Speak Up Saturday

[yourlibrarian]

Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week?

Comments

[olivermoss]

* I watched a bit of Baby Reindeer and I thing it's brilliant. I think a realistic and serious look at these issues is fantastic and is hopefully leading to some good conversations. However, I don't think I will make it past the first episode.

* My anime arc might be ending soon, just not finding stuff I like. Also, getting Crunchyroll an Amazon might have been a mistake because the subtitles aren't working right for some. I meant to finish The Betrayal Knows My Name, but I doubt I am going to.

* I really need to go back and finish The Three Body Problem (netflix) and the shows I got Hulu for.

[shadowkat]

I had the same response to Baby Reindeer. Except I couldn't make it past the first ten minutes. It's not something I can watch. I can't watch "You" either - I tried. So there's a definite pattern there.

[jo]

Watched or finished watching:

The Twelve: Aussie drama about a murder trial jury. Quite enjoyed it -- the characters were interesting and some on the jury were as messed up as the person on trial. (No idea if this is on any streaming service)

Shardlake: This was an engaging, short (4 eps), murder mystery set in Tudor times. Based on the Shardlake novels by CJ Sansom, who died recently -- but I'd never heard of him or the books. I hope they adapt more of them -- I really enjoyed this. (Disney+ for those who don't torrent)

Started/continued watching:

Blue Lights s02: The second series of this BBC cop show set in Northern Ireland. It's as great as the first series was.

The Jinx Part 2: Sequel/continuation of the HBO true crime documentary that aired back in 2015 or something.

Started but ditched:

Under the Bridge: Watched the first 3 episodes, but decided not to continue with it. Not sure why -- maybe because, living in Canada, I remember the actual case, so this sort of feels... I don't know -- just wasn't doing anything for me.

Other than that, it was the usual weekly network stuff (FBI, Will Trent), non-network (Welcome to Wrexham) and some episodes of seasons of Portrait Artist of the Year and the British Pottery Throw Down that I'd not previously seen.

[starfleetbrat]

oh is under the bridge based on a true story? I guess this means its a limited series or such. I've thought it was OK so far but nothing great, but I guess thats because they have to hit all the facts of the case then.

[shadowkat]

Thanks for the Shardlake req, will look it up.

[feurioo]

For anybody interested: The Twelve seems to be an adaptation of the Belgian TV series De Twaalf which is available on Netflix (at least in my country). I recommend it!

[yourlibrarian]

I just re-started Percy Jackson, and can see why a lot of people liked it. I'm on the third episode and still interested.

Finished Shogun and loved it. So interested to see where S2 goes.

Watching some more of the latest Call the Midwife season, and started watching the new season of Welcome to Wrexham. Also watching Veil, fairly interested. Watched another episode of the latest Grantchester season, the partner is more interested than I am. Wondered why Jon Stewart didn't appear this week on The Daily Show.

[jo]

Finished Shogun and loved it. So interested to see where S2 goes.

Wait, what? They're doing a season 2. That's... not good news. It's perfect as it is. It was supposed to be a limited series. Not good at all.

[shadowkat]

Where's Welcome to Wrexham?

[lycomingst]

I binged The Ipcress File on Amazon on a insomnia night. The moral of that is: Everybody lies to you. Everybody. I saw the movie with Michael Caine a long time ago and I'd like to see it again to compare and contrast.

I signed up at Disney to see Dr Who, but haven't done it yet. I feel kinda dubious about it.

[yourlibrarian]

I knew of the movie with Caine but I don't believe I ever saw it. Sounds like something I'll definitely want to watch!

[china_shop]

Still on Veronica Mars, but I think we're stopping after season 2. Not sure what we'll watch next.

[rogueslayer452]

That's probably for the best. I liked Veronica Mars while it was airing, but in hindsight the first season was the only one worth watching. S2 was too cluttered and all over the place, and season three, while somewhat better, still suffered from the same thing.

[shadowkat]

It's odd, but I can't remember much past the first season? I think Alyson Hannigan and Charisma Carpenter play characters in either the second or third seasons? I remember the Prison Sociology Experiment episode - which I think was in the second season.

I'm not sure I can remember season 3 at all. I know I saw it, but I've no memory of it. I also saw S4 and have relatively no memory of it, or the movie for that matter.

[starfleetbrat]

Dark Matter: watched the first two eps and it is oddly familiar, like I have seen it before. Not sure where or what though. It is a bit similar to a 2017 Australian movie called "the gateway" but I'm not sure if thats why I feel this way.

The Circle: Finished watching this and still think it was average but I am glad the person who won did.

Clarksons Farm: watched the rest of Clarkson's farm which was good and it was interesting to see how much (or little) profit the farm made at the end. Looking forward to Season 4!

Stargate SG1: Amazon had a deal on MGM - 2 months for AU$0.99 a month so I took them up on it and have started a SG1 rewatch. Also watched a bunch of good 1980s and 90s movies. So that has been worth getting.

Doctor Who: Watched the news eps of the new season with the new Doctor and I was kinda meh about them tbh. I loved Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor of course, and in the second ep Jinkx Monsoon did an amazing job playing the villain, Maestro. But otherwise I didn't particularly like the stories. Especially the first episode which was just... infantile, both literally and metaphorically. And the writing of both eps felt a little bit all over the place. I'll keep watching though for now because I love Doctor Who. Hopefully the eps will get better though. Also I read somewhere that The Doctor is not going to have an iconic look this time around, which... I dunno, seems to go against the grain somehow. But we'll see I guess.

Otherwise its just been the usual weekly things. Nothing of note.

Probably going to watch Bodkin today.

[yourlibrarian]

That was a good deal! It reminds me of a few years ago, we tried out Britbox because they had 2 months for $4 which was a great deal.

[shadowkat]

Yeah, that's how I got Paramount Plus - Amazon had a deal with just .99 a month for it. And it includes Showtime.

I'm putting off Doctor Who..

Bodkin is intriguing - I started that tonight.

[shadowkat]

Started 3 Body Problem - better than expected. I'm admittedly curious, and the first episode was rather good - far better than I expected from the mixed reviews.
What I like is the mystery component, and the feeling of figuring out a problem. (Stephen King saw it and was apparently blown away by it.)

Should state what it is about? The non-spoilery description is that a decision made in China in the 1960s has dire effects for the entire planet in 2024. What is innovative - is it is a decision made by the Chinese not the US or the British. It takes place in China and London at the moment. It's based on a best-selling series of Chinese novels - that were very popular in China, and it has also been turned into a popular mini-series in China - which is airing on Apple TV (I think.)

Also started...Bodkin - this is about a three podcasters (one is a journalist, one a podcaster, and one his research assistant). The journalist hails from Ireland, the podcasters are American. They travel to Bodkin Ireland to solve an old and unsolved missing person case. And much chaos erupts. It's a dark comedy.

The first episode was okay, not as humorous as expected, but enjoyable. It pokes gentel fun at true crime podcasts and well, podcasts in general. Also pokes fun at folks romanticizing rural communities and Irish culture.

If I have time, and I probably don't - will continue watching Outlander - I finished S1 last week and am starting S2.

Also, continuing re-watch of Bridgerton (I think), and current watch of X-men '97. I've given up on Under the Bridge. Still watching Fallout, but slowly. I'm stretching it out.

And still flirting with Shogun. I need a rainy dark series of days and nights to watch it. I can't see it on my television set if it is sunny or bright in the room.

[dancing_serpent]

I started out liking 3 Body Problem and ended up disliking it. I'm not happy with the changes they made. The cdrama changed stuff, too, but theirs was to explain the science and to make the characters feel more like people instead of the plot devices they were in the book. This one changed stuff around to add more interpersonal relationship drama.

I realise 30 episodes are on the longish side, but if you have the time, the cdrama is totally worth it. It aired in January 2023, and is widely available on YouTube and Viki.

[feurioo]

I watched:
The Atypical Family: I was actually a little hyped for this show but the fatsuit ruined it in the first couple of minutes. Will definitely give it another chance but, for now, I'm turned off.

Bodkin: I thought the first episode was pretty boring. Only Murders in the Building is a lot better at poking fun at the true-crime podcast hype.

Clean with Passion for Now: Watched 6 episodes (of 16), thought it was cute. That's enough for me.

Frankly Speaking: It's a lot better than I expected based on the promos. Looking forward to the next two episodes! Go Kyung-pyo is adorable in this role.

The GOAT: Trash TV.

Maxton Hall: I didn't even know this was a German show! Terrible.

Looking forward to: The 8 Show, Bridgerton S3 (even though I'm probably hate-watching it)

[yourlibrarian]

I have to admit S1 of Bridgerton was my favorite, probably from the novelty of it, but even so I wasn't that taken with it. I watched S2 and Queen Charlotte and liked the idea of them more than the execution.

[china_shop]

Frankly Speaking: It's a lot better than I expected based on the promos. Looking forward to the next two episodes! Go Kyung-pyo is adorable in this role.

Oh, good to know. :-)

[dickinsons]

Hacks: this show is hilarious! I started watching it for femslash reasons, but I'm pretty sure it's one of the funniest shows on TV right now.

Blake's 7: first time watching! I've been making it my mission for the past few years to watch as much scifi as possible, and it was finally time to start this show. I'm enjoying it so much, I didn't see this coming! And I totally, totally understand how much the fandom always focused on Avon. I'm intrigued! I've watched 6 episodes so far.

[yourlibrarian]

I plan to check out Hacks again when I next get Max later this year.

[queer_scribbling]

We've mostly been plodding along with our weekly shows (or catching up). Ghosts (US) wrapped up its season, and I think we've only got one episode left for S.W.A.T. and Fire Country. Due to some breaks, Tracker and Will Trent still have a few more episodes before they end, and we're finally caught up on Vienna Blood.

Short season musing (relating to S.W.A.T. and Fire Country).

This was supposed to be the last season for S.W.A.T., but I guess The Powers That Be decided to renew it for an eighth season sometime this spring. I don't know if the viewership was up enough, or they want a 'full' season to end on, or what. Several characters have been permanently reassigned or retired, and it definitely feels like the writers want to shuffle the original squad's characters off-screen in a series ending way. My family kinda expected this on a certain level, but it does seem like certain moments have escalated quickly due to not having 20-some episodes to slowly bring up certain choices.

While Fire Country did bring up the sentence shortening credit [for lifesaving acts of heroism] early enough that it doesn't fully feel like some sort of deus ex machina tactic, I can't help but wonder if having this short season for S2 interfered with the writers wanting Bode to finish his sentence at Camp Three Rock a little slower. Him being nominated for this credit really feels like a way to have him suddenly out for the last episode instead of feeling like we really saw this coming. (No one else in camp has been nominated for this credit before, and it wasn't like Bode got nominated a few episodes ago and just found out his case made it through the paperwork and stuff. He found out he was nominated, passed all the way through, and will be released shortly in, like, one sentence.)

[yourlibrarian]

How have you been enjoying Vienna Blood?

[executrix]

I've been watching Seaside Hotel on PBS Passport--it's sort of Danish Upstairs, Downstairs--it starts in the late 1920s and continues (the show has 10 short seasons) and yes, it is set at a charming seaside hotel where most of the guests are creepy middle-aged rich guys and their trophy wives--but the lead of the show is Fie, a kind-hearted, intelligent, and beautiful young chambermaid at the hotel. Lots about the other hotel workers, and the older woman who owns the hotel. Scandal! Adultery! Blackmail! Murder! Spiritualism!