# 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:** 273
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5448 "2025-01-07T16:14:42Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > **Station Eleven** > > My wife and I are, I think, quitting this miniseries. We liked the opening episode…but it has been meandering and boring. We aren’t fans. I really liked the book, but bailed on the series after a couple of episodes. Somehow a narrative that was really compelling for me in a book didn’t translate. That said, it was very well reviewed, so we may be in a minority. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5449 "2025-01-07T17:52:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > We liked the opening episode…but it has been meandering and boring > > I wonder if it got better. Hard to say what constitutes better, without knowing what you’d prefer. But it is a little slow - there are scattered acts of violence, but they’re all quite short and not really dwelled upon. There are a couple of plot-lines that arguably remain under-explored/under-explained. There is definitely some meandering, though generally with purpose. It all comes together in a pretty satisfying conclusion, tying all the various plot threads (well, the main ones anyway) and timelines into a nice bow. But it is a very deliberately paced series, more so than most. It’s a little arty for all of it’s post-apocalyptic setting 🙂. I enjoyed it, but it definitely isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. ETA: Maybe the fact that the author considers her book literature, rather than science-fiction, tells the tale about the focus more than anything 😀. (Like all such slightly snooty pronouncements, i.e. Margaret Atwood, I consider her to be a little full of shit on the topic - it’s absolutely a form of SF, just not pulp). ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5450 "2025-01-07T18:19:43Z")
There was actually a fair bit of discussion about Station Eleven much earlier in this thread, for any who care to do a search and check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5451 "2025-01-07T19:02:29Z")
I watched two episodes of **Vicious** on YouTube. What happens when you take two of the greatest actors of their generation and cast them in a sitcom that makes _Are You Being Served_ look like Shakespeare? One hour of my life that would have been better spent pulling my fingernails out. > **[Vicious (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicious_(TV_series))** > > Vicious is a British television sitcom that premiered 29 April 2013 on ITV. The series starred Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as Freddie and Stuart, an elderly gay couple who have been together for 50 years but endure a love/hate relationship. > The show was initially developed by the British playwright, Mark Ravenhill. The series was written by Gary Janetti, an American whose primary credits are Will & Grace and Family Guy. > Vicious is set around the lives of ageing partners Freddie and Stua... ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5452 "2025-01-08T00:42:32Z")
I gave _Vicious_ a try years ago. I don’t recall when I gave up but it had to been in the 1-3 episode range. It was amazingly awful. We just finished _No Good Deed_. As noted by others, it is a problematic show. First of all, it is not a comedy-drama, or a dark comedy or any such thing. It’s a straight up serious drama. The first episode was a mess. Waaay too many characters all at once. It’s ~ half hour show so no time for character development. The cast bloat continued to be a problem since they wanted to have as many of them as possible in each, short episode. There’s a reason why _Seinfeld_ had 4 regulars. But … there was something interesting developing over time. So we stuck with it. Yeah, a very small fraction of it was intriguing and had some interesting turns. You just had to sit thru the crap and misdirection’s. Some major plot bombs occurred that resulted in no real fallout. What? I love Lisa Kudrow and I’m glad to see her do serious stuff. But this is nowhere the level of her best role in _The Opposite of Sex_. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5453 "2025-01-08T11:28:44Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I gave _Vicious_ a try years ago. I don’t recall when I gave up but it had to been in the 1-3 episode range. It was amazingly awful. Same. Stellar lead casting aside, the writing was basically "Take all the best catty remarks you can come up with and just heap them into a pile in hopes they will magically fuse into a coherent script (Narrator: “They did not”). The straight man (in both meanings of the term) would just sit in their apartment for the purpose of being an audience to these remarks despite having no reason to be there and saying very little. McKellen and Jacobi are brilliant actors but they couldn’t save this. I’m amazed it got a second season, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5454 "2025-01-08T12:34:37Z")
I am on season 2 of my White Collar watch. I nitpick/complain but I do find it amusing. I tried Shameless and couldn’t get through the first episode. Years ago, knowing how everyone loved Breaking Bad, I watched the first episode and thought it was intriguing. The second one bored me and I haven’t been back. We rewatched and then binged the final Lower Decks season. Loved it! (Had to watch the SNW episode for the crossover.) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5455 "2025-01-08T14:51:30Z")
I just finished No Good Deed last night. After I watched the first episode about a week ago, I didn’t feel like going back. Like you said too much going on in 30 minutes. But I went back in and binged the whole series. I’m glad I did. There were lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. And no you’re right, it is not a comedy of any sort! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5456 "2025-01-09T03:53:09Z")
Watching _Video Nasty_, a BBC series about Irish teens in the 1980s attempting to collect a complete VHS set of 72 movies that had [recently been banned in the UK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_nasty). (Anything more I’d write or you would read in reviews is in spoiler territory.) ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5457 "2025-01-09T10:16:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Watching _Video Nasty_, a BBC series about Irish teens in the 1980s I enjoyed it right up until the final episode when a MKII Cortina 1600E with a 1979/80 (V) registration plate turned up. Did they think that car nerds wouldn’t be watching? I gave them extra points in earlier episodes when the period cars were a nice mixture of 60’s-80’s vehicles as you would have expected at the time. Then they made me shout at the telly with that one mistake! ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5458 "2025-01-10T01:41:34Z")
Season One of Severance is available to stream for free on the Roku Channel until January 19. > **[Apple TV+ Brings ‘Severance’ Season One to Roku Channel in Subscriber Push](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/apple-tv-severance-joins-roku-channel-subscriber-push-1236105235/)** > > Apple is using the Adam Scott thriller to try and drive new subscribers to its streaming service, following a number of moves to get its programming in front of those who may mot have sampled it. Come join the fun in Macrodata Refinement. A handshake is available upon request. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5459 "2025-01-10T01:47:47Z")
> [@vislor](#): > > I tried Shameless and couldn’t get through the first episode. I’m assuming you’re referring to the [American show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shameless_(American_TV_series)) that was broadcast on Showtime; it was based on a [UK series of the same name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shameless_(British_TV_series)). I liked the American show but _really_ liked the UK original. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5460 "2025-01-10T06:23:01Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Come join the fun in Macrodata Refinement. > > A handshake is available upon request. I took advantage of the free Apple streaming over the weekend and enjoyed Severance. But not enough to pay for Apple. I’ll wait until Season 2 is done and look for a free trial. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5461 "2025-01-11T04:31:28Z")
Earlier today, I watched the first two episodes of _[The Pitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pitt_(TV_series))_ on MAX. It’s a new hour-long drama set in a busy urban hospital emergency department and starring Noah Wyle. Sound familiar? It should; many of the people behind it were responsible for _[ER](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ER_(TV_series))_, except this time Noah Wyle’s character is the grizzled veteran and _ER_ started with him as the new resident. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5462 "2025-01-12T23:52:51Z")
I watched the first episode of **American Primeval** on Netflix. It was quite good but I plan to watch it in small doses because I can only handle so much violence, human despair, and mud (so much mud) after dinner. It takes place in 1850s Utah Territory where Indians, Mormons, trappers, settlers, migrants, federal troops, scouts, and bounty hunters are doing a very bad job of getting along. Betty Gilpin plays a prim Easterner who apparently has a violent past of her own. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5463 "2025-01-13T00:41:42Z")
I started binging _For All Mankind_ these last two weeks and was enjoying it but around S1EP8 and 9 it has gotten too soap opera ish and began to bore. I’ll come back but I’m starting _Missing You_ on Netflix just because the lead is one of the Slow Horse gang. Just one ep so too soon to judge. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5464 "2025-01-13T01:39:28Z")
I’ve been watching the new British show **Patience** starring Laura Fraser. It’s the familiar formula of an unorthodox savant solving crimes alongside a Police Detective, but this time they are digging into autism and neurodivergence as authentically as they can. So far I like it, but it doesn’t quite have the pizzazz it needs to really stand out, so it may not get another series. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5465 "2025-01-13T02:45:03Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’m starting _Missing You_ on Netflix just because the lead is one of the Slow Horse gang. Just one ep so too soon to judge. Halfway in the second ep was enough to judge. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5466 "2025-01-13T09:02:53Z")
I’m not surprised. Harlan Coben has mini-series deal with Netflix and has been pumping out one schlocky show after another. I watched the first one, _Safe_, and it was hot garbage. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/5467 "2025-01-13T10:57:01Z")
The spouse is watching **The Following** with Kevin Bacon. It’s deeply ridiculous and I can’t sit and watch for very long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=272) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=274)