What are YOU watching?

[Chun the Unavoidable]

I rather like Star Trek Discovery. I know the Klingons have changed, but the Chaos Space Marine look is intriguing; and the rest looks so much richer than it ever did before. Sure the dialogue isn't the greatest, but then it rarely was. Sure the plotlines are pretty predictable, but then they often were. I hope it has the same kind of legs as The Next Generation did, but, for now, it's just good to hear people shouting 'Red alert!' again.

[Xisor]

Very much agreed, Chun. The only thing that stood out as especially... Troubling? Bad? I'm not sure it's even as problematic as that: the really over-feeding of Sabru being really easily spooked. His actual acting and delivery was terrific (not to mention the two leads and the Klingons - I *really* liked them!), but with Sabru it felt they threw subtlety out the window. Which is a shame because without he expositional "he's a wimp, you know"/"my whole species are wimps" bit, it would have been a really neat execution of the idea!

Laying it on thick, I suppose. But I liked the whole lot, that bit aside. Really lovely to have it all back.

---

And blimey: Daftne Punk!

[Major Rawne]

I've not quite made up my mind yet on Discovery. It's wonderfully flashy and all, but it feels likes its missing some of the wonder of exploration of previous Star Treks.

[Chun the Unavoidable]

Just completed seasons one and two of Daredevil on Netflix. Very much impressed. Each character was well played and allowed to develop rather than remain a stereotype. The fight scenes were viscereal and beautifully choreogragphed. The storylines were believable -within the context, of course- and compelling.I certainly recommend it. Now on to Jessica Jones, I think.

[Chun the Unavoidable]

Britannia on Sky Atlantic is really rather good. Nice production values, with acting going from OTT (acceptable with this type of thing), to very good. The language is contemporary, which takes a little getting used to, but it doesn't detract from a very enjoyable story and setting.

[Xisor]

Pummeling away at my rewatch of the X-Files. It's a fine romp. Creepy in its way, but only infrequently (The one with the demonic/ritual hospital stuff in S4 got to me more than any others recently), but absolutely charming in its way too. Anderson and Duchovny are tremendous and understated fun on screen.

I wonder, however, if people at the time (I dont recall, myself - I was always in it for "I want to believe" UFOs more than creepy or conspiracy bits) were as exasperated as i am by the archness and deliberate vagueness of the people who're in on the conspiracy.

Reminds me of the vague/villain sketches from that Mitchell and Webb look.

Nevertheless, keen to push on with with

----

Also very glad to hear Britannia is good - an old pal of mine was excited about it before the first ep aired and, chatting with him, it'd got me quite excited too!

[Chun the Unavoidable]

Yup, it's worth your while. Love the quirky -and insanely catchy- Folk Rock 60's resurrection for the theme song, too.

[Chun the Unavoidable]

... And Altered Carbon is also very good (at least, two episodes in it is). Very Blade Runner in style, well acted, relatively unpredictable, intricate, lively, and all topped off with high production values.

[Chun the Unavoidable]

Just completed season one of American Gods. Extremely good stuff. Beautifully shot, ambitious, adult, very gory when the gore's to be had. Does what little I recall of the book justice, even expanding upon it -under Gaiman's watchful eye as a producer- satisfyingly. Plus: Lovejoy's Ian McShane. Recommended

[Major Rawne]

Just a wee bit of threadomancy.

I've really gotten stuck into Dark on Netflix over the last week or so. Mighty interesting German sci-fi series.

[Xisor]

Last two episodes of Discovery to-go. The mid-season break really tripped my enjoyment of it up, and the wobbly inconsistency of the first half. But, I'll be damned if the last couple of episodes weren't absolutely tremendous. (What's Past is Prologue and the one before it, at very least, possibly the two prior.)

And, a little foray back into Enterprise after many years, always like to delve in at The Andorian Incident where we first meet Shran (who was rumoured to be intended to be full-time cast in the proposed Series 5, I'd heard)!

It's Enterprise is still a shonky show, broadly, but the nuggets of decency in it are utterly delicious. And they do get increasingly common as time goes on (to S4 where, as I might have mentioned before, I think some of the very best Star Trek is to be found).

Fun times!

[Xisor]

Well, I'll be damned.

"Russian Doll" is astonishingly good.

I also caught most of Discovery S2:which in the Space of scenes continues to zip between tremendous and an affront. Not exactly worse than S1 of TNG and S3 of TOS in terms of dodgy daftness, but deeply confused in places. Squint to avoid the bizarre implications, and I find I can still really enjoy the characters and a lot of the stuff afoot.

Someone did mention that they lived the bridge crew and chums, but absolutely can't stand the Spock, Ash and Ash's Beard plots.

I also caught season 1of the Elijah Wood Dirk Gently: blimey, what a raw and honestly adorable show. Bonkers, but strangely impeccable. I'm somewhat in love with almost everything and everyone in it.

All three very peculiar things, but they've also all hit just the right spots, even if they're spots I didn't know I was yearning to have bit.

As Q put it:

Exactly. For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you had never considered. *That* is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.

[Rob P]

Absolutely binged Community. Can't believe i hadn't seen it before. Right up my street. Even the objectively weaker later seasons are pretty good.