Binge worthy TV

[lizkat]

Just finished Alias Grace and I recommend it with the caveat that it is a slow story, the performances and character studies held my interest. There was a double homicide in the past, but most of the story is about the main character, Grace, her life growing up poor, with an abusive father, as a servant in the homes of the wealthy and not having much control of her life, locked into the role of hired servant, until the murder, and then locked away in an insane asylum for 15 years. My impression, but I could be mistaken, is that I would not have liked the book, other than a portrait of a servant girl’s life and the condition of women in certain classes in the mid 19th Century.

Has anyone seen this or read the story? What do you make of it?

One thing the Character said about religion and the concept of Divne Grace was very perceptive, coming from the mind of the author. The character hears a sermon in church about Divine Grace and her thoughts are from both the series and the book:

and I said to myself that if you could not get Divine Grace by praying for it, or any other way, or ever know if you had it or not, then you might as well forget about the whole matter, and go about your own business, because whether you would be damned or saved was no concern of yours. There is no use crying over spilt milk if you don't know whether the milk is spilt or not, and if God alone knew, then God alone could tidy it up if necessary.

Alias Grace (Margaret Atwood) » p.26 » Global Archive Voiced Books Online Free

We had to get the stove good and hot in the summer kitchen, to roast the chicken; so we did the rest of the work in the winter one. To be served with the chicken we prepared a dish of creamed onions

bookfrom.net

I might try the book first. Thanks for the commentary, the series does sound interesting.

 

[Huntn]

I might try the book first. Thanks for the commentary, the series does sound interesting.

There are a couple of events I did not mention which lift intrigue, one more than the other, and the Doctor who interviews her.

 

[Edd]

The new Bee Gees documentary on HBO is great! Watch with your best available sound. I’ll probably have it on again just for tunes in the background.

 

[Joe]

I binged all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory lol

 

[SuperMatt]

I binged all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory lol

I never could watch more than 12 minutes of that without changing the channel. Maybe it‘s a generational thing? I am shocked that it was so popular, even resulting in a spinoff!

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I never could watch more than 12 minutes of that without changing the channel. Maybe it‘s a generational thing? I am shocked that it was so popular, even resulting in a spinoff!

That's my girlfriend's favorite sitcom and I've had to sit through many episodes. Every time I feel like I jumped into a time machine to watch a show before there were better options (even though there were better options even before that show aired). I too am surprised by its popularity and how long it was on the air. It could be a generation thing. My girlfriend is 7 years younger than me. My height of sitcoms was Friends and Seinfeld followed by a big gap of I can't remember. Next thing that kept my interest was Arrested Development and I haven't been able to go back to audience laughter sitcoms sense.

 

[Alli]

Watched the finale of the Flight Attendant today. Who would have guessed?!

 

[Joe]

That's my girlfriend's favorite sitcom and I've had to sit through many episodes. Every time I feel like I jumped into a time machine to watch a show before there were better options (even though there were better options even before that show aired). I too am surprised by its popularity and how long it was on the air. It could be a generation thing. My girlfriend is 7 years younger than me. My height of sitcoms was Friends and Seinfeld followed by a big gap of I can't remember. Next thing that kept my interest was Arrested Development and I haven't been able to go back to audience laughter sitcoms sense.

It was my older sisters favorite show. She passed away in 2014 and every time I saw commercials for it or reruns on TV it would remind me of her because she loved that show and would talk about it all the time.

So when I saw HBOMax had all 12 seasons I told myself I would watch it in her memory. I actually enjoyed the series. And Jim Parsons is a Texas boy.

 

[Huntn]

​

The Boys (Amazon Prime 2019-) 2 seasons so far. The first time I watched Episode 1, I quit. The story- corporatized, in some/many cases evil super heroes turned me off. I don’t know what changed, but this time I embraced this story concept, as a new idealistic hero, Starlight, joins the group and has her eyes opened. I’m enjoying all of the characters especially Karl Urban. Two episodes in.

 

[MarkusL]

I never could watch more than 12 minutes of that without changing the channel. Maybe it‘s a generational thing? I am shocked that it was so popular, even resulting in a spinoff!

It may be a diagnosis thing. Sheldon is an exaggerated version of myself and I enjoyed the show quite a lot.

 

[DT]

We don't do much in the way of network programming, definitely not any 1/2 hour network sitcoms or dramas really either, except for much older stuff we occasionally watch from streaming services (like Seinfeld).

There's so much fantastic original programming on premium networks and services, we can't even get through __that__.

Right now the wife is binging The Mandalorian, S1, to catch up to me in S2E3 (where I pumped the brakes). This is a show, I originally sort of poo-poo'ed, the whole "baby Yoda" thing was instantly on my nerves, I watched the first couple during a D+ trial while were OOT last year for Thanksgiving, not much time, so kind of forgot about it. Then since we have a full on D+ sub (mostly for The Simpsons, f*** you Disney ...), I finally got around to really watching, and making sure I did the first 4, took a break, came back in a couple of days, finished the rest of S1.

I got hooked, and S2 is even better, at least the first few EPs. Jon Favreau totally gets it.

So to frame this, I'm not a SW goober, I was really into SW as a kid, as an adult, I was appalled by the prequels, I found the sequel trilogy to be a mixed bag, but one thing that was lost since the originals, was the feel of adventure. Of the characters moving through a smaller, more detailed world that shows the "nuts and bolts", it being gritty __but__ not dark, the original vibe was a more of a western, and The Mandalorian gets it just right, it's The Man with No Name, it's pulp, a serial from the 50s, there's a sense of time and place, even for non-fanbois. It's spectacularly filmed (some of the tech they're using it just mind blowing), great music, direction (some amazing "guest" directors in addition to show runner/creator Jon Favreau) characters, each episode is both nicely contained and contributing to an overarching series plot(s), and in a nice, tight 35-40 minute runtime. It's astounding that this is a "TV show".

If you like Clint Eastwood westerns, space opera, Indiana Jones, the original SW trilogy, Timothy Zahn's writing (both his SW and non-SW work), Serenity/Firefly, GOT, The Expanse.

!__do__it__!

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

We don't do much in the way of network programming, definitely not any 1/2 hour network sitcoms or dramas really either, except for much older stuff we occasionally watch from streaming services (like Seinfeld).

There's so much fantastic original programming on premium networks and services, we can't even get through __that__.

Right now the wife is binging The Mandalorian, S1, to catch up to me in S2E3 (where I pumped the brakes). This is a show, I originally sort of poo-poo'ed, the whole "baby Yoda" thing was instantly on my nerves, I watched the first couple during a D+ trial while were OOT last year for Thanksgiving, not much time, so kind of forgot about it. Then since we have a full on D+ sub (mostly for The Simpsons, f*** you Disney ...), I finally got around to really watching, and making sure I did the first 4, took a break, came back in a couple of days, finished the rest of S1.

I got hooked, and S2 is even better, at least the first few EPs. Jon Favreau totally gets it.

So to frame this, I'm not a SW goober, I was really into SW as a kid, as an adult, I was appalled by the prequels, I found the sequel trilogy to be a mixed bag, but one thing that was lost since the originals, was the feel of adventure. Of the characters moving through a smaller, more detailed world that shows the "nuts and bolts", it being gritty __but__ not dark, the original vibe was a more of a western, and The Mandalorian gets it just right, it's The Man with No Name, it's pulp, a serial from the 50s, there's a sense of time and place, even for non-fanbois. It's spectacularly filmed (some of the tech they're using it just mind blowing), great music, direction (some amazing "guest" directors in addition to show runner/creator Jon Favreau) characters, each episode is both nicely contained and contributing to an overarching series plot(s), and in a nice, tight 35-40 minute runtime. It's astounding that this is a "TV show".

If you like Clint Eastwood westerns, space opera, Indiana Jones, the original SW trilogy, Timothy Zahn's writing (both his SW and non-SW work), Serenity/Firefly, GOT, The Expanse.

!__do__it__!

Let me preface this by saying I’ve never been a big Star Wars guy. I’ve seen all the movies but I don’t get all excited about the characters or through plots.

With that said I thought The Mandalorian was weak and I couldn’t get past the fourth episode. Every episode was the same arc with different costumed characters. I believe the concept of baby Yoda was born from “make us a merchandising goldmine.” The writing reminded me of something that would air on the free original networks that I have no idea how they still exist with their low bar quality and a zillion competitors. I fully believe if it wasn’t propped up by the Star Wars nostalgia it would have been cancelled.

Other than that I don’t really have an opinion.

 

[DT]

I'm not really a "Star Wars" guy either, but it's really +fun+. It's straightforward enough to be old school adventurously simple, it's got some "secret" plot points, I felt the way you did, I may even tried to start it twice (I said once above, but I think we did another D+ trial, and I watched a few again). I saw a review of S2, which BTW, really amps things up, introduces some really fun plot points (at least through E3 or wherever I stopped), but their main contention it continues to improve as it veers from the main SW story.

This is one of those shows where it's REALLY easy to get cranky over the baby Yoda thing, to take a hard stance of, "I don't like it because it's based on popular IP", trust me, I get that.

Sam Esmail, the incredible creator/writer/director of Mr. Robot, had some great analysis of it through S2 on a recent podcast. After I listened to it, I was like, "Yes, that's totally it".

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I'm not really a "Star Wars" guy either, but it's really +fun+. It's straightforward enough to be old school adventurously simple, it's got some "secret" plot points, I felt the way you did, I may even tried to start it twice (I said once above, but I think we did another D+ trial, and I watched a few again). I saw a review of S2, which BTW, really amps things up, introduces some really fun plot points (at least through E3 or wherever I stopped), but their main contention it continues to improve as it veers from the main SW story.

This is one of those shows where it's REALLY easy to get cranky over the baby Yoda thing, to take a hard stance of, "I don't like it because it's based on popular IP", trust me, I get that.

Sam Esmail, the incredible creator/writer/director of Mr. Robot, had some great analysis of it through S2 on a recent podcast. After I listened to it, I was like, "Yes, that's totally it".

To be fair I think I was probably expecting more out of it than possibly even a Star Wars Fan. I was expecting a little more Battlestar Gallactica and a little less Cartoon Network. I was expecting a little more deep drawn out character development over the season, but instead they almost did the exact opposite. Each episode probably could have been an entire season if they really wanted you to give a shit about what was going on, but instead they overcame an insurmountable obstacle in 20 minutes and then hit the road. It's like they took the imagineers and instead of having design a themed ride, they showed them a themed ride and told them to turn it into a script.

 

[Alli]

It may be a diagnosis thing. Sheldon is an exaggerated version of myself and I enjoyed the show quite a lot.

I’m more of a Leonard.

Every episode was the same arc with different costumed characters.

I thought that too up until the final episode of season 1. And then I thought - oh, this could get interesting. Sure enough, season 2 was really good. REALLY good. I like the fact that they have regulars that they can return to for help, and am looking forward to the Book of Boba Fett.

 

[lizkat]

Former President Obama has shared his 2020 lists of TV, movies, books... (yeah including his own memoir of course LOL!)

Watch and read like Barack Obama: 44 shares his favorite films, books and TV of 2020

Former President Obama's 2020 culture picks include "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "Better Call Saul." He also included 17 books and a plug for his memoir.

www.latimes.com

In literature, 44 listed an eclectic mix of 17 books, “deliberately omitting” “A Promised Land” — though he affably described it as “a pretty good book” in a tweet.

 

[Huntn]

Today my wife discovered the series Downton Abbey (PBS 2010-15) on The BritBox App (subscription) available for viewing. We watched it during the initial showing. What a great show where a missing snuff box makes for the highest of drama!

​

 

[lizkat]

Today my wife discovered the series Downton Abbey (PBS 2010-15) on The BritBox App (subscription) available for viewing. We watched it during the initial showing. What a great show where a missing snuff box makes for the highest of drama!

View attachment 2208​

I admit to having bought that whole series and I do binge-rewatch seasons of it now and then. Some of my kin make fun of me saying stuff like "Coming from a little farm with a two-hole privy outside you watch sanitized versions of how things were done back in the old country and buy into it for the costumes?!"

Well yeah,,, and for the food porn. Kedgeree... whole salmon....

 

[Mark]

Today my wife discovered the series Downton Abbey (PBS 2010-15) on The BritBox App (subscription) available for viewing. We watched it during the initial showing. What a great show where a missing snuff box makes for the highest of drama!

View attachment 2208​

i only watched it earlier this past year.
what impressed me about Downton Abbey was its ability (and intent) to make real the surrounding world's impacts on both classes. both upstairs and downstairs.
i also found myself constantly rooting for the irish husband. LOL.

i stayed away from Downton for so long, despite the acclaim. but was glad i had time during earlier COVID stay-in days.
it did make me remember, however, when Upstairs, Downstairs was originally broadcast on PBS in the USA that people would actually stay at home that evening to be able to watch it. i did.
a few years later, there was Chariots of Fire that also captured the attention of millions of Americans in the same way.

 

[Alli]

when Upstairs, Downstairs was originally broadcast on PBS in the USA that people would actually stay at home that evening to be able to watch it. i did.

I loved Upstairs, Downstairs! I also made sure to catch it live each week. Never felt like watching Downton though.