What was the last TV show you watched?

[Stearmen]

There are a lot of fascinating what-ifs with Elvis. I've always wodnered what else he'd have sung if he'd not been steered away from political material, for instance - he had to fight for In the Ghetto, and he felt very strongly about doing that one. I wonder how he'd be viewed now as a living artist rather than an icon onto which much can be projected. Is this Sun Records a documentary or a dramatisation?

It's a dramatization. Not bad, but I am sure you have to take a lot of it with a grain or more of salt!

 

[Edward]

It's a dramatization. Not bad, but I am sure you have to take a lot of it with a grain or more of salt!

Default position with pretty much any historical dramatisation.

 

[Fading Fast]

Stearmen said, "I always wounder what if Elvis had cut off Parker, and later, The Memphis Mafia?"

The glimpses we had of early Elvis's acting ability make me wish he had struck out on his own as well. He handled a difficult straight role in King Creole quite well, with singing restricted to scenes in nightclubs. And though it's been a long time, I seem to recall he was good in Flaming Star, playing a half-breed Indian, and in Kid Galahad, that "remake of an old Warners movie tailored for Elvis, and done pretty well", as the TV Guide always described it. He had that star quality and the onscreen presence. Who knows -- he might have picked up where James Dean left off (and been better at the "young rebel" shtick than JD ever was).

I, too, thought Elvis had real potential as an actor that went down the Col. Parker sinkhole. There are glimpses of real talent in several of the, particularly, early movies and, as you note, he had that thing you can't teach - star presence / the camera loved him. As with so much with Elvis - too much of his talent went to waste owing to bad decisions personally and professionally.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

The Blacklist spin off, from the dvr. Then, Foyle's War, the episode "War Games." We usually comment how slowly paced is the show, but then are always caught off guard at the plot twists and turns in the last couple of minutes.
Scanning the horizon for the return of Longmire, Victoria, and The Crown...

 

[Zombie_61]

...Scanning the horizon for the return of Longmire...

Keep scanning. Based on what little information I've been able to find online the sixth and, at this point, final season of Longmire began, or will begin, filming this month and will allegedly premiere some time in 2017.

 

[Frunobulax]

Keep scanning. Based on what little information I've been able to find online the sixth and, at this point, final season of Longmire began, or will begin, filming this month and will allegedly premiere some time in 2017.

Late 2017 from what I've read. And after recently getting caught up on it, I think it's ready to have a fork put in it. Wrap up some story lines, but it's played out.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Zombie_61]

Late 2017 from what I've read. And after recently getting caught up on it, I think it's ready to have a fork put in it. Wrap up some story lines, but it's played out.

I agree; better to call it quits before you wear out your welcome.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Then, Foyle's War, the episode "War Games." We usually comment how slowly paced is the show, but then are always caught off guard at the plot twists and turns in the last couple of minutes.....

I love "Foyle's War" for the incredible time-period sets, clothes, cars, architecture, etc., and for the wonderful characters that developed over the show's run, but, IMHO, the plotting and multiple twists were a drawback as they were - most of the time - incredibly convoluted, hard to follow, not that believably and, as you noted, were all wound up - usually with a powerful soliloquy by Foyle - in rapid fire and too neatly right at the end.

I came to take the plots as a side show - nice that they were there as it allowed the show to move forward - but found the other features of the show, as noted, the parts that engaged me and kept me coming back.

 

[belfastboy]

About to finish the Belgian TV series on Netflix...."The Break" a cop show. Well acted and I like the pace and sensibility of it but it suffers a bit in the plot development. Like many European TV dramas the plot line gets very convoluted. This series is 10 episodes long and without the multiple red herrings thrown into the plot line it could have been a more taut series at 6 episodes.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Just finished binge-watching the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a CW series that's a dramedy... and a musical, with two or three original numbers per episode. I like it a lot. Not everything in it works, but it's got a lot of guts... and those musical numbers (which generally advance rather than stop the plot, and are sung by the entire main cast, running the gamut from big Les Mis and The Music Man production-number parodies to torch songs, rap songs, great fake Huey Lewis videos and Disney animated-feature ballads, etc.) range from merely excellent to fall-down, amazingly brilliant. Lead/co-creator/co-writer/co-songwriter Rachel Bloom is obviously a major talent.

It's just the plot - Manhattan lawyer gives it all up to run after a teen crush in California, then continually self-defeats - and its repetitive machinations and (simultaneously skewering while adhering to) rom-com conventions aren't necessarily that interesting. That's the only thing keeping me from giving the series my top rating.

 

[LizzieMaine]

One of the kids got me into watching that, and I think it's extraordinary in a way that very few current bits of entertainment are. I see it as a very effective satire of all the stupid stereotypical cliches of romantic comedy and simultaneously a very dark and perceptive look at actual mental illness as seen thru the eyes of the patient. Bloom is a genius, and I hope she wins every award there is.

The boyfriend character, Josh, is so utterly, hilariously stupid that it's impossible for me to take him seriously as a romantic lead, and I think that's exactly the point she's trying to make. Everything she does during the series is an attempt to build up a desperate illusion of a serious romantic attachment to this complete goober, while knowing, at some level, that it's pointless. It'd be even funnier if I didn't actually know women who do this -- they aren't in love, they're in love with the idea of being in love, and the object of their affection ends up being just a prop. That's some pretty deep stuff to go along with the wacky antics, and I think a lot of young gals would benefit from the show's message.

The second season is even funnier, and more terrifying. And the cliffhanger ending is just a total whack.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Interesting observations!

So the endless rom-com re-jiggering of the relationships, the failures, setbacks, miracles - none of which stick - are THE POINT.

I eventually realized that making Josh a bit of a himbo - attractive, but not a perfect match for Rebecca - was to satirize how little detail is often involved beyond just looks when it's guy chasing a woman... But once again, the tragedy of falling for and obsessing over a beautiful, impossible object of desire - without really knowing them - is THE POINT.

No knock on Bloom or McKenna, but one thing I noticed right off: Marc Webb is also listed as a producer, and he directed the pilot. One person in a relationship projecting something onto the other that's simply not there to satisfy their own romantic illusions is also the theme of his (500) Days of Summer. (He then sullied himself with those Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films, but let us never speak of that again.)

Agreed that it's a unique and fascinating show, perceptive and very entertaining. I plan to wait a few days before diving into the second season, just to fully absorb the 18 episodes I watched over the last week or so!

 

[Worf]

Oprah's "Greenleaf" - I grew up in the "Black Church" of my mother's generation. This program shows ALL the reasons I left organized religion. Lies, deceptions, greed, adultery, theft, petty jealousies on every point of the compass you name it, it's there. Don't know if I'll watch another episode though... it hits a little too close to home. And being that my mother always felt I'd be an amazing preacher...

Worf

 

[MisterCairo]

Couldn't sleep, so a couple of older (first season and third season) Walking Deads...

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Louie. some old re-runs. I didn't watch this as it aired, but they are some of my favorite things to watch in the re-run arena. Very interesting situations and characters. Not always funny. Not always with a purpose or point. Sometimes, such small occurrences in life that it makes perfect sense that no one else has bothered to center a 30-minute show around them. Odd stuff that happens to all of us in life, but the difference being is that we aren't paying attention to it. If for no other reason, this is why I enjoy this show so much.

 

[Stearmen]

Restoration Garage. This reminded me, every time you hear some one say, it's a lost art, tell them they are stupid. Some where out there, is a young person recreating such an item. It was nice to see these young guys, hand forming a car body from raw aluminum. My young neighbor is making a 100 plus year old Harley tank for me, he does great work.

 

[Fading Fast]

Owing to either Zombie's or Dr Strange's recommendation in a prior post (that I now can't find), I recorded and watched DYI's "Restored."

The episode I saw was the restoration of a 1913 Craftsman Bungalow. The house is beautiful, but had been muddled up over the years. The premise of the show is that this contractor - and star of the show - is hired to do a restoration.

The good is that, overall, he seems very committed to restoring the house to its original state (with respect to limitation of budget and the reality of modern living). And it is fun to see, for example, gorgeous old 1913 woodwork appear after layers of paint are removed.

The not great is that some of the work, like what was done in the kitchen, seemed to all-but ignore the restoration idea and just put in a kitchen. That's fine, but seemed to work against the premise of the show. We recently restored a 1928 coop and you absolute can "restore" a kitchen to be aesthetically consistent with the original period while making concessions to modern living. All of our woodwork, tile-work, cabinetry and the overall design aesthetic came from our study of design and architecture books on and from the period. But of course we put in modern appliances and safety features. I was really surprised the show didn't take this approach in the kitchen as it did so in the rest of the house.

The really not great is the need - a need that many of these "reality" shows seem to have - to make fake drama. In this case, they "had to get the job done before the homeowner couple's baby was born." The real reality is the couple showed no concern for this deadline and it was obviously a TV creation that was grating. I don't watch shows like "Survivor," but for these little quirky cable shows about things like house restoration, is there really a need for drama? Does that help the ratings? Wouldn't the core audience be idiots like me that just geek out on old houses. I really doubt that the fake drama helps ratings - but I'm probably wrong.

Net, net, we really enjoyed the show as most of it focused on the incredible house and how to restore as much of it as they could. Even with the above complaints, we'll be watching for more episodes. So thank you either Zombie or Dr. Strange for the recommendation.

 

[Benzadmiral]

A couple of late first-season episodes of Have Gun - Will Travel, from 1958.

"Three Sons," w/ Kevin Hagen and Warren Oates, which IMDb describes thus: "Paladin lends his room to a pair of newlyweds and -- when the bride receives a 'wedding gift' of her cat, mutilated -- intervenes in a vicious family feud that hinges on the patriarch's sanity." The climax takes place in a local courtroom, as Paladin acts as counsel for the old man who is widely deemed eccentric (he kept a barn owl as a pet, lived in one room of his large ranch house, and planted his prime acres with sweet peas, for example).

"The Return of Dr. Thackeray," with June Lockhart as a gutsy woman doctor. She and Paladin have a strong affection for each other, and she wires him for help when a smallpox epidemic threatens to break out from a ranch where she is treating Patient Zero. We get long-time character actors Charles Aidman and John Anderson, too.

 

[Zombie_61]

Owing to either Zombie's or Dr Strange's recommendation in a prior post (that I now can't find), I recorded and watched DYI's "Restored."...

I don't know whether or not Doctor Strange recommended it, but I can safely say I didn't; it's not the kind of show I'd have any interest in watching.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I don't know whether or not Doctor Strange recommended it, but I can safely say I didn't; it's not the kind of show I'd have any interest in watching.

I never recommended it either. Also not my sort of show.

But it's good that you liked it.