Binge-worthy TV shows?

[MisterE]

A few I've enjoyed recently:

Altered Carbon
The Man in the High Castle
Ozark
Atypical
The End of the F***ing World
Black Mirror
The Expanse
Star Trek: Discovery
Billions

 

[Blackhorse]

Mister E...new avatar?  Looks kinda Rene Magritte.

Anyway...Sci Fi?  Phillip K Dick?  You should watch “Electric Dreams”.

 

[MisterE]

I haven't heard of that one yet! On my list now though 8)

I needed a change of avatar. I'd had the same one since 2009 I think. We're in what, 2020 or so now? :lol!:

 

[Zeno Marx]

A few I've enjoyed recently:

Altered Carbon
The Man in the High Castle
Ozark
Atypical
The End of the F***ing World
Black Mirror
The Expanse
Star Trek: Discovery
Billions

+1 for Ozark. Julia Garner is a top .25% actress. Billions is inconsistent, but I do keep up with it.

 

[peanubutter]

The lists look similar to what we binge on.
Others we watched:
Persons of Interest
Justified
Chuck
Dexter
The Crown
Criminal Minds
NCIS
The Good Wife and The Good Fight
Lucifer
Nurse Jackie
Death in Paradise
Blue Bloods
Longmire
Yellowstone
What's My Line (YouTube)
Sherlock Holmes

 

[Blackhorse]

Longmire...Longmire! Yeah. That was another one we did.

 

[Blackhorse]

Has anybody added...

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...with Jeremy Brett!

I know this is not really, exactly a continuous story line, but Brett is just so damn good.  If there was ever a reason to love TV productions, this is it.

 

[Blackhorse]

Another one from OZ.  Whereas the Dr. Blake Mysteries take place in the mid 1940’s...this one is in the late 1920’s (?).  Both are really quite excellent.  The funny thing is that in the Dr Blake one romantic/sexual relationships are treated with a quite Puritan approach...but in the roaring twenties period series sexuality is VERY open.  Kinda fits the social mores of the respective eras.

The second one is “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”.  The production values are very high and the stories are...fun.

 

[Blackhorse]

If the gorgeous deco locations and sets plus the luscious costuming found in PBS’s production of Poirot...then you should be quite delighted with...

NERO WOLFE!  The stories are good, the recurring actors are VERY over the top...but for me it’s the artistic direction...the sets and costuming that are so much fun.  It’s like a Dick Tracy thing with the primary colors and set colors tying into the costume colors.  

Timothy Hutton does a great sidekick as Archie Goodwin and narrates throughout.  Lots of fun.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

I recently started watching "Hell on Wheels" seems pretty good so far.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I recently started watching "Hell on Wheels" seems pretty good so far.

I think it fell apart after the first season. I liked the first season a good bit, but then it got shoddy in more than one way. It got ridiculous real quick.

 

[Blackhorse]

I HATE that.  I just watched the first few episodes of “Haven” which are lots of fun.  I remember giving up on it when it was first out cause it got stupid after season one or whatever.  Seems like that happens a lot.  What...do they hire in the cheap writers after the first season?

But maybe it’s just me? I remember the exact same thing happened with “Grimm” (a favorite around here). But then we went back after we got our beloved ROKU and loved Grimm from start to finish. Hmmmm.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I HATE that.  I just watched the first few episodes of “Haven” which are lots of fun.  I remember giving up on it when it was first out cause it got stupid after season one or whatever.  Seems like that happens a lot.  What...do they hire in the cheap writers after the first season?

But maybe it’s just me? I remember the exact same thing happened with “Grimm” (a favorite around here). But then we went back after we got our beloved ROKU and loved Grimm from start to finish. Hmmmm.

I wonder if it isn't similar to music. Musicians and their band spend their entire lives writing that first album, and then they spend only 8 months writing the second album. The sophomore curse. And TV is especially brutal with testing. Test audiences in control rooms with clickers. They didn't laugh here. They did laugh here. They liked this character in this instance. They didn't like this character in this instance. Taking characters, situations, scenes, words out of the final edit because they didn't test well. "OH, they liked this thing X. Add more of that!" Advertising dollars. I can't remember where I read it. I think maybe Variety, which is like the New York Times to Hollywood. But they study these shows in 8 second clips. They get these read-outs and graphs down to every 8 seconds, and they don't want things to drop in audience testing for even a moment. It makes for a very convoluted, choppy experience that isn't based on overall, cohesive quality. Take part B out of there because it didn't test well, even if it nicely ties in parts A and C. Now A and C have less context and get messy. Money driving the boat rather than artistic merit. The first season is a random phenomenon, but the second season is a highly studied boardroom mess.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I've been enjoying Around the World in 80 Days, from Jules Verne, on PBS. And Hans Zimmer did a fantastic job with the opening music theme.

 

[Blackhorse]

OK…newly discovered…incredible classic.

JUSTIFIED

Amazing in every regard.
.
1. Best cadre of character actors in TV history.
2. Most amazing/hilarious situations.
3. Most astonishing murders.
4. Most outrageous haircuts.
5. Baddest bad guys.
6. Most imprudent use of military grade explosives.
7. Greatest volume of bourbon consumed.
8. Friendliest scripts to hookers with a heart of gold.
9. Friendliest scripts to bad guys too stupid to live.
10. Funniest/most shocking/ most bizarrely creative deaths.

There. That should be incentive enough.

 

[Zeno Marx]

If you haven't checked out the Australian Mr.Inbetween, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you like well-written, sharp, character development fueled, interesting arcs, this is a show to check out. The writer and creator, Scott Ryan, based the series off his film school feature film, The Magician, that he made for $4000 and was critically acclaimed in the underground. The acting itself is so-so, but what great characters and situations. It's violent, but it had to be based on the premise. Three seasons, and you're out. It's quick, and because it is so good, it'll leave you wanting. For those of you who like The Sopranos and the like. That's on overused analog, but Scott Ryan is obsessive about The Sopranos. I could go on and on. They snuck the series onto FX and really didn't push it very hard. I watched it as it aired, and I've since watched most of it again (I didn't have all of it saved). It holds up really well to repeated viewings.

 

[Blackhorse]

Just checked. I remember watching an episode or two some time ago & liked it. But now I’d have to subscribe to the FX channel or pay $10 per season or $3 per episode. Maybe I can find it somewhere else via ROKU at no out of pocket.

Hah! Nailed it. It’s on HULU for free.

 

[tslots]

Hah! Nailed it. It’s on HULU for free.

Doesn't HULU cost $6.99/mo ?

 

[Blackhorse]

Well sure. But I’d have to pay over and above the monthly each time to watch it on any of the other 5 channels it’s on. I have to pay a monthly for the internet feed off the cable too...and for electricity and the house payment, etc., etc.

 

[DWSmith]

No mention of Swamp People?!?!?! Are you kidding?