# Series you've recently watched, are now watching or have given up on **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 9, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108 "2021-07-09T17:50:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 149
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2964 "2023-09-18T16:27:41Z")
Re-watching **The Pacific** on HBO. I like it better this time around, although the night battles were almost impossible to see. Pretty realistic and it stays fairly close to history. Joe Basilone was quite the Marine. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2965 "2023-09-18T17:07:29Z")
Dammit, HBO canceled _Winning Time_. > **[HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ not renewed for third season](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2023/9/17/23877600/winning-time-hbo-season-2-finale-cancel-renew-future-lakers-showtime)** > > The finale of the second season of HBO’s "Winning Time" will serve as the series finale, as the show will not return for a third season. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2966 "2023-09-18T17:08:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Joe Basilone was quite the Marine. Oh hell, it’s _John_ Basilone. I keep doing this lately. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2967 "2023-09-18T19:47:51Z")
We finished Succession , it was awesome. The way the writers managed to get us to care about such a group of horrendous people was fantastic ( ok well maybe there is something wrong with me for rooting for them and feeling sorry , almost always followed by , wait a minute these people need to be in jail or hell) We ran through Foundation season 2, meh, but we have to watch it for some reason. It is a just an incoherent mess , how many times is Hari going to die and come back. I still have no idea how he was alive in the first place on that big statue with the hand. anyways I suspect we will watch season 3 anyway . We got in a couple of episodes of The after party 2 , very very meh. Won’t bother finishing, but as we snaffled a free month of Apple TV from fandango which has now expired, that decision was an easy one. Now we are on The Bear, about 1/2 way through season one and enjoying it. I started on the final Jack Ryan season when exercising, but switched to other random stuff ( a couple of episodes of For All Mankind, which I like but alas Apple TV subscription expired), not sure if I’ll go back to it. I did sneak in the first episode of Ashoka but Mrs mollusc wants to watch that after we finish The Bear , so I guess I’ll have to stop cheating. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2968 "2023-09-18T21:59:29Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > My husband and I are just about through S1 of Joe Pickett on Prime. I tried to watch it but they brought in “and this time it’s personal” in epi one, and I stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2969 "2023-09-18T22:22:24Z")
The book series is more entertaining. I thought the lead actor in the series was rather wooden. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2970 "2023-09-19T01:21:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The book series is more entertaining. I will give it a try, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2971 "2023-09-19T04:18:32Z")
IIRC, the excuse for **Heroes** was the last writer’s strike. It’s slowed down the last few eps as they cover a lot of backstory. and it leans heavily on the trope that life-saving information should be withheld at all cost (because the best way to survive being hunted by people with super powers is to be utterly clueless) but I’m still looking forward to the 3-part finale dropping this week. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2972 "2023-09-19T14:41:25Z")
We just finished season three of Warrior. I cannot recommend this show enough. Especially if you are a fan of martial arts movies, but even if you are not this show is great. The backstory: When Bruce Lee came to Hollywood, he tried to shop around a treatment for a show he came up with about a Chinese martial artist coming to America’s old west. No one bought it - they just stole the concept from him and put a caucasian actor in the lead role. And 'Kung Fu ’ was born. Cut to today, and Bruce Lee’s daughter Linda Lee managed to get his original idea filmed. Originally on Cinemax, the show is set in the era of the ‘Tong Wars’ in San Fransisco in the late 1800’s. The show has some of the best martial arts choreography I’ve seen for a while, and all the leads are real martial artists with awesome skills. Andrew Koji, the lead, absolutely channels Bruce Lee. It’s almost eerie. But you don’t have to like martial arts to enjoy it. The dialog is snappy, the production values are high, the plots are interesting, etc. It scores 100% ‘fresh’ on Rotten tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2973 "2023-09-19T14:46:31Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Speaking of starting late, I missed jumping on the **Breaking Bad** bandwagon when it was new, and somehow never thought to give it a shot When it ran first I wasn’t even living somewhere I could reliably torrent the show, so I left it until everyone was quite over it. I’m not sure if that helped or not, but I was hooked as well. > [@iamatractorboy](#): > > What I will say is, it does take its time but persist and you will be rewarded I thought I might binge it like I did when I stumbled upon The Expanse, but the episodes felt like they should be chewed over before embarking upon another. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2974 "2023-09-19T15:14:40Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > I thought I might binge it like I did when I stumbled upon The Expanse, but the episodes felt like they should be chewed over before embarking upon another. I would agree with this. Breaking Bad is the story of one good man’s gradual descent into greed and debauchery. It’s a fascinating portrayal, and Vince Gilligan never lost sight of the story line. Taking a bit of time to mull over each episode lets you think about where things are headed and what story Gilligan is trying to tell. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2975 "2023-09-19T15:16:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Cut to today, and Bruce Lee’s daughter Linda Lee managed to get his original idea filmed. Confused: Linda Lee was Bruce Lee’s wife. Shannon Lee is Bruce Lee’s daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2976 "2023-09-19T15:30:23Z")
Oops. Got them mixed up. Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2977 "2023-09-19T15:43:39Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > I thought I might binge it like I did when I stumbled upon The Expanse, but the episodes felt like they should be chewed over before embarking upon another. Yes, I’m definitely not wanting to rush through this. We’re seven episodes in, nine days after starting. One episode in a night is plenty to take in. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2978 "2023-09-19T16:47:25Z")
> [@epbrown](#): > > IIRC, the excuse for **Heroes** was the last writer’s strike That was the excuse, but they re-launched it some years later (“Heroes Reborn”) and it still sucked. It reeked of too many cooks being involved. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2979 "2023-09-19T17:16:33Z")
Apart from the strike-induced nonsense of the second season, my other objections to **Heroes** were that all the normal people started getting powers too, and Sylar was treated like the evil Krusty doll in The Simpsons who kept having the switch on his back flipped between “Evil” and “Good”. In the end it just got progressively more stupid. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2980 "2023-09-20T03:02:49Z")
There’s a frequently-expressed sentiment that season 1 of Heroes was great and it started to suck starting with season 2. And season 2 was in fact a big drop in quality, and I don’t think I made it more than a few episodes in. That said, I think the warning signs were there from the beginning (granted, this is my memories of the show from when it was originally broadcast, haven’t watched it since). (1) It definitely felt like a show where the people making the show didn’t actually understand what people liked about it. What we liked was fun superhero action and Hiro Nakamura. What they thought we liked was cryptic and boring psuedo-philosophy about an eclipse (2) The finale of season 1 was a MASSIVE letdown. The heroes finally have Sylar trapped and time frozen. And then they don’t just, you know, kill him. So the time-freezing runs out and he’s going to win but then… they stab him? Or something? It was just lame and anticlimactic. As I recall. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2981 "2023-09-20T04:18:34Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > The finale of season 1 was a MASSIVE letdown. The heroes finally have Sylar trapped and time frozen. And then they don’t just, you know, kill him. So the time-freezing runs out and he’s going to win but then… they stab him? Or something? It was just lame and anticlimactic. As I recall. Wasn’t there also a climactic super-fight that took place behind a closed door so they wouldn’t have to waste any money on pesky special effects? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2982 "2023-09-20T07:16:46Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > > [@Pushkin](#): > > > > I thought I might binge it like I did when I stumbled upon The Expanse, but the episodes felt like they should be chewed over before embarking upon another. > > Yes, I’m definitely not wanting to rush through this. We’re seven episodes in, nine days after starting. One episode in a night is plenty to take in. If you are still able to do that by s4 then I will be impressed. I had the first few series dvds and I was doing about 4 or 5 episodes in a row in s4 because it was so damn good. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/2983 "2023-09-20T14:12:33Z")
**Sprung** (prime 2021, 1 se) The Blurb: An unlikely group of formerly incarcerated people band together to use their criminal expertise for good. My wife and I are on episode 5 and we enjoy it. The characters are essentially cribbed off of _My Name is Earl_ and the feel of the show is very similar. I recommend it for those looking for a My Name is Earl 2.0 that still stands on it’s own. I can’t wait to see where they take it with the new members of the team. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=148) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=150)