da_gopsta Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

I'm personally loving it!

[10/10 · 9 October 2022]

When I was a kid, I read The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings. Then the LOTR films came out and I was amazed. The Hobbit films came out and I was underwhelmed.

I wasn't aware of the hype regarding this show. I think I read that it was in production a few months ago, but it was a bit of a surprise when I logged onto Prime a few weeks ago and saw it was there, with the first three episodes ready for viewing. I was looking for something new to watch, and nothing else really appealed to me, so I thought I'd just give this a go and see how I feel about it. At the time,

I was instantly hooked! I had no idea what to expect, but everything about it was enjoyable to me. The scenery and cinematography are obviously unbelievable, as one should expect for such a high-budget show, but also the characters and storylines are all so well-written that I'm gripped.

After watching the latest episode this morning, I decided to just check the user ratings, expecting to see something like a 9.5/10 or something similar. So to see 6.9/10 as I'm writing this seems strange to me, as though I must be missing something.

I've read some of the negative reviews, and I feel as though I'm watching a different show to them. But each has their own opinions on the show, and my opinion is that this show is amazing. I can only assume that the people who hate it the most were either bought in by hype, which often disappoints, or are fan-boys and fan-girls of the Tolkein world and don't like the fact that someone other than Tolkein wrote a whole new chapter to the story.

Me, I'm a barely-casual film & TV Show watcher. I probably watch a new TV Series about once a year, and a maximum of 5 films a year. So on the rare occasions I do watch something, I want to be entertained, and this I found to be very entertaining.

Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. (2018)

Surprisingly Good

[9/10 · 26 June 2018]

I genuinely didn't know what to expect when I decided to give the first episode a look; I thought it'd be a documentary at first.

Of course, I quickly learned otherwise, and was soon gripped. I have no idea at how accurate it was, but simply focusing on it as though the story was pure fiction, I did find it very entertaining. Not everything was perfect, but it is definitely an enjoyable watch. Even if you're not into Biggie & Tupac, if you're into cop/detective dramas, celebrity lifestyle, hood films and so on, you'll really enjoy it, and that's why I gave this a 9.

The Walking Dead: How It's Gotta Be (2017) Season 8, Episode 8

Disappointing

[6/10 · 11 December 2017]

One of the reasons the first five/six seasons of this show were great, was because of the fact that for the most part, most of the characters were generally in the same place, so it was easy to follow the character arcs and find a bond with them. However, of late, there just seems to be at least ten different story arcs going on at the same time, leading to a stop-start mesh of confusion.

For a TV Series, character development is the single most important thing, and yet there appears to have been none for the main characters, and some for the likes of Eugene and Dwight. In fact, some of the characters' development have seriously dwindled, as in with the likes of Darryl and Carol. Maggie's rise to leader of Hilltop has been very unconvincing for me.

This episode was all of the above. No real character development, constantly cycling through different scenes, and quite honestly the most meh character death of the show.

I kinda don't care if the protagonists win anymore. Negan is a good character and it's unfortunate he has to have turned up at a time when there were no other currently interesting characters. I don't know how the comics go, but clearly the show is failing in its desire to stick to the storyline, so just give Negan what he deserves and let him win. Rick becomes his loyal fighter. Maggie becomes his wife. And when Negan wants to torture a prisoner in future, he can have Darryl sing Easy Street over and over again.

The Shield (2002–2008)

One of a kind - a TV Series that actually gets better as it progresses

[9/10 · 11 April 2012]

I only heard of The Shield a few weeks ago. I had only just finished watching a previous TV show from start to finish, and was after a new one to pass the time. I typed in "The Best TV Shows Ever", or something similar, on Google, and I noticed that this was on a few lists. I'd never heard of it, but after checking to see that it was given a very respectable 8.7 rating on IMDb, I decided to check it out.

When I started, I was not unimpressed, but at the same time, I didn't really get the immediately-hooked feeling like I did at the start of other TV shows like Prison Break, Dexter and Breaking Bad, amongst others.

However, unlike most TV dramas, The Shield got progressively better throughout its series. The characters were very complex and I can't think of a single main character who I had both rooted for at times, yet wanted to see their downfall in others.

As I said, the series got progressively better, but in no way was I expecting the finale to be as good as it was. I've seen a fair few TV series in my time, but no series finale that I've seen has even come close to matching this one. An absolutely incredible finale of a quality that any series would have been proud of.

I'd definitely recommend this show. For me personally, it was a steady 7/10 for the first couple seasons, 8//10 and 9/10 for the next few, but 10/10 for its final season. To give the actual finale a rating out of ten would do it injustice as I'm sceptical that I'll ever see one as good as that.

Scrubs: My Screwup (2004) Season 3, Episode 14

This is one episode where it's OK for a grown man to cry

[10/10 · 10 March 2008]

This episode, which pays homage to the film 'The Sixth Sense', is incredibly well written and directed. Little, discreet clues are left throughout the episode to suggest that Ben has died, though I doubt many would have caught on to them on their first viewing. From the beginning of the show where Ben mentions that he would hold on to his camera till the day he dies (he is not shown with his camera after he has died) to the fact that no one, apart from Dr. Cox, interacts with Ben after his death, the way the clues are left are so discreet that we all just believe that it was the old man in the wheelchair who has died, and not Ben. These clues become blindingly obvious on a second viewing, and where you were too shocked at the twist to cry on the first viewing, on a second viewing you now know what is coming, but can't help yourself bawling like a baby. Without adverts, the episode is only 20 minutes long and, for me, is the greatest 20 minutes to be witnessed on television.

In a nutshell: the greatest episode of any show of all time.