TV/Movies Megathread

[Sheilbh]

As if Doctor Who has ever been anything but silly.

Yeah it is always silly - and fundamentally for kids. I thought it was good Exactly the sort of fun nonsense you want in the run up to Christmas.

It seemed very fun to me and very like you'd expect from Russell T Davies. And he is very much a "I know writers who use subtext and they're all cowards" kind of a guy, I mean Queer as Folk, Years and Years, It's a Sin - plus earlier Doctor Who. Whether it's on "diversity" or plot points or emotion he is generally not subtle.

I actually thought Donna having a trans kid and rocket launched wheelchairs were pretty good.

[FunkMonk]

Found the trailer they should have used for Oppenheimer.

[Sheilbh]

Separately saw a poster on a bus for a new Disney kid's film for Christmas - and I'd never heard of it/had no idea it was coming out.

It reminds me of Blue Beetle - I'm not necessarily the market for the film but normally I'd expect to at least have half an awareness of a big upcoming Disney animation. Not sure if it's SAG or if streaming has kind of ruined the marketing of films too.

Given the timing it feels like a cinematic release now aimed at getting people watching with their family at home over Christmas - which seems odd...Maybe that's where the money is - desperate parents being hounded by kids into signing up for Disney Plus?

[The Brain]

Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, S1. This is a really weird documentary. If you have any kind of experience with church/cult true crime documentaries, you know that the competition is fierce. Unless the church is really fucked up it doesn't really cut it in today's documentary marketplace. It was only partway through the third episode (of four), when an interviewee with a totally concerned look mentioned "the smoking, the drinking, the sex", that I realized that the makers of the documentary have to be Christians, and likely Pentecostals. Apart from the pedophilia of the boss's father and its coverup (which could have made a perfectly fine documentary in its own right), the "accusations" are inredibly tame: that the church is a business (gasp!), that they use naive volunteers for labor (no way!) and that some pastors have - wait for it - affairs with consenting adults! There was some hamfisted damage control regarding modern day sexual assault but no worse than many big organizations today. I waited 4 fucking hours for the documentary to start but it never took off. The makers should watch Tiger King; you have to constantly keep building the weird and shocking. When you reach the point where you can't build any more you wrap it up, you don't keep it going for hours. Jesus Christ.

[Josquius]

On russel t Davis and subtly... True.
I remember when sherlock first came out I was quite annoyed by a bit that was always done where characters would assume they're a couple.
The way it was done... Little old ladies and clearly working class guys all conmenting on it in such a kind way that just seemed really off.

Separately saw a poster on a bus for a new Disney kid's film for Christmas - and I'd never heard of it/had no idea it was coming out.

It reminds me of Blue Beetle - I'm not necessarily the market for the film but normally I'd expect to at least have half an awareness of a big upcoming Disney animation. Not sure if it's SAG or if streaming has kind of ruined the marketing of films too.

Given the timing it feels like a cinematic release now aimed at getting people watching with their family at home over Christmas - which seems odd...Maybe that's where the money is - desperate parents being hounded by kids into signing up for Disney Plus?

I think it's the changing media landscape that's doing it.
Until a decade or so ago a new Disney film would be promoted like crazy. The A lister doing a voice paraded around every talk show, mcdonald's advertising toys based on the film, advertising galore.
These days... You don't really get that.

[Sheilbh]

Russell T Davies doesn't have anything to do with Sherlock I don't think

Yeah you're probably right. It still seems weird - presumably those films are intended to be big earners for Disney.

[HVC]

Risk analysis. Are the marketing costs going to be recouped in theatre? No? Then why bother. Will the film make more in the theater, marketing, and streaming, or just lacklustre theatre and streaming. Marketing is damn expensive, even ignoring hollywood accountings inflated numbers.

Also, kids don't watch tv, and parents aren't the ones making kids go. Most of the ads are probably YouTube and instagram/tiktok driven. I doubt those algorithms affect the childless amongst us.

[Josquius]

Russell T Davies doesn't have anything to do with Sherlock I don't think

Yeah you're probably right. It still seems weird - presumably those films are intended to be big earners for Disney.

Mixed him up with Moffat. 

[HVC]

I give Moffatt some leeway because of coupling

[Darth Wagtaros]

Rewatched the Guardians of hte Galaxy Holiday special.  Love it.  The song about Santa and his flamethrower is still great.

Plus it had Gobots and Kevin Bacon.

[Admiral Yi]

So the Downton Abbey movie is just the old episode about the royal visit padded out to two hours.  Gyp.

[The Brain]

Swedish state television is airing a major documentary series on Swedish history: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29553855/ It's available here, though AFAIK there's no English subtitles: https://www.svtplay.se/historien-om-sverige It's impossible to make a series on the subject today without facing a whinefest from various quarters, but so far (I've seen three episodes) I haven't gone apoplectic. There's always nitpick opportunities, and when you have one hour to cover for instance the entire Viking Age there's always gonna be alternative priorities that would have made at least as much sense, but overall the show seems evidence-based.

[celedhring]

Separately saw a poster on a bus for a new Disney kid's film for Christmas - and I'd never heard of it/had no idea it was coming out.

It reminds me of Blue Beetle - I'm not necessarily the market for the film but normally I'd expect to at least have half an awareness of a big upcoming Disney animation. Not sure if it's SAG or if streaming has kind of ruined the marketing of films too.

Given the timing it feels like a cinematic release now aimed at getting people watching with their family at home over Christmas - which seems odd...Maybe that's where the money is - desperate parents being hounded by kids into signing up for Disney Plus?

I'm not in the target audience, but this one has an air of sameness that it feels like ChatGPT production. It has also  failed at the US box office.

I feel like Disney has become prey of movie Dutch disease. They tripled down on their franchises and formulas, and now people are starting to get tired of them and they have nothing else.

[Josquius]

Speaking of Disney now I remember something else that pissed me off about the new Dr Who.
That Marvel style pre-intro Whoniverse thing.
Those things need to die.

[garbon]

Speaking of Disney now I remember something else that pissed me off about the new Dr Who.
That Marvel style pre-intro Whoniverse thing.
Those things need to die.

Apparently the term isn't new.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoniverse

The earliest official usage of "Whoniverse" was in the publicitity blurb on the back of The Second Doctor Who Quiz Book by Nigel Robinson published in December 1982. In his 1983 book Doctor Who: A Celebration; Two Decades Through Time and Space, Peter Haining called his final chapter "The Whoniverse". The section assembled factual information about all the episodes to date, but also gave information about fan clubs and ancillary entertainments related to the programme. Thus, the term Whoniverse referred to everything connected with the programme behind-the-scenes. In this meaning, standing exhibitions, discussions about the filming of episodes and even the fandom itself were considered part of the "Whoniverse". The term Whoniverse is still used with this definition today, including as the name of a Doctor Who convention in Australia.

The term began to appear in mainstream press coverage, placing greater emphasis on it as a fictional universe, following the popular success of the 2005 Doctor Who revival and the establishment of its returning spin-offs, Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11).