This Old Neon Forum

I also just started watching "Man in the High Castle" on Amazon Prime. Pretty interesting show so far. The sets are really well done!

Lots of catching up to do in this thread. Here's some of what I've watched:

The Knick (Season 2) - Finale season. I think this improved on the first season by adding some mystery and some antagonism. I was very satisfied by where the show left the characters in the end—lots of open paths and bright new futures as well as closure for some.

Narcos (Season 1) - This is the only season available right now, currently on Netflix. It was up for a couple of Emmy awards this year. It was pretty good. It didn't blow my socks off, but it was pretty good. Strong portrayal of Escobar. Plus Pedro Pascal is great in it. It doesn't tell the whole story; there's going to be another season, but I can't see how they could do more than that unless they shift the focus to another drug lord.

Show Me a Hero - This is an HBO mini-series starring Oscar Isaac, written by David Simon (creator of The Wire). It's based on a true story, basically following an ongoing feud in municipal politics in New York from 1987-1994. So it's an interesting period piece. It's quite well written and somewhat rueful in tone (and it uses a ton of Bruce Springsteen in the soundtrack), and it's neat to see a political drama that's not federal/international in focus.

House of Cards (Season 4) - This was a weird season. In many ways, it was better than season 3—there was more conflict and action that seemed to directly affect and involve the characters—, but in other ways it was somewhat annoying. I didn't like what they did with a couple of the characters, and in what seems to be becoming a once-per-season tradition for House of Cards, there was one thing that really stuck out as a "this would never happen" moment.

Daredevil (Season 2) - I think this was the strongest season yet in Marvel's entire TV stable. One of the weaknesses of the first season was that it was more about Wilson Fisk than Daredevil. One of the things I liked about this season is that Daredevil was more of a fully-formed badass. The Punisher also has a story arc in this, and I won't hesitate to say that he's the best version of the Punisher that has ever been put to screen. Elektra is also in this season, and I'm not generally a huge fan, but this show somehow managed to do her justice. There are some nice spoilery twists that I won't mention. I enjoyed it a lot.

Jessica Jones (Season 1) - After finishing up Daredevil, I finally convinced myself to go back and watch this, knowing that it would be thematically unpleasant. Rape, abuse, stalking, harassment, the impacts on survivors, and the disingenuous prevarication of perpetrators are all prominent issues explored in Jones's story. The main villain is a literal rapist, but also a metaphor for the kind of scumbags who put forth the appearance of thinking they've done nothing wrong and/or try to justify or rehabilitate their own actions. Villain aside, Jones herself isn't very likable, but this is something I actually really like about her character, and I appreciate that they've managed to write a different sort of female character—especially a leading protagonist—that doesn't give the viewer a lot of emotional leeway. She's well-rounded in a way that's hard to do in a 13-episode in medias res TV series. Plus Luke Cage is great.

I've just started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. Mrs. Kong got a 2-episode head start on me, but I've caught up now. So far so good. The '80s aesthetic crumbles at points, but it's usually pretty immersive. And each episode seems jam-packed so far, which I kind of like and kind of don't like, but we'll see how they sustain it.

Kong Wen wrote:I've just started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. Mrs. Kong got a 2-episode head start on me, but I've caught up now. So far so good. The '80s aesthetic crumbles at points, but it's usually pretty immersive. And each episode seems jam-packed so far, which I kind of like and kind of don't like, but we'll see how they sustain it.

It feels like it very easily could have been 9 or even 10 episodes, but the pace definitely evens out after the first act.

We finished watching it last night. It's by no means perfect, but any niggles I have never impede on my suspension of disbelief. I was generally fully immersed.

The actor who plays Elle is a stunning new talent. She steals every scene she's in.

We did end up finishing Stranger Things. After we got to episode 3, we watched the entire rest of the series in one sitting the next day. Great show.

Bro-in-law and I have also been watching Game of Thrones from the start, since he hasn't seen any of it. We finished Season 2 last night. There are a lot of scenes that are revelatory with the benefit of hindsight. It becomes more and more obvious that at least the opening two seasons are largely setup and foreshadowing for the conclusion. Anyway, we're coming up to Season 3 now, which marks the beginning of an excellent 2-season Hound & Arya adventure.

Kong Wen wrote:We did end up finishing Stranger Things. After we got to episode 3, we watched the entire rest of the series in one sitting the next day. Great show.

Bro-in-law and I have also been watching Game of Thrones from the start, since he hasn't seen any of it. We finished Season 2 last night. There are a lot of scenes that are revelatory with the benefit of hindsight. It becomes more and more obvious that at least the opening two seasons are largely setup and foreshadowing for the conclusion. Anyway, we're coming up to Season 3 now, which marks the beginning of an excellent 2-season Hound & Arya adventure.

Interestingly either Global or CTV was playing the first season of Game of Thrones uncut a couple weeks back. I watched a few episodes here and there. It's crazy how much book dialogue is in season 1!

After hearing everyone talk about it I also watched Stranger Things.

Spoiler

Up until the last 10 minutes or so I actually didn't know what they would cover in season 2. Unlike a lot of other shows, this season really felt like its own story with a beginning middle and end, which was cool to see.

Halt and Catch Fire has started up again on AMC. It's a bit of an acquired taste but it's basically, early 80s show about the early days of computers. The characters and companies are made up but all sort of reference and parallel real companies.

Season 1 and 2 I think are on Netflix, each has it's own feel, there is some vague underlying momentum but the seasons tend to be somewhat unrelated on their major plot lines.

RamenJunkie wrote:Halt and Catch Fire has started up again on AMC. It's a bit of an acquired taste but it's basically, early 80s show about the early days of computers. The characters and companies are made up but all sort of reference and parallel real companies.

Season 1 and 2 I think are on Netflix, each has it's own feel, there is some vague underlying momentum but the seasons tend to be somewhat unrelated on their major plot lines.

I watched all of season 1, but then never started season 2. Should I get back into this show? I enjoyed the first season, but I never found it gripping.

Kreegs wrote:

RamenJunkie wrote:Halt and Catch Fire has started up again on AMC. It's a bit of an acquired taste but it's basically, early 80s show about the early days of computers. The characters and companies are made up but all sort of reference and parallel real companies.

Season 1 and 2 I think are on Netflix, each has it's own feel, there is some vague underlying momentum but the seasons tend to be somewhat unrelated on their major plot lines.

I watched all of season 1, but then never started season 2. Should I get back into this show? I enjoyed the first season, but I never found it gripping.

I kind of liked Season 2 less, but for reasons that I could see people liking it more. S2 started feeling a bit more "mainstream" in style, for lack of a better description. It focuses on Donna and Cameron a lot more than S1 which was more Gordon building a computer. My main complaint is that Cameron started feeling like some sort of super guru of early computing who was responsible for inventing "everything". I think it's more that the show transformed what it saw itself as a bit, which is more apparently now in Season 3. At this point, it's become more pseudo history where the characters become stand ins for a variety of actual people. Like S3, Joe MacMillian has sort of become Steve Jobs+John Mcafee.

RamenJunkie wrote:

Kreegs wrote: I watched all of season 1, but then never started season 2. Should I get back into this show? I enjoyed the first season, but I never found it gripping.

I kind of liked Season 2 less, but for reasons that I could see people liking it more. S2 started feeling a bit more "mainstream" in style, for lack of a better description.

The reviews certainly seem to indicate a mainstream boost in quality/popularity. Season 1 was well received, but most people seem to increasingly like seasons 2-3.

Mrs. Kong and I just started season 2 of Narcos on Friday. It picks up right where it left off, although, historically, there's not much left of Escobar's story (spoiler).