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2022/10/16 19:04:01
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
QI did a bit on that. Sounds like not a good idea.
I’m currently working through Andor on Disney+. I really like it. They took good bits from Rogue One and built on them, rather than going the neon hover vespa route. I am most grateful for this.
Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!
I think that we in the U.K. are a bit spoiled when it comes to documentaries.
Yes we do produce utter crap in that regard, but we also have David Attenborough, who is frankly peerless in his realm. His programmes are factual, and let the genuine wonder of nature do the heavy lifting.
Compare that to Shark stuff from the US, which seems to be “tihs are shork *heavy metal riff*” and not much else.
Then there’s stuff like Time Team for historical fascination.
I think it really boils down to the BBC and it’s kind of unique status. Educate, entertain, inform. And without ads, you don’t get frequent recaps so common to US made documentaries, which when stripped out leaves paltry content on its own.
Of course this opinion is only based on the documentaries that actually make it over the pond, so I can’t and won’t pretend “therefore all are crap”.
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There's a show called Nailed It, he wasn't being complimentary about your waffle.
We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark
The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.
The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox
The show “Nailed It!”. It’s a game show where three people who can’t cook compete to make impossibly fancy desserts in too few minutes. The results are terrifying.
Mike Flanagan (Haunting Of Hill House, Midnight Mass) continues his relationship with Netflix, this time something a little more YA where the spookiness is dialled back a little.
The elevator pitch is pretty much the whole show in a nutshell: in a private hospice for terminally ill young people in the nineties, the patients meet at midnight to swap scary stories.
The end result is something that feels like it comes from the American Horror Story stable, but with a Goosebumps level of horror.
That may sound like a criticism, but the whole package really comes together well. Emotion is readily available on tap as the protagonists wrestle with the knowledge that they won't live the lives they expected to, the connective tissue that runs throught the whole series about "the girl who got better" is an interesting story, and the individual tales told around the fireplace are engaging enough, if lacking in any real horror.
Well written and well acted by a young cast dealing with complex and highly emotional themes, this is the first Flanagan show where he says he's constructed it to run for another season, and it really deserves to tell more of the stories it still has to tell.
2022/10/21 07:49:20
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
A pretty excellent sitcom from The Mother Land. Funny beyond mere nostalgia for The Mother Land. A good ensemble cast, the two leads not saving the best lines for themselves.
Each character gets development and it has a rolling timeline. The relationships are a bit antagonistic, but a genuine feel of community shines through behind it all.
Easy enough to find in the U.K. thanks to iPlayer.
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Never really watched this as the time, mostly because it was aired during E4, the presenters of which were near invariably smug and completely talentless.
But it’s actually alright. Elements of X-Files mixed with teen melodrama.
Kind of difficult to see Allison Mack as an actress and not, well, if you know you know. And if you don’t know you might want to keep it that way.
As ever it suffers some from asking the audience to accept a chiselled hunk of a lead as a High School Oddball. Yes there are narrative reasons (and decent ones at that) given, but man it’s still a fairly hard sell!
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Netflix show, after Not-Superman shoots himself on live TV, Not-Batman suspects one of the Not-Justice League killed him.
And yes, it is that shameless. Part of Adi Shankar's bootleg universe, it mixes animation, 80s computer game animation, and real historical footage (but with giant robots).
Strange.
Not sure it's good.
Not even sure it's interesting.
But then again I watched 2 1/2 hours it last night so...
Definitely a 10pm, kids are in bed, I'ma put something on, sort of show.
Never really watched this as the time, mostly because it was aired during E4, the presenters of which were near invariably smug and completely talentless.
But it’s actually alright. Elements of X-Files mixed with teen melodrama.
Kind of difficult to see Allison Mack as an actress and not, well, if you know you know. And if you don’t know you might want to keep it that way.
As ever it suffers some from asking the audience to accept a chiselled hunk of a lead as a High School Oddball. Yes there are narrative reasons (and decent ones at that) given, but man it’s still a fairly hard sell!
The early High School seasons of Smallville are pretty decent, but that whole "No flights or tights" thing they insisted on sticking with really made a mess of things later on. Can't keep saying this is all before Clark became Superman when you're basically speed-running his entire mythos.
2022/10/22 15:27:42
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
Never really watched this as the time, mostly because it was aired during E4, the presenters of which were near invariably smug and completely talentless.
But it’s actually alright. Elements of X-Files mixed with teen melodrama.
Kind of difficult to see Allison Mack as an actress and not, well, if you know you know. And if you don’t know you might want to keep it that way.
As ever it suffers some from asking the audience to accept a chiselled hunk of a lead as a High School Oddball. Yes there are narrative reasons (and decent ones at that) given, but man it’s still a fairly hard sell!
The real standouts of that show were Lex Luthor and Lionel Luthor.
Holy poop on a stick. That was the best episode of Dr Who in a long old while.
A decent story, usually handwavium here and there.
But most importantly? Ace. And The Professor.
Be still my nerdy heart. 30 odd years I’ve waited. 30 odd years to find out what happened to Ace, why she and The Doctor stopped travelling together. And they didn’t cheap out. One scene is all it took, and I don’t mind admitting I was nearly in tears.
And Ace’s bat (for those wondering, empowered by the Hand of Omega, a Timelord Stellar Manipulation Device, in Remembrance of the Daleks) still has its magic, smashing up one last Dalek.
It was a long time coming, but that will do for me. Closure on My Doctor, and My Companion. The ones I grew up with.
And a nice sting in the tale!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/10/23 20:01:26
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McCoy ? I'll give it a whirl then, always felt he got shorted by that see you next Tuesday Grade and his cabal of fools, as with sod all budget and a ropey sidekick (sos Doc !) he delivered the finest take on the Timelord bar The One True Doctor (mad Tom)
"AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED."
2022/10/24 13:22:06
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
Another entry in the legion of titles, most often found on the likes of Discovery and History channels, "investigating" some sort of paranormal phenomena.
Aside from being an unusual format for Netflix, 28DH attempts to distinguish itself by exploring a theory Lorraine and Ed Warren proposed (they of The Conjuring films) that in order to fully investigate a haunting it's necessary to spend far longer than the traditional overnight or weekend, and it takes a full 28 days to expose everything at work.
Consequently, we follow three teams of investigators who are sent to three different locations, without any outside contact, for 4 weeks.
If we could take that, alongside many other things on trust, then one could argue that some intriguing things are both discovered and captured on film.
But we can't, and so much of the proposed "paranormal activity" has holes you could drive a truck through, that the show quickly abandons any sense that.it can be taken seriously (in a field where this bar is already incredibly low.)
So what remains is the question of entertainment value? There's a little to be had.
Firstly some of the genuine historic stories behind the locations are interesting and tragic on a human level, regardless of your opinion of any paranormal involvement. That the crews arrive at all this information by themselves without books or internet is highly disputable, but the facts are at least not.
Secondly the investigators themselves are a wide and varied bunch, and, while I doubt it's intentional, watching them flail about in the dark is good for a yuk or two. The highlight of which is Jeremy (spelled Jereme) a self appointed demonologist in the shape of a living diabetes case one MAGA cap short of a trump rally, whose blood and thunder demands of the undead are a personal highlight. His Omen style look to camera at the end of the last episode is so hilarious it's worth the price of admission alone.
If you're looking for some diet-spooky low commitment pre Halloween scares, well, not scares so much as season appropriate watching, then give it a spin. But don't expect proof of life after death for any but the most credulous.
We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark
The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.
The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox
Recently started re-watching this, forgot how downright terrible some of the early episodes are (I just watched the one where Wesley is sentenced to death for standing on some flowers).
Hopefully it gets as good as I remember it being sooner rather than later.
2022/10/27 12:01:21
Subject: Re:Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
Recently started re-watching this, forgot how downright terrible some of the early episodes are (I just watched the one where Wesley is sentenced to death for standing on some flowers).
Hopefully it gets as good as I remember it being sooner rather than later.
Recently started re-watching this, forgot how downright terrible some of the early episodes are (I just watched the one where Wesley is sentenced to death for standing on some flowers).
Hopefully it gets as good as I remember it being sooner rather than later.
Wanting to delete Wesley, seems like a rather sensible culture, and whilst I find Wheaton hard going at times he was mostly correct about how badly written Crusher Jr was written, especially compared to Jake and Nog a few years later
"AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED."
2022/10/27 12:50:12
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
Recently started re-watching this, forgot how downright terrible some of the early episodes are (I just watched the one where Wesley is sentenced to death for standing on some flowers).
Hopefully it gets as good as I remember it being sooner rather than later.
Season 3 on.
My recommendation is Pilot, the S2 episode with the borg, then S3 on. Go back for S1 and S2 only if you're a glutton for punishment.
And I say this as a fan.
2022/10/27 19:57:35
Subject: Re:Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
My recommendation is Pilot, the S2 episode with the borg, then S3 on. Go back for S1 and S2 only if you're a glutton for punishment.
And I say this as a fan.
I find S2 quite good. There's a run of six or so episodes in the middle of the season that creates the character structure that the following seasons hang off. The later seasons also have some regrettably poor episodes too, so it's not all sunshine and lollipops as soon as the beard makes its debut.
2022/10/28 11:54:11
Subject: Tiny TV Reviews - Short Reviews For The Small Screen
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
