HN Explorer

Ask HN: What is your favorite piece of entertainment of the last three years?

33 points by bakuninsbart ↗ HN
The darkest time of the year is upon us, at least in the northern hemisphere, and this usually means consuming a lot more art and entertainment, while cozying up at home or going to meet family. What are your strongest recently published recommendations when it comes to books, movies, games etc.?

81 comments

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natded
Twitter by far. You get a real time feed of the collapse.
runjake
Conversely, if you ignore social media, you get some pretty entertaining conversation starters from everyone else who spend all day on it.

And the collapse looks very different, and perhaps more peaceful, albeit brutal.

Alekhine
I'm guessing you mean the collapse of society. Do you really think the social order is breaking down? Is what's happening now any worse than the 60s?
omosubi
Algorithmic reinforcement
muzani
I wonder if someone has drawn a graph for the collapse based on tweets.
bellyfullofbac
Get 5 comedians, give them silly tasks with a mock authoritarian 1-man judge and 10 episodes of competition: Taskmaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4YhsooE5xY (they've done 12 seasons, and there are versions from other nations, although as usual the US version stunk)

The Amazon series The Expanse.

Auto-complete just suggested the novel "A Gentleman in Moscow".

datenhorst
> although as usual the US version stunk

I haven't watched the US version but I am reminded of Stephen Fry's explanation of the differences between US and UK comedians[0]. Taskmaster needs contestants willing to embarrass themselves.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2AbqTBxao

kadoban
Came here to mention Taskmaster, thanks for doing it first. In my opinion, light entertainment does not get _any_ better than Taskmaster, it's perfect.

Just started The Expanse too. Too early to say much, but it seems cool as hell.

stevedekorte
The OA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_OA, Tales from the Loop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Loop, Maniac https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniac_(miniseries), Utopia (2014 British TV series) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8Vu3Hyv_Vk&list=PL_jIDr2tZi...
linkdd
It's a shame The OA was cancelled, it could have sprouted to be a new genre of Sci-Fi. I loved the season 1, and the season 2 had so much fun ideas.
more_corn
OA lost me when she used the cultish emotional manipulation technique. “Leave your front door open when you come” meh.
tra3
- "Tales from the Loop" was underrated. A real melancholy hard sci-fi series [0].

- "Ted Lasso" on the other hand is funny and well done! [1]

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Loop

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Lasso

MivLives
Agreed on Tales from the Loop. I don't think anyone I know has seen this, as it's not very flashy and it's relegated to Amazon Prime video. But I enjoyed it and encourage others who like the "Living with the technology genre"
more_corn
Tales from the loop had so much promise. If only it had a narrative thread.
mtsr
It does? If you missed it, watch it again. There’s a subtle but important story thread that develops over every single episode.
mtsr
Interestingly, Tales from the Loop first saw the light as this amazingly produced Tabletop Roleplaying Game. It was then picked up and turned into the show.

So if you like it, consider picking up the game and getting a few friends around the (virtual?) table to make your own Tales from the Loop.

meristohm
I thought I was done with single-player games, and then a friend gave me Disco Elysium, an art project/interactive book/detective story/mortality reminder that introduced me to British Sea Power (music). I’m particularly impressed with the skill tree and the term “Inland Empire” for one of the detective’s inner voices, and that many failed actions can be retried after increasing the relevant skill.

For books, Finding the Mother Tree, by Suzanne Simard, for reinforcing how important soil-health is to the growth of trees. I wish more of the old trees and not just Douglas Fir had been left around here, since they help the next crop of trees come up healthier, due to the mycorrhizal fungus that links the roots (and benefits from the sugars in what seems to be a mutualism). After a clearcut, the parasitic fungi are more likely to take over as they digest the lopped trees, making it harder for new trees to establish. Thanks to this book, Anna Octavia Butler and Robin Wall Kimmerer, I practice taking a longer view.

Rodeoclash
I'll second Disco Elysium. For a long time I wondered what a computer game would look like if it had competent writing. That game is Disco Elysium.
aasasd
I mean, there are some games from back in the day that are said to be pretty good, e.g. ‘Myst’ (still haven't gotten around to it).

Text adventures seem to attract authors with some ability: for example, ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’ and Adams' ‘Bureaucracy’. Plus more-modern games by e.g. Emily Short.

flatiron
Wish it had a Linux port. I did see it was on stadia so I may check it out.
randcraw
Probably the recordings were made more than 3 years ago, but I was laughing my ass off at episodes of the British show QI hosted by Stephen Fry. I saw it on BritBox but it's available from several sources.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QI

barbarbar
Yes - I agree it is awesome. Though long time since I have seen it but remember that Jo Brand was extremely funny.
aasasd
There's also the podcast ‘No Such Thing as a Fish’, by four of the writers of QI. It's a mix of trivia and buffoonery—pretty much like the TV show, just with a more small-room feel.
kadoban
Sandi Toksvig is an impressively good replacement as well, which for me is surprising because I'm a huge Stephen Fry fan and expected the show to go to hell without him.
linkdd 

  - Kingdom Reborns https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307890/Kingdoms_Reborn/
  - Arcane League of Legends Netflix series (never played the game, loved the series)
Also, yes it's not made in the last three years, but a good old annual LOTR marathon is always planned at the end of the year for me.

Finally, still not made in the last three years, but chess. I want to get to 2000 ELO in bullet games, but I'm stagnating at around 1850 at the moment :/

gaws
> Kingdom Reborns https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307890/Kingdoms_Reborn/

I've never heard of this game until this thread. How do you like it? How does it compare to Banished, Cities: Skylines, and other city-builder games?

linkdd
It's closer to Banished than Cities Skylines, the multiplayer is fun, the map is huge and it works flawlessly on my potato computer. I've spent many hours on this game and enjoyed every second.
ecf
Noita - https://noitagame.com

Over 200 hours in and I still haven’t discovered everything. In my opinion, no game in recent memory has had such an amazing core gameplay loop where you can spend either 40 minutes or 17 hours on a run.

CodeGlitch
This game is simply amazing. I usually don't enjoy Rogue-likes, but you usually die in such an entertaining way in Noita that I don't mind.
SenHeng
Snowboarding and Final Fantasy XIV.

Almost every weekend over the past 5 winters, I would drive 4 hours from my big city home to spend two days sliding and crashing in snow down a mountain. It's amazingly fun. This year, I moved to the mountain.

Last year, I picked FFXIV back up again after a 6 year hiatus and I probably spend a good 2 to 3 hours each day. Even when I'm not playing, I may be spending time creating task list or looking for blogs. There's a lot of content to do in FFXIV, especially if you're just starting. It's a bit too addictive and I'm worried about it, good thing winter has come.

pjc50
Recently published? No. Recently watched? Well, we've been having a "bad/unusual" film season all pandemic, and one of my faves is https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213322/ "Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVBPNfKfgNo

Time travel and twin swap: hilarity ensues. Bill and Ted if it were made under Czechslovakian communism.

Full "ridiculous films of yesteryear" playlist which will keep you busy for a while: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxtZMqA9k8-JIy6CBRbkq...

kss238
CS:GO 3200hrs in game over the past 3 years
muzani
I occasionally pop it up for 15 mins and see how many I can hit with the weapon of the week, but in a full game, it turns out reflexes are not the bottleneck. I've got under a hundred hours over 5 years or so. Can't imagine it being entertaining for 1000 hours a year.
torstenvl
These are all things I've experienced in the past three years, though some started or came out earlier.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (even better if you liked Children of Time)

Ted Lasso on Apple TV+

Star Trek: Discovery on CBS/Paramount (especially Season 2)

Letterkenny on Hulu

Cobra Kai on Netflix

The Country Things album by Granger Smith

Bellend
Thanks for the books, added them to my wishlist for later in the month :)
Quiza12
Absolutely agree with The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Re-read it a few times now.
spoiler
The books by Will Wight (Cradle series, and Elder Empire dual trilogy). I enjoyed his Traveller's Gate trilogy too, but not as much as the other two.

Expanse (the TV Show, books are on my to-do list).

Licanius Trilogy books are great too.

GRIS is a really beautiful story telling game about loss and grief. The story telling, art, and music are all beautiful. The gameplay is really fun too, even if it's not usually my kinda game.

MerelyMortal
The last book of the Expanse series was just released (#9), so if anyone was procrastinating, now is a good time to start the series.
gaws
> The books by Will Wight (Cradle series) I've seen a lot of recent hype for this series. Is it any good? The YA tag is a red flag for me because I'm not really interested to read about children.
cm2012
Two incredible tv series:

Arcane

Better Call Saul

the_lonely_road
On Hulu the tv shows “12 monkeys” and “Future Man” if you like time travel fantasies. Despite sharing a source with the movie 12 monkeys, the show has its own legs and is much more serious and enjoyable with a satisfying wrap up. Future Man is the exact opposite, a comedy from Seth Rogan. If you liked Pineapple Express you are likely going to love this, and if you didn’t you should skip it.
MerelyMortal
Future Man is very rated "R" and very hilarious, I highly recommend it.
CodeGlitch
The first episode is a bit of a hurdle, but once you get the tone of the show it's highly entertaining.
stolenmerch
New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning

Designer by Aldous Harding

Infinity of Now by The Heliocentrics

House of Sugar by (Sandy) Alex G

Sex and Food by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

FMTI by Dirty Art Club

Freedom's Goblin by Ty Segall

Sound Ancestors by Madlib

Dowwie
Have you watched a season of "Alone", produced by the History Channel? They've done 8 seasons already. So many elements play a role in who wins a season. It's really interesting to see how contestants compete.
wellthisisgreat
TV Shows:

The Great

Succession

Snowfall

Best storytelling since Sopranos in those 3 I think.

Games:

Warzone

Hell Let Loose

Best social FPS (need friends for Warzone though)

Books:

Denis Johnson (all of his books)

Algorithms We Live By

Behave (best book of the decade imo)

torstenvl
Behave: The Biology of Humans at our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky is definitely one of the best books of the decade, though I'm not sure I'd call it entertainment. Regardless, I'll enthusiastically second your recommendation of it.
rkk3
"Prestige" TV about unhappy families

Succession (2018 - present) Drama, Dark Comedy

Fleabag (2016-2019) British Dark Comedy

Undone (2019) Psychological Thriller, Drama

Other TV

The Expanse (2015 - present) Space Opera

Made in Abyss (2017 - present) anime

Mob Psycho 100 (2016- present) anime

Nirvana in Fire (2015) c-drama

Games

Through the Ages new story of Civilization, Board Game/Online

Divinity-2, Computer RPG

aasasd
Meta: kinda weird and funny that HN discussions on entertainment fall apart so quickly. It seems, though, that people are so excited by having a thread on it at all, that they brain-dump the first thing that comes to mind, even if it's from the past generation in terms of electronic media time.

My personal overwhelmingly favorite thing from these years is the album ‘Come and See’ by the band Mamaleek: https://mamaleek.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-see It's not a movie, of course, but I played it on repeat for about three days straight, then did the same with the rest of the band's discography. It's the first genuinely great-sounding thing that I encountered in over five years. However, one probably has to already like heavy music to appreciate it (though earlier ‘Out of Time’ and ‘Via Dolorosa’ sorta lean on lighter electronic side). Ah, and my favorite way to listen to the band is on long late-night walks through the city—same as with e.g. ‘Homotopy to Marie’.