Though it was gone before it had time to fully blossom, I have been meaning to marathon all of Carnivale again, because it’s so fucking awesome it deserves a viewing every year.
Stick with it, Ken, season/series 2 of Babylon 5 is where the shit starts going down and it turns into greatness. There are few, if any, episodes that don’t deal with the central plot in some way. Even random ‘crazy alien of the week’ has something to do with the larger picture.
I actually didn’t have a problem marathoning BSG. If anything, it made the moments of light – like Chief revealing what they named the stealth fighter – all the more moving.
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| Originally Posted by Doc Happenin View Post Though it was gone before it had time to fully blossom, I have been meaning to marathon all of Carnivale again, because it’s so fucking awesome it deserves a viewing every year. Stick with it, Ken, season/series 2 of Babylon 5 is where the shit starts going down. |
I’ve never seen an episode of Carnivale. Is it worth picking up on DVD?
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t watch BSG. Because while it had it’s ups and downs, BSG at its best shouldn’t be missed. Just not in marathon form.
Edit: Damn this moves fast.
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| Originally Posted by Eric Cordo View Post I’ve never seen an episode of Carnivale. Is it worth picking up on DVD? |
OH GOD YES.
It’s one of my favourite TV shows ever. It’s essentially two ten hour films in its production value and scope.
Too funny; I was just discussing this subject with my wife on Monday. We plan on doing marathons of:
‘Lost’ (last season)
‘The Prisoner’ (to get ready for the remake coming out this fall)
‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ (one of THE best BBC comedies)
‘Carnivale’
We’re trying to spend as much time outside as we can this Summer, so I don’t know if we’ll get any more viewing in than that.
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| Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post I’m also considering getting the first season of Magnum, P.I. or Rockford Files off Netflix to check those out. . |
Speaking as someone whose job was basically a Rockford Files marathon for a few weeks, I’d recommend sampling them on Watch It Now before requesting the discs. And avoid marathon sessions. The eps can be good in and of themselves, but they would get awfully repetitive, and there’s no grander plot or story arc to digest aside from the occasional two-parter.
And remember: the plucky young journalist/lawyer/stewardess is always too curious for her own good, the rich old white guy politician/tycoon/real estate developer always have exactly two henchmen to to rough up Rockford, and Rockford never spends enough time with his dad.
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| Originally Posted by Eric Cordo View Post Trying to marathon BSG might be the only way I get into it. A few years ago I got halfway through the first season I was so bored that I vowed never to go back to it. Unfortunately if I want to stop hearing people say, “What? How did you not watch BSG?” I have to actually hunker down and watch it. |
Pretty much this, and I’m very fickle with sci-fi. It has to either really grab me a la Firefly, or I won’t bother with it. What I gleaned from what I’ve seen so far: at least that dude got tongued by Tricia Helfer before he died, and Starbuck really likes jogging.
Show’s I’ve never gotten into and plan to marathon sooner or later:
Carnivale
Deadwood
True Blood
Mad Men
Farscape (never saw the first few seasons)
Twin Peaks
A friend of mine is marathoning Stargate SG1 right now, after exhausting Buffy, Angel, Firefly, BSG, Supernatural, 24, Lost, and Dexter over the past couple years. He seems to like it. I did the same a few years ago, good easy to absorb show. I keep trying to tell him about the Wire but he is resistant.
Skip the first season of Farscape, doesn’t really add much and it’s annoying as hell. Stuff gets going with the second season.
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| Originally Posted by bendrix View Post Speaking as someone whose job was basically a Rockford Files marathon for a few weeks, I’d recommend sampling them on Watch It Now before requesting the discs. And avoid marathon sessions. The eps can be good in and of themselves, but they would get awfully repetitive, and there’s no grander plot or story arc to digest aside from the occasional two-parter. And remember: the plucky young journalist/lawyer/stewardess is always too curious for her own good, the rich old white guy politician/tycoon/real estate developer always have exactly two henchmen to to rough up Rockford, and Rockford never spends enough time with his dad. |
Over the span of a year I basically watched every episode of the Rockford Files in syndication … one episode each weekday. That was probably the best way to go. With non-serial shows like Rockford Files, Castle, CSI, etc. you’re bound to get annoyed at the extremely formulaic way each episode unfolds. By slowing down your marathon just a bit it makes it possible to not start hating the formula.
ETA: One show that’s hilarious to marathon is Sliders. That show’s so hilariously bad (and available on Netflix Watch Instantly) that it makes it fun to watch several episodes in a row.
Seasons 2-4 of B5 are greatness.
And freebasing the entirety of “Band of Brothers” in one sitting was a transcendant form of torture.
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| Originally Posted by dontEATnachos View Post Over the span of a year I basically watched every episode of the Rockford Files in syndication … one episode each weekday. That was probably the best way to go. With non-serial shows like Rockford Files, Castle, CSI, etc. you’re bound to get annoyed at the extremely formulaic way each episode unfolds. By slowing down your marathon just a bit it makes it possible to not start hating the formula. |
I had a stint of about five days where every single episode had Becker arresting Rockford on a murder charge (all of which were set ups, obviously), and then the next ep I did had Becker inviting Rockford out with him and his wife to vacation on property he just bought.
So, do you guys go outside or is the flesh pretty much attached to the upholstery at this point?
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| Originally Posted by Mattioli View Post So, do you guys go outside or is the flesh pretty much attached to the upholstery at this point? |
Well, for me, I caption them. I don’t know what everyone else’s excuse is.
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| Originally Posted by bendrix I had a stint of about five days where every single episode had Becker arresting Rockford on a murder charge (all of which were set ups, obviously), and then the next ep I did had Becker inviting Rockford out with him and his wife to vacation on property he just bought. |
Something that made me about the Rockford files when I was watching all those episodes is the way they reuse extras/bit characters. The one that sticks out at me the most was when Becker changed actors at some random point and the guy who later became Becker was in one earlier point the villain in an episode.
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| Originally Posted by dontEATnachos View Post Something that made me about the Rockford files when I was watching all those episodes is the way they reuse extras/bit characters. The one that sticks out at me the most was when Becker changed actors at some random point and the guy who later became Becker was in one earlier point the villain in an episode. |
Yeah, I did the entire series about until I did the first one, and Rockford’s dad is played by a surly hobo in the pilot instead of bemused vaudeville clown.
All-time least favorite Rockford character: Richie, the spunky kid detective. Dude’s rat-a-tat-tat “Gee, whiz” delivery made my fingers bleed. The actor recently directed Don’t Mess with the Zohan, which kind of makes me hate him more.
ETA: Hey, wait–the pilot I saw had Becker as Becker. Are you thinking of a different character? But you’re right in that the same actors ften played different characters.
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| Originally Posted by Mattioli View Post So, do you guys go outside or is the flesh pretty much attached to the upholstery at this point? |
I’m essentially a talking chair at this point.
As much as I love Rockford- it was weekly James Garner for the love of pete- it only lasts about two episodes before I get tired of it. I borrowed a few of the seasons from the library last year, and it wasn’t as much fun as I thought. Anything with Angel or Beth Davenport are usually good for a watch.