Television

[Litterick]

We had to wait a week for the next episode of Twin Peaks, which was worthwhile.

[ChazFromCali]

If you like science fiction, you would probably like Stranger Things. There's also a German sci fi series called Dark. I saw the first season but haven't followed up with the second. Very creepy--kind of like a super-dark version of Stranger Things.

I second Wednesday. Extremely entertaining, and much more fun than I thought it would be. Great performances all around. The dance to The Cramps--priceless. Deservedly went viral. (Anything featuring The Cramps is worthwhile in my book.)

I DL'd the first season of Stranger Things and I'm two episodes in.

My reaction so far: OMG, those three kids are super annoying.

The show creators are kinda going for the Close Encounters of the Third Kind "1980's Indiana everyday middle-American family life thing." ....gag me with a spoon. I guess most people think it's cute and true to life. But it's just too cutesy and annoying AF. Too much plot gettin' in the way of the story, lol.

Anyway, despite that I like the premise of the show. Wow, Matthew Modine as a bad guy, no less. And WTF! Winona Ryder! Good to see she's still earning a paycheck.

The girl, El / Eleven. She has talent. I've seen enough actors up close (in my previous life as a TV and movie extra) to recognize it. I'll stick with it - but man those kids are annoying.

[A. Kingstone]

I've been watching some old episodic programs.

Barney Miller - Interesting nostalgia, dealing with many of the continuing ills of society.

Arrested Development - Very funny writing.

Chappelle's Show - Ditto

The Twilight Zone - Cold War angst with terrific cinematography.

Family Guy - My juvenile pleasure, pop-culture references galore - As mentioned, great live musician recordings.

Cheers - Surprisingly resilient.

[SedanDelivery2022]

I DL'd the first season of Stranger Things and I'm two episodes in.

My reaction so far: OMG, those three kids are super annoying.

.

Those Stranger Things creators -- the Duffer Brothers -- grew up in my home town of Durham, NC, and there are lots of Durham references sprinkled throughout the show. (For instance, they mention Cornwallis road a lot. My parents used to live on that street. Drop the name of the local BBQ joint, etc.). I love the general nostalgia of the show though I find they try a bit too hard on all fronts. I agree with you those kids are annoying. Still, it's fun.

I used to live in Brooklyn NY and they shot a scene from "the Americans" on our street. They did several takes and it was interesting to see the extras walk by "nonchalantly" in exactly the same way over and over.

Me I have been doing the retro thing too. Barney Miller, yes, Dick Van Dyke, Adam 12, Rockford Files, Andy Griffith.

Tried to watch Yellowstone with my parents, we all hated it. No characters to like. Costner is kind of wooden. Like a less fun "Dallas."

[CliffR]

Oh man, The Americans is absolutely superb!

[A. Kingstone]

Those Stranger Things creators -- the Duffer Brothers -- grew up in my home town of Durham, NC, and there are lots of Durham references sprinkled throughout the show................

Me I have been doing the retro thing too. Barney Miller, yes, Dick Van Dyke, Adam 12, Rockford Files, Andy Griffith.

Tried to watch Yellowstone with my parents, we all hated it. No characters to like. Costner is kind of wooden. Like a less fun "Dallas."

Off topic. I was in Raleigh Durham for a Bulls game about 20 years ago and they have done an amazing job around the park utilising the old Lucky Strike factory into shops and restaurants.

[henryrobinett]

I like Yellowstone, but it over reaches incredibly. But 1883 is phenomenal. Some of the best TV I've ever seen. 1923 is in it's 2nd episode and I have serious misgivings wit hit. Bad Sisters was great.

[henryrobinett]

Recently I loved The White Lotus. And yes, Mare Of Eastwich or whatever it was was great. Dark, was very good as well.

[ChazFromCali]

Those Stranger Things creators -- the Duffer Brothers -- grew up in my home town of Durham, NC, and there are lots of Durham references sprinkled throughout the show. (For instance, they mention Cornwallis road a lot. My parents used to live on that street. Drop the name of the local BBQ joint, etc.). I love the general nostalgia of the show though I find they try a bit too hard on all fronts. I agree with you those kids are annoying. Still, it's fun.

I used to live in Brooklyn NY and they shot a scene from "the Americans" on our street. They did several takes and it was interesting to see the extras walk by "nonchalantly" in exactly the same way over and over.

Me I have been doing the retro thing too. Barney Miller, yes, Dick Van Dyke, Adam 12, Rockford Files, Andy Griffith.

Tried to watch Yellowstone with my parents, we all hated it. No characters to like. Costner is kind of wooden. Like a less fun "Dallas."

That's another one worth watching! The American's.

Re: Stranger Things. That's the phrase I was looking for... "trying too hard." Yup.
I do like the show, great premise "The Upside Down" - I'm watching it trying to remember the 80's... was it really like that? IDK, maybe it was, in small-town America.

On Grimm I was a desk detective in the precinct, we had a little bit of leeway on our actions in the shot. But yeah, if they wanted you to do a "cross" you would do it over. and over. and over.

I apologize in advance, lol.... that's me at the desk, lookin' all detective-y.

[A. Kingstone]

I was hoping for more of a Columbo look.

[ChazFromCali]

I was hoping for more of a Columbo look.

Nah, no Columbo, I think they hired me for my hair. I have great hair (still).

[A. Kingstone]

Nah, no Columbo, I think they hired me for my hair. I have great hair (still).

You and me both baby. (But I've started to cut it myself which is probably a bad sign).

I just watched a great Columbo episode with Dick Van Dyke as the killer.

As in every episode the moment the haughty murderer realises Columbo is smarter than they assumed......gold.

Great sound stage music too.

____

Old Antony Bourdain - He had a show about culture & cooking when he killed himself. Affiliated with CNN for Parts Unknown he had a very refreshing 'don't give a shit' personality. The network ran some re-runs over the end of year holiday.

I watched the terrific Stanley Tucci Searching For Italy' on CNN. I like food and trying to cook. Tucci; very safe, nice, loving.

Bourdain's show is edifying. He is in a remote and controlled tourist region of Burma/Myanmar and upon seeing the ancient temples, though visually stunning mentions the slave labour that constructed it.

[ccroft]

Way late checking into this thread. I thought it'd be about Tom Verlaine and the boys.

RE Sopranos: Wife and I binged on it at least 3 times in the last 20 years. Last time we decided to start at the end and work backwards. Interesting to see the plot building in reverse. I think we did the same with The Wire. I love shows about dope. Almost ready to go at 'em again front to back.

Nothing's really got us going like that lately. That show with McNutty in Montauk was an almost. Monkey-Boy & Trout Mouth Replica! Succession? Mixed reviews. Bugged me a bit.

These days The Road Show's pretty popular around here.

[A. Kingstone]

....... I love shows about dope. .......

Breaking Bad.

[Doctor Jeff]

I love shows about dope.

Oh you’d love Ozark. It’s probably the most enjoyable show I’ve binged since the Sopranos, well including Justified and Breaking Bad.

If you ever saw Arrested Development, the show is basically a Southern gothic criminal version of AD involving heroin. Seriously. Justin Bateman is excellent, but he is basically playing Michael Bluth. Not that that’s a bad thing. Julia Garner’s Ruth is a revelation—one of the best characters on TV in a long time. (She kind of corresponds to Mae Funke on AD.)

Anyway, highly entertaining. Imagine the Sopranos or Breaking Bad if the wife was not only in on it, but the smartest one of the whole enterprise. Laura Linney is incredible in her role as the super-smart but almost too-smart wife.

[ChazFromCali]

My Mini Review, lol.

I'm pretty impressed with Stranger Things. I'm into season three now. (80's nostalgia.... who knew?) I guess this show is aimed at people who are close to fifty now, who were teens in that decade?

I'm impressed with what the show creators have accomplished. I've never seen a TV series where comedy is combined with drama successfully. This show succeeds, there is actual drama going on and at times it's pretty funny too. Combine that with the nostalgia and some pretty dang smart Sci-Fi writing and you got a winner. As the saying goes.... the Devil is in the details, and the writers are detail oriented. They're paying attention to the little things too.

The cast, I think it's a great ensemble, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts sort of thing. There is no "star" really. Winona Ryder is the biggest name - how they all interact together is quite good. Top-Notch casting job and also I suspect the director(s) are very good as well. I've been on several TV and movie sets before and it comes from the top. If the director knows what they're doing (what they want), everything goes smoothly and you get good solid performances from the actors.

Another interesting thing is how the focus shifts from one kid to another. I was faked out by the story starting with Will. The focus seemed to be on him and I thought it was going to continue that way, i.e "his" show and his relationship with El...... nope, it revolves around El / Eleven - but the focus shifts to the other kids. Mike and El mostly, but you come to know all the kids as they all have their moments.

Yet another point of interest. I know it's not the first time its been done, but I doubt it's ever been done better / used to better effect, seeing the kids grow up "in real time" as the series develops is pretty cool.


8.5/10

[Doctor Jeff]

^^I agree with the above. Just a very enjoyable series.

FWIW I love the nods to the ‘80’s, and I think they’re well done—down to the theme song and Stranger Things font. But it wasn’t my favorite decade. 70’s nostalgia—that’s my thing—like Goodfellas.

I think the actors are great, and I also have a secret crush on Cara Buono. Hottest mom ever. If I had a sleepover at her house, I would have, well let’s not go there.

Back in the day I had a couple of friends with hot mothers. Fortunately, it never went beyond the “fantasizing about Steve’s mom in a swimsuit” stage.

Cara Buono in that swimsuit at the pool…Mama Mia!

[Doctor Jeff]

Dang I gotta stop googling photos of Cara Buono…

[Peter C]

Northern Exposure and St. Elsewhere, both with great theme tunes, especially the latter. That was the last time I regularly used to watch the TV.

I would recommend anything with Brit. comedian Ronnie Barker in it, which is even older.

[whiskey02]

Without doubt one of the greatest series ever is Mad Men.
Another is Northern Exposure; don't know the reason why it's not syndicated but it was truly like nothing else if its time. That brings up another potential issue. Some shows are rather "specific as to their time". That is, some shows don't age well. Some shine so brightly when new that 20 years later they just don't carry the same impact, for a new audience as well as old.
Edit. Should have known, Northern Exposure is not syndicated because of the cost of paying the royalties for the soundtrack.

[mr. beaumont]

Checking in: "Wednesday" is delightful.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Checking in: "Wednesday" is delightful.

That dance!

[mr. beaumont]

That dance!

Everything about it is entertaining. The cast is just great.

[ChazFromCali]

A friend highly recommends Sons of Anarchy. I'll watch for the cast. There's Treme.
How could they cancel Black Mirror?

I'm getting fussy in my old age. No supernatural, gangsters, or excessive violence.

No kids with superpowers or goth whatever. I passed on Game of Thrones.

Kidz with Super Powerz is fun though!

I have to comment on Sons of Anarchy. My opinion: It started strong. First episode it had Glen Plummer as a CHP officer who was buddy/buddy with the MC, then he never was in another episode! I always thought he was great in anything he did, so a bit of a disappointment there.

The other thing: At some point maybe late in season two / early season three... it was the 'chasing baby Able's kidnappers on the boat dock before the boat leaves' scene. I realized "this is a soap opera about motorcycle gang." The spell was broken. I couldn't see it the same way anymore after that.

Plenty of violence. At the time I thought some of it was a bit gratuitous maybe, but yeah it's about a biker gang so.....

Good series, I enjoyed it. Great cast.

[CliffR]

Has anybody mentioned The Marvelous Mrs Maisel yet?