What’s on TV?

[Edd]

Really enjoying my Northern Exposure rewatch and I see what the decade-ish long holdup over music rights was all about. There’s a ton of gem songs sprinkled throughout the series that I was never cognizant of.

 

[Huntn]

There is almost nothing good on TV, but there are still good movies. For example, now I'm watching Roman with a stone. I like it, such a calm and light film.

It’s a minority of what is offered, but there are good shows to be watched. I acknowledge it will depend on your preferences and your streaming resources.

 

[Alli]

Has anyone tried ”Constellation” on AppleTV+? I watched the first two episodes and despite my love of all things science fiction, I can’t watch anymore. I can’t tell what’s going on, despite the series description. It’s almost like every character is suffering a psychotic break.

 

[Huntn]

Has anyone tried ”Constellation” on AppleTV+? I watched the first two episodes and despite my love of all things science fiction, I can’t watch anymore. I can’t tell what’s going on, despite the series description. It’s almost like every character is suffering a psychotic break.

My ATV subscriotion is currently inactive. What is the concept?

 

[Alli]

My ATV subscriotion is currently inactive. What is the concept?

“Jo returns to earth after a disaster in space and discovers that there are missing pieces in her life, so she sets out to expose the truth about the hidden secrets of space travel and recover what she has lost.”

 

[Huntn]

“Jo returns to earth after a disaster in space and discovers that there are missing pieces in her life, so she sets out to expose the truth about the hidden secrets of space travel and recover what she has lost.”

Thanks! Eventually I be back on ATV and take a look.

 

[Hrafn]

Live action Avatar: The Last Air Bender. much better than the movie.

 

[oldBCguy]

Hope that it's ok to add a tv series viewed via dvds .... I (we) just finished watching -- Doc Martin - The Complete Series -- via a quite recently released Acorn TV dvd box set collection of this entire British, light drama/comedy tv series.

Wow, a new collection, and wonderful viewing opportunity to see all 79 episodes of the 10 Series, plus, the two full-length movies that inspired the series, and several hours of bonus features. And such a well-done job in putting it together by Acorn TV. Well-packaged, and not a single 'technical blip' in in our entire viewing.

We had seen three of the Series before, but started this set from the beginning, Series One, and so enjoyed the viewing all the way to completing Series Ten, and the 'Fairwell to Doc Martin' bonus feature at the very end.

 

[oldBCguy]

Picked up ‘Hinterland’ - another Acorn TV dvd collection of the British tv series - via BBC Canada Shop a while ago, and have now viewed several episodes of the series.

Slow, evolving, suspenseful, up-close and personal detective police dramas. Engaging scenarios, and environment views — all contributing so well to the various moods.

For me, the British certainly know how to craft police dramas, and murder mysteries, and this series is a great combination of the two. And one I have sure been glad to have chosen, and have on hand to view when in the mood for such drama.

 

[ArgoDuck]

^ consistently brilliant, and gets better and better

 

[Alli]

And if you’re fans of Britbox and Acorn police dramas, don’t forget the Aussie comedy “Deadloch.” It’s got police. It’s got detectives. It’s got lesbians. Lots and lots of lesbians. It’s got murders. It’s got a town filled with people, only one of whom has a working brain.

 

[Nycturne]

Watched the first season of 3 Body Problem, as well as read the three books in the last week (yes, all three in 7 days).

In terms of an adaptation, I’m a little mixed. The strongest parts of the show tend to be where they re-arranged, rather than their own additions/changes (made some things too subtle, while at the same time hitting the audience with a 2x4 on others). I’m also a little sad they toned down Da Shi. He was a fun character in the books, and I was actually amped that Benedict Wong would get to play that character, only to find out his personality was blunted. I also think that 8 episodes should have been 10, as there were some really disappointing cuts of segments that would have been big visual feasts for the sake of getting through their first season plan. I do want to see if they can stick the landing here, so I’ll keep an eye out for the later seasons.

I mostly hope it gets folks who skipped the books to give them a shot. They remind me a lot of Arthur C Clarke in the sense of playing with big ideas, but I tended to bounce off Arthur C Clarke’s books, so that’s saying something.

 

[Alli]

I mostly hope it gets folks who skipped the books to give them a shot. They remind me a lot of Arthur C Clarke in the sense of playing with big ideas, but I tended to bounce off Arthur C Clarke’s books, so that’s saying something.

My son was just recommending this two nights ago. Your review, though, makes me want to read the books.

 

[Nycturne]

My son was just recommending this two nights ago. Your review, though, makes me want to read the books.

The books paint some mental images that blew me away, and kept me going. Some of which the show have already attempted, but because of the compressed runtime, just couldn’t do it justice.

I think my warning would be that the books can get rather dark and/or depressing in places. It also opens with the cultural revolution in China, which isn’t exactly a light subject matter. Also, I did find myself failing to suspend my disbelief a few times. But that’s more because these books did reignite public interest in a particular response to the Fermi Paradox (Dark Forest Hypothesis) which I’ve engaged with over the last couple of years long before reading the books. There’s also a few places where it feels like the author gets a little opinionated and leaks his own thoughts on masculinity/femininity into the writing which I felt weakened the material in the later books.

 

[Alli]

The books paint some mental images that blew me away, and kept me going. Some of which the show have already attempted, but because of the compressed runtime, just couldn’t do it justice.

I think my warning would be that the books can get rather dark and/or depressing in places. It also opens with the cultural revolution in China, which isn’t exactly a light subject matter. Also, I did find myself failing to suspend my disbelief a few times. But that’s more because these books did reignite public interest in a particular response to the Fermi Paradox (Dark Forest Hypothesis) which I’ve engaged with over the last couple of years long before reading the books. There’s also a few places where it feels like the author gets a little opinionated and leaks his own thoughts on masculinity/femininity into the writing which I felt weakened the material in the later books.

I have a while to decide. I’m only 3/4 of the way through book 1 of a 5 book series. (Hardcore military sci-fi is my jam.)

 

[Huntn]

Special Ops: Lioness (2023, Paramount+)- 2 episodes in, this is good with a hard edge.

 

[Huntn]

Watched the first season of 3 Body Problem, as well as read the three books in the last week (yes, all three in 7 days).

In terms of an adaptation, I’m a little mixed. The strongest parts of the show tend to be where they re-arranged, rather than their own additions/changes (made some things too subtle, while at the same time hitting the audience with a 2x4 on others). I’m also a little sad they toned down Da Shi. He was a fun character in the books, and I was actually amped that Benedict Wong would get to play that character, only to find out his personality was blunted. I also think that 8 episodes should have been 10, as there were some really disappointing cuts of segments that would have been big visual feasts for the sake of getting through their first season plan. I do want to see if they can stick the landing here, so I’ll keep an eye out for the later seasons.

I mostly hope it gets folks who skipped the books to give them a shot. They remind me a lot of Arthur C Clarke in the sense of playing with big ideas, but I tended to bounce off Arthur C Clarke’s books, so that’s saying something.

How would you characterize the story? Exciting, abstract, intellectual or easy to digest?

I understand it’s by a Chinese author. In the books, how was the translation to English? I mean , how does it read? I thought whoever translated Girl With The Dragon Totoo did a poor Job, or the original novel was at fault. Currently reading Witcher novels by a Polish author, and whoever is translating this is doing an amazing job inserting English idioms into the narrative.

 

[Nycturne]

How would you characterize the story? Exciting, abstract, intellectual or easy to digest?

The TV series is meant to be a bit exciting (always the “reach a wider audience” desire at play there), although I’d say the books are a bit more intellectual although more accessible than I expected. Especially for something built around the idea of “what does relativistic interstellar warfare even look like?” The physics are outright wrong in places, but I kinda expected that. It still paints some rather pretty mental pictures, and some rather haunting ones. It’s also a case where the main characters felt less western in the sense that they aren’t always the center of attention. Some things just happen that the characters aren’t a part of or have any control over. That has turned into a criticism by some for one of the protagonists because they are not the hero (in more ways than one), but the more I reflect on that character, the more I think the character shouldn’t have been written any other way. There’s what feels like a reference to yin and yang through some of the characters, but I can’t really get into much detail without spoilers.

I also read a lot of science fiction so, so take that as you will. I grew up in a house where there was a full set of Heinlein on the shelves, and anything on the book shelves was open to read. So I read an awful lot of Herbert, Heinlein and Asimov growing up. Arthur C Clarke was one I couldn’t get into though. 3 Body Problem has some of the scope of Clarke’s work, but feels more accessible.

I understand it’s by a Chinese author. In the books, how was the translation to English? I mean , how does it read? I thought whoever translated Girl With The Dragon Totoo did a poor Job, or the original novel was at fault. Currently reading Witcher novels by a Polish author, and whoever is translating this is doing an amazing job inserting English idioms into the narrative.

There are two different translators, but I think they did a pretty good job. Ken Liu in particular does use footnotes to explain some of the Chinese “puns” that the author used, especially in the first book, and apparently we got the better translation for a couple of these into English. Sophon in particular is one of these puns, and I actually like the English take on it. There’s also references to Chinese history that Ken Liu helpfully footnotes for context, especially as parts of the first book take place during the Cultural Revolution under Mao, or certain references are important context for certain metaphor the author uses.

 

[Herdfan]

Special Ops: Lioness (2023, Paramount+)- 2 episodes in, this is good with a hard edge.

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That is on the list for this summer.

 

[Huntn]

Special Ops: Lioness (2023, Paramount+)- 2 episodes in, this is good with a hard edge.

View attachment 28897​

Finished this up, thumbs up. The story is a little messy and feels a little unrealistic, but what can you expect these days ? A key feature is the main character Zoe Saldana balancing her family life against traveling the world hunting terrorists. I’ll also question taking a marine with zero espionage training and inserting them into a spy craft setting. “I have not been trained for this!” Nicole Kidman looks like she always has her lips pursed in a peculiar way. And then there are people at the top levels (Morgan Freeman) questioning the Operation. Well, just go with the flow. The climax is fast and brutal. Show has been renewed for a second season.