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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Nov 12, 2018 10:15:15 GMT
I just finished Season 2 of the TV series Salem on DVD the other night. The lousy channel which aired it on TV here only showed the first season and never bothered with the other two, so I’d had to wait quite a while before finally getting to see the rest of the show. The first thing I can say about this series is that it is not only gory/gruesome...but it is far more imaginative with its gore/gruesomeness than most other shows I watch. The season started off on a particularly nasty note with the most horrific version of pox I’ve seen in a series. Meanwhile, the weirdest part was a dude’s member being replaced by a crow. And that was just the tip of the gross-o-meter/weird-o-meter this season. There was also eyeball removal (and eating!), needles shoved under toenails, someone burned to a crisp (and then their still-alive extra-crispy self hobbling around, all raspy-voiced), cutting pox from someone and consuming it, black puke water, having face clawed/eyes gouged out by crows, brutal stabbings, incest kisses between mothers and sons, fingers bitten off and – worst of all – much killing of cute innocent animals. And that’s not even everything. I’ve watched shows with nasty stuff in them, but this show really seems to push the levels of gross-out stuff to extremes/new heights. I’d liked the lead actress who plays Mary Sibley in this show, Janet Montgomery, in others things prior to this series...but those other shows hadn’t really ‘utilised’ her well, I didn’t think, so it was great to see she’d scored her own show and that she was playing the main character in it. Her Mary might do stuff that makes her seem ‘unlikeable’ to some, but I personally think Janet Montgomery manages to make Mary as likeble as can be, given the sorts of things her character does to others. No matter what she’s done, I’m still on her side throughout and wishing to see her overcome her adversaries. It was actually quite sad to see her brought down so low as the season progressed. She went from being one of the most ‘powerful’ (not just as a witch, but status-wise in the village) to losing pretty much everything. I'd grown so accustomed to her carrying herself with dignity and wearing the most pristine/fancy clothes, that to see her reduced to this... ...Was rather upsetting (and apparently when this^ originally aired, it was around the same time as Cersei's 'Walk of Shame' in Game of Thrones - not a good week for female characters, that week). Still, as torn down as Mary got, she still managed to soldier on (even when she was ready to die, she was defiant enough to see done what she needed to complete and/or take others out along with her). By the end of the season, where she seemingly *did* die, it almost seemed like a relief for her - given everything she’d been through. However, I know she’s not gone for good (and just as well too, as the show wouldn’t be the same/worth it without her). A character who went through probably the ‘biggest’ change/development was that of Anne Hale played by Tamzin Merchant (who I got to watch in The Tudors, which I watched on DVD in between Seasons 1 and 2 of Salem). She started off as so ‘innocent’ in Season 1...well...until she 'accidentally' killed her parents at the end of the season in the most gloriously gruesome of ways, but even in the beginning of Season 2 she still seemed like a girl who didn’t realise what power she possessed and was more or less still a ‘good’ person. However, it wasn’t long after discovering she was in fact a witch that she started sacrificing animals left and right (including her own poor sweet little ‘familiar’, a rat who she called ‘Mr. Jenkins’/’Brown Jenkins’). It was hard watching her drown a kitten, rip heads off various birds and repeatedly killing her ‘friend’/familiar. It was also sad to see her once sweet relationship she was developing with Cotton Mather (played by Seth Gabel aka Bryce Dallas Howard’s hubby – lucky him, he's with hot redheads on and off camera) turn into something twisted/most assuredly not sweet/innocent. Poor Cotton had enough to deal with, having been forced to kill his father (the rather odd-named Increase Mather - who it was neat to see again this season, albeit briefly, as Stephen Lang always seemed to make the most of playing this character), going somewhat crazy and learning the truth about not only his sole male friend, John Alden, but also who all the witches in town were...including his new bride, Anne. One couldn’t blame him for going slightly nuts...but having Mr. Jenkins (now bigger than he originally was) crammed down his throat and winding up with his mind enslaved by the woman he’d loved even before she cast a spell on him? I honestly can’t see how this can end well for either of them. Lucy Lawless was a welcome addition this season, as she appeared to be playing her character of Countess Marburg with great relish. Her scenes with Mary were so good, though the incest stuff with her son? Less so (and watching her kiss Mary’s child wasn’t fun either). I enjoyed the different dynamics she had with all the characters, and practically cheered when she threw the supremely annoying Mercy out on her arse after promising her great things, but her character’s one flaw was not seeing how utterly obsessed her Dark Lord, Satan (who she’d devoted her life to), was with Mary and him being all about her rather than the Countess. This led to Mary’s son (possessed by her master) stabbing the Countess, like, a thousand times until she died. If she doesn’t return next season, that will be a shame, as Lucy Lawless brought something special to this season. I was rather less enthused by the return of Mercy this season. I was so happy to see Mary have her and her fellow lame wannabe witch minions set alight/shot at the start of this season...it was just a shame that she didn’t have Mercy get her brains blown out, as it meant we had to endure extra-crispy Mercy and her smoker’s voice for the first half of the season. While I should feel sympathy for her character and all the crap she’s been put through...I just can’t seem to muster up any, as she brings it on herself by being a traitorous backstabber who only sides with those who she believes can help her get what she wants. She’s an annoying wannabe/'try-hard' who thinks she’s so much more ‘badass’ than she actually is. I delighted in Mary treating Mercy as an annoyance more than a credible threat, and even though I probably shouldn’t have, I enjoyed every bad thing that happened to Mercy, as I felt she so richly deserved it all. Why the writers of the show seem so obsessed with her/think the audience want more of her, I’ll never understand. This is an example of a ‘writers’ pet’ being a detriment to the show, as I feel things would be so much better if they just permanently killed her off. I felt so sorry for her one surviving minion, Dollie, who had a sweet relationship with that other long-suffering character who I *did* actually feel sorry for – Isaac. It was such a shame that they weren’t able to get away from Mercy and the Countess and live together happily. I spent all season wishing Mercy dead, so it was quite a disappointment that she was one of only two witches to survive the season final (the other being Anne - though I was happy to see her survive, despite her dark turn. She unlike Mercy, doesn't irritate me). Stop trying to make Mercy happen, show! John Alden has to be the worst witch-hunter ever. He was given various magical tools to aid him in his witch-hunting, and he had just ONE JOB...but was terrible at it. He only seemed to succeed in killing regular innocent humans who didn’t deserve it, blind seers and a bunch of minions at the end of the season. The rest of the time he was getting tied up, tortured, stabbed, etc. Funnily enough, the most interesting dynamic Shane West as John Alden had on this show was with Seth Gabel’s Cotton Mather. They had an odd sort of ‘friendship’, but it was at least interesting (which is a word that couldn’t really be used to describe Alden’s character the rest of the time). While I do think this show gave Ashley Madekwe more to do than the previous series I saw her on ( Revenge), I can’t say I was that fussed on her character, Tituba. Half the time she seemed to care about Mary and be devoted to her (even if she did things Mary didn’t approve of, such as keeping her still-alive son a secret/hidden from her for years for example), while the other half she appeared to work against Mary and be all back-stabby. Her character just seemed to be a series of contradictions. At least she wasn't as irritating as Mercy. I can’t say I was a fan of the Hathorne character. He seemed like such a weasel. I’m hoping he’ll get his before the series’ end. I’ve seen Stuart Townsend in a number of things, though he hasn’t ever really impressed me in any of them. Having said that, he had decent chemistry with Janet Montgomery. It was strange that they seemed to get rid of him suddenly, though. The Countess’ son, Sebastian, got a bit more interesting towards the end of the season when he showed that all he really wanted was Mary and no one else, even going so far as to not help his mother when she was being stabbed to death. As for the kid playing young John/Mary’s and Alden’s son...he’s okay in some parts, but rather cringy in other parts. I’m not fussed on kid characters/actors in shows and movies, and very rarely can kid actors portray true menace - the role he’s playing now kind of demands menace, and I’m not sure he’s up to it. If nothing else, this show has at least one “WTF?!”-worthy moment every episode. It certainly puts all other witch shows to shame and makes them look ‘tame’ by comparison. The way they handle magic in this show is well-done, I think, and feels as 'realistic' as magic in a supernatural series can be. While Season 1 may have had some slow parts, this season felt like things really got moving and there were interesting developments almost every episode. Another tick in the 'plus' column is the memorable opening credits/theme song. I'm not a fan of Marilyn Manson, and I'm not so fussed on the theme song once it gets to the actual singing part, but before that...it's a pretty damn catchy tune. If the show had ended with this season, I would’ve been pretty ticked off (given who died and who lived), but thankfully there’s one more season to go. I’m hoping Season 3 doesn’t end of a cliffhanger.
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Nov 12, 2018 12:52:56 GMT
Bones season 5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2018 6:10:44 GMT
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Nov 21, 2018 12:40:56 GMT
Monarch of the Glen series 1
Bones season 6 and 7
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Post by theravenking on Nov 22, 2018 21:52:10 GMT
The Missing season 1 - I wasn't too impressed. Just like with Broadchurch it felt like the story could've been told in 2-3 episodes, yet they dragged it out over a whole season.
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Nov 22, 2018 23:12:19 GMT
I just finished season 1 of IZombie
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Nov 27, 2018 10:30:06 GMT
I finished the third and final season of Salem on DVD last night. I'm afraid to say this season felt like a bit of a step down from last season. While last season seemed to move at a great pace, this season felt 'slower'. Also, I hated that Mary was used and abused pretty much the whole season, and despite getting her fancy/nice-looking clothes back eventually, she didn't get to be 'back on top' again really like she was in the first season. In fact, she got stripped of her powers, and that royally sucked for her (though it made more pretty visuals at least). It was a bit tricky to keep track of whose side she was on (though that was true for most characters this season, as they seemed to keep flipping/changing sides back and forth) and who she really loved, but I thought when the show began May/John Alden were 'endgame', and apparently that turned out to be correct (I figured they'd either get a happy ending together or he'd have to kill her). I'm glad Mary got her 'happy ending'. I've always liked Janet Montgomery since the first thing I saw her in, and I appreciated that this series made her the lead (like she'd deserved to be for so long) and gave her really solid material to work with. I was especially impressed in the final episode that she was able to play the Countess as Lucy Lawless had (while it was too bad that they obviously couldn't get Lucy to return for the role - she only did voiceover - Janet Montgomery's portrayal of her character was a fine substitute). I hope Janet Montgomery scores more roles that utilise her as well as this show did. And what can be said about John Alden? I think Sebastian summed him up the best with "The world's least effective witch-hunter" (that comment made my laugh). He really was hopeless, and I didn't care enough about his relationship/friendship he developed with the young boy who...turned out to be a young girl with a crush on him (WHY would you have John Alden as your hero/crush? WHY???) for it to be emotionally effective when he/she died. I'm surprised that the worst Alden suffered in the final was a bit of his ear bitten off. He'd been stabbed so many times throughout the series, I was expecting something more/worse. Also, by the time he eventually got around to killing Little Satan's bro, the 'Sentinel', I was actually starting to like that dude as he grew to appreciate/enjoy the world he was living in. Most of this season he just bugged me...then when I started not-minding him (him being drunk made him a bit more likeable) he died and turned back into the bugs from which he'd originally formed. Oh well. Live happily, John & Mary! Even though I liked Anne Hale back in Season 1, I have to give the show props for taking her on one hell of a character journey and where she ended up. She just grew more and more powerful as time went on, but they made it seem as if she could still be harmed when she got tortured by Little Satan. However, by the end she KILLED Little Satan (who wasn't so 'little' anymore) and pretty much became the Queen of Salem (though I'm not sure why you'd want to be, since it was kind of a stink town). Of course, along with her power growing, so did her 'craziness'. She really went all-out in the series final. I'm sad that she and Cotton lost their sweet/innocent relationship they had early on, but it became clear that they just weren't going to end up together (what with her enslaving his mind and making the baby he sired with Gloriana - who I wished Anne had offed - her own). Still, I felt sympathy for Anne at times (as strange as that may sound) and Tamzin Merchant really brought it in the last handful of episodes this season. Her speech to Cotton was well-done, I thought, and she just really stepped up her game in the final (plus, her speech about how men treated women definitely had merit, as did her calling him a hypocrite, since he most definitely was). As much wrong/bad stuff as she did, I kind of loved her taking care of everything/everyone and putting them where she believed they belonged. I should've felt sorry for Tituba and where she ended up...but being in league with Little Satan and stitching him back together after Mary tore him limb from limb in a surprising and gloriously gruesome manner? Tsk tsk. She sealed her own fate, as Little-Satan-turned-Big-Satan never really cared about her, he was always all about Mary, and Tituba paid the price for her constant shifts in allegiance. I was sad to see her cat she'd resurrected lose its eyes so she could see again (after having them clawed out in last season's final by crows). Poor kitty wound up with red stitches in its eyelids and then ended up dying at Mary's hand, which took away Tituba's cat eyes/sight. Of course then Anne Hale gave her back her sight...but took away her mouth and stuck her on a slave ship. As for the kid playing Little Satan...I hope his parents got him some therapy, given all the things he had to act out/say in this show. While Game of Thrones might have brother/sister incest, this show had not only that (with Anne and Sebastian in the end), but also mother/son incest (Sebastian/Countess, Mary/Little Satan). On top of that, the kid was constantly saying messed up stuff about wanting to do his mother, etc and THEN his first demise was so unexpected, since most shows I watch wouldn't even DREAM of having a child get his arms, legs and head torn off - but I appreciated that this show went there. However, his second demise in the series final might've be just as good, if not better, as his stitched-back-together little self had grown-up Satan man burst out of his tiny former body. Little Satan literally gave birth to Big Satan. That was...quite something. I don't think any other show I watch will have such imaginative violence as this one did. The only violence I didn't appreciate was all the animal violence. It sucked to be an animal in this world - poor frogs, kittens, rats (damn you, Cotton! I know Brown Jenkins helped enslave your mind, but I did NOT wish to watch you smoosh him to death!), kitties, dogs (damn you AGAIN, Cotton! Throwing the poor doggy into the fireplace!) and probably others I've forgotten. But I digress. I especially loved Anne Hale choking the gag-worthy Mercy and Hathorne (every time they appeared onscreen, I groaned, wishing them to get gone), as I would've hated if the show ended with Mercy still alive (I cheered earlier in the season when she got repeatedly stabbed - but, alas, that wasn't enough to end her, as her stupid followers gave up their blood to save miserable self), so although it might not have been 100% definite, I choose to believe both Mercy and her equally loathsome lover died (YAY!) - and I'm grateful for that. That heavens for small mercies. Not sure what became of Isaac in the end...but even though I had felt sorry for him at times, by the end I didn't really care one way or the other. His devotion to that girl who I personally thought gave off a creepy vibe and was going to turn out to be sinister just made me lose interest in his storyline. Besides...her name was Dorcas - which immediately made me think of this whenever I heard her name uttered... I loved the final shot of Anne sitting in the chair with her now BIG Mr. Jenkins/Brown Jenkins and the look she gave us/the camera. That really said it all - she was the new Mary Sibley and NOT to be messed with. I was happy with her ending and I expected that^ shot to be the end...but it wasn't. No, instead we ended on Cotton Mather in Hell after he'd said he'd rather go there than be with Anne (talk about a ‘burn’) and apparently he had to go there, offering up his soul to Satan, in return for saving the people of Salem. Sucked to be him (though I was happy to see him and Mary hug and forgive each other for what they’d done prior to that). It was good to see Seth Gabel get work in this show after having previously been in Fringe. At least in real life his redheaded wife (Bryce Dallas Howard) is distinctly non-psycho...I assume. That^ was a neat choice of final shot for the series. Although the last handful of episodes and what turned out to be the series final *did* feel a tad bit 'rushed', I found it oddly satisfying enough that I'm not too angry that there won't be anymore episodes (which is more than I can say for a lot of shows' series finals after they got cancelled and didn't get the chance to wrap things up...or if they did, they purposely *chose* not to in the hope it'd get them another season - which oftentimes it didn't. At least this show had the good sense to more or less make things 'final'). Also...the ending certainly made the tagline on the Season 3 poster seem all the more relevant in retrospect. Goodbye, Salem. You were wickedly awesome. Plus, you had a kick-arse theme/opening credits sequence (though while Marilyn Manson contributed the catchy theme song to the show, he didn’t make much of an impression acting-wise. I thought he was far creepier as the voice of Pan’s shadow in Once Upon A Time). I doubt I’ll ever watch another witch show that’s as entertaining as this one ended up being. And one more time, just for the 'Hell' of it/because it's so damn catchy...
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Nov 27, 2018 10:37:49 GMT
The Office season 3
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Dec 1, 2018 19:29:28 GMT
Finished the last two episodes of season 4 of Brooklyn Nine Nine and season 5 of Brooklyn Nine Nine
Have to say season 5 of Brooklyn Nine Nine was a lot better than season 4. Which i think was the weakest season of the show.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Dec 2, 2018 2:42:52 GMT
Mysterious Cities of Gold - Episode 23.
I've been slowly re-watching this series since early in the year, having last seen it as a kid back in the 90s. I bought the DVD box set a long time ago now, but held off checking it out until this year.
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maxwellperfect
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Post by maxwellperfect on Dec 10, 2018 19:18:47 GMT
"Barney Miller" season 3. Classic.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 16, 2018 8:57:02 GMT
The last season of a show I finished watching was Season 2 of The Crown on Blu-ray. I’ve been a fan of Claire Foy’s for quite some time, following her from early in her career to where she is now, and I'm glad to see that she and her acting abilities are finally getting some recognition thanks to her Emmy-worthy performance as Queen Elizabeth in this show (I was so happy to discover she'd won the Emmy for her performance). I really liked Season 1, so it came as a bit of a surprise that I found the first half of Season 2 to be a bit ‘slower’ and not quite as engaging as Season 1. The main reason for that was probably due to other characters in the show getting more focus and that taking away from Elizabeth. It’s Claire Foy that I mainly watch this show for, so when large portions of screentime are spent on others, they better be interesting enough to make up for not being Foy’s Elizabeth. Sometimes they were and sometimes they weren’t. However, one moment did stand out in the first episode of this season, and it was the scene that happened sometime after Elizabeth had found the picture Prince Philip had of a ballerina. The scene where she’s at the ballet, and trying to keep her feelings in check when she’s watching the woman who she assumes Philip has been having a thing with was so well-acted by Claire Foy, I thought. She did a remarkable job of showing all these emotions Elizabeth was feeling...but her trying to not let them show. There was a part where the ballerina looks directly at her and it seems like she’s giving Elizabeth a knowing look/smirk, but whether this was actually happening or just Elizabeth imaging it is up for debate. The second episode, which saw focus turn towards Philip, wasn’t quite so interesting to me. While I like Matt Smith and he’s earned a bunch of goodwill from me thanks to playing the Doctor in Doctor Who, I do find his Philip rather unlikeable (and his dislike/snark regarding Australia didn’t really endear him to me). I had to agree with Margaret regarding his beard (her comment made me laugh, as I’d been thinking basically the same thing). Speaking of ‘shifty’, Matthew Goode certainly played shifty well as Antony Armstrong-Jones. Again, I’ve liked this actor in other things, but he was playing a real sleazebag here, I thought. Poor Margaret seemed to have little luck with the men she had any interest in. I did cheer her on when she dumped that first jerk of the season. I felt sorry for her, the fact that she ended up with yet another jerk in the end...especially when she looked so happy on her wedding day. Yes, Elizabeth probably could/should have told her sister what her people had found out about Tony...but I think it was pretty clear by that point that if she had. Margaret would’ve totally lost it (especially after the whole Peter Townsend fiasco last season – though I’m guessing Elizabeth and everyone else were probably missing Peter Townsend by this point). Although Margaret could be a bit childish at times, I felt sympathy for her since I can totally understand how every time she dared to hope something good would happen for her, it was ripped away. I can see why she wound up so bitter and pessimistic regarding her sister’s feelings regarding Tony. I also found her amusing at times with her snarky comments and how she’d put on the face of a smiling princess for the cameras...and then immediately let it drop and take a drag on her cigarette, so very unenthused. I actually really enjoyed the dynamic between the sisters and wished we could’ve gotten more screentime with them (and less with other characters). I found them fascinating to watch, seeing them play off each other, even when they were having disagreements (which was most of the time, though there were still instances where Margaret showed she cared for her sister, despite fighting with her, and vice versa). I was annoyed that Vanessa Kirby/Margaret was missing from some episodes this season, especially considering this was her last season on the show along with Claire Foy and Matt Smith. I’ve seen Vanessa Kirby in some other things (most recently Mission: Impossible – Fallout) and hope to see her go on to be in a lot more stuff. At least I’ll get to see her again when I eventually get around to watching The Frankenstein Chronicles, which I got on DVD some time ago (I also have two other shows featuring Claire Foy which I need to get around to watching at some point). One episode where I didn’t mind some other characters getting a bit of focus was the one titled ‘Dear Mrs. Kennedy’. I actually thought this was probably the best episode of the season. It had humour... It had the Queen feeling jealousy and showing how she could try to one-up Jackie (that scene featuring all the marching/horses/soldiers in an effort to intimidate her was delightful in its 'pettiness'), and while I started out thinking Jackie was as nice as everyone made her out to be, especially when she seemed to be bonding with the Queen over their mutual love of animals... ...I then grew to dislike her once Elizabeth learned of what she’d said about her (Claire Foy’s acting in the scene where she has to hear it is so wonderfully portrayed. She shows such hurt, but again is doing her best to keep it together/internalized), but then later we learned what was going on with Jackie and I was able to sympathise with her/like her again (at least a bit). The Queen showed she wasn’t without her faults, as she didn’t voice her feelings regarding Jackie and how she was influenced by her words and wouldn’t have done what she did without hearing them. Then, of course, came the assassination and I wished the Queen had offered some kind words to Jackie *before* that event happened. Anyway, it was a very interesting episode (plus, I got a kick out of seeing Michael C. Hall from Dexter in another role, as I haven’t seen him in anything particularly noteworthy since that show). I wish we could’ve spent more time with these characters, as they were actually worth watching. As far as other episodes were concerned, I was glad to see Elizabeth tell off the Duke of Windsor after learning of his dealings with the Nazis. I felt sympathy for young Charles (and young Philip via flashbacks) in the second last episode of the season - though, again, I wished they could’ve spent more time on the Queen. I was glad they at least gave her and Philip one last ‘meaty’ scene before the ending of the final episode. It was a good scene between the two of them. Her look at the end when the photo was being taken really said it all. But at the very end she stuck by Philip (who got one last amusing moment, as he told everyone to shut it so the picture could be taken). I will miss Claire Foy so very much, and also Matt Smith and Vanessa Kirby. For me, they made the show what it was and I feel it won’t be the same without them (I realise that the actors having to wear makeup to age them might’ve been a bit of a hassle, but they could’ve stuck around for at least another season or two, then they could’ve done a jump to them a lot older and gotten new actors/actresses for that. Replacing them at ‘middle-aged’ seems a bit premature. Some actors/actresses wear out their welcome in shows, but these ones were in no danger of that. They were just getting on a roll). I’m not sure if I’ll continue watching (though I do like Helena Bonham Carter, who will be playing older Margaret, and Tobias Menzies has impressed me with his acting in Outlander...but he really doesn’t resemble Matt Smith in the slightest. I think who was originally rumoured to be playing older Philip, Paul Bettany, would’ve been closer in resemblance...but maybe they just decided to hell with finding actors who look similar? I always figured Bill Nighy would be the natural choice for the last iteration of Philip in the show’s final two seasons – presuming six seasons is still the plan. At least he has a chin like Matt Smith). Anyway, I loved the first two seasons of this show, and at least I’ll always have them to rewatch.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 27, 2018 8:41:14 GMT
I FINALLY finished Lucifer Season 1 on DVD (after having started it…back in January of this year (according to my first post in the ‘Lucifer’ thread). I got a little sidetracked with watching other things, but I was determined to at least finish the first season before the end of this year. Tom Ellis does a good job of playing a character type that we’ve seen so often (maybe not ‘the Devil’ so much as just that typical ‘bad boy’ character who’s charming, witty/delivers rapid fire one-liners, breaks the rules, can be 'bad' but is still able to ‘care’ as well), but without coming off as annoying like so many others do. Having seen this type of character in many different shows, that shtick had started to get a bit old/stale, but he makes it seem ‘fresh’. I'd seen him in his short-lived series Rush before this, and he does seem to have brought over some similar qualities from that character to his portrayal of Lucifer here. The other contributing factor to my enjoyment of the show is Lauren German as Chloe Decker. I’ve seen her in a few things, though mainly knew her from Chicago Fire (where her character was written off in such a lousy way – that show did a major disservice to both the actress and the character she portrayed. Since they’d underutilized her, it's good that she’s moved onto bigger and better things). By the end of the first episode, after Chloe had gotten shot, I was pretty much hooked as far as being invested in these two characters and their 'relationship'/partnership. The chemistry between Lucifer and Chloe was almost immediately evident, and I think they play off each other really well. I enjoyed Lauren German’s reactions as Chloe to all the seemingly ‘weird’ (for her) things Lucifer says. Some of her double-takes have been very amusing. I also like how baffled Lucifer’s been by her not falling for his charms, yet at the same time he’s highly intrigued. At least he decided to even things out a bit by showing himself in the buff (since he’d gotten to see her nekkid). It’s amusing...so long as you don’t overthink it (here’s this guy who barges into her home uninvited, impedes her investigations, seems to be stalking her, exposes himself to her and tells her he wants her to sleep with him, managing to turn everything she says into a come-on – that’s the sort of behavior which I’m pretty sure would usually get one arrested...so it’s just as well he helps her with cases just as often as he seemingly messes things up for her). I really do think both actors have chemistry, and I liked the scene of nekkid Lucifer started out light-hearted, but got quite serious once Chloe noticed his back wounds and tried to touch them. I look forward to getting more backstory of the whole having-his-wings-cut-off thing. I’m glad Chloe is thinking about all the weird stuff she’s seen Lucifer do combined with what he’s been telling her this whole time. Naively, I thought maybe they were going to have her come to the realization Lucifer had been telling the truth...except then they pulled the trick Smallville would often use where Lex was about to have proof Clark was an alien, only for Clark to conveniently be rendered ‘human’ at that exact moment. So Lucifer’s bleeding makes it hard for Chloe to believe he’s ‘immortal’ like he’s been claiming. I did enjoy Lucifer’s reaction to feeling pain – though I felt sorry for Chloe after he made her shoot him, as she clearly felt horrible about it. The confusion she must be feeling about everything Lucifer, I imagine, would be exceptionally frustrating for her. The characters of Maze and Amenadiel haven’t left much of an impression on me as yet. The former just seems to be there to encourage Lucifer to be 'bad' and glaring/wanting to throw daggers at Chloe (I was happy when Lucifer gave Maze the cold shoulder after she betrayed him), while the latter's part in the first season seemed to simply be telling Lucifer "Go (back) to Hell." - though by the end of the season he got slightly more interesting when he teamed up with Lucifer (though his suddenly doing a 180 on wanting Lucifer to go back to Hell felt like it made all his screentime up until then rather pointless). Honestly, I don't feel like they add anything particularly interesting to the show as yet. They almost feel like they're in their own separate show with the way they act and what they get up to. As for Lucifer’s therapist...his interactions with her are somewhat amusing, but it was starting to wear a bit thin after a while. Hopefully now with seemingly ALL the main characters going to her for therapy (as unlikely as that would be) it will switch things up a bit. The 'villain' of the season (Malcolm) was pretty blah, though. He wasn't very threatening, but I was glad Chloe got to be the one to off him. I started out not being particularly interested in Chloe's ex, Dan (who Lucifer continuously calls 'Detective Douche' - though it was nice of him to give it a rest in the season final after Dan did him a solid). I like that despite them being antagonistic to each other, by the end of Season 1 Lucifer and Dan are at least tolerating each other...albeit begrudgingly. We'll see how long them playing 'nice' lasts. I don't mind Chloe's and Dan's daughter, Trixie. One thing I really like about Lucifer is he seems to have the same attitude towards children as I do – which is to say, he’s not overly fond of them. Though obviously he did manage to bond with Chloe’s daughter pretty fast, and thankfully the kid doesn’t irritate like most child characters in shows/movies do. Of course, that could eventually change, but at the moment she’s tolerable. Plus, I enjoy the fact that Lucifer is telling/teaching her things he probably shouldn’t be. One of the best episodes of the season, I thought, was episode 9 titled 'A Priest Walks Into a Bar'. What I liked most about this episode was the friendship which developed between Lucifer and Father Frank the priest (I knew a Father Frank once...he was far grumpier than this Father Frank. I actually liked this Father Frank). All the inappropriate jokes Lucifer was spouting at him got rather annoying after a while, but Father Frank just shrugged them off. I really enjoyed the scene where they played piano together and you could tell Lucifer was begrudgingly starting to like the guy. I've enjoyed seeing Lucifer and Chloe growing friendship, and I especially liked the scene with them near the end of the episode where Lucifer was playing the piano, mourning his new lost friend, and Chloe joined him simply to be of comfort/a friend. I also liked the fact that all she knew how to play on the piano was 'Heart and Soul' (the tune I'm fairly sure most people first learn). I like that tune, have heard it in many things, and was very happy to hear them both playing it here. A nice (almost) ending to the episode. By the end of the first season, I'm still mainly watching for Lucifer and Chloe, as I enjoy their interactions the most. I’m still not really interested in any of the other characters as yet. Their scenes feel like distractions from the main plot and the two characters I actually am interested in/*do* care about.On the whole, though, I quite enjoyed Season 1 and will eventually start watching Season 2. It's good to have a supernatural show that I actually enjoy watching (rather than it feeling like a chore to watch it).
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Post by Raimo47 on Dec 27, 2018 19:13:23 GMT
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys season 6 Xena: Warrior Princess season 4 Walker, Texas Ranger season 1
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 3, 2019 10:15:01 GMT
I started watching Season 5 of Younger on DVD at the very end of last year, but finished it this year (ie. the other night). **spoilers below** I know some people have thought the show can’t go on for much longer. Especially not Liza’s (Sutton Foster) secret-keeping...though this season quite a few people found out about her real age - most importantly Charles. Understandably, he was a bit upset/angry...though he was quite unprofessional, I thought, in letting that anger show at the workplace and taking it out on clients (speaking of, it was unexpected for Jason Ralph from The Magicians to show up here as a client. He was a little less mopey here than he is on that show, but not particularly interesting/memorable either. Another recogniseable face this season – who first appeared at the end of last season - was Charles Michael Davis, who I only previously knew from The Originals. While I didn’t outright hate his character here, he too didn’t leave much of an impression. Both he and Jason Ralph’s character seemed to mainly be there to create a ‘love triangle’ for Hilary Duff’s Kelsey...which wasn’t particularly interesting). But I digress. Getting back to who found out about Liza’s secret...I can’t remember exactly how many, but it was at least a few. I do think, though, that poor Diana (Miriam Shor) looking like she’s going to be the *last* to find out is going to likely have the most impact (once she finally does find out). Not only will she probably be upset at Liza for lying to her about her age, but also the fact that she’s involved with Peter (who Diana has had an interest in/flirted with), as well as her being the last to find out. I imagine it’s going to probably blow all the other reveals out of the water when it happens. I have liked seeing Diana gradually ‘soften’ towards Liza and even becoming sort-of friends with her. The scene where they exchanged Christmas gifts was particularly well-acted, I thought. As Miriam Shor managed to show just a hint of Diana feeling something at Liza’s home-made gift to her, but then covered it up – as she does. I think this is part of why, when she finally finds out, it’s going to have a huge impact. It’s going to feel like a massive betrayal. Yes, the other main characters who found out (Josh, Kelsey, Charles) felt betrayed too, but I think Diana’s going to feel it much more for the reasons mentioned above^. She's still rocking the 'power necklaces', though. Speaking of the Christmas episode, I find that each season has at least *one* thing (be it a moment/scene, reaction or line of dialogue) that sticks out from all the rest for me. This season it was Liza’s singing (well, yodeling) and dancing with her daughter to ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ from The Sound of Music. One thing I love about Sutton Foster (who I hadn’t seen in anything before starting this show) in this role is her reactions. She’s very amusing with the looks/expressions she gives, and this^ scene was no exception. Her reaction to seeing Charles was pretty funny. I also have never known what the heck ‘twerking’ is...until I read the comments under that^ video and then just *had* to look it up (unlike in Season 2, when ‘truffle butter’ was mentioned and the show strongly hinted that looking that up probably wasn’t such a wise idea...and so I haven’t). Anyway, I do think Sutton Foster still brings it in the comedic department (as well as the 'drama' side of things. She really sells the emotional moments too). She also rocks a fur bikini when playing the Part of Princess Pam Pam, which is a character based on a series of books titled Crown of Kings written by the sleazy Edward L.L. Moore (which is obviously the show's comedic take on George R.R. Martin). I feel there were less ‘amusing’ moments this season. A large part of why I got into the show/enjoyed it in the earlier seasons was because it was quite funny (it’s also handy for explaining modern things/slang that I’m unaware of – the fact that the show has characters from very different ages helps. I don't know what Lauren's going on about half the time, but usually another character is there to explain that sort of stuff, since Liza's often as in the dark as I am regarding these sorts of things, thankfully). I do miss the funnier stuff from earlier seasons, but I’m still not disliking/hating the show yet, which is good. It will no doubt be quite a while before I see the next season, and the episodes are so short that I devour a season in no time. Still, I don’t really watch any other shows that are like this one, so it’s good to have something a bit ‘different’ to the typical shows I watch.
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maxwellperfect
Junior Member
@maxwellperfect
Posts: 3,966
Likes: 1,683
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Post by maxwellperfect on Jan 4, 2019 17:41:24 GMT
Star Trek Discovery, season one.
Overall, I found this a very entertaining series. I like that it re-integrated interesting sci-fi concepts back into Trek (missing with the movie series) although sometimes it goes off to mystical regions. Yes, the writers are very explicitly making an effort to push female characters to the forefront, but I never found that any writer's agenda overshadowed the stories in any way. I liked how, in this post-Game of Thrones status quo, Discovery was not afraid to shock us with some of the developments. Also, it was great seeing call-backs to the Original Series. I have to say that I was not fond of what they did with the Klingons. They look like some hybrid Nosferatu/Giger Aliens now, and seem even more superstitious and animalistic now. It's almost impossible to believe that such a race could have developed space travel. Setting aside some illogical and fantastic elements, I'm fully on board with this series, for now. A minus.
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Jan 4, 2019 19:20:30 GMT
Game of Thrones season 2
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Post by hi224 on Jan 4, 2019 21:07:09 GMT
Barry.
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Post by Zos on Jan 5, 2019 12:11:50 GMT
Season 5 (final season) of Orphan Black. What a performance by Tatiana Maslany.
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maxwellperfect
Junior Member
@maxwellperfect
Posts: 3,966
Likes: 1,683
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Post by maxwellperfect on Jan 14, 2019 15:48:02 GMT
'Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1996), season 1
At first blush, a cutesy family show following the "Bewitched" formula of magic spells going wrong in a disastrous fashion, but it does feature some quirky gags and some clever jokes hidden in the dialogue (usually asides unrelated to the main story), tight continuity, good guest stars and some surprisingly dark humor. B +
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