True Detective Night Country

[Magnum Valentino]

From the credits, it looks like it's a spin-off called True Detective: Night Country, "created by Issa López", rather than the fourth season of the original show, even if marketing suggests that it's a continuation of the same project. I guess it's mostly due to contract negotiations.

It does feature a direct link to the original series though.

[Jim_MacLaine]

Oh dear, is this not worth bothering with?

I've just finished Fargo S4 which was a joy.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

I think she said "I'd like to make a show called Night Country" and they said "could you make it True Detective" and she said yes.

That would make a lot of sense. An original story retooled as a new season of a franchise from which it was actually quite derivative in the first place.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

(crickets)

[Magnum Valentino]

So so so shit. Actually started zipping through the scenes to see if anything "cool" would happen, and the last scene is a bit wild but completely apart from the entirely humdrum unappealing by-numbers bollocks that makes up the rest of the hour.

Jodie Foster is so unlikable in this but not in a compelling way (like DeNiro as Jake LaMotta). Don't think I'll finish it, especially now that I've discovered The Terror.

[Indomitable Spirit]

Watched this last night and couldn't even be arsed to comment.

To be honest, I felt this was the most watchable episode so far as they dug a bit more into the mystery and sacked off most of the endless character shite. At the heart of it though, this a just a bad television programme. Feels more akin to some shit post-Scandi noir procedural that Fox would churn out a single season of before cancellation than a bit of a high budget, prestige television.

This weeks most laughable moment was

Spoiler alert

the sub-Conjuring hospital scene with the guy with no legs turning into Regan from The Exorcist

[close]

In fact, that scene reminded me quite a lot of 'Hannibal', a show that could be equally ludicrous but was saved by energetic and interesting performances by the leads. Something Night Country sadly lacks. Foster is completely phoning it in and Reis, who puzzlingly is getting lots of good notices for her performance, lacks the screen presence or range to carry a show like this. Unsurprising considering her acting experience, but she's far too flat and one note considering her character is the emotional anchor of the show.

Anyway, despite this being utter SHITE, I will persist as all the reviewers who have seen the whole series say the resolution to the mystery is utterly absurd, so I'm locked in to find out how much shitter it can actually get.

[DoesNotFollow]

Have put this on the back burner and started watching Dark Winds instead yesterday.

[thugler]

3rd episode confirmed that this is utter shite.

[Old Nehamkin]

I know there's been various backlashes and counter-backlashes against True Detective season 1 over the years but a decade on it's pretty fair to say it's stood the test of time right? Super-atmospheric, taut, engrossing piece of storytelling with Harrelson and Mcconoghay doing career-best work, Carey Fukamanga directing the shit out of everything and nic pizzolatto at the peak of his idiot-savant powers. Real lightning-in-a-bottle-stuff.

Not seen this new one but it sounds bad

[LordMorgan]

After finishing Fargo 5 last week, and stil trying to catch my breath . Glad I read this thread
 Fuck this.

[Jim_MacLaine]

Oh dear, is this not worth bothering with?

I've just finished Fargo S4 which was a joy.

That should be S5. Skipped S4.

Looks like I'll be skipping TD as well.

[AliasTheCat]

Yeah, found the third episode the "best" so far, perhaps as we chatted through parts of it. It does seem to have settled into its narrative now, the problem is that its narrative is really, really bad. It's telling that the scene in the hospital that @Indomitable Spirit mentioned, while laughable, was the only time I actually felt engaged.

Such a massive shame and wasted opportunity. I will stick with this because I have little better to do, but I couldn't ever recommend it to anyone.

Will this be the death of the True Detective franchise?

[Wet Blanket]

Foster is completely phoning it in and Reis, who puzzlingly is getting lots of good notices for her performance, lacks the screen presence or range to carry a show like this. Unsurprising considering her acting experience, but she's far too flat and one note considering her character is the emotional anchor of the show.

I reckon on paper she was meant to be the ultra intense, other-worldly counterpoint to Foster's up-tight conformist, echoing the same dynamic as Rust Cohl vs Marty Hart in season 1, but Kali Reiss's lack of acting chops means she can't pull it off and it results in Foster's character coming off as too much of an arsehole.

[Minami Minegishi]

The shots of those AI generated music posters with the hands in a gun shape so that they wouldn't have 18 broken fingers actually annoyed me.

I was thinking about how lovingly crafted season 1 of this show was. Tense little subtext moments, like the girls playing in the boat, or that elongated one-shot, or the way they edit the scene of the shooting, so that their dialogue contrasts with the real events. Pretty sophisticated for TV, and completely absent in subsequent seasons.

[Two Headed Sex Beast]

I'm surprised to read everyone hating this. Maybe my expectations were low or something but I'm having a good time with this one - nothing groundbreaking but the central mystery is a good hook and I like that they went supernatural right from the start. It's also been ages since I watched season 1 and 3 and don't remember too much about 3 in particular so I don't feel like I'm comparing it to the originals.

Slightly annoying habit of character learns something but it cuts away before we get to find out what that ends most scenes though

[Enzo]

I hate this. The cover that plays over the credits in the latest episode put me right over the edge.

[Indomitable Spirit]

It really is terrible and this week's episode might be the worst so far. They attempted some heavy emotional set pieces this week, but the writing and characterisation is so fucking weak that they were impossible to care about.

Apart from the crap writing, the music cues are as dreadful as ever with the most egregious being deciding to soundtrack the scene where

Spoiler alert

Navarro gets beaten up by three blokes with some Des'reesque gospel jam

[close]

Just a fucking weird misfire of a show.

[AliasTheCat]

Poo Defective

[El Unicornio, mang]

Yeah the latest episode wasn't any kind of improvement. Got weirded out by Ecclestone's room looking like it was green screened and they just forgot to actually do post production on it.

Spoiler alert

The bit with Navarro turning around to face that screaming girl gave me a heart attack. I mean obviously not literally but my heart rate basically doubled in that moment. Did not like.

[close]

Anyway I still don't hate it enough to stop watching it, might as well watch the last two episodes now...

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Episode 5 is already available, as HBO didn't want to compete with the Super Bowl.

It's still not good but at least stuff happened this time.

[Dr Trouser]

Christ, getting through this is a slog.

[RDRR]

'Night Country' seems even stupider said aloud. Even in the context of the Hey, that's the show's name! trope, that felt lazy and altogether unnecessary. It's set in a time and location of constant darkness. What extra significance could it really have.

Any guesses what miserable, slow cover will play us out?

[Magnum Valentino]

Star Trekkin

[Mobius]

there was already that HBO show Lovecraft Country too

[Minami Minegishi]

The Chicken Song

".........hoooold, a.......
........chik
...in....in....
.........THEEEE AIIIIIR!

[Enzo]

Any guesses what miserable, slow cover will play us out?

Whippin' Picadilly by Gomez

[Dex Sawash]

Just watched the first season of this, maybe the only thing where I have liked Matthew McConaughey.

fake edit- checked flimography and only seen this and Dark Tower

[lazyhour]

How can it be that people in this thread seem to universally loathe this season, but it's 93% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes? What's the story there?

(Not being a twat, 100% genuine question. I watched season 1 and enjoyed the journey, fucking hated the ending.)

[Magnum Valentino]

I agree that that is interesting. Something's going on there because it is objectively poor. No question.

[Urinal Cake]

It's not season 2?