Fargo > GoTs

[Insidious Von]

Kilgore Trout, if you can't stand VM Varga then obviously David Thewlis is doing his job. He's taking organized crime to a whole new level. I haven't seen Season 2 yet, I'll be streaming it soon.

I Claudius is the show most responsible for the current golden age. When it came out in 1976, it was given a X rating by British sensors. Still a very powerful show that made the careers of Patrick Stewart and John Hurt.

 

[Insidious Von]

I Claudius is rated No. 47 on IMDB top rated shows of all time. Considering that those voting are under 35, that's remarkable.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

All I can say is V M Varga is not my cup of tea as a prototypical Fargo villain.
I need to be able to laugh sometimes when Fargo villains are in action and I just can't do that with Thewlis for whatever reason.
I can respect if people like his work in other roles; still, I know very little about his other work and he just doesn't feel like a fit for Fargo.
In season 3 I wanted a lot more Carrie Coon and a lot less Varga if you just can't flat out kill the guy.

Mike Milligan in season 2 is the type of Fargo villain I really like a lot.
Here he is making short work of the undertaker in season 2

 

[Kilgore Trout]

And of course you got to love badass Hanzee Dent from season 2 of Fargo:

 

[Insidious Von]

I haven't seen Season 2 yet.

They needed a different type of villain for S3 and David Thewlis already has a connection to the Coen Brothers from The Big Lebowski. He's playing a retired secret service commander who creates shell companies through loan sharking. I think he's absolutely brilliant in the role and your reaction to him justifies it. He may not get his hands dirty like previous villains, but his soldiers are loyal to him. He was also in the Harry Potter series as Professor Lupin and played William Cecil in the faux Shakespeare drama Anonymous. I recently watched Wonder Woman because he was in it. Very submersive actor.

Michael Stuhlbarg is the same way as Sy Feitz, to look at that character you'd never guess that he also played Arnold Rothstein in Boardwalk Empire.

 

[Insidious Von]

I nearly left out that David Thewlis was the Kray Brothers consiglieri in Legend. Since Ewan McGregor and Tom Hardy have the same management team, you almost had to expect that the Scotsman would play twins.

 

[VERYBADBOY]

No I'm not entirely wired to sci-fi fantasy, I'm very much into pure sci-fi films. IMHO Ex-Machina is infinitely better than any of the Star Wars films. One of my favorite films is an obscure sci-fi film from New Zealand called The Quiet Earth. Danny Boyle based the opening of 28 Days Later on that film, before going in a different direction. As for Game of Thrones, I had a "get the fuck out" moment when Jon Snow was resurrected. I still don't understand why they killed off Yegritte. GoTs is a great show but not in the same league as The Sopranos, The Wire or I Claudius.

Now if you said Blade Runner then yes I would agree, never said I was a Star Wars fan I'm guilty of being a Trekkie so all the movies kinda suck except maybe Wrath of Khan, only enjoyed Empire Strikes Back to be honest, Revenge of the Ewoks couldn't pay me to watch. I did enjoy ex-machina but I don't rank it high in terms of the AI genre.

I've seen The Quiet Earth, read the book it was based on too, enjoyed it ... watch the Leftovers... in that 2% of the world vanishes and Carrie Coon is amazing... won't give away the ending though.

GoT loves to kill characters off, that's my only explanation... then there is the theory that he will marry Danearys as Targaryens have a custom of marrying within the family.. but that is yet to be determined.

This is about GoT v Fargo... I love Sopranos and Wire, plus my late Father loved everything British so at an early age I was exposed and never looked back... you can name dozens of other shows that I love as well that have left their legacy. These two still have many episodes to go and I'll look forward to them and judge them according to genre.

VBB

 

[VERYBADBOY]

I'm totally with you here. I generally feel re-watchability is a big part of what makes one show better than another, at-least for me. I loved The Wire and The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica and others I can't think of right now, but need a lot of time in-between rewatches. I tried with Fargo, but abandoned the idea early on. Maybe I will before I start watching season 3.

This is different from other, more favourite shows for me. I can pretty much watch GoT, Arrested Development, golden-era Simpsons, and a bunch of others over and over without finding them any less entertaining than on a first viewing.

Re-watchability isn't the only factor that makes a good show great, but it certainly makes them more enduring for me.

We're really fortunate to be in this golden era of television. So much great TV, so little time.

GoT is definitely my favourite television series right now, but I was pretty blown away by Westworld last year.



Sorry to thread jack, GoT spoilers ahead. Fair warning for those behind... I wasn't a big fan of Ollie as a character, so Ygritte's death was that much more frustrating. However, she definitely had to go.

As big of a fan as Tolkien GRRM claims to be, he is clearly more interested in subverting archetypal tropes, than paying homage. I imagine anyone looking for a happy ending (read: "They all sail west of Westeros and live happily ever after...") for the Starks or Targaryans will be disappointed when ASOIAF / GoT ends. But I'm wrong at-least 75% of the time if I guess what's next on GoT.

We saw Thoros of Myr bringing back Baric Dondarrion in season 3, so I really didn't think the Jon Snow resurrection was the show jumping the shark. Given where the character needed to go in-terms of storyline, I thought it was an efficient way to get to where the season ended up. I'm really interested to see how GRRM picks up the storyline, because I don't for 1-second think he's dead in the book, either.

Never heard of I Claudius. Added to the list now. Thanks!

It truly is a golden age of television, a lot of great shows past and present without the need of a VCR!!! Yes old school

watchability is key ... there are far too many to list and my list keeps growing with oh you have to see this or that.

Westworld is amazing can't wait for Season 2 and I fracking loved BG, old and new.

In terms of GoT, the brotherhood storyline is touched upon briefly in the shows as you mentioned which varies from the books for now ... Catherine Stark was resurrected is a major point ... we know that the Hound may have joined them as the show reveals that and Thoros and Baric when they hanged the men who attacked and killed the villagers.

The jumping the shark moment was the revelation of Jon Snows true parents Lyanna and Rhaegar.

Btw ... they have decided not to show any teasers for upcoming shows this season, no leaks allowed.



VBB

 

[Insidious Von]

There was a shop on Yonge St south of St Clair, not sure if they're still there, that specialized in British TV shows. That's where I bought the complete I Claudius and ordered Fall of Eagles and Doctor in the House. The last show was written by Graham Chapman ( two seasons) before he joined Monty Python. Dick Stuart Clark always cracked me up.

I've always been a hardcore Trekkie, it had a humanist element that few shows could match. They also cast a string of stellar captains, I was particularly impressed with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway. I'm happy that she has another hit show (Orange is the new Black) although I haven't seen an episode yet. In contrast I found the premise to Star Wars phony, nothing in life is black and white. They gave me an uneasy feeling, confirmed with the prequels, they are fascist fantasies. I don't begrudge anyone that's into the series, they're difficult not to like, just not my cup of tea.

Fall of Eagles was made two years before I Claudius. Patrick Stewart as VI Lenin, still his greatest role.

 

[Insidious Von]

I should mention that in no way is GoTs like Star Wars. The motifs are far more complex, most of the violence has a purpose. The stakes were clearly defined in the fight between Oberyn and The Mountain, it went far beyond Tyrion's need for justice. I have to give props to Martin for not falling into the trap of gratuitous slaughter. I confess I was very fond of Hodor.

I agree with the uploader, best scene in the series so far.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Noah Hawley the showrunner for Fargo started a really terrific new series this year called Legion.

It's based on an X- Men Marvel comics character named David Haller who, as the series starts, is a patient in a psychiatric institution diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Part of the series centres around epistemology, ie the theory of knowledge. Ie how do you know that what you think is real is really real and how do you know that you're not just a brain in a jar in some parallel universe where scientists are stimulating you into thinking that certain things are real.

At the open of Legion the Doctors at the psychiatric institution housing Haller are royally brain fucking him and deceiving him; but, he's gradually figuring out how the game is being played out, much to the regret of institutional staff.

 

[Insidious Von]

Logan is the best film of 2017 so far.

I'll probably get to Legion but at the moment I'm more interested in what Brit Marling is up to. Former Goldman Sachs employee who likes her verdura and writer/star some very fascinating shit.

 

[Insidious Von]

In the end I would consider myself a Game of Thrones fan. There is real strategy to what is created, not empty calories like Star Wars or Transformers. I just wished the female characters had been developed better. Being a fantasy genre skeptic, that says a lot.

 

[managee]

It truly is a golden age of television, a lot of great shows past and present without the need of a VCR!!! Yes old school

watchability is key ... there are far too many to list and my list keeps growing with oh you have to see this or that.

Westworld is amazing can't wait for Season 2 and I fracking loved BG, old and new.

In terms of GoT, the brotherhood storyline is touched upon briefly in the shows as you mentioned which varies from the books for now ... Catherine Stark was resurrected is a major point ... we know that the Hound may have joined them as the show reveals that and Thoros and Baric when they hanged the men who attacked and killed the villagers.

The jumping the shark moment was the revelation of Jon Snows true parents Lyanna and Rhaegar.

Btw ... they have decided not to show any teasers for upcoming shows this season, no leaks allowed.



VBB

Teasers beyond the trailers already released? Or teasers as in "Next Week On" which I fracking hate.

Respectfully, I totally disagree about the R + L = J / Tower of Joy being a jumping the shark moment.

To me it hasn't really jumped the shark - I know I'm sounding fanboy. I'm still a little disappointed on the laziness of deus ex machina reveals at the end of Blackwater and at the end of Watchers of the Wall and at the end of Battle of the Bastards...

 

[Baller Time]

Fargo, American Gods and Saul (although I could use a touch more Mike) are the best 3 shows during the spring season and after tonight and Sunday we're fucked! What's up for the summer? Westworld? I could use a good ole batch of Thandie's beautiful hangers.

 

[Insidious Von]

I don't know why but I lost interest in Westworld. I did see the movie, Yul Brenner as the Gunslinger was a particular brand of awesomeness that no one can touch. Ed Harris is a great actor but he's being asked to do the impossible.

Kilgore Trout did you watch the finale of Fargo?

I hope that changes your perspective on VM Varga. Although if you wanted to see him go down with 300 bulletts, David Thewlis was doing his job. I'm assuming there are no white collar criminals in S2. Gloria by her first name threw me into slight confusion, she's been Chief Burgle for me since E1. The scene where she confesses her version of "I can help" to Officer Lopez was poignant, modestly speaking. It was the bridge to the mayhem to come. Ewan McGregor deserves praise for his workmanship of twins, he was very much the table setter of the series. He made Coon, Winsted and Thewlis look very good. And the scenes between Emmitt and the scheming but ineffectual Sy were excellent. He never allowed the momentum of the plot to slow down.

I'm sad it's over.

 

[Insidious Von]

Why David Thewlis will win at least an Emmy.

 

[Insidious Von]

How could I forget, one of the greatest scenes of the series.

 

[Baller Time]

Soooo what happened to Varga at the end of the day? Is he going to just rot in the cooler?

 

[Insidious Von]

I dunno. Will Nikki get her slice of coconut cream pie with chocolate flakes?

I'm going through Coon/Winstead withdrawal already, they owned S3. But the best scene belonged to Olivia Sandoval as the gregarious Officer Lopez, loved her. Chief Burgle confesses to her that she feels like she doesn't exist and Officer Lopez knows just what to do. Amidst all the mayhem it was a lovely scene.