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Saint J 77

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  • 2 weeks later...
So Dr Who #13 is a woman, I suppose that having Missy in the last few series as an incarnation of The Master indicated that possibility.

 

It's funny isn't it. Some people have been completely losing their sh!t on social media about this.

 

We're talking about a show about an ancient, possibly immortal, alien who can travel through time and space in an instant, escape death by regenerating into a new body, and destroy entire fleets of invading bad guys with a f***ing screwdriver! All of this is seemingly OK, but the mere suggestion that this being might be able to manifest him/her/itself in the body of a woman is apparently just too far-fetched and has ruined the show forever. :lol:

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  • 2 months later...
Very rarely watch any TV these days, but I have just finished binge-watching The Expanse on Netflix on a recommendation from a friend.

 

For those that aren't familiar it is set about 200 years in the future where humans have colonised the solar system, and the core theme of the series is the political tensions between the governments of Earth, the Mars colony, and the 'Belters' - who inhabit the mining colonies in the asteroid belt. It's a very well-paced program without being too over the top or corny with the action sequences, and they have obviously researched the science side of things very well to make it believable.

 

I have to say it's probably the best sci-fi series in many, many years, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the second series which is currently being aired in the US and will be available on Netflix in the next couple of months. As is often the case with such things, I gather that the budget has increased massively after the success of the first series. I just hope the producers haven't used this as an excuse to rely more heavily on effects and ridiculous set-pieces to generate appeal, as is the case with a lot of sci-fi these days.

 

Season 2 carries on pretty well too. Enjoying it.

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Anyone watching Star Trek Discovery?

 

Without spoilers, three episodes in and it seems to be providing a nice twist to the formula while keeping within some themes introduced in DS9. That it is trying to maintain continuity with the existing 'Prime' timeline is a nice touch, but it does already seem different enough to undermine that.

 

Personally, I am enjoying it. It's great to have a Star Trek show back on a weekly basis.

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Anyone watching Star Trek Discovery?

 

Without spoilers, three episodes in and it seems to be providing a nice twist to the formula while keeping within some themes introduced in DS9. That it is trying to maintain continuity with the existing 'Prime' timeline is a nice touch, but it does already seem different enough to undermine that.

 

Personally, I am enjoying it. It's great to have a Star Trek show back on a weekly basis.

 

Yeah enjoyed it so far. It has a very different feel to any of the series that came before it. But that was inevitable given the massive budget and the on-demand nature of TV watching these days, meant they could produce a serialised and cinematic show instead of the episodic ones that came before.

 

I like the fact that there is a dark edge to it as well. Starfleet has always been depicted as a shining beacon of honour and integrity in the past, but already with Discovery we can see that the captain is obviously being entrusted to use whatever devious, underhanded tactics he sees fit in the fight against the Klingons. Kirk or Picard would never have busted a prisoner out of a transport ship to recruit them to his crew like that.

 

Looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.

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Skintsaint - I agree Bladeruuner 2049 was fantastic.

 

I can understand the criticism from people who aren't into the genre or Bladerunner but then what are they expecting to see.

 

There has been enough written about it to tell you that this is not a Michael Bay crash, bang, boom blockbuster.

 

The look, feel and sound of the new film suits me perfectly.

 

Will probably go again and buy it when it comes out on bluray and then buy the special edition version when that comes out.

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  • 3 months later...
Yeah enjoyed it so far. It has a very different feel to any of the series that came before it. But that was inevitable given the massive budget and the on-demand nature of TV watching these days, meant they could produce a serialised and cinematic show instead of the episodic ones that came before.

 

I like the fact that there is a dark edge to it as well. Starfleet has always been depicted as a shining beacon of honour and integrity in the past, but already with Discovery we can see that the captain is obviously being entrusted to use whatever devious, underhanded tactics he sees fit in the fight against the Klingons. Kirk or Picard would never have busted a prisoner out of a transport ship to recruit them to his crew like that.

 

Looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.

 

Aaaah, so. This is all making a lot more sense now.

 

I'm struggling with the series on the whole though. There's lots to enjoy about it, but there are also some glaring plot holes and aspects which are just far too ridiculous. Obviously with any sci-fi there has to be a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but all the previous incarnations of Trek at least had some degree of believability to them. This just feels a little too 'Hollywood' for my liking.

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Personally I preferred the orville. There's a huge disconnect between reviewers of that show and the audience abd I'm not sure why. I agree it's not particularly highbrow but some of the episodes really reminded me of classic star trek episodes to a much greater degree than discovery which I didn't really like at all.

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I've just started watching Altered Carbon on Netflix. I really enjoyed the book, and the series so far has been pretty decent. Worth a watch.

 

I also enjoyed Blade Runner 2049, though I felt it would have worked better as 2 two-hour movies, because even at 3 hours it felt heavily edited in parts.

 

I'm currently reading the southern reach trilogy, which has been quite good. It's been loosely adapted into the film Annihilation which is being released this month, and which I'm also looking forward to :)

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Yeah enjoyed it so far. It has a very different feel to any of the series that came before it. But that was inevitable given the massive budget and the on-demand nature of TV watching these days, meant they could produce a serialised and cinematic show instead of the episodic ones that came before.

 

I like the fact that there is a dark edge to it as well. Starfleet has always been depicted as a shining beacon of honour and integrity in the past, but already with Discovery we can see that the captain is obviously being entrusted to use whatever devious, underhanded tactics he sees fit in the fight against the Klingons. Kirk or Picard would never have busted a prisoner out of a transport ship to recruit them to his crew like that.

 

Looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.

 

A little further in and, without spoilers, we find out the reasons why for a lot of decisions, a thread which makes sense of the actions so far.

It is very dark and i am enjoying more as it goes on, than at the start.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
Season 3 of The Expanse starts next week - 11th April. Really looking forward to this.

 

Anybody who hasn't discovered this yet, you really need to get on it immediately. It's by far the best sci-fi series produced in many years.

 

5 episodes in to an already excellent 3rd season, they have just raised the bar massively with the latest one.

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  • 3 weeks later...
And following a massive fans campaign, the series has been picked up by Amazon for a fourth season after SyFy cancelled it.

 

BTW, are you guys streaming season 3 from the US, hasn't been released here yet?

 

Yeah, getting it through the Exodus add-on in Kodi. I'm not waiting 3 months to watch it on Netflix.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/03/jacqueline-pearce-blakes-7-and-doctor-who-actor-dies-aged-74

 

Jacqueline Pearce - best known for her role as the brilliantly villainous Supreme Commander Servalan in Blake's 7 - has died aged 74.

 

I was a little bit too young to fully appreciate the substance of Blake's 7 when it was aired, but she was a fantastic antagonist, and admittedly one of my first childhood crushes.

 

Reading some tributes on Twitter today, it seems she was quite an outrageous character and very much loved by the people who worked with her.

Edited by Sheaf Saint
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  • 4 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Started watching Nightflyers on Netflix. Based on a novella by George RR Martin, apparently.

 

Only on episode 3, and the concept is decent enough (some parallels with Event Horizon) but not too sure about the execution of it so far. The production is slick enough with some stunning visual effects and darkly atmospheric music and FX etc... but the script and acting are very cliched, and the main characters are just a little too bland/weak. Feels heavily edited in some parts too, which you wouldn't think is necessary for something produced exclusively for on-demand viewing.

 

I'm gonna stick with it though. It's got me intrigued enough to want to see how the story pans out.

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Started watching Nightflyers on Netflix. Based on a novella by George RR Martin, apparently.

 

Only on episode 3, and the concept is decent enough (some parallels with Event Horizon) but not too sure about the execution of it so far. The production is slick enough with some stunning visual effects and darkly atmospheric music and FX etc... but the script and acting are very cliched, and the main characters are just a little too bland/weak. Feels heavily edited in some parts too, which you wouldn't think is necessary for something produced exclusively for on-demand viewing.

 

I'm gonna stick with it though. It's got me intrigued enough to want to see how the story pans out.

 

If anyone is tempted to give this a go, don't bother. It looks great, but the writing and acting are truly dreadful and I gave up after about 5 episodes. None of the characters are in the least bit interesting or believable, and I don't care what happens to them.

Edited by Sheaf Saint
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  • 5 months later...
Patrick Stewart to reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series.

 

https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/star-trek-patrick-stewart-picard-cbs-all-access-1202895410/

 

 

I wondered if they would bring back some of the old characters for this series.

 

Not surprised to see Data included, although I wondered how they would overcome (or provide an in-universe explanation for) the fact that Brent Spiner will have aged significantly since he last donned the makeup.

 

Pleasantly surprised to see Jeri Ryan return as Seven of Nine though. Look forward to seeing her with (hopefully) a decent script and not having to engage constantly with the terminally irritating Janeway.

 

Pretty excited about this now.

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Anybody who hasn't discovered this yet, you really need to get on it immediately. It's by far the best sci-fi series produced in many years.

 

5 episodes in to an already excellent 3rd season, they have just raised the bar massively with the latest one.

 

Had this on my list to watch for a long time now, seeing the recommendations on this thread i'll give it a go as soon as i've finished watching Sherlock (for the first time).

 

I generally enjoy skipping shows when they first come out and coming back to them years later, not only do you not have to wait for new series to be released but it means there's a constant backlog of "classics" that you can almost guarantee you will enjoy.

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Watched the first episode of Another Life on Netflix. Basically opens as Arrival, and turns into an Expanse / Star Trek / Interstellar mash - up. Not ground breaking, and has had poor reviews, but I will certainly continue with it. One major flaw, imo, is that this first episode seemed to rush through the basis for the story where it may have better to take the first half hour and turn it into 2 or 3 full episodes.

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  • 2 months later...
Watched the first episode of Another Life on Netflix. Basically opens as Arrival, and turns into an Expanse / Star Trek / Interstellar mash - up. Not ground breaking, and has had poor reviews, but I will certainly continue with it. One major flaw, imo, is that this first episode seemed to rush through the basis for the story where it may have better to take the first half hour and turn it into 2 or 3 full episodes.

 

They're usually scared of putting people off with slow paced exposition.

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I couldn't get past the first episode of that - didn't even finish it.

 

It just seemed like they were trying to cram as many SF cliches in as they possibly could, the visual aspect of it wasn't that great by today's standards and the acting was poor (I know, I know - if good acting is what you're after then perhaps sci-fi isn't really for you, but this was especially bad).

 

It was essentially an even worse version of Nightflyers. At least that had some very good visual and musical effects.

 

There's a recent film on Netflix called I Am Mother, which I thought was very good. Again, not groundbreaking in terms of storyline, but a very well crafted suspense film nonetheless.

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  • 2 months later...

Just seen the new Star Wars film, or rather Skywalker meets the Blues Brothers ( "We're putting the band back together" ). Won't post any plot spoilers, not that there's much plot to begin with. In the main it seems to be an excuse for a cast reunion for A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and the big reveal regarding Rey was actually suggested on HuffPost back in 2016. A pleasant enough treat for our 39th wedding anniversary, but horses galloping along the outer hull of a Star Destroyer ?

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Just seen the new Star Wars film, or rather Skywalker meets the Blues Brothers ( "We're putting the band back together" ). Won't post any plot spoilers, not that there's much plot to begin with. In the main it seems to be an excuse for a cast reunion for A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and the big reveal regarding Rey was actually suggested on HuffPost back in 2016. A pleasant enough treat for our 39th wedding anniversary, but horses galloping along the outer hull of a Star Destroyer ?
I was quite surprised that every single main character dies in the final scene.
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The latest Star Wars was probably as good as it could have been. It would never have been able to please everyone. The only shame for me was that it ignored the most promising thread from The Last Jedi (an end to the black and white good/evil jedi/sith conflict.) Mind you, continuing that would have been a little too brave after the reaction to that film.

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Da Rosi im kapawu fash, keyá?

 

***SPOILERS***

 

I'm gonna miss Ashford. Didn't like him at first but he was a great character. His death was a superb cinematic sequence as well.

 

Also wondering if Drummer is going to return in season 5, given her departure from Medina station at the end of this season. I liked her too.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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