The TV Series discussion thread

I'm looking forward to Shogun but it seems like it's releasing one week at a time. I don't like that, so I'll be waiting for a few months.
I remember when that was how series released ;-) Waiting a week for the next exciting installment - I have plenty of things to watch/read so I'm fine with the delay.
 
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Also one of the previous episodes that turns into a manhunt for Vito when they find out he’s gay was kind of wild. Tony was a little measured, after talking with Melfi, but the rest of the reactions were anything but politically correct. I wonder if you could do that episode like that nowadays without causing an uproar.
The Vito story arc was tragic, but a lot of it was about showing the mindset of that particular group (old-school Italians). I don't think it would be any different if they filmed it today.. at least not on HBO.
 
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The Sopranos was breaking ground because it was one of the earliest shows to try and deconstruct homophobia. It would get a pass as far as that goes.

Showing a hate crime homicide in such an on the nose way, no matter how realistic it would be for an Italian mafia setting, I think that's where the woke rage would scream wild nowadays.
 
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We just finished Death and Other Details on Hulu last night (episodes have landed weekly and last one dropped yesterday). It was good enough that we were watching it on day of release each week.

Interesting thing - the biggest name in the show is Mandy Patankin (who we usually like) but for us, scenes where he is the singular focus really dragged. Not enough to really hurt the show, but enough to notice it.

The storyline wrapped up, but there was enough of a 'hook' for another season - I said that to my wife and she said "but with that setup I have no interest in watching another season". I agree - all of the main characters plot lines were resolved, and the hook focused on a new character and one of the least interesting characters.
 
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I tried the first episode of Shogun last night while my girlfriend was at work. I wish changes to the source material didn't bother me so much. Nonsense changes such as one girl was supposed to be ugly but was hot, and another was supposed to be Portuguese but was turned into a Spanish guy. Or motivations. Infuriating and senseless. I wish I could understand why they do this. Very few directors even care enough to address the reasons, or have reasons other than they wanted to put their own spin on the story. The changes to The Watchmen made perfect sense to fans of the comic and worked well telling the same story.

I know it's a personal issue and most people are completely able to enjoy a show based off of a book they've read that modifies the source material heavily. I hear complaints about The Foundation and since I've never read the series, it doesn't affect me. But when I've read and loved the book all I can think of is, "Why'd the do this? Or change that? Why couldn't they get a director that actually respected the source material?"

300 and Sin City (and The Watchmen minus the one major change and exclusion of the comic within the comic story) proved all this garbage reinterpretation is unnecessary.

The worst thing is the episode was good. It's good and I still can't just appreciate it for being a good show loosely based on a novel I love. I wish I could though. For now I'll just shake my fist at the sky and mutter angrily.
 
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Nonsense changes such as one girl was supposed to be ugly but was hot, and another was supposed to be Portuguese but was turned into a Spanish guy.
Wait...they actually gender-swapped a female character for a male? You don't see that every day. :)
 
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Wait...they actually gender-swapped a female character for a male? You don't see that every day. :)
No gender swapping. Only an ugly swapped into a hot and a Portuguese swapped into a Spaniard. And one guy that is supposed to be stout with a big belly and look like a bulldog is tall and handsome. So correction - two uglies swapped into hots, one female and one male. The old miniseries nailed the look of both characters.
 
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They announced a release previously, but I guess they changed it. They're also releasing the entire season at once rather than weekly which is cool.
 
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I started (and immediately watched four episodes of) The Handmaid's Tale. I don't think I've ever been aware of and actively wanted to watch a show but put it off this long before. A lot of that is that I expected it would be a show that would depress and anger me, and wasn't sure I was in the mood for that. I'm still not; I've actually been fighting depression lately. But what the hell, it's been too long already.
You’re perfectly explaining why I have avoided BoJack Horseman.

I’m a dad and just don’t have time for the sad stuff.
 
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I'm curious to see what Fallout's like.

Right now, I'm watching Killing Eve. It's categorized as action/adventure/drama on IMDb, but it's mainly a dark comedy so far. It's entertaining but not much more.

I can't seem to find any good series, lately. There's a lot of new ones on Netflix since I last checked, but not many that interest me. And Amazon is getting worse and worse - most of the catalogue isn't part of the Prime offer and requires you to pay extra. It's even hard to find anything 'free' since it's not possible to filter that out.
 
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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_qC5-m3N2w


I had no idea that Walton Goggins also joined Precious Gemstones. :ROFLMAO:

Fallout looks really weird on the big screen. Some of the props and costumes look a bit cheap.
I do wonder how they'll treat the setting, and how they'll be able to keep a balance between the horror of the post-apocalypse and the quirky humor. I have a feeling they'll lean way too much on the quirky and unserious.
 
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I'm curious to see what Fallout's like.

Right now, I'm watching Killing Eve. It's categorized as action/adventure/drama on IMDb, but it's mainly a dark comedy so far. It's entertaining but not much more.
I quite liked that series, at least until season 4 where I got a bit lost and gave up.. The assassin actress (something Comer?) is rather good.
 
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Righteous Gemstones is a hoot and Goggins only made it better.

And Handmaid's Tale, yeah, the dark is with this one. Don't expect sunshine and rainbows, be prepared for a steady downpour and keep the hankies close!
 
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I tried the first episode of Shogun last night while my girlfriend was at work. I wish changes to the source material didn't bother me so much. Nonsense changes such as one girl was supposed to be ugly but was hot, and another was supposed to be Portuguese but was turned into a Spanish guy. Or motivations. Infuriating and senseless. I wish I could understand why they do this. Very few directors even care enough to address the reasons, or have reasons other than they wanted to put their own spin on the story. The changes to The Watchmen made perfect sense to fans of the comic and worked well telling the same story.

I know it's a personal issue and most people are completely able to enjoy a show based off of a book they've read that modifies the source material heavily. I hear complaints about The Foundation and since I've never read the series, it doesn't affect me. But when I've read and loved the book all I can think of is, "Why'd the do this? Or change that? Why couldn't they get a director that actually respected the source material?"

It's something that never ceases to amaze me. Before, I was shocked when I saw little differences, like a confusion between two minor characters at the very beginning of Game of Thrones, or more important reshuffling of the story structure in The Expanse. I slowly came to accept those differences, but more recently, I've seen a series, Silo, that only had a part of skeleton in common with the books. Ah well.

I think - but I'm really not sure - that directors do that for several good reasons. There are obvious ones like updating the story to today's audience, because some ideas are perhaps outdated, less relevant, or even less relatable; adapting the story flow to the media, because the rhythm is perceived differently on screen; or removing chunks to squeeze the story in the available duration. More recently, it looks like some directors are also suffering from wokeism.

There must be other reasons that I understand less. It's as if artists had to create something, and took the source material as an inspiration but not necessarily as a blueprint. Perhaps they wanted to express an idea or a message of theirs, and they found a book that offered a good support but required sometimes heavy changes to express it. Or perhaps they need to add something personal.

(When I say 'director', it may involve other people like writers, producers, ... I'm not intimately familiar with the process and all its variations.)

The worst thing is the episode was good. It's good and I still can't just appreciate it for being a good show loosely based on a novel I love. I wish I could though. For now I'll just shake my fist at the sky and mutter angrily.
I just watched the two first episodes and enjoyed them, though I didn't read the book and don't remember the older series enough to comment on the changes.

You could try to see it as a variation or another interpretation instead of looking for an authentic adaptation? After all, the original book is loosely based on an actual person who lived long ago, and both the book and the miniseries could be different ways to tell the same story (as people often do when they relate something). None of them is really true.
 
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It's always been the case that they change stories from books to movies. They are different media and quite often it's just used as a basis or inspiration.

It's been a complaint for every single movie/show I have ever seen when something has changed.

True Blood had a character who dies in the first book, never die in the 4/5 season arc, because people loved the actor.
I remember people complaining about how Lord of the Rings had too many differences to the books.

Even my parents used to complain about movies when they had read the book, usually by saying the books were better.
 
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I'm up to the episode of Sopranos, final season, where they kill off another main character.

Christopher. That was an interesting way to take him. I was sure they would cut to it being a dream/fantasy of Tony's. The whole episode was a bit surreal.
Just a couple more episodes and I'm done with it. I'm especially curious for these last ones.
 
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I'm up to the episode of Sopranos, final season, where they kill off another main character.

Christopher. That was an interesting way to take him. I was sure they would cut to it being a dream/fantasy of Tony's. The whole episode was a bit surreal.
Just a couple more episodes and I'm done with it. I'm especially curious for these last ones.
Are you already aware of how the series ends? If not, it'll be interesting to see how you react to it. It's divisive, to say the least.
 
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