Speak Up Saturday

[misbegotten]

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

Comments

[violateraindrop]

I ended up finishing The Diplomat in 2024 after all! It was good that I re-watched S1. a) I couldn't remember anything and b) S2 starts right where S1 left off. I would say it's a pretty flawless transition between the seasons. I loved the second season just as much as the first one. I was a bit scared that Ali Ahn might have less screen time due to Agatha All Along, but that wasn't the case. Luckily it has already been renewed because it ends on a cliffhanger. I wonder if there is a plan for a fixed amount of seasons (maybe just the three), because I would hate it if this show ended on a cliffhanger, too.

The third season of What If...? was not as good as the first two seasons. It's great that Marvel has the opportunity to show team-ups that will never happen in live action or revisit characters we haven't seen in a while, but overall I thought it was a bit lackluster. The Howard the Duck episode was...something and I was disappointed by the Western episode. The last two episodes made a pretty epic finale and I suppose satisfying closure to the show. The big fight went on a bit long for my taste though.

[colls]

The Diplomat is such a good show! The pacing is fantastic and I love Keri Russell in it.

[yourlibrarian]

That's too bad about What If? I was glad to see there would be another season but it sounds like it's not a lot to look forward to.

[jo]

This past week I finished season 2 of Shrinking. I also watched a new limited series called Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth, starring Colin Firth. It was very good. It's about the Pan Am Flight 103 bomb that exploded over Lockerbie in 1988 and killed 270 people. Firth plays GP Jim Swire whose daughter was on the plane and who leads the search for justice – dedicating his life to finding out what happened. It's based on a book that Swire wrote.

The big event of the week, however, was the start of season 3 of The Traitors (UK). The UK version remains by far the best of the lot. We're four episodes in and this season is the most brutal yet. I know there is at least one other Traitors fan in this community, so I'm posting a link to a really interesting piece from The Guardian about what the series teaches us about human nature. It's an interesting read even if you're not into the show, but there are definite spoilers for previous seasons: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/31/im-100-faithful-what-the-traitors-tells-us-about-human-nature

I also tried the first episode of The Madness but I'm not sure I'm in the right headspace for that one at the moment. Other than that, I'm continuing to enjoy the Dexter prequel, and Outlander. This week's episode was the penultimate of season 7, and irritatingly, Starz is making us wait an extra week before the finale drops. So no episode this Friday. :(

As for what I might be looking forward to this coming week... The third season of Will Trent starts up on Tuesday, and a new series called The Pitt starts on Thursday. It's a medical drama starring Noah Wyle, which isn't what is interesting to me -- it's the format. Each episode unfolds in real time, apparently, like 24 used to do. So each episode is one hour of a full, 15-hour shift. It's on Max, so I guess each episode will be an actual hour rather than 40-something minutes as they won't have to allow for ad breaks. There's also a new crime drama starting tonight on ITV in the UK that sounds interesting -- North Shore. It starts in Sydney Harbour, where a woman's body is found floating in the water that turns out to be the daughter of the UK minister for trade, so a UK detective goes to Australia to find answers.

[yourlibrarian]

I might be interested in Lockerbie too. What did you think of S2 of Shrinking vs S1?

[barbaratp]

Tenho assistido House MD, mas a duas temporadas do fim da série tenho pensado em desistir depois de alguns episódios bem ruins.

Estava planejando começar Castle, Smallville ou Merlin mas ainda não me decidi.

[yourlibrarian]

I have to say that Smallville and Merlin are both best if you really buy into the main relationship of the shows because the writing is not great. I personally think Castle went on too long, but I liked its early seasons. So it might depend on what you'd like to get out of the shows.

[feurioo]

I finally finished the third season of Somebody Somewhere and will seriously miss the Sam/Joel friendship. Watched two episodes of The Penguin. Good stuff. From all that I already knew about Love Scout (female workaholic CEO + devoted, single-father secretary), the first episode played out most unexpectedly. It made me more interested in both leads and their relationship. I also tried one episode of Bae Doo-na's Family Matters but it didn't hold my attention for very long.

Edit: I have finished the first episode of Love Is Blind: Germany and it was (surprisingly) less terrible than I expected.

[china_shop]

Ooh, has Love Scout started already? (Argh, I can't keep up with all the shows! /o\)

[wearing_tearing]

What We Do in the Shadows: I’m sad and disappointed :( This final season did not meet my expectations in any way and made me wish the series had ended in the previous season. There was no real conclusion to character arcs in a satisfying way and most episodes were entirely disconnected from each other. A positive: the vampire cameos from other vampire media.

Bob’s Burgers: finishing season 14 (!!!!) was in my end-of-2024 plans so I wouldn’t start this year so behind on one of the best animated shows out there. I’m happy to say Bob’s Burgers still makes me laugh and gives me all of the warm feelings when it comes to the portrayal of supportive and loving families.

LOTR: The Rings of Power: I liked season 2 and no one is more surprised by that than I am! The overall pacing and plot progression/development were more satisfying this season, but it did take me until the third episode to fully buy into what was happening. The visuals and action scenes continued to be beautiful! And most character arcs were very interesting to me. I’m curious about season 3 :D

Dalgliesh: recced by the amazing belovedmuerto! This goes into the category of: cozy murder mystery series based on books. PD James’s, to be more exact. I’m very much enjoying how soft spoken everyone is here? Despite the subject of murder and death. So far, it seems like season 1 has been adapted to follow 1 case through 2 episodes. I’m about to start episode 5!

[shadowkat]

Had the same reaction to Rings of Power S2. I had to re-watch the last three episodes of S1 to get into it though - and it also took me until about the third episode to get embroiled into what was happening. It has an excellent production value.

[starfleetbrat]

I felt the same about WWDITS. The entire season was pretty low key, and didn't feel like a final season. I did really enjoy the last episode but it didn't make up for the rest. What really got me I think was that they did a whole Office thing and didn't utilise Colin much for it! Like he was there, but he wasn't THERE.

[mllesatine]

I agree with your take on WWDITS. It felt like treading water and never pushed the narrative where it I wanted it to go. The relationship between Nandor and Guillermo felt really tepid at the end. I also was disappointed in the Frankstein story line. It would have been fine for the office party but the rest of it?

[prisca]

I am still (re)watching Law & Order SVU. I started about 3 months ago with season 1 and have now reached season 20. There is so much I love about this show. Even if the actors leave the show occasionally, it's mostly a plausible reason given to the audience. Characters being around for a long time make such a great development over the years.

And, of course, the stories itself. Yes, there are a handful of episodes I don't like (and I've skipped them), but most are good to very good, and finally, some episodes are brilliant, making me hold my breath no matter how often I watch them.

[starfleetbrat]

I did a rewatch of SVU a while back and its such a great show, never seems to go downhill although I do prefer the earlier seasons before they started doing a lot of "torn from the headlines" eps. Its also fun to play the "spot the famous person in minor roles before they were famous" game lol I think my favourite ep is the one where Olivia is on the phone to Maria, the little girl.

[colls]

I just watched season 1 of Inspector Ellis (on Acorn) and really liked it. I believe there is a season 2 in the works. It's a good, cozy mystery show set in Northern England.

I'm making my way through Lady in the Lake and each episode takes a bit to digest. It's a drama set in 1960's Baltimore and is based on a book of the same name that I read last year.

I am also watching Shetland (season 9) and Skeleton Crew (what a combo - LOL)

[yourlibrarian]

Ha, that IS quite a combo!

[yourlibrarian]

Thanks to goodbyebird I discovered that Apple+ is doing a free weekend today and tomorrow, and it also covers previous subscribers. There is lots of great stuff there including Slow Horses, so if anyone was debating it do give it a try.

I am finishing S1 of Shadow Detective but have found it something of a slog and skipped 2 episodes. Will not be watching S2.

Am still working on S1 of Damages. Very twisty turny!

Because Late Show and Daily Show have been on hiatus, we went back to watching Moonlighting. Are currently halfway through S2 but suddenly Hulu has only those 2 seasons and not the 5.

Also watched the Tournament of Roses parade on New Year's Day. It's been a family tradition but viewing it has often been excruciating due to the commentators and directing decisions. I would recommend the NBC broadcast, as it has the least talking. ABC does have a behind the scenes in the making of the floats which is often interesting, but the rest I would forward through. Tried Univision for the first time this year and it was the worst of the lot, with an "on the ground" person who was enough to make us speed past her every time she appeared. The commentators could not seem to shut up but rarely added anything of interest to the views.

Continuing on with Skeleton Crew and Great British Baking Show Celebrity shows (I think I'm on S6).

Finished the Dreams spinoff of the Inside Out movies. Thought it was absolutely delightful and liked it rather more than the 2nd film. Definite recommend.

[shadowkat]

I'd agree on Tournament of Roses Parade - I watched it on ABC, and the commentators annoyed me. The only plus side was the behind the scenes making of the floats. Although I knew most of that already.
They did have some beautiful floats though. And some interesting dance routines. I actually liked it in some respects better than the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Have you seen all of Slow Horses - it and Foundation are in my opinion the best things on Apple +.

[feurioo]

Thanks for the Apple+ pointer! I guess it's finally time to watch Shrinking's second season. :)

[china_shop]

We finished Ludwig (as one reviewer put it, David Mitchell playing David Mitchell playing David Mitchell), and it was fun enough, but the episodes felt really long to me.

We're now watching The Morning Show with Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon. It's surprisingly funny in places given the subject matter, and quite mesmerising. Quote of the episodes so far: chaos is the new cocaine.

In Kdramas, I'm watching and very much enjoying A Virtuous Business, about four women in a small town who start selling lingerie and sex toys.

[yourlibrarian]

I am glad there will be more Morning Show as I have definitely enjoyed all its seasons and was somewhat disappointed there wasn't more available during this weekend's free access.

[shadowkat]

Finished Rings of Power, which I appreciated more after I rewatched Fellowship of the Ring and part of the Two Towers. Special Effects have really advanced since the original films were released, they almost look clunky in comparison to Rings of Power. And I actually like Rings of Power better, in part because it's very female centric and has more interesting and varied female and male characters.

Also was binging old GBBS episodes on Roku - specifically celebrity edition. (Since they were all British Celebrities, I only really recognized two of them, Ellie and Warwick Davis). It's hilarious, because 90% of them have never baked before.

I don't know what is up next. I seem to be in a Fantasy mood - so it will either be Wheel of Time S2, The Witcher from the beginning, because I forgot most of it, or Dragon Prince: Mystery of Arvavos S6 (latest season) or Ex Deus Machina Legend of the Vox. (I adore all fantasy - well, except for pure horror, which I have a love/hate relationship with.) Am flirting with Shining Vale which is now streaming on MAX.

Definitely in a Fantasy mood though. Possibly Sci-Fi. I want to escape reality. LOL!

[yourlibrarian]

I am looking forward to Wheel S2. Have heard mixed things about S2 of Rings but plan to watch that as well eventually.

[starfleetbrat]

Homeland - I did a watch through of this over the holidays. I'd seen the first two seasons I think before, but not the rest. This show was really good, but also super frustrating in many ways.

Blood Machines - finally got around to watching this (via amc+) and omg it was amazing, so good. The cinematography was beautifully done. Highly recommend if you like sci-fi.

Goliath - also watched this over the holidays, and it was very good although the show seemed to get weirder as it went on. Seemed like a normal legal thing in S1 but the last season was very artistically shot and played out.

Squid Game S2 - I didn't like this season as much as S1 and definitely didn't like how it ended

Darby & Joan - watched the first two eps of Season 2 and enjoyed it as per usual.

Vera S14 - Sadly, its all over now, pet. I will miss this show and miss Vera and her witty charm.

[yourlibrarian]

Hmm, I was wondering how Squid 2 would hold up. It's not something I'm dying to see but I did plan to check it out.

[tinny]

I watched nothing at all except HPI the French procedural I already mentioned last week. I'm mid-season 3 by now! I watched about one ep every day, and am having serious problems pacing myself. I have by now completely fallen in love with both Morgane and the detective, and I was positively surprised by how much the narrative supports them. It's not like they're a couple, but they *should be*, and I guess they *want to be*, too, and my little shipper heart is dancing. And crying. Alternately. You could call it relationship-baiting, but since they're not queer, I'm really not complaining at all. It's so good, it almost makes me want to write. That hasn't happened in over a year. Huh.

The other side effect is that I feel like immersing myself in the French language again more, so I'm looking for other good French shows. Any recs?

Oh, right, and the family reconvened for two more eps of Perfekt Verpasst, still two to go. Still not bad.

[yourlibrarian]

I'm afraid the only French language show I could recommend was Dix pour cent (just because I haven't watched many and because I definitely enjoyed this) but I imagine you already know about it.