Apple TV+ Cornered the Market on "Prestige Dad TV" | Hacker News Reader

Apple TV+ Cornered the Market on "Prestige Dad TV"

gq.com

27 pointscoloneltcb33 comments

Apple TV is actually killing it. Besides the ones mentioned they have the two best scifi shows running right now: Foundation and For All Mankind

Severance is much better than either of those.

In a crowded field filled with things like The Boys/Gen V, Blue-Eyed Samurai, Shogun, Invincible, Stranger Things, and Chernobyl, Severance is literally my favorite. thing. ever. Hands down. No question. I'm dying for another season, and I desperately hope that there's a single, definitive story they hope to tell within a another season or 3, and then stop.

As much as I love severance, a show like it will never come to a satisfying ending. Half the appeal is the complete mystery. Any revelation will be absurd and unsatisfying, as nothing coherent could ever explain all the strange things shown in the first season. I think this is how many people felt about lost as well? Seems like there should be a term for this class of storytelling.

I don't think they really need to try to explain everything. The HBO show The Leftovers never really spent much time explaining the central mystery and (IMHO) was better for it.

As a show about a mystery, it bears some similarities with Lost. To the frustration of everyone, Lost explained _nothing_, and raised more questions than answers in its last forsaken season, and ended the worst, cheapest, and dumbest way possible. Because of this, I spent a lot of Severance screaming at the screen, "ASK THE OBVIOUS QUESTION!" And they did! And those questions got answered along the way! It gave me hope that there's a central idea at work here, and they're not just making it up as they go along, hoping the show gets popular enough to demand a huge retcon in the finale. They don't have to answer every question, or explain every plot device; I'm just hoping they finish telling a cohesive story.

I agree and would rate it one of the top sci-fi series of all time. The office aesthetic is so well done and there is not a single bad role or actor. I keep waiting for season 2. Nothing else measures up.

Severance is one of the best shows I've ever watched. I can't think of a single thing I dislike about it.

I hate to say this at risk of seeming like I'm over-exaggerating but Severance belongs on the list of best TV shows of all time.

Really? I thought Foundation was an embarrassment

S2 is very good.

It's really not. It's fine, at best. The exapanse is so much better

Foundation is an embarrassment. It has nothing similar to Asimov's books.

And focusing on the series only, forgetting the books, it's mediocre at best, and total cringe at worst. Didn't feel original or new. The storyline is just like some cheap movie that no one remembers or watches.

For All Mankind is just about my favorite show ever. I couldn't tolerate its stress level if it weren't so darn good.

For all mankind is bad now, sorry. S1 and 2 were great, once it hit the 80's it all went to hell.

They seem to have stopped training new astronauts in the later seasons. I can't believe Ed is still a character, let alone in command of a mission in deep space. I agree the whole show has gone off the rails since season 2.

I think Ed's arc is plausible in its frustration. Office politics are a big deal IRL. A global hero like that could use his political capital to talk his way into the role of his choice, even if he really shouldn't be there.

Same world, different time period / technology

Yep, it went from compelling problems to everyone is an idiot to drive drama real fast.

What I love about Apple TV+ is that the stuff on it feels like it was made for more than just "do we think this will drive some metric." I'm not saying that you'll like any given program on Apple TV+, but when I open up Netflix I'm bombarded by a bunch of low-rent reality stuff, Disney+ seems to be focused on finding new ways of churning out as many iterations of the same franchises as possible, Max (Warner Bros) is canceling their content, Paramount+ is for Star Trek, and Prime Video is all about showing me content that isn't actually included so I can buy Prime channels.

When I open Apple TV+, I get choices like CODA, the story of a child of deaf adults. Whether you like the movie or not, it's something new and different. I get things like For All Mankind which just feels so much better than anything I've ever watched before and meaningfully different from other stuff I've seen.

I love TV and movies. Not everything has to be grand or new. But there's something nice about opening up Apple TV+ and having a bit of a different experience from what a lot of the apps are pushing.

Silo is really good, too.

>Foundation

As long as you haven't read the books. It's pretty much has nothing to do with them.

Sounds rather like grandpa TV than dad TV

It's good TV but Spielberg and Hanks are aiming at sexagenarians as their primary audience

Dad TV is imho Stranger Things, Andor, True Detective, Ozark. Something more nerdy and/or gritty than the black and white "good old simple times" stories

If the average dad age when baby is born is 30 in USA and you are "dadding" for 20 years then average dad is sth like 40

I think the point here is that 'dads' like to watch stories about competent men they can admire and look up to, who invariably tend to be older/wiser than them. I think the situation isn't helped that there isn't a lot of prestige quality content about men their age - that tends to fall into the 'dad tv' genre (ie, Yellowstone, Billions), not 'Prestige Dad tv'.

Everything about the article tracks, but why do I get the feeling that it's really just a veiled screed about this particular genre succeeding when we've become enlightened as a society, and should have learned by now that we aren't supposed to enjoy stories like this any more?

Because that’s the sad reality of the world we live in.

As I approach my late 30s, a constant question in my head is: is this whole sensitivity/cancel culture really a problem, or is it some sort of rite of passage to think things have just gone too far.

I’ve tried adjusting for those variables as much as possible and still think we’ve taken things too far, but alas, it might be by definition that I’m unable to talk myself into a different perspective.

What kind of stories aren't "we" supposed to enjoy anymore? Action-filled, hero-centered stuff, usually based in a particular time period? I don't think that's ever truly gone out of fashion since movies have existed, nor will it, most likely.

We're not supposed to enjoy stories where characters earn their victory through hard work and merit. That narrative "supports the patriarchy" or "capitalism!!!" or some such nonsense. Stories about building something from the ground up are also problematic, because they imply this can be done (especially if they're based on true stories). The list goes on...

We're only supposed to enjoy the approved narrative of a woman overcoming oppression (which largely consists of being told not to succeed by men) and realizing "the power was within her all along." Season with anti-social or cruel behavior to taste. Bonus points for deconstructing a fan-favorite male character (Nick Fury, Indiana Jones...) along the way.

I think you're either dreaming up imaginary ideological enemies or making the opinions of a small minority out to be more pervasive and dominant than they actually are.

I suppose I am mostly characterizing what Disney has been offering for the last five years. Even they have managed a few exceptions, like Andor.

I appreciate that kind of re-imagining, because it opens new and imaginative ways to talk about stale characters. I love OG Indiana Jones and watched "Raiders" last week with my wife, who also loves those movies. But there's so much more that could be done in that universe. What would Indy look like from the POV of someone who keeps having their hard-earned treasure "stolen" by him? And he sure wasn't the hero in a younger Marion's memory.

For me, it's the same as when comic books changed dramatically in the 80s. I bought as many Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man comics as my parents would let me as I was growing up. They got a little stale though:

1. $hero is enjoying his day.

2. $villain comes along and ruins it.

3. $hero prevails and goes back to what he was doing.

Then authors like Alan Moore came along and asked what it would look like if the superhero was actually a giant asshole, or emotionally damaged. I can still enjoy Peter Park triumphing over Green Goblin, but I'm glad there are new ways to explore that universe.

Too(?) much of the same. I've seen enough of the word "masculine" as if it was an insult and conversely speaking of femininity like a virtue per se that I can't resist a double take when I see such a piece.

I'm assuming good faith. One's day is better that way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com