tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday: What are you watching?

House of the Dragon!!!!

I have a friend who just started watching but has never seen Game of Thrones. Is she missing a lot? (I've never watched GoT either)

I've not watched House of the Dragon, but since it's a prequel to GofT (which I have seen all of), set something like 200 years before the events of GofT, I can't see how you'd be missing anything if you were entirely new to that universe.

We resisted GoT when it was live because my husband claims to dislike "fantasy". But two summers ago in the midst of a tv drought we began it and got hooked within three episodes and mainlined the entirety of it in less than five weeks and it was AMAZING!!! It is typical of fantasy in that it's really about people. LOL!

House of the Dragon is slightly more fantastical but far more personal with fewer characters. Thoroughly enjoyable viewing! (And Matt Smith...)

ME TOO! Can't wait for another episode tonight :D

I've been keeping up to date on The Acolyte - which is fabulous! I love the characters and the visuals of the show are fun.

I also watched The Diplomat on Netflix starring Keri Russell. Has anyone else seen this show? It ended on a cliffhanger but I understand there is a season 2 coming.

I very much enjoyed The Diplomat. And yes, it does leave one hanging so I'm glad a S2 is planned.

I'm so frustrated with her husband (in a good way, narratively speaking) and love how they've added tension to that relationship without relying on tired tropes.

I liked The Diplomat a lot, although it was a little low on plausibility. I assume Dorian Harewood's character will turn out to be the Big Bad because otherwise the show wouldn't have constantly prevented him from getting together with Keri Russell's character.

Do you mean the British Foreign Secretary (Austin Dennison)? Yes, it would be an interesting twist if he was the Big Bad :)

I like the tension in the marriage between Kate and Hal, so the fact that she's not gotten together with the British secretary feeds into that in a way I appreciate. I'm fine if they never have Kate go the infidelity route, the UST between them is just the right amount of drama for me.

IIRC Kate and Hal don't have an ongoing marriage that could be disrupted by infidelity, and he's already been unfaithful--she just can't divorce him because it would be bad politically.

Oh, I'm not disputing that infidelity would have a huge impact on their marriage because OMG it's a hot mess (LOL!) but I find it entertaining and appreciate the way they've brought tension to their relationship on screen.

My point was that I'm fine if Kate doesn't have an affair. They are teetering on it with the British Foreign Secretary (who is portrayed by actor David Gyasi) and I won't be surprised if they do.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to season 2 whenever it comes around - I guess we'll find out then!

What I watched:
The Boys: I really liked Sage before but her current ~development is disappointing to me. Couldn't care less about Butcher. Frenchie's plot is a mess and a half. Liked Kimiko and Hughie. The Starlight and Homelander moments fell flat for me.

Geek Girl: A series clearly not made for me.

The GOAT: [Spoiler] has finally left the house! Hallelujah!

Miss Night and Day: A mixed bag. The female lead is way too stupid and childish for my taste. However, I actually like her as her older Miss Day self where she seems cute and joyful. The excessive use of the damsel-in-distress trope is a problem, but I liked the male lead so much that, for whatever reason, it worked for me here. However, if it continues to happen, the writers should try out some new ideas. (No idea, honestly, how or if they will develop the romance in this one because right now, I'd genuinely prefer him and the old lady together.)

Not a fan of the serial killer plot (I have a suspect though it seems a bit far-fetched) and the in-your-face lack of logic when it comes to the passage of time in this show. Still, I'm currently sick in bed and this sort of crack is like a lifeline to me.

Sh**ting Stars: Skipped my way through it out of nostalgia because it is the kind of stupid show I'd love to watch today. Disclaimer: It has a pretty messy first episode and I later abandoned it due to unnecessary angst. Still, the main couple was charming, even if it was the couple that got the least screentime/development that actually held my interest until the end.

Taskmaster AU S2: Loved it.

I hadn't heard of Geek Girl but agree it doesn't seem like my sort of thing, title notwithstanding.

I watched that one last week, and it scratched the wish fulfillment fantasy itch for me. Some characters and the way they treated each other were adorable.

I've been watching the same things I've listed the past few weeks -- Big Door Prize, Dark Matter, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Criminal Minds Evolution, and sports. They're all fine, but I kind of miss having some no-brain network-type series at the moment to watch the evenings where I'm just too tired to deal with anything that requires consistent attention. You know, the type of show where it really doesn't matter if you doze off mid-episode. The only new thing I've watched this week was a docu-film, not a new series. It was Federer: The Last Twelve Days, which is about the last 12 days of Roger Federer's pro tennis career in 2022, from when he announced he was retiring, to his final match in the Laver Cup. It had some interesting moments, but I have to agree with the Guardian reviewer who noted it was "otherwise a pretty bland, officially sanctioned corporate promo for the Federer brand." For hardcore tennis/Federer fans only would be my recommendation. If you want a far more interesting tennis biopic, check out the 3-part series about Naomi Osaka which is on Netflix.

I've also watched the latest in Dark Matter, and thought the latest twist was particularly intriguing. Overall though, still not terribly interested in it.

I know what you mean about the low-stakes long running series. I'm hoping to have some time to do jigsaw puzzles soon and that sort of show is perfect for accompanying that activity.

I've got MSNBC on a lot for political crap, but for fun I've been watching eps of Tiny House Nation on Plex

misbegotten told me about it, and it's fun to see what's out there, and what folks find (while acknowledging the lifestyle wouldn't work for me)

Yes, I like the idea of smart living spaces but there's such a thing as too small for me.

I have a lot of *stuff* and it'd be hard for me to downsize enough - plus, so many of them rely on lofts/ladders and that's definitely a no go for me

I watch such a smattering of stuff I feel like I've always forgotten shows by Saturday. I watched all of Funny Woman. Curious show, it struck me very much as a sort of Tom Jones story, especially in its first half. I saw a clip from the screenplay writer who said that it was set in the 60s because that time had such a great energy. I suspect it has more to do with making the sexism and racism a lot clearer and the implication that things will improve a lot more certain.

I watched additional episodes of For All Mankind, The Acolyte, Franklin, Slow Horses, Foundation, and finished the last season of All Creatures Great and Small.

I also finished the documentary on Steve Martin which I have mixed feelings about. I was never a fan of his standup or even particularly of his films, but I was curious to see a retrospective. I learned some new things about his early years, but thought overall that he'd been quite lucky in his career. (It was never clear to me how he supported himself during his early unsuccessful standup efforts). I was also surprised to learn he'd been as massively successful in his standup as he had. I'd always assumed he became successful as a solo artist as a result of his appearances on SNL rather than the other way around.

It was nice to see the relationship he has with Martin Short and how they work together. I remember hearing him say that he wasn't going to do anything after Only Murders ends, but it seems to me they have plenty of incentive to keep it going, especially as they're doing touring shows on the back of it.

For All Mankind was such a ride. It took me a while to finish up the latest season, but like the whole show, it packed a punch! Where are you in watching the show?

I haven't started Foundation yet, but it's one of those shows I'd like to get to before I cancel/pause my Apple subscription.

I believe we're on Ep 7 of the latest season of FAM. And I appreciate Foundation more as it's gone on. I wasn't very taken with the first half of S1 but was hooked by the end. And to me S2 is even better. I'm also very impressed by the money they were willing to spend on it because it sure shows up on screen. I feel like Foundation is underappreciated, but at the same time I can see how it wouldn't be accessible to a mass audience.

I believe there's one more season of FAM coming, but I appreciate how they tend to end seasons where they leave threads for future episodes but wrap up the main plot points.

Now I'm even more interested in diving into Foundation :)

I have seen their touring show and it was far funnier than I was expecting it to be!

I think it might be Netflix who has a recording of one of the shows.

Yes, it does! And now I'm annoyed at Netflix for not recommending it to me, because I do have a lot of standup in my "watched" list, but ... apparently the wrong kind?

I haven't watched it yet, but definitely will. I also have mixed feelings about Steve Martin, but watched most of his movies when I was of a young and impressionable age, so I'm curious to see how much of that remains. Only Murders is on my list of things to watch, but I never made it around to it so far.

Yes, I left Prime without watching 2 things I would have wanted to watch and they were never suggested to me! What's the point of all the spying if it doesn't pay off for the consumer?

lol yes! :D

Same as last week, mostly Shadow and Bone (which is veering into too YA and two-dimensional; I'm really only there for Nina and Jesper, and to a lesser degree the other Crows, at this point) and The Nevers.

I have many conflicting feelings about The Nevers! There are aspects of it that rub me entirely the wrong way (and which I can't help attributing to Whedon being Whedon) -- it's filmed in an unnecessarily pervy way at times (actually, that might be an HBO thing?); there's the obligatory Whedon madwoman spouting riddles; and (thanks to one of the characters having a magic healing power) the main female character is constantly being attacked, beaten, brutalised, etc, and then gets to be healed/reset and do it all again. (For some reason, this makes me think of Dollhouse, which I never watched.)

On the other hand, the characters and relationships are complex and nuanced (especially compared with Shadow and Bone), the themes are interesting (much like The X-Men), the main relationship is a platonic-life-partner-type ship between a ~~slayer~~ small, emotionally messed-up woman with impressive fighting skills, and a slightly daffy but very determined inventor of steampunk devices (they both have male love interests). There's great dialogue/banter, and queer representation. One of the characters uses a wheelchair. The politics are complicated. The setting is nicely realised, and I like the costumes. ;-p

And on the third hand, the plot is needlessly convoluted and doesn't quite come together the way I want it to. There are too many factions. We had to stop after episode 5 to check we hadn't missed an episode, because characters were confidently alluding to something that hadn't been revealed yet, and we found a bunch of headlines suggesting we weren't the only ones who'd got confused at that point. I totally see why it didn't get renewed.

But the characters are fantastic. So idk. We're halfway through episode 8, I think. No spoilers, please!

And I'm still enjoying Midnight Romance at the Hagwon -- I love romances where the people actually communicate. It's got a nice cosy feel. And not to be spoilery or anything, but so far, there's no serial killer subplot!

Is this new Nevers or just the original HBO run? At the time HBO said that it was the first half of a season and they'd be concluding it in the coming year but it never happened? And yes, I remember when I watched Nevers it was like a checklist of characters and developments seen before.

We have all 12 episodes.

And yes, I remember when I watched Nevers it was like a checklist of characters and developments seen before.

Yes, but the good parts are just So Good! I really wish it worked better as a whole. :-/

Most of my streaming sites are about to end because there's nothing more I'm interested in. When Dr Who wraps up, that'll be it until something on Britbox or Acorn appeals.

I'm watching Professor T on PBS, it's something to look forward to.

I might sign up for Paramount to see Jeremy Renner's show.

I'm thinking I might go to Britbox next as I think the last season of Vera is on it?

There's only three episodes but, you know, Vera is worth it.

Ha, yes, not an abundance of content! But I believe the latest season of Death in Paradise and its spinoff are there too, and there are some other series we could catch up on over a month.

I watched Remembering Gene Wilder which was an enjoyable look at his life and career.
Doctor Who: while waiting for the season finale I went back and rewatched Pyramids of Mars, which reminded me of several plot points that do carry over. The season finale was enjoyable, some elements didn't quite make sense but it struck some strong emotional notes. I'll probably rewatch both parts this week.
I'm continuing to enjoy Pointless.
I watched the first six episodes of 3 Body Problem. While the sixth episode seemed to drag a bit, I'm really enjoying this.
Got in a couple of episodes of Star Trek Voyager in my very slow rewatch.
With vidding in mind I've been rewatching Iwaju on Disney+.
Finally, I've started Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch. In each episode she explores the history and culture of an African country. The first ep was on Ethiopia.

I think I saw something about the Gene Wilder doc and was also interested to see it some time.

I rewatched Voyager not too long ago and it was very satisfying (but also very long!)

With vidding in mind I've been rewatching Iwaju on Disney+.
*insert the 'making eyes' emoticon here*
I haven't seen this, but am thrilled to hear the vidding bug may have bitten. :D

Man, I had a busy week. /o\

I finished Bridgerton season 3. I loved the first half of the season, and it was such a long wait until the second half, omg. But then I pretty much hated three of those four episodes. The last one wrapped it up again mostly positively, but I found it really sad how unhappy Penelope looked throughout most of the second half. That was way more angst than I was expecting, and way less sex.

I already mentioned that I don't really click with Benedict, and I wish I'd liked his storyline more.

I didn't have a lot of energy, so that all went into Bridgerton. I watched an ep each of my usual things, nothing really new to tell yet.

I tried to keep going with Taskmaster and made it a few eps into season six. I haven't really warmed to this set of contestants yet. I'm thinking this might stall me again.

I won't be seeing the latest season probably until next year given our service rotation. But I've gathered that it has divided a lot of viewers.

I guess "hate" was too strong a word, I still liked it overall. It was very well done, as always. And Nicola is the absolute best, she really knocked it out of the park.

I just wanted to see them happy together the whole time, and not getting that for longer than I'd expected really bummed me out. I'll have to rewatch and see if I can handle it better the second time around.

I hope you get to see it eventually, and that you'll enjoy it!

Speak Up Saturday: What are you watching?

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