Speak Up Saturday

[feurioo]

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

Comments

[violateraindrop]

I finally managed to watch Wake Up Dead Man. I liked it more than the second Benoit Blanc movie.

I have only one episode of Stranger Things S4 left. I say "only" when that episode is nearly as long as Wake Up Dead Man. I'll be back at work on Monday and, considering how long these S5 episodes are, it'll be a while until I'll reach the episodes that people are actually talking about right now.
Back to S4. I feel like not a lot more has happened between episodes 4 and 8 that I haven't mentioned. Eleven trying to get her powers back and the Vecna reveal wasn't really my thing? There are isolated groups of characters and we jump back and forth between them. It really stands out this season. Then there is Joyce on a completely different quest having no clue what her kids are up to when that was always a very essential part of the show. I mean, the Wheelers never seem to know what their kids do...

[yourlibrarian]

I'm hoping to see Wake Up in the next few days. Yes, the pacing was an issue for me in S4 too, as was the extra long episode.

[violateraindrop]

Over 2 hours isn't really an episode anymore, it's a movie. The pacing of this show in general is slightly off. Only S3 really worked for me in that regard.

[dine]

like almost everyone on the planet, I'm enthralled by Heated Rivalry - I've been consuming all sorts of HR-related articles/interviews/clips, and planning a rewatch of the eps. can we have Season 2 now?

[jo]

I was somewhat at a loss re: what to start watching after finishing the superb Plur1bus. So I started with something very light, Asterix et le Combat des Chefs (Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight). It's probably the best Asterix adaptation I've seen -- highly recommend if you're a fan (and even if you're not!).

After that, I decided to try The Copenhagen Test -- and was VERY pleasantly surprised. I had no idea what to expect -- I knew only the basic plot premise. It's a science fiction spy thriller about Alexander Hale (Simu Liu), a first-generation Chinese-American analyst, who is stuck downstairs at his top-secret spy agency, The Orphanage. But when he suspects he might be the mole they're hunting for, he realizes that his eyes and ears have been hacked. I thought it was loads of fun, quite twisty-turny, and I'm hoping there's a season 2! It's streaming on Peacock if you're watching things legally.

Then I watched a more serious true crime documentary called Murder at the Post Office, which is about the 2010 case of Diana Garbutt, who was found murdered in the post office she ran with her husband, Robin. He claimed she’d been the victim of a violent intruder, but as detectives probed further, suspicion began to fall on him. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison, but has maintained his innocence and has unsuccessfully appealed his conviction 3 times. However, one of the central parts of the prosecution came from the Horizon system – the technology at the centre of the Post Office scandal, which was superbly dramatized in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. As a result, he’s seeking to appeal again.

And lastly, the new civilian series of The Traitors UK started up on New Year's day, so I've been enjoying that.

As for what I'm looking forward to, season 2 of the most excellent The Pitt starts on January 8, so I'm excited about that. A new season of Will Trent also starts up this week.

[yourlibrarian]

Have added Copenhagen to my Peacock watchlist.

[tinny]

Oooh, I didn't know there was a second season of The Pitt! Cool! I'll definitely watch that!

[scintilla10]

Finished the final season of Stranger Things!

I'm also partway through Down Cemetery Road, a thriller with a fantastic cast (Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson, Nathan Stewart-Jarret) based on a novel by Mick Herron. It's excellent so far.

[pattrose]

I watched three episodes of Sense8. It's very different but I think I'm going to like it. So far so good.

[tinny]

Oooh, keep us updated on how you like it. I think this show is still a favorite for many people. I know I liked it a lot!

[feurioo]

I watched one episode of Solar Opposites and found it genuinely off-putting. Also watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) for sentimentality's sake. Considering rewatching Carrington because it's back on Prime Video and the Nyman soundtrack alone makes me cry buckets. This movie left such a big impression on me as a kid when I accidentally watched it. Holy fuck.

On my HBO to-watch list: Merteuil (French TV show inspired by Les Liaisons dangereuses)

I'm on some kind of Jane Austen kick, I guess? I read a couple of P&P fanfics, and even delved into Elinor Dashwood/Colonel Brandon, making me wonder if I should rewatch the 1995 movie... or rather go for Much Ado About Nothing with the delightful Emma Thompson/Kenneth Branagh pairing (let's ignore IRL stuff).

[china_shop]

I watched one episode of Solar Opposites and found it genuinely off-putting.

Oh, interesting. Is it just everyone being obnoxious, or is there more to it? (It's on my Netflix list, but I haven't tried it yet.)

[feurioo]

Is it just everyone being obnoxious, or is there more to it?
My impression was that it's too much shock comedy for the sake of shock comedy, and without making the characters funny/interesting/relatable in the process. YMMV, obviously. :D

[china_shop]

Ugh, that sounds bad. Thanks! <3

[shadowkat]

Finished Stranger Things S5 - which feels like the finale season, they wrapped everything up, gave a nice little closure to all the characters arcs, and had a lovely illustrated end credits sequence. It's a fun series - in that you get to see the kids grow up and age on camera. But it's not for everybody? Think Stephen King meets Stephen Spielberg, and it takes place in Indiana town in the mid-1980s? Kind of sci-fi horror, rather dark in spots, gory (although no where near as gory as Alien: Earth or Game of Thrones. I couldn't do Alien:Earth - that was too much for me.), mystery, and try to avoid spoilers? Also violence involving small children. (But no sexual violence - at least I don't recall any.)

Still doing the Buffy/Angel rewatch - made it up to Buffy S6 and Angel S3. Buffy is still lighter than Angel. Still enjoying it. It holds up rather well.

Flirting with Pluribus, Foundation S4, and a few films that have popped up on streaming: Life of Chuck, the Brad Pitt racing film (although my brother disliked it, and my mother was meh about it - and I tend to share their taste in films), and the latest Knives Out Mystery - I liked the previous films better than most - Rian Johnson, I think, is an acquired taste?

[tinny]

OOooh, Angel S3 is where I really fell into the fandom. I think it's my fave season of Angel.

[yourlibrarian]

The way Disney+ and Hulu divide things is weird. I caught up with all the Name That Tune episodes and went looking for 20,000 Pyramid. Hulu had taken it out of my watchlist, and when I searched for it discovered it is now available only via Hulu Live 😠

However going back into Hulu separately (rather than within Disney+) was necessary to access my watchlist. And I also discovered that Hulu was offering the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time with Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer which took place in January 2020. So I started watching that, which has been entertaining.

My partner having time off meant we finally got around to watching Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, and the 2nd season of LEGO Rebuild the Galaxy. As I commented to my partner, it's like a show that MSTs itself in progress. Good fun.

As we are now subscribed to Netflix, saw S5 ep 1 and 2 of Stranger Things. Hoping to get to the end unspoiled. I also started watching Squid Game S2, The Witcher S4, and the movie Jay Kelly (which I liked). Began S2 of The Diplomat but my partner is also watching so I'm hoping we'll get caught up before we rotate off again.

Saw various nature shows and finished Fur Babies, Animals in the Womb, Bertie Gregory shows about Great White Sharks and Dolphins, and one on marine predator hunting.

I noped out of All's Fair by episode 3. I was hoping for an interesting series about female divorce lawyers and instead have the scripted version of Real Housewives. What a waste of talent.

Finished all of S1 of Brilliant Minds. Medical shows aren't a favorite but it was fine for background viewing.

[jo]

I noped out of All's Fair by episode 3. I was hoping for an interesting series about female divorce lawyers and instead have the scripted version of Real Housewives. What a waste of talent.

Had you missed the near-universal horrible reviews that show got, including a string of zero-star reviews? https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/20/glenn-close-zero-star-reviews-alls-fair-kim-kardashian

[yourlibrarian]

I don't generally read (or even come across) reviews, so I just found out about it because Hulu presented it in its new additions a month or so ago. I find those results unsurprising though.

[jo]

See, I deliberately search out reviews because my time is limited and life's too short to waste on shit TV. Doesn't mean I won't ever watch a show that gets so-so reviews (and some genres typically tend to get less glowing reviews e.g. SF), but I will certainly prioritize better reviewed shows. But I would likely never watch a show that pretty much got zero stars across the board.

[china_shop]

Finished Stranger Things, still going on The Guest (Kdrama) and a Family by Choice rewatch. Still rewatching While You Were Sleeping (Kdrama), too. :-)

[lycomingst]

Will Trent is coming back. I finished the four skimpy episodes of Midsommer Murders. Britbox has some new cozy mysteries.

[tinny]

A few eps of Love on the Turquoise Land (now on 18/32), which I am thoroughly enjoying. Once I got over my "omg these vampires are so illogical" reaction, I am just cackling at them by this point. She goes to a sword fight with a waterproof (blood-repellent?) sacrificial robe omg! :DD The small moments are still what make this show for me, the lead couple are great together, and the subterfuge is amazing. They meet in a restaurant, carrying on two completely unrelated conversations! (I'm sure it must be even better if you understand the Chinese nuances. Alas. But it's already hilarious as it is. And something I haven't seen done since the old 1960s British crime capers.) They keep talking/chatting in code while being observed by the enemy! It's all really cool. Also, now, finally: romance! \o/ The only thing I didn't like so far was a torture scene. Eek.

The first two eps of The Company, a cdrama about a time-traveler from the future (his tardis is an antique shop, but otherwise... even his face reminds me of David Tennant). It looked fun from the trailer, but the pacing is a bit weird, and the interaction between the two (male) leads somehow rubs me the wrong way. The first episode nearly sets it up as an eternal love story between them, which looked interesting, but... idk. I'll check out a few more eps.

I've joined a Heated Rivalry comm, gamechangerhr. If you're into that show/the books, consider taking a look. A lot of people are very fannish about that right now.

Nothing else, it was a busy holiday week.