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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 16, 2023 9:32:35 GMT -5
Finished up the second, and apparently last, season of Perry Mason last night. I liked it every bit as much as season one, though it had a major problem in that the major reason for the murder was anachronistic. There were quite a few people who complained about this season, and the series in general, that it was different than classic Perry Mason. But if you want that, why not just watch the old show? And they seem to miss the point that this is Mason very very early in his legal career. They have also complained that this season messes with one of the cardinal tenets of the show...to which I say, good, because that tenet was stupid and unrealistic.
My mother LOVED Perry Mason, both the books and the show. I've never read the books because I don't care for the character (I do love Gardner's other series, Cool & Lam, though). But the point is...my mother loved it. I'd venture that no more than a handful of people under about 45 have any idea who Perry Mason is. The original run of the show ended before I was born and I'm old. The last TV movie aired 30 years ago. So if their are a lot of Mason fans out there they are in at least their 70s and older. And honestly, the show was hokey. Any DA who lost that many trials would lose re-election. And any defense attorney who only defends only people who aren't guilty is going to be starving to death as he works out of his cardboard box office.
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Post by berkley on Jun 16, 2023 16:36:33 GMT -5
Finished up the second, and apparently last, season of Perry Mason last night. I liked it every bit as much as season one, though it had a major problem in that the major reason for the murder was anachronistic. There were quite a few people who complained about this season, and the series in general, that it was different than classic Perry Mason. But if you want that, why not just watch the old show? And they seem to miss the point that this is Mason very very early in his legal career. They have also complained that this season messes with one of the cardinal tenets of the show...to which I say, good, because that tenet was stupid and unrealistic. My mother LOVED Perry Mason, both the books and the show. I've never read the books because I don't care for the character (I do love Gardner's other series, Cool & Lam, though). But the point is...my mother loved it. I'd venture that no more than a handful of people under about 45 have any idea who Perry Mason is. The original run of the show ended before I was born and I'm old. The last TV movie aired 30 years ago. So if their are a lot of Mason fans out there they are in at least their 70s and older. And honestly, the show was hokey. Any DA who lost that many trials would lose re-election. And any defense attorney who only defends only people who aren't guilty is going to be starving to death as he works out of his cardboard box office.
That reminds me, I've been watching a new Quebec show the last few months called Indéfendable in which the protagonists are criminal defence lawyers in Montreal.Too bad it's in French, because I'd be curious to hear what you think of it. Maybe your French-speaking son can try it sometime and give you the low-down. It's available for free streaming on the TVA website (link above), which is how I'm watching it (with the CC turned on so I can read along with the dialogue). |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 16, 2023 16:56:07 GMT -5
Finished up the second, and apparently last, season of Perry Mason last night. I liked it every bit as much as season one, though it had a major problem in that the major reason for the murder was anachronistic. There were quite a few people who complained about this season, and the series in general, that it was different than classic Perry Mason. But if you want that, why not just watch the old show? And they seem to miss the point that this is Mason very very early in his legal career. They have also complained that this season messes with one of the cardinal tenets of the show...to which I say, good, because that tenet was stupid and unrealistic. My mother LOVED Perry Mason, both the books and the show. I've never read the books because I don't care for the character (I do love Gardner's other series, Cool & Lam, though). But the point is...my mother loved it. I'd venture that no more than a handful of people under about 45 have any idea who Perry Mason is. The original run of the show ended before I was born and I'm old. The last TV movie aired 30 years ago. So if their are a lot of Mason fans out there they are in at least their 70s and older. And honestly, the show was hokey. Any DA who lost that many trials would lose re-election. And any defense attorney who only defends only people who aren't guilty is going to be starving to death as he works out of his cardboard box office.
That reminds me, I've been watching a new Quebec show the last few months called Indéfendable in which the protagonists are criminal defence lawyers in Montreal.Too bad it's in French, because I'd be curious to hear what you think of it. Maybe your French-speaking son can try it sometime and give you the low-down. It's available for free streaming on the TVA website (link above), which is how I'm watching it (with the CC turned on so I can read along with the dialogue). I'll give him a heads up, though I don't think he's going to be watching much TV until he finishes up law school. People make fun of him because this lily white boy speaks French with a west African accent. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 21, 2023 3:35:12 GMT -5
Finished up the second, and apparently last, season of Perry Mason last night. (...) Did the same last night. And ... I liked it well enough. As with the first season, though, it seemed to drag out a bit - I mean the mystery aspect could have been resolved much more quickly (something the original TV show, or really any network police/law procedural show would have done in one or two episodes). I think the whole story could have been told in about 5 episodes, and there still would have been room for the goings-on in the private lives of Perry, Della and Paul. Anyway, I did think the way the story resolved for Perry's clients was rather well done (sad, but fitting), while the series has an odd close given what happens to Perry (don't want to spoil it for anyone). In that regard, another season would have been a good thing - the cancellation means there's absolutely no chance of what I would really like to see: at least a season of Paul Drake, occasionally helped by Clara, doing 'jobs' for that guy Perkins while also helping people in the neighborhood out (something like Mosley's Easy Rawlins).
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Post by berkley on Jun 25, 2023 23:38:48 GMT -5
Leaving aside the various Star Trek and Star Wars series, what have been the best science fiction shows of the last 5 or 10 years? I haven't seen anything much lately and I'd like to start on something soon.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 26, 2023 2:34:35 GMT -5
Leaving aside the various Star Trek and Star Wars series, what have been the best science fiction shows of the last 5 or 10 years? I haven't seen anything much lately and I'd like to start on something soon. Depends on what you mean by science fiction; if you're talking about space opera a la Star Trek or Galactica, the only one I've watched that I can recommend (assuming that you haven't already seen it) is The Orville, which pleasantly surprised me - to some extent, it is, or was at the beginning, kind of like TNG peppered with crude humor, but it quickly won me over with really strong and enjoyable stories. There's also Avenue 5 - which I mentioned upthread a while back: it's a straight-up space opera sitcom that I think could have been better but is still very watchable with moments of hilarity (the second season is better than the first).
For more general SF, though, there's Resident Alien, which is incredibly entertaining (Alan Tudyk as the titular alien is absolutely brilliant.) I'd also recommend the dystopian series Station Eleven ( which I mentioned on the preceding page - the trailer is embedded). I just got through watching it recently. It's eight episodes, tells a complete story and is really quite good (a rather well-written, engrossing story - it's an adaptation of a novel - and a really strong cast). Another one that sort of straddles the line between SF and urban fantasy - with a little bit of sticom mixed in - is yet another one I mentioned on the preceding page, Mrs. Davis. It's tone is lighter and more humorous (although the humor is occasionally a bit dark), but it is similarly well-written with a stellar cast - and again, it tells a complete story (also 8 episodes) with a satisfying close. |
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Post by majestic on Jun 26, 2023 5:58:22 GMT -5
I too enjoyed the Orville way more than I thought I would. It feels more like Star Trek TNG except with humor added.
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Post by berkley on Jun 28, 2023 6:02:51 GMT -5
Leaving aside the various Star Trek and Star Wars series, what have been the best science fiction shows of the last 5 or 10 years? I haven't seen anything much lately and I'd like to start on something soon. Depends on what you mean by science fiction; if you're talking about space opera a la Star Trek or Galactica, the only one I've watched that I can recommend (assuming that you haven't already seen it) is The Orville, which pleasantly surprised me - to some extent, it is, or was at the beginning, kind of like TNG peppered with crude humor, but it quickly won me over with really strong and enjoyable stories. There's also Avenue 5 - which I mentioned upthread a while back: it's a straight-up space opera sitcom that I think could have been better but is still very watchable with moments of hilarity (the second season is better than the first).
For more general SF, though, there's Resident Alien, which is incredibly entertaining (Alan Tudyk as the titular alien is absolutely brilliant.) I'd also recommend the dystopian series Station Eleven ( which I mentioned on the preceding page - the trailer is embedded). I just got through watching it recently. It's eight episodes, tells a complete story and is really quite good (a rather well-written, engrossing story - it's an adaptation of a novel - and a really strong cast). Another one that sort of straddles the line between SF and urban fantasy - with a little bit of sticom mixed in - is yet another one I mentioned on the preceding page, Mrs. Davis. It's tone is lighter and more humorous (although the humor is occasionally a bit dark), but it is similarly well-written with a stellar cast - and again, it tells a complete story (also 8 episodes) with a satisfying close.
Thanks, there's a couple there I don't think I've heard of before and a couple I'd forgotten about. I'll definitely try a few of these.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 28, 2023 12:51:15 GMT -5
Leaving aside the various Star Trek and Star Wars series, what have been the best science fiction shows of the last 5 or 10 years? I haven't seen anything much lately and I'd like to start on something soon. hands down. It's science-fiction in its true sense: speculations about how developing science (real, actual science) might affect us... and give us material for great stories! I didn't much care for the stand-alone production that was a sort of "choose your own adventure" experiment in streaming, but the regular seasons were outstanding. *Edit* I was forgetting about the German series Dark, on Netflix. Brilliantly intricate time-travel story that manages to never tie its complicated thread into knots. Highest recommendation for that one. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2023 20:47:38 GMT -5
Warrior Season 3 finally starts June 29. Hands down my favourite tv show....
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Post by berkley on Jul 3, 2023 1:32:49 GMT -5
Warrior Season 3 finally starts June 29. Hands down my favourite tv show....
That's a new one on me, might have to give it a look. The action scenes look pretty high quality, which I find isn't always the case with tv shows of this kind compared to the movies.
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Post by berkley on Jul 3, 2023 1:42:27 GMT -5
Leaving aside the various Star Trek and Star Wars series, what have been the best science fiction shows of the last 5 or 10 years? I haven't seen anything much lately and I'd like to start on something soon. hands down. It's science-fiction in its true sense: speculations about how developing science (real, actual science) might affect us... and give us material for great stories! I didn't much care for the stand-alone production that was a sort of "choose your own adventure" experiment in streaming, but the regular seasons were outstanding. *Edit* I was forgetting about the German series Dark, on Netflix. Brilliantly intricate time-travel story that manages to never tie its complicated thread into knots. Highest recommendation for that one.
Black Mirror definitely high on my list. I've seen a few of the earliest episodes but much to catch up on.
Dark sounds good too. I wonder about German tv sometimes: you don't seem to hear about as many German shows as you'd expect given the size and importance of the country, while there are all kinds of Scandinavian and French series that have become known to English-speaking audiences. Have I simply not heard about them or is it that there aren't as many being sold to UK and North American markets? If so, I wonder why not?
I did watch Pagan Peak (Der Pass) last year, which was the German version of the Sweden/Denmark series the Bridge. And I will watch Dark and probably Kleo and Bad Banks - those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.
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Post by Calidore on Jul 3, 2023 16:52:55 GMT -5
I've heard good things about Dark also. That and The Expanse are probably tops on my free-time watch list. Though since most of my free time is spent on my PS4 (as I tend to prefer active gaming over passive watching), I don't know when I'll get to them.
My most recent watches, both enjoyable, were the French series Les Revenants and the first season of Russian Doll.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 4, 2023 8:04:07 GMT -5
I've heard good things about Dark also. That and The Expanse are probably tops on my free-time watch list. Though since most of my free time is spent on my PS4 (as I tend to prefer active gaming over passive watching), I don't know when I'll get to them. My most recent watches, both enjoyable, were the French series Les Revenants and the first season of Russian Doll. I had forgotten about The Expanse too! It's a very, very good space opera where physics are actually a thing. Excelent world-building all around and characters we quickly grow fond of. As in Galactica, its ships, space stations and other environments have a very authentic-looking "lived in" appearance (I especially like the way ships aren't aerodynamic, since there would be no point to it) and how there is no magical artificial gravity or warp speed. Space travel looks decidedly unpleasant! I love the show's attention to detail, like how bullets going through the hull of a ship leave little glob of molten metal in their wake : The politics of the show are also pretty interesting. As infuriating and self-defeating as today's, unfortunately! |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 25, 2023 15:53:07 GMT -5
I watched Princess of Mars on Tubi earlier this week. That's the film The Asylum produced to ride on the coat-tails of the marketing campaign of the John Carter movie that Disney produced a few years ago, as per the production house's business plan. They make cheap knock-off of big Hollywood productions, with titles like Transmorphers, Cretaceous Park or Almighty Thor. Straight to video (now streaming) stuff.
Oh. my. On the one hand, I'm sure that 10-year old me would have enjoyed that movie had my friends and I watched it on TV. We'd probably have gone out with our little wooden swords made out of plywood and fought imaginary flying spiders and whatnots. On the other hand... well, it's not a very good movie. It's a honest production, make no mistake, but it was clearly shot on a shoestring budget (a shoestring recycled from an old shoe found at the back of an alley).
It did manage to focus on elements of the Burroughs novel, which is welcome. Our hero travels to Mars while his original body remains on Earth, is captured and then adopted by the Tharks, falls for Dejah Thoris, and then saves the atmosphere factory. Much of the plot was evacuated for budgetary reasons, though, keeping things as simple as possible. The ending is the same: our hero is torn from his princess and sent back to Earth, where he awaits the day he will once again get whisked away to the red planet.
The story also incorporates a few useless and sometimes nonsensical things; Carter is now a US sniper in Afghanistan instead of a Civil war veteran, and Mars is not "our" Mars, but another planet far, far away in space that we gave the same name to for no particular reason. (Is that supposed to make the film more believable? That's not gonna do it, believe me!) Travel to said planet is made possible not by undisclosed mystical means as in the novel, but thanks to good old American technology: it is now possible to make a digital copy of a body, and send it where we want; this dopplegänger can even fit on a 16 Gig thumbdrive! The reason Carter is sent to Mars is not explained (it's "exploration", but to what end we don't know), nor is it explained why a bad guy from Afghanistan is also sent after him.
The Tharks have O.K. make-up, but are normal-sized and have the normal number of arms. I'd say that everything from the backgrounds to the costumes to the make-up is pretty decent, considering that it must all been done with ingenuity, imagination and almost no money, but you get what you pay for. The martian landscape seems to be always the same rocky outcropping, shot from different angles; it might be at the end of the studio's parking lot.
Where you most notice how little money went into this is in things like battle scenes. Forget complex swordplay; the actors seem to have been told "hit each other's sword in turn, but not too hard and not too fast! No fancy stuff! Be careful not to hurt each other!" We rarely see more than one blow at a time, with lots of camera cuts. The same thing happens when Carter performs one of his patented long jumps: you see him tense up to jump, there's a cut, and then he obviously drops from a low stool or something. It's not really annoying, actually; it was sort of endearing in its obvious cost-cutting. I think the people working on this are quite good at their job, but there's only so much you can do!
Would I recommend it? Welllllll... it depends what you expect from such a movie. It's certainly an interesting production, in the sense that it illustrates how to shoot such an ambitious story with very little money. There are a few nice moments as well here and there. But overall no, I wouldn't watch it again, nor would I recommend it except in a Mystery Theatre 3000 mindset.
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