Rate the last series you completed out of 5 - No spoilers!

[Garwoofoo]

Wednesday

 

Really enjoyed this. Funny, entertaining and a satisfying mystery. It fits into the same sort of mould as Stranger Things as something older kids and adults can both enjoy without either them feeling like they're being pandered to.

 

In a couple of places it felt like they didn't quite know what they wanted to do with Wednesday's character (she seems oddly concerned that Gomez might have murdered someone, for instance, which surely shouldn't be too shocking for an Addams; and the whole love triangle thing was a bit superfluous) but overall this worked superbly and every time another family member popped up it was a joy. More please.

 

4/5

[Masterbeef]

Bates Motel 

Not exactly highbrow tv, this incredibly trashy and incredibly entertaining show is pure fun from start to finish. Special mention to Vera Farmiga’s performance which might be the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen anywhere. She veers from utterly terrible to BAFTA worthy, often within a few scenes. Highmore is excellent in a difficult role. 
 

4/5

 

[Steve McQueef]

Treason (2022) - Netflix

 

Absolute bollocks from front to back. 

 

1/5

 

 

[pledge]

14 minutes ago, Steve McQueef said:

Treason (2022) - Netflix

 

Absolute bollocks from front to back. 

 

1/5

Ah crap. I was looking forward to this when I saw Ciaran Hinds was in it.

[SeanR]

Can historical recreation docudramas have spoilers?

 

The Ottomans: Rise of an empire 5/5

 

the ottomans take Constantinople from the Venetians, by force.

 

and the sequel Mehmet vs Vlad (yes, that Vlad) just landed.

[Silent Runner]

Finished up a rewatch of High Fidelity tonight and loved it as much as I always do. It's a tiny bit too-cool-for-school at times but the cast are all so charming and the vibe is so positive I just enjoy spending time in that world. 

 

Zoe Cravitz is the business, the soundtrack (and Spotify playlist) is superb and it's a crime it didn't get a second series. 

 

5/5

[Timmo]

White Lotus S1&2

 

Addictive, beatifully shot (and soundtracked), slightly trashy soap opera with dark twists and the occasional profound moment. Massively enjoyable. 5/5

[NexivRed]

Ancient Apocalypse 

 

5/5

 

This was one of the best things I have ever watched. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish I could go in blind and watch it all over again.  I’m going to have to go and do more reading. I absolutely recommend it, even if you’re not that into history. There is so much information that transcends so many different subjects, especially astronomy. It’s just amazing. 

[Hawklord]

1 hour ago, NexivRed said:

Ancient Apocalypse 

 

5/5

 

This was one of the best things I have ever watched. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish I could go in blind and watch it all over again.  I’m going to have to go and do more reading. I absolutely recommend it, even if you’re not that into history. There is so much information that transcends so many different subjects, especially astronomy. It’s just amazing. 

I've been a fan of Graham Hancock for years, I've even been to a few of his lectures (long time ago now). He has some really interesting theories.

[Minion]

On 01/01/2023 at 21:54, Steve McQueef said:

Treason (2022) - Netflix

 

Absolute bollocks from front to back. 

 

1/5

 

 

 

 

Can concur, it is utter fucking shite. Even The Recruit which is also bad is way better than this turgid contrived badly written piece of crap. 0/5

[pledge]

We need to make these thread titles more distinct  

(Referring to deleted post)

[schmojo]

20 hours ago, Hawklord said:

I've been a fan of Graham Hancock for years, I've even been to a few of his lectures (long time ago now). He has some really interesting theories.

 

It's probably well-worn ground now, but non-white communities have decried a lot of his theories for years as Euro-centric and white supremacist.

 

Ancient Astronaut theory is always such nasty stuff because of this. Superficially it's presented as the fantastical journey into unknown, unproven, zero-evidence 'advanced civilisations' of the distant past.

 

In reality, it's utter denial that brown people could have achieved incredible things beyond the scope of their white European counterparts. I was really interested in this territory at one time, but man it feels negligent and best and violently mean spirited at worst.

 

Is there any chance this new Netflix series doesn't do that? I've not seen it, but he tends to bang one drum.

[Hawklord]

1 hour ago, schmojo said:

 

It's probably well-worn ground now, but non-white communities have decried a lot of his theories for years as Euro-centric and white supremacist.

 

Ancient Astronaut theory is always such nasty stuff because of this. Superficially it's presented as the fantastical journey into unknown, unproven, zero-evidence 'advanced civilisations' of the distant past.

 

In reality, it's utter denial that brown people could have achieved incredible things beyond the scope of their white European counterparts. I was really interested in this territory at one time, but man it feels negligent and best and violently mean spirited at worst.

 

Is there any chance this new Netflix series doesn't do that? I've not seen it, but he tends to bang one drum.

I don't have Netflix so I haven't watched the series but he didn't come across as white supremacist in his books or lectures. Just putting forward an alternative theory that happened to scratch the itch I had at the time. IIRC he gives even more credit to the indigenous people of the areas he was interested in rather than using the Ancient Astronaut theory. ie that they were more advanced than they the archeologists suspect. It is a long time since I read his books though (80's & 90's) so I may be mis-remembering

[schmojo]

25 minutes ago, Hawklord said:

I don't have Netflix so I haven't watched the series but he didn't come across as white supremacist in his books or lectures. Just putting forward an alternative theory that happened to scratch the itch I had at the time. IIRC he gives even more credit to the indigenous people of the areas he was interested in rather than using the Ancient Astronaut theory. ie that they were more advanced than they the archeologists suspect. It is a long time since I read his books though (80's & 90's) so I may be mis-remembering

 

He is not big on giving credit to known indigenous groups 😆 He instead prefers to hypothesise about fantasy groups for whom there is no actual evidence left behind.

 

So whilst he doesn't outwardly say: 'these non-European communities are inferior', he leans into 'I cannot countenance that they could be this capable, and will magic up some alternatives as a result'. Which is the same end result with different steps.

 

I had a quick look at his Twitter feed, and his regular fans seem to be a grim bunch. But I did appreciate him until someone pointed out to me the glaring subtext that undercuts almost everything he does. I don't intend any of this as a criticism  - he certainly presents enjoyable, fantastical things. They just lose their lustre with the wider context.

[Hawklord]

All I can say is that I never read any of that in his books nor did I interpret them in that way at the time. To me he was proposing that it was a lost human civilisation (Atlantis) that were advanced and spread the "technology". I was in my mid-20's when Fingerprints of the Gods came out and had also just gone through all the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail stuff by Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent, and Richard Leigh so they fitted my narrative of "maybe there is an alternative history" that's being kept from us.  I also haven't kept up with what he does and was pleasantly surprised to see that he'd made the series. I'll get around to watching it eventually. I don't do Twitter so no idea what kind of folk follow him, I just thought that he had some good, if left-field ideas. Not a hill I'd die on though, I just found him interesting

[cassidy]

Finished S1 of our flag means death. 

 

Thoroughly enjoyed this tale of piracy.  A restrained Taika and quite moving and funny. 

 

4/5.  

 

[Silent Runner]

Finished Fleishman Is in Trouble tonight. An 8-part Hulu drama about a newly divorced 40-something man and his life in New York. Shortly after he moves into his new apartment his ex-wife disappears so he's trying to balance his new hedonistic life and be a full-time, single parent. At the same time he has work issues and old friends from his past trying to catch up.

 

Jesse Eisenberg is the lead and channels Woody Allens 70's performances and his turn in The Social Network. He's excellent as the slightly confused guy trying to do New York life for the first time. Claire Danes as his ex-wife is also in top form and the support from Lizzy Caplan and Adam Brody is just as good. It looks great, it's shot in New York and has that crisp photography that modern shows have that looks really alive. Also Mazzy Star turn up on the soundtrack and it feels like I've heard them on a lot of soundtracks recently. 

 

It does drift into 'rich people problems' territory but the quality of the scripts and acting elevate it. Not sure I'd recommend it and I put off watching the last episode for a week or more because I wasn't feeling it but I think I'm happy I put the hours in. And I'm always glad to see Adam Brody. 

 

3.5/5

[PeteJ]

The Detectorists series 1

 

Quite how this lovely series has passed us by for so long I do not know. We're big fans of 'nice' comedy, especially in the rather depressing world we all exist in. Shows like Schitt's Creek and Parks & Rec are right up our street, so The Detecotrists has added another show in that vein even though this has its own unique charm. This is such a nice, gentle, watch that is so wonderful observed. The characters develop a huge amount over the space of 6 episodes even though episode by episode there isn't a huge amount that happens. 

As a keen landscape photographer I can see so many parallels it's frightening, I was out yesterday morning with a mate for sunrise, it was pissing it down and blowing like mad...but we still loved it and then went off for a breakfast.

I love the music, and the scenery as well. It's definitely up there with other British classics. 

 

5/5

 

Series 2 has started well also.

[jdanddiet]

Pepsi: Where's My Jet?

Really interesting little doc on Netflix about an advert pepsi ran in the 90s that offered a harrier jet as a prize if you collected 7 million pepsi points.

Only 4 eps, and it wanders around a bit at times, but a great little story

[Thor]

1883

 

A fantastic, if somewhay grim at times, tale of pioneers making the trail to Oregon to find a better life for themselves. 

 

5/5

[Jamie John]

The English (BBC iPlayer)

 

 

Quote

 

Set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890, The English follows Cornelia Locke, an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp, an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.

 

This was very good. It looks utterly sumptuous on the BBC's 4K stream and the score is gorgeous. Excellent performances from Blunt and Chaske Spencer in the lead roles, as well as some deliciously nasty baddies. You have to watch it, and it jumps about a fair bit, but it's only 6 episodes long and never outstays its welcome.

 

4.5/5

[Stejay]

1883 - Absolutely stunning slow burn western prequel to Yellowstone.

 

5/5

[ScouserInExile]

Andor

 

I thought this was brilliant and/or amazing.

 

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, though I think the universe they've created is really excellent. And this was another piece of that universe. It shows what the Empire does to ordinary people, how the Space Gestapo works, the ordinary police forces around and a bit of the politics that drives it all. 

 

It had some really good characters, a great set of plots, brilliant acting throughout, tension, action, emotion... And I thought it clipped along at a good pace. A lot happens in 12 episodes without anything feeling rushed.

 

5/5 all day.

[Jamie John]

Severance - Series 1 (Apple TV)

 

 

My catch up of the best TV shows of 2022 continues, and, yes, this is properly excellent. By turns heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud funny, chilling, enigmatic and, occasionally, really quite dark, but never less than 100% entertaining. Everyone in it is on absolutely top form, too.

 

Required viewing! If you've got an Apple TV trial that you keep forgetting to redeem, like I did, then get on it at once.

 

5/5

 

On 20/01/2023 at 07:29, ScouserInExile said:

Andor

 

I'm glad this has been so well received as it's next on my list.

[Garwoofoo]

Also Severance

 

The best thing I've watched in years. Concept, execution, acting, all first rate. The only thing wrong with it is that I want more and there isn't any yet.

 

5/5

[Mawdlin]

Kaleidoscope 3/5

 

Although this wasn't as random as advertised I enjoyed the shuffling episode gimmick. Every episode had at least one stand out moment and the characters were decent. Sure, it fell into lazy heist tropes but like a well crafted jigsaw puzzle it was satisfying to see the puzzle pieces slotting together by the end.

[merman]

This Is Going To Hurt (BBC, 2022) - 5/5

 

I was engrossed in the Adam Kay book, reading it in just over a day and laughing out loud repeatedly. The TV series had me laughing, crying and nodding in recognition (at how broken the NHS is). Brilliantly written and acted, powerful stuff.

[iknowgungfu]

His monologue on one of the latter episodes when at the (see spoiler) Made me cry - summed up all my thoughts about working in NHS. 
 

Spoiler

GMC hearing

[gospvg]

Wednesday (Netflix) 3/5

Watched it with the kids, they enjoyed it more than I did.

[Vimster]

Fringe season 1 (2008)

Watched this on Netflix many years ago and didn't get to the end of season 2 as it got taken off. I really enjoyed it, you get a freak of the week story but it ties in really well with the overall arc of The Pattern. Not sure how they'll keep this up for another four seasons but the reveal at the end of season one has me wanting to carry on, so it's doing something right.