Started The Haunting of Hill House last night. Slow, but I'm interested.
Started The Haunting of Hill House last night. Slow, but I'm interested.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Six Feet Under rivals, sort of.Originally Posted by Buddhabreath
I finally started watching "Shameless" from the beginning after seeing a random episode here and there.
Tough, but if we are talking current series still in production I would go with:I have been negligent keeping up with current TV series, and have fallen behind. I did currently binge watch season 2 of Westworld (I feel like a glutton for punishment). I also started watching Black Mirror. I still haven't gotten to House of Cards or Stranger Things.
I know there are other shows out there I have to get to as well (Haunting of Hill House is on that list).
But if you all were to sum up a top 5 of current "must see" series (any network or service) what would they be?
Better Call Saul
Game Of Thrones
Fargo
House Of Cards
Westworld
Hilarious series still with serious themes.
I miss Justified so bad it hurts. Speaking of time frames, what the hell era is Archer set in?
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Justified was superb, Boyd Crowder is probably my favorite TV villain of all time.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
I'm one of the 212.
Loved Justified as well. Just watched the entire series through from beginning to end with my parents about two years ago.
And I'm with you on Boyd Crowder. He does some pretty terrible things, and yet you still don't completely hate him. That show and character made me a Walton Goggins fan for life.
That was one series that really had an enjoyable cast. Art (Nick Searcy) was simply a hoot.
Edit: Oh shoot, I almost forgot about Jere Burns as Wynn Duffy! In spite of Wynn being a scumbag, I ended up really liking him.
And that ending... Man. Those final lines were perfect. What a great show that was.
Last edited by aith01; 10-31-2018 at 01:08 AM.
For me I can mix & match Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under & The Sopranos as my top 3 shows ever.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Greatest show ever?
The Good Wife. No contest, for me. Intelligently written, great acting, great characters, and great story arcs add up to a great show. Was every episode great? No. But one thing it had going for it that a lot of other great shows didn't was that it had a 22 episode season. I've always said, it's a lot easier to write a great show when you only have to worry about 13 episodes a season. Another thing it had going for it (and not in a good way) was that during the last two seasons, it probably holds the record for jumping the shark more times than any show in TV history. lol
Had it lasted, I'd say second is easily Rubicon. The most intelligently written show I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it got cancelled after the first season.
So, second would have to be Justified. Part of the reason this show was so great has to be because Elmore Leonard was an executive producer; it was, after all, based on one of his short stories. And, yes, greatest TV villain ever is Boyd Crowder. He was actually supposed to die in the pilot but the show runners loved Walton Goggins and his characterization of Boyd so much they let him live. And thank God for that!
Some other favorites:
Breaking Bad
Mr Robot (altho, it's still ongoing)
Southland
Edit: forgot to mention, Mr Robot stars Rami Malek, the guy who's starring in Bohemian Rhapsody and who won an Emmy for his role in MR.
Last edited by Hal...; 10-31-2018 at 10:57 AM.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
Depends on the season, apparently. I still like the show but I think the reason they've been changing things up is because maybe the writers already shot their wad with the original timeline.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
Old guys think alike!
Dave Sr.
I prefer Nature to Human Nature
Oh this looks like good news.
BBC AMERICA GREENLIGHTS ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SERIES THE WATCH (Terry Pratchett's Discworld police books)
http://narrativia.com/watch.html?fbc...HdKH40ZbQj7GnA
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
I'm one of the 212.
Thanks everyone. I'll definitely check out a few of those shows I'm not familiar with at the moment. It's interesting to see where the choices are similar.
In regards to Breaking Bad, I've seen that and it would be high on my list of modern TV shows. I would also put GoT up there (btw, they just announced that they cast Naomi Watts to star in the GoT prequel show).
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
^^^
I must put GoT up there as well. In addition to being epic it has some damn fine acting and writing / dialogue. Sounds like the final six episodes will be monumental. I never thought I'd be a fantasy geek but it has won me over! Looking forward to see how the spin-off plays out: apparently it will be set thousands of years in the past before the Westros kingdoms but still be tied into the GoT historically. I wonder what GRR Martin's input will be as I assume in this case they will not be guided by what he has already written...
<edit>
This piqued my curiosity and found that this at least partially answers that question: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/gam...bo-1202977630/
Last edited by Buddhabreath; 10-31-2018 at 12:43 PM.
Unfortunately for you she's married to the creator/director Mike Flanagan. D'oh! I checked the database to see if she had been in something else I had seen since she looked familiar, but no. I was pretty impressed with how the sisters and mother were visually cast. They could really pass as all sisters in real life. I do remember Carla Gugino though, who was in Watchmen, Entourage, and way back on the Spin City tv show.Finished The Haunting Of Hill House, and I really enjoyed it. The ending episode was a bit draggy, but overall I was very impressed with the acting and some of the really long single-shot takes they used. One scene in particular where the family is arguing at a funeral home was absolutely fantastic. A very gripping series IMO, and you could almost remove the horror elements from it and it would still be a really solid family drama.
And on a more superficial note: wow, Kate Siegel is drop dead gorgeous!
On to the show, we binge-watched this over the weekend. The series overall is very good. I would give the story line and individual episodes an 8.5 or 9.0 out of 10. The team did an excellent and compelling job of tying in the present cast with the past, and each family member's story into the greater story arc. I enjoyed the "Birdman" technique of episode 6, but think they got a bit carried away with it. I was trying to guess where they spliced some of the takes together since it was drawing so much attention to itself.
To the criticisms, and without introducing any spoilers, I would just say that I found the destination was not as good as the journey. This seems to be a recurring problem with shows that rely on mystery and suspense. At some point, you have to get to "explaining things" at the climax. This is where I felt the show came up short. There were a few key questions regarding various family members that weren't answered and the ending brought up additional questions that need some explaining. I'd give the last episode a 5/10. But I do feel the series overall was very well written, acted, and filmed.
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
re: Westworld...
The Western Town set at Paramount Ranch was engulfed Friday by the Woolsey Fire. By all accounts, the flames have burned the whole area beyond recognition. The set is one of the main filming locations for the HBO series.
Authorities say the fire has destroyed all the buildings on set, and firefighters have been getting anywhere near the location. Dozens of nearby homes in the area have also been torched.
Wow, I saw the news about the fire destroying a filming location, but did not realize it was the Westworld set.
Two new shows on Netflix as of today, and I highly recommend both of them.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Six short old west stories totaling 2 hrs. & 15 minutes written & directed by the Coen Bros.. I had several laugh out loud moments, but the thing that most impressed me was that the slapstick was combined with Blood Simple/Barton Fink gravitas & violence, and it somehow worked. The players include Liam Neeson, James Franco, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson & Tom Waits.
The Kominsky Method, with Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin and Nancy Travis, who I love & imo doesn't get enough work. Douglas is an acting teacher/coach & Arkin is his long-suffering friend. This is an 8 episode mini-series (30 min. ea.) and after watching the first one, I'm in.
Last edited by progeezer; 11-16-2018 at 09:09 PM.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
I'm pretty sure it was mentioned here, but I've started watching "Schitts Creek" on Netflix. I'm about 12 episodes in (they're short), and finding it very funny. The best part for me is all of Eugene Levy's facial expressions (actually, it's the same expression over and over, but it never stops being funny). I'm a big SCTV fan, so seeing Levy and Catherine O'Hara is a lot of fun. Oh, and Chris Elliot is always a riot too. YMMV.
Thanks for the heads up. I love Cohen brothers stuff and had not heard of this.
I notice there is a new "Narcos" on Netfix that takes place in Mexico. I have enjoyed the two other seasons.
I second Buster Scruggs.
Loved the story with Tom Waits and loved that cinematography. Didn't it remind you of an old '50s Technicolor movie, Geeze? Also loved the story with the wagon train and Zoe Kazan, until the end. And the first one with Tim Blake Nelson was pure, joyous Coen Bros.
BTW, Geeze, I saw a movie I think you'd like: Into the Forest with Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood, who play sisters. I just watched it the other day on Netflix. I doubt anyone else in this thread would probably like it, tho.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
I agree that the western panoramas would have made Leone proud.
I love Ellen Page & will check out "Forest". For anyone who hasn't seen it, in the film "Hard Candy", Ellen Page is the definitive sexual predator vigilante, Not for the faint of heart (which I am, but this film was too good to not endure the "eeeewww" moments).
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
It's funny you bring up Hard Candy. I've recommended it more than a few times over the years; a good movie with a great break out performance by Page.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
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