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Post by TheNewMads on Mar 5, 2013 8:06:09 GMT -5
Yeah, Margot Kidder. I'd actually caught that on Cozi (if you have cable, you probably don't know what Cozi is, but it's a broadcast retro channel), and that's what turned me on to Banacek. It's on the disk i got from netflix but i haven't gotten that far yet. Seeing the ep on TV i remember thinking, wow, Margot Kidder... kinda unbearable. Made me curious about the show nonetheless.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Mar 6, 2013 4:29:33 GMT -5
Of all the mixed things I've heard about Caprica I didn't really know what to expect as I started the series. But as it started rolling down its path...I breezed right through the fraking thing. I quite enjoyed it.
It could be because its been so long since I followed the rebooted Galactica weekly that I haven't realized how much I missed it. I enjoyed the original series but it didn't give me the same feeling. I forgot the feel of the spiritual and moral themes driving the episodes and that feeling after every episode ended where I had to know what happened next week. Several episodes into Caprica I felt the same way I did back when I discovered BSG and became addicted to it.
But alas, it wasn't to be. The creators of the series opted not to take a "safe route," and instead of going into a more potentially action packed Cylon War series they decided on a quiet drama with a sci-fi setting. Missing all the outer space gunplay, the fans turned their back on it and SyFy dumped one of its flagship franchises (along with Stargate: Universe, which killed another of the franchises that nourished the network during its heyday). Indeed Caprica was a patient series that was created for an impatient market.
There were a few shaky plot devices throughout the series, but overall the themes present made up for them. I enjoyed the examination of one's "soul" and what it constitutes, and because of that I found the Zoe Greystone character fascinating. There was a lot to admire about her arc as a person downloaded into a robot body, bringing a lot of memorable ideas with it. As cheesy as it kind of was, I adored the scene where a lab assistant she found a connection with dances with this perceived inanimate object while we as the audience see the person inside of it dancing back. There was a lot of poetic beauty to that scene.
But while many claim that the series finally found its footing in the second half of its only season, I actually found my interest waning during it. I found it branching into too many arcs and it was getting tiresome to follow. Plus, the New Cap City thing was started out a different spin on a "Matrix" idea yet was slowly turning into the Matrix itself. I also wasn't entirely enthralled with the inclusion of the Adama family in the series, which was stretching credibility to me (the only thing that would have pushed it further in my mind was naming the other primary family "Baltar"). The idea that they're a mafia family is equal parts interesting and disenchanting. I'm not sure if that idea was planted in the previous series, but I doubt it.
Did it deserve to be canceled? I think it was a fragile egg that was put into clumsy network hands. SyFy was more comfortable with Star Wars style aspects of the previous show as opposed to its characters. The creators handed them a show that was more like the Godfather while keeping with the interesting character relationships that came before it and the network had no clue what to do with it. As is, the finale doesn't really conclude the series, as it sets up something different to follow, yet tags itself with an epilogue that can be seen as a fitting finale in of itself. The real disappointment is that it doesn't give much insight to the beginning of the Cylon War or what Zoe had to do with it, if anything. Which is a shame.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Mar 7, 2013 1:48:14 GMT -5
Sat back after a long day and watched the new feature, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, which was meant to be a webseries, then a series, then a pilot movie, then a webseries again with series options on both internet and network. I don't know what the hell it is anymore or if anybody at Universal/SyFy is taking it seriously. As a fan of BSG, I really wish they would, because I'm tired of them jerking me around.
Lets look at it as a pilot as a JIC. The plot seeds aren't nearly as strong as the ones of the BSG miniseries or the Caprica pilot. That's kind of because there aren't any. It just kind of is some random story about the war. I suppose it's a good thing that they made it stand alone, because there's a good chance this is all we're going to see of this supposed "show."
As character introduction, it works fine. It's fun to see a rookie Adama in the dog days of the Cylon War. His partner Coker is both a gas but bothersome at the same time. The character was meant to be Tigh at first, but they changed his name at the last minute when they remembered the pesky detail that Tigh was a Cylon. Unfortunately it's obvious that he was supposed to be Tigh, and it's kind of charming to pretend he is but kind of pisses on your parade when you realize it just can't be him.
The flick was shot on green screen sets, due to the Galactica sets being torn down several years ago. Many claim the CG reconstruction is distracting, but while it doesn't always look natural, it's serviceable to its purpose. Compare this to other green screen sets in DTV movies like Pulse 2 & 3 (the former starred BSG star Jaimie Bamber), which constantly looked as if it was being filmed against painted wallpaper. These ones at least look 3D. Maybe it's because I've seen much worse that I don't really mind it.
It's pretty good, not great. Honestly I'd rather have a continuation of Caprica, but beggers can't be choosers. But if this is the last gasp of this series, it'll be very sour indeed. Maybe a series of DTV movies would suffice? I'd be game for that.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Mar 8, 2013 0:22:27 GMT -5
I've come this far, why stop now? Now's as good a time as any to watch the reboot of Galactica. It all started with a miniseries not many people liked when released but reevaluated when the series turned out to NOT be a pile of crap.
Habing now seen the original series, I get why it was hard to let go of. And in all fairness the miniseries didn't do much to convince them it was a worthwhile effort. Liberties are taken with tone, characterization, and gender (lead whine was "STARBUCKZ NOT A GURLZ!") and like all miniseries it takes a long time to tell its relatively simple story.
In context of what came afterward, it works well. Introductions are clear, as you're introduced a new character you pretty much know immediately who they are. The tone of it is a bit of a jarring shift from what came before, as it becomes clear that this isn't your daddy's Galactica when we're treated to a scene of Six snapping a newborn's neck. Not to criticize the scene though, which highlights the Cylon's curiosity about life, albiet it a very twisted way.
After sitting through Caprica and Blood & Chrome, was surprised to see how less polished this miniseries looked by comparison. Picture is drained as hell and the sound is very soft. Great visual effects work, though.
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Post by TheNewMads on Mar 14, 2013 10:30:33 GMT -5
Season 5 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Not quite as excellent as Season 4, but still pretty great. The Dustin Hoffman cameo and the ski lift scene were definite highlights.
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Post by Mod City on Mar 18, 2013 19:29:54 GMT -5
Caught the latest ESPN 30 For 30 documentary "Survive And Advance," about the 1983 North Carolina Wolfpack and their improbable run to the NCAA championship. Led by enthusiastic coach Jim Valvano (Jimmy V), the Wolfpack began a run of win-or-go-home games starting with the ACC Tournament and culminating in a final showdown with the Houston Cougars, a team that featured future NBA All-Stars Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and a host of above-the-rim talent.
The end of the story is well-known - N.C. State wins in what many consider the greatest upset in the history of college basketball. But the real treasure is watching the surviving members of the team recount the full March run of "the team of destiny."
Bring some tissues. This one is an emotional ride.
The trailer:
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Post by TheNewMads on Mar 20, 2013 7:50:08 GMT -5
Season 6 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." (Are you starting to detect a pattern?) Funny, but not as strong as season 5, which was not as strong as season 4. Strongest ep was "Freak Book," with a cameo from John McEnroe (the one-time tennis star). "N-word" and "Bat Mitzvah" kinda had premises that strain credibility. (In "N Word" Larry overhears someone drop the dreaded N bomb and repeatedly uses the word when quoting him, prompting someone nearby to fly into a rage; I dunno, I just didn't buy it.) Funny stuff, but some of the spark from the first four seasons is definitely gone.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 21, 2013 16:55:45 GMT -5
i was home sick yesterday, so i camped out on the couch and watched a few episodes of workaholics and thought it was pretty funny. i've seen just a little bit of it here and there while flipping through the channels, but never had watched a full show before yesterday. i mainly tuned in because adam devine was on an episode of community recently, which i do watch, and he was really funny (imo). i know workaholics is just another stupid comedy central show aimed at drunk/high college students, which i am not, but it still cracked me up.
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Post by TheNewMads on Apr 5, 2013 9:01:41 GMT -5
Finally joined the rest of the civilized world and watched a few eps of Homeland (namely, the first three). I didn't want to like it and it took me a couple tries to catch the wave of it but i ended up quite enjoying it. The Lawrence O'Donnell cameo was literally the last thing on earth i was expecting.
That said, I'm starting to think Mandy Patinkin is incredibly overrated. He's ok, but he basically just plays the same grimly enlightened middle management guy no matter what he's actually in.
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Post by torgortega on Apr 9, 2013 21:54:20 GMT -5
The Prisoner, I'm not really sure what happened in the last episode, but it was still a great series. Be seeing you.
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Post by BJ on Apr 10, 2013 0:07:59 GMT -5
The Prisoner, I'm not really sure what happened in the last episode, but it was still a great series. Be seeing you. I love the series. The more I see that episode, the more I like it, but it's definitely weird. I can't hear "Dem Bones" without wondering about my place in the world (and Rain Man, can't forget about that). Also, there's someone who lives near me who has a Lotus Seven. I've seen it a couple times now, and all I can think about is the Prisoner.
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Apr 25, 2013 18:52:41 GMT -5
Battlestar Galactica; I watched it in it's original run but spackle hadn't seen it so we ran through the whole series in about three weeks including The Plan, Razor and Blood & Chrome. Still a great show and it's fun to power watch a show that you had to spend years watching the first time around. But with their masterful use of All Along The Watchtower I still think they should have had Bob Dylan do a cameo as the head Dylon.
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Post by TheNewMads on Apr 26, 2013 8:05:23 GMT -5
More "Homeland," i'm now getting close to the end of Season 1. I've gone from not wanting to like it, to liking it, to thinking it may be the best thing that's ever been on television. I'm surprised at how courageously subversive it is.
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Post by afriendlychicken on Jun 1, 2013 1:36:42 GMT -5
I've been doing a run through the entire 52 episode Kamen Rider V3 & the 43 episode Kikaida series.
Kikaida: (Super android Kikaida is created by Dr. Komyoji to fight Professor Gill and Darks plan to take over the world) I'm on episode 21 and so far it's remained about as average as I remember it being. The storyline of the missing Dr. Komyoji is fine, but the Kaiju is what lets this series down. They are usually very inept and the costuming is way to cartoonish.
Whoever uploaded this left off the subtitles:
Everyone should recognize the little girl from "Time of the Apes" in this episode.
At least I know my favorite monster "Green Sponge" is coming up and the much better "Hakaida" episodes come at the end.
Kamen Rider V3: (Kazami Shiro becomes Kamen Rider V3 and fights the evil Destron to avenge the killing of his parents and sister) This was my favorite of all the Tokusatsu children's programs I watched when I was younger. It continues the original Kamen Rider series and because of that it doesn't have to find it's way like Kikaida. It has better and darker story lines, tougher kaiju with wonderful costume designs, and a more intense feel. I'm on episode 25 and that's the middle of the evil leader Dr. G's reign in Destron. I've enjoyed all the episodes with my favorite being the Gecko Missile kaiju trying to blow up an oil refinery...and Kazami Shiro/ Kamen Rider V3. Unfortunately the only episode I can find on you tube is a later episode with Baron Tusk as the evil leader which features Kamen Rider 1 and Kamen Rider 2. Still, it is Kamen Rider V3:
The actor playing "Chief/Pops," which was the only running character in all the 70's Kamen Rider series, should be recognizable to most as the Captain from "Ultraman" and in quite a few Kon Ichikawa & Shohei Imamura movies.
The other strength in this series for me is the actor Miyauchi Hiroshi playing Kazami Shiro. He was the co-star with Sonny Chiba in the TV series Key Hunter and does his own stunts, which adds a Buster Keaton/ Jackie Chan type of fun to the episodes.
Fight on Kamen Rider V3!
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Post by Ijon the Asano on Jun 2, 2013 21:27:02 GMT -5
The Prisoner, I'm not really sure what happened in the last episode, but it was still a great series. Be seeing you. I love the series. The more I see that episode, the more I like it, but it's definitely weird. I can't hear "Dem Bones" without wondering about my place in the world (and Rain Man, can't forget about that). Also, there's someone who lives near me who has a Lotus Seven. I've seen it a couple times now, and all I can think about is the Prisoner. You gentlemen are both men after my own heart. I love how the only time in the whole series that we see No. 6 lose it (except when he's faking it in "Schizoid Man") Is when they shout him down with "I! I! I!--I! I! I!--I! I! I!" I just finished my Sunday ritual of late, an ep of The Carol Burnett Show. Drop dead funny cast, and as a kid I never even picked up on how dark the Eunice sketches were. Can't quite decide to do some "Wonderful World of Disney" next (my typical recent Sunday) or--having started the book Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan, opening with a section on their penchant for neatness having metastasized into an urge to encase nature in concrete-- to go with Tetsuo, Tsukamoto Shinya's cinematic nightmare realization of same. Decisions . . . decisions . . .
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