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We were in-between stuff to watch so decided to rewatch Prison Break as we really enjoyed the first season when it came out (the subsequent seasons not so much). But on rewatching, it really is utter garbage – there's far-fetched and then there's far-fetched. And badly acted.
So, what's yours?
Heroes and 24
Loved them both on first watch (well, the first series of Heroes and the first few of 24), not so much second time around.
I have a box set of Friday Night Lights that I’m terrified to watch for this reason. 😂
I suspect this would happen if I tried to watch Lost again.
Heroes and 24
I'd completely and utterly forgotten about Heroes. After this experience with Prison Break, I daren't watch 24 again.
I suspect this would happen if I tried to watch Lost again.
Enjoying 'Lost' kind of relies on no prior knowledge of the ending, however much of a cop-out it may have been?
I see its makers are going down the same route with 'From', currently on Sky. So much so that they had the characters explicitly rule out the 'Lost' ending (for the benefit of jaded viewers) early in season one...
Enjoying ‘Lost’ kind of relies on no prior knowledge of the ending
For the life of me I cannot remember the ending of Lost. It's not making me want to rewatch it though as it really went downhill after the first series anyway.
Just found this hilarious Charlie Brooker review on Prison Break...
I’d completely and utterly forgotten about Heroes.
I remember enjoying the initial premise for Heroes, but then getting fed up and giving up when they resurrected the villain after some apparently permanent death (stabbed through the eye if memory serves) and it became obvious that they would never follow through on any plot decision that might actually make things interesting.
Not a problem GoT had in its first few seasons that's for sure.
Lost goes straight to the top of this list. I mean it was barely watchable the first time around (only finished it becasue of the time invested) and even then the ending was a total cop-out. I don't think I could bring myself to do it again.
I think Heros could've been good, but the writers strike and creating a character like Sylar, while clearly not really thinking through what that actually meant kinda ruined it
Battlestar Galatica, There's probs individual eps I could stand to watch, but again seemingly random decisions by the producers for no real story other than the immediate impact (death of Starbuck for instance) and again the ending - which was clearly either pulled out of someone's butt at the last minute, or they just got bored with the whole thing really killed it for me.
I have a box set of Friday Night Lights that I’m terrified to watch for this reason.
I think that would hold up pretty well.
Most of the shows being mentioned here were ones I couldn't get into at the time.
Anyone re-watched Rome? Loved that at the time. Wonder how it holds up, post-GOT?
I didn't watch Heroes when it was first out (there was a fella at work obsessed with it, and I couldn't stand him).
It was repeated fairly recently on BBC2 I think, so I watched a few. It was just about hot women wasn't it? The acting was awful, but that one who had a second persona who killed people... I mean, there wasn't a lot else worth watching it for. And the cheerleader. That's why my dickhead colleague was obsessed wasn't it?
I tried rewatching Hill Street Blues about 10 years ago. It has not aged well. 40 years ago, it was groundbreaking but the things it pioneered are routine today and shows like Southland do the same thing, but with much better production values. Still, the germ of a great show was there, it's just that the quality of TV shows has lifted massively, in part because HSB pioneered the way back then.
We re/watched Battlestar and agree the ending was terrible, other than that though it was good up to the 4th season.
Prison Break first season was the best but that's not saying much.
Walking Dead is on a never rewatch. Don't feel the need to remind myself of a lot of forgettable characters. Ending was utter trash as well. And the middle. Well, the vast majority actually.
Loved The Crow Road when it came out. I think of it's time it was excellent and I remember being gripped.
Watched it again a while back on Youtube and it was very dated and I didn't think much happened particularly 😊
never saw this first time around but tried to watch it last year. The budget/production values are pathetic compared to what you get nowadays from Netflix et al & the acting standard just terrible so didn't bother 😃the first few of 24
Game of Thrones. Driven mainly by the knowledge of the car crash last few episodes which tarnished the whole thing
I have a box set of Friday Night Lights that I’m terrified to watch for this reason. 😂
Having only ever seen the first episode, this just prompted me to purchase said box set 😁
Heroes
Caveat, I haven't rewatched it.
I loved the first season when it aired. It was my favourite thing for a while. The second season was garbage, I stopped watching. It felt like they'd written a show with an actual ending, but it was so popular that it was recommissioned and they were like "oh crap, now what do we do?" And this is how we end up with things like Highlander II.
And this is how we end up with things like Highlander II.
Highlander literally had a strapline that warned against that kind of thing.
Highlander literally had a strapline that warned against that kind of thing.
There shouldn't have even been one.
I found box set of The A Team that i thought would amuse my then primary school age kids.
They have, quite rightly, never watched anything on my recommendation since.
I suspect Cardiac Arrest hasn't aged well, but it's maybe better to remember it how I remember it?
the original is brilliant! Although much of that is down to the general concept, and the soundtrack of course. I will admit the film itself is a bit shonky, though it has it's moments!There shouldn’t have even been one.
no! The A-team is still awesome and always will be. It undoubtably helps if you view & enjoy it in a somewhat nostalgic post-ironic way though, I'm sure 😂 I would/do happily watch it still.I found box set of The A Team that i thought would amuse my then primary school age kids.
They have, quite rightly, never watched anything on my recommendation since.
kayak23Full Member
Loved The Crow Road when it came out. I think of it’s time it was excellent and I remember being gripped.Watched it again a while back on Youtube and it was very dated and I didn’t think much happened particularly 😊
There's a particular style to it that grates on me, and I can't really describe it. I'm not sure if it's the slow, slightly twee pace, or the concerned, patronising tone on everybody when talking to the main character. ('oh Prentice...', head angled in a worried manner.). Maybe just that Prentice is a bit useless, gormless. Or maybe it's just that after reading 100s of pages, or spending hours watching TV and expecting some interesting outcome, it turns out that Peter Capaldi just crashed into a loch.
I've watched a few old episodes of Blakes Seven recently - I was absolutely obsessed with it when it came out, adored it. You should never go back - it's terrible! And I now feel bad for putting my parents through it...
There shouldn’t have even been one.
the original is brilliant! Although much of that is down to the general concept, and the soundtrack of course. I will admit the film itself is a bit shonky, though it has it’s moments!
I think it's a proper teenagers' film. Or rather a teenage boy film. If you don't watch it at a particular point in your life then you'll never get it. I still enjoy watching it for 20 minutes if it's on TV. However, my teenaged daughters have laughed at how bad it is!
[I’ve watched a few old episodes of Blakes Seven recently – I was absolutely obsessed with it when it came out, adored it. You should never go back – it’s terrible! And I now feel bad for putting my parents through it…/quote]
Agreed. I tried watching it all from the first episode and it was really poor, even by the standards of the time. After maybe a series and a half I skipped to the last episode, thinking that there'd be a reason to watch the ones in the middle, but the last one was just as bad.
I think it’s a proper teenagers’ film. Or rather a teenage boy film. If you don’t watch it at a particular point in your life then you’ll never get it. I still enjoy watching it for 20 minutes if it’s on TV. However, my teenaged daughters have laughed at how bad it is!
I was a teenage boy when it came out (19) and a massive Queen fan too, yet I think I have only seen it once – it just never appealed to me for some reason, I don't know why as I like the genre.
Blakes Seven is still awesome as is Hill Street Blues!
Pathfinders however is dreadful.
I rewatched Battlestar Galactica a year or two ago and enjoyed it.
I loved the Goonies as a young person. Rewatched it at an "ironic" hotub cinema showing in Shoreditch and realised that it's a pile of poo.
For the avoidance of doubt, I was referring to Highlander the film. I don't think I ever watched any of the TV show.
It's one of my favourite films, it's deliciously bonkers and full of zingy one-liners. But it ends. So when they announced a sequel I was like "how?" and as it turned out the answer was "really badly." But H2 was a deeply troubled movie regardless of any plot issues.
chakaping
Free MemberAnyone re-watched Rome? Loved that at the time. Wonder how it holds up, post-GOT?
It has some budget-constraint bits which feel really odd, just because they couldn't do large numbers, but that was the case when it came out, I thought it felt aged but then I realised it's just that I'd forgotten what it was like when it was new. The main story stands up great.
I thought Crow Road aged really well, it had that overstuffed couch feel in the first place and half the point is that nothing actually happens and it's mostly about Prentice realising he's a dick and should stop being a dick. But on the subject of aging well, it's almost 30 years old and Joe Mcfadden hasn't changed a bit. Bill Paterson and Peter Capaldi were sort of prematurely aged but they've barely changed too (Peter Capaldi looks a little bit like he might have died, but not aged) Valerie Edmond got younger for a bit.
Watched the first series of Lost a while back, that was really good stuff, still is. But I was happy to stop where I did. Dipped into some random Battlestar episodes and I'd say the same, it was always a bit up and down but when it was good it's still bloody brilliant
In a fit of nostalgia I bought a box set of Laurel and Hardy DVDs some years ago - not as funny as I remembered as a child in the 1970s!
Sopranos, I bought the box set a few years ago (is it still a box set when you buy it on itunes?) and only managed a few episodes.
Not sure if it was because it is now dated or because I basically know the character arcs, but it certainly didn't have the impact of the first time around and wished I had saved my money.
I actually just watched this all for the first time recently, thought it was great! Yeah, there are no big battles (it just fades out every time, then fades back in and there's a few dudes wandering around looting corpses etc which made me chuckle) but it's really good still, loads of political backstabbing etc so very much a proto-GOT (the good, early ones)Anyone re-watched Rome? Loved that at the time. Wonder how it holds up, post-GOT?
still think this is great personally, would happily sit & watch a random episode when I still had Now TV. All the performances are really good even if you do know what's going to happen.Sopranos, I bought the box set a few years ago (is it still a box set when you buy it on itunes?) and only managed a few episodes.
Sopranos, I bought the box set a few years ago (is it still a box set when you buy it on itunes?) and only managed a few episodes.
Not sure if it was because it is now dated or because I basically know the character arcs, but it certainly didn’t have the impact of the first time around and wished I had saved my money.
Interesting. We watched it for the first time about ten years ago, thought it was incredible, and then rewatched it maybe four years ago and it was still brilliant. In fact I'm rather partial to watching random clips from it on YouTube.
I'd like to watch The Wire and mad men again but MrsIHN isn't that bothered (even though she loved them the first time)
Monkey magic loved it as a kid but tried to show my kids it and my god it was awful
I’ve never watched the Sopranos!
I’ve never watched the Sopranos!
If you have never watched it, it is probably well worth watching. First time around, the quality of the writing, production and acting for a TV drama was unmatched. IMO it did bring in a new era of television, where it was realised that "hollywood" budgets given a longer format could tell a more complex story and give the characters more room to breath and develop. But it isn't unique in that now as it was then.
I rewatched Battlestar Galactica a year or two ago and enjoyed it.
I caught an episode of Benedict and Hatch era BSG the other day. My god it was dire. I used to love it as a kid.
I expect a lot of prime-time shows from that era have aged badly. The A-Team was the same plot every week, Hannibal's in disguise at the start, they have to rescue the girl or do the morally right thing to save an underdog, something about planes and milk, they get caught and thrown into a cell full of welding gear, no-one dies. Knight Rider was Checkov's Gun writ large, we've installed this new button which will conveniently be needed at the end of the show and then never be mentioned again. The Incredible Hulk hulks out precisely twice every episode and then leaves town.
... I probably should watch The Wire at some point, shouldn't I. People keep telling me how great it is.
I’m currently watching all of Grange Hill on YouTube and quite liking it for the nostalgia.
I think Blake’s seven had a few good episodes but tbh like a lot of the 70s tv stuff suffers from dire special effects and low budgets.
Alien always amazes me how well it’s aged other than that I think a lot of stuff is just waaaay past its sell by date as the world has moved on.
I watched a love they neighbour and couldn’t believe they did 8 seasons of it.
I’m not sure I could sit through Battlestar Galactica again but I didn’t hate the ending, bizarre / maybe a bit of a cop out that it was. Without something random like that I can’t really see how they could have resolved it really.
… I probably should watch The Wire at some point, shouldn’t I. People keep telling me how great it is.
The wire is a bit of a weird one, in the way it grabs you. I was late to it, started watching it one Sunday afternoon, after a couple of episodes I was thinking it was ok, decent enough quality but don't see what all the fuss is about. 2am Monday morning, I have to get up at 6 to get ready for work, and I am telling myself I can just watch one more episode before going to bed. It is probably the most perfectly paced plot writing ever, just revealing enough and bringing in the next "chess move" between the players to keep you wanting more, no stupid cliffhanger endings or "MacGuffin" events, just quality realistic writing.
I've just rewatched all 12 seasons of NYPD Blue and not for a dare.
Well, probably rewatched a couple of seasons, I'd never watched them all the first time around.
Couple of proper cheesy moments but interesting how they handled 9/11 and the final episode ends like there's still one to go...
My Mrs got me a complete box set of the A Team a few years ago. Re-watching the odd episode from it is just as you would expect - pure 80s childhood nostalgia.
What really weirded me out though was that it included a pilot episode which is played as a totally straight action-thriller. No slapstick comedy, no daft lines, no contraptions. Totally serious!
no stupid cliffhanger endings or “MacGuffin” events, just quality realistic writing.
McNulty’s fake serial killer in season 5 had the whiff of a jumped shark about it.
So is The Sopranos - I enjoyed watching it again.
O knew someone would mention the wire. I never saw it first time around but bought the box set to try out during lockdown #2 or soon after as do many people say its amazing. I will try again but I've watched the first 2 of 3 episodes about 3 times as I just don't get held by it.
Hereos was good for a season and a bit but then faded. Did it even end? I seem to think it just... stopped... writers strike I thought.
I've yet to do breaking bad again for fear it's crap.... please don't be.
GoT similarly.
Cougar
Full Member
… I probably should watch The Wire at some point, shouldn’t I. People keep telling me how great it is.
I first watched the Wire about 10-12 (?) years ago (borrowed a work colleagues DVD box set so went thru all seasons in about 6 weeks).
Watched it again about a year ago in a similarly compressed time frame.
Was still great second time around...
Ahh yes, line if duty.... this also is being Avoided for fear is crap second time
I’m currently watching Irish gangster series Love/Hate for the first time (on series 3 so far) It’s 10+ years old and really good. Apart from the cars and the phones you don’t really notice the age.
Tried series one of Spooks a few months back. One episode was enough. We couldn’t work out why we’d thought it was so good.
GoT similarly
I've decided I need to watch GoT a third time though I've never actually made it through all series...
When I next watch it, I need to have a family tree handy so I can keep up with all the characters and the inter-relationships...
McNulty’s fake serial killer in season 5 had the whiff of a jumped shark about it.
Season 5 was an abomination first time around, if I was to watch the wire again I would stop after season 4 and pretend it didn't get picked up for a 5th season.
For me the first season, and the season with the kids/teenagers were the standouts.
Never been one for long running box set shows, only watched GOT 6 months ago, but did enjoy the Ozark but wouldn't watch it again.
but did enjoy the Ozark but wouldn’t watch it again.
Ozark was ok for the first season or two but went seriously downhill after that. That's definitely a series on my never-watch-again list...
I re-watched the West Wing not so long ago. Dated yes, but the writing, acting and production were exceptional in my opinion
as someone that has rewatched the West Wing 3 or 4 times I’d been avoiding it post Brexit/Trump/Covid, imagine it seems completely unrealistic now?
We were in-between stuff to watch so decided to rewatch Prison Break as we really enjoyed the first season when it came out (the subsequent seasons not so much)
Funnily enough I've just finished doing exactly the same. It was ok but not nearly as good as first time round. There was a lot of fast forwarding involved. I know better than to even think about firing up season 2
I couldn’t get in to The Sopranos at all. Possibly because I came to it after The Wire. Watched The Wire three times and still love it. Think it was originally supposed to be six series with the fifth concentrating on the press and sixth tying it all up. Generation Kill by the same director and writer is good too.
Can’t imagine trying to rewatch Lost or The Walking Dead.
You lot might be able to help me with something actually.
I was watching GoT, stopped, then never went back to it because I couldn't for the life of me remember where I was up to. The last episode I watched was where... Arya? That Maisie lass, went on a pilgrimage and fetched up outside a castle on an island. She knocked on the door, they ignored her so she pouted and sat down on the doorstep. Then the credits rolled.
Some of that may be poorly remembered. But if anyone could identify the episode or even just which season it was, I would be grateful.
Nightingales on Channel 4 1990-93 with Robert Lindsay, David Threlfall and James Ellis. A bit like Bottom but without the violence. I've got it on dvd but when I tried watching it it was just so slow.
I probably should watch The Wire at some point, shouldn’t I. People keep telling me how great it is.
I would rate it as second best tv show ever, after The Sopranos. The final season was a bit silly, but it had some great characters and actors.
Other great shows from the last 20 years: Deadwood, The Americans, The Good Place, Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, Halt and Catch Fire, Band of Brothers, Orange is the New Black. Battlestar Galactica was great at its best, but a lot of the episodes were fillers. If they'd limited it to 8 episodes per season, I think it would have been much better.
I’ve yet to do breaking bad again for fear it’s crap…. please don’t be.
It's not crap, but not on a par Wire/Sopranos/Mad Men.
Ozark was ok for the first season or two but went seriously downhill after that.
We're just watching it for the first time, just started the last series (four). I think it's been consistently good throughout.
In a fit of nostalgia I bought a box set of Laurel and Hardy DVDs some years ago – not as funny as I remembered as a child in the 1970s!
Slapstick comedy isn't often laugh-out-loud funny to adults, but when I watch L&H these days I have to admire the impeccable timing, and often brilliantly well set up gags and one liners. They are also almost 100 years old - I think they are fascinating for what they show of that era.
Nightingales on Channel 4 1990-93 with Robert Lindsay, David Threlfall and James Ellis. A bit like Bottom but without the violence. I’ve got it on dvd but when I tried watching it it was just so slow.
I re-watched it again recently. It's nothing like Bottom, nothing at all. I thought it was genuinely funny in places, but if you don't buy into a slightly surreal comedy with a dead character, a werewolf and two episodes written in iambic pentameter, then you're aren't going to like it. 😀