Author Topic: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched  (Read 226296 times)

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1020 on: March 16, 2016, 02:58:00 PM »
I had wanted to watch Hannibal at one point, hoping it would be a nice psychological thriller, but then I heard it got cancelled so I didn't bother (because I don't like unfinished stories). Hearing how terrible a show it is now though, I guess I didn't miss much. But surely it couldn't have been worse than Dexter after season 5.
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

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Junior

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1021 on: March 16, 2016, 02:59:33 PM »
I held off commenting on your Look of Silence review, but here we go. This is one of those things where I don't really have a problem with anything that you said, I can't argue against them, except to say that the over-the-top-ness is a super positive aspect instead of a super negative one for me. It's the reason to watch the show, in addition to the delightful weirdness of the visuals. It's an opera without all the music (but also with a lot of music!) and if you told me that's a thing I would love I would tell you to get the heck out. And while much of the show doesn't make sense if you take a step out of it, the atmosphere and dreamy nature of the show really envelop me and plot concerns become... less concerning.

And The Kid! Pay no attention to the man behind the bad Hannibal review. There are many, many people here who love the show, and don't let the cancellation scare you off, either. It ends in a very definitive way.
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philip918

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1022 on: March 16, 2016, 04:38:27 PM »
I had wanted to watch Hannibal at one point, hoping it would be a nice psychological thriller, but then I heard it got cancelled so I didn't bother (because I don't like unfinished stories). Hearing how terrible a show it is now though, I guess I didn't miss much. But surely it couldn't have been worse than Dexter after season 5.

Hannibal is probably my favorite recent TV series (at least up there with Mad Men, The Americans, and Rectify). It was cancelled, but had a very satisfying ending to the third season. The first season takes a little while to hit its stride, mostly because you can see it struggling to break out from the CSI: Hannibal Lecter mold the network wanted. Season Two is up there with my all-time favorite dramatic television seasons.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1023 on: March 16, 2016, 05:15:33 PM »
Sounds good. I could use another psychological thriller about a serial killer. Couldn't get my fill from Dexter. :P
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1024 on: March 16, 2016, 08:32:14 PM »
I held off commenting on your Look of Silence review, but here we go. This is one of those things where I don't really have a problem with anything that you said, I can't argue against them, except to say that the over-the-top-ness is a super positive aspect instead of a super negative one for me. It's the reason to watch the show, in addition to the delightful weirdness of the visuals. It's an opera without all the music (but also with a lot of music!) and if you told me that's a thing I would love I would tell you to get the heck out. And while much of the show doesn't make sense if you take a step out of it, the atmosphere and dreamy nature of the show really envelop me and plot concerns become... less concerning.

Most of this is spot-on. You can always trust Junior to defend Hannibal.
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1SO

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1025 on: March 16, 2016, 11:06:23 PM »
We've been binging on the show "Hannibal" lately. More like hate-watching, for a bunch of reasons I won't get into. But one of the reasons is that the show came out of the gate with absurd levels of gore (although apparently Botticelli's naked ladies have to be blurred out because painted depictions of nipples and vaginas are disgusting, right?) and has to keep upping the ante in order to keep being "disturbing".

I saw the problem when Martin wrote this. It's like complaining that a DePalma film isn't realistic. Hannibal fails in the department of realism, because it's aiming for a rich, velvety heightened reality, and shouldn't even be used as a point of comparison for a documentary about murder. Hannibal is as absurdly gory as a Tarantino film, and as disturbing (meaning not at all so.) ...and as realistic as his recent ones.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1026 on: March 18, 2016, 02:11:06 AM »
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland - Episode 1: Down the Rabbit Hole
Coincidentally, I read four issues of a comic book series called "Down the Rabbit Hole" while watching this. lol It's by Zenescope though, so it's much darker and, well, more well-written (though not by much).

So it looks like ABC took some notes from both American McGee and Zenescope while creating this spin-off. We have Alice in an asylum, just like American McGee's Alice, and the Cheshire Cat here is a monstrous, carnivorous creature, just like Zenescope's Cheshire Cat, except, well, less bestial and has red eyes instead of yellow:


The acting is also pretty mediocre. Sophie Lowe as Alice and Michael Socha as the Knave of Hearts (who's also Will Scarlet for some bizarre reason) were okay, so is Naveen Andrews as Jafar, but the really standout performance (stands out because it's so terrible) is Emma Rigby as the Red Queen. The Red Queen I know from Zenescope is badass and vicious.


OUAT's version? Eh. She looks like a damsel in distress. Typical of ABC to tone down everything to make it more family-friendly. And the acting really didn't help. Emma's attempt at acting like a villain makes her look goofy instead. I can't take her seriously.

The love story plot-line isn't as annoying to me as it is to others. Yes, it does seem a lot more mawkish than the main series. ("If you really, really love someone, you don't need proof; you can feel it." Really, lady? I can just feel where a kidnapper has taken my family? Wow. Didn't know I have super powers.) But it doesn't really affect the plot as much as the other aspects of the show (the acting, the bad writing that isn't affected by the romance, which is a lot). The thing I'm bothered by is that the asylum aspect of Wonderland is SO interesting that I wish they could have explored more of the 'madness' of Alice, how she seems crazy to normal people. This love story shtick, while it isn't terrible by any means, does get in the way of a more interesting story. At the least, I would have liked to see some traditional good vs. evil story rather than a love story.

All said and done, it's not a bad pilot, but I heard it will only get worse down the rabbit hole (ha!).

2.5/5
« Last Edit: March 18, 2016, 02:12:58 AM by The Kid »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1027 on: March 18, 2016, 04:48:49 AM »
Grimm Season 2 - Episode 1: Bad Teeth
"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alvBfPMT1kI

That quote's from Yeats' The Second Coming, by the way. Christ, we're dealing with the anti-Christ now? Whatever happened to Grimm's fairy tales?

That minor complaint aside, Grimm has returned with a bite. This is a very welcoming return for me after OUAT. Deconstructing ancient folklore with scientific explanations might dilute the traditional fairy tales into humdrum grittiness, but it works for me. I like how it tries to explain the original tales in science, kinda like how Grimm's fairy tales were used to explain the mysteries of our world (except in reverse).

The first episode of season 2 starts off immediately where season 1 ended, where Nick discovers that his mother is alive. I hate it when TV shows 'starts off immediately where last season ends' because there's no gap in timeline, forcing me to watch one season consecutively after another so as not to feel that gap in between the two seasons and throwing me off. But it's a minor complaint, and it's nice to see that Nick gets some back-up when great forces are working against him.

Not really liking the whole 'dark organization with conspiracy' plot going on here, but I'll put up with it for now. The dark fairy tales element of the show is worth watching.

The episode ends with a cliffhanger, one that's so obviously not going to end in a bad way in the next episode. I mean, c'mon. Nick's the main character. He's not just going to die. If you're going to do a cliffhanger, at least use one with a less predictable outcome.

Overall, an okay episode. Not liking the anti-Christ reference since it's got nothing to do with Grimm's fairy tales, and neither does Yeats.

2.5/5
« Last Edit: March 18, 2016, 05:00:24 AM by The Kid »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1028 on: March 18, 2016, 06:27:20 AM »
Once Upon A Time Season 2 - Episode 1: Broken

Surprise, surprise, OUAT has proven to be better than Grimm for the first time, as much as I hate to admit it. While Grimm lingers on with its cop procedural/big bad shadow organization formula, OUAT began the new season with the reunion we've been waiting for. Granted, it's a bit cheap for them to hold it off till the second season, but I still couldn't help tearing up a bit as Emma finally gets back with Snow and Charming.

And that's not all - Regina finally gets her just desserts... sort of. It was very satisfying to see everyone turning on the Evil Queen, and more cathartic was the fact that she had no control over our heroes anymore... Had. Past tense. Till the end of the episode. Well, at least Henry will hate her if she ever gets too out of line, so the Queen can't flaunt her powers too much.

There is a very stupid scene in this episode when Mulan and Aurora arrive to 'save' Prince Phillip only to stand around and watch as he gets 'killed' by the Wraith. The stupid thing was that Mulan specifically said that she was going to risk her life to rescue him (and Aurora said she wanted to come along), yet Emma, Snow, and Charming did more against the Wraith than Mulan and Aurora ever did. That's just bad writing not uncommon in this series (or ABC series in general).

But in the end, it's still a great start to the series, bringing with it satisfying closures and also a surprising twist at the end that keeps audience watching.

3.5/5
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

MartinTeller

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1029 on: March 18, 2016, 10:26:33 AM »





Looks like comics haven't changed much since I was a kid, in terms of their depictions of women. Large, perfectly shaped breasts, lots of leg and cleavage, long luxurious hair, pouty red lips. The outfit in that top picture looks highly impractical for battle.

 

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