TV You Have Watched

[QualityChimp]

High Score on Netflix.
Anyone else watching this?

It's rated 15 for violence and there's a bit of swearing, but it could have been viewable for kids if they'd have thought about it.
I was watching with my son, but half of one episode was about sexual identity and not something he'd understand or enjoy.

Pacing is a bit off too. No mention of Space War or Pong, straight to Space Invaders.
I guess it's like "The Toys That Made Us" where they edit it to make it more of a story than just a stale narration of events.

Still, it's a fun watch with some new things to learn even for people like us who've heard most of the stories before, Pac-Man from pizza, Mario from Jumpman and so on..

[Atticus]

I watched the b&w ep of Moonlighting a couple of nights ago and it was introduced by none other than Orson Welles. He was amazing but sadly it must have been close to his last ever tv appearance as it was the same year he died. I could listen to that guy speak all day long.

heard most of the stories before, Pac-Man from pizza, Mario from Jumpman and so on..

This is what left it slightly on the back burner for me ... wondering if there's anything new. I think the need for nostalgia will see me having a look at some point though.

[QualityChimp]

It's a very easy watch, even if it's not massively educational.
Definitely got some new stuff from it like the uni kids who bought loads of dorm rooms when their arcade business got so popular, but when they noticed the drop off in funds when players mastered the games, they started modding the arcade boards.
They then got taken to court. They won out of court, but used that leverage to edit Pac-Man and that's how Ms. Pac-Man came about.

I also didn't know the full details of the lawyer who saved Nintendo from getting sued for using "Kong" in Donkey Kong and how they paid tribute to him.

[Baseley09]

High Score on Netflix.
Anyone else watching this?

It's rated 15 for violence and there's a bit of swearing, but it could have been viewable for kids if they'd have thought about it.
I was watching with my son, but half of one episode was about sexual identity and not something he'd understand or enjoy.

Pacing is a bit off too. No mention of Space War or Pong, straight to Space Invaders.
I guess it's like "The Toys That Made Us" where they edit it to make it more of a story than just a stale narration of events.

Still, it's a fun watch with some new things to learn even for people like us who've heard most of the stories before, Pac-Man from pizza, Mario from Jumpman and so on..

Enjoyed it generally but there was no need for the LGBT agenda I mean of all the rich history videogames has to offer, is one called gayblade that no one's cares about really what we need to know about. Stood out a mile, but some of the personal stories aside from that were great

[wakka]

I also didn't know the full details of the lawyer who saved Nintendo from getting sued for using "Kong" in Donkey Kong and how they paid tribute to him.

I know that one...

->Open Spoiler<-

I watched the first few minutes of High Score, but immediately wasn't keen. Not that I'm some big expert on videogames or anything, but it just felt a bit 'Gaming 101'. I'd rather watch someone on YouTube talk about something obscure like CDi FMV games or something

[QualityChimp]

Enjoyed it generally but there was no need for the LGBT agenda I mean of all the rich history videogames has to offer, is one called gayblade that no one's cares about really what we need to know about. Stood out a mile, but some of the personal stories aside from that were great

Yeah, that's what I struggled with. It just seemed incongruous to the rest of the show. The show is about the history of videogames and a large portion of the episode was devoted to this topic. If it was a series about various groups of gamers, like speedrunners, cosplayers, modders or eSports pros, this would have been a great segment, but it just didn't push the narrative of the history of videogames forward.

Like I say, they missed a trick by not making the show at a level that it shows up on both the adult and kid profiles of Netflix.
I was on constant edge that it was going to be gory or sweary out of the blue, when there's a lot of great and entertaining content.

I know that one...

I watched the first few minutes of High Score, but immediately wasn't keen. Not that I'm some big expert on videogames or anything, but it just felt a bit 'Gaming 101'. I'd rather watch someone on YouTube talk about something obscure like CDi FMV games or something

You're right, it was!

It's made to be entertaining and recaps a lot of stuff I knew, but there were also things I didn't, like Space Invaders causing a shortage of 100 Yen coins in Japan or the original art for the aliens.

I'll definitely continue as it's something to enjoy with my son.

[Dogg Thang]

Watched season 1 of Cobra Kai and I thought it was absolutely perfect television. It's exactly what I needed right now. Beautifully nostalgic and yet in a way that acknowledges all the time that has past and a great switch in point of view from The Karate Kid. It's full of heart and really all about empathy and what effect we can have on others. I had expected to like it from what I had seen of it but what did take me surprise is how brilliant William Zabke is as Johnny. His performance is fantastic and he is the soul of the show. The soundtrack is great and there was one little moment of sound design in the final episode of season 1 that really had me grinning.

I really loved every single minute of it and couldn't possibly have asked for anything else. Looking forward to getting stuck into season 2 now but, weirdly, season 1 was such a perfect piece of television that season 2 just feels like a bonus now.

[QualityChimp]

I can't watch Karate Kid after realising Daniel is the real bully:

[Dogg Thang]

That's all covered in Cobra Kai.

[QualityChimp]

Great news, thanks!

[Dogg Thang]

Great news, thanks!

Honestly, it's one of the best things about the show and that's why it really does feel like it has empathy at its heart. It's mostly about Johnny and who he grew up to be and how those experiences in The Karate Kid affected him. Because he saw those events the same way that the guy in that video saw them.

[Neon Ignition]

Season 2 has some bumps in it but it also shapes the concept that Johnny and Daniel are pretty alike and both lifelong victims of a shared aggressor quite well. Hope S3 maintains the momentum


The Office: Series 01
Finally, after near 20 years, watched the original Office in full correct order. It's certainly an interesting experience, more so due to both how it's more on the nose with the humour but also how bare boned it feels compared to the US version even accounting for the differences in episode count. This is very much more focused on Brent over most other characters, Gavin and Tim get some time too. I find that it did so well a curious thing, I remember people being really into the Tim/Dawn thing but there's hardly anything to it here. The flirting is obvious but there's very little to invest in and Dawn has almost zero character to her so it all feels very empty. Brent is also a very poor comparison too which I'm mindful that the US version had the chance to deep dive its characters and also to look at the UK version and to take notes etc so it's an unfair comparison but I find with Brent he's a mixture of trying to be funny whilst also being completely dislikeable which means he's more irritating that he ends up being humorous most of the time. With Michael you were quickly given some context to frame his actions to but David is a blank slate so the stretches between jokes that land are much longer. We're powering through the second series now, the joy of UK shows being they're so easy to experience in full, and it seems better. I feel I can appreciate the show but the US version being the superior barely seems like a consideration.

[JazzFunk]

Sacrilege!!!!!! They're different shows, tbh. I adore the UK one, always have, it's more my type of humour. I see the US one as decent but a completely different thang.

However, you are entitled to your opinion...and I am entitled to challenge you to a duel!...

...though not now cos I've got bad pain in my lumbar spine and I just bombed ten codas with a can o Monster pink.

Anyway, been taping old eps of TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, I never realised they did US versions (well, I did, but I forgot it over the years).

Yeah...watched an ep with George Peppard as an obnoxious, loudmouthed Vietnam vet in a bar, it was really good, even if I guessed the outcome. Quite fitting, that guy was a right moaning twat and shoulda cleaned up when he was told to...

[Neon Ignition]

Nicely timed I just finished The Office: Series 02
Much the same, though it goes harder with making awkward scenarios which I appreciate because it's more unrelenting than the softer US version which is nice to see and varies things up.

[QualityChimp]

Miracle Workers season 1.
Me: "Want to watch something light and easy-going?"
Wife: "Yes please. What's that one with Potter?"

What a fun little series this is. It's got some gentle laughs and on-going jokes and a selection of likeable characters.
This has Steve Buscemi as God. What else do you need to know?

The thing that threw me with this was the short episode length. We're talking 19 minutes, including credits!
Which means you can squeeze in an episode here and there, rather than sitting down to specifically watch it.
That's not a criticism - that's why this has got watched where many other shows have failed!

Potter is his usual lovable self.