The Official Good Television Thread

so I've been binge watching this new British show on Netflix called Black Mirror. The advertising calls it a 21st century Twilight Zone. I slightly agree with that statement only if Rod Serling were a manic depressive. It is NOT a happy show. Bad things happen to people to make a bigger statement.

I love it.

Except the first episode. The first episode sucks. Skip it and watch the rest. Very heavy social commentary about people and technology and such
 
so I've been binge watching this new British show on Netflix called Black Mirror. The advertising calls it a 21st century Twilight Zone. I slightly agree with that statement only if Rod Serling were a manic depressive. It is NOT a happy show. Bad things happen to people to make a bigger statement.

I love it.

Except the first episode. The first episode sucks. Skip it and watch the rest. Very heavy social commentary about people and technology and such

I didn't like the first episode much either but yeah, it's great. There's a Christmas special out soon with Jon Hamm which should be good. Never seen him in anything else though.

Been a fan of Charlie Brooker's work since he was a writer for PC Zone. So many moons ago. Almost everything he's done for TV has been good or great.

One more episode of Gracepoint left! I've really enjoyed this show.

Broadchurch was good. I can't imagine the woman from Breaking Bad being as good as Olivia Coleman though, and I bet some of the darkness will be lost in Gracepoint.
 
Broadchurch was good. I can't imagine the woman from Breaking Bad being as good as Olivia Coleman though, and I bet some of the darkness will be lost in Gracepoint.

Anna Gunn does a better acting job in Gracepoint than Breaking Bad, I think. And her character has great chemistry with, and is a nice foil to, David Tennant's character.

I'll have to watch Broadchurch to see how they compare.
 
I didn't like the first episode much either but yeah, it's great. There's a Christmas special out soon with Jon Hamm which should be good. Never seen him in anything else though.

Been a fan of Charlie Brooker's work since he was a writer for PC Zone. So many moons ago. Almost everything he's done for TV has been good or great.


Looking forward to that Christmas special. That should be interesting. I really like Jon Hamm as an actor. I'll have to look more into Charlie Brooker's work
 
I think the latest episode of the Newsroom had a good dialogue on rape. Anyone else watch it yet?

I enjoyed it. Sorkin's getting some pushback from people who interpret it as vindicating the rapist at the expense of the victim.

I didn't see it that way. I chose to interpret it as Sorkin illuminating the ambiguities and difficulties that go along with presenting a story on rape.
 
I agree with what you viewed.

Maybe this makes me an asshole, no idea, but the college girl story was infuriating that she takes no blame/responsibility for her actions of getting 'wasted' at a party
 
I'll just say that the problem with that perspective is that it implies her rapists were justified in their actions because she was wasted. A common misconception is that the kinds of drugs in question make these girls say misleading things (e.g. "fuck me, fuck me, please fuck me," etc.); more often than not, the drugs simply incapacitate the victim to the point where they can't say anything at all, much less move their bodies. So they cannot verbally or physically resist; but that does not equal giving consent.

No person should have to fear being raped just because he/she chooses to get drunk.
 
I should be clear too, I don't think the show was going with my argument but just how I feel.

It seems like there is personal responsibility in a lot of crimes, but rape is trying to lead the way that the victim never has any fault in the matter. Domestic violence on a woman seems to be on this same path.

House was on fire? Why did you plug 25 things into one outlet? Mugged in a shitty neighborhood? Why are you in that shitty neighborhood?

These are things that I think society and myself critique people on, but seem similar in that personal responsibility plays a factor in these things.

While in a perfect society no one should fear being mugged, assaulted or raped, but pragmatically, society has evils and people can have some sort of "control" of these situations. Going to a party and losing control of yourself because of recreational drug use should be clear that you understand there are shitty people in the world that will take advantage of you and that some people won't protect you in that altered state.

I hope my point is clear?
 
I should also say that i'm aware rape victims seem to get the most negative attention publicly and locally compared to other crimes
 
I think your point was well-made. I just don't think that it should prevent us from seeking justice after a rape is committed, which is what the big issue here is. Lots of institutions, even police departments, don't want to pursue rape cases for fear of ruining the reputation of the accused. Of course, this does raise the question of those who are... carelessly blamed, we might say. I have no solution to that, except to say that I don't think it happens that often. The emphasis on it in the media leads us to believe it happens far more often than it does.
 
"I just don't think that it should prevent us from seeking justice after a rape is committed, which is what the big issue here is. Lots of institutions, even police departments, don't want to pursue rape cases for fear of ruining the reputation of the accused. "

Yeah I agree, seems like an uncontrollable crime/situation? Who knows.
 
I think that we can both seek justice against rapists as well as scolding/warning those who do/would put themselves in compromised positions. But that is heresy these days.
 
season 4 of Homeland has been better than the last two seasons. at least Brody's family isn't in it anymore

watched a few episodes of Marco Polo and i can't get into it. it's dull and i don't give a shit about any of the characters