Looking for a good series. Any ideas?

[Flopper]

I've watched Narcos, it's quite good.
Peaky Blinders is good, I've watched three seasons.
The Stranger Things, is good.

For comedy, Derry Girls is hilarious.
Ghosts is good too.
Both are British, more off the wall comedy than American comedy.

Red Dwarf is a sci-fi comedy, more comedy but the sci-fi is quite deep at times. Very old, from the 1990s. British again.
Fresh off the boat, American-Chinese comedy. Got a lot of non-PC stuff going on.

Seen some of these but want try Narcos. I remember the name Red Dwarf, have to check that out too. Is Derry Girls British? It sounds it. If so, it may be on BritBox.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Seen some of these but want try Narcos. I remember the name Red Dwarf, have to check that out too. Is Derry Girls British? It sounds it. If so, it may be on BritBox.

Good luck. I can't find many good shows, because I can't handle the generally horrible acting, dialogue, and directing. I can barely stomach Westworld because of this.

And Nolan and Joy have always just been God awful storytellers. Just awful.

The same basically ruined Obi Wan. McGregor's fine talent could not get out from under the awful dialogue and writing. I stayed glued because of the canon in the genre.

Watch a well done show like "Barry", and compare the writing, acting, and directing to so much garbage being cranked out today. It really puts an exclamation point on it.

 

[BlackSand]

I really liked Queen's Gambit, The Crown, Ozarks, Bodyguard. and Witcher on Netflix. On Prime, I like Night Sky, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. On HBO, Game of Thrones. I like good stories and good acting and character development. Any suggestions?

.

The Last Kingdom, Longmire and the Pinky Blinders - Netfix
Black Sails and Banshee - Showtime

.​

 

[Flopper]

Good luck. I can't find many good shows, because I can't handle the generally horrible acting, dialogue, and directing. I can barely stomach Westworld because of this.

And Nolan and Joy have always just been God awful storytellers. Just awful.

The same basically ruined Obi Wan. McGregor's fine talent could not get out from under the awful dialogue and writing. I stayed glued because of the canon in the genre.

Watch a well done show like "Barry", and compare the writing, acting, and directing to so much garbage being cranked out today. It really puts an exclamation point on it.

There are plenty of good series and movies that are well written with good acting. Don't make the mistake of calling a production bad because you don't like the genre or themes.

I watched Breaking Bad and didn't like the violence and I tend to avoid productions about drugs but I found the acting and writing excellent. I think Queens Gambit is another well written and well acted series as was Maid. The Sopranos had both good acting and great scripts. The director of Mad Men took a rather boring idea for a dramatic series and turned it into a fascinating character study of the principles characters. Going back a number years, The Twilight Zone came up with excellent stories and created some of the most creative episodes of any series. All in the Family was one of the most shockingly funny series every made. Game of Thrones created and epic adventure series with good serious acting. There are many others such as MASH, Star Trek, Cheers, that are very entertaining because of good character development and good scripts, although the acting at times is so so.

When it comes to movies, I could list dozens of really well made movies with good acting, directions and scripts. One I just watched for the second time was "As Good As it Gets", with some of the best acting of Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunts careers and with a great script by director James L. Brooks.

There's good stuff out there but you just have look for it. I've found it best to chat with people who have similar tastes as your own because it's hard to appreciate a quality production when you dislike the genre and hate the theme.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Don't make the mistake of calling a production bad because you don't like the genre or themes

I don't. I just can't wade through b level acting, dialogue, and directing, most times.

I agree with your list. But also note how old so many of those are.

The new lot is mostly garbage. And I don't have the patience to sit through hours of a show, hoping it improves. Episode 4 is not going to suddenly have better acting, using the same actors that stunk it up in 1-3.

Breaking Bad was so compelling because of a great main character and good storytelling. Great casting too. The Jesse character worked well because of the casting. But that actor (forget his name) has little range, outside of that character. His performance in westworld season 3 was mediocre at best. He reminds me of Keanu Reeves...stick to your strong suit, my man.

Anyway, again, i like your list. I "broke negative" for a bit, but this IS the Reviews section of the board.

 

[Flopper]

I don't. I just can't wade through b level acting, dialogue, and directing, most times.

I agree with your list. But also note how old so many of those are.

The new lot is mostly garbage. And I don't have the patience to sit through hours of a show, hoping it improves. Episode 4 is not going to suddenly have better acting, using the same actors that stunk it up in 1-3.

Breaking Bad was so compelling because of a great main character and good storytelling. Great casting too. The Jesse character worked well because of the casting. But that actor (forget his name) has little range, outside of that character. His performance in westworld season 3 was mediocre at best. He reminds me of Keanu Reeves...stick to your strong suit, my man.

Anyway, again, i like your list. I "broke negative" for a bit, but this IS the Reviews section of the board.

Keep in mind that actors try to deliver the performance the director is looking for. When you watch a production and say the acting was terrible what is terrible is the direction. An actor without direction tends to give a performance that highlights their ability. It is the directors job to harness the ability of Each actor so each performance blends together to accomplish the goal of the scene. If the performances are disconnected, the audience loses interest because there doesn’t seem to be any point to the scene.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Castle came on ABC for 6 seasons. If you see one episode, you've seen them all.

I don't agree. Castle was a good series with a lot of humor and interesting characters.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Keep in mind that actors try to deliver the performance the director is looking for.

Yes, good point, and I do. Look how bad directing and writing turned a talented cast into a bunch of cardboard cutouts, in the Star Wars prequels, for example.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Seen some of these but want try Narcos. I remember the name Red Dwarf, have to check that out too. Is Derry Girls British? It sounds it. If so, it may be on BritBox.

Derry Girls is set in Northern Ireland, I think it was made by the BBC. The accents aren't so easy, but not really hard core Northern Irish either.

 

[Dekster]

I'm a big fan of "Downton Abby".
In my opinion the best series ever made.

Wasn't a fan of the last movie but otherwise I agree it is worth the watch as a series.

 

[candycorn]

Keep in mind that actors try to deliver the performance the director is looking for. When you watch a production and say the acting was terrible what is terrible is the direction. An actor without direction tends to give a performance that highlights their ability. It is the directors job to harness the ability of Each actor so each performance blends together to accomplish the goal of the scene. If the performances are disconnected, the audience loses interest because there doesn’t seem to be any point to the scene.

I think it was George C. Scott who said that the awards that are given (OSCARS, TONYs, EMMYs, etc...) are meaningless for actors unless you have the actors doing the same roles, for the same directors. I tend to agree.

From the perspective of a consumer of performance art, the bar is much lower of course. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes never worked for me. I was always a bit puzzled that the casting folks made the choice of casting Downey (from New York) as the lead when they had Jude Law as Watson...and actual Englishman. It may have been the most brilliant acting job in the world pulled off by Downey to the critical eye. For me? I just sort of chuckled at the exercise.

 

[Flopper]

I think it was George C. Scott who said that the awards that are given (OSCARS, TONYs, EMMYs, etc...) are meaningless for actors unless you have the actors doing the same roles, for the same directors. I tend to agree.

From the perspective of a consumer of performance art, the bar is much lower of course. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes never worked for me. I was always a bit puzzled that the casting folks made the choice of casting Downey (from New York) as the lead when they had Jude Law as Watson...and actual Englishman. It may have been the most brilliant acting job in the world pulled off by Downey to the critical eye. For me? I just sort of chuckled at the exercise.

Unfortunately, the best actor for a major role usually is not one that gets the part. This is because a lot of things must fall into place to secure the lead role.

For major projection, which I think this picture was. a big budget was required and that means the producer will want star power to sell investors. Secondly, the first choice by the producer/director may not be available, the actor may not be interested, or the money is not right. Even after the producer, director, and actor have a tentatively agreed, then comes the script review and contract. The actor's contract requirements can and often become a show stopper.

Lower budget movies with less well known stars are easier to cast. Selection of actors begins with the casting director reviewing actors that are available and their resume. Usually there will be audition tapes made of several of the top choices. These go to the director and producer for review and call back. Often the scriptwriter will also review candidates.

Occasional a third party will determine who gets a part. It could be a major backer or it could the author of a book being brought to the screen or even another actor. This was the case with "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Atticus Finch in the book was based on author Harper Lee's father. She wanted the right person for the roll so her approval was necessary. After review of several actors, Lee agreed that Gregory Peck should play Atticus. Peck agreed immediately but he was contracted for several movies and would not be available for over a year so the production sat on the shelf for a year. Peck also also wanted to help pick the key cast members. The two he insisted on were Mary Badham who played Scout and Robert Duvall who played Boo Radely. Peck also recommend several other actors.