Not just that, wasn’t the show shot and framed specifically for 4:3? I remember hearing the widescreen versions have like, props and sound equipment and crash mats and stuff visible.
what if eve had a death note
“eve, we need you to write oksana’s name in the death note”
“i don’t know…”
“eve, what the fuck.”
finally does and it doesn’t work because she has to write oxana or villanelle
it’s beautiful
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There’s a character named oksana? Is she ukrainian or did they give a ukrainian name to a russian character because the creators can’t tell the difference?
russian. not sure who’s to blame, luke jennings or phoebe waller-bridge
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catching up with the Bear and the way “The Berzattos” comes up at the end of the Christmas episode is a very good “The Aristocrats” joke
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I liked the christmas episode but I had to shut off the episode with the mom character in season 3 last night, it is too damn much
the constant apologizing then fucking up then apologizing was way too close to home (which is, I suppose, why I strive to do neither)
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Public Affairs Office in the Sky — another japanese TV drama, and what—
what the …
… that went off the rails quickly. A real trash-fest it is, and they don’t make 'em like this anymore, so enjoy it while it lasts 
I watched the first two episodes of the new Netflix series The Boyfriend. They say it’s Japan’s first same-sex romance reality show. I checked it out because I heard it was essentially a spiritual sequel to Netflix’s previous Japanese reality show Terrace House, which I really loved until the show permanently collapsed due to the tragic suicide of a cast member (that was likely caused in part by the show).
Like Terrace House, this is a show about a group of cordial and polite young people living together in a house and hanging out together. That show featured half men and half women, while this show’s cast is all gay guys. This show’s much more laser-focused on dating. The structures of the two shows are very similar, and a lot of Terrace House tropes return (they edit the cast members’ introductions and arrival to the house in exactly the same way, for example). They brought back the most enjoyable part of Terrace House – a panel of comedians and relationship experts that occasionally butt in to over-analyze the dynamics in the house and crack jokes. The most overt nod to Terrace House? They brought back that show’s most beloved panelist, Yoshimi Tokui (now that he’s finally back to work after his big tax evasion scandal).
After the Terrace House suicide resulted in recriminations against the producers for underhanded behind-the-scenes manipulation of the cast members (especially during the later seasons), it’s interesting to see how this new show acknowledges its producers. Terrace House strove to give the illusion that the producers were completely uninvolved – the cast members were hip but normal people just leading their lives, sometimes exciting but often mundane. Of course, it was revealed later that the producers were actually prodding the cast members to create dramatic scenes with each other, causing certain cast members to come off as villains, receiving torrents of online hate from viewers.
The Boyfriend seems like it’s trying to head off this perception by bringing the machinations of the producers to the forefront, making them part of the text. The cast members have an iPad in the house that occasionally pings with a text message from the producers instructing them to carry out a situation of their devising. For example, in the first episode, the cast members are told that each of them should write an anonymous letter to one other cast member of their choice that they’re particularly interested in. It’s sort of a lighter, quieter version of the kinds of games and challenges that participants in shows like The Bachelor go through. Maybe the producers are thinking that showing their hand in this way will give a certain amount of transparency, and show the cast members in a better light because the audience can see exactly how they’re being maneuvered into entertaining situations.
I was wondering whether this show was made by the same people who made Terrace House. It’s hard to find a ton of info on that without, like, comparing credits between the shows, but I did find a NYT article that mentions that the executive producer of The Boyfriend used to work as a producer on Terrace House, so there you have it. From the article:
Mr. Ota said Netflix has enlisted mental health professionals to consult with the cast and “to create a production environment where no one gets hurt.” He said Netflix had performed background checks on each of the cast members and that after the show airs, “we will take care of them if they have even the slightest bit of anxiety.” Netflix did not make any of the cast members available for an interview.
You always have to take these things with a grain of salt, but I hope they learned from what happened with Terrace House and are really taking good faith, serious efforts to prevent any harm to their cast members.
I like this show so far. I was pleased to see that so far, the show is treating its subject matter with respect – the show has no apparent derision for homosexuality, nor is it making fun of it or exoticising it. The panel of hosts includes a drag queen who’s been acting as sort of the resident expert in Japanese queer culture, and he’s not being laughed at or treated as a stereotype or spectacle either. It’s nice! The show seems genuinely fond of queer culture in Japan. And I really do have a soft spot for this style of extremely low-key reality TV.
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ITS HERE ITS HERE THE EPISODES ARE IN THE WRONG ORDER BUT THATS WHY I HAVE MY GUIDE TO THE DAPHNY CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
PRISONER EPISODE LIST
1 arrival
2 dance of the dead
3 free for all
4 checkmate
5 the chimes of big ben
6 schizoid man
7 the general
8 a, b, and c
9 many happy returns
10 a change of mind
11 hammer into anvil
12 do not forsake me oh my darling
13 living in harmony
14 the girl who was death
15 its your funeral
16 once upon a time
17 fall out
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if you haven’t watched the prisoner in that order yet I HIGHLY recommend it, it makes a lot of stuff make way more sense and it makes the time line of the show actually coherent. I’ll never forgive them for insisting a b and c comes before the general. they just didn’t understand continuity in the 60s yet for TV I guess
also dance of the dead is so late in airing order even though he’s VERY MUCH like ‘I just fuckin got here’
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not counting the last two episodes, what’s your favorite?
I’m obsessed with hammer into anvil.
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not gonna name any of mcgoohans six because those are too easy and all perfect
hammer into anvil is amazing because it’s like the episode where number six uses every method used to torture him previously against his captors, its like the turning point for him
schizoid man is my favorite for similar reasons. I love it when Patrick gives the village a taste of their own medicine
its your funeral is another great one because Darren nesbit absolutely LOATHED mcgoohan and I think it plays to their stage chemistry
speaking of chemistry him and alexis kanner in living in harmony were GREAT. watch their movie kings and desperate men to see them renact the last two episodes but mcgoohan gets horny choking kanner instead of leo mckearn
I can name something I adore about every prisoner episode to be fair, I am such a fucking rabid fan
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I had such a crush on Alexis Kanner from the very first time I watched the Prisoner
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OMG PLEASE WATCH KINGS AND DESPERATE MEN!!! HE SUED THE PPLL THAT MADE DIE HARD FOR STEALING HIS IDEA!!! HE LOST!! SUCH A GOOD MOVIE
also another like, continuation if you like to have loose headcanons of the prisoner is the 1990s movie hysteria. it’s like what if number 6 became number 2
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I want this box set so bad but the import costs really jacked up the price at my local video store
can you order it direct from the site?
I will look into it but i am holding back on buying any big box sets or boutique label blu-rays until I book some more film work in August.
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watching british tv on vacation. so many ad spots for websites called BingoCow Dot Com with ai footage of spiralling bingo balls. so many placid announcements that “and after the break sir roger hefflewhite will be investigating the meaning of sand. til then… some mothers don’t half do don’t half have em”. so many reality shows abt following around microcops (airport and mall security) as they sigh and drive little cars around. chris jericho has rebranded himself “the learning tree” in homage to the christian edutainment software publishers of old. last five minutes of a christopher lee dracula somehow followed by the last five minutes of galaxy quest. twee cop show called Would You Like Any Scones With Your Murder. gerry anderson shows but only the ones without puppets.
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i’ve heard many wrestlers make references to the learning tree over the years, to be fair
I’m so behind on tv/this thread!
-I just got my Prisoner boxed set too. I’m excited for an excuse to do a rewatch and maybe introduce my partner. Just this week, an older ex-comic/rpg artist that I work with showed up to a meeting in the Number 6 jacket, and I didn’t get to call him out on it. Might wear mine to next month’s.
-I just finished Fallout. It’s been the latest thing I watch with my folks when I’m visiting them to do laundry and whatnot, and my mom has logged hundreds of hours in New Vegas, so it was a big hit. Really didn’t expect it to be as good as it is. One of my friends posted a ton of pictures of that ghoul actor’s bare feet on her IG recently, so I guess everyone is finding something to like.
-Picked a weird time to start Dead Boy Detectives (but hey Matt Wagner’s still alright right?) as our double feature with Fallout after we ran out of new Doctor Who. I don’t think I’ve stayed awake through a whole ep yet but that’s probably on me.
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