What show are you watching right now?

[heydaralon]

Set up episode that moved shit along quicker than the shows usual pacing, which at this point in the story is necessary. They set up the big penultimate episode that they build to every season. What Game of Thrones lacks in consistency it makes up for with big moments, usually in the second last episode of the season. GoT is a lot like Boardwalk Empire in that way, it drags while setting up a big explosion and then they make sure to make that explosion go off with extra big bang at the end of the season. If GoT finishes as well as Boardwalk did, that would be nice, that show stuck it's landing far better than I ever expected, maybe GoT will do the same?

Still not seeing a ruined show here, it just isn't as good as last season was, at least thus far, and they are saving a lot for the final season, but hell even The Americans fell into that trap in it's penultimate season, and that is a better show than Game of Thrones. Hell even Mad Men followed a similar trajectory in second last year on TV, if you'll recall, before finishing out real strong in the second half of it's final season a year later. Lots of quality shows have suffered a penultimate season slump, it's not the end of the world, and it isn't always a sign that a show won't nail it's landing. Food for thought.

I never got into the Americans. It always felt very convoluted to me. You are right about Mad Men. They ended it ok I guess, but after season 3 I felt like that show was not nearly as compelling. Still better than almost everything else on cable though.

[StCapps]

I never got into the Americans. It always felt very convoluted to me. You are right about Mad Men. They ended it ok I guess, but after season 3 I felt like that show was not nearly as compelling. Still better than almost everything else on cable though.

Mad Men came out the gates hot, cooled down for a season or so, and then came back real strong in Season 5, before slowing down to set up a real strong finish in the last 8 episodes or so, particularly the final four episodes.

[heydaralon]

I never got into the Americans. It always felt very convoluted to me. You are right about Mad Men. They ended it ok I guess, but after season 3 I felt like that show was not nearly as compelling. Still better than almost everything else on cable though.

Mad Men came out the gates hot, cooled down for a two seasons, then came back real strong in Season 5 before finishing real strong in the last 8 episodes or so, particularly the final four episodes.

I got tired of Don's little existential crisis vacations. By the last couple of episodes, I was just bored with it. Dude you've pulled this horseshit about 20 times now. Everyone knows you aren't really Don Draper, you aren't mysterious anymore. Cut the shit, stop hanging out with those beatnik faggots, and accept that your lot in life is to fuck beautiful women and make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

[StCapps]

I got tired of Don's little existential crisis vacations. By the last couple of episodes, I was just bored with it. Dude you've pulled this horseshit about 20 times now. Everyone knows you aren't really Don Draper, you aren't mysterious anymore. Cut the shit, stop hanging out with those beatnik faggots, and accept that your lot in life is to fuck beautiful women and make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Well yeah and he does cut the shit and do just that, at least for a little while lulz. See what I mean, not the greatest middle stretch, yet still finished strong.

Even The Sopranos started out strong, before it slowed down a little and meandered, before it finished real strong, a similar trajectory to Mad Men, and that's one of the three greatest TV drama's of all time. Penultimate season, not being the greatest, not the end of the world, it's been known to happen, it's like I say, not every TV show can be Breaking Bad or The Wire.

[heydaralon]

I got tired of Don's little existential crisis vacations. By the last couple of episodes, I was just bored with it. Dude you've pulled this horseshit about 20 times now. Everyone knows you aren't really Don Draper, you aren't mysterious anymore. Cut the shit, stop hanging out with those beatnik faggots, and accept that your lot in life is to fuck beautiful women and make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Well yeah and he does cut the shit and do just that, at least for a little while lulz. See what I mean, not the greatest middle stretch, yet still finished strong.

Even The Sopranos started out strong, before it slowed down a little and meandered, before it finished real strong, a similar trajectory to Mad Men, and that's one of the three greatest TV drama's of all time. Penultimate season, not being the greatest, not the end of the world, it's been known to happen, it's like I say, not every TV show can be Breaking Bad or The Wire.

I hated the first season of the sopranos. Its so bad I ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. Season 4 was kind of lousy too, at least compared to the others.

[StCapps]

I hated the first season of the sopranos. Its so bad I ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. Season 4 was kind of lousy too, at least compared to the others.

The first season is my favorite, the second season is also one of the best of the show, then the final season is up there with the others. Why would you pretend the first season doesn't exist?

[heydaralon]

I hated the first season of the sopranos. Its so bad I ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. Season 4 was kind of lousy too, at least compared to the others.

The first season is my favorite, the second season is also one of the best of the show, then the final season is up there with the others. Why would you pretend the first season doesn't exist?

Its terrible lol! The acting is bad, the writing is bad, the music is bad. They use all those tired mob cliches, godfather references etc. The dialogue seems very forced and cheesy. Its almost like a show length version of that shitty Analyze that movie. The show always had a kind of dark humor, but season 1 the humor is over the top, more cartoonish. I can't suspend enough disbelief for many of the plots, like the one where he kills the guy in witness protection while he takes his daughter to college. I have tried watching it multiple times with an open mind, but I really dislike season 1. I give the Chase some slack, because they were getting their footing down, but it makes me cringe when I watch it. To each his own I guess.

Check out this scene in particular:



The lines are awful and the actors are so bad. Its like David Chase in season 1 had to use every mob pop culture reference to make up for writers block

[heydaralon]

One thing the sopranos always struggled with is making the deaths look realistic. Season 1 is pretty bad in this regard, but season 2 also had some hammy and over the top death scenes. The Matthew Bevalaqua one with Pussy and Tony was fake looking and overacted. The guns didn't have recoil and didn't eject shell casings, and every time someone gets killed they have to be a in a moving car that will crash into something. As the show went on, the deaths became more realistic. I realize these might be small things to quibble about, but I have seen the show at least once a year for over a decade and I have started to notice minor shit like that. It bugs me a bit.

[StCapps]

That's my favorite episode of the season, College. What's not believable about it? The part where he's dumb enough to drive after the guy high speed like because it might tip of his daughter, while he plays it off like he's just goofing around and taking it too far? Or the pay phone use being overly heat? Seemed completely believable to me, even if he wasn't being the most careful about things. He thought the guy never saw him, the other guy thought Tony never saw him, was fucking great. Gandolfini is great in first season acting wise, Eddie Falco does a good job, Uncle Junior is great. Godfather references are jokes, I found them quite funny, the references to Goodfellas, especially with Christopher shooting the guy in the foot and saying "it happens", that shit is fucking gold. Are you trolling me?

[heydaralon]

That's my favorite episode of the season, College. What's not believable about it? The part where he's dumb enough to drive after the guy high speed like because it might tip of his daughter, while he plays it off like he's just goofing around and taking it too far? Aside from that, seemed completely believable to me. Gandolfini is great in first season acting wise, Eddie Falco does a good job, Uncle Junior is great. Godfather references are jokes, I found them quite funny, the references to Goodfellas with Christopher shooting the guy in the foot and saying "it happens", that shit is fucking gold. Are you trolling me?

Not at all. Many people like that season, I can't stand it for whatever reason. I think the show starts to get good in season 2 and peaks in Season 5 and 6. I think if it had stayed in the same quality of season 1 throughout I would never have liked it in the first place. Meadow and AJ's acting in season 1 is pretty terrible compared to later seasons as well.