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True Detective season 3

Week 70.0 — 25th February '19

One of those shows that requires your full attention, I made a false start with season 3 of True Detective having already falling a number or weeks behind. I only made it a third of the way into episode 1 before I had to stop and returned when I had more time.

I'm glad I decided to hold back because despite the trailer making it look more like the original format I wasn't sure what to expect. Season 1 was fantastic, season 2 not so much. It's not that season 2 was bad, it was just different because it didn't use the same mechanics and that made it feel like a completely different show. Had it been under a different name it may have been better received. It still ranked highly but for me it didn't work anywhere near as well. Thankfully, Season 3 takes us back to the original formula.

The True Detective formula

The better seasons of True Detective follows the lives of two detectives that have had to work a complex case that never reached a satisfactory conclusion and was subsequently reopened after a long period of time. We get two see both acts of the investigations play out intertwined as well as a 'modern day' look at where the characters are. In seasons 1 & 3 we see the ageing detectives team up again to put the case to bed once and for all.

True Detective artwork for all three seasons

Season 2 followed a single timeline of a group of detectives with no flashbacks or any real significance to their involvement with the case. It was just unremarkable.

Star power

The show has never lacked the talent to be successful, it started with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, moved on to Vince Vaughan, Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell and we are now seeing Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff in the leading roles.

HBO have done a fantastic job of casting the show each time and given Matthew McConaughey’s penchant for rom-coms and Vince Vaughan's for comedy it's all paid of pretty well.

The season finale aired last night in the US and I'll be catching it tonight.

Update

Much like season 1, we got to episode 7 and it felt like there was still a lot to learn but somehow episode 8 brings it all together. I think I like how it ended...

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Notable

Quick links and commentary on interesting articles, videos and more throughout the week.

  1. 70.1 – Monday
    1. The Huawei Mate X The Verge on youtube.com
    2. How one Australian region kicked the coal habit axios.com
    3. The Gyllenhaal Experiment pudding.cool
    4. Clare Color Genius clare.com
    5. Anti-vaxx propaganda has gone viral on Facebook. Pinterest has a cure theguardian.com
  2. 70.2 – Tuesday
    1. Why this solar panel could be the next big energy player bbc.co.uk
    2. After Life trailer @rickygervais on mobile.twitter.com
    3. Tucker Carlson calls one of his guests a 'tiny brain moron' @Conradihno on mobile.twitter.com
    4. Great grandson of Ferdinand Porsche is making an electric car topgear.com
    5. Earth's atmosphere stretches out past the Moon kottke.org
    6. Digit wireless number pad   ~ £30 lofree on kickstarter.com
  3. 70.3 – Wednesday
    1. Turntable tape dispenser   $14 theawesomer.com
    2. Winners of the 'Shot on iPhone' challenge apple.com
    3. Why are the BBC and ITV creating BritBox? bbc.co.uk
    4. First look at the Honda E prototype fullychargedshow on youtube.com
    5. Masterpiece: The Making of Migrant Mother Nerdwriter1 on youtube.com
    6. The OA Part II trailer Netflix on youtube.com
    7. How plastic from your clothing gets into seafood Vox on youtube.com
  4. 70.4 – Thursday
    1. Johnny 5 wallpapers for the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus @Mattcabb on mobile.twitter.com
    2. 4 things you didn't know about Twitter's logo fastcompany.com
    3. Meet the Polestar 2 topgear.com
    4. Cubbit: reinventing the cloud   $219+ Cubbit on kickstarter.com
    5. Movie color palettes kottke.org
    6. Arrested Development series 5 part 2 trailer Netflix on youtube.com
  5. 70.5 – Friday
    1. Axios Dashboard axios.com
    2. Winners of the 2019 Underwater Photographer of the Year Contest theatlantic.com
    3. Nomadic Tribe interactive website 2019.makemepulse.com
    4. Detective Pikachu second trailer Warner Bros. Pictures on youtube.com
  6. 70.6 – Saturday
    1. Krabby Supreme from Spongebob Squarepants Binging with Babish on youtube.com
    2. VW launch new China-focused brand: JETTA underconsideration.com
    3. Halide devs launch new 'Spectre' app for capturing long exposure photography   $1.99 macrumors.com
    4. The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America daringfireball.net
  7. 70.7 – Sunday
    1. Asics x G.I. Joe Gel Lyte 3   $120 theawesomer.com
    2. Turnaround time on Facebook's spying: 12 hours daringfireball.net

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