General Netflix Discussion-TV Shows

[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.

[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]

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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[Sock Monkey]

Finished a months-long rewatch of all eleven seasons (264 episodes!) of FRASIER last night. Frankly, I'm not a big sitcom fan and very few do much for me, but we've gotten in the habit of watching one while eating dinner as you don't have to pay too much attention to them. However, I enjoyed the majority of FRASIER. I think there is a sharp decline after Season 7 when Niles and Daphne finally get together--with a little bit of a bounce back afterwards--but those first 5 to 7 seasons are pretty darn good. David Hyde Pierce steals the show as Niles--I had no idea until recently that he had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for all eleven seasons of Frasier, winning four of those times--but the whole cast is great. Despite enjoying this revisit, I don't think I'll be checking out the reboot.

[Ben Staad]

Fairly general popcorn stuff but I've enjoyed watching Dexter over the last few months. With such a dark story line I feel they have done a good job of keeping it fairly light in a twisted way.

[dannyboy121070]

I finally got around to watching X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST- THE ROGUE CUT, which I bought ten years ago, lol. For the most part, Fox's X-Men pictures stink. I loved the second film, and the reboot, and the theatrical cut of this one was pretty good. The extended cut basically adds a longish side-quest that serves no purpose other than to add a missing character back into the mix. I consider this a waste of two-and-a-half hours that could have been better spent.

[Sock Monkey]

Fairly general popcorn stuff but I've enjoyed watching Dexter over the last few months. With such a dark story line I feel they have done a good job of keeping it fairly light in a twisted way.

I really liked DEXTER--even named my dog after the main character--but I, man, that last season is pretty rough around the edges. The reboot season was very good, though, and I'd recommend watching it after the main series if you haven't seen already.

[Sock Monkey]

I finally got around to watching X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST- THE ROGUE CUT, which I bought ten years ago, lol. For the most part, Fox's X-Men pictures stink. I loved the second film, and the reboot, and the theatrical cut of this one was pretty good. The extended cut basically adds a longish side-quest that serves no purpose other than to add a missing character back into the mix. I consider this a waste of two-and-a-half hours that could have been better spent.

That's funny that you've had a Fox X-Men film sitting around, unwatched, collecting dust. I have one of my very own--X-MEN APOCALYPSE--that keeps staring out from my "To Watch" shelf, where it has sat for 7+ years now.

I completely forgot about this cut of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. I remember there being some big hoopla when it was released, but I never got around to tracking it down. While I do have some nostalgia for the Fox X-Men films, I have to agree that most of them are rather subpar. The one thing that I think they did excel on is the casting. No doubt, Jackman's Wolverine will remain the definitive version, along with Patrick StewarT and Ian McKellan as Professor X and Magneto, But I also think that James Marsden was a good Cyclops, but just wasn't given anything to do. As far as Anna Paquin as Rogue, though...

[dannyboy121070]

That's funny that you've had a Fox X-Men film sitting around, unwatched, collecting dust. I have one of my very own--X-MEN APOCALYPSE--that keeps staring out from my "To Watch" shelf, where it has sat for 7+ years now.

I completely forgot about this cut of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. I remember there being some big hoopla when it was released, but I never got around to tracking it down. While I do have some nostalgia for the Fox X-Men films, I have to agree that most of them are rather subpar. The one thing that I think they did excel on is the casting. No doubt, Jackman's Wolverine will remain the definitive version, along with Patrick StewarT and Ian McKellan as Professor X and Magneto, But I also think that James Marsden was a good Cyclops, but just wasn't given anything to do. As far as Anna Paquin as Rogue, though...

Totally agree with the casting, for the most part. Not a big fan of Famke as Jean Grey, though.

[Ben Staad]

Watching the final season now. It is a little rough and feels like many last season of shows. I still like it but it's different.

I will check out the reboot when it's available on something I subscribe to.

I really liked DEXTER--even named my dog after the main character--but I, man, that last season is pretty rough around the edges. The reboot season was very good, though, and I'd recommend watching it after the main series if you haven't seen already.

 

[Ben Staad]

Wrapped up Dexter. It was a little awkward but I enjoyed the last season. If I had watched at time of release I think I would've been a little pissed off about the finale but overall a solid show.

I really liked DEXTER--even named my dog after the main character--but I, man, that last season is pretty rough around the edges. The reboot season was very good, though, and I'd recommend watching it after the main series if you haven't seen already.

[dannyboy121070]

Wrapped up Dexter. It was a little awkward but I enjoyed the last season. If I had watched at time of release I think I would've been a little pissed off about the finale but overall a solid show.

My old co-worker LIVED for this show, and I heard ALL about her discontent with the series finale, lol.