tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

Our Flag Means Death. I love this show and there's a pretty active discussion comm for it here on DW. Lol -it's both comforting and stimulating. Classic pirate stuff through an LGBT lens. Oh, and Taika in leather and tattoos and a beard, so yeah.

Renfield. This was pretty good. Laugh out loud funny in places. The right amount of over-the-top gore to keep DH interested. Offers a different spin on Dracula tropes.

Sirens. The beautiful Elle McPherson, circa 1994, unclothed more than clothed. I haven't checked but this had to be pretty much lifted from the John Fowles novella Ebony Tower.

I'm not sure about the novella connection for Sirens but the movie is based on the life of Australian artist Norman Lindsay. A lot of it was filmed about 10 minutes up the road from where I live :D

Ah-ha! Thanks for letting me know - I will def do some googling now.

What have I watched this week? A lot of British stuff, it appears!

I watched a three-part BBC documentary series entitled "Laura Kuenssberg: State of Chaos". Kuenssberg was the BBC's political editor for 7 years, and this series covers political events in the UK over the past seven years, beginning with the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum in 2016. While I follow UK politics quite closely, this was still amazing viewing because we hear from a lot of people who don't normally ever talk to the media (or publicly in general), such as former permanent secretaries (the equivalent of Deputy Ministers in Canada), former political aids to PMs, etc. It was absolutely gripping.

As a companion piece of sorts, I also watched Channel 4's "Partygate", a one-hour docudrama about the 10 Downing Street gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It includes dramatisations of Downing Street parties interwoven with archive news footage and documentary interviews.

I also watched an ITV limited drama series (7 eps) called "The Long Shadow", which details the five-year manhunt for the serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, aka the Yorkshire Ripper. It's told from the POV of the police officers on the case and the victims and their families, rather than focusing on Sutcliffe. Very well done.

I also started watching a 6-part BBC series called "The Woman in the Wall". It follows the horrors experienced by an Irish woman Lorna Brady (played by Ruth Wilson), who wakes one morning to find a dead body in her house. Lorna has no idea who the dead woman is, or even of her own culpability, as she suffers from extreme bouts of sleepwalking from her time incarcerated in the infamous Kilkinure Convent. It's fictional, but inspired by the horrible history of the Magdalene Laundries that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries to house 'fallen women' e.g. prostitutes, young women who became pregnant out of wedlock, or those without family support, etc. I have a couple more episodes to go.

None of the above would I classify as "comfort" viewing. I don't know if anything I watch I'd call "comfort" viewing. There are shows that are more casual viewing, e.g. "Welcome to Wrexham", "Star Trek: Lower Decks", and "Transplant", and shows that are... convenience viewing? Like the various Star Trek series that Sci Fi airs most weekday evenings during the time that I am working on and eating supper -- I watch them because they're there and convenient and I don't have to pay close attention as I do other things.

Oh -- I did also start watching "Moonlighting" finally, but only the first couple of episodes. I wouldn't call that comfort viewing either -- more a case of curiosity viewing to see if it lives up to my fond memories of it.

I lied when I said I would watch Blake's 7. I'm watching Pride and Prejudice (1980 BBC production). It's like watching a play, very different from the 1995 version. Iím still having a good time, and would say it's "comforting" (as someone who is fine with BBC costume dramas).

Both? But mostly comfort viewing.

The Devil's Plan was stimulating in the sense that it featured several strategy games that I found interesting to watch. Would have hated to play them, but I like observing people who are cunning, cutthroat strategists excel at this sort of thing.

Comfort viewing:
A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly watchable, so far, for such an utterly ridiculous premise. I only dislike Cha Eun-woo as the male lead because he always delivers the same wooden acting. I thought it worked when I saw him first in My ID Is Gangnam Beauty until I realized that, no, his character wasn't just super stoic. CEW simply cannot emote for shit.

Our Flag Means Death S2: Watched the first three episodes. Wasn't sure what to think until I got to the end of the third episode. Although I was already spoiled for certain artistic choices, I really liked what they went for and things seem to be coming together slowly. Also, very curious about what they'll be doing with/to Izzy.

Taskmaster S16E03: Sam is quickly becoming my personal favorite.

Sunday plans: Watching the newest Taskmaster episode and taking a chance on Evilive (in case somebody is kind enough to post subtitles).

Watched the new Gen V episode. Turns out that the weird, out-of-the-left-field heteronormative moment from last week had an actual purpose. I really appreciated that they cleared this up.

I watched the first 5 eps of the new Goosebumps which was actually much better than I was expecting to be. It had some good actors in it too (imo) - especially Rachael Harris (Sheila from Suits, Linda from Lucifer). I wasn't expecting much from it, but it sucked me in and I was disappointed the sixth ep wasn't up yet to watch!

Also watched the first season of Mrs Sidhu Investigates which is a british murder mystery thing. It was pretty good, I enjoyed it. Very low stakes, with a comedic element to it but also a lot of heart.

Season 5 of the UK Ghosts, which was bittersweet as its the final season. I will miss those ghosts and their shenanigans. Especially Kitty and Robin who are my favourites.

Hmm! I saw a promo for it on Hulu, I think? Maybe I'll check Goosebumps out.

I comfort-rewatched a couple of seasons of The Great Pottery Throwdown and binged all eight comfy episodes of Nate and Jeremiah's Home Project, which is set in the NY area. They're an adorable married couple with adorable kids, although they do way too many white marble countertops and create drama by waiting unrealistically late to find out if there are major structural problems in the house. I started watching their earlier show, Save My House but don't like it as much because the families whose houses they're working on have severer and less amusing problems.

Watched a variety of things -- Loki's new episode, Welcome to Wrexham, Moonlighting, and tried out a series called Treadstone. The concept seemed really intriguing but the execution has done nothing for me. I've mostly been fast viewing it, just to see where the plot goes.

I am glad that Late Night is back, so have watched Colbert but Daily Show is still a no-show.

I signed up at Disney so I could watch Loki. The show is confusing me. And there was the obligatory rewatch of The Mandalorian.

I dropped Acorn and won’t be back until they show something I have to watch, like Midsomer Murders. I watched Mrs. Sidhu Investigates which was okay but I couldn’t stand her slacker son.

I signed up at the Criterion channel so I could watch b/w movies which I’ve been craving, especially noir ones. I don’t know if that qualifies for tv talk.

Not sure I can say this in the current anymore, since I've actually finished already, but I watched s3 of Lupin this week and it was so much fun! A must-watch if you enjoy heist films.

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