It's not the size of the screen...

[Andrew]

I haven't seen last night's episode of Rick and Morty yet, but 3/4 of the episodes of this half of the season were weak. The Vat of Acid episode was great, though.

[lunchstealer]

I kinda liked the dragonsluts

[Andrew]

I kinda liked the dragonsluts

That was in the first half of this season. Death Crystals, Dragon Sluts, and Rattlesnake Time Travel were all good ones.

[dhex]

heist movie parody inception was very enjoyable.

"rick is an emotionally cruel toddler" kind of sums up the series theme tho

[Andrew]

heist movie parody inception was very enjoyable.

"rick is an emotionally cruel toddler" kind of sums up the series theme tho

Different strokes, etc. I couldn't stand either the heist inception episode or the story train episode.

[Jennifer]

I liked the season finale of Rick and Morty, when they revisted the Beth's clone issue and a couple other threads from previous seasons, but for the most part I agree this season has been the weakest yet.

What We Do in the Shadows (reality show about Staten Island vampires) has been great, though. Lots of things that appeared to be one-time jokes from previous episodes coming back to be of major importance, fairly consistent character development ... given what a very black comedy this is, I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually goes the Jim Henson's Dinosaurs route and ends the series by killing most or all of the characters.

[D.A. Ridgely]

On Amazon Prime, The Vast of the Night is a shoestring indie movie shot supposedly with a budget of $700,000 ("plus post, and some marketing"). It's certainly not a great movie and, as one reviewer put it, it's something of a radio drama turned into a film, but the directing is strong for a debut effort and the cinematography is extraordinary for a low-budget movie, even for one with more like a $7 million budget. (Yes, Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi in 1992 for $7k, but the two aren't comparable technically.) Cinematography aside, it's a period piece requiring 1950s cars, clothing and set dressings, and those things don't come cheap, either. I mean, I'm sure the guy got plenty of in-kind support and probably paid his extras next to nothing and everyone else minimum scale (it's a SAG-AFTRA production).

It's in pretty much every respect an amazingly credible piece of film making so, no, I'm not going to say you're going to be wowed by the movie per se compared to other, more expensive films, but if you approach watching it as a study in what can be done on a next-to-nothing budget these days, it's definitely worth the view.

[JD]

heist movie parody inception was very enjoyable.

"rick is an emotionally cruel toddler" kind of sums up the series theme tho

Different strokes, etc. I couldn't stand either the heist inception episode or the story train episode.

I liked the story train episode partly because it poked fun at Snowpiercer ("oh look, it's a literal plot engine") and for being so meta, but ultimately I don't know if it was a great episode; it was almost too manic for that. Vat of Acid was pretty damn good. Promortyus was eh, Childrick of Mort had some really funny moments but also seemed like the writers trying to cram as much as possible into every single second.

[lunchstealer]

It was enjoyable enough. I think I actually like this season overall better than Season 3, but not as much as 1 and 2. I get where they were going with Season 3 but the only episode I really liked was the Mad Max episode.

[dbcooper]

Sad:

https://www.celebvm.com/p/nigelhavers

[dbcooper]

Did anyone watch the TV show Brimstone that had John Glover as the devil?

[Hugh Akston]

Did anyone watch the TV show Brimstone that had John Glover as the devil?

Not sure I've seen all of them, but I've seen it.

[dbcooper]

Did anyone watch the TV show Brimstone that had John Glover as the devil?

Not sure I've seen all of them, but I've seen it.

Worth watching?

[Hugh Akston]

Did anyone watch the TV show Brimstone that had John Glover as the devil?

Not sure I've seen all of them, but I've seen it.

Worth watching?

It's been a long time. I remember liking Glover in it, but he only shows up at the beginning and end of the episode. That said, it's only 13 episodes, so it's not like a huge waste of time either way.

One thing I will say is that the show was much better suited to a first run syndication model like Renegade or Highlander than it was to a prime time weeknight slot.

[Jennifer]

"Bless the Harts" (a Fox Sunday-night animated show which I think debuted last season) has really been growing on me. I still have a series recording set on the DVR and they started airing reruns about a month ago (including some I managed to miss the first time around). Not like the typical Fox animation surreal/black comedy; this has more of a "realistic," King of the Hill-type of vibe (though obviously with a few cartoony and possibly surreal elements -- I'm still not sure if the whole "Jesus comes to life" thing is just the Jenny-character's imagination, or if it actually happens).

[Ellie]

Trying to watch season 41 (Westerly, RI house) but it's making me RAGE. They bought a classic 40s ranch house -- a big-ass one, too, 2200 sq ft! -- and then they're gutting it and putting on a whole second story with a gambrel roof. JUST BUY A DUTCH COLONIAL IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU FUCKING FUCKS

I don't even want to know what they're going to do to the bathrooms with the original colored tile and toilet/tub to match. Fucking monsters.

[Warren]

Trying to watch season 41

Season 41? Which show?

[Jennifer]

TV-related random observation: TV and reruns have been around long enough that our language ought to have a single word to describe a specific form of TV-show memory: "I know I've seen that show back in the day, I know its theme song and what at least ONE main character looked like ... but otherwise I have absolutely no memory of the show, not a single storyline or joke, nor even the overall premise of the show."

When I mentioned this to Jeff, he suggested we also have another word to describe a second memory category: you remember the theme song, at least one character, the overall premise AND a couple of isolated jokes or scenes ... but little else, and no full episode plots.

[Eric the .5b]

TV-related random observation: TV and reruns have been around long enough that our language ought to have a single word to describe a specific form of TV-show memory: "I know I've seen that show back in the day, I know its theme song and what at least ONE main character looked like ... but otherwise I have absolutely no memory of the show, not a single storyline or joke, nor even the overall premise of the show."

Osmosis?

(But, then I'm reminded of how much Harry Potter lore I've picked up while never having read any of the books or seen any of the movies beyond the first.)

[Ellie]

Trying to watch season 41

Season 41? Which show?

Whoops! This Old House.

[Eric the .5b]

Trying to watch season 41

Season 41? Which show?

Whoops! This Old House.

I didn't know that was still going. Neat!

[Jake]

When I mentioned this to Jeff, he suggested we also have another word to describe a second memory category: you remember the theme song, at least one character, the overall premise AND a couple of isolated jokes or scenes ... but little else, and no full episode plots.

This is where CHiPs exists for me. I watched it a lot as a kid, but this is pretty much the entirety of what I actually remember beyond the opening sequence/theme song:
- Chasing a big van which catches air at one point
- Old lady brings cookies for the cops
- Attractive young woman needs help because her toe has somehow become caught in the faucet of her tub during a bubble bath. Sexy saxophone music plays.
- Low angle camera catches car in chase making a turn and losing a hubcap in almost every episode.

That's, like... it. From the whole series.

[lunchstealer]

When I mentioned this to Jeff, he suggested we also have another word to describe a second memory category: you remember the theme song, at least one character, the overall premise AND a couple of isolated jokes or scenes ... but little else, and no full episode plots.

This is where CHiPs exists for me. I watched it a lot as a kid, but this is pretty much the entirety of what I actually remember beyond the opening sequence/theme song:
- Chasing a big van which catches air at one point
- Old lady brings cookies for the cops
- Attractive young woman needs help because her toe has somehow become caught in the faucet of her tub during a bubble bath. Sexy saxophone music plays.
- Low angle camera catches car in chase making a turn and losing a hubcap in almost every episode.

That's, like... it. From the whole series.

Once there was a van just speeding down the highway and they were like waaaat and then it crashes and theyre like waaaaaat and they see the driver terrified as shit and are like huh and they open the door and the van is like full of rattlesnakes and the guy is like i'm not samuel l jackson but they say hay maybe we can use a fire extinguisher to make the snakes all cold and then he can get out.

Also yes hubcaps.

[Jennifer]

For me, what inspired this particular "we need a term for that" is, Jeff and I were watching old 1970s episodes of the Match Game, and at one point the host reminded everybody to watch Chico and the Man, featuring our lovely guest Della Reese -- and that's when I realized: I KNOW I have watched that show, I can hum the theme song, and I know what Chico looked like. Based on the name, I am guessing there was also an older white guy who played "the man," but I've no idea what Della Reese did, or even the show's basic premise -- was Chico "the man's" neighbor? Employee? Inter-racial adopted son? Hellafino.

Jeff's memory of the show falls into category two: he knows what I do, plus he can recall a couple isolated scenes or jokes, but that's all.

TV-related random observation: TV and reruns have been around long enough that our language ought to have a single word to describe a specific form of TV-show memory: "I know I've seen that show back in the day, I know its theme song and what at least ONE main character looked like ... but otherwise I have absolutely no memory of the show, not a single storyline or joke, nor even the overall premise of the show."

Osmosis?

No, "osmosis" is how I know (or used to know) the names of all six "Friends" plus the actors who played them, PLUS the theme song, despite never having watched a single episode of that show.

[Jennifer]

When I mentioned this to Jeff, he suggested we also have another word to describe a second memory category: you remember the theme song, at least one character, the overall premise AND a couple of isolated jokes or scenes ... but little else, and no full episode plots.

This is where CHiPs exists for me.

Assuming you want to think fondly of the show (or of your own taste in TV, as a kid), I suggest you leave it there. A few years ago I watched an episode for the nostalgia/curiosity value -- a double-episode roller-disco-themed "spectacular" from 1979, with special celebrity guests including Vic Tayback and a pre-addiction Leif Garrett -- and found the incident mildly traumatizing. By which I mean "baffling and boring."