What was the last TV show you watched?

[Doctor Strange]

Working my way through the second season of Master of None on Netflix. An excellent show.

 

[Fading Fast]

Recently watched the first two episodes of PBS' "My Mother and Other Strangers" and was surprised I hadn't heard a peep about it yet on FL (dear God, I hope it doesn't have its own thread here and I've just missed it).

Set in '43 in a small Irish town that became home to an army base during WWII, it follows the lives of several villagers as they "adjust" to the war overall and the base in their presence.

While not groundbreaking - "Foyle's War," the recent "Home Fires" and several other shows and movies have trod similar ground - it, so far, has had a few interesting story lines and is building out some three-dimensional characters with multiple-episodes story arcs.

And the village is gorgeous as are the period clothes, cars and architecture. Should be right in many FL members wheelhouse, including AmateisGal (hint, hint - you'll love it).

 

[2jakes]

PBS

The 20th Century Limited documentary film covers a span of 65 years of operation
on the New York Central Railroad.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I finished off the new season of Samurai Jack, which I'd DVR'd from Adult Swim when it premiered earlier this year.

I was lucky to have had kids the correct age to steer me to the series on Cartoon Network when it originally aired 2001-2004, and I immediately adored it. I eventually got the DVDs.

What a world we live in now, where a dozen years later a series is revived to properly conclude the story with nearly all of the original creative team in place. Alas, apart from the late Mako, whose brilliant voicing of uber-villain Aku was one of the show's highest highlights... and although his replacement isn't bad, he just can't manage the same inspired, gleeful, demonic insanity. Anyway...

If you enjoyed the original run, you will also dig the final season. It retains the main plot and rampant creativity, but does not continue the show exactly as it was. It takes the story to some dark, unexpected places, and takes advantage of now being on late night Adult Swim rather than prime time Cartoon Network to push into rougher territory. Some of the changes are disconcerting, and the season takes a few episodes to really get traction... but it manages to conclude the story in satisfactory - if unexpected - fashion. There are lots of callbacks to the earlier seasons (sometimes verging on fan service... but hey, I'm a fan!), and the show still finds time for the calm, silent, walking-through-scenes-of-remarkable-beauty sequences that distinguish it from other SF/action animated shows.

It was better than I expected. Samurai Jack - now with a properly ended story - is undoubtedly one of the greatest animated series ever made. Kudos to creator/producer/director/genius Genndy Tartakovsky!

 

[Fading Fast]

PBS
View attachment 78513
The 20th Century Limited documentary film covers a span of 65 years of operation
on the New York Central Railroad.

My favorite train (yes, I am sad enough to have one) and something I'll be buying a ticket for the first moment my time machine drops me back in the GE.

How was the documentary?

 

[2jakes]

How was the documentary?

I was disappointed with the presentation, not the subject.
My fault.
I was expecting a “Ken Burns” style of documentary.

The introduction was fine, so were the images and interviews.
But throughout the entire production, they would cut back to
the person who did the introduction.

I would have preferred voice-overs with images/songs to stay with
the mood of a wonderful topic instead of cutting back to the guy
who did the introduction.


In a nut shell...Ken Burns documentary on “Baseball” has spoiled me.
I’m not quite sure if this reply makes any sense!

 

[Fading Fast]

I was disappointed with the presentation, not the subject.
My fault.
I was expecting a “Ken Burns” style of documentary.

The introduction was fine, so were the images and interviews.
But throughout the entire production, they would cut back to
the person who did the introduction.

I would have preferred voice-overs with images/songs to stay with
the mood of a wonderful topic instead of cutting back to the guy
who did the introduction.


In a nut shell...Ken Burns documentary on “Baseball” has spoiled me.
I’m not quite sure if this reply makes any sense!

View attachment 78576

Ken Burns' "Baseball' (regardless of some complaints about the tilt this way or that) is of incredibly professional production quality (I love it). The 20th Century one - I looked it up - is by a small historic-train niche company. Hence, to keep our baseball analogy going, Burns is the Majors and the 20th Century is AA ball. That said, still buying a ticket for the 20th Century the minute my time machine starts working.

 

[2jakes]

Ken Burns' "Baseball' (regardless of some complaints about the tilt this way or that) is of incredibly professional production quality (I love it). The 20th Century one - I looked it up - is by a small historic-train niche company. Hence, to keep our baseball analogy going, Burns is the Majors and the 20th Century is AA ball. That said, still buying a ticket for the 20th Century the minute my time machine starts working.

I’m going to hold you to that....keep us posted. Thanks!

 

[Touchofevil]

The final two episodes of Fargo.
Right now, The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale.

 

[Stearmen]

The Real M.A.S.H.

 

[MisterCairo]

The first three episodes of Preacher, season one, with my wife.

She had seen only episode one with me last year, and decided not to follow it. "Too strange" she said (can anything be too strange???), and not enough hours in the day.

She insisted on seeing the third episode...

 

[Fading Fast]

The first few episodes of season 2 of "The Ranch."

Like many shows today, this one has gotten better in its second season. The cheesy sets are still there, but the characters are developing dimensions as are the story lines. In session 1, this show felt like a 1970s sitcom retread - silly plots, set-up laugh lines telegraphed from miles away, and the characters were just that, characters and not real people - but now, the show's moving away from the '70s formula and is using more multi-episode story arcs that flush out the characters' real personalities.

Before we were going through the motions when we watched this show, now we're getting engaged. A similar thing happened with Amazon's "Red Oaks" where season 2 made all the same improvements, but of course, not one other person on earth has seen that show, so other than my girlfriend and me, no-one cares.

 

[Stearmen]

Combat Trains: NAZI Railway.

 

[MisterCairo]

Two more episodes of Preacher, season one.

 

[Touchofevil]

Two more episodes of Black Sails, season two.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Snowfall. FX's new series about the CIA and cocaine in LA in the 70s. Great pilot episode. It might be the best looking FX series yet, and that is saying a lot. This isn't normally in my arena of interest, but I gave it a shot because of FX and the period. I'll be back for more.

 

[Edward]

The Handmaid's Tale, the new version with Elisabeth Moss. It's screening on UK Channel 4, but I had to downlaod the first two episodes. I watched the first last night. Truly chilling.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Recently watched the first two episodes of PBS' "My Mother and Other Strangers" and was surprised I hadn't heard a peep about it yet on FL (dear God, I hope it doesn't have its own thread here and I've just missed it).

Set in '43 in a small Irish town that became home to an army base during WWII, it follows the lives of several villagers as they "adjust" to the war overall and the base in their presence.

While not groundbreaking - "Foyle's War," the recent "Home Fires" and several other shows and movies have trod similar ground - it, so far, has had a few interesting story lines and is building out some three-dimensional characters with multiple-episodes story arcs.

And the village is gorgeous as are the period clothes, cars and architecture. Should be right in many FL members wheelhouse, including AmateisGal (hint, hint - you'll love it).

I watched last night's episode (7/9/17 -- the third episode?), and found it fascinating.

ETA: I checked; what I saw was episode 4. As my luck usually runs. When the SF magazines would serialize novels in the '70s, invariably I'd pick up the issue with part 3 of 4.

 

[MisterCairo]

Storage Wars.

 

[Fading Fast]

I watched last night's episode (7/9/17 -- the third episode?), and found it fascinating.

ETA: I checked; what I saw was episode 4. As my luck usually runs. When the SF magazines would serialize novels in the '70s, invariably I'd pick up the issue with part 3 of 4.

The good news is nothing goes away in our new TV world. Some other PBS station on your cable (or On Demand) or Netflix or Amazon or Hulu or Youtube or whomever has or will have the entire four episodes soon enough. We watched the first two and recorded the last two so, in a way, you're ahead of us, but we'll "catch up" soon. Glad you enjoyed it - so far, we thought it was pretty good and were quite surprised no one else at Fedora had mentioned it.