New telly shows thread

[WiteWulf]

Yea, I watched the first half of TLoU (too tired to watch it all), and it felt like a very authentic, but entertaining remake of a lot of those scenes in the prologue of the game. I stress "entertaining", as this is no Uncharted/Doom/Tomb Raider, etc. I think it helped a lot that the game felt like a movie that had been made into a game (something a lot of people disliked about it), so the transition "back" to movie/TV show was less jarring.

However, I'm pleased to see a few people mentioning that they didn't like the game all that much, or that they gave up on it. I have to admit to being surprised by the high regard it's had for so long as I never got on with, finding it too damn hard! I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong in it; I've tried two or three times now, with big breaks in between, and can never get past the early stages of the game proper where you start running into zombies regularly. They always get me, no matter what tactics I employ.

[Rhythm]

Yea, I watched the first half of TLoU (too tired to watch it all)

HBO being edgy dicks, as always. They could (should) have divided episode 1 into 2 parts. This is TV, after all. The double episode starter isn't a new thing and has been running for decades, but putting a show out there as "film length only" is just naff AF

I will watch it, I just need to gear myself up for watching something film-length rather than bitesized.

However, I'm pleased to see a few people mentioning that they didn't like the game all that much, or that they gave up on it. I have to admit to being surprised by the high regard it's had for so long as I never got on with, finding it too damn hard! I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong in it; I've tried two or three times now, with big breaks in between, and can never get past the early stages of the game proper where you start running into zombies regularly. They always get me, no matter what tactics I employ.

The zombies I found fairly straight forward. It was the other humans that did me in. Felt like I was constantly fighting against the crafting/ammo system in the game. Having a representation of realism constantly marred by having to deal with shitty menus all the time mean I've never got much past the point where you meet Bill.

Games not matching story has been a bugbear for me forever. Stuff like Bioshock, Uncharted etc... it always feels like the game runs counter to what the story is telling you and I find that disconnect really hard to bridge. It's easy to justify laying waste to everyone when it's a war game (CoD, Spec Ops The Line, other military stuff) or a fantasy thing but when you're an "everyman" in an amazing setting/story premise and the only way to interact with it is through gunfire.... huge URGH

Only way I can ever get through games like that (which is rare TBH) is through lowering the music to zero, skipping cut-scenes and listening to an audiobook or podcast

[Harlequin]

HBO being edgy dicks, as always. They could (should) have divided episode 1 into 2 parts. This is TV, after all. The double episode starter isn't a new thing and has been running for decades, but putting a show out there as "film length only" is just naff AF

I will watch it, I just need to gear myself up for watching something film-length rather than bitesized.

Traditionally, though, double episode premiers and finales tend to be joined together once they reach DVD/Blu-ray.

What has started to irritate me in this streaming age is variable length episodes, surprising me with being unexpectedly either short or feature-length without me being appropriately geared up. This struck me most with the recent season of The Orville.

Games not matching story has been a bugbear for me forever. Stuff like Bioshock, Uncharted etc... it always feels like the game runs counter to what the story is telling you and I find that disconnect really hard to bridge. It's easy to justify laying waste to everyone when it's a war game (CoD, Spec Ops The Line, other military stuff) or a fantasy thing but when you're an "everyman" in an amazing setting/story premise and the only way to interact with it is through gunfire.... huge URGH

Indiana Jones knows how to handle a gun, though, and is the disconnect in Bioshock not deliberate?

[Rhythm]

Indiana Jones knows how to handle a gun, though, and is the disconnect in Bioshock not deliberate?

There's always been that disconnect in movies too of course, but the scale between the two is massive. Nathan Drake kills more bad guys in the first third of the first Uncharted than Indy does in the whole series.

And wouldn't know about Bioshock as I never finished it. The game being pitched as "play it the way you want" gets undermined when the only action you can perform as a player is murder

[Jonesey]

It's them or you, dude. The challenge of fucking up them splicers and big daddies is it's own reward.

[WiteWulf]

Re. bodycount in games: it's one of the things I liked about the recent Tomb Raider game series. There's genuine character development for Lara through the three games, and while the bodycount remains high, she seems to dislike it and show remorse for her actions. while trying to seek justification.

What has started to irritate me in this streaming age is variable length episodes, surprising me with being unexpectedly either short or feature-length without me being appropriately geared up. This struck me most with the recent season of The Orville.

I actually like this; writers, directors and editors aren't constrained by the 42min episode framework and its ad breaks. Story doesn't have to be cut if it doesn't fit in the episode, nor does filler have to be inserted to pad episodes out. You wouldn't expect every episode of a book to have the same number of pages (although some authors, admittedly, write to an almost metronomic beat).

[Rhythm]

Re. bodycount in games: it's one of the things I liked about the recent Tomb Raider game series. There's genuine character development for Lara through the three games, and while the bodycount remains high, she seems to dislike it and show remorse for her actions. while trying to seek justification.

Same. I actually preferred those over Uncharted. The last one, Shadow, was flipping ace

And generally in agreement over variable length episodes. But keep it within a margin to help the viewers plan their watching time.

[Harlequin]

And generally in agreement over variable length episodes. But keep it within a margin to help the viewers plan their watching time.

Indeed. I think ±around five minutes (more than MacFarlane originally suggested on the move to streaming) is plenty of leeway to make a script of standard length comfortably snug. If it is going to be ±thirty minutes, however, I want a clear warning so I can rearrange the day's schedule.

[Rhythm]

Got to it and yeah, seems to be a nifty interpretation. Interesting changes/additions they've made and the casting seems spot on.

Downside though: GF hadn't seen anything of the game and now she's intrigued, which means I may have to replay it :-/

[Rhythm]

Finished S2 of The Mosquito Coast (Apple TV+) this week. Really very good indeed. The first series ended up being a ton of backstory, the second gets into the meat of the actual tale. And they've done really well, it's a great reinterpretation of the original book (and movie)

Now onto S2 of Slow Horses. Gary Oldman is just unreal in this

[WiteWulf]

I enjoyed S1 of Mosquito Coast, but was surprised that by the end they still hadn't explained exactly what it was that the parents had done to be on the run. Then they dump all of the explanation in the first ep of S2. Beside that weird pacing/order thing I've really enjoyed it, though. I've been a big fan of Justin Theroux since The Leftovers.

Slow Horses is one of the best things on TV at the moment, simple as that. S2 was even better than S1. I believe Oldman has been quoted as saying he'd be happy if it was the last acting job he ever did, he likes it so much *or words to that effect).

[Rhythm]

I enjoyed S1 of Mosquito Coast, but was surprised that by the end they still hadn't explained exactly what it was that the parents had done to be on the run. Then they dump all of the explanation in the first ep of S2. Beside that weird pacing/order thing I've really enjoyed it, though. I've been a big fan of Justin Theroux since The Leftovers.

Slow Horses is one of the best things on TV at the moment, simple as that. S2 was even better than S1. I believe Oldman has been quoted as saying he'd be happy if it was the last acting job he ever did, he likes it so much *or words to that effect).

I found the pacing of Mosquito Coast to be pretty good given the life they're trying to build, but I can see why people might find issue with it.

And yeah, I saw Oldman saying something similar. It would certainly be one hell of a swan song as he's utterly brilliant in it

[phattslagg]

I’m going to force myself through the finale of Mosquito Coast, but by god it’s been a slog. A show most notable for not having any likeable characters whatsoever.

[Deckard]

Christ that Poker Face TV series is a bit good isn't it ? And I love her

Seems to be super on trend at the mo - either detective stuff or horror....

[Rhythm]

Last of Us was approximately an hour too long this week :-/

I found it a strange embellishment for them to give the story. It didn't progress anything, didn't paint an interesting picture of people surviving. And then they wrote out what we'd have seen as the pay-off!

Spoiler: show

In the game we meet Bill and his prior relationship with Frank is hinted at. Bill's a bitter old prepper at this point and we're left to fill in the gaps as to why, partly by hearing him interact with Ellie.

Instead the TV version paints "BILL IS GAY, Y'ALL" in a huge rainbow billboard. And then adds neon signs pointing to it. What follows is an overly-long and heavy-handed reinterpretation of the first 5 minutes of Up.

His survival for 20 years is largely glossed over, and they kill him off before Joel and Ellie come along, meaning the person he's developed into is lost too.

Still though, Murray Bartlett was fantastic. Hard to believe that was Armand from White Lotus