Second season of Orange is the New Black launched today.

 

Anyone else into this?

 

I have to admit to being a bit of a TV/movie-phile.  I generally buy Blu-Rays when there's a movie I want to see rather than just watching it on PPV or In-demand (I like to collect).

 

Premium TV has really been leading a creative resurgence in recent years, probably dating back to The Sopranos.  Its nice that Netflix has become a legitimate competitor for HBO (which puts out some really great shows like Sopranos, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood etc).

 

House of Cards was tremendous.

 

While cable channels like AMC are getting in on the act, I annoys me a bit.  The Walking Dead would be so much better on Netflix or HBO where they could truly appeal to adults (HBO passed on The Walking Dead when Thomas Jane was attached).

 

As for Orange, it took me a few episodes to get into last season but Im looking forward to banging out a few episodes tonight.

 

As an aside, for you Trekies, it was recently the 20th anniversary of the finale of TNG, one of the best Series' Finales in TV history.

Edited February 5, 20187 yr by The Unknown Poster

No no. They won't redo the sopranos. 

well tomorrow is the first day of May and May means negotiation season, but this time the stakes are raised big time, considering that a WGA strike is looming.....again, hopefully it'll be finished before August, so that everything can start on schedule....those poor this is us fans

3 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

No no. They won't redo the sopranos. 

Always thought Sop's was overrated.

 

 

3 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Always thought Sop's was overrated.

 

 

I don't even know what to say. Lol

greatest drama of all time. Although it's a show that suffered due to its creator taking so much time off. Plus he did get too cute at times. And the whole thing suffered by running out of time at the end. 

But watching it on DVD without a year off between seasons, it's phenomenal. Incredible cast. Incredible performances. 

To this day whenever I hear the HBO logo intro the sopranos theme song immediately pops into my head. Sort of like how the 20th century fox fanfare is so associated with Star Wars. 

10 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I don't even know what to say. Lol

greatest drama of all time. Although it's a show that suffered due to its creator taking so much time off. Plus he did get too cute at times. And the whole thing suffered by running out of time at the end. 

But watching it on DVD without a year off between seasons, it's phenomenal. Incredible cast. Incredible performances. 

To this day whenever I hear the HBO logo intro the sopranos theme song immediately pops into my head. Sort of like how the 20th century fox fanfare is so associated with Star Wars. 

I'd take The Wire over The Sopranos, but it's definitely up there.

of all the people out there....she chose him

 

http://tvline.com/2017/05/01/ryan-seacrest-live-with-kelly-ripa-new-co-host/

1 hour ago, iHeart said:

of all the people out there....she chose him

 

http://tvline.com/2017/05/01/ryan-seacrest-live-with-kelly-ripa-new-co-host/

Was hoping they'd cancel it.

and we have our first casualty of may

http://tvline.com/2017/05/01/pitch-cancelled-no-season-2-fox/

On 4/30/2017 at 8:21 PM, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Always thought Sop's was overrated.

 

 

agree greatly. I re watched it last year and it didnt hold up as well as id a thought. On top of that i allways thought it was kind of full of it self. 

 

21 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I don't even know what to say. Lol

greatest drama of all time. Although it's a show that suffered due to its creator taking so much time off. Plus he did get too cute at times. And the whole thing suffered by running out of time at the end. 

But watching it on DVD without a year off between seasons, it's phenomenal. Incredible cast. Incredible performances. 

To this day whenever I hear the HBO logo intro the sopranos theme song immediately pops into my head. Sort of like how the 20th century fox fanfare is so associated with Star Wars. 

Greatest drama? Breaking bad, game of thrones, MASH, The original law and order, the west wing, the X files, friday night lights, the twilight zone, star trek, and all in the family.

I havent seen stranger things, the wire, oz,  mad men or house of cards but those are reputedly in that top tier.  DR.who isnt my cup of tea but certainly worthy of mention. Same with Roots.

The sopranos tends to fall over it self too often. Trying to make you care about the kids only to see them turn into bigger piles of junk, same with camilla. The villains allways feel soft compared to tony. Like as soon as he gets over him self he will just crush them.  It seemed too often that things happened for the sake of happening. Like the assault on his therapist. The show is really one character deep. Can you imagine any of the others having a show based around them? The mark of a great show is supporting characters soo strong they could hold up their own story. The shows listed that ive seen all have that ability. Thats even more true in a drama show.  As the bread and butter is compelling story, not comedy, action or horror.

Id take deadwood, 24, the rockford files, and soa and the next tier over sopranos as well. 

I thought All in the Family was a comedy

 

and wait Camilla? are you sure it wasn't Carmela?

2 hours ago, iHeart said:

I thought All in the Family was a comedy

 

and wait Camilla? are you sure it wasn't Carmela?

idk i would say all in the family was multi faceted. it had every thing.

a mistake no one would make about a great show  

crisis averted

 

http://tvline.com/2017/05/02/writers-guild-strike-averted-no-wga-strike-tentative-deal/

11 hours ago, wbbfan said:

agree greatly. I re watched it last year and it didnt hold up as well as id a thought. On top of that i allways thought it was kind of full of it self. 

 

Greatest drama? Breaking bad, game of thrones, MASH, The original law and order, the west wing, the X files, friday night lights, the twilight zone, star trek, and all in the family.

I havent seen stranger things, the wire, oz,  mad men or house of cards but those are reputedly in that top tier.  DR.who isnt my cup of tea but certainly worthy of mention. Same with Roots.

The sopranos tends to fall over it self too often. Trying to make you care about the kids only to see them turn into bigger piles of junk, same with camilla. The villains allways feel soft compared to tony. Like as soon as he gets over him self he will just crush them.  It seemed too often that things happened for the sake of happening. Like the assault on his therapist. The show is really one character deep. Can you imagine any of the others having a show based around them? The mark of a great show is supporting characters soo strong they could hold up their own story. The shows listed that ive seen all have that ability. Thats even more true in a drama show.  As the bread and butter is compelling story, not comedy, action or horror.

Id take deadwood, 24, the rockford files, and soa and the next tier over sopranos as well. 

You've listed part of the core of the show as reason it was bad when it did exactly what was intended.  Making you care about kids only to have them become problems as they grow was an intended aspect of the over-all arc.  A lot of people sour on the Sopranos because Chase refused to make Tony a "good guy" or a "guy you love to hate".  He wanted to show that they were all pieces of ****.  It was a show where it was hard to root for anyone and if you did, they'd usually end up a victim (Adriana, Bobby etc).

Even Carmella.  She probably had one of the best character arcs on the show because she got to a point where she could choose to be out...and instead chose to be in.

The one thread I thought didnt get the time it deserved both being too rushed and then completely forgotten was the Doctor.  But in re-watching the series a couple of times, her arc is more clear.  And Chase does a good job of backing away from her at times, at other times having her blissfully unaware that she's actually helping Tony be a better mobster and then he implicitly showed that that was true...and then finally had her realise it even years after her own doctor tried to warn her. 

One thing I didnt pick up on until watching the series over was the relationship between the FBI agent and Tony.  It seemed almost like the FBI agent changed a lot in the final season but he was always sympathetic to Tony from the first season in more subtle ways.

I do think Chase got too cute and purposely avoided things the fans desperately wanted (the aforementioned Tony as good guy, the war with New York everyone wanted).  In some ways, if you watch Boardwalk Empire, its very similar to Sopranos if the Sopranos always "went there".  You really get a sense that the creator/writer of Boardwalk, who was a writer and producer for the Sopranos had all these ideas he couldnt use on the Sopranos and used them on Boardwalk. 

I havent seen much of Breaking Bad so I cant compare the two.  Game of Thrones?  Meh, I love GoT but one could also argue it ramps up the sex and violence to extend stories that move slower than needed.  I'd put Sopranos ahead of Games.  MASH and All In Th Family were basically sitcoms.  Law & Order?  Great show, but not a character drama.  In fact, one of its features was that it didnt care at all about its characters. 

To say Sopranos is one character deep, I mean really...that's just absurd.  Some of the finest acting on television with so many characters that had their own arcs.  The point of Dr Melfi being assaulted was to explore her character and her relationship with Tony.  We saw them get closer and closer...and she knew all she had to do was tell Tony and that rapist would be cut up into little pieces.  It was exploration of her own character and whether she could maintain her professionalism even in the face of her own victimization.  She counseled Tony, a guy who often victimized people.  And here she was, a victim.

It was one of the more powerful storylines on the show.

The Sopranos spin off I would have liked to see would have been Tony's father and young Uncle Junior.  Those flashback episodes were great.  I always thought the series would end with a more definitive future for the mob family.  I thought Meadow would end up taking over.  They definitely showed her going in that direction.

And anyone who says Sons of Anarchy is better than the Sopranos is like saying the Moose are better than the Jets.  SOA is Sopranos light in every respect.  Acting, cast, writing.  Everything.  And I own the entire SOA series and liked it.  But it was a series trying to be the Sopranos and falling short...which is not an insult.

Also, the position the Sopranos holds as the precursor to a lot of these shows cant be understated.  Yes, the Wire is there too.  But the Sopranos really took the adult drama series into the mainstream and made the idea of having premium cable (and later Netflix) a requirement to enjoying TV designed for adults.

1 hour ago, iHeart said:

crisis averted

 

http://tvline.com/2017/05/02/writers-guild-strike-averted-no-wga-strike-tentative-deal/

Thank goodness.  This could have destroyed a lot of TV/Movies for the next 6 months to a year just like it did back in 2007-08.

mostly just shortened seasons or ended seasons, or in case of when the expiry date was, delayed seasons

2 minutes ago, iHeart said:

mostly just shortened seasons or ended seasons, or in case of when the expiry date was, delayed seasons

One of the issues when writers strike is that it impacts other people too.  And it can hurt production.  You cant technically alter the script at all.  So if the director wants to film something differently, he cant unless the actors "ad lib" on their own.  Definitely for the best that it was worked out.

Since Im following the production of the new Trek series, this was something that could have impacted their start date as its a limited series so they didnt want to begin airing if they didnt have all the episodes complete.

29 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

One of the issues when writers strike is that it impacts other people too.  And it can hurt production.  You cant technically alter the script at all.  So if the director wants to film something differently, he cant unless the actors "ad lib" on their own.  Definitely for the best that it was worked out.

Since Im following the production of the new Trek series, this was something that could have impacted their start date as its a limited series so they didnt want to begin airing if they didnt have all the episodes complete.

Another impact on start date?

Gizmodo story says it all...

http://io9.gizmodo.com/what-the-****-is-going-on-with-star-trek-discovery-1794639961

 

Edited May 2, 20178 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

5 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

You've listed part of the core of the show as reason it was bad when it did exactly what was intended.  Making you care about kids only to have them become problems as they grow was an intended aspect of the over-all arc.  A lot of people sour on the Sopranos because Chase refused to make Tony a "good guy" or a "guy you love to hate".  He wanted to show that they were all pieces of ****.  It was a show where it was hard to root for anyone and if you did, they'd usually end up a victim (Adriana, Bobby etc).

Even Carmella.  She probably had one of the best character arcs on the show because she got to a point where she could choose to be out...and instead chose to be in.

The one thread I thought didnt get the time it deserved both being too rushed and then completely forgotten was the Doctor.  But in re-watching the series a couple of times, her arc is more clear.  And Chase does a good job of backing away from her at times, at other times having her blissfully unaware that she's actually helping Tony be a better mobster and then he implicitly showed that that was true...and then finally had her realise it even years after her own doctor tried to warn her. 

One thing I didnt pick up on until watching the series over was the relationship between the FBI agent and Tony.  It seemed almost like the FBI agent changed a lot in the final season but he was always sympathetic to Tony from the first season in more subtle ways.

I do think Chase got too cute and purposely avoided things the fans desperately wanted (the aforementioned Tony as good guy, the war with New York everyone wanted).  In some ways, if you watch Boardwalk Empire, its very similar to Sopranos if the Sopranos always "went there".  You really get a sense that the creator/writer of Boardwalk, who was a writer and producer for the Sopranos had all these ideas he couldnt use on the Sopranos and used them on Boardwalk. 

I havent seen much of Breaking Bad so I cant compare the two.  Game of Thrones?  Meh, I love GoT but one could also argue it ramps up the sex and violence to extend stories that move slower than needed.  I'd put Sopranos ahead of Games.  MASH and All In Th Family were basically sitcoms.  Law & Order?  Great show, but not a character drama.  In fact, one of its features was that it didnt care at all about its characters. 

To say Sopranos is one character deep, I mean really...that's just absurd.  Some of the finest acting on television with so many characters that had their own arcs.  The point of Dr Melfi being assaulted was to explore her character and her relationship with Tony.  We saw them get closer and closer...and she knew all she had to do was tell Tony and that rapist would be cut up into little pieces.  It was exploration of her own character and whether she could maintain her professionalism even in the face of her own victimization.  She counseled Tony, a guy who often victimized people.  And here she was, a victim.

It was one of the more powerful storylines on the show.

The Sopranos spin off I would have liked to see would have been Tony's father and young Uncle Junior.  Those flashback episodes were great.  I always thought the series would end with a more definitive future for the mob family.  I thought Meadow would end up taking over.  They definitely showed her going in that direction.

That fundamental flaw will allways keep it from being great. That and the fact the era it came out in allowed it to shock audiences a great deal. 

The fact her weak an uninteresting story is one of the better ones out side of tony alone kills it. How many great shows are 1 character deep? 

Got does ramp up the sex and violence, but so did the sopranos for its era. The difference is you are compelled in good and bad ways about the people having sex. With out that, you have spartacus light. 

5 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

And anyone who says Sons of Anarchy is better than the Sopranos is like saying the Moose are better than the Jets.  SOA is Sopranos light in every respect.  Acting, cast, writing.  Everything.  And I own the entire SOA series and liked it.  But it was a series trying to be the Sopranos and falling short...which is not an insult.

Also, the position the Sopranos holds as the precursor to a lot of these shows cant be understated.  Yes, the Wire is there too.  But the Sopranos really took the adult drama series into the mainstream and made the idea of having premium cable (and later Netflix) a requirement to enjoying TV designed for adults.

The early 2 or so season of soa was hands down better then sopranos.

You can chase back precursors as far as you want, mash set up this stuff ages ago. Take away the shock and sopranos stands up far worse then it did originally. Not to mention the sopranos was and is the god father light. 

5 hours ago, Logan007 said:

Thank goodness.  This could have destroyed a lot of TV/Movies for the next 6 months to a year just like it did back in 2007-08.

No joke, the last thing televised media needs is another big influx of reality tv...

SOA was not event in the same league as sopranos. We can agree to disagree though. I just find it perplexing that someone would love SOA and dislike sopranos when they are essentially the same genre but one has better acting and writing. 

Sopranos was about twenty characters deep. 

Quite a story here. I dare you to watch this without getting teary eyed...

 

 

15 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Quite a story here. I dare you to watch this without getting teary eyed...

 

Shut up!  YOU'RE crying!

 

Glad things turned out at least reasonably well for him.

Very nice of him to share the story because realistically, he has the means to pay for whatever care his family needs.  But his point was, what if he didnt.  My little sister was born with a hole in her heart too (and other heart issues).  many open heart surgeries were needed.  So yeah we have health care but the expense of repeated trips to Toronto and London add up.

Then you face the choice of having surgery here with less skilled doctors and equipment.  if you cant afford to go to London to be seen by the best in the world, what do you do? 

16 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

SOA was not event in the same league as sopranos. We can agree to disagree though. I just find it perplexing that someone would love SOA and dislike sopranos when they are essentially the same genre but one has better acting and writing. 

Sopranos was about twenty characters deep. 

I love the genre, soa's taper down after the first 2-3 or so seasons was greater then sopranos but with a better ending and a much stronger first stretch. Sopranos i dont find to have such a strong stretch at any point. Id say hands down the supporting acting and writting was a lot better on soa. James gandolfini is truly top tier in that genre. Up there with the best from the godfather. Despite writing that was less then his acting. Aside from him it was real house wives of new jersey.