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Post by polly on Jan 27, 2021 6:07:27 GMT
Quantum Leap was great at telling those very human stories but I don't remember this one either! (It's been a bit longer since I watched those though! I'll have to go through them again one of these days...) It's a show with a heart of gold. If you have the time, I would definitely recommend a revisit. Especially now with the new-ish Blu-ray set, since they've restored almost all of the licensed period music. Quantum Leap: "Jimmy" - Another fine episode. I have mentally challenged relatives, and I have worked with the handicapped for a number of years now. Between the real-world cruelty on one end of the spectrum, and Hollywood schmaltz on the other, it's something I think a lot of people don't understand, even if they mean well. No, special needs people are not worthless husks to be condescended to. Nor are they perfect angels to be put on a pedestal for the sake of Oscar bait. They are people just like the rest of us, warts and all. So, I'm impressed with this episode for showing how frustrating the situation is for both Sam and his host family as they try to work things out. It's about as real as I've seen from TV. Columbo: "Murder, a Self Portrait" - I think the painting of Columbo turned out very nicely. The dream sequences in this episode were beautifully shot, and the music was impeccable as well. Barsini the temperamental artist is just the kind of adversary I like to see Columbo go up against. He would have fit right in during the 70s run. While I'm not sold on some of the cheesy dream interpretation, this is my favorite episode of the 80s revival so far.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jan 27, 2021 11:53:24 GMT
Dead Pixels Season 2 Episodes 1&2 So Happy this show is back
All the Sins Episode 1
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jan 27, 2021 11:56:16 GMT
NCIS S18E06
MacGyver S05E06
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Post by mark687 on Jan 27, 2021 12:25:11 GMT
Finding Alice
(Comedy Drama with Keeley Hawes as a woman who when her Husband finds herself questioning her self-identity, featuring Joanna Lumley and Nigel Havers, worth sticking with for a late twist which puts a shock on a sub-plot )
Regards
mark687
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2021 14:44:23 GMT
I also watched all of Finding Alice yesterday although i came out of it less positively. The acting is superb , Keeley Hawes, Nigel Havers, Lumley are all excellent - even the daughter actress is great and certainly someone to watch going forward. And i did enjoy the “plot” even though it didn’t really do anything but i enjoyed being around the character's and the world. But i did find it odd as all the promotion labeled it a mystery and well the show had a fe “mysteries” i suppose but nothing that mysterious that is dragged out. And the reason why is because all the Mysteries are introduced in the last episode with little to no hints before that. One of the clearest signs of sequel baiting ive found in years and it really annoyed me. If you want to do a slice of life drama about getting past grief thats black comedy - do that. Want a mystery - do that. But don’t wait till the final episode to introduce mystery's out of no where when you wasted so much time doing nothing.
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Post by polly on Jan 28, 2021 6:26:57 GMT
Red Dwarf: Series 3, Episodes 3-4 - Another Starbug wrecked. They're starting to lose these things at a rate that would make Voyager shuttles blush. "Polymorph" is of course a classic. Both episodes help Kryten to come into his own after only minor roles in the first two.
Quantum Leap: "So Help Me God" - Doing a courtroom episode is a good idea, something we haven't seen just yet. I liked how sweaty and gross everyone was. Really sells the Louisiana heat! The racial tensions weren't as compelling here as in "Color of Truth," but they largely take a backseat to the legal wrangling anyhow.
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 28, 2021 20:13:05 GMT
Trying to watch Voyager Fair Haven. Emphasis on "trying".
OMG this might be the single most painful and embarrassing episode of Star Trek that I have seen so far.
I had been lucky I had avoided seeing it for 20 years. Sadly, it cannot be unseen.
So this is basically a story about Janeway creating (and playing with) an adult toy on the Holodeck. To make matters worse, we have Chakotay teasing her with a smirk and saying that he is happy "she has some fun".
And then the Doctor (of all people) is even advocating the use of holograms as willing "toys", well, let's call them what they are: sex slaves.
Who happen to have feelings (!!) since the poor thing broke down because Janeway abandoned it after having "fun" with it.
Oh, and they also have an "open door" policy on that holodeck program.
Seriously? Words fail me. This is wrong on so many levels I can't even.
Since we now have a more "adult" version of Star Trek running, maybe, one day, we even get an R18 version of this.
I might need bleach for my brain now.
Only reconciliation is from watching "Lower Decks" last weekend, where this is made a topic and Mariner is made to clean out the holodeck "biofilters" because they always clog up....
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jan 29, 2021 0:03:57 GMT
Resident Alien Episode 1 This was fantastic. Alan Tudyk is a riot and im looking forward to the rest of the series
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Post by polly on Jan 29, 2021 6:59:38 GMT
And then the Doctor (of all people) is even advocating the use of holograms as willing "toys", well, let's call them what they are: sex slaves.
Who happen to have feelings (!!) since the poor thing broke down because Janeway abandoned it after having "fun" with it.
Oh, and they also have an "open door" policy on that holodeck program.
"Fair Haven" is an awful episode, but I slightly disagree with you on your bolded point. Most holograms are not sentient like Moriarty or the Doctor, so it's not so much sex slavery as it is 3D/VR porn, and there's nothing wrong with that in principle. It's not much different than Dixon Hill, or the da Vinci program, they just serve different purposes. The real problem would come when - and I don't recall if it's this episode or its equally crummy sequel "Spirit Folk" - the town becomes self-aware. By that time, Janeway has built up a friendship with Sullivan, but how much of that is his newfound free will, and how much is because Janeway had him custom-built to please her? Tricky tricky. Quantum Leap: Season 2, Episodes 10-11 - Fun pair of shows. An off-Broadway (well, okay, Syracuse) musical and a haunted house. I like it when they tease other people possibly seeing or hearing Al. Sam having to perform on stage or on camera in some way is already very common, but we hadn't done a supernatural tale yet. Red Dwarf: "Timeslides" - Call me immature, but one of the most amusing things in this episode for me is the subdued, nervous titter the audience gives upon seeing " guest starring Adolf Hitler as himself." Because yeah, if I showed up to a taping and saw that, I might start wondering what I'd gotten myself into! Another great episode, and creates a great big tangle of continuity. The Simpsons: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" - With all 48 shorts down for the count, it's time to jump into the series proper. Having seen them now, Season 1 feels less like an outlier and more like a bridge between the Ullman Show and the series. I think it's for the best that "Some Enchanted Evening" had so many production problems, because this episode has secured itself as a holiday classic, and makes for a stronger premiere. I kind of miss the Season 1-2 feel, strange as that might be. There was a more down-to-earth feel. More focus on the family's struggle to make ends meet. A stronger resemblance to actual family life. Even the "golden years" of the show moved away from that fairly quickly. I like how the series developed and expanded throughout the 90s, but I just wish sometimes that more grounded mindset was kept in the mix more often. The Homer who goes into outer space and sings with the Be Sharps is a far cry from the Homer who contemplates suicide after losing his job, you know?
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 29, 2021 8:44:55 GMT
And then the Doctor (of all people) is even advocating the use of holograms as willing "toys", well, let's call them what they are: sex slaves.
Who happen to have feelings (!!) since the poor thing broke down because Janeway abandoned it after having "fun" with it.
Oh, and they also have an "open door" policy on that holodeck program.
"Fair Haven" is an awful episode, but I slightly disagree with you on your bolded point. Most holograms are not sentient like Moriarty or the Doctor, so it's not so much sex slavery as it is 3D/VR porn, and there's nothing wrong with that in principle. It's not much different than Dixon Hill, or the da Vinci program, they just serve different purposes. The real problem would come when - and I don't recall if it's this episode or its equally crummy sequel "Spirit Folk" - the town becomes self-aware. By that time, Janeway has built up a friendship with Sullivan, but how much of that is his newfound free will, and how much is because Janeway had him custom-built to please her? Tricky tricky.
Well, yes, sentient they are not, but apparently these programs have enough feelings and emotions to act against their programming, as Paris says: "I programmed him not to drink!" Sullivan is clearly suffering and was emotionally abused. Is this any less valid just because it might have been a glitch in his programming?
I find the old Star Trek discussion about programming and sentience pretty weird anyways, since as a biologist, I am aware that a lot of behaviours of humans and animals are also down to "programming". With a lot of things we do, we are not even aware that we are just following some very old software (and we just think it is our free will)- which can lead to such weird excesses like the toilet paper crisis at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. That was very basic mammal hoarding instinct.
Where exactly do you draw the line?
I agree, very tricky.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jan 29, 2021 9:42:45 GMT
WandaVision S01E04... Peeling away to the actual plot.
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Post by grinch on Jan 29, 2021 12:28:36 GMT
The Twilight Zone (Series 1, Episode 33)
“Mr Bevis” (Rod Serling)
Rod Serling was certainly many things as a writer but comedy was definitely not his forte. Nothing worse than a comedy that simply isn’t funny.
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Post by grinch on Jan 29, 2021 13:27:11 GMT
The Twilight Zone (Series 2, Episode 16)
“A Penny for Your Thoughts” (George Clayton Johnson)
Arguably this is a far more successful version of “Mr Bevis” It does help that Dick York is so very likeable.
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Post by project37 on Jan 29, 2021 13:33:04 GMT
WandaVision episode 4.
I can't praise this show enough. For me, the series (so far) is turning out to be exactly the creative left turn I'd needed to hold my interest in these characters and MCU storytelling in general. This episode was well-crafted in that just as I thought I understood the series format, well...the writers kept me on my toes! More offbeat MCU series like this, please!
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jan 29, 2021 18:37:14 GMT
WandaVision episode 4. Finally some proper plot... {Spoiler} albeit delivered in a clunky way with some cringy cliched dialogue (the FBI agent in particular is a terrible actor). This show really isn't living up to my expectations, everything has ground to a halt for a 25 minute exposition dump. It could have been so much cleverer in the way it handles the mystery, weaving it more into the sitcom narrative. This show really isn't as groundbreaking or weird as it thinks it is.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jan 29, 2021 19:19:31 GMT
Resident Alien. I think viewers that are coming to this fresh may enjoy it but for me all the cliches that the premise could have, & that the original comic book ignored, are amplified & indulged in here. Alan Tudyk for example gives a really broad obvious performance & without giving anything away is a totally unlikeable character pretty much from the off. Not one I will watch again. A shame because the comic book is great.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 19:58:38 GMT
Wandavision episode 4 {WandaVison episode 4} I imagine this will be a lot of peoples favourite episodes and i understand because, well plot lol. I thought it was good, not my favourite so far tho, that still goes to ep 2. There was a lot to like, Rambo was great, the guy from Ant man was funny and the girl from Thor was a nice little throwback who i didn’t know was going to be in it, nice surprise. I usually roll my eyes when shows get meta but i did think this was a pretty good example of this. Considering they wrote in the character's asking a lot of questions that had already been asked irl, it did show some clever foresite as they knew what people would be talking about. Dead vision was horrific, more of that please. Nice to see sword being set up too and the blip was great.
Guess main thing is i’m just really enjoying the sitcom world, i love the attention to detail and how accurate it is. It can be genuinely funny as well and so would have liked an episode more of that before the curtain was lifted but oh well, will be interesting to see going forward now we know they are real people and wanda is partly to blame. Still really captivating tv imo.
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Post by polly on Jan 29, 2021 20:20:12 GMT
Well, yes, sentient they are not, but apparently these programs have enough feelings and emotions to act against their programming, as Paris says: "I programmed him not to drink!" Sullivan is clearly suffering and was emotionally abused. Is this any less valid just because it might have been a glitch in his programming?
I find the old Star Trek discussion about programming and sentience pretty weird anyways, since as a biologist, I am aware that a lot of behaviours of humans and animals are also down to "programming". With a lot of things we do, we are not even aware that we are just following some very old software (and we just think it is our free will)- which can lead to such weird excesses like the toilet paper crisis at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. That was very basic mammal hoarding instinct.
Where exactly do you draw the line?
I agree, very tricky.
I think the holodeck as a narrative device causes more problems than it solves, precisely because it opens up all kinds of questions like this that the franchise usually isn't prepared to address except in special cases. And that's not even getting into the various ways it inevitably breaks down/becomes deadly/traps the characters etc. Programming vs sentience, well, yes, we have biological instinct and so forth, but we are also living beings aware of our own consciousness. I don't think humans are the only creatures capable of such a feat, but there is a distinction in comparison to machines and computer programs. My computer has programming as well, but it is not alive, it's not sentient, not aware of itself as a thinking entity. Anyway, where I would draw the line in a holodeck scenario, then, is this. When working as intended, no, there's nothing wrong with creating a Sullivan for yourself. It's no more slavery than me playing Grand Theft Auto is murder. It's when he starts exhibiting atypical behavior that is not part of his "script" that you need to rethink things. Especially since we already have documented cases of Moriarty and so forth achieving self-awareness. Really, if anyone in Starfleet had half a brain, after that first incident, new starships, like Voyager, should have been issued simpler, "dumb" holodecks which could be used for entertainment only to prevent these kinds of things happening by accident.
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 29, 2021 21:07:40 GMT
Well, yes, sentient they are not, but apparently these programs have enough feelings and emotions to act against their programming, as Paris says: "I programmed him not to drink!" Sullivan is clearly suffering and was emotionally abused. Is this any less valid just because it might have been a glitch in his programming?
I find the old Star Trek discussion about programming and sentience pretty weird anyways, since as a biologist, I am aware that a lot of behaviours of humans and animals are also down to "programming". With a lot of things we do, we are not even aware that we are just following some very old software (and we just think it is our free will)- which can lead to such weird excesses like the toilet paper crisis at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. That was very basic mammal hoarding instinct.
Where exactly do you draw the line?
I agree, very tricky.
I think the holodeck as a narrative device causes more problems than it solves, precisely because it opens up all kinds of questions like this that the franchise usually isn't prepared to address except in special cases. And that's not even getting into the various ways it inevitably breaks down/becomes deadly/traps the characters etc. Programming vs sentience, well, yes, we have biological instinct and so forth, but we are also living beings aware of our own consciousness. I don't think humans are the only creatures capable of such a feat, but there is a distinction in comparison to machines and computer programs. My computer has programming as well, but it is not alive, it's not sentient, not aware of itself as a thinking entity. Anyway, where I would draw the line in a holodeck scenario, then, is this. When working as intended, no, there's nothing wrong with creating a Sullivan for yourself. It's no more slavery than me playing Grand Theft Auto is murder. It's when he starts exhibiting atypical behavior that is not part of his "script" that you need to rethink things. Especially since we already have documented cases of Moriarty and so forth achieving self-awareness. Really, if anyone in Starfleet had half a brain, after that first incident, new starships, like Voyager, should have been issued simpler, "dumb" holodecks which could be used for entertainment only to prevent these kinds of things happening by accident.Totally agree with you on that one!
On a sillier note, no, I also would not mind creating a non-sentient Sullivan for myself... (although, come to think of it, maybe I could get hold of a black market copy of an old Bashir EMH since I once upon a time had a crush on Siddig El Fadil....) And I have been known for enjoying violent computer games like the Far Cry series.
So I also see the point you are making there....
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Post by doctorkernow on Jan 30, 2021 1:05:19 GMT
Hello again.
It's a Sin Ep. 2: Yes, I know it's old-fashioned but I'm quite enjoying watching this as broadvast every week. Sorry, enjoying is the wrong word. There is that trademark RTD humour woven like a golden thread throughout the series so far.
That said, of course there is the prejudice, the despair of not being loved for who you are by your family and the lone activists desperately trying to get the message out, to save lives.
I was struck by some similarities between the misinformation put out about HIV and AIDS and the current fake news and dangerous behaviour of the deniers.
It is for me an uncomfortable but necessary watch. The stories of the characters lead to thinking about a whole raft of attitudes and ideas. Love Will Tear us Apart by Joy Division and other Eighties songs added an extra layer to the drama.
Of course I shall be watching next week...
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