ASH VS. THE EVIL DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just started it

awesome + hilarious

I loved it at first and lost interest halfway thru the season. Let me know what you think.

oh noes! aghhh. please say no more.

alright. Well, you know I'm a huge (HUGE) Evil Dead fan right? I think the problem is this... there's too many people in this show. Too many characters with backstories and motivations. I don't know. It doesn't really "fit" to me.

As the season goes on it doesn't feel like Ash Vs Evil Dead, it feels like Ash & His Friends Vs Evil Dead & Some Other People.

Can't wait to watch this.

i'll rejoin this convo when i'm done watching. have mercy!

We've been just steamrolling through American Horror Story. I guess I'm finally desensitized to the gross sexual bullshit. Anyway...

Just finished:


Had its moments but mostly it was a letdown. Also, the ABSOLUTE BUTCHERING of David Bowie and Nirvana songs didn't help a goddamn thing. I liked Angela Basset and Kathy Bates a lot though. Highlights of the season for sure.

Now we've started:


Bloody and too much goth rock in episode one. But some scary stuff too. Not sure how I feel about Lady Gaga replacing Jessica Lange (yeesh!), but there's some coolness to it.

So far, this is how I rank the seasons:

1. AHS: Coven (Season 3) — Without a single fucking moment of doubt, this is the best, best, best. High watermark of acting, storytelling, and compelling drama for the whole show. More of this, less of everything else!
2. AHS: Asylum (Season 2) — Nowhere near as good as Coven, but still pretty good. Way better than the rest.
3. AHS: Murder House (Season 1) — Everyone was loathsome and everything was disgusting but at least it didn't butcher Bowie or Nirvana.
4. AHS: Freak Show (Season 5) — Storywise, probably a bit better than season 1... but again, the musical savagery was too horrific by far

We'll see about Gaga Hotel.

Started Black Mirror last week. About 5-6 episodes into it and really enjoying it a lot.

okay so having finished season 1 i dared look at your whole post, and i see what you're saying and how it could bother a hardcore fan.

but i'm new to the whole thing, and for me the show works the way it is, with the friends included, except i hate that *****SPOILERS SPOILERS**** one of the friends didn't/couldn't stick around.*****END SPOILERS**** gaaaah!

i really really liked the soundtrack, which was often hilarious. the way some of those old songs sound on a dvd is pretty great actually-- you can here the effects growling and audio details you usually don't get in the flat shitty "classic rock" radio format that abounds in my parts. (and unlike radio in ye olde pickup, i watch tv on big stereo speakers which sound great). good picks, those tracks.

what else. just... it's great! it's absurd and ridiculous and hilarious and that works for me.

AHS: Hotel turned out to be pretty ok. Turns out I kinda love Angela Basset. Who knew? Anyway, Lady Gaga was decent, but certainly not deserving of an acting award for her portrayal of a monk-syllabic vampire diva with very little explained motivation or character depth.

I started the sixth season, AHS: My Roanoke Nightmare, but I'm gonna definitely wait for that shit to come to Netflix. They switched up the narrative style so that it resembles an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, only with actors playing the "real" people telling their story to the camera while other actors act out those characters in the "dramatic re-enactment." Bleh.

DO A CTHULHU SEASON!!!

That series seems too locked into the whole goth-chic market to really go there. Maybe it could introduce an element of it but I can't see it ever jumping into it feet (or tentacles) first.

Probably not, you're right.

But there's no horror more American than Lovecraft's. If they really wanted to do a seminar-like survey of American horror tropes, they would certainly include the Master.

Like, what if there's a season that takes place in a quiet New England fishing village where a few rotarians and local bigwigs (bed and breakfast owners, funeral home directors, etc) secretly convene and conspire to bring the Old Ones back with the help of the Necronomicon, or some variation thereof.

It could be linked to the AHS: Coven season, which took place in New Orleans. Maybe some Detective learns about Inspector Legrasse's discovery of the cult activity in "The Call of Cthulhu," and follows a breadcrumb trail out east where he stumbles upon this order of socialites who are maybe killing folks in sacrifice to the Old Ones, and covering up their deaths.

Cthulhu himself would be a much bigger adversary than the show seems willing to explore, literally and figuratively, since they seem to prefer more (and human-sized) bad guys. But I think a compelling season could be made about a little Innsmouth-like town, and some fucked up cult's efforts to resurrect the ultimate evil. Gaga could be their leader! Or Jessica Lange, should she ever choose to return. It could be fueled by serial-killer elements and maybe some crossbreeding side-stories (Kathy Bates as the mother of a Deep One maybe?), and the whole "Cthulhu" thing could be sort of under the surface.

Actually now that I write that out, it seems plausible and potentially super entertaining! Eh? Ehhhh?

I saw Lovecraft's grave once. It said "I am Providence."

That could really work. The Cthulhu thing could just be treated through suggestion; maybe like it is in The Mist, so we don't have to see him completely. That way the general feel and look of the series is kept intact, and would actually fit really well with the idea of a cult.

I've started watching The Fall on Netflix, think I'm going to binge-watch that and Luther. Not at the same time, just one after the other. Both shows I've been meaning to watch for some time, but just haven't.

luther is fucking great. don't know about the fall. but luther is motherfucking great.

i'm in the middle of PREACHER season 1. which starts like you think it's just the comic with some spaces filled, but ends up being a completely different animal so far.

i don't love it, but i like it-- and 2 characters are superfucking great in it: tulip and cassidy. the actors do an amazing job and they're way better than the comic versions.

I watched this in its entirety when I was with my family on Christmas. Pretty good. I still don't know if I'm sold on Tom Hiddleston as James Bond (frankly I think Idris Elba would be better), but this was a good adaptation of a good post-Cold War Le Carré novel.

It's smart and well-paced. Not at all action heavy but it's Le Carré, so you already know that. Overall, well done. Plus it had that awkward 59-something British chick from Broadchurch -- essentially reprising her role on Broadchurch only with spy stuff instead of small town murder stuff -- and I like her.

One thing that was exceptional about it was the cinematography and camerawork. It's absolutely cinema-level. Moreso than Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones or Sopranos or anything else I've really seen. Flows together like a film, could have been directed by Ridley Scott. Very crisp, very clean, no shortcuts.

4/5 if I had to give it a rating. Not really my conceptual cup of tea, but it certainly pulls you right in.

Really want to watch Luther. Say more stuff about it. Gotta convince the girlfriend to go in with me.

Re: PREACHER -- I've been wondering how in the hell this could possibly be adapted for the TV or film in a non-catastrophic way. The story is so massive. But from what I hear the first season didn't really feel like an adaptation of the comic. Second season promises to be more like it. Not sure if I want to bother until it comes to Netflix.

Luther is another of those "tragic, angry detectives" . I'm fucking tired of them for sure, if life's so shitty, eat your gun...

the story could have been done in 45 minutes of tv. the problem was filling up all the insterstices from one panel to the next with live action.

the solution was a total rewrite as far as i can see. which makes it like a whole new story, but with characters you know. and it's good. it's not GREAT, but it's good. the acting though by the dude that plays cassidy is dementedly great, i mean, it's the irish vampire come to life-- and one who does tulip (the woman w/ the flower dress in agents of S.H.I.T.) just makes such a great & original characterization i thought. like really i stand up & applaud those too.

as for luther: it's idris fucking elba! and he makes a great character


come on sir, no. unfair. what you say is true but only to an extent. this has more dimensions. great writing and acting. usual middling production values from british tv shows but the writing and acting beat 'mericas cop shows.

but yeah, okay, it's not a "new" thing that way. but it's better.

the brooding, the yelling. just boring....yeah, though, Elba is good, one of the best things about the Wire, and he was also good in RocknRolla, but the Beasts of No Nations and Luther, nah, you're only as good as the writing lets you be....

it might be that i have a tragic angry side with a tendency to brood and yell that makes him highly relatable for me.

i don't see him as "alien." know what i mean?

but anyway ok we all have different tastes

i'll go brood now & yell at something.

make sure it's a Trumpian and we're good!

You've sold me. I love the comic but I barely remember it. Sounds like this would be a good re-introduction.

(I still like Agents of SHIELD. I think it's only gotten better since the crappy first half of season one. Hope you didn't give up on it. Any show that can make ME actually WANT to see a fucking shit character like GHOST RIDER, or the Patriot, is doing its job. Love Fitz and Simmons. I'd marry Simmons if I was that knuckleheaded Scot.)

@ sev - i know you didn't say yes to this but i should warn you about luther - if your girl doesn't tolerate ultraviolence & paranoia then it's definitely not for her. mudering psychopaths are luther's bread & butter. so, disturbing/gory. hey maybe that's a selling point ha ha.

I'm much more likely to be unsettled by things than she is. Like American Horror Story with all its rape shit. I couldn't take it, missed big chunks of the first season because I said fuck this and walked off. She didn't bat an eye.

Thanks though. I've been trying to get her to watch. The only things that bothers her are fucked up, sudden deaths of beloved characters (True Detective, season 2) and senseless extreme horror with no purpose (House of 1,000 Corpses is the only example I can think of. She hates it.)

Sounds like she might actually be more into the idea of watching this now. Hahaaa!

yesterday finished season 1 of PREACHER

while the season as a whole didn't always hold my complete attention, the final episode was fucking great!!! i can see it now. i thought i was being strung along but no. here it comes.

and today started season 2 of BETTER CALL SAUL. just first episode. loving it. yeah yeah, it's not walter white, it's not ultraviolence and heart attacks all the time, but it has such great characters, so well written-- plus bob odenkirk is so good in his role.

I LOVE BETTER CALL SAUL!!

Yes, it's differen, but just as compelling!! And the (future) spectre of Walter and future Saul looms large over the whole story, giving it a sense of creeping dread. Some folks can't wait for "Jimmy" to become "Saul," but I'm all for taking it slow, and savoring this guy's story.

Plus, you know all hell is going to break lose for the poor bastard. Hopefully we don't see "Saul Goodman" until the last possible moment.

I didn't know season 3 had started! Yay!

almost done w/ saul -- it's been so great so far

meanwhile

SUNNY

season 9



yes yes, i'm behind the curve

but the dvd has such a great menu

I totally misunderstood you when you first brought up Better Call Saul. I thought, for whatever reason, that you were saying the new season was about to start. There were clues certainly... clues I ignored (like, I dunno... you absolutely NOT saying that, or the fact that season three is the "new" season, and you were taking about season two.

But anyway. Season three is apparently coming, but AMC is being very secretive about it and no date has been disclosed yet. However, I guess Gus Fring (from Breaking Bad) will be part of S3. Interesting.

I just watched the most recent season of Sunny to come to Netflix and even it is old, as a NEW season just started like two weeks ago or something.

Great show though. Has its ups and downs. Definitely has throwaway episodes here and there, and why do they do only 10 episodes a season? Seriously, what's to gain from that with a ½ hour series? I get it with the hour-long ones. Sure. Makes it like a long movie. But 10 episodes of 30 minute shows that are ⅓ eaten up by commercials? It's bullshit to give people no more than that, once a year.

Took, like, light evening of tv watching to get through all of season 11 on Netflix. Felt like a snack break. Lame.

yeah. that's why i consume it in parallel with a "heavy" show.

last night i watched 2 episodes + 1/2 a movie

tonite it's busier so i'm doing 1 sunny + 1 saul. would love to binge, but no time.

if i recall from when i used to see this on tv, sunny is a summer show yeah? short season. so 10 episodes = 10 weeks. plus whatever holi-daze.

most recent ep of sunny at the water park was utterly stunning stuff.


just finished the third season of broad city, similarly stunning.



for some reason I am watching teen wolf and I don't actually know why, the cast are intimidatingly attractive I guess.

Last night I watched the final two episodes of The Fall. I really enjoyed that series. Gillian Anderson is really good, and is consistently so. I'm of course a big fan of The X-Files, and really liked her in Hannibal. So with The Fall, its her chance to finally be the star of her own series, and she did not disappoint. And her next series will be American Gods. So, she certainly knows how to pick a good series.

Wait, who's she set to play in American Gods? I either never heard about or forgot this.

I'm not yet super convinced that AG will live up to the hype. What a tough book to adapt. And while their decision to change up cultural roles is definitely increasing my interest, I still would have absolutely LOVED to have seen Richard Attenborough (before, you know, he died... RIP) as Wednesday. And if not him, Billy Connolly would have done the role justice.

Ian McShane intrigues me though. A dark haired Scot playing a Latino version of Odin. Is that whitewashing, the opposite of whitewashing, or something else altogether? Anyway... for a more ominous and frightening Wednesday/Odin who is nothing like what the book describes, it's a pretty good choice.

Still, I feel like there was a missed opportunity with this one. This should have been made ages ago. As a movie. Directed by Terry Gilliam. With Clive Owen as Shadow, Attenborough or Connolly as Wednesday, and Morgan Freeman as Anansi. Maybe Naomi Watts as ghost-wife whatshername.

Sigh.

the latino business... is very funny

latino is not a "race". sure there are a lot of mestizos as a majority, but it's a very diverse continent. it's mostly a cultural thing.

you have a mishmash of indians, spaniards, africans; various kind of european refugees, asian immigrants, and more-- all of whom interfucked, hard. because there is no segregation. racism sure, but no prohibition to go and fuck the "other". so we're like a litter of mongrel puppies.

in latin america you have black latinos with italian last names, white latinas with chinese last names, quasi-albino latino grandchildren of klaus barbie, amazonian indians who speak no word of spanish and couldn't be "latinos" if their life depended on it, shakira is an arab and so was garcia marquez, etc. etc.

Puerto Rico has black Puerto Ricans with jewish names. Brown Puerto Ricans with German names. Chinese 4th generation Puerto Ricans. All types. I hate the terms used to describe people from Latin America. THey (white folks, you know, the ones who run shit?) like to use one term to generalize about hundreds of millions of people living in wildly different countries with wildly different histories and culture. Latino means nothing. Italians are LATIN-o for Mario's sake. Hispanic means only that your first language is spanish, which leaves out Brazil and several other smaller countries which do not speak Spanish mainly. People from Spain are Hispanic by definition.

I'm confused. I know this. I don't believe I said it was a "race." I think I said something about the American Gods TV show changing up the cultural identities of the characters. :confused:

In any case, I certainly did not mean any offense, and I didn't mean to imply that I am any kind of authority on "Latino" cultural identity. I apologize if I was crass. I was probably subconsciously trying really hard to not be offensive. I am, after all, a liberal white guy ;)


I have to admit, I'm not as familiar with all of this is as I should be. I think I told you once that we have property in rural New Mexico (fucking beautiful place) and I'd love to live there at some point, and I'd like to avoid insulting the extremely diverse people there with my "white dude on vacation" ignorance.

I did know about Gabriel Garcia Marquez though.

no i mean, the idea that gringos have of "latinos" is of a very stereotyped mestizo character. i was just trying to clarify.

mestizo is (like the canadian métis) a basic indian-spanish blend. so you get brown skin / black hair / black eyes and a mixture of european and indian properties. mestizos are a majority in countries that had large native civilizations-- mexico, ex-mayan countries, & the andes.

but people who come from this part of the world are all called "latinos."

the thing is latin america doesn't just have mestizos. black slaves were brought over (and the genetic diversity within africa is greater than the rest of the whole world), waves of immigrants came over, and the fucking never stopped.

a dark haired scot playing a latino version of odin actually sounds very latin american ha ha ha. just like vicente fox,6'4", president of mexico, has not an english last name but a german one (fuchs), and peruvian dictator fujimori fled to the japan of his ancestors when he got into trouble-- now there's a polish guy in charge there.

funny story-- that super hot colombian lady from some lame tv show, family something-- you know the one im talking about-- is actually blonde. but she died her hair dark so she'd get more parts, ha ha ha.

don't sweat it man. a litter of mongrel puppies is what "latino" means.