What TV SHOWS are you watching?

Red Oaks on Amazon. Enjoyable show with a nice nostalgia factor for those of us who grew up in the '80s. It feels like a less lampoon Caddyshack, and that's not a bad thing.

After I finished GLOW the Netflix show, I watched GLOW the documentary, also on Netflix. It's not a very good documentary, but the subject matter is interesting. It's also really short, so it's no big hassle to watch. What I found the most fascinating was how accurately detailed the Netflix show is. They took characters from reality and renamed them so that they could create their own narratives for them, and they took real anecdotes and used them almost exactly.

I never watched GLOW when it was on, although theoretically I should have been right in the demographic. Now I kinda wish that I had.

Michael Barnes wrote: I just hate that every new show has to be chock full of profanity and sex. Did we really need that quite graphic sex scene (with noted board gamer RICH SOMMER!) in the first show? I'm no prude, but Thee constant barrage of R-rated material gets old. Every show is like Skinemax After Hours or whatever now.

"The constant barrage of TV-MA labeled shows that I keep choosing to watch gets old," said the disgruntled hobby game enthusiast and noted internet prude between bouts of violently stabbing obese furries.

Gregarius wrote: After I finished GLOW the Netflix show, I watched GLOW the documentary, also on Netflix. It's not a very good documentary, but the subject matter is interesting. It's also really short, so it's no big hassle to watch. What I found the most fascinating was how accurately detailed the Netflix show is. They took characters from reality and renamed them so that they could create their own narratives for them, and they took real anecdotes and used them almost exactly.

I never watched GLOW when it was on, although theoretically I should have been right in the demographic. Now I kinda wish that I had.

It was a fun show to watch growing up. It did give me a little more buy in to the Netflix show.

Michael Barnes wrote: I'm no prude, but Thee constant barrage of R-rated material gets old. Every show is like Skinemax After Hours or whatever now.

I have to agree. It really undermined the theme of female empowerment that was pursued halfheartedly throughout. Ruth's character was less of a problem for me, but I prefer complete characters to likeable 2D alternatives.

I re-watched the pilot episode of Preacher last night, since I still have a few more days before it is due back at the library. What really struck me this time around was that all three main characters were introduced with great scenes. Cassidy and Tulip get great action scenes, punctuated with some quirky character moments and some startling humor. Jesse's intro scene is slower-paced, but more revealing, and segues into a second scene that takes a surprisingly dark turn.

One dramatic difference between the show and the comic is the relationship between Jesse and Tulip. In the comics, it is a great romance marred only by some poor personal decisions. On the show, there are some allusions and flashbacks to their past relationship, but no romantic moments or even any chemistry in the present. And in a show where nearly all the casting is surprisingly close to the visual appearance of the comic characters, Tulip stands out as looking very different from her comic book counterpart. Played by the unfortunately named Ruth Negga, the show Tulip is every bit as tough and resourceful as the comic book version. But Negga can't help playing Tulip with a certain amount of eye-rolling cynicism, whereas the comic book version (who looked more like a young Frances McDormand) seemed more credulous at times. I personally find Negga more attractive than comic Tulip, but it's harder to buy into her relationship with Jesse because she seems too tough to love.



The other major difference is Arseface. He really served no purpose in the comic aside from crude comic relief and shock value. On the show, Arseface struggles with his faith in a very credible and interesting way, then plays an important role in a pivotal scene. After that, he continues to haunt Jesse's conscience, forcing him to face the limits of his power and his faith. I'm an atheist and generally have little interest in prolonged discussions of faith, but faith is a complex and interesting topic on Preacher.

Finished GLOW tonight. That was a really fun show!

Also watched all of Castlevania, which is unfortunately only 4 episodes. It's pretty cool, but it doesn't really get anywhere before it's over. It's already been signed for a second season, which hopefully has a lot more episodes.

I am nearly finished watching Archer season six.Aside from the Kenny Loggins episode, I thought that season five was terrible, so I gave up on the show. But the library had season six, so I gave it a shot. The first half of the season wasn't bad, but it also wasn't as good as the first four seasons. Mid-season, Archer abruptly got really funny again, starting with the episode featuring Lana's parents. It even included a pretty good "phrasing" joke, which had been missing from the show for too long. And everything since then has been good. Looks like I need to give season seven a chance.

No Game of Thrones talk?

Spoiler free talk...

I watched most of the first episode and my main takeaway is that it seems like it would be very easy for Arya to kill the queen at this point. Her abilities are nuts

Are her trainers and sponsors ok with her just doing what she wants? It seems like a threat to their establIshment, no?

That first scene in GoT was great, and not only because I beat my wife to the punch in calling the twist (since she always guesses major plot twists and revelations 20 seconds before they happen). I was also pleasantly surprised at how well-rounded a character The Hound has become. He started out as an irredeemable misanthrope so his newfound change of heart had an unexpected amount of impact. And even though I'm not sure I agree with her in her disagreement with her brother, I'm on Team Sansa all the way (and that was before her hilarious parting shot to Littlefinger).

Black Barney wrote: Are her trainers and sponsors ok with her just doing what she wants? It seems like a threat to their establIshment, no?

I'm sure they're not okay with it, but at this point she's like Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt when he decided to go off the grid in the first Mission Impossible movie; his agency trained him so well that they couldn't catch him if they tried.