The TV shows you've seen recently thread.

[Beezy]

Easily.

[Robo]

Just started Weeds, enjoying it a lot. Nancy kinda looks like Jennifer White 

 

[Junpei the Tracer!]

Anyone watching this UK show Utopia?  It's pretty whacked.

Utopia will follow a group of people who find themselves in possession of a manuscript of a cult graphic novel. The tome is rumoured to have predicted the worst disasters of the last century and the group soon find themselves targeted by a shadowy organisation known only as The Network.

first episode had some genuinely distressing scenes.

good review / round up of the first episode

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/jan/15/utopia-episode-by-episode

and yeah, the torture scene is fairly fucked up

I saw episodes 1-3 today, it's very good looking show and I really enjoyed it but yes it's very violent. So many people start dying in the show, it's kinda ridiculous.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Episode 3 was the worst/fucked up so far because it had a school shooting.

[close]

It's nice to see Curtis from Misfits in a new show.

[TakingBackSunday]

Just started Weeds, enjoying it a lot. Nancy kinda looks like Jennifer White 

 

She is now ruined in my eyes

[Eric P]

I saw episodes 1-3 today, it's very good looking show and I really enjoyed it but yes it's very violent. So many people start dying in the show, it's kinda ridiculous.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Episode 3 was the worst/fucked up so far because it had a school shooting.

[close]

It's nice to see Curtis from Misfits in a new show.

'

not just dying, but dying horrible horrible deaths

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Tried a couple episodes of Justified based on a friends recommendation, it sucked pretty bad and feels like it's trying to riff on True Bloods success (despite that also being pretty bad).

lolwut

I will say that after an explosive start, season 4 is kind of lulling to the point where I'm getting a little concerned. 

[etiolate]

The boxer storyline has slowed the pace down in Justified, but the end of the recent episode sets up some interesting things for the future.

I'm looking forward to The Americans tonight. I'm a sucker for spy stuff and Keri Russell was pretty badass in MI:3.

[Robo]

Just started Weeds, enjoying it a lot. Nancy kinda looks like Jennifer White 

 

She is now ruined in my eyes

What, you don't like picturing Mary-Louise Parker as a crack ho with a gaping butthole?

[etiolate]

Watch The American pilot bumshiners. I recommended Always Sunny to you guys. I recommended Terriers. I recommended Justified. I recommend watching this pilot. Kerri Russel going to become your new older white woman jungle fever visions.

[Phoenix Dark]

can't wait to see The Americans

[Verdigris Murder]

Finished off AHSA. Yeah, the last two eps felt like an awful lot of stuff could have just been folded into earlier episodes. Maybe they were afraid of confusing the demographic that watches the show.

And as awesome as it was, the first was much MUCH better, partly due to the mad decent freshness I guess.

Also it's coming back again this year, I don't know about that.



What I really liked about the last ep of Banshee, was the way the arresting of the MMA guy went utterly OTT. The finger splitting move is actually used irl by various special forces, and Shin Bet/Hummous countries.

[CajoleJuice]

Watch The American pilot bumshiners. I recommended Always Sunny to you guys. I recommended Terriers. I recommended Justified. I recommend watching this pilot. Kerri Russel going to become your new older white woman jungle fever visions.

Gonna have to agree with etoilet since I recommended all that shit too. And watched The Americans.

[naff]

Tried a couple episodes of Justified based on a friends recommendation, it sucked pretty bad and feels like it's trying to riff on True Bloods success (despite that also being pretty bad).

Which part? Title sequence is a complete rip off of True Bloods, pretty clear they're going for a similar aesthetic/audience, with some similar/same actors (Pam Beaufort/Kristen whatshername), just felt kinda lame.

Just started Weeds, enjoying it a lot. Nancy kinda looks like Jennifer White 

 

She is now ruined in my eyes

What, you don't like picturing Mary-Louise Parker as a crack ho with a gaping butthole?

[ZephyrFate]

House of Cards has all 13 eps up on Netflix tomorrow. Watch it. tl;dr: Watch it.

[CajoleJuice]

House of Cards has all 13 eps up on Netflix tomorrow. Watch it. tl;dr: Watch it.

It's up now, apparently

[Shaka Khan]

The Office has been bad for a while, but last episode was kinda heavy.

[Barry Egan]

The Office has been bad for a while, but last episode was kinda heavy.

It's been okay for this last season!  Like if this were season 6 instead of 8 or 9 or whatever than it would have gone out as a consistently great show.

[CajoleJuice]

So Fincher basically shit on the rest of television with that House of Cards pilot, good fucking god. Dude knows how to make moving pictures look good.

[Dickie Dee]

I like Carell but wouldn't have ever said that Michael Scott was the only reason to watch the show - so I'm pretty surprised at the gaping hole him leaving left.

I do like the two new guys

[Barry Egan]

House of Cards:  I wasnt sure if Kevin Spacey was a good choice for a charismatic Southern politician, but his performance is really pretty good.  The formula of the show is definitely familiar at this point, but Spaceys character is complex and interesting enough to help the show distinguish itself.  If I were to make a crude comparison with shows cut from the same clothe, it's at least as nuanced as Damages and far better than Boss.  Also the show looks great, even after Fincher passes on the reigns. 

The added bonus of watching is knowing where recursivelyenumerables avatar quote comes from.

[CajoleJuice]

House of Cards:  I wasnt sure if Kevin Spacey was a good choice for a charismatic Southern politician, but his performance is really pretty good.  The formula of the show is definitely familiar at this point, but Spaceys character is complex and interesting enough to help the show distinguish itself.  If I were to make a crude comparison with shows cut from the same clothe, it's at least as nuanced as Damages and far better than Boss.  Also the show looks great, even after Fincher passes on the reigns. 

This is pretty accurate.

[Phoenix Dark]

Watched like five minutes of House of Cards; I had planned on watching the whole thing but was too tired. That first scene was pretty...blatant, like a writer saying "let me tell you exactly what I'm doing here." I'm sure I'll like the show, I heard it's the anti West Wing. But uhh, is that first scene just there to hook you or is that how things go in the rest of the series? Also does Spacey's character continue to talk to the audience?

[CajoleJuice]

Watched like five minutes of House of Cards; I had planned on watching the whole thing but was too tired. That first scene was pretty...blatant, like a writer saying "let me tell you exactly what I'm doing here." I'm sure I'll like the show, I heard it's the anti West Wing. But uhh, is that first scene just there to hook you or is that how things go in the rest of the series? Also does Spacey's character continue to talk to the audience?

Yeah, he does. The pilot has the most of it by far, though. The UK version had this too, BTW.

[Phoenix Dark]

It's getting good reviews, and GAF likes it. But Cajole shat on it so it must suck  :'(

Regardless of whether it's amazing or average, 100mil is a lot for a political drama. Netflix obviously has lots of user data, perhaps political drama is very popular among subscribers I guess. But then again they're reviving The Killing so maybe they're just throwing money around willy nilly

[CajoleJuice]

Nah, I still like it. It's ok.

[Mandark]

Watched the first three episodes of House of Cards, reminds of Profit.

[Barry Egan]

Talking directly to the audience was the most jarring aspect of the show for me as well.  I still don't love it but Spacey does such a good job that I don't really consider it a negative at this point.  In some ways it's preferable to devotng half the show to a young ambitious upstart character so that Spacey has someone to explain all his nefarious doings to.

[Eric P]

Watched the first three episodes of House of Cards, reminds of Profit.

you should watch the uk version if you haven't

[fistfulofmetal]

watching House of Cards

gonna hold back on my opinion for now.

but holy hell, the product placement for sony products

PLAYSTATION AND KILLZONE

IS THAT A PSVITA??? I SHOULD GET ME ONE OF THOSE!

[Verdigris Murder]

https://forums.penny-arcade.coram/discussion/77830/having-on :nsfwe-night-stands-with-distinguished mentally-challenged-girls

Fistful, I'd maybe give this an 8.

[Verdigris Murder]

Actually the thread about guys with big jugs is kinda prescient.

[etiolate]

Not liking House of Cards as much as I'd hope. It looks nice, but it's lacking something. That something may be a character worth caring about enough to make the stakes matter. It throws a lot of characters on screen and if takes like half a season to fill out those characters then I might lose interest.

[Phoenix Dark]

Just finished the pilot of House Of Cards and I must say I'm rather indifferent. Everything looks nice but overall nothing really hooked me. The characters seem rather bland so far, there's no one interesting (oh look, another young struggling journalist!) outside of Spacey. And even Spacey is rather boring without anyone to truly go back and forth with, acting wise. He kind of just floats through the episode. Not liking Robin Wright's character at all either; her big "argument" scene with Spacey was horrible, largely due to bad dialogue though.

I'll stick with it. The reviews are very good, and hopefully the cast gets some life soon.

[brawndolicious]

I agree with Martin that Banshee is a great show. A ton of sex and violence presented to you with smart writing and likable villains. Banshee is to Spartacus what Homeland is to 24. Just a little less shameless.

I just watched the first 4 episodes today but like Spartacus, a lot happens in each episode.

[G The Resurrected]

Watched the ZeroHour pilot. I was bored and couldn't sleep so yeah... Its like watching a tbn syfy production of National Treasure.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/452227

[Diunx]

Banshee is amazing, it's like a real life Vertigo book

[fistfulofmetal]

Re: House of Cards

- Kevin Spacey is damned good
- The plot is twisty and complex but manages to also be easy to follow for the most part. Some of the political nuance goes over my head though.
- I would do things for Kate Mara
- Also Robin Wright
- I didn't fully understand what Underwood's intentions were until they were spelled out for me. I'm not sure if that was on purpose. They allude to this grand plan but you get no real idea of it until the final episodes
- The first two episodes stunk of David Fincher. That is not a bad thing btw.
- I really enjoyed the plot following Peter Russo. He's a fairly effective sympathetic character with a good arc.

Good show.

[chronovore]

Watched my first episode of Top Gear, the one with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. I don't have much interest in cars, but the hosts' humor and camaraderie are fun, which makes their love of cars somewhat infectious.

[brawndolicious]

The US version is more car challenges/competitions and less reviews and lap times. Plus the US hosts are less scripted and more funny/interesting I think. I love them both though.

[cool breeze]

Watched my first episode of Top Gear, the one with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. I don't have much interest in cars, but the hosts' humor and camaraderie are fun, which makes their love of cars somewhat infectious.

Check out the Vietnam special if you can find it.  Probably the best episode and it doesn't have to do with cars at all!

[brob]

saw the three first episodes of house of cards. pretty entertaining stuff. is there ever a proper antagonist in the show, or is it just Kevin Spacey against The System throughout?

[Phoenix Dark]

To be fair does any major show have an antagonist now of days? Anti heroes and grey characters dominate tv

[Himu]

What the fuck channel is house of cards on

[Eel O'Brian]

netflix

[brob]

To be fair does any major show have an antagonist now of days? Anti heroes and grey characters dominate tv

so that's a no, then?

[fistfulofmetal]

To be fair does any major show have an antagonist now of days? Anti heroes and grey characters dominate tv

so that's a no, then?

there is no real antagonist.

[chronovore]

Watched my first episode of Top Gear, the one with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. I don't have much interest in cars, but the hosts' humor and camaraderie are fun, which makes their love of cars somewhat infectious.

Check out the Vietnam special if you can find it.  Probably the best episode and it doesn't have to do with cars at all!

Will do!

I also want to see the USA episode of the UK series, where they visit the American South, and nearly get lynched and/or shot.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/12/top-gear-crew-visits-u-s-a-will-never-return-again/

The South has risen again, and unfortunately for our beloved team from Top Gear, it has focused its ire on Jeremy Clarkson, Jay Mays and Richard Hammond. In the latest episode of Top Gear (torrent here), the team arrives in Florida for a road trip that will see them travel from Miami to New Orleans. The catch? Each are given $1,000 to buy a whip that will carry them to their destination. Whips in hand, the trio decide to spice up the trip by spray painting inflammatory statements on the sheetmetal. Statements like "I'm bi", "NASCAR Sucks" and "Hillary for President" are worn like badges of pride, until a stop for gas in a self-described "hick town" turns ugly. Words were said, rocks were thrown, and somebody's "boys" were called in. The Top Gear crew fleed for its life, though not after the quickest jump in history gets Mays Caddy turned over, and the chase ensued on the highways of the rural South. The boys wise up and decide to pull over and scrub off the incendiary taunts with some towels and Coke. Their troubles don't end there, as the offended Southies call upon their god to rain down a torrent of H20 on the caravan of Brits. Clarkson, Mays and Hammond eventually escape the U.S. with hides in tact, but we can all thank those country bumpkins for ensuring Top Gear will never again set foot on U.S. soil. Check out the clip in full after the jump for proof.

[brawndolicious]

Why does everything they say on justified sound so sexy?

[CajoleJuice]

To be fair does any major show have an antagonist now of days? Anti heroes and grey characters dominate tv

Some examples: Justified: Mags and Quarles. Boardwalk Empire: Rosetti. Breaking Bad: Tuco, the Twins, Gus. Protagonist and antagonist don't necessarily mean "good guy" and "bad guy."

[Phoenix Dark]

Not sure I'd call Gus an antagonist. Also Tuco and the twins were only there for specific arcs, although I guess they could be called antagonists.

Haven't seen Justified, waiting for it to be cancelled

[CajoleJuice]

I mean I guess it depends on how you define the word "antagonist." I just go with the dude who clashes with the protagonist, who is unquestionably Walt if you use the definition of main character for protagonist.

[Mupepe]

Both the middle and the neighbors on ABC are pretty damn entertaining.

[ZephyrFate]

Both the middle and the neighbors on ABC are pretty damn entertaining.

I find the middle embarrassing but as far as mid-tier ABC comedies go, Suburgatory is better.

[Mupepe]

I can't sit through suburgatory. It just bores me. Sue and the parents make me laugh on the middle.

[Eric P]

suburgatory has gotten really weird this season

[Stoney Mason]

The Office has been bad for a while, but last episode was kinda heavy.

meh. It was phony heavy like the show has been forever. I recently caught up with it and its okay for what it is but I think the American show has always tried to get away with sentimentality it hasn't earned.

That being said, I glanced at the gaf thread and boy do those people over-analyze the show. They are super critical of the last season as if it hasn't been this way for a long time.

[Phoenix Dark]

What happened?

[Stoney Mason]

What happened?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Jim was mean to Pam for like a second and now they are doing a storyline where they act like Pam is going to cheat on Jim even though she clearly won't.

[close]

[ZephyrFate]

I finished House of Cards and it's good but not great. I give it between a 7 and 7.5/10. Peter Russo and Claire Underwood save the show, because I don't really enjoy anyone else character-wise.

Damn if it isn't one of the best-looking shows out there; right up there with How to Make it in America and Mad Men.

[CajoleJuice]

The Office has been bad for a while, but last episode was kinda heavy.

meh. It was phony heavy like the show has been forever. I recently caught up with it and its okay for what it is but I think the American show has always tried to get away with sentimentality it hasn't earned.

I thought S2 handled the Jim-Pam relationship perfectly.

Also, ZephyrFate is right about House of Cards.