General Television Thread 2024

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

On 01/07/2024 at 04:24, Lint said:

I completely disagree about E3S1 of The Bear.  I thought it was a great episode, one that they could only pull off as a season premier because of what we've learned about Carmy.

We're shown how he's come up as a chef.  How he's been with great chefs who guided him, like Chef Terry and the others who are real chefs and thus I don't know their names.  They encourage and put Carmy up 

Then there is the stuff with chef Joel McHale, who is the complete opposite.  He's an asshole, he puts down Carmy all the time.  We learn he basically gives Carmy PTSD and panic attacks.  And when Carmy can finally confront chef Joel McHale, what does McHale say?

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"You're welcome.  You came into my kitchen a good chef.  You left it a great one"

That first episode is literally setting up everything for the season.  It was great

This is how I feel about S3 as a whole, really. I totally get the criticism but I find the choice for it to be a bit wheel-spinny to be intentional and for me, it worked.

Spoiler

I adore episode 1. I've never seen anything like it on television and I completely agree that you couldn't do this in another season because you need the accumulation of everything we know about Carmy to this point.

To me, this season was about what it's like to finally start your restaurant and just have to sit with doing the same thing, day in and day out, and wonder whether it's worth it. I think the tension between Carmy and Sid is fascinating. Carmy knows they way he was treated by Joel McHale was awful and he hated it. At the same time, when Joel says he came out a better chef, he's not totally wrong. Carmy has all the good and bad of being a great chef in him and that is seeping into his relationship with Sid.

Sid starts to realize this when she sits and listens to the chefs at Chef Terry's funeral dinner talk about their experiences. She's not feeling that with Carmy. She cares for him and knows he's a good chef but he hasn't been able to separate out the problematic parts of being a chef out of himself.

I loved the Tina and Sugar episodes and I know lots of people disagree but the amount of Fak this episode (and all the haunting stuff) worked well for me. 

So while I know people feel like things didn't move forward, I thought the choice to sit and stew in this moment of the show worked really well for me. 

 

[The Buscher]

It's now been debunked by that S4 was filmed right after S3.  The hope was to film it all together, in no small part because the leads are getting booked in a lot more projects, but the scripts weren't fully finalized.  So S4 largely won't start filming until 2025.  Seemingly some of S4 did get filmed.  People who were around the set indicated there were at least two scenes filmed that haven't been seen (presumptive S4 spoilers)

Spoiler

Carmy/Syd and Carmy/Claire having heated arguments

Given how many people probably would've assumed those above scenes were things that we would've seen in S3 I find myself wondering if they were planned/filmed for S3 originally but as they worked through editing etc they felt they had enough in S3 to play the long game and push these things out to S4.

Knowing they didn't end up filming both does make the whole vibe of S3 seem strange in hindsight.

Spoiler

Slapping a big "TO BE CONTINUED" at the end doesn't exactly help with the perception that the season just felt like a bunch of set-up for the next one rather than something that would stand out on its own.  With the amount of flack it's getting from critics they probably do wish they were able to get the next season sooner.  Due to awards seasons you'll almost never see two seasons dropped in the same year, though doing so would seem like an admission that S3 wasn't as well received and they wanted to get S4 out to get the accolades.

Again it's very much a "to each their own" thing and I can see why people either liked or disliked it.  I would agree that shows don't need to be plot plot plot but I'd argue this one went a bit too far in the other direction.  Episodes like Natalie giving birth provided a nice reconciliatory moment with her mom and the performances from Curtis and Elliott were great, but not sure it needed to be a full 40 minutes of that.  I kept waiting to cut back to the restaurant to see what other characters were up to as they all ignored the calls.

IMO Carmy and Richie's interactions are the most enjoyable part of the show to watch and yet we get a season where we're basically denied that as aside from one morning of yelling fuck you at each other they ignore each other like children the rest of the season.  It's meant to upset you that they're not talking and that we're being denied the ability to see them interact.  I realize this, and it's part of the long game adds to the pile of things to look for in S4.  But once it became obvious to me that nobody was really gonna address anything this season it was tough to not feel annoyed.  Knowing now it’ll probably be at least a year instead of what felt like maybe a quick turnaround on a new season adds to that.

Basically I just think it's nice if any given season of a show is able to stand out on its own merits and I just didn't really feel that way here.  I won't say it was total shit or anything but if The Bear goes on to last a while it feels like a season I won't feel the need to re-watch.

 

[Ruki]

I liked this season of The Bear, but it wasn't satisfying if that makes sense? Like Buscher said, it was a lot setting stuff up with no payoff. But the last episode, and Natalie giving birth were both fantastic. Also needs more Uncle Jimmy. 

[Gabriel]

15 hours ago, Ruki said:

I liked this season of The Bear, but it wasn't satisfying if that makes sense? Like Buscher said, it was a lot setting stuff up with no payoff. But the last episode, and Natalie giving birth were both fantastic. Also needs more Uncle Jimmy. 

Of course it does... he's the King, baby.

He will rule you!

[GhostMachine]

Have marathoned Dark Matter (show based on a Blake Crouch book, NOT the old series that aired on SyFy that the actress who plays Lucy on The Rookie was on) and Silo, both on Apple TV. And both based on books.

Dark Matter was pretty good, but slow in a few parts and confusing at times. If you watch it, listen closely for a `click' sound which means they're switching characters. Because the lead actor plays more than one version of the same character. Unless Crouch wrote a sequel, I'm assuming it is over.

Silo, on the other hand, I highly recommend. It has Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common in it. There is going to be a season 2.

Apparently the creator of Silo has another series called Beacon 23, but it is on MGM+. 

Edited July 4 by GhostMachine

[GhostMachine]

We've been watching the newest season of The Mole on Netflix. Final episodes are out the 12th, I believe. Heidi and I have the Mole narrowed down to either:

Spoiler

Heidi: Hannah and Ryan. Me: Michael and Ryan. I was on to Ryan first, when she told the wrong dish when they were acting as servers. Heidi didn't agree until a couple of episodes later. We both thought at first that it might be Muna, but we've realized she's just selfish and doesn't give a fuck.

 

[The Buscher]

Severance season 2 finally has a release date:  January 17, 2025.  Another half a year  

Well, at least I'll get to watch one episode before the nightmarish hellscape of Trump's 2nd presidency begins.

[Benjamin]

Rewatching Dexter because I needed something brainless to watch during meal times. How did season 4 swing from such a serious-y show with the Trinity Killer to a comedy in season 5?

[Adam]

I finished The Bear s3 just now, and I do agree with a lot of people's comments.

It didn't feel satisfying to watch, like we were intentionally deprived of lots of things we like about the show. That works narratively but it's not something you should perhaps do to your audience for an entire season. That said, it had lots of positives and I didn't feel any less inclined to watch it, it's just a bit crap that we now have to wait another year to get some catharsis and the fear is that the show doesn't rebound in that sense, which would be a big shame.

On 12/07/2024 at 11:02, Benjamin said:

Rewatching Dexter because I needed something brainless to watch during meal times. How did season 4 swing from such a serious-y show with the Trinity Killer to a comedy in season 5?

I feel like Dexter just totally lost its way after the s4 ending and never recovered it. I didn't even mind s5 but everything after that was dreadful compared to how good it was in 1-4, and it definitely went on too long sadly.

[JasonM]

I love The Bear, and I don't want to be too down on things. But it just feels like a series that should probably have had the one season.

Which is crazy to say because season 2 was phenomenal too, but in some ways it already felt like it was slipping away from its original concept, and it became a little more obvious that the characters weren't designed beyond that one season.

But the way Season 1 went was something special, and both in character and out of character, it has struggled heavily under its success.

[K]

ive been waiting for a new episode of The Rookie for ages, just assumed they were on one of those annoying mid season breaks. Turns out it was just a ten episode season cause of the writers strike, and its all been done and dusted for ages

[Cymbols]

2 hours ago, K said:

ive been waiting for a new episode of The Rookie for ages, just assumed they were on one of those annoying mid season breaks. Turns out it was just a ten episode season cause of the writers strike, and its all been done and dusted for ages

Renewed for another season happily. Though short, I actually rather enjoyed the last season, felt stronger than a couple of the ones that have come before it.

[Colly]

I've only just started The Bear (4 episodes into season 1) and I'm enjoying it, but do you ever find out why they're in a grotty sandwich bar inexplicably making nice food and cakes? I feel like there's some Lost twist coming that they're all dead.

[Gabriel]

18 hours ago, Colly said:

I've only just started The Bear (4 episodes into season 1) and I'm enjoying it, but do you ever find out why they're in a grotty sandwich bar inexplicably making nice food and cakes? I feel like there's some Lost twist coming that they're all dead.

I'm not going to spoiler this, because it's essentially just the premise of the show.

Carmy moves back home after his brother dies and leaves him his restaurant... but he wants to make it something more than just the local sandwich shop, and he has quite ambitious goals.

[Colly]

I get that, but it just feels so incongruous. Queue of workies buying sandwiches, then hours of kitchen work for stuff they're never shown selling. Maybe that's the point and it hasn't hit home yet, but it feels a very middle class representation of how business works. One of the cooks just bought about $50 of doughnuts just for the bantz.

[Jimmy]

On 30/06/2024 at 19:56, GhostMachine said:

The season was pretty much...boring.

And time-saving spoiler for anyone who hasn't watched yet: The first episode is pretty much skippable.

This is a mad take. I've only seen 3 or 4 episodes so far (and think it's great!), but I thought episode 1 was phenomenal. A cinematic, blistering and breathtaking look into what's going on in Carmy's head. I'd say it's pretty much essential into understanding who he is. 

[Benji]

Netflix Originals really taking a blow this year. I just realised that Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, and Cobra Kai (counting it is original even though it's a continuation) are all finishing this year.

The only other shows I watch that are originals are The Witcher (losing it's lead and ending soon so I have absurdly little investment left in it) and the Avatar live action (I already know how the story ends and prefer the cartoon anyway). Anything else is entirely missable for me.

The worst part is that I don't even want to pick up any of their new originals because I've been burnt so many times before by them being cancelled without an ending (still bitter about GLOW and Santa Clarita). They'll be fine, but it's made me realise I'm at the end of an era for streaming where Netflix has once been a champion of new and exciting shows, now they're just there to be an archive to shows I love. So much for becoming the new HBO.

[Ruki]

4 hours ago, Benji said:

Netflix Originals really taking a blow this year. I just realised that Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, and Cobra Kai (counting it is original even though it's a continuation) are all finishing this year.

The only other shows I watch that are originals are The Witcher (losing it's lead and ending soon so I have absurdly little investment left in it) and the Avatar live action (I already know how the story ends and prefer the cartoon anyway). Anything else is entirely missable for me.

The worst part is that I don't even want to pick up any of their new originals because I've been burnt so many times before by them being cancelled without an ending (still bitter about GLOW and Santa Clarita). They'll be fine, but it's made me realise I'm at the end of an era for streaming where Netflix has once been a champion of new and exciting shows, now they're just there to be an archive to shows I love. So much for becoming the new HBO.

I forgot that this is the final season of Umbrella Academy this week. I'm both excited and sad as that has been a fantastic show! I have started a re-watch of Stranger Things (finale of season 2), and I forgot how amazing that show is! But is Stranger Things finishing this year? I thought we weren't getting anything until 2025.

But I am right there with you on The Witcher, without Henry Cavil I am not that fussed about it anymore. I watched the first few episodes of Avatar and enjoyed it, but never went back to it. 

At least we get Squid Games season 2 in December and Arcane season 2 in November (and I just learned that Ella Purnell of Fallout fame plays Jinx)!

[GhostMachine]

As far as Netflix goes, we finished A Good Girl's Guide To Murder earlier today. I definitely recommend it. Hope they end up adapting the other books.

 

 

[K]

Just finished ghosts (UK) and I'm pretty disappointed with the finale. Shame because the show was a banger.