What television series are you currently making your way through? (1 Viewer)

[Mormon Nailer]

The Newsroom - Arron Sorking new thing.

It's like a Bugsy Mallone version of the West Wing in that it's the same cast of characters but played by children.
The new Donna is about 14.5 years old.

It's best feature is that it's set in the recent past so the newsroom is dealing with actual news and not made up events.

Usual Sorkin dialogue, lots of walking and talking, pretty but stupid women are a a bit of a preoccupation for him. None of the characters are as immediately likeable as those on the West Wing were. I can't see this a lasting nearly as long.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

watching the Newsroom and The West Wing is really really bad for my mental well being.

I had to wade up to my armpits through a fucking raging torrent of ice cold stupid at work yesterday. Watching clever people doing fulfilling jobs and not being cunts about it.......makes me very very sad.

 

[Jill Hives]

The Newsroom - Arron Sorkin new thing.
None of the characters are as immediately likeable as those on the West Wing were. I can't see this a lasting nearly as long.

I disagree.


* Actually the West Wing was only solid though 4 seasons and then started to go down hill. I never even watched the last one. I can see this lasting 4 seasons.

 

[Goodbye]

Watched the pilot episode of Veep - I laughed out loud quite a few times - surprisingly amusing - I have high hopes - usually it takes a few episodes before the proper laughs come

This wasn't great - not bad, but not great

 

[hugh]

watching the Newsroom and The West Wing is really really bad for my mental well being.

I had to wade up to my armpits through a fucking raging torrent of ice cold stupid at work yesterday. Watching clever people doing fulfilling jobs and not being cunts about it.......makes me very very sad.

That's what I always felt about West Wing. It was more about work and office politics than it was about politics per se. Haven't seen Newsroom yet but am surprised that no-one seems to mention that there was a Canadian series with exactly the same title about much the same thing a few years back. Could Sorkin not at least have thought of a different name??

 

[hugh]

Also, none of Sorkins characters have lives outside of their work. Work is the only possible fulfilment in life. Work as utopia etc etc

 

[Jill Hives]

Also, none of Sorkins characters have lives outside of their work. Work is the only possible fulfilment in life. Work as utopia etc etc

It's not that they (the characters) don't want them but the field they choose (news/politics) requires more of themselves than say teaching at a university or working at Dunnes. Sorkin could have chose any time demanding (outside the typical 40 hours per week) job and it would be the pretty much the same. I think it's more realistic to show their lack of personal life outside work because chances are people in those top level fast paced careers probably don't. If they had Sam Seaborn heading home to loving wife who had no issue with the hours put in, it wouldn't be believable. When you work that much personal lives and work lives overlap and become one. The interpersonal to and fro becomes interesting and pushes the story line. Not dissimilar to Big Brother or any other reality TV where they put a group of people together for long periods of time. The difference is, with Sorkin, at least you can learn some things you might not have known (I certainly did watching the West Wing), he doesn't dumb it down and you get to chuckle at witty/intelligent dialogue.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

That's what I always felt about West Wing. It was more about work and office politics than it was about politics per se. Haven't seen Newsroom yet but am surprised that no-one seems to mention that there was a Canadian series with exactly the same title about much the same thing a few years back. Could Sorkin not at least have thought of a different name??

The "canadian" Newsroom is fantastic, I have the box sets at home.
It's much more Larry Sanders than Sorkin though.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

That's what I always felt about West Wing. It was more about work and office politics than it was about politics per se. Haven't seen Newsroom yet but am surprised that no-one seems to mention that there was a Canadian series with exactly the same title about much the same thing a few years back. Could Sorkin not at least have thought of a different name??

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/criti...20625crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=all

Hard to disagree with any of that.
Yet I found The West Wing compelling even while being aware of all these flaws while watching it.

 

[Anthony]

Just started series 4 of The IT Crowd. So far it's terrible.

 

[Theseus Mock]

Finally finished season 2 of The Killing (US). I pretty much ended up hating everyone in it. I haven't googled if there's a season 3 in works but end of season 2 solves the case.

Frasier - Currently on season 6. I love Frasier.

The River - one of those US Summer series (8 episodes or there abouts). Faux reality documentary on some people finding a missing scientist in the amazon who had his own documentary. So bad but funny, was mostly high watching these.

Continuum - some time travelling terriorists go back 70 odd years to present day Vancouver to avoid their dealth penalty. Not great but good enough for the Summer time TV drought.

 

[pete]

i've heard nothing but bad things about continuum. and i watch falling skies.

there's a 3rd series of the US killing on the way

 

[hermie]

Just started series 4 of The IT Crowd. So far it's terrible.

Yeah it does dip a bit towards the end

 

[hermie]

there's a 3rd series of the US killing on the way

Did you watch all of the Danish one? I'm halfway through S1 and pretty enthralled even if some of the story arcs are a bit forced.

Balancing this out with the odd Freaks and Geeks for some lovely, sentimental light relief.

 

[Theseus Mock]

I'm also watching Redneck Island. Bunch of Rednecks castaway on a paradise island in order to survive/complete challenges. Steve Austin is their host type guy.

 

[hugh]

Just finished Season 3 of Justified. Good stuff again but maybe it's run its course now.

Watched first two episodes of Sons Of Anarchy as it's on Netflix now and I never got around to watching any of it the first time around. Very promising.

 

[Jill Hives]

Just finished Season 3 of Justified. Good stuff again but maybe it's run its course now.

Watched first two episodes of Sons Of Anarchy as it's on Netflix now and I never got around to watching any of it the first time around. Very promising.

I LOVE justified. Walton Goggins is awesome.
Sons of Anarchy is ridiculous but I watched the first three seasons. The third one puts them in Belfast for a bit. Hilarious stuff.

 

[pete]

Did you watch all of the Danish one? I'm halfway through S1 and pretty enthralled even if some of the story arcs are a bit forced.

nah. life's too short for subtitles.

 

[hermie]

nah. life's too short for subtitles.

Life's too short for gaudy remakes with yank accents when hot Danish women await

 

[Goodbye]

Watched the first five or six minutes of Workaholics based on a recommendation. It can get fucked. Muck.