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TV: Give Me That Remote!

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Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Slap Shot said:
Watched EP1 of Chance with Hugh Laurie. The noir theme and San Fran setting with some great actors/characters have me intrigued to keep going.
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If EP2 is any indication of things to come I am locked in. I love the fact they haven't (at least not yet) inundated the viewer with multiple subplots although I recognize such usage has its place at times. In this case it's a "simple" case of a complex man living a simplistic existence not yet fully aware of his own demons waiting to come out. One line out of context for anyone that hasn't gone that far into the show imho probably sets the tone for the entire series: "There are no victims. Only volunteers.". Yeah!
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

dxmnkd316 said:
There hasn't been a good comedy show on broadcast TV that lasted since Frasier. Ok, I never got into it but I suppose Modern Family counts.
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Here's my list of notable network sitcoms since Frasier went off the air in 2004:

1. 30 Rock(Seven seasons, all good)
2. Arrested Development(great, but obviously didn't last)
3. Scrubs(Technically nine, really eight seasons, six or seven good ones)
4. How I Met Your Mother(Nine seasons, five-ish good)
5. The Office(Nine seasons, five-ish good)
6. Parks and Rec(Seven seasons, Don't know about quality)
7. Brooklyn Nine Nine(Four seasons so far, all solid and consistent)

It's notable that all seven shows are single cam comedies. In the multi-cam genre, the last few years of Everybody Loves Raymond outlast Frasier, and then there are all the Chuck Lorre shows(Big Bang, Two and a Half Men, Mom, Mike and Molly) which I think are all very well-executed multi-cams, but none that really rise to the level of serious television(Mom maybe comes close). Then again, outside of Frasier, Cheers, Seinfeld(which majorly blurred the lines between the two as it got popular), and some of the 1970's Norman Lear shows that took on social issues, I'm not sure you could say the landscape was all that much better at any other point.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

dxmnkd316 said:
There hasn't been a good comedy show on broadcast TV that lasted since Frasier.
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Networks are at a huge disadvantage given their audience, but I thought of the following and graded them for when they were at their very best. Frasier ended in 2004:

B The Office
C 30 Rock
A Flight of the Conchords
B Glee
B Veep
C Orange is the New Black
A House (Well, I consider it a comedy)
A Crazy Exgirlfriend
A Community

It's a 12 year period. Let's only count As and Bs (7/12). That compares OK with other decades:

70s (7):

All in the Family
MTM
The Odd Couple
MASH
Bob Newhart Show
Soap
Fernwood 2 Night

80s (5):

WKRP
Night Court
Cheers
SCTV
Moonlighting

90s (3 -- Jesus what a sh-t decade):

Larry Sanders Show
Dream On
Northern Exposure

throw in The Simpsons, South Park and Futurama to save face, and extend through 2004 (6/15)

So good broadcast comedies have actually been more frequent since 2004 than any time since the 70s.

I'm telling you man, this is the golden age of TV.
 
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Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

I meant new, but let's go through the list:

The office had one maybe two good seasons. Schrute should have gotten his own show.
30 Rock was awful
Flight wasn't on broadcast, but what I've seen it was great
Glee wore off its welcome after about two episodes. Yuck.
Veep also not on broadcast but it's a solid B- from what I've seen but I have high hopes it will improve since I've only seen something like the first two episodes.
OITNB: I like it. Not broadcast and I'm not sure I'd call it comedy.
House: my favorite show of all time, not really a comedy despite being hilarious.
I couldn't get into Community and I am not sure I've seen Crazy.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

I'd add to the 90s:
Frasier (obviously)
King of the Hill
Married with Children (terrible but still one of my favorites)
Newsradio
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

dxmnkd316 said:
I'd add to the 90s:
Frasier (obviously)
King of the Hill
Married with Children (terrible but still one of my favorites)
Newsradio
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Fox had an incredible run in the late 90s to early 2000s when they had the Simpsons near the end of their golden run, King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle, and first runs of Family Guy and Futurama.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Yeah...I wouldn't call OITNB a comedy.

And if we're including non-broadcast, since many mentioned are, have to include Sunny and The League. The League fell off at the end, but Sunny has been consistently hilarious for many seasons.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Signed up for free trials for Sling and Vue, to compare them, and help make the decision which way to go. I have to say, the quality of video while watching hockey leaves a bit to be desired. Choppy, and laggy, causing a blurry picture. Also don't like the interface for either of them. Hmmm.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Man, episode 2 of Incorporated was terrible. I guess they had exactly enough originality for the pilot, then plop -- garbage. One less thing to worry about watching. :)
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Thought of a small detail in the last ep of The OA today, and it's been bugging me. I actually put a list of 6-7 questions to pose to those who have finished the season, but will wait (and will still hide) until more of you see it all. Yes, I have thoughts on all the questions I have, of course.
 
bigblue_dl said:
Signed up for free trials for Sling and Vue, to compare them, and help make the decision which way to go. I have to say, the quality of video while watching hockey leaves a bit to be desired. Choppy, and laggy, causing a blurry picture. Also don't like the interface for either of them. Hmmm.
Click to expand...

I had Sling briefly until I switched to Vue. I have a $45/month package, and run mine off of Fire TV on one TV, and a Firestick on another. Vue runs like a top on the Fire TV. Definitely a difference between the Fire TV and the Firestick.
 
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Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Has anyone here watched The Black Mirror, a British television series? It looks like there are about four seasons so far, and at least some of them are on Netflix.

I have a friend who is pushing me non-stop to watch it. But his tastes and mine can differ significantly. The one thing that will probably cause me to give it a shot is that we both really enjoyed the original television series Twin Peaks back in the day, and we also both loved Westworld. That coupled with the fact it's advertised as a reworking of The Twilight Zone, which I also really liked. Was curious if anyone here has thoughts one way or the other on the series.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Hammer said:
I had Sling briefly until I switched to Vue. I have a $45/month package, and run mine off of Fire TV on one TV, and a Firestick on another. Vue runs like a top on the Fire TV. Definitely a difference between the Fire TV and the Firestick.
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Ok, I'm on a Fire Stick, no plans to get a Fire TV. I also have Chromecast, which I could use, and should try during this trial next.

Overall, I liked the format of Sling much better, and the channel package offerings. I can get everything I want with the $25 package on Sling, but have to spend $35-$40 on Vue to get what I want. The DVR format on Vue sucks, and that was one of the reasons I'd go Vue instead of Sling, because Sling doesn't have DVR yet. But, since it is so ****ty on Vue, it isn't much of an advantage.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

SJHovey said:
Has anyone here watched The Black Mirror, a British television series? It looks like there are about four seasons so far, and at least some of them are on Netflix.

I have a friend who is pushing me non-stop to watch it. But his tastes and mine can differ significantly. The one thing that will probably cause me to give it a shot is that we both really enjoyed the original television series Twin Peaks back in the day, and we also both loved Westworld. That coupled with the fact it's advertised as a reworking of The Twilight Zone, which I also really liked. Was curious if anyone here has thoughts one way or the other on the series.
Click to expand...

Black Mirror is excellent. One of the best shows on Netflix. I think there are 3 seasons on Netflix. Many of the episodes can be disturbing, they all make you think, and most are very timely with society today.

My favorite episodes are The National Anthem, White Bear, Shut Up and Dance and San Junipero. But, all of them are crazy good shows.
 
bigblue_dl said:
Ok, I'm on a Fire Stick, no plans to get a Fire TV. I also have Chromecast, which I could use, and should try during this trial next.

Overall, I liked the format of Sling much better, and the channel package offerings. I can get everything I want with the $25 package on Sling, but have to spend $35-$40 on Vue to get what I want. The DVR format on Vue sucks, and that was one of the reasons I'd go Vue instead of Sling, because Sling doesn't have DVR yet. But, since it is so ****ty on Vue, it isn't much of an advantage.
Click to expand...

I'd revisit the idea of getting a Fire TV instead of just the stick. About 95% of my picture issues went away with the Fire TV, and it's a LOT smoother to work with. The stick is fine for a secondary TV, but seriously think again about the Fire TV.

I suspect the DVR function will be improved upon over time. I'd bet that it's not going to be very long. They're going to have to do so, or else someone else will.
 
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SJHovey said:
Has anyone here watched The Black Mirror, a British television series? It looks like there are about four seasons so far, and at least some of them are on Netflix.

I have a friend who is pushing me non-stop to watch it. But his tastes and mine can differ significantly. The one thing that will probably cause me to give it a shot is that we both really enjoyed the original television series Twin Peaks back in the day, and we also both loved Westworld. That coupled with the fact it's advertised as a reworking of The Twilight Zone, which I also really liked. Was curious if anyone here has thoughts one way or the other on the series.
Click to expand...

Black mirror is great.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

Hammer said:
I'd revisit the idea of getting a Fire TV instead of just the stick. About 95% of my picture issues went away with the Fire TV, and it's a LOT smoother to work with. The stick is fine for a secondary TV, but seriously think again about the Fire TV.

I suspect the DVR function will be improved upon over time. I'd bet that it's not going to be very long. They're going to have to do so, or else someone else will.
Click to expand...

Except the only thing I've watched that I can even notice picture issues is hockey. Everything else has been fine, and looked pretty much perfect. And for hockey, by the end of the game I wasn't noticing it anymore, so maybe it isn't a big deal for me.
 
Re: TV: Give Me That Remote!

SJHovey said:
Has anyone here watched The Black Mirror, a British television series? It looks like there are about four seasons so far, and at least some of them are on Netflix.
Click to expand...

I have seen just 3 episodes. Each of them was excellent.

I have to be in a weird mood to watch them, though. They bother me; sadden me, because they are so dead on, particular now as we enter the Decline of the West under the bombastic baboon.

Anyway, I think it's the best dark satire since The Twilight Zone. Very, very dark.
 
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