repulsionist
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actively disinterested
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Post by repulsionist on Nov 19, 2023 18:23:00 GMT -5
Taskmaster (S16:E8)
Getting closer to the end. Julian's on course to take the unwanted prize of Greg's head, though Sam Campbell continues have advantage at the end of episode. The charades at the end were a hoot.
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ABz B👹anaz
Grandfathered In 
This country is (now less of) a shitshow.
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Post by ABz B👹anaz on Nov 20, 2023 2:19:20 GMT -5
This Blue Eye Samurai show is freakin' amazing only one episode in! Great animation and characters. Finished this show tonight. SO GOOD. Just brilliant. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 20, 2023 9:27:22 GMT -5
Was watching House Hunters last night and the guy said he liked the neighborhood they were in but "it's not near the rivers and lakes that we're used to" and I was SO MAD that nobody said anything about waterfalls.
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repulsionist
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actively disinterested
Posts: 3,678
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Post by repulsionist on Nov 23, 2023 9:50:46 GMT -5
Taskmaster (S16:E9)
Great work from all. Julian's composed snit, Sam's driving disgust, Susan's sartorial splendor, Sue's merit badge, and Lucy's weirdness. Ooh it's getting close.
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moimoi
AV Clubber
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Post by moimoi on Nov 26, 2023 13:06:35 GMT -5
I'm finally getting around to Only Murders in the Building (along with The Great and The Bear under my 30-day Hulu trail) and I'm sorry to report that--despite my hope that Selena Gomez would prove a better actress than a singer (cuz my god is she a mediocre singer)--her flat line readings are kinda bringing this thing down. Steve Martin and Martin Short are great and I am enjoying the mystery, but it's just really hard to pay attention to anything she does on screen because she's so lacking in charisma and likability. I know she probably helped get the series produced, but I can think of half a dozen young actresses who could do a better job playing off comedy vets while serving as the dramatic center of the story.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Nov 26, 2023 20:52:32 GMT -5
I'm finally getting around to Only Murders in the Building (along with The Great and The Bear under my 30-day Hulu trail) and I'm sorry to report that--despite my hope that Selena Gomez would prove a better actress than a singer (cuz my god is she a mediocre singer)--her flat line readings are kinda bringing this thing down. Steve Martin and Martin Short are great and I am enjoying the mystery, but it's just really hard to pay attention to anything she does on screen because she's so lacking in charisma and likability. I know she probably helped get the series produced, but I can think of half a dozen young actresses who could do a better job playing off comedy vets while serving as the dramatic center of the story. I really like OMITB, but yeah, she doesn't really do anything for me. I get that her character is supposed to be dry, to play off the zaniness of Steve Martin and Martin Short. But, that just means that I generally ignore whatever is going on with her character. Which isn't helped by Season 2 giving her what is definitely the worst story that any of the characters get in all three seasons.
That said, I do greatly like all her scenes played against James Caverly's character Theo. She seems more engaged in those. It makes me wish Caverly had more screen time. Of course, part of that is because I think Theo is a quite interesting character, and I'd like to see more of him, in general.
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LazBro
Prolific Poster 
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Post by LazBro on Nov 27, 2023 10:55:52 GMT -5
Cold open to the final season of Letterkenny. I admit I'm not huge on the "ABC's" season openers. They're fun once, but on rewatch I'd rather have a proper sketch. But when it's the final season I guess they gotta. At least a lot of the extended cast shows up in this one.
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moimoi
AV Clubber
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Post by moimoi on Nov 28, 2023 17:17:37 GMT -5
That said, I do greatly like all her scenes played against James Caverly's character Theo. She seems more engaged in those. It makes me wish Caverly had more screen time. Of course, part of that is because I think Theo is a quite interesting character, and I'd like to see more of him, in general.
I'm up to season 3 now and I hate to say it, but she's still GODAWFUL. I think her scenes with Theo work because he has no dialogue with which to show her up. |
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Post by Desert Dweller on Nov 28, 2023 23:54:09 GMT -5
That said, I do greatly like all her scenes played against James Caverly's character Theo. She seems more engaged in those. It makes me wish Caverly had more screen time. Of course, part of that is because I think Theo is a quite interesting character, and I'd like to see more of him, in general.
I'm up to season 3 now and I hate to say it, but she's still GODAWFUL. I think her scenes with Theo work because he has no dialogue with which to show her up. I think it is that Gomez feels like she has to do more to compensate for Theo speaking only in sign language. So, she seems more animated. Also, I think that her character is more comfortable with Theo because she doesn't feel like she has to impress him, and she isn't trying to be the cool young girl like she is with her two older podcast buddies.
But Caverly does a great job portraying that character, and I still feel like Theo is a more interesting character than Gomez's because I feel like Caverly is actually giving a more animated performance than Gomez! Anyway, I sincerely wish this show would beef up Theo's role, if only because Caverly's presence seems to get Gomez to give a better performance.
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Post by liebkartoffel on Dec 2, 2023 1:38:40 GMT -5
Nu-Frasier continues to be an uncanny valley experience of watching Frasier-ish characters get into Frasier-ish situations but in a way that's just close enough to the original to be distracting and unsatisfying. They've attempted a couple of limp farces*, they've blatantly rehashed some of the old Frasier/Martin stories, they've already got the requisite "Lilith comes to town" episode out of the way, and it's all been mediocre to...eh? What's been blindingly obvious from the beginning is that the show is in desperate need of a Niles--i.e., a rival who brings out both the best and worst in Frasier and who's smart enough to diagnose his problems when needed (and vice versa). Alan (Frasier's colleague and never-before-mentioned old Oxford chum) is clearly supposed to fill this role, but mostly comes across as a wacky sidekick. In the most recent episode there's a scene where Alan attempts to point out what's going on between Frasier and Freddy in their current FREDDY IS MARTIN NOW fight, only to repeatedly misread the situation and for Frasier to finally explain what's wrong and diagnose himself...and, well, that doesn't work now does it?
*One such farce involves Frasier being upset about being a mere "lecturer" and trying to schmooze (a? the?) provost who heads the "academic credentials committee" that annually reviews all the faculty and apparently that's how they decide who does and doesn't get to be a professor at Harvard? (Cue "that's not how any of this works" meme). Added hilarity: everyone involved seems to think teaching ability is crucial for obtaining a professorship (ahahahahahahahahaha).
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Dec 2, 2023 10:47:58 GMT -5
A Murder At the End of the World is very good, and it doesn't hurt that both Emma Corrin and Brit Marling are so compelling to look at.
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on Dec 3, 2023 1:10:29 GMT -5
Rewatched Frisky Dingo before it gets pulled off the air. I gradually realized that Musk is Xander Crews. Started a rewatch of The Heart She Holler before it disappears. What was anybody involved with that one thinking?
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ABz B👹anaz
Grandfathered In
This country is (now less of) a shitshow.
Posts: 1,978
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Post by ABz B👹anaz on Dec 3, 2023 11:26:10 GMT -5
Gen V - Spinoff/side story of The Boys, featuring a college for "supes". Dark, depressing, probably even more so than The Boys, with much less humor to keep it anywhere near balanced. I get it. The world of The Boys sucks, but goddamn, I'm getting really tired of complete and utter downer stories. I think I'd categorize this as a horror show.
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
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Post by repulsionist on Dec 3, 2023 14:33:49 GMT -5
Taskmaster (S16:E10)
Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. Of course you'd feed Alex like that. Yecch! Well, I lost my imaginary bet. Julian, so close. Oh well, at least he got his urn back. Good onya, Sam. May providence be plentiful after this win.
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Post by haysoos on Dec 5, 2023 11:45:49 GMT -5
Taskmaster (S16:E10) Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. Of course you'd feed Alex like that. Yecch! Well, I lost my imaginary bet. Julian, so close. Oh well, at least he got his urn back. Good onya, Sam. May providence be plentiful after this win. Sam with blonde hair somehow looks even more like Miley Cyrus. |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Dec 5, 2023 14:53:27 GMT -5
Just started season 6 of The Sopranos. I knew Adriana's death at the end of season 5 was coming -- it's one of the most famous murders in the entire series. I still cried so hard I had to put on a comedy to cheer myself up before I could go to bed that night. One thing that really struck me in reading reviews of/essays about "Long-Term Parking" is how fundamentally incorrect everyone is about the glimpse into Adriana's mind while she's in the car with Silvio "on the way to the hospital." She's not daydreaming or fantasizing about driving away by herself; she's not deluding herself, either. The flash of the road signs you see her thinking about are on I-95 just north of Baltimore, before the split into the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and I-895. Adriana is thinking that if she had just finished packing her shit and left when Christopher "went to get cigarettes," she would be three hours outside of New Jersey by now. It's a very specific thought! She's not being willfully stupid here!
After season 5, I also needed more Steve Buscemi in my life, so I gave the pilot of Boardwalk Empire another go. I saw it when it first aired and liked it but just never kept up. Oh man. Ohhhhhhh man. I finished the first episode and heard my brain screaming "Just hook it into my veins!" like Barney Gumble, so I'm forcing myself to slow down and only watch one at a time.
Amusingly, my parents went to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas while they were on vacation and brought home a copy of The Sopranos Family Cookbook and a pair of rocks glasses that say "Vote Against Prohibition" for me. The former was deliberate because they know I've been watching, but the latter was a funny coincidence.
I think after I get done with mob stuff, I'll switch to Wild West stuff with Deadwood. Somehow I've never gotten around to that one before, either. Hell, I might as well make my way through HBO's back catalogue at this point if they're gonna keep canceling the newer shit I like, like Doom Patrol.
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ABz B👹anaz
Grandfathered In
This country is (now less of) a shitshow.
Posts: 1,978
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Post by ABz B👹anaz on Dec 5, 2023 15:05:25 GMT -5
Just started season 6 of The Sopranos. I knew Adriana's death at the end of season 5 was coming -- it's one of the most famous murders in the entire series. I still cried so hard I had to put on a comedy to cheer myself up before I could go to bed that night. One thing that really struck me in reading reviews of/essays about "Long-Term Parking" is how fundamentally incorrect everyone is about the glimpse into Adriana's mind while she's in the car with Silvio "on the way to the hospital." She's not daydreaming or fantasizing about driving away by herself; she's not deluding herself, either. The flash of the road signs you see her thinking about are on I-95 just north of Baltimore, before the split into the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and I-895. Adriana is thinking that if she had just finished packing her shit and left when Christopher "went to get cigarettes," she would be three hours outside of New Jersey by now. It's a very specific thought! She's not being willfully stupid here!
After season 5, I also needed more Steve Buscemi in my life, so I gave the pilot of Boardwalk Empire another go. I saw it when it first aired and liked it but just never kept up. Oh man. Ohhhhhhh man. I finished the first episode and heard my brain screaming "Just hook it into my veins!" like Barney Gumble, so I'm forcing myself to slow down and only watch one at a time.
Amusingly, my parents went to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas while they were on vacation and brought home a copy of The Sopranos Family Cookbook and a pair of rocks glasses that say "Vote Against Prohibition" for me. The former was deliberate because they know I've been watching, but the latter was a funny coincidence.
I think after I get done with mob stuff, I'll switch to Wild West stuff with Deadwood. Somehow I've never gotten around to that one before, either. Hell, I might as well make my way through HBO's back catalogue at this point if they're gonna keep canceling the newer shit I like, like Doom Patrol.
Oh cool, the Mob Museum is a standalone place now. Mrs B and I visited the Mob Experience back when it was inside the Tropicana, and it was fascinating. |
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moimoi
AV Clubber
Posts: 5,084
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Post by moimoi on Dec 5, 2023 15:16:58 GMT -5
After season 5, I also needed more Steve Buscemi in my life, so I gave the pilot of Boardwalk Empire another go. I saw it when it first aired and liked it but just never kept up. Oh man. Ohhhhhhh man. I finished the first episode and heard my brain screaming "Just hook it into my veins!" like Barney Gumble, so I'm forcing myself to slow down and only watch one at a time.
Boardwalk Empire is one of the commentariats on which I was most active over at TOC--to the point that I've actually completed most of a fanfic rewrite/rework of seasons 3-5 (with completely fictional seasons 6-7 in progress). Once you get up to those seasons, let me know if you want to give it a read ;-) I may also post it as a thread here if that's allowed and people are interested. I'm also working on a rewrite/remix of Fargo Season 4 and I'd like to take on Sleepy Hollow at some point. |
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on Dec 5, 2023 19:00:50 GMT -5
Just started season 6 of The Sopranos. I knew Adriana's death at the end of season 5 was coming -- it's one of the most famous murders in the entire series. I still cried so hard I had to put on a comedy to cheer myself up before I could go to bed that night. One thing that really struck me in reading reviews of/essays about "Long-Term Parking" is how fundamentally incorrect everyone is about the glimpse into Adriana's mind while she's in the car with Silvio "on the way to the hospital." She's not daydreaming or fantasizing about driving away by herself; she's not deluding herself, either. The flash of the road signs you see her thinking about are on I-95 just north of Baltimore, before the split into the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and I-895. Adriana is thinking that if she had just finished packing her shit and left when Christopher "went to get cigarettes," she would be three hours outside of New Jersey by now. It's a very specific thought! She's not being willfully stupid here!
After season 5, I also needed more Steve Buscemi in my life, so I gave the pilot of Boardwalk Empire another go. I saw it when it first aired and liked it but just never kept up. Oh man. Ohhhhhhh man. I finished the first episode and heard my brain screaming "Just hook it into my veins!" like Barney Gumble, so I'm forcing myself to slow down and only watch one at a time.
Amusingly, my parents went to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas while they were on vacation and brought home a copy of The Sopranos Family Cookbook and a pair of rocks glasses that say "Vote Against Prohibition" for me. The former was deliberate because they know I've been watching, but the latter was a funny coincidence.
I think after I get done with mob stuff, I'll switch to Wild West stuff with Deadwood. Somehow I've never gotten around to that one before, either. Hell, I might as well make my way through HBO's back catalogue at this point if they're gonna keep canceling the newer shit I like, like Doom Patrol.
I would love to be able to watch Deadwood again for the first time. You are in for a real treat. It just keeps getting better and better as it goes on. |
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Dec 5, 2023 20:00:40 GMT -5
A contestant on Holiday Baking Show doesn't know what a velociraptor is.
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Post by haysoos on Dec 6, 2023 13:26:46 GMT -5
A contestant on Holiday Baking Show doesn't know what a velociraptor is. Is this Random TV Thoughts, or Things That Rationally Anger Me? |
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Dec 6, 2023 21:04:13 GMT -5
A contestant on Holiday Baking Show doesn't know what a velociraptor is. I mean, considering how Michael Crichton just used the name for a completely different creature, I would argue the vast majority of people don't either. |
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Post by liebkartoffel on Dec 7, 2023 16:59:01 GMT -5
Remember when, on Gilmore Girls, Rory chooses to give up on her dream of attending Harvard and instead attends...Yale, and that's portrayed as a real moment of character growth? I don't think I've liked a show so much in general while hating the main characters so much.
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Rainbow Rosa
TI Forumite
not gay, just colorful
Posts: 3,604
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Dec 9, 2023 20:28:12 GMT -5
You know, I always thought the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches were maybe a little too mean, but this week on the actual program, the Final Jeopardy question basically amounted to "name a shape."
Kyra Sedgwick wrote "what is pothagrium."
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Post by liebkartoffel on Dec 11, 2023 9:39:00 GMT -5
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: If you loved Scott Pilgrim (graphic novels and/or film) you should watch this. If you hated Scott Pilgrim you still might want to give this a shot, as (extremely vague spoilers) a substantial chunk of the series is a deliberate deconstruction of the original and a means of addressing its more problematic aspects. If you haven't seen/read Scott Pilgrim you...are likely to be very confused, as so much of the humor (and, indeed, spoilers, plot) relies on tweaking fans' expectations. Anyway, I loved it. Loved the animation, loved the new soundtrack, loved how they somehow got the entire movie cast to reprise their roles.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Dec 11, 2023 18:13:13 GMT -5
Boardwalk Empire is one of the commentariats on which I was most active over at TOC--to the point that I've actually completed most of a fanfic rewrite/rework of seasons 3-5 (with completely fictional seasons 6-7 in progress). Once you get up to those seasons, let me know if you want to give it a read ;-) I may also post it as a thread here if that's allowed and people are interested. I'm also working on a rewrite/remix of Fargo Season 4 and I'd like to take on Sleepy Hollow at some point.
Ha! I don't read a lot of fanfic, but the rewrite of Fargo S4 sounds interesting. And my god, if there existed a version of Sleepy Hollow that didn't ruin everything that was great about it, that would be amazing.
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Post by songstarliner on Dec 15, 2023 0:34:27 GMT -5
In case anyone was wondering, the new Fargo is pretty dang good.
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Post by Celebith on Dec 20, 2023 11:31:56 GMT -5
Watched all of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off while assembling Ikea bookshelves. Loved all of it - art and animation were great, the voice actors were terrific, with fun cameos, and the soundtrack was, um, some other superlative that I haven't used yet in this paragraph makes a great show even better. At about 3 hours, it's one of the first shows that I want to rewatch again almost immediately. |
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Post by nowimnothing on Dec 20, 2023 16:02:31 GMT -5
I have watched the first two episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge so you do not have to.
Yes, it is just as horrible as the reviews lay out. But it is also oddly entertaining if you have a dark and twisted heart. They really play up the earnest contestants in a way that is outright exploitive but it is hard to take seriously when they have to fake falling over and dying after losing a challenge. You can also catch glimpses of contestants who are not so worked up and understand that it is a gameshow with very low odds of winning.
The producers are either trying to carry over the indictment of capitalism from the fictional show or they just thought random chance is easier and gets the same ratings as game theory because there is little that is truly in the control of the contestants. Perhaps that will change as we go along, but right now the main function seems to be winnowing the huge group to a manageable level.
My 13 year old must have my same dark humor because he was laughing uncontrollably with each squib pack explosion and the subsequent "death."
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Post by Celebith on Dec 20, 2023 19:19:13 GMT -5
Anyway, I loved it. Loved the animation, loved the new soundtrack, loved how they somehow got the entire movie cast to reprise their roles. O'Malley said they still had a group email chain from the original movie, so he emailed them all and within 3 hours everyone said they were in. |
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