Part 1 of Makers: Women Who Make America on PBS.

Recorded that for Claire. Watching the third Parade's End. No mentions here yet?

Oh, is it on?  Shit, here's to hoping I can find the first couple episodes...

 

Spritzer did mention it, in response to something about Sherlock and Luther and something else someone else said -- Life on Mars, perhaps?  No, something more recent.

It's one of the best TV anything I've ever seen so definitely worth a watch. 

Yup, Definitely worth it. All of them

Crap TV Supernatural Charmed Etc. But I forgot how hot Phoebe and Piper were And the truthspell schtick was kind of hilarious What is your master plan, evil villain? (Proceeds to tell everything while banging head against wall) Sent frum mah phone-blet using Tapatalk.

Finished The Wire, Season 3 

Not bad, huh?

This showing is getting more addictive by the season. It's going to suck when I finish all of them.

Isn't season 3 the "white season" (the union/docks one)? Not the best but more goodness to come in the last two. Sheeeeeeeeit.

I thought that was the second season. Three's politics right?

You're right, the third season was better than that, which is why Shelly liked it.

Ric is right.

I'm officially throwing my support behind the second season. The fifth is the one I had the most trouble with. Shelly, I remember you starting Breaking Bad. I think there was a darkness/hubby issue, but ever get very far with that?

I am loving Breaking Bad but I have to twist hubby's arm to get him to watch it. He doesn't like it because (1) the separation/divorce stuff brings back bad memories (2) he dislikes all the characters except the son (there are no "good guys"). We have 2 episodes left of Season 4 to watch. Hopefully I canget him to watch them this weekend.

the no good guys is kinda the point of the story tho.  

I don't know, I'm only in season 2, but Hank's been a good guy so far.  Yeah, he's a misogynist pig and a typical "loud American" -- full of bluster and always needing to be the alpha, but...I don't know, I guess I've just known people like that before, and they've been good people, so I transfer their characteristics to him.

 

But that said, I can see why he's not very likeable, so even though he's a good guy, hubby might not want to watch the show just for him.

Claire wouldn't watch Breaking Bad after a few episodes. It made her nervous and she didn't like the characters. I have watched all of the rest of it solo.

i get a strange comfort out of how uncomfortable it is.

I believe part of what the writers were going for initially was that the "bad guys" had reasons for you to root for them, and the "good guys" all have reasons for you to dislike them.  Blurring the lines, as it were.

I can certainly sympathize with lines drawn over uneasiness. I have mine and they're not far from this. 

 

I guess where I differentiate BB from 24, The Shield, etc. is the surgical use of violence, shifting loyalties, POV conflicts, etc. to tell an overarching [morality?] tale. There's hardly a gratuitous use of conflict in the series so far (a trait shared with The Wire). Look at the individual deaths in the series. Each more morally indefensible than the last. They're deliberating taking steps down. It reminds me of David O. Russell's Three Kings - a war film where every bullet had a purpose. I'll go deeper in an uncomfortable realm as long as it's justified, though there's still a limit.

 

And probably equally amazing (and related) is the old good guy/bad guy bubble structure. The Godfathers operatic tale is all about that. Root for Corleones 'cause the other families are even worse. Scorsese did his take with Goodfellas by popping the bubble and bringing the public in. BBs weakness may be avoiding the street users (with the exception of a little ATM tinkering), but I love the shifting multiple bubbles on various levels. Walt, Jesse, Skyler, Hank, Mike, etc. are each others gardian angels at different times. And it rarely feels like "A ha, they're going for gray!". There can be TV tricks, but overall it's just strongly written conflicting POVs (yet, never forgetting the 'downfall' main story). It's pretty amazing. I really don't know if the Walt or Hank character transformation is more fun to watch. Hank was the opposite of good in the first season "I'll take care of your family" incredible scene. Not exactly evil, but so very wrong. Hank and Walt, a double helix.

 

EDIT: We live in an interesting TV time. The Sopranos was so good, who would have thought we'd have multiple series (Wire, BB) progressing past it so soon after? 

Edited March 7, 201313 yr by blessingx

The New Joe Schmo Show

The Alias Smith & Jones pilot.

Convinced hubby to watch the last 2 episodes of Season 4 of Breaking Bad with me tonight!  Loved it. 

Edited March 10, 201313 yr by shellylh

The Alias Smith & Jones pilot.

Wat?!