Marathoned all of Silicon Valley between Thursday and Saturday. I liked the show a lot.
I didn't finish that show because it failed the Bechdel Test so blatantly.
Maybe I'm not getting something, but doesn't the Bechdel Test apply to women in a movie? Nearly the entire cast of Silicon Valley is male so the test wouldn't apply.
There are about 3 women in the entire show (as far as I got). Two of them are sex objects (Gilfoyle's gf and the TechCrunch Disrupt judge's wife) and the other is a secretary.
While I will be the first person to agree with you that diversity typically results in a more well-rounded, better product (casts of TV shows included, with the latest SNL cast addition being the only big exception to this statement), I don't think I've ever turned off a TV show and yelled "There aren't enough 'X' on this show!" Nor would I probably do that if I was running a tiny startup with 5 employees. I'd just get the best people I could find.
Silicon valley was a bit of a roller coaster in terms of quality, regardless of diversity flaws. The creators went out of their way to poke fun at everything that the technology industry is, when only certain aspects of that industry really warrant lampooning. It did feel like they were writing jokes that played to the mouth-breather/luddite crowd at some points (hur hur! that guy thinks technology is a good thing! let's go vomit on his commuter bus!).
Jokes delivered when they focused more on the awkwardness of larger corporate cultures (which we know is Mike Judge's comedy strength), and the flat out weirdness of some people who rise to the executive level.
(BTW, if you got to the part with the Disrupt judge's wife, you may have finished the season and not realized it. It's on a 7 episode run, I think, and she was in the last two).
Defiance, Archer, Spider-man Unlimited, Kinights of Sidonia, Avengers Assemble, Orange is the new Black, ahhhh... Having a baby is good for TV watching.
Finished the Bletchley Circle season 2. Good show, but it's a shame it got cancelled. Started watching Vikings season 2. Very good show and I'm interested in seeing where they're going with it.
Also knights of sidonia was ok, I guess. I don't like space mech shows usually: this apparently plays on spinning common mech show tropes, but I can't tell where it's dead serious and where it might be somewhat 'knowing'
Taken straight it has many logic failures, frustrating ones. And in terms if storytelling the pacing is all over. Yet as a whole you want to watch more anyway.
Just binge watched the entire Bojack Horseman season.
It's not the best animated comedy show ever made. But I am left having laughed laughs and felt feels, and I really want to see more of it, to see where these characters go.
Gravity Falls is a fantastic animated show. It's so original, so funny, such delightful characters and it's filled to the brim with great designs and riffs on supernatural ideas. The overarching story is perfectly handled making every episode stand on it's own and connect at the same time. Love it, haven't watched any of Season 2, but I know I'm in for a treat with all the creative work involved.
Just binge watched the entire Bojack Horseman season.
It's not the best animated comedy show ever made. But I am left having laughed laughs and felt feels, and I really want to see more of it, to see where these characters go.
I've seen 6 episodes. It's okay. It has potential, but it's really half-assed from the animation to the characters. Will Arnett plays Will Arnett as a horse and Aaron Paul is a toned-down Jessie from Breaking Bad. At best, it's a combo between Eastbound and Down and Ugly Americans, and at worst it reminds me of Allen Gregory. And just about every joke has an obvious precipice to it that makes it unfunny with really broad characters. It is pretty good at animal humor though.
Does it get funnier past those six episodes? People are saying it needs time, but six episodes is a lot of lines for a few laughs and nothing memorable.
I don't know how to quantify funnier. I wasn't keeping much tally of the funny levels. It never got hilarious or quotable: it's not Archer. It's basically worth an evening or two to pound out as a cohesive single 'whole' experience more-so than something I'd want to revisit week to week. It doesn't grip you over those timescales.
I think the second half is better in terms of entertainment but I wouldn't say it gets 'funnier' just more cohesive?
I'll say 3 of the 4 best episodes for me were in the back-half.
There's a lot of places where one can connect (or at least I felt I did) with actions or situations or feelings a lot of the main characters express. Maybe not crazy drug parties or what-not but certainly we've probably all had something important that we knew we needed even wanted to accomplish. "but, you know what, here's a game that I just wanna play one round of" annnnnnnd now you just spent all night and you're boned.
Maybe there's people who are disciplined and successful and perfect who never succumb to those urges but I know I've had that 'issue' many times and so things like that which are in the show are how I was able to 'connect' and be more invested.
And It's not like that is a unique, or major, plot device or situation or anything, but it works for me.
Watched the last six episodes. Doesn't really feel much the same. I get how you can get into it because there are so many real moments of stifled creativity and jackassery, but it's really mediocre. It just has a really bad habit of telling jokes the same few ways: Asking people if they got the joke, or having an obvious buildup, or going into a rant having someone get completely distracted by something else in the rant.
For a show that's on Netflix that has no borders, it plays this type of story angle incredibly safe. Half the characters are really bland aside from having talented people voice them and the things it says about Hollywood or Loneliness or Alcoholic are not new or insightful or go beyond normal convention. I will say the episode "Downer Ending" was easily the best. It should do more, but it doesn't.
We got half way through episode three of Orphan Black before giving up. It turned really stupid really quickly. Why do TV shows with long story arcs do that?
So Peaky Blinders is decent, at least the first season that's on Netflix; especially if you can into 20's era gangster settings. But it does nothing unpredictable nor groundbreaking. I know I've seen these characters and situations before, somewhere between Sons of Anarchy, Boardwalk Empire, and Snatch you can find all the parts required to cobble this show together.
It's only 6 episodes in the first season so it's definitely something one could do in 2-3 sittings, and the next season is just coming out now so I suppose that will be the sign whether it gets really good or just stays OK. And it will have Bronson Tom Hardy so that is a good sign.
We got half way through episode three of Orphan Black before giving up. It turned really stupid really quickly. Why do TV shows with long story arcs do that?
I was surprised you went through to half way with this I dropped it after the second or third episode.
My brother kept on watching and then realised the error of his ways much later.
The first two episodes told a single story, with the big reveal being "yup, clones!" to our main character. In episode three the drama story became "main character passing herself off as a detective" which is only possible due to everyone being as stupid or more stupid than she is. And that is very stupid.
Has anyone else checked out Gotham? It's horrible, but at times it's so awful it's kind of funny. It's completely tone-deaf with pretty bad acting across the board except for the guys who play Harvey Bullock and The Penguin. Dialogue is bad and the plot is just ridiculous for each episode trying to connect back to young Bruce Wayne. It's like watching Adam West Batman in Frank Miller's Sin City.
Granted I have almost zero interest watching most serialized shows (unless serialization is only used as subplot), but that show looked really dumb and cheesy.
EDIT: Although if your description is to be believed then the commercials did a great job marketing what type of show it is supposed to be.
Granted I have almost zero interest watching most serialized shows (unless serialization is only used as subplot), but that show looked really dumb and cheesy.
If the idea of a man murdering people with weather balloons following a scene of The Penguin slicing someone up to get enough money for a sandwich, then this show is for you!
I view Gotham as the prequel to the Tim Burton Batman universe and I enjoy it.
I'm also enjoying SHIELD (Like Double awesome improved), Arrow (Still going good) and Flash (Actually not super dark and more like 90's version). So far, just waiting to check out Constantine.
Person of Interest is now one of my favorite shows. I avoided it in the beginning because I thought it was a police procedural (which I don't like) but it's really about a group working with an AI to help people in trouble.
And now this season they have an enemy AI trying to hunt them down.
Penguin is definitely stealing the show right now. Bruce comes off as a sulky, petulant, self-destructive child instead of the "I'm driven to avenge my parents' death" guy. Alfred is somewhat in "OHSHI- now I have to raise a kid" mode and is exhibiting next to none of the character's trademark dry wit and unflappability. Gordon is the white knight in tarnished armor. Bullock is over-the-top when it comes to how corrupt he is, but that does make for some good comedic back-and-forth. The "OMG GORDON'S GIRLFRIEND HAD A THING WITH MONTOYA" shocker they dropped in episode one has pretty much worn itself thin after two episodes, so they either need to move that subplot along or flush it. The Fish Mooney character is in need of more development beyond "I R SO CORRUPT, I M TAKE OVER TEH MOBZ". But Penguin? Damn, if they aren't putting some good work into his development. Dude is NOT afraid to get his hands dirty, all while maintaining proper decorum. And I must say, the casting for his mother, Mrs. Kapelput, was genius.
The first two episodes told a single story, with the big reveal being "yup, clones!" to our main character. In episode three the drama story became "main character passing herself off as a detective" which is only possible due to everyone being as stupid or more stupid than she is. And that is very stupid.
Well done for bailing at the right time.
I'm curious, why is everyone else on the show stupid? Because they didn't realize that the main character was impersonating the cop? I guess I just have a bit more suspension of disbelief than you. If someone I see on a daily basis suddenly starts acting differently, I don't think "Oh my god! Person X has been replaced by a doppleganger who's really his/her cloned twin!" I think a clone could very easily pass himself or herself off as another person in real life because we don't think clones exist and would never assume that someone acting strange was a clone. You seem to be applying knowledge and logic that you as the audience know, but that the characters in the show would never be aware of.
Now, you might not have liked Orphan Black, but to stop watching the show because you thought the characters were stupid because they didn't realize that one character was pretending to be her cloned sister seems a bit unfair.
Comments
Silicon valley was a bit of a roller coaster in terms of quality, regardless of diversity flaws. The creators went out of their way to poke fun at everything that the technology industry is, when only certain aspects of that industry really warrant lampooning. It did feel like they were writing jokes that played to the mouth-breather/luddite crowd at some points (hur hur! that guy thinks technology is a good thing! let's go vomit on his commuter bus!).
Jokes delivered when they focused more on the awkwardness of larger corporate cultures (which we know is Mike Judge's comedy strength), and the flat out weirdness of some people who rise to the executive level.
(BTW, if you got to the part with the Disrupt judge's wife, you may have finished the season and not realized it. It's on a 7 episode run, I think, and she was in the last two).
Also knights of sidonia was ok, I guess. I don't like space mech shows usually: this apparently plays on spinning common mech show tropes, but I can't tell where it's dead serious and where it might be somewhat 'knowing'
Taken straight it has many logic failures, frustrating ones. And in terms if storytelling the pacing is all over. Yet as a whole you want to watch more anyway.
It's not the best animated comedy show ever made. But I am left having laughed laughs and felt feels, and I really want to see more of it, to see where these characters go.
Does it get funnier past those six episodes? People are saying it needs time, but six episodes is a lot of lines for a few laughs and nothing memorable.
I think the second half is better in terms of entertainment but I wouldn't say it gets 'funnier' just more cohesive?
I'll say 3 of the 4 best episodes for me were in the back-half.
There's a lot of places where one can connect (or at least I felt I did) with actions or situations or feelings a lot of the main characters express. Maybe not crazy drug parties or what-not but certainly we've probably all had something important that we knew we needed even wanted to accomplish. "but, you know what, here's a game that I just wanna play one round of" annnnnnnd now you just spent all night and you're boned.
Maybe there's people who are disciplined and successful and perfect who never succumb to those urges but I know I've had that 'issue' many times and so things like that which are in the show are how I was able to 'connect' and be more invested.
And It's not like that is a unique, or major, plot device or situation or anything, but it works for me.
For a show that's on Netflix that has no borders, it plays this type of story angle incredibly safe. Half the characters are really bland aside from having talented people voice them and the things it says about Hollywood or Loneliness or Alcoholic are not new or insightful or go beyond normal convention. I will say the episode "Downer Ending" was easily the best. It should do more, but it doesn't.
Orphan Black. Episode 1. Pretty good.
It's only 6 episodes in the first season so it's definitely something one could do in 2-3 sittings, and the next season is just coming out now so I suppose that will be the sign whether it gets really good or just stays OK. And it will have
BronsonTom Hardy so that is a good sign.My brother kept on watching and then realised the error of his ways much later.
Well done for bailing at the right time.
EDIT: Although if your description is to be believed then the commercials did a great job marketing what type of show it is supposed to be.
I'm also enjoying SHIELD (Like Double awesome improved), Arrow (Still going good) and Flash (Actually not super dark and more like 90's version). So far, just waiting to check out Constantine.
And now this season they have an enemy AI trying to hunt them down.
Now, you might not have liked Orphan Black, but to stop watching the show because you thought the characters were stupid because they didn't realize that one character was pretending to be her cloned sister seems a bit unfair.