What are you binge watching?

[nelsonmuntz]

Boss on Starz has one of the best pilot episodes of any show I have ever seen. Then it slowly goes downhill from there.

 

[M.S.G.]

So, as a fan of Black Sails, a Jimmy Buffet fan and a pirate looking at 55, I’m really enjoying The Lost Pirate Kingdom on Netflix. This covers the history of the major Caribbean pirates during the golden age of piracy. Hornigold, Wallace, Thatch/Blackbeard, Sam Bellamy, Anne Bonney, Charles Vane, Jack Rackham and many others. What a unique and interesting period in human history. This is really well done as a docu-drama. The interwoven histories here are really impressive. I continue to find these people and this history quite fascinating.

I'm gonna give this a look ?

 

[M.S.G.]

Boss on Starz has one of the best pilot episodes of any show I have ever seen. Then it slowly goes downhill from there.

That show had some moments.... but yes, hard to disagree with your take

 

[storrsroars]

Loudermilk.

I started a thread about it yesterday, but might as well mention it over here as it's my favorite binge of 2021 thus far. 20 episodes on Prime, a third season to come.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm gonna give this a look ?

I just finished it. Docudrama style. I liked it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is a really good docudrama on Netflix. It follows the rise of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu through their rise and ultimate re-unification of Japan at the end of the Sengoku Period, which was a 150 year period of almost continual civil war in Japan. The documentary captures the last 40 years, from the rise of Nobunaga, a minor warlord in central Japan, to the end of the civil war in the early 17th century. The book "Shogun" by James Clavell is a fictionalized account of the last 3-5 years of this period.

The true story is wilder than any fictionalized account of this period. The political instability and non-stop fighting is more interesting and confusing than Game of Thrones, and many of the events seem more far-fetched. A hill tribe almost turns the tide of the war at one point; a dispute between Nobunaga and Ieyasu almost ends their alliance in its early days; Ieyasu kills his son and wife; Hideyoshi likely had syphilis or some other disease that affected his judgment and made him increasingly bizarre in his final years. A crucial battle in the period turns on a betrayal in the middle of the battle.

I would be surprised if some of the events and characters did not inspire George Martin. Tywin Lannister seems an awful lot like Ieyasu, and there are aspects of Nobunaga that appear to be written into the Robert Baratheon character.

A remake of the mini-series Shogun has been in the works for 5 years, but they should really do it as a big budget, multi-season TV show to do the story justice.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is a really good docudrama on Netflix. It follows the rise of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu through their rise and ultimate re-unification of Japan at the end of the Sengoku Period, which was a 150 year period of almost continual civil war in Japan. The documentary captures the last 40 years, from the rise of Nobunaga, a minor warlord in central Japan, to the end of the civil war in the early 17th century. The book "Shogun" by James Clavell is a fictionalized account of the last 3-5 years of this period.

The true story is wilder than any fictionalized account of this period. The political instability and non-stop fighting is more interesting and confusing than Game of Thrones, and many of the events seem more far-fetched. A hill tribe almost turns the tide of the war at one point; a dispute between Nobunaga and Ieyasu almost ends their alliance in its early days; Ieyasu kills his son and wife; Hideyoshi likely had syphilis or some other disease that affected his judgment and made him increasingly bizarre in his final years. A crucial battle in the period turns on a betrayal in the middle of the battle.

I would be surprised if some of the events and characters did not inspire George Martin. Tywin Lannister seems an awful lot like Ieyasu, and there are aspects of Nobunaga that appear to be written into the Robert Baratheon character.

A remake of the mini-series Shogun has been in the works for 5 years, but they should really do it as a big budget, multi-season TV show to do the story justice.

Have this on my list. Had to finish up the Pirate one first.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Can‘t really binge it since it is released weekly right now. But Atlantic Crossing is superb. It’s the story of the royal family of Norway during WWII. It’s starts with a pre war trip to the USA where they were quite popular and a meeting with FDR. From there Germany invades neutral Denmark and Norway. They flee and are separated. It is very well done. Considerable tension and a deep dive on some key aspects of the war.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I watched one episode, and Huge in France (Netflix) has potential. Reviews are all over the place, and I don't trust comedy reviews anyway. Has anyone seen this?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Decided to watch the last two seasons of Shameless. The show is like a former star pitcher that is no longer an ace, but is still a solid 4th or 5th starter.

Enjoying season 10.

 

[cohenzone]

Loudermilk.

I started a thread about it yesterday, but might as well mention it over here as it's my favorite binge of 2021 thus far. 20 episodes on Prime, a third season to come.

Good show. Confused though about season 3. Supposedly it’s started, but for some reason not in the US so far as I can tell.

 

[storrsroars]

Good show. Confused though about season 3. Supposedly it’s started, but for some reason not in the US so far as I can tell.

‘Loudermilk’ Season 3 Headed to Amazon

Seasons 1 and 2 of the Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort comedy will be available on Amazon's streaming service starting on Friday, March 12.

variety.com

 

[cohenzone]

‘Loudermilk’ Season 3 Headed to Amazon

Seasons 1 and 2 of the Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort comedy will be available on Amazon's streaming service starting on Friday, March 12.

variety.com

hi. What I’m confused about (among many things) is that Variety piece says it’s available starting in March. Unless I misunderstand the acronyms, it’s April and I can’t bring up beyond season 2. What am I missing?

 

[storrsroars]

hi. What I’m confused about (among many things) is that Variety piece says it’s available starting in March. Unless I misunderstand the acronyms, it’s April and I can’t bring up beyond season 2. What am I missing?

I read it clearly as S1/S2 became available on March 12 and the dates for S3 will be announced soon.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Very satisfied with the final season of Shameless and the finale.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Currently binge watching Game of Thrones for a second watch. All the episodes are on HBOMax.

 

[8893]

I just discovered MeTV last week and that's what I've been bingeing on. Watched "Columbo," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and a few episodes of "The Jeffersons." All excellent, especially "The Jeffersons."

 

[Chin Diesel]

I just discovered MeTV last week and that's what I've been bingeing on. Watched "Columbo," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and a few episodes of "The Jeffersons." All excellent, especially "The Jeffersons."

Get my Hogan's Heroes, CHiPs and Emergency fixes on MeTV.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I just discovered MeTV last week and that's what I've been bingeing on. Watched "Columbo," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and a few episodes of "The Jeffersons." All excellent, especially "The Jeffersons."

Get my Hogan's Heroes, CHiPs and Emergency fixes on MeTV.

I need to try this. The biggest question will be the availability of closed captions. Lots of old shows that would be fun.

 

[8893]

I need to try this. The biggest question will be the availability of closed captions. Lots of old shows that would be fun.

The thing I love best about it--and this may be telling of me generally--is that these shows involve no commitment. I know the shows. I know the characters. I know the back story. I don't need to catch up on anything. I don't need to complete anything. I just need to kill an hour or two with mindless TV--which actually turns out to be not-so-mindless once you start thinking about how much more "socially conscious" and intelligent TV may have been than it is now.

 

[storrsroars]

I just need to kill an hour or two with mindless TV--which actually turns out to be not-so-mindless once you start thinking about how much more "socially conscious" and intelligent TV may have been than it is now.

I think if you pitched "Hogan's Heroes" to Hollywood studios today, you'd be immediately blacklisted ;-)

 

[8893]

I think if you pitched "Hogan's Heroes" to Hollywood studios today, you'd be immediately blacklisted ;-)

I was reading a review in the paper this weekend about a new book on how Los Angeles became the cultural center of the country in 1974 and it was talking about the Saturday night lineup, beginning:

“In 1974, the most popular TV show in America was a comedy that put a racist, sexist homophobe center stage, then let him rant, impotently, against the churning social change all around him. Some 20 million households tuned in every Saturday night to watch Archie Bunker and his dysfunctional clan hash it out. After “All in the Family,” most of those TVs stayed tuned to CBS for “M*A*S*H,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show” — a lineup of socially conscious shows that some critics have called the greatest night in television history.”

Quite a lineup, indeed!

Unrelated, but because I know you’re a curious type, it continued:

“It was also a singular year for movies and popular music; you could see “Chinatown,” “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation” at your local movie theater, and listen to new, career-defining albums from Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt or Bob Dylan. All of it was produced in Los Angeles. As Ronald Brownstein writes in “Rock Me on the Water,” his in-depth tour of the city’s pop culture in 1974, “Those 12 glittering months represented magic hour.” He paints Los Angeles then as a kind of patchouli-scented version of Florence during the Renaissance.”

I probably won’t buy the book, but it piqued my curiosity. I love all that stuff.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I was reading a review in the paper this weekend about a new book on how Los Angeles became the cultural center of the country in 1974 and it was talking about the Saturday night lineup, beginning:

“In 1974, the most popular TV show in America was a comedy that put a racist, sexist homophobe center stage, then let him rant, impotently, against the churning social change all around him. Some 20 million households tuned in every Saturday night to watch Archie Bunker and his dysfunctional clan hash it out. After “All in the Family,” most of those TVs stayed tuned to CBS for “M*A*S*H,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show” — a lineup of socially conscious shows that some critics have called the greatest night in television history.”

Quite a lineup, indeed!

Unrelated, but because I know you’re a curious type, it continued:

“It was also a singular year for movies and popular music; you could see “Chinatown,” “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation” at your local movie theater, and listen to new, career-defining albums from Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt or Bob Dylan. All of it was produced in Los Angeles. As Ronald Brownstein writes in “Rock Me on the Water,” his in-depth tour of the city’s pop culture in 1974, “Those 12 glittering months represented magic hour.” He paints Los Angeles then as a kind of patchouli-scented version of Florence during the Renaissance.”

I probably won’t buy the book, but it piqued my curiosity. I love all that stuff.

Have you watched Echo in the Canyon yet? That’s a pretty interesting take on the Echo Canyon music scene. Jacob Dylan explores it with some old time greats.

 

[8893]

Have you watched Echo in the Canyon yet? That’s a pretty interesting take on the Echo Canyon music scene. Jacob Dylan explores it with some old time greats.

Yes. Very good.

 

[storrsroars]

I was reading a review in the paper this weekend about a new book on how Los Angeles became the cultural center of the country in 1974 and it was talking about the Saturday night lineup, beginning:

“In 1974, the most popular TV show in America was a comedy that put a racist, sexist homophobe center stage, then let him rant, impotently, against the churning social change all around him. Some 20 million households tuned in every Saturday night to watch Archie Bunker and his dysfunctional clan hash it out. After “All in the Family,” most of those TVs stayed tuned to CBS for “M*A*S*H,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show” — a lineup of socially conscious shows that some critics have called the greatest night in television history.”

Quite a lineup, indeed!

Unrelated, but because I know you’re a curious type, it continued:

“It was also a singular year for movies and popular music; you could see “Chinatown,” “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation” at your local movie theater, and listen to new, career-defining albums from Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt or Bob Dylan. All of it was produced in Los Angeles. As Ronald Brownstein writes in “Rock Me on the Water,” his in-depth tour of the city’s pop culture in 1974, “Those 12 glittering months represented magic hour.” He paints Los Angeles then as a kind of patchouli-scented version of Florence during the Renaissance.”

I probably won’t buy the book, but it piqued my curiosity. I love all that stuff.

That Saturday lineup truly was "must see TV", although I didn't care all that much for M*A*S*H, mostly because I found Alan Alda smarmy.

As an aside, I banned patchouli from our coffeehouse. Seriously, you couldn't smell or taste anything after being exposed to some freak wearing it like Axe. Glad I wasn't in LA in 1974.