New TV Shows Out Right Now

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

I remember the book being very dark. Though I haven't read it since high school. It was funny and absurdist, but a good chunk of the book is him saying "there, there" to a guy who is obviously dead.

It was dark and absurdist. Guess a black comedy. I think the series focused more on the dark whereas the movie focused more on the absurd

"adamprez2003 wrote:

It was dark and absurdist. Guess a black comedy. I think the series focused more on the dark whereas the movie focused more on the absurd

I do not like the movie much. I felt it was a very abridged cliff note version of the book.

I do agree that the movie focused more on the zany than the dark.

"Destroyer wrote:

The new season of Fear the Walking Dead is pretty damn good. Definitely better than the last few seasons from the Walking Dead.

Damn, will I have to start the show from the beginning to catch up to when it starts getting good?

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I don't know that I'll ever get used to the super short seasons that shows have now sometimes. I still think of 22 episodes as being normal, and feel that 12-15 is short. But its been years since a show that I regularly watch was given the full 22 episode run. Now, I guess its pretty normal for streaming shows to only go 8-10 as a "full" season, and some are designed for less than that. Its like a snack, not a filling meal. And its even weirder when there are multiple years between seasons sometimes.

That’s just bc you’re accustomed to shows with minimal content/production value. :tongue: Better material costs more & takes longer.

Not to mention, Serial shows (ongoing plots) need to be paced better & can’t contain as much useless filler space. With Episodic shows (aka stand-alone episodes, aka usually boring tv, aka sometimes plotless), you can produce a whole lot more of it obviously bc you’re essentially dealing with new material each episode...... whereas with Serial shows there typically isn’t enough material to support more than 8-12 episodes.

An ongoing plot with 20+ episodes?.... at multiple seasons no less? Yikes, that’d be a lot of f***in work. Could you imagine one of your stand-alone CSI episodes having to last 20 episodes, let alone 3 seasons of 20+ episodes for the same plot? There’s no way. The content would suck; the writing would end up having to suck; and the viewer would grow bored and lose interest within 4 episodes.

Thankfully there are so many great Serial shows out there that it doesn’t matter that they’re shorter than their Episodic cousins. It’s probably better that they’re short bc it allows you time to watch other great shows. I mean, the whole point of serial shows is that they’re basically like watching a movie but formatted much longer. 10 episodes might seem short to you, but in movie time it’s the equivalent of a 7-8 hour film. But that’s just for 1 season. 3 seasons and you’re looking at 22 hours. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by comparison was told in 9 hours.

All of Harry Potter was told in 18 hrs and 38 min, still equivalent to or less time than 3 seasons of a serial show at 8-10 episodes per yr.

"ToddPhin wrote:

That’s just bc you’re accustomed to shows with minimal content/production value. :tongue: Better material costs more & takes longer.

Not to mention, Serial shows (ongoing plots) need to be paced better & can’t contain as much useless filler space. With Episodic shows (aka stand-alone episodes, aka usually boring tv, aka sometimes plotless), you can produce a whole lot more of it obviously bc you’re essentially dealing with new material each episode...... whereas with Serial shows there typically isn’t enough material to support more than 8-12 episodes.

An ongoing plot with 20+ episodes?.... at multiple seasons no less? Yikes, that’d be a lot of f***in work. Could you imagine one of your stand-alone CSI episodes having to last 20 episodes, let alone 3 seasons of 20+ episodes for the same plot? There’s no way. The content would suck; the writing would end up having to suck; and the viewer would grow bored and lose interest within 4 episodes.

Thankfully there are so many great Serial shows out there that it doesn’t matter that they’re shorter than their Episodic cousins. It’s probably better that they’re short bc it allows you time to watch other great shows. I mean, the whole point of serial shows is that they’re basically like watching a movie but formatted much longer. 10 episodes might seem short to you, but in movie time it’s the equivalent of a 7-8 hour film. But that’s just for 1 season. 3 seasons and you’re looking at 22 hours. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by comparison was told in 9 hours.

All of Harry Potter was told in 18 hrs and 38 min, still equivalent to or less time than 3 seasons of a serial show at 8-10 episodes per yr.

I think that there's certainly room for both at the table. Comedy doesn't need to be serial to be entertaining, though it can be serial and be spectacular, as evidenced by The Good Place. I don't watch shows for stupid people, and there's very little comedy on TV that I even pay attention to these days, but I'd like there to be! I see The Good Place as the spiritual successor to other offbeat NBC comedies over the years that I've enjoyed a lot: Community, Scrubs, News Radio and Night Court. All shows that are smart, well acted and well written, and ones that although you can watch the episodes out of order and still like them, are best if you get all of the inside jokes that are built in over time.

I'm also a person who puts a lot of value on production quality. Camera work and angles, sets, costumes, and of course the level of acting writing and directing. Its difficult for me to enjoy something that's sub par and/or unprofessional, even pure comedy.

My other favorite current show, Agents of Shield, is very much both high quality and episodic. In fact, you have to know all of the movies in the MCU to fully grasp and appreciate it, and it takes all of that burden on when crafting every episode. The show was originally 22 episodes per season, until ABC tried to cancel it due to poor ratings, before being told that they had to keep creating it by Disney. They generally would split the Autumn and Spring into two separate plot arcs. Now, its just a half season show due to being limited.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I think that there's certainly room for both at the table. Comedy doesn't need to be serial to be entertaining, though it can be serial and be spectacular, as evidenced by The Good Place. I don't watch shows for stupid people, and there's very little comedy on TV that I even pay attention to these days, but I'd like there to be! I see The Good Place as the spiritual successor to other offbeat NBC comedies over the years that I've enjoyed a lot: Community, Scrubs, News Radio and Night Court. All shows that are smart, well acted and well written, and ones that although you can watch the episodes out of order and still like them, are best if you get all of the inside jokes that are built in over time.

I'm also a person who puts a lot of value on production quality. Camera work and angles, sets, costumes, and of course the level of acting writing and directing. Its difficult for me to enjoy something that's sub par and/or unprofessional, even pure comedy.

My other favorite current show, Agents of Shield, is very much both high quality and episodic. In fact, you have to know all of the movies in the MCU to fully grasp and appreciate it, and it takes all of that burden on when crafting every episode. The show was originally 22 episodes per season, until ABC tried to cancel it due to poor ratings, before being told that they had to keep creating it by Disney. They generally would split the Autumn and Spring into two separate plot arcs. Now, its just a half season show due to being limited.

And how many main characters are in Agents? A bit easier to have more episodes when you have like 15 characters to build up and lend screen time to. If you took away 10 of those characters and could only focus on 5 or less , how many episodes do you believe each season would be?

"ToddPhin wrote:

And how many main characters are in Agents? A bit easier to have more episodes when you have like 15 characters to build up and lend screen time to. If you took away 10 of those characters and could only focus on 5 or less , how many episodes do you believe each season would be?

There are five primary characters who have been there since day one, and have been in every episode. Others have come and gone as time has passed, generally about eight at a time, give or take. And for me, that's about the best number. Similar to what most of my other favorite shows over the years have had.

Dark season 2 is out. Booyah. Contemplating rewatching season 1 first.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

I just finished it today. The show is delightful. I wouldn't call it great, but it is good enough for me to watch for six episodes, enjoy, and hope for a season 2.

yeah, I enjoyed it too. Tennant is always a favorite.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I think that there's certainly room for both at the table. Comedy doesn't need to be serial to be entertaining, though it can be serial and be spectacular, as evidenced by The Good Place. I don't watch shows for stupid people, and there's very little comedy on TV that I even pay attention to these days, but I'd like there to be! I see The Good Place as the spiritual successor to other offbeat NBC comedies over the years that I've enjoyed a lot: Community, Scrubs, News Radio and Night Court. All shows that are smart, well acted and well written, and ones that although you can watch the episodes out of order and still like them, are best if you get all of the inside jokes that are built in over time.

I'm also a person who puts a lot of value on production quality. Camera work and angles, sets, costumes, and of course the level of acting writing and directing. Its difficult for me to enjoy something that's sub par and/or unprofessional, even pure comedy.

My other favorite current show, Agents of Shield, is very much both high quality and episodic. In fact, you have to know all of the movies in the MCU to fully grasp and appreciate it, and it takes all of that burden on when crafting every episode. The show was originally 22 episodes per season, until ABC tried to cancel it due to poor ratings, before being told that they had to keep creating it by Disney. They generally would split the Autumn and Spring into two separate plot arcs. Now, its just a half season show due to being limited.

news radio, one of the more underrated sitcoms and one of my favorites.
I still enjoy Agents of Shield and last season definitely was a good one, but not one of my must-see shows. I tend to wait and start binge watching it, like this weekend with the new season.

I know that I'm the opposite of many, but I really don't like binging TV shows unless its a comedy and I've been drinking. That, I've been doing for 20 years! But for a drama, I just feel like I've had enough after one episode, and want to wait at least a few days before watching another. It annoys my wife. :confused2:

Holy cow. Just watched the 2nd episode of Chernobyl. Man, this is must see tv. I thought I knew the story but I never realized just how bad it really got for those russians

Finished chernobyl. If you haven't seen it you should. I know the basic story and yet I was still on the edge of my seat when they were fighting to contain the disaster. Plus you learn what really happened and I really wasn't aware the stupid reasons it happened, how bad it could have been and how close they were to worst case scenario. Really, really frightening

"adamprez2003 wrote:

Finished chernobyl. If you haven't seen it you should. I know the basic story and yet I was still on the edge of my seat when they were fighting to contain the disaster. Plus you learn what really happened and I really wasn't aware the stupid reasons it happened, how bad it could have been and how close they were to worst case scenario. Really, really frightening

Would you put it in your top 5 series all time?

"ToddPhin wrote:

Would you put it in your top 5 series all time?

I might, though I would put it into a different category then The Vikings or Banshee or Penny Dreadful. I guess you would categorize it as a miniseries docudrama and in that category, quite frankly, it might be the best I ever seen. Usually in docudramas, the acting or directing or script is subpar but here everything was a ten. I wasnt kidding when I said I was on the edge of my seat at parts of this series. And they covered so many fascinating aspects. Like the part with the dogs. A lot of people would have left that out but I thought it was a fascinating fact to include. on a scale of 5, i gave it a five. There isnt a thing I would change about the series. The director did a great job

"Ohio Fanatic wrote:

news radio, one of the more underrated sitcoms and one of my favorites.
I still enjoy Agents of Shield and last season definitely was a good one, but not one of my must-see shows. I tend to wait and start binge watching it, like this weekend with the new season.

NewsRadio was one of the greatest comedies of all time. It was a slight rip off of WKRP IN CINCINNATI but was much funnier. Although WKRP had one of the funniest episodes ever when they had the turkey drop on Thanksgiving

As someone who grew up with all the sources it frequently references, I feel like the only person in the world that strongly dislikes the pandery Stranger Things.

"invid wrote:

As someone who grew up with all the sources it frequently references, I feel like the only person in the world that strongly dislikes the pandery Stranger Things.

Haven't watched it yet. My wife and I keep procrastinating about starting the series.

I binge watched The Boys from Amazon over the last couple of days, and absolutely loved it. Very much R-rated, in language, violence and sex, and not in any way like your usual DC/Marvel superhero story.

From the same comic book creator of Preacher, and you can see the similarities in tone, so if you like Preacher, you'll probably like this too.

"Claymore95 wrote:

I binge watched The Boys from Amazon over the last couple of days, and absolutely loved it. Very much R-rated, in language, violence and sex, and not in any way like your usual DC/Marvel superhero story.

From the same comic book creator of Preacher, and you can see the similarities in tone, so if you like Preacher, you'll probably like this too.

I watched the trailer, and was horrified. Made me uneasy for a while.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I watched the trailer, and was horrified. Made me uneasy for a while.

I actually thought of you when I posted that..."Unlucky13 will HATE this show"
:tongue::couch:

"Claymore95 wrote:

I actually thought of you when I posted that..."Unlucky13 will HATE this show"
:tongue::couch:

Hey, I'm gonna be me. I was willing to look at it and see what was up based on a written preview. The broad idea of superpowered people who have gotten out of control is interesting. Then I saw the video and....yikes. That **** would give me nightmares. Can't do it. Nearly lost it watching an episode of Agents of Shield the other night when someone was shot in the hand. :unsure:

"Claymore95 wrote:

I binge watched The Boys from Amazon over the last couple of days, and absolutely loved it. Very much R-rated, in language, violence and sex, and not in any way like your usual DC/Marvel superhero story.

From the same comic book creator of Preacher, and you can see the similarities in tone, so if you like Preacher, you'll probably like this too.

I just finished binging the show. Wow! I loved it. Has a very Watchman feel to it. A modern day Watchman if you will. Not subtle in its liberal politics. If you are a conservative, I would issue a trigger warning on the show.

Brutal as hell, one sex scene that would make anyone barf.

Generally shows where I don't really like the characters are shows I generally do not like. However, this one is the exception. I cannot wait until season 2.

I watched the first few episodes of Stranger Things season one last night. So slow, and dry as Hell. No characters that I really like thus far. If it wasn't for all of the positive press, I'd just be done with it and not think twice, but I'm going to watch a few more and see if it gets better.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I watched the first few episodes of Stranger Things season one last night. So slow, and dry as Hell. No characters that I really like thus far. If it wasn't for all of the positive press, I'd just be done with it and not think twice, but I'm going to watch a few more and see if it gets better.

If you don't like it instantly it's probably not for you.

Currently watching the Terror season 1 and I'm enjoying it. I'll watch the Boys next.