Running Streaming Movies/TV Thread

[mgarbowski]

Pluribus.

Seems like most either gave up on it or love it. Wife and I are in the minority who liked it, and will continue with S2, but did not think it was particularly great.

Anyone watching Slow Horses on Apple? I'm itching to watch it, but I've only read 6 out of the 10 books so far. It's my favorite series and I don't want the Apple program to dish up any spoilers.

The TV seasons go strictly book by book. There have been 5 seasons with #6 airing in 2026, so you're fine to watch everything that exists. I started with the TV version and read the books after each season, though I have not yet gotten to #5 yet. Each season is a tight 6 episodes so mostly the differences are from subtraction and simplification. The only one where it kind of broke down was S2/Dead Lions. The TV version of the foreign plot doesn't quite make sense. I even went back to rewatch the TV version after reading the book and the TV version was still indecipherable IMO. But all the seasons are definitely worth watching. I look forward to every new season and have not been disappointed.

The Chair Company

I have to revisit this recommendation and add a disclaimer. With one episode left the series has gone from a solid absurdist comedy to just absurd, with some laughs mixed in. Maybe they stick the landing in the final episode. As of now it seems very unlikely.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Watched Adolescence earlier this week on Netflix. A very difficult watch but incredibly well done and will make you think.

 

[JayH]

I have watched a bunch of streaming documentaries recently on people (some light some heavier) including John Candy, Jeff Buckley, Jayne Mansfield, Paul Reubens, Counting Crows, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham. My favorites were the ones on Jeff Buckley, Jayne Mansfield (by her daughter Mariska Hargitay) Pee Wee, and John Candy (and the Beckham Man U highlights were fun to watch ). None are works of art, I think it’s just a matter of whether you find any of the subjects interesting, nostalgic, etc.

 

[LostAnvil]

I have to revisit this recommendation and add a disclaimer. With one episode left the series has gone from a solid absurdist comedy to just absurd, with some laughs mixed in. Maybe they stick the landing in the final episode. As of now it seems very unlikely.

Did you watch the last episode of The Chair Company yet?

 

[mgarbowski]

Did you watch the last episode of The Chair Company yet?

Very disappointing. At this point I'm not sure what bothers me more: the idea that this is a stand alone single season that didn't even attempt to resolve anything, or that somebody thinks this story is worth multiple seasons of meandering.

 

[joe]

Recommend some apple shows/movies since I'm about to have an apple tv subscription for the first time

 

[Gotham Gator]

Apple Stuff.

Obviously, Ted Lasso is terrific. There is a documentary on Steve Martin that is very good. Peter Jackson's Get Back, a 3-part film on the Beatles recording Let it Be, is long but worth it.

 

[mgarbowski]

Recommend some apple shows/movies since I'm about to have an apple tv subscription for the first time

Series worth your consideration
Slow Horses (MI5 Misfits Agents Gary Oldman/Kristin Scott Thomas showcase)
Severance (scifi-tinged story about work and identity)
Mythic Quest (workplace comedy about video game company with Rob Mac and some other Always Sunny vets)
For All Mankind (very alt history of space exploration)
Silo (post apocalyptic scifi mystery)
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Godzilla/Kong - main attraction is Kurt Russel and his son cheesing it up as the same character in different time periods)
Movies:
Wolfs (if the Oceans movie series left you wanting more Pitt+Clooney)
The Gorge - serviceable scifi horror thriller, emphasis on serviceable
F1 (yet more Pitt; solid but purely by the numbers sports movie)

All are recommended on the basis of "if this is the sort of thing you like, you'll probably like this". Except Slow Horses is just that good and and you should try even if it's not what you think you would like, while Severance is offbeat enough it's hard to predict who loves it and who doesn't.

I second all of Gotham Gator's recs, except I skimmed through parts of the Beatles movie.

 

[JayH]

Recommend some apple shows/movies since I'm about to have an apple tv subscription for the first time

You will get strong opinions on both sides for each of these but I am mostly on the pro side for Severance and Pluribus. Shrinking is hit or miss by episode but I mostly liked it.

 

[LionNYC]

I've watched all the following (and more) and recommend the following in this order:

Comedy: The Studio, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Platonic, Mythic Quest, The Afterparty, Stick
Drama: Severance, Pluribus, Slow Horses, Silo, For All Mankind, Your Friends & Neighbors, Hijack, Tehran, Presumed Innocent, The Big Door Prize

 

[CCMore]

I enjoyed See, Silo, Ted Lasso, the first half of for all mankind, shrinking. Silo was so good I picked up the books and read the whole series in a week.
I could not get behind Mythic Quest, and Foundation. God help me if I try to watch another season of Foundation to hope it turns good.

 

[FootyLovin]

My 2 cents. All of these I consider fantastic enjoyable shows. As have been mentioned:

• Ted Lasso
• Shrinking
• Mythic Quest (1st 2 seasons)
• Slow Horses
• Severance
• Silo

And not yet mentioned:

• Bad Sisters
• Lessons in Chemistry

Would gladly turn back time to be able to watch any of these again for the first time.

 

[Seth]

Pluribus, Silo, and Invasion, and that's just off the top of my head. And the music for both Silo and Invasion is excellent as a bonus.

 

[Gene]

Just finished Slow Horses on Apple TV and it is absolutely an A++ series. IMO tv/movies rarely live up to the books, but this series certainly did. They stayed true to the books and every actor played his/her role to perfection. Can't wait for Season 6 to be released.

As a side note, has anyone read the Bernie Gunther books by Phillip Kerr? Gunther is an ex-cop turned private eye in pre-WWII Berlin. It's a good series to get into and the reason I bring it up is because I see where Jack Lowden (River Cartwright from Slow Horses) is starring as Bernie Gunther in an Apple TV series that's in production. No word of when it's going to be released.

I also see where Apple released another show based on a book by Mick Herron........Down Cemetery Road. I read the book last year and it's another winner.

 

[moogoo]

PSA: YouTube TV subscribers, select accounts are being offered $20 off a month for 4 months.

 

[Gotham Gator]

PSA: YouTube TV subscribers, select accounts are being offered $20 off a month for 4 months.

Excellent. Do you have to do anything to be selected?

 

[moogoo]

Excellent. Do you have to do anything to be selected?

Nope. It's either there or it isn't. Go into your account settings and select manage plan to see if you get the discount.

 

[gbservis]

Nope. It's either there or it isn't. Go into your account settings and select manage plan to see if you get the discount.

There is a movement being lead by marketing professor/Podcast guy Scott Galloway called "resist and unsubscribe". The premise is that the only thing the Trump administration responds to are market shifts and the most effective way to push back on current policies is to try to impact the bottom line of large companies that are supporting the administration. I don't really want to dig into it here as this isn't really a place for politics but I do think the YoutubeTV discounts could be related.

Google is one of the companies on the list of targets to try to impact by dropping your subscriptions to them. Some other big names got on board with the concept last week and it seems to be gaining steam. Given that google likely has more targeted demographic and add data on people than any other company on the planet I wonder if the offers are being targeted at people that google thinks are likely to join the boycott.

For those not getting the offer maybe you should go google a bunch of stuff about Scott Galloway and the resist and unsubscribe movement to see it can trigger the offer.

 

[FootyLovin]

There is a movement being lead by marketing professor/Podcast guy Scott Galloway called "resist and unsubscribe". The premise is that the only thing the Trump administration responds to are market shifts and the most effective way to push back on current policies is to try to impact the bottom line of large companies that are supporting the administration. I don't really want to dig into it here as this isn't really a place for politics but I do think the YoutubeTV discounts could be related.

Google is one of the companies on the list of targets to try to impact by dropping your subscriptions to them. Some other big names got on board with the concept last week and it seems to be gaining steam. Given that google likely has more targeted demographic and add data on people than any other company on the planet I wonder if the offers are being targeted at people that google thinks are likely to join the boycott.

For those not getting the offer maybe you should go google a bunch of stuff about Scott Galloway and the resist and unsubscribe movement to see it can trigger the offer.

FWIW my household is onboard. No ordering from Amazon (surprisingly doable). Canceled Uber (easy).

 

[gbservis]

FWIW my household is onboard. No ordering from Amazon (surprisingly doable). Canceled Uber (easy).

Same, we cancelled YoutubeTV, AppleTV, and Microsoft Office 360 subscriptions. Working on deleting facebook but I buy a lot of used stuff on Marketplace so I need to find an alternative, it's a shame craigslist pretty much collapsed in my area.

Not sure what I will do about Apple once the season starts but I'll figure that out when we get there.