so very late to this movie (on par for me, really), but i just watched HER. it was good, interesting, and so very messed up. but in a good way, i guess? i mean, if this is our future, we’re definitely in trouble and will be so damaged as humans, but on the other hand, the tech is really cool… so yay?
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I saw that probably 25-30 years ago. Your mention of it brought the images right back into my mind. And the name Thedy, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard other than that episode. They made some powerful shows back then.
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The tech is cool and mostly plausible. I wasn’t sold on the ghostwritten letters thing, but I could see it being trendy in certain circles – it was more I couldn’t imagine getting into it myself.
Loved the subtle costuming, and the dialogue.
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yeah, the ghostwritten letters thing was really strange. i kept saying, “so WHAT does he do, exactly? and people pay them to do that? and he’s paid so well to do it that he has this incredible corner apartment in a high-rise in LA? huh.”
also, related, i was confused how a book of his ghost-written letters could be self-published without some sort of breach of contract with his company, since as far as i know they would own the rights to them since he wrote them while in their employ – but maybe laws have changed by then, or something.
also, the pants were freaking me out!
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Thank you! That jumped out at me as well. Even if the company agreed to a release (not bloody likely), I can’t imagine his clients would be very happy to have their “heartfelt” missives become public.
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YES, exactly! what in the hell, right?
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I’m guessing it must be short for “Theodora.” 
Yes. Humble television programming was getting quite good by the mid 60s. Then they changed over to color and the writing seemed to decline.
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You have to deal with subtitles, but here’s the reason this was so so so good (Season 1 on Amazon).
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Major jewelry. Storytelling with jewelry. Some fuckin’ beautiful jewels.
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Real life history of some super badass ladies.
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Russian history - the inbred simpletons, the crazies, the torture, the spying, it’s all there.
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I really like the visual style of this show. They brought something different to the look. I can tell they referenced a lot of art.
There are customer reviews here:
Story telling with major jewelry. Now THAT’S a crown.
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Part of the reason may be that, back then, writers who wanted to write for TV had no options but the big networks. Now the most talented have more prestigious choices.
Correlation, causation, blah blah. Certainly you can point to examples such as The Twilight Zone, but I submit for your approval Black Mirror, which is as good or better IMO.
I think the decline happened, or at least accelerated, when Marvel started stealing the series titles from better 1960s shows. 
See: The Avengers, The Defenders. (The latter was a CBS series about a father/son team of defense lawyers that explored legal and social issues. Someone should just pick up the rights and show the original episodes again. The issues are still the same.)
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It’s actually really, really dark and quite depressing. I won’t say more because spoilers but Mrs Cynical and I were a bit shellshocked after the finale. Bleak.
edited because I didn’t check which post you were replying to
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Ah sorry, should have quoted. Black Mirror is amazing (and amazingly depressing) but I was actually referring to the new season of Archer. There are some real world events that set up the central conceit of the season and it’s just hugely sad as a result. Funny as ever (and probably a bit smarter than most of the other seasons) but daaamn.
It’s a bit dusty in here, that’s all. Just dust. Ahem.
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The penultimate episode of Orphan Black.
Holy shit. The writers do like their creepy and bloody hospital/mutilation scenes.
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I was thinking of the way it seems to float in front of her head in the picture. But then not all crowned heads are the same size, and alterations must be a bitch.
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I think they used paste jewelry in the show, because her crown doesn’t really look dead on like the real thing.
There are several low budget effects in the show, which I actually like a lot; I thought they were done in a way that felt like old school Hollywood studio productions, with a Russian twist. A few people in the reviews didn’t like them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did some cutting and pasting for this scene.
Catherine II wore it for the entire 5 hour coronation ceremony. If it were mine, I’d wear it every day. The pearls on it are gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous and the work is just unbelieveably skilled.
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Here’s a photo that shows the quality and selection of the stones.
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I have the finest of scientific proofs! Backed up by my own opinions.
You see, there were some US TV series that crossed the color barrier. In other words, shows that started in black and white then transitioned to color. And the writing on these b/w episodes is much better. Such shows include Hogans’s Heros, The Fugitive, Bewitched, Lost in Space, and others.
Even the first season of I Dream of Genie was in B/W, and it was a surprisingly inteligent show — compared to what it became.
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