What other TV shows do you watch?

[Boton]

 

I'm horrible at following whatever dialect of Chinese they speak in Singapore.....

 

One of the things I like about watching non-US TV shows in their native language is the challenge of seeing if you can still pick things up from the inflection of the actors even if you don't understand the language itself.

If you don't speak Chinese at all, and you're trying to follow a bit of what's happening by listening for inflections, it's no wonder you're confused, because Chinese (at least in the dialects I'm aware of) is a tonal language -- so what you would hear as inflection (e.g., a questioning tone) is actually part of the word itself (there are many words in Chinese that would be homonyms, except for the tonal difference).

 

Maybe Chinese also has something analogous to our inflections, maybe not -- I really have no idea.

 

But if you are familiar with any dialect of Chinese, then you were already aware of that.

Nope, no Asian languages here. So you just helped me understand a bit more about why I have trouble following.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Van Buren Supernova]

I thought I was in the wrong thread/language thread. :p

 

Not really fandom, but I think this and 'Other TV show You Watch' are interchangeable.. so..

 

Not too long ago I finished watching the latest Better Call Saul.

Watched the first season, then had a long break and binged 2nd and 3rd season. I'd say this show is better when you binged it, because it's true to the parent show, Breaking Bad. Quite a slow burn but with good payout.

 

It retains the goods from BB, exploring more on some same characters and add interesting characters. My favorite episode is Chicanery which is mid of third season but I have never felt disappointed in any of the episode. Not for everyone though, especially if you prefer action and fast pace. Because this is not. But it pays well imo. And that, is how you do a prequel to a legendary show.

[Boton]

I liked Better Call Saul too, although I did get a little tired of watching "Saul" be abused by his brother over and over.  

 

Are there more seasons coming after S3?

[Van Buren Supernova]

I believe they have been renewed for season 4, yes.

My prediction is they would last until WW era, which probably around season 5.

[Pseudonym]

Anyone watch Preacher? I'm just rewatching some of the old episodes ready to start on the new season tomorrow. It's violent, but in a wacky way. Jesse (the titular Preacher) is pretty cool, and Tulip is brilliant. Seriously, that girl has one of the most badass female entrance scenes I've ever come across. And I pretty much want to steal her entire wardrobe. 

[Boton]

OK, continuing along my fascination with Asian TV shows, I found a good one.  It is out of Taiwan and stars Christopher Lee, the same one I was calling "McDreamy" earlier.  It is called A Good Wife, and it is a surprisingly sensitive and nuanced soap opera about a marriage that is basically destroyed by the interference of the parents (at least, from my Western perspective).  Either I'm getting better at understanding Mandarin (which I think this one is in too), or the inflection and pacing of the dialog was different, because I had a much easier time with it than I did with The Oath.  Anyway, it was quite good.

[Pseudonym]

Can anyone tell me, does Star Trek: Discovery pick up and become good? Because I found the first episode dull and now I'm on episode two and watching Klingon's argue in Klingon about what it means to be Klingon and I'm bored stiff. 

[Caya]

I don't want to spoiler anything here but the first two episodes are backstory, so to speak. Notice that the titular Discovery hasn't even made an appearance yet. -_- The show takes quite a turn in ep3 when it does - and you don't hire Jason Isaacs to play a nice captain. :lol:

 

eta: As for good, that's highly subjective, but husband and I are still watching and enjoying as of ep7. Got renewed for a second season already, so we're not the only ones either.

[Pseudonym]

I'll push on a bit further then - I was hoping it might be the case that it was just backstory and things would, well, it's already lively since there's been a big battle, but I don't know the characters well enough to care about any of it at this point so I'm just, meh. 

I do love Jason Isaacs though, so that's a definite point in the favour of continuing. Mmm, Jason Isaacs as Hook... mmm, even with the bedhead and the arm sans hook. 

 

[Caya]

Well then I'd say keep watching and check out

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hang on a minute -- this is pre-original-series -- and the captain is wearing glittery spandex?  (Not saying I hate it exactly, just huh?)

[Pseudonym]

You're saying you don't wear glittery spandex? I wear an outfit very close that one day in day out. 

[Pseudonym]

I decided to give 'Hand of God' a go, and was treated to a Ron Perlman sex scene. *Shudder*

[Arcadia]

Egad. Thanks for the warning.

[Pseudonym]

I was half watching, half listening through headphones whilst working. The dialogue went quiet, I turned to look at the screen, and violently recoiled. 

[Boton]

I decided to give 'Hand of God' a go, and was treated to a Ron Perlman sex scene. *Shudder*

 

OMG.  I have second-hand PTSD just thinking about that.

 

Anyway, I came here to tell you that I finally got my Roku set up to watch the Viki channel, and I started on Mystery Queen, the gender-swap Sherlock Holmes.  So far, it is really good!

 

The story is that Seol-Ok is a woman who is trapped in a marriage with a domineering mother in law, and she sneaks out to solve crimes.  She is in the process of hooking up with hot-shot detective Wan-Seung so that they can work together. 

 

Two episodes in, it is difficult for me to tell what is the product of the gender swap (probably not much) and what is the product of this being from a culture very different from my own (probably most), but it is a quite different take on things.  I'd say I'm enjoying it about like I did the more recent Russian Sherlock Holmes. What I like thus far is that Seol-Ok makes some pretty clever but nonetheless plausible deductions when she solves mysteries (including a hysterical scene where she uses her powers of deduction to be first in line at the grocery store for a "time sale" or flash sale on eggs), and Wan-Seung is hot, smart, and has a bit of a bubbling adrenaline addiction.  

[Pseudonym]

Is this them?

 

[Boton]

That would be them.  

 

Again, I'm only a couple of episodes in, but another appealing thing about Seol-Ok is that she's a bit of a hot mess.  Even given that I don't necessarily know fashions from country to country, I get the impression that she might just pull on the first three things she finds to wear every morning and then tries to plot ways to get out of the house and inevitably get herself in a bit of trouble.  

 

I also like that, contrary to our Sherlock and the general Holmesian lore, this Seol-Ok is NOT posh.  Her MIL has already made a number of cracks about where she comes from and her education and how lucky she is to have married so well, so that's a fun twist.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just noticed the names!  :D  (Is the show from Korea?)

 

Her outfit in that one photo looks fine to me.  Certainly no Belstaff, but then again, how many people could afford to dress that poshly?  Not me, that's for sure!  (Well, I suppose technically I could afford it -- but think how many DVDs I could get with that wad of money!   To say nothing of dental bills....)

[Pseudonym]

I'm ashamed to admit I only now realised Seol-Ok sounds like Sherlock, looking at it at least. Is Wan-Seung a John type character or a Lestrade? I was thinking Lestrade because you said he was a detective, but it doesn't seem right to have a Sherlock series without a version of John. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm ashamed to admit I only now realised Seol-Ok sounds like Sherlock, looking at it at least. Is Wan-Seung a John type character or a Lestrade? I was thinking Lestrade because you said he was a detective, but it doesn't seem right to have a Sherlock series without a version of John. 

 

Wan-Seung:  the clue is in the name.  ;)

 

 

 

(Hey, it took me a while too.)

[Pseudonym]

I still don’t get the Wan-Seung... Watson?

[Boton]

Just noticed the names!  :D  (Is the show from Korea?)

 

Her outfit in that one photo looks fine to me.  Certainly no Belstaff, but then again, how many people could afford to dress that poshly?  Not me, that's for sure!  (Well, I suppose technically I could afford it -- but think how many DVDs I could get with that wad of money!   To say nothing of dental bills....)

 

So far, that photo is the best of her outfits.  She has pulled off some truly awful things, although I did like last night's ensemble that was some sort of slogan tshirt with a skirt and tennis shoes.  That was cute.  And I love that she carries a magnifying glass as a dangle from her cell phone.

 

I'm ashamed to admit I only now realised Seol-Ok sounds like Sherlock, looking at it at least. Is Wan-Seung a John type character or a Lestrade? I was thinking Lestrade because you said he was a detective, but it doesn't seem right to have a Sherlock series without a version of John. 

 

Yes, Wan-Seung is Watson, and, as many of you have intuited, the names do sound like "Sherlock" and "Watson" when they are pronounced.  I was initially confused too because Wan-Seung takes such a leading role at the crimes rather than being Seol-ok's conductor of light, but that's the set up. There is a police chief that functions very much like the ACD Lestrade, in that he's nice and he's smart, but he's really nothing next to Seol-ok and Wan-Seung, and he gets a fair amount of credit for things that Seol-ok has solved for him.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Maybe Seol-Ok will gradually become the "senior" member of the team as she gains experience and confidence. After all, if Holmes had met Watson some years earlier, before he had any cases under his belt, the good doctor may have done a good bit of the detecting at first, before being rapidly eclipsed by his younger friend.

[Pseudonym]

I didn’t fancy it at all, don’t watch many foreign language things but the more you say the more tempted I am. Not that I’d be very likely to find it anywhere.