PonyGirl wrote:

Hud wrote:

cortez the killer wrote:
Can HBO Give Deadwood a Proper Ending?

The 'Deadwood' TV series will finally be made into a movie on HBO, the network's programming chief announced Wednesday at the summer Television Critics Association press tour.

So this will be in cinemas soon. I have desperately high hopes for it. Ideally, it's so incredible that I watch it like 5 times and then call everyone I know, "Cocksucker" for the next 6 months.

I quote Deadwood on a regular basis, here are a few of my absolute "go-tos":

What a type you must consort with that you not fear a beating for such an insult!

Those who doubt me suck cock by choice

Wash yer fuckin' mouth, you've got seven kinds of cockbreath

PonyGirl wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:

PonyGirl wrote:
Whaaaaaat? I love that show. So much. I think it's super smart and hysterical on every level. I watched it a few years ago and have kept a keen eye on Phoebe Waller-Bridge ever since. I think she's a comedy genius and that her work evokes significant pathos.

I think you should persevere. Even if you hate it. Broaden your horizons. It's very short (mercifully for you, but sadly for me).

Either way, you aren't irrelevant.

That you (and flea, of course, just consider the name) love this show is the world absolutely as it should be and is no surprise. That I disliked it so much really bothers me. I will give it more of a shot, just not right away, lol.

Have you done your homework and given this a try, Bubba? I've seen the first 3 eps of season 2 and I only have 2 words: Magical Perfection.

Not yet, but have not forgotten about it. Near the top of the list.

PonyGirl wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:

PonyGirl wrote: Whaaaaaat? I love that show. So much. I think it's super smart and hysterical on every level. I watched it a few years ago and have kept a keen eye on Phoebe Waller-Bridge ever since. I think she's a comedy genius and that her work evokes significant pathos.

I think you should persevere. Even if you hate it. Broaden your horizons. It's very short (mercifully for you, but sadly for me).

Either way, you aren't irrelevant.

That you (and flea, of course, just consider the name) love this show is the world absolutely as it should be and is no surprise. That I disliked it so much really bothers me. I will give it more of a shot, just not right away, lol.

Have you done your homework and given this a try, Bubba? I've seen the first 3 eps of season 2 and I only have 2 words: Magical Perfection.

Season 2 is available? Is it on Amazon Prime still?

Tried Turn Up Charlie on a whim and wound up binging the whole thing - only 8 short episodes. Overall, kind of strange in its indecisiveness but easy watching. Idris Elba is terrific and plays against type amusingly. The 11 year old who is his main foil is overdone (more the director and/or writers than the actress, i think) which prevents the thing from really taking off but an amusing, non-taxing trifle.

Flea wrote: Season 2 is available? Is it on Amazon Prime still?

I don't think it is available in the States yet. April, I think.

I enjoyed season 1 so thoroughly that I watched it twice. She is so clever and unique and fresh and she really knows how to create a story arc and build characters, but it was based on her Fringe play and was not without the odd flaw. Of course I have mad respect for someone who can do such a great job of turning a Fringe play into a series, which I expect would be no easy task. But from a critical perspective, there were spots where her lack of experience was evident. Not that these spots detracted from the awesomeness of the show and to be honest, I didn't actually really notice this until season 2.

Because season 2 is fucking perfect.

You know when you go to a really strong concert and you're like, "Wow, that was a really strong concert. These guys are really good." But then you go to a show with superlative tightness and energy and an awe inspiring wall of sound and your are like, "Holy fuck! Mind blown!? That's season 2, so far, in my opinion.

Fuck! I sure hope I haven't over-hyped it. Maybe manage your expectations. But this is sincerely how I feel.

In the meantime, if you haven't watched Catastrophe, you really can't do better in the realistic comedy department. It's the best.

Happy Valley is a short (6 episodes, so far 2 seasons) cops and robbers drama from some of the same people responsible for Scott & Bailey, which I loved. Just started the second season. The first was very good w/ a couple of interesting story lines and a very interesting, complex main character well supported by a mostly excellent cast. Season 2 seems to be up to the same standard so far. British, but not from the BBC. A Netflix original if I'm not mistaken. Very good and worth watching but not groundbreaking great or at the level of, say, The Tunnel.

beantownbubba wrote:Happy Valley is a short (6 episodes, so far 2 seasons) cops and robbers drama from some of the same people responsible for Scott & Bailey, which I loved. Just started the second season. The first was very good w/ a couple of interesting story lines and a very interesting, complex main character well supported by a mostly excellent cast. Season 2 seems to be up to the same standard so far. British, but not from the BBC. A Netflix original if I'm not mistaken. Very good and worth watching but not groundbreaking great or at the level of, say, The Tunnel.

I certainly recommend it. The main character is played by one of the actresses from Last Tango in Halifax, which is also very worthy of watching. It is kind of a romantic comedy/drama, but very entertaining. Most of the British Netflix originals are just bought by Netflix. They are made by non BBC entities and usually air before they make American Netflix.

PonyGirl wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:

PonyGirl wrote:
Whaaaaaat? I love that show. So much. I think it's super smart and hysterical on every level. I watched it a few years ago and have kept a keen eye on Phoebe Waller-Bridge ever since. I think she's a comedy genius and that her work evokes significant pathos.

I think you should persevere. Even if you hate it. Broaden your horizons. It's very short (mercifully for you, but sadly for me).

Either way, you aren't irrelevant.

That you (and flea, of course, just consider the name) love this show is the world absolutely as it should be and is no surprise. That I disliked it so much really bothers me. I will give it more of a shot, just not right away, lol.

Have you done your homework and given this a try, Bubba? I've seen the first 3 eps of season 2 and I only have 2 words: Magical Perfection.

Forgot to say that I did recently catch up w/ all of season 1 of Fleabag. I don't know what the difference was, perhaps the comments here or adjusted expectations, but I really enjoyed it this time around, including the first episode on rewatch. At its boundary pushing best it's truly excellent and when it falls short of that it's still very funny and enjoyable. It does make me somewhat sad and maybe a little uncomfortable that someone who has that much sex enjoys it so little. I think I'd feel the same if the character were male, but I acknowledge that there could be some sexism lurking in my subconscious. I love her evolving relationship w/ her sister which has real depth and unusual perspective. The backstory on her friend which emerges slowly over the course of the season is beautifully done and very powerful. And yes, by the end I did find the season disappointingly short. Looking forward to season 2, which I think starts in a couple of wks in the US.

Just started Gentleman Jack from the same unofficial team that brought us Scott & Bailey and Happy Valley. Not quite up to the rave review I saw in the NYT a while back, but pretty good w/ the chance to get better. Oddly enough, I think the problem w/ the show is that it imposes a modern sensibility on 19th century events which somehow makes the events less compelling. Normally, it's the other way 'round, where the modern perspective provides fresh insight into past events so I'm not quite sure that I'm right or, if I am, why that should be. In any event, worth sticking with, and I will.

Ripped through the new season of Bosch in a couple of binge sessions. I thought it was very good and brought some welcome nuance and character development to keep things fresh. The middle episodes impressively and deftly handled and juggled multiple plot strands the easily could have gotten out of control. I'm a sucker for this show anyway because I love the books on which the series is based, but I'm pretty sure I'd like the show even w/out that background.

I somehow missed it when it was first announced, but I'm bummed Better Call Saul won't be back on until 2020.

Chernobyl on HBO. Looks very promising after the first episode.

beantownbubba wrote:Forgot to say that I did recently catch up w/ all of season 1 of Fleabag. I don't know what the difference was, perhaps the comments here or adjusted expectations, but I really enjoyed it this time around, including the first episode on rewatch. At its boundary pushing best it's truly excellent and when it falls short of that it's still very funny and enjoyable.

It does make me somewhat sad and maybe a little uncomfortable that someone who has that much sex enjoys it so little.

If you are saying this in reaction to the spate of lovers she has had who have been boring, selfish and/or unfulfilling, then I agree. This is indeed sad. If you think she generally doesn’t like sex, I disagree.

beantownbubba wrote:I think I'd feel the same if the character were male

I’m not sure about this either. If you were watching an episode of Entourage and one of the cast regulars had a engaged in a string of unsatisfying hook ups. Would you think, “Oh that poor guy hates sex, how sad” or would you think, “Oh that poor guy is having a tough time getting laid properly?”

beantownbubba wrote: but I acknowledge that there could be some sexism lurking in my subconscious.

Bold statement. I admire your confidence.

beantownbubba wrote: I love her evolving relationship w/ her sister which has real depth and unusual perspective.

It's even more entertaining and clever in season 2.

The American reviews for season 2 are out and they're pretty much as over the top as my personal views. I hope I'm not over-hyping this to its detriment, but it's so fucking good.

At some point it becomes silly to talk about the sex life of a fictional tv character but what the hell...

PonyGirl wrote:If you are saying this in reaction to the spate of lovers she has had who have been boring, selfish and/or unfulfilling, then I agree. This is indeed sad. If you think she generally doesn’t like sex, I disagree.

If you're saying she has bad taste in men, I agree. If you're saying that it's not her fault that she keeps going back to guys she knows are boring, selfish and/or unfulfilling I disagree. If you're saying that she'd enjoy sex w/ better men who are better at sex, that's probably right.

PonyGirl wrote: If you were watching an episode of Entourage and one of the cast regulars had a engaged in a string of unsatisfying hook ups. Would you think, “Oh that poor guy hates sex, how sad” or would you think, “Oh that poor guy is having a tough time getting laid properly?”

It depends on the circumstances and whether it's played for laughs, or drama or psychological nuance, or to make fun of his partners, etc, but generally speaking I'd say my reaction would be close to the former and pretty much definitely not the latter (unless I knew the woman/women personally and had reason to know that they were bad at sex, I don't think this would occur to me). Based on real life sort of examples, I'd probably think something like "this guy doesn't really like sex, he just seems compelled, or is keeping score or is deeply in the closet or something." That's not the same as "hating" sex* but it's closer to that than blaming his partners and also pretty close to what I meant about Fleabag ("enjoys it so little" is not the same as "hate").

BTW, I've started Killing Eve and so far so good but I don't want to say anything until I've finished it.

beantownbubba wrote:BTW, I've started Killing Eve and so far so good but I don't want to say anything until I've finished it.

Season Two is just about to start over here.

Pick to Hit: So it appears that John Taffer of Bar Rescue fame has a new show premiering in June called Marriage Rescue. I assume the title says it all. I feel vindicated because I've always said that what he does more often than not on Bar Rescue is fix dysfunctional families (whether literally related or not). Hopefully it will be more interesting than, say, Maury or Jerry Springer.

I loved Fleabag and can't wait for season 2.
I hated Killing Eve, but my wife loved it. (Disclaimer: I really hate violence/murder/psychopathy as entertainment, so I'm not a fair judge.)
My wife loves Dead to Me and it's growing on me.
We both loved Sex Education. A lot.
We both really loved After Life.
We watched part of the first episode of Game of Thrones; she was meh and I hated it (see disclaimer above). I'm looking forward to not hearing anything more about it.

i was wondering when Better Call Saul was gonna be back but i guess they are now waiting until 2020... that sucks.

beantownbubba wrote:Pick to Hit: So it appears that John Taffer of Bar Rescue fame has a new show premiering in June called Marriage Rescue. I assume the title says it all. I feel vindicated because I've always said that what he does more often than not on Bar Rescue is fix dysfunctional families (whether literally related or not). Hopefully it will be more interesting than, say, Maury or Jerry Springer.

We used to watch Bar Rescue but couldn't take that guy's assholery anymore. Now he wants to fix marriages??!!! Sounds dreadful.

Tequila Cowboy wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:Pick to Hit: So it appears that John Taffer of Bar Rescue fame has a new show premiering in June called Marriage Rescue. I assume the title says it all. I feel vindicated because I've always said that what he does more often than not on Bar Rescue is fix dysfunctional families (whether literally related or not). Hopefully it will be more interesting than, say, Maury or Jerry Springer.

We used to watch Bar Rescue but couldn't take that guy's assholery anymore. Now he wants to fix marriages??!!! Sounds dreadful.

We still watch Bar Rescue but I couldn’t agree more about the Taff being an enormous narcissistic asshole. I can’t imagine anyone less qualified to save marriages. Marriage Rescue? SHUT IT DOWN!!!

All in the Family/the Jeffersons Live. I really enjoyed this but.....never ever in my wildest dreams did I ever think Marisa Tomei could turn me off!

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

Tequila Cowboy wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:Pick to Hit: So it appears that John Taffer of Bar Rescue fame has a new show premiering in June called Marriage Rescue. I assume the title says it all. I feel vindicated because I've always said that what he does more often than not on Bar Rescue is fix dysfunctional families (whether literally related or not). Hopefully it will be more interesting than, say, Maury or Jerry Springer.

We used to watch Bar Rescue but couldn't take that guy's assholery anymore. Now he wants to fix marriages??!!! Sounds dreadful.

We still watch Bar Rescue but I couldn’t agree more about the Taff being an enormous narcissistic asshole. I can’t imagine anyone less qualified to save marriages. Marriage Rescue? SHUT IT DOWN!!!

There is no question that the Taff is a master of bar science- hell, he invented the damn discipline- but I have yet to see any
sign of him being a marriage-science master

I rather enjoyed the live reenactments of old All In The Family and The Jeffersons episodes the other night.

Flea wrote:I rather enjoyed the live reenactments of old All In The Family and The Jeffersons episodes the other night.

We missed it but they're rebroadcasting tonight. Looking forward to it.

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
We used to watch Bar Rescue but couldn't take that guy's assholery anymore. Now he wants to fix marriages??!!! Sounds dreadful.

We still watch Bar Rescue but I couldn’t agree more about the Taff being an enormous narcissistic asshole. I can’t imagine anyone less qualified to save marriages. Marriage Rescue? SHUT IT DOWN!!!

There is no question that the Taff is a master of bar science- hell, he invented the damn discipline- but I have yet to see any
sign of him being a marriage-science master

I'm a little surprised. I stopped watching Bar Rescue because the episodes follow one of only a very few scripts that eventually get boring (though I do think what appears to be a newer style that mostly ignores the "race" to finish the physical changes is a big improvement). And Taffer is certainly who he is. But I do think he has a talent for finding and honing in on personal, interpersonal and organizational weak spots and forcing principals to confront them. HIs approach is surely not everyone's cup of tea as a marriage counseling methodology but I don't see why it wouldn't work in the right cases. Whether it will make for interesting TV is a very different question. If and how Taffer adapts to a field where he actually doesn't have demonstrated expertise and experience could also prove interesting (though I'm guessing the show will not focus on this lol).

Killing Eve: If enough people watch the show, "You hit me with a log!!" has got to emerge as a catch phrase.

I enjoyed season 1 very much but didn't care for the very confused ending and hope that as the show moves forward the farce and thriller drama are more seamlessly integrated. Each element has its pluses but it doesn't seem to me that they work together as well as they might. It may be that there is no way to be seamless about that kind of combination, in which case, for me, the show will remain enjoyable w/out being great.

Flea wrote:I rather enjoyed the live reenactments of old All In The Family and The Jeffersons episodes the other night.

I thought the All in the Family half wasn’t that great but the Jeffersons part was quite good

I find Wanda Sykes’ comedy hit or miss (mostly miss), but man does she struggle when trying to play it straight as seen in her Louise Jefferson portrayal

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:

Flea wrote:I rather enjoyed the live reenactments of old All In The Family and The Jeffersons episodes the other night.

I thought the All in the Family half wasn’t that great but the Jeffersons part was quite good

I find Wanda Sykes’ comedy hit or miss (mostly miss), but man does she struggle when trying to play it straight as seen in her Louise Jefferson portrayal

We liked them both, but in the All in the Family portion Woody Harrelson didn't quite capture Archie. Marisa Tomei, on the other hand was incredible as Edith and the rest of the cast was good as well. The scene stealer, in my opinion, was Jamie Fox as George Jefferson. The guy had it DOWN. Overall the takeaways were that 1) they simply don't write television like this anymore 2) if they did no one would be that brave 3) it's amazing how these same issues are still relevant more than four decades on. Overall a highly enjoyable experience.

As a side note we got a kick out of the dog's reactions to our laughing our asses off. I cannot remember the last time I saw something funny on TV so they weren't used to it. There hasn't been a TV comedy worth watching in twenty years and every time we try to watch one we turn it off in five minutes. Those were the days indeed.

Not a fan of The Office, Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, etc.?

Zip City wrote:Not a fan of The Office, Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, etc.?

30 Rock had its moments but devolved into stupidity. Not a fan of the others.

Tequila Cowboy wrote:The scene stealer, in my opinion, was Jamie Fox as George Jefferson. The guy had it DOWN.

Agree 100%, he was GJ right down to his distinctive style of walking

Tequila Cowboy wrote:

Zip City wrote:Not a fan of The Office, Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, etc.?

30 Rock had its moments but devolved into stupidity. Not a fan of the others.

Pity. Some of my favorite comedies of all time.

The Goldbergs, Archer and Bobs Burgers are pretty good as well