Topic: The TV Show Thread

@nessisonett I just checked, and it does look like the episodes for season 1 are probably partially zoomed in and the top and bottom trimmed a bit to make the aspect ratio work and fill the screen on my phone. It looks fine though and I can’t say it looks stretched or weird. If you hadn’t said something I’m not sure I would have noticed. The early seasons look a little dated at best anyways.
I don’t see any settings or options to change the aspect ratio either. I guess it would have been nice to have the option to change it to the original picture for those who want the classic experience. Again, this is on my phone, so I don’t know how it might work on the TV app, Roku, etc or on a desktop computer; I’ve only used the service on my phone so far and it functions really seamlessly and looks great. They do have a section entitled “UHD and HDR” where I guess all the content that is compatible with the highest visual fidelity is. So if you are going to be watching the new High School Musical: The Series on your 77 inch OLED 4K TV then it should look good and take advantage of available technology.
The app also has both streaming and download options, btw. It works just like Netflix. It actually is organized a little better than Netflix, the menu and interface are a little cleaner and more appealing, and they have content organized into some nice categories (like the aforementioned “UHD and HDR” or “Feel Good Sports Movies” for example). There is also sub profiles, just like Netflix so you can create your own watchlist separate from your family member’s. I think it works like Netflix in that you are allowed to stream on two devices at a time, or maybe three, I forget. I think it’s two.

@nessisonett
Edit: As a follow up... out of curiosity, I just checked several other old shows — The first season of Hannah Montana, Boy Meets World, and some episodes from the Animated Spider-Man TV series from the 80’s and the one from the 90’s, and they all appear to have kept the content in the original 4:3 square aspect ratio. I’m not sure why The Simpson’s appears to be the only one that was changed.

@Th3solution From what I remember from an article about it, there's a significant amount of cropping that affects a couple of visual gags here and there. Also, I think Fox did it previously for a streaming release on Hulu or something and Disney are just using the same source.

@KALofKRYPTON Ah, I see. I guess that is a little annoying then if the cropping affects some of the meaning of a scene. That’s what happens when a show has 30 seasons though — the content spans a whole technological generation. Actually a couple generations. 😄

Watched about 10 minutes of Avenue 5. Not very good at all, despite a good cast and being written by Armando Iannucci. It made the fatal flaw of just not being funny. Ah well, I try so many shows that there’s bound to be a few stinkers in there.

@nessisonett You only watched 10 minutes? I usually give stuff at least a couple of episodes before ditching them.

@JohnnyShoulder Genuinely, it was that bad. Me and my mum just looked at each other during the first advert break and silently decided that the show was not for us.

@nessisonett Ouch.

I think the inability to satirise the current political landscape with any sort of effectiveness forced him in to another genre. I'll give it a go at some point.

Apparently the Obi Wan TV show is on hold because KK wasn't happy with the scripts. Not read any more about it apart from that, but... Could they just get someone else to check them over rather than going by Kennedy's judgment?

@RogerRoger Doesn't look like it: https://io9.gizmodo.com/report-disneys-obi-wan-tv-show-is-on-...

@RogerRoger
Hopefully it is just a simple delay to tighten things up.

If they're targeting the quality of The Mandalorian, they won't go too awry.

@Arugula I’d like to read what you’re saying but that Bengals logo for your avatar is just killing all your credibility. 😉

@KratosMD Hmmm. I rather liked the first season. With the all but inevitable transing of Susie and some rather disjointed threads in season 2, I did wonder whether it would trope itself into obscurity. Maybe one to pick up on a rainy day.

Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki - Official Trailers

@WanderingBullet Looks so good. I’m really amped for the Marvel shows to start coming in. If The Mandalorian is any indicator, then the quality is going to be fantastic.

@LN78 I wrote a fair bit about my impressions of The Mandalorian about a month ago, so I’ll try not to elaborate too much, but I don’t think it was a matter of overzealous exaggerated Star Wars desperation in my case. On the contrary, in the first few episodes I was tepid In my response to the show, but by the end I was hooked. The characters and story arcs started to grow on me and eventually won me over. Yeah, I felt like it dragged a little at times, but things got moving toward the latter half. The main thing is going into with the expectations that it’s a TV show rather than a full length movie and pacing, character development, and production value is going to be a little different. Actually one of my main criticisms of television series in general is the tiresome way things are always dragged out and plots seem to never go anywhere and there’s often not an end in mind. It’s why I lost interest in Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. I think it’s just a commonality of most TV to be that way. (notice I say ‘most’ since Breaking Bad could be an example to the contrary)

I fully expect the Marvel shows to be the same — ie. fans will need to adjust expectations appropriately that these things are multi-episode, multi-season events. Especially WandaVision is going to be a real separation from the status quo and will alienate some fans, I expect.

Edit: as for Jedi: Fallen Order, I’m only part way through, but I’ve been hooked from the first hour on that one. Perhaps it’s blind-sheep fandom there, but I don’t think so. The gameplay is pretty addicting. I think a lot of us have been wanting a Souls-like that is a little more approachable and less hardcore. The game’s not perfect but it scratches a certain itch.

@LN78 Fair enough. Although, just as some of the Star Wars fandom has a tendency to turn a blind eye toward mediocre or poor content, methinks you have reached a point where the opposite is true for you — perhaps no level of quality or excellence will ever be satisfactory due to a preconceived bias and irritation to the countless disappointments in the past? I find that I’m like that with some actors, for example, where I can’t get over my prejudice in seeing them in something in the past, so nothing they ever do impressed me. (An example would be Leonardo DeCaprio for me)

@LN78 I’m with you insomuch as I think there’s and obvious “Star Wars bump” commercially and to a lesser degree critically, just like the “Kojima bump” and the “Nintendo bump.” It’s just the staunchest of critics of the modern SW output have been quite enamored with The Mandelorian. But you’re not the only person I’ve heard express a call to ‘tap the brakes’ on it, just one of the few.

@LN78 The narrative is iterative, I’ll give you that. Perhaps you’ll like the Marvel shows forthcoming, if you can stomach them on top of the series over-saturation at the cinema. WandaVision in particular looks very progressive and different, if you’re longing for something new and innovative in the Marvel Universe. Too bad I’m not a fan of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, but maybe the poor and inconsistent accent will fit into the sit-com, avant-garde approach to the series. 😅

@LN78 I've just started it (Bojack Horseman) on dvd as someone recommended it to me. I like the wackiness of it, when do the three kids dressed up to look like an adult come in to it? I take it that they venture into the bar.