What TV Shows Are You Watching?

[Dropbear]

Ted Lasso wrap was a little underwhelming.

The Silo is pretty good still.

Anyone watched the Idol? Sounds awful, but has a singer in it that I like so may watch just for her.

 

[Dropbear]

Anyone watched the Idol? Sounds awful, but has a singer in it that I like so may watch just for her.

Watched ep1. Sex, drugs and shitty music.

 

[Fwiffo]

I want to get back to Ted Lasso but I feel like the novelty of the fish out of water has worn off. Some of the subplots seems to have run their course (Jamie Tartt prodigal son, Roy Kent ageing star turned coach, Nate Shelley's kit man to coach trajectory, etc.).

At least if I choose to return to it they are no longer 20+ episode television series like the network broadcast days before.

I'm getting more used to the European runs of <10 episodes.

 

[Fwiffo]

The Kardashians...season 3.

 

[fxh]

I want to get back to Ted Lasso but I feel like the novelty of the fish out of water has worn off. Some of the subplots seems to have run their course (Jamie Tartt prodigal son, Roy Kent ageing star turned coach, Nate Shelley's kit man to coach trajectory, etc.).

At least if I choose to return to it they are no longer 20+ episode television series like the network broadcast days before.

I'm getting more used to the European runs of <10 episodes.

Because of the hype a while back i watched 2 episodes - I didn't get it at all. Maybe it requires an interest in sport. But it seemed lame to me.

 

[Dropbear]

I want to get back to Ted Lasso but I feel like the novelty of the fish out of water has worn off. Some of the subplots seems to have run their course (Jamie Tartt prodigal son, Roy Kent ageing star turned coach, Nate Shelley's kit man to coach trajectory, etc.).

At least if I choose to return to it they are no longer 20+ episode television series like the network broadcast days before.

I'm getting more used to the European runs of <10 episodes.

It’s worth closing it out with S3, but it was definitely in decline before wrapping. Still the funniest thing on TV this decade, IMO. They never sacrificed character complexity for quick laughs, though it was getting a little too moralising by the end.

I’m still working my way through Silo, which is just ok. I started Mute lastnight since it rated so well around the world, but it isn’t doing much for me so far. The Idol is utter tripe, saved only by some nice cinematography, a good cast and lots of gratuitous nakedness from Johnny Depp’s kid. If you aren’t watching one handed, I don’t know why you are watching this one.

 

[Fwiffo]

Because of the hype a while back i watched 2 episodes - I didn't get it at all. Maybe it requires an interest in sport. But it seemed lame to me.

As you aren't interested in football nor American college football which is where the titular character came from I wouldn't recommend continuing.

It would be like you watching Moneyball.

 

[Fwiffo]

I finished watching Citadel. Is that $300M USD for the 6 episodes at $50M a piece or they already started filming the spin offs? The Citadel Diana trailer looks pretty much complete. It wasn't a reveal sneak peek even though it's due out in 2024.

It seems the other characters can potentially get their own pre/post fall of Citadel stories. I was honestly prepared for Stanley Tucci's character to die - who survives a bullet through your chest but somehow he lives on which is kind of nice since his sarcastic humour gives breaks to the wall to wall action. More Priyanka please.

For six episodes it probably could have done with one or two less subplots because now Richard Madden has two wives on the show and two kids plus his own parental/orphan search for self story. At some point he breaks his American accent to prove to his mother he didn't forget the "Queen's English" ....except anyone who knows him knows he's a Scot.

 

[QuandoDio]

Just finished watching S1 of this.

Keri Russell is the newly appointed ambassador to the UK. At the very start of her reign, a UK military ship is bombed and they suffer multiple casualties.

Now she must navigate this mess and deal with the needs of the UK...the US's closest ally. Complicating matters is her marriage, which seems to be ending. Oh, her husband was also an ambassador and many call upon him for his advice/counsel.

This is a rather fast moving S1(eight 50min eps.) It seemed like a Madame Secretary, but focusing on the one bombing, sussing out who was behind it and retaliating.

I will definitely watch S2, just to see in which direction they go.

Solid S1.

4/5.

I actually enjoyed this. Watched with the missus. I have met and known a few diplomats, none are that interesting or sharp and being an ambassador is one of the most pointless jobs there is.

That being said, the casting is good. I agree, Rufus Sewell should have remained British. The Foreign secretary chap, Dennison, was impressive and Keri Russell is well Keri.

 

[Fwiffo]

I finished Generation 56K on Netflix. The 56K stands for the computer modems in the early days of the Internet so I wasn't planning to get interested in 1990s nostalgia.

However, it turned out to be a pretty interesting romance set in Procida off the coast of Naples of 3 boys who grew up to be app developers and 2 girls who sold restored antique furniture and wedding dresses. The show goes back and forth between the kid days and today eventually focusing on Matilda and Daniel. The latter had a crush on Matilda's friend Ines in school and meet again on a blind date gone wrong with Daniel not knowing who Matilda was. It turns out Matilda was the one who had a crush on Daniel but after hitting it off that one night she starts questioning how she's engaged to another man.

Cristina Cappelli - worth the 8 episodes just to see her...

 

[The Ernesto]

Because of the hype a while back i watched 2 episodes - I didn't get it at all. Maybe it requires an interest in sport. But it seemed lame to me.

Yeah, I find it completely underwhelming. Pedestrian.

Two eps into Slow Horses. Enjoying it.

 

[Dropbear]

I started watching Clark - about the Stockholm Syndrome bank robber dude. It’s all fashionably short take slapstick. Yawn.

Two eps into Slow Horses. Enjoying it.

Great series!

 

[Dropbear]

The Idol is like an un-selfaware version of American Idol with more sex and drugs. At times painfully bad, yet the train wreck you can’t take your eyes off. Ever character is awful and you are left praying for a nuke wipe-out all of LA.

 

[Fwiffo]

I don't know why but I'm watching Kocktails with Khloe. The B list guest stars coming on to the show are a bit laughable.

When there was a guy actor(?) that came on, I thought Sharon Hakman who is the chef/mixologist of the show in the kitchen was gay. But then I saw he has kids.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Deadloch has been pretty good so far on Amazon. campy crime drama about a small aussie town with a serial killer. Dropbear think you and the missus would like this one.

 

[Dropbear]

Deadloch has been pretty good so far on Amazon. campy crime drama about a small aussie town with a serial killer. Dropbear think you and the missus would like this one.

Thanks. I downloaded the series for my upcoming flight.

Silo season finale was good - it provided some answers while leaving enough questions pending to make the second season something worth waiting for.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Silo season finale was good - it provided some answers while leaving enough questions pending to make the second season something worth waiting for.

i haven't seen it yet but I'm up to episode 9 and its been so god awfully boring so far.

 

[Dropbear]

The finale episode of the Idol was even worse than I’d hoped for. Such a fitting end. Not enough nakedness, but still some great production and the absolutely most excruciatingly, painfully awful story imaginable.

 

[Fwiffo]

The finale episode of the Idol was even worse than I’d hoped for. Such a fitting end. Not enough nakedness, but still some great production and the absolutely most excruciatingly, painfully awful story imaginable.

The Idol: why the HBO show became 2023’s biggest TV disaster

The co-creation of Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, the series seemed to have everything going for it. So what went so wrong, asks Laura Martin.

www.bbc.com

This one? I don’t have hbo so I guess I miss it. It was compared to Netflix’s Blonde which was only watchable by having it on in my bedroom whilst I brushed my teeth in the bathroom.

But they said there is great music coming out of it.

 

[Dropbear]

The Idol: why the HBO show became 2023’s biggest TV disaster

The co-creation of Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, the series seemed to have everything going for it. So what went so wrong, asks Laura Martin.

www.bbc.com

This one?

Yep

I don’t have hbo so I guess I miss it. It was compared to Netflix’s Blonde which was only watchable by having it on in my bedroom whilst I brushed my teeth in the bathroom.

Blonde was worse, but this is trashier and failed more spectacularly because it was so pretentious. Far cringier.

Lots more nudity, too.

But they said there is great music coming out of it.

I disagree, with the exception of Ramsey - a great singer who lent one mediocre song to the show.

 

[Fwiffo]

I'm tempted to start the final Jack Ryan series.

I occasionally have reality/competition cooking shows on. Sometimes it's for inspiration (Great British Menu) and sometimes just for noise in the background. The latest is Secret Chef on Disney+ helmed by David Chang who doesn't seem very interested in his restaurants anymore. Momofuku closed here.

The premise is interesting in that you have anonymous reviews of each other with your chef pseudonym but in the downtime between cooking you get to socialise a bit. A few issues - the contestants are wearing the same clothes all the time. There's no way this was filmed in one day.

The show still falls into the old tricks of let's bring back someone who got kicked off the show. I don't know why they brought two professionals on to rate the dishes if they are almost universally in praise of the contestants and they can only give qualitative feedback and not affect the score.

And most importantly - the show doesn't have a host. It doesn't even have staff. You talk to this snarky chef's hat with a face on a TV. How cheap can your show be. I hope this isn't the new norm. No judges. No host. No audience. Not even helpers or a Vanna White.

 

[Dropbear]

Deadloch has been pretty good so far on Amazon. campy crime drama about a small aussie town with a serial killer. Dropbear think you and the missus would like this one.

I’ve watched the first two eps. Pretty good so far! Thanks for the rec

 

[Grand Potentate]

I’ve watched the first two eps. Pretty good so far! Thanks for the rec

 

[Fwiffo]

Started watching season 4 of Jack Ryan on Amazon. I was surprised to see Michael Pena as a bad guy but then the story starts working itself out. He plays Ding Chavez. It's probably best to just check any prior knowledge of Tom Clancy novels at the door before you start the show.

Abbie Cornish seems like she's gaining weight. She's wearing clothes to hide it too except at that gala. Also kind of strange to see Derek Cecil as the old guy senator after seeing him in House of Cards.

 

[Fwiffo]

I watched the first two episodes of Five Star Chef. The first episode is a bit confusing because it's an hour long and they went through 14 chefs in what I think is groups of 3. Some of the chefs in the middle (the baker guy, the Chinese woman) barely got any screen time to show their cooking and then were sent off after a pretty cursory judging scene from the three judges.

I like Michel Roux Jr. so I'll keep watching.

Lara Norman is interesting.

 

[Dropbear]

The Bear S2 was even better than the first. 9/10

 

[Fwiffo]

The Bear S2 was even better than the first. 9/10

So far it's unravelling how I thought it would. Potential Syd and Carm romantic subplot.

 

[Fwiffo]

I watched The Old Man on Disney Plus. A Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow show. The show drags on a bit and has a few action sequences where Jeff Bridges shoots and fights in a way that a 30 year old man would be jealous. Cliffhanger ending.

 

[Dropbear]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2 has been fun, with several heavy references to previous shows (especially with the Kirk brothers) as well as a lower decks crossover episode. Picard couldn’t hold my interest and most of the other output has been pretty meh, but this storyline definitely keeps the spirit alive.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2 has been fun, with several heavy references to previous shows (especially with the Kirk brothers) as well as a lower decks crossover episode. Picard couldn’t hold my interest and most of the other output has been pretty meh, but this storyline definitely keeps the spirit alive.

The crossover episode was fantastic. I skipped the musical episode entirely.

 

[Dropbear]

The crossover episode was fantastic. I skipped the musical episode entirely.

Oh shit, musical episode? I think I’m on 8 or 9 now and haven’t hit that one yet. Buffy did a good musical, I’m not sure Star Trek could manage it. I just watched the one where the doc killed the Klingon diplomat and that was seriously good.

Edit: just watched the musical ep. It’s mostly very skippable except for some relationship development, if you’re interested in those.

 

[Fwiffo]

I finished Five Star Chef.

The final three chefs were asked to run a kitchen for the night (of mostly their friends and family). It's clear two of them are private chefs or catering chefs who don't run a line of cooks every day. Somehow Michel Roux Jr got conned by the two others to go with the Caribbean chef. Great personable guy, I'm sure his ackee and jerk are spot on, but it's not someone who can crack the whip to run a high volume kitchen.

Also finished Jack Ryan. In the end the good guys win, John Krasinski undergoes yet another round of torture to add to his character's scars and he gets to deliver one of those "no, sir you are out of order" moments at the end when explaining what he did in a congressional hearing. I await the next reboot. They will definitely need to move from Abbie Cornish because in 4 seasons of Jack Ryan even I can tell she has gained weight. Lots of above the chest camera angles and bulky attire in the final season.

 

[Grand Potentate]

I finished Five Star Chef.

The final three chefs were asked to run a kitchen for the night (of mostly their friends and family). It's clear two of them are private chefs or catering chefs who don't run a line of cooks every day. Somehow Michel Roux Jr got conned by the two others to go with the Caribbean chef. Great personable guy, I'm sure his ackee and jerk are spot on, but it's not someone who can crack the whip to run a high volume kitchen.

Also finished Jack Ryan. In the end the good guys win, John Krasinski undergoes yet another round of torture to add to his character's scars and he gets to deliver one of those "no, sir you are out of order" moments at the end when explaining what he did in a congressional hearing. I await the next reboot. They will definitely need to move from Abbie Cornish because in 4 seasons of Jack Ryan even I can tell she has gained weight. Lots of above the chest camera angles and bulky attire in the final season.

She looks hotter with some meat on her bones.

 

[Fwiffo]

At the size where Dropbear would want her to select an airplane seat away from him.

 

[Fwiffo]

I thought Steve Martin said he was retired. Then I see another season of Only Murders in the Building.

 

[Fwiffo]

I finished the second season of The Bear.

I'd say the season lacked the focus the original one had. After the first episode every episode ended up being a deep dive into a supporting character's development with the new restaurant set up as the backdrop.

Olivia Colman makes a nice cameo.

The flashback episode where they go over the Berzatto Christmas was painful to watch. I get the fact they want to show why Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach play such flawed characters but it was 45 minutes of pure cacophony. No family can be this dysfunctional and still wants to get together. It also shows why the brother committed suicide. Jaime Lee Curtis was unrecognisable to me.

They really should have taken 3 episodes and did a Carm & Syd romance because it seems she's the only one who understands (or can cope) with his fanatical devotion to the restaurant business. She ends up being the only one who can calm him down when he goes into another tantrum. There was something worthwhile to explore there.

 

[fxh]

Finished the recent season of What We Do In The Shadows. Great

 

[Dropbear]

Finished the recent season of What We Do In The Shadows. Great

Hmmmm. Will check it out. Can’t remember why I never started this one.

 

[Fwiffo]

I'm watching Great Expectations on Disney+. It's a BBC production.

There is some head scratching casting. Jaggers and Estella are black. I know in the novel they said they were a bit dark but they never said they were black. Owen McDonnell who plays Joe is too handsome. Joe is supposed to be that loveable oaf. I think Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham is okay, but she doesn't seem sinister enough (maybe because I keep thinking she is HM the Queen).

It's been awhile since I read the novel but the whole Pip mistreating his friends when he was of more humble origins is captured. I'm not sure the dynamic between Pip and Estella is correct given Estella often did things not because she was trapped by Miss Havisham but because she was raised to make Pip spite her and become jealous for throwing at herself at other men.

 

[Dropbear]

Dammit!!

The Peripheral Cancelled at Amazon, Reversing Season 2 Renewal

The Peripheral won’t be seeing a second season after all. Prime Video has cancelled the sci-fi series, TVLine has confirmed, despite previously announcing its renewal back in February. Accord…

tvline.com