tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

This week I managed to watch a limited (4 eps) series called Prisoner 951, based on the true story of dual national (Iranian-British) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's arrest and 6-year detention in Iran. It was a state hostage-taking, as the charges against Nazanin were 100% made up BS (e.g. plotting to overthrown the Iranian regime, working for MI6, “empowering women” (in one interrogation) and earning money illegally). It's very well done and I strongly recommend it. I also watched the BBC documentary Prisoner 951: The Hostages’ Story, wherein Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe tells her own story, as do other dual nationals who were also state hostages.

I also started watching Down Cemetery Road, which is quite fun.

I managed to finally finish The Beast in Me, and otherwise, it was weekly episodes of the usual various things that I watch on a weekly basis.

There is nothing of note this week that I am looking forward to, just making more progress with already started shows.

Also caught up to Cemetery and have liked it very much.

most exited about Heated Rivalry - I've seen the first two eps, and am eagerly awaiting a chance to watch the 3rd, which aired last night.

Almost forgot about this, I started the first episode but haven't gotten far yet.

Have caught up on all the old Jeopardy shows and the latest ones. It's really odd because Hulu only has part of James Holzhauer's run, the first 12 episodes. Given this happened back in 2019, one has to wonder why it's available at all if they're not going to show the whole thing?

In fact what they have is quite odd, because they have all of Jennings' run, his appearance on the Watson challenge, and the latest 5 episodes he hosts. But they do not have his 2005, 2014 or 2020 champion tournaments.

Instead they have the 12 Holzhauer shows and the Tournament of Champions from 2017 which he does not appear in. ???

Have watched a bit more of Gilded Age and The Buccaneers. Caught up on all the Down Cemetery Road episodes (I am assuming there is one more). I'm still in the middle of Mustafa and currently watching the final Mission Impossible film. Finding it ponderous (not surprising) and somewhat dull (a bit surprising).

Favorite bit of the week was Prince Harry's surprise appearance on Colbert.

What do you think of the Buccaneers? I got a little bogged down in it and gave up, may go back. I liked Gilded Age a little better.

The last Mission Impossible was a bit on the dull side. I liked the one with Henry Cavill as the villain which proceeded it - better. I can't remember what happened in the last one, just that it was lackluster.

It's ok. I find the cast interesting and have just gotten past the predictable parts (IMO) of the plot, so I'm curious where it will go from here.

I finished the movie but lackluster is a good way to describe it. It was just so ridiculous, all the characters are one-note (despite it being a good cast -- Angela Bassett comes off the best), and while I admire the physicality Cruise brings to it given his age, I think it's time for the series to end or be rebooted with someone else. I wouldn't recommend it.

I've been binging on some newer documentaries on Amazon Prime and Hulu: Becoming Cousteau, which is a bio about Jacques-Yves Cousteau (liked); The Merchants of Joy, about Christmas tree sellers in NYC (liked); John Candy: I Like Me, about, well, John Candy (liked, also cried).

I have Hulu for another 10 days, so if there's something particularly good on there I should watch, let me know!

You reminded me that I watched a good chunk of the Ben Stiller documentary about his parents. It's been revealing in many ways, a bit analytical about show biz families and their weak spots. However I'm not sure how interested I am in continuing.

I heard good things about the John Candy one.

I flirted with the Meara and Stiller doc, mainly because I remember them from their introduction of HBO films in the 1980s and 90s. (I found their comedy routine annoying for the most part, soo I wasn't sure how I would feel about the doc.) How much does it drill down on the comedy routine? (They were into embarrassment humor and slapstick, also insult humor - which doesn't work for me.)

I think I watched about half, and it has some clips from their routines but talks more about their process and their partnership than the routines themselves. I left off at the part when they had broken up the act and were each doing separate acting jobs.

I hadn't known that about the HBO films (but I also didn't have HBO).

They did this little "preview" bit for HBO, upcoming films, shows, etc - back in the 1980s. My parents subscribed to HBO back then (I was in junior high/high school and college).

Despite traveling for work, I was able to catch up on some shows.

I finished the first season of Talamasca: The Secret Order. It is not as bad as Mayfair Witches, but a bit dull. Some things were resolved, but of course there is more added mystery for a potential second season. I feel like this show could have easily done something contained to one season, but of course they didn't. Overall, it was fine, but not exactly "must-watch" television. Right now, it also doesn't seem important for the other two shows.

I haven't watched the latest episode of Watson, but I find this show weirdly enjoyable and entertaining by now.
The ending of episode 6 was bizarre. The upbeat music and editing the recovery of the "good" guy parallel to the decline of the "bad" guy was sure something.

There is only one episode left of S2 of Stranger Things for me. I think my expectations for this show were too high. I like it, but it's not going to be one of my favorite shows. That is fine, not every show has to be ;)

Yeah, I'm interested enough in Stranger to finish the series but I've never been particularly into it. And there are some season I've liked better than others.

I think S3 was the one that really took off online. I am looking forward to that.
I've sat through some bad shows because I didn't want to drop them 3+ seasons in, but Stranger Things is definitely interesting enough to keep going.

Feel much the same way on Stranger Things. I'm not a fan - but I'll watch for completion. I actually found the last season kind of slow going.

Mostly thanks to my hospital job, I got to rewatch some of my favorite episodes of Futurama on FXX :D (specifically "The Duh-Vinci Code", "That Darn Katz" and "Lethal Inspection" from Season 7 (technically Season 9?)). I especially love Lethal Inspection as I adore episodes focusing on Bender's more emotional state (.. in his own way, haha, he's kinda lowkey like Puss in Boots from the two Dreamworks side franchise flicks). I also happen to massively adore a lot of Hermes' episodes!

I've only seen a few episodes of Futurama but I could see it fitting into this week's question about comfort viewing quite well!

If I'd have gone to work on Tuesday I woulda answered with that, haha... But yes, Futurama is a big comfort show for me as it is one of the first adult cartoons I ever watched. I would love it if it came back on Netflix or something... That was how I saw the first ten seasons or so of the show! :D

Apparently it's available via Hulu -- I remember coming across it before in a "recommended" list.

Bah, I tried the newer seasons on Hulu (well, the one prior to 2024), didn't like it nearly as much as the run that concluded with "Meanwhile". I dunno, the vibes felt.. off, with the newest stuff.

Pluribus - which is creepy, entertaining and very watchable, plus works as a metaphor for half a dozen different things. There's a gut-punch moment where

spoiler

the main character reveals she was sent to conversion therapy as a teen.

The Cleaner season 3 - I'm finding Wiki's grouchy/reactionary tendencies less charming as this goes on. We'll see. Season 1 was so good, and season 2 started off pretty well.

The Lowdown - finished this. It's a wild ride, but I enjoyed it a fair bit. The acting and cinematography were both really good.

Stranger Things - all the new episodes.

We're saving Down Cemetery Road so we can watch the last two episodes together.

Typhoon Family - ended pretty weakly and was kind of disappointing overall. I wanted it to be cleverer, I think. But generally good-humoured.

Knight Flower - still going on this. It's very fun.

Okay, both Pluribus and the Lowdown are on my to Watch List. I think I'll like The Lowdown, I tend to like noirish series, there's another similar series on HBO Max called Down and Dirty, I think, with Josh Halloway. I working through Down Cemetery Road, and saving Stranger Things for Xmas vacation.

Making my way, slowly, through Down Cemetery Road on Apple +. It's not as good as Slow Horses, and drags in places. Ruth Wilson's Sarah is beginning to get on my nerves. I can't decide if it's the actress or the character? Since Wilson gets on my nerves in all the television series I've seen her in to date. Emma Thompson on the other hand - is intriguing, and has a really cool character in Zoe. I can see why Emma Thompson helped get this made - that's a great part. Just wish the plot was more interesting, and less stale. (I've seen it done before - a lot, in US shows, usually associated with Vietnam or Iraq). It's based on the Mike Herron book of the same name, and Herron is the show-runner, I think? I'm on episode 6, it has more episodes than Slow Horses, which just has six episodes.

Re-watched an old Paul Newman movie (inspired by listening to the audio book version of his memoir), Leon Uris's Exodus - it's on Amazon Prime, directed by Otto Preminger, stars Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, Sir Ralph Richardson (Vanessa Richardson & Natasha Richardson's father), Lee J Cobb, and John Derek (Bo Derek's husband). It's okay - it was an epic, well received at the time, made in 1960, adapted from the book which was published in the 1950s or thereabouts, and is about the founding of Israel in 1948. This was when the Jewish refugees came to Israel from Cyprus, after being rescued from the German death camps. The movie goes into depth about the Holocaust, the British occupation of Israel and Cyprus, and the fight between the Jews and the Palestinians for Israel, along with the various Jewish factions. Worth a look actually - considering what is happening over there now. There's a lot of good, understated performances. But it is a film of its time.

Also still rewatching Angel S2 and Buffy S5. I discovered I've forgotten most of Angel, so I'm enjoying it more? Mainly because I forgot most of it. I'm not sure if I can share spoilers for Angel or not? Probably not. So, I'll reserve thoughts to my own journal.

Yes, Emma Thompson is the main reason to watch. I can see some familiar elements with Slow Horses, but it's not a copy.

In cdramas, I decided to watch some more The Long Ballad, before I lose sight of it, and omg why do I love this show so much? I haven't loved a historical cdrama this much since Lost You Forever. I'm glad I do, I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Eight eps to go.

I'm halfway through Love at Night, and the leads have gotten together now, which always makes me happy, and is the main reason I watch anything. So yay. I guess if they mess it up again I'll just drop it and be happy with them having gotten together once. I'll wait and see.

I started Love in the Turquoise Land with Dilraba, a mix of modern and fantasy/horror. The horror aspect is not my thing at all, but I am very much enjoying Dilraba's actual voice, so I guess I'll just keep fast-forwarding through all the horror stuff and just watch her talk and fight monsters. That's the plan, anyway. :)

I'm almost done with the HPI watchalong - season 5 has no subs except French ones. We tried auto-translated English ones *once* and then decided that French will have to do. One ep left and then it's over. *sob*

Ep 2 of Heated Rivalry was just as good as ep 1, and I'm trying to pace myself because there's only one new ep a week. So I haven't started ep 3 yet. (Also, I've been told that it focuses on a side pairing, which wtf why? You only have a handful of eps and *that*'s what you decide to do? Oh well.) Definitely the best thing I'm watching right now.

I just finished watching Animal Kingdom (the tv series, not the Australian film). That was... definitely something. I was expecting it to be a bit like Shameless.

It was not 😅

Also watched the newest episodes of Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons. I enjoyed both but The Simpsons was my favorite- the new character ("Hub", voiced by Kieran Culkin) was hilarious!

I've also started watching Wok of Love on Netflix.

Edited 2025-12-09 03:05 (UTC)

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