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

[Primarch]

Better? That's pretty subjective. I enjoyed Rome (season 1) a lot, but there are other shows I liked more.
Personally I enjoyed Sharpe, Band of Brothers and Vikings more than Rome, but then again, I'm more interested in those periods than the birth of the Roman Empire.

Oh, better is definitely subjective. I liked Vikings a lot. I haven't seen Sharpe but I have had it recommended to me alot. Is it on any of the popular media?

Honestly, I have no idea. It may be on Youtube as it's pretty old now.

[job]

Yeah, you can find a good variety of episodes to watch on YouTube. Once in awhile I watch one for a fix of nostalgia/Napoleonics/Sean Bean.

[Balloonacorn]

I stumbled upon 'El Cid' on Amazon today. - great story, sets, and plot. The dialogue is ... simplistic - episode 2 tomorrow

[me_in_japan]

I've watched quite a lot of TV over the past few months. In no particular order...

I finished the final season of Gotham today. Gotham is...basically a comic book on TV. The characters are daft, they do daft things, they die, they come back to life via ridiculous plot devices, they die again. Everyone is everyone else's arch enemy. Except when they're teaming up to take on some other person. And there are double crosses and dodgy deals. But, the acting is generally very good (Jim Gordon's plank face aside, sorry dude-that-plays-Jim-Gordon), the set design and lighting are superb, and while the stories vary in quality, they're never not entertaining. It's also almost always lots of fun to see the Batverse characters we all know so well in their formative years. Bruce Wayne, Oswald Cobblepot, Selina Kyle and Ed Nygma are particularly good. And Mr J is...superb (the acting, anyway. His plot is about as convoluted as its possible to be, but hey ho, he's a complicated character, no?)

Anyway: Gotham is well worth your time, just don't expect the Dark Knight.

I also watched Carnival Row, which was surprisingly not rubbish. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I started, but a basic summary is: Steampunk Victorian Whodunnit. Orlando Bloom is a grumpy, top-hat wearing detective. There's been a murder most foul, and he has to find out whodunnit. Cara Delevigne is a fairy. Which I can actually totally accept, tbh. Various other people do stuff. There's satyrs, occasional centaurs, and even werewolves. Plus not-really-all-that-veiled commentary on racism/classism. It's kinda fun, and fair play to it for building a world that's not really been done much on telly before (unless somebody knows of any other fantasy steampunk tv shows?)

Finally, I watched season 1 of Cobra Kai. This was a lot better than expected. I realise we're onto season 3 now, but I'm behind the times. It kinda revolves around its central conceit of you already giving a damn about the main characters due to their Karate Kid pedigree, but if you roll with that it's pretty entertaining, and not un-clever.

Oh, and I also watched The Mandalorian and Star Trek Discovery, but all y'all are already watching those, aye?

[ashdevon]

I love this thread.

I finished 10 seasons of TWD. Season 11 hasn't been shot fully yet due to California closing last summer.

Now enjoying Ridley Scott's Raised by Wolves and Pickard. Both storylines are about androids so it's quite relaxing.

My main show last year was a 1980s historical drama about The English Civil War called By the Sword Divided. Quite good if you enjoy the classical slightly wooden acting of yesterday. Stage actors put in front of a camera essentially. I really enjoyed it. 2 seasons in low res are on you tube. DVD is available but goes for silly money.

Mandalorian all up to date. No spoilers only to say I shed a single Samurai tear of joy.

[Primarch]

I just finished the entire Fry & Laurie run of Jeeves and Wooster. Simple, yet enjoyable comedy. Plus it's not very plot intensive, so it doesn't tax the grey matter too much.

[ashdevon]

Just finished Raised by Wolves. Ridley Scott.
It was a little slow at times but it kept my interest for 10 episodes and was a relatively relaxing piece of TV visually. Not sure I really warmed to any of the characters. The android character Father was totally relatable. He just wants to be useful. That was fun
The guy from Vikings does a good job but there are times when he struggles not to act like Ragnor Lothbrook.
Fans of the whole android/human condition touched upon in Bladerunner may enjoy this journey into the robot mind. Fans of the Giger films will get a few hints and surprises here and there. It links to Ridley Scott's Alien mythology.

[me_in_japan]

I quite fancy raised by wolves, but I cant find it here (at least, not from a legit source that i dont have to pay for). Bah and poop

I just finished season 1 of Warrior Nun. It...pretty much does what it says on the tin? I mean, its called warrior nun, innit? Dont be expecting, yknow, Breaking Bad, or The Expanse or anything of that kind of quality. But, the locations and sets are absolutely fantastic. Apparently it was all filmed in Spain, and it's filled with lovely mountains, fresco'd cathedrals and picturesque villages. The interiors are just as good as the landscape shots, too. Makes me want to go to Spain, tbh. The costumes are also bloody good. On the down side, yeah, it wants to be Buffy reeeeeaaally badly. It...kinda succeeds, a bit, I guess? Certainly the main character is reasonably likeable, especially later in the season when she finally decides that hanging around on the beach with random hunky dude is boring (it is, btw). Overall the acting is better than you might expect from a show with such a premise, and the fight choreography is also pretty decent. What I like most about it, though, is the fact that the lead writer plans for a 5-7 season arc, and based on the climax of season 1, is not afraid to leave us wanting more. There's plenty of interesting plot threads that are just hanging around waiting to be picked up, and a respectable amount of ambiguity to certain characters, too. They couldve gone cliched, but they didnt (mostly. Sometimes they did. Looking at you, totally-saw-it-coming-plot-twist-at-the-end ) But anyway, aye - probably worth your time, if youre the kind of painter who likes a bit of background telly while you tickle plastic dudesmen with weasel-butt hair on a stick.

Oh, and credit where it's due - the scene where one of the nuns shoots a dude with a holy crossbow, strides up to him, pulls the bolt out, reloads and shoots him again with the same bolt made me laugh. You bet your ass she purged the shit out of that heretic

[Balloonacorn]

El Cid on Amazon Prime is only 5 episodes but I highly recommend it for those historical lovers.

Half-way through the Purge Series also on Prime - it is much better than it has a right to be - lots of cliffhangers and twists

[Primarch]

I've finished off several shows in recent weeks. Cobra Kai season 3, Vikings season 6, The Mandalorian season 2 (Note: https://youtu.be/oYLLuS6C5hM) and Star Trek Discovery season 3. Right now though I'm thoroughly enjoying WandaVision. It starts off a little bit slow, but then ramps up to full speed a few episodes in. There are a couple of familiar faces and names from the MCU movies so far, as well as new characters from the comics being introduced along the way. Oh, and we get to see some characters in their original comic book costumes. For a comic book nerd, it's fantastic. Full points to Marvel/Disney on this one.