Fans of Television Series

[hydra]

Finished Season 1 of Deadwood....

Also started watching 'House of Cards' (2013). It's Kevin Spacey all the way. It has picked up pace by the fourth episode. I just hope it holds up. At some point, I have to watch the original 'House of Cards' trilogy, if just to compare the original 'break the fourth wall' moments with the US version.

I just finished "Deadwood" last week. Yes, Ian McShane is indeed the star here! I finished "Devil on Wheels" (another Western MiniSeries that just finished it's 3rd season) right before "Deadwood". I think Deadwood is much better.

You'll love "House of Cards"! I can barely wait for the 2nd season. Kevin Spacey is indeed the man. I haven't managed to catch the original MiniSeries either.

I'm not a fan of the way the 4th Wall gets broken so often in HoC. It was way too much in the 1st two episodes, but thankfully they stopped doing it a lot after that. I wish they'd used a better way of bringing out Kevin Spacey's inner thoughts, instead of having him tell us what he's thinking or going to do. To me, that feels like lazy writing. But the overall quality of this series is indeed head and shoulders above most!

 

[esanthosh]

I'm not a fan of the way the 4th Wall gets broken so often in HoC. It was way too much in the 1st two episodes, but thankfully they stopped doing it a lot after that. I wish they'd used a better way of bringing out Kevin Spacey's inner thoughts, instead of having him tell us what he's thinking or going to do. To me, that feels like lazy writing. But the overall quality of this series is indeed head and shoulders above most!

I had the same problem with the first two episodes. But, if not for Spacey, those moments could have been far, far worse

I am more interested in watching the original after this quote from here

The British House of Cards, which aired on the BBC in 1990 and inspired this new version, had a different protagonist in Ian Richardsons Francis Urquhart. When Urquhart addressed the audience, it was partly in the spirit of conspiratorial fun. His asides sparked with wit. He wasnt just ruthlessly striving, he was amusing himself, mocking the ridiculousness of his milieu. There is no impishness about Spaceys Frank Underwood, just numb, machine-like ambition.

Before filming House of Cards, Spacey spent ten months playing the similarly Machiavellian title character in an international production of Shakespeares Richard III, who addresses the audience with narrative asides. House of Cards has similar moments, where Underwood looks directly at the camera and comments on the action. But here his asides seem unnaturalover-explanatory, redundant, and sometimes just plain hokey and dull. The dry pronouncement If I water down the bill, the president will still see me as a failure, and I cannot abide falling back to square one reveals exactly nothing about the mind behind it.

 

[musicbee]

Debra Morgan would not have managed so much in the entire 8 seasons of Dexter as Al Swearengen does in three episodes.

Thanks for the heads up... Debra "****ing" Morgan has always been a delight for her language skills in Dexter.

 

[sarith]

Thanks for the heads up... Debra "****ing" Morgan has always been a delight for her language skills in Dexter.

Especially the word 'fudge' was awesome.

 

[technobhatt]

Thanks for the heads up... Debra "****ing" Morgan has always been a delight for her language skills in Dexter.

Especially the word 'fudge' was awesome.

AbsoF***ingLutely
Debra Morgan in Dexter was a... "m****f**king rolly-poly, chubby cheeked s**t 'speaking' machine"!! :lol:
But 'I don't wanna step on my d**k'...so no more profanity

 

[sam9s]

HOuse Of cards for me somehow was ok...I dont knw may be I had set wrong expectations ... for now Breaking Bad is going strong ......Mean Time I also started watching this Britt TV series called Broadchruch .... first two episodes are really good ... Its a plain murder mystery (for now), direction, performances are top notch .... looking forward to this series .....

 

[esanthosh]

Thanks for the heads up... Debra "****ing" Morgan has always been a delight for her language skills in Dexter.

AbsoF***ingLutely
Debra Morgan in Dexter was a... "m****f**king rolly-poly, chubby cheeked s**t 'speaking' machine"!! :lol:
But 'I don't wanna step on my d**k'...so no more profanity

Keeping in line with the topic, there are a couple of scenes that immediately come to mind. Not sure I can embed them in the forum due to the content, so I will just link them.

One of the most awesome scenes from The Wire uses nothing but F**k.

Here's an example from 'Deadwood'. Mr. Wu does not know any English except the one word Al taught him

 

[technobhatt]

Keeping in line with the topic, there are a couple of scenes that immediately come to mind. Not sure I can embed them in the forum due to the content, so I will just link them.

One of the most awesome scenes from The Wire uses nothing but F**k.

Here's an example from 'Deadwood'. Mr. Wu does not know any English except the one word Al taught him

Thanks for this.
However I'm yet to start watching both the shows 'The Wire' and 'Deadwood'.
So I'm not clicking any of the links as of now
Have Deadwood on Bluray and collected all seasons of The Wire from internet; but still in pipeline since last year. Thanks to many other popular shows.
But I'm keeping your post in my notes

 

[musicbee]

Keeping in line with the topic, there are a couple of scenes that immediately come to mind. Not sure I can embed them in the forum due to the content, so I will just link them.

One of the most awesome scenes from The Wire uses nothing but F**k.

Here's an example from 'Deadwood'. Mr. Wu does not know any English except the one word Al taught him

I have Deadwood but its on hold until I'm done with Breaking Bad which is on hold till Alias and Boston Legal are done.

Have not heard about The Wire... thanks for the mention.

 

[esanthosh]

Finished 'House of Cards'. I do not think anybody other than Kevin Spacey could have pulled off the role of Frank. After watching the entire season, I have to agree with hydra that breaking the fourth wall hardly adds much to the series (a smug look does, but most of the talk does not). It took me a few episodes to get in, but once I did, I finished it at one go. It is an entertaining series for binge watching and I am looking forward to the next season. Overall, I liked it, but felt something was missing after I finished watching it!

Frank Underwood has a cold, calculating mind that uses people like they are disposable pawns on his chess board. But, barring a few vulnerable moments, he feels invincible, especially since a few situations seem unrealistic and most of his opponents feel weak and easy to manipulate. Claire starts off the perfect other half of the power hungry couple, but shows a little bit of a humane side at times. It's not that we don't have manipulative anti-heroes. But, Walter White and Skyler (though she is not exactly Claire's kind) were easier to emotionally invest in - care or curse. Here, the scenes keep on coming and I was always kept interested, but I can't say I cared too much for any character in the series (even Peter Russo didn't leave me hurt). May be that's the point and I am missing it? Not sure!

Started with Deadwood Season 2. The first two episodes have been underwhelming compared to the hype created by the first season. Hope it gets more interesting as it progresses.

 

[esanthosh]

Finished Deadwood Season 2. I would have made a mistake if I let the disappointment of the first two episodes get to me.

There are a large number of characters in Deadwood. But the good thing is the plot and the characters (For e.g., Trixie) progress in one fashion or another through this season - Less shots of mud, more plotting and bloodshed. What I liked about the series is how long all the scars and wounds stay on giving it a bit of fictional 'authenticity'. The season finale was interesting enough to make me want more. I'd say that at this point, Deadwood is one of the better series I have watched (as long as third season stays interesting).

 

[sandeep.bommakanti]

Breaking Bad is the best TV series that I have seen so far. Oh my god, my mind just cannot move away from Walt and Jesse. An absolute masterpiece. But I must say it had a rather slow start in Season 1. Although I loved it, some people might find it a bit slow. From Season 2 to Season 5, it just takes you for a ride. Highly recommended.

Game of Thrones is another one which is huge in terms of canvas and grandeur. I have not read any of the books, but still you can feel for the charecters. If you can bear with violence then GOT is simply awesome.

I wanna start Walking Dead. Heard great things about it. Can someone suggest if it is worth a try?

 

[musicbee]

I wanna start Walking Dead. Heard great things about it. Can someone suggest if it is worth a try?

Highly recommended if you are into the zombie/horror thingy... but of note the "dead zombies" will have you cringing repulsively because of how well they are done. If anything the special FX raises the bar each season with how grotesque the zombies are made to look. The current season 4 has some zombies that are really done well as part of other "elements".

Story wise its a drama and a very good one at that and deals with the entire gamut of human emotions from jealousy, fear, bravery, love, honesty, integrity, etc.

 

[nSinghal]

Finally finished watching The Practice. The final season turned out to be a satisfying experience. Now waiting for Boston Legal which Star World HD would start showing in a couple of weeks (iirc 11 dec). Have already seen it but that was ages ago. Highly recommended to everyone (& not just the fans of The Practice or courtroom/legal dramas).

 

[musicbee]

Finally finished watching The Practice. The final season turned out to be a satisfying experience. Now waiting for Boston Legal which Star World HD would start showing in a couple of weeks (iirc 11 dec). Have already seen it but that was ages ago. Highly recommended to everyone (& not just the fans of The Practice or courtroom/legal dramas).

I've seen them all before but like you I've been watching The Practice everyday and will start Boston Legal too.

Other David E. Kelley shows I've seen and thoroughly enjoyed are L.A. Law, Picket Fences, and Ally McBeal. Highly recommend them too!

I have missed Boston Public and Chicago Hope but have always had it in the back of my mind to catch up with them eventually.

 

[sandeep.bommakanti]

Highly recommended if you are into the zombie/horror thingy... but of note the "dead zombies" will have you cringing repulsively because of how well they are done. If anything the special FX raises the bar each season with how grotesque the zombies are made to look. The current season 4 has some zombies that are really done well as part of other "elements".

Story wise its a drama and a very good one at that and deals with the entire gamut of human emotions from jealousy, fear, bravery, love, honesty, integrity, etc.

Thank you Musicbee.. Will give it a try.

 

[nSinghal]

Anyone interested in watching The Practice but missed it, looks like Fox Crime is showing it again from today. First episode was telecasted today and will be repeated several times tonight and tomm. First 2-3 seasons are an absolute must watch!

 

[sam9s]

Breaking Bad - Season 4 .....Finally just finished, Breaking Bad SE04 ... and I am stumped, just brilliant, simply brilliant, every aspect of this show is plain awsome. So well executed, so well written, writing and performance is the virtue of this show. Every situation is dealt with ground touching reality ......it has ended so well, I could not possibly think what else would there be in SE05 .... (please no spoilers) ........

Will start SE05 tomorrow ......

 

[saketb]

Breaking Bad - Season 4 .....Finally just finished, Breaking Bad SE04 ... and I am stumped, just brilliant, simply brilliant, every aspect of this show is plain awsome. So well executed, so well written, writing and performance is the virtue of this show. Every situation is dealt with ground touching reality ......it has ended so well, I could not possibly think what else would there be in SE05 .... (please no spoilers) ........

Will start SE05 tomorrow ......

Surely you will enjoy the next and sadly the last season thoroughly. Its no spoiler, but I've been missing the characters in my life, especially WW.

Best of luck for your start...

 

[shibashis]

Anyone interested in watching The Practice but missed it, looks like Fox Crime is showing it again from today. First episode was telecasted today and will be repeated several times tonight and tomm. First 2-3 seasons are an absolute must watch!

True, I have advocated for The Practice on this forum and will say again, this show even though is all about court room proceedings, goes much beyond that. As the season's progress you get to witness the dilemma of practitioners of law, how their moral fabric is strained to its very existence. Beautiful to watch the conflict between actual 'Justice' or the idea of it against the judicial system.