Television

[deepdarkblue]

So Ben Carson will have to deal with all this when this happens in real life?

Yeah, see how great this is?? But only if he's the randomly selected designate survivor. So it could be him, or could be the fast food restaurant manager. Either way, the "what-if" possibilities are endless. This show couldn't have happened at a better time. (One crisis involves the governor of somewhere like Minnesota refusing to comply with a direct Presidential order. Trump would have nuked Minnesota, what would Carson do??)

 

[rome8180]

It seems like one of my least favorite type of shows. I may be incorrect about what it is though. Is it one of those shows with constant plot and endless cliffhangers that you watch like a crack addict, but like crack it leaves you with the same terrible feeling of shame the moment you stop watching it? I'd use The Killing as an example of what I mean.

The Killing is probably a step up.
As of the current episode, I think Keifer has been President for, idk, a month?, and he's already had to deal with at least half a dozen crises at such a level that most presidents never face even one so dire. To their credit, the show does sort of offer a rationale for it - the US government has been destroyed and this schlub from HUD is suddenly President so all the America haters around the world see this as a great opportunity to do all the shit they always wanted to do.
If you're someone who likes 24 (I hate it), you'll probably like Designated Survivor on it's own merits. Even though Keifer's President character is polar opposite of Jack Bauer, the show has that same feel. I just like to watch it so as each shocking development unfolds I can say, "WHAT NOW, PRESIDENT TRUMP??" (If this was Trump, we'd be involved in a full scale nuclear war within the first ten minutes of the first episode)

The Killing was deceptive, because it pretended to have some artistic merit/aspirations at first. Then by the last 2-3 episodes of the first season it was just about bullshit plot twists.

 

[deepdarkblue]

2017 TV is looking strong: The 17 best upcoming TV shows of 2017 and then Upcoming 2017 British TV

Sherlock Season 4 (you know what this is)

Emerald City (Wizard of Oz for grownups)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (hopefully better than the movie attempt)

Legion (the X-Men's Legion, not end-of-days, angels & devils Legion)

Star Trek: Discovery (Prequel to the original series. Hope for good things)

Stranger Things Season 2 (You probably know what this is)

Twin Peaks Season 3 (Hell fucking yes!!)

American Gods (I don't know anything about this but I saw Ian MacShane's name so I'm all in)

Bouncing between HBO and other networks for the entire 21st century, it was starting to look like Neil Gaiman’s story about a war between pre and post-industrial gods was never going to get made. As it proved with Ash vs. The Evil Dead, though, Starz is all about making impossible projects a reality. Its version of American Gods looks like it’s full of the same mad ambition and spirit as Ash as well, with a killer cast stepping into the roles of old gods like Anansi (Orlando Jones) and new gods like Media (Gillian Anderson). Centering it all is Ian McShane as the cantankerous, irresistible Mr. Wednesday. Trailers for the show make it look like an incredibly faithful adaptation as well.

Marvel’s Iron Fist (We'll see...)

Powerless (Could be good, equal chance it sucks)

Rather than focusing on the cape-wearing do-gooders, Powerless focuses on an insurance company that handles claims caused by superhero collateral damage

Midnight, Texas (True Blood with no boobies)

Cormoran Strike Mysteries (JK Rowling crime series)

Inhumans (More superheroes)

British stuff:

Taboo (Tom Hardy. Nothing more to say)

Top Of The Lake, Season 2 (Fuck yes!! Elizabeth Moss returns and they add Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie/Brienne of Tarth)

SS-GB (Another Man in the High Castle - Nazis won the war)


So my upcoming year is pretty well squared away now.

 

[CK86]

"The Leftovers" season 3 starts in April so I'm excited for that.

 

[rome8180]

I'm probably most excited about Top of the Lake, though I dislike that it's set in Sydney instead of rural New Zealand. Kind of feels like the change in setting between True Detective Season 1 and 2.

I am worried Twin Peaks will disappoint.

And deepdark, American Gods is based on a very popular Neil Gaiman novel. Movies have been made of his books Stardust and Coraline. And he's written for a ton of sci-fi/fantasy TV shows. His comic book series, Sandman, is also getting made into a show. BTW, the American Gods trailer looks awesome. It's sort of set in a fantastical version of the US.

 

[deepdarkblue]

I'm probably most excited about Top of the Lake, though I dislike that it's set in Sydney instead of rural New Zealand. Kind of feels like the change in setting between True Detective Season 1 and 2.

I am worried Twin Peaks will disappoint.

And deepdark, American Gods is based on a very popular Neil Gaiman novel. Movies have been made of his books Stardust and Coraline. And he's written for a ton of sci-fi/fantasy TV shows. His comic book series, Sandman, is also getting made into a show. BTW, the American Gods trailer looks awesome. It's sort of set in a fantastical version of the US.

Yeah, I know it's a book - the eBook version of it is buried somewhere in my Kindle, behind 11,000+ pages of Malazan Book of the Fallen volumes (which I highly recommend to anyone who loves complicated fantasy fiction that will keep you reading for over a year - The Malazan Book of the Fallen)
I'm about 6 months away from reading anything else. I decided I wasn't going to stop until I finished the whole damned series. Good thing too, since I wouldn't know what the fuck was going on if I took a break and read something else in the middle of it.

 

[physicsfactor]

I'll take the abuse, but I don't get the Twin Peaks love. I watched it a couple of years back after hearing a bunch of people rave about it, and I didn't care for it. It was mostly just weird.

 

[rome8180]

I enjoy the weirdness, but I also find it to be a pretty compelling character-driven soap opera.

 

[rome8180]

Also, sorry for the accidental lecture, deepdark. The phrasing made it sound like you had no idea what American Gods was.

 

[rome8180]

As someone who's only read the first 100 pages of the book, I speak from a place of limited knowledge. But the casting and tone of this look absolutely perfect.

 

[Thain]

Definitely interested in that. Good looking cast too.

 

[Thain]

Started watching Goliath with Billy Bob Thorton tonight. Pretty fucking good but I am a Billy Bob fan.

 

[rome8180]

Who isn't?

 

[aiw]

John Lithgow as an 80 year-old Winston Churchill is an interesting choice for The Crown. I'm into it, so far.

 

[rome8180]

That tv show looks infinitely more interesting than the book was. I read a lot of fantasy novels, but I am just underwhelmed every time I pick up a Neil Gaiman book. I don't think I've ever finished anything just due to being bored.

His ideas are good, but he's not a very good writer of prose. Therefore his stuff is perfectly suited to TV.

 

[dkst0426]

Walking Dead

Spoiler

Not gonna lie - I teared up when Rick saw Darryl come out from behind the building and they embraced.

Yes, the season has kinda dragged on. I especially question taking an entire episode to introduce the Kingdom and Ezekiel rather than interspersing segments of that community into the larger arc to give us some development and the Enid/Carl hike (I mean, rollerblading.....really?).

That being said, This season has given us a look at just how massively screwed-up The Saviors are, how Hilltop is moving ever-so-slowly towards Maggie's control, the elimination of Spencer going rogue (Negan was right - Rick should thank him), and of course, how Rick has regained his nuts.

Now all we need is for Tara to be a bridge to somehow persuading Oceanside to fight with them, which would be a pretty significant departure from the comic storyline.

I haven't been particularly excited about the series this season but have kept watching. I felt rewarded somewhat after last night.

 

[krsmith16]

2017 TV is looking strong: The 17 best upcoming TV shows of 2017 and then Upcoming 2017 British TV

This list did not include S3 of Fargo so it can go fuck itself.

I've never been a huge fan of Iwan McGregor but I'm actually looking forward his portrayal of both halves of a set of twins. The fact they're non-identical makes it all the better and is such a Fargo thing to do.

If Noah Hawley can elicit fantastic performances from Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson, he should have no problem working some magic with McGregor.

 

[deepdarkblue]

2017 TV is looking strong: The 17 best upcoming TV shows of 2017 and then Upcoming 2017 British TV

This list did not include S3 of Fargo so it can go fuck itself.

I've never been a huge fan of Iwan McGregor but I'm actually looking forward his portrayal of both halves of a set of twins. The fact they're non-identical makes it all the better and is such a Fargo thing to do.

If Noah Hawley can elicit fantastic performances from Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson, he should have no problem working some magic with McGregor.

Yeah, odd choice to leave that one off, but include something like AHS, the most bipolar show I can ever recall. I thought maybe they weren't sure Fargo S3 would be released in 2017 but it looks like it's on schedule for spring.

 

[krsmith16]

Yeah it and Better Call Saul should both be back sometime in the spring. BCS probably should've made that list as well.

 

[deepdarkblue]

Has anybody watched Shut Eye (Hulu original series)? It looks kind of interesting (dark comedy about the world of California psychics) and the cast looks really good, but the reviews seem to hover in the "meh" to "eh, it's ok" range.