Recent comments in /f/television

JohnnyRelentless t1_j9y1agj wrote

I hate the Mullaly creep. The other two are awesome, though.

She shut down an entire production by violating her contract, costing people jobs, and other people their dreams, because she refused to work with a young Patton Oswalt, who she didn't think was good enough to be on stage with her. She's an entitled, arrogant POS diva.

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Lil_Mcgee t1_j9y01pk wrote

Yeah the notion that an unfinished story has no value is a very pessimistic one. We spend plenty of time piecing together the stories of real history even though we know we'll never have a complete picture of it.

It's a fucking shame how it all turned out and I don't blame any individual for not wanting to engage with ASOIAF any further. I just hope that the prevailing narrative that the early seasons/the books are fundamentally tainted will start to shift soon and that they can be appreciated in spite of their conclusion or lack thereof.

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newfoundhorizons t1_j9xzv55 wrote

Doctor Who:

I would say there are two routes with Doctor Who. Watch the highest rated episodes so you get a flavour of the kind of stories the show tells and what it's about. Or start a season with a Doctors first episode and watch it through till they regenerate so you get the ongoing character arcs, themes and ideas that are set up for later stories. Some stories work best when you've watched them in season order as the emotion of what the character has gone through resonates with you more. Here are some of the best episodes according to IMDB. I've tried to put only stand alone stories that don't feature or spoil elements of the seasons overall plot.

RTD Era:

  • Season 1: Rose, Dalek, 2 part story: The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances

  • Season 2: The Girl in the Fireplace, 2 part story: The Impossible Planet & The Satan Pit

  • Season 3: 2 part story: Human Nature & The Family of Blood, Blink

  • Season 4: 2 part story: Silence in the Library & Forest of the Dead, Midnight, Turn Left

Moffat Era:

  • Season 5: The Eleventh Hour, Vincent and the Doctor, 2 part story: The Pandorica Opens & The Big Bang

  • Season 7: The Angels Take Manhattan, The Snowman

  • Season 8: Listen, Mummy on the Orient Express

  • Season 9: Heaven Sent - spoils a character moment but it's a mighty fine episode.

Chibnall Era:

  • Season 11: The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Rosa

  • Season 12: The Haunting of Villa Diodati

Generally, starting with a Doctors run is a good way to go as well, if you gel with the particular Doctor or companion, then you may find some stories more enjoyable. Start with the first episode of a season and watch it through to the end. Due to a persons taste, episodes will vary in quality in terms of story, but tone, style tend to stay consistent through out a season. You stated you didn't enjoy the first episodes and that's fair enough! Doctor Who often finds it's feet with a new production team every once in a while, so that may account for your experience. Plus, television production and value has changed a lot since 2005 when the show came back and Doctor Who has never had a high budget, so it won't look as polished in places but that's part of the charm for some. If you go down this route, then start in the following places:

*Season 1 (2005)starting Rose for the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)

*Season 2 (2006)starting with the Christmas Invasion for the 10th Doctor (David Tennat)

*Season 5 (2010) starting with The Eleventh Hour for the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith)

*Season 8 (2014) starting with Deep Breath for the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi)

*Season 11 (2018) starting with The Woman Who Fell To Earth with the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker)

Notes: I didn't put any episodes from season 6 as it's quite season plot heavy. Season 10 is brilliant and a personal fave, but isn't rated highly, though I think it's a great season. I prefer RTD's storying telling over Moffat and Chibnalls. Chibnalls seasons are very much back to basics approach to Doctor and I think work best when you've watched the previous Doctor's before hand, though starting with 13 is a good jumping on point as well, I just don't think it's as consistent as other era's. Moffat has 6 seasons as showrunner and so was more experimental with the show and so story quality varies, but there are more good than "bad" episodes. Doctor who has varying levels of story quality depending on the viewer and their like of the Doctor.

Edits made for formatting purposes.

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MustrumRidcully0 t1_j9xzuef wrote

Person of Interest. The protagonists specifically, of course, but also some of their antagonists are pretty good at what they do.

And I think anything Star Trek usually is also full of people that are really good at their jobs.
And if you don't want to go to space, try The Last Ship.

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