tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

Binged American Primeval and LOVED it. Gritty and dark and brutal and they still squeezed some tiny bit of romance in.

Same with Black Dove.

I loved that about Black Doves. It was so fun. :D

Something old, but I just picked up the holds for some Monty Python's Flying Circus DVDs from the library and I'm very excited to revisit them. :)

I did a rewatch myself a few years back so I'll be curious to hear how that goes.

In terms of new, or at least, new to me viewing, this past week I watched North Shore, which is a UK-Aus co-production about British and Australian detectives who team up to solve a murder mystery (the victim being the daughter of the UK Secretary of State for Trade), and uncover a conspiracy with international political consequences. I didn't know/recognize any of the Aussie actors, but the UK stars are John Bradley (Game of Thrones) and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey). I quite enjoyed it.

I also watched the first two episodes of the new series The Pitt, which I'd mentioned in my post last week. It's a medical drama set in the ER of a Pittsburgh hospital and each episode unfolds in real time, like 24 used to do. So each episode is one hour of a full, 15-hour shift (there will be 15 episodes). It was quite gripping and I am looking forward to next week's episode.

UK stalwart forensic drama Silent Witness kicked off its 28th (!!) season this past week, and I very much enjoyed the first two episodes.

I also started watching season 1 of Hacks, which I'd been meaning to do for ages, but other shows kept getting in the way.

With regards to on-going viewing, I delighted in this week's installments of The Traitors UK. And now that xmas is officially done and dusted, regular programming has resumed for shows that I was watching last fall, e.g. High Potential, Brilliant Minds, Curse of Oak Island. Haven't gotten around to the most recent episode of the Dexter prequel yet.

As for what I am looking forward to, well... there's the season 7 finale of Outlander on Friday. Also on Friday, season 2 of Severance starts. My husband and I are agonizing over whether to watch as episodes are released weekly, or wait until most/all are available so we can binge. The Australian Open starts tomorrow, so yay, tennis! But boo, time zones! I won't be able to see much of it as most matches happen during my night.

I finished The Penguin, and it was excellent. Watched the third episode of Love Scout. I like all the cozy, relaxed, comedy parts but could do without the FL's angsty backstory. I also peeked into the first half of Shrinking's second season (very funny!) and the first episode of When The Stars Gossip (not for me!).

Now onto the usual daily soap drama: My cracky OTP seems to be happening... in some way? The preview mentions "unexpected passion". I'm really not excited about it considering F just lost her husband in January and generally seems to be at the end of her rope. According to the preview, F resorted to alcohol for a couple of weeks and suddenly rediscovers her will to live. Then, this "unexpected passion" happens with M. I'm mainly thinking a) it's not the right time, b) it's happening way too fast (the drinking has happened off-screen, so we are suddenly reintroduced to F's journey of grief only to have it resolved within a week), and c) why would M, as a good friend, sleep or do anything else romantic with his friend who's been unstable for weeks? It just gives me an icky feeling.

That's a shame about When the Stars Gossip. What about it didn't work for you?

I hope the soap drama worked out better than expected!!

That's a shame about When the Stars Gossip. What about it didn't work for you?

Several things, in no particular order:
1. I genuinely didn't find it funny.

2. Some reviewer hinted that this would be "IVF in space" which would make sense with LMH's character being a gynecologist in space. I love space stories but couldn't care less about IVF/babies in space. Plus, I already watched another K-drama with a gynecologist ML last year, and I hated the paternalistic view on pregnancy.

3. There was a longer scene involving GHJ's feet being injured and LMH stitching them up. Didn't care for it.

4. Both characters seem to have partners on earth. LMH's character is short of marrying his girlfriend (his chaebol daughter ex-patient) whom he doesn't truly love, even though he cannot communicate that to her. While I'm not above watching romances based on emotional affairs/infidelity, this gave me the ick.

I hope the soap drama worked out better than expected!!

It's a mess now that promo images are finally out. :DD I'm laughing to hide the pain.

Oh no. IVF in space sounds, yeah, not my thing at all either.

It's a mess now that promo images are finally out. :DD I'm laughing to hide the pain.

*sympathy*

I actually watched stuff. I got sucked into Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale (not the other Sanctuary TV show) because the cost of having AMC is going up and I wanted to see if I want to keep it. Halfway through I was pretty sure it wasn't for me, but I wanted to see how it unfolded and if my guesses were right. Nice aesthetics, plot has a few problems. Also, it's a mystery that introduces a lot of characters very late in the game.

I also started Poker Face! It's not what I expected. I was expecting more Leverage or Ocean's 11 vibes, but it's Columbo. Seriously, it's a Columbo remake. I now get why John Rogers was making comments about what modern Columbo remake would look like. One of the people who created the project and wrote a lot of it is Chris Downey, who co-created Leverage with John Rogers and also wrote on a lot of John's episodes. That's why I've been wanting to see it.

Obviously, there are differences because she's a she and on the run. But, she does the whole 'we see the crime and then see how the detective solves it' format. Also, her hand gestures and other things are nods to Columbo. Her accent isn't quite the same, but it's a iteration on how he talks. I really like it so far.

I watched the first 2 episodes of North of North and I'm really enjoying it so far! It's a new Canadian sitcom about a young Inuk mum, Siaja, played by Anna Lambe (you might recognise her if you watched True Detective s4).

I watched that too and it was great! not as silly as I was expecting.

Right? The second episode even made me a bit emotional. I can't wait for the next ep!

I watched Blockbuster because was in the mood for something fun and not too long. I also really like Melissa Fumero and Randall Park.

The reception wasn't too good when it came out and it was canceled after one season. My expectations were really low tbh. I ended up really enjoying the show! Not going to lie though, the first episode was pretty rough.

Overall it is a workplace comedy, so it doesn't exactly reinvent the genre. There are some funny running gags though. I also feel like the show did a good job of developing its characters in the short amount of time it had.

spoilers, including the ending

Of course there is the old "will they won't they" trope. Eliza is trying to get back with her husband after he cheated throughout the entire season and ends up single. Timmy thinks he has a chance with Eliza, but ends up finding a (pretty awesome) girlfriend. In the finale, Eliza confesses her feelings for Timmy to her husband on camera which one of the co-workers later sees. So I feel like I can guess it would have been two more seasons of them not getting together...

I forgot about this one, as I remember watching the first episode and maybe second but just wasn't taken with it. Like you, I was pulled in by it being a workplace comedy and the cast. Am not looking at the spoilers since I might yet try out the rest of the season.

I'm still watching GBBS Celebrity episodes and am up to S9 now. It's been fun seeing various people like James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley taking part. However I'm finding it doesn't keep my attention as well now. Will probably wrap up the next two episodes and then leave it until Christmas.

I've been tearing my way through Damages. I've just started S4 and think it's still quite strong. It has an interesting set of guest stars -- I'm thinking the show was considered a "get" for actors at the time.

Also watched the latest episode of Skeleton Crew, have watched two episodes of The Suspicions of Mr. Witcher (not all that great as mysteries, but am giving it another episode) and started a rewatch of Black Sails with my partner who had not seen it before. Boy that pilot episode sure holds up, no wonder I was hooked right away my first time.

I found a whole season of What We Do in the Shadows I hadn't seen.

Watching the latest Shetland. They really have to spin the story out because there aren't enough people on the island for somebody new to die each week. I really like the two women leads.

I'm putting off the very last new episode of Vera ever as long as I can. Very sad making.

I'm told that The Last of Us will be on in March. \O/

there aren't enough people on the island for somebody new to die each week

*chortle*

Silent Witness - first two eps of S28 which were great! Glad to see the show back for another season.

North of North - a funny canadian show set in a tiny arctic community, I thought it was delightful, but also thought Siaja's husband was abusive. Not sure if that is what they were going for, as none of the characters seemed to think so, but some of the things he said...

Sakamoto Days - first ep, I haven't read the manga, but the first ep was pretty funny. I'll definitely be watching ep 2.

On Call - binged S1 of the show on amazon, its a cop drama. I liked the way they used the bodycam footage occasionally, and also Troian Bellisaro was really good in it.

The Pitt - First two eps. It was ok. Its a hospital drama. It didn't stand out to me, but I did like some of the characters.

Brilliant Minds - the final two eps, I was pretty shocked by the twist in the penultimate ep but without being too spoilery I was also pretty disgusted that they would do that to him.

Saint Pierre - first ep, canadian detective show set in the french islands near canada. It was ok, will have to see how it goes.

Doc - first ep, about a doctor who is the chief of internal medicine, she has a car accident and suffers a brain trauma, so has retrograde amnesia, and can't remember the past X years. She still wants to be a doctor so has to return to being an intern to relearn everything. It was ok, will need to see how it goes.

SkyMed - I watched the first two seasons. canadian show about the pilots and doctors in remote canada. It was good, looking forward to seeing s3 next.

also watched a few regular shows, Outlander, Will Trent, Landman, The Agency, Dexter, Silo, Wild Cards, High Potential, The Way Home etc

Upcoming:
I have American Primeval to watch
XO Kitty Season 2 next week
Severance S2 starts
a uk show called The Crow Girl which is a murder thing

I'm watching a series of short stop-motion films over on Japanese Film Festival Theater. They're really delightful.

Also in the middle of the original Saiyuki anime, which is... okay but has its moments of feeling really dated.

o.m.g. I guess I can do bingeing once in a while. :D

I watched the rest of HPI - i.e. 12 episodes - in one week. O_O I was briefly bummed out by some eps mid-season 4, but then they really stuck the landing, so now I'm very happy again.

spoilers

My main gripe with 402-405 was that there was barely any Karadec (him having switched departments). There were fun fantasies that included the actor in the episode even though his normal character wasn't there, and I loved that, but the RL parts were just all depressing and sad. I guess I should have trusted the writers, because they are 100% team Alvarec, and no matter the details (who's the father, etc), they always show how much those two are in sync and how much they love each other despite all their problems. It's just *so fun*!

Oh, and the birth was maybe the most realistic birth I have ever seen on tv. Well, apart from the fact that the ophtalmologist apparently knew what to say - lets ignore that part. But everything concerning Morgane herself was so good. In typical Morgane fashion, she is in denial about everything because she didn't want the child to be Timothee's, and I love that about her. She walks around until almost the very end, and then sits to give birth, never lies down. The timing also sounded legit - it being her fourth birth, it wouldn't take longer than six hours. That fits, too.

Before embarking on other shows, I tried to see what else of Mehdi Nebbou's I could find - and since he's ~~old~~ my age, he's done *a lot* - but the only thing I did find was English Vinglish, a 2012 Bollywood movie where he plays the French love interest of a woman who comes to New York for a family wedding and uses the chance to learn English while she's there. He doesn't have much to do, and I found his attentions to her a bit pushy, but overall liked the movie a lot! (Omg the language course reminded me so much of my own Chinese classes. Nobody can tell me these people were ~~any~~ much better at speaking English than they were at the start. But it's a nice fantasy.)

I'm still trying to find the old German things he's done - I didn't know his career started in Germany and he is bilingual and actually lives in Germany, too. The thing I thought should be easiest are an old Tatort episode from 2010, and some award-winning movies, but... eh, apparently not.

Last (and least) I forwarded through two more eps of Parallel World to stay ahead of the weekly watch-along.

In between shows at the moment.

Watched six episodes of Skeleton Crew - which was enjoyable, apparently there are more episodes?

I did watch four episodes of S18 of Project Runway on Netflix, which surprised me with how much it had changed and how much it hadn't. It's nicer now than it was in the past. We don't see the contestants sniping at each other, or the contrived soap opera. Instead they've kind of followed the Great British Baking Show model - of everything being cooperative and trying to help each other. And kindly hugging and congratulating each other on the way out.

The critical judge - isn't quite as bad as Michael Kors was, nor the others.

And the model who replaced Heidi Klum is nicer and less icy. Although the guy who replaced Tim Gunn, doesn't have either Gunn's charisma, or his respectability? I miss Gunn. It's possibly because the guy who replaced Gunn as mentor was the contestant who won S4, Christian Sirano. [ETA, I got to about six or seven episodes in? It gets nasty. The judges rip apart the people in the bottom, and completely unself-aware about what they are doing, or how subjective their comments truly are. It makes me appreciate Great British Baking Show's style and as critical as Paul Hollywood is at times? He's no where near as brutal as those judges and contestants are.) Baking is a far less brutal profession than fashion.

Also watched, and highly recommend the film "Emila Perez" which is a film about a Mexican Cartel boss who hires a disillusioned and frustrated female attorney to help him transition into a woman and change their lives. It's a kind of a Spanish Opera? With interesting and rather compelling musical numbers throughout. It follows three remarkable women - the transwoman, the wife, and the lawyer - throughout, and is in their perspectives. It's on Netflix.

Watched the Netflix rom-com "Anyone But You" which is basically a modern retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. It tries to be clever - but it fell flat for me. Interesting cast - Rachel Griffith and Dermott Mulroney (?) from My Best Friends Wedding are the parents. Took me a while to recognize them. And the guy who starred in the F/X films, was also a parent. I don't think I'm the demographic for it? It was aimed for 20-30 somethings, I'm the same age as their parents. It made me miss Kenneth Brannah and Joss Whedon's versions of the play.

Oh, and I am still watching GBBS Celebrity Edition - which keeps the same judges but changes hosts. We have Mel, we have Sue, then we have an actress or feels like a really grumpy older version of both combined. I think Sue did it best - her comedy is dryer and less caustic. I'm on S4 or 6, I don't know which - watching via Roku.

Considering a rewatch of The Good Place (Netflix). And possibly rewatching S1 of The Witcher, in order to watch s2-3. Or Wheel of Time - to watch S2. I'm on a fantasy kick. Or Black Doves, which has been rec'd.

I tried Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Amazon) - but my attention wandered during the third episode, it's a mood thing I think.

Edited 2025-01-12 22:41 (UTC)

Speak Up Saturday

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