OpenWorldGames Server ONE

I just wanted to start a thread to discuss TV series', eg thoughts, opinions, recommendations etc.

There are many very worthy TV series, but I tend to accumulate a series on DVD and then watch a number of episodes back to back, I find it difficult to make myself available for couch occupation for up to 20+ weeks at a certain hour. I think that such a long wait between episodes also does the narrative a great injustice.

I would like to start the ball rolling, not with one of the main TV series, but with one that may have passed beneath peoples radar.

DEADWOOD
This is a series I have sort of avoided since its release, I have only started watching it recently, it is currently on its third season. I never paid it much attention, I saw the name, watched a little of an episode, looked at the bizarre colour palette used by the cinematographer, the waxen complexions of he cast and assumed it was some kind of schlock horror, based in the old west....... In a way, maybe my gut reaction was nearer the mark, than I would have given it credit for, at the time.

Deadwood is a frontier town/camp, formed around the time that the United States was getting itself organised in its union of states. Deadwood is near Dakota and the story takes place, just after the battle of The Little Big Horn, where General Custer effectively brought a knife to a gunfight.

But Deadwood isnt in the United States yet, and alot of the plot is based around the political wrangling, to annexe it to one of its neighbouring states.

The story centres mainly on a saloon called The Gem, its propriator played by english thespian Ian McShane, previously more noted for his part as an antiques dealer in an english series called Lovejoy.

His character Al, is so diametrically opposite to his benign loveable rogue in Lovejoy, its like comparing the Antichrist to Mother Theresa. he playes his part with such relish and enthusiasm, you are really taken aback, when you realise who is playing the part.

The cast that inhabit Deadwood are really just incredible, all weaving their own little webs of intrigue, but that big fat spider in the centre, casting his baleful eyes on all the shennanigans, plucking at all the other little webs to his advantage, makes Ian McShane a joy to behold.

Although he would be the main character, he does not make the other worthies less corporeal, they are all top notch actors, playing their parts with gusto. I had only heard of a couple of the other cast members names before, Brad Douriff (unrecognisable as the doctor) and Powers Boothe (awesome as the owner of a competing saloon/brothel to Al's Gem).

The dialogue is one of the first things you will notice in this series, it is vile, vulgar, abusive, in short, I have never heard so much swearing before in my life, it is so rife, its like an assualt on your senses, for awhile, you miss the actual dialogue that is spoken around the swearing, because you are asking yourself questions like ....wtf?..... did he just say what I thought he said .... how did this get past the censors!?!

But after a few episodes, it all starts to click into place, you become so inured to the swearing, that you filter it out to a certain extent and focus more on the other words, then you begin to notice a cadence buried within the dialogue.

This is what makes this show so compelling to me. The dialogue is nearly shakespearaian, I dont mean "thee. thou, didst thou perchance", but some of the phrases used by even the most menial characters, are nearly on a par with some of the soliloquies from Shakespears works.

This is just the backdrop though, to this newly founded frontiers town, the place is just rife with wanton murder, gratuitous sex and violence, with frontier style justice, just a hammer click away from a final resolution.

With gold deposits newly discovered, bringing with it the dregs of society, to prey on the more fastidious or weak, there is always something going on, the director never shirking away from his vision of base instincts driving the need for survival in this godforsaken place. This makes the "Dollar" spaghetti westerns look like Bonanza, Al would smile and pour a drink for Clint, while he stabbed him in the throat with his knife, just because he thought he was too quiet.

There are "good" characters too, but always with fatal flaws, like Wild Bill Hickcok, weary and jaded with life, Calamity Jane who makes you wonder where they came up with the idea for using Doris Day to play her in the eponymous movie.

Anyway, I hope this either made you curious enough to check the series out, or avoid it like the plague, personally I think I avoided it for too long.

Fiach : Watching TV, so you dont have to.

Very informative Fiach - I'm glad that you're watching TV so we don't need to!  Although, you've stimulated my interest in Deadwood.

I like some of the series coming from the UK (60s)

• The Avengers - one of my all time favorites - Emma Peel and Tara King are my favorite companions to Steed.
• Secret Agent - love the theme song (and the program as well)
• The Saint with Roger Moore

It is fascinating to see how opinions and ways of doing things have changed over the years.  Every man wore shirt and tie in the 60s, and today, hardly anyone does unless forced to by their occupation.

Oldies I remember are
- Agent 86 - Maxwel Smart - excellent show, didn't see the movie thankfully
- CHiP's
- Dukes of Hazard
- Star Trek... can't stand one whole episode today, but it was great fun back then!!

Today's I watch......
- House (for the character, not the hospital theme, which I dislike, by the way)
- Lots of sitcoms... Seinfeld, Friends, Married with children, Frasier
- Does "Band of Brothers" count? It was made for TV wasn't it? An outstanding series.

But I only sit to watch TV if there's nothing better to do or to watch the news I haven't read about on the 'net or for movies... I actually bought a TV recently (some 3 years ago) after a long hiatus without the "box of evil"

Yup, Emma Peel, Diana Rigg has even recently been voted the sexiest woman alive!

I hated Tara, because she took over from Emma, after Emmas husband was found. I have Emmas boxsets though, so cant complain :)

Married with children, I just got the set the other day, something like 11 seasons!! My kids love it soooo much, they cant get enough of it :)

What about ...... HAWAII 50!?! The theme tune is pumping through my head right now :)

Funnily enough, I dont watch TV, apart from Boxsets at weekends with the missus over a couple of bottles of wine, but regular TV, I just cba really.

Hawaii 50 was great too... here's a few more I remember
- Island of Fantasy
- The six million dollar man (with Lee Majors)
- Magnum... also on Hawaii
- Voyage to the bottom of the sea
- The time tunnel

Cartoons...
- Johnny Quest
- Herculoids......
... the list goes on and on...

Oh... not to mention my all time favourite... the one and only... THE SIMPSONS!!

I loved Get Smart!  Don't have the DVD set yet though.

How about:

• Twilight Zone
• Combat
• WKRP in Cincinnati (kind of lame, but I formerly lived in Dayton so I like it)
• Hogan's Heroes (another stupid comedy I liked when I was young because my mother hated it - she was German)
• Kung Fu (ahhhh... yes, Grasshoppah!)

I hardly watch any contemporary situation comedy programs these days because I only become irritated with the entitlement of today's youth.  I normally watch  what my wife unflatteringly refers to as "judge shows"  where the TV judges rake the lying litigants over live coals.  ;D

Today's TV programs melt one's brains... I don't watch TV for roughly 10 years now (apart from Formula One live races). Instead I watch films on DVD or read books  :)

Series on DVD: Babylon 5 and Kung Fu (the old one) and Rome I+II

Time Tunnel! Man I used to play that as a kid, loved that show :)

WKRP, what was the receptionists name, she was a beaut!

Kung Fu with DC was great, we also had a martial arts show here called Monkey, or The Water Margin, maybe two different shows.

Twilight Zone was just too cool, also Outer Limits.

Going to have to wrack my brains for a few shows, who's names escape me at the moment.

Rome, I was looking at that at the weekend, would you recommend it? I saw a BBC TV series many years ago, called I Cladius, it was awesome, well worth looking out for as a rental at least.

Twilight Zone and Kung Fu... aahhh... great memories!!

- M*A*S*H*
- The A team... with Mr. T  ;D
- Knight Rider (aarrgh... David Hasselhoff  ;D )
- Galactica (from the 70's)
- The Fall Guy (again Lee Majors)
- MacGyver... using chewing gum, a hair comb and napkins he could save the day!!
More recently... Baywatch, but not because of David Hasselhoff  ;)

I remember watching those as well as some other great Brazilian TV shows you can never guess, but they were excellent too...

Whats wrong with The Hoff?????  :P

OK, first SciFi show I remember was called The Invaders, I think it was US, aliens had invaded and this guy was chasing them (or vice versa) and they had some kinda disintegrating ray gun made bodies disappear.

Cowboy series like :
High Chapperal, Lancer, Laredo, The Virginian.

Cop Shows :
Streets of San Francisco, Kojak.

The first Sci-Fi series after 70's Galactica I watched was called "V" :) I was in the UK back then, man, cooool :) But don't bother if you don't know it... early 80's stuff...

Rome, it was splendid. A BBC production indeed. The fist part was rated adult for the many "neckid" peeps and intercourse scenes LOL, I love BBC for being that authentic  ;D

Geez... "V" ... I guess it was called "V - The Final Battle" here...... about aliens on earth right? At first they seemed friendly but turns out they are trying to conquer the Earth (duh!  :P )... in the end there was that little girl who saves the world... man... that's an oldie for me  ;D ;D

Rome is excellent.. great series... have to check Rome II one of these days.

The Hoff got better with age... now he makes a parody of himself, which is funny actually!!

I always associated V with Visitors (alien ~ ) and it was on TV around 8 or 10 pm, I remember I wanted to watch it but unfortunately I missed a few sequels. Couple months ago I found it at my fave vid shop and bought it :) Looks crap these days, but OK for nostalgic reasons... hehe  :) Ahhh, memories.

I remember the morning after V aired here, all anyone could talk about next morning, was about how awesome it was .... I hadn't seen it, luckily it was shown the next night on the UK channels. Man the alien chick was hot, I dont care if she ate live mice, I'd still kiss her and never mutter rodent breath afterwards!

The Hoff was on one of our national shows a couple of months back and he was awesome, wasnt plugging anything, he just happened to be in town and gracefully accepted an invitation to come on the show. He was a great laugh, sharp sense of humour, sang a couple of songs and rocked the joint after the show went off air, with the house band. A thorough gentleman, or as they say in London, a Diamond Geezer!

I took the plunge and got the entire Twilight Zone. (150+ episodes)
Amazing twisty little stories.

I'm envious - I love the Twilight Zone - have set my DVR to record my all time favorite choice episodes and then burn them to DVD so at least I have something I can come back to.  Another series I like is the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents half-hour episodes.  It is amazing to see how people walked, talked, dressed, and what the social norms were considered to be in those days.

Yeah, I loved the music from the Hitchcock series :)

I was watching a programme about the TV advertising industry in Ireland in the 60/70/80's and it was amazing the difference. People were being encouraged to smoke and drink back then and other manipulative tricks of the trade.

There is a US TV series called Mad Men, which you should check out, its set in the 60's (I think) and based around the advertising industry in Madison Avenue back then. But it is interesting the way it gives an insight to lifestyles back then.

Quote from: Fiach on September 10, 2009, 12:03:15 AM
People were being encouraged to smoke and drink back then and other manipulative tricks of the trade.

You're not wrong, Fiach! Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCMzjJjuxQI

There's a bunch of other examples there as well, unbelievable stuff compared to today's attitudes.

Quote from: fragger on September 10, 2009, 03:21:13 AM

Quote from: Fiach on September 10, 2009, 12:03:15 AM
People were being encouraged to smoke and drink back then and other manipulative tricks of the trade.

You're not wrong, Fiach! Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCMzjJjuxQI

There's a bunch of other examples there as well, unbelievable stuff compared to today's attitudes.

Holy crap... I felt like lightning one (if I haven't quit it long ago)  :D

Kolchak: The Night Stalker, the original 70's one, not the lame remake from a few years ago. I saw a couple episodes recently and man is it cheesy and campy, but back then as a kid, it scared the bejeebers out of me.

"...and if you happen to be underground and hear a rumbling in the walls, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

He was always taking notes on his at the time really cool mini tape recorder. That was from the underground lizard episode that ripped off the Star Trek episode "Devil in the Dark" but the most scary one that gave me nighmares was the one about the dead biker riding around town without his head, another rip off, of Legend Of Sleepy Hollow this time, but I didn't know at the time, and Kolchak finds the biker's head in a bucket, and it's just a skull, of course, and throws it at the biker and finally kills him. Of course the body shown at the end is just all bones, which scared me even more.

Anybody remember the original "Outer Limits"? That used to scare the crap out of me when I was little, especially the beginning when the screen would contract to a point and this alien-sounding voice said something like, "We have taken control of your television". Once we had a power outage and the TV picture really did shrink to a dot (valve technology - heh), and I was convinced the aliens were on their way, so I did what any kid worth his salt would do - I hid behind the door with my hands over my eyes. Hey - if I can't see them, they can't see me, right?
Actually, I still do this today whenever the news comes on...

Yeah mate I enjoyed Outer Limits .... umm.... never wussed out watching it tho  :P

Still enjoy the old Outer Limits.  There is another kind of goofy show I really enjoyed called Lost in Space.  As a child, I can remember waiting all summer for that show to air in the fall, and when the first episode featured a 100-foot tall cyclops, all my waiting was made worthwhile!

Quote from: PZ on September 17, 2009, 12:35:49 PM
Still enjoy the old Outer Limits.  There is another kind of goofy show I really enjoyed called Lost in Space.  As a child, I can remember waiting all summer for that show to air in the fall, and when the first episode featured a 100-foot tall cyclops, all my waiting was made worthwhile!

Danger Will Robinson danger!!!  ;D

I remeber watching it in the late 80`s on a scifi channel here in sweden. To bad the movie remake wa so bad though.

Just thought I'd mention The Unit - a special forces team that officially doesn't exist. The episodes are usually comprised of two parts: one, the military stuff like how they do on a mission, and two, the family part like how their wives deal with all that. I don't know why I like The Unit quite a bit, but I like it :) I got vol I for a while and finally vol.II on DVD. There is more, but not available in my country yet.

I love the title theme, just check it out :) By the way, the pics in that youtube vid are not from The Unit, just some soldiers.

The Unit - "fire up, feels good" - by Robert Duncan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVjurb-mZdM

Yeah mate I am currently on season 3 of The Unit.

The title song has changed into some sort of cheap a$$ Nickleback kinda thing now, !much preferred the old cadence song.

While I enjoy the Unit immensely, it really takes a lot of liberties with "artistic licence", things like syphoning diesel from a tractor to use in a petrol car to chase terrorists, would be one example, But if you take these things with a grain of salt, its quite good.

There have been some quite standout storyline arcs in the series, I remember one, where a bunch of terrorists crashed a Unit party, talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight LOL :)

My main fly in the ointment with the series, is that it dwells too much on the wives, I know its for commercial reasons, but it adds a severe pile of suckage to an otherwise excellent TV series.

The seaons run usually for 20+ episodes, but season 3 has only 12, I'm not sure why, it could be due to the writers strike, as this played havoc with The Shields episodic continuity, but season 4 returned with 20+ episodes, so hopefully they are back on track now.

I'm currently consuming that Vol.II 20 episodes, bought it yesterday and went through 2.5 discs so far lol, was a good entertainment (I love it to watch stuff like that on DVD in a single go, see how far I get until my face hits the keyboard and soaks it in drool while suffering from a nap-attack)

yeah, liberties... don't you love it how they use ther sidearms with outstreched arms while sneaking around corners? In real life, the bad guy would have the opportunity to slap the gun out of their hands, and to prevent that, the good guys would pull the gun close to their body/chest, to extend it only to actually shoot.

Quote from: Fiach on September 27, 2009, 02:51:57 AM
My main fly in the ointment with the series, is that it dwells too much on the wives, I know its for commercial reasons, but it adds a severe pile of suckage to an otherwise excellent TV series.

I agree mate, the soapy stuff interferes with a good action tale!

I recently watched a terrific 12-part miniseries about the Apollo program called "From the Earth to the Moon", produced and narrated by Tom Hanks. I highly recommend it to space nuts (like myself) but skip episode 11 - it focuses on the astronauts' wives, which I found to be a big yawn. Days of our Lives, Apollo-style.

Got to go into the bush, kill something and beat my chest now. ;)

Quote from: fragger on September 27, 2009, 04:42:54 AM
Got to go into the bush, kill something and beat my chest now. ;)

Hahaha!!  :) :)

LOL that reminds me of Tim the toolman Taylor from Home Improvement, whenever he got a power tool in his hands and started grunting like a gorilla  8)

Yeah if you have any army XP, you would see countless faux pas when they approach certain objectives, I actually get a bit of a hoot out of some of the things they do, but what the hey, McGuyver did it first and much better :)

Quote from: Fiach on September 27, 2009, 05:56:52 AM
McGuyver did it first and much better :)

Only man I know who could repair a nuclear submarine with a ring-pull and a wad of bubble gum ;D

you guys keep me grinning and chuckling hehe :-X

After reading through all posts here thought would add my two-penneth worth,not a massive fan of TV, as i prefer movies. but a couple of series worth checking out are Band of Brothers and Rome (both BBC/HBO productions) excellent acting, scripting, well made solid viewing. Also by HBO but very gritty and almost depressing The Sopranos. On a lighter note the old Robotech series is great fun, and Ghost in the Shell SAC 1&2 are all good animated fun.Recently have been watching Two and a Half men with my son (surprisingly funny)and must not forget both Futurama and The Simpsons which always gets a chuckle or three. Have not seen the original Galactica since being a kid tho the new one has been pretty good in general. And the first 2 seasons of Heroes were entertaining without being too cheesy or dull, but not seen 3rd yet so cant comment on that. And without a doubt Star trek next generation. Picard is THE best captain ever. ;D

Currently Im wading through The Unit Season 4, man this series has totally lost the plot!
The wives go undercover achieving bizzare results, a psychologist creates a telepathic link between one of the wives and her daughter.

It's gone really bonkers and become a huge disappointment at this stage.

On saying that, when you get a sucessful series and you try to prolong its shelf life past its original concept, it runs foul of the law of diminishing returns as the series progresses.

The best series I have seen so far that I have managed to follow to their ultimate conclusions are 24, West Wing and The Shield, they all ran for maybe seven seasons each...... honourable mention to Married with Children, I think that went for 11 seasons or something like that.

Has anyone ever seen the british vrsion of Married with Children, with Russ Abbot, gawd it was rubbish.

Quote from: Fiach on October 07, 2009, 02:29:22 AM
honourable mention to Married with Children, I think that went for 11 seasons or something like that.

Another one was Frasier, they kept it up for 11 seasons and the quality of it never flagged. Also the Beverley Hillbillies, another 11 seaons, ditto. Old show, but still funny!

A show that i found very enjoyable was "Intelligence", (canadian production).
Very good acting & script, engaging characters. Only ran for 2 seasons then was dropped :( . Similar to US show "The Wire". though much better in my opinion. Apart from all the US sci-fi productions filmed in Canada think Intelligence is the only show i've seen from Canadian TV.

Speaking of sci-fi - "Stargate Universe"  or SG:U just started showing here in the UK, the 3rd spin-off from the film (SG1 and SG Atlantis being first 2). It has a similar premise to Star Trek Voyager <massive distance from earth, trying to get back etc>. though unlike the Star Trek franchise SG:U is not as clean-cut, shot with hand-held cameras giving it a similar feel to the Battlestar Galactica remake, the set design has a 'old / used' look where as all the Star Trek stuff is very Neat and Tidy, looking more like a polished show room.

British actor Robert Carlyle leads the cast as a  , and apart from some cameo appearances from SG1 crew and Lou Diamond Philips i dont recognise the rest of the main character actors from anything.

not a massive Stargate fan but some of it has been enjoyable, will have to see how this version progresses. it has potential to be a good show and i do recommend any sci-fi fans to check it out.

I loved the entire Babylon 5 series, each season was great  :-X

Agree with you on that Art, really liked Zathras.....

"But only Zathras have no one to talk to. No one manages poor Zathras, you see. So Zathras talks to dirt. Or to walls, or talks to ceilings. But dirt is closer. Dirt is used to everyone walking on it. Just like Zathras. But we have come to like it. It is our role. It is our destiny in the universe. So, you see, sometimes dirt has insects in it. And Zathras likes insects. Not so good for conversation, but much protein for diet. Hmmm, huh, huh, very good! - Zathras fix now. Come, this way."

A real epic sci-fi series :-X

I'll apologize up front for the over long post but I'm late jumping in and the topic got me going on a roll.

I've pretty much quit watching the major television networks as I don't think I've turned to the big 3 networks (ABC CBS NBC) to intentionally view something for over 10 years. There's just nothing there that interests me and way to much that just leaves me screaming at the show producers.   >:(

And I've never watched sports, the lure of pointless competition totally eludes me though I've been surrounded by friends my whole life that live for the next big game even if it is only Tag Team Roman-Greco oatmeal vat wrestling, so that saves me a lot of viewing time and cheese puff stains on the recliner.

Don't even get me started on reality TV. OK, Just a little.   :P  Why would I want to watch people behaving badly. Even a show like Iceroad Truckers which would seem to have an interesting enough premise of long distance haulers in the far North who have to contend with the weather and uncertain driving conditions of frozen rivers as highways and rough terrain and a rag of a boss that insists on turning every haul into, again, a pointless competition but then the producers of the show through editing and omission of information while shooting and airing go further to crank up the tension and suspense to the elevens where there really is none at all (of course besides the normal hazardous conditions).

"There's a driver out on the ice that we haven't heard from for 18 hours and No One knows where he is or if he's even still alive!" Uh... you mean 'no one' besides the three camera men you got packed into the cab with him who all have their own cell phones and have reported every twist and turn in the road the whole time.

Sorry in my book, omission of the truth is the 2nd Classic Way to Lie and I don't like being lied to.

There have been many highlights in TV viewing over the years I just don't like where it's gone recently.

One show that keeps coming back to me was called Salvage 1 with Andy Griffith as the owner of a salvage company that dreams of recovering the the abandoned materials left on the moon and a way becomes possible.

Unfortunately only 14 of the 18 episodes shot made it to air and it was scrubbed. I think that this particular show really caught my attention, even though it was admittedly pretty cheesy, was that it put forward the concept that space needed to be pulled out of the hands of government and private interests needed to have their hands untied to drive the space effort to get it right and get it done.

Universe and How the Earth Was Made are two current series running on the History Channel that I'm enjoying quite a bit but then as soon as those are over they plunge into pseudo history or some other weirdness that plays on the fear of the 312 different ways that we as a species are facing certain extinction any day now.

I do enjoy Travel Channel's airing of Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations which is a combination world travelogue and culinary exploration seasoned with Bourdain's snarky commentary and the fact that he goes to some truly interesting places.

The Sci-Fi Channel changed their name to Syfy which I can't get past the similarity to an old slang for a hooker spreading an STD (siffy = infected with syphilis). Personally I tend to think of it as the "Monsters Trying to Eat People Channel" as that tends to be the premise of almost every movie they show.

I'm sorry but I'm a bit of a SciFi snob having, at one point years back, a collection of over 1500 paperbacks in that genre and flying piranhas, even if they were genetically manipulated, doesn't qualify as science fiction.  :D

Typically I'll keep the TV on for background noise and it pretty much does a good job of living up to that task.  :P

We must be cut from the same cloth because I could have written what you expressed.  With the exception of Salvage 1, which I am not familiar with, my preferences are almost exactly as yours.  You might enjoy the Richard Proenneke story, One Man's Wilderness - a true "reality" story.

Ah the joys of satellite dish TV!

250 channels of programming of which I spend 99% of my time on just 4 of them.    *sigh*

I actually got the dish to receive JTV which is a 24 hour loose gem and jewelry sales home shopping channel. I am a hobbyist/quasi-professional jewelry designer and I'm always on the lookout for deals on cut stones that can be fired to 1750 degrees F in a kiln to set them in PMC (precious metal clay, which starts as malleable clay and ends up as fine silver and now recently bronze after firing).

Basically my wife ends up wearing every thing I design. I just don't have the skills to self promote and market the stuff I make but I enjoy it anyway. Pretty much everything I've sold has been bought off my wife while she's wearing it.

Now in the last couple years JTV has gone online and I could watch them in real time on the web but the dish is set up, it's cheaper than cable and reliable so I'll live with it.

I actually spend more time on the Veoh website pulling up Japanese anime subtitled in English than watching TV. I've been quite caught up in a few of the series with good story lines and occasionally the music scores in the sound tracks are pretty hot too.

hehehe, good read, and I can relate, mandru  :-X I haven't watched TV at all for the past 10 years, except Formula 1 racing events. But the days after Michael Schumacher aren't the same and I start to lose interest. I have like 1,500 DVDs with all the movies I like and a couple of select series. What is not out on DVD I read in form of paperbacks or hardbacks... over the past year and a half, like maybe 50 or 60 books, all of which Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

I like what you do, designing jewelry, and it's funny to think you have your wife walk around and people buy your stuff off of her LOL  :-X ;D I reckon it's real good then  :)

I'm not all that into SG-Series or the new Star Trek stuff, I loved the Shatner series and really enjoyed the new movie, although 7/9 did hold my interest for a significantly long time, I hated Janeway as a captain.

But a couple of sci fi shows I have enjoyed lately would be Firefly (check out the movie based on it called Serenity)  and Fringe (a kind of gory X-Files series).

We should start a Book section as I love SciFi literature.

ah gosh, Firefly! LOL, something like Bonaza meets Star Trek on Babylon 5  :-X Strange and funny. I've got both the movie and the series. Really something different :)

 Firefly was Really enjoyable, Jane's my favorite character. Was actually pleasantly surprised when i found out its from same guy who did Buffy & Angel and Gutted when it got canceled. His recent show Dollhouse was ok, had some interesting ideas but i only saw a couple of episodes. Tend not to watch that many series shows now, prefer to be playing PC, or here chatting with you lot. Much rather go to the cinema or theater, or watch film off my shelf, the stories come to an end. never quite understood how/why people get into soap opera's or things like Big Brother (to the point of obsessiveness in some cases). Give my Tom & Jerry any day.   

or The Flintstones  :) got a couple of DVDs with them  ;D

LOL, Flintstones :) I was watching Ice Age 3 at the weekend and one of them slides down the ice shouting  YABBADABBADOOOOOOooo!!!!  :)

Yeah Jane was funny, One of the funniest momets with him for me was when there was this really hot girl on the ship and every so often ..... "If anyone is looking for me, I'll be in my bunk" :)

It was a sin, when they cancelled the series, when you consider the %&@TE they continue to screen. It was great to see Serenity, as a fine culmination to the series.

Have only seen a bit of one episode of Dollhouse, looked interesting, will check it out soon.

 :-X Great rant back there, mandru, and may I say I back you up 110%.

Someone (I think it may have actually been Arthur C. Clarke) once described television as an electronic substitute for thought, and that was decades ago. It generally stunk back then, and it's gotten generally stinkier ever since. The ever-increasing trend towards lowest-common-denominator programming is a slap in the face to anyone who has more than two neurons to rub together, and while there are still some stimulating and intelligent programs being produced, they just get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of televisual sceptic-tank scum that masquerades as "entertainment" these days.

Opiate for the masses indeed!

And as for "reality" TV, if this intelligence-insulting, crud-bucket genre constitutes art, then I'm a philistine and bloody proud of it.

Right (whew). I needed a good little rant myself.

Re: Sci-Fi, has anyone seen Lexx? Corny at times, silly even, but certainly imaginative. It reminded me of the old Heavy Metal comics of the 60's and 70's, especially the original French version, "Metal Hurlant". Some cool imagery, particularly in the later seasons. Plus it has Xenia Seeberg, ooh-la-la... :P

Btw mandru, I remember Salvage, Andy Griffith in his cement truck mixer space capsule! :)

I got into the Andromeda series and enjoyed it. I thought about painting the wife purple and calling her Trance ( Laura Bertram) but I figured I would've been disintegrated after the first two times. I wondered what she could do with that tail before she lost it. The later Trance was even more sultry and I loved the garb. Oh but I fail to mention Rommie herself (beutiful Lexa Droig) and later Doyle ( Brandy Ledford) whose boobs kept staring into my eyes. Oh poor Kevin Sorbo who had to keep his mind on his lines. I'd have kept my mind on THEIR  lines.  ;D ;D ;)

Yeah, I watched a couple of episodes of LEXX... silly but somehow intriguing :) Had to be in the right mindset to watch it though, could get on my nerves when I wasn't in the mood ;)

Who are you?

The new Number Two.

Who is Number One?

You are Number Six.

I am not a number; I am a free man!

(Laughter)

Opening words in every episode and the key to the whole story.

It was corny and low budget but TV like that is very rare these days.

TRUE BLOOD TV SERIES

I've been watching this for 6 episodes so far, it has two seasons released already, each 12 episodes long.

I was attracted by the intro music sequence, great music and images :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxINMuOgAu8

Here are some clips from Ep 1 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsyemJj7LzI&NR=1

Its set (I think in Louisiana) in the southern states of the US in contemporary times. Its got his real small town weirdness going on, like Twin Peaks/Blue Velvet, but centres around vampires and humans.

There is alot of racism subtext going on in the way the story is presented, the vampires would be akin to negros (prior to emancipation) in the deep south, in this series, the vampires are trying to gain acceptance among the human population on a political scale, but the storyline is told trhough the interactions of a rural community with a Vampire called Bill Compton and his will she/wont she relationship with a local girl called Sucky (nope I didnt make that up lol :P).

The series is quite violent and with probably as much mature sexual content as could get past the censors without being outright banned, but its all quite tastefully done (umm.. actually thats a lie, its quite vivid).

True Blood is a drink made in Japan, that mimics real blood, but is a man made product, so vampires can drink it, so they have no need to snack on the human population, there is also a drug called "V", made from vampire blood that is quite potent, these two things feature prominently in the series.

its a good series well worth watching, its also different to the usual sci-fi stuff you see lately, its quite gritty, with some memorable scenes and great acting, Buffy this definately isn't.

Definately check out the video at the top though, the music is really good :)

Quote from: Fiach on November 04, 2009, 02:23:18 AM
True Blood is a drink made in Japan, that mimics real blood, but is a man made product, so vampires can drink it, so they have no need to snack on the human population, there is also a drug called "V", made from vampire blood that is quite potent, these two things feature prominently in the series.

Please tell me that's fictitious! You never know - this is the country that gave us "Shintaro" as a kid's show, any episode of which had a higher body count than a Rambo film :o

Hope so LOL :)

sad news.....Edward Woodward died yesterday, he was great in "The Equalizer" back in the late 80's. Think thats got to be my next DVD purchase.

Yes indeed, the Equalizer was one of the better TV shows of that type of genre. Edward Woodward was a terrific actor, I also really enjoyed him in Breaker Morant. Sadly missed...

Any one been watching Flash Forward ?
  Its worth checking out, its about half way through season 1 at the moment, and so far so good.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this series, "The Pacific", which is due for screening in Oz around March.

I know it won't be to everybody's taste, but I do know that there are some members here who enjoy a good WW2 drama. This one's from the producers of "Band of Brothers" (Tom Hanks/Stephen Spielberg production team). Looks like a very impressive production, from what I've seen so far.

Here's a trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e99B80crU3E

Seen a couple of trailers for it and it does look good, if it's anything like Band of Brothers it should be a great bit of TV.

Band of Brothers sounds cheesy but it's one of the best war movies (well, mini-series) I know.

I like the way you can watch Band of Brothers and the film Saving Private Ryan as a glimpse into the past (albeit a dramatised account), Because they both have Speilberg and Hanks at the helm, and have near enough the same production values and high attention to the actual history of that time.

Tom hanks has a great respect to history, specially American history as can be seen in his treatment of Band of Brothers / Private Ryan but also Apollo 13.

Its got to be said that HBO's involvement says something too as the have done some really good drama's over the years. From the Soprano's through to Rome, which was done with the BBC. Both excellent examples of what TV can do.

ROME! I loved those series, got them on DVD  :-X

Not sure if any of you guys have been watching 'The Pacific'.
Seen the first 3 episodes so far and enjoying it alot. Not been a huge amount of action yet, that just means its all still to come. :-X

doesn't ring a bell, no

I was just waiting for someone to comment on this serie or I would do it myself.  :-X

For those not aware of it, "The Pacific" is another Spielberg/Hanks joint venture having the Pacific scenario during the WWII as the background for a main storyline.

I see it as a natural sequel of "Band of Brothers" given the success the later had on the TVin the early 2000's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e99B80crU3E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eznAl2QJooQ&feature=channel

Don't know if it is based in true characters and stories as BoB, but it seems to be the most expensive TV show ever made... spectacular visual effects and an overwhelming dramatic screenplay....

I'm really interested in watching this series... the TV, buses, tube, streets are full of posters and billboards of it in the UK... I only miss HBO at home  ::)

Can be a blast or a shot in the foot... either they repeat a successful formula and score big time or the audience will get sick and tired of being fed the same thing again...we'll see!

BoB was great. I hope they'll release it on DVD, too, then  :)

I really want to see The Pacific, in fact I've been looking forward to it for a few months now. But they went and screened it here on another channel at the same time as Lost, which is the only series I've gotten into in recent years. I've watched Lost from the beginning and I find it quite intriguing as I love all that twisted time-travel type stuff, and as it's in it's last season now after 5 years, I just have to see how it ends. And since I no longer own a VCR or anything to record TV programs on, I'll just have to wait until The Pacific comes out on DVD. Mind you, I think I'd rather watch it that way anyway - no interminable commercial breaks to get in the way. It looks like a terrific series though, from the trailers and stuff that I've seen. I really enjoyed Band of Brothers, so if the production values are as good in The Pacific or better, I should really enjoy that too.

The Pacific holds a bit more interest for me than Band of Brothers as it portrays events that took place a lot closer to home. I had two uncles who fought in the Pacific theatre, and though they survived that hell, they're no longer with us today. But boy, did they have some harrowing stories to tell...

@JRD, The Pacific is based on real people and events, quite painstakingly so, apparently, as was Band of Brothers.

Quote from: fragger on April 15, 2010, 04:10:24 AM
@JRD, The Pacific is based on real people and events, quite painstakingly so, apparently, as was Band of Brothers.

Cheers mate...  :-X

I understood them both to be based on real events & people. At the start of each Band of Brothers they had guys speaking who were actually there. They have done the same sort of thing with The Pacific. There is also a little naration at the start by Tom Hanks too.

Soon as its out on DVD will be getting it and having an all day marathon watching them all again. ;D

Oh man... just found a great TV show to follow... some guys here at the office have some great DVD`s and are kind enough to lend me one box set every once in a while.

MY NAME IS EARL....

Man, what a laugh... the characters and story are a good mixture of absurd and dark humor... I`m currently at the first season 11 out of 24 episodes and can`t wait to see the rest of it.
The show aired for four season and I can understand why it got old after a while, which is a good thing because they (hopefully) killed the show before it turned into crap.
Earl, the main character is played by Jason Lee, an actor I remember from a few movies (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Dreamcatcher) but who never seemed to actually fit into one of those as he does in My name is Earl

Another recent TV show I got my hands on is The Big Bang Theory

Actually, not great... the main character, Leonard, is quite boring really, but his flatmate, Sheldon is priceless.. he steals the show sometimes and is getting more space in the episodes...







Good to have a post like this here so I can check what are the recomendations from you guys and check if someone here already got it or maybe even look for it on the net or shops!

8) :-X

Does anyone here remember an ancient BBC  spy drama from about 1980 called "The Sandbaggers"? I loved it so much, i bought the DVD's a few years ago. :-X It looked to have ben made for about 2 quid per episode, but the writing was exemplary, and the stories seemed very real. The show was a bit of a cult fave, and the producer/writer died under mysterious circumstances. I remember one episode was pulled from broadcast by the BBC after a word from the Govt of the day. ???

I haven't heard of any of those shows, but Ric, your comment reminded me of a few all-time favorites of mine:

• The Saint with Roger Moore
• The Avengers with Steed and Emma or Steed and Tara - never formed an appreciation for the episodes with Steed and Cathy
• Secret Agent with Patrick McGoohan
  

Quote from: PZ on April 26, 2010, 02:03:00 PM
I haven't heard of any of those shows, but Ric, your comment reminded me of a few all-time favorites of mine:

• The Saint with Roger Moore
• The Avengers with Steed and Emma or Steed and Tara - never formed an appreciation for the episodes with Steed and Cathy
• Secret Agent with Patrick McGoohan
  

I remember those well PZ, except for "Secret Agent" with Patrick McGoohan. Unless this is the same show as "Dangerman" (which starred McGoohan) with a different title for the US market.

In a similar vein to the shows you listed, I also used to enjoy "The Persuaders" with Roger Moore and Tony Curtiss.

@JRD: "My Name is Earl" is a really funny show, judging by the few episodes of it I've seen. It cracked me up :-X

@Ric: Can't say I remember "The Sandbaggers" either. Maybe it was never shown here.

Yeah, fragger, I think the show was called Dangerman in the UK.  I don't think I ever watched the Persuaders, but will look it up - if it is anything like the others, it will be good  :-X

Cheers, PZ :)

I think you'd like The Persuaders if you liked The Saint. Similar, but I think with more humour.

I just put The Persuaders on my rental list - looks to be something that I would appreciate.  Thanks for the tip, fragger!  :-X

Most welcome, mate :)

Quote from: fragger on April 26, 2010, 06:40:25 PM

Quote from: PZ on April 26, 2010, 02:03:00 PM
I haven't heard of any of those shows, but Ric, your comment reminded me of a few all-time favorites of mine:

• The Saint with Roger Moore
• The Avengers with Steed and Emma or Steed and Tara - never formed an appreciation for the episodes with Steed and Cathy
• Secret Agent with Patrick McGoohan
  

I remember those well PZ, except for "Secret Agent" with Patrick McGoohan. Unless this is the same show as "Dangerman" (which starred McGoohan) with a different title for the US market.

In a similar vein to the shows you listed, I also used to enjoy "The Persuaders" with Roger Moore and Tony Curtiss.

@JRD: "My Name is Earl" is a really funny show, judging by the few episodes of it I've seen. It cracked me up :-X

@Ric: Can't say I remember "The Sandbaggers" either. Maybe it was never shown here.

Geez... I don`t know any of those... not from my generation, I guess <dodges thropwn objects>... I`m from the 70`s but only got aware of TV at the beginning of 80`s. TV shows in Brazil, however, were aired about a decade latter ::) so you can say I`m familiar with most of the 70`s stuff...

The oldest I recall are Star Trek and Agetn 86 - Maxwel Smart!!!

I love Get Smart!  Purchased the complete series on DVD not too long ago - killer of a deal at a local warehouse - Costco.

I'm old enough to remember when we had to change the vacuum tubes in our old B/W TV.  We'd pinch the clips on the back of the set to remove the cover and look for which tube was not glowing, unplug it, then bring it to the nearest drug store where they had a tube tester.  Purchase a new one if we were lucky enough to have found the correct one and we were back in business  :-X

You bought a new color tube to upgrade your old B/W TV???
AT A DRUGSSTORE???  :o



Yes... Get Smart... that`s the name  :-X

Great show... I love 99... Max always refer to her as... 99  ;D ;D ;D how cool is that??  8)

Quote from: JRD on April 28, 2010, 06:56:22 AM
You bought a new color tube to upgrade your old B/W TV???
AT A DRUGSSTORE???  :o

lol, I wish that had been possible - no, the tubes I'm referring to were the ones that would glow on the main board of the set - the ones that solid state electronics have replaced.  ;D

hehe :) Pity retiredgord seems to have retired from OWG, too. He'd probably tell us how he remembers going to a theatre that showed silent movies  ;D

lol, I'll bet that Gord remembers seeing the first horseless carriage  ;D

 ;D

 ;D ;D You guys!

Haven't heard from Gord for a while, hope he's OK... I miss his ripping yarns.

And yeah, Get Smart is a classic :-X

Trivia - 99's "real" name is Susan Dawson. Learned that in a game of Trivial Pursuit once.

Now: Who can tell me the Chief's first name? The winner gets a Kewpie doll.

Have any of you ever heard of an old TV show called "The Prisoner" ??
Was only a 6 episode run from back in '67.  All about a retired secret agent in a weird village / prison. It has recently been re-done. Looks like they have done a decent job of it too.

Yes, in fact, it is available on DVD, and although I'm not positive, I believe there are more than 6 episodes.  The Prisoner takes off where Secret Agent (Danger Man) leaves off - John Drake (the secret agent) decides to retire, but the "company" won't let him - they kidnap him and deliver him to "the village".

It may well be more than 6 episodes, the new version is just 6. The village it is set in actually exists too, couple of friends have been there.

A mate of mine has been to the villiage and brought back some good photos. Very intriguing looking place, I wouldn't mind seeing it myself one of these years.

I wouldn't mind getting the old series too, I saw just one episode when I was a kid. Can't remember much about it, except for thinking at the time what an unusual sort of show it was.

It was actually quite good, but not as good as Secret Agent (Danger Man) in my opinion.  All episodes were in color while the early Secret Agent episodes were in b/w.  Patrick McGoohan's dry sense of humor is priceless.

Is anyone of you guys following one of the biggest hits on TV lately?

LOST

Funny there's no mention to it here! Anyway... I just got hold of the complete DVD collection and am currently at the end of season four. Will be starting season five in a week or so!

I actually just started watching that show after it was over and reading a few reviews about it. The first three season got me hooked... the first two got me on the edge of my seat and the 3rd one was really amusing. Season four was a bit off the track, but still keep me awake!

Now, after just seeing how season four ends I am very curious to know what will happen in the last two seasons... so many characters and almost all with very deep and interesting backgrounds. Of course, there's a lot of bullshit during some seasons, some things are just unexplained and sometimes you can tell writers had to meet a deadline and used some childish resources, but overall is a great TV show.

I like how they challenge you to try and get what's going on... it's sometimes much more than what you see (so far) and there's a very tough character - the island itself!  8)

I've seen it advertised for some time, but I've never watched any of the episodes.  I don't watch too much, but my wife rented a martial arts movie this last week starring Tony Jaa and it was something about Ong-Bak (not too sure because I fell asleep).  The only thing I remember in the movie was that it was the first time I saw in movie form a Tuk-Tuk - the kind of taxi that is prevalent in JC2.  For that reason plus the fact that Tony Jaa might even be better than Bruce Lee, I appreciated the movie.  ;D

I was a big fan of Lost and watched it from start to finish on free-to-air, in fact it was the only TV drama series I've bothered to watch in quite a while. I found it to be quite addictive due to the unique storytelling approach, engaging characters and the intriguing puzzles that were presented, and also simply because I love a good twisted time-paradox tale. It finished on TV earlier this year, and as much as I enjoyed the show overall, I got the distinct impression that the producers had intended to make one more season but the series got cut short, and so they had to try and wrap everything up in the last batch of episodes. As a result, the final season had a kind of rushed feel to it, as though the producers had to squeeze in as many story resolutions as they could while they still had time, and an awful lot went unexplained. The finale wasn't terribly satisfying either as it didn't really quite tie everything together the way it should have, and was a bit muddled (still worth watching though, JRD, don't let me turn you off it ;D)

But a highly imaginative, very well made, well written and well acted program nonetheless. A thinking-person's show with tremendous character depth, which is a very rare species these days. I'd give it a few years, then probably watch the whole series again on DVD. There's just so much to take in, and so much to observe with previous-viewing hindsight (i.e. knowing what the dickens is actually happening to these people), that I'd find it worth a second go-around sometime down the track.

EDIT: It was also refreshing for me to see a major Aussie character in an American series that was actually played by an Aussie (Emilie DeRavin, "Claire") without being told to tone the accent down. Nice touch :-X

Yes, Claire is great (and cute  ;) ) ... her accent is very nice indeed, the few Aussies I've met in my life had something like it on their voices, and I'm glad they didn't tone her down as you said.

I like how they mixed the characters - an Aussie girl, a chubby guy that has nothing of a hero and yet is one of the best characters in the whole story, the Iraqui guy (I'm glad they didn't try to turn him into something hatefull or lovely, but a torturer with some deep background), the drug addict, Locke, who I never know if I like or hate but is one of my favourite characters. The Scotsman, also with a strong accent and deep background (Desmond is one of my favorites on the island)

All in all the main(ish) character, Jack, is the one I like the least... he is too much of a good guy / hero for me... and all that "leader" thing around him.... >:(

I'm aware that many mysteries will be left unexplained, but many things I can guess, and reading some Lost forums on the net gives me great insights as to what is going on!

Great show... looking forward to see the rest of it!

Never seen it but getting back to PZ's remark, I watched Ong-Bak which was really great and then Ong-Bak2 was so incredibly cheap I couldn't stand watching it to the end, something that doesn't happen often. Avoid #2  :)

Darn it!  Because #1 was so good, my wife rented #2 already  :'(

Forget what I just said  ;)

Well, I watched #2 last night and your assessment is good - the movie is not very good.  Perhaps it is because Tony Jaa directed it - funny how someone can be good at martial arts, be successful acting in a movie, and then thinks that he can do anything - like directing for instance.  ;D

lol  ;D and thanks for your confirmation.

For "ROME" fans, try the HBO series :Spartacus, Blood And Sand".  8) An absolutely cool series, that is ultra bloody(lots o CGI) and plenty of flesh too. :-X  My Daughter D/Led the entire first series, and let me tell ya, its hugely addictive! I'd give it 11/10. ;D

Cool, thanks Ricamundo!  :-X

I`m still to watch ROME II, but will check on this one for sure!  >:D

Thanks for the reco, Ricamundo :-X

You're most welcome guys. :) Let me re enforce that is is hugely violent, with lots of limbs being hacked off in slo mo, and fountains of blood spewing out all over. After all it is about Gladiators in ancient Rome. :-D

I forgot to mention that British character actor, John Hanna, is one of the main stars, and Lucy Lawless is ihis Wife. The Gladiators are all unkown actors to me, but i believe some are either Australian, or New Zealanders.

Its much more than just a gore fest tho. The writing and acting is top notch, just not a show for the faint of heart, or kiddies.

On a different note, are there any Top Gear fans here?? It is far and away, our favourite  weekly show these days.

nice recommendation, Ricamundo :)

I'm not exactly a fan of Top Gear, but whenever I come across some episodes on youtube, I watch them  ;D

Quote from: Ricamundo on August 04, 2010, 09:45:16 AM
On a different note, are there any Top Gear fans here?? It is far and away, our favourite  weekly show these days.

Is Top Gear still in production?  I was under the impression that I'd seen an episode a few weeks back on BBC America where the show hosts had announced that it was their last episode.

I could be completely wrong and laboring under an false assumption.  It's a decent show when I can to catch it.

I just saw Top Gear last week and it seemed pretty much a today's show! If it was a re-run, it was a recent one!

Those guys are funny!

This vid shows them skeet shooting with junk cars and a Carl Gustav  ???

automobile skeet shoooting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAiXRKQffQ0#)

Oh and THIS one is a special show... in America  8)

Top Gear America Challenge Part1 of 7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yWls6FfNA#ws)






============================EDIT=================================

That new embbed feature is AWESOME!!!!  >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D

huahuahua!! Brilliant, both of them  ^+-+ :-X

TG is alive and well and living @ BBC canada or America, but my daughter is D/Ling the latest episodes that are airing right now in the UK. I think since Jay leno was the "Star in Our Reasonably Priced Car" last year, he's turned a lot of the Hollywood set onto the show. Carmen Diaz and Tom Cruise were on last week.

I think i've seen every episode so far which has been on since 2003. Funny as hell, even if you dont know or care anything about cars! 8) But even better if you do. :-X

Nice clips. Thanks JRD.  :-X

But the first clip makes me ask the question why doesn't our SPAS 12 in FC2 have the same devastating range and impact as the SPAS Pump (2nd gun in clip) he got to play with?  :-\\

It's good to hear that I was mistaken and Top Gear is still in production.

I just posted in another off topic board about DVDFab, a program that allows you to rip your DVD collection to hard disc.  I'm currently ripping my Honeymooner's original 39 episodes to disc - started watching a couple of them - it's been a while since I've laughed that much.  I just finished the Christmas episode where Ralph put the mouse trap underneath the icebox - hilarious!

My next set - Alfred Hitchcock Presents  ;)

Thanks PZ, will check out that post. DVDFab sounds like a cool piece of software to have.

Hey, we just recently picked up the Honeymooners too, the original 39 episodes! That show is a scream! I haven't seen it since I was a little guy and I'd forgotten how funny it could be. It may be an oldie, but it still delivers :-X

If you want to rip DVDs, then you won't be disappointed with DVDFab.

The Honeymooners is a classic that will be around forever - Jackie Gleason is truly "the great one"!

Quote from: JRD on August 04, 2010, 01:57:28 PM
I just saw Top Gear last week and it seemed pretty much a today's show! If it was a re-run, it was a recent one!

Those guys are funny!

This vid shows them skeet shooting with junk cars and a Carl Gustav  ???

automobile skeet shoooting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAiXRKQffQ0#)

Oh and THIS one is a special show... in America  8)

Top Gear America Challenge Part1 of 7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yWls6FfNA#ws)






============================EDIT=================================

That new embbed feature is AWESOME!!!!  >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D

Cool vids  :-X eventhough the CG shot at the end of the first one was a fake. I remember those from my days in the swedish army and I know for a fact that had that been a genuine CG round the would have needed a new cameraman and camera.  >:D

Indeed it seemed to me as a fake first time I saw it. Either he got it on the first shot or they tossed dozens of junk cars down that ckiff!  ????

Also, it doesn`t seem to take the hit from the CG but rather explode from inside out. I`d expect the car to feel the punch and deviate it`s trajectory.

Funny nonetheless  :-D >:D

Quote from: deadman on September 15, 2010, 02:55:06 AMwould have needed a new cameraman and camera.  >:D

;D :-X

Hey deadman, just on the subject of CGs - can you actually steer the rocket in flight the way you can in HL2, and if so, how? The round doesn't look to have any kind of guidance fins or anything on it, either in that video or in the game.

Just curious :)

Quote from: fragger on September 27, 2010, 12:34:35 AM
Hey deadman, just on the subject of CGs - can you actually steer the rocket in flight the way you can in HL2, and if so, how? The round doesn't look to have any kind of guidance fins or anything on it, either in that video or in the game.

Just curious :)

It´s not actually a rocket, it´s more of a huge grenade that´s propelled by a drivecharge. You have no control over at all after launch unlike the TOW for instance which is wire-guided. Here+s some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recoilless_rifle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recoilless_rifle)

interesting article on wiki.  :-X

Thanks for that deadman, and thanks for the Wiki link, too. Quite informative article, that :-X

Indeed an interesting wiki article, it filled in some historical holes for me.   :-X

In order for the recoilless rifles to w@&k as much force had to exit the back of the tube as the weight of the round exiting the muzzle.  I've seen this effect referred to somewhere in FC2's information with the rocket launchers mentioned as being an alternate way to start fires with the back blast.

My dad carried a 57 mm M18 recoilless rifle in the Korean war, it was a two man operation.  Both the rifleman and the loader had to be constantly alert to keep the other men of the squad out of the way of the 50 foot zone for back blast and also alert to the fact that there was nothing solid like a cliff or building side behind them in their firing position that could reflect the blast back onto them.

It was also considered pretty bad form by your team mates to create a hillside fire so the enemy instantly knew where the squad was positioned.  >:D

Because of the nature of the weapon it had to be fired in a fairly clear area.  I remember my dad mentioning that because of that quirk, studies indicated that after firing the M18 in combat there was a six second period where the life expectancy of the rifleman and loader approached 50/50 from return fire.  Dad had commented that knowing the statistics didn't make him feel any better about the weapon because in the absence of good range finding glasses in the field the first shot was ofter fired to establish range and there had to be a second shot taken and the statisticians had never bothered to figure out a number as low as the risk factor that developed with the second shot.

overall, useless weapon I'd say.

The recoilless rifle series of weapons had their shortcomings, obviously or they wouldn't have been phased out.  For the M18, other than the fact that it could knock a hole in the side of a tank or strip one of it's tracks off from over a mile away, you're probably right Art but then the way I see it, anything that makes pretty explosions on demand fits into the grand scheme of things somewhere.   ;D

 ;D

I watched a tremendous BBC miniseries on DVD last night called "Space Race", and for anyone here who is interested in the history of the competing space programmes of the US and the USSR in the sixties (and I know some of you are), it makes for compulsive viewing. The series traces the origins and development of both countries' space efforts in four one-hour episodes, primarily focussing on the w@&k of Werner Von Braun and his Soviet counterpart, Sergei Korolev. But here's the thing - I thought this show was going to be a hard documentary, but in the event it turned out to be a narrated dramatization of a very high standard, with excellent acting performances from its cast of unknowns (at least unknown by me), top-notch production values and an adroit mix of archive footage and CG material. It's studiously accurate historically and quite an eye-opener in many respects – especially when it comes to the attrition rate on the Soviet side. Many of the Soviet failures and disasters were actually kept secret until well into the 1990s, and although I already knew about some of them, I had no idea of just how calamitous and costly in lives some of their failures were.

Regarding the two principal characters of the piece, the story of the shadowy and driven Korolev, from gulag prisoner to "Chief Designer" of the Russian space effort, is a tale not only of one man's triumphs and setbacks, but also of the despotism and madness of the USSR's leadership, the political and propaganda agendas of which would ultimately result in that country losing the race. Von Braun is portrayed in a no-nonsense warts-and-all fashion, and the series leaves you to decide whether he was a hero or a villain. For instance, he held the rank of major in the SS when his V2s were being built during WW2, and the construction of those rockets took a higher toll of slave labourers than the rockets themselves did of the British civilians they were aimed at. Von Braun was well aware of what was happening in the V2 manufacturing plant, but he later defended himself to his adopting Americans (those who knew being aghast) with what he believed were mitigating circumstances. Watch the show and decide for yourself.

I can't rate this series highly enough for space race history buffs. Being a long-time space nut myself, I bought it sight unseen, and it turned out to be one of the most entertaining surprises I've had for some time. Ten out of ten :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X

cheers for the recommendation, nice summary :)

Just so anyone interested in what fragger posted have a starting point!

Great tip fragger!  :-X :-X :-X

Space race Episode 1 Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bJAgE9xzOs#)

Wow, that does kick off nicely, very compelling.  :-X

Thanks for posting that, JRD :)

Thank YOU for the heads up!

I`m following the documentary every night with great interest!  :-X :-X

BBC managed to bring great acting, a very, very nice production and excellent real footage very well blended with the rest.

I`m a space afficcionado myself... I`m always reading news about the ISS, space shuttles, Mars probes etc... It`s really amazing the unfolds of the background of how Man made it to the moon... had the war taken a slightly different course and everything, I mean EVERYTHING, would be different nowadays!

I really like how the motivations of both men are depicted.... none is shown as a villain but as men seeking a dream!  :-X

I specially like how they slip how Russian officers were too stupid and blind to see the potential of a satellite and, at the same time, how the American officers were too proud to allow a non-American (Van Brown) to be responsible for launching the first satellite and therefore delayed the whole progress of their own operation  :D

As I keep reading and hearing different versions of that one man's name, I'd like to tell you guys a little about that name :)

Wernher von Braun

The first name is commonly known and spelled "Werner" (pronounced with a "V", followed by an "e" as in vent, so it's pronounced like "Ver-nuh"). However, this man uses a rather uncommon spelling, he is spelled correctly "Wernher" (pronunciation doesn't change).

The "von" bit means "of" and indicates noble origin and is pronounced "fon" as in "fond". Many nobles have a "von" as prefix to their names. Some nobles give their children uncommon first names, to make them even more special and stand out, see "Wernher."

Braun simply means brown (even pronounced like that.. let's forget about how the German "r" sounds, though).

So you'd address him as Herr von Braun (Mr von Braun).

By the way, "van" is Dutch :)



Edit: Made a small correction regarding pronunciation of "von" - I realised the example "ton" would be pronounced differently by Americans, so I changed it to "fond" ;)

Hey, you're right Art - I never noticed the unconventional spelling of Wernher von Braun's first name before. I knew about the meaning of "von" but I didn't pick on Wernher, even though I must have read his name a zillion times over the years. I stand corrected :)

Welcome :)

By the way, you (non-American accent) just made me realise that I needed to change an example for the Americans.. so rather than "ton" I chose "fond" now. ;)

Quote from: RedRaven on April 13, 2010, 09:20:27 AM
Not sure if any of you guys have been watching 'The Pacific'.
Seen the first 3 episodes so far and enjoying it alot. Not been a huge amount of action yet, that just means its all still to come. :-X

So I'm watching The Pacific... and so far, so boring  :-(

The story is nothing like Band of Brothers... it lacks the punch. That's WWI all right and you follow a group of soldiers as they plunge into the war. But all similarities end here. I don't feel connected to characters yet, there's no one like Maj Winters (main character in BoB) to follow, so the whole overwhelming burden carried by him is not present... loads of personal drama with sprinkles of action...

The one episode when they go to Melbourne for a break actually put me to sleep.

Apart for the great production it's a rip off... I'm glad I borrowed it from a friend  :-(

In BoB, they spent three years filming so the actors grew old with the story and by the final chapters you could actually see older men, transformed by their experiences... so far all I see is a bunch of unexpressive faces...  >:((

rant mode off... back to The Pacific

Pacific is slower to start than Band of Brothers, but it does get better (at least as far as can recall).


Currently best things on UK tv are probably "Misfits" season 2 - twisted take on the superhero idea based around some young adults serving community service. And "The Walking Dead" has been ok but only 2 episodes into it so far. Fringe and Stargate Universe are both entertaining enough too.




@JRD - pretty sure it gets much better after episode 3, some really grim moments coming up. All in all it may have less action than BoB. Darn it, feel like watching them both back to back now...cheers ;D

I just watched ep 5.

It is still slow. Gonna have to get BoB and go through it as well  >:D

The precious metal box of BoB sits right next to me on my desk..  >:D

BoB is one of my favourite miniseries. I'd like to check out The Pacific, but I may try and borrow it from someone as JRD did - and from the sound of it, maybe have some No-Doz on hand for the early episodes :-()

Btw, did you know that Damian Lewis, the actor who played Major Winters in BoB, is actually English? I got quite a surprise when I first heard his natural speaking voice in an interview.

That's it... I'm at part 8/10 and it didn't get me!

I dare say that if you look over the nice production, it sucks!

Action relies mostly in limbs flying off and things blowing up - a weak appeal in my opinion. To try to touch the audience by feeding them shocking scenes is just a lame, poor artifice... in BoB you had some impact scenes but you could feel the action through the story, blood and gore were a side punch.

Here it is a bit disconnected... in one episode they are invading one island and there's the whole disembark and all, some scenes where guys look over each other and the hard face of war is somehow depicted... then they cut to a boat where everybody is leaving the island while staring at nothing as someone who goes through a life changing experience... but what about the bulk of it? It seems like you know how it is in the beginning and in the end, but what happens in between seems untold  ????

The whole story background is shallow... their real campaign might have been noteworthy, but the way its being told is crap

And now the story follows some other guys... and one of them, a chap by the name of Sledge, just don't have the look for the role... he is definitely a wrong choice for a character like that... no facial expression, his eyes doesn't pass the emotion it should... lame.

Since I have the box with me I'll finish it tomorrow, but just so I finish it.  >:((

Quote from: fragger on November 15, 2010, 03:24:07 PMBtw, did you know that Damian Lewis, the actor who played Major Winters in BoB, is actually English? I got quite a surprise when I first heard his natural speaking voice in an interview.

Yes, and I've always admired productions (especially actors) who afforded a language/dialect coach. I had the same surprise hitting me when I learned that Alan Tudyk was born in El Paso, Texas. A proper Yank. Yet in the film "Ein Ritter aus Leidenschaft (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/)" (aka "A Knight's Tale," "Chevalier") he had a London accent.  ;D

Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is also British...  8)

Quote from: JRD on November 16, 2010, 12:25:31 AM
Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is also British...  8)

Apparently when Hugh Laurie first started "House" a lot of American viewers thought he was an American. For any of you that have not seen a show called "Black Adder" check it out, was the first show I ever saw him in along with Rowan Atkinson and Stephen Fry. Its a very funny, silly and satirical take on various points in history.

Quote from: Art Blade on November 15, 2010, 10:04:26 PM
]Yes, and I've always admired productions (especially actors) who afforded a language/dialect coach. I had the same surprise hitting me when I learned that Alan Tudyk was born in El Paso, Texas. A proper Yank. Yet in the film "Ein Ritter aus Leidenschaft (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/)" (aka "A Knight's Tale," "Chevalier") he had a London accent.  ;D

He also did the voice for Sonny the Robot in "I Robot"

nice, didn't know that :)

I spend too much time playing six degrees of separation using IMDB, consequently have a head full of useless facts about films, actors and directors :) 

hehe, nice  ;D :-X

Nice one, Red :) Looks like you're the go-to guy for movie info then :-D

I too like to poke around at IMDB :-X

me too :)

Started this topic so as not to clog up the movie one.

Has any one else become hooked on Fringe ? Not normally a bug fan of TV as I prefer movies with a proper start, middle and end, or documentaries that actually teach something.
Fringe has however become a real guilty pleasure of mine, more so than anything else I've seen for a long while.

EDIT - oh, and Star Wars Clone wars cartoons are ace too, but cartoons don't count as TV :)

For more than 10 years I haven't watched TV except for a couple of live Forumula One races but even that is now off my list (basically ever since Michael Schumacher retired, and his comeback didn't really convince me so I quit watching).

I am more of a book fan and regarding films or docus, I stick to (purchsed) DVDs :)

However, some series on TV are available on DVD so once in a while I might end up buying and watching those :)

Oh and just by the way, is "fringe" and what you are planning to talk about anything that might be considered a "TV show" ? If so, we already have a topic for that, I would then merge this one with the older one.

Any TV show that has grabbed peoples attention I guess. I like yourself am not a big watcher, do try to catch the F1 when its on, Schumacher is past it I reckon, but Vettel keeps getting better and the last race in China was one of most exciting I've ever seen.


Fringe is about our 'Earth' and a parallel 'Earth' with some interesting differences, kind of a far superior X-files and a bit more sci-fi. Dont want to give it away to those who may want to start watching it. As usual IMDB has plenty to say.


If you think this topic should be merged with the other feel free, still kind of re-finding my way around OWG.

merged.  :-D

I haven't seen Fringe but I've heard of it. Is it something you can jump into and watch without being lost or do you need to see it from the start?

I don't watch TV either as a rule, except for sometimes the news and the odd documentary. Even then, the incessant commercials really grate on me >:((

@Art  Cheers, cant believe did not see the existing topic!

@Fragger  I missed most of 1st series but quickly picked up the main gist part way into the second, now its approaching end of season 3.
I know what you mean about ads (spits on floor in disgust)
I cant watch the news anymore as it just upsets or angers me. :(

Quote from: RedRaven on April 25, 2011, 09:54:44 PM

I know what you mean about ads (spits on floor in disgust)
I cant watch the news anymore as it just upsets or angers me. :(

I pick holes in the ads for fun finding the flaws in their logic.

Why aren't there any attorneys (solicitors in the U.K) running ads on TV to seek out clients to represent in lawsuits to bring legal action against crooked attorneys (solicitors) that have cheated or misrepresented their cases?   ;)

There's a 24 hr cable news channel that I leave on during the day as background noise for the purpose of keeping me angry.   >:D

Quote from: mandru  on April 25, 2011, 11:58:36 PM

I pick holes in the ads for fun finding the flaws in their logic.

Why aren't there any attorneys (solicitors in the U.K) running ads on TV to seek out clients to represent in lawsuits to bring legal action against crooked attorneys (solicitors) that have cheated or misrepresented their cases?   ;)

Nearest thing is so called 'Ambulance Chasers'. The "If you have had an accident and it wasn't your fault then you may be able to claim compensation" type.

Its yet another way for people to be irresponsible and be unaccountable for their own stupidity!

Those adds make me furious, as do the ones with made up statistics, usually cosmetics products, like 87% of 143 people would recommend this product, which when you do the math makes 124.41 people. Its all lies, those companies should be fined or just plain banned from making ridiculous statements.

Starting to turn Green, can feel my inner Hulk starting to break free again. Must breath, count to 10 and relax.

Quote from: mandru  on April 25, 2011, 11:58:36 PM
There's a 24 hr cable news channel that I leave on during the day as background noise for the purpose of keeping me angry.   >:D

Lol :)

It keeps my heart rate up, it's aerobic and easier than jogging.   ;D

Quote from: mandru  on April 25, 2011, 11:58:36 PM
There's a 24 hr cable news channel that I leave on during the day as background noise for the purpose of keeping me angry.   >:D

CNN?

FXNWS Fox news.

Every word that's said on air by Fox is under so much scrutiny by so many of the other news organizations that would seriously like to give them a black eye for even the slightest exaggeration of the truth or a misstatement forces Fox to document their accuracy before they can report on an incident.

That allows me to soak it in and then as new elements of news arrive I can connect the dots myself sometimes spotting things or trends that Fox wouldn't dare say on air.

It was recently reported that Obama was creating a commission (yet another red herring to take our focus off of what's really happening )  to find out if oil companies are price gouging and causing the surge in recent gasoline prices.

I hear this and I'm reminded of a video clip of Obama that I've seen (either as a presidential candidate or immediately after his election) where he said "I think that $8 a gallon (for gasoline *my edit*) would be a good thing."  Examining this comment I believe he was stating his belief that high gas prices would push people into buying electric cars but that said as we bump into $5 a gallon prices (up from $3.45 in a month or so) how seriously can I take him at his word that he's trying to correct the same gas prices that he has previously stated he believes should be even higher?   ???


Because of Obama's propensity for pushing government growth at every turn and seeing a new organization being created to perform the study on the oil companies behavior I have to ask how many of these newly created positions are being staffed by family members of his high level union bed buddies?   :D


I would also like to know how vilifying and irritating the oil companies is going to reduce gas prices, oh wait, that's right we're only half way to the $8 a gallon Obama thought would be a "Good Idea".   :D  :D


And at what point will government accurately recreate that circus act where a mini-car pulls out into the center ring and an unbelievable number of goofball clowns (with gag props no less! ) come pouring out of it?   :D  :D  :D

???...    ???...   ???...

See how easy it is?  8:37 AM and I've already got the sustained heart rate of a 5k run.   ^+-+

Quote from: mandru  on April 26, 2011, 07:55:26 AM
FXNWS Fox news.

-------------8<--- snip ---8<------------- / Art

See how easy it is?  8:37 AM and I've already got the sustained heart rate of a 5k run.   ^+-+

??? wow to bad I can´t see Fox news here in sweden, I could use the exerscise. But then again I probably won´t get as worked up as you do so it wouldn´t w%&k anyway  ^+-+

Not sure what its like over the pond in the USA but from my experience this side Fox seems to have a Right-wing stance and gets loads of bad press. Yet they do The Simpsons, which after all its years is still very funny and for the most part family friendly, unlike the many other cartoon shows that have followed (Family Guy, American Dad etc) which don't seem to be able to be as funny without being aimed at an older audience.

Even The Simpsons pokes fun at Fox on a regular basis.

[admin]just a tip, guys.. quoting is useful if you want to point out a certain part of what someone said. Quoting entire posts, especially if they are long, and even more so if they contain quotes in succession, doesn't really help readability. I cut away half a mile of the last quote so I was able to read what was actually new.. cheers, guys. :)[/admin]

Quote from: RedRaven on April 26, 2011, 09:31:33 AM
Not sure what its like over the pond in the USA but from my experience this side Fox seems to have a Right-wing stance and gets loads of bad press.

Part of a process that has been going on for a long time here in the U.S. is the posturing that has taken place between the Right wing and the Left wing components of politics.

I've been looking at the Liberal (Left wing) presidency of JFK.  The things he stood for, his positions and his presidential actions.  For all intents and purposes, JFK judged upon the politics of his presidency, was more Right wing than 99% of the current Right wing politicians.   ???

The only thing I can figure out is that over time in this perpetual tug-of-war any time there's an irreconcilable difference of opinion for a course of action between left and right over an issue in order to reach a compromise the right will reach across the aisle and make concessions to appease the left and in trying to do so stop the left's continual name calling and taunting that the right side are all uncaring inflexible stick in the muds or worse.

The problem with this whole process (as I see it) is that every time this happens the left take another solid step further left and says "Nnnnno! We're over here now.  You'll have to reach farther than that! "

It has come to the point that I've actually heard an Ivy League Poly/Sci professor (an instructor shaping the minds of our Right and Left wing future politicians :o ) on Fox news seriously attempt to defend his position that parents should have a 2 year "Buyers Remorse" period after a child is born where the parents could decide to abort the child.

All I can say after that is where is the center line between left and right any more if this is what is being accepted as a reasonable suggestion?   :knockout

I don't care if it's left s#!t or right s#!t, white s#!t or black s#!t. You can't turn s#!t into gold. It will just stay s#!t.

Quote from: mandru  on April 26, 2011, 10:08:49 AM
Parents should have a 2 year "Buyers Remorse" period after a child is born where the parents could decide to abort the child.

Really ???
I'm sure that's what is more commonly known as infanticide. Bet the Catholics love that guy.....
Personally I think any one who wants such legislation in place should be taken out behind a shed and shot.

Next thing you know the Krishna's will have their own 'Final Solution'

Sometimes it amazes me how smart the human race thinks it is, and how utterly stupid the human race acts towards itself. If there is a divine power it must of given humanity to the apprentice to design.

Enough said, ranted plenty already today ;)

ps -(I'm not doubting your words mandru, just astonished that it was said on TV by an 'educated' person.)

"Abort the child" - that's a charming little euphemism for murder. That's typical of some of these Ivy League twits and others of their ilk who hold some twisted belief that the ethics and codes of conduct that constitute civilized human society should be dispensed with for the overall good of that society. I can't believe some of the bilge these sick characters spew forth >:((

I'm reminded of another individual who believed in taking a harsh line and dispensing with the niceties of civilized behaviour for the greater good of his people. Result - a world war and 50,000,000 million deaths.

I have a saying "Let our differences Unite us"  we are all different yet fundamentally we are all the same, if everybody would just WAKE UP and realise our potential we might actually get some where before we kill the planet.

Showed a friend the post from Mandru, his response was "And they call Charley Sheen crazy" and pointed out that euthanasia is still illegal in most of the world too.

EDIT -  A better policy would be Less breeding, more reading.

Quote from: RedRaven on April 26, 2011, 10:53:46 PM
EDIT -  A better policy would be Less breeding, more reading.

Absolutely agree - the planet can only sustain a limited amount of exponential breeding, particularly because the lowest end of society appears to breed the most profically.

Quote from: RedRaven on April 26, 2011, 10:53:46 PMLess breeding, more reading.

nice one  :) :-X

The only american who's political views I agree with :)

Johnny Cash - One on the right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhXiee1Q88A#)

 :)

LOST TV SERIES

OK, I have just watched all six seasons!!!!  :o

I first saw this series when the season one boxset was released, I had an injured leg and was confined to the couch for a number of weeks, I saw a number of different shows, 24, Desperate Housewives, West Wing and also Lost.

I was really enjoying it, when on the last disc, which contained only two episodes, I was expecting some resolution and maybe a feature length final episode as I knew there could be no story resolution in  the 2 normal timed episodes. When it ended, if my leg wasn't so buggered up, I would have kicked in the TV screen!!

So, now the series is over, lovers and haters have formed two quite distinct lines, regarding their opinions, I was recommended by a friend (series lover) to watch it all, each season, back to back.

People were very disappointed with a series that they assumed the creators were just making up as they went along, I was one of those doubters, I stopped watching it after a couple of episodes from season two were shown  on TV.

Watching all the episodes one after the other, with no seasonal breaks for 6 months and no having to wait for the next episode a week later, I was able to luxuriate in an incredible well crafted storyline, played by extremely talented actors, who's individual storylines opened layer by layer as the seasons progressed.


The series used "time" in a very creative way, initially with moving back and forth to the days and hours before and after the plane crash, to eventually travelling back and forth decades and centuaries in each direction, never once causing head scratching or confusion, JJ Abrams is a masterful storyteller.

I really recommend that anyone interested in a finely crafted story, with great acting and with the ability to watch all the seasons back to back are in for a great treat :)

I did watch LOST back to back... to be honest, the more I got into the story, the more afraid I was it was going to be quite er... lost ( ::)) in the end.

I really enjoyed how they told the story back and forth and how they used time displacement to create layer over layer of the whole plot but the final season was a let down imo.

It still a great show and I can recommend anyone fond of time / space travelling and overlapping realities to give it a try. But don`t expect the show to have an ending like it`s beginning.

First esason was mind blowing, truly, no kidding... I was hooked on episode one. Second season was incredible with yet more twists and surprises... third season came along to keep my interest very deep... fourth season (I guess is when time traveling start to be on the table) gave me another boost, then came season five and six and the ending... man, I think I could have put things in another way and still have a great finale.

Too many loose ends and shallow explanations... the smoke monster for instance... the other Others...

Anyway... I had a great time watching that show but as I look back after finishing it almost a year ago... I still have that damn it... why, how? feelin in my mouth  :-(

I think season six especially felt a bit rushed, it has alot less episodes than the previous seasons too, I think the network sensed diminishing returns and told them to wrap it up, so they spent as much time as they could with the loose ends before they were shut down, still though, I was satisfied with the ending, even though it was what I thought from the very first episode lol :)

Exactly the same thoughts occurred to me, Fiach. I got the sense that seven seasons were originally planned, but by season five the producers were told to wrap it up early, maybe due to the fact that the ratings were dropping, and so there just wasn't time to resolve everything before the new deadline. Kind of ironic really, given that time-slipping is one of the key elements of the story...

I think the main reason ratings took a plunge was simply because the series was too long for a great many viewers. I don't wish to sound snobby, but I believe that a lot of people just don't have the patience for a show like LOST, nor do they wish to put in the mental effort required to try and comprehend it, especially over a number of years.

LOST is the only television show I've gotten seriously hooked on in a very long time and I enjoyed it hugely, despite the nebulous ending and unanswered questions. Great production values all round and refreshingly original :-X

Btw, did I miss this somewhere - the significance of that particular sequence of numbers? Was that ever revealed, other than the fact that they all add up to 108 - the number of seconds between button-pushes?

Speaking of J J Abrams, another of his stories I quite enjoyed was Alias, although that one didn't grab me the way LOST did. It was intriguing nonetheless even if far-fetched as hell - sort of like Dan Brown meets Ian Fleming :-()

Quote from: fragger on July 19, 2011, 05:24:32 PM

I think the main reason ratings took a plunge was simply because the series was too long for a great many viewers. I don't wish to sound snobby, but I believe that a lot of people just don't have the patience for a show like LOST, nor do they wish to put in the mental effort required to try and comprehend it, especially over a number of years.
Btw, did I miss this somewhere - the significance of that particular sequence of numbers? Was that ever revealed, other than the fact that they all add up to 108 - the number of seconds between button-pushes?
Speaking of J J Abrams, another of his stories I quite enjoyed was Alias,

I totally agree fragger mate, it didnt have plot exposition every 5 minutes, didnt pander to alot of the TV mores associated with american television, basically it wasnt dumb enough to succeed.

I never knew that about the numbers, I dont remember anything other than the way the were used as a maguffin to highlight conincedences between the "real" world and the island.

Would you believe that i just watched episode one and two of Alias season one, just now LOL..... what was that I was saying about coincedences again??? I have only season one and two, I believe it went bonkers after that.

LOL @ "...wasn't dumb enough to succeed" ^+-+ :-X

Re: Alias, great minds and all that :-() Alias is five seasons in length, and yeah, they kind of went silly with it after the first couple of seasons. I ended up watching it all just to see how it would all pan out, but I doubt that I'd watch it all again. On the other hand, I could probably watch all of LOST again a few years down the track.

Yes, I did see Alias when it was on TV, but it never appealed to me, I'm not crazy about Jennifer Garner, so I only watched a couple of bits of episodes, but its alot more action packed than I remembered it, so I enjoyed what I saw last night :)

LOL, rooting in the attic for another game, I found a game for the old XBOX (not the 360) called Alias, dont remember getting it, could have got it in a bundle, or maybe it came with a couple of back up xbox's I bought on ebay for spare controllers (cant get the buggers any more :().

I never played it so dunno if its any good, heres some gameplay footage, may bring back memories, looks pretty good too.

Alias Xbox Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rasq4WpWb8#)

Rescue Me.

TV series starring Denis O Leary. Set in a Firestation after 9/11, the fire crew deal with many issues, recurring memories of 9/11, Marriage, Seperation, Homophobia, Alcoholism...

The show presents everything in a tragicomedic way, even shining the light of humour in the darkest of places, But ever present, is a sensitivity in dealing with these subjects, its never purile, its not for shits n giggles, aside from these different stories is the backdrop of brotherhood and camraderie inherant in such a pressurised and dangerous job.

I just finished season one (out of 7 seasons I think), I was very impressed, some great subtle and not so subtle humour, blended with an incredibly diverse yet touching storyline, I cant wait to see the rest.

I'm not familiar with that series - enjoy Fiach  :-X

Quote from: PZ on October 23, 2011, 05:34:30 PM
I'm not familiar with that series - enjoy Fiach  :-X

Cheers mate :) I'm on Season 4 now, its a great show, funny, serious and it also has an underlying dark humour, it covers alot of different themes and moods, I'm surprised I never picked it up before as I like Denis Leary.

Wiseguy, a TV series by Stephen J Cannell, the guy who made the likes of .... oh crikey just about everything good on TV. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_J._Cannell)

Wiseguy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiseguy) told the story, over 4 seasons, of Vinnie Terranova and undercover FBI agent, working to bring down various crime families.

Ken Wahl was a great actor, who due to real life injuries had a very patchy acting career, his most noticible w%&k would be The Wanderers a cult movie set in the 50's, Fort Apache The Bronx (the original Newman version) and of course Wiseguy.

It ran counter to the normal "seperate storyline in each episode", it actually told story "arcs", which gave it a more movie like feel, as characters both evil and good, could be developed in a more organic way, than the usual 40 minute episodes of other TV shows.

The show ran for 4 seasons to great acclaim, it had a TV movie "reunion" of the characters in 1996 which also garnered critical acclaim.

Well worth the (cheap as chips) price :

http://www.amazon.com/Wiseguy-Collectors-Seasons-1-4/dp/B0030VANJO/ref=pd_cp_mov_0/176-6686946-6066463 (http://www.amazon.com/Wiseguy-Collectors-Seasons-1-4/dp/B0030VANJO/ref=pd_cp_mov_0/176-6686946-6066463)

I am currently watching a TV series (its also a movie) called Friday Night Lights, its set in smalltown USA ( a little town in Texas called Dylan), economically challenged though it is, the whole week is focused on the friday night college football game.

I think this microcosm is a condensed version of american values, like picket fences and moms apple pie, sure it has its negative aspects like racism, homophobia, alcoholism, drug dealers etc. But underpinning it are so many positive values, like honour, loyalty, teamspirit, keeping faith in adversity.

The characters are very well drawn and well acted, the cast is predominantly under the age of 20, but gosh their acting ability is second to none, Buffy this is NOT.

The series doesnt pull any punches either, in the very first episode the star quarterback becomes paralysed permanently, due to a bad tackle, it deals with steroid abuse, in athletics, sexism etc. all in mature ways, you could even say that the series is pretty grim viewing, with some very emotionally charged storylines, But it is a great viewing experience, with the TV series aspect allowing more depth of character and plot that really could not be done in a 90 minute movie.

If you cant see the TV series, you could check out the movie version starring Billy Bob Thornton, it may whet your appetite for the TV series (different actors mostly, but the coach's wife is the same actress).

I remember Wiseguy... early 90's... aaaah the hairstyle!  ;D

I saw some episodes and never got into the story to be honest but that one was a kind of show I like, somewhat like The Departed but on a lighter way, of course.

Reminded me a TV show I loved: 21 jump sreet (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092312/) 1987 - 1991. The show that catapulted Johnny Deep to Holywood. A bunch of undercover cops working in schools investigating rogue students... well, I was in school at that time and it I connected a lot to the storyline...  ::)

Apparently 21 Jump Street is being remade. (sigh) That poor overworked recycle machine is tooled up yet again... ::)

Yes, I really enjoyed 21 Jump St. There was another show at the same time here, Stingray, another of Stephen J Cannel's efforts, I really liked that too :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_(NBC_TV_series) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_(NBC_TV_series))

In the year since my last post here I have had way too much time to watch way too much TV!
Some of it good, most of it not so. Here is a list of most of what I have seen recently.


LOST  Started of with much promise but lost itself I reckon.


SONS OF ANARCHY   At first I resisted watching this, thinking it would be Sopranos on bikes! By the time I had got to the end of season 1 was hooked, very well written, great acting. Good to see Henry Rollins in something too.

ENTOURAGE   A very funny take on life as an A-list Hollywood star, despite its crudeness in places it is a good story of four friends in the chaos of the movie industry.

CALIFORNICATION   David Duchovny on top form as a train-wreck of a writer, in some ways similar to Entourage though different enough to be worth watching. Great supporting cast too.

SUPERNATURAL  As with Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural is another title I had no interest in at all, yet I found myself somewhat engrossed in the story early into season 2. If I was waiting week after week for the next episode for the years it has been running I would of most likely lost interest, as I was able to watch it all back to back it was not so bad.


HOMELAND  One of the best things have seen for a while, good writing and excellent acting from both Damian Lewis and Claire Danes. Just hope they can keep it up when season 2 starts at the end of September.

ALCATRAZ  So far So OK!, As a big fan of Fringe I expected something a little more from JJ Abrams and team.




There is also CASTLE and CHUCK, both of which fit nicely on the shelf labelled 'chewing gum for the brain'
Same sort of thing each week, enough humour for a giggle or two but little in the way of durability.

I've never seen Castle or Californication, but I love the others, Chuck, I dont know whether I liked it or not, definately liked his sister and "girlfriend" though :)

Just saw a series called The River about an expedition up the Amazon to find a TV show guy, done as a kind of reality TV show, it was great initially, but the plot just got really bizarre towards the end, maybe a second series would be more enlightning, but I think it bombed when it was shown, so a second series may not happen.

The Good Wife is pretty good, but they kinda spread a really good story over alot of episodes, which kinda dilutes the plot somewhat.

Spartacus....just one word...boobies!  >:D :o 8-X :-[ Great TV show.

For the most part I steer clear of broadcast television.  I'm a tough sell and tend to pick holes in characters, plots and production qualities.  :-\\

I'm afraid the closest thing I come to watching something that could be called a "series" would be each season's release of sub titled anime out of Japan that one of the fan sites I've come across.  While the genre I enjoy is often stupid, silly and contrived that is what they are created to be with no pretense that they are trying to accomplish anything beyond just simply being entertaining.

On occasion one of the animes will hit on a profound idea and inspire deeper thought and self reflection but I don't have to put up with their trying to force feed me some bs agenda that they are attempting to normalize so that society can be restructured to suit the preferences of the producers.

The National Geographic channel half of the time makes me want to toss a brick through the screen because they insist on delving in to social issues like the life of inmates locked up in prisons.  Where the hell is the Geographic in a show about criminals that aren't going to be going anywhere.  Any of this kind of crap that doesn't match the content the channel has named itself after should be stuffed over on the Oprah Winfrey Network or at least somewhere I won't come across it.

 :-D :-X Agree about Nat Geo's channel. There's not much of geographical interest inside a prison ???? You don't find that kind of stuff in their magazine so why it ends up on their TV channel I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if the two media have anything to do with one another.

Also agree about broadcast TV. I've never been crazy about series format shows in general - the whole pre-packaged, mass-marketed feel of them turns me off. The only series of any sort I've watched in recent years was LOST, and I agree with Red, I think the title was actually referring to the final couple of seasons' plot.

In fact there's very little I can be bothered with on TV. Take away the so-called "reality" drivel, the innumerable CSI-style investigation shows, the done-to-screaming-point teen vampire/young superhero yawns yarns and the many, many televised sporting events and there's very little left over that I feel like investing any of my ever-shortening lifespan in.

The really scary thing about broadcast television is that it's being broadcast not just around the world but out into space in all directions. We've been doing this in a significant way for about 60 years (although television actually goes back to the 1930s, believe it or not, but mass broadcasting to the public in any practicable way began around 1951) so the first TV signals are now over 60 light-years away and expanding bubble-like in all directions. Which means that Lucille Ball and Howdy Doody are just two of humanity's ambassadors to the stars. I dunno about any of you, but I find the thought of our race being represented to the universe by a ditzy redhead and a wooden puppet in a cowboy suit sobering in the extreme. Hell, it's just plain embarrassing :-[ Maybe there's a good reason why intelligent aliens haven't made contact with us yet - they've watched our television shows and they think we're nuts...

Agree with what has been said about Broadcast TV and under normal circumstances I do not usually watch it. The shows I listed I managed to watch back-to-back on either Dvd or online through things like Netflix, was little else to do whilst laid up ill  ^-^ . I think if I had to watch them in the regular fashion of a show a week for half the year I would not of seen most of them.


Not familiar with 21 Jump street, is the film that has just been done based on the tv show ?


Forgot to add DEXTER to the list of series watched, along with Homeland is probably one of the best things seen for years.


Not seen any of the Nat Geo prison guides, prefer my wildlife to be non humanoid!
Though on a related topic has any one seen the History channels Ancient Aliens series ?

For more than a decade now I haven't watched TV with the exception of F1 when Schuey was on his first career. For the better part of a year now I also have abstained from listening to any radio station. Why? Because it is 70% BS and 30% advertising BS.

The few TV shows I know are neatly packed and come in DVD boxes. As such they are a lot better in quality, sound and commercial-free. And I don't have to wait another week for the next show.

What I like and possess are The Flintstones, Kung Fu, Highlander, Babylon 5, Rome, Battlestar Galactica (old and new).

Some people who live a few doors down from me were having a garage sale the other day and while checking it out I found a blast from the past in amongst all their bric-a-brac - an entire DVD series of a TV show called UFO which was made back in the late sixties. The bloke was only asking ten bucks for it and it was virtually brand new and in an attractive boxed set, and since it was one of my favourite shows as a tyke I just had to snap it up for old times' sake.

The gist of the show is that there is a top secret, super-high-tech paramilitary outfit called SHADO that is trying to contain an alien invasion while keeping the public blissfully unaware of what's really happening (set in the futuristic year of 1980 :-()). It's far-fetched and over the top but for some reason I'm finding it oddly entertaining. Maybe it's the painfully sixties look of the whole thing - it's hard to believe that at the time we watched this without batting an eye at the outrageous fashions, blatant sexism, cigarette-smoking main characters and the producers' take on what the future might look like (apparently everybody would be driving a modified Delorean in the 1980s).

So far I've watched about a third of the series. I think I was about ten years old the last time I saw it and that was before colour TV came to Oz, so it's a real hoot to check it out after all these years. Some of the stories are silly but some are quite intelligently conceived, some of the acting is poor but the overall standard is not bad at all. It was Gerry and Sylvia Andersons' first attempt at making a futuristic sci-fi series with live actors as opposed to supermarionettes, and considering the severe budgetary constraints they did an admirable job if you can overlook the Andersons' trademark Thunderbirdsian model w@&k. Some of the effects actually come off surprisingly well though, even for this CG age.

And apart from everything else, it had one of the grooviest opening themes around, man (warning - extreme sixties content):

UFO - Opening Sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XAIXP937Ac#)

UFO was great. I have the first season on DVD but didn't buy the second as they want something like £75 for it...

It's a series that I'd love to see remade. Have you seen the episdoe when something like fifteen UFO try and make a breakthrough? Also, one of the episodes found an echo some years later in a film called Enemy Mine.

And you're right - the theme tune is still excellent. In fact, most of the Anderson's shows had great tunes. I saw a Ska band at one of the SF Worldcons who did nothing other than TV theme tunes...and UFO was one of 'em  :)

[imdb]Enemy Mine[/imdb] is a favorite of mine is :-X

I watched Enemy Mine both at the cine and at home (got the DVD)  :) And yes, themes from series back in the 60s/70s were great. Streets of San Francisco.. OMG  :-D :-X

I have UFO on DVD, I dunno how many series are on it though, but yeah I loved it, even now its a bloody good show.

There were some great shows back then, Like The Sweeney, The Proffessionals, Minder, The Avengers, thank god for dvd sets or they would be lost in the mists of time.

Like most of you, I don't watch TV as it airs, just get the DVDs when they are released - makes me a saner person for not having to grimace through all the inane ads  :)

I like a lot of the old series mentioned in these past four pages and some of the new ones too. Fringe though is really great. I only heard about it a few weeks ago and already I'm upto speed and awaiting the release of season 4  :-X

Warehouse 13 is another x-files(ish) series that is quite promising.

A real shame Flashforward got cancelled - it had a lot of cross-genre appeal for me.

And talking of cancelled series - Firefly from Joss Whedon was cut half way through, which was a massive shame. The fans have bugged the studio, Whedon and everyone involved but no joy. Alan Tudyk's who was mentioned in a couple of posts, plays quite a big role in this series as the pilot - though only his voice is in this clip Firefly - Mal starts a bar brawl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2esS05glh1s#ws)

Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Adam Baldwin (Chuck) are also in here - it's what got them noticed.

I got Firefly (2002) on DVD as well as "the film" called Serenity (2005). Indeed, quite funny and different :)  :-X

Man, I need to get out more - I don't recognize any of those shows.  ????

Quote from: PZ on June 20, 2012, 07:30:01 PM
Man, I need to get out more - I don't recognize any of those shows.  ????

Or stay in more  :laugh:

 :laugh:

 :laugh:

It's OK PZ - I don't know a lot of those shows either ????

Just getting back to UFO for a sec - it appears that there was only ever the one season of it, 26 episodes (according to IMDB) which is what was in the set I bought, so that is the whole series. In later years there were a couple of "films" cobbled together from bits of the TV show (weird idea). Pity it was axed after just one season, they could easily have gotten a good few years' worth of stories out of the premise.

I'm well into the second half of the series, this definitely seems to have some of the best eps :-X I'm also increasingly impressed by the late Ed Bishop's performance as Commander Straker, the guy in command of SHADO. That guy was great :-X

Trivia: Ed Bishop passed away only five days after Michael Billington, who played Col. Paul Foster in UFO, in 2005.

Quote from: Jim di Griz on June 20, 2012, 06:30:16 AM
...most of the Anderson's shows had great tunes.

That's true, I also really like the Thunderbirds theme, especially last part of the closing version.

Btw Art, I forgot to mention that The Streets Of San Francisco theme is one of my favourite TV show themes ever, great bit of music that :-X The Hawaii Five-O theme is another - they don't write 'em like those any more.

I recall as a child sitting in front of the tv with a tape recorder just so I could record the theme song of Hawaii 5-0  ^-^

Sounds like me when I was young too, recording bits off TV onto a portable reel-to-reel - mostly though it was firefights on the news from Vietnam - I used those to provide background atmosphere for when playing with Action Man  :)

As to those TV shows - perhaps a bit more info for you PZ.

Warehouse 13 is about two FBI agents seconded to a hidden department within the FBI which stores and guards all of those magic or powerful devices created throughout history. It's like that warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark...massive and full of technology, magic and everything in between. Their job is to track items down which are still out there. Some fun episodes in there so far.

Firefly is basically a space age frontier series, hence the cowboy look to things. Though not mentioned in the series as such, Serenity the film links Earth history and that of the series - I won't divulge here, suffice it to say that you aren't left guessing. You will have heard a mixture of languages in there - the characters all swear/curse in Mandarin, which is a neat trick to get around the censors - I have a translation for most phrases used in the series, culled from the w@&k of the loyal fans called Browncoats. The series is also cheap as chips, despite being grade A good stuff.

Fringe is another FBI secret group dedicated to keeping the world safe from a shadowy group from 'elsewhere'. John Noble (Denethor in LOTR) is also in the team and plays one of those scientists from the 60s who dabbled in all kinds of questionable activities - I'll say no more on that score. It gets pleasingly mind-mangling  :)

Flash Forward only had one season but the story sort-of rounded itself off - episode one, all across the globe every human passes out for 2mins 17seconds. In that time, they all saw events from their life exactly six months into the future. Again, centering on members of the FBI the series unravelled the how behind the what and hinted at the why - damn shame that got cancelled, it had at least another season's worth of intrigue left to divulge  :(

Thanks for the info Jim d'G; I'll keep these on my list of thing to watch  :-X ;)

I saw Serenity first, I thought it was great and told a mate of mine, he in turn told me about Firefly, I found it on sale in HMV that weekend for about 20€ it was an awesome series.

I have 3 series of Fringe, it started to get a bit bonkers, but Walter is a great character.

I'll definately check out Flash Forward.

I just finished watching a series called Terra Nova and I was pleasently surprised by it. In the future the earth is kinda screwed with pollution and a time portal is discovered, that leads back to prehistoric times. The trip is one way, and people have been going back for awhile and have set up a settlement there, where thry can recieve goods via the portal to help them survive. A family go though the portal and the series follows their story as they become more involved with the other settlers.

My turn to have not heard of something  :) I'll have a look out for that as it sounds good.

I remember Terra Nova which was usually quite exciting to watch.  :-X

One last comment about UFO and then I'll shut up about it, but I thought these aspects about it were noteworthy.

After watching the whole short-lived series, what really stood out were some of the quite ground-breaking concepts for 1969-1970 television. These included entering such dangerous territory as depicting socially acceptable interracial relationships (a white woman with a black man), "unhappy" or inconclusive episode endings (no pandering to contemporary TV studio "happy endings always" dictates), depictions of sex, drugs and alcohol abuse (the Brady Bunch was being produced at the same time in the US), confronting and complex character development (e.g. father risks, and ultimately sacrifices, the life of his young son for sake of the rest of humanity, and it haunts him ever after), an ever-evolving storyline (the humans never stop leaning about the aliens), and some rather dark and unsettling story themes. But mostly what impressed me were some of the accurate future technological predictions, including:

Gull-wing doors on cars (okay, so they never really caught on, but you can get real cars that have them)
Spacecraft launched from high-altitude carrier aircraft (like Richard Branson's)
Personal computers
Personal pagers
Web cams (after a fashion)
Fingerprint and voice identification systems
Orbital telescopes
Car telephones
Cordless telephones
MP3 players (the 1969 equivalent anyway)
Liquid breathing systems (à la The Abyss, but twenty years earlier. And they do w@&k - the liquid-breathing rat in The Abyss was no fake-out).

Plus attention to laws of physics, such as accurate depictions of the effects of depressurization, consideration of proper spacecraft re-entry angles, and the fact that spacecraft don't need to have their engines going all the time to keep moving (take note, George Lucas). There is some license taken at times, but in view of everything else the producers put across, I reckon they earned those gimmes.

I recommend the boxed set for fans if you can get it (check out Amazon, it's called The Complete UFO Megaset) as the episodes are presented in the correct order, not jumbled up as they were at the time to hide key actors' departures halfway through the run (notably George Sewell and Gabrielle Blake). At the time, almost no networks showed the episodes in the same order, and even after 42 years I can tell that the order they were shown in here at the time was quite different.

An amazing show way ahead of its time, despite the visual effects that greatly range from laughable to excellent. It's a great pity that it wasn't allowed to continue as I felt the producers were just hitting their stride with it at the end. There was going to be a UFO 2 series, but it ultimately degenerated into what would become Space 1999 which I thought was a much shallower, more pedestrian and less raw offering.

OK, I'll knock it off now before you all start to think I'm obsessed or something.

I like the look of gull wing doors but I think they look more like they should have been named frigate bird wing doors  :-()

Quote from: fragger on June 24, 2012, 08:11:50 AMOK, I'll knock it off now before you all start to think I'm obsessed or something.

Nah, don't worry.. you're not obsessed.

I think..

..or are you?

:-()

What worries me more is, "or something."  ???

:-D

Good retrospective fragger, makes me want to watch the lot again  :-X Nice observations too.

Talking about UFO and S 1999 reminded me of this gem Blakes 7 (clicky) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake's_7)

Blake's 7 - A Servalan Compilation - Part 1 of 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrrieRETtQQ#)

Blake's 7 - A Servalan Compilation - Part 2 of 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reGGD8N7Rl4#)

Okay, time for a few more TV series to recommend. I'm not sure how widely available this is outside the UK, but Episodes series 2 is just airing on the BBC - I know iPlayer is available across most of Europe but elsewhere might be different.

It's a simple enough premise: UK TV show gets acclaim, Hollywood producer wants the writers to recreate it for the US audience...I'm sure you can guess how that goes? Great comic talents, Tamsin Greig (Green Wing and Black Books), Stephen Mangan (Green Wing) and Matt LeBlanc w@&k very well together. Only seven episodes in the first series but nine in the second - good, dry humour all about the sensibilities of Hollywood and how it amazingly continues to w@&k that way.

As Fiach mentioned Blake's 7 it's time to bring out my favourite SF series which in a way has some similarities with B7 - Farscape is possibly the most creative series around at the time c2000 and it managed four seasons before they pulled the plug. Two films followed forming a mini-series The Peace-keeper Wars to tie up the story line after that. In all, a ride and a half with more aliens than you can shake a stick at - good characters, epic scale and not done in Hollywood. Okay, it's a Jim Henson production and there is one animatronic character in there, Emperor Rygel XXVI Dominar of 600 million subjects and a totally self-centered a$$ - so not a muppet. The filming was done in Australia with a lot of local talent (Claudia Black Pitch Black, SG-1.)

An astronout from earth attempts to test his theory for wormhole creation from orbit - gets sucked through and can't get back - appearing in the middle of a battle, his ship is picked up by a living prison ship just after an onboard revolt. Here is the open credit sequence - that should give an idea of what you can expect.

Farscape (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDEC5UE34_4#noexternalembed)

I watched Farscape back in the day quite frequently and I agree with you that it's one of the better type of series which, however, reminds me of my favourite: Babylon5 aka B5. Biggest two differences are that B5 is available in wide screen (Farscape is only available in 4:3) and B5 is still available from start to end (all 5 seasons plus "movies") while FS kind of ceased to exist.

Yup, got all the B5 too  :-X That's another series with epic scope; a true example of the Space Opera style in SF.

 :-() :-X slap on the back for your excellent taste  ^-^

 :) thanks - though I am not truly deserving of that as my lady wife introduced me to the series in the first place. I'm really surprised it took me so long to 'find' it. I suppose having no TV for over half of my adult life may have contributed.

Still, I'm glad to have found it now. I really like the way the standalone films fit in - definitely a fan of epic overlying storylines.

After 10 years I stopped counting -- I haven't watched TV in some 12 or more years now. My goodness, I have so much more time for gaming now  :-D

I picked up the old Cosmos documentary series, a seven-DVD boxed set. I hadn't seen it since it was on back in the seventies and I wasn't sure if it would hold up in terms of content and visuals, but it most certainly does. Graphics in the show are pretty impressive for its time - the CG effects dating from about 35 years ago are surprisingly well executed.

If you're interested in a series which doesn't focus solely on the cold mechanics of the universe but also delves into the evolutionary processes and the amazing interactions behind what we call "life", that traces the history of scientific development told via enacted mini-bios of the key historical players, that contains a wealth of anecdotal tidbits and fascinating historical connections, all presented in the easygoing, personable style of Carl Sagan and backed by wonderful visuals with some majestic music from Jon Vangelis - in short, a beautifully presented and moving account of life, the universe and everything - this is your show :-X

@ fragger and Cosmos.  :-X

Episode 12 Encyclopedia Galactica. Whew!  ???

I had a chance to go to college many years after graduating High School and was in their Media Program when Cosmos aired.  I was able to provide my humble services to the program's director by actually getting to stay late and hang out while recording and watching the episodes as they ticked off so that he didn't have to do it.

I've always seen the Cosmos series' overall production quality as a tour de force.

Cool little story mandru :-D

Episode 12 is the next one up for me, will watch when I get home from w@&k later 8)

I totally agree about the production values but what also really strikes me is the overall character of the show, it's uplifting.

Incidentally, the version of Cosmos I bought has updates at the end of most episodes that were recorded many years later, still with Sagan narrating and each just a few minutes long, in which he discusses a point or two from the preceding episode which may have either been proven incorrect since the show was made or have been altered by more recent evidence. Sagan passed away in 1996 so these updates are still over 16 years old today. They're nice little additions to the original episodes :-X

EDIT: Oops - I let a dirty four-letter word slip back there in the second sentence. It won't happen again, I promise... 8-X

You guys see TV shows and movies we never heard of and will never see, SABC top brass getting to a high salary and expense accounts for them to afford to bring in decent stuff. SABC have three stations SABC 1(soccer and soccer), SABC 2 local productions available in nine of the eleven official languages English and Afrikaans excluded, SABC 3 during the day until 7pm soapies like B&B and All My Children, only after 7pm news and till 11pm on some evenings we might see something they haven't screened before, during weekends they ship movies around from one station to the other and then back again just in case you missed it, a while ago they screened TJ Hooker and The A Team again, lately it's MacGyver again    :'(

Bloody hell, didn't they acquire any shows after 1986? ??? :D

We have about 16 free-to-air stations, but that doesn't mean we get quality programming. If one is not into sports, "reality" drivel, witless sitcoms, CSI-style dramas or talent shows scouting for The Next Big Flash-In-The-Pan, there's not much left to choose from. There is one channel that shows lots of old TV shows and classic movies but having one's eardrums assailed by banks of infuriating commercials every few minutes tends to detract somewhat from any entertainment value one might otherwise extract, so this one doesn't bother.

I love documentaries, but I live in faint hope of ever seeing very many on TV, being as they are apparently outside of the lowest common denominator paradigm. Once in a blue moon a David Attenborough doc might appear, or one of Billy Connolly's travelogue series, but even then the interminable commercial breaks do the televisual equivalent of farting in the viewer's face every few minutes.

Thank heavens for DVDs :-()

...and even DVDs are starting to show adverts in the middle of the new release previews...

SABC's schedule for Friday evening........ :'(

Spoiler

SABC 1
18:00   Bold And The Beautiful - 2012 (Eps 5994-6
18:30   Jam Alley S26 Local Documentary in all languages except English/Afrikaans
19:00   My Perfect Family S2 Local Serial in all languages except English/Afrikaans
19:30   Zulu News 2012
20:00   Generations S21 "SABC 1?s popular soap also now repeats on SABC 3. Local
Series  in all languages except English/Afrikaans
20:30   Tshisa S3(Have no Idea)
21:00   LIVE (Have no idea what it is)
22:00   FOREIGN MOVIE
   
SABC 2
18:00   Voetspore S3 A local nature program

18:30   7de Laan S13 Local Serial
19:00   Nuus(News)
19:30   Lerieke Raai (A local Afrikaans musical program just starting)
20:30   Setswana/sotho Daily actuality news reports from around the world and locally
21:00   Mokgonyana Mmatswale (have no idea)
21:30   Powerball Inserts (Lotto)
21:34   Mmalonya S1(another program in black language)
22:00   Paralympics

SABC 3
18:30   Little Mosque On The Prairie S1
19:00   News @ 7
At 19:00 is the main bulletin of the day.
19:30   Isidingo S15 A daily SA serial which is set in a mining village.
20:00   Chuck S3
21:00   Run's House S5
21:30   Real Housewives Of New Jersey, The S1
22:30   Sportwrap 2012

whenever I see actual TV somewhere I glance at it, see either a news anchor (don't they all look the same), commercials, or some kind of yucky program I don't want to know what it is or, finally, some old series/films they have been airing for the last three decades.

Then I turn away and think to myself what a happy life one can lead without any TV. And, for that matter, without any radio, too.

^-^

It was way back in the 70's - 80's that I noticed that Friday nights have always suffered from a lack of good programming content.  Probably a truism no matter where you go.

I always took it as a death knell when a show or series I was enjoying was kicked to a time slot on Friday evenings.  :-\\

I wonder if it's because the execs who set up the program scheduling think that most people have other things going on so they have a free hand to take that opportunity to either dump their well sponsored but least watchable shows or to intentionally drive down the numbers of a show's existing viewers so that there is a lot less squawking from the public when it hits the chopping block.  :-\\

My guess is those assholes have their pockets lined too well to worry what's on TV, they not watching it anyway  >:((

In 2009, the cash-strapped SABC got a R1.47 billion bailout from the government after it reported a R910m loss in the same year and the government gave the loan under strict conditions...... ???
The SABC board is investigating its group chief executive Lulama Mokhobo and chief financial officer Gugu Duda for allegedly authorising the spending of R3 million on the controversial ICT indaba, organised by the Communications Department, she was axed because of that............ :-(

Then this joker Phil Molefe was made acting CEO for about a year and hoping it will be permanent...
There are stories going around that the SABC board will pay Phil Molefe R7-million.
He didn't get the job.............. :-\\

Instead, this joker Solly Mokoetle got the CEO job...........

The New Age newspaper reported on Thursday that Embattled former SABC CEO Solly Mokoetle was "laughing all the way to the bank after securing a massive golden handshake to leave the corporation", following Wednesday's announcement he had stepped down.
It said lawyers representing him agreed on the settlement, believed to be around R30 million....... :o

effin' hell.  :D

Quote from: fragger on April 23, 2012, 03:42:38 AM
...The really scary thing about broadcast television is that it's being broadcast not just around the world but out into space in all directions...are now over 60 light-years away and expanding bubble-like in all directions. Which means that Lucille Ball and Howdy Doody are just two of humanity's ambassadors to the stars...Maybe there's a good reason why intelligent aliens haven't made contact with us yet - they've watched our television shows and they think we're nuts...

:laugh: that's why I like Galaxy Quest and there have been a couple of SF novels based around that idea too  :-X

Other than the game, no one has mentioned The Walking Dead TV series yet...at least I don't think so. I got to watch the first season last year whilst season two was about to air in the US.

Wow, what a great series it is shaping into! I knew Andrew Lincoln from another programme he did some years ago called Teachers - a comedy of sorts; so quite different from this new role and I must say, I'm very impressed with how he handled this too.

It's a post apocalyse zombie scenario, but one that has made the genre more accessible for everyone. It has a very human story that isn't focused on solely hunting the undead down, or tough-nut teams who specialise in this kind of thing. A lot of thought has been put into the story itself, its cinematic presentation and a myriad of little details that make the atmosphere so plausible - touches like mouldy bread left on the baking trays of an office canteen; or zombies that just sit and wait in busses (no matter that they're burnt out) because it's what's familiar to them.

There is genuine human dignity and pathos shown for the zombies in this too - they are after all victims of circumstances beyond their control and Andrew Lincoln's character a small town Deputy Sherrif, takes it upon himself to remind other of that; even performing mercy killings when necessary. I will say here that it is a necessarily gory series, with plenty of no compromises camera w@&k. I'm glad they didn't clean that up or tone the imagery down to a 'perceived level of decency' for gore that the networks feel the public might comfortably be persuaded to endure.

So that was the first series: six episodes culminating in some fairly tense situations and that panicky kind of action that's tense and has you feeling that it could all fall apart at any second - good stuff therefore. Yesterday we got season two (a bit short of cash lately, so we had to wait until the price had dropped...)

So, five episodes of thirteen watched already...

The pace has altered and the story is developing a few diverse threads, some of which are carrying on from season one while the rest appear as the main story moves forward. No spoilers but some are damn uncomfortable moments - just people being people really, but powerful reminders all the same.

So far, tension has been the main and over-riding feeling throughout the atmosphere, rather than the constant fear and desperation from the first series. The episodes have had the tranquility of nature to them, yet you always feel the threat of what might happen hidden under the surrounding insect buzz.

Really enjoying it still and I'm curious as to where the rest of the series will take us and of course, series three is now airing...

Really going to have to get that game now.

I haven't actually heard of that series, I'll have to give it a look-see. Sounds like a refreshingly different take on the zombie theme :-X

That it is Fragger - I hope you enjoy  :)

Here's a little known Scottish series that's just started its third season: Burnistoun.

I found out about this after the first series had aired and the following sketch got onto YouTube. It's basically all you need to know - it got me watching it.

Burnistoun - Voice Recognition Elevator in Scotland (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAz_UvnUeuU#ws)

hehehe  :-D

Quote from: Jim di Griz on September 15, 2012, 10:46:42 AM
That it is Fragger - I hope you enjoy  :)

Here's a little known Scottish series that's just started its third season: Burnistoun.

I found out about this after the first series had aired and the following sketch got onto YouTube. It's basically all you need to know - it got me watching it.

Really enjoyed that, cheers :)

Funny stuff, good one :laugh:

 :) Always a pleasure to share. Sad thing is, not long after posting that, the Burnistoun FaceBook page announced that series three would be the end of it all...

I just got the whole Babylon 5 works in a boxed set from ebay Oz, which includes all seasons plus ALL the movies plus the Crusade series, the lot for AUS$139.95.

[smg id=4798 width=600]

I've seen very little of this series in the past (what I have seen really intrigued me, even though it was in the middle of the run so I didn't get a lot of what was going on) and I've seen none of the films, but according to an online B5 aficionado the whole w@&k is best watched in this order:

----------------------------------------
1. Watch the B5 movie "The Gathering"
(The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show).
2. Season 1
3. Season 2
4. Season 3
5. Watch Season 4 up to episode "The illusion of truth"
6. Watch the B5 movie "Thirdspace"
7. Season 4: continue with episodes 9-22
8. Watch Season 5 up to episode "Objects at Rest"
9. Watch the B5 movie "River of Souls"
10. Watch the B5 movie "In the Beginning"
(This is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5. Against the logic of the title, I would strongly recommend seeing it at this stage. Should one see it before Season 1, much of the suspense in the main series would be ruined).
11. Watch the B5 movie "A Call to Arms"
(This movie lays the groundwork for the spin-off TV series "Crusade").
12. Watch the B5 movie "The Lost Tales"
13. Watch the B5 movie "The Legend of the Rangers"
14. Season 5: watch final episode "Sleeping in light"
15. Watch Crusade Series

The question which is debated in several other reviews is: Despite the release dates of the material produced, in what order should it be seen? In particular, if the viewer is a total newcomer to the series. The above is an attempt to give some structure to great content so it is more enjoyable as a complete w@&k.
----------------------------------------

May I ask what B5 fans' thoughts are on this?

I dont think I ever watched a full episode of the series, but you got a helluva bargain there !  :-X

Seller was within Oz too, so it arrived just three days after I ordered it :-X

Cool, I have to say I always had good experiences with EBAY. :)

I'm quite enjoying B5. I'd heard that the first season is a little clunky while the production was finding its feet before it begins to smooth out during season 2 (where I am now). There are some great-looking visuals considering that this show was made almost right at the dawn of CG (and on an Amiga-based system!) and they just get better as the show progresses. But mostly I like the unfolding story which has lots of interwoven arcs that thread through the entire series and were obviously well thought out from the beginning, unlike Lost (the only other TV series I've watched in recent years) which I'm sure the writers were making up as they went along during the last few seasons.

I'm glad I got the whole thing on DVD as opposed to watching it on TV as I can better appreciate the coherency of the interwoven story by watching multiple episodes back-to-back (the expression in that context should really be "back-to-front" but then it sounds as though I'm watching it in reverse order :-())

Cool show, a little corny and silly on occasion but overall a pretty slick production, entertaining and surprisingly engrossing :-X

Our first car was called Kosh and our second, Delenn. It's a fine series alright and you do get past the total CGI experience as the plot and entwined tales snare you.

The next two cars though were named after characters from another series. I'll let you guess: The Major and Batou.

Fragger, I got the entire B5 collection one box at a time back then and I loved it. I too have the movies but I skipped the Crusade series.

As you said, I agree, the first season is not as good as the rest, a bit amateurish even, but nevertheless quite amusing and well worth watching. After that, it goes on really smoothly and I admire the quality of its visuals (let alone the make-up) both on stage and CGI, everything considered.

It is probably the best SF series I know.  :-X :)

 :)

It gets better and better as it goes along :-X

Just watched Dead Set again, forgot to mention it in the list of good series out there.

Written by Charlie Brooker, a comedian and an ascerbic hater of human society in general does commentary on how useless TV has become - an example: Charlie Brooker on My Sweet 16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b7mwTK564o#)

With such a background, he wrote a script for a zombie apocalypse outbreak set during a Big Brother season :) He really went to town and enjoyed himself with his wry social commentary about how worthwhile everything in society really is. Here's his commentary on Celebrity Big Brother from 2007: Screen Wipe - Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trcA4r41OL8#)

So with that in mind, here's the trailer for the TV series he wrote:
Dead Set | Trailer | E4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQjq639WPiU#ws)

Anyway, it's on DVD now.

no matter what, whenever I see something TV-related (not counting films) I can't stand it. Even a short while is already enough to make me want to puke. TV makes my brains melt, so I better stay away from it which I have for well more than a decade now :)

Same here Art, which is why I only watch stuff on DVD. I don't dare even trying to watch anything like Bog Brother (no, that's not a typo) because I know I'd put my foot through the screen within the first minute and I might hurt myself doing so.

But those commentaries from Charlie Brooker are a riot :-D And I couldn't agree more with everything he said, especially about that despicable little twerp in the first clip. Best argument for the legalisation of abortion yet ::)

Yeah, Charlie Brooker feels pretty much the same way about TV which is why he's so much fun for folks like us. Most of his Screen Wipe programmes are UK programming specific, but as you see he does other stuff too.

That's why the Dead Set story is great, it just takes those elements and runs with it, asking all the while: would any of these types actually survive in real life? It is more of a dark satire than comedy.

I've watched all of Babylon 5 and I really enjoyed it despite an occasional silly episode, mainly in Season 1. I like a series that is ongoing with lots of interwoven story arcs and ever-evolving characters, and which actually goes somewhere with a beginning, middle and end. I watched all the B5 movies as well but except for The Gathering and In The Beginning I thought they were somewhat superfluous. Great show in total though, will definitely watch it all again sometime.

I've also been watching Battlestar Galactica (the newer version, not the corny original series, which I like to call "Bonanza In Outer Space"). I'm quite enjoying it, a somewhat grittier and way more character-driven affair than its predecessor, although the society it presents is a bit too much like Modern America projected among the stars considering the fact that it's supposed to be a parallel human civilization far removed from Earth (people wearing contemporary western-style clothing and speaking with American speech patterns, and so on). Considering that Earth is regarded as a kind of hoary legend to the characters in the series (a largely mythical "thirteenth colony"), it would have been nice if this far-flung brother race which has never had any contact with the people of Earth had been depicted as having a totally different sense of aesthetics, politics, fashion and social affectations from us, but there you are. Still, it's not half bad, with an unfolding storyline, lots of plot arcs and the like.

Bab 5 is the more entertaining production of the two though, for me anyway.

those are my favourites and in that order  :) :-X

Yeah, I almost stopped watching BSG the remake when they flashed back to Starbuck and Adama at the time of Zack's funeral...there were Humvees everywhere.

A small quibble, I know but it was endemic of that whole using what is familiar to make the viewers feel comfortable with the material. It's an executive thing to ensure more people, ie: non-SF fans can pick up and watch it. Star Trek: Next Generation at least tried to use props from other parts of the world.

Ten months later, I gave it another go and am glad that I did. Third series starts to really kick off  :-X

In the end though, I prefered the original's approach to what Earth meant and how it was percieved. I never actually saw the end of Bonanza in Space  ^-^ so I don't know where in Earth's timeline that the Galactica finally found Earth. I do know it was either current or sometime in the future due to one episode having the "One small step for Man..." sound byte at the end. I'm also guessing that Earth was sufficiently advanced enough to help stop the Cylons still on their tail.

So I'm with you on that fragger, language and societal development should have been far more diverse. Names from Greek mythology are all fine and believeable, the rest is stretching things too far.

Having said all of that, the series is overall a very good one with very fallible characters that adds a good dynamics kind of sense to it all.

Quote from: Jim di Griz on April 20, 2013, 08:40:29 AM
...I don't know where in Earth's timeline that the Galactica finally found Earth. I do know it was either current or sometime in the future due to one episode having the "One small step for Man..." sound byte at the end. I'm also guessing that Earth was sufficiently advanced enough to help stop the Cylons still on their tail.

You're right Jim, in the original series Galactica finally reached Earth relatively present day (for when the series was made). I do remember that the producers ripped off a lot of footage from the movie Earthquake (same studio, Universal) and matted Cylon fighters into the scenes to make it look like they were shooting the buildings and knocking them down ::) I don't remember much more than that, though.

I'm still in season 1 at this point, but I will probably watch all of it :-X

The new Galactica series ends before they reach Earth.

Fragger, I recommend the pilot film to the new series, Battlestar Galactica, which is a masterpiece of about three hours. It was made as a mini series of 10 episodes but is available on disc in one solid piece without interjections.  :)

Thanks for the heads up on Brooker, never heard of him until now tbh :)

Looking at the Big Brother bit, I seem to remember the Jade Goody incident, I think Jade went in basically to build up her media presence to help launch a perfume range uner her own name, but because of the racism incident, nobody bought it....hence the tears she was leaking all over the set in the final segment :)

lol, I find the mere thought ridiculous to think someone wanted to buy a perfume so they'd smell like a Big Brother candidate.

Quote from: Art Blade on April 21, 2013, 03:30:29 AM
The new Galactica series ends before they reach Earth.

Fragger, I recommend the pilot film to the new series, Battlestar Galactica, which is a masterpiece of about three hours. It was made as a mini series of 10 episodes but is available on disc in one solid piece without interjections.  :)

Are we sure of that  ;) I'm saying no more in view of possible spoilers though.

Yeah, the pilot is good as is Razor one of the two films looking at the BSG situation from another angle, a bit like the Babylon 5 films did.

That first episode though: 33 was so strong.

Quote from: Fiach on April 21, 2013, 03:31:36 AM
Thanks for the heads up on Brooker, never heard of him until now tbh :)

Always a pleasure. He was a comedian first but I think he got sidetracked by TV criticism and now is more involved with writing TV.

Quote from: Art Blade on April 21, 2013, 04:54:38 AM
lol, I find the mere thought ridiculous to think someone wanted to buy a perfume so they'd smell like a Big Brother candidate.

I think you have underestimated the amount of Chavs in the UK  ^-^ they love that kind of s#!t...

Indeed, I forgot about those chavvers  :-D I'm just so bloody glad I'm not one of them.

Council House And Violent :)

 :)

Just got my hands on the irst two seasons of A Game Of Thrones. Third season is airing now.

I was a bit skeptical about it at first. Too much hype usually means made for the masses but I was wrong. I feared it could be too much on the same lines as Lord of the Rings with knights, dwarfs, monstruous creatures, elfs..... but no... well, actually, there's knights... and a dwarf too, but only one so far and... oh, wait... dragons too... but no elfs!!  ::) ... but it's nothing like LOTR. The story is much less fantastic and made for an adult audience. Characters have a good backstory and it took me several episodes and wiki searchs to understand all the houses and relationships and what happened before the story start to be told.

I'm following closely all the characters and the interwoven stories with great joy. It seems it can span a few more seasons with good entertainment.

Good television for a change!  :-X

I was up quite early this morning and to kill some time, I turned on the TV and wound up watching ITV4, crikey what an awesome channel, very few adverts, but the programmes are all old ITV programmes from the 70's, The Proffessionals, The Saint, The Sweeney, Minder etc.

But they even have old soccer matches in The Big Match Revisited, it was pretty amazing watching Chelsea playing with Osgood and Bonetti and it was amazing looking at the conditions in which the played, there was a couple of inches of snow, all the pitch lines had to be dug out of the snow and they played with an orange ball.

Good times, now I'm off to the Bay City Roller convention :)

The Professionals- 70s (Full) Theme Tune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH7VFJjDhVU#)

The Sweeney - opening theme - intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D99O6oTJVHo#)

Minder Theme (full) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNRkwNC9Ms4#)

The Saint TV intro (1962-69) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRlbmV39Zhw#)

and of course a tongue in cheek lol :)

Bay City Rollers - Bye Bye Baby (HQ) |Christmas TOTP '75| (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x50AwAX21xg#)

Just got to love The Sweeney I always used to point folks who were fans of Morse at that, to show them how John Thaw used to be  :)

I'm refusing to watch the film remake on principle  ^-^ you can't replace Jack Regan! Or Detective Carter...

Quote from: Jim di Griz on April 22, 2013, 01:21:56 AM
Just got to love The Sweeney I always used to point folks who were fans of Morse at that, to show them how John Thaw used to be  :)

I'm refusing to watch the film remake on principle  ^-^ you can't replace Jack Regan! Or Detective Carter...

The movie isn't too bad, it does retain the hard-a$$ atmosphere and the guy who plays Carter does do it well, Ray basically plays Ray, but he carries it off well enough, with a nice nod to Scum during the film.

The worst part is the love affair between Regan and a totally hot and incredibly younger chich, it's just not believeable and it's pretty core to the storyline.

Have a couple of pints and watch it, its not too bad :)

Quote from: Art Blade on April 21, 2013, 03:30:29 AM
Fragger, I recommend the pilot film to the new series, Battlestar Galactica...

Cheers mate, but I already learned about that the hard way. I picked up Season one, put disk #1 into the player, selected Episode 1 (called "33"), and the first thing I heard was, "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..." !? So I stopped it. Checked my selection: Season one, check... Disk one, check... Episode one, check... Play... "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..." WTF? Did I miss something? Yep, I did - the whole bloody pilot miniseries! So then I had to go and order that...

Quote from: Jim di Griz on April 22, 2013, 01:21:56 AM
I'm refusing to watch the film remake on principle  ^-^ you can't replace Jack Regan! Or Detective Carter...

I haven't seen that remake and have no desire to. Thaw will always be Regan and Waterman will always be Carter for me 8)

The Sweeney was recently re-run here - on the same channel right after Inspector Morse! Talk about a before and after - or should that be an after and before? :-()

Great show The Sweeney, I've always been a fan of that one :-X

The Saint is one of my all time favorites  :-X

In The Flesh (BBC 3 part mini series)

The premise is that, there was a zombie outbreak, but they now have a cure for the Previously-Deceased, which entails the administration of a drug every day.
The zombies have been rounded up and treated, then given rehabilitation therapy to re-integrate them back into their previous communities.

The problem is that, the communities are very angry and bitter from the losses of family members and lack of government help in combatting the zombies, causing militas to be formed.

The story centres around one such zombie, who's sister is also a member of one of the militasBloody good stuff.

Ah, it's out already...

I think it was your good self who mentioned this series a while ago, so I went looking for trailers. It does look interesting. I'll have to see if it's up on iPlayer yet  :-X

Quote from: Art Blade on April 21, 2013, 03:30:29 AM
The new Galactica series ends before they reach Earth.

Actually, it doesn't - they do reach Earth.

Did you watch the whole series? The final season, #4, is in two parts. You didn't miss Part 2 by any chance, did you?

feck.

I just checked. I have Season 1, 2.1+2.2, 3, 4 and "the final season" (which would be 4.2). It appears that watching the three-hour pilot film more than once and more recently than the series has blurred my memory with regards of how the series ends.

So I think I remembered the wrong bit, the end of the pilot:

Spoiler

After they had gathered all civilian ships and jumped out of the cylons' reach, commander Adama (senior) gives an inspiring speech, later the president and he have a private chat and he reveals to her that the secret "only known to the fleet command" (where Earth is) was a lie to give the crew hope.

 :)

Excellent show, way better than I was expecting :-X Perfect casting, great performances, very high production values, fantastic visuals, and lots of neat twists. Despite my minor gripes with it, I enjoyed it very much and will definitely watch it again sometime.

I loved Baltar for his undeniable British origins and all the snobbish comments that arose out of that background :laugh: :-X

James Gordon, the name ring a bell?  No?

Tonight Fox TV is launching a new series that from what I've been able to discern from the promotional commercial spots has a very high production quality.  Quality so high in fact I first thought it was a movie that was being released.  I don't go to new movies.  Rather I await their release on DVD or BluRay so I'd probably seen the ads fifteen or possibly more times before it sank in that it was going to be a TV series.

I've not watched a series on TV in over 15 years but this one has put a hook in me that is crumbling my resolve.



A quick description:

A young detective transfers into a city that has a reputation for being very rough on anyone in that field of w@&k who's an honest man.  His first night out in the field he's called to investigate a shooting.  When he arrives at the scene two bodies are covered with sheets in an alleyway.  A young boy sits alone nearby on the metal stairs of a loading dock wrapped in a blanket shivering from shock and the cold rain.

The detective asks the boy his name then says "My name is James Gordon and I swear to you I will find the man who did this.  You have just one job and that's to be strong! "

Oh yeah, by the way the boy's name was Bruce Wayne.  Now does the name Gordon sound familiar?



A too familiar story domain seen through an entirely different set of eyes with a whole new spectrum of really bad guys instead of the tired old clichés.  Whew!  Talk about a hook.

Wait a sec... Villains at the start of this story (set quite a long ago) are the new ones, while the familiar modern day bad guys are the old tired ones?  ????  At times like this I am painfully aware that English falls terribly short when it comes to being able to cope with time travel and related subjects.  :-D


Edit additional: I neglected to say that the series is named Gotham.

thanks for the edit. NOW it starts to make sense  :-()

Sounds interesting, haven't seen anything about that one here yet. Possibly one of the networks here is sitting on it until the start of the next ratings period.

Quote from: fragger on September 22, 2014, 05:09:32 PMthe next ratings period.

for some reason I read "rantings" instead of "ratings."  :laugh:

Sorry no rant here.  Well maybe a minor one but I'll toss it on the end.  :-D

I watched the first episode of Gotham and as  I'd gathered from the trailers the production quality was consistent throughout the episode.  The various actors portrayed their roles solidly and there was not a moment of cheesiness.  Yes that's a technical term.  ;)

I will not leak any spoilers on key content.  That is other than one particular observation (unresolved as to how it fits in to the storyline but I was very touched by the significance behind this detail ) the undetected sole witness to the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents and Bruce's scream of grief and realization was someone with a deep soft spot for lost and abandoned kittens.  The preview for the next episode showed that sole witness (though they had vanished after the murder scene for the rest of the entire episode) they have found their way to Wayne manor and is seen (by the viewer) sizing things up from atop the stone buttresses of the front gate.

Though the concept for this series is something that happened thirty or so odd years in the past (or even longer if you run the clock back on the original Batman comic) the producers have decided to set it in modern time where everyone has cellphones so it is definitely not a retro period piece but that was not as disturbing as I'd initially first thought it might be.  We know what this story arc leads up to but it is forging through previously uncharted territory and it really appears that it's going to be quite a ride.

I don't know if it was because it was the first episode and they had to pack a lot into the hour to establish the overall feel of the city, the plot foundations, tone and storyline tension (which they achieved very convincingly) but I noticed that none of the commercial breaks exceeded three 60 second ads which for me was a bit tough as I couldn't sneak out for a quick smoke.

I tried to convince Mrs. mandru to wait until it came out on BluRay to watch the rest of it so that we could pause it, pick it apart, discuss what has just happened and resume when ready (like when I come back in from outside  :angel: ).

But she is too solidly hooked and isn't having any of that.  ::)

It's on against Big Bang Theory, so they must have confidence in it, as BBT is very popular considering they are paying the cast upwards of 5 million PER EPISODE, and that's just the cast salary. Three million for the three main stars and I expect the rest of the cast are making enough to cover the rest, don't know for sure. But at least 4 million anyway.

Didn't watch it though, and it seems the networks have crammed all the good shows on Monday night for some reason, so some will be skipped. Or wait for reruns. Scorpion against Sleepy Hollow, for instance.

I don't know if international viewers are blocked but fox.com has the option to watch full episodes of Gotham as well as other current series on Fox at no charge.

Gotham episode 2 had a few cheesier moments but not distractingly bad. Production quality is still high though the commercial slots are a bit longer than were allowed in episode 1 which would be good for me to slip out for on a smoke break when needed.

But Mrs. mandru's become so enthralled that she wants me to spend the ad slot time explaining details in the plot that have eluded her or she has questions about because she has zero personal data base on the Batman legacy to draw from.  ::)

:)

They just started advertising this on telly here in the last few days with a "Coming Soon". No doubt that means when the next ratings season begins.