Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
My main issue so far is somewhat similar to that of the Umbrella Academy, where everyone seems to lack the super power of just talking to each other. Yeah, I get that they bring it up explicitly with Kinsey saying Tyler doesn't talk to her anymore, but if Bode yesterday was talking about some weird well lady and then suddenly today you find out magical keys are real, I'm pretty sure everyone sits down and talks out the details.
Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
My main issue so far is somewhat similar to that of the Umbrella Academy, where everyone seems to lack the super power of just talking to each other. Yeah, I get that they bring it up explicitly with Kinsey saying Tyler doesn't talk to her anymore, but if Bode yesterday was talking about some weird well lady and then suddenly today you find out magical keys are real, I'm pretty sure everyone sits down and talks out the details.
Meh
They established in the first episode that the family is used to Bode making shit up. The existence of a magical key doesn't inherently correlate to a story Bode told the day before about a ghost in a well so I didn't have a problem with nobody thinking much about the story they'd dismissed offhand at the time.
The "nobody talking to one another" thing that really bugged me was with the ghost. Bode told Kinsey and Tyler about the ghost in the graveyard. They accepted that this ghost is there and can be talked to. But nobody ever apparently even considers going to ask the one accessible Locke relative who probably knows all about all of the keys and their powers for advice.
Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
My main issue so far is somewhat similar to that of the Umbrella Academy, where everyone seems to lack the super power of just talking to each other. Yeah, I get that they bring it up explicitly with Kinsey saying Tyler doesn't talk to her anymore, but if Bode yesterday was talking about some weird well lady and then suddenly today you find out magical keys are real, I'm pretty sure everyone sits down and talks out the details.
Meh
They established in the first episode that the family is used to Bode making shit up. The existence of a magical key doesn't inherently correlate to a story Bode told the day before about a ghost in a well so I didn't have a problem with nobody thinking much about the story they'd dismissed offhand at the time.
The "nobody talking to one another" thing that really bugged me was with the ghost. Bode told Kinsey and Tyler about the ghost in the graveyard. They accepted that this ghost is there and can be talked to. But nobody ever apparently even considers going to ask the one accessible Locke relative who probably knows all about all of the keys and their powers for advice.
Haven't seen the show since I didn't really like the comic, but wasn't the whole thing with the keys that they had some sort of magic associated with them so adults forget/don't notice anything going on with them?
Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
My main issue so far is somewhat similar to that of the Umbrella Academy, where everyone seems to lack the super power of just talking to each other. Yeah, I get that they bring it up explicitly with Kinsey saying Tyler doesn't talk to her anymore, but if Bode yesterday was talking about some weird well lady and then suddenly today you find out magical keys are real, I'm pretty sure everyone sits down and talks out the details.
Meh
They established in the first episode that the family is used to Bode making shit up. The existence of a magical key doesn't inherently correlate to a story Bode told the day before about a ghost in a well so I didn't have a problem with nobody thinking much about the story they'd dismissed offhand at the time.
The "nobody talking to one another" thing that really bugged me was with the ghost. Bode told Kinsey and Tyler about the ghost in the graveyard. They accepted that this ghost is there and can be talked to. But nobody ever apparently even considers going to ask the one accessible Locke relative who probably knows all about all of the keys and their powers for advice.
Seriously?!
Like I said I'm only halfway through, but I was completely expecting that they were going to go back and talk to the ghost in short order. Now I am just going to be shouting at the TV in every scene "go ask your great great grandfather you idiots!"
Ugh, that's ridiculous. I'll keep watching, but that makes me want to headdesk.
Locke & Key was kind of disappointing. My partner loved it but I'd personally give it a 6.5/10.
I really could have done without the CW blood infusion they gave it with the weird teen drama. Also, for something based on a graphic novel I'm not sure why they changed some things which ended up making some of the plot feel super contrived.
Also, oof, that kid playing Bodie was a really uneven actor.
Writers try and explain their contrived actions too and 'uneven' is describing it charitably - Episopde 3:
Bode finds a key with a skull on it and immediately uses it despite his siblings saying do not do that/his mother almost dying. He drops dead and ghosts away. Then his excuse for doing this is he thought he could find his Father- You little shit, you had NO IDEA what the damn key did!
At least the actor looked sad when he said that dumb line.
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
He's a, what, 10? year old kid. Of course he's going to use the new magical key when he finds it. When I was a 10 year old boy I lit a can of rubber cement on fire and then my friends and I kicked it around, creating smears of flaming glue that you couldn't easily stomp out because they're glue. What did we think was going to happen? I have no idea! And then we did it again.
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
My main issue so far is somewhat similar to that of the Umbrella Academy, where everyone seems to lack the super power of just talking to each other. Yeah, I get that they bring it up explicitly with Kinsey saying Tyler doesn't talk to her anymore, but if Bode yesterday was talking about some weird well lady and then suddenly today you find out magical keys are real, I'm pretty sure everyone sits down and talks out the details.
Meh
They established in the first episode that the family is used to Bode making shit up. The existence of a magical key doesn't inherently correlate to a story Bode told the day before about a ghost in a well so I didn't have a problem with nobody thinking much about the story they'd dismissed offhand at the time.
The "nobody talking to one another" thing that really bugged me was with the ghost. Bode told Kinsey and Tyler about the ghost in the graveyard. They accepted that this ghost is there and can be talked to. But nobody ever apparently even considers going to ask the one accessible Locke relative who probably knows all about all of the keys and their powers for advice.
Haven't seen the show since I didn't really like the comic, but wasn't the whole thing with the keys that they had some sort of magic associated with them so adults forget/don't notice anything going on with them?
Yeah, adults in the show are able to perceive whatever magical thing is going on but immediately forget that it happened and just blank on references to it.
The ghost of some several-generations-past Locke grandfather is hanging out in a graveyard on the grounds of Keyhouse in the show and demonstrates the ability to remember stuff that's happened over the course of his...un-life. He knows, at least, how the ghost key works and I believe is the one who explains to Bode that there are various keys hidden around and that they can be found by listening for them. It's not explicitly stated that he knows all about the keys but it seems like a reasonable assumption and it constantly bugged me that nobody ever thought to ask him.
Hell, even aside from the main plot of the show's story arc you'd think all three kids would want to go hang out with Ghost Grandpa and hear stories about their dad and uncle as children.
PSN,Steam,Live | CptHamiltonian
+1
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Watching the new season of Narcos Mexico. I’ve noticed a loooot recently where Netflix shows use vaseline on the lens for a really weird blur. Maybe it’s digital nowadays, I don’t know, it’s a legit technique out of the millions of possible techniques at your disposal. Why so much now, frivolously, with no discernible artistic point? Netflix shows specifically. Like is someone sitting in an office at Netflix HQ and granting extra budget if the show runners promise to use lens vaseline? It’s so weird.
For HBO I’ve seen the weird foreground/background focus lens a few times. Not as much but that one really stands out.
Do they get discounts? HBO has a box of those weird lenses for package price and Netflix has a giant vat of vaseline?
The Expanse has spoiled me for sci-fi in this regard. It’s not completely accurate, but they at least strive for(in the authors’ words) a Wikipedia-level understanding of how space works.
Watching the new season of Narcos Mexico. I’ve noticed a loooot recently where Netflix shows use vaseline on the lens for a really weird blur. Maybe it’s digital nowadays, I don’t know, it’s a legit technique out of the millions of possible techniques at your disposal. Why so much now, frivolously, with no discernible artistic point? Netflix shows specifically. Like is someone sitting in an office at Netflix HQ and granting extra budget if the show runners promise to use lens vaseline? It’s so weird.
For HBO I’ve seen the weird foreground/background focus lens a few times. Not as much but that one really stands out.
Do they get discounts? HBO has a box of those weird lenses for package price and Netflix has a giant vat of vaseline?
“I love the look of these lenses,” Sansans says. “With digital cameras and technically perfect lenses, things look too sharp. The Hawks bring you to that time period. The contrast, the flaring, the aberrations at the edges – all of that creates an interesting imperfection and gives another sense to the story. Something uncomfortable is going on. You might not know what it is, but it’s there. I own a set of older anamorphic lenses that I used on Dias de gracia [Days of Grace,2011]. They’re amazing lenses, but they’re very fragile. We just couldn’t make this show with those lenses. The V‑Lites have the durability we need for a production like this.”
Watching the new season of Narcos Mexico. I’ve noticed a loooot recently where Netflix shows use vaseline on the lens for a really weird blur. Maybe it’s digital nowadays, I don’t know, it’s a legit technique out of the millions of possible techniques at your disposal. Why so much now, frivolously, with no discernible artistic point? Netflix shows specifically. Like is someone sitting in an office at Netflix HQ and granting extra budget if the show runners promise to use lens vaseline? It’s so weird.
For HBO I’ve seen the weird foreground/background focus lens a few times. Not as much but that one really stands out.
Do they get discounts? HBO has a box of those weird lenses for package price and Netflix has a giant vat of vaseline?
I’m not complaining it’s just so. fucking. weird.
They did that for the whole first season of Sabrina. Every time I noticed I was all, "Wait... is this a flashback or something? Why is it blurry around the edges?"
I don't recall what season 2 was like but they appear to have given up on it by season 3.
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0
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited February 2020
Yeah, I don't expect mathematically-perfect time estimates of life support resources, but this is 2020 and I damn sure expect scifi shows to get the basics of thermodynamics and life support systems correct. "Not having enough oxygen" is some 1950s-grade misconceptions about surviving space, and the thing with the heat loss is just as bad.
Not to mention that the main ship has a ton of power output and equipment, yet somehow wasn't equipped with a system that would just crack CO2 to get O2 back. And on top of that, how the fuck is using liquid water their only method of getting O2? They're on a planet with a breathable atmosphere! Just use some damn cryogenic separation to pull out all the O2 you need, throw it in a tank, and ship it up to the station. Voila! No need for dumbass convoluted schemes involving big drills or ammonia or anything.
I just really struggle with the way show just needs to be a constant tumble of 2-3 different huge problems at once. That's not entertaining, it's just exhausting and tedious. Pick one good problem, let them work on that for a couple episodes, then move on. Also, maybe make some secondary characters that aren't paper-thin contrivances there to railroad the story in annoying directions.
Yeah, I don't expect mathematically-perfect time estimates of life support resources, but this is 2020 and I damn sure expect scifi shows to get the basics of thermodynamics and life support systems correct. "Not having enough oxygen" is some 1950s-grade misconceptions about surviving space, and the thing with the heat loss is just as bad.
Not to mention that the main ship has a ton of power output and equipment, yet somehow wasn't equipped with a system that would just crack CO2 to get O2 back. And on top of that, how the fuck is using liquid water their only method of getting O2? They're on a planet with a breathable atmosphere! Just use some damn cryogenic separation to pull out all the O2 you need, throw it in a tank, and ship it up to the station. Voila! No need for dumbass convoluted schemes involving big drills or ammonia or anything.
I just really struggle with the way show just needs to be a constant tumble of 2-3 different huge problems at once. That's not entertaining, it's just exhausting and tedious. Pick one good problem, let them work on that for a couple episodes, then move on. Also, maybe make some secondary characters that aren't paper-thin contrivances there to railroad the story in annoying directions.
Eh. I'm not convinced the general population knows much about space (take the Leia scene from TLJ, for a controversial example) :P
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
That's hardly an excuse. There's absolutely nothing that says shows have to prop up tropes because people are too dumb to know the difference, or that you can't teach people something new by bothering to have your space show actually pay attention to being right.
Plus, Star Wars has never really tried for realism. LiS, on the other hand, was trying to give a physics based reason for a plot point, and they got it wrong.
Watching the new season of Narcos Mexico. I’ve noticed a loooot recently where Netflix shows use vaseline on the lens for a really weird blur. Maybe it’s digital nowadays, I don’t know, it’s a legit technique out of the millions of possible techniques at your disposal. Why so much now, frivolously, with no discernible artistic point? Netflix shows specifically. Like is someone sitting in an office at Netflix HQ and granting extra budget if the show runners promise to use lens vaseline? It’s so weird.
For HBO I’ve seen the weird foreground/background focus lens a few times. Not as much but that one really stands out.
Do they get discounts? HBO has a box of those weird lenses for package price and Netflix has a giant vat of vaseline?
I’m not complaining it’s just so. fucking. weird.
The Leftovers was pretty bad about the narrow depth of field (like framing tight on someone and everything else being blurry). I think a lot of the time it's a way to hide cheap sets and lets them cheat a little with not having great blocking/composition on every shot. It's easier to just put two cameras down and do A/B shots with the bg blurred instead of using the space
big little lies was like that too
I don't know if it's just a fad, or just a digital recreation of the focus that real lenses make, but it's kind of annoying
Compared to how better call saul frames a conversation
Our new favorite show at home, Avenue5, was just renewed for season 2!
I am super happy to hear that. We are loving Avenue 5 as well. The joke density is very high and the writing is sharp. I haven't gone back and rewatched an episode yet but it feels like a show where you'll catch more on a second go.
Just watched Alita: Battle Angel because HBO has it now
That was... a lot better than I was expecting.
I was expecting it to be kind of a dumpster fire but I enjoyed it the point where now I'm kinda mad at myself for not going to it while it was in theaters.
oh hey, I saw that last night for much the same reason.
I liked it well enough, but I felt it was really disjointed. I'd guess that it's not adapting any particular story and is instead borrowing bits from several and stitching them together. Didn't really care for MotorBall or the whole romance thing, which accounts for probably half of the film.
I'm not usually one to say these things, but I could be very interested in this team putting together a Mega Man Zero film.
The plot points didn't feel disjointed for me. Kinda rushed at times but I thought one thing flowed to the next reasonably well.
What felt disjointed to me is I would go back and forth from feeling like I was watching a movie intended for kids to people being literally cut to pieces and the like. I think that was mostly the CGI main character feeling slightly uncanny valley though?
Frankly I'm not even really sure it was a problem for me because yeah full body cyborgs probably would/should have at least some uncanny valley effect.
One funny thing about battle scenes featuring cyborgs/robots is that they can get away with some hilariously shocking violence. I mean, I'm not squeamish in the least, but even I had to grimace at
Wow yeah, as I'd suspected. It's SO smudged to hide the greenscreen. That's the thing I like about Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad, lots of nice on location shooting which lets them use some nice blocking and staging for shots that is just not possible on a sound stage
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I’m enjoying Better Call Saul season 4
It’s pretty Mike-heavy which I like but some people hate.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
So far there’s been a lot of scenes where Mike silently looks at things and does inscrutable things and calmly dresses down people for being stupid and honestly it’s my second favorite part of the BB/BCS universe (close behind anything to do with Skinny Pete and Badger).
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
+2
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
Apple keeps hitting me up, sliding in my DMs, about wanting to be friends with benefits with AppleTV+ for a year and outside of Mystic Quest I don't really care (maybe Ghostwriter for nostalgia). I thought they might have had some stuff like an old TV show series or something but it's basically just the ten or so shows since last year.
My problem with Locke and Key is definitely the acting, oof.
Like scenes where they are supposed to be devastated by their recent tragedy seem more like a bit sad because the store didn't have the ice cream brand they wanted.
And Dodge's "threatening face" is like someone trying to quietly get out a fart and I crack up
I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop now. I'm going to be so sad at the end of this season as I see all the pieces coming into place.
Also McNulty just can't help himself can he?
I'd say that sums up a lot of the wire!
The fuck did *I* do?
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
So I am going to risk starting a whole thing here. I feel it is important to state I am not trying to start a whole thing, but I understand entirely what the initial reaction to my very real question will be. I just ask that after the initial shock has worn off that people try to engage in good faith.
When does the Wire start getting good? Or just generally get engaging? I have tried to watch it a couple times but it completely failed to grab me every time. I start losing focus usually part way through an episode and if I am not careful will not even notice as I do other stuff with it as white noise in the background while several episodes go by. It is obviously not a watch it in the background show, but I cannot even manage to pay attention through one episode.
I get the impression it's a slow paced show which I am entirely fine with. I tend to thrive on characters, and character interaction. None of the characters struck me as interesting. They all seem like miserable piles of miserable that I want to fail. There was not one character I remember thinking I would be happy if that one managed to not get completely fucked over. Is that the shows thing? It feels like it might be which is one reason I have avoided going down this road. It doesn't fully explain why I can't engage in this show, but maybe it is because I can't find anything redeeming in anyone.
Edit: For clarity I am not trying to say the show is terrible either. I avoid rating shows in absolutes whenever possible. Either you like a show or you don't. Objectivity doesn't exist, and if it did would be a dumb thing to apply to entertainment. I just wonder if the show picks up steam in a way I have missed.
BCS Season 4 bored me to tears. But I find the fan service stuff dull and Nacho pretty boring
BB spoilers
Also, it just like hangs over the entire thing with Mike and Gus that like, Walt is gonna show up in 2 years and just kill both of them so none of this matters
I just don't care about where Gus got his Volvo or whatever random backstory they're putting in to pad out the show
So I am going to risk starting a whole thing here. I feel it is important to state I am not trying to start a whole thing, but I understand entirely what the initial reaction to my very real question will be. I just ask that after the initial shock has worn off that people try to engage in good faith.
When does the Wire start getting good? Or just generally get engaging? I have tried to watch it a couple times but it completely failed to grab me every time. I start losing focus usually part way through an episode and if I am not careful will not even notice as I do other stuff with it as white noise in the background while several episodes go by. It is obviously not a watch it in the background show, but I cannot even manage to pay attention through one episode.
I get the impression it's a slow paced show which I am entirely fine with. I tend to thrive on characters, and character interaction. None of the characters struck me as interesting. They all seem like miserable piles of miserable that I want to fail. There was not one character I remember thinking I would be happy if that one managed to not get completely fucked over. Is that the shows thing? It feels like it might be which is one reason I have avoided going down this road. It doesn't fully explain why I can't engage in this show, but maybe it is because I can't find anything redeeming in anyone.
Edit: For clarity I am not trying to say the show is terrible either. I avoid rating shows in absolutes whenever possible. Either you like a show or you don't. Objectivity doesn't exist, and if it did would be a dumb thing to apply to entertainment. I just wonder if the show picks up steam in a way I have missed.
Season 1 and 2 don't get really good until you get in the back 1/4 of each season when you can see where all the plots begin to line up and pay off all the things that have been rolling all season. Otherwise there are just a lot of discrete scenes that don't really connect anywhere. I quit at season 4 cause it was just becoming a depressing grind.
BlindPsychic on
0
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
So I am going to risk starting a whole thing here. I feel it is important to state I am not trying to start a whole thing, but I understand entirely what the initial reaction to my very real question will be. I just ask that after the initial shock has worn off that people try to engage in good faith.
When does the Wire start getting good? Or just generally get engaging? I have tried to watch it a couple times but it completely failed to grab me every time. I start losing focus usually part way through an episode and if I am not careful will not even notice as I do other stuff with it as white noise in the background while several episodes go by. It is obviously not a watch it in the background show, but I cannot even manage to pay attention through one episode.
I get the impression it's a slow paced show which I am entirely fine with. I tend to thrive on characters, and character interaction. None of the characters struck me as interesting. They all seem like miserable piles of miserable that I want to fail. There was not one character I remember thinking I would be happy if that one managed to not get completely fucked over. Is that the shows thing? It feels like it might be which is one reason I have avoided going down this road. It doesn't fully explain why I can't engage in this show, but maybe it is because I can't find anything redeeming in anyone.
Edit: For clarity I am not trying to say the show is terrible either. I avoid rating shows in absolutes whenever possible. Either you like a show or you don't. Objectivity doesn't exist, and if it did would be a dumb thing to apply to entertainment. I just wonder if the show picks up steam in a way I have missed.
Lieutenant Daniels is pretty sympathetic in all seasons out of the main cast, and Sydnor too although he's more a side character.
I got hooked after the third episode, when they do the first raid on the projects and the two detectives are trying to injure themselves to get paid leave/retirement. But The Wire is also one of those shows where I started it on Christmas and finished it all by the end of January the next year, and just really binged back when that meant having to buy the DVD sets. But I'm also someone who doesn't think The Sopranos is the best show ever (it's good, just not Wire good). And to be fair, The Wire is the only drama show I would place in my Top 10 all time list, the rest are comedies.
There's not really any "good" people in The Wire. They're all flawed people trying to do what they can in the flawed systems they live in. How those people interact with each other, the systems they're in, and how the systems themselves interact with each other is where The Wire shines, imo. There's also a bunch of great writing, too. And yeah, the back third or so of each season are where the seasons tend to come together and you can see the shape of the story they're telling. If you really don't like it, then don't watch it, I guess. Not everything's for everyone. But if you can get into it, there's a whole lot to like about The Wire.
So I am going to risk starting a whole thing here. I feel it is important to state I am not trying to start a whole thing, but I understand entirely what the initial reaction to my very real question will be. I just ask that after the initial shock has worn off that people try to engage in good faith.
When does the Wire start getting good? Or just generally get engaging? I have tried to watch it a couple times but it completely failed to grab me every time. I start losing focus usually part way through an episode and if I am not careful will not even notice as I do other stuff with it as white noise in the background while several episodes go by. It is obviously not a watch it in the background show, but I cannot even manage to pay attention through one episode.
I get the impression it's a slow paced show which I am entirely fine with. I tend to thrive on characters, and character interaction. None of the characters struck me as interesting. They all seem like miserable piles of miserable that I want to fail. There was not one character I remember thinking I would be happy if that one managed to not get completely fucked over. Is that the shows thing? It feels like it might be which is one reason I have avoided going down this road. It doesn't fully explain why I can't engage in this show, but maybe it is because I can't find anything redeeming in anyone.
Edit: For clarity I am not trying to say the show is terrible either. I avoid rating shows in absolutes whenever possible. Either you like a show or you don't. Objectivity doesn't exist, and if it did would be a dumb thing to apply to entertainment. I just wonder if the show picks up steam in a way I have missed.
The Wire does not believe anyone is all good or all bad*, it's all about shades of grey. But I find lots of characters to root for: Freamon, Bunk, Omar, Wallace, Kima, the four fucking kids in season four, Daniels, basically all of the Sabotkas, Carver. A bunch more. I feel Prezbo now that I do what I do. To a certain extent you root for Stringer, who would traditionally be the villain of the piece.
But the short version for how long it takes to get engaging is you need to blast through like the first three all at once until you've sorted out who everyone is.
*
Well, you could make a few arguments for evil like Marlo, Cheese Wagstaff, and Maury Levy.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
The majority of the characters on The Wire - a strong majority - are not evil people but are instead products of broken and flawed systems. Of course some are better then others.
What side of the law they end up on is almost happenstance - a fact driven home by where the four kids from season four individually start and end up
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I'd like to like The Wire, it looks better than most TV and appears thoughtfully written, but I'm in the same boat. I've tried watching it twice but found it completely inert. I've had the same problem with most prestige TV, honestly.
There's not really any "good" people in The Wire. They're all flawed people trying to do what they can in the flawed systems they live in. How those people interact with each other, the systems they're in, and how the systems themselves interact with each other is where The Wire shines, imo. There's also a bunch of great writing, too. And yeah, the back third or so of each season are where the seasons tend to come together and you can see the shape of the story they're telling. If you really don't like it, then don't watch it, I guess. Not everything's for everyone. But if you can get into it, there's a whole lot to like about The Wire.
I can certainly jam on people doing their best and fucking up. I loved Bojack, for example. I suppose I just haven't stuck around long enough to see them trying to be better, or even wanting to be anything other than terrible. Or my own bias and flawed memory have changed the story into my head to have me remember it that way.
@ The rest, Hum. Ok I think I know what it will take to at least give it a fair shot now. It always sounded like a show I could like but never found a way to do it, and I think knowing it is supposed to be disjointed until the end will help. Thanks for the input y'all!
The majority of the characters on The Wire - a strong majority - are not evil people but are instead products of broken and flawed systems. Of course some are better then others.
What side of the law they end up on is almost happenstance - a fact driven home by where the four kids from season four individually start and end up
All the characters in The Wire are the products of the systems that surround them. That more then anything is the thesis of the show. Simon has previously said he thinks of it as like a greek tragedy, but instead of gods there are the systems that underpin the modern world. The final episode basically underscores this idea as each character is in many ways filling a role within the society they are a part of.
There's not really any "good" people in The Wire. They're all flawed people trying to do what they can in the flawed systems they live in. How those people interact with each other, the systems they're in, and how the systems themselves interact with each other is where The Wire shines, imo. There's also a bunch of great writing, too. And yeah, the back third or so of each season are where the seasons tend to come together and you can see the shape of the story they're telling. If you really don't like it, then don't watch it, I guess. Not everything's for everyone. But if you can get into it, there's a whole lot to like about The Wire.
I can certainly jam on people doing their best and fucking up. I loved Bojack, for example. I suppose I just haven't stuck around long enough to see them trying to be better, or even wanting to be anything other than terrible. Or my own bias and flawed memory have changed the story into my head to have me remember it that way.
@ The rest, Hum. Ok I think I know what it will take to at least give it a fair shot now. It always sounded like a show I could like but never found a way to do it, and I think knowing it is supposed to be disjointed until the end will help. Thanks for the input y'all!
My advice? Treat the first season like you're watching it in a movie theater. No phone out. No tablet off to the side. Not having it on your second monitor while browsing social media.
You're in a movie theater and you're watching something.
If it doesn't grab you by towards the end of the first season then I'd say it's probably just not for you.
Which is ok! Not everyone has to like everything!
But it's very much a show that if you watch with the normal distractions you're not going to get anything out of it and it's going to largely be confusing and ultimately boring.
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I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop now. I'm going to be so sad at the end of this season as I see all the pieces coming into place.
Also McNulty just can't help himself can he?
I enjoyed Locke & Key in both book and Netflix form but of the stuff I had a problem with in the show, Bodie's behavior/motivations was never one...
There is no barely-averted disaster too horrible or warning sufficiently dire that I would have bought a kid finding a magic key and then not trying it out to see what it would do.
I don't know, the excuse that the character is a kid so therefore they do dumb things fails to resonate after a while. Plenty of shows can do a good job with non-idiot children still reacting reasonably (Stranger Things?). That said, I'm only about half-way through, but overall I'm enjoying the series. It's certainly much better than October Faction anyways, although maybe that is damning with faint praise.
Meh
The "nobody talking to one another" thing that really bugged me was with the ghost. Bode told Kinsey and Tyler about the ghost in the graveyard. They accepted that this ghost is there and can be talked to. But nobody ever apparently even considers going to ask the one accessible Locke relative who probably knows all about all of the keys and their powers for advice.
Seriously?!
Ugh, that's ridiculous. I'll keep watching, but that makes me want to headdesk.
The ghost of some several-generations-past Locke grandfather is hanging out in a graveyard on the grounds of Keyhouse in the show and demonstrates the ability to remember stuff that's happened over the course of his...un-life. He knows, at least, how the ghost key works and I believe is the one who explains to Bode that there are various keys hidden around and that they can be found by listening for them. It's not explicitly stated that he knows all about the keys but it seems like a reasonable assumption and it constantly bugged me that nobody ever thought to ask him.
Hell, even aside from the main plot of the show's story arc you'd think all three kids would want to go hang out with Ghost Grandpa and hear stories about their dad and uncle as children.
For HBO I’ve seen the weird foreground/background focus lens a few times. Not as much but that one really stands out.
Do they get discounts? HBO has a box of those weird lenses for package price and Netflix has a giant vat of vaseline?
I’m not complaining it’s just so. fucking. weird.
The Expanse has spoiled me for sci-fi in this regard. It’s not completely accurate, but they at least strive for(in the authors’ words) a Wikipedia-level understanding of how space works.
I found
https://www.vantagefilm.com/en/news/hawk-v-lites-deliver-new-look-for-narcos-10866?fbclid=IwAR3Qvdvq_LB-q9nP70CK2PLwjwvpYy2yMTBiar-LRZtORqewGAoYTjiotTk
where they were explicitly using lenses that weren't top of the line in order to create a feeling of an older show, shot before the rise of digital.
They did that for the whole first season of Sabrina. Every time I noticed I was all, "Wait... is this a flashback or something? Why is it blurry around the edges?"
I don't recall what season 2 was like but they appear to have given up on it by season 3.
Not to mention that the main ship has a ton of power output and equipment, yet somehow wasn't equipped with a system that would just crack CO2 to get O2 back. And on top of that, how the fuck is using liquid water their only method of getting O2? They're on a planet with a breathable atmosphere! Just use some damn cryogenic separation to pull out all the O2 you need, throw it in a tank, and ship it up to the station. Voila! No need for dumbass convoluted schemes involving big drills or ammonia or anything.
I just really struggle with the way show just needs to be a constant tumble of 2-3 different huge problems at once. That's not entertaining, it's just exhausting and tedious. Pick one good problem, let them work on that for a couple episodes, then move on. Also, maybe make some secondary characters that aren't paper-thin contrivances there to railroad the story in annoying directions.
Eh. I'm not convinced the general population knows much about space (take the Leia scene from TLJ, for a controversial example) :P
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The Leftovers was pretty bad about the narrow depth of field (like framing tight on someone and everything else being blurry). I think a lot of the time it's a way to hide cheap sets and lets them cheat a little with not having great blocking/composition on every shot. It's easier to just put two cameras down and do A/B shots with the bg blurred instead of using the space
big little lies was like that too
I don't know if it's just a fad, or just a digital recreation of the focus that real lenses make, but it's kind of annoying
Compared to how better call saul frames a conversation
I am super happy to hear that. We are loving Avenue 5 as well. The joke density is very high and the writing is sharp. I haven't gone back and rewatched an episode yet but it feels like a show where you'll catch more on a second go.
One funny thing about battle scenes featuring cyborgs/robots is that they can get away with some hilariously shocking violence. I mean, I'm not squeamish in the least, but even I had to grimace at
Shooting outside is hard. Much easier to build an outdoors set on a soundstage and throw a background behind it later
found the behind the scenes real quick
Wow yeah, as I'd suspected. It's SO smudged to hide the greenscreen. That's the thing I like about Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad, lots of nice on location shooting which lets them use some nice blocking and staging for shots that is just not possible on a sound stage
It’s pretty Mike-heavy which I like but some people hate.
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This just reminded me of the sequence in early season 3 where Mike takes apart a car to inspect it for devices. Good stuff.
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Like scenes where they are supposed to be devastated by their recent tragedy seem more like a bit sad because the store didn't have the ice cream brand they wanted.
And Dodge's "threatening face" is like someone trying to quietly get out a fart and I crack up
The fuck did *I* do?
When does the Wire start getting good? Or just generally get engaging? I have tried to watch it a couple times but it completely failed to grab me every time. I start losing focus usually part way through an episode and if I am not careful will not even notice as I do other stuff with it as white noise in the background while several episodes go by. It is obviously not a watch it in the background show, but I cannot even manage to pay attention through one episode.
I get the impression it's a slow paced show which I am entirely fine with. I tend to thrive on characters, and character interaction. None of the characters struck me as interesting. They all seem like miserable piles of miserable that I want to fail. There was not one character I remember thinking I would be happy if that one managed to not get completely fucked over. Is that the shows thing? It feels like it might be which is one reason I have avoided going down this road. It doesn't fully explain why I can't engage in this show, but maybe it is because I can't find anything redeeming in anyone.
Edit: For clarity I am not trying to say the show is terrible either. I avoid rating shows in absolutes whenever possible. Either you like a show or you don't. Objectivity doesn't exist, and if it did would be a dumb thing to apply to entertainment. I just wonder if the show picks up steam in a way I have missed.
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I just don't care about where Gus got his Volvo or whatever random backstory they're putting in to pad out the show
Season 1 and 2 don't get really good until you get in the back 1/4 of each season when you can see where all the plots begin to line up and pay off all the things that have been rolling all season. Otherwise there are just a lot of discrete scenes that don't really connect anywhere. I quit at season 4 cause it was just becoming a depressing grind.
Lieutenant Daniels is pretty sympathetic in all seasons out of the main cast, and Sydnor too although he's more a side character.
I got hooked after the third episode, when they do the first raid on the projects and the two detectives are trying to injure themselves to get paid leave/retirement. But The Wire is also one of those shows where I started it on Christmas and finished it all by the end of January the next year, and just really binged back when that meant having to buy the DVD sets. But I'm also someone who doesn't think The Sopranos is the best show ever (it's good, just not Wire good). And to be fair, The Wire is the only drama show I would place in my Top 10 all time list, the rest are comedies.
The Wire does not believe anyone is all good or all bad*, it's all about shades of grey. But I find lots of characters to root for: Freamon, Bunk, Omar, Wallace, Kima, the four fucking kids in season four, Daniels, basically all of the Sabotkas, Carver. A bunch more. I feel Prezbo now that I do what I do. To a certain extent you root for Stringer, who would traditionally be the villain of the piece.
But the short version for how long it takes to get engaging is you need to blast through like the first three all at once until you've sorted out who everyone is.
*
What side of the law they end up on is almost happenstance - a fact driven home by where the four kids from season four individually start and end up
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I can certainly jam on people doing their best and fucking up. I loved Bojack, for example. I suppose I just haven't stuck around long enough to see them trying to be better, or even wanting to be anything other than terrible. Or my own bias and flawed memory have changed the story into my head to have me remember it that way.
@ The rest, Hum. Ok I think I know what it will take to at least give it a fair shot now. It always sounded like a show I could like but never found a way to do it, and I think knowing it is supposed to be disjointed until the end will help. Thanks for the input y'all!
All the characters in The Wire are the products of the systems that surround them. That more then anything is the thesis of the show. Simon has previously said he thinks of it as like a greek tragedy, but instead of gods there are the systems that underpin the modern world. The final episode basically underscores this idea as each character is in many ways filling a role within the society they are a part of.
My advice? Treat the first season like you're watching it in a movie theater. No phone out. No tablet off to the side. Not having it on your second monitor while browsing social media.
You're in a movie theater and you're watching something.
If it doesn't grab you by towards the end of the first season then I'd say it's probably just not for you.
Which is ok! Not everyone has to like everything!
But it's very much a show that if you watch with the normal distractions you're not going to get anything out of it and it's going to largely be confusing and ultimately boring.
Greggs and Omar are pretty likeable characters as well - despite Omar being a stick up man.