TV Series - old & new

[barmar]

It seems like the guys in This is Us are pie-in-the-sky dreamers, while the women are more down-to-earth. Which is often the role that women have to play in families, making the practical decisions.

[kenberg]

It seems like the guys in This Is Us are pie-in-the-sky dreamers, while the women are more down-to-earth. Which is often the role that women have to play in families, making the practical decisions.

 

Yes. There is the old joke where a woman is asked who makes the decisions in her family and she explains that her husband makes all of the important decisions such as whether the country should go to war, she makes the mionor decisions such as where they should live, where the children should go to school, just stuff like that.

 

Now rt some plot elements (Take this as a spoiler alert!)

 

Kevin in particular seems extremely underdeveloped emotionally. He is unsatisfied playing in a silly tv show so he goes to NY to try theater, but shows up for an interview totally unprepared. He goes to his brother's house uninvited and without notice and simply stays. He babysits the kids and can't do that. He brings them a painting he has done, Wikipedia says it is Jackson Pollard like. I am no art critic but I think a Jackson Pollard painting can come together if you are patient. I thought what he had done looked like a good portrait of the stat of his mind, random nonsense. Pie-in-the-sky definitely, but I seem him as underdeveloped to the point of pathology. In the childhood scene where ha might have drowned, and then blamed his father, I think this might have been a great time to explain to him that if a person is determined to act like an idiot there is not always going to be someone to rescue you.

 

Jack and Rebeca: There is a scene at the hospital where the doc is talking to Jack about this wonderful thing he is doing bringing home the abandoned child. I asked Becky (aka my Rebecca) if I had missed the scene where someone even asked Rebecca what she thought about the idea. If there was such a scene, Becky missed it too. Becky and I disagree some about Rebecca, with me liking her more, maybe much more, than Becky does.

 

Randall and Beth: Randall brings William home, ok, Randall is in uncharted territory. But after a few days Beth tries to bring up just how long he will be staying. She starts by expressing difficulty with saying what she means, Randall jumps in with a full harangue about self-censorship and how could she have any difficulty speaking right up and so on. Now this gets a line presumably intended for irony or laughs, as after she does say what is on her mind he says she should have self-censored. But the arrogant self-righteousness of the lecture was what got my attention. And then later, when Randall is trying to get to the point with Kevin about overstaying his welcome, it is Beth that gets to the point, and then Randall sabotages it by suggesting Kevin stay on a while longer to watch the kids. Besides, I wouldn't leave a bowl of goldfish in Kevin's care.

[barmar]

Jack and Rebeca: There is a scene at the hospital where the doc is talking to Jack about this wonderful thing he is doing bringing home the abandoned child. I asked Becky (aka my Rebecca) if I had missed the scene where someone even asked Rebecca what she thought about the idea. If there was such a scene, Becky missed it too. Becky and I disagree some about Rebecca, with me liking her more, maybe much more, than Becky does.

They've been filling in the gaps as the show goes along. The promos for tonight's episode have been saying "See where it all began", and it looks like there will be lots of flashbacks to what went on at the hospital.

 

Rebecca is a very complex character. She puts on a very strong face, and she's the glue that keeps the family together through all the difficulties, but there have been scenes of her crying out of frustration when she's alone. I don't know if I'd still be watching if it were just the story of Kevin, Kate, and Randall.

[barmar]

You need to get caught up. Rebecca was great in last night's episode.

[kenberg]

You need to get caught up. Rebecca was great in last night's episode.

 

We are halfway there, we watched episode 6 last night. If we pick up the pace just a little we may be up to date by next week's episode (assuming there is one next week, I haven't checked). I'll say this for the show: Becky and I talk about it, and here you and I are chatting about it. Contrast that with Elementary. We regularly watch that, after which one of us might say "One of the better episodes" or "I didn't follow all of that", the other will maybe nod or say "right", and then we go on to talk about something else.

 

Contrary to some of what I said earlier, in episode 6 I found most of the actions simultaneously believable and favorable. Jack was better, even Kevin was sort of tolerable, and I had great sympathy for Randall trying to speak to a bunch of eight year olds at career day. And Beth trying to help him prepare for this, but ultimately having to confess that she really had no idea of what his job consisted of was great. My older daughter has often explained to me what she does. Maybe I should take notes.

[barmar]

We are halfway there, we watched episode 6 last night. If we pick up the pace just a little we may be up to date by next week's episode (assuming there is one next week, I haven't checked). I'll say this for the show: Becky and I talk about it, and here you and I are chatting about it. Contrast that with Elementary. We regularly watch that, after which one of us might say "One of the better episodes" or "I didn't follow all of that", the other will maybe nod or say "right", and then we go on to talk about something else.

Right. The only procedural that I can imagine generating real conversation like this is "Law and Order: SVU", since it tackles important issues, often ripped from the headlines, on a regular basis. After "Elementary" you might have a brief discussion of how clever or convoluted it was, but what else is there to talk about?

Contrary to some of what I said earlier, in episode 6 I found most of the actions simultaneously believable and favorable. Jack was better, even Kevin was sort of tolerable, and I had great sympathy for Randall trying to speak to a bunch of eight year olds at career day. And Beth trying to help him prepare for this, but ultimately having to confess that she really had no idea of what his job consisted of was great. My older daughter has often explained to me what she does. Maybe I should take notes.

It's a general problem for people who don't have traditional construction/manufacturing or service jobs that everyone interacts with. I've never really been able to explain some of the jobs I've had to people outside the computer industry.

[barmar]

This Is Us was renewed for 2 more seasons today. Very good news. We need a quality heart-felt family drama amidst all the procedurals, super-heroes, and reality shows.

[kenberg]

Progress reprt: We watched episode 10 last night. Almost caught up.

 

Meanwhile I have a question: Spoiler alert.

 

Much is made of Randall's early search for his biological father. Unless I missed it, he has never shown any interest in his biological mother. Of course this fits the general theme of the show. His biological father is this very wise man who has now fir into his family, expressed great regret over what was done, offers sage advice and so on. For the sake of comparison, I mention that I have always had a strong interest in learning more about the early livf of my adoptive parents. I have an interest in the life of my biological parents, and not just for medical reasons, but that interest pales compared to my interest in the life of my adoptive parents. And my interest in the life of my biological mother is about equal to my interest in my biological father. Of course I was a white child adopted by white parents, and yes that makes a difference. But I still don't get the strong interest in the biological father and the apparent;ly zero interest in the biological mother. For an obvious example, as far as I recall Randall has never said "Tell me something about my moter".

[hrothgar]

I quite enjoyed the first season of "The Good Place".

 

I am looking forward to Powerless and Santa Clara Diet (SCD is done by the folks who made Better Off Ted which is one of the greatest shows ever)

 

Waiting for the return of

 

1. Rick and Morty

2. Broad City

3. Game of Thrones

4. Archer

 

In the mean time, slumming with "Lucifer" and willing to give "Riverdale" a chance...

[barmar]

Progress reprt: We watched episode 10 last night. Almost caught up.

 

Meanwhile I have a question: Spoiler alert.

 

Much is made of Randall's early search for his biological father. Unless I missed it, he has never shown any interest in his biological mother. Of course this fits the general theme of the show. His biological father is this very wise man who has now fir into his family, expressed great regret over what was done, offers sage advice and so on. For the sake of comparison, I mention that I have always had a strong interest in learning more about the early livf of my adoptive parents. I have an interest in the life of my biological parents, and not just for medical reasons, but that interest pales compared to my interest in the life of my adoptive parents. And my interest in the life of my biological mother is about equal to my interest in my biological father. Of course I was a white child adopted by white parents, and yes that makes a difference. But I still don't get the strong interest in the biological father and the apparent;ly zero interest in the biological mother. For an obvious example, as far as I recall Randall has never said "Tell me something about my moter".

I have a feeling it's a "black thing". Much has been said in the show about the role that black men play in their family and community, and Randall needing a role model. On the other hand, the mother-son relationship seems to be more related to the nurturing that the mother provided, so his attachment will be to his adopted mother.

 

Lots of TV shows have made a big deal about biological parenthood. The most notable one is the show "Switched at Birth", which is about two families (an affluent white family and a lower middle-class Latino one) who discover that their now-teenage daughters were switched at the hospital. Of course you expect to take home the child you gave birth to, but after 15 years, why would someone really feel the need to form a relationship with someone who just happened to be genetically related to them? I can certainly understand being curious about your biological parents, but is there really more to it than that? On other shows, a long-absent parent has come back and tried to get custody -- it seems crazy to me that the law actually supports this. After a certain amount of time, the biological relationship should become irrelevant.

[kenberg]

I have a feeling it's a "black thing". Much has been said in the show about the role that black men play in their family and community, and Randall needing a role model. On the other hand, the mother-son relationship seems to be more related to the nurturing that the mother provided, so his attachment will be to his adopted mother.

 

Lots of TV shows have made a big deal about biological parenthood. The most notable one is the show "Switched at Birth", which is about two families (an affluent white family and a lower middle-class Latino one) who discover that their now-teenage daughters were switched at the hospital. Of course you expect to take home the child you gave birth to, but after 15 years, why would someone really feel the need to form a relationship with someone who just happened to be genetically related to them? I can certainly understand being curious about your biological parents, but is there really more to it than that? On other shows, a long-absent parent has come back and tried to get custody -- it seems crazy to me that the law actually supports this. After a certain amount of time, the biological relationship should become irrelevant.

 

The inter-racial aspect certainly complicates matters. I mentioned during one of the episodes where this was being heavily played that the show seemed to be making a strong case against inter-racial adoption. Becky felt it was making a strong case against adoption at all, and a particularly strong case against inter-racial adoption. Some year back there was some vocal folks in the black community that were strongly opposed to white parents adopting black children. I have not heard much on that movement lately, maybe it has subsided.

 

Of course in this show everything works out fine. The found black father is (literally) beyond belief as a truly great guy. Again, just fot contrast I will give you this. Thanks to the internet, I checked out a little about my birth parents. My mother had their names although she was not suppose to, and she gave me this info when I was 12. I never sought them out. My birth father married another woman during my birth mother's pregnancy, and they had a child shortly after. Apparently he had gotten two women pregnant at more or less the same time and on the coin flip of whom to marry, or however the decision was made, my birth mother lost (or perhaps I should say won). Sure I could have tracked him down and used him as a role model, but I think leaving well enough alone was a good choice. This history may be more personal than is appropriate online, but I do find the perfect character of William to be more than a little unlikely.

[barmar]

The inter-racial aspect certainly complicates matters. I mentioned during one of the episodes where this was being heavily played that the show seemed to be making a strong case against inter-racial adoption. Becky felt it was making a strong case against adoption at all, and a particularly strong case against inter-racial adoption. Some year back there was some vocal folks in the black community that were strongly opposed to white parents adopting black children. I have not heard much on that movement lately, maybe it has subsided.

I didn't interpret it as making a case against adoption (inter-racial or not), just pointing out that there are issues. Jack and Rebecca were naive (or just idealistic) to think that they could raise Randall in a color-blind way -- there are both physical and social reasons why his race will make a big difference. That doesn't mean that these types of adoptions shouldn't be done, but they're not as simple. I'll bet the movement against it still exists, but unless you're involved in such an adoption you probably don't hear about it much.

[mike777]

A dissenting vote for the tv show, I watched the first two shows and dropped it. The critics love it.

 

 

One of the few tv shows I can recommend is the DCI Banks show on PBS. It is a British crime show based on the great books by Peter Robinson. You might want to also check out the Miss Fisher Mysteries also on PBS and Netflix.

[kenberg]

A dissenting vote for the tv show, I watched the first two shows and dropped it. The critics love it.

 

 

One of the few tv shows I can recommend is the DCI Banks show on PBS. It is a British crime show based on the great books by Peter Robinson. You might want to also check out the Miss Fisher Mysteries also on PBS and Netflix.

 

I watch and enjoy the Banks show. Becky has read many of the stories as well. And Miss Fisher is a real kick. For some reason we have had trouble finding some of the episodes. Do you know if new ones are still appearing?

 

As to This is Us, the more I see it the more I like it. I have found some of the portrayals not completely realistic, but all in all I find the development interesting. I can see why some wouldn't.

[mike777]

I watch and enjoy the Banks show. Becky has read many of the stories as well. And Miss Fisher is a real kick. For some reason we have had trouble finding some of the episodes. Do you know if new ones are still appearing?

 

As to This is Us, the more I see it the more I like it. I have found some of the portrayals not completely realistic, but all in all I find the development interesting. I can see why some wouldn't.

 

 

I have not seen any new Miss Fisher episodes, PBS just started with the very first ones which I enjoy watching again. DCI banks seems to have some new ones I have not seen before. I have read all of his books.

[barmar]

I binged on "Sneaky Pete" on Amazon over the past 2 weekends. It stars Giovanni Ribisi as a Marius, a con man who got himself sent to jail to escape from a Vince, a mob boss (played by Bryan Cranston, co-creator of the show) who wanted to kill Marius after he discovered that he was the victim of a $100,000 con. When Marius gets out of jail a few years later, he insinuates himself into the extended family of his cellmate, Pete, who had been estranged for 20 years, while trying to get the money he needs to pay back Vince(who is holding Marius's brother as collateral). He has to keep pulling con after con, and soon discovers that the family (which operates a struggling bail bonds business) has their own dark secrets. He also has to avoid a crooked cop who's working for VInce and trying to track him down, and deal with a parole officer (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) who believes he can actually rehabilitate his charges with affirmations.

 

Like most movies and shows about con men and capers (think movies like "The Sting" and "Oceans 11", or TV shows like "Mission Impossible" and "Leverage"), there are an incredible number of moving parts. Marius's ability to talk himself out of any jam on the spur of the moment, and anticipate many developments, seems practically superhuman, so you have to suspend disbelief. But the performances are great. Margo Martindale plays Pete's grandmother, and this is one of the best performances of an always reliable character actress. Cranston played a suave counterpoint to his role from Breaking Bad, and there were a number of other recurring roles played by familiar character actors.

 

The subplot about the parole officer was pretty brief, I suspect it was a setup for something that will come back in the 2nd season. The 10 episodes of this season just cover 1 week (the deadline Vince gave, before he would start cutting off the brother's fingers).

[mike777]

I binged on "Sneaky Pete" on Amazon over the past 2 weekends. It stars Giovanni Ribisi as a Marius, a con man who got himself sent to jail to escape from a Vince, a mob boss (played by Bryan Cranston, co-creator of the show) who wanted to kill Marius after he discovered that he was the victim of a $100,000 con. When Marius gets out of jail a few years later, he insinuates himself into the extended family of his cellmate, Pete, who had been estranged for 20 years, while trying to get the money he needs to pay back Vince(who is holding Marius's brother as collateral). He has to keep pulling con after con, and soon discovers that the family (which operates a struggling bail bonds business) has their own dark secrets. He also has to avoid a crooked cop who's working for VInce and trying to track him down, and deal with a parole officer (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) who believes he can actually rehabilitate his charges with affirmations.

 

Like most movies and shows about con men and capers (think movies like "The Sting" and "Oceans 11", or TV shows like "Mission Impossible" and "Leverage"), there are an incredible number of moving parts. Marius's ability to talk himself out of any jam on the spur of the moment, and anticipate many developments, seems practically superhuman, so you have to suspend disbelief. But the performances are great. Margo Martindale plays Pete's grandmother, and this is one of the best performances of an always reliable character actress. Cranston played a suave counterpoint to his role from Breaking Bad, and there were a number of other recurring roles played by familiar character actors.

 

The subplot about the parole officer was pretty brief, I suspect it was a setup for something that will come back in the 2nd season. The 10 episodes of this season just cover 1 week (the deadline Vince gave, before he would start cutting off the brother's fingers).

 

 

watched bout half of them....up to the point where the grandparents find out he is some kind of crook and he finds out about the real estate con.

the brother got his cut toe cut off....I turned away. series is sort of ok I guess I will keep watching.

 

 

Netflix just announced season 3 of chef's table coming 2/17 yummmmm

[Aberlour10]

Watching something really old fashionated, but,,,IMO one of the best TV series has been ever made, with Gordon Jackson at his best.

 

I enjoy it again after so many years....

 

Upstairs Downstairs S02 E05 Guest Of Honour

 

https://www.youtube....S_JXvK8&index=2

[y66]

Watching something really old fashionated, but,,,IMO one of the best TV series has been ever made, with Gordon Jackson at his best.

 

I enjoy it again after so many years....

 

Upstairs Downstairs S02 E05 Guest Of Honour

 

https://www.youtube....S_JXvK8&index=2

They did such a good job of bringing that era and those characters to life. So much went on in that house.

[y66]

The first few episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return were almost too weird and too auteuristically self absorbed for my taste but I'm glad I stuck with it. One for the short list of most original and interesting TV shows ever.

[kenberg]

The first few episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return were almost too weird and too auteuristically self absorbed for my taste but I'm glad I stuck with it. One for the short list of most original and interesting TV shows ever.

 

Ok. I will give this some thought. Or at least mention this to Becky. She liked the original, I was not much watching tv at the time and when I would see the occasional episode I had no idea what was going on. But the original got such rave reviews I decided I would give it a try this time around. After 2 or 3 episodes Becky and I both had had enough. At times Becky seems to think maybe she should have stuck with it a bit longer. She did like the original.

 

Whenever I start trying to figure out what is really going on in something that David Lynch does, after about five minutes I ask myself why I am doing this. And then I usually stop.

 

But I do thank you for this and I will mention it to Becky.

[Aberlour10]

They did such a good job of bringing that era and those characters to life. So much went on in that house.

 

 

Historical events, political backgrounds, life style...all these things real and with love for detail...

 

 

 

[barmar]

Ok. I will give this some thought. Or at least mention this to Becky. She liked the original, I was not much watching tv at the time and when I would see the occasional episode I had no idea what was going on. But the original got such rave reviews I decided I would give it a try this time around. After 2 or 3 episodes Becky and I both had had enough. At times Becky seems to think maybe she should have stuck with it a bit longer. She did like the original.

 

Whenever I start trying to figure out what is really going on in something that David Lynch does, after about five minutes I ask myself why I am doing this. And then I usually stop.

 

But I do thank you for this and I will mention it to Becky.

I remember liking the original Twin Peaks. But now that I've finished watching The Return, I have no idea what it was about. Seems like it was just weirdness for its own sake.

[y66]

Spoiler alert:

 

TP:TR is frequently over-the-top and annoyingly weird but what it's about is not such a big mystery or so I think. The owls are not what they seem. What is? The world is beautiful and malevolent. We love Coop for the same reasons we loved Andy Griffith in Mayberry RFD and Gary Cooper in High Noon but he cannot save Laura any more than the sheriff in No Country For Old Men could stop what's coming in his part of the world. What's even weirder than some of those scenes in the red room is thinking they can, expecting it even.

 

Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Kyle MacLachlan and David Lynch as Gordon Cole were so good.

[barmar]

What it really seemed like was a chance to try "experimental theatre" with the budget of a mainstream TV series. The finale had almost 10 minutes of Cooper and Palmer just driving on a dark road, with practically no dialogue, and there was an earlier episode with a similar scene where we just watched a woman getting ready to leave the room for 10 minutes. The actors were clearly just having a ball doing all this weird stuff, stretching their acting chops under the helm of their favorite auteur, especially McLachlan playing 3 widely different versions of Cooper (I'm including Dougie in that). And they had the pleasure of reuniting most of the cast of the original series. And I could enjoy watching it on that level.

 

McLachlan has also been going down the weird road lately with his recurring role on "Portlandia", and it's hard to imagine Laura Dern not jumping whenever Lynch calls.