• Cyburbia is a friendly big tent, where we share our experiences and thoughts about urban planning practice, the built environment, planning adjacent topics, and anything else that comes to mind. No ads, no spam, and it's free. It's easy to join!

TV / movies 📺 List your recent and current binge watch (streaming shows) here

mendelman said:
For sure!

Stephen Colbert Nerd GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Click to expand...
I assume you're aware that fellow LOTR nerd, Stephen Colbert, actually had a cameo in one of the Hobbit movies?

 
mendelman said:
The less said about The Hobbit movies the better.

;)

This is the only acceptable The Hobbit 'movie' for me.

Click to expand...
I own a copy of the 1977 Rankin Bass animated version on VHS and watched it maybe a year ago.

Had the live action version of The Hobbit been one movie I would have been satisfied, but filming it as a trilogy was an abomination.
 
Maister said:
Had the live action version of The Hobbit been one movie I would have been satisfied, but filming it as a trilogy was an abomination.
Click to expand...
I think it could have been two 2 hour movies with the visit to Beorn being the halfway point between movies.

Yes, three movies was too much and pretty much all three were over-wrought/wrote/rote too.
 
I'm really enjoying the LOTR stuff on Amazon right now too. The first episode and a half were a bit slow but still interesting and after that it's really gotten going. As a casual fan of Tolkien stuff it's been very fun.
 
Currently watching Wallander on Prime/BritBox - not exactly a binge watch, more of slogging through it with 90 minute episodes and pretty bleak material. It's good, though...

www.imdb.com

Wallander (TV Series 2008–2016) - IMDb

Wallander: With Kenneth Branagh, Richard McCabe, Jeany Spark, Sarah Smart. A television show centered on a soul-searching Swedish cop.
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com
 
Decided to watch Hellraiser (1987) on PrimeTV last night, because I realized I hadn't watched it before and it is a bit of a cultural touchstone and all, so...
 
Last edited:
Maister said:
Again with the foreboding implicit to seasons 2 and 3. Is there something you want to tell me?
Click to expand...
?

Season 1 is just great and the story style framing for many of Season 1 episodes just adds to the excellent direction, scoring, acting, special effects, etc, etc.
 
On a completely unrelated note, would anyone get themselves hooked on a show if they knew in advance that it would suck in the most disappointing way possible after the first season?
 
Maister said:
On a completely unrelated note, would anyone get themselves hooked on a show if they knew in advance that it would suck in the most disappointing way possible after the first season?
Click to expand...
I'd be torn. A part of me would watch knowing the first season was great. The other part wouldn't because the next season would be such a let down.
 
Maister said:
On a completely unrelated note, would anyone get themselves hooked on a show if they knew in advance that it would suck in the most disappointing way possible after the first season?
Click to expand...

On a somewhat related note, assuming you are old enough to remember Twin Peaks when it first came out on ABC, did you ever watch Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime?
 
Not sure it's binging since it's taking me a while, but I've been watching This is Us. Pretty good writing. Although I can't stand some of the characters.
 
Wannaplan? said:
On a somewhat related note, assuming you are old enough to remember Twin Peaks when it first came out on ABC, did you ever watch Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime?
Click to expand...
I never really watched it the first time around, so there was no nostalgia there for me to revisit with that show. I do, however, distinctly remember liking the theme song, and had it on a CD for some reason.

 
Maister said:
I never really watched it the first time around, so there was no nostalgia there for me to revisit with that show. I do, however, distinctly remember liking the theme song, and had it on a CD for some reason.

Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat with Twin Peaks. The music was great.
 
I am watching The Undoing on Hulu (HBO) - it's pretty good!

I tried one episode of Prey but it was a UK version of The Fugitive so I was all meh on it
 
Watched Everything Everywhere All At Once on Prime (rented) yesterday.

Amazingly awesome!

 
NHPlanner said:
It's such a departure from the typical SW show...but in a good way. The pacing, theming, and writing have been awesome so far.
Click to expand...
What can you say generally about the stories without too many spoilers? Like, is it more cerebral and less action oriented?
 
mendelman said:
Still great.
Click to expand...

My theory is that after Dedra obliterates Ferrix and kills Maarva, Cassian will rescue a highly disabled B2EMO and needs to port his memory over to a KX droid laying in the streets to escape the ISB, only to make him to eventually become K-2SO.

Soundtrack to Eps 1 to 4 is lit AF, BTW!
 
Maister said:
What can you say generally about the stories without too many spoilers? Like, is it more cerebral and less action oriented?
Click to expand...

It is tense, full of suspense, and chock full of interesting neurotic characters, all the while being intriguing without needing aliens and lightsabers to keep things moving faster and more intense.
 
Maister said:
What can you say generally about the stories without too many spoilers? Like, is it more cerebral and less action oriented?
Click to expand...
Probably the best analogy would be The Americans in a Star Wars setting?

@Wannaplan? @NHPlanner

EDIT: Wannaplan?'s description is spot on.

There is also a level of delicious irony of such a detail oriented top-down authoritarian bureaucracy with such a tight grip that things slip right through their fingers.
 
Last edited:
mendelman said:
Probably the best analogy would be The Americans in a Star Wars setting?

@Wannaplan? @NHPlanner

EDIT: Wannaplan?'s description is spot on.

There is also a level of delicious irony of such a detailed oriented top-down authoritarian bureaucracy with such a tight grip that things slip right through their fingers.
Click to expand...
I'll put it this way...it's a look at how the "rebellion" that we all know from the original trilogy got to that point...the impact the Empire has on "regular folks," the political ineffectiveness of the Senate leading to back channels and espionage, and how unchallenged power leads to the fight.

Or something like that. More thinking involved in viewing this series vs. action telling the story (really only a couple episodes/scenes are what I would call "action packed.")
 
Back
Top