cool to do a websearch for all the doctors side kicks. A couple of good ones I'd forgotten were Romana and Nyssa, I really liked Martha Jones a lot as well as Leelah, not much of a Rose or Clara fan, they were both pretty bad, esp Clara

I think Amy and Rory had the best dynamic of the later era. Amy was ASO a shit girlfriend, but luckily she figured her shit out. That was a good team. I also really loved Donna.

New sidekick Bill was actually kind of transitional feeling. One season, nothing more. Never really even learned that much about the Doctor. Good stories, but she had potential to be more than she ended up being.

dammit i need to catch up with the ancient ones haaa haaa haaa

Watching Eccleston again, and with the benefit of hindsight, I do have a new respect for what he was trying to do, even if the results weren't always as successful as they could've been. He brought out a tragic, almost pathetic side of the doctor. A desperation that other actors have explored but none, i'd say, with as much commitment or intensity. I still prefer Tennant's Doctor overall but there are scenes during Eccleston's run which are some of the best and most unique and affecting, from any era. If he could've only kept that grin in check.

No remorse for Jackie though.

Are you streaming it? Netflix no longer had it for stream. I want to binge! Is it on Hulu or something? Eh?

Also, Jackie... you talkin' about Captain Jack? Because John Barrowman is THE hammiest actors in the goddamn world, but I still like the character when he's not making out with guys super intensely, just to, it seems, make out with guys. That sounds homophobic right? Well, no. I dislike gratuitous making out for no reason between men and women, women and women, men and men, etc. it always feels like a ploy, and it makes my stomach lurch. Torchwood was trying too hard to be "Adult/R-rated" Doctor Who, and as a result went way overboard with the goddamn mother Fucking libidos!!

No, I have the DVD boxsets.

Haha, no. Jackie: Rose's mum.

And yeah, I like Cap't Jack too but the heightened sex angle in general just feels like a distraction, an indulgence on the part of the writers.

Oh, yah! Man it's been forever since I last watched a Rose season. But yeah, Jackie was pretty awful. Then sort of tolerable in a weird way. Then mostly awful again. Lol.

HEY Y'ALL!!

I don't know why I am just now finding this out, but TRUE DETECTIVE
season 3 is happening!

Apparently it's going to star, Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, House of Cards) which seems like an excellent move to me. Guy's a hell of an actor.

This guy right here:



:D

^ hopefully better writers, too...that guy was great in Moonlight.

I think TD season 2 was actually perfectly goddamn good. It's only failing was that it followed perhaps the most perfect season of television HBO has ever produced, with the most gripping story and most amazing performances. But despite the heat it took, I ended up really caring for the characters in S2. The performances were very strong, all around. It just wasn't season 1.

This guy is a hell of an actor, and he tends to take on gritty, emotional roles, so I think he's perfect for a TD story. Now that they've had a coupe years to distance themselves from the alleged failure of S2, maybe it will really be something kickass. Wonder where the setting will be. First it was southern gothic, then eerie LA noir, so... what next I wonder?

I'm watching this Netflix show called OZARK with Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, and it's actually pretty goddamn gripping. Nothing new... but it's a nice and compelling crime story. Bateman can act. Swear to god. Not just act like a prick on Arrested Development, but his style and demeanor really lend themselves to dramatic acting as well.

I watched episode one of OZARKS, then skipped to the last episode, which he directed.

Yeah, he's got chops.

I just kept thinking how damn good it looks. Most TV does. Remember when TV used to suck, just in terms of visuals?

yeah, Ozark was pretty decent. A few real jarring BS moments, though, kind of ruined the concept for me. I kind of like reality in my fiction. True D season 1 for me was an overacted overwritten hammy mess, I bailed the first time on it after 2 episodes, tried to watch it again a few years later, didn't make it thru the first episode. Way, way overrated.

By BS do you mean bullshit, or something esle?

True Detective season 1 was a miracle of modern television for me, so we are not going to find common ground on that. Lol. And the second season was still better than most of what's out there. Worth a full viewing if you're ever just totally out of options. I really quite liked it, though it's brutal in a different way than the first season. Hits a little harder.

I found season 1 of True Detect to be cool, but overwrought in a Se7en kind of manner. There was no supernatural anything, just a bunch of dickheads missing the obvious clues as to the murderer STANDING RIGHT BEHIND THEM.... It was overrated by people who had been too used to standard TV trope police procedurals. The acting and direction was top notch though, and overall I "enjoyed' it.

Season 2 I found more interesting because it was not about catching a bad guy, it was about what happens to people who are involved in that world. I liked it in ways I did not like the first one, and I am one of the few that really dug Vince Vaughn in it. he was awesome.

we are not going to find common ground on that. yep..

Agree abut season 2. Vince Vaughn did a great job. When I first learned he was being cast, I was like... "UHHH." But he actually nailed it. He was not your typical gangster at all. He was not even your multi-tiered sociopath gangster like Tony Soprano. He was just a proud hardworking dude, living in that world, as you said. I thought he was great.

I think the first season was more of a true mystery, and yes, more about "catching a bad guy," bit I think it was also about what happens to people who are "in that world." I know it was overhyped but I think it deserved the praise. But I actually think the storyline of the second season was more original.

The first was better though. Just... goddamn. That deep cover shootout scene, with the 30-minute continuous shot just blew my fucking mind. Matthew Mcconaughey may have won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, but I think TD is his best performance to date. I still can barely believe that's the Surfer Dude dude... the non-entity from Contact. He was electrifying.

S1 works mainly through mood for me. That weird atmosphere running through it. In a way it reminds me of films like The Road or Apocalypse Now, the way their true horror is essentially portrayed not through story as much as their overall look, pace, sound design, maybe a few random moments of dialogue. I find the first few episodes at least completely mesmerising.

Nicely said. I agree.

Any other crime shows out there that have a nice, spooky, otherworldly angle but stay rooted in reality, like TD and I suppose Ozark (which I have not quite finished)? I'm not in the mood for superhero stuff or sci-fi stuff right now, but dark cinematic crime stories seem to be working quite well for me.

I wish I'd never seen Breaking Bad, so I could watch that for the first time. :)

Mrs Instigator and I watched S01E01 of GoT again yesterday. Quite surprising how many characters were introduced in first episode that are still involved in the latest episode. (I counted at least 14). Even so, so many are dead. soooo many.....,

secret diary of a call girl, season 1

yes! it's rose from doctor who! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

anyway, the show makes it all look glamorous at the beginning but finally it's starting to show some of the dark side of things

I would not call her, for this or any other purpose.

I used to work with a guy when I was doing the coprorate accounting thing — the boss's useless brother, who primarily used his desk to eat and wear sweatpants — who would tease me for "having a Billie Piper hard-on" because I was a Doctor Who fan. I guess people like that must exist, but to me she doesn't get the blood flowing in that way.

Is she OK acting-wise in this?

funny thing about billie piper, i read that she's been winning theatre awards lately. i shit you not.

(and no, i don't like writing "theater". to me it reads like "teeter." roget can suck it.)

anyway supposedly she's a very good actress now.

but the first time i encounted her was as brona croft in penny dreadful. i thought she was very good as a tuberculose prostitute etc. a very dark and tormented creature. i didn't think she was a looker or anything but she does have something. is it the crazy mouth? i dont know.

i dont watch diary of a call girl for the looks of the girl, but because i need some adult content in my life. i dont mean "porn", i mean believable grownup situations of some sort, to keep me from regressing into thumbsucking i guess, or something, i don't know. it's not as fun as "hung" used to be, but it gives me 30 minutes of spacing out at the end of the workday and doesn't require heavy attention.

as for her acting there, it's apt. it's not really a melodrama, it's kind of a, hm, well, there's always an ironic detachment in the narrative, some comedy, some social satire, a little bit of drama, and she serves it well. but i wouldn't say this show is grounds for awards though.

i guess she works hard at her craft and you can see a progression? from rose to brona croft it's a huge leap i'd say. haven't seen her on the stage obviously.

Billie Piper started as a fairly generic pop star in the UK, so expectations about her acting when she went into DW weren't high. But while her character sometimes irritates me, she has some great scenes, where she definitely proves the 'Billie can really act' claims aren't just hot air or people over-compensating for their initial doubts.

demonyo did you ever see penny dreadful?

a bit shambolic but highly entertaining

No, I missed that one. I just read about it and it looks pretty interesting.

Where are you at with DW? Still getting through Series 2?

I just finished re-watching it but don't want to give away spoilers.

yeah still midway s2, just finished rickey-mickey (the age of steel). been trying to finish/returns some dvds first (dw comes online via amazon so no rush).

thanks for not saying anything about torchwood! or anything about anything really. much much appreciated.

i really liked penny dreadful. can be gory/disturbing so you should like it. also plenty of "adult matter". sounds like tailor made from you ha ha ha. now, don't expect a great masterpiece of anything, just good schlock for grownups. which, i understand, is very much your thing. dammit man, what are you waiting for?

I have a pile of DVDs I'm slowly getting through. I'm loathe to get any new ones until I've watched those.

oh, ok. definitely put it in your halloween list though!

Haaahahahahaa!!!! You fucking got me.

Defined by my job even when in the proxy company of total strangers. American dream achieved :cool:

yes. but look: http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-th...r-award-2017-4

it takes a garcia lorca to bring out the best. see?

Good luck to her. No doubt plenty of critics were ready to ridicule her move into 'serious' acting but the reviews of her in Yerma couldn't help praising her.

Wow.

currently watching Six Feet Under. It's pretty good!

Just watched the first episode of the Americans. Interesting.

Yes. Yes it is


Get ready for a mad ride

Yeah, Six Feet Under is a great show. Didn't love the last episode, but that's all I'll say about that.


Cool. I'm excited. Wish it was on fucking Netflix!

Yeah, I'm currently done with many, many series & eagerly awaiting the new seasons of, among others Dirk Gently, Star Trek, Gomorrah, et al. Started into a pretty decent Danish series called Norska, but so far only seeing 4 episodes out of 10 on the site I'm getting it from.....latest ep GOT was pretty good. Will be HBO'd in a couple days...

Started THE DEFENDERS on Netflix last night. Two episodes in and by far the most boring show of them all, so far. Maybe it'll heat up, but Jesus there's only 8 episodes! Hmpf!