The Syndicate

Also, dat Walking Dead tweeest. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Was definitely nice waking up and reading everyone flipping off the showmakers in their reviews.

Re-watching random episodes of Parks & Recreation because... why not?

I've been trying to get into some British series. I just watched two series done by a comedy duo, David Mitchell and Robert Webb.

If you like sketch comedy I would recommend the Mitchell and Webb look. I personally found the skits a bit hit or miss. Like there is one about snooker commentators that if you don't give a shit about snooker is a bit tedious.

I preferred their series Peep Show (which actually just "finished"... or so they say...). It took me a season or two to get into it, but I enjoyed it in the end. Some of it is totally cringeworthy but I think it was overall pretty funny.
I like some of the supporting characters too. I think the character of Super Hans is great and creates a funny dynamic. Some of the actors from this show made their way to the other show, but sadly he was not one of them.

I like David Mitchell, but I never got time to watch Peeps. (Also, I don't have any BBC except the News, to facilitate such opportunities in general. There was BBC Entertainment for a while, but has now vanished).

Speaking of brit comedians, I use(d) to watch them as guests on quiz shows. I wish Fry wouldn't have quit hosting Q.I. :tears: I also wish I would have caught up with Q.I. by now, I'm as far behind as the H or I series. I also watch some 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, whenever I find new episodes online.

I need to watch some of that. I've seen quotes from him in panel type situations and he (David Mitchell) is just hilarious. He is definitely the stronger comedian out of the pair as I find him naturally funny, but I feel Robert Webb is necessary to make the skits work.

So yea, now that I am done with that (and Downton Abbey finished on Christmas) I need to try out some more British tv but am not sure what yet. I'm still somewhere back in the David Tennant episodes of Doctor Who so perhaps I will go back to that.

I love Mitchell and Webb! I couldn't get into Peep Show though, I was annoyed by the way they film it.

The IT Crowd is one of my favorite British shows.

Oh yea the way it is filmed is a bit awkward in certain scenes.

I've heard good things about that, although I know nothing at all about it. I'll have to check it out. How many seasons are there? (Perhaps I should say series as we are talking about British tv lol)

I think there's 4 series, they are all relatively short.

Of the comedians in quiz shows I mentioned, I particularly like Bill Bailey, Sean Lock or Rich Hall. I really like Jon Richardson, though I haven't seen any actual skit of his, but he seems to be the mix of sharp character, deadpan humorist and chain-yanking-extraordinaire that I prefer.

Made wrote:Quantico is bae atm.

I've started watching that recently on Hulu. So far I really like it. It is sort of like The Blacklist (which I also like) in a way... and it's a way that makes me like the show.


Has anyone watched Sense8 on Netflix? I should probably just search the thread to find out. We started watching it, and then got sidetracked with other shows we watch during the season. So maybe during the off season we can catch up on it in between Jessica Jones episodes.

This Spring is going to see a bunch of our favorite shows coming back!! Orphan Black, Game of Thrones, The Americans... Hurray!!

^I watched Sense8 and loved it. Totally worth finishing. Looking forward to the next season of that. And ooo yeah Orphan Black too!

meanwhile, I've been watching the BBC miniseries Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and it is EXCELLENT. The book is one I've been wanting to read but haven't gotten around to, but I am really loving the show. It's only 7 episodes and it is so fantastic.

Edit: Holy shit I just watched the last episode and so much crazy shit happened and I have so many feelings

I meant to watch that sense8, but I don't have Netflix anymore. I'll get around to it someday. And orphan black! Man you guys just reminded me of so much I wanted to watch!

Picket Fences from the 90s.

I plan on watching The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story when it debuts next week. I was 10 when he led the police on that chase and I still remember my relatives watching the trial and analysis any chance they got. The hooplah surrounding the trial was nuts and really pushed us into the era of 24-hour news coverage. The miniseries is based on Jeffrey Toobins book, which was very critical of the court proceedings but did not take a formal stance on OJ's innocence or guilt. I'm curious to see if the miniseries stays objective on the verdict or not.

What are we watching tonight, you ask?

Girl Meets World followed by UFC. I'll get my daddy feels and my raging man feels out all in one evening.

I just watched the first episode of Black Mirror and I couldn't have been more disappointed. This is the kind of satire that I find the most insulting; one that thinks its incredibly profound and presents itself as this intricately-composed serving of brutal truth yet doesn't make any observations that wouldn't be self-evident if its hypothetical event occurred in real life. "Ooooooh people are distracted with the media, look at how much they neglect reality in its favor" no shit. Show me something I don't know if you think you're so smart.

When I was in the city visiting a friend she had me watch the first three episodes of Mr. Robot. I really enjoyed it, although I felt like I wouldn't have beforehand. Something about the main character really clicked with me. Probably his 'I give zero shits' attitude.

The first two episodes of American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson have been excellent.

G-Man wrote:The first two episodes of American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson have been excellent.

They were excellent. I feel I have got less excited about this show as its progressed though.

I'm watching the Wire for the first time. I've only been spoiled on one thing going into it (don't read if you don't want to be too!)
I just started Season 2. I really like it so far. Amazing cast.

Anyone else is watching How to Get Away with Murder?

My mom.

Don't mean anything by that, she literally does.

It's fine. I've noticed it's something that attracts females more than males. Has a somewhat soap-opera feeling to it.

I don't care though, it's too good. It's built to keep you on the egde of your seat, wanting to know what happens next. And the writing is very intelligent imo.

fingersplints wrote:

G-Man wrote:The first two episodes of American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson have been excellent.

They were excellent. I feel I have got less excited about this show as its progressed though.

Episode 3 dipped in excitement but it had to. After all the shock and crazy of the murder scene and OJ's highway chase, I think it was bound to lag a bit. My wife and I just watched episode 4 last night. As someone who is a total legal nerd, I was fascinated by all the in-fighting among OJ's team and the conniving strategy during jury selection. It shows you just how close OJ's team came to blowing it and just how horribly screwed up the legal process was for such a high-profile case. I can't wait for the next episode.

If this show is an accurate portrayal of Robert Kardashian then he must be rolling in his grave over how poorly his children turned out.

Psych.

And I remember why I love this show.

Posted this on Facebook, but figured I should here too.

Just finished binge watching Rick and Morty ("about time", you're probably thinking). Despite the insane amount of praise I've seen, I was skeptical that it would be for me, because even though I absolutely love The Simpsons and Futurama, I was never a fan of Family Guy, South Park, and other shows that rely on too much silly or dark humor, and I can be picky when it comes to TV shows and movies. Nonetheless, although a few episodes weren't quite as stellar, I can say that the hype is definitely deserved. Rick and Morty is a really great show, an incredibly unique combination of heartfelt emotion, silly humor, dark humor, sci fi absurdity, and just pure WTF factor. And that ending to Season 2! Now I just want to watch it all again. I've almost never thought that about other shows, even really solid ones. Can't wait for Season 3.

My wife and I just finished 24's 4th season. It was decent enough but having the arch-villain escape time after time grew stale for me. As big a plot as his associates planned, I have a hard time believing that they kept it all under the radar for so long. And who the heck bankrolled them?

Plenty of excitement and intrigue but I guess there's only so much originality you can pump into one guy saving the world for the fourth time. I guess I give it a B.

Once Upon A Time. Regina Mills is the crush of the month.

Is anyone watching Westworld? Three episodes in and it's my favorite new show in ages.

I feel the opposite, three episodes in and I feel worse about it with each new one. It exhibits a very "mystery upon mystery" quality, with build-up via unresolved, unexplained elements, that seems to mimick the worse of what Lost was (probably mentioned it before, but that show became unbearable for me once it started taking itself too seriously and blow up its mythos). It's also incredibly slow. The fact that one particular character (no need to spoil it, but viewers here will know) experienced certain revelations in ep2, only to go back to having one scene and a frowny look in ep3 is pretty telling. Similarly, I enjoyed the first episode very much (almost too much), but it now seems to have been a very polished episode, instead of giving me the vibe that the whole season is designed to hold up.

Black Mirror is fucking melting my brain.

Maybe binge-watching it wasn't the best idea.

Watch "Hamilton's America" on your local educational station. It is about the making of Hamilton the musical but has interviews with historians including the one who wrote the book the musical is based on. It is fascinating.

Hey Socky and G-Man, have you seen this one?



Haven't seen it myself but looks cool.

Dragon D. Luffy wrote:Hey Socky and G-Man, have you seen this one?



Haven't seen it myself but looks cool.

I haven't! And I'm not much of a movie guy but I am a bit intrigued myself.

The reviews have not been very kind.

Ricochet wrote:The reviews have not been very kind.

I was afraid of that lol.

After years of poking from my brothers, I am finally watching the Walking Dead. I am almost done with season 3, and it sucked me right in. Since I live alone, I was worried about watching it, but it really isn't very frightening (the zombies aren't at least; the people are the scary ones) just mainly gory. It put me a bit in mind of LOST but with Zombies.

S~V~S wrote:After years of poking from my brothers, I am finally watching the Walking Dead. I am almost done with season 3, and it sucked me right in. Since I live alone, I was worried about watching it, but it really isn't very frightening (the zombies aren't at least; the people are the scary ones) just mainly gory. It put me a bit in mind of LOST but with Zombies.

I've always got the vibe that it might be 'Lost with zombies'. But I think I will wait until it is all finished and then find out whether people say I should watch it. Based on what I've heard of recent seasons, I'm wondering if I'd still like it.

Comparing Walking Dead to Lost is an insult to the latter, IMO.

I'd recommend that Lost fans check out The Leftovers (made by the same dude as Lost, and covers much of the same spiritual and philosophical ground that the show did) and the French show The Returned. (which really is "Lost with Zombies," with flashback episodes and everything)

The Office for the 3427th time

Nearly there in entering my two-week winter holiday window of massive procrastination and I've warmed up the past two days by binging a six-episode British dramedy called Fleabag (for those who were with me in Chatzy last evening, there's your answer). Picked it up after spotting it on multiple TV end-of-year lists, performance- and show-wise, then watching a few movie clips that were certainly teasing. Essentially a dark comedy around the story of a woman with a messy life, given by misbehaviours, awful choices and failure to connect with the people closest to her. The extra device/gimmick to this is that the protagonist constantly breaks the fourth wall - sort of in a Deadpool way, to use a really mainstream recent reference, except not just for easy, silly quip. This being British, of course, the humor is the strong cup of tea type, ranging from a bit kinky/dirty at times to well-timed absurd punchlines and also a damn lot of passive-aggressive dialogue. The series' structure is both episodic, in that it works around different situations for each segment, and as a single narrative arch, which pans out really well by the end of it: except for the pilot, the latter episodes are the stronger ones; without spoiling too much, the humor is revealed as a coping façade; the protagonist's weighty baggage open up little by little; and even the seemingly one-joke/one-note side characters get something of a pay off, once you get to the big picture. I think this is well worth watching.

Now, let's see if I can catch up with S3 of You're The Worst, another damaged-good comedy that really knows how to explore aspects of emotional depth and darkness, amid all the twisted ha-ha.

insertnamehere wrote:Comparing Walking Dead to Lost is an insult to the latter, IMO.

I'd recommend that Lost fans check out The Leftovers (made by the same dude as Lost, and covers much of the same spiritual and philosophical ground that the show did) and the French show The Returned. (which really is "Lost with Zombies," with flashback episodes and everything)

Well, thanks for that I did not care for the Leftovers, no counting for taste, eh?

I did not say it was as good as LOST, but there are similarities. A group of disparate strangers thrown together due to a catastrophe learning how to survive in a radically different place with very different rules that what they are used to. Plus supernatural stuff plus red shirts. Fish out of water ensemble drama.

My wife and I watched the pilot episode of Designated Survivor the other night. It was decent but I kept waiting for Kiefer Sutherland to shoot somebody and shout "Do it now!" a la Jack Bauer.

S~V~S wrote:

insertnamehere wrote:Comparing Walking Dead to Lost is an insult to the latter, IMO.

I'd recommend that Lost fans check out The Leftovers (made by the same dude as Lost, and covers much of the same spiritual and philosophical ground that the show did) and the French show The Returned. (which really is "Lost with Zombies," with flashback episodes and everything)

Well, thanks for that I did not care for the Leftovers, no counting for taste, eh?

I did not say it was as good as LOST, but there are similarities. A group of disparate strangers thrown together due to a catastrophe learning how to survive in a radically different place with very different rules that what they are used to. Plus supernatural stuff plus red shirts. Fish out of water ensemble drama.

Superficially, yes. But Lost was, at its Lindelof-y core, about a bunch of people with various problems learning to overcome them. I.e., they were lost, now they're found.

Walking Dead is a bunch of people swirling around a toilet bowl. The only character arcs are ones where people either die, or become more miserable. Someone tries to have a shred of humanity that isn't entirely focused on survival, and they're swiftly punished with either death or trauma.

Furthermore, the show doesn't even do anything interesting with this misery. It just repeats the same story beats over and over again.

Why didn't you like the Leftovers, by the way?

So, has anyone watched The OA on Netflix? I have been binge watching it today...

Rewatching Breaking Bad atm. Only like 3 episodes left, no idea what to watch next.

Cryptonic wrote:Rewatching Breaking Bad atm. Only like 3 episodes left, no idea what to watch next.

Have you tried Dexter? My gf got me watching all 8 seasons and I just finished that shit in 2 months. Very entertaining. Almost all the seasons were well done, I thought. (I have differing opinions on a couple of them, but that's to be expected in long runs of shows)

Scotty wrote:

Cryptonic wrote:Rewatching Breaking Bad atm. Only like 3 episodes left, no idea what to watch next.

Have you tried Dexter? My gf got me watching all 8 seasons and I just finished that shit in 2 months. Very entertaining. Almost all the seasons were well done, I thought. (I have differing opinions on a couple of them, but that's to be expected in long runs of shows)

You're one of like, 5 people I've seen who didn't think that show went to hell in a handbasket after season 4.

Scotty wrote:

Cryptonic wrote:Rewatching Breaking Bad atm. Only like 3 episodes left, no idea what to watch next.

Have you tried Dexter? My gf got me watching all 8 seasons and I just finished that shit in 2 months. Very entertaining. Almost all the seasons were well done, I thought. (I have differing opinions on a couple of them, but that's to be expected in long runs of shows)

Ya I've watched it a few times with wifey I agree that it went down hill after season 4, but I can't stop a show mid series lol
First 2 seasons of the show are amazing.


I just finished 3%, which was interesting. I'm excited for the next season.

Just started The OA last night. Good so far, little weird though lol

If you haven't watched Sherlock - the BBC one - I would recommend it.

The OA is freaking awesome.