General TV & Streaming thread

[505thAirborne]

On 2/21/2024 at 6:23 AM, electric indigo said:

So I'm two episodes into True Detective: Night Country, and – does it get better? It should have been an easy receipe of The Thing x Thunderheart, but somehow doesn't achieve the slightest suspense so far. I'm all for a slow buildup, but everything feels so staged, and I lost count how many "Chief, you gotta see this..." transitions we had already. The setup and actors are there, but IMO it deserved a better director.

Nope, it doesn't get any better unfortunately. The last episode & ending is at least IMO lack luster at best. Bad writing, bad dialog with a decent plot and acting that feels very forced at times. 

Now despite my feelings towards the show, HBO just renewed True Detective for a 5th season with the very same director as Night Country. Whenever it comes out, I'll be passing on that. Hopefully FOUNDATION season 3 will be ready. 

[no3Ljm]

 

[electric indigo]

"The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel"

 

[TangledThorns]

I read Count Zero and Burning Chrome back in the late 1980s but never finished Neuromancer. By the time I started reading it 20 years ago I was becoming jaded with most sci-fi books because reality was already turning into a cyberpunk dystopia.

 

[TangledThorns]

Just finished SCAVENGERS REIGN on Max. One of the best sci-fi animated series I've watched in a very long time. Doubt there will be a second season tho.

[505thAirborne]

SHOGUN... is amazing. Watch it on Hulu if you have it so don't have to see 6 million commercials. 

[Big s]

4 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

Just finished SCAVENGERS REIGN on Max. One of the best sci-fi animated series I've watched in a very long time. Doubt there will be a second season tho.

I watched that one a while back. It’s rather underrated. At first I was having a hard time deciding on if I liked it, but then I found myself wanting to find out what was going to happen. It was rather interesting to see how these people survived on a planet that had so much of its life being some kind of symbiotic relationship either for good or extremely horrific.
Fired on Mars was another interesting one that took me a bit to decide whether I liked it or not. I hope Max brings more of these kinds of shows to their channel. It’s nice to see something different in animation 

[TangledThorns]

20 minutes ago, Big s said:

I watched that one a while back. It’s rather underrated. At first I was having a hard time deciding on if I liked it, but then I found myself wanting to find out what was going to happen. It was rather interesting to see how these people survived on a planet that had so much of its life being some kind of symbiotic relationship either for good or extremely horrific.
Fired on Mars was another interesting one that took me a bit to decide whether I liked it or not. I hope Max brings more of these kinds of shows to their channel. It’s nice to see something different in animation 

MAX is well known for their excellent drama series but their non-DC sci-fi line up is lacking.

[Big s]

1 hour ago, TangledThorns said:

MAX is well known for their excellent drama series but their non-DC sci-fi line up is lacking.

I’d love to see more of these experimental animated shows.

[TangledThorns]

10 hours ago, Big s said:

I’d love to see more of these experimental animated shows.

 

HBO/MAX's Raised by Wolves was a live action sci-fi series with similar alien world themes of Scavanger Reign that I enjoyed, but I guess it was too experimental for most audiences before it was cancelled.

 

[Big s]

6 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

 

HBO/MAX's Raised by Wolves was a live action sci-fi series with similar alien world themes of Scavanger Reign that I enjoyed, but I guess it was too experimental for most audiences before it was cancelled.

 

I think the problem was that it went way off the rails and then took a wrong left and then found more rails to go off of and then caught on fire on the way down. It started off good though 

[Mog]

Welp, this sucks:  https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/the-brothers-sun-cancel-netflix-michelle-yeoh-1235928223/amp/

Was a fun silly show with some enjoyable action sequences.

Kinda want a churro now.  Not a fancy, overly flavored one or some chocolate-glazed monstrosity.  Just a plain, old solid, tasty churro.

[Big s]

4 hours ago, Mog said:

Welp, this sucks:  https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/the-brothers-sun-cancel-netflix-michelle-yeoh-1235928223/amp/

Was a fun silly show with some enjoyable action sequences.

Kinda want a churro now.  Not a fancy, overly flavored one or some chocolate-glazed monstrosity.  Just a plain, old solid, tasty churro.

I kinda liked it. It had some issues, but still enjoyable. And I’m with you I’m on the churros. 

[Mog]

So, while waiting for eps of Masters of the Air, been finally watching The Pacific.

Pretty brutal stuff.

Guess the main point of these two series is that war is hell.

[Dynaman]

The Pacific suffered from mashing two different books together to make the show.  It made it even harder to differentiate the characters, except SNAFU, he did a great job with the roll and it was one that was able to stand apart as a character.

The Pacific also managed to humanize the Japanese without Americanizing them.  The scene with the Japanese soldier in the water crying was intense.

[TangledThorns]

15 hours ago, Mog said:

So, while waiting for eps of Masters of the Air, been finally watching The Pacific.

Pretty brutal stuff.

Guess the main point of these two series is that war is hell.

I'm first episode into MASTER OF THE AIR and its way better than expected. Very thrilling air action, the cross winds over Greenland is about as scary as German fighter planes!

[sh9000]

Sugar.

[Mog]

Kinda bummed we only got one more ep of Masters of the Air left.

Also bummed we didn’t get to see more of D-Day.  We’ve seen the 100th get knocked around.  And would be nice to see them getting some all-out wins.

[Thom]

I'm an EP behind, so I have two more to go! I might wait until after next Fri and watch them together.

[505thAirborne]

10 hours ago, Mog said:

Kinda bummed we only got one more ep of Masters of the Air left.

Also bummed we didn’t get to see more of D-Day.  We’ve seen the 100th get knocked around.  And would be nice to see them getting some all-out wins.

Same here, the last episode is 1 hour & 20 minutes long, so quite a bit to wrap up in that time frame. I hope the very end is similar to BoB & The Pacific, where we see pictures & perhaps vintage interview clips of the original pilots & crew. 

Spoiler

While shorter than I preferred, this is the most professional representation of the Tuskegee Airmen that I have seen, really cool in that the P-51's on the ground before takeoff were real (Even the CGI looked pretty good.) I had the chance to meet some of those men at Airshows in 2000 & 2001, super cool, down to earth gentlemen whom you could tell when you listened to their stories of their missions, that despite all the crap they had to put up with, before, during & after the war, they were proud of their service. 

From the previews for episode 9 and if you know your history of the 100th, Rosie's luck runs out and has to bail out... I'll leave it at that for you to see what happens. 

 

[Thom]

Interested in seeing this.

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Thom said:

Interested in seeing this.

 

It’s D+, so it’s more than likely gonna be a dumpster fire 

[Thom]

58 minutes ago, Big s said:

It’s D+, so it’s more than likely gonna be a dumpster fire 

I reserve judgment till I see it. 🤷‍♂️

[Old_Nash_II]

First trailer of City Hunter

 

[Mog]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:55 AM, 505thAirborne said:

Same here, the last episode is 1 hour & 20 minutes long, so quite a bit to wrap up in that time frame. I hope the very end is similar to BoB & The Pacific, where we see pictures & perhaps vintage interview clips of the original pilots & crew. 

Kinda ended the way you would expect.

Though the beginning scenes with Rosie were just mean.

One other thing:  with that ending montage, you realize that these folks have been dying out.

Band of Brothers was lucky enough to get all those interviews in when they did.

[azrael]

On 3/9/2024 at 12:40 AM, Mog said:

Also bummed we didn’t get to see more of D-Day.  We’ve seen the 100th get knocked around.  And would be nice to see them getting some all-out wins.

My understanding of the 100th's service record is that D-Day was more like a footnote in their record compared to their other sorties so it won't be surprising that it was briefly touched in the series. 

[TangledThorns]

Finished MASTER OF THE AIR and its the new best series I watched in a past year's time. I joined APPLE+ for Monarch but glad I stayed for MASTER OF THE AIR. That being said, Austin Butler is helluva an actor. The rest of the cast nailed it too.

[electric indigo]

Did I mention that you should look into "For all Mankind" before quitting Apple+?...

[TangledThorns]

17 minutes ago, electric indigo said:

Did I mention that you should look into "For all Mankind" before quitting Apple+?...

I think you did! I still have several months before my APPLE+ subscription ends 🤩

[Mog]

Not sure if I already mentioned it, but Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest are amusing little diversions you should check out on Apple+.

Season 2 of Lasso in particular was an absolute stand-out.

[505thAirborne]

Sad to see Masters of the Air come to an end, but it was a hell of a ride. After waiting for years for this series to release, I can't help feeling you wish there were a few more episodes still to come. 

Spoiler

I felt episode's 8 & 9 were a bit crammed, in that they were trying so hard to shove as much story as they could into such a short run time. MOTA needed to either be 1 hour & a half long episode's or 10 or 11 episode's long. 

Overall, I give this series very high marks for original score, use of actual/authentic B-17 sound effects (as in they actually went to preservation society's & used their Forts to film from), overall, the acting & dialog, sets & unforms was very good, CGI was hit & miss a few times, though the last episode spared no expense. 

My only complaints were, the lack of seeing M-3 & M-5 Flak helmets plus a variation of Goggles, (Polaroid 1021 & M44 types were as well, not just the AN6530 which is what you see everyone wearing throughout the series. The Biggy, by 1944, definitely by D-Day, most B-17 E/F models had been destroyed in combat or salvaged for parts and the B-17G with chin gun turret (the most produced variant), operated by the Bombardier would have been the prominent Fortress seen at this stage of the series, pretty sad that A-list producers like Hanks & Spielberg missed this. The other is the scenario with Quinn & Bailey, not seeing those two actually make their escape from Belgium with the Resistance however them simply appearing at Thorpe Abbotts in new uniforms with a ticket home felt very lack luster, at least we know they survived. 

As I said, minus some nitpicks here & there, I really enjoyed this series & just like BoB & The Pacific, I'll get MOTA on Blu-ray as well. 

 

 

[azrael]

44 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

Sad to see Masters of the Air come to an end, but it was a hell of a ride. After waiting for years for this series to release, I can't help feeling you wish there were a few more episodes still to come. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I felt episode's 8 & 9 were a bit crammed, in that they were trying so hard to shove as much story as they could into such a short run time. MOTA needed to either be 1 hour & a half long episode's or 10 or 11 episode's long. 

Overall, I give this series very high marks for original score, use of actual/authentic B-17 sound effects (as in they actually went to preservation society's & used their Forts to film from), overall, the acting & dialog, sets & unforms was very good, CGI was hit & miss a few times, though the last episode spared no expense. 

My only complaints were, the lack of seeing M-3 & M-5 Flak helmets plus a variation of Goggles, (Polaroid 1021 & M44 types were as well, not just the AN6530 which is what you see everyone wearing throughout the series. The Biggy, by 1944, definitely by D-Day, most B-17 E/F models had been destroyed in combat or salvaged for parts and the B-17G with chin gun turret (the most produced variant), operated by the Bombardier would have been the prominent Fortress seen at this stage of the series, pretty sad that A-list producers like Hanks & Spielberg missed this. The other is the scenario with Quinn & Bailey, not seeing those two actually make their escape from Belgium with the Resistance however them simply appearing at Thorpe Abbotts in new uniforms with a ticket home felt very lack luster, at least we know they survived. 

As I said, minus some nitpicks here & there, I really enjoyed this series & just like BoB & The Pacific, I'll get MOTA on Blu-ray as well. 

 

 

I'd argue that the notoriety of the 100th's sorties post-1944 were not as reputation-earning as they were from 1943-1944.

[TangledThorns]

16 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Sad to see Masters of the Air come to an end, but it was a hell of a ride. After waiting for years for this series to release, I can't help feeling you wish there were a few more episodes still to come. 

 

If inclined they could almost make a spin-off series about Rosie's after war pursuit as a prosecutor in the Nuremburg trials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rosenthal_(USAAF_officer)

 

[Duke Togo]

19 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Sad to see Masters of the Air come to an end, but it was a hell of a ride. After waiting for years for this series to release, I can't help feeling you wish there were a few more episodes still to come. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I felt episode's 8 & 9 were a bit crammed, in that they were trying so hard to shove as much story as they could into such a short run time. MOTA needed to either be 1 hour & a half long episode's or 10 or 11 episode's long. 

Overall, I give this series very high marks for original score, use of actual/authentic B-17 sound effects (as in they actually went to preservation society's & used their Forts to film from), overall, the acting & dialog, sets & unforms was very good, CGI was hit & miss a few times, though the last episode spared no expense. 

My only complaints were, the lack of seeing M-3 & M-5 Flak helmets plus a variation of Goggles, (Polaroid 1021 & M44 types were as well, not just the AN6530 which is what you see everyone wearing throughout the series. The Biggy, by 1944, definitely by D-Day, most B-17 E/F models had been destroyed in combat or salvaged for parts and the B-17G with chin gun turret (the most produced variant), operated by the Bombardier would have been the prominent Fortress seen at this stage of the series, pretty sad that A-list producers like Hanks & Spielberg missed this. The other is the scenario with Quinn & Bailey, not seeing those two actually make their escape from Belgium with the Resistance however them simply appearing at Thorpe Abbotts in new uniforms with a ticket home felt very lack luster, at least we know they survived. 

As I said, minus some nitpicks here & there, I really enjoyed this series & just like BoB & The Pacific, I'll get MOTA on Blu-ray as well. 

 

 

I thought MotA was uneven, but still fairly good. Better than The Pacific but not as good as Band of Brothers. Definitely felt like it needed a 10th episode so the story had more room to breathe.

Edited March 19 by Duke Togo

[Thom]

Enjoyed this from beginning to end. It hit all the highs and lows with a great cast to bring it all to life. I watched the last two back to back, and I agree it could have used more time. Was sad to see it end, but then it also gave the feeling, for me, that their 'rest' from the screen was well-earned.

I do wonder what happened to Sandra Westgate? I know she's only based on a person the real Colby barely knew, but the last we see of her she's with the rebels in France and being transferred to another theater. Would have like for them to have closed that up.

As to the B-17s, I wonder if they didn't show the G's with the chin turrets because their prop planes were of the earlier type? Would look weird if they no chin turrets on the ground but suddenly had them in the air, although, how much would it have been to bolt on a fake chin turret..? IDK, they may have run out of money for that.

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by Thom