Movie Suggestions and Show Suggestions

[JeremyR]

Alright, I bought a 4K TV, got a second line to use for streaming, and, for at least a month, subscribed to Netflix.

 

However, I'm not sure what to watch.  

 

I watched the first episode of The Witcher and found it sorta meh.  I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes of Castlevania and after a rather questionable start, it got better.  And I started watching what seems to be a Mexican paranormal hunter style show called Diableros. 

[Atariboy]

I've started rewatching WKRP in Cincinnati and just wrapped up season 1 on DVD. Such a great show. I'll never understand why it only lasted four seasons. There's several standout episodes in this season, including the famous "Turkey's Away" episode and another personal favorite (The episode where they get a big advertising sale from the Ferryman's funeral home chain)

 

Many shows overstay their welcome or feel like they're ending at the correct time. But season 4 as I recall is just as good as season 1, and perhaps was better than season 3 (And opens with my favorite episode of the series, a 2-parter about a bomb threat at the station). I think they easily had another quality season in them.

 

I've never tried the New WKRP in Cincinnati from circa 1990, but I'm sure it doesn't compare.

[+Cafeman]

I don't know what is on Netflix currently, but Frasier is the best written comedy I've ever seen;  Stranger Things has a great 80s horror vibe; and Longmire was a good modern Western. 

[Atariboy]

Did you see the news that Frasier is being revived?

 

YouTube suddenly started recommending highlight reels of Frasier in recent weeks to me. While it's not quite up there with some of my favorite sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show and Cheers, I had forgotten just how good this show was until I watched some of those. 

 

I didn't think that I needed the complete series set of Frasier in my DVD/Blu-Ray collection, but now I intend to rectify that soon and rewatch this series. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Atariboy

[JeremyR]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:38 PM, Atariboy said:

And opens with my favorite episode of the series, a 2-parter about a bomb threat at the station

 

I frequently confuse people by my mention of the "phone cops".

 

I thought the New WKRP was okay. But then I liked Les and Herb, who were basically the only ones that carried over full time.

[Atariboy]

My mom and I both frequently bring up phone cops in conversation. One of the greatest episodes in television history.

[onmode-ky]

Speaking of WKRP (which I'll note that I've never actually seen before, but I know of it), I caught an episode of Conan a few weeks ago in which Conan says he's run out of things to watch.  So, Andy recommends a bunch of TV shows and movies to him, starting with some actual titles and eventually moving into the realm of fake titles built on tangents and fragments of real titles.  My personal favorite, after he brought up When Harry Met Sally and There's Something about Mary, was "Dirty Harry Met Sally and Mary at Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."  The full skit, which includes a mention of WKRP in a fake title built on cities named in real titles, is on YouTube here (less than 3 minutes long).

 

I had not heard about Frasier being revived.  Sounds like good news, since I liked that show quite a bit back in the day.  We'll see how it turns out.

 

I've recently caught some episodes of Home Improvement, one of my favorite sitcoms in the 90s, on one of the SD cable channels, and I was reminded of how riotously funny it often was.  One line that earned a quick rewind: when Jill, wearing an overwrought dress as the family prepares to attend Al's wedding, asks for comments, her eldest son remarks, "The Civil War is over."

 

Back in the old forum, I kept saying that I'd eventually get around to talking about what I thought about the live-action Ghost in the Shell.  So . . . I'll get around to it eventually here, too. ;)

 

onmode-ky

[Atariboy]

I enjoy the first 3/4th's or so of Home Improvement's run. One of my favorites from the 1990's.

 

I don't know what happened for the last couple of seasons or so, but Home Improvement changed quite a bit at that point and I didn't particularly care for it. I suppose they were trying to freshen things up to keep it going, but I prefer the older seasons. 

 

Wings is the same way for me (Another big favorite of mine from the 1990's). I rewatch this every year or so, but often skip the last two or three seasons.

 

Here's that WKRP episode if you're curious enough to check it out, Onmode. I don't feel like it's necessary to be familiar with the show to enjoy this late episode. Like most classic sitcoms, WKRP episodes are pretty standalone affairs. They don't hesitate here and there to reference something from an earlier episode, but it's rare and incidental to the story. 

 

 

 

[Atariboy]

Any of you ever watched Daktari? Fired up season 4 last night and have been enjoying it.

 

Not one of tv's all time great shows, but I always liked it. 

[onmode-ky]

I'll try to find time to watch those WKRP episodes.  Thanks for the recommendations.  As for Daktari, I've never heard of that.  It sounds like some sort of bootleg Atari . . . or maybe a new enemy in Wing Commander.

I'm excited that season 3 of Thunderbolt Fantasy is finally airing (available, for Americans anyway, with English subtitles at Crunchyroll; free (ad-supported) viewers like me will have to wait a week after each episode's premiere to see it). : D After a delay from autumn 2020 to spring 2021 due to COVID, it's here at last!  Also amazing, on April Fools' Day, there was a 5.5-minute crossover collaboration video posted to YouTube featuring Saber from the world of Fate (the collaboration specifically cites Fate/Grand Order, the mobile game, but the Altria/Arturia Pendragon Saber is one of the original characters from Fate/stay night) appearing in the world of Thunderbolt Fantasy.  The video is labeled as being viewable for only a limited time, so check it out ASAP:

- the version posted by the Taiwanese side of Thunderbolt Fantasy's production, PILI Multimedia (has Chinese subtitles, with Japanese audio)

- the version posted by the Japanese side of Thunderbolt Fantasy's production, Good Smile Company (no subtitles, with Japanese audio)

- a behind-the-scenes making-of clip for the video, posted by NOW 電玩 (officially romanized as "DianWan," but I'll provide "DyenWan" as more accurately representing the phonetics; means "Electronic Gaming"), which seems to be a Taiwanese gaming channel (no language barriers--watch for the second guy throwing the Saber puppet, as he nearly falls over when throwing)

I don't believe there is any official English-subtitled version of the crossover video, but the gist of what's going on isn't too hard to catch.  Nonetheless, here's a brief summary.  Series protagonist ShangBuHuan/ShouFuKan (name in Mandarin/Japanese) is in the midst of fighting a group of baddies, when the last one standing removes his mask and takes control of Shang's body using some sort of glowing-eyes magic.  As he's about to force our hero to commit suicide, Shang's comrade/bane LinXueYa/RinSetsuA appears, and the baddie tries to make Shang kill him.  Shang tells Lin to escape, but Lin points out that if he leaves, the baddie will get his hands on the Sorcerous Sword Index that Shang's been carrying with him since Season 1 (it's a scroll within which is sealed a large collection of ultimate-weapon type swords).  During Shang's forced attack, Lin manages to get the Index out of Shang's clutches, and as it falls to the ground, it unrolls a bit.  One of the swords visible is labeled (in Japanese, as opposed to all the others' Chinese) as "Promised Sword of Victory," though it's a sword Shang has never seen before (all the Index's swords were sealed into it by him, so this is an anomaly); the sword is immediately recognizable to those of us in the know, though, as Saber's Excalibur.  The sword materializes out of the index, and shortly afterward, in dramatic fashion, Saber herself appears as well, in her iconic arrival stance.  Her puppet is really quite remarkable, incidentally, with absolutely amazing eyes.  She (voiced, as always, by Kawasumi Ayako) does her typical "Are you my master?" line, yadda yadda yadda, she gets into an intense battle with Shang, which ends with her invoking Excalibur's Noble Phantasm and killing the baddie who was controlling him.  Shang apologizes for getting her embroiled in their mess, and then just as Saber is about to leave, Lin offers to have her enjoy some of the Dongli/Touri region's food--at Shang's expense.  The ever-hungry Saber immediately accepts the offer, and they saunter off to culinary delights unknown.  Here's where I'm not sure what's going on anymore: what we've been watching ends up on a screen in a sci-fi-styled room, where Saber is watching while eating crackers.  Saber says, "I see. As in this story, there have been occasions of being summoned to other worlds."  She gets up and leaves.  This must relate to some aspect of the Fate series I'm not familiar with.  At any rate, that scene switch concludes the crossover video.

Fun stuff!  Make sure to see the making-of, too!

 

onmode-ky

[JeremyR]

Very nice, I was wondering when the third season was going to be.

 

I have a strong dislike of apes, so Daktari is not for me. 

 

Having exhausted Netflix's whopping 8 Hong Kong movies, I have moved on to something called Dark Matter TV. They don't have much more, but it's only $5 a month. I really wish Crunchyroll had a Vizio app. 

 

MST3K is being rebooted again (it was 6 years ago, ending up on Netflix for 2 years), with another Kickstarter. It's going to be its own streaming service though. But no Vizio app, either.

[TIX]

I highly recommend Preacher !!  I enjoyed every minute of it..

[JeremyR]

I had it on DVD, but since one disc was scratched and I apparently can't tell the difference between 4k and 1080p, I bought Star Trek The Animated Series on Blu-Ray. 

 

Ended up cancelling my Dark Matter TV after a month.  There has got to be a streaming service with a decent selection of movies. I'm thinking of trying HBOMax just for Godzilla vs Kong.

[Atariboy]

2021 is shaping up to not be nearly as bad for classic tv on DVD/Blu-Ray as I first thought. Sounds like Ozzie & Harriet will be hitting DVD in restored form at long last, two other classic black & white shows are coming out but remain to be confirmed (At least one on Blu-Ray), MacGyver is hitting Blu-Ray in Germany, and Mill Creek is putting out I Dream of Jeannie on Blu-Ray.

 

I'll definitely be watching out for Ozzie & Harriet and MacGyver, and hopefully the two unannounced black & white shows will tickle my fancy. One sounds like it's The Abbott and Costello Show, which will be an unfortunate pass for me if it is. But I'm hopeful that the other ends up being Make Room for Daddy. Thought maybe the Timmy years of Lassie might be one (Another big omission on DVD), but the insiders are saying sitcom and Lassie isn't considered one.

 

And while I've never been a big I Dream of Jeannie fan, I'm glad to see Mill Creek is still in the business. Since they've done other Universal shows on Blu-Ray in the past, it reignites my hope to see Adam-12 and Emergency! hit Blu-Ray. And with I Dream of Jeannie being a Screen Gems production (Thus it's Sony owned), this deal also gives me a sliver of hope that the last three seasons of The Donna Reed Show might still be licensed out and be released (Donna Reed's kids own seasons 1-5 and MPI has released fine DVD sets of each season, but Sony is holding seasons 6-8 hostage).  

Edited April 29, 2021 by Atariboy

[JeremyR]

I was never a fan of Abbott and Costello. At least Abbott. 

 

Last night I was watching The Avengers and in an episode I was very amused to see Jon Pertwee (aka the 3rd Doctor) playing a Brigadier.  For much of his run as the 3rd Doctor, his foil was a Brigadier

[onmode-ky]

On 4/29/2021 at 9:21 PM, JeremyR said:

Last night I was watching The Avengers and in an episode I was very amused to see Jon Pertwee (aka the 3rd Doctor) playing a Brigadier.  For much of his run as the 3rd Doctor, his foil was a Brigadier

 

Heh, I always enjoyed the Brigadier's interactions with the various Doctors he encountered over the years.  At any rate, cool to discover Jon Pertwee was in The Avengers.  I don't recall seeing him in any episodes of the show I've ever seen (rented some DVDs of it back around 20 years ago, around when the Ralph Fiennes/Uma Thurman/Sean Connery The Avengers was in theaters--which I did see, and kind of enjoyed, despite its critical drubbing).

 

Something incredible recently happened in the ongoing third season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, and I'm not sure whether the average watcher of the show would be aware of the significance of what they saw (minor spoiler alert for the rest of this paragraph, if you're more than a couple of weeks behind in the show).  First of all, the season has done an incredible amount of elaboration on the backstory of the world setting, and most recently (for those of us seeing episodes a week late because we're not premium members), the origin of the divine weapons (the Shin Kai Ma Kai (Japanese)/Shen Hui Mo Hsieh (Mandarin)) has been revealed.  They apparently all come from a guy from another universe.  When he first appeared, I didn't see the significance myself, but then I noticed, in the Crunchyroll comments for that episode, speculation that this guy might be the legendary protagonist of Pili's main (i.e., domestic Taiwan) puppetry shows, Su Huan-Jen.  And then it suddenly hit me--he probably is!  He's dressed in all white, his name means "white lotus" (Su Huan-Jen's nickname, so to speak), and I noticed from the episode's credits (before I saw the speculation) that he's voiced by venerable voice actor Koyasu Takehito . . . who, as I remembered from my research in 2016 into the history of Pili Multimedia's international efforts, voiced Su Huan-Jen in Japan's localization of the Pili movie from 2000!  Thus, this is a thinly veiled crossover of traditional Pili into Thunderbolt Fantasy!  I was--well, not blown away, perhaps, but excited to see a line being semi-explicitly drawn between the two universes.  Almost as good as when the DCEU's Flash suddenly appeared in the Arrowverse and met its Flash.  Probably a little bit better than when Stan Lee appeared in the Teen Titans theatrical movie. ; P

 

Anyway, I've really been enjoying the season for all its revelations.  I was surprised at first that it seemed to be a direct continuation of the season two story, but then I realized that season two itself was basically the cracking open of the door leading to a wider exploration of the Thunderbolt Fantasy world.

 

onmode-ky

[onmode-ky]

Here is my enormous overview/review of TV I've been watching lately.

 

Season 3 of Thunderbolt Fantasy has wrapped up, and while there has not been any official announcement of a season 4 (that I've heard of), it's got to be intended.  Season 3 ended with a pair of critical surprise revelations that veritably scream, "To Be Continued!"  At any rate, overall, I was quite satisfied with season 3.  The world of Thunderbolt Fantasy opened up so much more in this season than in any previous entry in the series--really, the nation of Dong Li (AKA Touri in Japanese, it's the land where season 1 took place, east of the mountains) seems a whole lot less interesting (read: less messed up) than the nation of Hsi Yuu, where we spent season 3 (AKA Xi You when written in pinyin (blech), Seiyuu in Japanese, it's the land west of the mountains).  Hsi Yuu's got a corrupt government, an even more sinister "rebel" force, a history marred by demonic influences.  And then there's the fact that season 3, for the first time in the series, actually showed and featured characters from the demon world.  I also have to say, the big turning of the tables that happened at the end of the season truly took me by surprise.  Obviously, there would have to be some way for the good guys to gain an advantage, but the manner and extent of how they did so was just outstanding.  There was honestly a moment in, I think, the second-to-last episode of the season (episode 12), when I thought, "Wait, a vanilla rallying of the troops by this new character?  Is this being played straight?  So we're losing a major series protagonist for good?" . . . They got me good.  I didn't see the flip coming.

 

Other TV I've watched these past few months include, as usual, the Arrowverse offerings on CW.  Black Lightning concluded, coming in at four seasons, 58 episodes.  I was satisfied with how it wrapped up, though the final battle did come and go a bit suddenly.  One detail I found interesting was that, of all the Arrowverse shows, BL was the only one who had a single enemy appear throughout the series, across seasons; typically, each of the shows builds a season around one enemy (or two, in the case of recent The Flash seasons), who is finally defeated at the end of the season.  Sure, sometimes defeat doesn't mean an enemy doesn't have later appearances, but BL was unusual in that a major enemy in season 1 continued to be a major enemy throughout the series--it was always a different major enemy defeated at the ends of BL seasons 1-3.  Whale got to be the only major enemy, finally, in season 4.  I'm somewhat sad that the show concluded, since it was always strong in its superhero family dynamics (meanwhile, in terms of actual superhero combat, I generally felt BL didn't do it as well as its Arrowverse peers), but it had a good run.

 

Speaking of superhero family dynamics, the new Superman & Lois has been very impressive so far.  It honestly does feel simultaneously more cinematic and more intimate than other Arrowverse shows, because it's all about the earth-shattering (literally) events surrounding one family and their small town life.  I have quite enjoyed the show's depiction of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and the mysteries of who the antagonists are and what they want have been developed and eventually revealed with superb pacing.  I'm looking forward to the climax of the season.

 

On the other side of the World's Finest coin, Batwoman's second season was surprisingly good.  The show had an uphill battle to climb after actress Ruby Rose quit the lead role after one season, but they managed to build a compelling story around a new Batwoman--and around the first Batwoman, who was ingeniously easily recast because face replacement was already an important element from the first season. : D The new Batwoman grew into the role well, and on occasion really does seem like a better fit for the show (to be honest, though, I would be totally okay with having two Batwomen, because I just like both characters).  Also of note, I finally, finally came to like the character of Alice.  In season 1, where she was the lead villain, I was always struck by how, well, sane she was so much of the time, which didn't seem to fit the narrative's claim that she was a homicidal monster.  Season 2 reveals that the abuse we saw from her childhood in season 1 did not in itself make her the way she is, but rather a selective brainwashing afterward that amplified her rage.  Thus, she's not "crazy," per se, but rather abnormally volatile and vindictive.  It took season 2 for Alice to at last "make sense" to me.

 

Supergirl's last season (season 6) is in progress but on hiatus right now.  So far, I've liked the early episodes' complete separation of Supergirl from the rest of her team and family.  We've ended up with desperation on both sides to find each other, and it seems like the season's villain is, for the first time, developing from someone who was an ally.

 

DC's Legends of Tomorrow is, er, still going.  My least favorite Arrowverse show, it sometimes has moments.  The last few minutes of a recent episode had the show turn into an animated Disney musical, somewhat reminiscent of the episode a few seasons ago where the cast was turned into puppets.  Still, the series plays even looser than the other series when it comes to the science part of science fiction.  Another recent episode had the captain saying the galaxy is millions of light years across, which is a massive overstatement.

 

Outside of Arrowverse series, I've been watching the reboot of Kung Fu.  It's not bad, with some enjoyable mythology about eight ancient mystical weapons, but some of the fight choreography is not, um, Hong Kong-style enough for me.  Probably still well beyond what the previous incarnations of Kung Fu did, though (I don't remember).  Of some note, there was an episode in which a bad guy was played by the guy who had played Kenshiro in the Fist of the North Star live-action movie from the 90s.

 

How was that for a wall of text?

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. Two highlights from Batwoman season 2: 1. the Batmobile returns! 2. in possibly the goriest scene in all of the Arrowverse, a giant rotary saw sawed a man in half, partly on-screen.

[JeremyR]

I did not know that they rebooted Kung-Fu. I never watched the original, but I did watch Kung Fu...The Legend Continues, which was somehow set in modern day (1990s) and featured him helping his son fight crime in Toronto, narrated by Oscar Goldman. It actually ran for longer than the original. 

[Atariboy]

After a long period of not buying any movies, I've bought 11 on Blu-Ray in recent days. A pack of all four classic Peanuts movies on Blu-Ray (Already had standalones for the first two, but double dipping was the only way to get 'Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown' and 'Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown') and I've just ordered seven discontinued Blu-Ray's from Kino Lorber.

 

A Bill of Divorcement aka Never to Love (1940) 
Driftwood
Foreign Intrigue
Intermezzo aka Intermezzo: A Love Story
Nothing Sacred (Special Restored Edition)
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
The Woman in the Window   

 

All are blind buys I believe except for Nothing Sacred, but because their shipping fees are crazy, the trick is to buy at least $50 worth of movies to qualify for free shipping. Otherwise I'd of had to pay the better part of $20 just to ship one movie. Mostly black & white films from the 1940's (Although 'Nothing Sacred' is in Technicolor) except for 'Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came'. I believe that one is late 1960's or very early 1970's.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Atariboy

[JeremyR]

Tim Donnelly, best known as Chet from Emergency! just passed. He really made the show for me. I mean, without him it was a solid show, but he added something special to it. 

 

The show started off kinda straitlaced , not surprising given it was from Jack Webb, but after the 3rd or so season it really became something special, with snappy dialogue and witty banter, and Chet was a big part of that. 

[Atariboy]

Added some new tv shows on DVD to my collection in the past couple of weeks. 

 

 

 

 

I've long owned The Dick Van Dyke Show on DVD (And also own the Blu-Ray collection), but this single disc release was too tempting. Three of the four episodes are among my top favorites of the series. I've not seen Father Knows Best since I was a young kid, but I love every other big b&w family sitcom, so it's a safe bet I'd say.

 

And The Facts of Life is an odd one for me. I love quite a few episodes like Cruis'n from season 6 (My favorite of the series), but there are tons of them I won't be revisiting. And I've never gotten past the introduction of the last few seasons of the show after Mrs Garrett was replaced by Cloris Leachman and for better or worse, I won't be giving those a chance. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Atariboy

[JeremyR]

My father actually slightly knew Cloris Leachman. He used to do work for a convention center and she apparently was a guest a lot. Apparently she was really, really nice.

 

I actually never really liked the show after the first season. They basically got rid of all the girls I like in favor of the 3 I didn't (plus Nancy McKeon)

 

I just got a Roku for $20 and subbed to the Shudder channel. Creepshow is a really great show. It's very much a throwback to the mystery (aka horror) comics of the 1970s. It even features ads from those comics

 

 

[Sniper D. Luffy]

probably sonic 2 despite some turd spoiling that possibly on a random mutual tweet, and definitely happy for shazam 2 at this point...

[Atariboy]

Only the crickets are likely to ever see this, but I've been addicted to a show called McMillan & Wife in recent days. Already watched season 1 and looking forward to seeing more of this classic series. I knew it existed and starred Rock Hudson, but I had never seen it before. It's also made me a Susan Saint James fan, so I'll likely be picking up the complete series set of Kate & Allie one of these days to see more of her work.

 

Had some goodies waiting for me today that I'll have to mix in-between episodes of McMillan & Wife.

 

 

I already owned 'Where the Boys Are' on Blu-Ray as well as 'When the Boys Meet the Girls'. But 'Follow the Boys' and 'Looking for Love' are new and complete my Connie Francis collection (she only starred in these 4 films). 'Follow the Boys' also finishes up my collection of the 'Where the Boys Are' trilogy (I don't count the awful 1980's remake).

 

Johnny Carson always used to crack jokes about Looking for Love in the later years of his career, commenting on how it should be transferred to flammable nitrate film since it was so bad (Back in the 1980's movie companies were awakening to the idea that their vaults held value and were beginning to transfer classic films off unstable nitrate to modern "safety stock" film; Hollywood transitioned away from nitrate based film in 1951, 15 or so years before Looking for Love was filmed).

 

While I've never seen this one, even if it stinks Connie Francis is at least quite nice to look at and surely her musical numbers are at least worth viewing.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Atariboy

[Atariboy]

On my last episode of McMillan & Wife.

 

I think I'll try season 1 of Lou Grant next, which is another 1970's show that I've never seen.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Atariboy