TV/Movies Megathread

[Tonitrus]

Zombies are on a low end of entertainment value, I just think it's a well-written TV drama...and there's too few of those.

[Zoupa]

Well my point was that it isn't especially well written, IMO of course.

I seem to be in a minority, so I'll shut up about it now. 

[Habbaku]

At times, the show is not especially well-written and, actually, outside of the first few episodes of season 1, I don't think there have been many episodes where I haven't gone "That's what the writers came up with to create plot?" or something similar that questions the characters' motives/actions on a simple logical scale.

Despite the flaws, though, the other ~80% of the show is good shit and the story seems to be tightening up considerably.  As soon as they off some of the extraneous cast (T-Dog, for example--who apparently lives in the same county as me), they'll be even better off.  I see a few people biting it (nyuk nyuk) in the last couple of episodes this season.

[Viking]

Yeah, there really isn't a "twist". The twist is really that the story is mostly about the people, not about the zombies. The zombies are just there to provide a backdrop of tension.

Kind of like ER or Grays Anatomy, only with zombies instead of a hospital...

Zombies in TWD means that any small issue can result in catastrophy. Effectively EVERYTHING becomes as dramatic as the most dramatic soap wishes it were. Getting angry and going to the bar to get drunk is high drama in a zombie show. It is about people and how they respond to extraordinary stress. The canon here has the zombies functioning as a natural force. Each time the characters in the comic book reach stability human conflict gets them in trouble again.

[Habbaku]

So what was the deal with Shane seeing the walker in the field? Was that supposed to be real or some kind of hallucination?

I think that was a metaphor for Shane.  Wandering around aimlessly by himself, getting nowhere. 

[Viking]

Despite the flaws, though, the other ~80% of the show is good shit and the story seems to be tightening up considerably.  As soon as they off some of the extraneous cast (T-Dog, for example--who apparently lives in the same county as me), they'll be even better off.  I see a few people biting it (nyuk nyuk) in the last couple of episodes this season.

I'll agree with that but I'll suggest that this is a sign of bad writing, since the show seems to be focussing in on Shane vs. Rick as soon as Frank Darabont left.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

J.Edgar was super boring. The actors were okay if a bit precious all round. dull dull dull.

Biopic-itis this picture suffers from, meandering all over the place like a cow with an extra itchy cud.

5.456 hetero life partners who make you feel like a dowdy old lady out of 10

[garbon]

I'm so tired of Viking going on about teh Canon.

[Tonitrus]

I'm so tired of Viking going on about teh Canon.

Yeah, I looked up "teh Canon", and it seems to have all but completely gone out the window.

[Josquius]

Walking Dead- the cutting themselves before killing zombies thing was just stupid.. I think the odds are good that they're going to kill one of them off- why else did they make such a point of the scratched dead?

[CountDeMoney]

It is about people and how they respond to extraordinary stress.

That's exactly it;  it's small group dynamics when shit hits the fan.  The zombies are merely the vehicle.

Personally, I like Dale.  He's an old weenie--strikes me as a Humphrey supporter in '68--but he seems the only one intent on trying to get the group to preserving their humanity in this new world.

And yeah, I can see how the Zoupas would be impatient with the show;  it doesn't facilitate this generation's gnat-like attention span with blood and gore.  Character studies hurted their heads.

[Zoupa]

Non mon ami. I'm not a big fan of blood and gore, I just didn't feel engaged by any of the characters.

Since the source material is supposedly quite good, I blame poor acting skills.

[Eddie Teach]

Personally, I like Dale.  He's an old weenie--strikes me as a Humphrey supporter in '68--

I dunno, I think he's young enough to have supported Bobby.

[11B4V]

Since the source material is supposedly quite good, I blame poor acting skills.

You must be watching a diff zombie show. Havent noticed bad acting in Walking Dead.

[viper37]

Spartacus... it's just so fucking crazy

I like they make legionary armor look like it's just a fashion statement.

the strenght of the Legion lies in its discipline where all soldiers act as a single cohesive unit.
That was one of the criticism pointed at Gladiator, that no Roman soldier would fight individually with a bunch of barbarians, that they'd be slaughtered this way as they weren't well equipped and trained for this kind of combat.  Think Teutoburg.  A bunch of half naked barbarian slaughtering an entire cohort.  On a straight battlefield, the Romans would have won.  In the forest, where soldiers are forced to rely simply on themselves, they get downed quicker than the Red Coats in Last of the Mohicans.

So, to that aspect, I think Spartacus is a realistic show.  Not that it really happenned that way, I've no idea at all, but the way the Romans fight, and lose, is realistic.  A gladiator is trained for individual combat, and he's trained to find weakness in the armor/defense of his opponent.  The legionaire is trained to fight with his buddies side by side.
Remember Rome, the series?  One of the character was punished in the first episode because he left his line and fought 1 on 1 with the Gauls.  That wasn't the proper the way to fight.

Anyway, it's still a fucking crazy show coming from a sick twisted mind, I have no doubt about it... that's why I like it
The funniest part is explaining to your family and friends that they should watch this show... yet insisting it's not a porn flick...