What TV show have you just watched

[Busterdog]

Depends how far you want to go back?
Orwell and his split personalities?
Sartre et al and his/their existentialist/feminist-marxist-Freuduan philosophies and manifestos?
Arnold and his jobsworths' chums dicking about with the very structure of English by applying a Latinate/pseudo mathematical logic on a still active Germanic-rooted language thereby changing the subconscious structure of English speakers' reasoning?
Further back to Aphra Behn, Will Shakespeare, et al versus Kit Marlowe* and Philip Sidney: both camps attempting to codify divergent moral compasses on dissolute, free-booting, chaotic post-religious/monarchical revolutions as perhaps, exemplified in say The Tempest: the battle for the soul: the morality of colonisation, exploitation and enslavement of non-Christian, uncivilised inhabitants and the not-understood, primitives' society's eventual destruction of the recently discovered lands?
Or further back to Sir Thomas Moore and the desperate yearning for a Utopia which ran counter to his societal and concurrent corporeal state....?
The Arts and "artists" (sic) have always competed to have their morality/message become the dominant zeitgeist of the moment to the immediate future.
Unlike science, the Arts are totally Darwinian in thoughts, images and words because they [subliminally and overtly] shape our world and its possible futures.
Ya pays yer wonga and yer chooses yer ideology, whether you realise it or not.
So, yes, that's exactly what happens: each art [and its message] and its future builds upon the provenance of the art created or destroyed under it. It's called culture - popular or not.

*Marlowe lost by the way; as did Sydney, who was destroyed by living up to his romantic delusions.

Edit forgot me footnote

What a breath of fresh air Grumps...please keep posting in similar vein.

 

[GrumpyWasTooCheerful]

What a breath of fresh air Grumps...please keep posting in similar vein.

Thank you.

 

[endure]

We're well past Aprill now (sic).
(For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven....
Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Pete Seeger wrote a song about that...

 

[undervalued]

Watched Terminal List and struggled through to the end, and regretted it. Very cliched When you consider that he could have loosely based it on his very busy life, it was disappointing, and doesn’t make me interested in reading any of his books.

Whereas I watched the Jack Reacher series, thoroughly enjoyed it and am now reading the first book and suspect that’s another series of books that I’ll burn my way through.

You'll thoroughly enjoy reading them.

 

[Sonic67]

The Orville on Disney+

I've posted before about this Star Trek spoof that does better Star Trek than . . . Star Trek.

There are now 3 seasons and it has jumped the woke shark. The first 2 seasons were great fun stories that had a really good Star Trek feeling to them.

The 3rd season has lost all of the humour, has a new character front & centre who is awesome at everything but can't act, luckily she's dating the creator Seth MacFarlane so that explains a lot.

But the last straw for me is the recurring storyline of the Moclan child who's gender was altered from a girl to a boy as Moclan's don't have females. However, she yearns to be a girl and eventually gets to change back to being a girl. In last nights episode she visits a colony for Moclan females who's wise leader is inspired by Dolly Parton. At some point this wise leader gets to meet Dolly Parton herself in their holographic simulator thingy, has a folksy chat and then starts singing with her guitar. . . . . . .at this point I took the dog for a walk over the golf course.
I returned 40 minutes later and the episode was still playing! An hour and a half for one episode FFS! It was the same with the previous trans angst episode, long and boring and dredging up the same modern issues that would be nice to escape from in science fiction based entertainment.

I know Star Trek used to have allegorical themes that address aspects of the human condition but for once could we just not drag this issue into the storyline and make it the dominant theme of the series.

It's based on our reality. I've no problem with a show bringing things to people's wider attention.

For instance Gently Falling Rain. S3E4.

With very coincidental timing given that it would have been filmed and produced many months before, the episode showing a rather cruel and unusual punishment for Krill who engage in abortions and happened to be released literally one day before the US Supreme Court dramatically removed the federal right to abortion and a number of states immediately instituted restrictions or outright bans.

The standard punishment for Krill parents that have been caught terminating their child in utero is to force them to interact with a simulated version of said child, who is programmed to say such things as "why did you get rid of me?"

No doubt this was inspired by real-life anti-abortion legislation in place at the time of the episode's airing, such as the controversial "heartbeat bill" in the state of Texas.

The bill requires that if a women seeking the termination of a foetus is far enough along into her pregnancy that the foetus has developed a heartbeat, she will then legally forced to listen to said beat via sonogram.

The problem with this, aside from the entire practice being considered unbelievably cruel and is indiscriminate between simply unwanted pregnancies and those seeking to be terminated for reasons of medical complication, is that foetal heartbeats can develop as early as six weeks, which in many cases is before a woman will even realize that she is pregnant.

 

[smartascarrots]

But the last straw for me is the recurring storyline of the Moclan child who's gender was altered from a girl to a boy as Moclan's don't have females. However, she yearns to be a girl and eventually gets to change back to being a girl. In last nights episode she visits a colony for Moclan females who's wise leader is inspired by Dolly Parton. At some point this wise leader gets to meet Dolly Parton herself in their holographic simulator thingy, has a folksy chat and then starts singing with her guitar. . . . . . .at this point I took the dog for a walk over the golf course.
I returned 40 minutes later and the episode was still playing! An hour and a half for one episode FFS! It was the same with the previous trans angst episode, long and boring and dredging up the same modern issues that would be nice to escape from in science fiction based entertainment.

I just watched that episode today and don't see any woke issue with it - if anything, it seemed quite anti-trans what with a child who was sex-changed at birth fighting to recover her birth gender and the entire plotline revolving around how much better off she was the natural way.

My beef with it was that it just wasn't a very good episode.

 

[Sonic67]

The only positive thing I can say about season 4 of Stranger Things is that it put Kate Bush into #1 on the Top 40.

The ending blows big chunks, and I wish I had slept through it.

The Critical Drinker considered it a return to its previous form. I did too, though I haven't watched the final two episodes yet.

 

[Gun_Brickie]

The Critical Drinker considered it a return to its previous form. I did too, though I haven't watched the final two episodes yet.

I thought the first seven episodes were really well done.

The finale was not quite as audience-insulting as the ending of the Amercian version of House of Cards, but it was very, very unsatisfying.

 

[GrumpyWasTooCheerful]

It's based on our reality. I've no problem with a show bringing things to people's wider attention.

For instance Gently Falling Rain. S3E4.

With very coincidental timing given that it would have been filmed and produced many months before, the episode showing a rather cruel and unusual punishment for Krill who engage in abortions and happened to be released literally one day before the US Supreme Court dramatically removed the federal right to abortion and a number of states immediately instituted restrictions or outright bans.

The standard punishment for Krill parents that have been caught terminating their child in utero is to force them to interact with a simulated version of said child, who is programmed to say such things as "why did you get rid of me?"

No doubt this was inspired by real-life anti-abortion legislation in place at the time of the episode's airing, such as the controversial "heartbeat bill" in the state of Texas.

The bill requires that if a women seeking the termination of a foetus is far enough along into her pregnancy that the foetus has developed a heartbeat, she will then legally forced to listen to said beat via sonogram.

The problem with this, aside from the entire practice being considered unbelievably cruel and is indiscriminate between simply unwanted pregnancies and those seeking to be terminated for reasons of medical complication, is that foetal heartbeats can develop as early as six weeks, which in many cases is before a woman will even realize that she is pregnant.

See Bill Burr's take on abortion.

 

[tiger stacker]

Smileys People, when the Soviets were the menace, emigres were useful, and no matter how much you’re retired you’re still the best the circus had.

 

[Sonic67]

See Bill Burr's take on abortion.

Someone needs to explain to him why it's not a good analogy. People making a cake do intend a cake to happen.

 

[Border_Reiver]

Smileys People, when the Soviets were the menace, emigres were useful, and no matter how much you’re retired you’re still the best the circus had.

1979 or 2011 version ? ... I much prefer Alec Guinness in his portrayal .

 

[tiger stacker]

1979 or 2011 version ? ... I much prefer Alec Guinness in his portrayal .

The 82 sequel which is the final book in the Karla trilogy, the second book was too expensive to film in Hong Kong apparently

 

[Border_Reiver]

The 82 sequel which is the final book in the Karla trilogy, the second book was too expensive to film in Hong Kong apparently

I have a DVD of the 1982 version of Smiley's People ... excellent interpretation ... Alec Guinness excels in his role ... and a good supporting cast .

ETA .... just ordered " A Perfect Spy " DVD set .... another BBC John le Carre interpretation I must have missed when first broadcast .... for less than £5 on E Bay got to be worth a watch .

 

[tiger stacker]

I have a DVD of the 1982 version of Smiley's People ... excellent interpretation ... Alec Guinness excels in his role ... and a good supporting cast .

It is a blink n miss them cameo, from Hans Gruber to Boon

 

[AsterixTG]

Going against the flow - I quite enjoyed Terminal List - or rather, I wasn't too offended by it and it was well produced.

 

[Border_Reiver]

It is a blink n miss them cameo, from Hans Gruber to Boon

My brain must be not as sharp today ... not unusual at my age ... can you please explain .

 

[smartascarrots]

My brain must be not as sharp today ... not unusual at my age ... can you please explain .

At a guess, cameos by Alan Rickman and Michael Elphick?

 

[tiger stacker]

At a guess, cameos by Alan Rickman and Michael Elphick?

What he said

 

[Border_Reiver]

@tiger stacker @smartascarrots ... thanks ... every day is a learning day ... I am normally quite good at cryptic clues .