What are you watching? Any good?

Casual conversation between friends. Anything goes (almost).
PeterC
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by PeterC »

PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:38 am
Svalaksana wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:30 am
PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:20 am

S1 was excellent. S2, not so much.
Sorry, I forgot to make this very important note:

Watch S1 only and forget that S2 and S3 exist. I had forgotten right after I watched them. They got nothing to offer and luckily are wholly unconnected to S1.
There's a S3? Who was in it? S2 was bad enough to put me off the project entirely
Actually now you mention it, I did watch it - the Mahershala Ali one? That at least had an interesting premise (unreliability of memory, story happening simultaneously in three times, dementia, etc.), though the execution was poor.

S1 was one of the best things on TV that year. S2 was entirely without merit, though.
humble.student
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by humble.student »

PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:43 am
Actually now you mention it, I did watch it - the Mahershala Ali one? That at least had an interesting premise (unreliability of memory, story happening simultaneously in three times, dementia, etc.), though the execution was poor.

S1 was one of the best things on TV that year. S2 was entirely without merit, though.
Agreed. I don't watch tv at all but S1 was excellent, S2 eminently ignorable and S3 interesting enough to watch as well, as Peter points out.

In all likelihood, what made the first season stand out was the extensive inspiration (or plagiarism) from Thomas Ligotti's essay The Conspiracy against the Human Race as far as Matthew McConaughey's dialogue went. Ligotti himself admittedly only reads Buddhist texts, although his take is filtered through a very nihilistic lens. Still, an interesting author nevertheless.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

That looks like a classic case of “Series Rot”. I know it best from SF and fantasy book series: Book 1 is great, Book 2 is okay, Book 3 is good and pulls together the stories begun in Book 1, Book 4 is an afterthought, and Books 5 and beyond are pot-boilers. At some point the series may become a franchise, continued by another (and lesser) author.
It happens to movies and TV series, too, perhaps even faster. It's so common that it's hard to think of an exception to the rule. Can anyone suggest exceptions?

:popcorn:
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Norwegian »

Kim O'Hara wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:34 pm That looks like a classic case of “Series Rot”. I know it best from SF and fantasy book series: Book 1 is great, Book 2 is okay, Book 3 is good and pulls together the stories begun in Book 1, Book 4 is an afterthought, and Books 5 and beyond are pot-boilers. At some point the series may become a franchise, continued by another (and lesser) author.
It happens to movies and TV series, too, perhaps even faster. It's so common that it's hard to think of an exception to the rule. Can anyone suggest exceptions?

:popcorn:
Kim
The best if not one of the strongest candidates for a TV series including its spinoff, that was strong from beginning till end, is Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul.

Breaking Bad is regarded by viewers and critics as one of the best TV series / dramas ever made. It had five seasons, and it only increased in quality with each season. Then at one time its spinoff Better Call Saul was announced, as a prequel to Breaking Bad, in which viewers would follow the well-known (and much liked) lawyer from Breaking Bad, set some years before the story of Breaking Bad. When it was announced, a lot of people thought it would be a comedy, due to the lawyer character, and some also thought that it couldn't possibly reach the heights of Breaking Bad.

What we got was a slow-burn drama, that focused on slightly different aspects than what Breaking Bad did, but managed to create an incredibly gripping emotional rollercoaster with each season. Not only did Better Call Saul do what Breaking Bad did, by having each season be better than the previous one, it also somehow topped Breaking Bad, in terms of heights reached, and moreover, also changed how people viewed and considered some of the characters in Breaking Bad. People who have no idea what these shows are about, should watch it in this order: 1) Breaking Bad, 2) Better Call Saul. There is also El Camino, a Breaking Bad character spin-off movie, which can be watched after Breaking Bad. It's also good, but it's a movie and not a series.

A series that ran at the same time of Breaking Bad, that of Game of Thrones, was the complete opposite. With each new season, people felt it lost quality, and a number of things happening in the series, related to plot, or so, were viewed as ridiculous. Then it had one of the worst final seasons of any series ever, with a final episode so appalling, that it managed the incredible feat of erasing references to itself in people's collective consciousness, to use such a phrase. On the Internet, anything that is popular in some way, will have pop-culture references and memes, and these references and memes can last a long time after something has ended. But with Game of Thrones, people just cold turkey quit all of it. Nobody uses Game of Thrones memes anymore. People just want to forget that it even existed. And GRRM is mad about it, because his books that he'll likely never publish, are the same in content as the final season of Game of Thrones.

I have to say we're lucky though, in that a lot of TV these days is quite high in quality compared to some decades ago. Not everything is good of course, as there's a lot of useless duds.

Recently I've enjoyed Severance, and The Last of Us.
PeterC
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by PeterC »

humble.student wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:27 pm
PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:43 am
Actually now you mention it, I did watch it - the Mahershala Ali one? That at least had an interesting premise (unreliability of memory, story happening simultaneously in three times, dementia, etc.), though the execution was poor.

S1 was one of the best things on TV that year. S2 was entirely without merit, though.
Agreed. I don't watch tv at all but S1 was excellent, S2 eminently ignorable and S3 interesting enough to watch as well, as Peter points out.

In all likelihood, what made the first season stand out was the extensive inspiration (or plagiarism) from Thomas Ligotti's essay The Conspiracy against the Human Race as far as Matthew McConaughey's dialogue went. Ligotti himself admittedly only reads Buddhist texts, although his take is filtered through a very nihilistic lens. Still, an interesting author nevertheless.
It went deep into Ambrose Bierce territory at the end too. But it was never trying to hide its inspirations, which was nice.
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Svalaksana
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Svalaksana »

PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:38 am
Svalaksana wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:30 am
PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:20 am

S1 was excellent. S2, not so much.
Sorry, I forgot to make this very important note:

Watch S1 only and forget that S2 and S3 exist. I had forgotten right after I watched them. They got nothing to offer and luckily are wholly unconnected to S1.
There's a S3? Who was in it? S2 was bad enough to put me off the project entirely
S3 has got Mahershala Ali (in a pretty solid performance), and although not as disappointing as S2, it is still just a run-of-the-mill detective crime series season, pretty mundane and unspectacular on all aspects.

There's a S4 coming out in the future with Jodie Foster, who knows how it might turn out, but I'm not holding my breath for anything spectacular really.
Looking but not seeing - that's my eye.
Thinking but not minding - that's my mind.
Speaking but not expressing - that's my tongue.
Traveling but not going - that's my path.
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Svalaksana
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Svalaksana »

Svalaksana wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:41 pm
PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:38 am
Svalaksana wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:30 am

Sorry, I forgot to make this very important note:

Watch S1 only and forget that S2 and S3 exist. I had forgotten right after I watched them. They got nothing to offer and luckily are wholly unconnected to S1.
There's a S3? Who was in it? S2 was bad enough to put me off the project entirely
S3 has got Mahershala Ali (in a pretty solid performance), and although not as disappointing as S2, it is still just a run-of-the-mill detective crime series season, pretty mundane and unspectacular on all aspects.

There's a S4 coming out in the future with Jodie Foster, who knows how it might turn out, but I'm not holding my breath for anything spectacular really.
Whoops, my bad, saw the notificarion and went straight to a response, PeterC, and missed your later post. Thoroughly agree with you though. After reading Emil Cioran, there are so similar vibes to it too...
Looking but not seeing - that's my eye.
Thinking but not minding - that's my mind.
Speaking but not expressing - that's my tongue.
Traveling but not going - that's my path.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

PeterC wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:20 am
Svalaksana wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:40 am
Johnny Dangerous wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:38 am

That’s too bad, and will mean cancelling Netflix once I’m done, as there is almost nothing else worthwhile on it.
Get on HBO Max and watch True Detective. You will not be disappointed. :ugeek:
S1 was excellent. S2, not so much.
I freaking love s1 and 3, some of the best TV in years. I actually never even attempted to watch s2 because I heard so many bad things about it.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Oh yeah, IMO Perry Mason is pretty decent.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
Arnoud
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

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Alaska Daily is enjoyable.
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

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Goalie (Leandro Requena - Argentina) kicks a goal kick and scores, from about 100 meters!
Kai lord
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Kai lord »

The story of Kṣitigarbha (地藏王菩萨) & his earthly abode, Jiuhua mountain (九华山)


Life is like a game, either you win or lose!
Life is like a fight, either you live or die!
Life is like a show, either you laugh or cry!
Life is like a dream, either you know or not!!!
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

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DNS wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:48 am Las Vegas Aces win the WNBA championship. First sports title for the city of Las Vegas in a major sport (basketball). Mark Davis is the owner, who also owns the Las Vegas Raiders.

Image
Tom Brady purchases a minority position of the ownership of the current WNBA champion, Las Vegas Aces.

Miorita
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

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Active Measures (2018)
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KeithA
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by KeithA »

Just saw watched Lucky Hank...enjoyed it! Kind of a more serious version of AP Bio.
When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking,
being silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without interruption - what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.

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Kim O'Hara
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

A Yak in the Classroom -
The story behind Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is almost as heartwarming as the tale that it tells, of a disillusioned teacher who finds meaning in his life (and a new use for yak dung) while teaching at the world’s most remote school. The staggeringly photogenic, emphatically feelgood first feature from Pawo Choyning Dorji, set in an isolated mountain community in Bhutan, garnered such a warm global reception that it ended up nominated in last year’s Oscars – quite an achievement for the tiny Himalayan kingdom, hardly a major player in world cinema. Lunana’s appeal is hard to miss: though rather naive in its messaging and unashamedly sentimental, the film is so pure of spirit and so open-hearted, you want to breathe it in, to fill your lungs with it. ...
:thumbsup: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/m ... -fresh-air



:namaste:
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Miorita
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Miorita »

Kai lord wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 9:42 am The story of Kṣitigarbha (地藏王菩萨) & his earthly abode, Jiuhua mountain (九华山)


The great wish of Kṣitigarbha (Samnathabhadra) bodhisattva to disciples:
"Only when all sentient beings are exhausted can they prove that Bodhi Hell is not empty, swear not to become Buddha."

"Ce n'est que lorsque tous les etres sensibles sont epuises qu'ils peuvent prover que la Bodhi L'Enfer n'est pas vide, jure de ne pas devenir bouddha."

:bow:
Miorita
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Miorita »

Watching "The Age of Easy Money" with my dad because of Q&A.
And we have finished wit me realizing that I still pay for the the check received from D. Trump.
It was fun while it lasted. I might be going back to teaching yoga and new age stuff. :lol:
I was once offered the opportunity.

As a sample, I'll introduce you to Shavasana.
The asana's name comes from Siva's dead body laying on the ground under the spell of sakti and while you relax, let the beautiful, harmonizing energies of the Universe (shakti) enter your resting body and regenerate your being. You could have them read to you or you could just think how
* smart you are
* beautiful you are
* blessed you are

:namaste:
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Miorita wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2023 1:24 am Watching "The Age of Easy Money" with my dad because of Q&A.
And we have finished wit me realizing that I still pay for the the check received from D. Trump.
It was fun while it lasted. I might be going back to teaching yoga and new age stuff. :lol:
I was once offered the opportunity.

As a sample, I'll introduce you to Shavasana.
The asana's name comes from Siva's dead body laying on the ground under the spell of sakti and while you relax, let the beautiful, harmonizing energies of the Universe (shakti) enter your resting body and regenerate your being. You could have them read to you or you could just think how
* smart you are
* beautiful you are
* blessed you are

:namaste:
If you make that "how rich you are" as well as "how smart you are" you would be heading towards a new age version of the Christians' prosperity theology and you could make as much money out of it as they do. :tongue:

No. Don't do it. There's enough of that stupidity in the world already, and you do know better.

:coffee:
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Sādhaka
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Re: What are you watching? Any good?

Post by Sādhaka »

Kim O'Hara wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2023 2:22 am…Christians' prosperity theology

I had a friend who once told me in the early 2000’s that America was as prosperous as it was because it’s a mainly Christian country.

On the surface that’s utter nonsense; yet there is simultaneously some truth to it, because at least there was some aspiration toward good there as opposed to that recent trend of nihilism.

Good & bad are relative; yet, if you want good within samsara, then only good can beget good.
Last edited by Sādhaka on Sun Apr 09, 2023 4:53 am, edited 4 times in total.
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