Still talked too much so this is only part 2/3, so sorry!
"Chernobyl" was indeed incredibly well done. The actors were all wonderful, but also the way the story was told. I was afraid of long scenes with scientific boring explanations or people telling each other the obvious, but none of that happened. It was all very natural, a great friendship developed between the Russian general and the scientist even though they were at opposite sides in the beginning, and at the end we all felt like atomic experts, as we really understood what had happened. They stayed mostly closely to the facts, only took very few liberties. I also learnt a lot that I had not known yet. They didn't tell us much at the time either.
I guess "The Boys" would be too dark for you either then. I only watched it for Karl Urban and after the first episode I was hooked and wanted to know what happens next. It is about superheroes, but with a twist. They are not good. They are run by an agency, which protects their public persona and tells them what to do and say, and they have some not so nice characteristics. A new girl is brought in, eager to do good stuff for the world, and then slowly gets desillusioned. One can't really explain it, it needs to be seen. In a way, it feels very realistic, how people with superpowers would act in the real world, abusing their powers and getting away with it as nobody dares to call them out.
What I love about such series - also with "The Americans" - that they are not black and white. There are lots of shades of grey and in the end you cannot tell who are the good and who are the bad guys as the good guys do bad stuff and the bad guys turn out not to be so bad at all. Your perspective gets switched around a lot. One of the characters in "The Boys" who you thought was a macho in the beginning and to be hated as he really was not nice to the new girl, turned out to be rather lonely and pathethic and made fun of even by his own kind. And somehow he became my favorite, oops ;) I just have a thing for guys with sad eyes.
"The Americans" is partly a spy show but also partly about Philip's and Elizabeth's struggle to keep up a family life, with all the pressure they are under. I love their relationship, the two main actors are really a couple now. It's a show that some people call a "slow burn", there is not always action, there is a lot of mood and suspense and long looks and the kind, and I love it. It really draws you in. They go undercover a lot, with different wigs, to get information, and develop relationships with those guys. I have low expectations, I want to be entertained and not bored. If I have to force myself to watch something, I'm out. So no "Doctor Who" for me at the moment, and I stopped watching "Arrow" and "The Flash" long time ago, even though I liked it in the beginning. But with the last two shows I just talked about, I sit on my sofa, forgetting to breath. Same for "Black Mirror". So I don't mind dark when it is well done.
There is no visual blood-spluttering like they did in "Spartacus". I did not like that either.
You probably did not make it far into season 1 of "Stargate SG-1" then as I assumed. I came in in season 4, with a time-loop episode. I love time-loop episodes and watch them of every series, even if I don't watch anything else. So that was my first and after that I was hooked. This one is very funny. Yes, it is military, but what I liked - at the time, not having been a sci-fi-fan - that it felt realistic. Normal people, with not super futuristic technology. And I liked the balance. Jack was the "shoot first ask questions later" guy but Daniel the civilian always saw the best in people. And how they then argued, and I often could agree with both of their opinions, was well done. And they had great chemistry and good timing in comedic scenes. I liked the allies they made on other planets, the storytelling was a mixture of episode of the week, and longer arcs with guest characters returning so the universe slowly grew. And then they went and changed the whole premise of the show, brought in new actors and I really hated seasons 9 and 10 and was glad when it was over and I did not have to force myself anymore. I did not look at my DVDs or action figures for years, that's how sad I was how divided the fandom was at the end, between old fans who had been in for the whole run and those that came in new with Ben Browder and Claudia Black from "Farscape" (which I really need to watch one day) and claimed it was the best thing they've ever seen.
We could have an expended Stargate universe like the Trek shows but alas, they blew it. Big time.
I did watch "Atlantis" as it was set in the same universe but it never grabbed me the same way (some prefer this show over the other, which personally I cannot understand but then again for a long time I was a bigger "Torchwood" than "Doctor Who" fan), and I only watched a few episodes of "Universe" to see it was not for me. Just because it has the Stargate sticker does not mean I have to force myself to watch it. Life's too short for that, as Richard Dean Anderson once famously put it.
There do seem to be a lot of Stargate fans in the Orville fandom though. I'm not the only one who sees similarities.
Sorry for talking so much but then there are not many people left on LJ to talk to.
Sorry for talking so much but then there are not many people left on LJ to talk to.
I loved reading your comments! I agree, it's sad how most people have left LJ now. That's the main reason I've been so absent from it myself lately. It's nice to have an actual conversation on LJ again!
What I love about such series - also with "The Americans" - that they are not black and white. There are lots of shades of grey and in the end you cannot tell who are the good and who are the bad guys as the good guys do bad stuff and the bad guys turn out not to be so bad at all.
Oooh, have you ever seen "Timeless"? That's a time-travel show that starts off where you think everything is totally black and white, and then as the episodes progress, it suddenly gets a lot grayer. I think you might really like it.
I heard of it but I haven't checked it yet. Time travel sounds good! I'll put it on the list. Always happy for recommendations.
In general I am not always looking for sci-fi series though, I actually prefer proper "normal" dramas. I loved the quirky "Desperate Housewives" and "Six Feet Under" and recently I watch a lot of British TV, stuff like "Call the midwive" - I love them all to bits. And I watch lots of stuff for certain actors.
Have you seen "Forever"? I became a fan of Ioan Gruffudd through it and followed him to his other series "Harrow" (he plays a medical examiner for the police in both) and "Liar" where he is a doctor being accused of rape and for a long time you don't know whether to believe her or him. It's been three years since the first season of this aired, this year we will finally get the second, and it is only six episodes each. So the people complaining for seasin 3 of Orville have no idea what waiting is! Same for the wait between the Sherlock seasons.
So I thought I'll wait some days with my reply to give you time to catch up with more Orville episodes - whereabouts are you? Have you seen sad Ed yet? That's the one that turned me around big time. Some say Seth is not a good actor, and in some scenes he could do a little more admittedly, but here he blew me away with all the feels and the way Ed acts throughout the episode, a true gentleman.
What do you think of Claire and Isaac? Everyone loves that one, one of the best ever. What about when Darulio came back and turned everyone's heads? What about Dann riding the elevator all day long? And the episode where Ed finds out that Kelly got him his job and lost all his confidence? And the last episode of season 1 with Kelly as a goddess? I love that one.
What about the Ja'loja? I really love that one too. Many were disappointed it being so quiet as they had hoped for the season opener to have more meat and space stuff but I like the way how it is a true team episode, everyone gets to do something, and the stories are actually interwoven. Had Ed not spied on Kelly they would have not gone to the simulator and discover Marcus. And I do love the music as well of course. Seth really knows how to do it. As for the pee thing, my opinion is that this was something left over from the pilot that needed to be adressed and done with, otherwise fans probably would have asked forever, but in the end it was done as tastefully as possible, and also gives a little nod to Spock's Pon Farr. Pretty sure we never will hear about it again.
And the second episode with Bortus was already filmed for season 1 but for some reason held over for season 2.
As for stage doors, the trick is to go there a different day than you go to see the play. We went there at least one and a half hour before it ended, otherwise you would not be in first line, and David did only the front line. Originally I only wanted an autograph but then I saw everyone getting pictures so I got greedy and we went again the next day. And I was collecting autographs from all actors in my programme so by the fourth day even though there were David and Catherine outside I concentrated on the others trying to slip out unnoticed.
When I went to see Tom Hiddleston in theatre last year they actually had a rule that only people with a ticket from that evening were allowed to line up, and that was nicely done too, without any shoving and pushing, well organized. I wrote about it here: https://dieastra.livejournal.com/338028.html
The entry also has a link to another entry what happened some hours before on the same day - somehow my friend and I managed to stumble into the "Good Omens" premiere and saw David Tennant and Mark Gatiss getting out of their cars: https://dieastra.livejournal.com/328000.html
Hey, sorry for the long wait, I haven't been on LJ much lately.
So um, yes, Orville. Unfortunately I hit the episode "Home" and had to stop watching because I really, really can't take all that torture stuff. Then I tried another episode or two but Alara was gone and I don't know what happened to her and I am not sure I really want to know, and I didn't much enjoy the other episodes and now I am constantly worrying about hitting another high-violence scene that I simply cannot take. So now I've stopped watching completely.
As for stage doors, the trick is to go there a different day than you go to see the play.
Oooh, that's clever! I'll have to try that sometime.
Hiya! Oh what a year this has been. I always wanted to reply to this post but then with everything happening it did not seem important anymore.
How are you? Still out there kicking I hope?
I am not much on LJ either anymore. I still have like 5 dedicated friends who comment on the figure pictures but otherwise this is a desert. If I look back what wonderful conversations we used to have. Shame. I am mostly on Twitter these days, having fallen into the Star Trek Voyager World now, deeply, and making new friends. And buying new figures and writing new fanfictions. It has helped me coping with the epidemic and I will be forever grateful for that.
So, Orville. I have a friend who in general always reads episode or movie synopses before watching to avoid bad surprises. I did warn her of this scene in advance so it would not shock her. I wonder if that would be a way for you as well? Because honestly, you stopped right before it got good. I mean, really really good. Middle to end season 2 Orville is on fire, one episode better than the previous, culminating in a wonderful finale. We are still waiting for season 3 (soon, hopefully) so this would be the perfect time to get back into it and be ready for that.
As for Alara, don't worry, she is still out there, even made a guest appearance later. She just went home to live with her parents. If you never saw the ending of "Home", it is a beautiful scene of them all hugging her good-bye, with lots of tears in their eyes, and I think they did not have to act much there. And then Ed returns to his desk and finds a jar of pickles and smiles. I love that scene.
The actress wanted to move on to other things and had a big role in "Prodigal Son".
Episode 4, the one where Teleya returns, is actually one of my favorite. You did not like it? The way she kidnapped Ed but he still was a gentleman with her and even saved her life on the planet when they were stranded? I loved that. And the scene in the end, when he returns to the bridge, his eyes, so sad. Nobody shall ever say again Seth is a bad actor. He blew me away there. That is the episode that made me from a casual watcher into a fan with repeated watchings (because I went back to season 1 where we first met Teleya) and writing fanfictions and watching countless Seth videos, interviews and his wonderful singing I had no idea of.
Everyone agrees that episode 5 (the one with the astrology planet) is the only one bad episode of the whole series. Not very well written, does not make much sense and also has some odd violence at the end with Kelly and Bortus shooting the soldiers.
If you don't want to watch much more, watch at least episode 6 and also episode 11. I beg you. Both are considered probably the best. Both deal with relationships, love, definitely no torture in those, I promise. Just great relationship stuff that touches your heart. Even the guys admit they had some tears in their eyes at the end of episode 11 In episode 6 we even get to see the orchestra that plays the Orville soundtrack music, I love that. Such a great episode from start till finish. I bet you will love it too. It is just round and complete.
There are those that say that season 2 concentrates a bit too much on relationship stuff and not enough on space exploration, but I really love this part of the series. Also the humor got much better, compared to season 2. Better blended in and not as offensive.
Episode 7 has a great theme, like Star Trek used to do, makes you think about current things in the world. I don't want to spoiler too much, I'm sure you can find episode synopsises if you like. But this one also blew me away in the end. It also shows the new Xeleyan girl Talla. I did love Alara very much and I was very apprehensive if I would like the new girl as well, but it did not take long for us to fall in love with her. She is very different, more mature and a big mouth at times, but also really great in her way.
Episodes 8 and 9 is a two parter with a big space battle that the boys enjoyed a lot and say it was well done, but I don't really care for that CGI stuff. Then, I am a girl ;)
Episode 12 made us all into Dolly Buster fans. I did not really know her beforehand to be honest, other than the name, but one of her songs features quite heavily, it is a great woman power episode and I then went to see the musical while I was in London. I never have seen the movie but I had great fun, and almost the whole audience were women, old and young. We had a blast.
Episodes 13 and 14 kinda belong together as well, with a time travel story and its implications of slight change, huge impact. No cliffhanger thankfully, but a great ending.
So I really hope you'll give it another chance, I want to take a bet that you will love it after finishing. So far all my friends who I told to watch ended up loving it. Will you try? For me?
"Chernobyl" was indeed incredibly well done. The actors were all wonderful, but also the way the story was told. I was afraid of long scenes with scientific boring explanations or people telling each other the obvious, but none of that happened. It was all very natural, a great friendship developed between the Russian general and the scientist even though they were at opposite sides in the beginning, and at the end we all felt like atomic experts, as we really understood what had happened. They stayed mostly closely to the facts, only took very few liberties. I also learnt a lot that I had not known yet. They didn't tell us much at the time either.
I guess "The Boys" would be too dark for you either then. I only watched it for Karl Urban and after the first episode I was hooked and wanted to know what happens next. It is about superheroes, but with a twist. They are not good. They are run by an agency, which protects their public persona and tells them what to do and say, and they have some not so nice characteristics. A new girl is brought in, eager to do good stuff for the world, and then slowly gets desillusioned. One can't really explain it, it needs to be seen. In a way, it feels very realistic, how people with superpowers would act in the real world, abusing their powers and getting away with it as nobody dares to call them out.
What I love about such series - also with "The Americans" - that they are not black and white. There are lots of shades of grey and in the end you cannot tell who are the good and who are the bad guys as the good guys do bad stuff and the bad guys turn out not to be so bad at all. Your perspective gets switched around a lot. One of the characters in "The Boys" who you thought was a macho in the beginning and to be hated as he really was not nice to the new girl, turned out to be rather lonely and pathethic and made fun of even by his own kind. And somehow he became my favorite, oops ;) I just have a thing for guys with sad eyes.
"The Americans" is partly a spy show but also partly about Philip's and Elizabeth's struggle to keep up a family life, with all the pressure they are under. I love their relationship, the two main actors are really a couple now. It's a show that some people call a "slow burn", there is not always action, there is a lot of mood and suspense and long looks and the kind, and I love it. It really draws you in. They go undercover a lot, with different wigs, to get information, and develop relationships with those guys. I have low expectations, I want to be entertained and not bored. If I have to force myself to watch something, I'm out. So no "Doctor Who" for me at the moment, and I stopped watching "Arrow" and "The Flash" long time ago, even though I liked it in the beginning. But with the last two shows I just talked about, I sit on my sofa, forgetting to breath. Same for "Black Mirror". So I don't mind dark when it is well done.
There is no visual blood-spluttering like they did in "Spartacus". I did not like that either.
Reply
You probably did not make it far into season 1 of "Stargate SG-1" then as I assumed. I came in in season 4, with a time-loop episode. I love time-loop episodes and watch them of every series, even if I don't watch anything else. So that was my first and after that I was hooked. This one is very funny. Yes, it is military, but what I liked - at the time, not having been a sci-fi-fan - that it felt realistic. Normal people, with not super futuristic technology. And I liked the balance. Jack was the "shoot first ask questions later" guy but Daniel the civilian always saw the best in people. And how they then argued, and I often could agree with both of their opinions, was well done. And they had great chemistry and good timing in comedic scenes. I liked the allies they made on other planets, the storytelling was a mixture of episode of the week, and longer arcs with guest characters returning so the universe slowly grew. And then they went and changed the whole premise of the show, brought in new actors and I really hated seasons 9 and 10 and was glad when it was over and I did not have to force myself anymore. I did not look at my DVDs or action figures for years, that's how sad I was how divided the fandom was at the end, between old fans who had been in for the whole run and those that came in new with Ben Browder and Claudia Black from "Farscape" (which I really need to watch one day) and claimed it was the best thing they've ever seen.
We could have an expended Stargate universe like the Trek shows but alas, they blew it. Big time.
I did watch "Atlantis" as it was set in the same universe but it never grabbed me the same way (some prefer this show over the other, which personally I cannot understand but then again for a long time I was a bigger "Torchwood" than "Doctor Who" fan), and I only watched a few episodes of "Universe" to see it was not for me. Just because it has the Stargate sticker does not mean I have to force myself to watch it. Life's too short for that, as Richard Dean Anderson once famously put it.
There do seem to be a lot of Stargate fans in the Orville fandom though. I'm not the only one who sees similarities.
Sorry for talking so much but then there are not many people left on LJ to talk to.
Reply
I loved reading your comments! I agree, it's sad how most people have left LJ now. That's the main reason I've been so absent from it myself lately. It's nice to have an actual conversation on LJ again!
Reply
Oooh, have you ever seen "Timeless"? That's a time-travel show that starts off where you think everything is totally black and white, and then as the episodes progress, it suddenly gets a lot grayer. I think you might really like it.
Reply
In general I am not always looking for sci-fi series though, I actually prefer proper "normal" dramas. I loved the quirky "Desperate Housewives" and "Six Feet Under" and recently I watch a lot of British TV, stuff like "Call the midwive" - I love them all to bits. And I watch lots of stuff for certain actors.
Have you seen "Forever"? I became a fan of Ioan Gruffudd through it and followed him to his other series "Harrow" (he plays a medical examiner for the police in both) and "Liar" where he is a doctor being accused of rape and for a long time you don't know whether to believe her or him. It's been three years since the first season of this aired, this year we will finally get the second, and it is only six episodes each. So the people complaining for seasin 3 of Orville have no idea what waiting is! Same for the wait between the Sherlock seasons.
So I thought I'll wait some days with my reply to give you time to catch up with more Orville episodes - whereabouts are you? Have you seen sad Ed yet? That's the one that turned me around big time. Some say Seth is not a good actor, and in some scenes he could do a little more admittedly, but here he blew me away with all the feels and the way Ed acts throughout the episode, a true gentleman.
What do you think of Claire and Isaac? Everyone loves that one, one of the best ever. What about when Darulio came back and turned everyone's heads? What about Dann riding the elevator all day long? And the episode where Ed finds out that Kelly got him his job and lost all his confidence? And the last episode of season 1 with Kelly as a goddess? I love that one.
What about the Ja'loja? I really love that one too. Many were disappointed it being so quiet as they had hoped for the season opener to have more meat and space stuff but I like the way how it is a true team episode, everyone gets to do something, and the stories are actually interwoven. Had Ed not spied on Kelly they would have not gone to the simulator and discover Marcus. And I do love the music as well of course. Seth really knows how to do it. As for the pee thing, my opinion is that this was something left over from the pilot that needed to be adressed and done with, otherwise fans probably would have asked forever, but in the end it was done as tastefully as possible, and also gives a little nod to Spock's Pon Farr. Pretty sure we never will hear about it again.
And the second episode with Bortus was already filmed for season 1 but for some reason held over for season 2.
As for stage doors, the trick is to go there a different day than you go to see the play. We went there at least one and a half hour before it ended, otherwise you would not be in first line, and David did only the front line. Originally I only wanted an autograph but then I saw everyone getting pictures so I got greedy and we went again the next day. And I was collecting autographs from all actors in my programme so by the fourth day even though there were David and Catherine outside I concentrated on the others trying to slip out unnoticed.
When I went to see Tom Hiddleston in theatre last year they actually had a rule that only people with a ticket from that evening were allowed to line up, and that was nicely done too, without any shoving and pushing, well organized. I wrote about it here: https://dieastra.livejournal.com/338028.html
The entry also has a link to another entry what happened some hours before on the same day - somehow my friend and I managed to stumble into the "Good Omens" premiere and saw David Tennant and Mark Gatiss getting out of their cars: https://dieastra.livejournal.com/328000.html
Reply
So um, yes, Orville. Unfortunately I hit the episode "Home" and had to stop watching because I really, really can't take all that torture stuff. Then I tried another episode or two but Alara was gone and I don't know what happened to her and I am not sure I really want to know, and I didn't much enjoy the other episodes and now I am constantly worrying about hitting another high-violence scene that I simply cannot take. So now I've stopped watching completely.
As for stage doors, the trick is to go there a different day than you go to see the play.
Oooh, that's clever! I'll have to try that sometime.
Reply
Hiya! Oh what a year this has been. I always wanted to reply to this post but then with everything happening it did not seem important anymore.
How are you? Still out there kicking I hope?
I am not much on LJ either anymore. I still have like 5 dedicated friends who comment on the figure pictures but otherwise this is a desert. If I look back what wonderful conversations we used to have. Shame. I am mostly on Twitter these days, having fallen into the Star Trek Voyager World now, deeply, and making new friends. And buying new figures and writing new fanfictions. It has helped me coping with the epidemic and I will be forever grateful for that.
So, Orville. I have a friend who in general always reads episode or movie synopses before watching to avoid bad surprises. I did warn her of this scene in advance so it would not shock her. I wonder if that would be a way for you as well? Because honestly, you stopped right before it got good. I mean, really really good. Middle to end season 2 Orville is on fire, one episode better than the previous, culminating in a wonderful finale. We are still waiting for season 3 (soon, hopefully) so this would be the perfect time to get back into it and be ready for that.
As for Alara, don't worry, she is still out there, even made a guest appearance later. She just went home to live with her parents. If you never saw the ending of "Home", it is a beautiful scene of them all hugging her good-bye, with lots of tears in their eyes, and I think they did not have to act much there. And then Ed returns to his desk and finds a jar of pickles and smiles. I love that scene.
The actress wanted to move on to other things and had a big role in "Prodigal Son".
Episode 4, the one where Teleya returns, is actually one of my favorite. You did not like it? The way she kidnapped Ed but he still was a gentleman with her and even saved her life on the planet when they were stranded? I loved that. And the scene in the end, when he returns to the bridge, his eyes, so sad. Nobody shall ever say again Seth is a bad actor. He blew me away there. That is the episode that made me from a casual watcher into a fan with repeated watchings (because I went back to season 1 where we first met Teleya) and writing fanfictions and watching countless Seth videos, interviews and his wonderful singing I had no idea of.
Everyone agrees that episode 5 (the one with the astrology planet) is the only one bad episode of the whole series. Not very well written, does not make much sense and also has some odd violence at the end with Kelly and Bortus shooting the soldiers.
If you don't want to watch much more, watch at least episode 6 and also episode 11. I beg you. Both are considered probably the best. Both deal with relationships, love, definitely no torture in those, I promise. Just great relationship stuff that touches your heart. Even the guys admit they had some tears in their eyes at the end of episode 11 In episode 6 we even get to see the orchestra that plays the Orville soundtrack music, I love that. Such a great episode from start till finish. I bet you will love it too. It is just round and complete.
To be continued in part 2/2
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There are those that say that season 2 concentrates a bit too much on relationship stuff and not enough on space exploration, but I really love this part of the series. Also the humor got much better, compared to season 2. Better blended in and not as offensive.
Episode 7 has a great theme, like Star Trek used to do, makes you think about current things in the world. I don't want to spoiler too much, I'm sure you can find episode synopsises if you like. But this one also blew me away in the end. It also shows the new Xeleyan girl Talla. I did love Alara very much and I was very apprehensive if I would like the new girl as well, but it did not take long for us to fall in love with her. She is very different, more mature and a big mouth at times, but also really great in her way.
Episodes 8 and 9 is a two parter with a big space battle that the boys enjoyed a lot and say it was well done, but I don't really care for that CGI stuff. Then, I am a girl ;)
Episode 12 made us all into Dolly Buster fans. I did not really know her beforehand to be honest, other than the name, but one of her songs features quite heavily, it is a great woman power episode and I then went to see the musical while I was in London. I never have seen the movie but I had great fun, and almost the whole audience were women, old and young. We had a blast.
Episodes 13 and 14 kinda belong together as well, with a time travel story and its implications of slight change, huge impact. No cliffhanger thankfully, but a great ending.
So I really hope you'll give it another chance, I want to take a bet that you will love it after finishing. So far all my friends who I told to watch ended up loving it. Will you try? For me?
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