Ultimately Off-Topic VII: The Miles Frontier

[Robbie_Jee]

I was just looking on Netflix and both Big Nothing and The Take aren't available for instant streaming.

I chose Netflix because it's cheap and it has a lot of great TV series and movies on there. That graphic that Sage posted explains it better than I could. =p I don't think the US has LoveFilm though.

I think LoveFilm is only for the U.K. that's probably why everyone uses Netflix in the US. Here is a chart to compare all the online resources. It doesn't include the U.K. sources though. I think that out of the U.S. people are not part of the plan. I was in Heathrow this past summer and tried to use Netflix on my laptop and it denied me access on my U.S. account. I researched this up and found a Netflix U.K. version but it had less titles and offers. Some of these services you have to beware because sometimes they don't offer it out of country unless you get your countries version of it.

Thanks guys. This really helped knowing that Netflix UK isn't as substantial as the US one. I think I'm going to go for LoveFilm. At £4.99 a month, it's the cheapest of the UK ranges I've seen, and it's library is so complete it even has old black and white films such as Breakfast At Tiffany's and Judgement and Nuremberg. It has literally every film I can think of. LoveFilm was the first film-service (I don't know what they're generally called) that was advertised in the UK and it's currently all Europe based, but has literally every film I could can think of; even has all the really old Japanese films on it, and millions of animes too. So LoveFilm is both the cheapest and the most substantial for me.

It shows TV episodes too, but not nearly as much as Netflix. But this doesn't bother me at all because I don't watch much TV. And because LoveFilm has (to my knowledge) every single DVD and Blu-Ray release, it's got The Walking Dead Season's One and Two, which I can finally watch whilst I wait for season 3 to come out.

Yah I'm not sure if they will do it now that Disney owns Star Wars. I mean what's the point Star Wars 7 is going to be made. That's going to make much more money then any live-action tv show. If we are looking at it through a producers eyes it would be a waste to make a live action series. But I do think they will continue improving on the cgi tv series like The Clone Wars and hopefully they finish up the Force Unleashed series cause I'm still waiting for the third one.

I wasn't too into the games, myself. I thought they were alright though. Better than most games IMO.

How on earth did your parents let you watch Starship Troopers when you were 11. Lol.

Well I was old enough to not get traumatised by it. My mum never encouraged me to watch violent films and she'd never buy any for me until I was a bit older, but at that age I was watching a lot of 15s anyway. Me and my family used to have a film nate every two weeks on a Saturday and we'd rent two films, which me and my brothers would choose from the Video store. We were allowec to watch anything up to a 15, and if it was an 18, it may be watched my my parents first. I think the first time we watched it, it was actually with our parents, and then we awoke early the next day to watch it again because it was one of the coolest things we had ever seen, We only just starting to allowed to watch more adult films at that point, but my parents would always bar most of the 18's because of potential sex scenes, and on the back of the VHS case it said the film had mild nudity, which it did. At 11 years old I can assure you it was the most adult film my parents let me watch. In a way, it's the ultimate Boy's film.

I remember when I was between the ages of like 5 and 7, I used to be pretty terriifed of Ghostbusters. At around 8 years old, I had a friend who was a little bit older than me and his parents would always let him watch whatever he wanted except for the really bad horror movies. I'd go round there and watch films like Robocop and Terminator. I was a bit too young to watch them, and so was he, but I thought Robocop was really cool when I was a child because I wasn't scared of it. It was just awesome. My parents wouldn't let me watch anything over a 12 when I was that young.

It's things like the Disney Channel and MTV selling sex to little girls that's more of a danger IMO. Kids are so sesceptable to marketing, it's unvelievable. Now, every where I go I see an eight year old with a hambag (you called them purses I think). They're growing up too fast due to the sheer amount of provocative imagry and sexual advertising that's constantly being fed into their minds, distorting their values, and almost completely shaping their personalities, for the brain can only rationalise with the information it recieves. I don't think films are really a problem. But I hold a lot of disregard for TV and it should be feared a lot more than it is. It's a tool, dumbing us down and turning us into mindless lemmings, like the young lads who are willing to get blown up on the battlefield for a group of snotty middle-aged politicians.

For a spoof movie there was a ton of gore. I did remember buying Starship Troopers in VHS at a garage sale and my parents were clueless about what it was. They thought it was another Star Wars remake. I did get to watch it though. Did you read the book?

Nah, never read the book. Was the book based off the movie or was the movie based off the book? If it's the latter, I might check it out.

Mind you, there have been some really good books based off of films. Some of the Star Wars novels are brilliant. MUCH better than I ever expected them to be. Have you read any Star Wars books? I've read Episode 3 and it's sequel, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. They were really, really good. The lightsaber battles are even better written that filmed. Like the first one in Episode 3, Count Dooku vs Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi for the second time. That was absolutely incredible in the book. I strongly recommend.

[Jer]

Agreed - the TV selection alone makes Netflix worth the cash; granted, I mooch off my girlfriend's account, but would gladly pay if that wasn't the case. I owe Netflix for my enjoyment of several TV series from the beginning, plus repeated viewings of many more shows.

On that subject, how many TV series do people here watch? I'm currently watching 18 different shows on a week-to-week basis. It's getting ridiculous. I'll also be adding Community (finally!) and Whitney (guilty pleasure) when they return for a total of 19. They are (in order from best to worst):

Homeland
Parks and Rec
Boardwalk Empire
The League
Always Sunny
Walking Dead
American Horror Story
Modern Family
30 Rock
Dexter
Animal Practice
The New Girl
Mindy Project
The Office
Up All Night
Nashville
Revolution
How I Met Your Mother

Seriously, Homeland is amazing. I was worried that the first season would go down as a one hit wonder, but season two is even better. The only show I've watched that might be better than Homeland is Breaking Bad - they both have seats reserved in the TV Show Hall of Fame (if there is one).

In other drama, Boardwalk continues being great, Walking Dead is a HUGE improvement over season 2, and Dexter is a big jump up from previous seasons. While I didn't watch the first season, I'm digging the new American Horror Story. Nashville, however, is pretty bland, but I live in Nashville, so it's fun to see a show full of places around me; at the same time, I think that people who work in the music industry here are actually less likely to enjoy it, which is probably why I'm not a big fan. And despite a great premise, Revolution is falling flat, though I'm not surprised by any means. It is certainly not the next Lost.

In the comedy worst, Parks and Rec continues to reign supreme. Every issue is a gem. FX is still killing it with The League and Sunny. 30 Rock might not be as great as it was, but the final season is shaping up to be a good one. The big surprise is how good the Office is this year - it hasn't been this good since Jim and Pam got married; last season was really bad, but this one is solid. And don't mock Animal Practice - it is hilarious lowest-common-denomonator animal humor! Though I'm not surprised it was already cancelled. Meanwhile, the once great How I Met Your Mother continues limping towards a finish line that remains far out of sight. It is now one of the most boring comedies on TV; it should have ended years ago.

So in case you can't tell... I'm a big fan of television. Serialized fiction is such a great way to tell stories; it's why I love comic books.

Anyone have any other shows to recommend? With winter on the way, we're about to enter midseason break, so I'll need something to watch! (There's no way I'm starting a new show right now though) I'm already planning to watch BSG sometime, and there's some premium cable shows I have on my radar, but I'm always looking for suggestions.

What can I recommend ....

Archer ... still hasn't come back from break
The new TMNT cartoon is surprisingly good

hmmm .... seems like I'm recommending too many cartoons.


but we don't watch too much stuff that are different. Most of everything you watch. I watch.

Hey Plawsky, you don't watch the Young Turks on Current Tv do you. Awesome news cast.

[Jer]

Are you mad? Starship Troopers was one of the greatest action movies of all time. I watched it when I was about 11 years old and it was one of the coolest action movies I had ever seen. It was really funny too. I think what was so brilliant about it was that it completely took the piss out of itself and all other American gun crazy, military films, whilst also honoring them, with how.. unbelievable it was. It was corny, but it was awesome in being so corny. Most definetly the greatest Sci-Fi spoof of all time, and with a massive budget to boot.

I think what was so cool about it was how it felt like it came from the mind of a kid, who dreamt up the most insane alien adventure and was given a 100 million dollars to make what he liked. And for that, we got something incredible. And it was SO funny, as it made fun of a lot of the old Arnold Schwartzenegger films with it's over the top commando feel. It was so much fun to watch. I remember watching it with my brothers one night and then we all got up the next morning and watched it again. Good times. We even got to see some boobs, which at the time was a pretty big deal.

I am mad. In the intro it said we're being attacked by bugs from another galaxy via asteroids.

I lost all interest after that. IT JUST DIDN"T MAKE ANY DAMN SENSE. I told my mother when we left,

DO YOU KNOW HOW SLOW ASTEROIDS TRAVEL AND HOW BIG THAT DISTANCE IS!!!??? Even assuming it could escape the planets graviational pull, their sun and then their galaxy's graviational pull would keep it planetary bound.

Oh my science. I could possible forgive it if it was a cartoon but it was live action with science they pulled from another dimension. I'm sorry if that makes me weird but I just couldn't enjoy it after that.

[Robbie_Jee]

I am mad. In the intro it said we're being attacked by bugs from another galaxy via asteroids.

I lost all interest after that. IT JUST DIDN"T MAKE ANY DAMN SENSE. I told my mother when we left,

DO YOU KNOW HOW SLOW ASTEROIDS TRAVEL AND HOW BIG THAT DISTANCE IS!!!??? Even assuming it could escape the planets graviational pull, their sun and then their galaxy's graviational pull would keep it planetary bound.

Oh my science. I could possible forgive it if it was a cartoon but it was live action with science they pulled from another dimension. I'm sorry if that makes me weird but I just couldn't enjoy it after that.

No I completely understand. I also have that problem. Looper for example is just so... Wrong.

I didn't remember the origin until you just said now. You may have been a little older than me when you watched Starship Troopers. For me, it's sweet nostalgia. A bit like how I like Back To The Future.

[sage6paths]

Thanks guys. This really helped knowing that Netflix UK isn't as substantial as the US one. I think I'm going to go for LoveFilm. At £4.99 a month, it's the cheapest of the UK ranges I've seen, and it's library is so complete it even has old black and white films such as Breakfast At Tiffany's and Judgement and Nuremberg. It has literally every film I can think of. LoveFilm was the first film-service (I don't know what they're generally called) that was advertised in the UK and it's currently all Europe based, but has literally every film I could can think of; even has all the really old Japanese films on it, and millions of animes too. So LoveFilm is both the cheapest and the most substantial for me.

It shows TV episodes too, but not nearly as much as Netflix. But this doesn't bother me at all because I don't watch much TV. And because LoveFilm has (to my knowledge) every single DVD and Blu-Ray release, it's got The Walking Dead Season's One and Two, which I can finally watch whilst I wait for season 3 to come out.

Here is a good article comparing the two. They both have no-string trials so that would be a good idea to see which one is better,
http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...or-you-1058067

Well I was old enough to not get traumatised by it. My mum never encouraged me to watch violent films and she'd never buy any for me until I was a bit older, but at that age I was watching a lot of 15s anyway. Me and my family used to have a film nate every two weeks on a Saturday and we'd rent two films, which me and my brothers would choose from the Video store. We were allowec to watch anything up to a 15, and if it was an 18, it may be watched my my parents first. I think the first time we watched it, it was actually with our parents, and then we awoke early the next day to watch it again because it was one of the coolest things we had ever seen, We only just starting to allowed to watch more adult films at that point, but my parents would always bar most of the 18's because of potential sex scenes, and on the back of the VHS case it said the film had mild nudity, which it did. At 11 years old I can assure you it was the most adult film my parents let me watch. In a way, it's the ultimate Boy's film.

I remember when I was between the ages of like 5 and 7, I used to be pretty terriifed of Ghostbusters. At around 8 years old, I had a friend who was a little bit older than me and his parents would always let him watch whatever he wanted except for the really bad horror movies. I'd go round there and watch films like Robocop and Terminator. I was a bit too young to watch them, and so was he, but I thought Robocop was really cool when I was a child because I wasn't scared of it. It was just awesome. My parents wouldn't let me watch anything over a 12 when I was that young.

It's things like the Disney Channel and MTV selling sex to little girls that's more of a danger IMO. Kids are so sesceptable to marketing, it's unvelievable. Now, every where I go I see an eight year old with a hambag (you called them purses I think). They're growing up too fast due to the sheer amount of provocative imagry and sexual advertising that's constantly being fed into their minds, distorting their values, and almost completely shaping their personalities, for the brain can only rationalise with the information it recieves. I don't think films are really a problem. But I hold a lot of disregard for TV and it should be feared a lot more than it is. It's a tool, dumbing us down and turning us into mindless lemmings, like the young lads who are willing to get blown up on the battlefield for a group of snotty middle-aged politicians.

I was pretty lucky when I was younger. I bought a small tv set that had a vhs player permanently connected to the tv with the newspaper money that I had earned. It was a small tv like it was about as big as a laptop screen. I put it in my closet and had a beanie to sit on and my nintendo 64. Looking back at it now it was kind of creepy. But I did get to watch a lot of movies and I watched the family orientated movies in the semi-bigger tv downstairs.

Nah, never read the book. Was the book based off the movie or was the movie based off the book? If it's the latter, I might check it out.

Mind you, there have been some really good books based off of films. Some of the Star Wars novels are brilliant. MUCH better than I ever expected them to be. Have you read any Star Wars books? I've read Episode 3 and it's sequel, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. They were really, really good. The lightsaber battles are even better written that filmed. Like the first one in Episode 3, Count Dooku vs Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi for the second time. That was absolutely incredible in the book. I strongly recommend.

I think the movie was based off the book. I remember reading it years ago and I would recommend it to you if you ever get a chance to read it. I read Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader that was pretty good. I read the Force Unleashed book series and those were good too. I wonder how Star Wars 7 is going to be like with all the star wars canon fiction that is already on paper. Maybe they will just use it in the film.

[sage6paths]

I am mad. In the intro it said we're being attacked by bugs from another galaxy via asteroids.

I lost all interest after that. IT JUST DIDN"T MAKE ANY DAMN SENSE. I told my mother when we left,

DO YOU KNOW HOW SLOW ASTEROIDS TRAVEL AND HOW BIG THAT DISTANCE IS!!!??? Even assuming it could escape the planets graviational pull, their sun and then their galaxy's graviational pull would keep it planetary bound.

Oh my science. I could possible forgive it if it was a cartoon but it was live action with science they pulled from another dimension. I'm sorry if that makes me weird but I just couldn't enjoy it after that.

Not to mention the math that had to take place to get that asteroid at the right moment to hit earth at that location. in the words of the wise dr. mccoy The notion of [insert anything] is like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse. still though I enjoyed it. I don't think the movie was ever meant to be taken completely serious. it was satire.

[Robbie_Jee]

Not to mention the math that had to take place to get that asteroid at the right moment to hit earth at that location. in the words of the wise dr. mccoy The notion of [insert anything] is like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse. still though I enjoyed it. I don't think the movie was ever meant to be taken completely serious. it was satire.

I loved so many scenes. I especially liked it when Rico blew up one of those huge lava/acid-spewing bugs.

And this.

At 11 years old, how is that not awesome? :}

At 26 years old, how is that not hilarious?

[Plawsky]

What can I recommend ....

Archer ... still hasn't come back from break
The new TMNT cartoon is surprisingly good

hmmm .... seems like I'm recommending too many cartoons.

Oh I thought Archer was back already - that's good. Season 3 still isn't on Netflix. I love that show; probably the most consistently funny cartoon I've watched. Only South Park would compete, really. It's weird, though, because it doesn't really rely on being a cartoon; it's got a lot of slapstick and a WHOLE lot of wordplay, almost anything in it could be a live action show, but it's even more awesome because it's a cartoon.

Hey Plawsky, you don't watch the Young Turks on Current Tv do you. Awesome news cast.

Nope. The closest I get to news is the Daily Show or Colbert. Or, I suppose, HBO's The Newsroom, which was pretty solid.

[Sinx]

Agreed - the TV selection alone makes Netflix worth the cash; granted, I mooch off my girlfriend's account, but would gladly pay if that wasn't the case. I owe Netflix for my enjoyment of several TV series from the beginning, plus repeated viewings of many more shows.

On that subject, how many TV series do people here watch? I'm currently watching 18 different shows on a week-to-week basis. It's getting ridiculous. I'll also be adding Community (finally!) and Whitney (guilty pleasure) when they return for a total of 19. They are (in order from best to worst):

Homeland
Parks and Rec
Boardwalk Empire
The League
Always Sunny
Walking Dead
American Horror Story
Modern Family
30 Rock
Dexter
Animal Practice
The New Girl
Mindy Project
The Office
Up All Night
Nashville
Revolution
How I Met Your Mother

Seriously, Homeland is amazing. I was worried that the first season would go down as a one hit wonder, but season two is even better. The only show I've watched that might be better than Homeland is Breaking Bad - they both have seats reserved in the TV Show Hall of Fame (if there is one).

In other drama, Boardwalk continues being great, Walking Dead is a HUGE improvement over season 2, and Dexter is a big jump up from previous seasons. While I didn't watch the first season, I'm digging the new American Horror Story. Nashville, however, is pretty bland, but I live in Nashville, so it's fun to see a show full of places around me; at the same time, I think that people who work in the music industry here are actually less likely to enjoy it, which is probably why I'm not a big fan. And despite a great premise, Revolution is falling flat, though I'm not surprised by any means. It is certainly not the next Lost.

In the comedy worst, Parks and Rec continues to reign supreme. Every issue is a gem. FX is still killing it with The League and Sunny. 30 Rock might not be as great as it was, but the final season is shaping up to be a good one. The big surprise is how good the Office is this year - it hasn't been this good since Jim and Pam got married; last season was really bad, but this one is solid. And don't mock Animal Practice - it is hilarious lowest-common-denomonator animal humor! Though I'm not surprised it was already cancelled. Meanwhile, the once great How I Met Your Mother continues limping towards a finish line that remains far out of sight. It is now one of the most boring comedies on TV; it should have ended years ago.

So in case you can't tell... I'm a big fan of television. Serialized fiction is such a great way to tell stories; it's why I love comic books.

Anyone have any other shows to recommend? With winter on the way, we're about to enter midseason break, so I'll need something to watch! (There's no way I'm starting a new show right now though) I'm already planning to watch BSG sometime, and there's some premium cable shows I have on my radar, but I'm always looking for suggestions.



Yeah - it's got loads of replay value. I've already watched it at least 3 times in 3D since my roommate bought it... maybe four. It's a great movie to throw on late on Friday night when everyone in the house is a drink or two from falling asleep.



If you have gamer friends, they're bound to have a copy. I think you'll enjoy it.

Week-to-week I watch (in no particular order):

How I Met Your Mother
Community
30 Rock
Up All Night
The Office
Fringe
New Girl
Guys With Kids
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
White Collar

and The League whenever it shows up on Hulu.

I try and keep up with Dexter and Breaking Bad but I usually wait until the end of the season for those. Shows like Workaholics, The Venture Bros, Bored to Death, Wilfred, Spartacus, White Collar, and Psych all have weird release schedules so they're currently in their off-season right now.

[sage6paths]

So anyone else following college football? My school team of K-state is undefeated so far and it's been an exciting season.

[RockyBanks]

On that subject, how many TV series do people here watch?

I'm following 13 current shows, which feels like a lot to me.

[Mondays]

- Revolution
- Warehouse 13
- Alphas
- Pawn Stars

[Tuesdays]

- Storage Wars

[Wednesdays]

- Arrow
- Duck Dynasty

[Thursdays]

- The Big Bang Theory

[Saturdays]

- Green Lantern: The Animated Series
- Young Justice
- Doctor Who (my #1)

[Sundays]

- Ultimate Spider-Man
- The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

So anyone else following college football? My school team of K-state is undefeated so far and it's been an exciting season.

I imagine so. Unless something goes horribly wrong within the next two weeks, you guys are headed to the National Championship.

Enjoy it, because it can turn on you fast. I should know. My Dawgs went 7-0 and hit #11 in the BCS rankings; now they're on a 3-game losing streak and have dropped out of the rankings completely.

[sage6paths]

I imagine so. Unless something goes horribly wrong within the next two weeks, you guys are headed to the National Championship.

Enjoy it, because it can turn on you fast. I should know. My Dawgs went 7-0 and hit #11 in the BCS rankings; now they're on a 3-game losing streak and have dropped out of the rankings completely.

We didn't do as well against TCU which is weird maybe we were just going soft on them. But I do think if we play against Bama or Oregon we do have a chance of winning. But so long as we beat Texas I will be pretty happy. I just wish we were better at basketball.

[RockyBanks]

Just read in the Young Justice thread that the tie-in comic is being cancelled. The show itself won't be far behind.

We didn't do as well against TCU which is weird maybe we were just going soft on them. But I do think if we play against Bama or Oregon we do have a chance of winning. But so long as we beat Texas I will be pretty happy. I just wish we were better at basketball.

Hey, take what you can get. I don't give a crud about baseball, but when I was in college, our baseball team was the only one worth rooting for, and I milked it.

[sage6paths]

Just read in the Young Justice thread that the tie-in comic is being cancelled. The show itself won't be far behind.





Hey, take what you can get. I don't give a crud about baseball, but when I was in college, our baseball team was the only one worth rooting for, and I milked it.

I would just be happy if we defeat Kansas in Basketball. All the other games are up in the air. Every time they come to play football against us and then we win they always say "Oh you guys may have won football but you guys can never beat us in basketball." It really annoys me.

[Sinx]

So anyone else following college football? My school team of K-state is undefeated so far and it's been an exciting season.

I don't really follow college football at all. There are way too many teams. Lol. I follow the NFL pretty closely though because I have a fantasy league with my friends. That said, I try and keep up with how Notre Dame and Indiana University do. Notre Dame is undefeated so that's always exciting. I root for IU in basketball mostly, but I like to follow their football team as well. I actually went to their game this past weekend but they got absolutely killed.