What’s the Last TV Series You Watched?

[celticsclay]

I watched defending jacob cause of someone’s rec here and really enjoyed it.

[bdm860]

Not sure if movie or TV show, but I just watched 'UNTOLD: The Rise and Fall of AND1’ on Netflix.

It was okay.  I enjoyed it (coming from someone who was into And1) but as these things tend to go, only so much you can fit into an hour, so felt like they were missing a lot of stuff that I thought would have been interesting.

It missed their NBA involvement. A ton of NBA players were wearing And1 in the early 00's here's an article saying they had 70 players under contract if you're doubting, but I believe they topped out at about 1/3 of the league.  Kevin Garnett, Marbury, Shawn Marion, Ben Wallace, Jason Williams, Sprewell, Larry Hughes, Ricky Davis, Jamal Crawford, Desmond Mason, etc.  There's some big name players in there.  Kobe even wore And1 multiple times in games (when he was a sneaker free agent).  Outside of the initial Marbury shoe and brief mention of Vince Carter in the dunk contest, they never mentioned their NBA involvement. I think that would have been super interesting, at least worth a mention.

They didn't even talk about how they got that original Skip tape that became the first mixtape.  They just said they had it in the office.  I recall reading in other articles (from like 20 years ago) that And1 supplied the uniforms to a basketball tournament and so one of the organizers gave them the tape as a thank you.

There was a "controversy" with the Half Man Half Amazing nickname.  There was an And1 player (Anthony Heyward) with that nickname already for years in the NYC scene, and then Kenny Smith shouted it out at the 2000 dunk contest for Vince Carter.  There was either a commercial or a scene in one of the ESPN shows about Heyward cussing the NBA/Vince Carter out about it, how he's the real Half Man Half Amazing.  Worth a mention I would have thought.

And there was the Mixtape players themselves.  While there was emphasis throughout the documentary on how those players were shortchanged, I don't feel like they highlighted the players enough, as they only had a few doing interviews, and many of them never even got named dropped.  One player died between tours (Flash), a couple of the bigger names died young (Escalade, Alimoe).  They talked about conflicts with the players, but didn't talk about one player leaving the tour midway (Headache, I believe that was the pizza throwing incident mentioned), and then having to replace a lot of the original players with new names in the later seasons, this stuff should absolutely have been highlighted/mentioned.  A bunch of the OGs actually left to start their own tour (Ball4Real), but weren't successful, also probably worth a mention, especially since they thought they were the reason for all of And1's success.  Definitely should have had some notes over the end credits of what happened to the people involved/where are they now, instead the only note was that Rafer Alston was only one to make the NBA.

And the tour/mixtapes actually continued after the company was sold, while the documentary made it sound like the company being sold is what caused the tours to end.

So overall it was okay, I enjoyed it, but missing or very light on some major things.

They have a Tim Donaghy episode coming out next week which I'm looking forward to watching.

[Goldstar88]

Watched a few episodes of "Halt and Catch Fire" on AMC. It's a series about a small computer company in the 80's trying to get on the map by building the worlds first portable computer. A race against IBM.

So far I think it's the 4th best show on AMC behind only Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Mad Men. Very well done.

[Goldstar88]

Just watched the premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO. I give the first episode a B.

It seemed unnecessarily gruesome at times, but after the tournament was over, it really picked up with all the politics.  Of course if they actually follow the history from the books, the show is going to get super weird really fast.

I agree. Had to actually look away for one of the scenes… it was just over the top. Hoping that the next episode is better.

I'm really curious how much they are going to follow all of the storylines in the book.  One was pretty clearly set up and it appears they sort of hinted at another.  They are both gross by modern standards, but one is far grosser than the other.  Really interested to see if they change them in any way.  I suspect they will not, so be prepared for gag type stuff much more so than the 1st episode.

Think I’m done with this show. Second episode was so bad it seemed like a parody at times. Going into the premiere, I didn’t realize that the producers and directors of Game of Thrones are not the same for House of Dragons. After watching the second episode, it’s quite clear. How can you create one of the most successful shows of all time and then bring in a new crew to do the prequel. Should have paid the GOT creators whatever they wanted to make this show. What a waste.

[tazzmaniac]

Just watched the premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO. I give the first episode a B.

It seemed unnecessarily gruesome at times, but after the tournament was over, it really picked up with all the politics.  Of course if they actually follow the history from the books, the show is going to get super weird really fast.

I agree. Had to actually look away for one of the scenes… it was just over the top. Hoping that the next episode is better.

I'm really curious how much they are going to follow all of the storylines in the book.  One was pretty clearly set up and it appears they sort of hinted at another.  They are both gross by modern standards, but one is far grosser than the other.  Really interested to see if they change them in any way.  I suspect they will not, so be prepared for gag type stuff much more so than the 1st episode.

Think I’m done with this show. Second episode was so bad it seemed like a parody at times. Going into the premiere, I didn’t realize that the producers and directors of Game of Thrones are not the same for House of Dragons. After watching the second episode, it’s quite clear. How can you create one of the most successful shows of all time and then bring in a new crew to do the prequel. Should have paid the GOT creators whatever they wanted to make this show. What a waste.

The GOT creators should get credit for the excellent 1st 6 seasons of GOT but they were also responsible for the mediocre 7th season and the terrible 8th season.  The difference being they didn't have George R.R. Martin books to base the latter seasons on.  I'm glad they aren't doing HOD. 

I've liked the 1st couple episodes but it is definitely not great like GOT.  One problem is that it feels like a rehash of GOT.  There needs to be some newness brought into it soon.  Nothing much has happened except some political wrangling.  Another problem is the characters aren't as interesting and the cast isn't nearly as good.  The 1st episode had great viewership numbers but I expect they'll drop off quickly if the episodes don't get more interesting, more exciting. 

[Birdman]

Just got done with The Sandman..it was very good but not great thou it does has a lot of potential in the future..but just read that Netflix probably won’t do a second season ugh

[Roy H.]

Just got done with The Sandman..it was very good but not great thou it does has a lot of potential in the future..but just read that Netflix probably won’t do a second season ugh

Yeah, I saw that comment, from Neil Gaiman himself.  He was saying that even though Sandman has been quite successful, it might not be successful enough.  Being #1 for a few weeks isn't enough; with the money they put into production, it needs to absolutely dominate.

I would agree that overall, it was good but not great, but as you suggest, it hit "great" enough times that it's got exciting possibilities.

[tazzmaniac]

Just got done with The Sandman..it was very good but not great thou it does has a lot of potential in the future..but just read that Netflix probably won’t do a second season ugh

Yeah, I saw that comment, from Neil Gaiman himself.  He was saying that even though Sandman has been quite successful, it might not be successful enough.  Being #1 for a few weeks isn't enough; with the money they put into production, it needs to absolutely dominate.

I would agree that overall, it was good but not great, but as you suggest, it hit "great" enough times that it's got exciting possibilities.

I read an article that said binge rate is a significant factor.  Seems strange that a show with good viewership but not a high binge rate would be less appealing.  I'd think streaming services would prefer viewers who take their time so they are on the hook for 2 or 3 months. 

[johnnygreen]

I'm currently watching Warrior on HBO Max. So far, it's an incredible martial arts type series that has me hooked. The action and brutality are insane.

[Goldstar88]

Just watched the premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO. I give the first episode a B.

It seemed unnecessarily gruesome at times, but after the tournament was over, it really picked up with all the politics.  Of course if they actually follow the history from the books, the show is going to get super weird really fast.

I agree. Had to actually look away for one of the scenes… it was just over the top. Hoping that the next episode is better.

I'm really curious how much they are going to follow all of the storylines in the book.  One was pretty clearly set up and it appears they sort of hinted at another.  They are both gross by modern standards, but one is far grosser than the other.  Really interested to see if they change them in any way.  I suspect they will not, so be prepared for gag type stuff much more so than the 1st episode.

Think I’m done with this show. Second episode was so bad it seemed like a parody at times. Going into the premiere, I didn’t realize that the producers and directors of Game of Thrones are not the same for House of Dragons. After watching the second episode, it’s quite clear. How can you create one of the most successful shows of all time and then bring in a new crew to do the prequel. Should have paid the GOT creators whatever they wanted to make this show. What a waste.

The GOT creators should get credit for the excellent 1st 6 seasons of GOT but they were also responsible for the mediocre 7th season and the terrible 8th season.  The difference being they didn't have George R.R. Martin books to base the latter seasons on.  I'm glad they aren't doing HOD. 

I've liked the 1st couple episodes but it is definitely not great like GOT.  One problem is that it feels like a rehash of GOT.  There needs to be some newness brought into it soon.  Nothing much has happened except some political wrangling.  Another problem is the characters aren't as interesting and the cast isn't nearly as good.  The 1st episode had great viewership numbers but I expect they'll drop off quickly if the episodes don't get more interesting, more exciting.

You liked the first two episodes of HOD? The only halfway decent character is Prince Daemon. The rest are weak/boring. The writing is so bad. The worst season of GOT is still much, much, better than this new show.

[Goldstar88]

I'm currently watching Warrior on HBO Max. So far, it's an incredible martial arts type series that has me hooked. The action and brutality are insane.

Solid show...Feel like a lot of people don't know about it. Looking forward to season 3.

[Neurotic Guy]

“The Wilds” I give a good, not great.  Gets a good just on the basis of wanting to keep watching.  Good acting by the teens, not so much by the adults. Not a feasible premise so that bothers me a bit, but I’ve enjoyed it.

[tazzmaniac]

Just watched the premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO. I give the first episode a B.

It seemed unnecessarily gruesome at times, but after the tournament was over, it really picked up with all the politics.  Of course if they actually follow the history from the books, the show is going to get super weird really fast.

I agree. Had to actually look away for one of the scenes… it was just over the top. Hoping that the next episode is better.

I'm really curious how much they are going to follow all of the storylines in the book.  One was pretty clearly set up and it appears they sort of hinted at another.  They are both gross by modern standards, but one is far grosser than the other.  Really interested to see if they change them in any way.  I suspect they will not, so be prepared for gag type stuff much more so than the 1st episode.

Think I’m done with this show. Second episode was so bad it seemed like a parody at times. Going into the premiere, I didn’t realize that the producers and directors of Game of Thrones are not the same for House of Dragons. After watching the second episode, it’s quite clear. How can you create one of the most successful shows of all time and then bring in a new crew to do the prequel. Should have paid the GOT creators whatever they wanted to make this show. What a waste.

The GOT creators should get credit for the excellent 1st 6 seasons of GOT but they were also responsible for the mediocre 7th season and the terrible 8th season.  The difference being they didn't have George R.R. Martin books to base the latter seasons on.  I'm glad they aren't doing HOD. 

I've liked the 1st couple episodes but it is definitely not great like GOT.  One problem is that it feels like a rehash of GOT.  There needs to be some newness brought into it soon.  Nothing much has happened except some political wrangling.  Another problem is the characters aren't as interesting and the cast isn't nearly as good.  The 1st episode had great viewership numbers but I expect they'll drop off quickly if the episodes don't get more interesting, more exciting.

You liked the first two episodes of HOD? The only halfway decent character is Prince Daemon. The rest are weak/boring. The writing is so bad. The worst season of GOT is still much, much, better than this new show.

Liked it enough to watch some more episodes.  I agree the King and his high council are boring characters.  I'd add Princess Rhaenyra and potentially Alicent Hightower as decent characters.  I'm not sure how quickly the story is going to advance but those actresses are going to age out and be replaced. 

The writing does need work.  Prince Daemon's lying about his courtesan being pregnant and stealing the DragonEgg made absolutely no sense.  They didn't do enough to establish a connection between the King and Alicent to show why he'd choose to marry her instead of accepting the other much more politically sound marriage proposal. 

The last season of GOT was gawd awful for the most part.  I'd have been much happier with a blander, more boring last season. 

[ozgod]

Just watched the premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO. I give the first episode a B.

It seemed unnecessarily gruesome at times, but after the tournament was over, it really picked up with all the politics.  Of course if they actually follow the history from the books, the show is going to get super weird really fast.

I agree. Had to actually look away for one of the scenes… it was just over the top. Hoping that the next episode is better.

I'm really curious how much they are going to follow all of the storylines in the book.  One was pretty clearly set up and it appears they sort of hinted at another.  They are both gross by modern standards, but one is far grosser than the other.  Really interested to see if they change them in any way.  I suspect they will not, so be prepared for gag type stuff much more so than the 1st episode.

Think I’m done with this show. Second episode was so bad it seemed like a parody at times. Going into the premiere, I didn’t realize that the producers and directors of Game of Thrones are not the same for House of Dragons. After watching the second episode, it’s quite clear. How can you create one of the most successful shows of all time and then bring in a new crew to do the prequel. Should have paid the GOT creators whatever they wanted to make this show. What a waste.

The GOT creators should get credit for the excellent 1st 6 seasons of GOT but they were also responsible for the mediocre 7th season and the terrible 8th season.  The difference being they didn't have George R.R. Martin books to base the latter seasons on.  I'm glad they aren't doing HOD. 

I've liked the 1st couple episodes but it is definitely not great like GOT.  One problem is that it feels like a rehash of GOT.  There needs to be some newness brought into it soon.  Nothing much has happened except some political wrangling.  Another problem is the characters aren't as interesting and the cast isn't nearly as good.  The 1st episode had great viewership numbers but I expect they'll drop off quickly if the episodes don't get more interesting, more exciting.

You liked the first two episodes of HOD? The only halfway decent character is Prince Daemon. The rest are weak/boring. The writing is so bad. The worst season of GOT is still much, much, better than this new show.

Liked it enough to watch some more episodes.  I agree the King and his high council are boring characters.  I'd add Princess Rhaenyra and potentially Alicent Hightower as decent characters.  I'm not sure how quickly the story is going to advance but those actresses are going to age out and be replaced. 

The writing does need work.  Prince Daemon's lying about his courtesan being pregnant and stealing the DragonEgg made absolutely no sense.  They didn't do enough to establish a connection between the King and Alicent to show why he'd choose to marry her instead of accepting the other much more politically sound marriage proposal. 

The last season of GOT was gawd awful for the most part.  I'd have been much happier with a blander, more boring last season.

I am loving HoD. I will disclose that I'm a hardcore fantasy fan and GRRM fan, I have read all his books, starting 20 years ago and still waiting for Winds of Winter  Like most people I was disappointed with how GoT ended, mainly because the slow pacing and character development that was characteristic of GRRM's books was abandoned once the showrunners caught up with where he was with the books, as well as them apparently wanting to get it over and done with rather than extending for yet another season as HBO wanted. So that last season in particular was probably over 2 seasons of content squeezed into one. D&D (David Benioff and DB Weiss, the GoT showrunners) are hated by many book fans for the way they "ruined" GoT in particular. I will say I'm probably one of them 

I hear a lot of the criticism people have of HoD is that it's too slow and boring but I'm enjoying the pace of it. Having read Fire and Blood I know how the story ends, but as of Ep4 I like how the characters have developed. I can accept deviation from a book when converting that content to TV (I learned that when I watched Fellowship of the Ring 20 years ago) but so far they haven't really deviated much from what GRRM wrote. I love Paddy Considine's portrayal of Viserys, I feel it's better than how he was portrayed in the book. Matt Smith as Daemon is also doing a great job bringing the character to life for me. My only issue is that they are doing a lot of time jumps to try and cover 30+ years of content and it can be a little disconcerting.

Because I'm a fantasy fan, I'm also watching and enjoying Amazon's LotR: Rings of Power series on Prime. Again the creators are coming in for some stick from hardcore Tolkien fans, because (like HotD with Corlys Velaryon) they cast people of color as elves, and cut the hair of the elves so they don't look like they did with Peter Jackson's movies (some of them have short hair) and apparently elves can't be black and apparently their immersion has been totally ruined  . Watching fantasy series and movies, I long ago worked out that it's a fictional world, with fictional characters, so there's no requirement that characters need to be anything. So far RoP is a little more shallow than HotD (again the timeline is being compressed significantly because the Second Age spans thousands of years) but the landscapes are spectacular and they really bring me into Middle Earth. Here's Numenor:



Again, there's plenty of haters on social media but I'm not one of them. I'm loving the fact that we have not just one but two fantasy shows on TV 

[gouki88]

^I have some serious issues with Rings of Power. The timeline is a complete disaster, with things from mid 2A occurring before things that are early 2A, Galadriel is really poorly written, there has been nothing about the rings of power themselves (which could have been really well handled with the Lord of Gifts persona), I really dislike what they've done with Numenoreans, and more.

If it wasn't the IP that it is, it'd probably be a 6.5/10 for me. But with being a Tolkien tragic, the deviation from the very well-established law is just killing me. 4/10. That being said, the complaints about minority casting really bother me. Has absolutely no place (cannot believe it needs to be said!). I wish they went all in on bearded dwarven women though.

Will have a look at HoD though. Winds of Winter will come one day!