TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
#376
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I haven't been terribly active in the discussion thread due to the type of television I've been watching. I had plans to set goals and watch some serious television, but instead I opted to marathon lots of Murder, She Wrote, a show that I recently realized is among my favorite. When I was a kid, I watched it with my parents, so it mixes up a nice brew of nostalgia and formula. Also, Jessica Fletcher is such a wonderful character. She is calm and collected and oh-so-very-nice.
I did start a rewatch of Ugly Betty as well as a first time viewing of Farscape, but mostly it's been lots of eighties hairstyles and murderers immediately confessing whenever caught.
I did start a rewatch of Ugly Betty as well as a first time viewing of Farscape, but mostly it's been lots of eighties hairstyles and murderers immediately confessing whenever caught.
#377
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I haven't been terribly active in the discussion thread due to the type of television I've been watching. I had plans to set goals and watch some serious television, but instead I opted to marathon lots of Murder, She Wrote, a show that I recently realized is among my favorite. When I was a kid, I watched it with my parents, so it mixes up a nice brew of nostalgia and formula. Also, Jessica Fletcher is such a wonderful character. She is calm and collected and oh-so-very-nice.
I did start a rewatch of Ugly Betty as well as a first time viewing of Farscape, but mostly it's been lots of eighties hairstyles and murderers immediately confessing whenever caught.
I did start a rewatch of Ugly Betty as well as a first time viewing of Farscape, but mostly it's been lots of eighties hairstyles and murderers immediately confessing whenever caught.
And don't let that stop you talking about what you've watched. I've pretty much done a episode-by-episode evaluation (rant?) of TNG...
Did you watch *all* of Farscape or just a season or two? That's one of my SF favorites - it's a shame Sci-Fi decided to drop its last season and did only a mini-series to complete it.
#378
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Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I started watching The White Queen in the STARZ free preview weekend. It's no Game of Thrones, but I find it pretty interesting, but then I studied for a semester in London and kind of geeked out on the history there, including line-of-succession conundrums. However, I can't concentrate on it as much as I'd like to, and a lot of people are whispering their strategies to each other so I'm turning it off for now and trying DaVinci's Demons instead. Black Sails is also on there, but I don't think I ever finished the first episode back when it aired.
#379
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Thread Starter
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
There'd been some chatter in the discussion thread about Psych, and it turned out that I'd only logged viewing The Complete Fourth Season in DVD Profiler, so I elected a few days ago to sit down and go through The Complete First Season. It's been several years since I last saw any of these episodes, the first of which aired more than eight years ago now. My thoughts, spoiler'd for length:
I'm not really sure what's next for me. In DVD Profiler, I now only have a few TV shows left to log; primarily, more Psych and more Star Trek: The Next Generation. Annoyingly, my TNG to-log list consists of the first three seasons, only about third of which I really like. I'm considering flaking out tomorrow with some concert DVD's in the daytime. I don't need to log those, but most of them would qualify for this challenge and they'd give me a break from episodic TV. I'm also considering starting in on the Oscars Challenge and perhaps doing some kind of alternation system; a disc of a TV show, then an Oscar-nominee. Just not sure!
Spoiler:
I'm not really sure what's next for me. In DVD Profiler, I now only have a few TV shows left to log; primarily, more Psych and more Star Trek: The Next Generation. Annoyingly, my TNG to-log list consists of the first three seasons, only about third of which I really like. I'm considering flaking out tomorrow with some concert DVD's in the daytime. I don't need to log those, but most of them would qualify for this challenge and they'd give me a break from episodic TV. I'm also considering starting in on the Oscars Challenge and perhaps doing some kind of alternation system; a disc of a TV show, then an Oscar-nominee. Just not sure!
#380
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
<SNIP>
I found other channels with some of these shows, including "Kraft Suspense Theatre," so I better watch those quick.
Here's a sample of the latter, an episode with John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txAXVttO434
I found other channels with some of these shows, including "Kraft Suspense Theatre," so I better watch those quick.
Here's a sample of the latter, an episode with John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txAXVttO434
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KJ6uXonKS_A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#381
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I'm not really sure what's next for me. In DVD Profiler, I now only have a few TV shows left to log; primarily, more Psych and more Star Trek: The Next Generation. Annoyingly, my TNG to-log list consists of the first three seasons, only about third of which I really like. I'm considering flaking out tomorrow with some concert DVD's in the daytime. I don't need to log those, but most of them would qualify for this challenge and they'd give me a break from episodic TV. I'm also considering starting in on the Oscars Challenge and perhaps doing some kind of alternation system; a disc of a TV show, then an Oscar-nominee. Just not sure!
#382
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Yesterday I hit the 150 hour mark with the Season 2 premiere of Ancient Aliens. 6 days left, and 50 hours to go, it is hard to say whether I'll make it to 200 hours.
#383
DVD Talk Legend
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I've really tanked it this year. I took today out of work due to inclement weather, and I still can't find the motivation to really watch anything.
#384
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Star Trek: TNG S1 is still a rollercoaster ride of quality episodes although those I watched last night and this morning have generally improved.
"Coming of Age" was a surprise. I actually enjoyed it *and* Wesley's trials to enter Starfleet Academy even though the "final test" was pretty much cliche' and fully expected. Better was the "invenstgation" of Picard.
"Heart of Glory" was a very good Klingon based episode. While there are some holes (how does Worf know Klingon tradition and practice it so effectively when it was plainly stated he was raised in such a manner as to *not* know such things?) it was a nice look at Worf and his somewhat isolated past. It also helps explain why he's a Starfleet Officer.
"The Arsenal of Freedom" was full of plot holes and situations that would never occur on the Enterprise. The "Chief Engineer" coming to the bridge to question Geordy during a critical situation *and* try a power play? Ludicrous! The Weaponry Demo *still* running and *no one* on the planet having had enough sense to just shut it off? Beyond belief! Dr. Crusher telling Picard of her rather severe leg injury *after* she's lost enough blood to be in danger? Simply mind boggling! The episode had potential but the writers got lazy and threw it all away.
"Symbiosis" was another throw away episode. The issue was obvious within the first third of the episode. Once you figure out just what the plague really is the rest becomes painfully cliche' and trite.
"Skin of Evil" was one during the original run which was a large reason for my rejection of the series but this rewatching proved it's not as bad as I originally thought. Yes, there are some big logic holes, especially when they leave the planet, but that ending section with the ceremony honoring Lt. Yar was done very well and brings the episode up a notch.
"We'll Always Have Paris" was a good character development episode for Picard and a interesting premis. I enjoyed it far more than I expected when seeing the title (I expected it to be a unused script holodeck episode which it wasn't).
2 episodes to go... I'll get to them sometime today and am slightly leaning towards starting season 2 once those are complete.
"Coming of Age" was a surprise. I actually enjoyed it *and* Wesley's trials to enter Starfleet Academy even though the "final test" was pretty much cliche' and fully expected. Better was the "invenstgation" of Picard.
"Heart of Glory" was a very good Klingon based episode. While there are some holes (how does Worf know Klingon tradition and practice it so effectively when it was plainly stated he was raised in such a manner as to *not* know such things?) it was a nice look at Worf and his somewhat isolated past. It also helps explain why he's a Starfleet Officer.
"The Arsenal of Freedom" was full of plot holes and situations that would never occur on the Enterprise. The "Chief Engineer" coming to the bridge to question Geordy during a critical situation *and* try a power play? Ludicrous! The Weaponry Demo *still* running and *no one* on the planet having had enough sense to just shut it off? Beyond belief! Dr. Crusher telling Picard of her rather severe leg injury *after* she's lost enough blood to be in danger? Simply mind boggling! The episode had potential but the writers got lazy and threw it all away.
"Symbiosis" was another throw away episode. The issue was obvious within the first third of the episode. Once you figure out just what the plague really is the rest becomes painfully cliche' and trite.
"Skin of Evil" was one during the original run which was a large reason for my rejection of the series but this rewatching proved it's not as bad as I originally thought. Yes, there are some big logic holes, especially when they leave the planet, but that ending section with the ceremony honoring Lt. Yar was done very well and brings the episode up a notch.
"We'll Always Have Paris" was a good character development episode for Picard and a interesting premis. I enjoyed it far more than I expected when seeing the title (I expected it to be a unused script holodeck episode which it wasn't).
2 episodes to go... I'll get to them sometime today and am slightly leaning towards starting season 2 once those are complete.
#385
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#386
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Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Working my way through the STARZ preview, and I feel like I've seen a lot of very attractive people remove period costumes from their modern bodies in order to have sex. At first Outlander looked like it was going to go for the female demographic and skip the nudity, but no. I am in no way complaining here.
Just take a mulligan and wait for next year. No need to force it if you're not feeling it.
Just take a mulligan and wait for next year. No need to force it if you're not feeling it.
#387
DVD Talk Legend
#388
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
#389
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
As the end of this challenge is coming closer, I really don't think I'll even get to any of my planned watches. All mindless watches for me this month! Kind of disappointed as I had planned on watching ST:TNG: S. 1 myself, which others are watching as well. There's a bit of time left, but I have more distractions coming up this week (visitors from out of town) and started on the Academy Awards Challenge as well, which I seem to have more desire for at the moment.
As for TNG s. 1, it's been quite awhile since I last watched it. An episode here or there, so I'm interested in seeing how I think of it as I remember liking it. I have to admit to liking Wesley Crusher-he was one of my main reasons why I liked the show-perhaps because it was someone closer to my age in a show with all adults. Now that I'm one (so they tell me, at least) now, it'll be interesting how he holds up, especially in this first season.
As for TNG s. 1, it's been quite awhile since I last watched it. An episode here or there, so I'm interested in seeing how I think of it as I remember liking it. I have to admit to liking Wesley Crusher-he was one of my main reasons why I liked the show-perhaps because it was someone closer to my age in a show with all adults. Now that I'm one (so they tell me, at least) now, it'll be interesting how he holds up, especially in this first season.
#390
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Wow, I just discovered a lovely Christmas episode on YouTube:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I6k1tepGbTU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It's an episode of "The Ray Milland Show" and it aired on Dec. 23, 1954. In it, Milland (as a college prof) and his wife take in an orphan girl for Christmas and she's a little brat determined to ruin Christmas for everybody at the orphanage by exposing Santa Claus as a fake...but then something happens. See for yourself. Oh, and it's a sitcom!
The girl is played by Beverly Washburn, a remarkable child actress whom I've also seen on The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, and Science Fiction Theatre. She was later in an episode of Star Trek ("The Deadly Years").
Why did this episode never air on TV when I was growing up? It would be a natural for holiday revivals like so many other classic Christmas episodes.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I6k1tepGbTU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It's an episode of "The Ray Milland Show" and it aired on Dec. 23, 1954. In it, Milland (as a college prof) and his wife take in an orphan girl for Christmas and she's a little brat determined to ruin Christmas for everybody at the orphanage by exposing Santa Claus as a fake...but then something happens. See for yourself. Oh, and it's a sitcom!
The girl is played by Beverly Washburn, a remarkable child actress whom I've also seen on The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, and Science Fiction Theatre. She was later in an episode of Star Trek ("The Deadly Years").
Why did this episode never air on TV when I was growing up? It would be a natural for holiday revivals like so many other classic Christmas episodes.
Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 01-26-15 at 01:45 PM.
#391
DVD Talk Legend
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Going to the last week of the challenge, I just want to get rid of my backlog on my DVR. I didn't watch much TV last week but I plan to watch episodes of Gotham and The Flash.
I ended up finishing S1 of Elementary which I loved and rewatched S1-3 along with S8 of Psych. I also rewatched all of the episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
I ended up finishing S1 of Elementary which I loved and rewatched S1-3 along with S8 of Psych. I also rewatched all of the episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
#392
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
That's one way of looking at it!
I opted to continue with Chuck since I'd only viewd 2 episodes before burning through TNG S1. It's picked up somewhat and the "*She's* the bad one!"/"He's the bad one!" bickering has seemingly stopped with both "opposing" agents now essentially working *with* Chuck to get things done. I don't know how much I care for the goings on at "Buy More" but it does break things up a bit. I enjoyed the episode "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" where Chuck discovers his former room mate actually *helped* him by getting him kicked out of Stanford.
I still may pick up with S2 of TNG, but for now it's going to be Chuck until S1 is over. It's a short season (13 eps) so that won't be long...
I opted to continue with Chuck since I'd only viewd 2 episodes before burning through TNG S1. It's picked up somewhat and the "*She's* the bad one!"/"He's the bad one!" bickering has seemingly stopped with both "opposing" agents now essentially working *with* Chuck to get things done. I don't know how much I care for the goings on at "Buy More" but it does break things up a bit. I enjoyed the episode "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" where Chuck discovers his former room mate actually *helped* him by getting him kicked out of Stanford.
I still may pick up with S2 of TNG, but for now it's going to be Chuck until S1 is over. It's a short season (13 eps) so that won't be long...
#393
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Yesterday I watched eleven TV episodes from nine different series, tied with last Saturday's total for the highest amount per day in the challenge. Five episodes were American, six were Japanese.
With Queen Millennia and Yawara!, I completed my goal of watching titles that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Also in yesterday's tally, I watched episodes in five different formats: TV broadcast, DVD, VHS, Blu-ray and YouTube.
The Blu-ray, "Clannad," was my first Blu-ray for the challenge, because, quite frankly, it's the only TV material I have in that format. It's a Japanese animated series from 2007.
With Queen Millennia and Yawara!, I completed my goal of watching titles that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Also in yesterday's tally, I watched episodes in five different formats: TV broadcast, DVD, VHS, Blu-ray and YouTube.
The Blu-ray, "Clannad," was my first Blu-ray for the challenge, because, quite frankly, it's the only TV material I have in that format. It's a Japanese animated series from 2007.
#394
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
One of my favorite channels on the Roku is their Smithsonian Channel. I wish we got that channel, but Dish doesn't carry it.
Edited to add:
I see Roku has a Shout channel with quite a few old time TV shows on it, and a lot of MST3K and Elvira's Movie Macabre too.
Edited to add:
I see Roku has a Shout channel with quite a few old time TV shows on it, and a lot of MST3K and Elvira's Movie Macabre too.
#395
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
I finished S1 of Chuck. It got better and I really enjoyed the season. I don't see how they'll keep the momentum going for 4 more seasons, especially considering at least S2 is a more "normal" length. Still it's entertaining. I got a good laugh in the episode "Chuck Versus the Crown Vic" when Chuck redirected the guided rocket to Casey's car. It also made me wonder just *who* knows the GPS coordinates of their car? And why didn't Chuck simply change them enough to move the target off a few dozen feet?
I then switched back to Batman to start S3. I really like the show but S3 is just not as good as the first two. There seem to be many factors in play causing that lack of quality. *New* sets are now somewhat surrealistic being simply doors/flats/decorations against a black background. It kind of works but looks really cheap. Scripts are not quite as witty and the introduction of Batgirl, which was intended to attract new viewers, makes the episodes feel watered down as they now have to include stuff for her to say/do. The Batgirl "theme" song is horrible! It's almost as grating as the tone they used for Siren's man altering "wail".
There was a major continuity error in the first episode of the season. Barbara Gordon exits the room in which Penguin has her locked and ventures down the ledge to her apartment which is next door. The issue is there's a *huge* balcony she'd have to cross to get there, the balcony doors are open, and she's never seen crossing the area (by anyone - even the viewing audience) in spite of the fact that this area is shown during her "crossing" time.
Frank Gorshen is back as Riddler and that's welcome! He's the best version of that character on film!
Many episodes are stand-alone but they still seem to be keeping the 2-part aspect for most "major" villains.
I then switched back to Batman to start S3. I really like the show but S3 is just not as good as the first two. There seem to be many factors in play causing that lack of quality. *New* sets are now somewhat surrealistic being simply doors/flats/decorations against a black background. It kind of works but looks really cheap. Scripts are not quite as witty and the introduction of Batgirl, which was intended to attract new viewers, makes the episodes feel watered down as they now have to include stuff for her to say/do. The Batgirl "theme" song is horrible! It's almost as grating as the tone they used for Siren's man altering "wail".
There was a major continuity error in the first episode of the season. Barbara Gordon exits the room in which Penguin has her locked and ventures down the ledge to her apartment which is next door. The issue is there's a *huge* balcony she'd have to cross to get there, the balcony doors are open, and she's never seen crossing the area (by anyone - even the viewing audience) in spite of the fact that this area is shown during her "crossing" time.
Frank Gorshen is back as Riddler and that's welcome! He's the best version of that character on film!
Many episodes are stand-alone but they still seem to be keeping the 2-part aspect for most "major" villains.
#396
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
While I was googling for something else, I randomly thought of an anime series I used to watch as a kid, Ikkyu-san. I figured it wasn't on any streaming services, but it is on Youtube, and when I realized it totally counts for this challenge I watched an episode. Now that I mention, I kinda think Ash and I have talked about this series before.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EYJoU-P-wOE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#397
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
That's one way of looking at it!
I opted to continue with Chuck since I'd only viewd 2 episodes before burning through TNG S1. It's picked up somewhat and the "*She's* the bad one!"/"He's the bad one!" bickering has seemingly stopped with both "opposing" agents now essentially working *with* Chuck to get things done. I don't know how much I care for the goings on at "Buy More" but it does break things up a bit. I enjoyed the episode "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" where Chuck discovers his former room mate actually *helped* him by getting him kicked out of Stanford.
I still may pick up with S2 of TNG, but for now it's going to be Chuck until S1 is over. It's a short season (13 eps) so that won't be long...
I opted to continue with Chuck since I'd only viewd 2 episodes before burning through TNG S1. It's picked up somewhat and the "*She's* the bad one!"/"He's the bad one!" bickering has seemingly stopped with both "opposing" agents now essentially working *with* Chuck to get things done. I don't know how much I care for the goings on at "Buy More" but it does break things up a bit. I enjoyed the episode "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" where Chuck discovers his former room mate actually *helped* him by getting him kicked out of Stanford.
I still may pick up with S2 of TNG, but for now it's going to be Chuck until S1 is over. It's a short season (13 eps) so that won't be long...
#398
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Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
@Davidh777: I found episode 1 of Ikkyu-San subbed. You have to click on the "CC" on the bottom right corner of the screen to access the subs. They were done by someone whose English isn't that great and the character names all have Vietnamese spelling, but otherwise, it's adequate:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EYJoU-P-wOE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EYJoU-P-wOE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I don't want to spoil anything for BobO'Link, but I'll just tell him to keep watching.
#399
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Yesterday I watched Lilo & Stitch for the Academy Award Challenge, and I just found out there was a TV series. So without knowing until today, I found out it's a double credit movie.
#400
Re: TV on DVD* Challenge: The Fifth Season Discussion Thread
Batman S3 is a rocky watch. There have been some fairly good episodes but mostly it's rough patches. It's as if the production team *knew* it was to be the last season and just gave up. While Yvonne Craig as Batgirl is nice to look at she brings absolutely *nothing* to the show and frequently hurts it. Even though it's one of those shows where you have to check your mind at the door (at least for logic and plausibility) there are some truly head-scratching moments in play this season. So far I can say without a doubt I do *not* like Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. The 3 parter in "Londinium" are perhaps the worst episodes so far. I still like the series but season 3 is rough going. I don't know if I'll revisit this season much in the future.
Last edited by BobO'Link; 01-27-15 at 11:51 AM.