I’m curious about the viewer ratings for this show, which have only 35% giving it five stars and an equal number giving it one star.
Most agree that TNG started off shaky. And the episode you watched (#2 in the very first season) is a prime example. Much of the first couple seasons are kind of forgettable. But they did hit their stride (with a few hiccups along the way) by the 3rd season. And some real gems in the mid-seasons.
So you might want to check out an episode in the 3rd season and see if it is worth watching.
We were Star Trek TOC fans and were looking forward to Next Generation. And like you, we were disappointed. We watched a few but gave it up for a couple of seasons, and when we went back, liked it a lot more and stayed with it to the end.
I consider TNG to be the pinnacle of the Star Trek saga. (Yes, I’m a heretic.) As you suggested to Gatopescado, don’t judge it on one episode. Skip ahead to season three and give it another shot.
We didn’t like Deep Space Nine at first but picked up on it later in its run and really got into it.
This was described on it’s own thread somewhere, but DS9 is the classic example of a show which started REALLY slow, and you’d be making a mistake to skip it. It’s first couple of seasons are not slow burn, they’re just plain boring. It’s almost as if someone sat the writers down halfway through Season 3, and showed them Babylon 5, and how good it had gotten by the middle of it’s that Season, and they’d actually woken up. Before this, it’s mostly about religion, and Odo chasing Quark around. It took them nearly 50 or so episodes before they even started to go into Odo’s origin story.
A cursory look at the low reviews suggest this thing takes a turn at episode 5. I just finished episode 4 and it was great. There are 4 to go.
I guess I will find out for myself. For me though, the first 4 episodes are worth checking out, if the rest of this season sucks it was still worth my while.
ETA: there is plenty of boss ‘tough love’ portrayed, The Consultant is a bad guy. Perhaps some viewers are having flashbacks from real bosses. Or that this show is promoting that behavior. I don’t know.
We started watching Ray Donovan several months ago on a trial subscription of Showtime; enjoyed the 1st season so much that we started paying for it.
But after the 1st season it became soooo repetitive. Ray commits some dirty deed on behalf of some dirty cop or corrupt politician or billionaire scumbag in exchange for getting a brother, father, chid, himself out of some jam. Repeat for 6 years.
We’re now on a death march to get to the season finale, apparently just because my wife refuses to give up… 10 episodes to go.
A drinking game that involved taking a shot whenever Ray mumbles “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it. I gotta go.” instead of having a meaningful conversion…or whenever somebody gets punched in the face…or whenever somebody downs a straight shot of whisky (2 points if it’s straight from the bottle)…would put one in the hospital.
DS9 didn’t really get going til s3 did it, but there are one or two early gems. Duet, in s1, is not just one of the best DS9 episodes, but one of the best Trek episodes.
Just on the off chance that I can spare anyone from possibly the worst light murder/comedy series of all time:
My Life Is Murder stars Lucy Lawless as a ex-detective who supplements her retirement by baking one loaf of bread a day that she sells at a local diner. Local detective gives her a case he can’t solve. She makes her assistant use her super computer hacker skills to illegally access everything in the world, which always turns up the clue needed. No actual detecting really goes on.
For some reason, everyone but Lawless are dressed for pleasant weather. She wears full clothing plus a different colored trench coat in every episode. It has three seasons. I warned you.
Started watching Outlast, a new survival-reality show on Netflix. I’m not much for survival-reality shows, but it’s produced by Jason ‘Arrested Development’ Bateman, so I had hopes.
Enjoyed the first two episodes — wet Alaskan weather around freezing with mostly just a tarp, fire starter, and warmish clothes … and only teams can win, rather than individuals. But after that, the lack of clear rules seemed to point toward unpleasant anarchy, and I stopped watching.
Just breezed through Station Eleven, on HBO Max and was very impressed. Many memorable characters, great interactions, and only a few situations that made me step away for a couple hours.
So with that strong thumbs up given, here are some minor issues —that I don’t think need to spoilered:
The central importance of the printed story, and some reality leakage, seemed similar to Phillip K. Dick’s ‘The Man in the High Castle’. That’s not necessary bad, and may have even been intended as a tribute.
Some main characters had a strange willingness to leave decent shelters during brutal snow storms.
The Tyler/Prophet character was mostly inexplicable and annoying. Yeah, he had parental and authority issues, but meh, I didn’t buy his odd powers or his emotional reunions. Or his recovery from the wound.
But again, definitely thumbs up.
There’s a new season of Perry Mason out on Hulu. A great cast headed by Matthew Rhys (The Americans) along with Shea Whigham, John Lithgow, Gretchen Mol, Stephen Root and some other faves. We’re rewatching season one because we’re old and can’t remember shit.
Also waiting for a few more episodes of the new Bob Odenkirk series (Lucky Hank) on AMC+ to drop before subscribing.
Hmmm. . . Lucky Hank isn’t getting much love from Odenkirk fans. Ep 1 is getting panned pretty hard. Hopefully it gets better.
Interesting. NPR’s critic gave the show a thumbs up. I laughed at the short clip they played, at least.
Most of the criticism was for the supporting cast and the writing.
I’m confused. I’m watching the “new” Perry Mason with Matthew Rhys as Perry on HBO every Monday evening. They’ve broadcast 3 episodes so far (which they term chapters 9-11). I had assumed that the first season was only on HBO Max and this season would show up there as well.
But when I google Perry Mason, the first thing that pops up is this new version and the sidebar tells me I can watch it on half a dozen streaming sites, including Hulu. However, when I click through on these links it takes me to season 2 of the original series (1958).
Are you really able to watch the HBO series on Hulu?
If you subscribe to HBO Max through Hulu, the HBO titles are mixed in with the usual Hulu offerings.
Ah! Thanks!
I love Odenkirk, but I’m not wild about the first episode. Hoping it’ll develop more.
Did anyone else watch The Marginal on Netfilx? I thought it was superb.
I watched the pilot for The Night Agent on Netflix. I expected it to disappoint, but it was actually extremely good. Every time I was anticipating it to flag, it threw in a plot turn or action scene at just the right moment to keep me interested. I hope they can keep that up throughout the whole shebang.