Speak Up Saturday

[misbegotten]

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

Comments

[tinny]

Am now after my vacation caught up on 4 Minutes. The 7th (of 8) episode just made me laugh out loud it's so Shakespearean. If you're seriously into this show, you will not find it funny. I just thought it was hilarious, and I'm looking forward to the wrap-up next week.

I also finished Boom Boom Bruno, the German 6-ep series starring Ben Becker as a misogynist and homophobic cop having to solve the murder of a drag queen - together with his new young partner, who also happens to be a drag queen. I think it really stuck the landing. (The ending might not be for everyone, but I liked it.) I really liked how they made everyone a real character with complex motivations.

I watched another ep of Meet You at the Blossom, now on ep 10, two to go. The main couple are still apart, but I'm sure they'll resolve their differences soon. It's a cdrama, so there's always room for sucky endings, but I think this one's going for a straight-up happy ending.

Another episode of Spy X Family - I'm in the middle of the psychic-dog-adoption plot, and loving it. Then I dug deep in the "never finished" closet and watched three eps of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Netflix does this thing where it's really hard to tell which ep you're watching, so it ended up taking me across from season 6 to season 7 without me noticing. (Otoh, I'm happy it did or I would have been a lot more concerned about the "Terry has to leave" plot.) I still love it, and maybe I won't wait another three years before I finish this season. :D

What else? I checked up on Ok Taecyeon's upcoming works, and found out he's going to star in a BL next year. That sounds great! (Still a long time to go, but exciting anyway.)

[makamu]

Oh, Boom Boom Bruno sounds right up my alley (I have always liked Ben Becker's acting, for my sins). May I ask which streamer in our neck of the woods carries it?

[tinny]

He's great.

None of them, I'm afraid. :/

[makamu]

None of them, I'm afraid. :/

Well, that's a bummer!

[shadowkat]

Spy X Family - Hulu still? I'd finished the psychic dog adoption plot though. Are there any news ones?

And agree on Netflix - it has this habit of wanting you to gorge on television? Trying to turn it off is not easy. No matter what I do, Netflix crashes, and I have to reboot or switch. Also, I'll find myself speeding through Seasons without know where I am.

I think it may be the only streamer that does this.

[tinny]

Spy X Family - Hulu still? I'd finished the psychic dog adoption plot though. Are there any news ones?

I'm in Germany, I don't get Hulu. It's on Netflix here, and it says there are 25 episodes, no split into seasons visible. I'm on ep 15.

Also, I'll find myself speeding through Seasons without know where I am.

Yes, me too. It's making me uncomfortable. Writing up later what I've watched helps a little, at least. I haven't actually tried turning off the autoplay. I didn't know it was an option. /o\

[shadowkat]

It's interesting finding out what is available in other countries. The US is apparently a major content exporter, with an insane amount of content distribution channels? We have to date: Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Max, Disney +, Peacock, Paramount +, Britbox, Tubi, Freeform, Pluto, CW, National Theater, MGM, Epix, and there about thirty more streaming channels that I can't remember the names of off the top of my head. I've limited myself to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, Paramount +, Max and Peacock for now - but most likely will kill Max and Peacock soon. I barely watch the ones I have.
I'm losing track of my subscriptions. They grab me with free trials and then I forget about them.

There's no way of turning off autoplay on Netflix - that I've discovered. Occasionally it will ask you if you want to continue watching...I wish there was a way to turn off autoplay.

It's very annoying.

[misbegotten]

You can turn off autoplay in Netflix. It's under "Manage Profiles".

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/121518

[shadowkat]

Thanks! didn't know this. I tend to watch on television not computer - so that may be the reason.

[tinny]

I honestly don't know what is available in Germany and what isn't, because I haven't watched much Western "tv" in the last five years. I know Prime and Netflix are available, because I have those two. I also know Disney+ is available because acquaintances with children have it. That's the extent of my knowledge.

I have watched a lot of cdrama these last five years though, so I know about streaming services that offer Asian drama, e.g. iQiyi, weTV, Viki, etc. Those tend to be available worldwide (but they don't have the same content everywhere, similar to Netflix).

[shadowkat]

cdrama is heavily offered in the US by Netflix, Hulu, Prime, HBO, and Disney (now - who is adding it).
A lot of it is admittedly kdrama or jdrama - with a heavy emphasis on anime (which I personally love - because I'm a fan of the genre).

It's just a matter of finding it on the service? They are badly indexed and Netflix is problematic in that it crashes on my television set whenever I search it.

[tinny]

You're right that kdrama - and to a lesser extent jdrama - is quite often available on Netflix. cdrama none at all, really. (unless you want to count The Untamed, which was five years ago, and there hasn't been anything new since.) For taiwanese and thai dramas, the situation is similar. Of course it would be great if one provider had all of them, but I really have to check all three I mentioned (plus youtube - cdrama is often officially available for free on youtube, just with bad subtitles) to get everything I want to watch.

It's no easier than with the multitude of western streaming services, really.

[shadowkat]

I can't decide how much of that is just China? Or how well those country's export content? The US is a major exporter of media and content - more so than most. South Korea is a major exporter. Hong Kong - you can get a lot of films out of Hong Kong, and I've seen a lot of Chinese Films - particularly during the 20th Century. Taiwan - mainly films.

I think it may have to do with copyright and maybe export tariffs. The US has imposed massive tariffs on Chinese goods and services for various political reasons.