• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

New Shows

Sinbad

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,362
Reaction score
4
Trophy Points
48
Ok not a new show but a new season. Seems to have followed the first really quick, the debut season was surprisingly great hopefully they can keep the quality up.

 

Sinbad

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,362
Reaction score
4
Trophy Points
48
Strong language in trailer

After Life 
Binged this last night and this morning.  While having loved The Office and Extras I was never a fan of 'Derek' as I found it too preachy and contrived.  Gervais's work is always best when he has Stephen Merchant co-writing to rein in his mawkish sentimentality.  The absence of Merchant again here means this suffers again from those problems it's very 'on the nose' and highlights Gervais's shortcomings as an actor in spots. Having said that he does have some fun characters to bounce off and it's fairly sombre mood is offset frequently with some laugh out loud moments.  On the whole while it falls short of his two classics it's considerably better than the rest of his recent work. Well worth a look!
 

asterixsmeagol

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
2,010
Reaction score
924
Trophy Points
128
Just watched After Life on Netflix and loved it. It was only 6 episodes and I watched them all the way through. The episodes don't really have individual stories, so if the series ever comes out on DVD I'll probably pick it up and cut them all together into a movie. I don't think that would even really count as an edit because I wouldn't cut anything. Minus the credits at the end of each episode it's about 2:30 long.
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,389
Trophy Points
168
Watched the latest relaunch of THE TWILIGHT ZONE last night...


..."The Comedian" was...okay, fine... nothing really revelatory or dramatically new other being on Cable, so it has more adult language and situations.   For the big premiere showcase episode, I found "The Comedian" to be very predictable and overly long... so an odd choice for a first episode that is suppose to convince viewers the series is worth a subscription fee.

But the biggest weakness might be Jordan Peel himself as The Narrator.  Like how the original series would cut to Serling at the beginning and end of each story, this series does the same.... Peel is all mood lit, in a slick 1950s style dark suit and holding an alcoholic beverage.... Peel's tone and demeanour might be all dramatic but it feels more like a bad SNL skit and you are waiting for the punchline.  Sorry, but no one can do Rod Serling, and any attempt is just cringe worthy.  The show should have gone with an off screen voice over narrator like they did in the 80s remake or as with Outer Limits.

I will probably check out a few more episodes as there are some big names attached and remakes of classic episodes, but based on this first episode, I was very disappointed.   :s
 

Moe_Syzlak

Well-known member
Messages
3,450
Reaction score
1,161
Trophy Points
118
I’ve got one more episode of the second season of The OA on Netflix left. It’s even weirder than the first season, but I’m enjoying it.
 

Q2

Well-known member
Staff member
Faneditor
Messages
8,045
Reaction score
1,399
Trophy Points
163
Moe_Syzlak said:
I’ve got one more episode of the second season of The OA on Netflix left. It’s even weirder than the first season, but I’m enjoying it.

I loved the finale. Great season.
 

Moe_Syzlak

Well-known member
Messages
3,450
Reaction score
1,161
Trophy Points
118
Q2 said:
Moe_Syzlak said:
I’ve got one more episode of the second season of The OA on Netflix left. It’s even weirder than the first season, but I’m enjoying it.

I loved the finale. Great season.

I finished it up. There are definitely some elements that might be a bridge too far for some viewers, but I like this show a lot. It strikes me as It would’ve a been a great novel as some of the things are easier to digest on the page than actually seeing them. Even the movements themselves. 

For the finale:

Did anyone else get a Dark Tower vibe from the meta aspects of it? Both seasons have definitely played with the nature of storytelling and its reliability.

I’m hoping they get to finish their five season arc. Hopefully they won’t take as long between seasons the rest of the way.
 

Q2

Well-known member
Staff member
Faneditor
Messages
8,045
Reaction score
1,399
Trophy Points
163
Moe_Syzlak said:
For the finale:

Did anyone else get a Dark Tower vibe from the meta aspects of it? Both seasons have definitely played with the nature of storytelling and its reliability.

I’m hoping they get to finish their five season arc. Hopefully they won’t take as long between seasons the rest of the way.

Yes, Dark Tower as well as the latest season of Twin Peaks.
 

addiesin

Well-known member
Messages
5,888
Reaction score
1,502
Trophy Points
163
Q2 said:
Yes, Dark Tower as well as the latest season of Twin Peaks.

Ah man, I only made it through half the first season. First episode was amazing, then I got really bored and kinda started to hate the main character. This makes me want to revisit.
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,389
Trophy Points
168
bionicbob said:
Watched the latest relaunch of THE TWILIGHT ZONE last night...


..."The Comedian" was...okay, fine... nothing really revelatory or dramatically new other being on Cable, so it has more adult language and situations.   For the big premiere showcase episode, I found "The Comedian" to be very predictable and overly long... so an odd choice for a first episode that is suppose to convince viewers the series is worth a subscription fee.

But the biggest weakness might be Jordan Peel himself as The Narrator.  Like how the original series would cut to Serling at the beginning and end of each story, this series does the same.... Peel is all mood lit, in a slick 1950s style dark suit and holding an alcoholic beverage.... Peel's tone and demeanour might be all dramatic but it feels more like a bad SNL skit and you are waiting for the punchline.  Sorry, but no one can do Rod Serling, and any attempt is just cringe worthy.  The show should have gone with an off screen voice over narrator like they did in the 80s remake or as with Outer Limits.

I will probably check out a few more episodes as there are some big names attached and remakes of classic episodes, but based on this first episode, I was very disappointed.   :s

Episode two.... a remake of the classic Shatman episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", (and John Lithgow movie segment) except now it's "30,000".

I loved the first 90% of this episode.  It felt fresh, tapping into the anxiety of modern air travel.  The camera and lighting work was fantastic, truly heightening the tension and mystery.  But the last 10 minutes... I dunno... it was good but it felt too on the nose, too typical of this type of genre.... it was a twist we have seen many times before.  So a definite improvement over the first episode but still not classic Twilight Zone level good.
 

asterixsmeagol

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
2,010
Reaction score
924
Trophy Points
128
bionicbob said:
I loved the first 90% of this episode.  It felt fresh, tapping into the anxiety of [insert topic].  The camera and lighting work was fantastic, truly heightening the tension and mystery.  But the last 10 minutes... I dunno... it was good but it felt too on the nose, too typical of this type of genre.... it was a twist we have seen many times before.

This could be a review of almost every episode of all of The Twilight Zone revivals, The Outer Limits (and its revival), and Black Mirror.
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
I recently discovered the HBO show "Barry" with Bill Hader as a hitman with dreams of becoming an actor. Season 2 just ended and OMG it's great. 

 

Q2

Well-known member
Staff member
Faneditor
Messages
8,045
Reaction score
1,399
Trophy Points
163
I concur; it's a brilliant show. I especially love the fifth episode in the second season with the karate girl.
 

asterixsmeagol

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
2,010
Reaction score
924
Trophy Points
128
I'd heard about it but didn't get a chance to watch until I signed up for HBO to see the last season of Game of Thrones. GOT was a big letdown, but Barry was fantastic.
 

Sinbad

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,362
Reaction score
4
Trophy Points
48
Just started watching Barry earlier this week too. I'm only three episodes into the first series and so far very impressed, and it has the brilliant Stephen Root in it to boot! Its reminding me a lot of classic Dexter so far.
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,389
Trophy Points
168
HBO's CHERNOBYL (2019)
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8[/video]

I went in knowing full well this is a highly fictionalized account of a true historic event and that some of the science as presented is questionable....

But none of that matters.

As a horror thriller, this 5 part mini-series succeeds masterfully.  

Terrifying.  Maddening.  Uncomfortable.  Riveting.  Powerful.

I was 16 when Chernobyl occurred, and I remember all the news networks speculating and the feeling of dreaded doom.   This movie definitely brought those buried fears back to the surface.  Also, in many respects, this movie disturbingly reminded me of the first time I watched THE DAY AFTER and primal fears it awoke.  

But even if you did not live through those Cold War years, this movie expertly manipulates your emotions and takes you to a very dark place.  Don't be surprised if afterwards you feel the need to google the location of the nearest nuclear power plants to your home and irrationally wonder if it is time to move? 

Highly recommended.
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,389
Trophy Points
168
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvkH4kb2eGY[/video]
50 years and still going strong....
:D
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,389
Trophy Points
168
THE NEWSROOM (HBO 2012-14)

While not new, I had not watched before, so its new to me.

I love writer Aaron Sorkin.  A Few Good Men.  The American President.  Molly's Game.
And in my opinion, the first four seasons of THE WEST WING, are some of the best dramatic television ever written.

The nice thing about being sick at home with an ungodly sinus infection, it allowed me to finally binge watch the 25 episode run of Sorkin's The Newsroom.  Like The West Wing, it is about optimistic earnest people trying to do the right thing and make the world a better place.  The difference between the two shows, everything about the West Wing was fictional... fictional senators, fictional domestic/international conflicts.. Ripped from the headlines, yes.  But still fictionalized enough for comfortable, manipulative, inspirational entertainment.

The gimmick of the Newsroom is it is set in one year of the past (the 2012 season takes place in 2011) and all the news, all people, all the events discussed (using real news footage, no actor dramatizations) are real.  So for some viewers, depending on their political leanings and beliefs, this may make for uncomfortable viewing.

Some might dismiss this show as just Sorkin's soapbox.   As a Canadian, I found the show thoroughly enjoyable.  While it leans heavier to the Left, it was not afraid to criticize all sides, all parties and ridicule the insanity of politics and the modern news cycle.

It has all of Sorkin's classic trademarks -- fast paced, fast talking, smart, clever, funny, romantic, quirky -- and despite the subject, hopefulness and integrity.  It is what we mythologize journalists and the news used to be and wished they were now.  We certainly could use a real life Will McVoy now more than ever.

While no where near the heights of greatest of The West Wing, this Sorkin narrative experiment was addictive television and highly entertaining.  Recommended.
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
I realized I never weighed in on the new Twilight Zone show. I agree with what BionicBob wrote about it earlier; it's a predictable show, the episodes were too long and boring, the twists were ho-hum, the writing was awful. The only decent episode was the finale, but even that one ended up making me groan for 40+ minutes. It's obvious to me that Jordan Peele didn't put much effort into this show, he phoned it in for a quick paycheck. It's a shame.

-------------------

You want to watch a GREAT new show? "Good Omens" on Amazon Prime, based off the book by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman, is a 6 episode mini-series, with each episode written by Gaiman. Michael Sheen and David Tennant have never been better. I devoured this show greedily and it left me completely satisfied. Now I guess I gotta read the book.

 

Duragizer

Well-known member
Messages
2,391
Reaction score
63
Trophy Points
63
Neglify said:
I realized I never weighed in on the new Twilight Zone show. I agree with what BionicBob wrote about it earlier; it's a predictable show, the episodes were too long and boring, the twists were ho-hum, the writing was awful. The only decent episode was the finale, but even that one ended up making me groan for 40+ minutes. It's obvious to me that Jordan Peele didn't put much effort into this show, he phoned it in for a quick paycheck. It's a shame.

Typical Duragizer cynicism, is Typical Duragizer, but I figured a Millennial Twilight Zone would never work.
 
Top Bottom