Digging BBC's Sherlock, Cummonherbach is perfect as the title character. On the negative side, the show can get pretty over the top at times and they were probably better off following the early episodes' "one crime at a time" format.

...Cummonherbach? Cum on her back?

Still been hardcore addicted to Critical Role, and getting closer to being actually caught up to current episodes. A long journey, but a great one.

One of the worries I've had about the show, and which the cast acknowledges, is that the dynamic of suddenly playing D&D in front of a bunch of cameras would be different from their home games. At first they said it didn't change much, but over time of course it has. On a basic level this bothered me, but the more I thought about it the more I've come to like it, actually. The cast are all actors, most of which are voice actors for animated things or video games or whatever that I get the feeling are difficult to get emotionally invested in, so this weekly 3-4 hour roleplaying session, where they're pretending to be people saving the world, living, dying and loving together, is a huge opportunity to really dive deep into their characters. It's easy to see the bleedover from their real personalities into the characters they play (since we also get to see so much of them out of character), but it's more difficult to pick up on the things that are *acting* and not just extensions of the cast's own personalities.

I used to think Travis Willingham (Grog the Barbarian) was the most talented actor of the bunch, and a few key scenes have really shown how much he can do with such a simpleminded character, with really brilliant moments of child-like innocence (which, naturally, are often used for comic relief) where he either expresses emotions or ideas that are too difficult for the other members of Vox Machina to show, or else forces them to say what they really feel by not understanding emotional complexities unless they're spelled out for him. Then, of course, there's the few moments where he's been absolutely terrifying, where his shaky moral compass and tunnel vision, combined with his dominating close-quarters combat prowess, make him this absolutely menacing presence on the screen/in our imaginations.

But shit, the episode I just watched where

Strange to even type this out, but even given that this is a Twitch stream show of people playing D&D, that was seriously one of the most powerful portrayals of the depths of depression and self-loathing I have ever witnessed. Sam Riegel is beyond talented. That he put that much work and, obviously, emotion into the performance of his character was just staggering. So hard to watch, but brilliant. Can't wait to see where this show goes next.

Defenders was pretty solid.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is finally coming back after a long hiatus, what with Larry David writing and starring in a pretty good TV movie called Clear History, and also writing and starring in Fish in the Dark, a Broadway play.

Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6.

I don't think I've even seen the last season, or if I have it's been a long time. I'll have to watch some more of the show just to get reacquainted with it.

Is the series Blade of the Immortal worth watching? I'm all about Kurosawa films and loved Afrosamurai.

Rick & Morty Season 3 has kept up the great writing, biting dialog, quality, and creativity of the first two seasons so far. It's pretty fucking great. So many great moments already.

If it keeps up the quality, this will be the best season yet. The humor and cleverness are as good as ever, but this season they're also trying for a larger story in a way and I like how they actually have more character development than before. I dig how it's still a high flying zany space adventure type of show on the surface, but the core of it is really just this dysfunctional fucked up family. Every episode so far has been fucking great.

Anyone seen Ozark yet? Found myself really enjoying that. Jason Bateman is really doing some cool stuff these days.

If it isn't The Hogan Family I'm not interested.

Not familiar with that - but I really like Ozark and his film from last year, The Family Fang. Dude is really stepping it up lately.

Most shows fall into their groove around seasons 3-6, and then there's typically a decline after 6. So, that in mind, even after incredible initial seasons, Rick and Morty is set to just get better for a while. Hopefully it really does and can continue this pace.

Was loving the new season of Rick and Morty too. Unfortunately, my tv just bit the dust and I missed the newest Jerry-centric episode.

Speaking of, no one in my immediate family has been in the tv market in 5+ years, so I don't have anyone I can get really relevant advice on buying one from. MA, y'all got any recommendations on a solid, cheapish tv in the 30-36" range?

Vizio is pretty affordable and of a decent quality. I got a 65" 4K for $500. That's not normal, it was actually returned to Target by someone else, marked half price (instead of $1000) and my mom paid half of it for an Xmas present for me. But for the most part, the Vizios I've used have looked good and they tend to be pretty affordable. Maybe give those a gander.

I've been watching Rick & Morty online, but have been hooking up my laptop to the TV to properly enjoy it.

I dunno about best season yet, but it's really awesome so far. Did you guys see the Jerry episode? The part on the ship (you know the one) had some fantastic animation. One of the parts I appreciate most about the show is that even though the basic character designs are as simple as with the Simpsons or Family Guy, they're never afraid to bust out some serious animation chops for more complex scenes. I hate it when animated shows hardly ever make good use of their medium.

The Jerry episode was great, but I don't think I can say which is the best of the season. Probably my favorite of last season was the one with Unity the hive-mind "girl"friend. The Jerry episode was pretty great overall. They crammed so much character development into so many quick scenes. Jerry and Rick finally digging into each other was great. I'm also really liking Morty this season. He's jaded, but clearly growing up. He's sly and experienced and steps up constantly as the real problem solver.

New season of Vikings looks like it is gonna be pretty great - clearly some more money at their disposal.

Would you say either season 1 or 2 is notably better? I dunno, I like all of it - but this new stuff is just on another level for me.

Pickle Rick is my favorite one so far. Loved what it had to say about the different kinds of intelligence and how Rick's genius doesn't make him perfect - good character stuff. Plus some hilarious, OTT violence - just fucking mayhem...

Finished The Defenders - a fun show overall. Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter were incredible as usual. Sigourney Weaver was impressive although her character was underused and mostly relegated to boring speeches.

That was my main problem overall. Good action, some exciting stuff going on, but a large chunk of the dialogue was extremely dull exposition and mystical ninja back-story stuff I just didn't care about. Too much of it was just Iron Fist repeating something in a simpler way with a dumb look on his face that we already understood. A lot of the dialogue just felt like filler.

Fun action and all, but a lot of it sold itself short and didn't have the kind of metaphoric resonance or meaning that the individual shows tried for. Less than the sum of its parts.

Yup. It was already well-made before, hope to see a great new season.

Just too early to say. I've re-watched season 1 and 2 a bunch of times and had a lot of time to think about them. Once season 3 has been done for a while, I'll be able to say for sure where it stands in the rankings.

For sure - I just think it will be if they keep up the quality of these episodes. I think most of the ones this season, with the possible exception of Rickmancing the Stone, have been some of the show's all time best episodes. And even Rickmancing the Stone was still excellent.

Here are my reviews of each Twin Peaks episode so far: http://kluseba.eklablog.com/twin-peaks- ... -c29272494

Only three episodes left! Episode sixteen will air on August 27th and the last two will air on September 3rd. Can't wait!

I don't know if I've ever hated another character on TV as much as I've hated Chad.

So, I watched every episode of Black Mirror and it's an amazing show. It's like a cross between The Twilight Zone and X-Files. Those people did a great job of writing stories that are both eerie but realistic.

weren't they all written by Brooker?

Yeah, I dig that Black Mirror action too - that San Bernadino or whatever episode was incredible.

Entire History of You--the best episode of the series by far--was written by Jesse Armstrong, of Peep Show, The Thick of It and Fresh Meat fame. Also, the first episode of the third season was written by Rashida Jones, iirc.

Yeah that's by far my favorite ep too. It mostly stays away from the "technology is bad" message some of the less good episodes have, presenting something that is obviously incredibly useful but also showing how it could end up causing unhappiness anyway.

Does anyone here still watch Homeland?

I just finished Season 4. I thought it was pretty damn good. I hadn't watched in a while because I was watching other shows but I always thought Homeland, generally speaking, was well written.

Looking forward to seasons 5 and 6.

Is Homeland season 5 finally out on DVD yet? I remember I kept trying to get it for my birthday/Christmas for more than a year and it just would never come out.

Season 4 is definitely still quite strong, although I definitely had some complaints about the characters, since

S5 was so bad it made me drop the show. Haven't touched S6 and don't miss it at all.

Yeah, it's definitely gone way downhill...I might keep up with it but just for something to watch, rather than something exciting I look forward to.

Anybody watching Halt & Catch Fire?

First two eps of the new season were decent, gonna check out the third soon.