Octopus Overlords

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:43 pm When I was a tyke I threw a shoe at my toddler sister, who had the audacity to dodge. Rather than stopping at her head, the shoe hit our b&w console TV and cracked the glass plate that protected the picture tube. We watched TV through that crack for years afterwards.

Unfortunately, in this case it was a gigantic St George's Cross obliterating much of the screen. Not something that could be overlooked.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:52 pm

Holman wrote: ↑Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:11 pm

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:17 am I watched the first episode of The Passage. I agree it wasn't that exciting, but if it gets as good as the books were, I have high hopes.

It does need to really grab my attention soon if it wants to compete for my limited TV time.

I watched the preview and I'm confused. Does this series begin as a prequel?

I read only the first Cronin book, but I remember that it touches on pre-disaster backstory near the end. This series appears to present itself as starting with that backstory...?

Much of the backstory occurs in Book 2. I think the show is going more chronological than the books.

The beginning of the first book is what I liked the most. The first two episodes have been pretty linear explaining the premise and the developing plot. When Cronin started going all over the place with the timeline is when he lost me...probably 1/3 of the way into the first book.

The first few episodes might be accurately described as a prequel though.

Just noticed that The Sister Brothers is available for rent on Vudu and other streaming services. I meant to catch it in theaters, but forgot.

The trailer alone sells it. I've said it before, but there's few things better than a good western.

Started watching The Passage. Does anyone remember a time before Lost when shows would introduce characters in a linear fashion without flashing back to their past periodically to give details on said character, thereby padding the show and stretching it out for an entire season for what narratively could’ve been done in one sentence when they were initially introduced?

Yeah, me neither.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage. Does anyone remember a time before Lost when shows would introduce characters in a linear fashion without flashing back to their past periodically to give details on said character, thereby padding the show and stretching it out for an entire season for what narratively could’ve been done in one sentence when they were initially introduced?

Yeah, me neither.

I DVR'd it but haven't started watching yet. Is it good?

I’m not finding it terribly compelling yet. Even The Strain started off better...and that show was god awful (when your main monster resembles Beaker from the Muppet Show, you knew you were in for a rough ride).

I watched the second episode last night, and it's still in the building stage. I'm hoping things will pick up once events occur.

My daughter and I have really enjoyed Manifest. It has that mysterious Lost vibe going, but it's definitely a slow burn.

I just hope they have a plan of what each season should accomplish and not make the same mistakes as Lost (i.e. how long should we keep going with the questions/answers).

Finally getting around to watching Twin Peaks: the Return and... it's kind of terrible.

We're through the first 11 episodes and it's going to be a struggle to get through the rest. It seems to have none of the heart or wit of the original series.

Please tell me it gets better before it wraps up?

Just finished watching Sex Education, which was really good despite sticking closely to quite a few tropes, and the third season of Detectorists, which wasn't quite as endearing as the first two, but still really enjoyable.

Watched the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy mini-series and about to start Smiley's People. I love the opening theme of TTSS. It's so evocative.

Exodor wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:03 pm Finally getting around to watching Twin Peaks: the Return and... it's kind of terrible.

We're through the first 11 episodes and it's going to be a struggle to get through the rest. It seems to have none of the heart or wit of the original series.

Please tell me it gets better before it wraps up?

That was my take as well. The original at least included real humor as a cushion for most of the really weird stuff. This iteration just felt mean spirited in its obtuseness.

Adam Ruins Everything (Netflix and elsewhere?) is surprisingly well-argued and entertaining at the same time.

If you don't know it, it's a goofy sorta documentary series with the premise is that the host (comedian Adam Conover) is a know-it-all who explodes popular myths and assumptions through research. Topics include restaurants, the funeral industry, automobile usage, forensic policing, etc etc.

It's kind of a Mythbusters for culture itself, and it's far better than I expected it to be.

Not in any particular order.

Manifest - I enjoy the show, but mainly just because I like Prince Charming so much. Some of the other characters are kind of irritating, like his wife and kids. The main sister is OK, but her romantic subplot is kind of contrived. The overall mystery is intriguing, but I'm guessing people who lost patience with Lost (no pun intended) will be similarly annoyed by the pacing and lack of reveals. The problem with a show of this type is once you do the big reveal, it can leave you with limited places to go. I'm OK with this type of show in general, so it doesn't bother me. I realized I really did like the show this week when they announced there were only two more episodes this season and I was like what?????

The Passage - also kind of a slow burn, but less mysterious. Are these people really so dense they can't tell the vampires are doing weird shit? Seriously? This show's appeal depends mostly on how much you appreciate the chemistry between the lead actor and the little girl. I for one think they are doing a fantastic job, and the girl is a total gem. She even makes the lead guy more appealing. The core plot and writing leaves something to be desired, but the show is enjoyable for me in spite of that.

Deadly Class - possibly the most fun/fresh new show I've seen in a while. This one's on SyFy. It's kind of a mix (based on a comic) between a high school melodrama, Harry Potter, and Scott Pilgrim. Basically a street rat kid gets recruited into a school training kids to become assassins. So you've got all the high school factions but intensified by them all being lethal killers (or wannabes). All of the main characters are interesting and compelling in different ways and it looks like they are slowly introducing larger story arcs as the show progresses.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage.

And I'm out. I've got two episodes on Hulu I haven't watched. But this show manages to make the savage, high jumping vampires from the book about as exciting as watching Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Talk about padding, too.

About halfway through season three of (the modern) Doctor Who and it's starting to seem really repetitive.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:35 pm Just finished watching Sex Education, which was really good despite sticking closely to quite a few tropes

Yeah, been watching this as well and it's surprisingly good. Very evocative of the 80's Degrassi which had been groundbreaking for its time. The major differences however lie in their styles. Degrassi was more of a straight drama while this appears to be a Dramady.

This thread, I keep missing it.

Fleabag. Season 2 just started and episode 1 was gold.

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Holman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:04 pm Adam Ruins Everything (Netflix and elsewhere?) is surprisingly well-argued and entertaining at the same time.

If you don't know it, it's a goofy sorta documentary series with the premise is that the host (comedian Adam Conover) is a know-it-all who explodes popular myths and assumptions through research. Topics include restaurants, the funeral industry, automobile usage, forensic policing, etc etc.

It's kind of a Mythbusters for culture itself, and it's far better than I expected it to be.

Dang. This sounded so good. I looked it up Netflix Canada and it's not on there.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:36 pm

Holman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:04 pm Adam Ruins Everything (Netflix and elsewhere?) is surprisingly well-argued and entertaining at the same time.

If you don't know it, it's a goofy sorta documentary series with the premise is that the host (comedian Adam Conover) is a know-it-all who explodes popular myths and assumptions through research. Topics include restaurants, the funeral industry, automobile usage, forensic policing, etc etc.

It's kind of a Mythbusters for culture itself, and it's far better than I expected it to be.

Dang. This sounded so good. I looked it up Netflix Canada and it's not on there.

My kids have found a lot of slices of it on YouTube. I'd imagine you could too.

Just got back from this. I enjoyed it, but then, as someone that's been a space cadet since I was a kid, I would.

We saw it on the IMAX. Pretty amazing visuals. The only negative was the couple of people behind us that talked through most of the movie.

hepcat wrote:

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage.

And I'm out. I've got two episodes on Hulu I haven't watched. But this show manages to make the savage, high jumping vampires from the book about as exciting as watching Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Talk about padding, too.

I really like the TV show. I thought the book was just ok.


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Started watching Miracle Workers on TBS, it has a great episode then a not so great. Still watching and enjoying it though.

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Lassr wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:18 pm

hepcat wrote:

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage.

And I'm out. I've got two episodes on Hulu I haven't watched. But this show manages to make the savage, high jumping vampires from the book about as exciting as watching Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Talk about padding, too.

I really like the TV show. I thought the book was just ok.


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I can't even begin to wrap my mind around this.

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:01 pm

Lassr wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:18 pm

hepcat wrote:

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage.

And I'm out. I've got two episodes on Hulu I haven't watched. But this show manages to make the savage, high jumping vampires from the book about as exciting as watching Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Talk about padding, too.

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I can't even begin to wrap my mind around this.

Well, a lot of people use Tapatalk around here, and they want us to know about it.

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:01 pm

Lassr wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:18 pm

hepcat wrote:

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:46 pm Started watching The Passage.

And I'm out. I've got two episodes on Hulu I haven't watched. But this show manages to make the savage, high jumping vampires from the book about as exciting as watching Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Talk about padding, too.

I really like the TV show. I thought the book was just ok.


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I can't even begin to wrap my mind around this.

It may be I read the book because it was so hyped up, and I enjoyed it, but it didn't live up to the hype IMHO. I went into the show not hyped up because I remember the book was good but really "out there" in some parts but I have really enjoyed how the show has handled it. If I can never look past flaws in a show then I'll never be able to enjoy any show.

Loved the season finale tonight.

I'm catching up on the rest of The Passage and I'm enjoying it enough to wish for a new season. I can see some of the flaws but I think if they get a 2nd season the show will really find its footing once the world turns to shit.

I do like the actors playing Amy and Wolgast. Most of the other humans can become a food source which, well...

Of course having Amy run into a darkened garage instead of staying in the sunlight is some piss poor writing.

This latest episode of Fleabag was just spectacular. This show is a treasure.

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I loved The Passage finale, really hope it gets picked up for a second season.

Deadly Class (on SyFy) has its finale tonight. The show has been fantastic pretty much from start to finish, maybe a couple of minor missteps but for the most part it's been great. The setup to the finale last week was really cool so I have high hopes for tonight.

Just started Now Apocalypse on Starz. It's a really weird show, almost like soft-core porn, but not really that either. I don't know how to describe it and I don't think I can recommend it here. There's a LOT of sex stuff, but also some weird alien stuff being hinted at, and some of it is pretty funny. It's from Gregg Araki, so it's definitely very gay-centric. For me, the eye candy (Beau Mirchoff from Awkward is so freaking hot I pretty much go crazy every time he's on screen) outweighs the weirdness. There are plenty of hot chicks in the show, too, so if you are just interested in some cheap titillation (no pun intended), it might be worth your time since each episode is only a half hour.

It’s been music biopic week at the skinypupy household.

- “The Dirt” somehow made the crazy story of Motley Crue boring. Good lord, that was bad.
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” was generally meh, but Malek absolutely owned as Freddy Mercury. Remarkable performance from him.
- “Lords of Chaos” was great to see black metal get some mainstream exposure, although its accuracy was...questionable. If you believe Varg (and you should never believe that Nazi asshole about anything. Ever.), it was completely fiction. From what I’ve read, the main story elements were close to the truth, even if some liberties were taken in the telling (I.e. Euronomous’ “girlfriend” was entirely made up). It was definitely interesting, and captured the essence of the original Norwegian black metal scene. Stupid kids doing stupid things that got way out of hand.

Starting S7 out of 8 of Weeds. By 2011, Breaking Bad was in S3. I hope Nancy Botwin ends better than Walter White did.

Watched the pilot episode of the new "What We Do in the Shadows" show on FX. Holy shit, that was hilarious.

The "creepy paper" made me literally do a spit take, and the whole "energy vampire" bit cracks me up.

The final episode of Fleabag (s02e06) was an absolute masterpiece. This season was even better than the first. So sad there will never be any more. Such a beautiful show.

Happier news, Killing Eve is already renewed for season 3. Huzzah.

Phoebe W-B is killing it.

Anybody else watching "What We Do In the Shadows"? This week's episode was hilarious.

Netflix foreign films selection often has some little treasures that are overlooked. One of those is Super Lopez, a Spanish comedy version of the Superman story. It doesn’t go with cynicism or work blue, but it’s fun nonetheless.

I love that the common reaction to a man with superpowers in Spain is constant questions about WHY the hell is he in Spain. “What’s he fight for, punctuality?”

Kraken wrote:Anybody else watching "What We Do In the Shadows"? This week's episode was hilarious.

Not yet but on the list.

Totally random, but last night I stumbled across a 2017 documentary on Netflix about the author of the Anarchist's Cookbook:



It's slow, but I found it quite interesting to watch - the end in particular. I think the film maker was trying to provoke him a bit, but I thought it was a great way to learn a bit more about the guy and how it all came about. Would recommend.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:42 pm Anybody else watching "What We Do In the Shadows"? This week's episode was hilarious.

This show has been a real treat, but last night's episode was crazy. I have no idea how they managed to pull off all those guest stars, but really quite hilarious.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:42 pm Anybody else watching "What We Do In the Shadows"? This week's episode was hilarious.

I’m a couple episodes behind, but plan on catching up on the flight home tonight. Funniest show I’ve seen in a long, long time.

And I could listen to that theme song for days.

What We Do in the Shadows was renewed by FX for a second season. It's well deserved.

BAT!