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Post by Scotty on Jan 20, 2014 5:59:14 GMT -5
I finally got caught up on Walking Dead. I get why so many people were freaking out over the last episode now. Now I'm catching up on Agents of Shield! Isn't the Walking dead show based on a comic book too? It is indeed! I've read the majority of the comics, though it was getting a bit boring in the more recent editions. The comic is much more messed up in certain parts though.
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Post by Scotty on Jan 20, 2014 6:03:00 GMT -5
I wasn't able to watch the start of Walking Dead, or Arrow or Marvel Agents of Shield so i can't really follow it. I did get into Smallville but only got to season 5. Currently watching Detective Conan. I recommend them highly. You should at least watch the first few episodes when you can to see if you think you'd like them. I think I got to around season 3 in Smalleville. I'm rewatching season 1 episodes with the intention of working my way through the rest of the show. I've not heard of Detective Conan, what is that? Any good?
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Post by Outcast on Jan 20, 2014 22:48:34 GMT -5
I wasn't able to watch the start of Walking Dead, or Arrow or Marvel Agents of Shield so i can't really follow it. I did get into Smallville but only got to season 5. Currently watching Detective Conan. I recommend them highly. You should at least watch the first few episodes when you can to see if you think you'd like them. I think I got to around season 3 in Smalleville. I'm rewatching season 1 episodes with the intention of working my way through the rest of the show. I've not heard of Detective Conan, what is that? Any good? Detective Conan is a long running anime series in Japan. It's about a high school detective who gets turned into a boy by some bad men but still retains all his memory. Thereby, making him a very smart but rather small and younger detective. It has a lot of story arcs and mysteries going on. Plus the fact that he has to hide his identity from the public as well as from his girlfriend makes it all the more interesting. But if you're not into anime, you'll probably not be interested in it. I would probably be more interested in following Arrow rather than the Agents of Shield, because i'm more interested in the adventures/stories of actual superheroes like Green Arrow than from a bunch of unknown government agents. Both series have already started in our area, so i'm not sure i can get to watch it from the very beginning. Thanks for the recommendation though. I know a few people who love watching both of those series. I think Smallville's story is really interesting. I heard they've introduce a number of DC characters in the later seasons, so i think it's probably worth watching till the very end. I don't usually keep up to date with the regular tv schedules in our area because i usually come home late from work. So i just watch whatever's on the tv by that time. Lately i've been really interested in watching this crime investigation channel on cable. It's interesting to watch some real life tragic stories of killers and psychopaths. But i also love watching game shows like WipeOut and Total Black Out. I find them very amusing. Oh and sometimes i like watching UFC too.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 2, 2014 18:22:50 GMT -5
The Bridge II.
Yes, the Americans, Canadians and British may have remade this masterpiece of Swedish/Danish drama, but nothing beats the original. Every other country in the world could make one for all I care, they still won't be worth my time. I am incredibly angry at the lack of interest in foreign dramas in the UK and US. Why they can't just show the originals instead of remaking them (and making a hash of it, too), is anyone's guess. Although to the UK's credit, the original is shown on BBC. My advice? Anyone in Canada, USA or the UK - if anyone recommends The Bridge or The Tunnel, the remakes, don't bother. Find the original online with subtitles and you'll be a better person for it.
Of course, it's not the first. The Killing is another example. As is The Returned, currently being remade for the UK and US, because, apparently, nobody likes shows with subtitles. It's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. And ooh, what's that I see? A new Belgian thriller is starting next week. Can't wait for the fiftieth crappy British/American remake of something European and immensely better...
The Bridge is undeniably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, crime drama ever made. Sort of a cross between Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Jonathan Creek. Beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, full of magnificent pieces of storytelling that you just don't see on TV anymore. Saga is one of the great TV detectives. Up there with the best and certainly a relatable character to those who are shy (she has Asperger's, in the show). It's just phenomenal. A third season is coming next year.
I honestly couldn't recommend it enough. If you've ever sat down to watch a crime drama, watch it. If you value the type of television we just get anymore, well crafted and beautifully acted, watch it. And if you like drama, watch it. Especially for Saga. She can be unbelievably funny. Brilliantly acted, too. Her reaction to the 'gay' scene in season two had me in stitches.
Ooh, it's so, so, so, good.
Don't watch the remakes, watch the original.
100/10. Every, single, time.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 23, 2014 18:08:03 GMT -5
Salamander.
A Belgian political thriller. A bloody good one, in Flemish and French and God only knows how many other of the official languages of Belgium. I somewhat lost track.
It's very good. I can definitely see the Americans ruining, I mean, remaking, it.
Ooh, get me. French, Swedish-Danish and now Belgian television, I'm going all continental.
I tell you what, Belgium is beautiful.
And their girls are very pretty.
And every street seems to be cobbled.
Although no offence to Belgium, I find it very difficult to believe anyone wants to bring down their government. They're very nationalistic, but we all have an image of Belgium as being a tad boring and uninteresting, which isn't true and really unfair, but you cannot shake that image when you watch one of their programmes. It's wrong, but it makes you laugh when you hear this several times each couple of episodes:
"OH NO, THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF BELGIAN POLITICS IS AT SAKE!"
You find yourself responding:
"Oh no, what a shame, I'm literally tearing my hair out with worry".
Salamander is a brilliant, high tension show. Perhaps a bridge too far to label it Belgium's answer to 24, it's actually good for a start, but it's really gripping television.
The only problem I have is that I need to find a way to make myself care more about Belgium politics.
I have no idea where to start.
I could buy a Belgian flag. What is their flag?
Oh damn, I don't know. That's not a great start...
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Post by ura on Feb 24, 2014 20:08:13 GMT -5
The Belgian flag is almost identical to the German flag, you could nearly say it's the German flag bent over (kind of like what Germany did to Belgium in both world wars). Belgium seems like a nice country, in terms of climate it looks similar enough to the like of Ireland or England. I'll be honest and say most of my tv shows if not all are American (although Game of Thrones is made in Belfast with tons of Irish and British actors), I might check out Salamander, I still need to see Dad's army too.
I'm currently watching True Detective, it's based off the old loose cannon detective on the edge style story that has been done tons of times but it's very well done and I would recommend it, the opening is one of the best openings I've seen in years.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 25, 2014 8:13:04 GMT -5
The Belgian flag is almost identical to the German flag, you could nearly say it's the German flag bent over (kind of like what Germany did to Belgium in both world wars). He, he, he. Historical slam. Very good. Belgium seems like a nice country, in terms of climate it looks similar enough to the like of Ireland or England. Honestly, I'm stunned by how gorgeous it is watching Salamander. It's like, when you watch The Bridge, you don't want to go to Sweden or Denmark, they look bleak and desolate. Which is deliberate, obviously. But still. However, when you watch The Returned or Salamander, you find yourself blown away by the locations. Really beautiful. And I never thought I'd say that about those countries. You get so used to seeing British and American locations, it's really refreshing to get an eye on the rest of the world. I'll be honest and say most of my tv shows if not all are American (although Game of Thrones is made in Belfast with tons of Irish and British actors) I used to be like that but British TV has become very good in the last few years. We're getting some crackers. 'Utopia' is a great example, vicious, brutal, bloody, one of the mot graphic and heart-wrenchingly sad programmes ever made, totally brilliant but so sad, and yes, guess what, the American's are remaking it. I think that show is on Hulu or Netflix, something like that, and it has a massive following in America and instead of putting it on television, they are remaking it. Honestly, the only decent remake of any show that isn't original is Shameless, which I think is better than the British one. And it's a lot more difficult. But why is that a success? It's because the guy who created it, created the British one. This is my problem. I have such a distrust of American programming. Much of it is cliché or remakes, and for no good reason. You'll find yourself turning elsewhere because you're fed up of the remakes. Have you any idea the number of Americans that think Shameless, Skins, Being Human, et al, are American? The vast majority do, but they're not. They're British. It even says on the end of Shameless US, at the end, 'Based on the British TV series made by Channel 4'. That one is forgivable, but the rest aren't. It's only getting worse and that's why I'm turning to foreign programming and trying my best to ignore the remakes, clearly a sign of lacking originality and total laziness. The Killing, Utopia, The Bridge, Being Human, Skins, Steptoe & Son, The Returned, the list is growing. And I can't stand Game of Thrones, although good on Irish actors for getting the recognition they deserve. Very talented bunch. Damien Maloney, who started in Being Human (UK), is a very good Irish actor. He's currently staring in Suspects, a semi-improvised crime drama on Channel 5. Bloody brilliant show, that. He was also one of favourites to take over the role of The Doctor. I've still got my fingers crossed on that one for the future. I might check out Salamander, I still need to see Dad's army too I'd say if you're into your thrillers, your 'running from the fuzz' type of cover up political drama, it's certainly worth checking out, on BBC 4's 'foreign night', Saturdays. The Bridge is better, that's worth watching on BBC 4, along with so many other imports. The Killing, the original and the best. And The Returned is a 'back-from-the-dead' drama like no other. So wonderful. A real highlight of television history. That was on Channel 4. If you don't mind subtitles, give them a go and then tell me the remakes are better, because I won't believe you. To be fair, there is one American show remade in the UK, Law & Order, but that doesn't count because 1, it has 'UK' in the title, and 2, it's classed as a part of the original group because it was created by Dick Wolf, the original creator of Law & Order. And that's back for a new series on ITV very soon. Season seven, I think. Very good spin-off, worth checking out. Oh, and an Australian spin-off of a British show is returning tonight for, I think, the third season. Grand Designs Australia. Very good programme. It's a spin-off. The people who made the British one went over to Oz and told them how to make it. Uses the same music and shots, roughly the same format, different presenter but still brilliant. Really enjoy it. Although like with the French, Belgium and Swedish-Danish dramas I mentioned earlier, you will need subtitles. I can't understand a word... You still haven't seen Dad's Army, huh? Don't worry, there's ten years worth of episodes of catch up on, not that many, really. I'm currently watching True Detective, it's based off the old loose cannon detective on the edge style story that has been done tons of times but it's very well done and I would recommend it, the opening is one of the best openings I've seen in years. Yeah, I've heard good things about that. Don't have Sky Atlantic, though, and my bandwidth is already pushed to breaking point what with The Walking Dead being taken off Channel 5, so I have to watch it online, and The Daily Show, which hasn't aired in the UK for about four years. I'll keep an eye out for it, though, it's got really good reviews.
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Post by ura on Feb 25, 2014 21:20:58 GMT -5
Belgium seems like a nice country, in terms of climate it looks similar enough to the like of Ireland or England. Honestly, I'm stunned by how gorgeous it is watching Salamander. It's like, when you watch The Bridge, you don't want to go to Sweden or Denmark, they look bleak and desolate. Which is deliberate, obviously. But still. However, when you watch The Returned or Salamander, you find yourself blown away by the locations. Really beautiful. And I never thought I'd say that about those countries. You get so used to seeing British and American locations, it's really refreshing to get an eye on the rest of the world. Honestly if I was going to go for shows produced closer to home, I would obviously go for Irish shows, I have watched one Irish show called 'Love/Hate' and honestly it's only good because of the Irish cultural traits which are recognisable to me, otherwise it's like a crime soap opera. I have so many shows to watch at the moment, I wonder will I ever check out Salamander. Speaking of beautiful locations, I watched a Norwegian film called the Troll Hunter and was impressed by how beautiful of a country Norway appears to be, absolutely lovely. I know it's not quite Sweden or Denmark but it's close enough. Despite how much American television I have watched, I would still prefer to visit America than mainland Europe, I guess American television has infected my mind to such an extent. I'll be honest and say most of my tv shows if not all are American (although Game of Thrones is made in Belfast with tons of Irish and British actors) I used to be like that but British TV has become very good in the last few years. We're getting some crackers. 'Utopia' is a great example, vicious, brutal, bloody, one of the mot graphic and heart-wrenchingly sad programmes ever made, totally brilliant but so sad, and yes, guess what, the American's are remaking it. I think that show is on Hulu or Netflix, something like that, and it has a massive following in America and instead of putting it on television, they are remaking it. Honestly, the only decent remake of any show that isn't original is Shameless, which I think is better than the British one. And it's a lot more difficult. But why is that a success? It's because the guy who created it, created the British one. This is my problem. I have such a distrust of American programming. Much of it is cliché or remakes, and for no good reason. You'll find yourself turning elsewhere because you're fed up of the remakes. Have you any idea the number of Americans that think Shameless, Skins, Being Human, et al, are American? The vast majority do, but they're not. They're British. It even says on the end of Shameless US, at the end, 'Based on the British TV series made by Channel 4'. That one is forgivable, but the rest aren't. It's only getting worse and that's why I'm turning to foreign programming and trying my best to ignore the remakes, clearly a sign of lacking originality and total laziness. The Killing, Utopia, The Bridge, Being Human, Skins, Steptoe & Son, The Returned, the list is growing. I don't like American remakes of British shows, British TV shows have a very distinctive realism that comes with some of it's shows (partiuclarly it's comedies) that doesn't really transfer well to American shows, also it really speaks volumes of American culture that they can't watch a show that is made somewhere other than America and that remaking is necessary. In defence of American television, there are some fantastic shows such as True Detective, The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, etc. which are based off of original plots and another thing I'll give American television is that they don't get the ease of having to make shorter episodes so the overall quality of the show must be greater since it's a lot easier to make a 6 episode series than a 24, however it is because of budgets which is one thing American shows have over English and every other show. And I can't stand Game of Thrones, although good on Irish actors for getting the recognition they deserve. Very talented bunch. Damien Maloney, who started in Being Human (UK), is a very good Irish actor. He's currently staring in Suspects, a semi-improvised crime drama on Channel 5. Bloody brilliant show, that. He was also one of favourites to take over the role of The Doctor. I've still got my fingers crossed on that one for the future. Why do you hate him? I might check out Salamander, I still need to see Dad's army too I'd say if you're into your thrillers, your 'running from the fuzz' type of cover up political drama, it's certainly worth checking out, on BBC 4's 'foreign night', Saturdays. The Bridge is better, that's worth watching on BBC 4, along with so many other imports. The Killing, the original and the best. And The Returned is a 'back-from-the-dead' drama like no other. So wonderful. A real highlight of television history. That was on Channel 4. If you don't mind subtitles, give them a go and then tell me the remakes are better, because I won't believe you. To be fair, there is one American show remade in the UK, Law & Order, but that doesn't count because 1, it has 'UK' in the title, and 2, it's classed as a part of the original group because it was created by Dick Wolf, the original creator of Law & Order. And that's back for a new series on ITV very soon. Season seven, I think. Very good spin-off, worth checking out. Oh, and an Australian spin-off of a British show is returning tonight for, I think, the third season. Grand Designs Australia. Very good programme. It's a spin-off. The people who made the British one went over to Oz and told them how to make it. Uses the same music and shots, roughly the same format, different presenter but still brilliant. Really enjoy it. Although like with the French, Belgium and Swedish-Danish dramas I mentioned earlier, you will need subtitles. I can't understand a word... I have a lot of Books, Games, Films, TV shows, anime and music to consume so I have a hard time getting around to watching any of it, you seem to really like your TV shows, far more than I do, or at least you seem to watch far more than I do, I guess games can really eat into ones time too. Do you ever feel like there is just an abundance of media out there, almost too much? I don't mind subtitles at all, I watch a lot of films with subtitles in them and I have no problems reading them. You still haven't seen Dad's Army, huh? Don't worry, there's ten years worth of episodes of catch up on, not that many, really. I'm currently watching True Detective, it's based off the old loose cannon detective on the edge style story that has been done tons of times but it's very well done and I would recommend it, the opening is one of the best openings I've seen in years. Yeah, I've heard good things about that. Don't have Sky Atlantic, though, and my bandwidth is already pushed to breaking point what with The Walking Dead being taken off Channel 5, so I have to watch it online, and The Daily Show, which hasn't aired in the UK for about four years. I'll keep an eye out for it, though, it's got really good reviews. [/quote] I finally watched a single episode of it, pretty good but I can't see myself watching much more of it, I wasn't in love with the series.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 26, 2014 7:46:28 GMT -5
I'm struggling to think of many Irish TV shows. It's like Australia. Home & Away, Neighbours, erm, oh, erm. Nope, I'm out. Ireland? Well, Father Ted, obviously, but no, I'm out after that.
Inspector George Gently is a great British crime drama, one I hold close to my heart because it's filmed entirely in North East England. Gets really good ratings and some of it has been filmed in Middlesbrough. The first episode of the latest series was filmed here, the riots, if you've seen it, at the beginning. It's not a good part of town, it's being demolished, so it's not a great advert for us but it was pretty special to have a huge show filmed here. Most of the locations are within an hour of where I am. Really cool.
Norway does look nice. I think Sweden/Denmark in The Bridge is deliberately cold, I think they use a blue filter on the camera. It's a bit hard to judge it properly. Looks a bit like '60s Birmingham. It's a very good show, though. Characterful. That's the word for these imports.
America is very nice, although shows such as the almighty Southland, easily one of the best crime dramas ever made, sadly cancelled recently, really make me not want to go to LA. The thing is, there are so many places we'd like to go, but so little time and money in life to do so.
It's very true about America being unable to watch a show made elsewhere, but there's certainly a culture for it. You do read forums about American remakes and many of the American contributors are horrified that they're being remade. They loudest voice in America might be the crowd that supports remakes, but there are glimmers that opinion is changing.
It's not always a success. Skins was a failure because the American age of consent is higher than it is here, so child abuse campaigner types got involved and it got shut down. What I admire about the British remakes, is that there is care to get it right.
Law & Order UK is wonderful because it's British but it's true to the original Law & Order, and it does air in America and gets brilliant reviews and good ratings. They love it. If it's based on one of their shows, they love it, but if it's original, it's a contentious issue. It's strange. The American remake of The Bridge doesn't even have a bridge. At least they renamed the British one 'The Tunnel'...
There are good American shows but I'd still say they're in the minority. I enjoyed The Soprananos, apart from that bitch of an ending, The Wire isn't my thing and I haven't seen True Detective. I also really can't understand the appeal of Breaking Bad. It's really awful. But they are original and the networks have given them a chance. So many other shows are governed by the networks, it is refreshing to see the creators given a chance. That's what happened to Southland, great reviews but low ratings and the network has pulled it. Five seasons isn't enough, especially when you consider it breaks the American trend of 'more-is-better', with only 10-13 episodes a season.
Michael Cudlitz, who's in that show, is now in The Walking Dead, by the way.
I think budgets are an issue but with British and European shows, we find ways around that problem. The budget for Doctor Who is smaller now than it was five years ago, but it looks much better. And in The Bridge, there was a ship that crashed into The Bridge, that's not a spoiler, but they didn't show it, it was all camera moves, trickery and shaking. And it looked really convincing. I just think bigger budget American shows are trying too hard. It's like, 'I have a huge penis, here it is', whereas in Europe, it's like, 'I have a small penis, but I can last three hours'.
What do you mean 'why do I hate him?' Who's 'him'? Do you mean 'it'? Game of Thrones? I don't like fantasy. I'm sure it's very good if that's your thing. Good television does not transcend genre for me. If I don't like a genre, I won't bother wasting my time on it.
The only other thing you could have been referencing was my preference of Maloney to Capaldi for the role of The Doctor. I just wanted a younger Doctor to keep the trend going. I'm still not convinced a 55-year-old can be, in Moff's words, 'bouncing off more walls and being more excitable than Matt'. Who's barely 30. We'll see, we'll see.
I do like my TV, I don't really read, play games or listen to music that much. I don't like that. I have to be doing something. I can't just sit back and listen to music, I get restless and fidgety. I do like my music, but it only tends to go on when I'm doing something else. Television is a visual stimulus, so it stops me from being all fidgety. I get very involved. I'm the type who shouts at the telly, cheers or applauds. You get a bit lost in your own world. "Ooh, the father did it - oh no! But the detective is in the house! RUN! GET OUT! HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!" Or, "THE ANSWER IS 'B'! WHAT KIND OF MORON DOESN'T KNOW THAT!" Or I might shed the occasional tear when my favourite Doc departs. Or if I agree with someone I might find myself applauding with the audience.
Come to think of it, watching TV with me must seem like I'm having some kind of 'episode'.
There is a lot of media but you just ignore it or moderate it. I'm not interested in video games, I do play a few on my iPad, I have certain websites I check on certain days, I stick to schedules and rigorously organize things, even the little things. There is a lot of media but I have times when I do things and I stick to it. I don't watch television live, I record everything and fit it into my schedule. If you're organized, you can get around the abundance of things.
It does help when you don't have family concerns, real life friends or any social life. If any of those things do happen to me, I'm sure I'll be kneeling on the floor over my tattered schedule in tears. "My schedule, my poor schedule!"
The only problem I have with subtitles is French subtitles, they speak quickly so the subtitles can flash by. But apart from that...
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Post by StarFall on Feb 26, 2014 23:18:33 GMT -5
I'm struggling to think of many Irish TV shows. It's like Australia. Home & Away, Neighbours, erm, oh, erm. Nope, I'm out. Ireland? Well, Father Ted, obviously, but no, I'm out after that. Father Ted! Oh that brings back memories of Ireland!
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Post by ura on Feb 27, 2014 6:11:46 GMT -5
I'm struggling to think of many Irish TV shows. It's like Australia. Home & Away, Neighbours, erm, oh, erm. Nope, I'm out. Ireland? Well, Father Ted, obviously, but no, I'm out after that. Well technically Father Ted is really half Irish, half English, the production company behind it are English but it was made in Ireland, by an Irish creator and writer and almost all of the cast are Irish. Love/Hate is becoming popular here, I don't think it's that good of a show to be quite honest. Inspector George Gently is a great British crime drama, one I hold close to my heart because it's filmed entirely in North East England. Gets really good ratings and some of it has been filmed in Middlesbrough. The first episode of the latest series was filmed here, the riots, if you've seen it, at the beginning. It's not a good part of town, it's being demolished, so it's not a great advert for us but it was pretty special to have a huge show filmed here. Most of the locations are within an hour of where I am. Really cool. Love/Hate is filmed in Dublin so I have fun recognising some sections of it, other sections I'm not very proud of recognising like "hey, I know where that prison is", I knew because it's about 4 miles from where I live and I've passed by it many times. No, I have not seen it, but I definintely know how good it is to recognise parts on a tv show, hell that's half the reason I watch Love/Hate, to see familiar areas in the show, such as the Canal. Norway does look nice. I think Sweden/Denmark in The Bridge is deliberately cold, I think they use a blue filter on the camera. It's a bit hard to judge it properly. Looks a bit like '60s Birmingham. It's a very good show, though. Characterful. That's the word for these imports. It looks like 60's Birmingham, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad. America is very nice, although shows such as the almighty Southland, easily one of the best crime dramas ever made, sadly cancelled recently, really make me not want to go to LA. The thing is, there are so many places we'd like to go, but so little time and money in life to do so. It's very true about America being unable to watch a show made elsewhere, but there's certainly a culture for it. You do read forums about American remakes and many of the American contributors are horrified that they're being remade. They loudest voice in America might be the crowd that supports remakes, but there are glimmers that opinion is changing. It's not always a success. Skins was a failure because the American age of consent is higher than it is here, so child abuse campaigner types got involved and it got shut down. What I admire about the British remakes, is that there is care to get it right. Law & Order UK is wonderful because it's British but it's true to the original Law & Order, and it does air in America and gets brilliant reviews and good ratings. They love it. If it's based on one of their shows, they love it, but if it's original, it's a contentious issue. It's strange. The American remake of The Bridge doesn't even have a bridge. At least they renamed the British one 'The Tunnel'... There are good American shows but I'd still say they're in the minority. I enjoyed The Soprananos, apart from that bitch of an ending, The Wire isn't my thing and I haven't seen True Detective. I also really can't understand the appeal of Breaking Bad. It's really awful. But they are original and the networks have given them a chance. So many other shows are governed by the networks, it is refreshing to see the creators given a chance. That's what happened to Southland, great reviews but low ratings and the network has pulled it. Five seasons isn't enough, especially when you consider it breaks the American trend of 'more-is-better', with only 10-13 episodes a season. If I was to go anywhere in Murrica, it would be New York City. I've never read these forums and over here anyway, from what I read on most television sites I've read the opinions are against remakes of British shows because they tend to butcher them. Law & Order seems like the sort of show which just goes on forever and is very formulaic, I didn't know they made a British Law & Order, m8. When you consider the massive number of reality tv shows out there, it's not wrong that the good shows are a minority. Why did you think Breaking Bad was so awful, I mean sure I can see why people don't like it, but to say it's awful seems a bit much. I think five seasons is enough, at the five season mark a show can feel dragged out, it has to be very good to exceed that. Michael Cudlitz, who's in that show, is now in The Walking Dead, by the way. I think budgets are an issue but with British and European shows, we find ways around that problem. The budget for Doctor Who is smaller now than it was five years ago, but it looks much better. And in The Bridge, there was a ship that crashed into The Bridge, that's not a spoiler, but they didn't show it, it was all camera moves, trickery and shaking. And it looked really convincing. I just think bigger budget American shows are trying too hard. It's like, 'I have a huge penis, here it is', whereas in Europe, it's like, 'I have a small penis, but I can last three hours'. What do you mean 'why do I hate him?' Who's 'him'? Do you mean 'it'? Game of Thrones? I don't like fantasy. I'm sure it's very good if that's your thing. Good television does not transcend genre for me. If I don't like a genre, I won't bother wasting my time on it. The only other thing you could have been referencing was my preference of Maloney to Capaldi for the role of The Doctor. I just wanted a younger Doctor to keep the trend going. I'm still not convinced a 55-year-old can be, in Moff's words, 'bouncing off more walls and being more excitable than Matt'. Who's barely 30. We'll see, we'll see. Doctor Who's effects always looked pretty poor to me. The film Troll Hunter was made with a reasonably small budget but looked very impressive given the money that was given for it, you should really watch it. It's not the size, it's how you use it. I think that for some genres a bigger budget is required than others, drama can get away on a smaller budget however Sci-Fi generally needs a decent sized budget because aesthetics are more important in Sci-Fi, and fantasy too of course. I think I meant to say Game of Thrones, no idea why I made that typo, I honestly feel like a child for why I like Game of Thrones, since (like in Britain too) there are a lot of old castles which look impressive, I liked the Medieval look in the show so that's one of the reasons I watch Game of Thrones, I'm not the biggest fan of tv fantasy otherwise and I think TV Sci-Fi is not for me, Sci-Fi films are another story. I do like my TV, I don't really read, play games or listen to music that much. I don't like that. I have to be doing something. I can't just sit back and listen to music, I get restless and fidgety. I do like my music, but it only tends to go on when I'm doing something else. Television is a visual stimulus, so it stops me from being all fidgety. I get very involved. I'm the type who shouts at the telly, cheers or applauds. You get a bit lost in your own world. "Ooh, the father did it - oh no! But the detective is in the house! RUN! GET OUT! HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!" Or, "THE ANSWER IS 'B'! WHAT KIND OF MORON DOESN'T KNOW THAT!" Or I might shed the occasional tear when my favourite Doc departs. Or if I agree with someone I might find myself applauding with the audience. Come to think of it, watching TV with me must seem like I'm having some kind of 'episode'. There is a lot of media but you just ignore it or moderate it. I'm not interested in video games, I do play a few on my iPad, I have certain websites I check on certain days, I stick to schedules and rigorously organize things, even the little things. There is a lot of media but I have times when I do things and I stick to it. I don't watch television live, I record everything and fit it into my schedule. If you're organized, you can get around the abundance of things. There's a theory by a 1950's sociologist on this, he classified some media as hot because they engaged multiple senses while others as cold because they engaged only one, such as books, his name was Marshall McLuhan. I find television to be pretty passive and in some ways I prefer games because I feel like I am at least participating. I don't lie back and listen to music, I listen to it while doing other things such as making this post, walking somewhere or playing games. I like downloading television shows and watching them in one go, by doing that I feel like I get more from the show, it has a great impact on me. It does help when you don't have family concerns, real life friends or any social life. If any of those things do happen to me, I'm sure I'll be kneeling on the floor over my tattered schedule in tears. "My schedule, my poor schedule!" The only problem I have with subtitles is French subtitles, they speak quickly so the subtitles can flash by. But apart from that... Yeah, friends, I had a few, my very inactive social life is still there, it just got much smaller. I couldn't live without the original audio, even if someone removed the original language of the people are speaking in on the show, it would ruin it for me, I like to hear the way they emphasise things. Most television subtitles move really slowly, film groups don't really care so they make them fly by.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 27, 2014 8:11:45 GMT -5
There's always been a huge debate about whether or not Father Ted is Irish. You go on any TV forum or YouTube clip of it, and there's a huge argument about whether it's British or Irish. The people who created it call it Irish, so I'm calling it Irish if they are. But yeah, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that it's half-an-half. I'd call it Irish, but that's just me.
Yeah, I'm always spotting things in George Gently. The program, not the guy. "I was there last week!" "Oh, that's where thingy lives!" "Ooh, I nearly had my eye gouged out with an umbrella in there!" That one is not so happy. It's rare for a television show to be filmed around here, so we always make a song and dance about it when it happens.
I would say looking like '60s Birmingham is neither a good nor bad thing. It's just a thing. With the blue filter and limited locations, it's the best I can do to describe it.
With remakes, I think part of the problem is Americans aren't aware of how many of their shows are remakes and they become very defensive. When you read what Americans think of Shameless US, their biggest argument is that it doesn't represent poverty in America, and when somebody reminds them it's a British show, same characters, same stories, of course it won't represent American poverty, they get very defensive. 'It isn't British, we can make our own programmes, stop saying it's British'. It's like they don't believe there was an original. And it's the fault of the networks for not taking the types of chances that BBC4 takes here. You have PBS and BBC America doing their best, I think it does need to change.
British television is unique to us and it can't be remade properly whereas American television can be remade in the UK because we amalgamate it with our culture, almost always successfully.
Law & Order UK is a good example of this, and it does air in Ireland as Law & Order London. It's not formulaic, it's a very good spin-off, if it's ever on and you have an hour free, then it's certainly worth checking out. I'm very proud of it. There's only one Law & Order left, SVU, so it's nice to have a second one with new episodes on television. Bradley Walsh is in it, he's a phenomenal actor.
LOL, 'Murrica'. Sound like Jon Stewart...
Reality TV is cheap, the networks want money, it's simple maths. Build house, chuck some idiots in there, film it. Or, find a jungle, chuck some idiots in there, film it. Or, find a warehouse, chuck some idiots in there, make them dance, and film it. It's just goes on, and on, and on...
I don't like Breaking Bad because I don't like shows that glamorise drug use. I know that's not the intention, but when you read what people think of it, and they talk about how cool whatever that guy is called is and how great the show is, it makes you fear for those people. The repercussions may be bad, but it doesn't matter. There will be people trying drugs, in the same way people try cigarettes after watching Mad Men, in the same way people jump of a roof after watching Jackass, who never did any of these things before. People are impressionable. If somebody watches an episode of Mad Men and then takes up smoking, it's ridiculous to say there isn't a correlation. It's subliminal.
You can show people getting injured, hurt, or being jackasses all you want, it's not gonna change anything. If you show somebody smoking a joint and getting behind the wheel of a car, crashing and dying, you're always gonna have somebody that says, "Hey! I'll do that!"
Showing these things in a bad light or being 'responsible' for them isn't working, so we really need to consider what we have on television. If you're gonna show it, people are gonna do it. It might be a minority, but we need to do all we can to stop people taking drugs, smoking and jumping off roofs. If that means shows like Breaking Bad are never commissioned, then the world is a better place.
The amount of people under 13 who watch that is frightening.
The more people that boycott it, the more likely it is to be cancelled. It sends a message to the idiots who commissioned it that morality is more important than money.
Any show I watch with drug use or the like, it's always shown to be in moderation, to be very bad and that many bad things happen to those people. That's how it should be and with moderation, it's the best we can hope for the future of television, even if it's not ideal.
I think Doctor Who is one of the most visually impressive shows ever made, and it easily surpasses any other science-fiction show and most good science-fiction movies of the last ten years. The 50th anniversary special was visually one of the greatest science-fiction films I've ever seen. Really impressed. What saddens me, and probably makes you happy, is that The Mill, who do the effects for Doc Who, no longer do them, I think starting from next season, so we'll see if it changes.
(I'll add Troll Hunter to my list of things to watch).
I think television, music and the like, engage different reactions in us all. Like for you, it might be passive, but as I said, I get involved. I'm there, in that scene, reacting to what's going on. But when I play games, I get bored and my hands get numb ('the iPad effect'). I also get quite involved in music, it's a story and a book for me, I can visualise what's being said and I feel like I'm living that story. Things like post-rock, which is just instrumental, you find yourself making up your own stories and it's fantastic and different every time.
The beauty of these things is that we all react differently. It's why when I listen to somebody screaming with a dark death metal tune in the background, I feel soothed and calm, but those who listen to classical, their ears would be bleeding. But if I had to listen to classical, my ears would be bleeding.
The wonderful thing about humanity is that we're all different.
Oh, and Being Human USA has just been cancelled. Hooray for original British programming! Thank God for that...
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Post by ura on Feb 27, 2014 13:49:48 GMT -5
There's always been a huge debate about whether or not Father Ted is Irish. You go on any TV forum or YouTube clip of it, and there's a huge argument about whether it's British or Irish. The people who created it call it Irish, so I'm calling it Irish if they are. But yeah, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that it's half-an-half. I'd call it Irish, but that's just me. It was offered to be done on an Irish broadcaster but it was too edgy for it's time considering the Catholic influence in Ireland that was very strong and began to wane in the 90's, so yeah, it was too offensive at the time to come out, now it's really tame. With remakes, I think part of the problem is Americans aren't aware of how many of their shows are remakes and they become very defensive. When you read what Americans think of Shameless US, their biggest argument is that it doesn't represent poverty in America, and when somebody reminds them it's a British show, same characters, same stories, of course it won't represent American poverty, they get very defensive. 'It isn't British, we can make our own programmes, stop saying it's British'. It's like they don't believe there was an original. And it's the fault of the networks for not taking the types of chances that BBC4 takes here. You have PBS and BBC America doing their best, I think it does need to change. British television is unique to us and it can't be remade properly whereas American television can be remade in the UK because we amalgamate it with our culture, almost always successfully. I agree, particularly say for the likes of the inbetweeners, even the film was too much of a drift from the usual plot were they are supposed to fail in their attempts to get women, it makes it far more humourous that way. Law & Order UK is a good example of this, and it does air in Ireland as Law & Order London. It's not formulaic, it's a very good spin-off, if it's ever on and you have an hour free, then it's certainly worth checking out. I'm very proud of it. There's only one Law & Order left, SVU, so it's nice to have a second one with new episodes on television. Bradley Walsh is in it, he's a phenomenal actor. LOL, 'Murrica'. Sound like Jon Stewart... Reality TV is cheap, the networks want money, it's simple maths. Build house, chuck some idiots in there, film it. Or, find a jungle, chuck some idiots in there, film it. Or, find a warehouse, chuck some idiots in there, make them dance, and film it. It's just goes on, and on, and on... It airs hear, I watched some of Law and Order one day, realised it was meh and stopped watching since, I'm a very picky watcher. I was going for that effect with the Murrica. Or Build a kitchen, chuck some idiots in it and a loud and annoying chef. I don't like Breaking Bad because I don't like shows that glamorise drug use. I know that's not the intention, but when you read what people think of it, and they talk about how cool whatever that guy is called is and how great the show is, it makes you fear for those people. The repercussions may be bad, but it doesn't matter. There will be people trying drugs, in the same way people try cigarettes after watching Mad Men, in the same way people jump of a roof after watching Jackass, who never did any of these things before. People are impressionable. If somebody watches an episode of Mad Men and then takes up smoking, it's ridiculous to say there isn't a correlation. It's subliminal. You can show people getting injured, hurt, or being jackasses all you want, it's not gonna change anything. If you show somebody smoking a joint and getting behind the wheel of a car, crashing and dying, you're always gonna have somebody that says, "Hey! I'll do that!" Showing these things in a bad light or being 'responsible' for them isn't working, so we really need to consider what we have on television. If you're gonna show it, people are gonna do it. It might be a minority, but we need to do all we can to stop people taking drugs, smoking and jumping off roofs. If that means shows like Breaking Bad are never commissioned, then the world is a better place. The amount of people under 13 who watch that is frightening. The more people that boycott it, the more likely it is to be cancelled. It sends a message to the idiots who commissioned it that morality is more important than money. Any show I watch with drug use or the like, it's always shown to be in moderation, to be very bad and that many bad things happen to those people. That's how it should be and with moderation, it's the best we can hope for the future of television, even if it's not ideal. While the other examples you cited were legitimate examples of glorifying a show, in fact I would hate to be an alcohol/ex-smoker and watch Mad Men, because in the early series they do make it appear cool, although in the latter seasons they show it to be an awful thing and Don has huge problems with alcoholism. However, with Breaking Bad I think you are completely wrong, the show goes out of it's way to make a point of bad meth use is, the few active meth users we see are the quintiseential junkies who are suffering from the worst effects of addiction to Meth such as extreme paranoia, declining phsycial appearance and willingness to do ANYTHING to get the drug, one small character is a methwhore, another example are a pair who take meth while their child sits in squalour. One of the main characters has a period of taking meth which is seen as his "dark period" and in which he commits stupid acts and he uses meth as a crutch because of his life spiralling out of control which is not helped by the Meth. In fact the main characters never seem to actually consume meth, only produce it. You could easily argue that the show glorifies Meth production, which fair enough could be seen to be true but no, it does not glorify meth use. Secondly, just because people are idiots and impressionable does not mean we should alter the media, rather try to advise the people on the correct way of carrying on, I mean by that logic any bad action committed by a main character in a film influences people to commit violent acts. Perhaps people should try to stop their 13 year olds from watching shows like these or better yet informing them off the ill-effects of drugs? But also doesn't outlawing or working against the show's airing make it illegal, taboo and therefore more cool, thus driving people's want to watch the show, particularly for teenagers? I think Doctor Who is one of the most visually impressive shows ever made, and it easily surpasses any other science-fiction show and most good science-fiction movies of the last ten years. The 50th anniversary special was visually one of the greatest science-fiction films I've ever seen. Really impressed. What saddens me, and probably makes you happy, is that The Mill, who do the effects for Doc Who, no longer do them, I think starting from next season, so we'll see if it changes. I'll get slaughtered by you and Scotty for saying this but I feel like Doctor who is Sci-fi lite™, it's fun to watch, the effects are alright for a tv show of it's budget, but I wouldn't rate is as the greatest show ever, it feels like there's no consistency to the plot because of how long the show has ran for and they basically invent rules when it suits them. (I'll add Troll Hunter to my list of things to watch). Eventually I'll stop talking about it. I think television, music and the like, engage different reactions in us all. Like for you, it might be passive, but as I said, I get involved. I'm there, in that scene, reacting to what's going on. But when I play games, I get bored and my hands get numb ('the iPad effect'). I also get quite involved in music, it's a story and a book for me, I can visualise what's being said and I feel like I'm living that story. Things like post-rock, which is just instrumental, you find yourself making up your own stories and it's fantastic and different every time. The beauty of these things is that we all react differently. It's why when I listen to somebody screaming with a dark death metal tune in the background, I feel soothed and calm, but those who listen to classical, their ears would be bleeding. But if I had to listen to classical, my ears would be bleeding. Perhaps you need to play games which are more engaging such as games with a massive difficulty curve because they can be incredibly engaging, although they tend to be weak on the plot. I love post-rock and basically taking that lovely sound of rock and removing the lyrics, similar genres like ambient are also brilliant, Brian Eno made an album and if you like Sci-fi and space in general then you might like, it's called 'apollo atmospheres and soundtracks'. Ever listen to God is an Astronaut? Anyway, it depends on the show, I got really involved in shows like the Wire and Battlestar Galactica, they're the last two shows that I got heavily emotionally into. The wonderful thing about humanity is that we're all different. I like having a genre of music for almost every mood I'm in, metal and classical are both brilliant when you are feeling energetic and you want something to run to for instance. Oh, and Being Human USA has just been cancelled. Hooray for original British programming! Thank God for that... No-one's perfect, I guess we're all human at the end of the day.
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Post by Sexy Spork #37 on Feb 27, 2014 17:09:41 GMT -5
Tetchy Irish Catholics? Really? I'll leave that there...
I do remember seeing the creator of Father Ted arguing it isn't offensive to Irish Catholics on a news show. I thought he did did a good job not shouting at them. At the end of the day, it's an all time classic. Dermot Morgan is sadly missed.
Oh, don't say you like The Inbetweeners. What is the appeal of that show? Honestly, since Father Ted ended, I argue there hasn't been a single all time classic British or British/Irish comedy. You could arguably count on one, maybe two hands the amount of good comedies. We're really struggling. You have to rely on the Americans for that.
I do agree, movies should stick to what the show is about. The Alan Partridge Movie and The Simpson's Movie were brilliant because they stayed true to what their television counterparts were all about.
'Or Build a kitchen, chuck some idiots in it and a loud and annoying chef'.
Sort of like me. Find myself both the idiot and the annoying chef, shouting and everything that's on fire like that's gonna work...
I think Mad Men is trying to say 'it was cool to smoke in the '60s' but obviously, can't do much about pushing people away from it. You can't really link smoking with misogyny, otherwise they'd be golden.
I think 'glorifies' is the wrong word, but I know what I'm trying to say. People are impressionable. No matter how bad it gets, people still cite characters that use in the show as cool, and, these people are in the minority and completely stupid, but it doesn't change the fact that those idiots are going to ignore how bad it is. They can get delusional.
Whatever they're doing with drugs, making, selling, using, it's all the same. Take meth use, as you said, say people do it. It's impossible to say that they wouldn't be tempted. It's a slippery slope, a rolling rode.
The fight has been lost against smoking, drinking, gun use, drug using, et al, it's not working. We should put more consideration into what we do. In the UK, they put pictures of diseased organs on the packets of cigarettes. Did it have an impact? Barely. They're gonna put them under the counter, so you have to ask for them. Have polls suggested it's gonna deter smokers? Nope. It won't even have an effect in the long run because many of those smokers have children. Kids are impressionable.
It's better than nothing but we need to be more extreme. I don't know what more they could do with smoking, it's a drug, it should be illegal, but on television, they're hardly doing anything. Warnings, ratings - try harder. In schools, colleges, and universities, more needs to be done. Yes, in America, they haul the students in front of criminals, lung cancer survivors, recovering alcoholics, and bloody hell, it works. But do they do it anywhere else on Earth? Certainly not in the UK. Not once. We had one sex ed talk and it wasn't compulsory. Heck, I didn't go to it, but that's because I'm a virgin. No one else in the class was and they didn't go.
Nothing's working. Nothing. And Breaking Bad without any kind of deterrent isn't helping.
Movies have ratings to stop younger, impressionable people from watching them. TV doesn't. And with the advent of the internet, no amount of regulation or parental talks can stop kids watching drug use, sex, gun violence, et al. Nothing. It's a losing fight.
All I'm saying is that more needs to be done. Especially in the UK.
Heck, parts of Southland are pixelated and beeped. And it's a drama. So yes, it can be considered cool because it's illegal, but there's an underlying issue that they shouldn't have that attitude.
I'll say it again, if the fight hasn't been lost, it's heading that way.
Parents don't do jack, probably because they know the kids will find a way to smoke, have sex, drink, do drugs and play around with guns. My parents did what you suggest, told me about avoiding these things. And I have. But I was surrounded every day in school by pornographic material others brought in, drugs, guns and God knows what else. You tell a teacher, you get the crap kicked out of you and somebody else takes the place of the person you got excluded. And you have to watch you're back because you don't know how bad the next beating will be. It could be your last. And was that just my school? Nope. Every one in the UK. It's ridiculous.
I'm not going to argue the finer points of Doctor Who with you. You've admitted you're in a class of one, which means I've won, so, yea me!
Eventually, I'll stop talking about foreign dramas and crappy American remakes. Not just yet, though.
I get frustrated at games that need some intelligence. I just end up throwing my iPad and sending a comment of complaint to the makers who never read it. I think I'm on some kind of Apple store blacklist...
Nope, never heard of God Is As Astronaut. Actually, hmm, not sure. For me, The Evpatoria Report is the best post-rock band. Only released two albums but generally considered the epitome of post-rock. They were the people who brought it back and created modern post-rock. So much of their stuff is audio only on YouTube, really short albums, ridiculously long songs (I think 18 minutes is the longest) but beautiful, emotive sounds. So many post-rocks bands have come since that are based on that sound, but The Evpatoria Report were first and for me, the best.
They tell a story and are wonderful. Taijin Kyofusho is about one of the shuttle disaster's and has clips from the audio recording between base and the shuttle. It's about those who were lost and how wonderfully terrifying space is. It's capable of bringing a tear to your eye, a smile on your face and an increased heart rate. It's audio only on YouTube. Really gorgeous. I think it's one of the best pieces of music ever written.
It's quite long. You might need a spare ten minutes...
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Post by ura on Feb 27, 2014 20:25:39 GMT -5
I do remember seeing the creator of Father Ted arguing it isn't offensive to Irish Catholics on a news show. I thought he did did a good job not shouting at them. At the end of the day, it's an all time classic. Dermot Morgan is sadly missed. An absolute classic as if you went to school here while it was on you knew EVERY SINGLE LINE, btw I watched it when it came out so I was 6 or 7 and only later did I get some of the brilliant jokes in it. Oh, don't say you like The Inbetweeners. What is the appeal of that show? Honestly, since Father Ted ended, I argue there hasn't been a single all time classic British or British/Irish comedy. You could arguably count on one, maybe two hands the amount of good comedies. We're really struggling. You have to rely on the Americans for that. It's a stupid comedy that I like. I agree, the best comedies are probably American, the best comedy films are American such as Airplane. I do agree, movies should stick to what the show is about. The Alan Partridge Movie and The Simpson's Movie were brilliant because they stayed true to what their television counterparts were all about. 'Or Build a kitchen, chuck some idiots in it and a loud and annoying chef'. Sort of like me. Find myself both the idiot and the annoying chef, shouting and everything that's on fire like that's gonna work... The Alan Partridge film looked looked good, from the little I saw it anyway. A loud Italian in the kitchen, no surprises there. I think Mad Men is trying to say 'it was cool to smoke in the '60s' but obviously, can't do much about pushing people away from it. You can't really link smoking with misogyny, otherwise they'd be golden. I think Smoking really only makes you look cool if you are already cool to begin with, Don Draper looks cool so a cigarette looks cool with him whereas smoking done by any of other characters doesn't have the same effect. I think 'glorifies' is the wrong word, but I know what I'm trying to say. People are impressionable. No matter how bad it gets, people still cite characters that use in the show as cool, and, these people are in the minority and completely stupid, but it doesn't change the fact that those idiots are going to ignore how bad it is. They can get delusional. Whatever they're doing with drugs, making, selling, using, it's all the same. Take meth use, as you said, say people do it. It's impossible to say that they wouldn't be tempted. It's a slippery slope, a rolling rode. The fight has been lost against smoking, drinking, gun use, drug using, et al, it's not working. We should put more consideration into what we do. In the UK, they put pictures of diseased organs on the packets of cigarettes. Did it have an impact? Barely. They're gonna put them under the counter, so you have to ask for them. Have polls suggested it's gonna deter smokers? Nope. It won't even have an effect in the long run because many of those smokers have children. Kids are impressionable. It's better than nothing but we need to be more extreme. I don't know what more they could do with smoking, it's a drug, it should be illegal, but on television, they're hardly doing anything. Warnings, ratings - try harder. In schools, colleges, and universities, more needs to be done. Yes, in America, they haul the students in front of criminals, lung cancer survivors, recovering alcoholics, and bloody hell, it works. But do they do it anywhere else on Earth? Certainly not in the UK. Not once. We had one sex ed talk and it wasn't compulsory. Heck, I didn't go to it, but that's because I'm a virgin. No one else in the class was and they didn't go. Of course those people will always exist but you can only really make a certain number of actions against those people, because with that argument you begin to enable censorship for all things in media, the argument of course is should art be accountable for the population, because I guess you can define TV shows as art, just of varying degrees of quality. I know what you're saying, TVTropes, a great site, I may have mentioned it before have this idea that regardless of how negatively you portray something, people will always try to emulate it. However I can't blame the tv show entirely, I think it passes the blame from the person where the majority of the fault lies. When you bring up the U.K. it interests me because I always saw the U.K. as a large nanny state which to some extent shows that heavy government involvement to implement moral polcies doesn't always work. They have large warnings on Cigarette packets in Ireland about the negative effects of smoking but I don't know how effective they are. In general I don't know how effective restrictive policies are on curbing usage, I reckon they are pretty low. We had no sex-ed class but we had a couple of talks from people who came into speak about sex education, a talk from a recovering gambling addict & a talk on depression, something tells me if someone in the year who was in the group wanted to gamble, he would have completley disregarded the talk anyway. Are you sure it works to prevent smokers in America? Smoking is still pretty common over there, I mean do you have any proof it actually works? Smoking here was a big problem too, I never liked smoking myself but I have nothing against drinking alcohol. Nothing's working. Nothing. And Breaking Bad without any kind of deterrent isn't helping. Movies have ratings to stop younger, impressionable people from watching them. TV doesn't. And with the advent of the internet, no amount of regulation or parental talks can stop kids watching drug use, sex, gun violence, et al. Nothing. It's a losing fight. All I'm saying is that more needs to be done. Especially in the UK. Heck, parts of Southland are pixelated and beeped. And it's a drama. So yes, it can be considered cool because it's illegal, but there's an underlying issue that they shouldn't have that attitude. I'll say it again, if the fight hasn't been lost, it's heading that way. Parents don't do jack, probably because they know the kids will find a way to smoke, have sex, drink, do drugs and play around with guns. My parents did what you suggest, told me about avoiding these things. And I have. But I was surrounded every day in school by pornographic material others brought in, drugs, guns and God knows what else. You tell a teacher, you get the crap kicked out of you and somebody else takes the place of the person you got excluded. And you have to watch you're back because you don't know how bad the next beating will be. It could be your last. And was that just my school? Nope. Every one in the UK. It's ridiculous. Did you tell the teachers about the others having pornographic material and do you have objections to porn? I'm not going to argue the finer points of Doctor Who with you. You've admitted you're in a class of one, which means I've won, so, yea me! I'm in the class Sci-Fi 406 (advanced appreciation of quality Sci-Fi), Doctor Who is nowhere to be seen. Eventually, I'll stop talking about foreign dramas and crappy American remakes. Not just yet, though. Eventually I'll stop mentioning the Troll Hunter. I get frustrated at games that need some intelligence. I just end up throwing my iPad and sending a comment of complaint to the makers who never read it. I think I'm on some kind of Apple store blacklist... Oh, so you're the guy making all those complaints on the istore, okay, 400 comments in one day about tetris is impressive. Nope, never heard of God Is As Astronaut. Actually, hmm, not sure. For me, The Evpatoria Report is the best post-rock band. Only released two albums but generally considered the epitome of post-rock. They were the people who brought it back and created modern post-rock. So much of their stuff is audio only on YouTube, really short albums, ridiculously long songs (I think 18 minutes is the longest) but beautiful, emotive sounds. So many post-rocks bands have come since that are based on that sound, but The Evpatoria Report were first and for me, the best. They tell a story and are wonderful. Taijin Kyofusho is about one of the shuttle disaster's and has clips from the audio recording between base and the shuttle. It's about those who were lost and how wonderfully terrifying space is. It's capable of bringing a tear to your eye, a smile on your face and an increased heart rate. It's audio only on YouTube. Really gorgeous. I think it's one of the best pieces of music ever written. It's quite long. You might need a spare ten minutes... Ridiculously long songs are standard for post-rock, ever hear of Godspeed you Black Emperor! They have one album with four songs, the shortest song is 20 minutes while the longest is 33 minutes long. I will definitely bookmark this bank, they sound interesting. Btw, about two years ago in massive long reply session like this you recommended the unbelievable truth and I think at this point I have listened to all of them now. So far The Evatoria report remind me a little of another post-rock bank called Pelican who have this song.
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