Binge worthy TV

[Chew Toy McCoy]

So I took Friday off work and binged the entire season of Haunting of Bly Manor. These type shows or movies are my Super Bowl.

Without spoilers I'll just say the following.

I'd say its the same quality as Haunting of Hill House but different and doesn't hold your attention as much.

It's less ghosty.

There are scenes and episodes that are really confusing, but to be explained in later episodes.

If you don't want to invest the time or emotional energy then the 8th episode is a is pretty good horror movie stand alone and I doin't think you'll be too confused by not watching the previous episodes as its more of an origin story that is interesting as well as explaining some of the confusion of previous episodes. It might even inspire you to watch the season from the beginning.

The last episode gets a little too LOTR Return of the King, as in they could have ended it half way through and you still would have got the point and felt satisfied. If you are already emotionally drained but really want to see how far you can take it then, by all means, watch through the end.

I think this season you'll appreciate more on reflection. I also rewatched the Haunting of Hill House a week or so ago and at least for me I felt The Haunting of Bly Manor had more of an emotional impact and there was a better payoff, while Haunting of Hill House had a better journey. While Haunting of Hill House was more about sibling relationships, Bly Manor has more of a general human connection message, and honestly it caused me to have more empathy and appreciation for the people in my life. But we'll see how long that lasts...

Hopefully some of you will watch it and we can have a spoiler (advertised as such) discussion.

 

[JayMysteri0]

Quibi has new Reno 911 content, same hilarious quality. If you've never heard of it, it's kind of an odd concept. Show episodes are less than 10 minutes long, but they can either be stand alone or have through stories. Like there's full dramatic series on there but again, each episode is less than 10 minutes long. I paid for the commercial free subscription which I think is $8 a month. So basically after each episode there's a break but no actual commercials, just break long enough to buffer the next episode. So far it's only available for iPhone and iPad, but you can airplay to an Apple TV.

Another kind of novel feature is ideally you would watch in landscape view but if you insist on watching in portrait view you get the dreaded vertical video but the camera angle adjusts to keep the important content of the video centered.

I'm pretty much holding out for where Quibi eventually ends up. I didn't have much faith in it's existence when it started, and there's questions about it's continued existence now. So hoping that content ends up back in Comedy Central's hands, which means it ends up on CBS All Access.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I'm pretty much holding out for where Quibi eventually ends up. I didn't have much faith in it's existence when it started, and there's questions about it's continued existence now. So hoping that content ends up back in Comedy Central's hands, which means it ends up on CBS All Access.

What do you have CBS All Access for? No offense intended at you here, we all have our tastes for guilty pleasures, but for mine I have yet to see anything produced by the old school networks in the past decade that couldn't be easily crushed by Netflix or HBO. I commend them for putting out the effort, but they are still in the minor leagues as far as I'm concerned. You could probably hand those networks over to the Amish and they'd have more groundbreaking or controversial ideas.

 

[DT]

Finished up S1 of Cobra Kai, hahaha, JFC, it's way better than it should be, maybe it's the 80's callbacks, the meta-commentary on the 80s vs. the 2020s, the silly fun martial arts action, but we were just grinning and almost __cheering__ while watching it.

re: LC

It's meant to be a touch anthological feeling, like stories that both stand alone and figure into a series wide mythology. So I get that sometimes it might feel a touch "disconnected" from EP to EP, but I think when it's reviewed as a season, it feels like it has way more continuity, even if some EPs take a detour to new places, with new viewer experiences ('I Am' comes to mind).

Goddam, EP 8 was scary, it had a Nightmare on Elm Street + Us vibe going on, so freaky (FYI, one of the two "girls" following Diana is apparently a dancer from the WAP video ... EXCELLENT )

Because they cut it after 1 season. But I agree, I was surprised to enjoy it.

Yeah, Watchman was designed/written/conceived as a single season.

I thought it was genius, and I'm a huge fan of the original limited series, Alan Moore's work in general, etc., hell, I have a set posters behind my desk (need to score some frames, weird sizing ...) that are covers from the original comic series.

It's less ghosty.

I heard it's got the same, if not a little more family drama, but without the level of spookiness of the previous series. Still sounds like a fun watch.

 

[JayMysteri0]

What do you have CBS All Access for? No offense intended at you here, we all have our tastes for guilty pleasures, but for mine I have yet to see anything produced by the old school networks in the past decade that couldn't be easily crushed by Netflix or HBO. I commend them for putting out the effort, but they are still in the minor leagues as far as I'm concerned. You could probably hand those networks over to the Amish and they'd have more groundbreaking or controversial ideas.

When I originally got it, it was on a good deal. I really enjoyed Picard, got into Discovery on a plane flight, and I only own two seasons of Reno 911. I regularly watch it over & over again. The current sub is cheaper than if I buy the remaining season outright, and more Star Trek is on the way.

 

[DT]

I don't even know how many subs we have, hahaha, probably paying $500/month

Actually, we get Prime as part of that service, we've had (since like 2001) and will always have Netflix, Hulu lets us pick up most of the stray network shows, exclusive shows, etc. Funimation for Anime, D+ for, well, really just Simpsons ...

We have some, umm, "shared" services as well

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

When I originally got it, it was on a good deal. I really enjoyed Picard, got into Discovery on a plane flight, and I only own two seasons of Reno 911. I regularly watch it over & over again. The current sub is cheaper than if I buy the remaining season outright, and more Star Trek is on the way.

Oh yeah, you mentioned Star Trek. Not really my bag but I know some people love it and makes sense if there is a new iteration. You have my blessing.

We have some, umm, "shared" services as well

The free version of pornhub is more than enough for most people, but I salute you for finding like minds for a shared subscription. That's the kind of rare honesty we don't find a lot of today.

 

[DT]

The free version of pornhub is more than enough for most people, but I salute you for finding like minds for a shared subscription. That's the kind of rare honesty we don't find a lot of today.

Oh, as a contributor, we get a subscription.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Oh, as a contributor, we get a subscription.

Oh! I have to agree with your step sister that your mom and her dad will be home any minute, but on your side sometimes you just have to go with it. You're not really related.

 

[Huntn]

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 Netflix Mini-Series)- First two episodes pulled me into this traditional feeling haunted house story, built on suspense and disturbing images. An American woman takes a job on as tutor for two orphans in an English Country Manor. There be ghosts. Nine episodes, don’t know if there will be another. I assume if there is another season, it will be a different story.

 

[Eric]

Oh! I have to agree with your step sister that your mom and her dad will be home any minute, but on your side sometimes you just have to go with it. You're not really related.

Spoiler

The reality when you whip it out in front or your step sister

 

[Edd]

Not a binge watch but the West Wing reunion show on HBO Max. Filled me with nostalgia for the carefree days of 2002, for fucks sake.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

View attachment 752​

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 Netflix Mini-Series)- First two episodes pulled me into this traditional feeling haunted house story, built on suspense and disturbing images. An American woman takes a job on as tutor for two orphans in an English Country Manor. There be ghosts. Nine episodes, don’t know if there will be another. I assume if there is another season, it will be a different story.

Did you know or have you made this realization yet?

 

[Huntn]

Did you know or have you made this realization yet?

At first I thought this was a spoiler and was getting ready to chastise you, but then noticed ET.
I had not, realized, but I did look up this actor and saw he was from Texas without reading his film biography.

We are up to the last episode. The story telling Imo has taken a real nose dive in the last 3 episodes, constantly jumping around, is this real, is this a dream, is this currently happening or a flashback is bugging me. In addition explaining everything takes away a lot of the suspense. Frequently the seen monster is less scary then the bits and pieces. The most disturbing image is the Nanny seeing her dead boy friend in mirrors and reflections, I just don’t necessarily agree he has grounds to haunt her.

 

[JayMysteri0]

They showed what the new Batwoman is going to look like, and she seems to get a fair bit of support online
https://www.Twitter or X not allowed/i/web/status/1321099109302964231/

But all I can hear in the universe of fanboys is...

 

[Thomas Veil]

By the way...Lovecraft Country turned out to be...meh.

I think it tried to be too many things. The plot was all over the place.

Kudos to the parts that were good, though. The juxtaposition of racist monsters and supernatural monsters was a clever idea. And those two freaky little black girls will remain with me the way the twins from "The Shining" do.

 

[Huntn]

By the way...Lovecraft Country turned out to be...meh.

I think it tried to be too many things. The plot was all over the place.

Kudos to the parts that were good, though. The juxtaposition of racist monsters and supernatural monsters was a clever idea. And those two freaky little black girls will remain with me the way the twins from "The Shining" do.

Thanks for the warning!

 

[Alli]

Anyone tried NEXT? It’s about an AI. The first three episodes have been really good.

 

[SuperMatt]

I will try NEXT out maybe next week. Has anybody watched the Sarah Cooper show on Netflix yet? I’ve been watching Weeds. I have enjoyed the first 1.5 seasons pretty well.

 

[Eric]

Anyone tried NEXT? It’s about an AI. The first three episodes have been really good.

On regular network TV from the looks of it, don't see that too much these days. My kind of show for sure, I'll check it out.