The best new and returning TV series thread

[yermum]

The latest Star Trek strange new worlds is totally mad. Super camp musical episode. Was actually quite entertaining.

[sockwithaticket]

The latest Star Trek strange new worlds is totally mad. Super camp musical episode. Was actually quite entertaining.

Will be skipping that one then.

Did enjoy the Lower Decks crossover episode, though.

[Jock42]

The latest Star Trek strange new worlds is totally mad. Super camp musical episode. Was actually quite entertaining.

Will be skipping that one then.

Did enjoy the Lower Decks crossover episode, though.

Yeah it bored the tits off me.

[sockwithaticket]

The latest Star Trek strange new worlds is totally mad. Super camp musical episode. Was actually quite entertaining.

Will be skipping that one then.

Did enjoy the Lower Decks crossover episode, though.

Yeah it bored the tits off me.

I wish musicals only bored me, they break something in my brain and put me on edge. Really can't stand them.

[Oxbow]

For a man of a certain age, Retro Electro Workshop is pure joy.

[Gumboot]

The first couple of episodes of Cabinet of Curiosities are great. Exactly what I'd want from a Guillermo Del Toro horror show.

Sounds good.

I binged series 1 of The Bear recently and really enjoyed it.

Been watching this over the last few nights, really into it now

Have just finished the second season, and it's just as good as the first.

Terrific telly.

[Gumboot]

Really enjoyed Blue Lights.

Glad it's been renewed.

Me too, it's great.

[Grandpa]

Is The Bear on anywhere else apart from Disney?

[Hal Jordan]

Watched Peacemaker.

Gunn showed once again why Snyder is an absolute hack who doesn't understand that a dark backstory doesn't mean everything has to be monochrome and po-faced.

Vigilante was hilarious every time he appeared.

John Cena is a pretty good actor and, unlike Dwayne Johnson, is quite happy to poke fun at himself and allow others to breathe on screen.

[Ymx]

Is The Bear on anywhere else apart from Disney?

Not heard of it. Watching it now.

My brain wants to simplify the characters, but there are new dimensions being added to them as time goes. Like it.

Thanks !!

Edit: oh I see it was mentioned above, thanks to Gumboot and Slick in that case.

[Blackmac]

Really enjoyed Blue Lights.

Glad it's been renewed.

Me too, it's great.

Yeah, superb. Sadly two of the most interesting characters have died or been written out.

[Grandpa]

Is The Bear on anywhere else apart from Disney?

Not heard of it. Watching it now.

My brain wants to simplify the characters, but there are new dimensions being added to them as time goes. Like it.

Thanks !!

Edit: oh I see it was mentioned above, thanks to Gumboot and Slick in that case.

I guess you have Disney?

[Ymx]

Yep

[Gumboot]

Is The Bear on anywhere else apart from Disney?

Sorry, missed this earlier.

It's probably not much help to you, but my friend downloads it from a torrent site. Allegedly.

[sockwithaticket]

Watched Peacemaker.

Gunn showed once again why Snyder is an absolute hack who doesn't understand that a dark backstory doesn't mean everything has to be monochrome and po-faced.

Vigilante was hilarious every time he appeared.

John Cena is a pretty good actor and, unlike Dwayne Johnson, is quite happy to poke fun at himself and allow others to breathe on screen.

Of all the ex-wrestlers trying to make a go of it as actors I think Dave Bautista is probably the best at actually acting. Cena did a very good job with this character and showed more range than I'd previously thought him capable of. Actually looking forward to season 2. Snyder and his sycophantic fanboys can get in the bin, Gunn may actually usher in an era of watchable DC universe stuff.

[sockwithaticket]

Minx is back on and picking up where it left off as an unexpected delight. Jake Johnson was born to play a scuzzily wholesome soft porn editor/distributor.

[ASMO]

Ragnarok series 3, just finished binging it, really really good

[Slick]

Just started watching The Thick of It from the start again, bloody brilliant

[yermum]

Finished justified city primeval

It’s ok. But misses the hillbilly charm of the original nice Boyd crowder cameo thought which highlights what the series was missing

[Uncle fester]

Ragnarok series 3, just finished binging it, really really good

Heard some mixed reviews of the ending?
We've just started it. Enjoyable enough.

[sockwithaticket]

First couple of Ahsoka episodes are good. Obviously it could still go pear shaped, but Rogue One, Andor and now this really show how badly they fucked up the new film trilogy.

Finished justified city primeval

It’s ok. But misses the hillbilly charm of the original nice Boyd crowder cameo thought which highlights what the series was missing

Pretty much. I think Boyd Holbrook did as much as he could with the main villain, but very few of the characters were memorable.

[Raggs]

First couple of Ahsoka episodes are good. Obviously it could still go pear shaped, but Rogue One, Andor and now this really show how badly they fucked up the new film trilogy.

Finished justified city primeval

It’s ok. But misses the hillbilly charm of the original nice Boyd crowder cameo thought which highlights what the series was missing

Pretty much. I think Boyd Holbrook did as much as he could with the main villain, but very few of the characters were memorable.

I've seen 90% of star wars rebels with my boy, so it's fun seeing the characters in "real life".

[Gumboot]

I'm three episodes into the latest Black Mirror series, and really enjoying it. There haven't been any classics like San Junipero or SS Callister (yet), but it's still top shelf telly.

[tabascoboy]

Amazon is set to introduce adverts to its Prime Video streaming service in 2024 as it seeks to put more cash into creating TV shows and films.

UK Prime customers, along with those in the US, Germany and Canada, will see ads early next year unless they subscribe for an "ad-free" option at an additional cost. In a statement, Amazon said Prime Video still offered "very compelling value".

It follows similar moves by rivals including Disney+ and Netflix.

Amazon said that the ads would be introduced across France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia later in 2024. It will roll out the "ad-free" subscription tier for an extra $2.99 (£2.44) per month for Prime subscribers in the United States.

Pricing for other countries will be announced at a later date, Amazon said.

At the moment, a Prime subscription, which includes free one-day delivery on goods as well as access to its streaming service, costs £8.99 per month, or £95 a year, in the UK.

"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements in the UK," Amazon said.

But in the wake of similar announcements by other streaming companies, customers have expressed their disappointment.

[sockwithaticket]

These idiots seem intent on pushing people back to piracy/torrenting.

Netflix blew up because it had lots of top stuff in one place and you could watch whenever and wherever you wanted.

Then comes the framentation of content and poliferation of services.

Then comes the crackdown on account sharing.

Then come general subscription price increases.

Now comes the reintroduction of ads.

If I'm already paying a subscription and you make me have to pay more to avoid ads, then fuck you.

I ditched Amazon ages ago, I keep netflix around on the cheapeast possible sub because of the standup they crank out quite regularly, but I've been thinking about dropping it for a little while.

[Raggs]

I don't much care for ads, I care about access. Having to subscribe to a whole service, just for a single thing I wanted to watch (rugby being a big one) didn't make much sense to me. If I see something on Amazon that's through a partner that's ad supported, I really don't care that much most the time, as long as it's not every 5 minutes. I have access to a greater range of media, which is fine.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

So the new business models of the new streaming services return to the business models of that they displaced claiming it was moribund, colour my shocked.

Given at best the streamers are covering ongoing costs some greater change /consolidation must be in the offing, that or a lot more people need to start taking out subscriptions. Someone at some point is going to pick up a lot of content on the cheap and divorce that from the current debt ridden models

[tabascoboy]

I did pay the extra with Now TV to have ad-free ( the so-called "boost" at a rather unjustifiable extra cost) while I took at a short term sub to see all the shows I wanted to see, then cancelled it after about 4 months. With Amazon Prime the free delivery service is useful but I'm struggling to justify £8.99 per month while finding so few things I want to watch and the extra will make it more so. Yes I could just watch with ads but that's not the choice I made when I subscribed in the first place, it's essentially degrading the service and asking me to pay more. Plus of course a good deal of Amazon content is on a rent or buy basis - yet more money...

The problem is not so much when you subscribe to one service and decide voluntarily to pay a premium, but with content being dished out exclusively between numerous providers ( and also the TV licence in the first place) then if you have 3 or 4 subs AND want ad-free then the extra cost can be the point at which you decide enough is enough and start cancelling one or more to save the money. That would just seem to add to the issues for all the services losing yet more customers, income dropping and then them having to raise prices for those who remain to balance the books and create or buy new content - or else reduce new/existing content because of licensing and rights costs.

The ideal solution of course - which is unrealistic and will never happen - is to have one broadcasting service hosting the main streaming providers and pay for what you watch with the income being distributed as appropriate. Streaming providers would never assent to that though as they depend so much on a steady fee paying customer base which makes income simple to predict and budget for.

increasingly the future of television isn't what it used to be...

[C69]

Just finished the first season of Foundation.
It's truly excellent

[Rhubarb & Custard]

increasingly the future of television isn't what it used to be...

And with everyone being in a rush to introduce the same additional charges they really should be open to the accusation it's not as such a competitive market. Cabals are supposed to be a bad thing, illegal even, and yet practically it's what it's coming across as

[sockwithaticket]

Having sunk stupid amounts of money into it, apparently only 37% of US viewers finished Rings of Power. Non- US viewers were a bit more likely to see the series to its end, with 45% doing so.

I don't know how that compares to other big IP, big budget series, but it doesn't sound great.

[C69]

Just finished the first season of Foundation.
It's truly excellent

Same. Meant to say that

Peas in a pod mate. err ummm my friend just got season 2 on err some device

[Biffer]

Return of the best thing on television

Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing

Bliss

[Biffer]

And a new series of Taskmaster, can't forget that.

[Jethro]

Having sunk stupid amounts of money into it, apparently only 37% of US viewers finished Rings of Power. Non- US viewers were a bit more likely to see the series to its end, with 45% doing so.

I don't know how that compares to other big IP, big budget series, but it doesn't sound great.

Absolute disaster for Prime, mind Netflix have had a couple of shocking results recently. Lots of shows currently being cancelled, falling revenue across streaming services not just the reason.

[ScarfaceClaw]

Having sunk stupid amounts of money into it, apparently only 37% of US viewers finished Rings of Power. Non- US viewers were a bit more likely to see the series to its end, with 45% doing so.

I don't know how that compares to other big IP, big budget series, but it doesn't sound great.

I watched it all and enjoyed it. Maybe I’m not enough of a Tolkien purist to get upset or enough of a racist to get angry at the casting to have to wilfully not enjoy it.

[sockwithaticket]

Having sunk stupid amounts of money into it, apparently only 37% of US viewers finished Rings of Power. Non- US viewers were a bit more likely to see the series to its end, with 45% doing so.

I don't know how that compares to other big IP, big budget series, but it doesn't sound great.

Absolute disaster for Prime, mind Netflix have had a couple of shocking results recently. Lots of shows currently being cancelled, falling revenue across streaming services not just the reason.

The cancellations problem has been brewing for them over a couple of years now, the more stuff they cancel the more reluctant people are to start new shows they put out and so there are poor viewing figures, which encourages cancellation and so on.

[tabascoboy]

Having sunk stupid amounts of money into it, apparently only 37% of US viewers finished Rings of Power. Non- US viewers were a bit more likely to see the series to its end, with 45% doing so.

I don't know how that compares to other big IP, big budget series, but it doesn't sound great.

I watched it all and enjoyed it. Maybe I’m not enough of a Tolkien purist to get upset or enough of a racist to get angry at the casting to have to wilfully not enjoy it.

I think that's slightly unfair on the acting and racist front. The world had already been defined so adding this sprinkling of newness jars. As noted by great minds like mine they should have had a race of elves or dwarves that were black. Your eyes and brain would go ahhh yeah OK I can make sense of that. The other line I heard which was fair enough was the actors being black wasn't the problem it was the actors being shite. Lenny Henry isn't the relation of a good actor.

I watched it all the way through and didn't get all the criticism thrown at it. Sure it wasn't great - some parts of the story were dull and some of the acting certainly was adequate at best, but by no means felt like a lot of hours wasted and there are much worse things on streaming.

''Good Omens 2', I seem to recall rather enjoying the first series but this season was real pish - and ended up watching it only as a way to make use of the subscription being unable to find anything else to watch.

Now 'Wheel of Time" is filling that role - and naught to do with this production but not being familiar with the books this feels like it's just ticking off the usual post LoTR fantasy tropes (evil stalks the land, search for hero, travelling party on a quest...). Hope it gets better and subverts expectations soon - only seen 3 episodes to be fair.

[sockwithaticket]

I watched it all and enjoyed it. Maybe I’m not enough of a Tolkien purist to get upset or enough of a racist to get angry at the casting to have to wilfully not enjoy it.

I think that's slightly unfair on the acting and racist front. The world had already been defined so adding this sprinkling of newness jars. As noted by great minds like mine they should have had a race of elves or dwarves that were black. Your eyes and brain would go ahhh yeah OK I can make sense of that. The other line I heard which was fair enough was the actors being black wasn't the problem it was the actors being shite. Lenny Henry isn't the relation of a good actor.

I watched it all the way through and didn't get all the criticism thrown at it. Sure it wasn't great - some parts of the story were dull and some of the acting certainly was adequate at best, but by no means felt like a lot of hours wasted and there are much worse things on streaming.

''Good Omens 2', I seem to recall rather enjoying the first series but this season was real pish - and ended up watching it only as a way to make use of the subscription being unable to find anything else to watch.

Now 'Wheel of Time" is filling that role - and naught to do with this production but not being familiar with the books this feels like it's just ticking off the usual post LoTR fantasy tropes (evil stalks the land, search for hero, travelling party on a quest...). Hope it gets better and subverts expectations soon - only seen 3 episodes to be fair.

That would presumably be because they exhausted the novel with the first series and have had to come up with new stuff from scratch. While the script has the input of Neil Gaiman, crucially, PTerry isn't involved (obviously) and having read much of both his and Gaiman's independent work, I always felt he was the ingredient that made their collaboration so good.

[tabascoboy]

I watched it all the way through and didn't get all the criticism thrown at it. Sure it wasn't great - some parts of the story were dull and some of the acting certainly was adequate at best, but by no means felt like a lot of hours wasted and there are much worse things on streaming.

''Good Omens 2', I seem to recall rather enjoying the first series but this season was real pish - and ended up watching it only as a way to make use of the subscription being unable to find anything else to watch.

Now 'Wheel of Time" is filling that role - and naught to do with this production but not being familiar with the books this feels like it's just ticking off the usual post LoTR fantasy tropes (evil stalks the land, search for hero, travelling party on a quest...). Hope it gets better and subverts expectations soon - only seen 3 episodes to be fair.

That would presumably be because they exhausted the novel with the first series and have had to come up with new stuff from scratch. While the script has the input of Neil Gaiman, crucially, PTerry isn't involved (obviously) and having read much of both his and Gaiman's independent work, I always felt he was the ingredient that made their collaboration so good.

it could be just me, response to it seems favourable enough generally but while I enjoy a good poke at religious conservatism it wasn't enough to hold my attention. Maybe you have the right of it and 100% Gaiman just doesn't work for me...