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Post by berkley on Jul 31, 2022 16:02:05 GMT -5
I've been kept away from Stranger Things so far by the idea of the child protagonists and my lack of nostalgia for the 1980s but maybe I should give it a try. I was initially turned off by the idea of the high-school protagonists and setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but ended up liking the show once i gave it a chance.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 2, 2022 5:25:54 GMT -5
I've been kept away from Stranger Things so far by the idea of the child protagonists and my lack of nostalgia for the 1980s but maybe I should give it a try. I was initially turned off by the idea of the high-school protagonists and setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but ended up liking the show once i gave it a chance. I'd say that Stranger Things is...ooh, I dunno...approximately 100 times better that Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of the writing and acting. It really is on a whole other level to that show. The production values are significantly higher too, for what it's worth. Also, I wouldn't say that nostalgia for the 80s is a prerequisite to enjoying Stranger Things: after all, the show is HUGE with "the zoomers", who obviously wouldn't have been alive in that decade. I mean, yes, the show does have fun homaging the era and playing upon lots of 80s pop culture stuff that us Generation X'ers will remember, but it's not the show's main focus (although it is an essential ingredient of its overall flavour, of course). |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2022 9:40:44 GMT -5
I've been kept away from Stranger Things so far by the idea of the child protagonists and my lack of nostalgia for the 1980s but maybe I should give it a try. I was initially turned off by the idea of the high-school protagonists and setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but ended up liking the show once i gave it a chance. I'd say that Stranger Things is...ooh, I dunno...approximately 100 times better that Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of the writing and acting. It really is on a whole other level to that show. The production values are significantly higher too, for what it's worth. Also, I wouldn't say that nostalgia for the 80s is a prerequisite to enjoying Stranger Things: after all, the show is HUGE with "the zoomers", who obviously wouldn't have been alive in that decade. I mean, yes, the show does have fun homaging the era and playing upon lots of 80s pop culture stuff that us Generation X'ers will remember, but it's not the show's main focus (although it is an essential ingredient of its overall flavour, of course). Yeah, it's like watching E.T. today. It's set in the '80s, but that's not what the film is about. I don't think Stranger Things ever made me go "oooh, look, that thing we used way back when"... but it did feel comfortable to see "proper" telephones and kid bikes. That familiarity did buy the show some extra sympathy points, even if it's good enough not to need it. The plot is engaging and the cast is for the most part really good. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 2, 2022 22:41:56 GMT -5
I'd say that Stranger Things is...ooh, I dunno...approximately 100 times better that Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of the writing and acting. It really is on a whole other level to that show. The production values are significantly higher too, for what it's worth. Also, I wouldn't say that nostalgia for the 80s is a prerequisite to enjoying Stranger Things: after all, the show is HUGE with "the zoomers", who obviously wouldn't have been alive in that decade. I mean, yes, the show does have fun homaging the era and playing upon lots of 80s pop culture stuff that us Generation X'ers will remember, but it's not the show's main focus (although it is an essential ingredient of its overall flavour, of course). Yeah, it's like watching E.T. today. It's set in the '80s, but that's not what the film is about. I don't think Stranger Things ever made me go "oooh, look, that thing we used way back when"... but it did feel comfortable to see "proper" telephones and kid bikes. That familiarity did buy the show some extra sympathy points, even if it's good enough not to need it. The plot is engaging and the cast is for the most part really good.
I still feel a little wary of the kid characters, since I often find them intensely annoying in American tv and movies, but I'm thinking of giving the show a look at some point, an idea I had pretty much dismissed up to now.
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Post by berkley on Aug 2, 2022 22:44:12 GMT -5
I've been kept away from Stranger Things so far by the idea of the child protagonists and my lack of nostalgia for the 1980s but maybe I should give it a try. I was initially turned off by the idea of the high-school protagonists and setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but ended up liking the show once i gave it a chance. I'd say that Stranger Things is...ooh, I dunno...approximately 100 times better that Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of the writing and acting. It really is on a whole other level to that show. The production values are significantly higher too, for what it's worth. Also, I wouldn't say that nostalgia for the 80s is a prerequisite to enjoying Stranger Things: after all, the show is HUGE with "the zoomers", who obviously wouldn't have been alive in that decade. I mean, yes, the show does have fun homaging the era and playing upon lots of 80s pop culture stuff that us Generation X'ers will remember, but it's not the show's main focus (although it is an essential ingredient of its overall flavour, of course).
Now, now, let's not exaggerate - I'm sure it can't possibly be more than 99 times better than Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
Seriously, should I take this as an expression of how good you think Stranger Things is or how bad you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer was?
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 3, 2022 4:51:40 GMT -5
Seriously, should I take this as an expression of how good you think Stranger Things is or how bad you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer was? A little from column A, a little from column B.  Joking aside, I really did think BtVS was dire. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 4, 2022 1:31:30 GMT -5
Seriously, should I take this as an expression of how good you think Stranger Things is or how bad you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer was? A little from column A, a little from column B. Joking aside, I really did think BtVS was dire.
That's really interesting - what in particular turned you off? I admit I haven't re-watched any of it since it first aired and have no plans to do so in the immediate future, but I certainly liked it at the time. I do think it's had a bad influence on later genre shows and movies, including the Marvel superhero movies, but I don't blame it for that.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 4, 2022 5:25:45 GMT -5
A little from column A, a little from column B. Joking aside, I really did think BtVS was dire. That's really interesting - what in particular turned you off? I admit I haven't re-watched any of it since it first aired and have no plans to do so in the immediate future, but I certainly liked it at the time. I do think it's had a bad influence on later genre shows and movies, including the Marvel superhero movies, but I don't blame it for that.
Mainly, I just thought it was badly written -- the dialogue, I mean. And really badly acted. The few episodes I watched before deciding it wasn't for me had excruciatingly bad scripting and acting that was either completely wooden or really hammy. I always thought it was a shame because I liked the general concept -- hot chick kicks vampire butt -- but the overall execution was really sub-standard in my opinion. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 5, 2022 0:48:08 GMT -5
That's really interesting - what in particular turned you off? I admit I haven't re-watched any of it since it first aired and have no plans to do so in the immediate future, but I certainly liked it at the time. I do think it's had a bad influence on later genre shows and movies, including the Marvel superhero movies, but I don't blame it for that.
Mainly, I just thought it was badly written -- the dialogue, I mean. And really badly acted. The few episodes I watched before deciding it wasn't for me had excruciatingly bad scripting and acting that was either completely wooden or really hammy. I always thought it was a shame because I liked the general concept -- hot chick kicks vampire butt -- but the overall execution was really sub-standard in my opinion.
Out of curiosity, did you try it back when it originally aired or a few years later? Not to keep belabouring this Buffy thing (and not that I think it was the greatest show ever), just trying to get an accurate picture of where you're coming from.
Getting back to newer tv shows, I just finished season 3 of Braquo, a French police series that ran from (looking it up) 2009 to 2016 - so not as new as I thought. It feels very much like a contemporary show, though. I'd say this is one f the most over the top, high-octane cop shows I've seen - more like a movie than tv in that respect. Very different to the other French cop show I've been watching the last few years, Engrenages (English title Spiral, not a translation of the original title), which seemed more realistic. This one, Braquo, is highly entertaining but I don't think anyone could ever live with the continual stress and trauma the main characters go through, seemingly non-stop: I think they'd be on stress-leave the rest of their lives after about a week of it; or just dead after one of the many shoot-outs. But a great show, if you can keep your suspension of disbelief going. Very cinematic, not only in the sense I mentioned before, but also in the camera work and pacing - the first few episodes of season 2 were particularly remarkable for that, to my eyes. Only one more series to go - apparently there were gaps of 2 to 3 years between the 4 series when they originally aired.
Not sure what my next new/recent series will be, but one thing I've been considering is Sense8 - anyone have thoughts on that one?
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 5, 2022 2:06:24 GMT -5
Mainly, I just thought it was badly written -- the dialogue, I mean. And really badly acted. The few episodes I watched before deciding it wasn't for me had excruciatingly bad scripting and acting that was either completely wooden or really hammy. I always thought it was a shame because I liked the general concept -- hot chick kicks vampire butt -- but the overall execution was really sub-standard in my opinion. Out of curiosity, did you try it back when it originally aired or a few years later? Not to keep belabouring this Buffy thing (and not that I think it was the greatest show ever), just trying to get an accurate picture of where you're coming from.
I tried it when it first aired over here in the UK, which would've been...late 90s, I guess? I had friends who loved the series, but it just left me cold for the reasons mentioned. I wouldn't be interested in seeing it again to give it another try: it's just not good enough. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 5, 2022 11:14:43 GMT -5
My wife has recently discovered "When Calls The Heart" via DVDs from the library. The series has been on the Hallmark Channel for 10 years and has a dedicated fanbase who call themselves "Hearties". My brain, warped by years of Mad magazine in my youth, automatically turns the title into "When Hauls the Cart".
The show presents an idealized version of small-town life in western Canada in the 1910s. It's pleasant enough if you just accept that they all had extensive wardrobes and impeccable grooming without a servant in sight. Everyone is relentlessly good-hearted and appeals to someone's better nature are always successful. Anyone else watch this one?
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 5, 2022 13:59:58 GMT -5
(...) Anyone else watch this one? No, but it sounds like something my partner would like as well. She's really enjoys watching period drama shows, and speaking of Canada, she really liked, say, Wind at My Back and the various Anne of Green Gables mini-series (although I admit, I have a soft spot for those as well, mainly because I recall how much my mom also loved them). More recently, she was really into Sanditon, based on Jane Austen's unfinished novel of the same name. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 5, 2022 18:15:39 GMT -5
Haven't seen When Calls the Heart but looking it up I see that actress Pascale Hutton is in it: she starred a few years ago in a Canadian show I really liked, Arctic Air.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 6, 2022 18:57:25 GMT -5
Midnight Mass on Netflix.
I listened to that while drawing, and it's a pretty good supernatural story with a nice twist; nice in that it's not that surprising when it's revealed, but one wonders why we didn"t get it earlier. (Can't go into details for fear of spoiling things).
What happens when religion seems to actually fulfill its promises? As one would expect, good people keep being good, and bad people keep being bad... and all must realize what they've done in the end.
I really enjoyed it, and am glad it has a solid conclusion rather than an open door to a continuing series.
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Post by berkley on Aug 7, 2022 17:39:41 GMT -5
Midnight Mass on Netflix. I listened to that while drawing, and it's a pretty good supernatural story with a nice twist; nice in that it's not that surprising when it's revealed, but one wonders why we didn"t get it earlier. (Can't go into details for fear of spoiling things). What happens when religion seems to actually fulfill its promises? As one would expect, good people keep being good, and bad people keep being bad... and all must realize what they've done in the end. I really enjoyed it, and am glad it has a solid conclusion rather than an open door to a continuing series. First I heard of this one, might have to give it a look. I see it's filmed in BC but I assume it's an American show, and the story is set somewhere in the USA? |
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