Monday, June 15, 2015
Summer 2015 TV Discussion
Hello everyone! As usual, this will be our place to talk ALL TV during the summer. If the comments thread gets too long, I'll post a new one later on. See you in the comments!
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255 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 255 of 255WP--Amy is Ben's girlfriend and replaced nurse Pam(Pilcher's sister) in the hospital when people were taken out of the cryotubes.
Pam(Pilcher's sister) was with Kate looking at the cryotubes toward the end. But, they were not able to do what they wanted as the First Gen took over due to what Pilcher had set up prior. Per what he told Pam after she shot him. I think Pilcher was good with First Gen taking over but wanted to start with a group C moreso, maybe in combination with. Either way he was good with what would happen.
Richard
BTW on WP--we all missed the First Gen taking over as the screen went black for a second just after the cryotube scene and before Ben woke up with Amy.
I suspect S2 would have Ben finding out what happened to his mother, the adults and trying to help the rest of the First Gen understand that they are somehow brainwashed. Kind of like Stepford Wives.
The more I think about it, the more I can see parallels between Stepford Wives and Wayward Pines. Except that Pilcher saved EVERYONE(all of humanity) and it's like the "protagonists" don't want to give him the cred he deserves. In looking at the books, I don't think Pilcher is played the same. I have not read the books-lol.
Richard
WP - Got it. Makes sense now. Guess I missed a few key points in those final minutes. Damn treadmill! lol So in the end Pilcher won.
I think the show needed a villain, and Pilcher was as close to a villain you could get. He did save the human race, but he went about it in a controversial way. Abducting people against their will and putting them to sleep for 1000s of years to rebuild civilization. And then in that new civilization if it didn't go his way he'd mass exterminate people. So he had his loyal followers, but there were naturally people that objected his approach.
So the end totally makes more sense that his appointed 1st gen folk took over in the end...and the statue tribute to their fallen visionary leader. Definitely space for a season 2 if they want to do it. And knowing Fox, they'll milk a cash cow. lol (15 seasons of American Idol before calling it quits!)
And let's not forget the Simpsons!!!
BTW...welcome to page 2 of the comments! Probably due for a new post soon.
http://tvline.com/2015/07/23/wayward-pines-finale-ethan-dies-time-jump/
Show runner repeatedly said it was designed as a 1 season show and the end was just meant to mirror the way Ethan came into town and that no matter what you do, the cycle will repeat. But then they ask about Fox and the trend at renewing 1 season summer shows....he didn't flat out say it wouldn't happen.
http://tvline.com/2015/07/23/wayward-pines-finale-ethan-dies-time-jump/
whoops..put the link twice. :)
WP-thanks for the link. I was thinking precisely that-- Ben and Amy were replaying Ethan and Pam. So, their TV stuff worked on me. And good comparison vs book, I wasn't sure but suspected Pilcher was not all bad in the books. But, I've been posting here all along that it would end with the First Gen taking over and that would be a good starting point for S2. However, it could be somewhat redundant if it's just Ben vs Jason being similar to Ethan vs Pilcher. I like the idea of shifting forward several thousand years for a reset too.
Yea, the statue was good.
I really wish this thing had 20 eps.
You're probably right, they wanted to establish an antagonist and Pilcher was it. It's just that I don't think you always need an antagonist as a person. I think the antagonist being the abbies and nature would have been great. And this gets to a lot to why I find most shows overly dramatized.
Sounds like he's not wanting a S2? Or he's negotiating for more money--lol.
Richard
WP - To be fair I think we both were assuming if there was a season 2 it would focus on the 1st gen. I just didn't know to what extent it would be. (i.e. them taking over the way they did...but it certainly brought the series full circe and tied up plots nicely)
Definitely could be redundant. I would think if they wanted to do a season 2, they'd have to use Wayward Pines as homebase but start exploring outside of the town. Maybe they'd stumble upon some surviving humans and work towards taking the planet back from the abbies.
Good point on the abbies being the antagonist. It was the same as the smoke monster in season 6. Once it was time to face the biggest enemy of the island, you need to put a face with it to make it more relatable. Not exactly the same as Pilcher didn't want to side with the abbies. lol But same that a human enemy can be helpful.
Negotiating is probably more the thing. And also, he promised viewers it was a complete story. So he probably doesn't want to say the wrong thing!
WP--if they don't go for the thousands of years of timeshift, then bringing us into the abbie world would certainly be different. And give us another "relatable" antagonist.
Grimm--saw an interview of the cast. Big changes coming and I may have been right on a budding romance--lol.
Richard
Grimm - I don't think they left too much to speculation on the potential future romance. lol
WP - Yep, it could work if they really wanted to do it. But it works as a 10 episode story too.
The 100 - I might be almost halfway through season 1. It's not too bad.
WP - I have not visited here all summer, because I figured I was the only person watching this show. Silly me. So I read all 210 comments today. I'm not mad that they want to stretch it to a second season, because it ended for me. I no longer watch Under the Dome because it got uninteresting. I must say, I didn't get the kids taking over; it's rather like "Hope I die before I get old." Jeez, weren't we special [not]!
WP--PJ, like to read what you have to write.
Last Ship--Pretty good ep. So, the new Prez is questionable. But, the Capt will have to follow his orders, of course we know he won't. BTW, the shot of the ship from up high while doing 4 nauts seemed very questionable to me. It was pulling a pretty good wake for 4 nauts!
Richard
FNL--OMG, one of the worst storylines ever in football. A girl equipment manager in the locker room with the guys not dressed in HS and she's telling one of the coaches that a defensive player is slow off the ball because he's leaving on the snap count. So stupid. Then the asst coach tells coach Taylor that the defensive player is slow because he's leaving on the snap count vs watching the ball(and the audience is supposed to be believing that she's so smart in football--lol). Seriously. Anyone knows that anticipating the snap is an advantage of getting off the ball early!
Just the opposite of what the show is saying!!
Thing is, the guy playing Buddy Garrity--one of my favorites, did play football. He knows better, maybe they should have asked him. But he wasn't in any of those scenes.
Got about 6+eps to go. I hope it gets more realistic on the football stuff.
Richard
FNL - LOL This has to be like surgeons watching Grey's Anatomy and dissecting (pun intended) the medical jargon. Good times!
WP - last 2 eps: Those kids were just cold - killing Harold in cold blood ! Pilcher is a total nut ! Even his sister thinks so. LOL
Did not see the Xfiles trailer. Finale : they did it pretty well really. Loved that Amy was the nurse now warming Ben to be careful
cause they are watching. In a way Pilcher was right - these kids grew up knowing what was out there and fully acceted it and what
they needed to do to safeguard humanity's future.
Last Ship - so they acknowledge that he is probably the true president - but they are going to keep him hostage ! LOL Way to
treat your commander in Chief until he comes around to your way of thinking. Israeli chick cracks me up.
Netflix - watch thru my tv only
Mr Robot - 2 weeks ago - wth ! That was one trippy episode. They really are making it seem like Slater is not even there now.
QL - they are both too old now ! LOL Firefly and Babylon 5 were my faves. Dating myself now but NYPD and Soap were mold=breaking
tv back in the day.
Suits - my husband watches. Lawyers - but very twisty and outrageousness.
Wayward: According to show runner - in book ethan did not die, Pam did not kill Pilcher, and First Gen did not take over (First Gen did not exist in the book).
Ethan leads all the adults back into suspension for several thousand years cause the planet in uncontrollable witht he Abbies out there. By the end of the finale it's year 4031 or so. The books had 'nomads' that went out in the world to see how things were - none returned but their video journals were saved somehow - the show did not have time to go into the nomads but showed the videos in the end.
Posted other stuff - don't see it here. Sigh !
oops - now I see other post !
@MJ - Welcome back! Hope you had a good vacation!
WP - X-files trailer was more of a tease. Really quick! Apparently there's been another one where 3 words of dialogue are uttered. lol Lots of teases. Yeah I guess Pilcher was right....still went about it in an awful way. But, in his mind he did it for the good of humanity. Interesting on book differences!
Mr Robot - Yeah...there keep adding layers of complication but it seems pretty blatant that there's something up there with his existence. lol
NYPD Blue - I was in high school and remember it being ground breaking! lol I watched here and there.
QL - Naaaa....they could still come back for a mini-series or TV movie! lol Or be involved in a reboot! The concept would still work today I think for a new cast.
MISSING POSTS - Yep, welcome to page 2! If we can hold out 3 more days I'll post a new one to get us through to FALL TV. :)
FEAR TWD - Just FYI - I'm totally going to watch but I can't commit to recapping. We could do dedicated discussion posts but I think just talking in this discussion area will be fine! :)
LOST ADDICTS BLOG BEING PUBLISHED! - So I was contacted last October about someone pulling together a compilation of many different LOST postings from popular blogs and articles during its run. I agreed for them to use some of my content and the book is almost ready for publishing! When it is I'll definitely share the amazon links on all of the blogs. I think it's going to be digital only but we'll see. Looks like they used a lot of my entries including my series finale post. Anyway, just wanted to share!
WP--yea the first gen stuff was not in the book. And MJ, like your comments. If they had stuck to the book then the antagonist would have been the abbies which I would have preferred. And the ending still gives them a S2 with the "reawakening", say 10,000 years into the future. Kind of reminds me of HGWells' The Time Machine.
FNL--OK, so the show has gone off the rails into some kind of alternate universe. If I didn't have just 3 or so eps to go, I'd probably quit. The idea of a coach encouraging his team to focus on going to State is utterly ludicrus. Even my wife knows that's just not done and sounds dumb. The press and fans talk like that, but the coach works hard to keep his team focused on the next team played. Otherwise you get beat from a lack of prep work and focus--happens in the real world especially with young players. The stuff with Tami sounds good, but seriously, SATs'/ACTs matter a lot more then the show is making them out. I'm betting that she takes the job after coach has passed up on two of his collegiate jobs. Which goes to my point about him being very close to being the character that is most tragic. If he ends up coaching HS football in Philly then he would be the most tragic character by far. As you guys know, that kind of football is not even comparable to TX football. AND the TX football in the last few seasons of this show is not all drama filled. A coach with his success would have a big salary(a few hundred thousand+) AND a contract until retirement. That's how TX football HS teams recruit legally. Having a big time successful coach with a long term contract that everyone wants to play for. Some big time HS coaches stay at their school because of the security vs collegiate where there isn't a lot of security. This show is not telling the story of Friday Night Lights any more but a story of a dysfunctional school system and a lot of personal storylines. With the later becoming a higher percentage.
BTW, all of the college recruiting stuff for the players can be filled with drama on the parents part. And the SEC is noted for having some schools pulling scholarship offers at the last minute which adds a lot of drama. So, they can't really screw that storyline up with anything they can dream of--lol. Some schools recruit without drama too and they are known and preferred by some.
Richard
FNL - You're letting your real life experience continue to cloud your judgment of the emotional awesomeness of the show! Yeah even I know the coach always stays focused on the next game. But truthfully I don't even remember him telling the team to focus on getting to State. lol I remember the characters and the amazing emotional rollercoaster that the show took me on.
As for the Philly stuff...yeah that's the whole point. It's a conflict for him and his wife. And as you know, I'm from the Philly area so I definitely know high school football is not the same up here. But, it was nice for them to pull in my region into the final episodes of the show! :)
Just looking at the IMDB ratings of the final episodes of the show, if you don't enjoy them you are in the minority!!
Yes, the show was about Texas Football, but the ins and outs of the game weren't the primary focus of the show. The focus was the characters of Dillon, Texas (East and West)....and they brought that town to life in an amazing way.
I feel like I have the same argument about LOST! Complaints are around stuff not adding up (which obviously I can prove why it did in most cases lol)....but I can assure you most were invested in the emotional stakes for those characters and that's what made the show work.
FNL So, there's the difference--you seem to like dramas much more than do I. When the coach writes "STATE" on the whiteboard in the locker room RIGHT before a game towards the beginning of the season, I was blown away. That basically had me NOT listening to anything immediately afterwards. It was such a ridiculous and stupid thing to do that I was trying to digest(including FFwding--lol) it for most of the rest of the ep which led to not absorbing much afterwards. I kind of lost patience with the ep and just wanted it over. And then later I see they keep bringing it up with a countdown written on that very same whiteboard making it a central prop. I think I can see where everything will end that I have an interest in following. At this point, I'm really only interested in seeing how Riggins ends up and if Matt/Julie end up together. It's just so obvious that coach and Tami are going to Philly for essentially a LOT less money, oh well. And of course if they win State!
The reason I got into the show was the first season was great and MUCH more realistic. Then it changed during S3 toS4 into a typical drama which is what you're saying you like. I don't like typical dramas as a rule. I don't have the patience for the immature characters of most dramas nor the unbelievable and contrived storylines. Dramas are a lot like soap operas and I never liked those either--lol.
I don't think LOST being a fantasy show is really comparable to a show that had as it's original premise and title Friday Night Lights--a show somewhat dramatized but based on TX high school football. Most shows deviate from their original premise when they are on too long and so why they become unfocused. This is one reason I like shows like WP a LOT plus the great actors can committ to a limited run series. To say it another way, many shows start off with the characters supporting/portraying their part in the storyline. Then some shows change such that the show's storyline changes(sometimes continuously) to support the characters strengths/weaknesses. It's the last part that I see happening for FNL and don't like for it or any show.
If you look at categories, I suspect most would place LOST in SciFi or Fantasy vs FNL in drama. I agree you have to have GREAT actors and characters to pull the audience in and that is really why I loved LOST and have stuck with FNL.
BTW, as a rule I am in the minority on the reasons I like or don't like TV shows/movies. I also don't like reality TV shows whereas they are very popular. So, yea you're right, S5 was probably very popular since I'm finding it ridiculous--lol.
On Philly--I love those Italian restaurants in the city and some near the water. The Army/Navy game is played there so my family goes a lot.
Richard
On above re LOST--to add something on why I loved LOST. It was more than the actors/characters. I found the storylines deep, compelling and requiring of reason.
Richard
OK, MOre re LOST. It's because the show was able to do both which most show's don't that it was so good to me. It kept both the storyline legit and the actors supporting it while letting the actors become compelling. Which means it was extraordinary in writing and production.
Richard
from above
It's the last part that I see happening for FNL and don't like for it or any show.
LOL, can't type--"or" should be "for"
Richard I'm gonna respond to the whole post but I'm not at my computer. Lost was nominated for 6 seasons for "best drama" not "best sci fi" show lol. They're both dramas but in different genres. But at their root they're both grounded in strong characters. That was my point. I think the writing on fnl was fantastic. Certainly lost ranks higher on my list but fnl is up there. I loved the sports stuff as much as the character drama but felt the stakes were raised to make us care by the character drama. Same with island stuff, mythology. If you think about what happened on that show its ridiculous we ever cared what was going on. But strong characters rooted in that world made it something we wanted to know more of.
I'll write more later.
FNL/LOST Debate - Okay, so I touched on most of it in summary but I'll clarify. One thing I say a lot about LOST in hindsight is how much I enjoyed the show as really great dramatic television when all was said and done. If you just put aside all of the dissection we did of every minute detail in the show and just appreciated the show as great television, it succeeded. And I'm able to do that in rewatches now. It's what made the show successful vs. shows like Flash Forward, The Event and other wannabes. I appreciated those shows in concept but the execution wasn't always great. (FF got better by the end but it was still not as great and a little too late)
It's the same thing at the core of The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men and all of the great shows of this recent Golden Age of television. Great characters, well laid tracks making us invested in those characters. And then on top of all of that they had great concepts for their show that were executed awesomely because of the well written and acted characters.
I hold FNL in this same light. Sure, they may take some liberties with the football drama (which yes they did very well in the beginning...but even you were dissecting and finding all the negatives when watching those episodes)...and most of the time whoever had the big story arc in a given episode would definitely make some big play on the field causing us all to cry our eyes out (and maybe laugh a little at the convenience/"coincidence" of it all). But dammit if that wasn't good television. Manipulative television? Sure, but very effective and memorable in my opinion. Yes, I do like well told and executed dramas. But I don't think that has anything to do with the genre of that drama. BSG was successful because it had good characters in addition to a great story. Star Trek....same thing. Game of Thrones...same thing.
A good TV show is a good TV show regardless of where and when it is set in my opinion.
I have definitely observed that your opinions are usually different than the majority..which is totally fine! lol I should mention that Friday Night Lights was NOT a popular show. It was a blessing to just have the show back every season. It was basically cancelled by NBC after the season 2 strike season, then DirecTV worked out a deal to air it exclusively on its service for 3 more seasons (i believe it was still a question each year on if it would be renewed). Then NBC would burn it off in the summer. We would find ways to download it after it had aired on DIRECTV and usb it or wirelessly stream it from my computer to the TV. That's how much we loved it. But the fans that watched it absolutely loved it and there was enough of us to keep it alive.
To put in perspective, the same showrunner that did this show, Jason Katims, also did Parenthood (which had similar ratings I think). I've seen episodes here and there of that and they're very well done. My wife watched the whole series this year and cried her eyes out every episode too. So this guy just gets drama and does it well! (he also likes adapting movies into TV Series. lol )
Philly - We do have great Italian Food in these parts!
FNL--LOL. I hope you realize you basically said what I said but with more emphasis on the part of the shows that you like, ie--drama.
I think the key thing for me is the idea that show's in general pull you in with a storyline then after establishing the characters they move to being more centered on the characters.
LOST as a drama, I know they didn't want to be known as scifi. But, I know that everyone I speak with about the show label it as scifi and I try to tell them that it wasn't really.
Richard
FNL, I should say I'm glad I've watched it and that I did it on dvr. Many people have asked me if I've seen it, so now I can say yes and discuss it. I am also glad on dvr since I can hit the FFwd button--lol.
Richard
FNL/LOST - I did but I was trying to emphasize that they're BOTH dramas and that all drama (scifi, sports, high school drama, courtroom, hospital, cop, crime, fantasy, adventure, dramedy, supernatural thriller) is grounded in the same stuff. A show is good because everything is firing on all cylinders. If you have a show like LOST without the compelling characters it falls flat. PERIOD. DRAMA is a much broader category than you're isolating it to.
I understand what you said, but I wanted to clarify that I love the other aspects of the shows that you pay attention to as well, but it's what at its core that makes me enjoy that part even more. It's why I wrote however many thousand words I wrote about LOST. I certainly cared about the mythology as I spent so much time trying to keep it all straight for me and everyone else. But why did I do that? Because I loved the show! I loved the characters on the show...and it made me invested in the mysteries and the mythology. With shows like Flash Forward and The Event, it just felt like work. lol Hence why I'm enjoying writing about Thrones now! I enjoy the complete package. I don't want to be pigeon-holed into liking the sappy dramatic scenes in a show and not the crazy electromagnetic, football, time travel stuff at the meat of the story! It all works together to make a great show.
LOST was most definitely of the Sci-Fi/Adventure drama. It didn't start out as much that way, but they more they peeled the onion, it definitely turned out that way. But they started at the beginning with us learning more about the characters before turning on the crazy dial up too much!
Lost Blog - that is totally awesome ! LOl - I hope they are using all our comments - I'm sure alot of them are pretty ridiculous now that we know most of what we obsessed about was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Remember us trying to keep track of the outriggers ? ROFLMAO ! But that is great news Mike.
Robot - Pea scene ? I am not remembering what you are referring to. Didn't watch last night but yeah - they are definitely blurring the line on whether Slater is there or not. Def seemed more present in last week's ep. Purposely I am sure.
FNL - you guys still talking about that one ! Too funny.
So behind this year on Netflix - summer shows have been too good ! The Strain has really stepped up it's game. Still not finished OITNB nor started House of Cards or Black Mirror. Guess not re-watching Breaking Bad this year. Sigh.
Sex Drugs Rock and Roll - any one check it out ? I've recorded them cause I do love Dennis Leary but have not had time to watch yet.
Nothing on Sex, Drugs....
Robot-pea scene was an ep back.
FNL--Saw the finale last night and it was by far the best ep of S5. I liked how a lot of the storylines came around. Tyra and Tim, who knows where that will go. Her hair was died darker. Just one comment from the doesn't make sense dept. Tami went on and on about how it was her turn for her job and yet coach had quit the TMU job for her since she wouldn't move and didn't take the FL job for her and the kids. Her justification for not moving nor wanting to move was the kids, the school. And yet for him she didn't consider those kids or school at all. If you're looking at "turns", she had the last 2 turns. And certainly he sacrificed a lot so she wouldn't have to move. They sacrificed a lot more money then she would have made in Philly. One other thing, unless you're from TX you just can't understand how much pain is involved in leaving TX.
ON drama--again we basically agree--lol. Keep this in mind. When you see trailers for high action movies and TV shows, etc they show you the action, explosions, planes on the beach to draw you in. Not the character depth. Why? Glad you asked--lol. Because there's not enough time to develop the character in a trailer. Which goes to my basic point, they pull you in with the storyline first for these type productions.
Richard
LOST Blog - Someone just finished binging the series and was tweeting me about the outriggers. So it's still happening for me!! lol Not sure if they can legally use the comments or not but there definitely were some good ones. We'll see what happens! But thanks!
Robot - I try not to be a spelling Nazi but he's referring to the "PEE" scene where the Evilcorp guy watched the CTO's wife pee. lol
Summer Binges - I'm almost done season 1 of The 100. It's been pretty good. Looks like season 2 was only 16 eps and I have the last 5 recorded so I may try to find them somewhere. (based on IMDB they were rated amazingly lol) When I finish that maybe I'll binge last season of The Strain and this season.
Sex Drugs - Yep we're watching. It's good! Leary is awesome.
FNL - We're still discussing because Richard took me up on my recommendation and watched pretty much the whole series! LOL Speaking of which he just watched the series finale based on his last comment which I'll comment on next!
Whew...I'm glad we can at least agree the finale was awesome!! You just knew Tim would say "TEXAS FOREVER" in that finale! And he did. loved it. lol The show made it very clear how painful it was to leave Texas. Maybe I don't understand it intimately, but Kyle Chandler sold it well (even won an emmy for that season...long overdue. Connie Britton was robbed!)
Yeah...I don't disagree. You need the great pitch to get people in the door. But to get people invested you need good characters.
anyway, glad you watched the show! Hope it was a worthwhile venture for you!
Robot - I'll comment later but this episode was awesome. And a little shocking.
FNL--Connie Britton played the character well. I haven't seen Britton in other stuff, but she seems like she can be more than a character actress. I have seen Chandler in other productions and he's good. One thing I noticed was the actress who plays Tyra is almost the same in Shield. So she seems weak to me, more of a character actress but well placed in those roles(bossy, discontent, hot/cold,etc). Again, a few of the characters, particularly Buddy--kept me watching. I don't think Buddy got enough credit. He and Chandler worked very well together and I think without Buddy, Chandler wouldn't have been as good. Buddy brought cred and passion to the series and after checking his wiki I found he played in TX and I think in college, so he should know. Buddy isn't even listed in the wiki page as a main character and yet he was in all 5 seasons and all except a very few eps.
Spelling nazi-yes, I meant pee--lol.
Richard
FNL - Connie was briefly in season 3 of 24 (first few episodes. Jack was staying with her while hiding from the gov't lol). She's been on Nashville since FNL. I stopped watching the show but she is still great in the role. She was actually on the 1st season of American Horror Story too.
Tyra actress - Yeah she's not really known for her acting skills. But she has gotten quite a few roles as bad ass action heroes. She played Lady Jaye in the GI Joe sequel. She was cast as Wonder Woman in an NBC pilot but the thing bombed before it could even get greenlit. lol
Not sure I agree on Chandler/Buddy being the key to his success..but I certainly loved their interactions. Chandler and Britton had amazing chemistry. Of course there we go again with On Field/Off Field debate (or what you call Story vs. Drama lol) That's interesting that Buddy wasn't considered a main character at least on the wiki page. I mean if he ever was to be nominated for an emmy it would certainly be as a supporting character but he still was a key player in the series.
Robot - LOL on Pee/Pea ! I get it now. I'd wondered if it was all the vomiting that i have looked away from - maybe he's had peas. Too funny. Evil Corp wanna be CTO and his wife are just bizarre all around.
Robot - we had power blip for a few minuutes during Robot so had to tape it at 1am - so not yet watched.
Robot--well it was sad with Sheila being murdered. The guy was out smarted by a drug dealing crook. That must have hurt.
BTW, the car parked nearby where the convicts were escaping was nuts. Some guards would definitely have been running around there after all that time.
Funny where the creepy couple were outsmarted too.
Richard
Game of thrones - tca panel just happened with HBO. They declared the show will go at least 8 seasons. I wonder if grrm would be able to get out book 7 in time. (I heard it and I'm laughing hysterically lol)
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/30/game-thrones-eight-seasons
I know this isn't the got thread but I think only Richard and I comment there now.
GOT--8 seasons. So again money wins over integrity--lol. Kind of reminds me of Eddard in Kings Landing. I wonder if this will impact S6 in any way. I can't imagine they're going to extend the story by changing the ending so that leaves filler. Which likely means more drama, which should make Mike happy--lol.
And yes, gives GRRM another year to finish book 7 to coincide with the ending of the TV series. Question remains, will he.
Richard
Robot - Yeah the Shayla thing really shocked me. I mean, it totally made sense, but they threw us off by having him succeed and seemingly outsmart them at every turn. More Mr. Robot stuff. How did he get in the apartment if he isn't part of Elliot's subconscious? It's definitely intentional what they're doing with the character, but I keep thinking it's too obvious for it to be a Flight Club homage. lol
Yeah the prison break was nuts. I didn't even consider that he'd be unleashing an opportunity for everyone to get out. I figured it would be like those movies where they just open the one person's cell via a computer hack. lol
The creepy couple were outsmarted, but your "pea" scene may pay off now! lol
Gof T - yeah heard they said 8 seasons. Just another show dragging it out to make more money. Tought 7 would be sufficient since they are out of book material. Also - I'm over all the Kit Harrington spotting. Gee - he was spotted in Ireland near the filming. Uh - he lives in Ireland I believe. LOL
Game of Thrones - Unless they're aware of the book material coming (they are to some extent a the least) and know they have enough material to go forward. I also have a feeling that season 6 might be going back to revisit some skipped storylines. Every successful show always seems to get stretched out in one way or another. It's a compromise between the talent and the network. It happened with LOST, Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men. What it means is we'll get more filler episodes in each season as opposed to amping up the intensity to 9 or 10 in every episode of the final 2 seasons. lol I'm not saying that as a bad thing. I think you need the build up. And they probably need to stretch the budget for the giant set pieces I imagine are coming.
Anyway, as long as D&D have it mapped out and know what they're doing, an extra season isn't a bad thing. It's still only 80 episodes since it's 10 a season vs. 8 seasons of a 12 or 13 episode show.
As for Kit Harrington - I believe he's from England. And the bigger thing is that his HAIR is intact. He had mentioned in interviews previously that he's tired of keeping his hair that long and he does it for contractual reasons.
They're all united saying Jon Snow is dead. They've said nothing about Jon Stark, Jon Targaryen, Ahor Ahai....and only Kit Harrington has said "i'm not coming back 'next' season". No one else has said that. lol
Also...It's been almost 5 years, George has to be close to completing book 6. I'd put good money on it coming out next March. I have no idea how I'll finish reading it before the season starts though! I probably won't. lol
MJ--If Kit lives in Ireland or even has a home there, that's HUGE news to me. That really changes my thinking on things.
I know Vikings and many shows are filmed there due to tax and other advantages(scenery too of course) so I had been thinking he could have been working on another project. It would be wild if he went to Vikings, but I kind of doubt it?
At this point his hair length really can't be used as a clue on whether he is working on GOT. His reputation is now associated with that look and so it's very possible a new show runner would want him to have a look that relates and sells to audiences.
And MJ, I agree on the 8 seasons dragging it out. The show runners said many times they are on pace to finish in 7. So, logically making it go to 8 has to mean some kind of dragging and filling--lol. The show runners have said many times that this show is exhausting to produce, hence only 10 eps. So, adding another season they didn't want to do makes you wonder how much energy they can muster for yet another season when they had the end at their finger tips. I would expect S8 not to be on par with some prior seasons for lots of reasons. And even S7 will suffer with storylines cut short to hold over for S8 and adding some filler.
Richard
MIke, spelling nazi here. So, instead of "a", don't you mean "at" in first sentence above--lol. I know, it's a typo--I can hear it now--lol.
Richard
You caught me on the "A" ....I saw it after I posted and hate that I can't edit. lol But I'll tell you to tread lightly. I have more ammunition in my spelling bag! lol
He is filming a movie with Carice Van Houton (sp...i.e Melissandre) but it's in a different country. lol Of course, if both of them are together, they could always film some scenes in secret while filming the other movie. (i'm theorizing) If he's in Belfast, he's in Belfast. FYI - Kit was born in London. So he's from England. There's a good chance he still lives there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Harington
Possible with the hair, but I don't buy it. He would ask to cut it if he was done with Thrones.
The LOST showrunners always said they wanted to do 5 seasons. They got their wish with # of episodes, but they ended up doing 6. Like I said, this always happens. The showrunners could very well have said 7, but when they got to the end of 5 and thought about how much they want to do...could've realized they needed more time. Those 10 episodes go by quickly.
Everything you are saying is based on outside opinions, mine are too for the record. But you have to look at all sides to be fair.
If you want to talk about stretching a show longer than it needs to run I'll use season 5 of lost as an example again. When all is said and done, nothing that happened that season really mattered in terms of answering questions about what they were doing on that island and reaching the end game. But man if it wasn't some of the best episodes they did on the show! I love that season.
As long as they're telling good stories and the writing is still good, who cares how long it stays on? If it feels like they're milking, that's when I worry. They have a whole list of plots from George that we don't even know about yet. So if they think they need 30 episodes, I'm going to lean on trusting them before attacking.
season 5 LOST clarification - MOSTLY nothing. (obviously Locke Died, Smokey was revealed and Jacob died....but everything else was time travel lol)
I was going to point out those HUGE things in S5, glad you caught yourself. Smokey was a huge reveal we had been waiting for over many years. And Locke dying was huge as well as Jacob.
So, just this month the show runners said they have enough material to do 70 eps. They even said going beyond that is stretching. I don't think they were being misleading. You always say you trust them. I expected a slight extension of maybe 4 to 6 more eps to cross over into a "S8" somehow. But this is not like some shows with a small stretch. This is doubling.
Richard
Well we actually didn't know for sure it was smokey until season 6 but we theorized. lol But all of that could've happened in a season 6 with a few more episodes. My point remains the same! I still think it's the best season to rewatch. It was awesome.
Adding 10 episodes to 20 is not doubling no matter how you slice it! :) Sopranos season 6 was 20 episodes (2 10 episode halves) instead of the normal 13.
When you're fortunate to have 2 very smart showrunners who have a good reputation of producing quality TV (I'm disregarding the controversial scenes/episodes that we've debated), yes I trust them. I trusted the LOST showrunners and felt they did a great job in the end. I trusted Vince Gilligan with Breaking Bad. These guys know their shows and know when too much is too much. They could've been talking the 7 season game for contract negotiations. Or maybe they just got an advanced copy of Winds of Winter and realized how much good story is coming. We don't know what we don't know. But what is said to the public is often misleading. And D&D are known to lie (or not tell full truths) to the media about Game of Thrones to preserve secrets.
Things change. Even from month to month. And if they stretch they stretch. I'd rather have them stretching than the poor soul who did 8 seasons of Dexter. lol
GOT,
Snow is dead, dead is dead. And you're saying, yea but how about this or that name coming back. Sounds like politicians and lawyers at work--lol After this statement which was related to another character coming back(Stannis) the general TV audience and myself won't trust these guys at all, not the show runners and not HBO. This is another example of how going beyond 70 eps becomes more complicated. Could the numbers wane? The lie wouldn't help them. It would make the show feel fake/contrived for non book readers I think. So, using political lying that isn't lying, like defining what is, is doesn't cause fans to be attracted to your show. In essence if this is a lie and Snow comes back in some form(to me a lie, to other's who knows) then this adds to my downgrade in desire to watch S7 or S8. If Snow is coming back in any form, then it would have been better handled with some obfuscation that even the general TV audience would get.
http://entertainthis.usatoday.com/2015/07/31/jon-snow-game-of-thrones/
Richard
GOT - They can lie as much as they want to me in public if it's for preserving secrets for the sanctity of pleasing/surprising the audience. This whole discussion is getting a little silly. lol I think the showrunners and the HBO president would like to sit in a bubble where they don't have to answer these questions. But they have to. So they're having fun with it. It's all how you look at it.
I don't take any of this stuff seriously. It's television. In the end, I'm going to watch the show and enjoy it. Nothing is going to diminish my enjoyment of the show because of stuff said OFF screen. That's just ridiculous, to be honest.
I think I'm out of this discussion. I've said all that I can say. lol
WP--I sure missed this last night.
Richard
FNL - How timely for you Richard. Alamo Drafthouse has a new PSA from the one and only Coach Taylor. TVLINE messed with the readers by saying Kyle Chandler resurrects Coach Taylor for the big screen. There were rumors for a movie for awhile even though the fans really didn't want one due to the perfect ending. Anyway this is sufficient and hysterical lol
http://tvline.com/2015/07/31/kyle-chandler-friday-night-lights-alamo-drafthouse-video/
GofT - I've read him called the actor from Ireland. Unless I am remembering wrong.
Headline that Mislead me: Yes, Kit Harington is in Belfast AGAIN; Irish actor joins the cast of Game of Thrones while they are filming new season.
I know we had lots of discussion around if the character is dead or not - and no I woul dnot expect the showrunners to spoil anything like Kit is not cming bck but Jon Snow will resurrect using a different actor. LOL Just tired of the obsession over it.
FNL--S1 was really good.
One thing I think really helped keep football front and center were the voiceovers. I liked them. Not so many of them in S5 though.
I think a movie would have to be a return to TX and that would be great. That's really the point of why they made the original movie about OdessaPermian, a team we played a few times. TX HS football is just so different with the obsession.
Did you know there is no HS wrestling in TX because of safety? Yet 1 to 3 kids die every year in TX from football. Or atleast those used to be the numbers. I think way too many kids try to play football that have no business on the field(usually their parents pushing). When I coached I had a mother who wanted her son to play. He was so small that I was scared for him. I put him on the D line and told him to just dive and curl up at the snap when I put him in. I wanted him to have a positive experience and not go to the hospital.
I'm glad I watched and glad I had a dvr so I could FFwd--lol. Again so many have asked me about the series. I have read where the audience profile is upper educated for the show. So, that may explain why it didn't have a widespread fandom.
Richard
GofT - Yeah, agreed the obsession over it is crazy. It's been over for long enough now to just forget about it until next April. Or at least next march when the book comes out. :) lol Definitely a misleading headline! lol I've always thought he was from England and he is. :)
FNL - If there ever was a movie it would not be about Philadelphia high school football. That show was about Dillon Texas. Just like the Island was a character in LOST, That town was a character in Friday Night Lights. It can't exist without it. But, I think even Kyle Chandler said he's not interested in a movie. Granted, JJ Abrams also said he wouldn't direct Star Wars. :)
Yeah, sometimes it's nice to appreciate a show that isn't appreciated by the mainstream. And I had no idea about those statistics. That's crazy!
GoT Casting - Ian McShane is coming to Westeros or Essos! Mystery role. There are some characters book fans know could be coming next season but it could be someone no one knows too. Regardless, he's a great addition to the cast. I had no idea he was in his 70s until someone in the comments mentioned it. Crazy.
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/01/game-thrones-ian-mcshane
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