TV Series

ohnonot · 2015-10-14 18:08:06

I've become a big friend of TV Series.

Full length movies seem to be getting longer and longer and often I just don't feel like leaning back for 2 hours, and I also don't like cutting a story in half.

On the other hand I like how you can create a much larger story with a TV Series.
Become more immersed, yet be able to dose yourself sensibly (and no, I don't care much for cliffhangers).

Unfortunately many TV shows are also very cheap and plain bad, so let's share the good ones here!

Let me start with Fargo.

You know the Coen brothers? They're directors and made movies like The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, and Fargo. Which they also made into a TV Series.
Usually I dread the "make a 2 hour movie into a much larger number of 45min episodes", but it works really well for this one.
Martin Freeman is one hero, Billy Bob Thornton the other.
Finest dark humor, understanding of human nature, and we don't know yet how it all ends...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXfej6ekBZI

nereet · 2015-10-14 22:02:55

Thanks for Fargo,I have to watch it after your post.I grew up with TV series .
I'm waiting for the new season of Supernatural, maybe it will never win any Emmy award but I like the irony of the characters and the fact that it's never too serious. Something easy to watch if you like ghosts angels and demons.

redcollective · 2015-10-14 22:24:07

Mr Robot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug4fRXGyIak

Interesting characters, great acting.

Last edited by redcollective (2015-10-14 22:24:20)

Temetka · 2015-10-15 04:45:17

^ Beaten to it.

I am loving Mr. Robot.

I love the speech his dad gave during the last episode. Pure awesome.

ohnonot · 2015-10-15 05:43:35

^ i got interested in mr robot because there's so many clueless kali linux users on linuxquestions, one of whom even admitted to have been inspired by that series.

Last edited by ohnonot (2015-10-16 05:37:39)

ohnonot · 2015-10-16 05:49:43

mr robot is quite entertaining.
i don't buy the hero's social disability angle (others have acted that part much better in other series, e.g. ryan cartwright as gary in alphas, or tony shaloub as monk), but after episode 1 it's not really mentioned anymore and the story is good enough in itself.

it's a story that has been told many times.
james dean, various marvel heroes...
...rewritten for a generation deeply immersed in internet & computer technology, whether they do it for a living or not.

i'm never quite sure about the hacking aspect, how realistic it is. probably not very, though more so than most productions.

pvsage · 2015-10-25 10:51:22

ZOMG Ponies

Latest episodes of MLP:FiM include:

in-universe creator breakdown/recovery
a wholesome crossdresser (in a universe where the species "don't normally wear clothes")
a coming-of-age story for three fillies alongside an "elections are serious business" plot
a pregnancy
a Mennonite culture clash

Tell me again how this is just a show for little girls, and what do little girls know that we adults have forgotten?

ohnonot · 2015-10-25 20:15:03

one of these days, i'm gonna have to start watching those ponies.

about mr robot: in retrospect, it's not really about hacking, just another go at the spy/conspiration theory theme.

real linux commands are being executed at some point, but it's nothing that wouls in any way carry or even influence the plot. honestly, i don't understand how that series got so many people hyped about kali linux...

i'm not waiting for the second season.

wagmic · 2015-10-25 20:22:01

@ ohnonot
completely agree

I've justed finish Southcliffe an english serie.

Last edited by wagmic (2015-10-25 20:23:47)

TeoBigusGeekus · 2015-10-25 20:30:57

I've quite enjoyed the first two seasons of Penny Dreadful.
Looking forward for the third one.

pvsage · 2015-10-26 08:35:00

ohnonot wrote:

one of these days, i'm gonna have to start watching those ponies.

It really is one of the best-written family-friendly animated series. IMHO it just keeps getting better; it actually "grew the beard" after its original developer left. (I've had a peek at some of Lauren's more recent works; frankly, I think she was holding ponies back.)

The examples I listed earlier were all main plot points, by the way. For example, the Creator Breakdown example was when the fashionista opened a satellite boutique in the capital city and hired a manager who turned out to be a real Commander Contrarian who pushed quantity over quality and kept her boss in the sewing room making copy after copy of a "signature dress". (Did I mention the fashionista's name is Rarity? A few years ago, her voice actor declined, in-character, to be part of Tara Strong's and BlackGryphon's "ponylicious" meme because memes are repetitive iterations and therefore not unique; imagine having this character make hundreds of copies of the same dress.) Burnout was the only option; her own work became shoddy knock-offs of the original, and she came close to closing the boutique.

The latest episode had the Mennonite culture clash, and was about how differently they celebrate their universe's "You mean Xmas". Seriously, compare how different the fundamentalist Christian traditions for Christmas are from the modern commercialized traditions "and multiply that by infinity".

You should see some of the shout-outs and Parental Bonuses in the series. Juicy!

Last edited by pvsage (2015-10-26 10:17:19)

ohnonot · 2015-10-26 17:53:35

^ pvsage, can you recommend a good starting point?
like name of series (i gather there is more than 1), season number?

pvsage · 2015-10-26 19:46:24

^ This is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It's in its fifth season now, and I can't recommend any season over another; they're all good. After Lauren Faust left at the end of season 2, the show's producers took it in a different direction from her original vision (she wanted to keep it as episodic, while they wanted more continuity and myth arcs).

A lot of people thought the series premiere was dissapoint, but I loved the way it dove straight into the 'verse (pegasi control weather, unicorns are wizards, Earth ponies are similar to Tolkien's dwarves; natural places where ponies aren't the Magical Underpinnings of Reality are considered Eldritch locations) and it did a good job introducing the "mane" characters and the central concept of the series.

photonucleon · 2015-10-27 14:54:35

I only started watching Doctor Who last year (season 8), and enjoyed it a lot. Now I'm in the bizarre position of continuing to watch season 9 (the current season) as it comes out and also binge-watching all of the previous seasons (since 2005) at the same time. So I'm kind of time travelling in a series about time travel.

Pretty much the only other series that I watch is Once Upon A Time, which is one of the best things I've seen in a long time. Each season is very long by typical British standards, and there are four seasons (the fifth just started airing a couple of weeks ago), and yet they still manage to keep the story completely gripping, clever, and engaging, and drop a mind-bendingly good plot twist in almost every episode. The acting is also fantastic, and the casting is excellent, especially when it comes to younger versions of older characters. It's just brilliant.

Last edited by photonucleon (2015-10-27 14:54:54)

C#Coder4ever · 2015-10-27 15:40:40

TV series... Well... I like Futurama.

pvsage wrote:

ZOMG Ponies
Latest episodes of MLP:FiM include:
in-universe creator breakdown/recovery
a wholesome crossdresser (in a universe where the species "don't normally wear clothes")
a coming-of-age story for three fillies alongside an "elections are serious business" plot
a pregnancy
a Mennonite culture clash
Tell me again how this is just a show for little girls, and what do little girls know that we adults have forgotten?

I'm guessing the one preggy is cadence?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-10-27 22:04:42

I love Adventure Time and The Aquabats! Super Show!

They're kid's programs but utterly superb in every way.

shot-in-the-head · 2015-10-28 12:46:32

Some of my favs are not new, just new to me!
True Blood (vampire)**** I was never very interested in vamp series until I watched this one, love the humour.
Penny Dreadful (x2) ***already suggested ,horror series, combining lots of classic horror into one, Frankenstien, vamps etc.
Death Valley***, very funny, zombie,vamp,cop show
The Shield (cop series)****
House of Cards(Dark political series)****
Ray Donavon (hit man)***
Hell on wheels *** liked the first 2 series then it got a bit boring
edit, forgot my Fav. western series
Deadwood (western)***** http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348914/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Last edited by shot-in-the-head (2015-10-28 14:01:50)

brontosaurusrex · 2015-10-28 13:01:50

- Southpark is at season 19 now.
- fear the walking dead
- World Science Festival < slightly out of genre.

Last edited by brontosaurusrex (2015-10-28 13:04:52)

ohnonot · 2015-11-02 20:45:56

photonucleon wrote:

Pretty much the only other series that I watch is Once Upon A Time, which is one of the best things I've seen in a long time.

i hope you are refering to this cause that's what i started watching now, and i'm quite taken.
i always loved fairytales, esp. the original versions of the grimms brothers' & sister's collection - how they describe socio-psychological drama and the things that are really important in life, across centuries, in a way that both adults and children are enthralled, enchanted and entertained, and have learned something in the end.

so, i like how this show always compares the fairy tale to a story in modern society everyday life.

oh, and i'm in love with mary margaret... :8

more than halfwaythrough season 1 - let's hope they can keep it up for a while longer.
if i'm still hooked halfway through season 2, it must be a good one.

woodape · 2015-11-02 21:24:01

Adventure Time <- waiting for season 7
Rick and Morty <- This one has cracked me up as of late
Blackish <- Thought provoking commentary on race in modern America along with loads of commedy

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