What is the last Television series you watched?

[LSH 969]

 

THE THICK OF IT (2005-2012)

 

Another complete re-watch of, quite possibly, the finest show born from the  breed of 2000's British TV satire.

 

Still relevant today, this show managed to parody not only the inner-workings of the Labour government of the time but also ridicule and, in many cases of 'life-imitates-art', predict the awkward and ultimately lamentable coalition government that followed. 

 

The scripts are intelligent and silly in equal measure. The performances from everyone involved (main and guest cast - I'm not listing standout performances because I genuinely think they are all superb) are individually nuanced and they bounce off each other in ways that can be both ugly and unexpectedly beautiful(ly ugly).

 

The material is more pertinent today than it's ever been. Indeed the creators/writers have repeatedly asserted, despite pining calls for more series, that the comedy of the show has quickly been superseded by reality. Sad but true. 

 

The principal writers of the show are veritable pedigrees of modern British comedy: the excellent Armando Iannucci (The Day Today, Alan Partridge, Veep, The Death of Stalin), Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, Four Lions, Fresh Meat, Succession), Simon Blackwell (Veep, Four Lions, Back) but also Tony Roche, Roger Drew and Will Smith (not that one).

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

11 hours ago, LSH said:

 

THE THICK OF IT (2005-2012)

 

Another complete re-watch of, quite possibly, the finest show born from the  breed of 2000's British TV satire.

 

Still relevant today, this show managed to parody not only the inner-workings of the Labour government of the time but also ridicule and, in many cases of 'life-imitates-art', predict the awkward and ultimately lamentable coalition government that followed. 

 

The scripts are intelligent and silly in equal measure. The performances from everyone involved (main and guest cast - I'm not listing standout performances because I genuinely think they are all superb) are individually nuanced and they bounce off each other in ways that can be both ugly and unexpectedly beautiful(ly ugly).

 

The material is more pertinent today than it's ever been. Indeed the creators/writers have repeatedly asserted, despite pining calls for more series, that the comedy of the show has quickly been superseded by reality. Sad but true. 

 

The principal writers of the show are veritable pedigrees of modern British comedy: the excellent Armando Iannucci (The Day Today, Alan Partridge, Veep, The Death of Stalin), Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, Four Lions, Fresh Meat, Succession), Simon Blackwell (Veep, Four Lions, Back) but also Tony Roche, Roger Drew and Will Smith (not that one).

 

The perfect companion to The Day Today of life imitating art ahead of life (if you see what I mean)... but yes, when you have the prime minister hiding in a fridge to escape questions from the press (literally a thing that happened for those not in the UK), satire is basically dead.

 

Side anecdotes... As I'm sure I've posted previously, I was lucky enough to get an autograph off Peter Capaldi at Patrick Doyle's 60th birthday concert where PC was in the audience (unlike the 70th where he was a compere). This was just after he was announced as the Doctor so I was even more hyped that he happened to be in our row. However, as I was an adult, he wrote "fuck off... Malcolm Tucker" on my ticket assuming I was a Thick of It fan. I told him I very much was, but also Doctor Who so he signed it again a bit less swearily. Got a photo too. Great experience.

 

 

For some reason, that Will Smith is one of my friends on Facebook. I used to be Facebook friends with Chris Addison, but he changed his profile to a follow account. I know it's not friends in any meaningful sense but quite random that relatively well known people accept friend requests.

 

By total coincidence, Anne Dudley's delightful score for The Hustle happened to be on my (ridiculously long) up next playlist as I started replying to this. The Hustle being directed by Chris Addison and a not very well received remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (which would be hard to improve upon, although the stage musical version is pretty great). Still, Dudley's score is great and a fine companion to Goodman's score for the original.

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Have quite enjoyed dark comedy Based On A True Story (1 episode left to go). I've long been uneasy about exactly what it is that true crime podcast fans get out of them, and this satirises that quite well.   

[LSH 969]

7 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

The perfect companion to The Day Today of life imitating art ahead of life (if you see what I mean)... but yes, when you have the prime minister hiding in a fridge to escape questions from the press (literally a thing that happened for those not in the UK), satire is basically dead.

 

Side anecdotes... As I'm sure I've posted previously, I was lucky enough to get an autograph off Peter Capaldi at Patrick Doyle's 60th birthday concert where PC was in the audience (unlike the 70th where he was a compere). This was just after he was announced as the Doctor so I was even more hyped that he happened to be in our row. However, as I was an adult, he wrote "fuck off... Malcolm Tucker" on my ticket assuming I was a Thick of It fan. I told him I very much was, but also Doctor Who so he signed it again a bit less swearily. Got a photo too. Great experience.

 

 

For some reason, that Will Smith is one of my friends on Facebook. I used to be Facebook friends with Chris Addison, but he changed his profile to a follow account. I know it's not friends in any meaningful sense but quite random that relatively well known people accept friend requests.

 

By total coincidence, Anne Dudley's delightful score for The Hustle happened to be on my (ridiculously long) up next playlist as I started replying to this. The Hustle being directed by Chris Addison and a not very well received remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (which would be hard to improve upon, although the stage musical version is pretty great). Still, Dudley's score is great and a fine companion to Goodman's score for the original.

 

 

That's amazing! I was meant to go to the Patrick Doyle thing last year - it was in my calendar but it snuck past me. Very cool anecdote regarding Capaldi, I cannot think of anything more appropriate!

 

I did meet Chris Addison very briefly in Aberdeen back in late 2009/early 2010, when he was touring his stand-up. I only bought a ticket because I'd heard of him from the show, which had only recently concluded Series 3. Can't believe it's been that long!

 

My mum used to know Rebecca Front though! Worked for her agency back in the 90s!

 

 

7 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

when you have the prime minister hiding in a fridge to escape questions from the press

 

 

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that these sorts of things have happened. Haha.

 

 

 

To quote The Thick Of It:

 

"We can make a blacklist of words you should never stand in front of, in case the press get to do something like this."

 

"Peacock... Shuttlecock.... Spatchcock.... anything 'cock' really"

 

"You remember that folk singer, Tim Hardin? Well you'd be able to get 'I'm Hard'... out of that"

 

"'Coarsefishing'... that could be 'arsefish' if you crop that."

 

"And 'walkie-talkie' could be cropped to say 'alkie', twice!"

 

"Why would I stand in front of a 'walkie-talkie' sign?"

 

 

 

 

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Am enjoying the Ted series, there's a pretty decent gag 'hit-rate'.   

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)

 

First of, I'm a massive fan of the animated shows. 
With that said.
Uuuuhm..... I have mixed feelings about this and I'm not sure how to write them down, so I'm just gonna list my personal pro's and con's and move on.

 

PRO'S
- The music is the best part of the show. Takeshi Furukawa has done a phenomenal job creating this score.
- Paul Sun-Hyung as Uncle Iroh was fantastic. He fully captures the spirit of the character.
- Daniel Dae Kim was also very well cast as Ozai.
- The 3 leads are pretty good. Gordon Comier does feel like Aang, so that is good.
- The VFX was great. Much better than it looked in the trailers.
- There were some really cool action sequences.
- Suki was fantastic. Well done to Maria Zhang.

 

CON'S
- The show wasn't able to convince me why it should exist. It's nice and all, but it doesn't add enough new stuff to make it's existence seem worth it.
- Some of the writing is really bad. Dialogue is clonky and some of the bigger changes made to the story I thought were awful.
- Same goes for the acting. Some of it's really good (mostly from the older cast) but a lot of it is very wooden and cringy.
- Azula & Yue are completely miscast. And the wig for Yue was laughably bad.
- Zuko is very unlikable here. In the animated show even though he was an asshole he still had a lot of charisma. Here is mostly just annoying and screams a lot.
- Some of the bending evolution is very sudden. Characters are suddenly fantastic. Probably has to do with the fact that it feels like no time passes. Even though it should feel like weeks.
- The final battle didn't feel like the big character moment it should've been.

 

So yeah, this is a mixed bag. It's definitely better that the 2010 film (what isn't), but it's far from what it could've been. I wouldn't mind if they continue, because there's enough good stuff here, but I'm much more looking forward to the new animated stuff coming up.

[Hurmm 91]

Been watching Freaks and Geeks for the last few weeks, having never seen it before. I'm almost at the end now, and what an immaculately written show, with some genuinely sincere-feeling performances from the cast, especially the kids. The format and material may not be binge-worthy, but you really learn to know and love these characters. I don't think Apatow has ever topped this? 

 

Also starting True Detective season 4. 2 episodes in and it's clear Carpenter's The Thing played heavily in the minds of the creator here, to excellent effect I must say. The imagery at the end of ep 1...just wow. I'm loving it so far but also wary that the way this has been written so far, either the creators pull off a masterclass of execution and stick the landing, or they have painted themselves into a corner. 

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

1 hour ago, Hurmm said:

Also starting True Detective season 4. 2 episodes

 

I'd be interested to think how those who have seen it rate it… I know it's got its own thread, but as I still want to see S3 first, I've avoided that as a spoiler evasion measure. (Of course, I was quite happy with the much maligned second season, so other views don't necessarily align with my own, but I'd still like to know)

[Bespin 8,483]

I finally watched The Queen's Gambit.

 

Great miniseries and great music! 

 

[karelm 2,914]

If this thread was called "What Television series are you watching?", I am really enjoying "The Big Bang Theory".  I tend to be very late to the party when it comes to pop culture and what everyone else is watching.  So I just now started watching TBBT and find it very funny!  Highly recommended.

[A24 4,338]

It's very dramatic.

[Bespin 8,483]

15 minutes ago, A24 said:

It's very dramatic.

 

I really like this series, but honestly, every time there's a close-up of Nicole Kidman's face, I wonder what she did to it. This woman has become a horror, and it's such a shame.

 

In every series she's in, the appearance of her face and her extreme thinness are, for me, an inappropriate distraction.

[A24 4,338]

19 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

I really like this series, but honestly, every time there's a close-up of Nicole Kidman's face, I wonder what she did to it. This woman has become a horror, and it's such a shame.

 

In every series she's in, the appearance of her face and her extreme thinness are, for me, an inappropriate distraction.

 

[Bespin 8,483]

Another issue with Nicole Kidman is that she continues to be cast in roles as the mother of young children, even though she has reached the age to play more of a young grandmother role.

[A24 4,338]

Agreed!

[KK 3,307]

That series is dull and derivative. Occasionally shot nicely, but riddled, almost laughably, with sad drama clichés. Kidman verges on self-parody.

[A24 4,338]

It does get a bit dull after a couple of episodes. There's this very long episode that makes you wonder what the whole point is. It plays like a movie and doesn't have much in common with everything that came before it.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

Watched yesterday the first episode of second season of Extraordinary on Disney+. This show is hillarious. I really love it.

[Mephariel 451]

Watching Constellation on Apple TV. It is keeping me engage, but I am not complete sold this is going to end up in a satisfying manner yet. 

[Edmilson 7,466]

With absolutely nothing to do in a boring weekend, I tried to watch Gen V.

 

It was terrible. I couldn't get through the first episode. Abysmal writing and CW-level, shit-tier acting, which ruins a lot of shows that seemed like they have a good premise. Happens a lot with teen casts.

 

None of the characters are interesting, none of the plotlines are interesting. It's boring as fuck. It's CW levels of shit. If you cut out the gore and sex it's just teens talking about muh feelings and muh problems. I have better ways to spend an hour.

[A24 4,338]

Agreed! I stopped watching after a couple of episodes. 

[Mr. Who 919]

3 Body Problem Episodes 1-3

 

Super impressed with this show, one of the most exiting new shows in quite a while. Full of mysteries and interesting ideas. Looking forward to see how it unfolds and I believe S2 is being written right now!

 

[A24 4,338]

First 4 eppies of TWD: The Ones Who Live

 

 

I'm pretty sure that Andrew Lincoln's main condition before returning to the Walking Dead universe was 'better writers' and a 'bigger budget'. And after 4 episodes, I can safely say that it seems that he got what he wanted. I'm just guessing of course.

 

PS: There is still too much filler though, like with characters telling stories to each other and such.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

On 25/02/2024 at 8:46 AM, Bespin said:

I finally watched The Queen's Gambit.

 

Great miniseries and great music! 

 

 

I agree! Since you enjoyed both, you might find this conversation with composer Carlos Rafael Rivera of interest to you... we talk about The Queen's Gambit for at least half of it!

https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/6049561-odyssey-interviews-carlos-rafael-rivera

 

 

Lots of insights into his work on this, including some really surprising revelations. If you listen, let me know what you think afterwards!

 

Yavar

[Datameister 2,044]

On 24/03/2024 at 1:35 PM, Mr. Who said:

3 Body Problem Episodes 1-3

 

Super impressed with this show, one of the most exiting new shows in quite a while. Full of mysteries and interesting ideas. Looking forward to see how it unfolds and I believe S2 is being written right now!

 

 

6 episodes in, I have such mixed feelings about it. The ideas themselves are really interesting, but I feel like the tone is all over the place. There's kind of a YA melodrama tinge to a lot of the writing and acting, but then suddenly there's full-frontal nudity, or a character dropping the C-word a few times per episode, or a mass casualty event that's as creative as it is unflinchingly gory. CW meets HBO. Anyway, I will certainly be finishing the first season and awaiting the second, and there's a good chance I'll read the books in the meantime.

 

I'm probably just spoiled as I'm still coming down from the high of finally finishing Better Call Saul, which did the unthinkable by really giving Breaking Bad a run for its money. Jesus, I was sad to see it end—and delighted to see it end as well as it did.

[Hurmm 91]

Deadloch. 

 

An Australian murder mystery with a largely female cast. I read about this while reading about True Detective season 4, as they both have similarities – two female lead cops with opposing personalities, a small closed off town, and missing tongues (would you believe it). 

 

It's a slog. I found almost nothing in this interesting, and had to space the episodes out to even finish it. All the characters are either a) obtuse or b) dull, with nothing in between. The main mystery doesn't pull you in. It's a wonder this got good reviews. 

[Jay 37,369]

 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

 

Yikes.  Did anybody else on JWFan watch this show?  I found it to be one of those shows that started off well enough, with an engaging premise set up by a decent pilot, that slowly got worse and worse each week until I didn't care about anything happening in the (ridiculous) finale.

 

I have no idea why this is claimed to be connected to the 2005 Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie movie, since it isn't, in any way.  That movie had the premise of two spies working for opposing agencies living together, who have no idea the other one is a spy too, and their marriage is falling apart due to to boredom, with the plot kicking in when each is hired to kill the other.  This 2024 show has the complete opposite premise. where two loners sign up for and get accepted to work for the same spy agency, where they are assigned to live together as married software engineers in New York City as a front as they go on various spy missions around the world every week.  At no point in the show are any of the characters or organizations from the movie mentioned at all.  So they're just using the movie's name for a completely different story.

 

Donald Glover and Maya Erskne are the couple here, and they have decent chemistry together at first, but that gradually goes away over the course of the season and their reveals to each other in the final episode didn't have much effect on me (BEEF did a similar concept MUCH better last year).  The show also takes what could have been 5 seasons worth of story and fast-tracks it all throughout this one season, leaving me with no idea of what good ideas are left for a potential season 2.

 

Another issue is that the spy missions are rarely exciting or engaging.  In fact in many episodes, John and Jane seem to be about the worst spies imaginable.  Like in the first episode they are supposed to tail someone, and they sit in a bar right next to them, with John constantly looking over his shoulder at the mark.  Then she goes to a park, so they follow her and sit down on a bench right across from her.  WTF?  Stuff like that happens throughout the whole show.  I guess the writers just weren't that interesting in having good spy scenes in their spy show, as the majority of the runtime is really about their relationship and not their missions.  The show rarely even attempts world building, like who are they working for, what is their agenda, what happens if they want out, etc?

 

Overall, a disappointment.  It's on Amazon Prime.

[crocodile 8,017]

Secret Invasion. This should have been so much better than it was. The premise itself is intriguing but it quickly devolves into complete nonsense. For someone who can become anyone why would you wear one face 80% of the time? 😂 But Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn and Olivia Coleman are always a pleasure to watch so there's that.

 

Karol

[Tallguy 3,398]

1 hour ago, crocodile said:

Secret Invasion. This should have been so much better than it was. The premise itself is intriguing but it quickly devolves into complete nonsense. For someone who can become anyone why would you wear one face 80% of the time? 😂 But Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn and Olivia Coleman are always a pleasure to watch so there's that.

 

Karol

 

I do need to finish this. They took some big swings but two or three episodes in it was very unsatisfying. The most serious Nick Fury that we ever saw was probably Winter Soldier and he was a lot closer to Marvels Fury than Secret Invasion Fury.

[A24 4,338]

 

I didn't expect it but I managed to finish the pilot ... and I'm not even a gamer. 

[Mr. Who 919]

I finished the first season of 3 Body Problem and I think it's a terrific sci-fi show, which deals with huge concepts, both in terms of science and in terms of morality. Many interesting concepts are explored, but the show is not just an info dump of cool concepts, the main focus is the characters which for the most part all play important roles, even though the roles aren't always apparent at first. The series deals mostly with the present time but pivotal scenes, especially in there earlier episodes take place in the past during the cultural revolution in china and these scenes are incredibly well done and feel authentic.

 

The opening scene is quite disturbing. The actors play their roles really well, with Liam Cunningam stealing every scene he is in. Jonathan Pryce also does some amazing work, especially in some scenes where he is practically alone (but I won't be more specific because of potential spoilers). The score also works well and creates an eerie tone for the show while introducing several themes, which grow throughout the season and culminate in some great renditions in later episodes. Especially Will's theme is very moving.

 

I do think that the season should have been released with weekly episodes rather than a typical Netflix binge release as the episodes benefit from having some breathing room between viewings. I hope this is something they do in season 2.

[A24 4,338]

 

After two episodes I can tell the writing and storytelling is very run-of-the-mill. It feels like the people who made dozens of others shows are now making Fallout in the same way they made all the other shows.

[A24 4,338]

 

With Severance and now Ripley I can safely say that the Golden Age of Television is still alive. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Vigil, season 2. Almost as good as season 1, but it can't be as good when there's no subs. 

[JTN 2,030]

On 24/3/2024 at 9:35 PM, Mr. Who said:

3 Body Problem Episodes 1-3

 

Super impressed with this show, one of the most exiting new shows in quite a while. Full of mysteries and interesting ideas. Looking forward to see how it unfolds and I believe S2 is being written right now!

 

I’m reading book #1 right now, like it a lot. Won’t watch the series until I finish it.