Telly thread

[Mr_Danger]

Been doing a Malcolm in the Middle rewatch seeing as all my kids watch YouTube shorts clips of that, The Middle and Young Sheldon constantly.

Not much to add on what should be a show universally recognised as the closest thing we’ll ever get to a live action The Simpsons. One thing that has stuck out is how great the physical comedy is. Bryan Cranston in particular. I’ve said it before but it’s Bryan Cranston’s best work. Fuck all that serious adult shit off and get back to being the best tv dad ever. Which he will come April for four episodes or whatever it is.

I also enjoyed the Francis stuff quite a bit more than I have before. It’s pretty unique to have an entire subplot mini show within a show with its own cast of characters that hardly ever cross in to the main show.

The whole thing holds up really well and there’s hardly any bits that make you wince uncomfortably when viewed through a modern lens. Just loads of heart and laughs.

[DavidB6937]

Finished Pluribus season 1.

With Rhea Seehorn being one of my favourite TV actresses, I would've been happy if she'd just sat there for an hour a week to be honest, and arguably she does quite a lot of sitting.. but I think it really plays to her strengths as an actress. She's SO good in the quiet moments and there's a lot here. Her range of emotions she goes through as Carol is overwhelming at times but she's such a fascinating character.

Of course it's not for everyone. It is slow but it's deliberately methodical. It completely adds to the tension and the unknown and while you might be waiting for some Lost-esque teasers or mega reveals, it's not really that kind of show. It's far more about the human condition and how Carol deals with her loneliness versus the consequences for the wider world and her potential future too.

There's a lot going on but it's not a blatantly obvious action sci-fi series. I'm really enjoying watching it unfold and I have no real concerns about longevity or anything. Rhea is fantastic as is Karolina Wydra. Probably one to binge if you're concerned about pacing but the performances are top quality.

Also watched The War Between the Land and the Sea which is a Doctor Who short spin off series. Sure it's daft and WAY too on the nose in places but Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are fantastic as is Jemma Redgrave. Far more towards the Torchwood end of things than Who.

[JLM]

 Completely agree on Pluribus. Similar to The Leftovers regarding the pacing and taking its time with the characters rather than hyper focusing on the mystery or the next plot point. It actually progresses/reveals MORE than The Leftovers did, but also takes its time to let us get into these characters’ heads. For high concept stuff like this I always find “what would people do in this scenario and what does that say about people?” far more interesting than the workings of or solution to the scenario. I don’t need more details about the regime in The Long Walk, I don’t care how the people in Cube ended up there or what happens if they get out.

If you make those things the sole hook of the show and do the Abrams style mystery boxes upon mystery boxes thing then sure, I will want answers, but that doesn’t have to be the only point of a show like this, and I tend to prefer when it isn’t. 

I think “The Gap” was the episode where I realised it was polarising. I thought that episode was gorgeous, packed with visual storytelling and I was completely captivated by it. I felt I got to know a very important character and also got as great understanding of a major character development for another. Then I saw people say it was rubbish and that “nothing happened”.   So yeah I guess the pacing is a turn off for some people but I thought it was excellent. What I will be impatient about it what looks to be a long wait for more of it. 

[DavidB6937]

@JLM Thank you for mentioning The Leftovers. It's been bugging me what similar vibe I was getting from Pluribus and my tired brain didn't connect the dots. Of course it's that - one of my favourite shows and incredibly underrated. Again one that has some incredibly powerful performances that carry the show rather than the concept. I know that style isn't for everyone, especially if you go in expecting something completely different, but it's a real welcome change of pace compared to a lot of shows out there.

[Supremo]

I’m about half way through It - Welcome to Derry and although I’m enjoying it, the biggest red flag is them seemingly attempting to create a Stephen King Cinematic Universe. Throwing in characters from, “The Shining,” and everyone referencing, “Shawshank.” There’s probably loads more I’ve missed.

Perhaps this has always been the case in King’s books or films, but it’s never felt so obvious and it’s the last thing I’m looking for in modern day entertainment. Was this show in development hell for years? I can’t fathom anyone making a show or movie in recent times and thinking it’s a good idea to Marvel-ise it. Surely the bubble has burst on this stuff and people just want to enjoy something without it requiring tonnes of homework?

[Statto]

It's definitely a King Thing:

Multiverse | Stephen King Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/CrkDbCZU3GnMUE3TF

Whether or not it's a good idea to put it on TV now is another matter of course.

[Mr_Danger]

King’s stuff has always had loads of little Easter eggs and characters crossing over or mentioned but they’ve definitely been trying to multiverse it on the small screen. I think they had a decent go with Castle Rock but as usual his stuff doesn’t really hold up to small screen. I suppose when you’re a thousand pages in to one of his books you’re more inclined to buy the bullshit endings. 
 

It’ll be interesting to see how Mike Flanagan handles The Dark Tower adaptation. It’s about as good a chance as that has at being translated to tv but I do wonder if Flanagan might be a bit too faithful to King. His Doctor Sleep was good and seemed to straddle both the Kubrick a King versions of The Shining pretty well but the fact King loves him probably shows he’s a bit too inside the man’s orbit to be objective.

[LaGoosh]

I have no idea how a Dark Tower series could ever work on TV. I love the books so would love to see it but I just don't think it's possible.  So much of it is unadaptable or would require huge changes. The budget alone would be insane.

Edited December 30, 2025 by LaGoosh

[Mr_Danger]

1 hour ago, LaGoosh said:

I have no idea how a Dark Tower series could ever work on TV. I love the books so would love to see it but I just don't think it's possible.  So much of it is unadaptable or would require huge changes. The budget alone would be insane.

It will probably collapse under its own King wackiness but if he can make it a bit of a mystery box show like Lost and get Amazon invested enough to see it through I’d love them to get to the bit where Stephen King himself is a character in the show just for the sheer absurdity of it. It would shit all over that meta bollocks at the end of She-Hulk. 
 

Even with Amazon money, a 5-7 series commitment, King himself helping adapt it and someone as prolific as Mike Flanagan running the show you’d think they’d have to cut so much shit out. Would they even be able to use all the crossover characters from the stuff that belongs to other shows on different networks etc?

[Slapnut]

On 12/24/2025 at 12:33 PM, FLips said:

What's in The Box?

Confusing and 100% rigged Netflix gameshow hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

I worked on this for three weeks but didn’t get a credit. I’m still quite upset about it and now refuse to watch even a minute of it. Cunts.

[mim731]

1 hour ago, Slapnut said:

I worked on this for three weeks but didn’t get a credit. I’m still quite upset about it and now refuse to watch even a minute of it. Cunts.

Perhaps your credit is what is in the titular box? 

[Chris B]

20 hours ago, Supremo said:

I’m about half way through It - Welcome to Derry and although I’m enjoying it, the biggest red flag is them seemingly attempting to create a Stephen King Cinematic Universe. Throwing in characters from, “The Shining,” and everyone referencing, “Shawshank.” There’s probably loads more I’ve missed.

Perhaps this has always been the case in King’s books or films, but it’s never felt so obvious and it’s the last thing I’m looking for in modern day entertainment. Was this show in development hell for years? I can’t fathom anyone making a show or movie in recent times and thinking it’s a good idea to Marvel-ise it. Surely the bubble has burst on this stuff and people just want to enjoy something without it requiring tonnes of homework?

I haven't watched Welcome to Derry yet (and may not, tbh), but Dick Halloran from The Shining is certainly in IT - he's in the Black Spot story and lives in Derry for a bit. There's some memorable stuff in there, and it was briefly referenced in the film. The kids from IT also turn up in 11/22/63.

King's always done it. There were references to Shawshank in loads of other stuff and I'm pretty sure a bunch turned up before The Shawshank Redemption. Castle Rock had a consistent continuity as well, with the villain from The Dead Zone being referenced in Cujo, etc. He has also pretty explicitly connected the various psychic abilities, with Carrie, The Shining, Firestarter all being part of the same thing - more recently, that's what The Institute was kind of about (the powers, not the characters).

To be fair, when King started off doing it, there wasn't really a fan community in the same way, and it wasn't explicitly leading somewhere. It was just for himself, mostly, I think, or at least, giving himself a history to pick and choose from whenever he wanted.

 

[gmoney]

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with intertextual fiction, and I find it sad that Marvel seem to have somehow taken ownership of this concept in people's minds. It can be a really fun thing. 

[Chris B]

1 minute ago, gmoney said:

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with intertextual fiction, and I find it sad that Marvel seem to have somehow taken ownership of this concept in people's minds. It can be a really fun thing. 

I totally agree, but I think some of the backlash to it is about Easter Eggs, and how 'references' have become quite a lazy shorthand to criticism.

I find it interesting seeing it turn up with my nephew (who's 10), who is very into finding out as much as he can about things he likes - and because of YouTube and the like, he uses references and easter eggs as a kind of quality guideline. After the Mario film, he was keeping my dad entertained with all the trivia and references that were in it - despite never having actually played any of the older games.

I enjoy it, obviously, but it has led me more to realise that it's got nothing to do with quality or fidelity. It's a fun thing to do, but it doesn't automatically make something better. And it can be just a cheap way to nod and wink at the audience.

I think that kind of thing is more the MCU kind of thing, and it's really quite different to the intertextual stuff you're talking about - where Shawshank being referenced was because it was the local prison in a consistent continuity and not because it's one of the most fondly-remembered films of the last 40 years.

Kind of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't with it.

[Supremo]

Cheers guys. I assumed it may have been a Stephen King thing that I’ve just never noticed before.

I’m convinced half of it is an age thing. If I was a care free teenager, with infinite free time, I suspect I’d love and gobble this stuff up. I’d have an endless playlist of YouTube essays explaining all the cameos and connections.

When you’re a forty year old Dad of two though, with a full time job, it instantly puts me off. I won’t have the time to consume everything, so I don’t even try. I feel my enthusiasm seeping out of my arse. It’s why the new DC Universe under James Gunn was dead on arrival for me. I loved Superman, but the amount of spin offs you could already see being launched everywhere you looked? Fuck it. Chuck me in the Pocket Universe and throw away the key.