The SB TV thread

parker · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:48 pm

A handful of armed soldiers took over the white house by swimming up into some caves underneath it, going through a shoddily bricked up wall in the basement then telling secret service they had the president when they actually didn't. These are the episodes from after the writer's strike when they had a whole year to think something up. The show is a comedy. It's like a modern version of a camp James Bond film.
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Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

Wow, the sixth episode of Dollhouse is practically a new pilot, one that actually shows the series could actually be good. The first 5 episodes weren't just bad, they also gave no hope that the show could ever be good: the main character was a bore, there was almost no mythology, and the plots were mostly standalone and cringe inducing.

Episode 6 reformulates Paul (Tahmoh Penikett's character) as the hero, lets him meet Echo so that the story can actually go somewhere, and has some good dialogue and fight scenes to boot.

That's not to say the show is home free. Episode 6 is written by Whedon - will the non-Whedon episodes be crap? And will they have to make Eliza Dushku the main character again, because she has top billing in the credits? It's not that I don't like Dushku, it's that she doesn't really play a character, so it's impossible to identify with her. Tahmoh Penikett is a mediocre actor, but at least we know who his character is!

RobotRocker · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:56 am

EXCITEMENT

Charlie Brookers Newswipe starts tommorrow night at 10:30pm on BBC4. Of course, no one cares since we will be watching it on iPlayer instead. Fuck you TV Licence.

chevluh · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Switzerland

They're making a new miniseries for The Prisoner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FqQsaK5KpQ

On one hand the tone and some of the plot seem pretty different, on the other hand the fact it's not sticking to the original may make it possible to appreciate it on its own terms.

So far to me it seems pretty interesting.

Also I'm following Warehouse 13 and while not spectacular it's pretty good with nice crunchy steampunk bits. TV could use more USB Babbage analytical engines! Also reminds me of the Lost Room, with all the artifacts with weird powers.

Dracko · a sapphist fool Joined: 06 Dec 2006

Old news, man. AMC have even been streaming the entirety of the original series for Yanks.

chevluh · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Switzerland

The trailer's recent news though

Dracko · a sapphist fool Joined: 06 Dec 2006

Yeah, I noticed that. Sorry for being dismissive.

This looks like it could go good places. I like the idea of the Village as The Global Village, but all the while being a self-centred environment with no conception of an outside world.

Also, giant Rover.

Wonder if the finale will be just as trippy as the original's.

chevluh · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Switzerland

I can only hope there'll be less dancing though.

There's some crytalline towers that look a bit like the WTC in the background of the rover shot.

Also after that I looked up a few bits of the original to refresh my memory and I was amused to regognize the cab and map scene.

So far the main possible letdown for me is since they've got Sir Magneto very much in the foreground it probably means they won't change number 2 with each episode. I like the "self-centred environment with no conception of an outside world" thing too though I'll probably regret the idea of an obvious prison but where you don't know who's a jailer and who's a prisoner.

Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

>>>>> · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Location: ^^^^^

are the days in 24 sequential? Like is season seven just the end of a busy week?

Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

no.

There are usually a couple of years between. Otherwise they'd probably have called it 24/7.

Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

24/7 is just an expression for doing something all the time. That sounds like a show about a workaholic (or a sexaholic like in Californication). 24 is a better title because it explains the show's gimmick: there are 24 episodes, and 24 hours, so it's real time. Except not really, since each episode is 42 minutes.

RobotRocker · Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:17 pm

Last nights Top Gear is one of the best they have ever done. The final four minutes are a bit over the top and melodramatic but at the same time, goosebump inducing. And Jeremy's final Volkswagen advert had me laughing for 3 minutes straight. Jay Leno was also a really fun guest (They did well for Star in a Reasonably priced car this year since they had some really funny and interesting guests like Stephen Fry and Usain Bolt instead of people just on to plug their latest film/book).
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Tulpa · Joined: 31 Jul 2008

Hey, Ian McKellen is going to be number 2 in every episode. It's just going to be six episodes. I am under the impression that the show will kind of miss the point of the original to make a new kind of weaker point. The dreamlike atmosphere is certainly gone, replaced by a bland dystopian atmosphere. You can't exactly overtly contradict almost every element in every single episode and leave nothing consistent if it's only going to be a single miniseries with a single plot.
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>>>>> · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Location: ^^^^^

Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

I remember Tim Rogers asking the same question about 24 and also dismissing it. Unless it was aderack?

Dracko · a sapphist fool Joined: 06 Dec 2006

Stephen Fry and Grant Morrison on the BBC?

This better happen.

(It also better be The Invisibles TV show.)

internisus · shafer sephiroth Joined: 04 Dec 2006

Does anyone here watch Monk? I've been watching from the very beginning. Great show. Everyone always refers to it as goofy or whatever, but besides the comedy I have always found it bittersweet and melancholic. Monk himself is a great sad romantic character, and I was worried about how the series finale would be handled; but I am very pleased with the first half. So far it's a lovely send-off, and it isn't sacrificing comedic moments for any more self-sentimentality than it usually has. I'll be very sad to have it end, but I'm glad that they are doing it well.

Winona Ghost Ryder · lives in a monochromatic world Joined: 04 Dec 2006

http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n12/htdocs/david-simon-280.php

elvis.shrugged · Joined: 17 Apr 2007

Finished the first season of Babylon 5 a couple days ago. First TV show I've loved in ages.
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internisus · shafer sephiroth Joined: 04 Dec 2006

Take It Sleazy · Joined: 06 Dec 2006

Men of a Certain Age is good. It's kind of like Freaks and Geeks with old dudes. Bittersweet and realistic and a really great large cast. I have no idea how I even started watching it, but it's solid.

elvis.shrugged · Joined: 17 Apr 2007

Renfrew · Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 6:25 pm

I watched B5 religiously with my mom when it was first airing. We were always at the edge of our seats.

We went to a lot of scifi conventions back then and met a lot of the cast. We met I'm pretty sure we met Marcus, Lyta, Kosh's suit actor, Galen, The Centauri Emperor, Bester (Walter Koenig (!)) and maybe some others. I'll see if I can find my autograph folder. Marcus and I think Kosh picked me up. I remember all of the being very nice, (Koenic seemed more tired than nice) but I remember the emperor being especially funny.
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Winona Ghost Ryder · lives in a monochromatic world Joined: 04 Dec 2006

So how 'bout that Death Comes to Town?

Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

Dark Age Iron Savior · Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:51 am

just saw the dollhouse series finale

aside from whedon lol, it needed more pseudo-zombies, less heavy-handed redemptions

at least it was better than the buffy finale (lol)
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falsedan · Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Location: San Francisco

Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

Holy crap Paper Rad have an Adult Swim pilot. There's a little preview on the lower right. Paper Rad are an art collective that release cartoons, comics, and art books, and each member is in a few bands too. This will be one of the best things on Adult Swim if it gets picked up.

Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

The Pacific starts today.

If you don't know, that's Band of Brothers: Pacific Theater.

HBO.

Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

Finally got around to watching the first 5 episodes of Caprica. As good as the first 2 and a half seasons of Battlestar Galactica were, the ending left me with no desire to see a prequel. Caprica was conceived after the second season of BSG, when a 50-years-before story sounded like a good idea. If it had been written after season 4 I bet they would have separated it from the BSG series. The Battlestar connection isn't helping it in the ratings.

But once you get past the BSG prequel thing, it's addictive. The pilot is far less awkward than the mini-series that started off Battlestar Galactica. It's dark, full of potential and really well directed. The next few episodes are still good, but seem to lack urgency. That's not good for a first season, which normally hurry up to make sure people are interested. You have time to stretch out in later years.

Luckily the 5th episode was really fantastic and got things back on track. Its main storyline about a girl trapped in the virtual world is almost completely cribbed from .hack//sign, but it's told in 45 minutes instead of 26 episodes.

The actors on the show are uniformly excellent, whereas BSG had a mix of great actors like Olmos and terrible ones like Grace Park. Caprica also seems much more suited to Ron D. Moore's talents. BSG revealed that he has no knack for setting up long term plot threads and mysteries, as the last season didn't resolve any of the show's mysteries well. Caprica is a smaller scale show that might only need 2 or 3 seasons to wrap up its plot. That should be a lot harder for RDM to fuck up.

rabite gets whacked! · Joined: 05 Dec 2006

The Pacific is just mind numbingly boring. It's Saving Privat3 Ryan, now more heartfelt than ever! I'd really rather watch full length interviews with their featured veterans, I think. Watching this for the sound design, which is boring and very technically proficient.

Lost is pretty officially lame, and I'm not even entertained most of the time. I miss the old Locke/Linus relationship. Sun is probably the best character (and actor) on the show.

30 Rock is up to the same old tricks. Still generally funny, but I miss Arrested Development more than ever.

Breaking Bad is great and wrenching and campy and more uncomfortable than ever, and we haven't even gotten to the massive hijinks yet. I thought the entire airline bit seriously dragged down last season, but the payoffs with Walt's speech in the gym and his windshield freakout almost made it worth it.

The Cycling season's in full swing, with Fabian Cancellara owning the Tour of Flanders yesterday and the Basque Tour kicking off today with some strong rides. I'm probably the only one who cares about this though.
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Toptube · Anti-cabbage Party Candidate Joined: 23 Apr 2007

The Pacific is hitting the right notes, but Its hard to care just yet because overall it lacks a sense of scale and at the same time, is taking long to get me personally interested in the characters. Its just consistently medium.

I did think the episode in Australia was overall pretty excellent, though.

and yeah, Breaking Bad is proving to still be one of the secret best things on TV 3 years running.

I guess not so secret because it made it to a third season, but man more people need to watch it because any time I mention it to whoever, nobody knows what it is.

Dracko · a sapphist fool Joined: 06 Dec 2006

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Winona Ghost Ryder · lives in a monochromatic world Joined: 04 Dec 2006

shrugtheironteacup · *man of tomorrow* Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Location: a meat

I think you mean Observe and Report co-star Pena deadline.com.
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Winona Ghost Ryder · lives in a monochromatic world Joined: 04 Dec 2006

DonMarco · graphics fucker Joined: 06 Dec 2006

May
Dragonball Z Kai, Nick, May 23

June
Hell's Kitchen, FOX, June 1
Burn Notice and Royal Pains, USA, June 4
Lie to Me, FOX, June 7
Persons Unknown, NBC, June 7
Bullshit, Showtime, June 10
Futurama, Comedy Central, June 28
Rescue Me, FX, June 29

July
Eureka, SyFy, July 9
Warehouse 13, SyFy, July 13
Mad Men, AMC, July 25

August
Rubicon, AMC, August 1
Weeds, Showtime, August 16

Any others I'm missing or should watch?
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Still alive.

Ebrey · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles

I just heard about the show Party Down, which is weird since it's on its second season. It's created by the writers of Veronica Mars and Paul Rudd, who guest starred on a Veronica Mars episode. I watched a few episodes and it has potential, but it's got some awfully clunky jokes. Maybe it's because the writers haven't done a sitcom before, but it doesn't feel very fresh. It did a joke about "Mexican" being a racial slur which The Office did about 5 years ago.

Definitely worth it for Veronica Mars fans though - in the early episodes they make sure to have a VM actor guest star each week. The cast is mostly VM actors and Martin Starr, the funniest geek from Freaks and Geeks.