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Post by greendemon on Jul 5, 2020 13:01:29 GMT 1
Yeah, we checked out after one of the main characters - the one who was frankly the most interesting out of the original family - was suddenly and abruptly killed off at the start of season 3 or 4. We were only semi-interested in it by that point so looked up to see whether the season picked up after that, then saw that another family member was killed off and just noped out at that point!
I was never a huge fan of Morgan from TWD so him being added to this wasn't a wildly exciting development.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 5, 2020 13:07:15 GMT 1
Yeah, we checked out after one of the main characters - the one who was frankly the most interesting out of the original family - was suddenly and abruptly killed off at the start of season 3 or 4. We were only semi-interested in it by that point so looked up to see whether the season picked up after that, then saw that another family member was killed off and just noped out at that point! I was never a huge fan of Morgan from TWD so him being added to this wasn't a wildly exciting development. Probably the main reason why the show didn't make my list, yes people die its Walking Dead but you have to keep some of the originals otherwise you feel no real connection to the show. The 100 only has 9 of the original 100 left, with speaking roles and Im not counting adults that were on the station, (At your pace) but you still care about the people added since as they gel with the original survivors.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 5, 2020 16:06:48 GMT 1
The 100 almost went the other way with Jaha, my goodness the number of times that guy should have died in the first few seasons! The firing himself to Earth from the Arc was my favourite They certainly weren't shy about killing off other characters but they found a good balance I think.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 8, 2020 16:31:16 GMT 1
It always get hard while you get to the end of a list and I think most people will have worked out the top 2. My number two was another slow burn, I watched from day one but can't say I was totally into it Season one but soon it became the best thing on TV.
2 Game Of Thrones
So yes I wasn't totally sold on it at first, too talky, too HBO, too trying hard not to be fantasy but as you got to know the characters and more of the story unfolded, it just got more and more brilliant and yes I liked it more once we got more fantasy, give me dragons, undead and mythical creatures, thank you. My favourite characters most quite obvious Arya, Davos,Margaery, Cersei and Bronn. But so many others brilliant as well and yes it all got a bit rushed in the end but I was never totally disappointed. I could rave on about so many moments, scenes etc but think GD you did it enough for all of us. So lets just go back to the start.
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TheThorne
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*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 8, 2020 16:42:23 GMT 1
So my favourite TV show of the 21st century, started very quietly right under everyone's noses. ITV of all channels decided to screen on a Saturday night straight after X Factor!! Well that of course didnt do it any favours nobody woudl have expected such an amazing show to be on ITV at that time of day, so nobody watched it. I did... then they axed it, and it was like a wait foreverfor Season 2 which eventually came into Amazon Prime. The show
1 The Americans
So for people who have never watched this show what is it all about. Well it to be honest, it has a lot in common with Breaking Bad. Its a family drama, but they have a secret that their friends and neighbours do not know and may even be on the wrong side of. The lead characters are both Russian Spies, living in the US as Americans, and this show is set smack bang in the 80s Cold War. Their kids are completely unaware as well. Don't know how many of you who read this remember living in the Cold War but I was kinda obsessed with it and for a show made in US, it really gives us a strong look at both sides of the wall. You really sympathise and support the protagonists even though they are kinda bad people but its war, just not as we know it. As the seasons unfold more is uncovered about their pasts and it just changes your view all over again. Two brilliant lead performances and such a real relationship somehow battling with their extraordinary circumstances, doing things that just seem very wrong but necessary.
This show has action,tension, sex, humour, and some really violent and gruesome moments but like most of my favourite shows, its all about family and doing what you think is best for them. Again I could rave about this show for many hundreds more words. It is really one of the most tense , on edge shows ever. Oh and the music is brilliant as well, especially the use of Roxy Music on one epiosde.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 8, 2020 17:08:58 GMT 1
Game of Thrones would be my #2 as well. It should have been the best show in the history of television. It very nearly was, for the first four seasons, but it couldn't quite stick the landing. I didn't disagree with anything that happened (apart from possibly who ended up as ruler at the end; keeping it vague for the benefit of anyone who hasn't caught up) but it was just the way it got there was way, way too rushed. They could have all made it make so much more sense if only they'd given themselves more episodes to get there. That said, the earlier seasons remain the best thing I have ever seen (possibly even ahead of my favourite show of the last 20 years which I will finally reveal shortly ) Honestly I don't know if I even have a favourite character - that was one of the things that was so great about the show! I was rooting for everyone and no-one I was never a huge fan of Arya, I have to say, particularly in the later seasons, but her interactions with Tywin and the Hound in seasons 2 and 4 were some of the best bits of the whole show and I think really gave the lie to the belief that the showrunners were terrible writers. They are excellent writers - arguably better than George R R Martin! - they just made some poor decisions in the end. I doubt there will ever be a show on TV again that I will be so obsessed with that I actually compiled a list of my favourite scenes/episodes, as I did for GoT. Hardhome, 'Hold the Door!', the Walk of Atonement, the Red Wedding, the battle at the Wall, the destruction of the Sept... what other show can pull off big moments like that and evoke that level of feeling? I doubt I will revisit that ranking now to add in Season 8 moments, as while many of them were great, impactful scenes, very few of them felt earned by the storytelling that went before. As much as I'll always appreciate the first 6-7 seasons of the show, I still don't know if I can face watching them again And now my watch is ended!
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Post by greendemon on Jul 8, 2020 17:16:35 GMT 1
So glad to see some love for The Americans! I figured it was your Matthew Rhys show but I didn't expect it would be this high It's a shockingly underwatched and underrated show: brilliantly acted, wonderfully written, great choice of music throughout (naturally!) and expertly weaves standard 1980s family drama storylines with the politics of the time. The Jenningses are so compelling as a family but what I found fascinating was watching them build this great relationship with Stan despite his job, all the while his being none the wiser as to what they were really up to. On one level they are horrible people and they do terrible things but you still, weirdly, want it to work out for them. It's a real testament to the show that it pulls that off. And unlike Game of Thrones, it nailed its final season I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it but the way things end is satisfying and devastating at the same time. And I like that it leaves us with unanswered questions. Can't pick my favourite musical moments of the show as they are all so good but there was one episode near the end that used both 'Brothers in Arms' and 'With Or Without You' and I was bawling lol
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Post by greendemon on Jul 8, 2020 17:37:51 GMT 1
So this is my favourite show of the 21st century, which probably not that many people have seen or even remember now, but god was it good: Rome (HBO/BBC, 2005-2006) Potato-quality trailer but then this show is pretty old now! This show was Game of Thrones' true ancestor. It had everything GoT was famed and derided for - violence, sex, an enormous budget, brilliant acting, political intrigue, war, death, love, revenge and what for me is the greatest bromance in TV history A couple of the actors later went on to appear in GoT as well - CiarĂ¡n Hinds and Indira Varma - and maybe one or two others I've forgotten, along with James Purefoy, Kevin McKidd and handful of other big names. It tells the story of how Rome went from being a republic to an empire, through historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, and also follows a couple of soldiers in Caesar's army and their personal lives. It was only 2 seasons long - it was originally intended to be 3, and unfortunately they had to cut it short after the incredibly expensive set in Italy burnt down - but they were able to roll most of the third season's plotline into the end of the second season so it all ends in a very satisfying way. I don't even know where you can watch this in the UK now - we have it on DVD - but if you like GoT I guarantee you will enjoy it. You don't need to know anything or care about Roman history. It is just so, so good.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 8, 2020 17:55:55 GMT 1
Yes I remember Rome, think we watched the pilot but like most HBO shows I just found it a bit much at the time, I seem to be able to handle them much better these days. If you could see it anywhere it would be Now TV and Sky Boxsets yes just checked its on there.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 8, 2020 18:44:15 GMT 1
That's good to know it's out there still!
It is definitely not for everyone and may well have been a bit much when it first aired, but in the post-GoT era nothing in there is really that shocking. Can definitely recommend it!
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Post by rubcale on Jul 8, 2020 18:48:15 GMT 1
And I like that it leaves us with unanswered questions. NO NO NO NO NO
Absolute bugbear - hate when a show finishes "incomplete".
Maybe glad I wasn't following to the end.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 8, 2020 18:50:30 GMT 1
I shouldn't have said that! There is one thing that isn't fully resolved but I like it better that way because it mirrors the effect it would have on that character. It's not like they don't tie up the main storylines or anything
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Post by rubcale on Jul 8, 2020 18:59:04 GMT 1
Brilliant choice for #1.
We did enjoy it and watched it "live" even at the unsocial hour.
I think it was 2 Seasons on ITV (?) but we only go for freeview and when ITV ditched it we never bothered trying to follow it - we've stacks of unseen DVDs still to catch up on (even after the lockdown).
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