Binge Watching Series Recommendations

[rec head]

Not exactly breaking news but I've been watching Last of Us and it's been good - especially the recent episode with Nick Offerman. I don't do video games and don't know anything about it but it's been an interesting show.

I just bought a PS5 and The Last of Us game after watching the show. So much of the TV series is word for word from the game which shows how well the game is written. I have never had a game console before but I'm enjoying it as horrible as I am. Sometimes I need a break from reality and this is working out well.

[htwoopup]

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Silly premise but truly quirky funny. Brilliantly written with all kinds of double entendres and some inside/ not so inside funny lines. Brilliantly cast and marvelously directed and acted. Incredible production auspices which actually delivers a great product (not a usual thing for resume programming but this one puts the lie to that production cliche). Netflix. Marvelous light fare with truly endearing characters. Lotso smiles.

[robin3mj]

The Tom Cruise schlock I’m interested in is the sci-fi with Emily Blunt, but I have heard that the new top gun will overcome a grump. Disappointed that Ghost Goose doesn’t seem to be in the story.

The new Top Gun is really fun. I’ve watched it a few times. I would say though that Goose does figure pretty heavily in the plot, without giving too much away.

[Matthew Strongin]

I finally watched Breaking Bad after years of everyone telling me how amazing it is. Meh. I mean it's good, maybe even very good and certainly worth a binge, but I don't think it warrants being IMDB's highest rated TV show of all time. Maybe it's just all the hype I've listened too over the years.

[echappist]

I finally watched Breaking Bad after years of everyone telling me how amazing it is. Meh. I mean it's good, maybe even very good and certainly worth a binge, but I don't think it warrants being IMDB's highest rated TV show of all time. Maybe it's just all the hype I've listened too over the years.

The same could be said for any one of the top rated IMDB shows.

The Wire, at least to an American audience, might be an exception, for it has an ensemble cast, and the story told extend beyond the characters themselves. The personal motivations and actions are of interest, but one gets the dinstinct sense that the story is larger than just the lives of the characters.

But in general, I find shows centered on an antihero very difficult to stomach, and at one point or another, it just felt indulgent, to the point of, oh great, the schmuck has reverted to form with his/her latest dastardly act. At least for a movie/ miniseries, the denouement is swift, but it feels like groundhog day watching some of the series from the so-called golden era of American TV.

I’ll confess that the only reason why i got through all of it was because I am a trained chemist, and that was an angle that compelled me to stay with it at the beginning. The audacity of the plot kept me interested through the middle seasons, and the shakespearean tragedy conclusion, with its allusions to other great works of the past, held my interest to the end. But all these factors are personal.

[Matthew Strongin]

The same could be said for any one of the top rated IMDB shows.

The Wire, at least to an American audience, might be an exception, for it has an ensemble cast, and the story told extend beyond the characters themselves. The personal motivations and actions are of interest, but one gets the dinstinct sense that the story is larger than just the lives of the characters.

But in general, I find shows centered on an antihero very difficult to stomach, and at one point or another, it just felt indulgent, to the point of, oh great, the schmuck has reverted to form with his/her latest dastardly act. At least for a movie/ miniseries, the denouement is swift, but it feels like groundhog day watching some of the series from the so-called golden era of American TV.

I’ll confess that the only reason why i got through all of it was because I am a trained chemist, and that was an angle that compelled me to stay with it at the beginning. The audacity of the plot kept me interested through the middle seasons, and the shakespearean tragedy conclusion, with its allusions to other great works of the past, held my interest to the end. But all these factors are personal.

Even among the antihero dramas, I'd still put it below Homeland (early seasons), Peaky Blinders, Oz, Homicide: Life on the Streets (not really antihero but very dark), by a wide margin. And probably a handful of others that aren't popping into my head right now. Bryan Cranston is awesome in the show and kudos to him for the transformation from Malcolm in the Middle's dad to Walter White. But man is most of the acting and filming mediocre and the plot line mostly feels rehashed from season to season other than the final.

[echappist]

Even among the antihero dramas, I'd still put it below Homeland (early seasons), Peaky Blinders, Oz, Homicide: Life on the Streets (not really antihero but very dark), by a wide margin. And probably a handful of others that aren't popping into my head right now. Bryan Cranston is awesome in the show and kudos to him for the transformation from Malcolm in the Middle's dad to Walter White. But man is most of the acting and filming mediocre and the plot line mostly feels rehashed from season to season other than the final.

If one takes a step back, I think the criticism on plot line could be said of Peaky Blinders, and that show perhaps gets more than its fair due because of the British accent, the cinematography, and the stylistic elements. To be fair, its cast of very good actors (e.g. Murphy, McCrory, Neal, Hardy, Gillen, Considine, etc.) really carry the show, whereas Breaking Bad has only Cranston as an A-lister actor at the beginning. But to me, the plot in Peaky Blinders breaks down time and again, and it's rehashed season to season (adversary of the season).

I haven't watched any of the others to be able to comment, but given that the plot of Homicide is based writing of David Simon and that he served as writer/producer on the show, I would think the plot is quite good.

[echappist]

Similar veins

Kloe on Netflix - Think I've mentioned this here. East German assassin true believer gets screwed over by her handlers. Then the wall goes down and it's on. Hilarity but poignant and historical and smart.

Deutschland 83, 86, 89 - Three seasons following East German assassin/operative who starts out a true believer and then transitions into just trying to out-live his country's government. Some hilarity, action and history, but grittier than Kloe. 83 is on AppleTV or PrimeVideo and the subsequent two 86 & 89 are on Hulu. Seems like 86 and 89 have different production budgets and perhaps writers, so in some ways not as coherent/cohesive as 83 but in other ways more frenetic and disorienting for all characters involved as GDR falls apart.

Oh man, and I thought 83 was incoherent and had some major plot holes; based on your description, I'd imagine that certain plot holes and inconsistencies of 86 and 89 might be seemingly larger than the Fulda Gap...

Nonetheless, I think we'll get Hulu for a month and watch 86 and 89.

To me, the whole situation with East/ West Berlin is just utterly fascinating, down to elements as mundane as West Berlin subway lines that have to traverse East Berlin but cannot make stops inside the territory of the latter, or how Friedrichstraße station was entirely within East Berlin but acted as a border crossing.

And then there's the whole nightmare that is the Stasi (the internal surveillance and self-reporting aspects of which I thought 83 captured well), which is very reminiscent of the horrors of 1984.

[9tubes]

Daisy and the Six. Recently released by Apple. It's a series about a rock band in the 70s.

[j44ke]

Oh man, and I thought 83 was incoherent and had some major plot holes; based on your description, I'd imagine that certain plot holes and inconsistencies of 86 and 89 might be seemingly larger than the Fulda Gap...

Nonetheless, I think we'll get Hulu for a month and watch 86 and 89.

To me, the whole situation with East/ West Berlin is just utterly fascinating, down to elements as mundane as West Berlin subway lines that have to traverse East Berlin but cannot make stops inside the territory of the latter, or how Friedrichstraße station was entirely within East Berlin but acted as a border crossing.

And then there's the whole nightmare that is the Stasi (the internal surveillance and self-reporting aspects of which I thought 83 captured well), which is very reminiscent of the horrors of 1984.

One of the story threads started in 86 continues in 89 and captures some of the gritty aspects of the post-wall, pre-unification period. It was a dangerous time.

[vertical_doug]

There is a french canadian series from 2019-2021 called 'The Wall', it has everything I like in Nordic noir- Murder in a cold place where everyone is dysfunctional. Nothing like Winter in Labrador.

I think Amazon has bought the rights now.

[72gmc]

There is a french canadian series from 2019-2021 called 'The Wall', it has everything I like in Nordic noir- Murder in a cold place where everyone is dysfunctional. Nothing like Winter in Labrador.

I think Amazon has bought the rights now.

Northern European settings? Dead bodies? My wife will be right there.

[vertical_doug]

Northern European settings? Dead bodies? My wife will be right there.

It's an oldie but a goodie- check out 'Trapped' it is icelandic with Olafur Olafsson

[72gmc]

It's an oldie but a goodie- check out 'Trapped' it is icelandic with Olafur Olafsson

Oooh it has Johan Johannsson on the soundtrack team … that’ll draw me in. A shame he passed so young.

[Bob Ross]

The missus and I just discovered and dove into Away with Hillary Swank and Josh Charles. Netflix series from 2020 about a NASA mission to Mars.

It looks like the plot will veer dangerously close to soap opera territory at times, but the writing has so far kept those "personal drama" aspects very real and engaging, and not at all trite. I'm especially impressed with the cinematography; lots of scenes -- including what could've been just a boring close-up of some actor's face -- are gorgeously lit and shot, with captivating detail. Clearly a high budget production.

We're already 4 episodes into the 10 episode series. Thumbs up!

[robin3mj]

A couple new Apple shows: Platonic and Drops of God. Both very good in different ways

Rose Byrne is a gem. Stunning to look at but also hilarious actor both physically and in her delivery.

[zetroc]

I'm on a Starz trial and watching some stuff: Ash vs Evil Dead, very fun if you like the movies. Black Sails seems like it's trying to be Game of Thrones But For Pirates and is pretty good at it.

[d.bancroft]

Not sure its been mentioned in this thread previously, but I really enjoyed Severance and Shrinking on AppleTV. Currently watching Silo (but its not at binge episode status yet).

[Rich Beaudoin]

Ash vs Evil Dead, very fun…

Bruce Campbell the actor who plays ‘Ash’ is my neighbor and he and his wife ride their ebikes often

[bigbill]

Just finished season one of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. It's fun and well-cast. Jane Lynch as Steve Martin's former stunt double is wonderful.

https://www.salon.com/2021/10/13/onl...me-jane-lynch/