TV: Last TV Show Episode You Watched and Rate It (Part I)

[Shareefruck]

Box Peek: Season 1 (Web Series) - 2.5 (Good)

A hand-crafted paper-cutout style love-letter to Pokemon-esque cartoons (and the general trope where for some reason everyone living in this universe is obsessed with some dumb children's game) made from scratch by gaming Youtuber Kyle Bosman (probably one of the few internet personalities/content creators I'm aware of that actually stands out as talented, fun, and interesting rather than obnoxious and hack-y to me). I find it really charming, creative, lovingly crafted, subversive, and oozing its own fun personalized style. The dramatic reveal in the final episode is both surprising and hilarious.

Honestly, I find myself liking and respecting this kind of thing a lot more than most polished/technically well made critically acclaimed dramas that kind of feel a little soulless and manipulative in comparison to me.

Playlist: Box Peek - YouTube


Favorite shows from the past decade:
1. Ping Pong: The Animation - 5.0 (Masterpiece)
2. Tatami Galaxy - 4.5 (Brilliant)
3. Louie - 4.0 (Flawless)
4. Atlanta - 3.5 (Great)
5. Horace and Pete- 3.5 (Great)
6. Devilman Crybaby - 3.0 (Very Good)
7. Mad Men - 2.5 (Good)
8. Planet Earth II - 2.5 (Good)
9. Box Peek - 2.5 (Good)
--
10. The Thick of It - 2.0 (Positive)
11. Generation Kill - 2.0 (Positive)

 

[Shareefruck]

Ping Pong: The Animation - 5.0 (Masterpiece)

I've been absolutely obsessed, hyperbolic, and in love with this show lately. Every creative decision just completely clicks with me, and I'm a huge sucker for great animation (especially this style of it).

There's this funny love/hate thing I find with the medium/format of Anime in general where it tends to encourage all this stuff that's really cringe-y/annoying/obnoxiously exploitative/off-putting to me 99% of the time (even in the popular/critically acclaimed stuff), and yet it also seems to leave the door wide open for creators to have the freedom to make good with the medium in a way that the compromised constraints of Western TV dramas for whatever reason seem to be more closed off from. So even though I kind of DESPISE Anime in general, the ones I like often surprisingly end up topping my favorite series for some reason.

Ping Pong: The Animation takes the tired and seemingly meat-heated Shounen premise of characters growing their skills to compete with their adversaries, but does it as perfectly and tastefully/authentically as I've seen, while using it as an excuse to examine every aspect of competitive sports, AND while also serving as a pretty perfect and unexpectedly powerful/emotional slice of life character study of about four or five guys (even adding just the perfect amount of character development to the tertiary characters), perfectly juggling it all in merely eleven densely packed 22 minute episodes in a way that feels well considered, poetic, and natural. It's a masterwork in presentation and time/space management in a series as far as I'm concerned. Add to that its infectiously appropriate use of what sounds like Orbital/Steve Reich-inspired music complementing this attitude towards visual aesthetic that is right up my alley (deliberately raw/rough/minimal/scribbly/ugly approximated art style with beautifully fluid/elastic animation, striking use of color, manga-style framing, and movement), and it has to be considered pound for pound about as tightly crafted yet lively of a TV series as I've seen, personally. There's also an upfront sense of dorky eccentricity and deliberate on-the-nose-ness to it that only adds to the experience (doesn't hurt that the sport of Ping Pong itself, when taken ultra seriously, seems to have some of that built into it). Oh, and it also kind of makes me love a sport that I otherwise had no prior interest in.

Riding an insane high right now that I may eventually come down from, but at the moment....

Favorite Series
1. Dekalog
2. The Wire S1-S4
3. Ping Pong: The Animation
4. Monty Python's Flying Circus S1
5. The Simpsons S2-S4
6. Cowboy Bebop
7. The Office UK
8. Tatami Galaxy
9. Freaks and Geeks
10. Arrested Development
HM. Louie S2-S4

Between Kaiba, Tatami Galaxy, Ping Pong: The Animation, Devilman Crybaby, and a handful of movies I found charming, Masaaki Yuasa could very well be my favorite creative person currently making stuff within the past decade or so.

 

[ORRFForever]

Camping [2018] : (* HBO *)

Lena Dunham remade the British show of the same name. It's shockingly bad. Only Juliette Lewis is worth watching.

2/10

T.V. Show Trailer :

 

[reckoning]

I think these are all the complete seasons of shows I watched in 2018:

The Sinner (Season 1): I really liked this show a lot. One could quibble about a couple of plotholes, but overall I thought it was very well done. I cared about the characters, and the story kept me interested from start to finish. Strong performances from the cast. It's surprising this came from USA Network, as it was closer to HBO quality. 9/10

Hip-Hop Evolution: This was a four-part documentary on the birth and early years of rap music. While I'm not much of a fan of that musical genre, I found the story fascinating (although the final episode about the L.A. scene wasn't as good as the first three about New York). They managed to get interviews with almost every important living figure. and put it together into a very cohesive watchable history of the music. I personally never knew that "Rapper's Delight" was so hated by most of the serious musicians in the scene, or how Run-DMC were so adamantly opposed to doing "Walk This Way". The highlight was the utter hypocrisy of Grandmaster Caz, who seemed quite proud of himself for stealing from electronics stores during the NYC blackout, but gets offended and self-righteous about other rappers stealing his rhymes. 8/10

Transparent (Season 1): I assume this was supposed to be about someone making the decision to live as a woman in public, and the challenges and adversity they have to face. But to me, it was more a story about a poor guy who had the most rotten, selfish people imaginable as family members. 6/10

Billions (Season 3): This show seems to be suffering the same fate of other Showtime series like Masters Of Sex or House Of Lies. Strong opening season, then gets progressively worse as the years go by. I found myself getting bored throughout most of this, and the already unsympathetic characters became even more unlikable. 4/10

I'm Dying Up Here (Season 2): I didn't care much for Brad Garrett joining the cast; the idea of a character being a wasted, washed-up has-been trying to stay relevant is interesting, but he practically became the main focus of the show. To me, the highlight of the season (as in Season 1) was the ongoing saga of Eddie and Ron trying to make in the business. Their scenes together were the best part of the series, and I don't know where the show goes now. Also, as a longtime hockey fan, I love how many references to old or obscure ex-players they manage to work into the scripts. 7/10

American Horror Story (Season 8): I hated the Cult season so much that I wasn't going to bother watching this, but I'm glad I did. My favorite season was Coven, so I loved seeing that storyline revisited. This time the connections to past seasons made sense, instead of feeling forced. I still think they're trying to fit too much into a season, and went overboard with actors play multiple characters (Even Peters played 4 different roles?), but It was nice to see the show approach it's former glory. And I had no idea that Joan Collins was still alive. 7/10

Killing Eve (Season 1): This series was highly recommended and got some award nominations, but I have no idea why. It actually reminded me of the later years of 24. The main member of the cast gives a strong performance, and the show is undeniably watchable and entertaining. But you really have to put your brain to sleep to overlook how completely ridiculous the plot is. I must have rolled my eyes a dozen times during the last scene. 5/10

The Affair (Season 4): I thought this series was the best thing on TV in its first two seasons, only to see it completely fall apart in a pointless Season 3. So this season ended up being a nice rebound, going back to its roots focusing on the characters and how differently they see things. Even though you already knew how it would end, the last 10-15 minutes of Episode 9 were heartbreaking and very difficult to watch. 9/10

Twin Peaks (Season 1 - rewatch): I never found time to rewatch the series or the movie before seeing the revival in 2017, and it would've been better if I had. So I decided to watch Season 1 for the first time in 25 years. Nobody likes this show when I recommend it; they think it's silly and poorly acted. But to me, everything worked perfectly again, and I loved it every scene in it . Sometimes things just connect with you, or they don't. It's really quite remarkable what David Lynch accomplished here despite the limitations of early-90s network. And I don't think Michael Ontkean got enough credit for his calm, subtle, understated work as Truman. His absence was the only disappointment about the revival. 10/10

Animals (Season 1): Decided to pick a HBO show at random, and unfortunately came up with this one. Mildly amusing at best, but often annoyingly repetitive. It might have worked as a movie, but the whole idea of "let's have animals who are just like people, but the joke is that they do animal stuff instead of human stuff" wasn't enough to stretch over a whole season. 2/10

 

[End on a Hinote]

Killing Eve (Season 1): This series was highly recommended and got some award nominations, but I have no idea why. It actually reminded me of the later years of 24. The main member of the cast gives a strong performance, and the show is undeniably watchable and entertaining. But you really have to put your brain to sleep to overlook how completely ridiculous the plot is. I must have rolled my eyes a dozen times during the last scene. 5/10

Thank you! I thought it was just me. I have no idea why this show is getting so much praise. So predictable and quite cheesy TBH.

I was reading about how "dark", "daring", and "edgy" it was, only to get slapped with a 14+ rating before the first episode started.

I watch HBO, Showtime and Netflix shows regularly, don't tell me that a 14+ show is dark and edgy. It isn't and this show wasn't.

Not to mention Jodie Comer's Russian "accent" is insultingly bad.

Gave up after the 7th episode.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Working my way through Boardwalk Empire. Just started the last season of it yesterday. Highly recommend it to those who haven't seen it before. Steve Buscemi plays the main character Enoch (Nucky) Thompson, gang boss/politician in charge of Atlantic City during Prohibition. He rubs shoulders with Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, and a host of other period mob bosses and celebrities. It's an HBO show, so there's lots of swearing and boning, although the swearing isn't period-accurate the show plays fast and loose with the history of the period generally. One of the better HBO series.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Blue Bloods aired Jan 4th 19--

2/10--Two interesting plot lines were overshadowed by a plot line about protesters that had been done to death before and it dragged the show down to a snails pace

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Finished Boardwalk Empire. Good, but some of the casting got annoying. The kid playing Bugsy Seigel looked about 15 years old. Also, Nucky forgot he bought the $500k life insurance policy on Mickey Doyle (real name Mieczysław Kuzik) from Arnold Rothstein when the latter had busted out at Nucky's casino. That would have given him a lot of scratch to start over.

------------------------------

My wife is watching Final Space. It's annoying.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Rewatching first season of the Bill Bixby' Incredible Hulk..

Episode one was originally shown as a TV movie (I think).. It was a great series premier. Good job on the sympathetic back story of David Banner.. introduction of Ferrigno as Hulk.. good looking Susan Sullivan as Banner's colleague. You could see the promise & drama the series was gonna have.
I rate it a 9..

 

[Shareefruck]

My Hero Academia - 1.0 (Negative)

It's very watchable, but pretty overrated, IMO. It's pretty much a beat for beat replication of Naruto/other Shounen Anime, but written with more competency/consideration in execution/setup, yet still ultimately guilty of the same shamelessly annoying/intrusive tropes. Not really differentiating itself enough to be considered a loving homage to them, and not really daring/interesting enough to be considered a subversive take on it or something that takes a tired premise and does it the right way. It's really just about taking the tired thing and modernizing it and not much else, which is pretty lame.

The All Might stuff is pretty fun, though.

 

[ORRFForever]

Twilight Zone / Episode 1 / The Comedian [2019] :

* A struggling comedian finds he kills when he kills.

The pilot is too long, crude and not funny, in a surprisingly weak initial episode.

3/10

********************************************************

Twilight Zone / Episode 2 / Nightmare At 30,000 Feet [2019] :

* A passenger tries to save a doomed flight.

While predictable and far fetched, it's enjoyable and a big step up from Episode 1.

6.5/10

Show Trailer :

 

[HanSolo]

Veep Season 7 Episode 1: 9/10

My biggest concern going into the final season of Veep was that the long hiatus would cause a decline in the tone and spirit of the show's humor and near realistic political satirization. Episode 1 feels like the show hasn't missed a single beat. If anything the humor felt at least just as sharp if not moreso and even more bold than usual (but not in a way that felt forced, more that with Selina trying to become President again, everyone is a bit more on edge, and Jonah is just Jonah (though the bit with him marrying his step sister is already memorable and hilarious)). I had reasons to laugh from start to finish, and as such the goodbye season really seems to be nailing it so far.

Barry Season 2 Episode 1: 8.5/10

As shows that are meant to be just as much drama as they are comedy go, Barry's first season was very strong (even if the Chechnyan mob felt cartoonishly unintimidating).

The season premiere is giving me a lot of faith that this season could shape up to be even better than the last. The storylines that seem to have been planted for the rest of the season seem compelling and rich with possibility.

But what made me the happiest was that the events of the S1 season finale seemed to blend and transition over to this new season flawlessly. Also Noho Hank, usually a clownish character has a spectacular monologue when he had his first moment to "cut the shit" and get real with Barry. That scene to me was one of the highlights of the still young series.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

What We Do In the Shadows, episode 2.

Adapted from the movie of the same name, the show moves the vampire mockumentary from New Zealand to New York. The first episode, we met three vampires living in Staten Island (Nando, Nadja and Lazlo) and their annoying roommates Guillermo (Nando's earnest minion who years to be a vampire himself) and Colin, an "energy vampire". He's basically an ordinary office worker who makes you either furious or bored by his tedious chatter. Yeah, that joke gets old pretty fast. Anyway, they get visited by the horror of Baron Somethingorother, who seems to be under the impression he told them to conquer the New World before they went over. So to start, Colin leads them over to the Staten Island council meeting while Guillermo scouts the local LARPing group to get fresh virgins for their buffet.

A worthy continuation to the movie, but so far there's too much of the energy vampire. Which is basically any of the energy vampire.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Now watching the new Twilight Zone episode. Filmed in Vancouver (yay!). The Comedian episode is so bad it's making me actively want to smash my tv, throw it off the balcony and gouge my eyes out rather than risk seeing it again.

 

[ORRFForever]

Now watching the new Twilight Zone episode. Filmed in Vancouver (yay!). The Comedian episode is so bad it's making me actively want to smash my tv, throw it off the balcony and gouge my eyes out rather than risk seeing it again.

Yup. It's awful.

Episode 2 isn't bad.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Freddy's Nightmares. 'Do You Know Where Your Kids Are'

Watching old episodes of the late '8os Freddy Kreuger' anthology series.. This episode was about an imprisoned daughter who tricks (& then swaps places) with her substitute babysitter..
Has some creepy scenes, especially if you're claustrophobic.
Freddy's Nightmares was hit or miss for me, some good stories followed by 2 or 3 boring, forgettable episodes..

I rate this episode 4 (out of 10).

 

[ORRFForever]

Twilight Zone / Episode 1 / The Comedian [2019] :

* A struggling comedian finds he kills when he kills.

The pilot is too long, crude and not funny, in a surprisingly weak initial episode.

3/10

********************************************************

Twilight Zone / Episode 2 / Nightmare At 30,000 Feet [2019] :

* A passenger tries to save a doomed flight.

While predictable and far fetched, it's enjoyable and a big step up from Episode 1.

6.5/10

Twilight Zone / Episode 3 / Replay [2019] :

* A racist cop harasses a mother and her son.

Edgy and tense. A little too long, like all the episodes so far, but it's the best one yet.

7.5/10

Show Trailer :

 

[ProstheticConscience]

The racist cop fated to shoot the young black kid played George Remus, bootleg kingpin of Cleveland on Boardwalk Empire. On the show (and apparently in real life) Remus had the extremely annoying and pompous habit of referring to himself in the third person. I kept waiting for him to do that in the new Twilight Zone.

 

[ORRFForever]

The racist cop fated to shoot the young black kid played George Remus, bootleg kingpin of Cleveland on Boardwalk Empire. On the show (and apparently in real life) Remus had the extremely annoying and pompous habit of referring to himself in the third person. I kept waiting for him to do that in the new Twilight Zone.

Is Boardwalk Empire worth watching?

 

[ORRFForever]

Twilight Zone/Episode 3/Replay [2019] :

* A racist cop harasses a mother and her son.

Edgy and tense. A little too long, like all the episodes so far, but it's the best one yet.

7.5/10

Show Trailer :

Twilight Zone/Episode 4/A Traveler [2019] :

* A mysterious man crashes an Alaskan Christmas party.

Just like the previous three episodes, it is too long. Still, minus the ending, which was a let down, it was pretty good.

7/10​

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Twilight Zone always did work better as a half hour show.

And I've hated Steve Yuen ever since his fake non-death on The Walking Dead. That really pushed me to the edge with that show. Then, after all the buildup through the whole season, we finally meet Negan...and then it's "Ohhh, who did he kill? Find out next time! See you in October, folks!" and it rendered the entire season as basically clickbait. Officially tuned out of the Walking Dead after that. And I made it through season 2, where entire episodes were like Lori and Andrea bickering about laundry and every once in a while a zombie walks by the window, looks inside, then decides it doesn't want to get involved and wanders off again.

Is Boardwalk Empire worth watching?

I liked it. Plays a bit fast and loose with that actual history of the period, but imho one of the better HBO period dramas. I admit I have a weakness for Irish gangster stuff. Steve Buscemi totally owns the show.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Also, when did total swearing become okay on regular cable tv? I'm not complaining or anything, it just kind of snuck up on me.

 

[discostu]

The Magicians Season 4 finale - 9/10

Not sure how many people watch this show around here, but it's been one of my favourite things on TV the last couples of years. This season has felt a little lacking, but the finale was great. I won't spoil it except to say it has a major character death that's handled really well.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

What We Do in the Shadows, episode 5.

Lazslo and Nadja are returning from a date when Laszlo decides to snack on his new neighbour. Nadja gets bored and flies off to visit her favourite human lover, this time reincarnated as an all-night car park watchman. Laszlo tries to eat the neighbour, but after he flies in the window as a bat, the neighbour's girlfriend beats him unconscious with a broom. Nandor, Guillermo and Colin the energy vampire try to rescue him, but he's taken to the pound by animal control. They try and fail to rescue him, while Nadja gets bored with her human until she makes him remember all his past lives (warrior, fishmonger, carpet monger, horse, scullery maid, etc)..."He mongers a lot...!" and they ride off together on a horse he steals from a mounted cop. Nadja eventually circles back to rescue her idiot husband Laszlo from a cage in the pound. He naturally tries to free the cats in the cage next to him due to a "Gentleman's agreement". They repay his loyalty by stapling themselves to his body.

Easily the funniest episode of the show so far.

 

[ORRFForever]

Twilight Zone / Ep 5 / Wonderkind [2019]:

* An 11 year old becomes President of the United States.

From start to finish, it is beyond stupid. Worst episode yet.

1/10