New season talk type thread thing.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

It remained passable, just not as good.

[Mr. Johnson]

I didn't think Pam eating cocaine literally every episode was passable, but season 6 did try to redeem itself. It's just a shame they did it through chewed up jokes from the previous seasons.

[Dog Pants]

4 seasons is about 3 seasons and 15 episodes more than I get out of most, so I can live with that.

[Pnut]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_XwS3VeBM[/youtube]

[Roman Totale]

Haven't heard of that before, but it looks impressively big budget and quite interesting.

Daredevil season 2:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5_A0Wx0jU4[/youtube]

Looking forwards to some Punisher style justice

[Pnut]

I remember enjoying the books as a kid and I have just started re reading them. As far as I can see its going to be based on the original Sword of Shannara Trilogy, but they are spread across 3 generations iirc, so it'll be good to see how they manage it.

[Roman Totale]

Thought the name was familiar, but I forgot to look it up. Are Terry Brooks books any good? I tried a couple when I was young but I could never really get into them - at the time they seemed a bit generic fantasy-wank (I think that's the problem though when your starting point is Lord of the Rings). Reminds, I need to post some book reviews.

[Pnut]

I remember them being pretty good, but it's been a good 20 years since I have read any of them.

[Dog Pants]

My lasting impression of the books was that everything was a *something* of Shannara, and that Shannara was a pretty wanky name. I didn't read them though, and those who did seemed to like them. But then they were the sort who liked camp fantasy anyway.

[Roman Totale]

I've just starting watching the first series of Happy Valley - holy shit it's good. I knew very little about it and assumed it was some sort of Heartbeatesque type program until someone recommended it. How wrong I was. It's incredibly tense, even to the extent you feel a bit drained after watching.

[FatherJack]

I saw the previews and thought it looked good, but then I saw it was the second season and I'd not seen the first which unlike say Sky or Virgin isn't on available on demand because of the unique way the BBC is funded: DVD sales.

[Roman Totale]

Line of Duty is so bloody good, highly recommended if you've not seen it before. Series 1 & 2 currently on Netflix (1 just disappeared off iplayer).

[Dog Pants]

I just happened to finish the film I was watching (Idle Hands, stupid and only a bit shit) when I read Roman's recommendation of Line of Duty. I've not quite finished the first series yet but the fact I finished the first episode is telling, since I rarely do in anything. Don't know whether it's because it's British maybe, or just because it's shorter than an American series so it doesn't drag, but I'm enjoying it.

[Roman Totale]

Don't know whether it's because it's British maybe, or just because it's shorter than an American series so it doesn't drag, but I'm enjoying it.

I was thinking about this other day whilst watching Lucifer. In fact, mini-review of that before I continue my train of thought:

Lucifer

The Devil leaves hell and decides to spend time in LA. Based on the comics/graphic novels from the same stable as Sandman and Hellblazer/Constantine. Could have been interesting, but again they've gone down the highly original path of turning it into a police procedural show? Why? Why does everything have to be a bloody police procedural these days? I mean, if the programme is predominantly about the police then fair enough, but don't shoehorn them just so you can have a "mystery of the week" that needs solving.


And that's where my previous train of thought picks up. First series of LOD is only 5 episodes, and the second is 6 - but that's all it needs to be. The story being told can be done in just those episodes. I don't want it to sound like I'm bashing US tv, because a lot of it is really very good, but it all too often falls into the same trap. You'll have your basic premise, and an over-arching storyline that shapes it. The problem is that in, say, a 20 episode series only 8 of those episodes will relate to the main story - the rest is all filler crap.

The Mentalist is a great example of this. Main story is about the serial killer Red John, and his antagonistic relationship with the main character. They dragged that storyline out over 5 series, and every episode that wasn't directly connected was boring as hell. Sometimes they'd have a completely unconnected case, but at the very end they'd have a tease back to Red John. Utterly pointless. It's no surprise that when they concluded the Red John story (early series 5 I think) the show just fell apart.

I can't be bothered with long TV series any more - you're pretty much guaranteed they're packed with filler, cookie-cutter episodes. I'd much rather they were short and contained.

[Joose]

I can't be bothered with long TV series any more - you're pretty much guaranteed they're packed with filler, cookie-cutter episodes. I'd much rather they were short and contained.

I think this depends on the nature of the show. Completely agree with you when it is something like the Mentalist. They has set out to tell a specific story, then try and stretch that story for as loooong as possible. Inevitably makes it thin. There are shows where its fine that they are long though. Stargate is long as hell but that doesn't matter because they are not telling one story, they are telling a series of stories. The show is about the world the stories are set in rather than the stories themselves. That means they dont need to stretch the stories, they can just finish one and start telling a new one.

Ive been watching Lucifer with the Mrs. I also had a "oh ffs" moment when it turned out to be a police show with the devil in it. Its only *very* loosely based on the comic, would have been much more interesting if they had stuck a bit closer to it. Having said that, it would have also been nigh unbroadcastable and probably rather niche, so I can understand why they didnt. Got to say, despite it being a bit of a cliche crime show i'm quite enjoying it. This is almost entirely due to the guy who plays Lucifer. He chews the scenery in the best way.

[Dog Pants]

I think this depends on the nature of the show. Completely agree with you when it is something like the Mentalist. They has set out to tell a specific story, then try and stretch that story for as loooong as possible. Inevitably makes it thin. There are shows where its fine that they are long though. Stargate is long as hell but that doesn't matter because they are not telling one story, they are telling a series of stories. The show is about the world the stories are set in rather than the stories themselves. That means they dont need to stretch the stories, they can just finish one and start telling a new one.

This makes so much sense! It's something that I've never been able to place - why I used to like X-Files until they started including big plot lines. I assumed it was because I didn't like the plots, but actually it was because nothing ever fucking happened. Long series are fine as long as something interesting actually happen every episode.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

Mostly, I burn out on the everyplots, and the meandering wanderers, the mentalist is certainly a good example, as is (was) bones and castle.

They're all fine in an episode to episode sense, but as a full package, I'd rather not bother.

On the other hand, Better Call Saul is somehow having nothing happen in any episode, but I'm lapping it up like a kitten on catnip.

[FatherJack]

I find that with series of 6 to 12 episodes I actually have some hope of managing to watch them all before:
1. I get bored as the story isn't moving quick enough
2. I get burned out and don't really care anymore
3. They air the next season

I usually like to have at least one extra episode in the bank (ie recorded ready to watch) before watching a prior one, in case it's really good and I want to watch the next one right away. I prefer to have the whole series in place, ideally.

I do generally favour things with a continuation of plot, but really hate when I miss the start of them and won't watch them unless I can go from the beginning. Standalone stories in episodes are okay when it's a solid franchise in which I really like the characters, but it still feels a bit throwaway unless there's a wider plot arc, like say a Doctor Who Christmas special.

US series, or at least the quality ones, or perhaps I should say the ones I like, seem to be moving closer to the UK model of fewer, very good episodes each season. Things with 24 episodes a season is always going to have a limited appeal to me.

[Roman Totale]

Latest series of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is now on Netflix. Seriously, if you haven't watched it before give it a whirl - it's absolutely tremendous.

[Roman Totale]

Latest series of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is now on Netflix. Seriously, if you haven't watched it before give it a whirl - it's absolutely tremendous.

Mini-review:

Spoiler:

I'm sorry to report that I was really disappointed with this series - quality has dropped off massively. Usually quality levels drift off, but this seemed like a real nose dive. They were far too reliant on call backs to things that happened in previous seasons, and I think once you start to do that it's a clear sign the originality has gone. I'm actually really shocked by it.

Currently watching Marseilles on Netflix. It's a political crime thriller set in the French city of the same name, with Gerard Depardieu as the outgoing Mayor. The plot centres around the plans for a casino being built, and the implications it has for the mafia.

Very good so far. Some of the editing/cinematography/I don't know the correct technical term is a bit naff at times, but overall it's very slick.