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TV Tuesdays Free Talk
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
So I ended up sticking it out for 2 more episodes of For All Mankind's second season. I mentioned last time that the first episode was long and boring. The second episode was better. The third episode was pretty good. So I'm going to stick it out and see where it goes. There's something here, even if they got off to a rocky start.
We watched the first episode of Bridgerton and it was awful. I mean the production was great, and the actors are good, and they have good representation of women and minorities. It's just that the characters are shitty people and I don't really want to know what happens to them or why. I hope a meteor takes them all out in episode 2, but I won't be watching to find out.
We had tried watching Schitt's Creek about a year ago and also found it hard to watch because of the horrible characters. Though obviously here they're played for laughs rather than something to aspire to. We stopped after a few episodes. A friend recommended skipping the rest of season 1 and going straight to season 2, so we did, and it's definitely better. There are enough laughs to offset the things I dislike for now.
Comedies about shitty people do tend to work, interestingly. In fact even regular sitcom characters tend to do things we would consider super shitty in real life. The extreme examples would be shows like Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Non-comedy seems to have a different set of rules. We can love shitty characters but this requires a particular framing.
I think you're right. What I'm seeing, having just completed season 2 of Schitt's Creek, is that the characters are showing real growth towards being better people, though. David ends up saving the money he gets from his negotiations instead of blowing it on a trip. Johnny defends Roland and Jocelyn when his rich friends meet them at a restaurant. But on both Seinfeld and Always Sunny, they just keep doubling-down and getting worse. I ended up stopping watching both shows because of it. But I was only able to put up with as long as I did because they were also funny.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend also took the path of actual growth for the characters. The main character really is an awful person, but what I liked about the show was that they often pointed out that she was awful instead of celebrating it. I think there was one song about being the villain in your own story, for example. And while the last season kind of dragged on and on, in the end, she does become a better person.
Interesting how you seem particularly averse to immoral characters. How do you feel about things like Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Narcos, Trainspotting, and Breaking Bad?
The only one of those I've watched is Trainspotting. I don't consider addicts to be immoral people. They may technically be criminals for using illegal drugs, but that's the fault of the government, not of their addiction. And yeah, the characters did some really bad things, but I thought it did a good job of showing what an addiction can do to a person. I have a lot more sympathy for a character in that position than for a mob boss who beats down innocent business owners just so he can steal some of their money every month.
I really detest movies about the mafia, in particular. There's nothing I find glamorous, sympathetic, or even interesting about people who make their living harassing and murdering other people. I'm sure those films are well done, I just hate the subject matter. I was bullied a lot when I was younger, so that's probably why it bothers me so much. Watching other innocent people get bullied is grating.
There are exceptions, though. For example, I watched Lupin recently on Netflix and enjoyed it. The main character is a thief. Normally, I'd be uninterested. He is a sort of "moral" thief. He's stealing from the powerful people who pulled a scam that ended up getting his father killed. So he's getting back at the bullies, I guess. It's also a funny show. The actor who plays the main character is a comedian and he does a good job with the material (which frankly is a little weak). So I can watch and enjoy media about "bad" people, but some I just can't stomach.
Lupin seems like an example of a moral outlaw, like Robin Hood. Not really evil.
You might want to give a try to the movies and TV shows I mentioned. They're pretty good. The characters in Transporting do have the excuse of addiction, but they're highly immoral in any sense of the word. That is even made explicit in the final voice over. So you may enjoy the company of some charismatic sociopaths. If you care for it, of course.
I find the problem of evil fascinating, I enjoy stories that explore the dark side of our psyche. It's like a psychological puzzle that I find entertaining.
Sorry for the mild hijack.
Trainspotting does not accurately portry the costs of addiction with one exception, and even then it very much glosses the true emotional consequences. I speak from direct experience.
If you want to see a movie that really delivers, Requiem for a Dream is your vehicle. High on the list of excellent movies I never want to see again. It really demonstrates the spiritual death and inescapability of addiction’s progression.
Thanks for your insight! I have heard that about Requiem for a Dream, but haven't had the courage to watch it yet.
I've been watching season 11 of The X Files. I love this show so much, it was literally an obsession back in the day.
The start of the revival (season 10) has some great standalone episodes, and that's where The X Files shines historically. When the mythology gets denser things get progressively more ridiculous to the point of unbearable. I'm soldering on because I know I'll find at least one or two hidden gems in the way.
I may rewatch the entire show afterwards, but the other day I watched a few episodes before sleeping and had nightmares all night. I also dreamed I was a vampire hunter and killed more than 100 vampires and told my girlfriend all about it talking in my sleep, so that's good, I guess? :/
The Lost Art of the Forehead Sweat is classic quirky X Files, I highly recommend the episode.
I just started Resident Alien. Its pretty good so far and I like Alan Tudyk.
Been watching this every week as new episodes come out and like it so far!
Alan Tudyk is hilarious and the show has been pretty well balanced so far.
I am glad they did not make this into a sitcom, where the set the stage where an alien starts working as a doctor in a tiny remote town, and then forward the larger plot of the story towards the end of each season.
Instead, each episode has been introducing new characters, story arcs and moving the central story along!
yeah, I didn't expect a lot going in, but its touching on more issues than I would have thought. Typically Syfy stuff (in my opinion) is not very good -- a solid six or so across the board -- but there have been a few gems like this over the years.
I've been watching Bull. It's entertaining nonsense. Season 4 leans really heavily into the formula, so much so that I was going to give up on S05. But I've just watched S05E01 and it's okay (made during covid I think?) so I guess I'll continue until it gets too tedious.
I'm enjoying For All Mankind. AppleTV are really putting some good content out.
I've been watching the docuseries Dirty Money on Netflix. I don't think this is the type of show I should be watching right now as it feeds into my sense of hopelessness. I find many of the people involved abhorrent and the lack of significant consequences for most, angering. The last episode of season 2, "Point Comfort," feels pre-distopian, pre-collapse, or some word I can't quite think of. With that said, I can't stop watching it. Somehow I started with the second season, and am now making my way through the first season.