Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted May 17, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 17, 2019 6 minutes ago, Astro Hollywood said: Great performance, sure, but after this, Shane Meadows needs to move on from this miserablist period. Mostly it was powerful stuff, especially the pub scene, but when he woke up all covered in vomit, it was a bit "this again." This is England (the TV show) was such a horrible disappointment of rape scenes followed by sad piano montages of someone who's just been raped, and it seems like he's still locked in that mode of long, improvised scenes centred on people seething with misery. If this is headed towards another classic Meadows 'everything hinges on a horrible act of violence', then I'm out until he changes tack. It always seemed like he was trying to rid his demons by putting them on the page, as the press/commentaries for Romeo Brass, Dead Man's Shoes, and This is England all repeatedly refer to a brutal act of violence he saw as a kid that inspired all those films, and judging by the heartbreaking interview he did with the Guardian recently, this is more of the same. I get why, just, life's shit enough without sitting through another show where you're watching unbearable horrors get piled on top of the characters really, really slowly. Â Â Maybe they could bring him in to make the next series of Mrs Brown's Boys. Would give me a reason to watch, and a different type of show for him. Win Win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Come on now @Astro Hollywood, he put Sinbad in it, how much more light relief do you want? I do imagine it will play out exactly how you've predicted but thats ok. I can take a bit of Meadows misery every 5 years or so when it gives you a belting turn from Stephen Graham or Paddy Considine. Maybe with him confronting his own abuse this will play out a bit differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 20, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2019 Had a kid free Saturday night so finally watched all 6 episodes of series 2 of Fleabag. Fuck me, it's incredible. I'm not going to try and review it or anything because I don't have the words to do it justice. I thought the first series was brilliant anyway and she took it to another level. Every aspect of it from the writing to the casting to the performances to the shooting is 11/10. It plays with all sorts of concepts and does them beautifully. On episode started with the end. The flashbacks were great. The Priest calling her on breaking the fourth wall was incredible. I genuinely popped for that. I'm having a hard time deciding where this sits in my all-time list. There are loads that I'd probably watch before this, often based on nostalgia but I'm having a hard time thinking of too many that are outright better. Porridge is my usual benchmark and I'm not sure it's better than that but I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else as perfect. If the Royle Family had only been one series, that would be in the argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted May 20, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2019 On 5/17/2019 at 5:21 PM, Keith Houchen said: It wasn't aimed at geeks and nerds though, it was aimed at non geeks and nerds and their perception of what geeks and nerds are like. Spot on. It was a show laughing at geeks, not a show for geeks. I'd argue that Community or Arrested Development are far more sitcoms for geeks, based on the nature of the writing, how the callbacks and running jokes are structured, and on what their frames of reference are. There's a line in one of the few episodes of Big Bang Theory I've seen that sums up what I hate about it more than almost anything (aside from the reductive, borderline offensive stereotypical characters). Sheldon says something like "the BBC science fiction series Red Dwarf", which is just not how any human being would speak - if we assume the characters are supposed to be geeks, and supposed to be long-term friends, what's the likelihood that he'd had to specifically explain what Red Dwarf was while referencing it? It's because they assume the audience aren't as nerdy as the characters, and don't have enough faith in the audience (or in their own material) to get the joke if they don't spell it out for them.  It's shite, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted May 20, 2019 Moderators Share Posted May 20, 2019 Theirs take on nerds is only really progressive if viewed in contrast to the portrayal of nerds in Saved by the Bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted May 20, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2019 3 minutes ago, BomberPat said: Spot on. It was a show laughing at geeks, not a show for geeks. I'd argue that Community or Arrested Development are far more sitcoms for geeks, based on the nature of the writing, how the callbacks and running jokes are structured, and on what their frames of reference are. There's a line in one of the few episodes of Big Bang Theory I've seen that sums up what I hate about it more than almost anything (aside from the reductive, borderline offensive stereotypical characters). Sheldon says something like "the BBC science fiction series Red Dwarf", which is just not how any human being would speak - if we assume the characters are supposed to be geeks, and supposed to be long-term friends, what's the likelihood that he'd had to specifically explain what Red Dwarf was while referencing it? It's because they assume the audience aren't as nerdy as the characters, and don't have enough faith in the audience (or in their own material) to get the joke if they don't spell it out for them.  It's shite, basically. Couldn't agree more, Pat (and @Keith Houchen). I've had the unfortunate luck of seeing a few episodes at mate's houses and the like, and it's ways been a case of laughing at the stereotypical images of 'geeks' and 'nerds' with little-to-no substance. There's also two similar lines that have stuck with me that are just like the Red Dwarf line that exemplifies how shite the show is and how it fails in the, "It's a show FOR geeks and nerds!" defense. One had Sheldon on a laptop, and he just says to himself, "Oh Ubuntu. You're my favourite Linux-based operating system". Which of course gets a laugh from the robotic audience system. Where is the joke here? Who is that for? Even if you're familiar with the OS, there's no punchline. It's like someone making a sandwich and saying "Oh red bell pepper, you're my favourite seeeded vegetable". The other was this scene where one of the guys had made a board game or something and the rules were just all these Sci-Fi and Fantasty references stitched together. It killed me. It really killed me. I actually believe there a couple of times this has happened too. If there's a TV show or movie that people have to break out the, "Shhhh, let people enjoy things" meme as a defense to it's tardiness, then it is certified wank.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted May 20, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2019 It always angered me how much love Big Bang got compared to Community. God, the first few seasons of that show were wonderful. What we do in the shadows started on the beeb last night. Only saw the first episode, but it’s a good follow on from the film and already renewed for season 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted May 20, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2019 The Dungeons & Dragons episode of Community is probably the most perfect example of actual "comedy for geeks" done well. At no point does it feel the need to give you an overly contrived explanation of what any of the references or in-jokes are, it just assumes enough intelligence of the audience to follow along, and any jokes at the expense of D&D feel informed and affectionate, not "look at this nerdy thing, lol". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factotum Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Chevy Chase should have won an Emmy for that episode. Utterly brilliant in it. Anyway, 'BARRY' continues to be amazing. I have always loved Bill Hader as a performer, but bloody hell he's turning into an amazing Director. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 I'm digging Chernobyl from Sky/HBO right now, even the English accents have grown on me especially as Trevor bloody Morgan shows up, didn't need to see quite so much of him though.. It's done well at not being too gratuitous while still keeping the haunting imagery that's going to stay with you after the episode is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted May 23, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 Trevor Morgan? Please tell me you're referring to... Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted May 23, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 My god, I'm sold. That's tomorrow's commute sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ReturnOfTheMack Posted May 27, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 27, 2019 Oh God. I'm in a bit of a bad place due to various family issues. Now I'm watching Miranda on Netflix. I hate myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 28, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 28, 2019 Intrigued by Gavin & Stacey coming back. Look forward to it. Sure it will bring out the absolute dullards spouting that there are no new ideas when they haven't seen the brilliant Fleabag, Mum, Back to Life, etc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted May 28, 2019 Moderators Share Posted May 28, 2019 The only thing related to that that I have to say is that James Corden got absolutely slated in an AMA he did on Reddit last week. It was brutal, and entirely deserved. It was the most I've ever enjoyed anything associated with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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