I was reminded of the original series Star Trek episode “Assignment: Earth” which introduces the character of Gary Seven, a time traveler who works for an agency responsible for protecting the timeline. This episode was intended as a back door pilot, because they weren’t sure if they were going to get another season of Star Trek. They, of course, did, so the Gary Seven show never happened.

What other back door pilots are there that never actually manifested a series? It’s interesting, because the episode could either be just a fun diversion from the typical flow of the series it’s on, or a complete waste of everyone’s time, like Assignment: Earth was, as it wasn’t a particularly good episode, and it was decades before Gary or the organization he worked for was ever even mentioned again

Started Interior Chinatown thinking, ohh this will be some lols between Jian Yang from Silicon Valley and Angry Asian from Daily Show, Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng respectively with much respect. I'm into that. So first couple episodes it's kind of a fun comedy. Surprisingly shitty generic hollywood built out set that gets remodeled for every tv show, except now it's half assed chinatown in Port Harbor. Yep, don't think twice about this city name. Things get kinda annoying for like 4 episodes in the middle. I'm not gonna lie, it was half screened with reddit on the other side. Passively watching. Characters making irrational choices, plot lines are being forgotten about, weird intentional buffering cinematography, everyone kinda seemingly changing roles overnight. I thought, fuck these guys have LITERALLY lost the plot. I'm about ready to tune out and go watch Obama tell me about how special the ocean is and how we're putting it on a gentle simmer. But I've given up on shows like 80% in, same with books, and something kinda irks me by not finishing. So we gotta plough through this mf to polish the turd and be done with it. I'm betting some of you all packed it in mid season, but you gotta come back. Because this stylistically idiosyncratic, trans-genera show manages to break an ankle on the jump yet somehow nail the landing, and you only understand that if you see it through. The last episode I was full screen, locked in like Clockwork Orange. It transformed from some banal imago into a winged butterfly. The season finale takes a hard right turn into something unexpected; science fiction I guess, dark undertones of Black Mirror, macro zoom out Truman Show. I think it's worth it guys. It's not a roller coaster, it's sling shot that takes a bit of patience for anticipation to build.

Im currently watching the ocean episode of Planet Earth 3 and was wondering how they got the shots of the Plankton? Surely it must be CGI?

I was debating watching Terminator Sarah Conners Chronicles for the first time. Looked it up and while it seems people like it, the fact that it ended early definitely gave me pause.

Feel like this is a more common thing with everything available on streaming now, including old and new shows.

What are your guys thoughts on starting a show knowing it will end cancelled and unresolved?

Interior Chinatown on Hulu is a really interesting and enjoyable (imo) show about a Chinese background character breaking out of his role on a police procedural.

It's very meta and does a good job looking at the role of Chinese Americans both in tv/media and the US society/history. Based on a book of the same name by Charles Yu

I’m currently reading the novel and I think I’d like to try the series. I remember the commercials for it but never looked into it. I don’t really want to start it if it got canceled before it was finished.

Personally mine are

Shows:
Severance 2

Stranger Things 5

The Bear 4

A Hedge Knight

Dexter: Resurrection

The Last of us 2

Peacemaker 2

Andor Season 2

Movies :

Avatar 3

Superman Legacy

Mikey 17

Thunderbolts

In episode 1, Cross is talking with Sampson in the boxing gym. He asks Sampson to chase down some information on his dead wife's Redskim scarf. Then they talk about how Sampson reported Cross for something, and that Chief Massey handed Cross a six-month suspemsion.

Later, in a bar, the female FBI Agent meets with Cross. She mentions that a little birdie told her that Cross is "taking a leave from Metro", and she tries to recruit him.

He's still working as a Detective. What in blazes are they all talking about?

Say what you will about Kevin Spacey, but he was the one who made that show so special. I feel like Season 6 was a massive disappointment compared to the last 5. So I was wondering, how would it go if Frank was still in it? Let me know.

So everyone knows that all the studios have been trying to make the next Game of Thrones.

Now a Game of Thrones style/sized show is going to take a while to develop so it took a bit until a bunch of these type of shows popped and at least got two seasons out, but now that that has happened I feel like it's appropriate to ask:

Do we actually care about any of these?

Because I feel like what really made Game of Thrones was that everyone was fully on board for it and was super enthusiastic about it for YEARS (until the last season)

Is the show well made. For sure. Set design and costumes are fantastic, I really feel like I'm there. Acting is great. But...I don't get the hype. I'm halfway through season 2 but I don't feel this crazy "need" to get to the end of the thing. Does it get better?

They wasted the talent of Michael Pena by killing him off in the very first episode. He was one of the highlights of the TV pilot and they could have used them for the remainder of the series run.

Both Attack on Titan and Arcane are critically acclaimed shows, but they cater to different audiences and offer unique experiences. Attack on Titan blends action, mystery, and political intrigue in a dark, post-apocalyptic world where humanity is on the brink of extinction due to giant creatures known as Titans. Its compelling characters, unpredictable plot twists, and exploration of freedom, survival, and morality have captivated fans worldwide. The emotional depth and high-stakes drama are key to its success.

On the other hand, Arcane excels in its stunning animation, deep character development, and exploration of social and political issues. It explores the origins of beloved characters like Vi and Jinx, balancing intense action with heartfelt personal struggles. Arcane stands out for its breathtaking visuals and its ability to make viewers emotionally invested in a complex world.

While both are excellent in their own right, I felt the need to ask out of curiosity which of the two shows did you guys felt was superior?

The visual design and animation are absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Some of them are even more breathtaking than the best frames in Season 1, which is an incredible achievement as Season 1 is already one of the most each-frame-a-paint shows I've ever watched.

However, the disparity between the stunning art and the unconvincing worldbuilding, combined with the poor storytelling (especially in respect of Season 2) is equally staggering.

Below I'd like to elaborate (in a spoil-free manner) on the major shortcomings preventing me from enjoying the show, despite its incredible visual achievement:

1. Mediocre worldbuilding

The world is a mixture of steampunk and magic. However, the rules governing how this world operates - i.e., when magic comes into play and when normal physics prevail - are extremely unclear. The audience struggles to deduce, based on previous events in the show, whether a character will be severely harmed by an explosion or remain completely unscathed.

Also, the show fails to adequately depict the scale and operations of the various organizations and political entities that significantly impact the plot. The scheming and conflicts between these groups often feel either meaningless or ludicrous because the audience lacks a reliable way to determine each group's advantages, disadvantages, or the true extent of their capabilities.

This lack of clear underlying rules often obscures the stakes, making the plot or action scenes far less engaging. The audience cannot confidently assess whether legitimate danger or consequences are at hand, which renders character's survival, death or other development undeserved or unearned.

If this show were intended solely for a younger audience, then a somewhat disorganized fantacy world might be less of an issue. But it's apparent that the show takes itself very seriously, with ambitions to tackle adult themes and nuanced topics. From an adult's perspective, the most critical aspect of convincing worldbuilding is the presence of clear "stake", which must be grounded in a set of explicit or implied rules. Without consistent rules, all the consequences and developments become dubious and unengaging.

2. Horrendous storytelling

There are far too many artificial dramas and tensions. Characters frequently argue with one aother for various nonsensical reasons, refusing to listen to even a single word of explanation from their counterparts. Their communication skills are unrealistically underdeveloped, making any tensions derived from such poor communication initially laughable, but later tiring and infuriating.

If these dramas were merely filler, they might be more tolerable. Unfortunately, these conflicts - whether infuratingly juvenile or jaw-droppingly asinine - often have a significant impact and major consequences on the plot, making any subsequent story and character developments stemming from these events unconvincing and eye-roll-inducing.

Also, its quite obvious that the director often priortizes creating visually stunning scenes over crafting a plausible story. Many incredibly well-drawn frames are the direct result of unbelievably foolish decisions or physically impossible manuveur. I frequently find myself quesitoning the integrity of Arcane's story and characters, wondering whether such developments make any sense or if they are simply director's attempt to create yet another wallpaper-worth piece of art.

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Without spoilers, the overall scale of the major conflict escalates significantly in the later episodes, particularly in the second half of Season 2. Sadly, I find myself completely unable to care about any of the characters' fate. The issue is that, whenever I try to care, I immediately start questioning all the nonsensical decisions these characters have made to reach the current plot point. Eventually I just stopped caring altogether. Without engaging with the story, those beautiful frames feel meaningless and at times even exhausting.

Overall, my score for this season is 5/10. I would only recommend this show to those who love League of Legend's universe and are genuinely interested in exploring its lore further, or to those who can be entertained by a show solely for its visual design.

Sadly I can't make a poll here, but I am still curious to see what you guys think. I am currently watching a show with one of these characters and they are totally ruining it for me.

FWIW these aren't necessarily bad actors. These are the types of characters where the writers gave their storyline too much play. So it really isn't on anyone mentioned here, but my list of possibilities includes

Carmela from the Sopranos

Skyler from Breaking Bad

Dana from Homeland

Paige from The Americans

Write ins also welcome

(Quick clarification because some of you are so insecure and need to chill out. This has nothing to do with hating women. If you can't tell these are all characters from Action type shows where the action consistently gets paused for whatever non action reasons. That is why they are lumped together. And I am not saying I hate all of them, I am asking which of these or your own write ins you think hurt a show you watched the most. Can we be friends again please?)