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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  /  Banshee?
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 21st, 2015, 7:05am
Just watched the first episode of this, as I was looking for something to binge watch. The whole premise seems quite ridiculous and totally unrealistic but I think the creators know this and really play around with some crazy ideas. I've heard it's an incredibly fun show to watch, so I'm giving it a go. Has anyone else watched it? Any thoughts?

And while I'm here, any other shows I can binge watch? Preferably something that's finished. I've watched and enjoyed Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Sopranos. A lot of the classics. I'm open to any genre.. Cheers.
Posted by: Mr. Blonde, October 21st, 2015, 7:08am; Reply: 1

Quoted from IamGlenn
And while I'm here, any other shows I can binge watch? Preferably something that's finished. I've watched and enjoyed Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Sopranos. A lot of the classics. I'm open to any genre.. Cheers.


Well, I don't know how widely available it is, but I would suggest "PlayMakers". It never got nearly as much attention as it should've, but it still has my favorite series finale of all time (it only ran for one season). It's a football-based drama from 2003.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 21st, 2015, 7:14am; Reply: 2

Quoted from Mr. Blonde


Well, I don't know how widely available it is, but I would suggest "PlayMakers". It never got nearly as much attention as it should've, but it still has my favorite series finale of all time (it only ran for one season). It's a football-based drama from 2003.


Just looked it up. Not into "American Football", would that matter? Is it anything like the current series "Ballers", starring The Rock?
Posted by: Mr. Blonde, October 21st, 2015, 7:54am; Reply: 3
To be honest, I'm not sure. I haven't seen Ballers, but it's less about on-the-field stuff and deals with things during the week. Not being into American Football, it may be hard to make that transition, so maybe not.
Posted by: eldave1, October 21st, 2015, 10:19am; Reply: 4
Netflix recommendations - "Narcos" - just binged the first season - thought it was gritty/great. Also - for political junkies - we re watched All 7 years of 'The West Wing" - I had forgotten how good it was.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), October 21st, 2015, 12:12pm; Reply: 5

I'll second Narcos. It's rare I enjoy TV series, but that one was good. If you can find it, check out The Wrong Mans, it's got an OK plot but plenty of laughs. You're British, so you'll get it. Check out Utopia too, a strange British drama, if you fancy something out of the ordinary.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 21st, 2015, 12:24pm; Reply: 6

Quoted from DustinBowcot

I'll second Narcos. It's rare I enjoy TV series, but that one was good. If you can find it, check out The Wrong Mans, it's got an OK plot but plenty of laughs. You're British, so you'll get it. Check out Utopia too, a strange British drama, if you fancy something out of the ordinary.


I'll definitely check out Narcos eventually. Also, heard good things about Utopia. I'll take a look at that. Never heard of The Wrong Mans. I'll look it up.
Posted by: Equinox, October 21st, 2015, 12:44pm; Reply: 7
Are you looking for up-to-date series or do older ones count too?

I could list a few SciFi / Mystery series from the 90ies/2000s if that's your cup of tea.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 21st, 2015, 12:47pm; Reply: 8
Once you think it's of good quality, please put it forward. I like getting stuck into a good TV show.
Posted by: Equinox, October 21st, 2015, 1:16pm; Reply: 9
Okay:

- Dark Skies (1996-1997), sadly it was cancelled after only one season, but it's still one of my favourites. I think you find full episodes of the whole season on youtube.



- Quantum Leap (1989-1993) - one of the best ever if you are into time travelling, staaring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett.



- Farscape (1999-2003) - A NASA astronaut stranded in an unknown galaxy.



- Fringe (2008-2013) - Still my favourite show ever, created by JJ Abrams. You probably know this one, but I thought I can't leave it out here :)



- Haven (2010-2015) - Great show on syfy, based on Stephen King's 'colorado kid'



- Roswell (1999-2002) - More like a SciFi/Lovestory, based around the Roswell Myth. Surely worth a go if you try to convince a girl to watch SciFi :-)



- Outer Limits (1995-2002) - A more modern version of the Twilight Zone.



I can always shoot more, just let me know if you didn't find anything among these :-)


Posted by: IamGlenn, October 21st, 2015, 2:05pm; Reply: 10
Wow, nice list there Thorsten. I've been meaning to check Fringe out for quite a while. And obviously Quantum Leap is a classic. I'll look into these. Cheers.
Posted by: Scar Tissue Films, October 21st, 2015, 2:46pm; Reply: 11
Fringe is brilliant.


I enjoyed a show called Ascension recently, but like most shows I like, it got binned after a season.
Posted by: LC, October 21st, 2015, 6:38pm; Reply: 12
And now for something completely different:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2699110/
The Affair
(going into its second season)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1856010/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
House Of Cards
(Spacey's brilliant - going into its third season, I think)
Posted by: oJOHNNYoNUTSo, October 21st, 2015, 8:40pm; Reply: 13
Epic Sci-fi binge - Battlestar Galactica

Epic Crime binge - The Shield

Epic WTF binge - Misfits (UK)

Epic Comedy binge - Eastbound & Down

Epic Drama binge - House of Cards

Epic Fantasy binge - Game of Thrones

Epic Spy binge - The Americans
Posted by: Equinox, October 22nd, 2015, 4:46am; Reply: 14
Glad I could help, IamGlenn.

A really much underrated gem in my list above is 'Farscape'. It seems a bit cartoony from the intro, but the story is really compelling and complex, highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.


Quoted Text

Epic Sci-fi binge - Battlestar Galactica

Epic Crime binge - The Shield

Epic WTF binge - Misfits (UK)

Epic Comedy binge - Eastbound & Down

Epic Drama binge - House of Cards

Epic Fantasy binge - Game of Thrones

Epic Spy binge - The Americans


I seriously didn't like any of them much :)
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), October 22nd, 2015, 10:49am; Reply: 15
If you have Amazon Prime then try out Hand of God, I just watched the first episode and it's brilliant. I don't get the time to binge watch, at least, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt afterwards, but if I did, then I'd binge watch that.

Don't leave Narcos till last, it's a really good show, that was another one I could have easily binge watched.
Posted by: eldave1, October 22nd, 2015, 10:54am; Reply: 16
I will still hold that The West Wing was the best series of all time
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 22nd, 2015, 3:18pm; Reply: 17

Quoted from DustinBowcot
If you have Amazon Prime then try out Hand of God, I just watched the first episode and it's brilliant. I don't get the time to binge watch, at least, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt afterwards, but if I did, then I'd binge watch that.

Don't leave Narcos till last, it's a really good show, that was another one I could have easily binge watched.


Oh, forgot about Hand of God. When I heard of that a few months ago, I was quite excited to watch it. Slipped my mind completely.

I think I'll ride Banshee out. Seems like good fun. Then Narcos, Fringe and Hand of God in that order. It'll keep me busy for a while. Some great suggestions here. Cheers, people.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), October 26th, 2015, 5:07pm; Reply: 18
Just zoned out half way through of episode 5 of Hand of God. Bored shitless now. No way they should have stretched this over almost 10 hours. 6 should have been the limit. Finding drama for the sake of drama... if I wanted that shit, I'd watch a soap.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 26th, 2015, 8:53pm; Reply: 19

Quoted from DustinBowcot
Just zoned out half way through of episode 5 of Hand of God. Bored shitless now. No way they should have stretched this over almost 10 hours. 6 should have been the limit. Finding drama for the sake of drama... if I wanted that shit, I'd watch a soap.


Oh, I hate that. I tend to prefer when a series contains less episodes as a lot of the time the drama does feel stretched. Only the very best seem to be able to have a high number of episodes whilst keeping me clued in. And even with some of them I found myself drifting in and out. It's for this reason, I feel writing for TV is very tough. It's got to have the pacing down to a tee and keep audiences interested throughout a long period of time.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), October 27th, 2015, 3:25am; Reply: 20
No story should take 10 hours to tell unless it is a true one. Fiction should never, ever go past 6, IMO.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 27th, 2015, 3:51am; Reply: 21

Quoted from DustinBowcot
No story should take 10 hours to tell unless it is a true one. Fiction should never, ever go past 6, IMO.


I definitely see where you're coming from. Although, my favourite shows, The Wire and The Sopranos did pretty well with more than 6 per series.

Not arguing the point, but curious, why do you think true stories could take longer than fiction to tell?
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), October 27th, 2015, 4:03am; Reply: 22
Imagine a true life story about Saddam Hussein. It could probably be done in 6 hours, but I'd be happy to watch for around 10. Probably because I feel that I am actually learning something as opposed to simply being entertained.

I don't think this applies to all true stories. The story must obviously be worthy of 10 hours.

I watched a couple episodes of the Sopranos but never got down with it. I can't. It means nothing to me. I did like Peaky Blinders though.. but that's about the only series I could watch for any length of time... oh, I used to love Sharpe too. The character was fictional, but the setting and events all actually happened (aside from the bits Sharpe was involved in).

Fiction entertains. Fact and fiction entertains and teaches so has more mileage, IMO.
Posted by: IamGlenn, October 27th, 2015, 4:19am; Reply: 23
Yeah, I suppose true stories are also giving you that insight into a real event/person that will keep the audience's attention once the material is strong enough.

Again, though, The Wire. Not a true story, but what it was based on was a very real problem, and still is, in Baltimore and across the US. I think that's what had me glued to it.

I suppose the challenge for TV writers is creating a world and characters that will keep us interested and entertained for 10+ hours.
Posted by: ghost and_ghostie gal, October 30th, 2015, 2:54am; Reply: 24

Quoted from IamGlenn
I think I'll ride Banshee out. Seems like good fun.


I'm already waiting for season 4 and I must say I've enjoyed every minute of Banshee.  Yes - it's a little over-the-top at times.   Most of the characters are brilliant,  some a bit cartoonish, but it has a fresh vibe and has some of the best fighting, sex, and action scenes in a series.

Unfortunately, the series is coming to an end soon.  By no means is it the best series ever, but Banshee is one hell of a ride.  I hope you ride it out.  

Ghostie

Posted by: TonyDionisio, November 20th, 2015, 9:10am; Reply: 25
I am a Fanshee of Banshee.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), November 20th, 2015, 11:18am; Reply: 26
I tried to watch Gotham. I got to episode 10. The only reason I lasted so long is because I grew up reading Batman and know most of the characters really well. The Penguin is excellent, and as easily a good a performance as any of the Jokers from the films, IMO. Very impressed with what they did with that character. Unfortunately, one character is not enough to carry a series past 10 episodes for me. Maybe I'll try and watch some more, but I think I'm about done.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, November 20th, 2015, 12:03pm; Reply: 27
Gotham seems to have a really big following. How much recycling of the same super heros can we take though?
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), November 20th, 2015, 12:21pm; Reply: 28

Quoted from TonyDionisio
Gotham seems to have a really big following. How much recycling of the same super heros can we take though?


This is different in that it avoids the hero (Batman) and concentrates mostly on Jim Gordon and the other characters. Bruce Wayne is a bit of a drip in this, and I wish there was more to his character. I know they probably wanted to avoid that so that this story doesn't become about Batman... but, still.

Only really any good if you like the Batman franchise, even better if you know all the characters already like I do. But even that can only last so long.
Posted by: IamGlenn, November 21st, 2015, 3:07am; Reply: 29
Just finished season 1 of Banshee. Good, over the top stuff.

Recently though, me and the missus began watching House of Cards. And wow, don't know why I put it off for so long. The characters are so strong and I love where the story is going. Really good stuff.

Also, The Walking Dead has been great this season. Thoroughly enjoying it.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, November 23rd, 2015, 4:07pm; Reply: 30
I need to start House. I agree, TWD has been great this season. I love what they did with Glenn.
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