Hidden Gems of Amazon Prime instant videos

Watched the first four episodes of Rings of Power and really liking the show so far. Don't really care about lore consistency. However, I did think it odd not to put beards on the dwarf ladies or maybe it is just that some shave their beards or don't have them.

Liked the costume design all around. Set design was good also. Story is okay so far.

I'm fine with that one. I think it would have just been distracting.

We finished the first season of Rings of Power last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm also going in with a very clean slate (Never read the books, saw the original trilogy when it came out but didn't really pay attention or care for it, not someone who consumes fantasy material in general.)

I know some people complain that the show is slow, but that's what I liked about it. Instead of getting to incredibly high stakes right off the get go, you get to experience the planning and machinations behind the scenes before the threat has become real for most of the region. If anything, in my position of not knowing a thing about this universe, I'm still kind of confused about some things that happened and will probably have to watch the season again.

Started The Outlaws on a whim over the weekend and burned through the two seasons in a couple of days.

It's a great ensemble comedy about seven wildly different people in Bristol who got in trouble with the law and were sentenced to a community payback program. I was initially intrigued because two of the actors were Christopher Walken and Stephen Merchant. The entire cast, though, was outstanding.

Completed Rings of Power and liked it. I didn't think it was to slow or fast. Not sure if I buy the long game being played by one character or the confusion of the stranger. Didn't hate those things just think they could have been done better.

I do wonder where this show will end. Maybe after the last ring is created or given out. I did like the ring song at the end.

That's a banana not a ring. And no I'm not happy to see you.

Haven't seen this mentioned here, but the new western tv series, The English, is really good. Emily Blunt stars in it and has great chemistry with the other main character. Wonderful cinematography and tension building scenes. Starts a little slow, but stick with it.

Propagandalf wrote:

Haven't seen this mentioned here, but the new western tv series, The English, is really good. Emily Blunt stars in it and has great chemistry with the other main character. Wonderful cinematography and tension building scenes. Starts a little slow, but stick with it.

My friend watched the first 5 episodes yesterday and texted me to recommend it. I hadn't heard of it. It's good to see another recommendation.

-BEP

Highly recommend it, especially if you like Westerns. The cinematography is exceptional.

Finished The Peripheral, and they're going for 2nd season (there's mid credit scene btw)

Can someone explain the finale of the Peripheral? I’m assuming that…

Spoiler:

Flynn doesn’t just remotely control a peripheral, but completely transfers her consciousness to the future? Therefore, she can die in one stub while she's using her peripheral and then “download” herself back to the new stub via another headset in that new stub?

I’m still digging the show, but the bit with the stubs are a little tough to suspend my disbelief.

Propagandalf wrote:

Haven't seen this mentioned here, but the new western tv series, The English, is really good. Emily Blunt stars in it and has great chemistry with the other main character. Wonderful cinematography and tension building scenes. Starts a little slow, but stick with it.

This is weird. It's an Amazon show but it's streaming on HBO Max not Prime Video around here.

PaladinTom wrote:

Can someone explain the finale of the Peripheral? I’m assuming that…

Spoiler:

Flynn doesn’t just remotely control a peripheral, but completely transfers her consciousness to the future? Therefore, she can die in one stub while she's using her peripheral and then “download” herself back to the new stub via another headset in that new stub?

I’m still digging the show, but the bit with the stubs are a little tough to suspend my disbelief.

My interpretation was:

Spoiler:

She created the new stub in which she had the knowledge she'd gained, but let herself be killed in the original one so Zubov leaves her family alone.

Side note: I couldn't remember how the dates all connect—it's possible she started the new stub earlier, in which case I don't know what's going on either.

PaladinTom wrote:

Can someone explain the finale of the Peripheral? I’m assuming that…

Spoiler:

Flynn doesn’t just remotely control a peripheral, but completely transfers her consciousness to the future? Therefore, she can die in one stub while she's using her peripheral and then “download” herself back to the new stub via another headset in that new stub?

I’m still digging the show, but the bit with the stubs are a little tough to suspend my disbelief.

Spoiler:

No, there wasn't any transfer of consciousness thing. The Flynne in the original stub died in 2032, and wasn't using the peripheral at the time. Lowbeer (but not the RI) is now in contact with the new stub, and the operator of the peripheral in the scene just before the credits is the Flynne in the new stub.

BTW, in case you missed it, there's an important mid-credits scene.

Thanks, CaptainCrowbar, that's kind of what I thought was going on!

This allows them to show more stuff from the book that they left out this first season involving the Jackpot shenanigans.

CaptainCrowbar wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

Can someone explain the finale of the Peripheral? I’m assuming that…

Spoiler:

Flynn doesn’t just remotely control a peripheral, but completely transfers her consciousness to the future? Therefore, she can die in one stub while she's using her peripheral and then “download” herself back to the new stub via another headset in that new stub?

I’m still digging the show, but the bit with the stubs are a little tough to suspend my disbelief.

Spoiler:

No, there wasn't any transfer of consciousness thing. The Flynne in the original stub died in 2032, and wasn't using the peripheral at the time. Lowbeer (but not the RI) is now in contact with the new stub, and the operator of the peripheral in the scene just before the credits is the Flynne in the new stub.

BTW, in case you missed it, there's an important mid-credits scene.

Thanks for the explanation! But…

Spoiler:

How will Flynn in the new stub know what's going on? Did she create it to be basically a copy of her stub? If so, I guess that would also mean everything and everyONE there is more or less identical?

PaladinTom wrote:
CaptainCrowbar wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

Can someone explain the finale of the Peripheral? I’m assuming that…

Spoiler:

Flynn doesn’t just remotely control a peripheral, but completely transfers her consciousness to the future? Therefore, she can die in one stub while she's using her peripheral and then “download” herself back to the new stub via another headset in that new stub?

I’m still digging the show, but the bit with the stubs are a little tough to suspend my disbelief.

Spoiler:

No, there wasn't any transfer of consciousness thing. The Flynne in the original stub died in 2032, and wasn't using the peripheral at the time. Lowbeer (but not the RI) is now in contact with the new stub, and the operator of the peripheral in the scene just before the credits is the Flynne in the new stub.

BTW, in case you missed it, there's an important mid-credits scene.

Thanks for the explanation! But…

Spoiler:

How will Flynn in the new stub know what's going on? Did she create it to be basically a copy of her stub? If so, I guess that would also mean everything and everyONE there is more or less identical?

Spoiler:

Yes up to that point, and that's the important bit. Since in her original stub she will be dead, the information stolen from RI will become unrecoverable. She'll have it in the new copy and able to use it to her advantage in the new Stub.

RE: End of Peripheral

Spoiler:

My hypothesis is that Flynne created a new stub off of the existing one that RI can't access, but Lowbeer can. Presumably the new one started at or near the point of Flynne entering that guarded facility. Then Flynne gets herself killed in the OG stub, so RI and the Klept can't get to her. All the RI data exists in Flynne 2.0, and she has her consciousness and memories up to the branching of the stub.

Seems pretty inconceivable that, with their technology, the Klept wouldn't still be able to read the DNA data off her dead body in the first stub, it's not like it was burned. But ok.

Overall I really enjoyed this series, right in my wheelhouse.

I am 3-4 episodes in to The Peripheral and I am enjoying it quite a bit.
It is a nice mix of Travelers and Altered Carbon.

I think you're all being very generous to The Peripheral It went downhill pretty fast after the first couple of episodes (Lowbeer excepted). I would never have figured out the ending without reading the book first!

When I was watching it by myself, I tired of some of the more upscale parts of The Peripheral. The condescending forced nonchalance of fancy TV villains really grates my nerves. However, I do like the run-down Tennessee small town with a 3D printing shop that's just a mom'n'pop. That's really interesting in its implications.

Watching it with my 19yo I can let some of that go and just enjoy what I enjoy from it.

I'm on the end of the 5th episode and having a reasonable time with it. It's the kind of show that would have blown my socks off 15-25 years ago but, in this era of big budget TV, it doesn't really stand out. I do like the concept, time travel and variations of are my jam. There are some possibly interesting side characters but they haven't really been developed well so far and the main characters are a bit vanilla. I do like what we've learned about how stubs work and I'm interested to learn more about how "modern day" is being influenced.

muraii wrote:

When I was watching it by myself, I tired of some of the more upscale parts of The Peripheral. The condescending forced nonchalance of fancy TV villains really grates my nerves. However, I do like the run-down North Carolina small town with a 3D printing shop that's just a mom'n'pop. That's really interesting in its implications.

Watching it with my 19yo I can let some of that go and just enjoy what I enjoy from it.

FTFY and for what it's worth Gibson is from TN and usually has some sort of shoutout in most of his books to it.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

I'm on the end of the 5th episode and having a reasonable time with it. It's the kind of show that would have blown my socks off 15-25 years ago but, in this era of big budget TV, it doesn't really stand out. I do like the concept, time travel and variations of are my jam. There are some possibly interesting side characters but they haven't really been developed well so far and the main characters are a bit vanilla. I do like what we've learned about how stubs work and I'm interested to learn more about how "modern day" is being influenced.

The press when talking about this got it wrong as well, but there's no time travel. Different time lines... there's a distinction made

It was kinda blowing my socks off in thinking it was one of those books written 15+ years ago and way ahead of its time. But then I saw that it was written in 2014 so cool stuff but not mind blowing.

It also exists in a universe when the Loki series has been released. So there is a bar for handling the multiverse that if Peripheral slips just a hair, it will be more glaring than in a non Loki series timeline.

I am enjoying the show for sure but again it exists in a time when Westworld, Altered Carbon, Travelers and Loki were popular enough to keep the show on its toes lest it fall flat.

The Peripheral: I enjoyed it overall. It's a very different beast to the book, which isn't about Big Ideas like the TV show is trying to be and not really succeeding. It's more character-driven and

Spoiler:

about these different future factions treating the stub like a game of Civ and what that does to their lives

I think the cast is solid, but apart from the characters and the basic stub concept it's a completely different story.

DudleySmith wrote:

The Peripheral: I enjoyed it overall. It's a very different beast to the book, which isn't about Big Ideas like the TV show is trying to be and not really succeeding. It's more character-driven and

Spoiler:

about these different future factions treating the stub like a game of Civ and what that does to their lives

I think the cast is solid, but apart from the characters and the basic stub concept it's a completely different story.

That makes the book all the more attractive.

muraii wrote:
DudleySmith wrote:

The Peripheral: I enjoyed it overall. It's a very different beast to the book, which isn't about Big Ideas like the TV show is trying to be and not really succeeding. It's more character-driven and

Spoiler:

about these different future factions treating the stub like a game of Civ and what that does to their lives

I think the cast is solid, but apart from the characters and the basic stub concept it's a completely different story.

That makes the book all the more attractive.

Gibson's style is about describing in detail the surroundings and tech involved in each scene, the backstory behind the characters is held close and only used if needed to push the plot forward.

The show is diving into new territory with backstory to try and explain the character motives... it's definitely the weakest part of the show, but if it wasn't there i suspect there would be a lot of arguments about not having it...

After many months I got to the end (so far) of Bosch and Bosch Legacy last night. Just a really solid show, maybe not outstanding in any one way, but consistently high quality. I'll miss it!