Dave
Staff member
My wife just finished up to the current show. I am on episode 3 or 4 because I don't have as much free time as she does.
But Matt Berry - Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd - is frankly amazing.
[TV] Talk about the last TV you watched, the catchall thread
- Thread starter Frank
- Start date
But Matt Berry - Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd - is frankly amazing.
I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I saw the first film when I was three. I remember the third film as the first film I for sure saw in theaters. Personally, apart from the insane and nonsensical spectacles that were the prequels l, I have loved most Star Wars products that have come out. The prequels made me lose interest in what had been an obsession for me. The sequels gave me some of that passion back. Hate them or love them I think Disney has tried to put the IP into capable hands who love Star Wars just as much as I do. Sometimes I do wonder if people who say the sequels are worse than the prequels even remember Jarjar, baby anakin, midichlorians, and a slew of messy plot devices. But if they do and still love those films for it then that’s fine as long as they enjoyed something from the franchise.
I'm on a rewatch of Community. Almost through the first season. Two things come to mind:
1) I really, really hate Pierce. Like, I get having a foil in the group, but I find him equally unfunny and obnoxious. Maybe it's tainted knowing what a jackass Chase was behind the scenes.
2) The paintball episode is unquestionably the turning point of the show. Before, it was an oddball sitcom with an admittedly interesting, diverse, and engaging cast of characters, but the paintball episode is where the show hit the sweet spot of what it was supposed to be.
3) The Dean is surprisingly not as wacky as he became in later episodes. The paintball episode was also a turning point for him, I think. But he's not as heavily featured as I remember with later episodes.
1) I really, really hate Pierce. Like, I get having a foil in the group, but I find him equally unfunny and obnoxious. Maybe it's tainted knowing what a jackass Chase was behind the scenes.
2) The paintball episode is unquestionably the turning point of the show. Before, it was an oddball sitcom with an admittedly interesting, diverse, and engaging cast of characters, but the paintball episode is where the show hit the sweet spot of what it was supposed to be.
3) The Dean is surprisingly not as wacky as he became in later episodes. The paintball episode was also a turning point for him, I think. But he's not as heavily featured as I remember with later episodes.
figmentPez
Staff member
Finished the latest season of Brooklyn Nine Nine. It was a let down.
Solar Opposites
Finished the first episode. It's not clever like Rick and Morty but so far I'm enjoying it enough to continue watching.
Edit: I finished the season. Overall its okay. Rips on sitcom culture with that Rick and Morty flair and has a multi-episode running subplot about a terrarium wall civilization where the alien children keep humans they've shrunk.
It's not as clever as R&M and I don't expect many exceptional character growth moments like it either. But if you want to watch a "family" of aliens try and fail to fit in on earth and unintentionally get a high body count nearly all the time, then this is your show.
Finished the first episode. It's not clever like Rick and Morty but so far I'm enjoying it enough to continue watching.
Edit: I finished the season. Overall its okay. Rips on sitcom culture with that Rick and Morty flair and has a multi-episode running subplot about a terrarium wall civilization where the alien children keep humans they've shrunk.
It's not as clever as R&M and I don't expect many exceptional character growth moments like it either. But if you want to watch a "family" of aliens try and fail to fit in on earth and unintentionally get a high body count nearly all the time, then this is your show.
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I just watched Donald Glover's WEIRDO stand-up routine. Now I'm onto Ken Jeong's YOU COMPLETE ME, HO.
Can...can we just get a a Netflix special from like everyone previous involved with Community? Joel McHale, Gillian Jacbos, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Brown, Jim Rash.
Hell, let's give one to Luke "Magnitude" Youngblood. Like, literally every bit actor. Give a special to the monkey that played Annie's Boobs. EVERYONE.
Except Chevy Chase.
Fuck that guy.
Can...can we just get a a Netflix special from like everyone previous involved with Community? Joel McHale, Gillian Jacbos, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Brown, Jim Rash.
Hell, let's give one to Luke "Magnitude" Youngblood. Like, literally every bit actor. Give a special to the monkey that played Annie's Boobs. EVERYONE.
Except Chevy Chase.
Fuck that guy.
So I'm onto Season 3 on Community. Some thoughts:
1) It gets a LOT weirder this season, with more concept episodes like the pillow fort documentary and the Law & Order parody. They basically took the concept episodes like the paintball and said "Kay, we're doing more of this."
2) Surprisingly less Pierce appearences as things progress. I don't know if that's because of the ongoing issues with Chevy Chase or just happenstance.
3) Britta becomes more and more obnoxious as it continues. At first, she was about equal with Jeff in terms of intelligence, but they lean harder and harder on her being a buzzkill.
4) Maybe it's just me, but the show isn't a very good representation for LGBTQ. Not in the sense of having LGBTQ characters, but almost anything relating to homosexuality is treated as a joke or a punchline.
Ex: Pierce constantly calling Britta a lesbian or Jeff gay. The "guy love" relationship between Troy & Abed (and the odd gay joke about them). The whole episode where Britta thinks she's friends with a lesbian. The blatant stereotypes in the gay party with Pierce's company.
Most damning, of course, is the Dean's portrayal, where they never come out and say he's gay, despite multiple signs and his obsessive man-crush on Jeff. The Dean only ever has three punchlines: his neuroticism, his homosexuality, and his cross dressing.
It'd be interesting to analyze Community from an LGBTQ perspective to see whether it positively portrays the community (pardon the pun) in a positive light or not. Because I'm leaning towards not.
1) It gets a LOT weirder this season, with more concept episodes like the pillow fort documentary and the Law & Order parody. They basically took the concept episodes like the paintball and said "Kay, we're doing more of this."
2) Surprisingly less Pierce appearences as things progress. I don't know if that's because of the ongoing issues with Chevy Chase or just happenstance.
3) Britta becomes more and more obnoxious as it continues. At first, she was about equal with Jeff in terms of intelligence, but they lean harder and harder on her being a buzzkill.
4) Maybe it's just me, but the show isn't a very good representation for LGBTQ. Not in the sense of having LGBTQ characters, but almost anything relating to homosexuality is treated as a joke or a punchline.
Ex: Pierce constantly calling Britta a lesbian or Jeff gay. The "guy love" relationship between Troy & Abed (and the odd gay joke about them). The whole episode where Britta thinks she's friends with a lesbian. The blatant stereotypes in the gay party with Pierce's company.
Most damning, of course, is the Dean's portrayal, where they never come out and say he's gay, despite multiple signs and his obsessive man-crush on Jeff. The Dean only ever has three punchlines: his neuroticism, his homosexuality, and his cross dressing.
It'd be interesting to analyze Community from an LGBTQ perspective to see whether it positively portrays the community (pardon the pun) in a positive light or not. Because I'm leaning towards not.
I'm not sure if you've watched later seasons, but the dean is sort of addressed in a later episode about diversity exploitation, with the ultimate message being: this stuff is complicated and people don't always fit into simple marketable packages like corporations like to pretend each June of late.
Britta unfortunately represents a lot of high horse allies who, instead of using their privilege to pass the mic to marginalized people, cling to it so they can talk about what great allies they are. I don't know that the show is aware of that though. It's been a few years since we watched anything but the season 2 and 3 Christmas episodes.
I'll be curious to hear what you think of season 4.
GasBandit
Staff member
The GAS LEAK year!
I have watched the whole show before, but it was sporadic and I only remember bits and pieces. I vaguely recall the episode you're referring to. But I guess my point is that, like many sitcoms, it seems to treat homosexuality as a punchline than anything else.
I finished my binge/re-watch of Community a few days ago, and a few thoughts, some re:Nick's post;
1)I think they went harder into the high-concept show Season 3 because they weren't sure if they were getting renewed. I remember my during my first watch that even though it aired after it was announced Community was getting a Season 4, the season 3 finale felt like it could have been a series finale.
2)I don't think you're wrong about the LGBTQ misrepresentation throughout the show, but I also think Hailey's right about Britta. Sometimes I also think they go extra-hard on Britta to make her less Annie-like. And Pierce is supposed to be that kind of Boomer, so his using "gay" as a pejorative fits the character. Also, the less Pierce, the better.
3)I don't think Season 4 was really as bad as people make it to be, both in my initial watch, and rewatching. Not as good or consistent, but not terrrible.
4) What I did notice watching Season 5 and 6, which didn't stand out as much live-watching, but now watching them so close to Seasons 1-3 and 4,
5) Also Season 5/6: I know they threw a one-line lamp shade on Chang's de-evolution from competence over the years, but I miss Season 1 Chang. On the other hand, the Chang puns are some of my favorite Community running gags.
1)I think they went harder into the high-concept show Season 3 because they weren't sure if they were getting renewed. I remember my during my first watch that even though it aired after it was announced Community was getting a Season 4, the season 3 finale felt like it could have been a series finale.
2)I don't think you're wrong about the LGBTQ misrepresentation throughout the show, but I also think Hailey's right about Britta. Sometimes I also think they go extra-hard on Britta to make her less Annie-like. And Pierce is supposed to be that kind of Boomer, so his using "gay" as a pejorative fits the character. Also, the less Pierce, the better.
3)I don't think Season 4 was really as bad as people make it to be, both in my initial watch, and rewatching. Not as good or consistent, but not terrrible.
4) What I did notice watching Season 5 and 6, which didn't stand out as much live-watching, but now watching them so close to Seasons 1-3 and 4,
is that everyone seems a lot meaner and angrier in those last two seasons. It could be due to losing the Russo Brothers, or it could be in part to Dan Harmon coming back, probably with a chip on his shoulder after losing his show for a season. I think I also remember Dan going through a divorce at this point, and I know there was a case where it came out that he was sexually harassing one of the women writers for the show. Or was that after it ended? I might be getting the dates confused. In any case, clearly there was stuff going on behind the scenes, and it just seemed to me like more characters were lashing out rather than bouncing off each other.
5) Also Season 5/6: I know they threw a one-line lamp shade on Chang's de-evolution from competence over the years, but I miss Season 1 Chang. On the other hand, the Chang puns are some of my favorite Community running gags.
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Still on my watchthrough of Brooklyn 99, and I will say that the Captain's character is a pretty good gay character. He's gay, and there's been stories/arcs about his relationship, but none of it's been deliberately played for a joke or as a stereotype. Kevin (his husband) might as well have been Annie, and I don't think a single storyline would've been any different.
Holt is absolutely a great example. I thought perhaps it was bad when he tried "playing straight," being obsessed with large boobs, but I think that just speaks more to his character. Plus, the actor is amazing.
Diaz is another great example of a gay character dome right.
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Diaz is another great example of a gay character dome right.
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I haven't seen past the third season, so AFAIK she's engaged to a guy. Turns out she's bi then? Ok.
Shit, sorry. Spoilers.
Now that the cat's out of the bag anyway, I'm so glad Pimento keeps appearing. Julie and I always lose our shit the moment he shows up 
not your fault, nor do I care about spoilers all that much, so no worries.
I finished the 50 episodes. I cried through most of the final episodes. Noah thought I got some bad news. I told him it was this show's ending, and things leading up to it, that had me all emotional. He just nodded and went back to sketching. I get myself calmed down. I've got to go grab some things at the store. Lily comes around the corner as I'm getting ready and asks if I had finished watching my show. Tears all over again! Jeez.
Stargirl
I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this to come out, and I wasn't disappointed!
I love the JSA. I find them way more interesting than the JLA most of the time.
This show is just pure comic book joy. On the CW scale from the "wallowing in angst" of Arrow and Batwoman to the fun and crazy antics of the Legends, Stargirl seems to be on the Legends end (just not as goofy). Brec Bassinger is so awesome as Courtney. She has a little teen angst, but it doesn't drag her down. When she first discovers the Cosmic Staff, she has fun! Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan/Stripesy is also good. There's some "new stepdad" angst, but it doesn't last long. By the end of the episode, they're already moving on from that.
I'm a little less sure of reforming the JSA as teen heroes, but they are based on canon characters -- Beth Chapel (Dr. Mid-Nite), Yolanda Montez (Wildcat), and Rick Tyler (Hourman) -- and after meeting those kids at the "losers" table in the school cafeteria, I'm feeling a little better about it.
The villains are the Injustice Society--may as well start big! And there's a mystery to solve as to why all these villains are living in Blue Valley, Nebraska. (Maybe Ben Sasse is a member, too?
)
The effects are excellent. I hope they didn't blow their whole budget on the first episode! The Cosmic Staff is incredibly cool, and how Courtney uses it is incredibly cool. Her backstory is that she's a gymnast and she actually uses that. This version of the staff seems to be sentient, so adds a relationship dynamic with Courtney learning to wield it. And then S.T.R.I.P.E. shows up, and wheee! Giant robot! Fun!
The reviews by screeners for the next two episodes are very positive, so I have a lot of hope for this show. This really is the superhero we need right now, because Stargirl is all about hope and light and optimism. Geoff Johns has stated that this is a show about family and he wants to keep it family friendly. (So none of Titan's violence, or Doom Patrol's potty mouths).
It's on DC Universe, but also streams the next day on CW. (Note: they had to cut scenes from the first two episodes on CW since they run almost an hour each, so no room for commercials).
I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this to come out, and I wasn't disappointed!
I love the JSA. I find them way more interesting than the JLA most of the time.
So I got my heart crushed in the first five minutes when they all died. 
Okay, not sure if they're all actually dead or just retired. I think we only know for certain that Starman is dead. I think Wildcat, Hourman, and Dr. Mid-Nite, at least, are scheduled to be in future episodes? But that could also just be flashbacks. Geoff Johns has also dropped hints about Alan and Jay's influences, so who knows, maybe we'll get some of the originals showing up occasionally. *hopes*.
Okay, not sure if they're all actually dead or just retired. I think we only know for certain that Starman is dead. I think Wildcat, Hourman, and Dr. Mid-Nite, at least, are scheduled to be in future episodes? But that could also just be flashbacks. Geoff Johns has also dropped hints about Alan and Jay's influences, so who knows, maybe we'll get some of the originals showing up occasionally. *hopes*.This show is just pure comic book joy. On the CW scale from the "wallowing in angst" of Arrow and Batwoman to the fun and crazy antics of the Legends, Stargirl seems to be on the Legends end (just not as goofy). Brec Bassinger is so awesome as Courtney. She has a little teen angst, but it doesn't drag her down. When she first discovers the Cosmic Staff, she has fun! Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan/Stripesy is also good. There's some "new stepdad" angst, but it doesn't last long. By the end of the episode, they're already moving on from that.
I'm a little less sure of reforming the JSA as teen heroes, but they are based on canon characters -- Beth Chapel (Dr. Mid-Nite), Yolanda Montez (Wildcat), and Rick Tyler (Hourman) -- and after meeting those kids at the "losers" table in the school cafeteria, I'm feeling a little better about it.
The villains are the Injustice Society--may as well start big! And there's a mystery to solve as to why all these villains are living in Blue Valley, Nebraska. (Maybe Ben Sasse is a member, too?
)The effects are excellent. I hope they didn't blow their whole budget on the first episode! The Cosmic Staff is incredibly cool, and how Courtney uses it is incredibly cool. Her backstory is that she's a gymnast and she actually uses that. This version of the staff seems to be sentient, so adds a relationship dynamic with Courtney learning to wield it. And then S.T.R.I.P.E. shows up, and wheee! Giant robot! Fun!
The reviews by screeners for the next two episodes are very positive, so I have a lot of hope for this show. This really is the superhero we need right now, because Stargirl is all about hope and light and optimism. Geoff Johns has stated that this is a show about family and he wants to keep it family friendly. (So none of Titan's violence, or Doom Patrol's potty mouths).
It's on DC Universe, but also streams the next day on CW. (Note: they had to cut scenes from the first two episodes on CW since they run almost an hour each, so no room for commercials).
Welp, I finished Community Season 4. Not gonna lie, it's not TERRIBLE. There are some decent episodes sprinkled throughout. And it's only 13 episodes long, surprisingly. The ones that aren't weird concepts are forgettable, but the weird concept ones aren't bad.
Welp, I just finished Community Season 6 and...whew, that was a mixed bag. The writing was good for the most part, but the episodes were hit and miss. Elroy was a good addition, but honestly, Frankie added next to nothing as a character. She was just sort of there.
Like, it wasn't bad, but - and I'm surprised to hear myself saying this - but there were some better episodes in Season 4, like the Inspector Spacetime convention episode.
Rather than a solid, triumphant final season, it felt like a limp to the finish line.
I forgot to mention on here my thoughts on Season 5: it's not the best season, but it's probably better than 4 or 6. Harmon's return was noticeable almost right off the bat and it's funny how they hand-waved the last season as a gas leak. But as Abed pointed out in the series finale, the show was hemorrhaging characters/actors. Losing Pierce wasn't a great loss aside from having a good antagonist within the group. Losing Shirley was more noticeable, but didn't hurt the show too bad. But Troy leaving was unquestionably its biggest loss. Without him, Abed had a LOT less to do and didn't have someone to play off of as easily. The show lost most of its momentum once Troy left.
I thought Hickey was the best replacement of them all. He was cantankerous and made for a nicer antagonist compared to Pierce. It's a shame he didn't come back for the last season.
Like, it wasn't bad, but - and I'm surprised to hear myself saying this - but there were some better episodes in Season 4, like the Inspector Spacetime convention episode.
Rather than a solid, triumphant final season, it felt like a limp to the finish line.
I forgot to mention on here my thoughts on Season 5: it's not the best season, but it's probably better than 4 or 6. Harmon's return was noticeable almost right off the bat and it's funny how they hand-waved the last season as a gas leak. But as Abed pointed out in the series finale, the show was hemorrhaging characters/actors. Losing Pierce wasn't a great loss aside from having a good antagonist within the group. Losing Shirley was more noticeable, but didn't hurt the show too bad. But Troy leaving was unquestionably its biggest loss. Without him, Abed had a LOT less to do and didn't have someone to play off of as easily. The show lost most of its momentum once Troy left.
I thought Hickey was the best replacement of them all. He was cantankerous and made for a nicer antagonist compared to Pierce. It's a shame he didn't come back for the last season.
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Started watching BoJack Horseman tonight. Does this show...get better? Because so far, it's really not doing it for me.
I thought maybe it might be hard to watch because it apparently deals with mental illness but so far, it's just bad, poorly timed jokes trying to "edgy" and your typical asshole main character that seems to be in so many shows these days.
I thought maybe it might be hard to watch because it apparently deals with mental illness but so far, it's just bad, poorly timed jokes trying to "edgy" and your typical asshole main character that seems to be in so many shows these days.
It does take a little time to find its stride. Bojack is a terrible person, and continues to be a terrible person, in surprisingly empathetic ways
It's really kind of a slow-motion train wreck that deals with realistic character growth in a cartoon world with animal people.
I'd say this is true, except for the empathetic part. I gave up after season 2 or 3 because there are too many people like this in real life who get chance after chance handed to them, and they continue to do selfish and horrible things. By then my empathy had worn out.
I’m watching the new season of Alone. I’m disturbed by how insufficient their clothing and boots are. I was near where they are last fall and it gets bitter. Where are the parkas and mukluks? Face coverings?