Anybody seen any of these shows

[ChocoBro]

Heard a lot of praise about these shows and wonder if anybody has watched them and has anything to say about them.

 

After all, Game of Thrones or Vikings are also excellent TV shows by quality standards, but impossible for a Christian to enjoy.

 

The Expanse

Battlestar Galactica (reboot)

The man in the high castle

The Blacklist

Black mirror

True Detective

 

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[Nirex]

The Blacklist is the furthest from reality about hacking. If you want a good computer one that's not Hollywood hacking, Mr.Robot is the most real. That's what the FBI speaker that visited my school said anyways. 

[Hope]

I watched the first season of "Man in the High Castle".  Interesting in that it proposes what life would be like if Japan & Germany had won WWII.  I didn't find the second season quite as interesting and I fell away from it.  But I can't recall it being majorly objectionable... I watched it four years ago, so I'm not the best source at this point.

 

Watched the first season of "True Detective" as well -- then didn't have HBO anymore

[Shawnster]

30 minutes ago, ChocoBro said:

After all, Game of Thrones or Vikings are also excellent TV shows by quality standards, but impossible for a Christian to enjoy.

 

Then you may  not enjoy some of those shows.  I, on the other hand really, really enjoy Vikings.  

 

The Expanse - Love it.   I heard it has been renewed for 1 more season.  They are trying to be hard (as in realistic) science fiction.  Based on a book series.

 

Battlestar Galactica (reboot) Very enjoyable overall, although I thought the original 1978 pilot/movie depicted the destruction of the colonies better.  It's a visual medium.  SHOW ME, don't tell me.  The reboot is grimdark and more in line with what those people would honestly go through.  Your home destroyed in a holocaust and you flee your planet?  You aren't gonna be laughing for a while.  "Where's your mother?"  "She's dead, where's yours?"  Awesome line.  No aliens in the entire series.  Just humans and Cylons.

 

The man in the high castle - Love it, but I'm a sucker for dystopian stories and Nazis.  Be careful as this series is made in the modern area and reflects the morals of today's story telling in regards violence, sex, LGBT characters, etc...

 

The Blacklist - We watch it.  It's gone on way too long.  Should have ended a few season ago.  Typical cop show like all the others (NCIS, Hawaii 5-0, Law & Order, etc...)  James Spader is the only real interest for me.

 

Black mirror - In my Netflix queue but I've only watched one episode.  Yeah, mature content there.  A mature version of The Twilight Zone

 

 

[Tortuga]

39 minutes ago, ChocoBro said:

After all, Game of Thrones or Vikings are also excellent TV shows by quality standards, but impossible for a Christian to enjoy.

There was a news item the other day that said 2,339 people were killed on Game of Thrones...

[Hope]

38 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

There was a news item the other day that said 2,339 people were killed on Game of Thrones...

 

Yeah - I tried watching that when it first came out, before all the hoopla.  I couldn't get thru the first episode for all the chopping, hacking and garroting of everybody...  

[jayrtom]

34 minutes ago, Shawnster said:

Then you may  not enjoy some of those shows.  I, on the other hand really, really enjoy Vikings.  

 

The Expanse - Love it.   I heard it has been renewed for 1 more season.  They are trying to be hard (as in realistic) science fiction.  Based on a book series.

 

Battlestar Galactica (reboot) Very enjoyable overall, although I thought the original 1978 pilot/movie depicted the destruction of the colonies better.  It's a visual medium.  SHOW ME, don't tell me.  The reboot is grimdark and more in line with what those people would honestly go through.  Your home destroyed in a holocaust and you flee your planet?  You aren't gonna be laughing for a while.  "Where's your mother?"  "She's dead, where's yours?"  Awesome line.  No aliens in the entire series.  Just humans and Cylons.

 

The man in the high castle - Love it, but I'm a sucker for dystopian stories and Nazis.  Be careful as this series is made in the modern area and reflects the morals of today's story telling in regards violence, sex, LGBT characters, etc...

 

The Blacklist - We watch it.  It's gone on way too long.  Should have ended a few season ago.  Typical cop show like all the others (NCIS, Hawaii 5-0, Law & Order, etc...)  James Spader is the only real interest for me.

 

Black mirror - In my Netflix queue but I've only watched one episode.  Yeah, mature content there.  A mature version of The Twilight Zone

 

 

My opinion is exactly the same on that

 

Black mirror has some great stories. the quality is variable as each one is different

 

True detective is very good - 1st and 3rd seasons. the 2nd not so much

 

One of the best series for me is  homeland. all 7 seasons top! - National securety, terrorism, etc... it's violent for some tastes

 

one very interesting syfy series is nightflyers - s1 this year

 

other syfy, very great, is a german series, "dark" about time travels - very good ! (one or two objectionable scenes on the 1st episode, the rest is very clean)

 

other good, clean series:

 

Bosh - detectives, mistery (one story per season)

Marcella - " " " "

Jack Ryan - national security

Pine Gap - " " " "

Patriot . """ - Besides everything it's hilarious (some violence in excess)

 

[New World Explorer]

25 minutes ago, Hope said:

 

Yeah - I tried watching that when it first came out, before all the hoopla.  I couldn't get thru the first episode for all the chopping, hacking and garroting of everybody...  

I lasted 15min through 1 episode as well, couldn’t even finish watching it. 

 

[LRJW]

The thing that stops me in my tracks, more than violence, is sexual content.  Your mileage may vary, but I find that if you have ANY sort of spiritual baggage, you will usually find something in entertainment that pushes down on that load a little more to make you feel uncomfortable/guilty/pained, etc.  

 

For example, I LOVE sci-fi and murder mystery shows.  And thrillers.  But I've learned that there's not much I can watch without encountering some questionable things, which really, really stinks!!  I watched Homeland on the advice of someone else.  And I LOVED it, until the extremely graphic sex scene, and then another scene with even more graphic sex audio.  Game of Thrones - forget it.  That's basically porn.  Battlestar Galactica, I loved this show, even though I had to avert my eyes a few times.  

 

It just really annoys me that there's barely anything I can watch within my tastes that doesn't leave some burned-in image behind my eyes that takes too long to get rid of.  

Edited April 11, 2019 by LRJW

[Thomas Walker]

19 minutes ago, LRJW said:

It just really annoys me that there's barely anything I can watch within my tastes that doesn't leave some burned-in image behind my eyes that takes too long to get rid of.  

 

That's the idea. A few years ago, Game of Thrones invented a new TV term: Sexposition. If you tie plot-relevant scenes and dialogue into the most explicit moments; then it's not porn; it's just edgy drama. Its a method that the whole world has jumped on; because the world will watch a show with gratuitous sex and violence. They watch for the R-Rating, stay for the storyline.

 

A lot of shows have gone that way, unfortunately.  Some shows I handle this by reading the book instead. I put the Expanse in that category. (Though only the first book so far)

 

Some shows with interesting storylines but too explicit content, like Game of Thrones? I'm still interested in the story, (And knowing what people are talking about everywhere) so I follow the show with 'Best Moment' YouTube clips and wikis to tell me everything that happens in between. (Youtube can't put up explicit scenes, so it's relatively safe.)

 

Shows that are not serials, like Black Mirror? You have to pick and choose the episodes you watch. I've got a few that I really love, most that I don't want to see again. Black Mirror is unique in that it rarely shows you explicit content, but the show is designed to leave you unsettled and freaked out. It's allegorical, intelligent, and deliberate; but you'll have that 'something is very wrong with the world' feeling for a while after; and I get that from the news.

[Qapla]

Can't say I have watched any of those shows

 

I do enjoy these shows

 

Forged in Fire

Truck Night in America

A Craftsman Legacy

[Hope]

I really enjoy dramas the most -- I've found that comedies are not as much fun for me watching on my own.  The funniest I do anymore is The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert.

 

British dramas tend to have very good writing without the need for such graphic sex and violence.  If there's anything a bit "eh", it's definitely not as lingered and glorified as on many American programs.  I like MI-5 (Spooks) and a lot of the crime dramas, in general.  Homeland was good but I don't have Showtime anymore..  

 

I did enjoy the "Jack Ryan" series on Amazon.. looking forward to the next season.

[Cheeks]

I really enjoy dramas the most -- I've found that comedies are not as much fun for me watching on my own.  The funniest I do anymore is The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert.
 
British dramas tend to have very good writing without the need for such graphic sex and violence.  If there's anything a bit "eh", it's definitely not as lingered and glorified as on many American programs.  I like MI-5 (Spooks) and a lot of the crime dramas, in general.  Homeland was good but I don't have Showtime anymore..  
 
I did enjoy the "Jack Ryan" series on Amazon.. looking forward to the next season.

I totally forgot about Jack Ryan - is this the one that is played by the actor that portrayed Jim Halpret in The Office?

I enjoyed the Jack Ryan movies - Hunt for Red Oct, Patriot Games, etc. Is the premise of the show before he is married with kids?

[Tbs77]

I totally forgot about Jack Ryan - is this the one that is played by the actor that portrayed Jim Halpret in The Office?

I enjoyed the Jack Ryan movies - Hunt for Red Oct, Patriot Games, etc. Is the premise of the show before he is married with kids?

My fav is Clear and Present Danger

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[Qapla]

If you can find it, the show

 

has comedy and mystery together

 

Seems it is available on Netflix

[ChocoBro]

8 hours ago, Shawnster said:

Then you may  not enjoy some of those shows.  I, on the other hand really, really enjoy Vikings.  

 

 

Well I heard Vikings is also full of gratuitous gore and violence and also features a lot of Christian bashing and biased glorification of norsk religion. I suppose it must still be a completely different league than GoT though since it has a historic basis. GoT is full of gratuitous violence, intrigue, pornographic scenes and references, coarse language, and very very very very very very very very dark magic. In fact I would say that the magic aspect of Game of Thrones is what actually got me to stop watching the show. I can deal with other elements so long as they support a storyline to a certain extent but occultism isn't such a blurry line for me.

 

8 hours ago, Tortuga said:

There was a news item the other day that said 2,339 people were killed on Game of Thrones...

And that's just the deaths you explicitly can see close up, probably. In one episode the queen kills half an entire city with explosives.

 

8 hours ago, Shawnster said:

The Expanse - Love it.   I heard it has been renewed for 1 more season.  They are trying to be hard (as in realistic) science fiction.  Based on a book series.

 

I heard how fans had saved that series by staging a huge protest and begging Jeff Bezos to continue the show since SyFy failed to market it in the way it deserved. I heard again and again how it is supposedly (among) the best Science-Fiction ever made. It looks pretty solid. And also apparently is focussed on delivering a good storyline as opposed to constantly trying to deliver social justice messages as many films and shows nowadays are desperately trying to do.

 

 

8 hours ago, Shawnster said:

The Blacklist - We watch it.  It's gone on way too long.  Should have ended a few season ago.  Typical cop show like all the others (NCIS, Hawaii 5-0, Law & Order, etc...)  James Spader is the only real interest for me.

 

Black mirror - In my Netflix queue but I've only watched one episode.  Yeah, mature content there.  A mature version of The Twilight Zone

 

 

Yep, I hate it when they keep dragging things on and on and on just to keep milking the product. Like Lost... I gave up in season 3 because I realized it was going nowhere and then by the time they published season 7 I knew that was the right choice. This is why I prefer miniseries like "The Pacific" or where a single story is told in about 10 hours (Band of Brothers, btw, I did not like so much since it revolves only around glory and "heroism" of elite soldiers and their comradeship). I really look forward to HBO's "Chernobyl"

 

6 hours ago, Thomas Walker said:

Shows that are not serials, like Black Mirror? You have to pick and choose the episodes you watch. I've got a few that I really love, most that I don't want to see again. Black Mirror is unique in that it rarely shows you explicit content, but the show is designed to leave you unsettled and freaked out. It's allegorical, intelligent, and deliberate; but you'll have that 'something is very wrong with the world' feeling for a while after; and I get that from the news.

 

Black Mirror I know is pretty unsettling. But I heard it deals a lot with social criticism in a somewhat satirical or as you said allegorical environment and I do like to expose myself to that kind of thing. Like the episode with Bryce Dallas where everybody is liking and disliking each other on an app in their everyday interactions.

 

5 hours ago, Qapla said:

I do enjoy these shows

 

Forged in Fire

 

 

A true Klingon at heart. But aren't you in some profession that goes in that direction?

 

 

[Shawnster]

12 hours ago, ChocoBro said:

Well I heard Vikings is also full of gratuitous gore and violence and also features a lot of Christian bashing and biased glorification of norsk religion.

That does pretty much sum it up.  The Christian bashing, though, is completely within context for the time period.  I would not say the viewer gets the impression the Norsk religion is better, simply that the story is told from the point of view of the Vikings.  It does make you wonder about witnessing to people who have no faith in the "Christian God" as they put it.

 

The religious aspect is really realistic, right down to "converting" and getting baptized for political reasons.

[Hope]

20 hours ago, Cheeks said:

 

I totally forgot about Jack Ryan - is this the one that is played by the actor that portrayed Jim Halpret in The Office?

I enjoyed the Jack Ryan movies - Hunt for Red Oct, Patriot Games, etc. Is the premise of the show before he is married with kids?

 

 

Yes - and he's COMPLETELY different... fine actor, I think.  And yes, before his family action.  I loved the movies AND the books - big Tom Clancy fan, here!  

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

There were some English Crime Series I enjoyed.
The Bodyguard (UK series)
Level (UK cop - lots of twists)
Silent Witness (CSI - UK style 22 Seasons. I've only seen 2)
Prime Suspect 1973 (Mini series)
US
Unforgettable. Oz actor Poppy Montgomery
The Mentalist Oz Actor Simon Baker

One comment. Australian censorship may well have cut out a lot of stuff that may pop up in other countries, so please check your local ratings.
I watched some Mr Robot in Oz, yet when I was visiting family in the US I got to see some episodes that were positively vulgar. That finished it for me. Not watched any since. So please caution. And while there may not necessarily be visually questionable scenes, there is a lot of innuendo and questionable relationships explored to various degrees in these mystery suspense detective series.
Buyer beware...

Just Older

[Old]

Two of  my favorite British detective stories are "A Touch of Frost" and "New Tricks". Currently I haven't found anything that compares well to these two. 

[Lewis]

I like a Netflix show called Timeless, its about a trio that travel through time to battle a master criminal out from altering the human history. But the show was cancelled after two seasons. Interestingly, they had one of the most cliffhanging ending that I’ve ever seen, so NBC was forced to put out a two part final to explain the cliffhanger as there was a backlash for explanation. Rotten tomatoes had a 91% review approval rating from critics and audience.

 

Another Show I like is Sherlock.

[JayMusicGirl]

The service vidangel has a lot of shows that you can watch without the graphic content, and you can customize what you don't and do want to see. Though it really depends on your conscience whether you want to still support these shows with the bad content in the first place. For shows like GOT for instance there's no "dark magic" filter as someone mentioned here that's heavy in it but there's a filter on the site for everything else bad in it, so also it really depends on the show. 

[ChocoBro]

Well I'm certainly double-glad I stopped watching GoT after the third season. From all I heard the last season is a catastrophe plot-wise. And since a story is only as good as its end, it would have been a terrible shame to dupe my conscience for years only to be super disappointed in the plot developments at the end.

 

From what I heard, the HBO Tchernobyl mini-series is a massive success.

 

Did anybody ever watch the Cobra Kai series on youtube originals? I heard that is a really good one. I loved the first Karate Kid movie in the 80ies and the show is supposed to be full of 80ies nostalgia. I assume the violence is relatively minimal.

[Dages]

I love the Expanse. I don't watch the other shows in the list.

 

"Chernobyl" has started and is quite good, even if I feel quite unconfortable knowing the horror that is happening.

 

I'd love a fiction TV show by jw.org or even witnesses describing the GT/A-Day/1000 years  

Ho my, I'd binge that so much 

[Shawnster]

On 5/16/2019 at 6:50 AM, ChocoBro said:

Well I'm certainly double-glad I stopped watching GoT after the third season. From all I heard the last season is a catastrophe plot-wise. And since a story is only as good as its end, it would have been a terrible shame to dupe my conscience for years only to be super disappointed in the plot developments at the end.

 

From what I heard, the HBO Tchernobyl mini-series is a massive success.

 

Did anybody ever watch the Cobra Kai series on youtube originals? I heard that is a really good one. I loved the first Karate Kid movie in the 80ies and the show is supposed to be full of 80ies nostalgia. I assume the violence is relatively minimal.

Violence is the same as the movie.  Well, maybe a little more since we are 30+ years deeper into the Last Days.  

 

Loved it.  Just finished season 2 and wanting to discuss it.  That 2nd season finale was  epic.