Do we live in a golden age of television?

[Boydy]

I watched the first season of Continuum. It had quite a nice time loop thing going on and the casting director deserved every award going for that year for the actor he/she found to play the 'older' version of one character, but it's basically bobbins. I reckon it's right up your street, as long as you don't go into it expecting The Wire.

Have a look at Falling Skies, Boyd. The 'Skitters' lols alone should see you through about fifty episodes.

Aye, I'm not expecting The Wire, like. I just like these nonsense sci-fi shows.

I saw the trailer of Falling Skies but I thought the CGI aliens (skitters lol) looked pretty ropey.

[John]

The CGI is crap, but CGI in television shows is almost always crap.

Ideally you'd watch Battlestar Galactica, which has the trappings of a 'nonsense sci-fi show' and could probably be enjoyed on that level, but uses that base to tell some seriously great stories. That said, the first episode would probably put most people looking for mindless bunk off right away. It's genuinely grim.

[AE]

Aye, I'm not expecting The Wire, like. I just like these nonsense sci-fi shows.

I saw the trailer of Falling Skies but I thought the CGI aliens (skitters lol) looked pretty ropey.

Sounds like you'd like The 100 - basically someone nuked earth, and like a few hundred years later they send 100 people down too see if it's okay to live on again. It's worth a watch, lots of stories develop.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Aye, I'm not expecting The Wire, like. I just like these nonsense sci-fi shows.

I saw the trailer of Falling Skies but I thought the CGI aliens (skitters lol) looked pretty ropey.

You do? Apologies then, Continuum is bang in that category.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The CGI is crap, but CGI in television shows is almost always crap.

Ideally you'd watch Battlestar Galactica, which has the trappings of a 'nonsense sci-fi show' and could probably be enjoyed on that level, but uses that base to tell some seriously great stories. That said, the first episode would probably put most people looking for mindless bunk off right away. It's genuinely grim.

It gets a bit better CGI wise.

The final season annoyed me purely because all these fucking military men decided to hold their rifles sideways.

[Boydy]

You do? Apologies then, Continuum is bang in that category.

Yeah, I've been talking about Jericho and Revolution - both were so rubbish they got cancelled after two seasons. Not really into space stuff but post-apocalyptic or time travelling themes, yes please.

Also Orphan Black is great but it's an actually good show. Not fluff like these others.

[Pepe]

I've started watching Seinfeld at long last. It is good but the stand up bits in between are pretty relentlessly shit, I usually just skip through them now.

They get better later on but still could do without them.

[phonics]

Falling Skies is bunk. There's crap telly and then there's telly that's actually crap.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah, I've been talking about Jericho and Revolution - both were so rubbish they got cancelled after two seasons. Not really into space stuff but post-apocalyptic or time travelling themes, yes please.

Also Orphan Black is great but it's an actually good show. Not fluff like these others.

Continuum can be pretty silly at times but it's enjoyable fare, considering what you've said, I reverse my position.

You'd like it.

[Mazuuurk]

The CGI is crap, but CGI in television shows is almost always crap.

Ideally you'd watch Battlestar Galactica, which has the trappings of a 'nonsense sci-fi show' and could probably be enjoyed on that level, but uses that base to tell some seriously great stories. That said, the first episode would probably put most people looking for mindless bunk off right away. It's genuinely grim.

Really? I always thought it was one of those really bad sci-fi series that only Star Trek geeks watched?

Fringe is amazing, talking about Sci-fi. At least I fucking loved that series.

[phonics]

Was that TV version of Limitless as wank as any TV show based off a movie sounds?

Boydy, have you watched Justified? I think it'd give you the kick you're looking for.

[John]

Really? I always thought it was one of those really bad sci-fi series that only Star Trek geeks watched?

Fringe is amazing, talking about Sci-fi. At least I fucking loved that series.

Nope. It was genuinely great.

Fringe was good for a couple of years, with John Noble carrying the entire enterprise on his back at times, but I produced some splenetic rants about it on the old board. There's a narrative choice going into, I think, season four that's among the worst I've ever seen.

[phonics]

When they split the timelines it fell to pieces. It was much better as a mystery of the week with overarching narrative show.

[Mazuuurk]

I thought it was completely amazing throughout. The only thing that felt slightly off was the very last season, but that was apparently not "meant" to happen. At the same time that did tie up some loose ends anyway.

The split timelines thing wasn't too bad, although Fauxlivia was a little fucking annoying.

[phonics]

Bloody hell there's a Minority Report TV show too? Who is paying to produce all these movie > TV shows?

[AE]

Bloody hell there's a Minority Report TV show too? Who is paying to produce all these movie > TV shows?

Yeah but it's really shit, probably last another 2 weeks.

[Giggles]

That ad for Sherlock that was just on BBC One better be just set 100 years ago for the sake of the ad and not a sign of what's coming.

[phonics]

I just watched the first episode of Quantico. It's Homeland meets Saved By The Bell. It's probably absolute rubbish but there is something a bit moreish about it.

[Bernanke]

For anyone who enjoyed Mean Girls, Scream Queens is fucking amazing. It's so hilariously over the top.

[Toby]

I struggle to believe the guys who came up with Glee and American Horror Story have since created something that warrants comparison to Mean Girls.

[Angelsaint]

Ended Gotham and I recommend.
Also finished Last man on earth and even the end was meh, the show got some heavy laughs from me.

[phonics]

Arrow is still walking that tightrope between quality and god awful.

[Angelsaint]

I only watch arrow and flash for that matter if I have no other show to watch and loads of time to kill.

[Foe]

Did not realise sons of anarchy was seven series.

I thought it was five.

Also discovered another series of grey's anatomy available

[niko_cee]

I like how they're really upping the ante with these cancer stories on Gogglebox. Doting widower robbed of his inseparable best friend of 30 years obviously didn't bring enough donations in, roll out the dead 10 year old. What next, a bus full of pregnant women crushed by a giant, novelty tumour?

[Kikó]

The first season of Fear the Walking Dead was enjoyable enough. Nice to see another take on the world falling to shit.

[Boydy]

Why have they made a spin-off of The Walking Dead when it's still going? What's different about it?

[Pepe]

Different shade of shit.

[Kikó]

It's easy to make and it's in a stand alone universe. This one is back at the start but based in LA.

[Foe]

Fuck off have they done that. Jesus.

They must interlink the stories at some point which means dragging the shit out of the walking dead.

[Max Power]

Narcos is decent but I kind of hoped the voiceover was a first episode, scene-setting thing. Bit annoyed now, and lazy.

[Bernanke]

Narcos is decent but I kind of hoped the voiceover was a first episode, scene-setting thing. Bit annoyed now, and lazy.

I still haven't picked it back up because of it.

[John Arne]

It also should have also ended after 1 season.

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Not quite sure how they are going to drag out the next 2 years of hiding to a whole new season.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Watched the first three episodes of The Americans, I think it's brilliant.

[John]

Ended Gotham and I recommend.
Also finished Last man on earth and even the end was meh, the show got some heavy laughs from me.

Did you not find that Last Man fell to pieces as soon as it tried to move beyond treating the world as a huge playground? The characters were all flimsy and changeable, so the moment it tried to become a character piece it shit the bed.

The first season of Fear the Walking Dead was enjoyable enough. Nice to see another take on the world falling to shit.

I haven't watched the last episode yet, but...

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Did it annoy you at all that despite claiming that they were going to show the downfall of society they basically skipped through it, and by the end of the third episode had their main characters living inside a fenced off community? It was supposed to be looking at the whole thing from another angle and it took them three episodes to fall back on exactly what they know.

That the riot scenes looked so cheap and small-scale didn't help, though that couldn't be avoided unless they filmed the second episode in actual LA rather than the first. That's a point though, why set it in LA? They have their pick of locations, any of which would have drawn the same audience since the location itself wasn't part of the pitch; why choose to set it somewhere they can't film long term, thus locking themselves into a pattern of having to hide the scenery lest they give away that they're actually filming about a thousand miles away from where they claim to be?

The two leads are good, though I think that's more to do with the actors being inherently likable than the characters being any cop, and I like the Latino bloke (Guatamalan isn't he?), but every other character can die. Particularly the 'THIS IS IMPORTANT' kid who had the video camera in the early going.

[Bernanke]

Watched the first three episodes of The Americans, I think it's brilliant.

I started re-watching it on Netflix. The opening scene with Tusk playing is so fucking good.

"Which year? Because '64 to '72 were pussies, they didn't even medal.”

[Angelsaint]

Did you not find that Last Man fell to pieces as soon as it tried to move beyond treating the world as a huge playground? The characters were all flimsy and changeable, so the moment it tried to become a character piece it shit the bed.



I haven't watched the last episode yet, but...

Yes, I did. Therefore I made a pause and watched Gotham instead, picked up again after I was finished with Gotham.
Still was funny and let's not forget it is a comedy not a drama.

Anywho is this Americans show any good? I felt tempted to watch it but the risk of being Americans wanking themselves how great they are like they subliminaly do it in house of cards made me never start on it.

[Max Power]

I still haven't picked it back up because of it.

I'm still watching becuase it's entertaining enough. Don't understand why they persisted with the VO though, most of the time it's completely redundant.

[Kikó]

Did you not find that Last Man fell to pieces as soon as it tried to move beyond treating the world as a huge playground? The characters were all flimsy and changeable, so the moment it tried to become a character piece it shit the bed.



I haven't watched the last episode yet, but...

Toggle Spoiler

Did it annoy you at all that despite claiming that they were going to show the downfall of society they basically skipped through it, and by the end of the third episode had their main characters living inside a fenced off community? It was supposed to be looking at the whole thing from another angle and it took them three episodes to fall back on exactly what they know.

That the riot scenes looked so cheap and small-scale didn't help, though that couldn't be avoided unless they filmed the second episode in actual LA rather than the first. That's a point though, why set it in LA? They have their pick of locations, any of which would have drawn the same audience since the location itself wasn't part of the pitch; why choose to set it somewhere they can't film long term, thus locking themselves into a pattern of having to hide the scenery lest they give away that they're actually filming about a thousand miles away from where they claim to be?

The two leads are good, though I think that's more to do with the actors being inherently likable than the characters being any cop, and I like the Latino bloke (Guatamalan isn't he?), but every other character can die. Particularly the 'THIS IS IMPORTANT' kid who had the video camera in the early going.

I didn't realise that was the angle they were trying to portray so it shows how successful it was. I didn't realise the LA thing either... (clearly not paying attention).

Agree on the leads. I like that a lot of them have gone from zero to fucking kill the zombies no matter what within a few episodes. None of the moral agonising.

[phonics]

I'm still watching becuase it's entertaining enough. Don't understand why they persisted with the VO though, most of the time it's completely redundant.

I genuinely think they thought the audience couldn't listen to Spanish for extended periods of time without getting bored.

[John]

Yes, I did. Therefore I made a pause and watched Gotham instead, picked up again after I was finished with Gotham.
Still was funny and let's not forget it is a comedy not a drama.

Anywho is this Americans show any good? I felt tempted to watch it but the risk of being Americans wanking themselves how great they are like they subliminaly do it in house of cards made me never start on it.

A comedy still needs sturdy characters, particularly when it's trying to use their natures to generate the laughs. Gotham is terrible, so the less said about that the better.

The Americans is about Russian agents working against America in the eighties. Seems like your reading of that was much like your reading of the title of this thread.

I didn't realise that was the angle they were trying to portray so it shows how successful it was. I didn't realise the LA thing either... (clearly not paying attention).

Agree on the leads. I like that a lot of them have gone from zero to fucking kill the zombies no matter what within a few episodes. None of the moral agonising.

Yeah, the point was to show what happened in between. How society broke down and shambling twats with no survival instinct overwhelmed the military.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

And Gotham is getting worse with every episode.

[Yevrah]

It's been years since I've watched it, but I started thinking about Lost again the other day and having sorted through a couple of hard drives this morning I realised I still had all of this.

http://www.chronologicallylost.com/

[John]

Second episode of The Leftovers, first of the second series of Fargo, and the new Walking Dead tonight, all on at the same time. What do Americans who aren't filthy pirates do?

[Yevrah]

Did the first episode of The Leftovers do ok as far as ratings go?

[John]

I have no idea.

Viewership for the first run was dismal even by HBO standards though, so I doubt it'll have been a ratings winner.

[Yevrah]

Having just looked only just over 700,000 watched it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...overs_episodes

Goodnight sweet prince.

[John]

Yeah, they're not getting a third on those numbers. That said, they'll probably go up, because the official numbers are based on some live+7 thing which allows for people watching it within the next week having recorded it, and those numbers won't be available yet, so we'll see how that changes.

For context, Game of Thrones does about eight million viewers a week, Walking Dead does about fifteen, and fucking NCIS regularly tops twenty.

I wonder if anything will ever come close to MASH, the finale of which drew one hundred and twenty million viewers.

[Demerit]

Is Fargo season two on british TV at around the same time as American like Walking Dead?

[John]

I doubt it. Has the first lot even been on here at all yet?