[TV] FEBRUARY 2016 TV DISCUSSION

[peterien]

TV ive watched recently;

The Americans Season 1-Really enjoyed it, easy to watch, good characters, great acting at times and the main characters family aren't annoying which is a nice surprise. Does it get much love here?

Vinyl- was a bit sceptical of this going in because i never like the start of HBOs big series,i always wait til they're about 6 episodes in and bulk watch them so i get a better sense of the story.

Made an exception for this because i love Bobby Canavale, it was good, very good in parts with Canavale being the highlight. Thought 2 hours was a bit much but it wouldnt have worked splitting this ep into 2. My one complaint is sometimes throughout the show there is music thrown in just for the sake of it and i fully understand that the show is all about records and gigs and whatnot but i felt there was a few unnecessary scenes.

Will stick with it though.

[odessasteps]

I recall hearing the verdict on the radio during, of all things, a college short story writing class. None of the students cared.

Odd news on the TV front, as Britain is now experiencing "reboot fever". A one-episode revival of Are You Being Served is now in the works, with an "all-star cast of UK sitcom legends" taking on the iconic roles of their deceased predecessors ...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bbc-classic-you-being-served-7376680?ICID=FB_mirror_main

The show says it will pick up "when the show ended", which suggests that "Grace and Favour" never existed.

They are also bringing back robot wars.

[AxB]

Speaking of the BBC, this looks like it'll be good:

 

 

6x1 hours episodes. I'm in.

[Robert S]

Season Premiere of Last Week Tonight was outstanding. The last segment had me laughing my ass off.

My favorite was the "newscasters using entirely the wrong tone" segment.

[Tabe]

TV ive watched recently;

The Americans Season 1-Really enjoyed it, easy to watch, good characters, great acting at times and the main characters family aren't annoying which is a nice surprise. Does it get much love here?

Vinyl- was a bit sceptical of this going in because i never like the start of HBOs big series,i always wait til they're about 6 episodes in and bulk watch them so i get a better sense of the story.

Made an exception for this because i love Bobby Canavale, it was good, very good in parts with Canavale being the highlight. Thought 2 hours was a bit much but it wouldnt have worked splitting this ep into 2. My one complaint is sometimes throughout the show there is music thrown in just for the sake of it and i fully understand that the show is all about records and gigs and whatnot but i felt there was a few unnecessary scenes.

Will stick with it though.

I LOVE The Americans. Great show.

[J.T.]

Finally watched Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars all the way through.  It sure is dusty in the office today.

 

Jool was a ten on the Captain Kirk scale.  Damn you, you murderous Scarran bastards.

[Reed]

 

I have to agree with the people saying Cuba isn't good in American Crime Story, though.

 

OJ Simpson: OK, yeah, he's quirky and weird and not exactly a mastermind criminal, but he does have sense of passion and doom and menace about him. (Well, obviously.)

 

Physically or personality-wise, Cuba just can't pull it off.  He's more the nice, endearing guy you'd like to be buddies with. Not the guy you're afraid of.

I don't know how old you are. But you are forgetting OJ's public persona prior to being accused of the murders. He was thought as one of the nicest guys around. There is an urban legend he was turned down to play the Terminator because he was too nice. Cuba is about as good a choice as you are going to find.

 

 

 

This is a valid point. Admittedly, I'm not old enough to remember him ever being "the nice guy."  

 

But, still. I think Cuba has been miscast in this.

 

Shouldn't the producers have considered "context" though? Doesn't there have to be a sense of menace underneath the good guy act?

 

I don't think Cuba has that.  Maybe it would help if he were a bit taller or bigger or looked more like him, but he doesn't. 

[Reed]

 

Like, you just know Idris Elba could have nailed that shit. 

Of course, and I imagine Chiwetel Ejiofor would have too, but they have, actual careers going right now. . . .

 

 

If only FX had been willing to fork out some proper cash.

[supremebve]

 

 

I have to agree with the people saying Cuba isn't good in American Crime Story, though.

 

OJ Simpson: OK, yeah, he's quirky and weird and not exactly a mastermind criminal, but he does have sense of passion and doom and menace about him. (Well, obviously.)

 

Physically or personality-wise, Cuba just can't pull it off.  He's more the nice, endearing guy you'd like to be buddies with. Not the guy you're afraid of.

I don't know how old you are. But you are forgetting OJ's public persona prior to being accused of the murders. He was thought as one of the nicest guys around. There is an urban legend he was turned down to play the Terminator because he was too nice. Cuba is about as good a choice as you are going to find.

 

 

 

This is a valid point. Admittedly, I'm not old enough to remember him ever being "the nice guy."  

 

But, still. I think Cuba has been miscast in this.

 

Shouldn't the producers have considered "context" though? Doesn't there have to be a sense of menace underneath the good guy act?

 

I don't think Cuba has that.  Maybe it would help if he were a bit taller or bigger or looked more like him, but he doesn't. 

 

I don't know why you want OJ to be menacing, that was never part of his persona.  The thing about OJ is that he was the last person anyone would ever expect to murder someone.  You know how politicians and celebrities get into some racial problem and say, "I have plenty of black friends?"  OJ was America's black friend.  He was the one black guy that no one in the country found threatening.  Cuba Gooding Jr.'s portrayal of him is too menacing for what he actually was.  He was probably putting on an act, but that was an act he put on for 30 years at that point.  He wasn't the person that Cuba Gooding Jr. is playing on the show, Cuba Gooding isn't nice enough.

[Brian Fowler]

He was, essentially, Wayne Brady before Wayne Brady.

[Elsalvajeloco]

He was, essentially, Wayne Brady before Wayne Brady.

 

I would say Tiger pre-09/dead dad commercial over Brady. Wayne Brady, while adored by white housewives across America, still wasn't a real hit outside one group of people until that Chappelle Show sketch. Hell, he even made fun of that fact his show got cancelled. OJ had that (white approved blackness*), movies, TV shows, a shitload of commercials, endorsements, AND the sports world.

[supremebve]

 

He was, essentially, Wayne Brady before Wayne Brady.

 

I would say Tiger pre-09/dead dad commercial over Brady. Wayne Brady, while adored by white housewives across America, still wasn't a real hit outside one group of people until that Chappelle Show sketch. Hell, he even made fun of that fact his show got cancelled. OJ had that (white approved blackness*), movies, TV shows, a shitload of commercials, endorsements, AND the sports world.

 

There is no 2016 equivalent to OJ.  Someone who is a top 5 player all time at their position in sports, a movie star, a TV star, a national spokesperson, and friends with essentially the entire celebrity world.  OJ was the best running back of his generation, and the first man who ran for 2000 yards.  He was in the Naked Gun movies, which were huge hits.  He was in Roots, which was a huge cultural phenomenon.  He was on multiple commercials, and was part of the Monday NIght Football broadcast.  He was seemingly friends with everyone, to the point where people thought Jim Brown was bitter and jealous when he didn't like him.  Talking bad about OJ could get you shunned, because everyone who mattered loved him.  I can't think of a less polarizing black person in the history of America...before those murders.  If you look at all of the black people who are universally beloved, most of them were initially hated.  OJ never had that, he was loved from day one.  Before those murders the only people who really had anything bad to say about OJ were a few other prominent black people.  Here is a column from Ralph Wiley, who was critical of OJ before the murders, about the HBO documentary from a while back.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/wiley/021113.html

[Elsalvajeloco]

 

 

He was, essentially, Wayne Brady before Wayne Brady.

 

I would say Tiger pre-09/dead dad commercial over Brady. Wayne Brady, while adored by white housewives across America, still wasn't a real hit outside one group of people until that Chappelle Show sketch. Hell, he even made fun of that fact his show got cancelled. OJ had that (white approved blackness*), movies, TV shows, a shitload of commercials, endorsements, AND the sports world.

 

There is no 2016 equivalent to OJ.  Someone who is a top 5 player all time at their position in sports, a movie star, a TV star, a national spokesperson, and friends with essentially the entire celebrity world.  OJ was the best running back of his generation, and the first man who ran for 2000 yards.  He was in the Naked Gun movies, which were huge hits.  He was in Roots, which was a huge cultural phenomenon.  He was on multiple commercials, and was part of the Monday NIght Football broadcast.  He was seemingly friends with everyone, to the point where people thought Jim Brown was bitter and jealous when he didn't like him.  Talking bad about OJ could get you shunned, because everyone who mattered loved him.  I can't think of a less polarizing black person in the history of America...before those murders.  If you look at all of the black people who are universally beloved, most of them were initially hated.  OJ never had that, he was loved from day one.  Before those murders the only people who really had anything bad to say about OJ were a few other prominent black people.  Here is a column from Ralph Wiley, who was critical of OJ before the murders, about the HBO documentary from a while back.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/wiley/021113.html

 

 

Right. If you're going with black athletes, it's hard to think of anyone past or present other than maybe Magic. However, Magic had to have his cue cards for his TV show written phonetically, so that didn't turn out well. I even hesitated with the Tiger comparison because the dude was a highly successful black person in the whitest possible sports endeavor. There was no way he was going to get the respect OJ had within his own profession even if the thing with his ex-wife never happened. He could have endorsements in the tens of billions, but never garner that same respect.

 

Now, with Netflix and a million other entertainment options, you can avoid ANY celebrity you want. That goes for both intentional and unintentional. There are people that are on hit television shows that been on for years right now that I never fucking heard of.

 

If you don't like black people or any other people of color, there are ways to get around that. It's going to take some money, but there are ways. Growing up, you couldn't fucking avoid OJ Simpson and his massive fucking head. Not if you owned a television set or went out in public. So you either learned to love him or accept that he was going to be around.

[Greggulator]

I am not ashamed to say that in 2016 that Survivor is still probably my favorite TV show. I am 10 minutes into the new season (another version of Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty) and already I love it. First, former Sactown King/Malice At The Palace Witness SCOTT POLLARD is involved. Second, the "brains" team has someone who is likely the most irritating person in the show's history. A+ casting this nutjob. And there's a guy that looks EXACTLY like Obama.

[Zimbra]

Well this is incredibly sad: David Milch made $100M dollars and gambled it all away.

[Jingus]

That's no surprise whatsoever to anyone who's a fan of Deadwood (for several different reasons, ranging from the ironic to the tragically obvious).

[peterien]

TV ive watched recently;

The Americans Season 1-Really enjoyed it, easy to watch, good characters, great acting at times and the main characters family aren't annoying which is a nice surprise. Does it get much love here?

Vinyl- was a bit sceptical of this going in because i never like the start of HBOs big series,i always wait til they're about 6 episodes in and bulk watch them so i get a better sense of the story.

Made an exception for this because i love Bobby Canavale, it was good, very good in parts with Canavale being the highlight. Thought 2 hours was a bit much but it wouldnt have worked splitting this ep into 2. My one complaint is sometimes throughout the show there is music thrown in just for the sake of it and i fully understand that the show is all about records and gigs and whatnot but i felt there was a few unnecessary scenes.

Will stick with it though.

I LOVE The Americans. Great show.

Halfway through season 2 now Tabe and things are bubbling along very nicely.

[Zimbra]

That's no surprise whatsoever to anyone who's a fan of Deadwood (for several different reasons, ranging from the ironic to the tragically obvious).

 

It certainly puts Luck in a different light.

[Victator]

1st and Ten can be an odd show. It started with the gimmick of a woman owning a football team. Delta Burke caught her husband having sex with one of his players. So she got them in a settlement, provided she kept quiet. 

The first season was a mish mash of a schlocky sitcom and a Dallas style soap. Unfortunately some of the episodes are syndication cuts so a laugh track is awkwardly added. 

They added OJ in season 2 and after that there is a bit of cast turn over. Delta Burke left for Designing Women and I don't think the show ever really replaced her. Leah Ayers came in with the most hideous 80's haircut I have ever imagined. She leaves and is replaced by Shanna Reed, who left to marry Major Dad. 

Why was CBS stealing all the lead actresses from 1st and Ten? I mean it was probably a coincidence, but sorta odd. They replaced Reed with Shannon Tweed. I guess daring some other sitcom to hire her. 

 

The show does not have a very stable cast.New quarterbacks seem to show up every season. OJ, Donald Gibb, John Kashir (the Crypt Keeper). Cliff Davis and Prince Hughes are the only constants. One quarterback was killed off screen in a very grisly fashion in season 5. 

Season 4 had some odd episodes. One had OJ and the team as an army unit rescuing the two linebackers in an extended fantasy unit of a concussed QB. The other was set in the future (with no illusions to it being a fantasy) set around maybe 2011 or something. Has this thing where the Japanese have bought the country, it was around 1988 so this was a thing. 

It had this idea singles are confined to their own buildings where they can have sex and do drugs to their hearts content. Sounds pretty sweet actually. 

In the end a character was killed by a samuraI Robocop and it ends with no mention of it being a dream. 

[Tabe]

Things eventually go to hell in a handbasket, right? Someone on here suggested one of kids eventually kills another kid before the season is out. At the moment, I'm guessing one of the parents goes postal and causes a death or some other tragedy, Regina King's character having a meltdown or Felicity Huffman being shot at by an enraged parent wouldn't be unexpected.

kudos on the prediction.

[APO]

I expected one of the main kids to catch a body, but not both of them.

Also, the basketball team is FUCKED when Taylor tells the cops about the beating he caught from them. Andre is gonna go down too when that cop gets busted for leaking those medical records.

[peterien]

People who dont watch The Americans wont know (or care) what I'm on about but Agent Gadd just met Arkady and it was fucking awesome!

[AxB]

 

What's Sundance TV? Robert Redford's indie major film festival now has it's own TV nework?

[Brian Fowler]

Yes.

For about twenty years.

[odessasteps]

Sundance and IFC used to be the two big alternative movie channels.