The Golden Age of TV. So, what are you watching?

[Konrad]

Been (binge) watching a pile of TV recently.
Watched all of "Lower Decks" and it was absolutely perfect. The comedy really, really comes from the fact that the plots, character development, themes or anything really, are in any way different than "serious" Trek. It's the characters' reactions and dialogue that make it hilarious. Thanks for the recommend gents.
And I found out there is a whole 'nuther series ,"Brave New Worlds" which is also a lot of fun. A great re-boot of classic Trek with more modern sensibilities. A bit ponderous and self-important at times, but Nurse Chapel is soooo cool, and Spock's fiance T'Pring is soooo beautiful, I'll forgive the writers for just about anything.
And there is even more Trek! "Star Trek Prodigy" is a kid's animation that is much, much better than it has any right to be. Check out the open chase/escape scene if nothing else.
Speaking of "kids"????? animation, "Arcane" is holy heck awesome. It's based on some arena battle video game, right? I was going to pass, but you guys talked me into it. Usual fantasy tropes, but a real gritty, hard and with a set of villains and heroes as complex and conflicted as anything you'll find in Game of Thrones. I'm only 4 or so episodes in and am hooked.
And finally , finally perhaps the best for last. Polished off the last couple episodes of "Andor". This is like the Godfather 1 and 2 of the Star Wars franchise as far as I'm concerned. Can't say enough good about it. What I said about Arcane and even more so.

[Primarch]

@Konrad - Strange New Worlds is brilliant, as is Lower Decks. There is a crossover episode of the two coming up in SNW season 2, which I hope will be amazing.
If you're still after more Final Frontier style goodness, see if you can find the Short Treks mini series. As the name implies, each story is quite short. The first season is mainly based around Discovery, but the 2nd (I think) is more SNW. The Tribbles episode is superb!


As for myself, I've just finished a BBC drama called SAS Rogue Heroes, which is about how the British SAS regiment was formed during WW2. It's worth a watch even if you aren't really a history nerd like me. And I have just started watching Foundation, an SF drama based on the series of the same name by Isaac Asimov. The basic premise is that a mathematician determines that the galactic empire in which he resides will collapse, bringing in a thousand years if darkness, so he sets out to create a respository of all knowledge to allow the human race to thrive again. Of course, the emperor doesn't take this talk of his imminent fall in the most positive of ways... The stories are an epic of old SF, along the lines of (but less fantastical than) Dune.

[Konrad]

@Konrad - Strange New Worlds is brilliant, as is Lower Decks. There is a crossover episode of the two coming up in SNW season 2, which I hope will be amazing.
If you're still after more Final Frontier style goodness, see if you can find the Short Treks mini series. As the name implies, each story is quite short. The first season is mainly based around Discovery, but the 2nd (I think) is more SNW. The Tribbles episode is superb!


As for myself, I've just finished a BBC drama called SAS Rogue Heroes, which is about how the British SAS regiment was formed during WW2. It's worth a watch even if you aren't really a history nerd like me. And I have just started watching Foundation, an SF drama based on the series of the same name by Isaac Asimov. The basic premise is that a mathematician determines that the galactic empire in which he resides will collapse, bringing in a thousand years if darkness, so he sets out to create a respository of all knowledge to allow the human race to thrive again. Of course, the emperor doesn't take this talk of his imminent fall in the most positive of ways... The stories are an epic of old SF, along the lines of (but less fantastical than) Dune.

Will check out those shorts and yes, "Strange". whoops.
I read the Foundation novels soooo long ago I really don''t remember anything but the basic premise. It would be interesting to give the books a quick read again and see how the "psychohistory" imagined by Asimov has aged in our 21st century world of tech-giants, social media and surveillance capitalism.
Finished watching Arcane" last night. Jesus, that's sad. Why is a story about people punching people with neon-light powered gloves so damn sad?

[Balloonacorn]

I just got a 3-month trial subscription to Apple TV+.

Not as big a library as others but also not as expensive. 900 yen/month after the trial.

Finch is an amazing sci-fi and I am in love with Ted Lasso. The acting and writing make this show much better than it has any right being.

I haven't had time to watch anything else. Nothing wrecks your TV and Gaming time like having children.

[me_in_japan]

Int'restingly, I got myself a VPN temporarily so my kids could watch Young Sheldon (their gran started them on it back in Scotland), but I've taken the opportunity to watch Avatar: The Legend of Korra. I realise that saying "Avatar is good" risks associating myself with a certain type of anime fanbase* but Korra really is a masterclass in how to do a follow up to a well-loved story. Great character development, world building, and most importantly, dialogue. Hell, even my wife was looking over at the telly and saying things like "yeah, that's actually really true".** So aye, if you haven't seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, (the TV show, not the movie) then you should. If you can get access to Korra, you should watch that, too.

I've also just finished season 3 of the Witcher, as well as its spin off, Blood Origin. Both were actually quite enjoyable. I'd heard Blood Origin was terrible, but honestly with a beer and a bag of crisps it was a perfectly reasonable way to spend an evening. The only thing that jarred with me was the accents on the actors. It was a veritable tour of the British isles. The Empress's accent was especially egregious to me (she's Scottish. Like, Very Scottish). I think Hollywood has this perception that all elves/dwarves/fae folk are celtic, which is fine in theory, but they tend to forget that Ireland/Scotland/Wales are depressingly mundane places to actually live, so when I hear accents like that on TV I can't help but mentally place the elven queen chugging down prosecco out on a hen night in Stirling somewhere Blood Origin gets points for casting Lenny Henry as a villain (which he was really rather good at) and for casting several actors with disabilities in roles that didn't need them to be so for story reasons. More of that, please.

I still need to catch up on season 2 of Carnival Row (on Amazon) which is very good so far, and am continuing to enjoy Ahsoka over on Disney. Still living in a golden age of TV.


*ie the Westerner who idolises all things anime and will sling abuse at anyone who dares suggests it's just a medium for telling a story.

**Uncle Iroh was musing on the nature of light and dark, and how you carry your perceptions with you.