Television (no longer temporary)

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 5:45 pm

Fargo is just fucking awesome. I binged that show over the weekend and I'm still a couple shows off... Almost don't want to catch up, because it's such a treat knowing I've got so much good TV in the bank.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:27 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:I tend to watch stuff my wife likes, until I can't deal with it anymore.

Yep. Now, my wife, daughter and I seem to live separate tv lives. For me, it's just sports, Fargo, and The Last Kingdom. My wife watches PBS costume dramas and a couple bad sitcoms. My daughter mostly sticks to Netflix for her Dr. Who, Scream Queens, anime and other animated shows. Funny thing, generally the only time we all get together on something, it's for old movies we record on TCM.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 6:22 am

Nonlinear FC wrote:
I tend to watch stuff my wife likes, until I can't deal with it anymore.

Successful marriage tip right there.

There's nothing at all wrong with The Good Wife other than the fact that I don't give a shit about what's going on in the show. But once a week, I sit there with my wife, pretending that I can't figure out the plot lines so she can fill me in.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:05 am

My wife doesn't expect me to watch Grey's and I don't expect her to watch Bob's Burgers. It's nice.

Post by **brian** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:11 am

Yeah, our work schedules allow us to watch some shows separately, so I don't have to watch crap like iZombie and Scream Queens and she doesn't have to watch Sunny and The League.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:19 am

brian wrote:Yeah, our work schedules allow us to watch some shows separately, so I don't have to watch crap like iZombie and Scream Queens and she doesn't have to watch Sunny and The League.

But iZombie is pretty funny. Very Buffy-like.

Post by **brian** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:20 am

Steve of phpBB wrote:
brian wrote:Yeah, our work schedules allow us to watch some shows separately, so I don't have to watch crap like iZombie and Scream Queens and she doesn't have to watch Sunny and The League.
But iZombie is pretty funny. Very Buffy-like.

I'll have to take your word on that. I see bits and pieces when I'm downstairs grabbing a bite to eat and it looks pretty dreadful to me.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 11:47 am

Yeah, don't get me wrong, we definitely have shows that we watch separately. Like, I'm not watching Dancing with Stars with her. And it's not even that I can't sit through it, because I have many times. The problem is that I sit there and make fun of EVERYTHING, because it's Dancing with the Stars. I find myself hilarious. In those instances, my wife does not. The Kardashians I can't watch without spewing hatred, so, again, I can wallow in that, but it makes my wife miserable.

But I'll watch other shit on Bravo and have a great time. Below Deck and Apres Ski are goofy with a number of likeable characters and you get to make fun of rich people, as opposed to trying to root for them.

My main issue these days is that network shows just aren't all that compelling. A big part of that, to me, is that they are stuck in the old model of trying find a show that can run in perpetuity, instead of presenting a story that you know will come to some closure sooner or later. There are a ton of shows that I like initially but just got tired and bored with because they weren't coming to any conclusion, just transitioning into increasingly more convoluted plot lines.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:16 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:Yeah, don't get me wrong, we definitely have shows that we watch separately. Like, I'm not watching Dancing with Stars with her. And it's not even that I can't sit through it, because I have many times. The problem is that I sit there and make fun of EVERYTHING, because it's Dancing with the Stars. I find myself hilarious. In those instances, my wife does not. The Kardashians I can't watch without spewing hatred, so, again, I can wallow in that, but it makes my wife miserable.

But I'll watch other shit on Bravo and have a great time. Below Deck and Apres Ski are goofy with a number of likeable characters and you get to make fun of rich people, as opposed to trying to root for them.

My main issue these days is that network shows just aren't all that compelling. A big part of that, to me, is that they are stuck in the old model of trying find a show that can run in perpetuity, instead of presenting a story that you know will come to some closure sooner or later. There are a ton of shows that I like initially but just got tired and bored with because they weren't coming to any conclusion, just transitioning into increasingly more convoluted plot lines.

Speaking of Dancing with the Stars, it's been on at the gym several times. In most cases, I have no idea who is the celebrity and who is the dancer. Even when they showed last names. I occasionally watch some of the Bravo shit with my wife. Apres Ski could have been a decent show if they focussed on the crazy experiences they set up for their clients, rather than the drama between the cast members. (It is about a startup company providing concierge service for wealthy vacationers at Whistler). I've only seen one or two episodes, but the clients are over the top white trash douchebags who allegedly have a ton of money. If this business is remotely real, I doubt many clients would allow their vacations to be filmed, so maybe they provide free vacations to scumbags. My wife has to be sick of my constantly making fun of the shows and the people, but she has yet to boot me out of the room, which is the goal. She has accused me of being more catty than the Housewives of Orange County, so I have to be close to getting the boot.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:24 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:Yeah, don't get me wrong, we definitely have shows that we watch separately.....

One of the benefits of us cutting the cord this summer is that this more the norm than it used to be. I'd muddle throw some not to bad crap because we had the one DVR, and you know The Mindy Project can sometimes have a joke or two. Now with Hulu, etc. she's watching her shows on her lunch break or in bed on the tablet. So nice. So nice.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:33 pm

Giff wrote:My wife doesn't expect me to watch Grey's and I don't expect her to watch Bob's Burgers. It's nice.

Luckily, my wife loves Bob's Burgers, and I got out of watching The Affair which I spent the first season watching with gritted teeth.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:38 pm

I dunno. Maybe this should go in the Confessions thread, but I spend more time watching TV with my wife than doing anything else with her.

Luckily, while she is a sucker for cop shows and anything supernatural, she hates reality shows even more than I do. It's more likely for me to get bummed because she is watching a show without me (when I get too busy with work) than for me to get bummed because I'm getting forced to watch something I don't like.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:43 pm

Oh I still watch plenty of TV with her, a couple sitcoms (Last Man on Earth, Brooklyn 99, etc.,) we still watch Amazing Race and typically watch a good Nature or American Experience. I'm just glad that I don't have to sit through the marginal stuff she's into. I'll watch Your The Worst and The League and don't have to watch The Mindy Project, what ever the new Super Fun Night bull shit show and the like. I like that.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:01 pm

I've gotten her hooked on John Oliver now thanks to "Janice in Accounting".

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:31 pm

The Sybian wrote:
Nonlinear FC wrote:Yeah, don't get me wrong, we definitely have shows that we watch separately. Like, I'm not watching Dancing with Stars with her. And it's not even that I can't sit through it, because I have many times. The problem is that I sit there and make fun of EVERYTHING, because it's Dancing with the Stars. I find myself hilarious. In those instances, my wife does not. The Kardashians I can't watch without spewing hatred, so, again, I can wallow in that, but it makes my wife miserable.

But I'll watch other shit on Bravo and have a great time. Below Deck and Apres Ski are goofy with a number of likeable characters and you get to make fun of rich people, as opposed to trying to root for them.

My main issue these days is that network shows just aren't all that compelling. A big part of that, to me, is that they are stuck in the old model of trying find a show that can run in perpetuity, instead of presenting a story that you know will come to some closure sooner or later. There are a ton of shows that I like initially but just got tired and bored with because they weren't coming to any conclusion, just transitioning into increasingly more convoluted plot lines.
Speaking of Dancing with the Stars, it's been on at the gym several times. In most cases, I have no idea who is the celebrity and who is the dancer. Even when they showed last names. I occasionally watch some of the Bravo shit with my wife. Apres Ski could have been a decent show if they focussed on the crazy experiences they set up for their clients, rather than the drama between the cast members. (It is about a startup company providing concierge service for wealthy vacationers at Whistler). I've only seen one or two episodes, but the clients are over the top white trash douchebags who allegedly have a ton of money. If this business is remotely real, I doubt many clients would allow their vacations to be filmed, so maybe they provide free vacations to scumbags. My wife has to be sick of my constantly making fun of the shows and the people, but she has yet to boot me out of the room, which is the goal. She has accused me of being more catty than the Housewives of Orange County, so I have to be close to getting the boot.

I'll be very interested to see if Apres Ski gets another season. Below Deck is the exact some show, only set on big ass yachts and focused on the captain and support staff. The reason that show is into something like season 4 is that the crew is, for the most part, likeable... except for the one or two of them that cause the necessary tension. The thing is, the people in supervisory positions are the "sane" ones, so any bullshit is quickly squashed and the captain has no problem sending people home.

On Apres Ski, they put a crazy person in charge of the staff, so the entire season has been a massive fight between the staff and this woman. There's also a racial element to the tension, which... It's obviously something that needs to be addressed, but on this show it seems very forced/manufactured, even for a somewhat scripted reality show.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:37 pm

@Midnight, Colbert, Jeopardy!, Top Chef, Drunk History, House of Cards, Blackhawks and Wild games we get, and a few others are on our watch together list. She's also been watching Jessica Jones with me, and we're always up to watch stand up specials from our favorites.

I get Survivor and NFL football solo. She loves stupid movies on the Hallmark channel. I can't stand them. Her 2 favorite shows in the world are The Golden Girls and Matlock. Yea, there's an 80 year old woman trapped deep down in there, I'm sure of it.

We were avid Phineas and Ferb watchers until they stopped making them, and there are still Perry the Platypus ornaments on our tree. Judge away.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 7:35 pm

I loved the early seasons of Phineas and Ferb. My daughter and I watched that show together. Good times. When some sappy rock power ballad comes on the radio now, one of us will still say, "Isn't that Love Handel?

That French Guy · Post by **That French Guy** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 6:12 pm

Fargo is awesome. Great actors, great lines, great plotting. Although I m wondering where the ufo subplot is going

BSF21 wrote:Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who are both children of Magneto in Marvel canon

Not anymore ! That has been retconned away by remender. They re just regular folks who the High evolutionary experimented on as babies.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 12:34 pm

That French Guy wrote:Fargo is awesome. Great actors, great lines, great plotting. Although I m wondering where the ufo subplot is going

BSF21 wrote:Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who are both children of Magneto in Marvel canon
Not anymore ! That has been retconned away by remender. They re just regular folks who the High evolutionary experimented on as babies.

Am I wrong, are you drunk, or both?

howard · Post by **howard** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:40 pm

Well, Leftovers season finale. Damn teenagers with their smoking and weird clothes.

Generally when a show indicates a main character has died, then brings him back, I hate it. Especially a season-ending cliffhanger. Let em die, I say.

Howevah

Did not mind this a bit. If this mf had died, from a simple gunshot, after all he's been through, iwuz gunna be pissed. Nigga is hard to kill (as long as there are earthquakes to keep him alive.) Other nigga can't get past 'attempted'.

I really dig this show. It's not perfect, but it is very well done, with creative twists. But all my words come back to me/In shades of mediocrity…

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:26 am

howard wrote:Well, Leftovers season finale. Damn teenagers with their smoking and weird clothes.

Generally when a show indicates a main character has died, then brings him back, I hate it. Especially a season-ending cliffhanger. Let em die, I say.

Howevah

Did not mind this a bit. If this mf had died, from a simple gunshot, after all he's been through, iwuz gunna be pissed. Nigga is hard to kill (as long as there are earthquakes to keep him alive.) Other nigga can't get past 'attempted'.

I really dig this show. It's not perfect, but it is very well done, with creative twists. But all my words come back to me/In shades of mediocrity…

I'm so bummed I got busy again at work and am now two episodes behind. Can't wait to catch up.

Post by **brian** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 6:34 pm

How in the world do we not have a "Simpsons" thread (I looked).

Anyway, I thought this was interesting.

Next time I'm in that neighborhood (which is basically never) I should check it out.

Post by **brian** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 4:13 pm

Oral history of The League.

Worth your time.

howard · Post by **howard** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:38 pm

I thought it strange Aselton and DuPlass were not cast as a couple in The League, since they're married IRL and have done two or three movies playing husband and wife. This article explains it (but I still think it is strange.)

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:53 pm

howard wrote:Well, Leftovers season finale. Damn teenagers with their smoking and weird clothes.

Generally when a show indicates a main character has died, then brings him back, I hate it. Especially a season-ending cliffhanger. Let em die, I say.

Howevah

Did not mind this a bit. If this mf had died, from a simple gunshot, after all he's been through, iwuz gunna be pissed. Nigga is hard to kill (as long as there are earthquakes to keep him alive.) Other nigga can't get past 'attempted'.

I really dig this show. It's not perfect, but it is very well done, with creative twists. But all my words come back to me/In shades of mediocrity…

Finally saw the last two episodes last night. Holy crap.

Did we ever find out what was up with the pie? And next season, will they be returning to the Island?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:59 pm

No guarantee there is a next season,unfortunately - HBO hasn't re-upped and time is growing short given actor's options...

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:45 pm

For those of us watching Leftovers - good news - HBO has picked up a third season - which Lindelof anticipates being the last he needs to finish telling the story.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:49 pm

tennbengal wrote:For those of us watching Leftovers - good news - HBO has picked up a third season - which Lindelof anticipates being the last he needs to finish telling the story.

Awesome news, thanks for sharing!

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 7:43 pm

Has anybody been watching The Man in the High Castle? It's on Amazon Prime. I just watched the whole season and I thought it was well done.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 8:52 pm

bfj wrote:Has anybody been watching The Man in the High Castle? It's on Amazon Prime. I just watched the whole season and I thought it was well done.

Four episodes in and enjoying it .

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:15 pm

bfj wrote:Has anybody been watching The Man in the High Castle? It's on Amazon Prime. I just watched the whole season and I thought it was well done.

That is my next show, after I finish Season 2 of The Wire.

Anyone watching Breakthrough on National Geographic? It's a six episode series, each directed by famous directors on topics like merging technology into human biology, fighting pandemics, decoding the brain, controlling aging, replacing fossil fuel and the coming water crisis. I saw the Decoding the Brain episode, and it was well done. I've always been fascinated by the structure and functioning of the brain. Some scientists have successfully imprinted memories into a mouse's brain, basically a learned helplessness experience where the shock scenario was implanted, not actually learned through experience. They also showed doctors implanting electrodes into the hippocampus of epileptics to prevent seizures. The coolest thing, they could measure the gap between when the subconscious brain made a decision and the person believed they made a conscious decision.

I see the episodes are available for free on IMDB. No idea you could watch shows on IMDB.

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 1:38 pm

This is so wrong. I hate it more than words can say.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:03 pm

tennbengal wrote:
bfj wrote:Has anybody been watching The Man in the High Castle? It's on Amazon Prime. I just watched the whole season and I thought it was well done.
Four episodes in and enjoying it .

STRONG endorsement from me on that show. Good actors to go with a Phillip Dick-based storyline. It took me until the 3rd episode to get over being angry that we lost the war. I love the imagery and the outfits... The guy playing the head of the SS is fucking awesome. You hate the guy instantly and it only becomes more intense as it moves forward.

With Fargo nearly over, I'm really happy to have something like this show to look forward to.

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:27 pm

I vaguely remember flipping through the book when I was a kid, and setting it down thinking it wasn't for me. Right up my alley now. Book first, or dive into the TV show?

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:36 pm

howard wrote:I vaguely remember flipping through the book when I was a kid, and setting it down thinking it wasn't for me. Right up my alley now. Book first, or dive into the TV show?

From what I've read, the book and TV show aren't really very similar.

I just read the book a few weeks ago. It was good, but it is not about a resistance movement fighting against the Nazis - or maybe only tangentially.

It's an interesting read, but plot-wise, it doesn't really lead anywhere significant. I still liked it, but it is definitely one of those books that's about the journey and not the destination.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 3:37 pm

The Sybian wrote: I saw the Decoding the Brain episode, and it was well done. I've always been fascinated by the structure and functioning of the brain. Some scientists have successfully imprinted memories into a mouse's brain, basically a learned helplessness experience where the shock scenario was implanted, not actually learned through experience. They also showed doctors implanting electrodes into the hippocampus of epileptics to prevent seizures. The coolest thing, they could measure the gap between when the subconscious brain made a decision and the person believed they made a conscious decision.

Did they show the experiment where they implanted the Jennifer Aniston image memory, and then where able to make it "fire" by showing that image?

I'll have to watch that episode. I would guess a fair number of the scientists involved in it work here at the Institute.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:50 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:The guy playing the head of the SS is fucking awesome. You hate the guy instantly and it only becomes more intense as it moves forward.

So much this. Makes me hate all Germans all over again.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 7:08 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote:
The Sybian wrote: I saw the Decoding the Brain episode, and it was well done. I've always been fascinated by the structure and functioning of the brain. Some scientists have successfully imprinted memories into a mouse's brain, basically a learned helplessness experience where the shock scenario was implanted, not actually learned through experience. They also showed doctors implanting electrodes into the hippocampus of epileptics to prevent seizures. The coolest thing, they could measure the gap between when the subconscious brain made a decision and the person believed they made a conscious decision.
Did they show the experiment where they implanted the Jennifer Aniston image memory, and then where able to make it "fire" by showing that image?

I'll have to watch that episode. I would guess a fair number of the scientists involved in it work here at the Institute.

No, I'll have to look for something on that.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 6:26 pm

The Sybian wrote:
DaveInSeattle wrote:
The Sybian wrote: I saw the Decoding the Brain episode, and it was well done. I've always been fascinated by the structure and functioning of the brain. Some scientists have successfully imprinted memories into a mouse's brain, basically a learned helplessness experience where the shock scenario was implanted, not actually learned through experience. They also showed doctors implanting electrodes into the hippocampus of epileptics to prevent seizures. The coolest thing, they could measure the gap between when the subconscious brain made a decision and the person believed they made a conscious decision.
Did they show the experiment where they implanted the Jennifer Aniston image memory, and then where able to make it "fire" by showing that image?

I'll have to watch that episode. I would guess a fair number of the scientists involved in it work here at the Institute.
No, I'll have to look for something on that.

I can ask some of the people I work with for links to the experiment. Its pretty wacky stuff....

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:26 am

I just finished the first season of Mr. Robot and it was hands-down the best show I saw all year. It is getting its own thread when Season 2 starts next summer.