What Are You Watching?

[The_Blade]

So, in preparation for the next season, I'm rewatching Dark on Netflix. This is an "S" tier show that must be watched on its own without distractions. I heavily recommend you also watch it in German, because I'm a snob for originals.

It's been a rewatch heavy month so "Catedral of the Sea" was also on the recently watched series. "A" tier historical series.

On a more casual note I've been watching a channel called "Sideways", which analyses and deconstructs movie music and the scenes where they do ambiance. He is a great essay builder and gives credit were it's due. Found other great channels thanks to him.

A snippet of "Sideways":

Hidden Content:

Also dove back into the first season of Spartacus. Hell, I remember the top notch drama more than violence and sex, but the violence and sex do have to be the defining features of that show. In relation to the previous posts, it's ahead by a decade on the topic of representation; and without being dishonest or compromising the plot to push an agenda that did not exist yet. I'll slap it next to Sense 8 and I tu Mamá También on stuff that should be watched alone.

[Turalyon]

Ooh, Dark is on my list, too! Been waiting for the last season so I can watch it one go.

Spartacus is fricking awesome! All hail Batiatus! Man, I'd love to see a "swear off" between him, Deadwood's Al Swearengen and The Thick of It's Malcolm Tucker.

I'm currently going through the original anime, Death Note, for the first time. The dense plotting and the in-universe, self awareness of the characters and their motivations makes for some unpredictable and speedy turn of events. The rate they burn through character material that would usually take other shows a whole season to reveal/develop does make some of the later contrivances they include feel kinda "convenient". It's almost as if they're artificially extending the plot. Thankfully, it's only 37 episodes.

[sandwich_bird]

One of the best cinematic trailer I've ever seen. If Starcraft actually took itself seriously and this was Valarian and Mengsk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBhWNyRVJmM

[Nissa]

I'm watching a bit of DS9. I forgot how much I like it. While their portrayal of older ST races was often narrow, they did expand on some of the less popular/new species in a way that was really fun. I also think that the cast gelled together pretty well.

[Turalyon]

^ DS9 is how one would do "dark" ST properly... not the inanity we've got with modern Trek. Have you seen any modern Trek? It's so much like what Sc2 is to Sc1.

[Mislagnissa]

^ DS9 is how one would do "dark" ST properly... not the inanity we've got with modern Trek. Have you seen any modern Trek? It's so much like what Sc2 is to Sc1.

SC1 didn’t set a high bar to begin with.

The blurb on the official website was:

A Galaxy in Chaos...
In the distant future, a small group of human exiles have been doomed to fight for survival on the edge of the galaxy. Through military strength, espionage, and deceit, a unified Terran government has maintained an uneasy peace, but as resources and fuel run short the Confederate nations find themselves looking towards the rich worlds of their alien neighbors, the enigmatic Protoss. To further complicate matters, it seems that a previously unknown species-- the Zerg-- have entered Protoss space and are destroying everything in their path. The time for war has come.

The story we got was this:

Mengsk abandons Kerrigan in the final battle, leaving her to be captured by the zerg.

all zerg now follow Kerrigan.

SC2 isn’t worse than SC1. The childhood nostalgia for the original blinds fans to its faults and fans foolishly assumed that the storytelling would improve proportionally with their tastes as adults.

Given that SC1 was not a good story to begin with, there was no way that SC2 could improve upon it.

[Nissa]

^ DS9 is how one would do "dark" ST properly... not the inanity we've got with modern Trek. Have you seen any modern Trek? It's so much like what Sc2 is to Sc1.

It's one of those things where I watch reviews rather than the actual shows. I did see that clip where Burnham does the Vulcan nerve pinch on her captain, and at that point my eyes rolled so far back in my head that I realized I was allergic to new "Trek". I hate wokeness with the power of a thousand suns. It's one thing to have people of diverse backgrounds, but quite another to use that as an excuse for crappy writing.

Honestly, though, I think I'm at the point where I can confidently say Sisko is my favorite captain. I've grown up with Kirk, but the trouble with Kirk and Picard is that they have such demented relationships with women. Kirk throws himself at anything female he sees, whether or not she's human, robot, or engaged to someone else. Not to mention there was that mission where he had to find a cure for a disease, and yet he wastes time trying to hit on a girl. Picard, on the other hand, seems weirdly shy around women. Both of them kind of go for that "use 'em and lose 'em" thing with women. Kirk because he's gross in that regard, and Picard because he's too shy with women (seriously, when he's interacting with women in a non-professional way, he's so awkward) to have any really lasting long relationships. Both of them seem to represent the trouble Roddenberry had keeping it in his pants. Sisko, on the other hand, was a respectable family man and not a creeper.

[Turalyon]

SC1 didn’t set a high bar to begin with.

I never said it did. Nice strawman you're building though.

SC2 isn’t worse than SC1. The childhood nostalgia for the original blinds fans to its faults and fans foolishly assumed that the storytelling would improve proportionally with their tastes as adults.

Given that SC1 was not a good story to begin with, there was no way that SC2 could improve upon it.

Talking about the subjective feels/what it evokes here. Sc1 has stronger themes and weight than Sc2 does. Much like earlier Trek compared to modern Trek.

Besides, nostalgia ain't a bad thing to have when there's nothing else. Something has to be half-way decent in order for nostalgia to even begin to take root in the first place. I don't see anyone being nostalgic about Sc2 and yet people still do for Sc1. It means for all it's faults, something worked. Like Trek. Something about them worked/persisted despite their hamfisted acting and pretentious stories, whereas modern Trek has none of this charm and only just uses the aesthetics of Trek for generic action plots.

It's one of those things where I watch reviews rather than the actual shows. I did see that clip where Burnham does the Vulcan nerve pinch on her captain, and at that point my eyes rolled so far back in my head that I realized I was allergic to new "Trek". I hate wokeness with the power of a thousand suns. It's one thing to have people of diverse backgrounds, but quite another to use that as an excuse for crappy writing.

It gets worse in ST:Picard. A frickin' android is somehow able to perform a Vulcan mind-meld just because. That's not just an eye-roll, that's a headdesk moment!

Honestly, though, I think I'm at the point where I can confidently say Sisko is my favorite captain. I've grown up with Kirk, but the trouble with Kirk and Picard is that they have such demented relationships with women. Kirk throws himself at anything female he sees, whether or not she's human, robot, or engaged to someone else. Not to mention there was that mission where he had to find a cure for a disease, and yet he wastes time trying to hit on a girl. Picard, on the other hand, seems weirdly shy around women. Both of them kind of go for that "use 'em and lose 'em" thing with women. Kirk because he's gross in that regard, and Picard because he's too shy with women (seriously, when he's interacting with women in a non-professional way, he's so awkward) to have any really lasting long relationships. Both of them seem to represent the trouble Roddenberry had keeping it in his pants. Sisko, on the other hand, was a respectable family man and not a creeper.

I suppose it's a "extrovert vs introvert" thing with Kirk and Picard. Picard is just weird to pretty much everyone though generally. TNG even ends with Picard joining in a casual poker-game, which he never did before, to symbolise that he's now ready to become a normal human being!

[Nissa]

I suppose it's a "extrovert vs introvert" thing with Kirk and Picard. Picard is just weird to pretty much everyone though generally. TNG even ends with Picard joining in a casual poker-game, which he never did before, to symbolise that he's now ready to become a normal human being!

Well, he is introverted, but he's still able to get along with guys better. Any hint of a romantic relationship (or Lxwana Troi) turns him into a stammering mess.

[Turalyon]

^ So? A lot of guys in real life are exactly like what you just described. Some people are just not into romance or are "weird" when confronted with it. One could have worse flaws...