What TV shows are people watching?

Trollheart · 06-11-2021, 03:00 AM

Line of Duty has completed its sixth season. If you need it let me know. I'm half-considering Peaky Blinders again; tried it once, didn't like it but I'm wondering if I may have dismissed it too quickly. We'll see; lots to watch still.

Finished the first season of True Detective: bloody excellent, but was a little surprised (though when I think about it, it makes perfect sense) to find season two has an entirely new cast and setting. Got into it though: hell of a shoot out in the last episode I watched. Think I'm about four episodes in now. Colin Farrell gives a powerhouse performance as the original hard-bitten, beat-down cop just trying to survive, Rachel MacAdams is great as the tough woman trying to make it in a man's world, and I have new respect for Vince Vaughan.

adidasss · 06-11-2021, 04:10 AM

Don't worry, I know Line of duty 6th season is out there, it's just that my partner is technologically "challenged" and since we are apart at the moment we are limiting ourselves to watching Netflix stuff.

The Batlord · 06-11-2021, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Finished the first season of True Detective: bloody excellent, but was a little surprised (though when I think about it, it makes perfect sense) to find season two has an entirely new cast and setting.

I'm sure you'll be shocked to find out that Rust is my spirit animal. Love that first season to absolute death. Wasn't a fan of the ending until I gave it a second watch and decided it wasn't as happy and muddled an ending as it first appeared.

adidasss · 06-13-2021, 04:48 AM

So I tried to watch Bandersnatch on my mobile and after about 40 minutes lost interest, I kept choosing dead-end paths that were returning me to some previous point in the story. I don't think that should have happened. If you're offering different choices then those choices should go all the way to the end. If you're going to return me to a different point I basically don't have much of a choice actually. And it didn't really seem like a story I'd want to spend a few hours exploring.

Lisnaholic · 06-13-2021, 06:33 AM

Thanks for your recommendations of Line of Duty

I will probably try it again later today. (Last time I started it, it seemed too complicated for what I wanted to watch at the time, so I gave up after about 2 episodes.)

But then, for complicated, I got drawn into a murder mystery called Who Killed Sara?. It's on Netflix but is geo-blocked in Europe I think. Probably just as well as it's set in Mexico City and has the true-to-form excessive Latin American drama: "OMG, you mean the cook's schizophrenic daughter is actually my sister?" Actually that sounds like a Dickensian plot twist, so you'd probably like it, TH

Does a 2-part documentary count as a TV show? If so, very interesting is the Netfix doc about The King, Elvis. As Netflix docs tend to, there is no voice-over narration, instead the story is told by clipping interview comments together. Frankly I find that an irritating technique because (a) you have to listen to dull, unscripted people and (ii) it takes twice as long to work through the narrative. Of course, that is also Netfix's plan, I suspect: cut costs on script-writers and spin the program out as long as possible.
Nonetheless, for me, watching Elvis's story unfold for the first time, I found this documentary fascinating.

**Frownland** · 06-13-2021, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidasss

So I tried to watch Bandersnatch on my mobile and after about 40 minutes lost interest, I kept choosing dead-end paths that were returning me to some previous point in the story. I don't think that should have happened. If you're offering different choices then those choices should go all the way to the end. If you're going to return me to a different point I basically don't have much of a choice actually. And it didn't really seem like a story I'd want to spend a few hours exploring.

That's the point.

Trollheart · 07-05-2021, 08:42 PM

Watched quite a lot of stuff recently. The Sister was excellent, as was the next thing I tried, Secret Bridesmaids' Business, Australian thriller about a stalker (male) who tries to ruin every woman who dumps him. Raven was my first Polish drama, was bloody excellent, though bleak as hell, quelle surprise! Box 21 was also bleak but really really good.

Time stood up well, both Bean and Graham gave excellent performances, though in some ways if you've seen The Night Of there's not all that much more to say. Good prison drama, unexpected ending.

But if you want bleak, miserable and hopeless, try Hausen; my god it was so dark and disturbing and grim that I gave it up after four episodes. Had some nice supernatural ideas, but too dark for me. I mean, I liked the premise, even though it got mighty weird, but the trouble was, like Millennium, there wasn't a shred of light in it. Even when the kid went to school they showed a cloud-choked sky with a very weak sun struggling to shine through (and failing). Everyone was dour, everyone was miserable, everything was deadly serious. No comic relief, no rest, nothing to even push the darkness away slightly. Just unremittingly dark. And I felt it was going to have a seriously dark conclusion, like the complex was going to eat them all, run credits, or it would be Hell, or something. I can watch bleak TV, but god damn it I need a little respite.

Next moved on to some old stuff recorded but not watched for literally years: season 2 of The Returned (which I recorded, wait for it, six years ago!) was well worth it, ended really well, then I hit season 3 of Westworld. It was enjoyable on one level but I was like Homer...

Tried The Undoing but hated it immediately (come on, it had Hugh Grant in it; what chance did it have?) then checked out Guilt and loved it from minute one. Superb four-part dark humour drama with the incomparable Mark Bonnar.

Finally got the last season of Game of Thrones done (yeah yeah I know). Lots of complaints about that, as I'm sure you all know. Glad I finally watched it but kinda, meh. Came across Hunters (another one recorded years ago, five in this case - 2016) based on the Whitley Streiber book Alien Hunter. It's a bit silly so far - quite gory, often unnecessarily so (don't watch with your dinner) but decent fun. I think it only got the one season, but interested to see where it goes. Seems like they were building a fairly complicated arc. Basic idea seems to be aliens who have come to Earth to do something unspecified, but which ain't good for humanity, against whom they seem to have a grudge, and the FBI Black Ops team who track them - the ETU would you believe? Exo Terrorist Unit.

jadis · 07-09-2021, 02:34 PM

When you have the house to yourself and can watch stuff she'd normally veto in favor of Serial Experiments Lain

Trollheart · 07-09-2021, 02:51 PM

Serial Experiments what?

jadis · 07-09-2021, 03:28 PM

It's an anime classic from the late 90s that has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity among fans of the more esoteric Japanese stuff.

06-11-2021, 03:00 AM	#6781 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Line of Duty has completed its sixth season. If you need it let me know. I'm half-considering Peaky Blinders again; tried it once, didn't like it but I'm wondering if I may have dismissed it too quickly. We'll see; lots to watch still. Finished the first season of True Detective: bloody excellent, but was a little surprised (though when I think about it, it makes perfect sense) to find season two has an entirely new cast and setting. Got into it though: hell of a shoot out in the last episode I watched. Think I'm about four episodes in now. Colin Farrell gives a powerhouse performance as the original hard-bitten, beat-down cop just trying to survive, Rachel MacAdams is great as the tough woman trying to make it in a man's world, and I have new respect for Vince Vaughan. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

06-11-2021, 04:10 AM	#6782 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,945	Don't worry, I know Line of duty 6th season is out there, it's just that my partner is technologically "challenged" and since we are apart at the moment we are limiting ourselves to watching Netflix stuff. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

06-13-2021, 04:48 AM	#6784 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,945	So I tried to watch Bandersnatch on my mobile and after about 40 minutes lost interest, I kept choosing dead-end paths that were returning me to some previous point in the story. I don't think that should have happened. If you're offering different choices then those choices should go all the way to the end. If you're going to return me to a different point I basically don't have much of a choice actually. And it didn't really seem like a story I'd want to spend a few hours exploring. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

06-13-2021, 06:33 AM	#6785 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Thanks for your recommendations of Line of Duty I will probably try it again later today. (Last time I started it, it seemed too complicated for what I wanted to watch at the time, so I gave up after about 2 episodes.) But then, for complicated, I got drawn into a murder mystery called Who Killed Sara?. It's on Netflix but is geo-blocked in Europe I think. Probably just as well as it's set in Mexico City and has the true-to-form excessive Latin American drama: "OMG, you mean the cook's schizophrenic daughter is actually my sister?" Actually that sounds like a Dickensian plot twist, so you'd probably like it, TH Does a 2-part documentary count as a TV show? If so, very interesting is the Netfix doc about The King, Elvis. As Netflix docs tend to, there is no voice-over narration, instead the story is told by clipping interview comments together. Frankly I find that an irritating technique because (a) you have to listen to dull, unscripted people and (ii) it takes twice as long to work through the narrative. Of course, that is also Netfix's plan, I suspect: cut costs on script-writers and spin the program out as long as possible. Nonetheless, for me, watching Elvis's story unfold for the first time, I found this documentary fascinating. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

07-05-2021, 08:42 PM	#6787 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Watched quite a lot of stuff recently. The Sister was excellent, as was the next thing I tried, Secret Bridesmaids' Business, Australian thriller about a stalker (male) who tries to ruin every woman who dumps him. Raven was my first Polish drama, was bloody excellent, though bleak as hell, quelle surprise! Box 21 was also bleak but really really good. Time stood up well, both Bean and Graham gave excellent performances, though in some ways if you've seen The Night Of there's not all that much more to say. Good prison drama, unexpected ending. But if you want bleak, miserable and hopeless, try Hausen; my god it was so dark and disturbing and grim that I gave it up after four episodes. Had some nice supernatural ideas, but too dark for me. I mean, I liked the premise, even though it got mighty weird, but the trouble was, like Millennium, there wasn't a shred of light in it. Even when the kid went to school they showed a cloud-choked sky with a very weak sun struggling to shine through (and failing). Everyone was dour, everyone was miserable, everything was deadly serious. No comic relief, no rest, nothing to even push the darkness away slightly. Just unremittingly dark. And I felt it was going to have a seriously dark conclusion, like the complex was going to eat them all, run credits, or it would be Hell, or something. I can watch bleak TV, but god damn it I need a little respite. Next moved on to some old stuff recorded but not watched for literally years: season 2 of The Returned (which I recorded, wait for it, six years ago!) was well worth it, ended really well, then I hit season 3 of Westworld. It was enjoyable on one level but I was like Homer... Tried The Undoing but hated it immediately (come on, it had Hugh Grant in it; what chance did it have?) then checked out Guilt and loved it from minute one. Superb four-part dark humour drama with the incomparable Mark Bonnar. Finally got the last season of Game of Thrones done (yeah yeah I know). Lots of complaints about that, as I'm sure you all know. Glad I finally watched it but kinda, meh. Came across Hunters (another one recorded years ago, five in this case - 2016) based on the Whitley Streiber book Alien Hunter. It's a bit silly so far - quite gory, often unnecessarily so (don't watch with your dinner) but decent fun. I think it only got the one season, but interested to see where it goes. Seems like they were building a fairly complicated arc. Basic idea seems to be aliens who have come to Earth to do something unspecified, but which ain't good for humanity, against whom they seem to have a grudge, and the FBI Black Ops team who track them - the ETU would you believe? Exo Terrorist Unit. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-09-2021, 02:34 PM	#6788 (permalink)
jadis Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: dont ask Posts: 1,413	When you have the house to yourself and can watch stuff she'd normally veto in favor of Serial Experiments Lain

07-09-2021, 02:51 PM	#6789 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Serial Experiments what? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-09-2021, 03:28 PM	#6790 (permalink)
jadis Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: dont ask Posts: 1,413	It's an anime classic from the late 90s that has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity among fans of the more esoteric Japanese stuff.