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This is far too real

 

Excited for American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal to have something to use my Showtime sub for other than Yellowjackets.

 

The shorter the episodes of a show are the better

Adult Swim has it right

 

Invincible episodes are 40ish minutes I believe and they feel every bit of it

 

Bluey is the goat because episodes are 8 minutes and incredible

 

I like Stranger Things approach of 100 minute episodes

NOT

 

A few episodes into the third season of Friday Night Lights and it's already much improved over season two. The writers' strike continuity-jump between both seasons was jarring for a minute, but they managed to pick it up quick.

The cast seriously can act. The actor who plays Smash does a stellar job with his expressions and with his voice--there are a few moments his performance choked me up (like when he finally gets into college).

Also, there is this one beautiful moment between Matt Saracen and his absent mother where they are reconnecting--Matt's venting about being switched as QB and his mother tells him he could always quit the team, and Matt laughs it off and says that could never happen in Texas. Then, they share some oatmeal cookies and there's this bittersweet, lonely moment between them. It's these kind of deceivingly simple scenes that look inwardly at rural small-town America and the wistfulness of its townsfolk that solidify this show as something great.

 

I hope this doesn't somehow come off as rude (because I don't have any problem with what @OotyPa posted) but when I see people talk about "small town representation" in tv and movies, I always wonder how actually familiar they are with small towns. I don't find anything romantic about the town of 5,000 people where I grew up lol

 

Finally some good news from that dumpster fire

 

Just signed up for Peacock. Seems like a decent horror selection.

 

Watched Flatliners last night without really knowing what it was. Really enjoyed it for what it was especially visually. Gonna have to tell my dad to watch it since he loves The Lost Boys and it’s directed by the same person

 

I see what you mean, but don't think Friday Night Lights is romanticizing small towns. Mainly, I think it's portraying the bubble effect, the teenage boredom and the yearning that comes with it, as well as other social issues -- the rampant racism, toxic masculinity and misogyny, its systemic failure of troubled youths, and the general "trucker conservatism" of the South. My personal understanding of the media fascination with small towns is that the setting lends itself to a story where every character is a caricature / knows one another, and the drama constantly runs high / has a ripple effect. Meanwhile, I'm mostly intrigued by how FNL conveys a specific kind of boredom, the hopes and desperation of growing up in a rural town, the glorification and heroization of teenage athletes who peak in high school and spend the rest of their lives empty.

 

Oh yeah, FNL absolutely hits the mark when it comes to that kind of stuff. Thanks for your thoughtful response.

 

Sure thing. FNL's portrayal of small town America sort of reminds me of the book Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, which focuses on similar themes. Whole lotta existential longing. I guess it comes with feeling trapped.

 

Finally catching up on HOD - Matt smith should get a shot at victor freeze in the next Batman.

 

Didn’t expect a Sherwood Anderson mention when I opened the thread.

 

What is even on Showtime right now? Yellowjackets I think?

 

Yellowjackets and American rust were the last 2 things I watched on there.

 

anyone watching The Patient? really enjoyed the first two episodes

 

Twin Peaks: The Return is on Showtime (as is the original show). And the new Dexter season.

I enjoyed I Love That For You and Moonbase 8 though they’re both super short.

(I also liked Californication when I first watched it many moons ago.)

 

Ziwe and dexter cinematic universe

Yellowjackets is the main reason for the bundle

 

I got this like a monthish ago when I was trying to cancel Showtime

 

If FNL was a typical rural small town anywhere I’ve experienced their football team would be in the most noncompetitive division in the state and if they made any playoffs they’d get crushed in the first round
Also they’d all be much uglier