"The Offer" on Paramount+ is really good especially if you liked the movie "The Godfather" and like the series format of the Sopranos.
I used to be a big Star Trek fan, now I'm kind of ambivalent. I started "Picard" season 2 on Paramount + network. If you buy into the premise of the plot you should enjoy it. I said to myself I wouldn't watch S2 after watching S1, but I'm liking S2 so far.
Is anyone else watching Pachinko on Apple TV+? I know its difficult with the sub-titles (being in Yellow and Blue depending on the language being spoken doesn't help) but it is really well done. A multi-generational story of this woman from young woman to elderly grandmother and her family across Korea and Japan.
Succession is one of the very best TV shows of the past 5-10 years. IMHO, it gets better and better with each season. Yes, it's filled with petty, miserable, uber-wealthy characters, but the writing and acting are absolutely top notch and the stories/plots are very entertaining. If you're anything like me, you will NOT get tired of these characters.
There's a fair amount of drinking in the show, from my recollection, but it's somewhat more "refined" due to the mega-billionaire lifestyles. Mostly very high end wine, consumed in copious quantities at parties, etc. Not much of the "Jack and Coke"-type drinking you'd see in shows set in the American South.
Well, that didn't last long. First two episodes were great and then the series devolved into self-indulgent nostalgic fanboi references. At first they were fun, then became pandering, and finally farcical. I would not be surprised to see Wesley Crusher making an appearance in a future episode via some lazy writer's gimmick.
Dumb and impossible things start happening in the plot line, and there is plenty of "Star Trek Church" or sermons about the virtues of humanism, plus political commentary galore.
I will keep watching, partly to see how far they dare take the nostalgic theme, partly to see how stupid they dare take the plot lines, and partly to see how conflicted the writers can make me feel about Star Trek franchise.
I would agree that this is one of the best shows HBO has put out in a while. We have but a few episodes left of the last season and noticed how we have gone back and forth about who our favorite/least favorite characters are...and well, it really depends on the episode. It's brilliantly written and the actors are very good at what they do.
I read about how Jeremy Strong prepared for the role and it was fascinating...to come across as awkward as he does, he spent quite a while just walking up to strangers and engaging them in conversation.
I know HBO has confirmed season 4, but it seems that there isn't release date as of yet (and haven't started filming!?) and that makes me want to wait a while to finish the last couple of episodes.
Looking forward to watching the last season of Ozark...that too has been a good series.
Yes. Star Trek and Star Wars have run their course. They have made them so complicated, it's pretty much impossible to keep the story lines straight anymore. I am of the same opinion with all the comic book movies...enough, already. Although, since there are SO many Marvel movies, I am pretty sure I am in the minority in this line of thinking.
You all have said it about Picard and Discovery.
So, watch Strange New Worlds. I found myself up at 3 AM and watched it, fresh off the drop.
Much, much, much better. Bright colors, less muddy dialog, lack of direct in-our-face preaching about issues.
Does SNW touch on issues of the day? Yes, as did The Original Series. But with this small sample size of one, it is not so heavy handed and directly preachy about hot button issues. We'll see where it goes in future episodes.
I've watched a few more episodes now, and will watch some more, but I still question whether I can continue with a series where every character is loathsome and I find myself hoping that something terrible happens to each one of them - which is not exactly the kind of person I want to be. Also, they are so horrible to each other that it passes belief. I have to question whether such a non-functional group could actually run a business beyond 6 months.
But, still, I'll watch some more episodes.
I had those same questions in the first few episodes - I kept wanting to latch onto someone I could semi-relate to or at least see as having some redeeming personality. I'd think I had one and the by the end of the episode...nope they are terrible too! They do become more fully formed characters as you get to know them. I see them mostly as very damaged people.
But despite that, it's still the best thing in years, and I rewatched the past seasons as a refresher for the latest one, and it was just as good the 2nd time around.
What about Greg & Tom? Okay, they too are irredeemable, except they are very funny. ‘You can’t make a tomellette without breaking a few gregs’.
You all have said it about Picard and Discovery.
So, watch Strange New Worlds. I found myself up at 3 AM and watched it, fresh off the drop.
Much, much, much better. Bright colors, less muddy dialog, lack of direct in-our-face preaching about issues.
Does SNW touch on issues of the day? Yes, as did The Original Series. But with this small sample size of one, it is not so heavy handed and directly preachy about hot button issues. We'll see where it goes in future episodes.
I was entertained. And I could actually see the action instead of it being buried in dark mud and dark uniforms.
This won't ruin it for you, I promise: right off the bat in the first minute there is a call out to the classic movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. That theme plays through the episode. If you didn't like the fact that the movie had a message, then pass on the series.
Just watched the first episode of Star Trek Strange New World on Paramount Plus. I think I am going to really like it, seems much more like the standard Star Trek series as opposed to Discovery and Picard ( I like both of them but they are different from the Star Trek I know and love). I can't wait until next Thursday for the second episode of Strange New World.
Captain Pike seems a bit flippant. Cracking jokes, being sarcastic, almost smug. Doesn't seem consistent with his (known) future.
Once again, there seems to be a need for the writers to be self-indulgent with references to other Star Trek canon. The Star Wars franchise is afflicted with this malady as well.
Pike is flip, because <mild spoiler from first 3 minutes, highlight text here->
As for self-indulgence, I'm seeing a lot of agreement with you on this in fan forums. People are tired of Soong, Kahn, and Spock references.
One Redditor says that the Spock family has become the Skywalker family of Star Wars - exactly to your point.
They need to lay off Spock and stop complicating things. There's a lot of room to breathe and add new characters with no connections.
I'm still looking forward to SNW, if only for the fact they let the set dressers and costume designers use color again.
But what's with La'ans hair "style"?
Captain Pike may be a little flippant but as a female I really like his look and manner--so easy on the eyes. Reminds me of the early Captain Kirk--say what you will about him but he was a hunk (William Shatner still looks pretty good for 91 years old).