This week's TV roundup (and future TV roundups) will be spoiler-free. We talk about some big news in streaming, including Apple's $1B spend on TV content (1:48) and Netflix's recent deals with Shonda Rhimes and Millarworld (3:05) and the implications for the future of streaming (13:15). Then, Jason revises his opinion on Ozark (16:24) after being convinced to give it another shot. Finally, we give some hot takes about the first episode of Planet of the Apps (20:34).

We're spinning off our Game of Thrones coverage from the TV Roundup into their own podcast episodes. We try to focus on the themes and characters, not play-by-play recaps, while still keeping it funny. In this episode, we go deep into Game of Thrones Episode 705 Eastwatch. We discuss Gilly's big discovery (10:02), the note Arya finds (15:20), Tyrion and Jaime's reunion (22:25), Dany as villain (26:38), Cersei's pregnancy (28:55), where Sam is going (31:48), and predictions for the Magnificent 7 (33:30).

We continue our Black Mirror deep dive, this time with a focus on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. We discuss the tech and related themes by examining three season 3 episodes: Playtest, Men Against Fire, and San Junipero. As always with our deep dives, this is spoiler-filled, so make sure you've watched all three episodes before listening. We explore the concept of reality, how close Black Mirror VR/AR tech is to real-life, empathy, Black Mirror's relationship with the Twilight Zone, and living forever, among other topics.

Timestamps:

- 1:38 - Questioning reality, Twilight Zone

- 7:10 - Playtest, VR and the horror genre, subverting expectations

- 12:45 - Machine learning fears, poking holes in the tech

- 15:00 - What didn't work in Playtest: time compression, the last twist

- 18:04 - Men Against Fire, the believability of AR tech and military exploitation of it

- 20:39 - VR/AR tech inhibiting/enhancing empathy

- 24:21 - San Junipero, VR and medicine

- 26:42 - Happy endings, living forever

We talk Game of Thrones once again, going into episode 4, The Spoils of War. Does it crack our Top 10 Game of Thrones episodes? We're all in on shipping Dany and Jon, but worry it's being laid on a little too thick. We also discuss Littlefinger and speculate about who's getting stabbed with the dagger. Then, we admire the "Loot Train" battle, and Shawn reveals his Loot Train MVP. We also talk about food supplies, or the lack thereof, for the long winter, and whether Dany did a little too much burnination. Finally, we make our guesses about what will happen next, focusing on the fate of Jaime and a potential Bronn bro-off with Tyrion.

Then, we preview some new shows. Jason is intrigued by Room 104, the Duplass Brother's new anthology on HBO, and unimpressed by Netflix's Ozark, a Breaking Bad-esque drama starring Jason Bateman. But we're both all-in on the wonderfully bizarre Comrade Detective, a fake 80s pro-Communist Romanian detective show featuring the voice of Channing Tatum.

Timestamps:

1:53 - Game of Thrones

26:07 - Room 104

29:58 - Ozark

34:17 - Comrade Detective

Show notes:

Channing Tatum Comrade Detective interview: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a3expg/channing-tatum-told-us-about-comrade-detective-the-weirdest-show-of-2017

We examine social media in the world of Black Mirror, where it gets it right and where it doesn't quite capture our own experiences. This theme is explored specifically through two episodes: Nosedive and Most Hated in the Nation. This is a spoiler-filled deep dive, so make sure you've watched those episodes before listening to this episode. We won't spoil any other episodes, though.

Timestamps:

— 0:43 - Episode recaps and major themes

— 1:44 - Nosedive's realism: the perks of being an influencer, China's social credit system, US analogues

— 5:20 - Most Hated's realism: Online voting systems, Twitch Plays Pokemon, the real-world violence of online abuse

— 9:21 - Asynchronous rating: Avoiding social conflict, Yelp's non-realtime ratings, rating extortion

— 12:23 - 5 star systems: the meaning of a 4, the 1/5 binary

— 13:39 - Social hacking, bots, selling likes, the role of money and existing privilege

— 17:15 - Ad-tech, who owns the system

— 19:40 - Praising Black Mirror's world-building

Game of Thrones S7 episode 3 (The Queen's Justice): The return of Bronn! Well, kinda. A big chunk of this episode is devoted to talking about two major themes. First is children and their parents' legacies, discussing Ned/Jon, Twyin/Cersei, and Mad King/Daenerys. Second is the role of information — who knows what and how this affects war and characters' future moves. Other topics we cover are: Jon/Dany shipping, who will ride a dragon, Tyrion's poor win-loss record, and why are Jorah and Theon still alive.

We also discuss the return of Rick and Morty. We debate how dark it is so far, especially with the divorce. Then, we go super pretentious and connect Rick and Morty to existentialism, secular humanism, and modernity.

Jason watched The Defiant Ones, the new Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine documentary on HBO. He gives us a quick summary and tells us who would find it worth watching.

Timestamps:

— 00:43 - Game of Thrones

— 32:23 - Rick and Morty

— 39:38 - The Defiant Ones

This episode is a deep dive into Ruth as protagonist. It's less a character summary and more a conversation about why she's our window into the world of wrestling. We then discuss alternative protagonists, including Carmen (Machu Pichu), Debbie (Liberty Belle), Cherry, Tammé (Welfare Queen), and Rhonda (Britannica). The show does a good job developing the characters, sometimes with small details you may not have noticed, but what would it mean to center these characters?

Timestamps:

— 0:40 - Ruth's journey from feeling insignificant to feeling in control (via wrestling)

— 4:30 - Powerful roles and body autonomy

— 9:15 - Ruth in charge at the end (Ruth vs Cherry)

— 12:14 - Fish out of water narrative (Ruth vs Debbie and Machu Pichu)

— 18:43 - Rhonda (Britannica), Tammé (Welfare Queen), and others as protagonists

Show notes:

The female intros twitter account mentioned at 5:16: https://twitter.com/femscriptintros

HOT PIE!!! We go all out on Game of Thrones S7 episode 2, Stormborn. We follow up on last week's discussions — Euron's Gift, how to kill a dragon, and Sansa vs. John — with the new information from episode two. We also discuss how Arya's becoming more human, speculate about Littlefinger's future schemes (along with the theme of getting beaten up by Starks), talk about the big meeting on Dragonstone, and think about what we're looking forward to in the next episode.

After binge-watching Friends from College, Jason gives his general thoughts, and we also discuss unlikable characters on other sitcoms.

Shawn convinces Jason to jump into Insecure season 2 and he likes it. We go into modern dating (comparing it to Master of None), the show's unique portrayal of awkwardness, and the ways it shows the interior thoughts of the main character.

Timestamps:

— 00:20 - Game of Thrones

— 33:45 - Friends from College

— 39:56 - Insecure

Show notes:

The Vulture Insecure recap: http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/insecure-season-2-premiere-recap.html

Game of Thrones is back! *spoilers* We have a heated debate over whether Jon Snow or Sansa was right about the Umbers and Karstarks. Then, we speculate about Euron's gift and killing dragons. We also discuss the theme of subverting fantasy tropes and whether the good guys' winning streak has gone on too long.

After covering Game of Thrones, we talk about the influence of Twin Peaks season 1. We also look at Chopped Junior and note how the kids are so darned nice, and then we talk about the fact that a Candy Crush TV show exists.

Timestamps:

— 00:10 - Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 1 Dragonstone, Jon Snow vs Sansa, Euron's gift, How to fight a dragon, Fantasy tropes

— 25:45 - Twin Peaks, Season 1, its influence

— 35:50 - Chopped Junior, how cooperative and nice kids are

— 39:31 - Candy Crush the TV show

Show notes:

Vulture article that also speculates about Euron's gift: http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/game-of-thrones-season-7-premiere-questions.html

We give our reactions to the Emmy nominations, including some hot hot takes. Then, we talk about what shows we've been watching. Jason makes his case for Castlevania to a skeptical Shawn, and then talks about Fargo, Snowfall (just the pilot), and Twin Peaks.

Timestamps:

— 0:14 - Emmy nominations, reactions and hot takes

— 17:42 - Castlevania, it’s actually okay

— 19:50 - Binging Fargo

— 28:29 - Snowfall, first episode

— 30:58 - Twin Peaks, watching the original pilot

— 33:49 - What shows we’re looking forward to, #WinterIsHere and Insecure

Show notes:

Peak TV article we mention during Emmy discussion:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/tim-goodman-post-review-post-premiere-post-finale-world-peak-tv-1018510