LeftHandedGuitarist

I have been watching the big bang Theory ever since it first aired. Being an IT student at the time, the uncomfortable social situations and nerdy jokes spoke to me. However, much has changed throughout the seasons, more about that later.

We start out with our four nerdy main characters. There is the recognizable fact of the three people with higher degrees (PHD holding Sheldon, Leonard and Raj) who make fun and feel themselves better than "simple" engineer Howard. There is the desperate search for love coming from both Howard and Raj, and the differentiation between the confident yet single Howard and the timid, uncertain just-as-single Raj. Sheldon is the one who has no sense of what's going on around him, and is only interested in his own world. Leonard is the humble cute guy who manages to get a date from time to time, an inspiration to Howard and Raj, although his on/off fling with Leslie gives us the impression that he isn't really that successful after all.

Then we have the obvious babe, Penny, the complete opposite of our four nerds. She makes something stir in all three of them, but follows the cliché of going out with the "wrong" men, being dumb, and ignoring their advances.

Even though these are all cliche’s, the inside jokes and the disarming clumsiness of the four guys made the first seasons well worth watching. Gradually however, as the show became more popular, the writers started to abandon what once made it so.

With the introduction of Bernadette and Amy the female characters are drastically expanded, but they don't add any real value to the show. Bernadette is the caricature of Howards mother, where as Amy is an attempt to make Sheldon look more human. At the same time, we go from a show with it's own flair to a one-in-a-dozen sitcom. The laughing tape went from being an accessory to being the main engine of the show. The characters became aware they were going to make a pun and started smiling like idiots before they said it, and laughing like people high on weed after someone made it. The longer this series continues, the more painful it becomes to watch. The lines that are supposed to be jokes are simply not funny. The acting and stereotyping are more bearable in a highschool play. And, as stated in another review made before this one, the show changes from laughing with the characters to laughing at the characters. From a nerdy show to a show about nerds.

Conclusion: if you're looking for some nerdy fun, watch the first three or four seasons. After that, it gets the same illness so many American shows suffer from, namely that it becomes a cash cow for the producers and starts a long, painfully slow, continuously prolonged process of dying a silent dead.They never seem to know when to end something great instead of going on to make it something mediocre.

Filoni and Favreau have done it folks in my world. Let me have the shows and the kids can have the new movies. Good compromise.

A beautiful, twisted and bleak story filled with awesome moments, music and cinematography. It shows an alternative love story completely different from all those cliché-dramatic moments overused in Hollywood. Just 3h20min of fun, love and crude humor of two characters that love each other but not the world around them. The ending is beautifully shot, showing the danger and automatic assumption that James is a psychopath. His narration, followed by him running for his short life while being on his birthday is so heartbreaking that made me cry in the last second. A boy that had no feelings, made a choice of love.

So I finished Part One and had a few hours to think about it. The show is definitely interesting. It’s not perfect but I see it setting-up to something bigger in Part Two. The first few episode are a bit off, not horrible or unwatchable but, does have some questionable pacing, lack of music, and some of the more direct jokes aren’t as funny as I would like them. A lot of the “good” jokes seem to be sprinkled in the background or hidden inside of other dialog, I wouldn’t be surprised picking-up on new jokes on a second re-watch. That said episodes 1-5 would be a 5-6/10. Normally a weaker opening to a series would lean me more towards dropping, however...

The reason I say the show is interesting is that the trailer and promo material advertises the show as a comedy first with some adventure on the side, however, it’s very much a slice of life series with hints of adventure down the line in Part Two. I wasn’t expecting this and I actually like this angle more. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Part Two was exclusively adventure focused. Most of the episodes in Part One are about the daily life of the disobedient princess and falling into situations, all the while adding a LOT of world building. Part One seems very focused on familiarizing you with the world, people, concepts, etc... While this is taking place we get short cutaways to an unknown group of wizards/sorceress monitoring the situation in Dreamland, the main location in Part One, suggesting something bigger going on.

I wont spoil anything at the end of Part One but the world building and hints towards a grandeur story definitely make this series interesting and I want to learn more. Obviously these are just promises for the moment but the care put into the world and the slower pace at the start to familiarize the characters gives me hope that this series will offer more. For now it’s a 6/10, good but until we see the rest I wouldn’t put much into the rating.

Also the 2D animation is very good. CGI blending is better than most shows and a surprising amount of the scenes have a lot of animation in areas you wouldn't expect it. Casual walks in the city treat you to scenes with plenty of bystanders moving and interacting with each others in 2D (some are 3D). Lots of other shows would offer stills & pans so this gives this show's world a lot of life.

A weird show that is not for everybody but I really enjoyed it. I love the world they set up with all the little gadgets and advertising. The performances from Emma Stone and Jonah Hill were both fantastic. I like how they were able to do really different stories throughout the season to mix things up. There were a lot of funny parts too.

Beautifully written, perfectly acted. The layers and layers of complexity, reference to literature, philosophy, art, technology and medicine, all wrapped-up in a retro-future setting make for a delightful, loving experience about healing and hope. This is one of the best mini-series I've ever seen in a long time. It takes its time to deliver a perfect ending, that makes you wonder about everything you have seen.

They should make Ortega the main character and change the show's title to Altered Cabrón.

It's A Treat To He-Man Fans, Animation Is Good, But Only Downside is that it has only 5 Episodes

I'm kinda surprised at some comments made earlier on the show when the finale was released earlier today. Just finished it, wonderful show. The pace of which the story progresses is just about right, with enough twists and reveals along the way to keep you on the edge of your seat. One of my favorites for sure. I hope tv+ keeps it up with such quality productions.

5 September 2019 - I really try to give a series a chance to prove itself, but I'm abandoning 13 REASONS WHY after S3 E4. It is scrapping the barrel of all things potentially hurtful, damaging and downright dangerous in teen living. The prescriptive warnings by the cast to seek help if you are in the situations depicted in their drama do not excuse the series reinjuring those in peril for the sake of further episodes/seasons. This series no longer has a cathartic benefit. I will no longer be watching it (despite a new bright light in the cast). As I prophetically wrote in 2017 - This series has sucked the life out of its premise. I leave the series with a rating of 5 (meh) out of 10. [Teenage Drama].

I've left the previous reviews here so you can see how it fell out of my favour.

3 April 2017 - I'm just three episodes deep into this Netfilx series and I'm enjoying the characters and the suspense. This is a good premise, the acting is strong, and I can't wait to find out what happened, as we see the story from the varying points of view. Looking good - so I'm giving it a preliminary 8 (great) out of 10.

8 April 2017 - I'm sorry to say that the series didn't live up to the premise. I think it was meant to be a cautionary tale, but the writing was uneven, the characters' emotional arches poorly drawn, and some episodes were just a downright mess. The acting was good because the casting was strong. Even though the scripts were disappointing the series will resonate with those who have been shamed, bullied, emotionally or physically abused. Unfortunately, these are now adolescent realities, so people will see their experiences reflected here. But the writers sewed these components together poorly, interrupting the build of suspense, artificially inflating the emotional environment which in turn compromised the trueness of the characters and leaving the audience disappointed, or in some cases, lost (I almost quit after the very poor episode - S1 E7) and a general degradation of the quality of the series). Although there were some 7 (good) episodes, there were also 6s (fair) and even 4 (poor), so I'm giving the whole series a 5.5 (failed potential) out of 10. I'd love to see these performers again, but the series has sucked the life out of it's premise.

I can safely say that Twin Peaks is my favourite show of all time. It's magical, funny, sad and stunning. Dale Cooper will always be my favourite character and I'm sure that I will revisit this amazingly weird world many times throughout my life.

This is one of the most consistently impressive shows I've had the privilege and absolute joy to watch. It carries a similar tone and feel as The West Wing, also written and created by Aaron Sorkin, which makes it no surprise why I loved this show so much. The writing is spectacular and the acting is phenomenal. This is one of those rare shows where every character grows and develops and has a moment to shine. I'm sad that the show only lasted 3 seasons, but those 25 episodes are pure gold.

For me this is the winner for this year's Golden Globes, a series that was not heard at all, It has not the glamour of squidgame or 100.000.000 people saw it, it is a marvellous diamond.

After the excellent Dr. Death, a corresponding theme series that is simply a masterpiece. You do not know what to praise first, the incredible script, the director tricks with the back and forth and where you are that now we saw this and then takes you even further back to show you how he reached in this part of the story! I do not live in the US so i don't know the actual impact and valid facts only what i've seen from movies/shows about OxyContin but the presentation was amazing.

Special mention to Kaitlyn Dever who since she left that miserable politicised comedy she was playing and after the amazing Unbelievable, she now gives another excellent dramatic performance.

This is a MUST see.

What an absolutely phenomenal gripping and enthralling series. I’m glued to the screen

This is such an interesting balance to Star Trek: Discovery... as though the ethos of these two shows have somehow been swapped. This is light and comedic and trots old territory in a fresh way, and Star Trek: Discovery has gone off boldly where Star Trek hasn't really gone before.

That said, I am enjoying this show's humor and the familiarity of it even though it is absolutely NOT Star Trek.

Forgive, but it is impossible not to make the comparison.

This was, for me, the best show of the year so far. It is for Netflix this year what Stranger Things was for last year. A real surprise, far better than it looks. I watched the special, and I don't usually do that. I picked up the book and started reading it, and young adult fiction isn't a genre I usually look at. Hollywood hasn't cast it in a very nice light with things like Twilight; even less cringey films like Divergent and The Maze Runner give the YA genre a two-dimensional feel, a feel of shallowness that is easy to take in but doesn't really get inside your head much. Just a one-and-done kind of thing. And this isn't that. It's so much better. I went in thinking this was a show for middle and high school kids, and it really isn't. Especially after the 9th and 12th episodes. Not to mention the finale. Spoilers follow.

After watching — I finished it just 24 hours ago — I went back and forth on whether the suicide was justified or not. Actually for a while I thought they might pull a twist ending and reveal that she didn't actually go through with it, but made it look like she did to raise awareness. There was a program that ran in high schools in Northern California (where this takes place) where they had a guy dressed up like the Grim Reaper take the popular jocks out of school. They were put up in a resort while the rest of the school was told they died. And then they put on this play where they were killed by drunk driving. It sounds silly now, but it was serious then. And it happened at my school (Santa Rosa, Montgomery High, Class of 1998) and I was smart enough to see that it was fiction, but it still young enough for it to affect me. (Sure enough, never drank and drove. Actually don't drink anymore, so I can drive those who can't.) So I thought this series might be doing that, and that they could, and still be impactful. Spoiler: [spoiler]It's not, and the suicide is shown in the finale.[/spoiler]

As for justifications, that's harder. It's important to note here that nobody is perfect, including the adults. It's also important to note that nobody is purely good or evil. Even the one character everyone hates by the end ([spoiler]Bryce{/spoiler]), probably has some good in him. It's just outside the scope of this show to humanize him. We can guess. [spoiler]He was rich, and lived a life free of consequences. His parents were never around, and he was able to buy beer underage because he was a successful athlete and town hero. He literally stated that there was nothing wrong with raping girls. And he believed it because he had never been denied anything.[/spoiler] The big problem I have with the suicide is not that the events leading up to it did or didn't justify suicide. It's that she spent hours calmly laying out everything that was wrong, in a cool and methodical way, on those tapes, after making the decision, and yet she still did it. The planning of the tapes, the recording, setting up distribution, [spoiler]getting Tony to manage the backups and watching people,[/spoiler], I think she could have backed down. I think she was smart enough to by that point and could have gotten help. No tapes, no planning? Sure. Impulse decision. After all that, though? I don't really see it.

I'd also like to get into the school counselor, Mr Porter. School counselors are psychologists only in the same sense that security guards are police officers, i.e. they're not. You could say they're failed psychologists, and maybe some are, but they may not all be. He wasn't an exceptionally bad one. He might have even been above average. I think a big difference between school counselors and psychologists are that school counselors work for the school. They aren't truly advocates for the individuals they try to help. I think he needed to go the extra mile and coach her, and tell her that she needs to declare [spoiler]that she was raped, and that she said no, and that she tried to make him stop, even if she really didn't exactly. There was no deception on her part, or seduction, the guy had raped before, and in her presence no less, and she clearly did not want to have sex, and he knew it[/spoiler]. Yes, I think he should have coached her to embellish the truth a little for the greater good, for the sake of the next victim. Would it have been dishonest? I don't think so. No more spoilers.

But I'm getting off-track. Was it a good series? In no uncertain terms, yes it was. You should absolutely watch it, and then you absolutely should reach out to a niece or a nephew or the child of a family friend and let them know that you are there for them. It doesn't really help as much coming from parents, because parents are always judging. They kind of have to. Kids need an external resource they can count on. Someone they trust won't look down on them because they tried drugs or experimented with sex. Someone who won't add to their problems. Someone who generally makes them feel better when they're down. Even popular kids need it, but the nerds, the emo kids, the losers, those kids need it especially because they have such little support from their peers. And yes it's a bit rude to use those labels, but they exist, those kids exist, and we can't let them slip through the cracks. And one photo, one tweet, one rumor can make the most popular kid in school join those unfortunate groups. And then that kid can go on fooling their parents into thinking they're still on top of the social ladder, when inside they're dying, and we see that in the show with one of the characters.

[Disney+] Although there are some creative decisions that can be debatable, especially in terms of updating the story through fictional characters, the series grows as the shadow of the Nazi threat becomes more suffocating. Actress Bel Powley does a great job of developing her character from her idealism and naiveté to a moral commitment to victims of persecution, putting humanity before safety. It has a good production design and a great soundtrack by Ariel Marx that turns Anne Frank into a secondary character, but whose spirit of resistance and dignity permeates the entire story.

Wow - This really is surprisingly good!
I simply started it for something in the background during cooking, and then I was hooked - I couldn't help it :smiley:
The fact that this show is made with hand controlled puppets is insane!
This show is one hell of an artwork, and not only that it is crazy entertaining, it sucks you right in.

If you are around my age it will make you feel like you are in your childhood again (though I've never seen the original).
It's just like: "Labyrinth" from 1986, but with beautiful special effects.
BTW here is a 6min making of The Dark Crystal » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ0TUOmzpGU
Enjoy the ride!
9/10

I enjoyed this telling of the Anne Frank story from the side of Miep Giles. Has inspired me to read Anne’s diary.

Even if pieces are dramatized still good to see history shown.

It took a bit to get totally into it but after the 3 epsiodes rule I totally fell in love with the show. give it a chance and I'm sure you won't be too dissapointed

High quality show. It's kind of realistic and the show doesn't make you feel like an idiot (unlike so many movies and tv shows these days). There are some minor holes and shortcuts imo but it's fine.
So did he do it?

Not gonna lie, I was pleasantly surprised by the outstanding performances. Mr. Evans' specifically. Great plot, even though I would've loved a more of a "clear" ending. However, I feel like we all know what happened. I watched it in one sitting and wasn't even bored for a second. Highly recommend it!

The White Princess is about as good as The White Queen. First, after watching The White Queen, you have to adjust to the new cast, since many of the same characters are present. But, I also like to see different actors' takes on familiar roles. I feel that this part of English history isn't very well-known (at least to me as an American), so seeing it come to life and learning about the conflicts of that time period was very fascinating. Excellent costumes and production design. Loved it!

Super cheesy and low-brow. More like a fan-made web-series. Very few people will enjoy this, but the right audience will enjoy the hell out of it.

For a hard core Star Trek Fan this probably doesn't offer much, if anything, new. And the style is similar to Netflix's "The Movies that made us" which I didn't like much.

But I'm a huge fan of Gates so for that reason alone I keep watching it.

Edit:

Overall an interesting journey through the history of Star Trek. But even as a decade long fan who thought he knows much of the story already, I was asking myself more then once: "How could this franchise become so big and long lived with all what was going on behind the scenes ?"

I wasn't alive back then but I was always fascinated by the Space Race. Read many books and watched countless documentaries. I love the movie they made. So, this was very high on my list. And it is utterly dissapointing.

The story of the Space Race is dramatic on it's own. It's a story about what mankind can achieve if they put all their efforts behind it. Even if it was started out of political agendas to prove which system was superior. I think those men, on both sides, achieved remarkable things and I have the highest respect for them.

Based on this series alone, how the astronauts are portrayed, I would have wished them all to blow up and die. They are equally unlikeable, everyone for it's own reasons. I am not against adding some drama, in the end this is a TV show and not a documentary. But this was just too much. You see close to nothing about the training and technical side. Mostly them chasing after women, drinking, and chest pumping contests about who is the alpha male. Maybe some of this did happen, but even than you should find more balance in your story.

Since the first season is subtitled "Project Mercury" I fear there will be more seasons coming about the follow-up programs.

Not with me, though.

I would rate the show at "8" after the first season so far. It had highs and lows. They need to step things up a notch. Assuming the run time per episode stays low they need to clean a bit of the useless stuff.
I never had a faible for Mandalorians so I was a bit sceptical at first if this show could interest me enough. They seem to be an interesting bunch with a deep history but this isn't really about them. After all the show is named The Mandalorian, singular. The little yoda-like guy certainly has Disney written all over him there is no need denying that. But at the same time I wouldn't mind to learn more about his species history which is also kind of blank.
For me a first season has to generate enough interest to make me want to come back. I can check that box. The second is the make or break one. Can it keep me interested by following up and adding new things or is the wave ebbing out. Guess I'll see in a year.

I wouldn't say this was 1) worth watching or 2) well made.

It doesn't strike the right balance of showing Savile to be the monster he was and the plight of the young 'uns he was abusing. I know it is a difficult balance to show the reality of how it would have been and the times/locations/circumstances... But still.

If I were a victim, would i feel this was an adequate representation of what had been done to me...? I can't help feeling, no - resoundingly.

That said, Coogan does a good job in his portrayal which was an elongated impression for most of it.

If the BBC feels they have somehow vindicated themselves here. They have not.

A really nice take on a well trodden tale. The old testament spin on a story that's been told a thousand times is really quite special. I won't spoil it at all but when you get to the bit that makes you think that it's all getting a bit silly, stick with it. It works it's way through. Kudos Mr Flanagan, another top effort.

I wanted to give this a chance since I loved TCW and Rebels. So even after the first episode turned out to be awful I tried to be positive and open minded. I wasn't even deterred by the rather low rating of 65 %. But when I saw 4,9 on imdb with roughly 25 % giving this a 1 I gave up. I always tell people to form their own opinion but it is hard to believe this is from the same people that did the previous shows.
Maybe I watch some episodes on the side but in general I think I'm done with this.

Now, after I wrote this I read that Filoni created this but wasn't the show-runner and instead had other people run this. And suddenly all falls into place. This was the missing piece of information.