General Netflix Discussion-TV Shows

[Sock Monkey]

I have never even HEARD of this show, but it sounds interesting.

Yeah, I hadn't heard of it either and only stumbled across it by browsing through the shows. I guess it came out back in 2020.

[dannyboy121070]

Continued my trek through all shows Apple+ this past week. I tried BLACK BIRD, but the melodrama and cheese factor was a little to much for my taste and tapped out mid-way through the first episode. It seems have gotten some very good reviews--sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (a site that I take less and less stock in over the years, but still...)--but I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I'll double back to it at some point.

I did finish DEFENDING JACOB, a legal drama/thriller starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery as parents of an adolescent boy accused of murdering his classmate. This was a very slow burn and I felt that it was spinning its wheels in the third and fourth episodes. We powered through and finished the last three episodes last night and the final third kicks the story into high gear. This is almost the low-key, character driven counterpoint to Apple's recent PRESUMED INNOCENT and what the show reveals itself to be in the final episode makes it even more compelling in hindsight. There are no shocking revelations, but rather an emphasis on the culmination of character arcs that end the show in a compelling manner. In my attempt to be spoiler-free, I might be inadvertently overselling this one. Also, the cast is uniformly great, but J.K. Simmons adds some nice hints of humanity to what could be a rather one-note character and Michelle Dockery does great as the mother of the accused child. Overall, I really enjoyed it and if you like character driven crime dramas with a heavy focus on the family life of those impacted, then this one might scratch that itch.

I have never even HEARD of this show, but it sounds interesting.

[Sock Monkey]

Continued my trek through all shows Apple+ this past week. I tried BLACK BIRD, but the melodrama and cheese factor was a little to much for my taste and tapped out mid-way through the first episode. It seems have gotten some very good reviews--sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (a site that I take less and less stock in over the years, but still...)--but I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I'll double back to it at some point.

I did finish DEFENDING JACOB, a legal drama/thriller starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery as parents of an adolescent boy accused of murdering his classmate. This was a very slow burn and I felt that it was spinning its wheels in the third and fourth episodes. We powered through and finished the last three episodes last night and the final third kicks the story into high gear. This is almost the low-key, character driven counterpoint to Apple's recent PRESUMED INNOCENT and what the show reveals itself to be in the final episode makes it even more compelling in hindsight. There are no shocking revelations, but rather an emphasis on the culmination of character arcs that end the show in a compelling manner. In my attempt to be spoiler-free, I might be inadvertently overselling this one. Also, the cast is uniformly great, but J.K. Simmons adds some nice hints of humanity to what could be a rather one-note character and Michelle Dockery does great as the mother of the accused child. Overall, I really enjoyed it and if you like character driven crime dramas with a heavy focus on the family life of those impacted, then this one might scratch that itch.

[Sock Monkey]

As far as SLOW HORSES....I think the first season had six episodes...? It didn't click for my wife and I until episode 5. After that, and for the rest of the remaining seasons, we were hooked. We cannot wait until the fall for the new season. I think that introducing the cast and the premise, building the world, took a while, but it really does pick up. Try to get your wife to finish the season with you. My wife hates spy stuff, but she loves this show.

SUGAR.....by the end of the first episode, I half-jokingly said to my wife "They would never have the guts to do this, but I think this guy is an *****!" She laughed, but as the show went on, she said "I'm almost going to be disappointed if you're wrong." I haven't heard if it was renewed of not, but I'd be all in for season two.

I think that I'm going to go back and finish out the first season of SLOW HORSES. I want to at least give it a fair shake since it seems to be rather critically acclaimed. My wife is still on the fence.

As far as SUGAR, it's not the show I wanted it to be, which was a straight neo-noir, but I have to recalibrate my thinking as to what the show actually is. If there's a second season, I'll give it a shot.

[dannyboy121070]

As far as SLOW HORSES....I think the first season had six episodes...? It didn't click for my wife and I until episode 5. After that, and for the rest of the remaining seasons, we were hooked. We cannot wait until the fall for the new season. I think that introducing the cast and the premise, building the world, took a while, but it really does pick up. Try to get your wife to finish the season with you. My wife hates spy stuff, but she loves this show.

SUGAR.....by the end of the first episode, I half-jokingly said to my wife "They would never have the guts to do this, but I think this guy is an *****!" She laughed, but as the show went on, she said "I'm almost going to be disappointed if you're wrong." I haven't heard if it was renewed of not, but I'd be all in for season two.

[Sock Monkey]

I started SUGAR and I'm three episodes in. The show is incredibly stylized, which sometimes turns me off, but it hasn't so far and I'm liking it. After the third episode, I have a VERY out there theory about the show and I'm curious to see if I'm right or not. Hoping to wrap this up in the next day or two since the episodes are so short.

Finished watching SUGAR and I'm a little torn. For the record, my "VERY out there theory" was absolutely correct. To me, it was very obvious, but when I told my wife about it prior to the show's reveal, she looked at me like I had lost my mind. I really liked the noir aspects even if the show didn't quite nail either the mystery's resolution or stick the final episodes as well as I had hoped. I've read some reviews that feel like the series felt like a very long pilot episode and I kinda agree with that sentiment. As long as the noir aspect is the focus and not

Spoiler!

dipping into the alien culture and off-planet stuff

, I'm willing to give a second season a shot if there is one. I honestly think that

Spoiler!

the more they downplay the alien aspect the better. I'd almost argue that the show would have been stronger if they had cut out the full-on alien look and the flashback cuts to the alien planet, only allowing the shift in Sugar's eyes to be the revelation.

My wife on the other hand almost completely tapped out on the show altogether. If there was a week gap between episode 6 and 7, she probably would have called it a day. Overall, another solid show from Apple+

We also watched the first two episodes of SLOW HORSES and my wife completely tapped out, calling it incredibly boring. I'll probably finish the first season and see how I feel, but I'm not quite getting the hype right now. Currently it's a perfectly fine spy show that happens to have Gary Oldman channeling Hugh Laurie's Gregory House. I'm wondering if it builds to anything more than this.

[Sock Monkey]

Finished PRESUMED INNOCENT on Apple TV and I fell into the camp of liking it. I don't think that it hit it out of the park, but I generally enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga did an excellent job of portraying a very conflicted wife, and I will watch anything with Peter Sarsgaard in it because I always find him fascinating to watch. I also love courtroom dramas and the show becomes more focused in the second half as it focuses on the case. Does it stick the landing? I'm a little torn on that, but I didn't think that it was a misfire. The show has been renewed for a second season so I'm curious to see where it goes. The show was interesting enough that my wife picked up a used copy of the book by Scott Turow and I might check it out after she finishes it.

I started SUGAR and I'm three episodes in. The show is incredibly stylized, which sometimes turns me off, but it hasn't so far and I'm liking it. After the third episode, I have a VERY out there theory about the show and I'm curious to see if I'm right or not. Hoping to wrap this up in the next day or two since the episodes are so short.

Also, watched the first part of the two part Steve Martin documentary. Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of his stand-up. Count me as one that just doesn't get it and I'm not sure that the doc sells me on it, but it is fascinating to see the process and evolution of the act and his rise to success. I'm curious enough to sit down with the second half.

[Sock Monkey]

Same here. Really looking forward to his Penguin show. I absolutely hated THE BATMAN, but thought he was great in it.

The trailer for that Penguin show makes it look really good. As far as THE BATMAN, I made it about 30 minutes in before being too tired to continue on. I'm not entirely sold on the casting of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, but Jeffrey Wright as Gordon is a good choice. I need to double back around and give it a solid watch. I'm a Nolan Trilogy fan, so I don't know if this be my cup of tea. The new Batman movie announced with the addition of Damian Wayne also sounds uninteresting as well, but who knows?

[dannyboy121070]

No, but it’s on the list. Colin Farrell has become a favorite.

Same here. Really looking forward to his Penguin show. I absolutely hated THE BATMAN, but thought he was great in it.

[Sock Monkey]

Have you watched the Colin Farrell show Sugar yet? If not...another Apple winner.

No, but it’s on the list. Colin Farrell has become a favorite.

[dannyboy121070]

This both doesn't surprise me and bums me out in equal measure. Apple isn't a big name in the streaming wars and their original shows tend to skew towards more high concept fare, usually with budgets equally as high. I believe that MASTERS OF THE AIR was something like $250 million to produce. Large budgets for movie and television have become more and more common, but when even so, a quarter of a billion dollars is a lot of money. And a lot of their shows seem to require this larger budget (FOR ALL MANKIND, FOUNDATION, and the aforementioned MASTERS OF THE AIR). I am bummed because, while I am decidedly late to the Apple TV party, the quality of their shows tend to be high or at least shoot for that target. In my opinion, this has made them slide into the place to go for high quality television that the likes of HBO used to dominate. While Apple doesn't have the depth of shows that, say, Netflix has, Apple also doesn't seem to flood its platform with an insane amount of junk. A tactic that HBO mimicked when it transitioned to its MAX branding. Quality over quantity will pay dividends if budgets are kept under control and less expensive series are made. It's okay to have a GAME OF THRONES with its insane budget, but surrounding it with great shows with lower budgets such as a BREAKING BAD or whatnot would do wonders. PRESUMED INNOCENT has been their most watched drama (I'm currently in the middle of the series and it's perfectly fine) and has been renewed for a second season. Hopefully this will pull some attention their way and that helps support this ship.

Have you watched the Colin Farrell show Sugar yet? If not...another Apple winner.

[Sock Monkey]

This both doesn't surprise me and bums me out in equal measure. Apple isn't a big name in the streaming wars and their original shows tend to skew towards more high concept fare, usually with budgets equally as high. I believe that MASTERS OF THE AIR was something like $250 million to produce. Large budgets for movie and television have become more and more common, but when even so, a quarter of a billion dollars is a lot of money. And a lot of their shows seem to require this larger budget (FOR ALL MANKIND, FOUNDATION, and the aforementioned MASTERS OF THE AIR). I am bummed because, while I am decidedly late to the Apple TV party, the quality of their shows tend to be high or at least shoot for that target. In my opinion, this has made them slide into the place to go for high quality television that the likes of HBO used to dominate. While Apple doesn't have the depth of shows that, say, Netflix has, Apple also doesn't seem to flood its platform with an insane amount of junk. A tactic that HBO mimicked when it transitioned to its MAX branding. Quality over quantity will pay dividends if budgets are kept under control and less expensive series are made. It's okay to have a GAME OF THRONES with its insane budget, but surrounding it with great shows with lower budgets such as a BREAKING BAD or whatnot would do wonders. PRESUMED INNOCENT has been their most watched drama (I'm currently in the middle of the series and it's perfectly fine) and has been renewed for a second season. Hopefully this will pull some attention their way and that helps support this ship.

[dannyboy121070]

Looks like Apple is trying to slash their TV show budgets. I read an article today about how Apple has less viewers in a month than Netflix does in a day, so they are trying to cut costs.

[Sock Monkey]

My understanding about Star City is that it will take place alongside the For All Mankind timeline, giving the Russian perspective on events from the series. Apple has a great track record with TV, so I'll give it a try.

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and check it out, but it might have a tough hill to climb. I was reluctant about Better Call Saul and that wound up being fantastic so I can--and often am--proven wrong.

[dannyboy121070]

The cannibal thing hadn't crossed my mind--that might be a bridge too far for the show to recover from,; ultimately, it's an optimistic show with shades of dramatic tragedy--but I can see how you got there. They did put a ton of emphasis on the food. I expected more of a "There isn't enough food so we're cutting you loose" kind of thing. At least some kind of affirmative action by Ed and Poole to necessitate the amount of guilt displayed. It wound up being a whole lot of nothing. It was a sad ending for the character for sure, but it didn't rise to the level of the build up to it. The fact that they teased this mystery and then it had no bearing on the season's overall arc or motivation for any of the characters was also a narrative misstep in my opinion.

I also thought Ed was a little out of character this season, but enjoyed the little parts that touched upon him grappling with outliving his ability to maintain his importance in society. Leaning on this thread would have created a little more compelling season, but it would have been hard since they were wrapping up so many other plot threads.

As far as STAR CITY, I'm with you on the cautiously optimistic. Spin-offs are hard and prequels are even harder, if they are going that route. I don't know how much interest I'll have if they mirror the time frames of FOR ALL MANKIND. I guess I'm more in the camp of I hope it's good, but I'm not quite sure if there is a narrative angle that will be compelling and sustainable.

My understanding about Star City is that it will take place alongside the For All Mankind timeline, giving the Russian perspective on events from the series. Apple has a great track record with TV, so I'll give it a try.