I recently watched Lost for the first time, and posted some questions here. About a million people weighed in. Lost was a phenomenon when it originally aired. People who watched it at that time carry deep nostalgia, and are more than happy to talk about it with someone who just caught up.

Lost was about being lost. The characters, writers and viewers were all lost most of the time. That was the charm. There were some quotes from Lost, but more come from comedies. Sopranos is mafia, and they always have some good lines.

I'm a little surprised. Extrapolations is a much better show than Velma, but with this crowd, it could be a toss-up.

> religious focus was weird

I thought so too, and wondered if it might come up later in the series.

Now, I'm thinking the whole episode was to set up the moral quandary faced by good people. Shut down the homeless shelter or save the synagogue. If so, that was kind of a long walk just to say that everything is a trade-off.

> They mentioned krill populations collapsing

> Local temps have the potential to be much higher.

Both of your explanations make sense. Many viewers would wonder about those kind of questions, so the writers could have worked some exposition into the dialogue. Maybe that would sound preachy, I don't know.

How much is the license fee?

It seems like the fee would be an incentive to switch to streaming, with a VPN if necessary.

I do enjoy Extrapolations because it's a great cast with outlandish writing. Somebody should have pushed back on some of their choices. There are just so many questions.

Like, why are whales endangered in the future? Did we run out of oil or chemistry and need to hunt them again?

The whale/oceanographer scene was over the top. Both the whale and the woman are mothers with no spouse. The whale talks like a Na'vi with that noble savage wisdom. And the oceanographer chose her own mother's voice for the whale. It's supposed to be poignant, but it's ridiculous.

Some kids are afflicted with "summer heart" because the average global temperature is 2 degrees higher. This is the future, and we see that they have great VR and air conditioning. Kids don't play outside now, why would that change?

The last scene with Matthew Rhys was a karma fantasy written by an Eco-numb skull. Way too perfect.

The third episode's focus on Jewish people in Miami was baffling. I hope this isn't a hot button, but historically, Jewish people tend to be intelligent and to know when it's time to leave. Not the Miami branch. The synagogue has a few inches of water, so they come sloshing in wearing boots. They didn't see this coming yeas ago, and move away?

Extrapolations is fun because the writers are earnest and committed, but had no idea how normal people would view the show.

There may have been complaints that Velma showed that the woke crowd was up to their shenanigans again, but there were plenty that provided legitimate criticism.

Since you seem to be woke, why not watch Velma and decide for yourself?

It's got to be cyclical. How many places have you got a group of people who are routinely together? Work, family or friends. And if they are friends, it's a little easier if some of them are roommates.

Seinfeld stands out because it's a friends show, without them being roommates.

People are weird, who cares. It's all fake anyway.

On the upside, I really liked Breaking Bad, and have been meaning to watch *The Sopranos". This gives me the motivation to start.

I really like Severance, but wonder how far they can go with the premise. Westworld started great, but then started wandering around after the first season. I hope that doesn't happen to Severance.

> I acknowledge we as a society have a long way to go

To where? What is the destination? Is there a country or state or community that has reached your idea of perfection?

There will always be movies and TV shows that offend your sensibilities. That's actually good and healthy. The alternative is an authoritarian regime that enforces absolute conformity.

> You'd have to go pretty far back to find a show where the main characters are gleefully mocking someone's race, and expecting the audience to agree and laugh with them.

Honestly, I can't recall any mass market show where that happened. Sure, in some movies, like Disney's Song of the South, black characters were depicted in ways that are uncomfortable and Asian stereotypes were portrayed insensitively, but I don't know of any show with a recurring theme that bad things happening to black folks is funny because of their race.

Maybe I'm wrong. Are there any examples of TV shows more blatantly racist than Velma?

I think you're right. I don't play Assassin's Creed, but have seen enough that it could be the premise for a show. HBO might screw it up, but maybe not.

If the studio wanted a Velma show, they should have given it to the Mike Tyson Mysteries people. That show is funny and stupid. Everyone would forgive a twist on the Scooby formula if the show was funny, rather than being meta and mean-spirited.

I thought of Charles Bronson, and also Clint Eastwood. The "everyman" action star was done many times before Die Hard.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great show, and someone who likes that sort of show, should give it a try. That's about as far as I can go with a recommendation.

A TV show can never be rewatched for the first time. A good story has character growth, so Dawn doesn't remain a pain-in-the-ass little sister and Tara can do more than sheepishly mumble. They both eventually pay off. The viewer doesn't know that the first time through. Last summer, I watched Lost for the first time. Rewatching would be a different experience.

Also, you are in a different point in life. I tried watching Breaking Bad when it came out, but it didn't take because it was too intense. A few years later, I got into it.

GOAT lists are all flawed. When I see a GOAT list, if I've seen five of the shows on the list and really enjoyed them, then I might try the other fifteen shows on the list.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer certainly deserves a place on many people's list.

Good one. I've been rewatching Lexx, and am almost done with the final season. It is almost like the opposite of every other explore the galaxy Sci-Fi shows.

• What you'd call the crew, aren't smarter or more clever than everyone else.
• They aren't even necessarily good.
• Some plots are so bizarre.
• Some people they meet, even in small parts, can be really good at being strange. Almost like in the Mad Max movies.

Okay, you are really good at this.

I'd watch the reboot, and enjoy it. On IMDB or here, I'd read that bit of trivia, and be amazed.

That's next level shit right there. Has there ever been a show where the primary characters are based on other stuff they've done?

Yeah, I was surprised by Thing. He's got a big role in the show, and carries it off very well.

That's perfect. None of the futures you propose match up with anything we knew about the characters. They would be as surprised as we are, about where they ended up. That seems appropriate for Taxi.

You might be right. With action movies, the setting and nature of the action changes, but it's recognizable. Whether it's gangsters with revolvers, cowboys smashing chairs on each other, gladiators, Bruce Lee, whatever, it's all good.

With comedy, the audience has expectations. Back in the day, it seemed like people would laugh at anything. Oh, I get it, that guy is an alcoholic. That's it. That's the joke.

With romance, social conventions come into play. Watch some old romance movies. The good-looking guy is stuck on a tramp steamer for a month with the rich heiress. Get passed the fighting and wicked banter, and bang her already.

Sure. Sometimes you want a show that's positive and upbeat. You can think of it as fantasy.