tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

1. Wednesday S2 - Part II just landed on Netflix - so I may watch that. I really enjoyed S1 Part I.

2. Sullivan's Crossing is now on Netflix - so catching up on S3 (I was having taping issues, and CW online is filled with commercials, this doesn't have any). It's adapted from and based on a bunch of Robyn Carr contemporary romance novels, similar to Virgin River. They are mild relationship dramas, that never quite fall into melodrama. I'd say similar to Hallmark? I like Virgin River slightly better? But they are very similar. I think Virgin River may be a bit more melodramatic.

3. Alien:Earth - catching up on episodes.

4. Iron Heart - finished Iron Heart on Disney + - it wasn't very good. I can see why it didn't do well - and disappointed a lot of people. Also why Disney cancelled it - and isn't ordering a second season. Lots of plot holes, and I found the main characters to be a bit annoying? Also it was jarring in places - because I'm not sure it knew what it wanted to be? And there were a lot of side characters that didn't get much screen time or development.

5. Buffy rewatch S3 - made it through Choices. Which is humorous. I'd forgotten how funny that show could be at times. Also the Mayor is growing on me as a character. But Faith...has issues, I give the actress credit for selling it. I think they were trying for a female version of Spike, with her flipping the opposite way - which kind of works? But the writers aren't giving her good lines and she has annoying mannerisms and phrases, that are repetitive. Also she's a bit cliche - she's playing the rogue with a heart of gold role or the misunderstood bad girl, and it's unfortunately become a tired cliche now? I think it may have worked better back then? We've had better versions of the trope since, I think?

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I may try Dry - because I want another series like High Country. Or maybe the Fall with Gillian Anderson. Oh Bleak House is on Hulu now - so I may start watching that - it's the one with Gillian Anderson, Maggie Gyllanhall, et al. I like mystery serials - where we have one mystery or interlocking group of mysteries over a season, and each season is a different mystery? I'm not really a fan of the case of the week format. (I honestly don't know if that's a stealth anthology format or not?) I think my difficulty with the case of the week format is that the plotting isn't very good? Or the characters fall flat. It's hard to tell an interesting mystery story in the space of forty-three or fifty minutes apparently. You can do it - it's just really hard to pull off well. Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie were masters - but they usually did it in novels not short stories. Stephen King can write a good short story - but his tend towards horror. I think sometimes case of the week works better in horror series and science fiction series - like star trek, star gate, doctor who, and horror series?

And, I'm considering trying K-Pop Demon Hunters, Sandman Part II, and Star Wars: Rebels.

Not great that Iron Heart won't get a second season given how it ended. But unfortunately I wanted to like it more than I did.

I plan to check out Demon Hunters when I next have Netflix. I like what I've heard about it. I also plan to check out Sandman, though entirely because I gather Colin Morgan has a role. I can heartily endorse SW Rebels. Did a rewatch this year and it holds up well.

I wanted to like Iron Heart more than I did as well, and was disappointed in it. I think it focused too much on the wrong characters? There were a couple of really interesting female characters in there that required a lot more screen time then they got - Zelma (enchantress) and her mother, Clown, and Rampage (I should have cared that Rampage died as opposed to trying to figure out who he was? They had to remind me.)

There's a lot of interesting voice actors and talent involved in SW Rebels, also it's gotten critical acclaim. Not to mention fandom acclaim. So, I think I want to try it. I rewatched Rogue One and SW: A New Hope yesterday and was amazed at how well they fit together, and how well one led into the next one, and how satisfying they are as a two-parter. Also how well SW: A NEW HOPE stands up after all this time. For a 1970s sci-fi movie - it stands up really really well. Although there are quite a few special effects laden films from the 70s and 80s that do. Jaws does, Alien, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind...which is kind of amazing, when I think about it.

Highly recommend Demon Hunters - I saw it on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by it. I'm not a fan of k-pop or that animation style - and adored it.

Sandman S1 was good. I've been procrastinating S2 - mainly because the comics that it is based on - are kind of confusing, and more anthology? I am admittedly curious how they managed to adapt them? Because the audio version was a confusing mess.

Edited 2025-09-07 16:42 (UTC)

Oh good, another few votes for Demon Hunters 🙂

I agree about Ironheart, something didn't work for me there. I really liked Zelma and wish we could see more of her.

I've heard so many good things about K-Pop Demon Hunters, even a co-worker recommended it to me. Next time I have Netflix, I'll watch it.

I highly recommend K-Pop Demon Hunters - I was surprised by it. I'm not a fan of K-Pop or necessarily this animation style? But I loved this film.

Yeah, I liked Zelma a lot too - is she the enchantress in training? And her mother? I wanted more of Zelma and her mother, and more of Clown, also a bit more of Rampage, and a lot less of Parker, Parker's best friend, Joe, Natalie and her brother. And that was a big problem with the series. The more interesting characters kind of got sidelined? Mephisto was kind of obvious as a reveal and not all that interesting.

Highly recommend K-Pop Demon Hunters - I didn't quite understand the hype until I watched it, and it's a solid fun movie.
Bleak House sounds very interesting!

I managed to watch K-Pop Demon Hunters yesterday and completely agree with you. That's a fun, uplifting, engaging, and solid film. It also stays with you long afterwards. I'm not a fan of K-Pop and loved it. And you're right - I didn't understand the hype either until I watched it. That's a fun movie and hits all the right spots, and ends in a satisfying manner.

I wasn't a huge fan of how the book Dark Matter is based on ended or rather the last couple of chapters and called it "trippy". The show ending is also trippy, but feels less confusing or maybe that's just the translation to the visual medium when my imagination is just bad while reading lol
The ending itself is the same. Just like with the book, it feels like enough for me. Of course, the show added an epilogue for the characters that were not part of the Dessen family, presumably for S2 (or at that point a potential S2). Either way, it wouldn't have been bad if this stayed a mini-series. I'll watch S2 because I liked the show/story and the author seems to be heavily involved, so I have faith that it will fit in with the rest of the story.

I have to admit, I was kinda lost on what was going on in Upload. That happened between all seasons of this show. The fourth and final season was only four episodes long, but at least everyone knew in advance. It still felt incredibly rushed. I get that they didn't want to have just one story line for the whole "season", but the AI subplot was very underdeveloped. Then again, an evil AI/greedy billionaire subplot on Amazon Prime? Not sure if I should laugh or cry.
Speaking of (what a great transition!) I thought the ending was a lot more of a bummer than I expected from this show. Yes, tonally it was never pure comedy, but the ending was pretty much on the same level as Dark Matter.
I'm not sure what I expected from just four episodes, but I feel pretty meh about it.

Nearly done with Matt Smith's run on Dr. Who, just one more episode to go. I've never watched a "transition" from one Dr. to the next, so I'm not sure how long it'll take for the new guy to grow on me (or if he does at all, Capaldi seems so different from Smith). I wish Jenny and her wife got a spinoff series though, their episodes were my favorite, and overall I liked these seasons, even if some of the narrative decisions were... interesting.

Also started Babylon 5, which is incredible. About halfway through Season 1 right now, and there's already so many interesting plot threads (what's up with Sinclair's PTSD? What's Kosh's whole deal?? Why is Ivanova simply the best???), and I love the transition graphics that show off the station and all its ships.

B5 \o/ Oh yes, so good. It's always fun to see someone watch something I loved for the first time. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

I'm up to S22 of Silent Witness, and will be finishing S2 of Marlowe Murder today. Amusingly, I am currently watching the episode of Silent Witness that features Mrs. Potts (the actress anyway) who is the third person from this season of Marlowe in S22!

Watched a bit more of the latest season (13?) of Unforgotten. Finished off S4 of For the Love of Dogs which is, unfortunately, all that Britbox currently has on offer. Have watched a few episodes of Douglas Is Cancelled, and resumed watching Colbert now that he's back. Always enjoy seeing John Oliver's appearances as their conversation is fun.

There's a few things starting up on Britbox I'll want to try out but as they're appearing weekly and I have only 3 weeks left, they're going to have to wait until our next re-up anyway (and Britbox has already advised they're raising subscription costs).

Watched a bit more of the latest season (13?) of Unforgotten.

Assuming you're talking about the British series starring Nicola Walker, there have been only 6 series of it to date.

Right you are! Apparently I was thinking of For the Love of Dogs which has completed S12 and may be having a S13 this year.

I watched:
Dexter: Resurrection (season finale): A very strong season! I'm looking forward to the next one.

The Lazarus Project: Still trying to finish the first episode.

The Paper E1: Charming. I had the feeling throughout that they wanted to make Jim/Pam 2.0 happen with two characters, and I really hope they will surprise me instead.

Taskmaster NZ E3-5: Wasn't amazed by the first two episodes, but I've finally fallen in love with these contestants.

Looking forward to October when I can finally stream Blood & Sinners for free!

Edited 2025-09-07 09:26 (UTC)

What did I do this week? I think I mostly slept because work was extremely exhausting.

I almost made it through Amidst a Snowstorm of Love, only three eps left. They got more interesting again towards the end, and the fact that he did his confession speech in English was very cool. Very unusual. I'm still happy with it, except for two reoccurring things: 1) she keeps evading his kisses and 2) he tends to do surprising things with the idea of it being Romantic TM, and she always pouts and complains about him not telling her about it in advance. Rightly so, I guess, but it's grating to watch it over and over. Especially since I think the show is trying to tell us that he's in the right. Apart from that, it's slowly winding down towards a happy-ever-after-for-everyone kind of ending.

I'm already debating which Wu Lei show to watch next.

I watched a few more eps of the new season of Phineas and Ferb, definitely still fun. Plus I tried another ep (ep 5) of Shine, but didn't make it through it. I need to be in a particularly masochistic mood to want to continue that - I really don't like it much.

Last but not least, the last leg of HPI has started! The last 4 eps will air over the next four weeks, and I've seen the first of those (ep 5x05). It was good!

This past week was dominated by tennis and baseball, again, but I did manage to watch a few things.

I finished KPopped (Apple+), which was purely fun and ideal for watching while doing other things. I also watched a British mini series, I Fought the Law, a based-on-real-events story about the woman who fought to overturn the double jeopardy rule in the UK. If you enjoyed Mr. Bates vs the Post Office you'll likely enjoy this as well, although it does have the unfortunate side-effect of getting that song stuck in your head because of the title (luckily they don't use that song as the theme song...).

I also managed to squeeze in the first couple of episodes of Atomic and Hostage.

Plus this week's eps of Strange New World and Outlander: Blood of my Blood. Haven't managed this week's Alien: Earth yet, however.

Nothing in particular that I'm excited about this coming week. It will be the season finale of Strange New Worlds, which is sad -- the seasons are too short!!! I know Only Murders starts this week, but I'll likely wait until most eps are available before I start watching that one.

Didn't realize Only Murders was about to come back. That changes viewing plans for later this month.

A little late, but I watched the rest of Season 2 of Wednesday.... and honestly, I think I might like these episodes more than part 1? I'll have to do a rewatch to make sure, but yeah it was pretty good. It didn't quite go the way I thought it would which was nice, except for

spoilers below

Thing being part of the zombie - kinda saw that coming... also I can't say I really liked Enid's actions while in Wednesday's body but she's also a teen girl so meh? The alpha thing is weird, but sure, I'll take it. Also didn't really expect Capri (Billie Piper) taking Tyler to join a secret pack of Hydes? I mean I was wondering why they had Piper here (happy, but curious!), because it seemed like the first half barely used her but then we get a little more backstory for her character this part and I'm intrigued. Well, hopefully she'll show back up in Season 3? But not sure how that works since she's going to be in Doctor Who? *Fingers crossed* it doesn't end badly for Tyler?

Probably another three year wait for Season 3 :/

Also caught up to ST: Strange New Worlds - oh I cannot wait for more Kirk...

spoilers below

and the fact that he teamed up with Scotty to catch up with La'an, only to end up where they ended up. Gah. ♥ I think the dance fight with Spock was just a bit overboard, honestly. I like the ship, but that was just weird. Also R.I.P. Gorn that saved Ortega.

Oh! And watched SurrealEstate Season 3, which finally showed up (or I remembered to check for it) on Disney/Hulu. It's not great? There were good parts, and the new character Tag was great (I shall miss you...) and Zooey was amazing as usual and I really liked Lomax. I liked Susan using her abilities more often. I feel like it was missing something? Maybe Phil? Maybe that would have rounded out the season - but it seemed like a weird time jump happened between the last season and this one, however it has been awhile since I watched the first two seasons and I know they were cheesy but oddly addictive so maybe if I streamed it all together it would have flowed better.

Never too late 🙂

Good to know about Wednesday. I confess I watched it mostly because a friend loved it before she'd ever even seen it. It wasn't bad but I know she's excited about its return and I'm glad I have something to look forward to.

♥ That's sweet! I've loved the Addams Family films from the 90s (when I was a kid) and I know at some point in my childhood, I also caught episodes of the original TV series (as well as The Munsters TV series) and the newer animated films were great so I got super excited for Wednesday when it came out back in 2022 plus I really enjoyed Jenna Ortega in Scream that same year (although apparently I also liked her in Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous without even knowing, lol).

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