Let's have a TV shows thread.

[Raj]

Mrs and myself belatedly watched all the series of Happy Valley.

Really good but the last episode was abit of a  lame ending.

[hebangsthedrums]

13 hours ago, splinterdream said:

Can anyone recommend one of those nice TV providers that allow us to watch the footy? One with a high level of VODs would be a bonus, 2 I use have been over subscribed I think

same request for me please!

[Innovindil]

The Last of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Snorefest two weeks running. Someone wake me up for the finale.

[leicsmac]

49 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

The Last of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Snorefest two weeks running. Someone wake me up for the finale.

I thought it was pretty damn good.

 

In any case, there will be a *lot* more going on next time. It's David time...

[Innovindil]

7 hours ago, leicsmac said:

I thought it was pretty damn good.

 

In any case, there will be a *lot* more going on next time. It's David time...

It was an episode 3 clone, just shitter, slower and pointless because we already knew how the story ended. Whole 50minutes could have been a 2 minute convo between the 2 mainies while Joel was recovering, and nothing would have been lost. 

 

I get they have to flesh it out to get the cheddar's worth, but why not give some more interesting flashback stories to the breakout like in the earlier episodes. They were entertaining imo. 

[leicsmac]

18 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

It was an episode 3 clone, just shitter, slower and pointless because we already knew how the story ended. Whole 50minutes could have been a 2 minute convo between the 2 mainies while Joel was recovering, and nothing would have been lost. 

 

I get they have to flesh it out to get the cheddar's worth, but why not give some more interesting flashback stories to the breakout like in the earlier episodes. They were entertaining imo. 

Only because we've played the game.

 

I can certainly see the argument that it was played out rather too much when the university lab section was all of 10 minutes and/or we could have had more original flashbacks though.

[Tommy Fresh]

3 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Only because we've played the game.

 

I can certainly see the argument that it was played out rather too much when the university lab section was all of 10 minutes and/or we could have had more original flashbacks though.

I didn't play the game and had an idea of what was going to happen, I thought it was still a good episode but probably one of my least favourites

[Finnegan]

9 hours ago, Innovindil said:

The Last of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Snorefest two weeks running. Someone wake me up for the finale.

 

45 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

It was an episode 3 clone, just shitter, slower and pointless because we already knew how the story ended. Whole 50minutes could have been a 2 minute convo between the 2 mainies while Joel was recovering, and nothing would have been lost. 

 

I get they have to flesh it out to get the cheddar's worth, but why not give some more interesting flashback stories to the breakout like in the earlier episodes. They were entertaining imo. 

 

They're never going to (or at least, they shouldn't) give you much more about the outbreak and the background of the infection and they shouldn't. It doesn't really matter, it's not relevant. 

 

The clue to understanding The Last of Us is literally in the name. I've made comparisons between this and The Leftovers already in this thread but I'd iterate this again using the show/game's literal name to make the point. The Last of Us, it's just about people. It's always just been about people. Just as the Leftovers wasn't about the Sudden Departure and working out where folk vanished to, TLOU isn't about infected zombies running around munching on everyone and high-concept thrills, it's about the last of us - just those who have survived and their stories as they get by. It's a human drama.

 

It's never going to be an up-tempo survival thrill ride. I think the people that have been disappointed with it so far just had the wrong expectations and, to be honest, I'm just not sure the series is for them - and that's fine. 

 

The game was slow, lets not forget that people complained all the time about the gameplay in the original, loads of people called it boring or said it had "shit gameplay" because all you really did was walk around slowly exploring areas. Occasionally there was combat and infected were dotted around areas as, essentially, just obstacles that you had to navigate.

 

But a TV series can't do that. If there were infected in every episode that Joel was fairly casually dispatching then they wouldn't be horrifying, they'd be trivialised and thus their use as context to give suspense and frame the drama would be taken away. So they're obviously going to be made rarer as set-pieces for the TV show and the result of that is you take even more of the "action" away and make it more about, essentially, just relationships.

 

I'm really enjoying it so far (I 100% accept that the last episode wasn't as well paced as episode 3) but a big part of that is that it's matching my expectations. I just feel a lot of the disappointment is from people who were expecting really something that it was never going to be.

[Innovindil]

43 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Only because we've played the game.

 

I can certainly see the argument that it was played out rather too much when the university lab section was all of 10 minutes and/or we could have had more original flashbacks though.

Huh? Ellie told tess in one of the first episodes she got bit messing about in the mall? Don't need to have played the game to know what was happening. 

 

 

[leicsmac]

Just now, Innovindil said:

Huh? Ellie told tess in one of the first episodes she got bit messing about in the mall? Don't need to have played the game to know what was happening. 

 

 

Right, but non game players didn't know anything else about the circumstances apart from perhaps a throwaway reference to Riley once or twice?

 

Tbh Finn above gives a much better defence than I.

[Finnegan]

13 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

Huh? Ellie told tess in one of the first episodes she got bit messing about in the mall? Don't need to have played the game to know what was happening. 

 

 

 

 

There was also extremely blatant foreshadowing when Ellie said "that place is sealed up because it's full of infected" and her friend hand-waved it away. I felt it was fairly obvious what was going to happen before the end of the episode.

And I've actually made the point talking to a friend of mine already that that's one of the main differences between episodes 3 and 7. Because you actually have no idea where they're going with the narrative in episode 3 it is a lot more suspenseful. The more saccharine and sweet they made it between Bill and Frank, the more you sat there going "okay something's coming, but what...." and it kept you on edge. I didn't really feel that with the last episode because it was far more clearly signposted. 

But "shit, slow and pointless" is still massively wide of the mark. Spending that time with Ellie and getting a glimpse of who she was, what mattered to her, who her friends were and what trauma she's been through is the whole point. Because, and I'm sorry that I'm being repetitive here but I can't stress it enough, it's just a human drama. If intimate human moments and an exploration of character is boring to you then maybe it's just not the show for you. It'll never be Dawn of the Dead or World War Z or any other more high-octane zombie thriller.

 

 

Edit: Mild spoilers I guess.

 

Edited 28 February 2023 by Finnegan

[Innovindil]

13 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

There was also extremely blatant foreshadowing when Ellie said "that place is sealed up because it's full of infected" and her friend hand-waved it away. I felt it was fairly obvious what was going to happen before the end of the episode.

And I've actually made the point talking to a friend of mine already that that's one of the main differences between episodes 3 and 7. Because you actually have no idea where they're going with the narrative in episode 3 it is a lot more suspenseful. The more saccharine and sweet they made it between Bill and Frank, the more you sat there going "okay something's coming, but what...." and it kept you on edge. I didn't really feel that with the last episode because it was far more clearly signposted. 

But "shit, slow and pointless" is still massively wide of the mark. Spending that time with Ellie and getting a glimpse of who she was, what mattered to her, who her friends were and what trauma she's been through is the whole point. Because, and I'm sorry that I'm being repetitive here but I can't stress it enough, it's just a human drama. If intimate human moments and an exploration of character is boring to you then maybe it's just not the show for you. It'll never be Dawn of the Dead or World War Z or any other more high-octane zombie thriller.

 

 

Edit: Mild spoilers I guess.

 

"Because you actually have no idea where they're going with the narrative in episode 3 it is a lot more suspenseful." 

 

And this, imo, is what makes that episode so great and this one so wildly pointless. 

 

If you enjoyed it that's cool. But for me it was a wasted 50 minutes for a story that added little, and would have been better used further bonding Ellie and Joel. 

 

 

[Finnegan]

4 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

would have been better used further bonding Ellie and Joel. 

 

Yeah I did say earlier in the thread that this is one of my biggest concerns so far. I really like TLOU the show, I'd say for me it's a really solid 9 or 10 out of 10 mini series.

 

But I do think that if they want the end to land the way it should, particularly for the people who haven't played the game, they need to crack on working on developing Joel and Ellie's relationship a little bit more because I do think the bond between them is what's getting sacrificed the most in order to flesh out the rest of the world.

 

And I do get that to an extent. A large part of the bonding you get between Joel and Ellie in the game is just sort of casually thrown in whilst you're just walking around exploring not really doing a great deal in the game. It's not all big set piece dramatic moments a lot of it is just throw away quips and comments and short conversations about stuff as you're looking around. That's hard to put in a TV show because it's just nothing fluff, I mean that really WOULD be filler. But it works really well in the game because whilst you're busy rummaging around for supplies or checking corners for infected, you're listening to Ellie slowly chip away at Joel's tough exterior and he gradually warms to her over time. 

 

In fairness to the showrunners, I'm not quite sure how you do the equivalent of that in a TV show that's only 10 episodes and keep it interesting. 

 

It always was a fairly ambitious game to try and convert because the format of a computer game is such a big part of what makes the narrative work. You're always going to lose a lot making the viewer a pure spectator and not a participant by making it a show. But again, that comes back to how the expectations just have to change a little bit and I think by and large they're doing a really good job of making it a great show, I just think fans of the games just have to accept it IS going to hit a bit different and there's nothing HBO can do about that (other than not make it in the first place.)

[Innovindil]

53 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

In fairness to the showrunners, I'm not quite sure how you do the equivalent of that in a TV show that's only 10 episodes and keep it interesting. 

Only 9 episodes this season. And this is what is worrying some when they spend 50 minutes on the last episode. 2 left to get through what they need to get through. Could end up leaving the show feeling rushed when there was no need for it to be so. 

[Finnegan]

44 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

Only 9 episodes this season. And this is what is worrying some when they spend 50 minutes on the last episode. 2 left to get through what they need to get through. Could end up leaving the show feeling rushed when there was no need for it to be so. 

 

Oh, hmm. I assumed there was 10. In which case yeah they definitely have to get a wiggle on. I assumed it was 3 left and it'd be something like:

 

(Major spoilers for people who know the game, not just those who are up to date with the show.)

 

8. Ellie & the cannibals, high action episode. 

9. Bit of down time and travel, slower episode, last bit of bonding for Joel and Ellie before the end.

10. THAT ending.

 

 

Without that 9 it's gonna be a bit of a breakneck whip between two fairly action filled episodes to end I'd have thought and in 8 they'll spend a reasonable amount of time apart. 

 

I dunno. 

 

I can see people who haven't played the game not fully understanding or sympathising with Joel at the end when he does what he's going to do, unless they make the Fireflies have a big heel turn and act like complete arseholes.

 

 

[VinceNoir]

On 25/02/2023 at 15:57, The Bear said:

Can I have that 60s of my life back please. 

I think you'd obviously get the point of that video if you were a fan of Sunny

 

Start breaking bricks, wet nips.

[Sir Shep]

Enjoyed everyone of the TLOU episodes until the left behind one which for me was a big disappointment, still next week looks good. 

[ithuriel]

Mandalorian S3  ep.1

Big monster, a shadowy visage from the season end of Rebels, shoot out, space battle, funny little people.

Was over too soon, now have to wait a week so watched Bad Batch ep.11  too.

and a reaction video...

and Easter eggs etc.,

 

Edited 1 March 2023 by ithuriel

[Suzie the Fox]

Another great episode of Picard, really enjoying this season so far. 

[kingcarr21]

Finally The Rumbling is upon us. The final part of the final season of Attack on Titan. This show is an absolute masterpiece and the first hour long episode doesn't disappoint. I would put it up there as one of the best episodes to date. Stunning visuals and absolute raw emotion from the voice actors.

 

Cant wait to see how this ends

[leicsmac]

The Last of Us was superb.

 

I must say I do have an issue with the pacing of the season (some superfluous stuff included, other stuff went though too fast) but it gets almost everything else right. And this latest episode included all the best bits that needed to be in there.

[ithuriel]

7 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

Finally The Rumbling is upon us. The final part of the final season of Attack on Titan. This show is an absolute masterpiece and the first hour long episode doesn't disappoint. I would put it up there as one of the best episodes to date. Stunning visuals and absolute raw emotion from the voice actors.

 

Cant wait to see how this ends

One of the Animes of the last few years, this and Demon Slayer are my current must watch Anime

 

Demon Slayer is currently made by Ufotable, one of the best studios out there, they did Fate/Zero, a battle royale that if you've seen it, you know, if not, it's worth watching

 

 

Edited 6 March 2023 by ithuriel

[lcfc old boy]

On 27/02/2023 at 23:27, Innovindil said:

The Last of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Snorefest two weeks running. Someone wake me up for the finale.

summed it up nicely

[kingcarr21]

1 hour ago, ithuriel said:

One of the Animes of the last few years, this and Demon Slayer are my current must watch Anime

 

Demon Slayer is currently made by Ufotable, one of the best studios out there, they did Fate/Zero, a battle royale that if you've seen it, you know, if not, it's worth watching

 

 

Yea I really enjoyed Demon Slayer. Visually beautiful. Waiting for the next season.

 

I'll look at fate/zero. Please give me some more recommendations as I am still new to the anime scene

[ithuriel]

1 hour ago, kingcarr21 said:

Yea I really enjoyed Demon Slayer. Visually beautiful. Waiting for the next season.

 

I'll look at fate/zero. Please give me some more recommendations as I am still new to the anime scene

Well, there are literally hundreds of series and movies but some of my fave series are Darker than Black, Madoka Magica which is written by the same guy that wrote Fate Zero, it's a bit er for the first few episodes which almost had me drop it but then it started to get interesting, by ep.7 I just watched right through to the finale it was that good.

Another superbly done Anime was Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, about 64 episodes with a story that starts small with twists, turns and ends with THE DAY, an epic battle that literally rips open ah spoilers

If you want a damned fine really stupid feel good anime that keeps one upping itself, Gurren Lagann is amazing, it's dumb bravado but its life affirming too, this video basically is the anime story without spoiling    

 

Edited 6 March 2023 by ithuriel