TV Shows I am enjoying

[Bay Arean]

I liked Stranger Things and the Pale BLue Eye just for two completely different type of things that are fairly new.

 

[JesasaurusRex]

After "Breaking Bad", watch "Better Call Saul", which I enjoyed more than Breaking Bad.

Gtfo

 

[Kurosaki]

A fact that has made some gamers angry, but HBO didn’t just make the show for them - it’s for everyone.

True. You don't have to know anything about the game to enjoy this. The Witcher on Netflix was kind of similar except knowing information about that because you played the games would help a LOT.

But to that point, a lot of gamers are like a lot of comic nerds. Lot of them get mad when things deviate from the source material and it's a perspective I'll never understand. If you want to just experience the same exact thing then just play the game again (or read the comic book again). Peeve of mine and I won't expand on that anymore right now. Also games (and comics) retcon things all the time so which source material are we talking about?

For the Last of Us, in the game when you meet Bill, Frank is already dead. So this was a deliberate choice to modify that plot line and play it out over an entire episode and a decade of time. Worked out wonderfully. And ultimately it doesn't change much since Joel and Ellie end up in the same place of where the story is going next.

 

[Kurosaki]

No sense in starting a separate thread so.....

Coming out of my cave an decided to give Netflix a try.

Worth watching?

Breaking Bad
Ozarks

Anything else to give a peek at?

Well how much time do you wanna put into any given show? You want 1-3 seasons or something that's gonna make you buckle up for the long haul.

If you've seen nothing of Breaking Bad, then sure give that a go. And I hate to say it about such a great show but it is one of those where you're gonna have to deal with the slow burn early in the first season before it gets to the point where it's hard to not watch the next episode because you have to know what happens next.

Ozarks is great. You've got a lot of catching up to do. arty The good thing is that if none of the major plot points, big reveals, etc are known to you, then no need to rush. Take them at your leisure.

Tulsa King on Paramount is a fun time waster.
Doom Patrol although they are ending it after this season.

It's incredibly annoying they split up Doom Patrol into 2 parts this season. They've never done it before so why now for the last season?

I thought about watching Tulsa King but I'm pretty over Stallone at this point.

 

[Ant]

Well how much time do you wanna put into any given show? You want 1-3 seasons or something that's gonna make you buckle up for the long haul.

If you've seen nothing of Breaking Bad, then sure give that a go. And I hate to say it about such a great show but it is one of those where you're gonna have to deal with the slow burn early in the first season before it gets to the point where it's hard to not watch the next episode because you have to know what happens next.

Ozarks is great. You've got a lot of catching up to do. arty The good thing is that if none of the major plot points, big reveals, etc are known to you, then no need to rush. Take them at your leisure.

I'm on episode 1 of Ozarks and already a fan arty

 

[lizard]

Thanks for being the only other guy in America to have not seen Breaking Bad, which Ms. BA and everyone loves. Ozark is great.
...

I’m guy No. 3.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

if you're binging breaking bad and ozark, I would suggest taking pauses, listening to happy music, or maybe a peaceful walk every now and then haha.

 

[Kurosaki]

I'm on episode 1 of Ozarks and already a fan arty

Cool. Stay with it.

I was sort of like you when I ran through the whole series last year. I'd heard of it barely and heard good things but it was really far down in my queue. Once I finally got to it, I wanted to kick myself for not watching it earlier.

if you're binging breaking bad and ozark, I would suggest taking pauses, listening to happy music, or maybe a peaceful walk every now and then haha.

Fair assessment. I've been watching reruns of Family Matters on Hulu lately because a lot of what I've been watching recently are all really emotionally heavy.

 

[JesasaurusRex]

Left overs if you want a good cry

 

[TylerW]

Thanks for being the only other guy in America to have not seen Breaking Bad

I only watched a season or two of Breaking Bad. Got bored. Didn't like the way the show made me feel. I hear that it's some of the best television storytelling that exists, but I don't know that I'll ever muster the patience for it.

True. You don't have to know anything about the game to enjoy this.

It's making me more than a little crazy to see how many people are not only watching a show based on a video game, but are utterly thrilled by it. Not in a bad way, but more like I've fallen into some alternate parallel reality where nothing makes sense.

 

[JesasaurusRex]

Y, a story is a story

 

[lizard]

Launched Bezos Prime and watched S1 E1-4. (Jack Ryan)

Its much better than The Terminal List:

• script seems more normal and natural
• the actress who plays Suleiman’s wife, Hanin, is a fine actress. She has a very fascinating bio
• action scenes more realistic - when someone gets shot they don’t overact; however, Hollywood still love fireball explosions
• scenes in Lebanon, Paris, and other mideast locales are very good
• storyline, so far, seems realistic

Still trying to warm up to Kasinki. I don’t like his face - doesn’t match his role. And his hair; its like he just showed up with his normal coiff.

Binged up to S1 E7 or E8.

The acting is fantastic especially all the actors playing mideast characters. The scenery is very real. Too lazy to google where its filmed but some scenes remind me of Morocco. Storyline is good. This series is much better than The Terminal List.

I still haven’t warmed up to Kasinski. His nostrils are asymetric and that bothers me.

Expecting his GF, Dr. Mueller, to get popped by Suleiman.

 

[Bay Arean]

It's making me more than a little crazy to see how many people are not only watching a show based on a video game, but are utterly thrilled by it. Not in a bad way, but more like I've fallen into some alternate parallel reality where nothing makes sense.

I was surprised too, I guess that Tomb Raider was one of the earliest.

But the thing is, it’s like music. There are tons of interpreters and players but not tons of composers. Hollywood (and other production centers) NEED stories. They can do everything afterwards, but they need the story and will take em from wherever available. Last of Us really proves my point.

One of the side effects from this already famous episode is a 4000% percentage rise in uploads of the Linda Ronstadt song used in it. I remember when that song came out (because I’m old). I remember really liking it but when you see the context in this episode, every single damn note seems so very much more expressive and poignant. It makes me think I was only half-listening for the last 52 years (!) of this song that it sounded so damn good. THAT is the power of the creative community. But still, somebody has to come up with stories.

I remember reading once that the tv show Gunsmoke (or maybe it was Bonanza) drew from Shakespeare for story lines. I would have never thought that but after all these years, I get the thing about finding stories that fewer people see, then exposing them to masses of people.

I would never play a video game and actually would likely scoff at a show about fungus infested people because I hate zombie movies to begin with. But I’m a fan of this deal, to be sure.

 

[Bubba_s]

The good gas settles to the bottom. You just have to shake it really well.

Anyways, also enjoying the last of us. Not as sold on it as you guys though. Feels really I am legendy so far. That and while the last episode was well done it was just filler.

In other news, I see everyone is still sleeping on the white lotus

My pal also mentioned the filler aspect. It was good filler at least. My favorite part was when it jumped from their first love moments directly to a spat over decorations basically. I LOLed hard on that one.

 

[TylerW]

I was surprised too, I guess that Tomb Raider was one of the earliest.

But the thing is, it’s like music. There are tons of interpreters and players but not tons of composers. Hollywood (and other production centers) NEED stories. They can do everything afterwards, but they need the story and will take em from wherever available. Last of Us really proves my point.

I remember reading once that the tv show Gunsmoke (or maybe it was Bonanza) drew from Shakespeare for story lines. I would have never thought that but after all these years, I get the thing about finding stories that fewer people see, then exposing them to masses of people.

I would never play a video game and actually would likely scoff at a show about fungus infested people because I hate zombie movies to begin with. But I’m a fan of this deal, to be sure.

For me it just seems kinda crazy because, for most of my life (and I've spent a lot of it playing and loving video games) video games are one of my favorite storytelling mediums. And I'll admit, the stories in games are often not very cerebral or sophisticated - though sometimes they can be, as we're seeing here.

But even if they player doesn't have agency over the story, there's something about controlling the protagonist, feeling their actions in my own hands that makes even a rudimentary story really compelling in ways that other mediums just don't. I remember in one game from the Metal Gear Solid series - it tells he story of the relationship between the protagonist and their mentor - their mentor who ultimately defected and becomes your enemy. And at the end of the story, you end up killing her - but the game forces you to pull the trigger. And that just hits different than reading it on a pace or playing on a screen.

And sure, it's not an overly complex story, and parts of it are even ridiculous. And I don't know that it needs adaptation to the screen - its a great piece of interactive fiction on its own. And a lot of stories from games have been adapted into movies - often disappointingly - and with a few successes.

I guess after a while, I kinda gave up on wanting games to be adapted to other mediums - even the ones with really strong stories that could be adapted well and make for strong cinematic stories. I've never been a fan of the idea that a story becomes 'more legitimate' by receiving a live-action adaptation. Games themselves can be a powerful and fulfilling medium for telling stories - as much as books or films or television.

But its great to see this story reaching new audiences. And I wonder afterwards if Hollywood is going to reach deeper into that well. I hope they find smart people to adapt them gracefully.

 

[vaara]

It did move the plot along a bit: we learned how the pandemic spread all over the world so fast, where they got the truck, and how Ellie got a gun.

In any case, it’s been renewed for a second season, so I suppose they could afford some ‘filler’ - there are now twice as many episodes for them to play with.

 

[Sharxfan]

It's incredibly annoying they split up Doom Patrol into 2 parts this season. They've never done it before so why now for the last season?

I thought about watching Tulsa King but I'm pretty over Stallone at this point.

I think they are trying to stretch out how long people will pay for HBOMax as they have dumped a lot of stuff from their lineup like Westworld and some animated DC stuff is gone as well. Plus HotD is turning weird with all the behind the scenes drama. For me I don't think HotD would keep me watching HBO although Last of US is turning out to be pretty good and may make it worth paying for a month to binge it when the complete season is out.

I’m guy No. 3.

I must be number 4 still haven't seen it.

 

[Bay Arean]

For me it just seems kinda crazy because, for most of my life (and I've spent a lot of it playing and loving video games) video games are one of my favorite storytelling mediums. And I'll admit, the stories in games are often not very cerebral or sophisticated - though sometimes they can be, as we're seeing here.

But even if they player doesn't have agency over the story, there's something about controlling the protagonist, feeling their actions in my own hands that makes even a rudimentary story really compelling in ways that other mediums just don't. I remember in one game from the Metal Gear Solid series - it tells he story of the relationship between the protagonist and their mentor - their mentor who ultimately defected and becomes your enemy. And at the end of the story, you end up killing her - but the game forces you to pull the trigger. And that just hits different than reading it on a pace or playing on a screen.

And sure, it's not an overly complex story, and parts of it are even ridiculous. And I don't know that it needs adaptation to the screen - its a great piece of interactive fiction on its own. And a lot of stories from games have been adapted into movies - often disappointingly - and with a few successes.

I guess after a while, I kinda gave up on wanting games to be adapted to other mediums - even the ones with really strong stories that could be adapted well and make for strong cinematic stories. I've never been a fan of the idea that a story becomes 'more legitimate' by receiving a live-action adaptation. Games themselves can be a powerful and fulfilling medium for telling stories - as much as books or films or television.

But its great to see this story reaching new audiences. And I wonder afterwards if Hollywood is going to reach deeper into that well. I hope they find smart people to adapt them gracefully.

I had no idea there is that much to video games. Honestly. I only played Mario Kart with my kid and I kept losing.

I am not sorry for not spending the time but a bit disconcerted to not realize a person could approach playing a game with so much interest. I always just think of a lot of killing and blasting opponents from what I see in peripheral mentions.

 

[HappyHighwayman]

I suffer from the Paradox of choice these days with TV

 

[budman]

If you had my access there would be no suffering.