[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

I unashamedly love Firefly, but never took to anything else Whedon did (I admit I missed the boat with Buffy so haven't tried it). I'm glad he's given his blessing for the animated series to go ahead but am far more glad he's otherwise staying under his rock and isn't involved.

Having said that, we're now rewatching it in light of the news and whilst still very enjoyable, there's definitely the odd "yikes" moment that is ageing like milk. Watching it post all the revelations about Whedon, it's a bit uncomfortable how much you can see those fingerprints on particularly the character of Inara.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 10 April 2026 - 07:46 AM

[Cause]

Malcolm in the middle reboot is dissapointing. It manages to replicate the original in so many ways except one, the humor! Which is quite important

The 4th wall breaks come across as flat.

Spoiler

Also for a show that makes cracks about the police, covers gender fluiditty it struck me as interesting that the show portrays Malcolm trying to escape his dysfunctional family as always wrong despite all indications being that he has been better off without them. Sometimes that is the mentally healthy thing to do

[Tiste Simeon]

Cause, on 12 April 2026 - 01:55 PM, said:

Malcolm in the middle reboot is dissapointing. It manages to replicate the original in so many ways except one, the humor! Which is quite important

The 4th wall breaks come across as flat.

Spoiler

Also for a show that makes cracks about the police, covers gender fluiditty it struck me as interesting that the show portrays Malcolm trying to escape his dysfunctional family as always wrong despite all indications being that he has been better off without them. Sometimes that is the mentally healthy thing to do

I'm the meantime the Scrubs revival has become progressively more excellent, hilarious and full of heart like it always was.

[QuickTidal]

PURSUIT OF JADE on Netflix is excellent so far. It's a Chinese drama about an orphaned pig-seller girl and her sister trying to survive while liking after a disgraced nobleman they come across as wounded and hunted.

The production value is insane and this sets all look like paintings...and the two leads Tian Xiwei (who looks like a Disney princess) and Zhang Linghe have a metric tonne of chemistry.

If you're into C-Dramas, check it out, and if you're into K-Drama's then check it out too.

[Tsundoku]

I think the Mrs tried it out recently. She seemed to like it. Wasn't my cup of tea though.

[QuickTidal]

Tsundoku, on 17 April 2026 - 01:45 PM, said:

I think the Mrs tried it out recently. She seemed to like it. Wasn't my cup of tea though.

I was already enjoying the story but then midway through episode 2...kung-fu and staff fighting in what ostensibly seems to be a romance drama. Amazing.

LOL

[QuickTidal]

Wife and I finished Season 2 of live action ONE PIECE last night, and while I RELALY loved the first half of the season, the back half is Drum Island Arc, which is the arc I consider the WORST arc in the entire series of what I've seen. King Wapol is RIDICULOUS (even for One Piece) and the guy who they got to play his is awful, and that whole. sequence has the dumbest ending result (curing the populous of mental anguish with cherry blossom research/potion? Ugh. I dunno what Oda was smoking in that arc, but I hated it in the anime and I hate it here...We DO get Dalton, and Dr. Kureha here, so that's cool and of course they introduced Chopper...but while the CGI small chopper is fine, the prosthetic makeup big version is hokey (again even for One Piece).

Vivi was my fave this season, as Charithra Chandran is someone I already liked from her stint on Bridgerton S2, so I was super happy to see her here and she killed it.

Alabasta arc next season, so we get to see Luffy's brother AND finally Karoo!

[Tsundoku]

Latest trailer.

[QuickTidal]

QuickTidal, on 17 April 2026 - 12:45 PM, said:

PURSUIT OF JADE on Netflix is excellent so far. It's a Chinese drama about an orphaned pig-seller girl and her sister trying to survive while liking after a disgraced nobleman they come across as wounded and hunted.

The production value is insane and this sets all look like paintings...and the two leads Tian Xiwei (who looks like a Disney princess) and Zhang Linghe have a metric tonne of chemistry.

If you're into C-Dramas, check it out, and if you're into K-Drama's then check it out too.

Up to ep 10 now and this show is ADDICTIVE. I'm all the way in, and I was just expecting historical fiction drama romance with some politicking....but this has a bunch of martial arts, swordplay, and fucking ninjas as well.

40 episodes may not be enough for me, I'm blasting thorough these.

[QuickTidal]

I am SO ready for this!

[QuickTidal]

Started watching the new Dan Levy show BIG MISTAKES and it's incredible. The same humour as SCHITT'S CREEK but a totally different vibe and it's really refreshingly great. Laurie Metcalf remains GOATed.

[Slow Ben]

Backlog.

Wife and I finished Handmaids Tale. First handful of seasons were pretty good to good. Last 2 were just ok. Won’t watch again.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. 8 episodes in and I’m still not sure if I like it. Pretty cheesy at times, some really sub par acting, but somehow I keep watching. We’ll see.

Your Friends and Neighbors. I’m a big John Hamm fan so this one’s easy. It’s not overly anything, just an enjoyable popcorn show. Plus Olivia Munnnnnnnn.

Rooster. If you like the thought of Michael Scott with a daughter who writes books and teaches at a liberal arts college, and his boss is the surgeon from Scrubs, this show is for you.

11/22/63. I have no idea how this show has an 8 on IMDb. It starts out ok, other than James Franco is a terrible actor, but seriously looses momentum and kind of limps to the finish line.

The Pitt. The Pitt fucking rules.

Season 3 of Shrinking was a step down. It was still solid and I’ll re-watch it, but it’s not up to the same heights as the first 2 seasons.

Ole lady and I just started Paradise last night 3 episodes in. I’m intrigued, So far so good.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

[worry]

I watched both seasons of The Pitt in like 5 days, that show is addicting.

[JPK]

I managed to get through 2 episodes of The Pitt with the Mrs before I had to bail. The acting is superb but that show spikes my anxiety like almost nothing else.

[worry]

You bailed at the right time. Episode 3 is where a patient comes in complaining of "spiking anxiety" and their head explodes all over the interns.

[Tiste Simeon]

So my Apple TV subscription at half price is up. I caught some excellent shows.

Acapulco - one of the best comedies I've seen ever. Just brilliant (thanks QT)

Pluribus - brilliant sci-fi thriller that REALLY gets me thinking. Hoping s2 happens.

Shrinking - I had previously watched S1&2 and loved it. S3 just as good and emblematic of the Bill Lawrence touch.

Slow Horses s5 - I know how brilliant this was going to be. Happy to report I was not let down.

Loot - Maya Rudolph is ace and this show has a lot of good stuff to say. Despite sometimes being a bit too "let's all pander to the billionaire because at least she's trying" it generally hits the mark for what it's trying to do.

Lessons in Chemistry - really compelling drama. Brie Larson is fantastic in this and it is definitely not something I would normally enjoy but for whatever reason I was hooked all the way through.

Blackbird - great, tense thriller. True story as well, which makes it more compelling.

Sugar - I get what this show is trying to do but I'm not sure it completely pulls it off. I enjoyed watching it but on reflection I'm not sure throwing a random twist out of left field really works.

DNF Trying and For All Mankind. I just couldn't really get into them.

[Tiste Simeon]

And as for now, Prime offers HBO Max for fairly cheap so I'm getting through some stuff.

Rooster - more Bill Lawrence excellence. Full of heart and warmth and very funny.

The Penguin - just incredible. Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti are a formidable presence together on screen and the show deserves all the plaudits it receives and more.

The Leftovers - just wow. This show is an intelligent and very thought provoking show that seems to have been lucky in that it set out to tell the story in 3 seasons and that is what they did. So many questions after it, and no straightforward answers! If you're going to watch this, give it time to unfold.

Barry - who knew Bill Hader could produce such a compelling and emotional performance? I saw beforehand that this was referred to as a tragicomedy and yeah that tracks. It is at times hilarious and at others utterly brutal and heartwrenching. Incredible show - it has 4 seasons of 8 episodes each and they're all only 25-30 minutes apiece, so it's not a dra to get through the whole thing pretty quickly.

And now I'm moving onto 6 Feet Under because I've heard a lot about it.

[Slow Ben]

100% on all of those.

I couldn’t get in to 6 feet under. I’ve heard nothing but good things so I need to try again.

Barry rules.

[Tiste Simeon]

Slow Ben, on 13 June 2026 - 07:56 PM, said:

Barry rules.

Right? Like I'd vaguely heard of it before but checked it out and I was surprised by the depth and emotion of it all. I'd only ever know him from SNL so I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. And yes it was still very funny at times (NoHo Hank is just hilarious most of the time) but man it hit very hard as well.

[worry]

I love Six Feet Under but its characters can be very frustrating. It can also veer into soap opera territory -- especially seasons 3-4 -- in a way that can feel like jumping the shark. But season 5 is full of payoffs and one of the all-time best series finales.