What are you watching right now?

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

Criminal Minds: "Amplification"

[Captain Comics]

We began Andor last night. We hadn't started it because we were kept busy with all the other stuff we're watching. But some  of that has ended so we've got a little extra time now

I really enjoyed it, primarily because of Diego Luna. The guy can really sell desperation.

Also because of what all the headlines on my news feed have been saying: This is not a Grand Guignol Starwalker story starring all the Bigs in galactic politics, but instead a small story about how small-minded (but relentless) fascism is, and how it grinds everybody down in tiny daily humiliations and microagressions. Plus how it tends to reward the small-minded and amoral. These are truths, and they should be front of mind for Americans these days.

We've watched the first three episodes, which serve as an origin of sorts for Andor (in flashbacks). Looking forward to more.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Andor is in our near future. We want to finish Strange New Worlds first.

[doc photo]

In some ways Andor reminds me more of Blade Runner than Star Wars. And it shows again that the best Star Wars stories are the smaller ones not involving any of the key characters from the original saga.

[Captain Comics]

This.

doc photo said:

In some ways Andor reminds me more of Blade Runner than Star Wars. And it shows again that the best Star Wars stories are the smaller ones not involving any of the key characters from the original saga.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

STRANGE NEW WORLDS: I just finished watching season one of the latest Star Trek show. I've been summarizing the episodes in a SNW thread, but it has gotten fewer views per post than any other discussion I have ever launched (except Ultraman and Doctor Who audios). I assume either that no one is watching SNW (or have watched it so long ago they no longer care to discuss it). If it's the former, I urge fans of TOS to watch SNW, if not on Paramount+ then on DVD.

It will be released, in a variety of formats (starting at $30), on December 6 of this year.

NOTE: My discussion if very spoiler-heavy so don't read it before you've seen the show if you're concerned about that.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

I don't stream, so I'm waiting for the release. Very much looking forward to that. I'll read the thread when I've seen the shows.

[Captain Comics]

We just watched The Northman and quite enjoyed it. Of course I did, given that it's based primarily on the legend of Amleth as written by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, and I do love me some Vikings. But Joan loved it too, given the mystical/pagan/witch elements, which she enjoys. Wikipedia informs me that the Amleth saga is also the basis for Shakespeare's Hamlet, which I did not know.

We watched a movie, because we had a marathon yesterday and caught up on everything we're watching, which at the moment includes Rings of Power (season just concluded), She-Hulk (season just concluded), Archer (season just concluded), Star Trek: Lower Decks, Stargirl, Andor, Pennyworth, War of the Worlds, Avenue 5 and The Patient. No, we didn't watch all those shows yesterday, but we did watch most of 'em. We'll have House of the Dragon tonight.

Also tonight, I hope to fit in 1917 (finally found it on a streamer we already have) and Jurassic Park: Dominion. (On Peacock, which we got so the wife can watch Yellowstone and 1883.)

Most of the shows we're watching end with October. November brings Wednesday and Titans, but it still promises to be a lean month.

[Richard Willis]

For my part, there are only so many hours in the day. Having given up watching several broadcast network shows, I devote a lot of time to keeping up with politics on MSNBC, watching older movies, watching new (or new to me) movies, and current offerings from Marvel and DC. I am completely over any shows in the Star Wars universe.

I haven't yet touched season 4 of Stranger Things, season 3 of The Boys or season 3 of Doom Patrol. On Doom Patrol, I still have only watched half of season 2.

On Star Trek, the next thing I'll likely watch is Lower Decks because (AFAIK) it's out of continuity.

On the rest of the streaming Star Trek shows, I want to watch them in the order they were released. So far, I have stopped halfway through season 2 of Discovery. I have to watch the rest of Discovery, all of Picard, then Strange New Worlds.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I'd skip Discovery entirely and start with Strange New Worlds. 

[JD DeLuzio]

We made it through the first season of Stargirl and will be taking a hiatus before we move on to Season 2. It has some good things, but it's a muddle. It doesn't consistently earn its payoffs (the Solomon Grundy arc, for example), and it's oddball political twist makes no sense. Why would Dr. Ito support such a plan? Where is the discussion about someone fighting for goals the protagonist actually agrees with, and topping them because they're using horrific means to achieve them? And why does nobody look up to the sky in this world? What exactly is the ground-level feeling about superheroes, given that they're an established reality in the show?

Hey, I know it's a great-looking superhero show with some solid actors, but if you're going to put stuff on the table, you need to address them.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

OUR GANG: We're now up to 1925 of the silent era, and Mickey, Ernie, Jackie, Mary and Joe are now as familiar to me as Spanky, Buckwheat, Darla and Alfalfa. Even the actors I once thought of as the "older" rascals of the early sound era have yet to be introduced as little kids. An interesting window into the past, seriously.

ANDOR: We had been putting this one off as I had heard it's tied to my least favorite Star Wars film, but with nothing else we were interested in watching, we finally gave in. We watched the first episode but neither of us found a single sympathetic character. "Star Wars" is (or was at one time) a.k.a. "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker" and I have observed that the further removed from the main character the story is, the less I like it. This observation holds true for the movies as well; the ones without Luke barely qualify as "Star Wars" at all in my estimation.

THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR: We watched, and liked, The Haunting of Hill House, but didn't bother with the unrelated follow-up season. More recently, though, we both read The Turning of the Screw and watched The Innocents, a faithful movie adaptation. During the process of researching adaptations, we learned that "Bly Manor" is an adaptation as well, albeit a none-too-faithful updated retelling. that's okay, though; Dark Shadows' version wasn't all that faithful, either. When it was over, we spent a half hour or so discussing the differences and similarities of the three versions. 

SHE-HULK: With activity slow here yesterday, I went to YouTube and found my way to several fanboy reviews. Man, they HATE this show. I find their responses absolutely hilarious. Trolls. 

[Richard Willis]

Being totally unfamiliar with Dr Ito/Dragon King (not having read All Star Squadron) I have no opinion on what he would do.

Hang in there. Season 2 and Season 3 (to this point) have made me happy.

JD DeLuzio said:

We made it through the first season of Stargirl and will be taking a hiatus before we move on to Season 2. It has some good things, but it's a muddle. It doesn't consistently earn its payoffs (the Solomon Grundy arc, for example), and it's oddball political twist makes no sense. Why would Dr. Ito support such a plan? Where is the discussion about someone fighting for goals the protagonist actually agrees with, and topping them because they're using horrific means to achieve them? And why does nobody look up to the sky in this world? What exactly is the ground-level feeling about superheroes, given that they're an established reality in the show?

Hey, I know it's a great-looking superhero show with some solid actors, but if you're going to put stuff on the table, you need to address them.