Finished The Last Of Us last night, a solid 8/10 and very well made. I had no prior knowledge of the game or even the storyline.

Because of the amazing reviews, I was expected to be blown away, so was actually slightly disappointed overall - although mainly due to the weak (and short) final ep, after the excellent penultimate ep that came before it. The pacing and story-telling for the first half of the season were so well done, but then it became a bit rushed in places. The atmosphere was excellent throughout.

The flashbacks were very well handled (and apparently, some aren't even in the game) - often these are annoying as you just want to return to the main story, but here they were compelling. The questions raised over grey morality are also excellent.

Surprisingly, the dialogue was largely engaging, there are some real LOLs, and some excellent side-characters. Recommended.

I approached it cautiously as someone who found the game overrated, but who also likes post-apocalyptics, but even that genre has been done to death over the cumulative years (I'm old enough to remember the 70s 'Survivors' on the BBC). What swung it and made me look was co-creator Craig Mazin, the man behind the excellent Chernobyl - which I'm sure could have doubled for parts of this.

Very good on the whole, if not adding anything new to the genre. It did seem a bit rushed at the end, and one episode (the mainly very good 3, in which I found the bloke who wasn't Ron Swanson too tv-soap plasticky) did seem to spend too much time away from the main characters. But I pretty much agree with you. As for your spoilered comments, I think they made the right decision in not focussing too much in the area you expect them to. I've had enough of that over the years with the Walking Dead and a procession of films almost as unwelcome as Marvel now is.

TLoU would have been a surefire thing to watch for me years ago, but for whatever reasons now I can't really stomach that sort of [grim] thing (same goes with films).

Instead I've been enjoying season 3 of Picard [ticks all the fan boxes for me] and an interesting period Korean series: Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist (though he's a physician). Half way through season one and season 2 is already out.

Hadn't played TLoU games, but we blitzed the TV show in a week. Very good stuff.

I finished Wednesday last night - I've got a lot of respect for Burton and his stylised gothic chic, but I have to admit that I don't love any of his work. It often feels a bit shallow, a bit teenage, a bit style-over substance. Sadly, it's the same here - a better script could really have elevated this into something great. Some of the lesser but still interesting characters are under-used, and some of the sets/scenes come across as sub-Hogwarts at times.

However, this really does look amazing - a very cinematic, consistent aesthetic. The lead (Jenny Ortega, who I didn't know) is perfect in a standout teen-goth performance, playing it dead (!) straight without hamming or knowing nods. Several of the set pieces are gripping, with flashes of surprising violence and gore. The final episode is divisive - a major change in tone, that blows the CGI budget and is crazily ott ... but it somehow just about works, imo.

Watch big, watch loud, a creepy and a kooky, an altogether spooky, a 7/10.

Picard season 3. Barely made it through S1 and didn't bother with S2. Heard good things about S3 and have to agree, it's pretty good so far.

I've just watched Station Eleven, which first aired a couple of years ago. It's a post-apocalyptic drama set in a world in which most people are dead after a flu pandemic - and yes, filming was put on hold by Covid! So far, so Last of Us/most other future dead civilization dramazzz ...

What sets this apart though is that there are no infected/undead/marauding cannibal gangs chasing the cast, it's all about the people just picking up the pieces. It's split between the year of outbreak (2020) and twenty years on, mainly about a roving gang of actors called the Travelling Symphony who only perform Shakespeare. It was a limited series of ten eps so it's all done and dusted. Beautifully shot (I'd buy the 4k discs if I could find them cheap enough) and not a false note among the cast, led by Mackenzie Davis and Himesh Patel, though it's very much an ensemble. It also predates The Last of Us by a couple of years; I got it as a free channel trial on Prime. Will definitely watch it again. ? 

(And don't tell anyone, but it may have drawn forth a tear or two at one point...)

Interesting, @wowbagger - I find that you and I have very different tastes!

For me, Station Eleven was very well made and acted, and quite unique in its post-apocalypse portrayal of a diverse hippy society. I had been looking forward to it, and the first ep set things up very well.

Sadly though, I just didn't find it interesting enough, with hardly anything happening, alongside a mediocre script. There were a couple of good surprises iirc, but overall I thought it was trying too hard to be clever, and actually became repetitive. There was too much theatre (literally!) for me (I'm not a particular Shakespeare fan) and the world-building was not realistic (although that's a common problem with post-apocalyptic themes ... food + water).

2 hours too long, 6/10

Scenes From A Marriage (2021) - [8/10] we both enjoyed this. Nothing really happens, it's just 2 people talking - very theatrical and emotionally intimate.

Chastain in particular shows what a great actor she is, with so much going on beneath the surface. Some scenes are absolutely compelling, others less so, and I'd rate the 5 eps as: 9/9/7/8/6, overall scraping an 8. Disappointing final ep, mainly cos it was much more playful and less intense than what preceded it, necessary as part of the character arcs.

A cautious recommendation then, especially as neither of these people are particularly likeable (by the end, for Isaac's character), if that turns you off (it's actually something I'm OK with, but my wife doesn't usually like). Plenty psychology on show, and to talk about afterwards, if that's your thing.

Interesting how most eps start - with a behind the scenes of the actor/s walking some distance to set, clapperboard, action. Very unusual.

Under the Banner of Heaven - true crime miniseries of 7 eps (8hrs) with a great cast, but could do with 90 mins trimmed off (despite the rushed final ep!). Lots about the Mormon lifestyle, which starts off interesting but then starts to slow the story. It starts with a murder, and then tells events in the current/flashback style, which I'm rarely a fan of.

Surprisingly these days, it's very obviously made-for-TV, so not cinematic or sweeping, and has those annoying build-ups/edits for most ad breaks.

Scrapes a 7/10 for the performances.