What have you been watching?

@Felton10 beat me to it with Ozark

@DennisG2014 i know spectrum just unlocked showtime and EPIX (at least for the current situation) for us plebeians who don’t subscribe to premiums, so check to see if your provider has done something similar???

@Cerridwyn if true then add Picard to my list!

@Cerridwyn @stolicat yep. use the code “GIFT” when you sign up.

@Cerridwyn @earlyre @stolicat
How is that different than a free 30 day trial?

@mike808 umm cuz it covers the ad free version as well? i really don’t know the answer

@earlyre It just sounded like the same trial deals they have all the time, just hyped because of Coronageddon.

That said, Sir Patrick Stewart is a class act.

I’ve got Picard on my backlog. Almost done with SG Atlantis, then Lost in Space S2, and Altered Carbon S2, then an Elementary binge.

@Cerridwyn ST Picard definitely worth watching, but CBS all access is terrible! Basically nothing worth spending time on otherwise.

@robson
Depends on what other pay channels you have
They have all the Star Trek franchise, for example.
So for me, since it’s the only one I’ve paid for, if it’s not on my cable or Roku in general, well, unless CBS has it, I can’t watch it.

Friends don’t let friends by Prime

@robson I turn it on for the new treks to try to send the signal to CBS to make MOAR SCIFI but yea… if you don’t want the new treks, or the trek library… other than a rare missed dvr show or random browsing around not much there.

@Cerridwyn @earlyre @mike808 @stolicat because THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS

Started my 30 free days of CBS Paid Access yesterday, so I could watch Picard.
Patrick Stewart is amazing as always, the rest of the show… meh.

CBS creating a premium service to put their most desirable titles behind a pay-wall is utter bullshit, and that may be affecting my ability to be objective.

They don’t even bother to break from the constraints of the broadcast TV 1-hour drama formula, as all of the rest of the true prestige shows have done.
Stories built around all the most tired tropes, still precisely 44 minutes long with dips to black in all the right places for the commercial breaks (which still makes me reach for the remote, every time).

I’ll watch Picard season 1 for free.
I won’t watch Discovery or anything else.
Once my free trial is done, so am I.
Unlike other shows I’ve enjoyed on other services, I will not even consider paying to watch future seasons; wouldn’t do it even if I loved the show.

These shows will air on CBS broadcast, for free.
The only question is when, and that is completely dependent on how many suckers they can get to pay for it.

Yes, I’m bitter about it.
There is a lot of very good, innovative, original TV being made these days that is worth paying extra for.
None of it is being made by CBS, nor will it ever be.
They make recycled, by-the-book, made-to-sell-advertising programming.

Ok, rant over. Sorry if I insulted anyone’s taste or discretion.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@DennisG2014

So how did they sign up Patrick Stewart? Megabucks?

@f00l
Probably a lotta money; he’s worth it.

I probably will hate-watch Discovery, even though I said (ranted) that I wouldn’t , it’s going to be a long 30 days, after all.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, after re-reading the posts above, I wanted to add that I just did whatever 30 day trial they were offering. I was given the choice of limited ads or ad free (what a joke that they even have that choice); that only affects what I’ll be charged if I don’t cancel before the trial ends, and that’s not going to happen.

@DennisG2014 Suggestion re ST:Discovery :
Watch one of the Short Treks called Q and A and then start watching Disco beginning with Season 2. You can go back to S1 later if interested. After all, you have time, right?

@rockblossom Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.
Is season 1 that bad?

@DennisG2014 No, season 1 is just really weird until you figure out what is happening, which is … um… something like half-way through it.
Season 2 is a bit more straight-forward and explains (in the end) why no one in classic Trek ever talked about Discovery, even though it was operating at the same time as Enterprise and its original 5-year mission under Captain Pike. S1 actually works better if you’ve seen S2.

@rockblossom Finished Picard last night.
I enjoyed it.
Still not paying for season 2 though.
I’ll check out the shorts and Discovery tonight.

@llangley what’s IDH?

@moonhat oops, sorry. That’s how it’s listed on the Guide but it’s actually ID Investigation Discovery.

@mike808

That was fun. Thx.

@BadTouchRobot For some strange reason, “Pharaoh gobbles donkey goobers” popped into my head a few days ago. I see that it’s leaving Amazon prime on March 31.

Finished Kidding and looked around to see what else they have to offer.

I agree with all of the above suggestions as to what else is good on Showtime.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@RiotDemon vs the not proper people? Just asking

@unksol unproper people.

Edit: deleted that YouTube.

@unksol

/youtube improper people

@yakkoTDI Virtual NASCAR!
A friend of mine works for iRacing, makers of the top auto-racing sim and they’ve partnered with Fox Sports to broadcast an entire season of eNASCAR, with the real, pro drivers and the same commentators and everything.

I’d be surprised if F1 and other leagues aren’t doing the same.

Many of the professional drivers already participate in iRacing, as it’s so realistic, especially when you can afford the most sophisticated sim hardware.
Just about the only thing missing from the experience is the G-forces.

edit: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.formula-1-launches-virtual-grand-prix-series-to-replace-postponed-races.1znLAbPzBbCQPj1IDMeiOi.html

Ok, now I’m on a deep dive into the early '80s hardcore-punk rabbit hole.

I might have to start a thread…

Any original punks out there?
I wasn’t, really, but was heavily influenced by my older brother who had all the records and saw all the bands live.

@DennisG2014

I saw the Ramones live at CBGB. And saw The Clash live during their first few US tours. And Devo. OMD. Human League. Blondie. Fripp. Talking Heads. B-52’s.

Unfortunately, no Sex Pistols.

I was reasonably into it. But not way, way, way into it. Just lucky to be in Manhattan at a time when clubs and concerts were affordable.
Lived 3 blocks from CBGB during the last decade in which the non-wealthy (and evening the poor) could routinely afford to live in the scuzzier or less fashionable parts of Manhattan.

Does any of that that count?

/youtube Sex Pistols God Save the Queen.

BTW, no punk lifestyle here. Was a grad student.

@DennisG2014 @f00l The Ramones played at my college! I bought a cassette tape and studied up beforehand.

@DennisG2014 @sammydog01

Masters of the hard charging 2-3 min tune. No guitar solos.

@f00l Oh yeah, you are an original punk. lol
I definitely misspoke. I was thinking about the early '80s hardcore scene. That’s what my brother was into.
I mostly listened to what you were there for, but I discovered ~10 years later - also poached off my older brother’s collection.
The Clash are one of my favorites,
He saw them in '82, I think - he would’ve been 16 and I was 12 so not allowed to go.

I was thinking of bands like the Meatmen, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, JFA, SSD - that’s all I can think of atm.
I think some of it was local to Boston but I know there was a DC connection too.
Definitely east coast - This is Boston Not L.A. is one song I remember, probably by one of the above bands (I’ll find it momentarily.)
I wasn’t as into it as he was; he liked the angry stuff, I liked the funny stuff.

edit:

Like I said, I would’ve been 12, I thought “Fuck L.A.!” was hilarious. I had no idea why I was supposed to hate L.A.

Late edit: I still think it’s pretty hilarious.

BTW, no punk lifestyle here. Was a grad student.

@f00l can’t be both?

Milo Aukerman of The Descendents - PhD in biology
Greg Graffin of Bad Religion - PhD in zoology
Dexter Holland of The Offspring - PhD in molecular biology

@Ignorant

I’ll be both as long as I can also be a @philosopher and an @ignorant @idiot

we got a deal?

Actually grad school is long past
I’ll have to settle for being a @failure

@DennisG2014

If you’re doing a deep dive, you might be interested in this:

When the Sex Pistols Played the Longhorn Ballroom
https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2017/01/sex-pistols-dallas-longhorn-ballroom/

Synopsis: they sucked.

Vicious and Rotten were there for looks and could barely perform. Vicious spent much of the short show covered in his own blood.
And they had “gonna die young” written all over their vibe.

The Sex Pistols came to Dallas 40 years ago this week and bled all over the snow
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/01/09/the-sex-pistols-came-to-dallas-40-years-ago-this-week-and-bled-all-over-the-snow/

40 Years Later, Frank Campagna Remembers the Time He Told Sid Vicious to ‘Fuck Off’
https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dallas-art-god-frank-campagna-told-sid-vicious-to-fuck-off-after-sex-pistols-show-at-longhorn-ballroom-10363031

37 min

The Longhorn Ballroon was once owned and run by Jack Ruby. Another bit of weird history.

@DennisG2014 @f00l Did I read that right? Did Robert Fripp perform as part of a punk act? If so, did he still sit during performances?

@DennisG2014 @Limewater

Sorry. Fripp isn’t punk. He’s Fripp. His performances were solo and the audience was a bit like a jazz audience. They listened.
I gave a misimpression there; i was kinda listing some of the “on the edge” music I could remember seeing during those years. I wasn’t limiting it to punk.

There was more. My memory just sux now.

Manhattan was a paradise for musical performance then. Prob still is, when there’s no pandemic. every “genre” one can imagine, and some performances with no genre easily attached to them.

I attended quite a bit of classical. Mostly string quartets (often free). And a bunch of piano (I knew two people who later competed in the Cliburn).
I saw a ton of blues and jazz. there was a memorable Wilson Pickett show.

I regret never seeing The Met.

Every day w decent weather one could find steel drums or a violinist playing somewhere on the street.

Fripp I think I saw twice. Once in a church. Once in some kinda conference room in a small office building?
But maybe there were two diff conference rooms; since I seem to remember two diff color schemes to these rooms. So maybe I saw him 3 times.
These were AFAIK unannounced-in-advance free performances? Someone I knew was plugged into the that end of the music scene. That guy would call and say ”Fripp’s playing at <whatever address>. Let’s go.” And we went.

@mscott1438 google “new on Netflix” and you’ll see what’s coming in for the month. I agree it gets lame but there’s usually a series to binge or a comedy special. I recommend Kim’s convince and they just had a new season. May not be your thing if you prefer movies.

@mscott1438 I think this is where I land googling that
https://www.vulture.com/article/new-on-netflix-movies-shows-originals.html

No idea what they do but I just roll past their articles to the list at the bottom. There are apps and sites for that too. And better search methods

I rewatched all the lethal weapons. Not sure if I’m embarrassed by that yet

@DennisG2014

I don’t know how they screen it, but I haven’t seen anything dirty).

simple, unlike twitch, rpan is only open when reddit employees are at work

so there is always employees monitoring the service

@communist That makes sense.
I wish they’d moderate the comments though.
There’s a really great keyboard player who also happens to be a trans woman, and the comments were brutal.

@tinamarie1974 I forgot about that show, thanks for reminding me! Always enjoy Saul Rubinek.

@tinamarie1974 where/how?

@unksol Amazon Prime

@tinamarie1974 hmm… I would subscribe for at least a month for that

@mike808 where did you watch SG Atlantis? Or did you have it on disk? I’d be up for some rewatch. I have both closing movies.

@unksol It’s up on Amazon Prime.

@mike808 hmm… Not doing prime do they also have WH13? I suppose I could just google that… No one used to carry good SciFi shows. Calling it SYFY burns me

@unksol Stargate series (SG-1, Atlantis, SGU) are available on Hulu.

@rockblossom hmm. I had done SG1 probably once or twice over the years. Last time I tried Atlantis I couldn’t find it. May need to have a go. But wharehouse 13 and sanctuary never seemed to pop up. I guess I haven’t checked in a while

@unksol Use Hulu’s Search and type in “Stargate”. All three series should pop up.
Roku is telling me that bot Warehouse 13 and Sanctuary are not streaming free anywhere, but areavailable (for a fee) from Prime, AppleTV, and Vudu.

@rockblossom yeah the for a fee stops me. But maybe I’ll check out Hulu for a bit for Atlantis.