General Netflix Discussion-TV Shows

[dannyboy121070]

Money back guaranteed!

I'll buy that for a dollar!

[TacomaDiver]

I'll buy that for a dollar!

Hahahaha

[Sock Monkey]

Shows have waaaaay too long of a lag time between (SHORT!) seasons these days.....

I agree. You'd think with the shortened seasons that they would come out a lot faster, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've also heard that writers are complaining that the shortened seasons are actually making earning a living more difficult as they have to score more than one series to make ends meet.

If we're being completely honest, I also think the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of the shortened seasons. I understand a limited series telling a complete self-contained story to only have six episodes, but six to eight episodes just seems too short for a season of an ongoing series. I'm more in the mindset that 10-13 (with more emphasis on the latter than the former) should be the length of a season. Depending on the scope of the series, even 16-18 episodes is workable. There seems to be a mindset that great work can't be maintained over a longer season yet I like to point to the early seasons of Lost as to how this can be done right. Yes, there is a lot of criticism, especially for the last season, but the positive memories come mostly from the first three seasons that all had 23 to 25 episodes a piece.

[Sock Monkey]

Finished the fourth season of FOR ALL MANKIND. The show continues to be a solid watch and I'm really enjoying it. The third and fourth season didn't have any moments that matched the finale of season, which wrapped up two major characters' arcs, so it felt a little less fulfilling than I'd hoped for. Luckily, Aleida wasn't actually kind of bearable this season and the slow burn about the Mars black market paid off by season four's end. The only misstep, in my opinion, was the resolution to Danny's arc, which was built up as a mystery in the first couple of episodes and kind of ended on a whimper. I'm curious as to where the show is going to go with the fifth season and beyond. All the major characters from the first season are either dead or, due to age, will be close to it. I'm not sure that any of the latter introduced characters can steady the ship (and, for me, it sure can't be Aleida). I always feel like I'm ragging on this show when I post about it, but I think it's because I think it's really good but misses the mark of being truly great. Once again, I do recommend the show and looking forward to when it returns.

[dannyboy121070]

Finished the fourth season of FOR ALL MANKIND. The show continues to be a solid watch and I'm really enjoying it. The third and fourth season didn't have any moments that matched the finale of season, which wrapped up two major characters' arcs, so it felt a little less fulfilling than I'd hoped for. Luckily, Aleida wasn't actually kind of bearable this season and the slow burn about the Mars black market paid off by season four's end. The only misstep, in my opinion, was the resolution to Danny's arc, which was built up as a mystery in the first couple of episodes and kind of ended on a whimper. I'm curious as to where the show is going to go with the fifth season and beyond. All the major characters from the first season are either dead or, due to age, will be close to it. I'm not sure that any of the latter introduced characters can steady the ship (and, for me, it sure can't be Aleida). I always feel like I'm ragging on this show when I post about it, but I think it's because I think it's really good but misses the mark of being truly great. Once again, I do recommend the show and looking forward to when it returns.

My wife and I thought the first two seasons were amazing, the 3rd and 4th slightly less so, but still very, very good. My hatred for Aleida and Margo really colored my perceptions of the last two seasons, but I still enjoyed it. Looking forward to season five, and cautiously optimistic about the Star City spinoff.

And was it just me, or did you think they were heading to a cannibalistic twist wit Danny? They made SUCH a big deal about the shortage of food, and they left his fate up in the air for so long......I was sure we'd find out they ate the little asshole.

[Sock Monkey]

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.

[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.

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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?

[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.