TV stuff, including Lucifer season 2, Stranger Things etc etc

[shapinglight]

I've been meaning to make a post about TV stuff I've been enjoying for ages, but somehow haven't got around to it. This could in part be due to the fact that how we watch TV has changed so much recently. So much so that, apart from The Great British Bakeoff nothing that I'm currently watching and enjoying is on a non-subscription channel, and I think that's a situation that's going to continue for some time.

Is water cooler TV a thing of the past, do you think?

Behind cut, slight spoilers for Lucifer season 2 (Amazon Prime), Stranger Things(Netflix), Manhattan season 1 (Amazon Prime) and The Collection (Amazon Prime).



Have to admit that of the four shows I just mentioned, Lucifer is far and away my favourite, even though it's not the best of them. I'm shamefacedly in love with this series, even if it is, at its heart, just another show about a rich white bloke with 'issues.' I guess it must be the premise (the Devil has abandoned hell along with his demon sidekick and now runs a swanky nightclub in LA) and the fact that Lucifer's 'daddy' issues are on a cosmic scale. Also the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously, the characters are fun, the scripts quite witty, and the soundtrack is fantastic. Who knew there were so many great songs about the Devil? ;)

Anyway, I love it (so far, you can never say you love a TV show completely until it's over, I guess) and the first episode of season 2 didn't disappoint. The banter between Lucifer and Chloe is still great, Maze has made it pretty clear she's no one's sidekick any more, Amenadiel now has his own issues to deal with, Dr Linda is still around (I love her!), the new character -the unfeasibly cute young pathologist -is very engaging (I was afraid she might be annoying), and the arrival on the scene of the ex-Mrs God at the end of the episode is very intriguing.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm pretty much hooked at the moment.

I finished Stranger Things a while back. I wasn't sure about it at first (possibly because the awful early 80s fashions did my head in a bit), mainly because of there being so much focus on the child actors. But by episode 3 I was loving it - again mainly because of the child actors. They're so good! The little girl playing Eleven won me over the minute she turned up. I like the adult characters too, and found the monster and its inverted world truly scary. Hard to pick a favourite moment. Maybe Nancy, Jonathan and Steve's fight back against the monster in the wrecked Byers house? I dunno. Anyway, I'm glad there's going to be another series. I'd be very sad if that was the last we saw of Eleven.

Manhattan is a drama about the Manhattan Project. I'm currently six episodes into series one. There is a series 2 but sadly the show was cancelled early this year, which, as of where I've got to now, is a shame. It's well written, the actors are terrific and it raises many interesting issues. I hadn't in fact realised that a third series was ever on the cards and am very disappointed the show will never get to what must have been its intended conclusion. Oh well. I'd still recommend it.

The Collection is a drama about a Paris fashion house just after WW2, which is commissioned to create a new collection to help ensure that Paris remains the fashion capital of the world (in other words, create the New Look). Almost every character in the show - apart from a young American reporter - has dark secrets dating from the Occupation, so there's a lot of background tension, significant looks/conversations, murder etc. I like it very much so far and the frocks are absolutely fabulous.

What are you all watching at the moment? Have I missed anything I should be watching?

I'm planning to watch Luke Cage on Netflix, btw, also The Get Down, but I haven't got around to either of them yet.

Comments

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I wasn't initially hooked by Stranger Things either. But I definitely got into it and I'm glad I listened to the people who told me to keep giving it a chance.

Eleven and Dustin are definitely my favorite characters.

[elsaf]

Loved Stranger Things. I like Lucifer, but I'm a bit frustrated by the whiny tone of the lead. I would like it much better if Lucifer was just a bit less self-involved. It's a cute bit, but it got old fast.

I'm going to have to look up The Collection now. It sounds like the absolute definition of a costume drama, and I love costume drama. :-)

[shapinglight]

Dustin is pretty cute, but for me the three boys come as a package. They're a really great team.

I like the sheriff very much too. Weirdly, the same actor plays a very different role in Manhattan (a physicist who the main physicist character completely despises for working 'banker's hours').

[shapinglight]

Have to admit, I love Lucifer's clueless self-involvedness. I think it's part of his charm. Plus, it makes me laugh ;)

As for The Collection, I am pretty impressed so far, and the clothes are great. Some of the characters are pretty unlikeable, though.

[nmcil12.livejournal.com]

Glad you listed The Collection - I've not watched it but will certainly check it out as I love period works for the costume, art and set directions. Plus sounds like a great drama.

I did watch a couple of episodes of Lucifer but like most of my TV watching now - I can't seem to keep my interest for long.

Anyone watch Preacher?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I quite liked Stranger Things, it really felt like the Stephen King miniseries we would have deserved to get back in the 80s if people had been willing to give one of his books a fair treatment. In the end, though, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I was watching a pastiche of 80s VHS classics (It meets The Goonies meets Firestarter meets ET) rather than an original story. But still, not bad and I'm looking forward to s2.

I just finished up Person of Interest, which somehow went from a lazy-day-watching procedural to a mostly brilliant low-key SF show over 4 1/2 seasons. It has its problems, especially with the case-of-the-week format, but I really liked it in the end. Helps that it has Amy Acker playing a murderous psychopath, I guess.

ETA: Oh, and I watched UnREAL, which I'm not entirely sure what to make of. S1 is utterly brilliant, but s2 loses a lot of focus IMO and feels a little too much like exactly the sort of show it's supposedly parodying. I still like the setup a lot (for those who don't know, basically The Bachelor as run by complete sociopaths - which I guess is simply The Bachelor, except we get to see how it works) but like a few too many high-concept shows, it doesn't quite seem to know where to go after the perfect punch of the first season.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I liked Preacher a lot, though having read and loved the comic years ago, I sort of wish they hadn't spent all of s1 on the backstory; it felt like there wasn't quite enough story to warrant an entire season, especially given how much should be happening in the coming seasons if they can retain enough viewers to keep going. But great casting, great look, and it felt like Preacher even if the story was different.

[shapinglight]

Plus sounds like a great drama.

I've just watched episode 5 (Amazon are releasing one episode a week) and enjoying it more and more.

As for Preacher, I read the comics series a long time ago. I haven't tried the TV show yet, because, if the comic is anything to go by, I'm afraid I'll find the level of violence hard to cope with.

[shapinglight]

I don't know anyone else whose watched it, so that's interesting.

I've been afraid to tackle it because, having also read the comic, I'm afraid it'll just be too violent/horrific for me. I do manage to get through some ultra violent stuff - GoT, for instance - but increasingly that's because I started watching whatever it is a few years back when I was a bit less squeamish and am now attached to the characters so I put up with the violence to find out what's going to happen to them. So I didn't really want to take on a new, ultra-violent show.

Erm...anyway, I do think Ruth Negga probably makes a great Tulip. Does she?

[shapinglight]

In the end, though, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I was watching a pastiche of 80s VHS classics (It meets The Goonies meets Firestarter meets ET) rather than an original story. But still, not bad and I'm looking forward to s2.

You know, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I seem to have managed to miss pretty much all the '80s movies that I'm told are referenced in the show. I don't watch horror films so horror film references are lost on me. I've also never seen ET, The Goonies, Back to the Future - any of them. So the pastiche element completely passed me by. ;)

Are the other two shows you mention on Netflix or Amazon?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Ruth Negga is a brilliant Tulip. (I just hope they can keep her on the show, it looks like her film career is about to really take off...) Doesn't hurt that they've given Tulip a bit more agency than she had in the comics.

But yeah, it is quite violent. Personally I'm not too bothered, they manage to hit a good balance between splattery fun and truly disturbing, but ... yeah, I'm a bit surprised at how much they get away with, violence-wise.

ETA: Tulip's introductory scene, which isn't too violent.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what the situation is on UK Netflix, but the first few seasons of Person of Interest are on Netflix over here.

[shapinglight]

I may have to give it a miss, I'm afraid. Shame. :(

Didn't realise Ruth Negga was Dominic Cooper's partner. Is she up for a lot of movies, then?

[shapinglight]

Looks like it is available so I might give that a look at some point.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

She's in Loving, which is being tipped for winning a whole pile of Oscars.

[shapinglight]

Hadn't heard of it, but it does look interesting. I hope her career really takes off. Mind you, I'm still hoping the same for Lupita Nyong'o.

[dalmeny]

We're watching four series right now, three of them on Netflix: Longmire, The Get Down, Luke Cage, and Agents of Shield.

Longmire is a police show set in Wyoming, with the usual mix of murder-of-the-week plus longer-term mysteries that are more personal to the characters. Some of the interest comes from its Cheyenne characters and concerns. In general we like detective shows as comfort viewing.

I saw the first episode of Lucifer on a plane and found him annoying rather than endearing, but enough friends love it that I might give it another go.

[molly_may]

I'm going to comment just so I can use my Eleven icon! I was a little concerned about the focus on the kids in Stranger Things too - I am not usually drawn to things with child actors - but they were great! Also, to echo a comment you made upthread, I liked the sheriff a lot. He was not a character I expected to enjoy when he was introduced, but he won me over in a big way.

[shapinglight]

I saw the first episode of Lucifer on a plane and found him annoying rather than endearing, but enough friends love it that I might give it another go.

Well, I get that this is probably a personal thing. ;) The concept of the show amuses me, and I find Tom Ellis...well, I don't find him attractive actually, but I find his portrayal of the character attractive. I hope that makes sense?

I watched the first episode of Luke Cage today. I like it so far. What do you think of The Get Down? Longmire I hadn't actually heard of until today.

[shapinglight]

Yes, same here. I don't usually expect to like characters like that, but he turned out to be very sympathetic.

I adore Eleven. Her story was completely gut wrenching, from the first scene in which we saw her, in which that nice, kind man who ran the diner was murdered because he was trying to help her.

[molly_may]

I'm partway through S3 of Person of Interest right now, and the jump in quality between the first season and the third is really kind of amazing. I'm also struck by how much deeper and more interesting the female characters have become in comparison to the male characters! Reese is such a blank slate, but Shaw, Root, and Carter are all great characters.

[shapinglight]

Soo does this mean the early seasons are a bit rubbish and it gets better as it goes along, or possibly vice versa?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

It's rather a lot like Angel in that way; not that s1 is bad, just kind of aimless with too few main characters at first. Once they start adding characters and building on the ideas they've set up - starting around the first season finale - it becomes a much better show.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. And they get even better as it goes on. Reese mostly remains Reese, but the rest of the cast do amazing things together. And I love that the show has female leads that are very much anti-heroes in a way you wouldn't have seen just a few years ago.

[dancingdragon3.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy to hear someone else loves the soundtrack for Lucifer! I think it's fantastic, and also one of the reasons I love the show. And you're right, it is nice that it doesn't take itself too seriously. I hadn't thought about that.