What are you watching at the moment? (possible spoilers)

[Aosta]

[bxbrkrz]

[Dabbler]

Watched Poor Agnes (2017) yesterday.

[motuscott]

The Decline of Civilization vol XXXIII
Prove me rong

[motuscott]

Queen, Stone Cold Crazy. Lap o' the Gods rocked my teenage worrld.
Hats off to John Deacon, the only rockstar with the sense to step away.

[robussc]

Of course man! Sorry wasn't trying to convince you otherwise 3 and 4 definitely showed potential. But SNW is definitely closer to what I'd like. Picard was a real disappointment, I'd maybe rank it lower than Discovery tbh. At least Disco had (mostly) new characters. Picard just felt like it was riding on nostalgia and the charm of familiar faces. Although seeing the Enterprise D J-turning through the inside of a Borg cube...gotta say, I ain't mad about that lol

We watched the first couple of episodes of Picard when it first came out and gave up quite quickly. It was so obviously trying to be a long story action adventure thing, when what would have made more sense (to my mind) would have been Picard in a Star Fleet ambassador role visiting strange places or dealing with conflicts (+ a few holodeck shenanigans for old times sake). Perhaps it would have been boring? But what they did instead just made us eye-roll at the ridiculousness of it.

SNW is definitely scratching the ST itch for us. Great crew and fun "adventure of the week" stuff, with some ongoing character development for the bigger picture.

[Theo.M]

Last King of the Cross.

I am completely transfixed.

Grew up around that area and know it well, to see it all come to life again (80's and 90's) has had me riveted.

It's violent which I am not so into anymore as I get older, but it's also based on true events with name changes - the aussie underworld scene.

I recommend it to anyone who might be interested in an aussie gang show.

[rorystorm]

Last King of the Cross.

I am completely transfixed.

Grew up around that area and know it well, to see it all come to life again (80's and 90's) has had me riveted.

It's violent which I am not so into anymore as I get older, but it's also based on true events with name changes - the aussie underworld scene.

I recommend it to anyone who might be interested in an aussie gang show.

Australian television is really under rated. Rake, Utopia, Jack Irish, Secret City, Janet King, Deadloch... all great.

[Theo.M]

Last King of the Cross.

I am completely transfixed.

Grew up around that area and know it well, to see it all come to life again (80's and 90's) has had me riveted.

It's violent which I am not so into anymore as I get older, but it's also based on true events with name changes - the aussie underworld scene.

I recommend it to anyone who might be interested in an aussie gang show.

Australian television is really under rated. Rake, Utopia, Jack Irish, Secret City, Janet King, Deadloch... all great.

Hey thanks for those, I will look them up as haven't heard of them. Cheers

[Theo.M]

The Expanse.

WOW WOW WOW

This is about as good as sci fi gets. I watched bits and bobs of it in the past, but I have been watching 2 episodes every day from the very start, and it's incredible. THIS was originally on SyFy before Amazon saved it? Seriously? A show of this calibre?

*spoilers below*

For anyone else who has seen it, do we at least find out who blew up the CANT in the first episode? Or do they leave it ambiguous?

[rorystorm]

Australian television is really under rated. Rake, Utopia, Jack Irish, Secret City, Janet King, Deadloch... all great.

Hey thanks for those, I will look them up as haven't heard of them. Cheers

Rake and Jack Irish are both midlife crisis guy solves crimes etc in between bouts of heavy drinking and regretting his life choices dramas - quite relate to parts of that. *Not the crime solving bit. Janet King is a great legal drama with a strong female lead, and Secret City is a politics/spy thing with Anna Torv from Fringe so it's worth watching just for that fact. Deadloch is a weird little comedy about two lesbian police detectives in small town Tasmania and it's very very funny, if your sense of humour basically extends to the word c-unt being used at least five times in every scene, so I found it hilarious. Utopia is best of all though, one of my favourite shows, up there with Buffy and Derry Girls. It's also a comedy, set in a government department. I've worked in government for about 20 years and it's pinpoint accurate, I don't know a single public servant who hasn't seen it and been torn between laughing hysterically and screaming in rage in pain from some kind of PTSD trigger. It's great.

RN I'm in the middle of watching another one of my favourite shows, this anime called Fairy Tails. It's quite a famous one. It's this real mix between really silly slapstick, corny one liners, and juvenile sexual innuendo on one hand, lots of extended fight scenes with intense yelling on the other, and then these bits that are quite amazingly moving and beautiful. I really like it.

[rorystorm]

The Expanse.

WOW WOW WOW

This is about as good as sci fi gets. I watched bits and bobs of it in the past, but I have been watching 2 episodes every day from the very start, and it's incredible. THIS was originally on SyFy before Amazon saved it? Seriously? A show of this calibre?

*spoilers below*

For anyone else who has seen it, do we at least find out who blew up the CANT in the first episode? Or do they leave it ambiguous?

and also, how good is the Expanse. It's a modern classic, the gold standard for sf. ticks all the boxes, great story, great cast, great visuals, great politics, great sound design, great characters - especially the women. Bobbie! the tough as nails politician! the badass pansexual lady space pirate with the hot accent! what I really love about it though is just the level of depth and attention to detail. Like I said, for example, the sound design is really good - it's worth watching on headphones just to listen to some of the stuff they do, like, when the ships stop and are at rest you can hear all these really subtle little environmental sounds of the metal of the ship clicking and moving under the pressure of space. Really nice. and - spoilers - the end of the episode where they go into Ceres after it's been infected and the credits just have this incredible soundscape with no music. I'd love to know how they did it. Another thing I really like is how the Belters all have that tattooed band around their neck? there's a line the creepy Belter OPA guy says where he talks about how Belters had an old helmet design that would burn their necks, and the second time I watched it I realised that the tattoos are intended to mimic that as a sign of Belter solidarity. They never explain it, but it's there for you to pick up. The bit that really gets me though is the story line - spoilers again - where Bobbie is on Earth and breaks out of the Mars consulate to find the ocean which she's never seen. Again, they never make it explicit but she's freakn Samoan so of course she does, it's part of her heritage. I dunno, growing up in NZ that bit really struck me and I wondered if the Americans who made it fully realised exactly what was going on there. I really like Bobbie too, it's quite weird to see a character in a big space opera who's exactly like the tough take no shit girls I went to school with.

[Theo.M]

The Expanse.

WOW WOW WOW

This is about as good as sci fi gets. I watched bits and bobs of it in the past, but I have been watching 2 episodes every day from the very start, and it's incredible. THIS was originally on SyFy before Amazon saved it? Seriously? A show of this calibre?

*spoilers below*

For anyone else who has seen it, do we at least find out who blew up the CANT in the first episode? Or do they leave it ambiguous?

and also, how good is the Expanse. It's a modern classic, the gold standard for sf. ticks all the boxes, great story, great cast, great visuals, great politics, great sound design, great characters - especially the women. Bobbie! the tough as nails politician! the badass pansexual lady space pirate with the hot accent! what I really love about it though is just the level of depth and attention to detail. Like I said, for example, the sound design is really good - it's worth watching on headphones just to listen to some of the stuff they do, like, when the ships stop and are at rest you can hear all these really subtle little environmental sounds of the metal of the ship clicking and moving under the pressure of space. Really nice. and - spoilers - the end of the episode where they go into Ceres after it's been infected and the credits just have this incredible soundscape with no music. I'd love to know how they did it. Another thing I really like is how the Belters all have that tattooed band around their neck? there's a line the creepy Belter OPA guy says where he talks about how Belters had an old helmet design that would burn their necks, and the second time I watched it I realised that the tattoos are intended to mimic that as a sign of Belter solidarity. They never explain it, but it's there for you to pick up. The bit that really gets me though is the story line - spoilers again - where Bobbie is on Earth and breaks out of the Mars consulate to find the ocean which she's never seen. Again, they never make it explicit but she's freakn Samoan so of course she does, it's part of her heritage. I dunno, growing up in NZ that bit really struck me and I wondered if the Americans who made it fully realised exactly what was going on there. I really like Bobbie too, it's quite weird to see a character in a big space opera who's exactly like the tough take no shit girls I went to school with.

Agree with everything, and my question from my first post on it was answered 2 episodes after I asked it. Up to episode 10 now, they are going to infect the Eros station it seems and Holden and Miller just got a massive dose of radiation.

****spoilers*****

So the girl they were both looking for, for different reasons, her father is behind the whole thing to begin with - trying to start a war between Earth and Mars.

Why they are doing THAT remains to be seen, but they have also discovered some weird looking alien substance, perhaps sentient, which is at the center of this whole thing.

I love all the characters so far, all of them, except Jay Hernandez so they were correct to make his role limited. I like HIM, I just found his part sort of pointless for want of a better word.

Naomi my favourite though overall. I also like looking at Alex lol. Very handsome. But that's for another topic, cheeky me.

[avasopht]

Terminator Zero.

It did a great job of adding a new layer of depth to not only the Terminator franchise but to time travel plots altogether.

[rorystorm]

Mobile Suit Gundam, the og 1979 series. I dunno, I've been slowly getting into anime over the last few years - cautiously, because on the whole there's some problematic tropes, particularly around gender politics, that I struggle with. Anyway, I more or less clicked on this on cruchyroll at random. I mean, who doesn't like space battles with giant robots? And anyone who knows their anime shit will be rolling their eyes because it's literally like saying, hey I just discovered this neat new movie called Star Wars. Have you heard of it.
But it's not what I was expecting at all from the little bits of janky animation I'd already seen. There's lots of dead bodies and bleak geopolitics and well thought out physics details and war trauma. Like, not for kids. And the sound design is great, and strong female characters which is interesting for the time. Plus seeing all the influence it's had, not just on obvious stuff like Pacific Rim and Neon Genesis Evangelion etc but like, I'd be really interested to know how into it the people that made BSG and The Expanse are, because there's clear similarities. So yeah, there's a huge amount of stuff to get into with this, because apparently it's very timey wimey and alternative universe, and I'm looking forward to getting to know it.

[dvdrtldg]

The Decline of Western Civilization pt 2: The Metal Years

The middle (and best) instalment of Penelope Spheeris' three-part LA underground doco series. Pt 1 deals with the late 70s/early 80s LA punk scene, and it's pretty good but personally I'm not particularly into the bands (Circle Jerks, Germs, early Black Flag, X etc). Pt 3 is about homeless teenagers in the late 90s, and it's worth a watch but also depressing as shit

But Pt 2 follows the progress of a bunch of terrible hair metal bands and their fans in the late 1980s. It's equally hilarious and sad, everyone's convinced they're going to be big rock stars, but you watch it knowing that Nirvana & co are just around the corner, and all these idiots are soon to be swept up and dumped into the dustbin of history. The music is awful (unless you're into that sort of thing, in which case enjoy!) and the whole scene is kind of pathetic in a very 80s way, but somehow it's still compelling car-crash viewing. Great commentary from Lemmy, Ozzy, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry & Steve Tyler and a few others

The whole mess is here if anyone's interested

[jappe]

[tomusurp]

It’s been a while since I watched anything but started watching House of the Dragon because Game of Thrones is one of all time favorites and was looking for something similar

Won’t get into if it’s as good as GOT but overall it’s been solid. It’s a very dark show, starts off a bit slow but gets interesting after a few episodes and so far Season 2 has been quite good

[Theo.M]

Finished the Expanse, easily one of the best Sci Fi series ever made. I ended up loving every character. The lady that played the UN boss (Avasarala) gave us some seriously amazing acting, but I loved Naomi the most overall I think. I liked them all really. Everyone was cast properly - Amos is another one you just couldn't help loving despite his violent side. Anyway, it actually got quite complex at the end of Season 3 and understanding the creators of the molecule and the ring system, so it's a show that needs to be watched properly with undivided attention. Very good stuff. 9/10 overall.

I guess I'll start on season 2 of rings of power now. Or maybe Tulsa King. One or the other.

[rorystorm]

Just started Foundation today, only watched the first episode so far. Acting is a bit patchy and the story line seems slow and a big confused but whoah, the visuals are just gorgeous.

[Theo.M]

Just started Foundation today, only watched the first episode so far. Acting is a bit patchy and the story line seems slow and a big confused but whoah, the visuals are just gorgeous.

Give it time. It will all come full circle especially by end of season 2, when timelines are made more clear also.

That said, it was the first episode that actually hooked me.. so.. maybe it's not for you, but really, do try a few more eps if you can.

Plus there's so much more to see regarding Empire too. A lot of story to tell and they do it well overall.

[motuscott]

In the Court of Robert Fripp was pretty much a hoot.
Hats off to Billy B who seems incredibly sane (considering), and Michael Giles who stepped away because it was too damn heavy! These were/are a couple of drumbing heroes of mine

[motuscott]

Apparently Pete Sinfield written completely out of the script. Unfortunate in that his lyrics were the lyrical focus of a wörld gone nonlyrical.

I've played in bands, Bobby needs to apologize.
Fight me if you must

[Theo.M]

Doctor Who.
Ncuti Gatwa is my favorite doctor since Matt Smith. I just adore him in the role.
The stories need a bit of work but there were a few very enjoyable ones so that's a good sign for next season hopefully.
Honestly with the season opening with the space babies and literal snot monster, I thought all was lost, but it got better and better.

*spoilers*

Although the season finale, which I am half way through now, is about a world ender, one thing I will say is that I am not feeling the same impact of the season when Martha saved the world. It just felt more powerful, I dunno how to explain it. This one has all the flash and current tech but the heart isn't the same.
Still, I have enjoyed it, don't get me wrong and I really like the casting, but the second to last episode, the one with the land mine and the one with the 73 yards were my favourites of the season.

Will I watch it next season?

Do fish swim? lol.

[rorystorm]

an anime called Re:Zero my oldest kid recommended to me. It's a bit bloody in places, the main character is a dickhead, and the gender politics are suboptimal at best, and that's all a shame because otherwise it's excellent - which you can say for pretty much any anime to be fair. on the other hand great visuals and the story is amazing, combines both insane levels of wtf but is also completely coherent which is quite hard to pull off. Great stuff.