Some New Science Fiction Series to Check out

[Winnow]

A few of the shows have a definite Firefly vibe to them



DARK MATTER

Crew of a space ship wake up with amnesia and attempt to find out about their past. As with Firefly, you have ship with main crew traveling around.

First episode isn't bad. Will keep watching this one.



KILLJOYS

Bounty hunters of the future! They also have a space ship. The writing is a little more clever in this one than Dark Matter so far. There's even a scene where someone starts ranting in an unfamiliar language (sort of like when the Firefly crew spoke Chinese when they cursed)

It's worth a look.



HUMANS

This one is pretty good after one episode and has nothing to do with Firefly.

A family buys a "Synth" (robot) to help out around the house. It has a UK/Canadian actor quirkiness to it but for some reason William Hurt is also in it.

All three of these series started within the past two weeks so there's time to jump on board with a little torrent/direct downloading!



DEFIANCE

As a public service announcement, the first three episodes of Defiance season 3 are out as well for those that enjoy the series (I do).

[Boogahz]

Where would those is that no longer torrent find these? Amazon, Netflix?

[Winnow]

Where would those is that no longer torrent find these? Amazon, Netflix?

I think the old seasons of defiance are on netflix or amazon.

I get my shows from here:

http://rlsbb.com/

It will be slow or useless unless you pay for one of the premium download services though. I've used uploaded.net (UPLOADED) for a few years. I use it basically as my TV service and subscribe in 4-6 months chunks to reduce the cost.

https://uploaded.net/

You can select "direct downloads" in your settings and it prompts you to download files immediately without having to go to another website. I can't remember what I pay monthly, I think it ends up being $10.00 for all the zero day TV shows and Blu Ray released movies, etc I can handle. I wouldn't bother unless you actually subscribe to one of the services. If you can swing like $10.00/month, then you pretty much have access to any shows you want same day it airs or movies a week or so before they release on Blu Ray (and of course the cam versions of in theater movies, etc) One note. It's not meant to be long term storage. The links typically go down within a week. I browse it each day and download whatever looks interesting. I get 100-150 Mbps download speeds. You may only get 15Mbps depending on your ISP. My ISP (Cox) throttles to that speed but I use Astrill VPN for unlimited bandwidth because my ISP can't tell what I'm downloading when I used that. If you get stuck at 15 Mbps, it's still not bad as you can open up multiple downloads. I think 10 is the max (might not even be a max # of simultaneous downloads)

Probably seems too much work for most but once setup, it's by far the easiest way to grab current shows.

Here's the direct link to Killjoys for example:

http://rlsbb.com/search/killjoys

Takes me 1-2 minutes at most to download the 1.18 GB file you see there. (again it would probably take you hours (if you can download a file that big at all) if you don't subscribe to premium UPLOADED service)

Of course, you even get sporting events (the major ones, not soccer except for World cup type events) like Big PPV boxing, etc posted the same night an hour or so after they air. Things like that are nice as well. Game of Thrones, for example was posted minutes after the shows aired on the east coast which allowed me to see it a few hours before it broadcast here on the Best Coast.

Also note, http://rlsbb.com/ is one of a bazillion other pages like it. The key is having one of the premium services (which I've found uploaded.net to be the most reliable and widely used) and you can get your files anywhere. This is my primary backup site if the other one is down: http://www.scnsrc.me/

I am a Pirate. Fear me. This stuff is brain dead easy these days though. Miss the days when I had to hack and reprogram my DirectTV access cards and use emulators, etc. One last thing. I have Netflix and Amazon prime but I still typically end up just downloading stuff. Also, even if you have the channels, these files are commercial free. Can't remember the last time I saw a commercial. (Super Bowl I guess)

uploaded.net is the best ~$10.00 value I spend tied with whatever I pay for Astrill (like $4/month I think)

[Boogahz]

or the answer could simply be SyFy. Easy to just set my DVR which I can stream to wherever I want to watch it.

[Winnow]

or the answer could simply be SyFy. Easy to just set my DVR which I can stream to wherever I want to watch it.

Ah cool. That would be a simple answer for two of the four shows. They don't have commercials on their stream? That rocks. DVR would be nice if you actually have cable/satellite TV and don't mind hitting the little fast forward button multiple times.

$10 month > Your Cable Bill

Don't care how people watch shows. If you can put up with streaming/commercials, most network TV websites offer streaming of some sort. Picking and choosing commercial free files seems to work well for me.

[Winnow]

MR ROBOT

The series follows Elliot, a young cyber-security engineer by day and a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when a mysterious anarchist named "Mr. Robot" recruits Elliot, who suffers from a severe case of social anxiety disorder but connects to people by hacking them. The show follows Mr. Robot's attempts to recruit Eliot to destroy the corporation he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs that are running (and ruining) the world.

Saw the first episode of this several weeks back and thought it was good. I wondered what happened to it. Turns out it was a pre-screening. It's been watched so many times that the show has been renewed for a second season before it even premiers. Quality show. Recommend so far based off of solid first episode.

Christian Slater is Mr Robot.




STITCHERS

This one is probably the worst of the bunch I've posted so far. An emotionless lady "stitches" into the minds of dead people to solve murder cases. I've seen 3 of the 4 episodes out and keep watching it because I'm crazy like that.



SUPERGIRL

Way the fuck better than you are imagining it is. CBS released a trailer and it looked bad so they "leaked" the first episode six months early. Easy to find on the net.

Recommended. It was a wise move to release the first episode after the crappy trailer. The series premiers Oct 26.

Episode 2+ check up:

Dark Matter: Solid. Keep watching, Firefly-ish space ship with small crew character development.
Humans: So far great "robot's are getting too powerful" entertainment. Keep watching. Recommended
Defiance: Season 3 is just as entertaining as the first 2 seasons. If you liked them, you'll like this season as well.
Killjoys: episode 2 not out yet. Anxious to see how it holds up. Decent writing.

[Winnow]

Just renewed my uploaded.net account for another six months. It's $44.xx /6 months or about $7.50/month for all you can eat videos, movies, magazines, music etc. It's probably the best value for entertainment going atm. If anyone decides to give it a try, keep in mind these services go under from time to time so six months should probably be the max extension in case that happens. uploaded.net has been going strong for 2+ years for me.



Someone recommended the Sense8 series on Netflix. I'll be checking that out soon.

Eight strangers around the globe find themselves connected -- first by a violent vision, then by their shared ability to connect with one another's thoughts and actions, and finally by the urgent need to find out what happened and why.

The intense thriller is the first foray into television (or, more accurately, Netflix) for renowned filmmakers Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski ("The Matrix"), who created the series with J. Michael Straczynski ("Thor").

These guys haven't had a good track record lately (Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas) but I'll give it a shot.

[Kluden]

You'll give it a shot, and probably be disappointed. Its typical Wachowski lately...great idea, really, but destroyed by their efforts to make it larger than it is, missing the trees for the woods. I know that's backwards, because this show is backwards. Its 10 episodes of character building that could have been done in 4 episodes, then 2 episodes of actual plot movement to end the season. I'm not sure why I watched it all. I'm not sure why its so highly rated.

If I had to sum it up, its a science fiction show, with some action, that is a political message about how gay/transgender people are bullied by society on a daily basis. Oh, and there is a sinister plot by an evil genius, but that's not really apparent/important until the last two episodes, where the storyline finally kicks in. There's a few great moments on the way that are very funny (Fucking Van Damme!), and other moments are very fun to watch (the sense8 folk doing sense8 stuffs).

I hope season 2 is more like the last 2 episodes, and less like the first 10 political statement episodes, and then it may actually be good.

[Boogahz]

Killjoys : Still on the fence after 2 episodes

Dark Matter : Might as well skip the entire first episode and just watch the last five minutes of it. I was going to give up on the series until the big reveal. That reveal was at least enough to make for some interesting storylines. Probably watching the third episode today.

[Funkmasterr]

I liked Sense8, started out slow but I wanted to keep watching it all the way through, I do agree the second season will be a lot better if they keep up the pace of the last few episodes, though.

Ascension is another one I started watching on Netflix the other night. I've only watched the first two episodes, but I'm definitely liking it.

[Kluden]

I liked Sense8, started out slow but I wanted to keep watching it all the way through, I do agree the second season will be a lot better if they keep up the pace of the last few episodes, though.

Ascension is another one I started watching on Netflix the other night. I've only watched the first two episodes, but I'm definitely liking it.

Is my somewhat jaded view a bit over the top, or did you feel that way too at times, that you were being preached to, and they missed moving the story forward to push that agenda more? I want to like the show more, but I'm just confused how it has a solid 5 star rating on netflix...I would give the show a 3.5 out 5 stars....which is a good show to watch IMO, especially if you're a science fiction show hound.

[Aslanna]

Sort of a topical link: 15 TV Shows That Reinvented Science Fiction In The Past Decade

I've seen like half of those. Some I never heard of (Black Mirror, Continuum). Apparently Sense8 is a "game-changer". Fuck the Walking Dead, though!

[Funkmasterr]

I liked Sense8, started out slow but I wanted to keep watching it all the way through, I do agree the second season will be a lot better if they keep up the pace of the last few episodes, though.

Ascension is another one I started watching on Netflix the other night. I've only watched the first two episodes, but I'm definitely liking it.

Is my somewhat jaded view a bit over the top, or did you feel that way too at times, that you were being preached to, and they missed moving the story forward to push that agenda more? I want to like the show more, but I'm just confused how it has a solid 5 star rating on netflix...I would give the show a 3.5 out 5 stars....which is a good show to watch IMO, especially if you're a science fiction show hound.

I didn't really feel like they were preaching... I mean one of the Wachowski's is a transgender woman, and it's a topic that's at hand often lately. I think one of the best parts about the show is that the main characters always came off as genuine. They were a smattering of different people who aren't all ultra attractive model types, and they all have unflattering qualities that are brought to light because of the nature of the show.

I'm not saying you're in this category, but it seems like most of the people I've seen say the show was preachy were the types that say/think things like; "I don't have a problem with gay people, but do you faggots really need to shove it in my face?"

The show started off slow, but I think as an audience we've gotten too antsy about how quick everything is available and how fast most shows move. As long as it doesn't turn into the walking dead (and Game of Thrones for that matter) and have 8 episodes of boring and 2 episodes of awesome repeatedly season after season, I think it will be really good.

[Kluden]

8 episodes of boring followed by 2 great episodes is GoT and Walking Dead, really.

I'm not one of those people, it just felt really preachy to me. For contrast, I had no issue with True Blood. Lots of LGB in that show, never came off as preachy, just as part of life, which is the truth/way it is.

The show is no perfect 5/5 as netflix ratings show you, that's all I'm really saying. Expect a show around a 3.5/5. I do remember that transgender actress also playing a transgender in Hung on HBO a few years back. If not for her voice, I would never have known.

I did forget about the Wachowski sibling being a transgender. It actually makes more sense now the way its presented. I imagine a lot of what she went through in life comes out in the writing of that character.

edit: I see what you mean, as long as it doesn't stay the way it is, 8 eps slow (minimal storyline), 2 eps excitement (all storyline), just like GoT or WD, it will be good. I agree completely. You're characters are built, time for the story to go.

[Winnow]

It's the early 1980s, and the spirit of innovation in personal computing is about to catch fire. Hot on the trail is a renegade trio -- a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy -- who risk everything to realize their vision of building a computer that can change the future. Not long after IBM corners the market with its flagship PC, a flaw is discovered in its operation, opening the door for competition. In steps Joe MacMillan, a former IBM executive who now works for Cardiff Electric. MacMillan plans to reverse-engineer IBM's technology, putting Cardiff in the thick of the personal computer race. He enlists the help of engineer Gordon Clark, who dreams of creating a revolutionary computer, and Cameron Howe, a volatile prodigy who puts her future on the line to join MacMillan's rogue project.

Halt and Catch Fire isn't for everyone but for those that were into PCs in the 80's it will bring back some memories. The "Steve Job" character sometimes gets a little too out of hand/annoying but possibly worth a watch if you have any interest in the early days of PC development. I've watched the entire first season. Haven't started the second yet.

Boring GoT episodes are better than most "great" episodes of other TV shows. We are spoiled by the Red Wedding type episodes but they are all interesting (except for that hella boring desert city)

Dark Matter is holding up well after 3 episodes. Just finished the episode and the decent character building continues.

Killjoys is still a wait and see after two episodes but still on watch list.

Humans is my favorite of the bunch I posted along with Dark Matter so far. Defiance is also something people should binge a few seasons of to catch up on.

Still waiting for more episodes of Mr Robot and haven't had the time to watch Sense8 yet although I'm not in a rush with that one.

[Boogahz]

Been watching Halt and Catch Fire since it started. Really liking it. Season 2 is mainly focused on early online access for games and chat. For those who haven't seen the first season, it focuses on a start up company jumping into the PC game that barely existed at the time.

Watched the third episode of Dark Matter today, and I will stick with that one. I just worry about how long they can keep playing with the memory loss issues before it gets really old.

[Winnow]

THE EXPANSE

I listened to the audiobook Leviathan Wakes which is the first book of the Expanse series by combo authors James S. A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)

It was OK, and honestly didn't leave an impression on me. It's always ranked at the top of recommended science fiction series though.

SyFy is putting together a high budget series based on the books. It may turn out to be more entertaining in visual form:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X5gXIQmY-E

Coming Dec 2015



MINORITY REPORT SERIES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fLl-DMzxrk

Coming September 2015

[Winnow]

Best show you're not watching (besides Humans which you should also be watching!)

[Winnow]

Mr. Robot is the best series you're not watching right now.

[Aslanna]

How do you know what we are or are not watching??

[Winnow]

Quality copies of the pilots for the above three series have leaked early onto the net. Grabbed them but haven't watched them yet. Minority Report looks the most promising, pre-screening.

The Brink is the best political comedy that those that aren't already watching aren't watching! Mr. Robot remains a good watch as well with lots of sex and drugs thrown in with all of the hacking.

Humans (1st season is now finished with 8th episode) is a really good UK series. Seriously. Give it a couple episode try.



Not sure why, but I've watched the first 6 episodes of the above series. It's about animals taking over the world. It has the feel of a Stephen King series but the premise is really hard to suspend belief on. One of those shows that's not meant to be comical but is.