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Comment by rapsey | Hacker News Reader

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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