otm
― sktsh, Friday, 23 May 2014 15:42 (nine years ago) link
show really got its game up this season
― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Friday, 23 May 2014 16:08 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, still not quite top-tier stuff, but who knows what S3 will bring.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Friday, 23 May 2014 16:16 (nine years ago) link
trailer for season 3, premieres jan. 28 (in US) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSu2dpWBjfQ
basically this is the best show currently on TV right now and the trailer, while vague, is suggestive of a similar quality level. not to mention many viewing-induced panic attacks in my future. was v pleased to find a thread for it here
― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Friday, 19 December 2014 22:44 (nine years ago) link
HOLY FUCK I AM SO PSYCHED
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 19 December 2014 22:54 (nine years ago) link
cool stuff
― MAYBE HE'S NOT THE BEST THIGH SLAPPER IN THE WORLD (forksclovetofu), Friday, 19 December 2014 23:41 (nine years ago) link
Might have to get cable again for this.
― dan m, Saturday, 20 December 2014 00:21 (nine years ago) link
f yeah Frank Lengella
― Simon H., Saturday, 20 December 2014 01:31 (nine years ago) link
*Langella
We just starting watching this. First two eps of season one are solid, though I have a bad feeling the innate implausibility will send this down the "Homeland" route. That is, something totally if enjoyably ridiculous that decides, what the hell, we might as well get even crazier. Like (and I know nothing about the show past the first two eps) they've done a poor job so far explaining the incentive to remain loyal to the USSR. On one hand, there are their actual, living, breathing, loved children, born and raised in America. Plus, of course, living in America, with its food, and no bread lines, and people having a good time. On the other hand, there is ... a general loyalty to the USSR? Maybe future episodes will reveal there are loved ones back in the motherland who would suffer if they defected?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 January 2015 02:03 (nine years ago) link
Having seen all of this and most of Homeland I can assure you it's done a great job of becoming similarly rdiculous so far.
― Simon H., Monday, 12 January 2015 03:03 (nine years ago) link
of AVOIDING becoming etc, rather...
― Simon H., Monday, 12 January 2015 03:04 (nine years ago) link
Phew.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 January 2015 03:14 (nine years ago) link
Oh yeah it's way better than Homeland. Don't think it's fully hit its stride yet though, this season'll be the decider probably.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 12 January 2015 10:10 (nine years ago) link
Homeland and The Americans are both similarly great imho.
― you've got no fans you've got no ground (anagram), Monday, 12 January 2015 10:30 (nine years ago) link
Season 1 of Homeland is ok, s2 is bloody awful. Not watched beyond that.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 12 January 2015 10:36 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, don't even think we made it through season 1 of Homeland. I have a problem with shows purportedly set in the real world that are already pushing the boundaries of plausibility that decide to push them past the breaking point. See also: House of Cards. Even early on The Americans is faintly ridiculous, but I will go with it for a while, at least until guy disguises himself as Reagan or something similarly daft.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 January 2015 14:32 (nine years ago) link
the Americans doesn't even scratch the surface of the kind of plausibility problems house of cards and homeland have
― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Monday, 12 January 2015 14:37 (nine years ago) link
Phew again. I love when a show lands a great conceit and doesn't screw it up with stunt plots and stuff. Because really, good story and acting is enough.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 January 2015 14:41 (nine years ago) link
You've gotta have a bit of larger than life stuff in there though. It's a fine balance.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 12 January 2015 15:03 (nine years ago) link
It helps that Rhys+Russell are really great throughout. S2 does an unexpectedly great job fleshing out the Rezidentura peeps, too
― Simon H., Monday, 12 January 2015 15:05 (nine years ago) link
great job fleshing out the Rezidentura peeps, too
Yeah, these are some of my favourite sections/characters. I'm a bit in love with Nina.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 12 January 2015 15:08 (nine years ago) link
Lack of plausibility is not really an issue at all for me.
― you've got no fans you've got no ground (anagram), Monday, 12 January 2015 16:57 (nine years ago) link
Me either, really! But there's some invisible line a lot of shows cross, esp. those set in the real world, where it starts out implausible, but acceptable, yet pushes things so far, and muddies motivations so much, they might as well be magical wizards rather than spies. I have high hopes for this one, though.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 January 2015 17:12 (nine years ago) link
Just watched first 4 episodes of s1, not bad at all. Liked the Reagan shooting ep positing Al Haig as nearly starting WW3.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Monday, 19 January 2015 18:34 (nine years ago) link
yeah, John-Boy casting + Margo Martindale as a vet of Stalingrad
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Monday, 19 January 2015 18:35 (nine years ago) link
when reagan was shot at, they said that james brady died.
Yeah that was ACTUAL archival mistaken reporting, i remember it well.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Monday, 19 January 2015 18:38 (nine years ago) link
Apparently Matthew Rhys has a story credit on an episode of Archer this season.
People w/ screeners seem happy with the early S3 eps.
― Simon H., Monday, 19 January 2015 18:44 (nine years ago) link
morbs, just fyi: s1 is very good, s2 takes off into excellence
― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Monday, 19 January 2015 18:56 (nine years ago) link
It it always startling to see morbs on a tv series thread, check out the Fargo series as well!
― xelab, Monday, 19 January 2015 23:41 (nine years ago) link
NO, THIS ONE SHOW IS ALREADY TOO MUCH TV.
The first-season bed-hopping is kind of eye-rolling (yeah, TV must have eyeballs). Philip's FBI secretary asked "Do you have protection?" which I don't think was a synonym for "condoms" until at least "safe sex" came along; more like 1987 than 1981.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 20 January 2015 22:13 (nine years ago) link
OH NO A CHARACTER ONCE UTTERED A MINOR SOLECISM WELL THAT OBVIOUSLY RUINS THE ENTIRE SHOW
― you've got no fans you've got no ground (anagram), Tuesday, 20 January 2015 22:22 (nine years ago) link
tbh, the "do you have protection" is a more reasonable question in the context of his inner world: can he protect his soul while entering into yet another false face relationship AH DO U C
― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 20 January 2015 23:23 (nine years ago) link
yes i got the lil pun.
chill, anagram nothing ruined.
Anyone remember other dramatic fictions about True Believer couples where the dude was the (relatively) wavering one?
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 20 January 2015 23:47 (nine years ago) link
This show is based in NYC, they only shoot in DC when they have to. Not unduly distracting cept when they ran to Philly after that guy's widow, and Philly was played by Queens.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 20 January 2015 23:51 (nine years ago) link
Just got screeners for the first 3 of S3, will report on quality level
― Simon H., Tuesday, 20 January 2015 23:59 (nine years ago) link
J Hoberman did a short review of the s2 video release on Sunday, was mildly spoilery but not fatally.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 21 January 2015 00:05 (nine years ago) link
finished s1, was hoping for a M Martindale-Richard Thomas death fight really.
On the commentary either the creator or a producer said Spielberg reads the scripts and looks at the edits as DreamWorks is involved. He helped w/ editing of finale's car chase.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 January 2015 12:48 (nine years ago) link
Did not know that!
The first 3 of S3 are very solid, though more of a slow boil than the start of S2 was. And just when I thought they'd run out of suspenseful ways to shoot cars driving within the speed limit...
― Simon H., Saturday, 24 January 2015 03:59 (nine years ago) link
am I the only viewer who sees this show as amusingly inconsistent? alternately exciting and campy. the family angle is underdeveloped to say the least. gets a bit better as the daughter gradually becomes aware of her parents double lives, still too often it's like the kids are props. and the disguises! love the "clark & martha" subplot but it's so silly.
― in-house pickle program (m coleman), Saturday, 24 January 2015 13:06 (nine years ago) link
no, you are not the only one. I do like stuff such as Martindale donning helpless-granny drag for a hit. I guess the KGB sent its agents to some Moscow theatre seminars.
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 24 January 2015 13:15 (nine years ago) link
i mentioned this upthread but i see the show as a sort of fever dream of what the 80's felt like to a child: inconsistent, angry parenting; cold war paranoia; the madness of puberty; hypersexualized everything; the general confusion that is being part of a dictatorship beneath parents. if you think of Page as the main character, things shift.but realistically, yeah: it's campy and that's fun.
― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 24 January 2015 14:40 (nine years ago) link
I think it's borderline impossible not to chuckle about some of the disguises but other than that I never felt anything veered into truly distracting camp territory. there are a number of moments where the artifice of the disguises falls apart in some way - most notably in the s2 premiere - and the consequences of it are almost always devastating, and fascinating
― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:08 (nine years ago) link
it's like 1000% less campy than mad men
― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:12 (nine years ago) link
The masters of disguise and seduction aspect of it is partly what caused me concern upthread. We've still only dipped into the first few episodes of season one, and I wanted to make sure it didn't just keep getting sillier and sillier. Like, I can handle it as silly as it is at the start, but I'm not sure I could stick with it if it got any more ridiculous. So, you know, if she dolls up like Nancy Reagan or he goes in drag and seduces Oliver North ...
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:15 (nine years ago) link
lolwut? no, nothing remotely that silly happens
― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:33 (nine years ago) link
if anything it only gets a whole lot darker, the stakes higher, and the disguises are something you accept as a given. season 1 is also much more episodic by comparison to the more taut/serialized 2, so that could also be fueling your doubts
― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:38 (nine years ago) link
oliver north is a co-writer on one of the episodes so anything can happen
― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 24 January 2015 15:55 (nine years ago) link
the episode he co-wrote is great! and with little to no jingoism snuck in that I could notice
― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Saturday, 24 January 2015 16:19 (nine years ago) link
It's just a story credit iirc
yeah I don't know of anyone who doesn't significantly prefer S2 to S1
― Simon H., Saturday, 24 January 2015 16:21 (nine years ago) link