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[SamSpade]

Have you seen Sense 8 yet?

I watched the first episode pretty much right after it came out - but after three tries and falling asleep every time, I thought, ok, how engaging is it really?

I'd been a fan of J Michael Straczinski (Babylon 5, Crusade, many new Twilight Zones - and others) so I gave it a try but I just wasn't sure if I really wanted to keep up.

I don't know why it is but - some serialized stories have just ONE BIG TELL to tell, so they stretch the damned thing out. Lost wasn't like that - they were just good at resolving ONE thread only to create three more. JMS - in B5 and Crusade - had this thing about misdirection - yeah, there's stuff about Sinclair - but that ain't the story. Yup, there's ancient ones - and Shadows - but that ain't the story. EACH time, he carefully wove the story so you weren't waiting for the big reveal.

He said in an interview that in Crusade - they would find the cure in Season *2* - but there'd be bigger problems. And he had five seasons to tell it, had it gone on.

Other shows - they peak early because they're losing viewers. I liked the Mentalist but - once they caught Red John, it should have been over.

Anyway, one of the shows I'm cultivating an interest in is Taboo. It has an old novel feel to it - but the story doesn't look like I'll stay on. I was that way with TURN - the Washington spy story. I was kind of like - you know, missed two episodes already and it didn't change anything.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

I watched the first episode pretty much right after it came out - but after three tries and falling asleep every time, I thought, ok, how engaging is it really?

I'd been a fan of J Michael Straczinski (Babylon 5, Crusade, many new Twilight Zones - and others) so I gave it a try but I just wasn't sure if I really wanted to keep up.

I don't know why it is but - some serialized stories have just ONE BIG TELL to tell, so they stretch the damned thing out. Lost wasn't like that - they were just good at resolving ONE thread only to create three more. JMS - in B5 and Crusade - had this thing about misdirection - yeah, there's stuff about Sinclair - but that ain't the story. Yup, there's ancient ones - and Shadows - but that ain't the story. EACH time, he carefully wove the story so you weren't waiting for the big reveal.

He said in an interview that in Crusade - they would find the cure in Season *2* - but there'd be bigger problems. And he had five seasons to tell it, had it gone on.

Other shows - they peak early because they're losing viewers. I liked the Mentalist but - once they caught Red John, it should have been over.

Anyway, one of the shows I'm cultivating an interest in is Taboo. It has an old novel feel to it - but the story doesn't look like I'll stay on. I was that way with TURN - the Washington spy story. I was kind of like - you know, missed two episodes already and it didn't change anything.

It was similar to most Netflix shows in that it takes FOR.EV.ER to get to the point. Not to mention 8 different story lines. It took at least half the season to finally understand what was going on but once it was clear, it was pretty good, IMO. I'm no professional movie/show reviewer by any means but I found it enjoyable and as much as I thought it would, the 8 different lines aren't as confusing as it seems, and they all tend to blend together toward the end anyway.

It's certainly not a show where you watch the first 10 minutes and you're hooked.

 

[SamSpade]

It was similar to most Netflix shows in that it takes FOR.EV.ER to get to the point. Not to mention 8 different story lines. It took at least half the season to finally understand what was going on but once it was clear, it was pretty good, IMO. I'm no professional movie/show reviewer by any means but I found it enjoyable and as much as I thought it would, the 8 different lines aren't as confusing as it seems, and they all tend to blend together toward the end anyway.

It's certainly not a show where you watch the first 10 minutes and you're hooked.

Well, I may give it another shot. JMS doesn't usually disappoint, although in recent years the stuff I read about him *personally* makes him odious - at least to me.

But I don't think it is really good writing to build a story up that slowly without more material to engage you. Now I GET that action movies have about 100 minutes to tell a story, and they HAVE to draw you in right away. I still think one of the best examples of drawing the viewer into the story of an action hero is the first ten minutes or so of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". They put everything - mystery, betrayal, danger, a savvy kick-ass hero - and then shift to his humdrum life as a mild-mannered professor. I remember years ago reading a writing critique of Hemingway where the critic mentions that he didn't waste time TELLING you about a character. He illustrated it - QUICKLY - with actions. You might meet someone in a story - he walks into a bar in a foreign land, smashes the counter, abuses the bartender and looks at a photo in his wallet and tries not to weep. In just a few seconds of reading and story time - you KNOW the character.

NOW - a lot of times in TV storytelling - they don't have a LOT of story to tell. Instead of character exposition being the part that suffers - it becomes, for lack of a better way of saying it - *filler*. You don't NEED to have Dad and son "talk" about their problems, because dads and sons don't usually do that. SHOW it. But if you have an hour to tell fifteen minutes of story, you do that. I recall years ago, the writers of the Twilight Zone - the original - went to a full hour format - and the writing suffered, because writers were filling out an hour with a story that just didn't have much in it - those stories while entertaining, were often predictable - and you don't need an hour to know the man in the shadows is actually a still alive Hitler. And guess what? Twilight Zone went back to the half hour format.

ANYWAY - I'll give it a shot. Our DVR is almost empty.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

Just started watched A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Only through 1 episode. Not sure how I feel about it being narrated, but NPH is good as Count Olaf.

Longmire is on my list as well.

 

[SamSpade]

Just started watched A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Only through 1 episode. Not sure how I feel about it being narrated, but NPH is good as Count Olaf.

Longmire is on my list as well.

We love Longmire - it helps that it has some favorite actors, but we watched it before it went to Netflix.

We're watching ASOUE each night with the kids - I think my middle daughter will start reading the books.
Remember - it helps to remember - it's intended for kids.

(Admittedly, so is Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Doctor Who).

I seriously love watching NPH. He was great in Doctor Horrible, HIMYM and well - just about everything except Doogie Howser and Starship Troopers.
He can act, he can sing and dance, he can do magic and he's hysterically funny.

 

[itsbob]

This is Us and Parks & Recs.

Did it hurt??

 

[nwtnanne]

what is the best streaming services for anime?