It's about time I watched Green Wing again. Love that series. 

A new discovery over the weekend, The Letdown (on Netflix). I think parents in particular will quite dig this one, but hopefully the humour will transcend parenthood. There's a line in ep 2 that still has me chuckling days later (pretty sure you'll know it when you see it) :-)

networkn:

 

Lost in Space - Barely recall the original, enjoying the reboot a lot. Some painful bits but I think they are doing a reasonable job of the original characters. I recall how annoying Doctor Smith was in the original, she is just as self-serving etc in the reboot. They cast it really well. Will Robinson is another excellent casting choice. 

 

I just finished Lost In Space last night. They nicely set it up for a second series and I really enjoyed it.

MurrayM:

 

networkn:

 

Lost in Space - Barely recall the original, enjoying the reboot a lot. Some painful bits but I think they are doing a reasonable job of the original characters. I recall how annoying Doctor Smith was in the original, she is just as self-serving etc in the reboot. They cast it really well. Will Robinson is another excellent casting choice. 

 

 

I just finished Lost In Space last night. They nicely set it up for a second series and I really enjoyed it.

 

I just watched the end as well...I'm on the fence as to whether I liked it or not, but feel compelled to watch series 2 when it comes.

I am up to the end of season five of The Big Bang Theory, TVNZ ondemand. So glad I decided to watch this from the very start after watching ad hoc episodes over the years. Continuity of certain topics or behaviours is really cool. Very funny and episodes move stories along nicely.

Started Lost in Space, Netflix. Only  three episodes in and good so far. Kids also like it so good to find something we can all watch.

Some shows I've really been enjoying recently...

Cobra Kai -- Best show i've watched in a while.  Follows Daniel/Johnny from the original 1984 karate kid movie, but in 2018.   Good 80's music too.  Can't...stop...bingeing.

Son of Zorn  ...  "He-man" moves from his "imaginary world" to LA to be with his son.  Brutally violent He-man vs the snowflake generation.  Fun!

Future man -- Tough battle hardened soldiers from the future vs politically correct society! Kind of like "The Last starfighter" in that he finishes a video game and is selected to help battle future people battle their enemy.  Very funny , very violent, R18 .

Ash vs Evil Dead -- Great story, creative deaths. They are not going to make a season 4, sadly. Filmed in NZ too, with Lucy Lawless. 

Stan against Evil -- Al Bundy meets 'Evil Dead'.  Very funny.  Stan reminds me of Al Bundy.   Low budget effects but has good characters and story.

Currently watching "A series of unfortunate events" on Netflix..... not sure where this is going other then in circles

Watched The Same Sky on Netflix. Great look at cold war spy tales. In German with subtitles.

The Rain - Ep 1 on Netflix. I liked it mostly, though I am finding the dubbed English over the original language is going to be too distracting in the long term for me to continue. 

Recommend Deep State on TVNZ on demand. Spy Thriller about an ex-agent/assassin forced to work into the field again by MI6.
Very good BBC action/drama/mystery.

Won't say much more about it but very binge-worthy.

surfisup1000:

 

Cobra Kai -- Best show i've watched in a while.  Follows Daniel/Johnny from the original 1984 karate kid movie, but in 2018.   Good 80's music too.  Can't...stop...bingeing.

 

Watched the first 6 or 7 episodes last night.

Interesting what they've done with the characters, I'm not sure who (if any) is meant to be the "good guy". I find Johnny far more sympathetic a character than Daniel. Johnny is absolutely clueless that the world has moved on from the 80's, he is a complete jerk but his intentions are good. Daniel's character has see-sawed between arrogant to almost sympathetic, and everything in between - but to me he just doesn't come across as very likeable.

I'm also up to episode 6 of Cobra Kai, and I'm really enjoying it.  I was describing it to a friend the other day as typifying the evolution of storytelling over the past 30 odd years.  Once upon a time, it was very common to have a "good guy" and a "bad guy."  In the original film, it was pretty clear that Daniel was the good guy and Johnny was the bad guy (though a more nuanced watching of the film will show these to be more mixed portrayals).  In much the same way that Game of Thones doesn't hew to those black and white notions, and shows that good people often do bad things, and bad people can sometimes do good things, and that your perspective and values will determine where you place your allegiance.  Cobra Kai is showing that the "bad guy" is more involved than just being a bully, and is driven by many things, not least of which are the events of the past 34 years.  Daniel was always a more mixed character in the films.  While ostensibly the hero, he is definitely a flawed hero (prone to bursts of anger and lashing out) and I like that they've continued this with his character. 

What's really great about this show is the way they have embraced and extended the character's story. The thought and attention given to character development in this show is commendable, and lifts it above other, lazier reboots of shows and films.  Though I think it's probably not fair to call this a reboot or a remake - it's an evolution (not really even a sequel) of the story, though the themes of bullying are being drawn out and explored, and are just as relevant as ever.  I like the way they have updated the bullying to reflect the change of technology.  While Johnny just bullied with his fists, today's bullies "do it anonymously, hiding behind computers and phones."  There's a refreshing honesty to Johnny's brand of aggression, which is obviously appealing to many of the show's characters, but you can also read a lot into the way that Daniel has become a bully too - more subtly, but the way he treats Johnny in the first episode, plus the way he abuses his influence to try and shut down Cobra Kai.  This is no lightweight show - while you can just sit back and enjoy the nostalgia of the characters revisited for the 21st century, they've done a good job of weaving in a compelling story.  I think this is a show I'll be rewatching a few times.

Lizard1977:

 

I'm also up to episode 6 of Cobra Kai, and I'm really enjoying it.  I was describing it to a friend the other day as typifying the evolution of storytelling over the past 30 odd years.  Once upon a time, it was very common to have a "good guy" and a "bad guy."  In the original film, it was pretty clear that Daniel was the good guy and Johnny was the bad guy (though a more nuanced watching of the film will show these to be more mixed portrayals).  In much the same way that Game of Thones doesn't hew to those black and white notions, and shows that good people often do bad things, and bad people can sometimes do good things, and that your perspective and values will determine where you place your allegiance.  Cobra Kai is showing that the "bad guy" is more involved than just being a bully, and is driven by many things, not least of which are the events of the past 34 years.  Daniel was always a more mixed character in the films.  While ostensibly the hero, he is definitely a flawed hero (prone to bursts of anger and lashing out) and I like that they've continued this with his character. 

 

What's really great about this show is the way they have embraced and extended the character's story. The thought and attention given to character development in this show is commendable, and lifts it above other, lazier reboots of shows and films.  Though I think it's probably not fair to call this a reboot or a remake - it's an evolution (not really even a sequel) of the story, though the themes of bullying are being drawn out and explored, and are just as relevant as ever.  I like the way they have updated the bullying to reflect the change of technology.  While Johnny just bullied with his fists, today's bullies "do it anonymously, hiding behind computers and phones."  There's a refreshing honesty to Johnny's brand of aggression, which is obviously appealing to many of the show's characters, but you can also read a lot into the way that Daniel has become a bully too - more subtly, but the way he treats Johnny in the first episode, plus the way he abuses his influence to try and shut down Cobra Kai.  This is no lightweight show - while you can just sit back and enjoy the nostalgia of the characters revisited for the 21st century, they've done a good job of weaving in a compelling story.  I think this is a show I'll be rewatching a few times.

 

Well said. It's been a very long time since I saw the original but I remember that you clearly knew who you wanted to win at the end, so it will be interesting to see how they conclude this without a defined hero/villain.

The bit I really liked (not really a spoiler) was how Johnny bought up in episode 1 how Daniel won the original tournament with what should have been ruled an illegal kick. It was a little thing, but good attention to detail.

Yeah, that was good.

I've also been wondering whether the inspiration for the show came from How I Met Your Mother.  In that show, Barney had a whole thing for Johnny from the Karate Kid as the hero, and I think he even raised the whole "illegal kick" idea.