Binge watched tv shows

Yes–I was thinking that I am sort of glad I can watch several in a row, as the cliffhangers would have been torture! And I know I’ll have to re-watch some–I am enjoying reengaging with some of the philosophy concepts and figures from classes I took in college–way, way long ago.

I enjoy binging shows in general for the continuity. It’s fun to see how a stray remark in, say, the second episode of season 1 becomes significant in season 3. It shows that the writers/producers had an overlying concept of how they wanted the series to go, or they keep track of the series and figure out how to build on something from the past, or they deliberately dropped an Easter egg knowing how they wanted to use it eventually. Much better than the shows that keep changing writers/producers and have to retcon like crazy to support the new story lines. Or just abandon story lines completely, leaving you hanging. Or change characters completely so that they might as well have just added a different character.

I’m still binging Crazy Ex Girlfriend, and aside from loving the musical numbers and genres they spoof (not to mention the guest stars and cameos), I can see how much season 1 foretold season 3, where I am now.

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I watched several episodes of The Goldbergs last night. It’s basically a knockoff of the Wonder Years. Although it’s supposed to be a comedy, it was mildly amusing at best. However, if you were either a parent or a kid in the 1980s you will appreciate this series. SO many clothes, technology, fads, slang, etc references I hadn’t thought about in years. Fun.

There’s going to be a Fred Savage-spear headed Wonder Years revival, with Dulé Hill as the dad!

I never took to the Goldbergs.
And still really really liking Mare of Easttown.

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My kids and I are all excited about The Wonder Years reboot. One of my favorite shows ever, I hope the new version compares favorably with the original. The character of Kevin Arnold was a year older than me and I always felt like their family could have been our next-door neighbors.

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@MYOS1634 Goldberg’s stories are kind of dumb. This is not a binge for anyone looking for deep meaning in the subtext for sure. I feel like I would like it just as much if it was muted, but I love the blast from the past.

Sometimes I crave something without deep meaning. Goldberg’s fits the bill. The video equivalent of a Krispy Kreme doughnut - light, fluffy, full of sugar with no real redeeming value other that tasting good.

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Exactly! A show you can watch while you’re doing all your online shopping.

The Goldbergs is over the top OVERacting. Drives me nuts. No one emotes like that in real life!!

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Recently, we’ve watched the Equalizer with Queen Latifah. The original Equalizer was a TV show from 1985-9. Then there were two Denzel Washington movies The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 (I love Denzel Washington). Now there is the TV series with the same name and plot but with Queen Latifah as the lead. We’ve been enjoying it.

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But don’t you think that that is the point of the show ?

There’s an episode of the Goldbergs I watched that was clearly over the top with the mom leaving crazy messages on their college kids answering machine saying that since they hadn’t called them back they were sure they were dead and that they were going to come to the school to check on them…AND THEN in the last few minutes they play the REAL messages from Adam Goldberg’s real mom and they were even MORE nuts.

The cringe worthy episode where the family acts abysmally at a restaurant…loud, complaining. That couldn’t be real, but in fact as the video shows it was. @VaBluebird you’d be shocked at how true to life some of this was. Adam was a video enthusiast from a young age and his trove of home movies( shown more after season one) is amazing and slightly scary. No wonder the title of the show that Adam Goldberg pitched was “ How the F am I Normal?”

There’s another episode where the kid steal a knish from his grandfathers condo snack shack and the police come. So silly. EXCEPT as they show at the end this actually happened.

And for the stereotypical College Confidential crowd there’s a great line that apparently Adam’s mom really said “ Aside from Grandchildren, braggable SAT scores are the greatest gift a child can give.”

And if you’re Jewish you might find things like the throw away reference to “Hydrox, the Oreos of our people “ very funny. But I suspect those lines go over the heads of many non -Jews.

For me, the Goldbergs is funny because it’s to a weirdly large extent true… as they show with old videos, recordings and photos at the end of many of the shows. Sure some is exaggerated but often when you think it must be…nope, they have it word for word on old tapes.

It also does get better written and funnier over time.

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Loved The Good Place, Upload, and Lupin. So clever and done with heart!

Being a history buff, I am enjoying “Tudor Monastery Farm”. A historian and two archeologists try to live the 1500’s way and show how things were done in that era. Very interesting.

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I guess so. I really like the cast so I watch it but it really is just silly-funny. And I like the life lesson in each show.

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We are now revisiting an old favorite, Chuck. n=Not great but somehow charming and a good diversion.

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Until I just looked it up, I had no idea Hydrox were kosher. When I was a little kid going to Hebrew school, they always served those things as snacks. Now I know why.

And vegan, as are oreos

Depends on how one defines “vegan” or how strictly a vegan adheres to the definition. Oreos can come into contact with dairy products during production.

Personally I prefer Hydrox to Oreos, although both are yummy. :grin:

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I really like The Goldbergs, but my mother, who lived in the Philly suburbs during the early 80’s, can’t stand it.

It is amazing how many of the ‘plots’ (for lack of a better word) and characters are based on real events or real people. The gym teacher is based on a real guy who I think still teaches there (or did for a long time). His daughter just graduated and was a D1 lacrosse player.

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