Let's have a TV shows thread.

[Finnegan]

WE'RE GONNA RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE, FOREVER!

[Guest]

just caught up on the second series of Luther.

 

What a disappointment. Really enjoyed the first and was looking forward to this. Elba played a great character so well in the first series but he seems to have believed his own press since, clearly he had a hand in the producing of the second series and it turned into a poor storyline that was trying to hold up the lead's persona.

 

Sherlock had better not follow it.

[Guest]

Half way through the 3rd season of The Walking Dead. Thought the second season was an improvement on no.1 and the 3rd seems to be holding its own. There are logic holes in the story but some good characters overcome that. Glad to see that a certain woman is now dead - she was poor but worried that so many of the original cast are being killed off - is it because of a ratings problem or simply the storyline?

[rico]

Half way through the 3rd season of The Walking Dead. Thought the second season was an improvement on no.1 and the 3rd seems to be holding its own. There are logic holes in the story but some good characters overcome that. Glad to see that a certain woman is now dead - she was poor but worried that so many of the original cast are being killed off - is it because of a ratings problem or simply the storyline?

Frank Darabont left after the 1st series and there were a few disgruntled cast members,i think thats why a few of the main characters may have been killed off, however the introduction of The Governor was a great move and David Morrissey plays an excellent part.

[Guest]

And all the talk of season 4 seems to point towards a more action based season than the last two have arguably been. Gets a thumbs up from me

[sphericalfox]

And all the talk of season 4 seems to point towards a more action based season than the last two have arguably been. Gets a thumbs up from me

 

Apparently there's a spin-off in the works. Probably another group of misfits put together, shooting and dying their way to normality. I enjoyed the series up to now. I think i might be behind on the last series, but a little search online and I'll be back up to speed no doubt. Channel 5 ballsed up the broadcast, and I am assuming didn't buy any further rights which was irritating. I can watch it all on FX, but can't be bothered remembering the channel number.

[MikeyT]

Just watched the first episode of this. Seems decent.

 

[Finnegan]

Herc in Boardwalk!!

[The Year Of The Fox]

Does Australian Masterchef count?

Leynton or whatever his name is will win. He looks like last years winner ben.

[Guest]

So who watched the final episode of Dexter tonight and what do we think? Interesting ending but ultimately I feel a bit let down by it and season 8 as a whole I think

[rico]

So who watched the final episode of Dexter tonight and what do we think? Interesting ending but ultimately I feel a bit let down by it and season 8 as a whole I think

 

Yeah the whole of season 8 seem to lose focus of him being this cold blooded killer,didn't really know what to make of the ending,although they did try to tie up all the loose ends....

[Bobby Hundreds]

Starting watching Mad Men again, nothing really happens in it but it's brilliant.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Thought I'd watch that new BBC Atlantis on iPlayer, wish I hadn't. Awful mish-mash of history and legend with very, very, bad acting - including Mark Addy. Why it's called Atlantis I've no idea. Yes, it's "set" in "Atlantis". but maybe it should have been called "Generic Ancient Greek City." If it's for kids, fair enough, but why put it on 8.30 on a Saturday evening?

 

Seems to me they've just tagged the names Atlantis, Hercules, Pythagoras (I know! Straight out of left field!), MInotaur, which are only connected on account of being Greek, bundled a load of cliched lines in there "You are the chosen one!" "But I cannot tell you why!" etc, etc. 

 

Anybody watch it and liked it? I'd have just gone "meh", but with BBC hyping it so much they seem to think it's the next big thing.

[Finnegan]

It's the BEEB desperately trying to reinvent itself as a British HBO. You have to applaud the effort but while we've got some phenomenal acting talent and some reasonably good production budgets, there seems to be a huge lack of actual writers.

Luther had the same problem, for me. Great cast, awful direction and writing. You can see the logic, The Wire and Killing are successful, so we need a detective show. Boardwalk is huge, we need a gangster show. Thrones is huge, we need Mark Addy looking fat in armour.

So far, Peaky Blinders seems to be a breath of fresh air. Hopefully that'll keep up it's momentum and not go stale.

[Guest]

It's the BEEB desperately trying to reinvent itself as a British HBO. You have to applaud the effort but while we've got some phenomenal acting talent and some reasonably good production budgets, there seems to be a huge lack of actual writers.

Luther had the same problem, for me. Great cast, awful direction and writing. You can see the logic, The Wire and Killing are successful, so we need a detective show. Boardwalk is huge, we need a gangster show. Thrones is huge, we need Mark Addy looking fat in armour.

So far, Peaky Blinders seems to be a breath of fresh air. Hopefully that'll keep up it's momentum and not go stale.

 

Not disagreeing with your particular points but I think the Beeb deserves some defense. It does make many great series - world leading and beating series. Particularly in Detective shows and period dramas (and sci fi/fantasy). I can run off a dozen fantastic detective series over the years and Sherlock is clearly the BEST detective series in the world at the moment.

 

They've also put together some decent mini series. I think it's more that HBO are trying to emulate the BBC's success as the other way round.

[Finnegan]

Not disagreeing with your particular points but I think the Beeb deserves some defense. It does make many great series - world leading and beating series. Particularly in Detective shows and period dramas (and sci fi/fantasy). I can run off a dozen fantastic detective series over the years and Sherlock is clearly the BEST detective series in the world at the moment.

 

They've also put together some decent mini series. I think it's more that HBO are trying to emulate the BBC's success as the other way round.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like the BBC and I'm a big defender. If the licence fee was opt-in I'd be there like a shot, no question.

 

But over the last few years I think it's original dramas have declined. There's a few success stories but largely it's been pap. HBO doesn't need to try and emulate anybody, they're by far, far, far and away the world leaders in television drama currently. Some absolutely spellbinding programming. 

[21st Century Fox]

To be fair, the BBC has far more accountability and has to hit a broader target audience than HBO. HBO has it's fair share of failures but they just never hit our shores. They also make some ridiculous decisions (Deadwood, Lucky Louie etc.) The BBC also has the unfortunate task of having to keep one eye on the foreign markets so it can sell shows on. HBO don't really have that problem as foreign networks will buy whatever they produce as it's far easier to sell an American show abroad than it is to sell a foreign show to America.

 

I wouldn't saw HBO are that far ahead anymore either, AMC have seriously narrowed the gap with Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels. HBO still do lavish drama better than anyone though.

 

HBO and the BBC were almost unrivalled when working together, Rome (definitely in my top five), Band of Brothers and recently Parade's End. I'm not sure how often this'll happen now that HBO and Sky Atlantic are in bed together.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I love the Beeb and I have to say I rather like Luther (though I've never got round to watching The Wire and Breaking Bad - I'm catching up on stuff enough as it is - to make a comparison.) I also agree with FIF about Sherlock. Atlantis just reminded me of Dr Who* at its worst - lots of mumbo jumbo happening with no explaination because, hey! It's mumbo jumbo and you don't have to explain mumbo jumbo. I'm just hoping that the British public turn off in their droves so the Beeb gets the message, but unfortunately there are too many people who will watch whatever's put on if told that it's the MUST SEE EVENT OF THE SEASON.

 

 

 

 

*Most of the time I like Dr Who, before any Whovians start up. Most of the time.

 

Oh well, Homelands this weekend Though I find myself worried they might be stretching it out when there's not much left to go, but then look at 24! "I'm Jack Bauer and this is the worst 24 hours of my life!**" O rly?!

 

** I love 24

[Rincewind]

I can't get HBO or Sky Atlantic so not seen anything that others rave about. Is there any chance of British channels showing them?

Watched the first episode of Atlantis last night. Looks promising.

[Webbo]

It's not a good idea to judge a series on it's first episode as they are all about establishing characters. Make your mind up after a couple of episodes.

[Trav Le Bleu]

It's not a good idea to judge a series on it's first episode as they are all about establishing characters. Make your mind up after a couple of episodes.

 

 

 

I get what you're saying, but trust me. There was no establishing of characters, which is why the main characters were Hercules and erm... Pythagoras (I still can't work that one out.) They basically took famous characters from myth and history so that they wouldn't have to build characters - just use the stereotypical view people would expect on hearing these names. Hercules was the stupid, vain, meathead and Pythagoras was the intellectual thinker with - get this! - a penchant for triangles. I strongly suspect that the central character Jason (Aka THE CHOSEN ONE) will turn out to be Jason as in argonaut (who was also a prophisied chosen one who had to be kept secret for fear the king would want him dead, because Jason was the rightful king.)

 

By the end of episode 1 they had mashed 3 greek legends (Atlantis, Hercules (which come to think of it was actually the Roman name for the hero) and Theseus and the Minotaur) in with some guy who actually existed. I did wonder if they were going to come up with a clever way of explaining this, but not even a hint.

 

The minotaur effects were quite good though!

 

Maybe I watched too much Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans when I was a kid. I still hold that just because something is light entertainment, it doesn't have to be dumb - the two films I just mentioned could hardly be considered "high brow".

Edited 30 September 2013 by Trav Le Bleu

[Rincewind]

Well that has put me off the rest of the series now.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Well that has put me off the rest of the series now.

 

If you liked it, why not watch the rest of the series. All of the above is merely my opinion.

[Finnegan]

So Herc and now Sydnor in S4 of Boardwalk.

 

21CF, tell me Ellis Carver appears in episode four with Kima Greggs in tow. Tell me now. God damnit, Hoover (who, by the way, is from Generation Kill) is going to need a turn of the century Jimmy McNulty if he's ever going to send Nucky Johnson down.

[Guest MattP]

Don't get me wrong, I like the BBC and I'm a big defender. If the licence fee was opt-in I'd be there like a shot, no question.

 

But over the last few years I think it's original dramas have declined. There's a few success stories but largely it's been pap. HBO doesn't need to try and emulate anybody, they're by far, far, far and away the world leaders in television drama currently. Some absolutely spellbinding programming. 

 

It's absolutely astounding looking bad how close they were to going 14 years ago before David Chase popped up with a series that saved them.

 

Need to get round to watching The Shield now, even if some tosser reviewing Breaking Bad decided to ruin the ending for everyone.

 

Reading that BB got 10million+ viewers the last episode, astounding figures for AMC.