing to do with the crime to begin with. 

[Bear 1817]

Dark Tourist - Australian documentary-maker David Farrier travels the world to explore "dark tourism", places where people go to experience the darker stuff in life. The series starts off really good with the second episode set in Japan as the highlight, but it does have its up and downs. Episode 2, Japan,  and episode 4, The Stans, where easily my favourites. I do wish he had digged even deeper into some of the places he visits, but what can you do with limited time on your hands?

 

After the second episode I recommended this to my brother and called it a cheap man's Louis Theroux-knock-off. And in the last episode where he meets the Manson Family fans he more or less gets called out on that. Was hilarious! It's not quite Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, but it's fun alright.

[Bear 1817]

True Detective season 3 confirmed. Hellz yah!

 

Also looking forward to Lovecraft Country. Never read the novel, but I hope it's truly Lovecraftian.

 

 

Currently watching Blood Drive, which is a crazy grindhouse TV-series which is all over the place and way over the top. Just real sleazy and trashy fun. It's not a TV-series for everyone, it's a TV-series for genre freaks like myself as it doesn't cut any corners to please the masses, which is also why it was also cancelled after one season. But kudos to SyFy and everyone involved for actually making something like this. I'm only 5 episodes in, but so far they're working through different Grindhouse and exploitation genres with a new theme every episode. Think Death Race 2000 and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, with elements from zombie flicks, sexploitation flicks, martial arts flicks (even though I expect this to be covered much better in a later episode), cannibal flicks and whatnot.

 

Really diggin' this so far.