[tv show] What TV shows are you watching

[LeMarchand]

Recently finished Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) on Netflix, a Norwegian 2x6 episodes of around 30 mins each season romcom.

 

Brief NSFW language/subtitles in trailer.

 

 

Johanne is an attractive 30-something nurse who is pretty happy with her single life apart from at Christmas when she becomes a second class citizen, relegated to the "kid's area" of the table, due to not having a partner. Early one December, she cracks and announces that she will be bring her new boyfriend to the big Christmas Eve dinner. Now she just has to find one in time...

 

A nice, easy, and fun watch. It's quite realistic in some ways, with messy relationships and lots of swearing, but not so much in others - given how many people fancy her, how did Johanne remain single for so long? I felt the sex scenes were pretty well handled too, both showing that it's not always "Hollywood"-perfect and managing to let you know what was happening without having to show lots of flesh.

 

Season 1 ends on one of those cliffhangers that could be taken as a series finale had it not got a second season, so be warned that you'll want to see the next ep. The actual finale didn't go the way Mme LeMarchand and I hoped, but they did a good job making the audience realise that it was the right choice for Johanne.

 

End of series spoiler follows the information below.

 

The show ran in 2019 and 2020 and has already been remade for the Italian audience as "I Hate Christmas" and the first season of the South African version "Yoh! Christmas" has just been released. The trailers for both suggest virtual carbon-copies, but the first two episodes of the Italian version aren't as endearing as the Norwegian one. The ladies are all far more glam, though oddly the guys don't fare so well, and the lack of snow in Venice at Christmas makes it feel less "seasonal". Plus Gianna doesn't come across as well as Johanne.

 

You have been warned, "Home" finale spoilers below.

 

It's a shame that Jonas looks like a fourteen year old neo-Nazi.

[mikeprice]

We watched Boat Story over Xmas, as it was filmed it Redcar, seeing areas you know well was a bonus. I don't think it needed all the violence and gory bits though.

 

We are currently halfway through Mr Bates vs The Post Office on iPlayer.

 

Yes - Boat Story was great

 

 

Just finished watching the Post Office scandal - absolutely amazed about the system - and, having designed and written many big IT systems - the details seemed to show some design concepts that the company I worked for would have called unprofessional and incompetent!

As Mrs mikeprice comes from a more auditing based background her views were similar but from a different angle

 

I was constantly wanting more details of the database and screens available to Fujitsu staff - and why

 

but lets not get all frog worthy - so best no-one extends this conversation!!!

[AlistairB1983]

Watched Obliterated on Netflix over the weekend - an 'action comedy' about a group of various federal agents/armed forces guys trying to stop someone from setting off a nuclear bomb in Las Vegas.

 

It was definitely worth a watch - although I was slightly caught off guard by the almost immediate levels of drug use, sex scenes and violence. Nothing off-putting, just wasn't expecting it to that extent.

 

However I can't help but agree with a number of others who have reviewed it in that I do think it went on slightly too long. 8 episodes in all realistically could/should have been 5/6. The last two/three really dragged out a story with a reasonably well disguised plot line that, personally, I think the show could have done without.

 

But, if you have a spare 8 hours and want to watch something that's a mix of Deadpool and The Hangover, this is pretty much it.

[timbo343]

I dont usually have the patience to sit and watch dramas but the Mr Bates VS Postoffice had me gripped last week and binge watched them back to back.

 

If anyone wants a 4 part - 1 hr long episode drama, i totally recommend this drama series!

[LeMarchand]

I dont usually have the patience to sit and watch dramas but the Mr Bates VS Postoffice had me gripped last week and binge watched them back to back.

 

If anyone wants a 4 part - 1 hr long episode drama, i totally recommend this drama series!

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/post-office-scandal-horizon-explained-b2475565.html

 

Not only a hit with viewers - the show seems to be helping out the victims of the scandal.

[timbo343]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/post-office-scandal-horizon-explained-b2475565.html

 

Not only a hit with viewers - the show seems to be helping out the victims of the scandal.

 

I loved it because the phrase "no one else is having problems" or "you seem to be the only one with the problem" seems to be a common saying and one most of us have heard before. It brought home the effectiveness of just how powerful groups like EduGeek and ANME (and other "geek meets") can be and sometimes some of us see them as therapy or as i like to call them, the IT world of AA groups.

[mikeprice]

I loved it because the phrase "no one else is having problems" or "you seem to be the only one with the problem" seems to be a common saying and one most of us have heard before. It brought home the effectiveness of just how powerful groups like EduGeek and ANME (and other "geek meets") can be and sometimes some of us see them as therapy or as i like to call them, the IT world of AA groups.

 

I first saw this in Computer Weekly when I used to be able to get it for free

 

I was horrified at the time and watching this brilliant series just created the same effect

 

Looking at it from an IT point of view I have to comment that the people in trhe company that wrote it have the original specifications (not that interesting) and a log of all changes made to the system and the reasons why

 

THAT should tell a tale!

 

(in the old old days the logs for all this on the system I worked on was on my desk - every single change was logged in that folder!)

 

anyway - lets not go all froggy

[6Foot2]

Link: Truelove (TV Mini Series 2024– ) - IMDb

 

A group of old friends reunited at a funeral make a drunken pact. Rather than let each other suffer a slow and painful decline they would engineer a dignified death. But what starts out as a fanciful idea soon morphs into shocking reality.

 

 

The subject might seem a little unpromising to some, but it was able to deliver a few surprises.

 

All (6) episodes available to stream now.

[Ditto]

I've just watched the April 2022 Panorama broadcast on the topic of the post office scandal. Right now, and quite rightly, there is huge media coverage on this matter. Perhaps because of the current media storm, the Panorama programme is all the more disturbing. If you haven't, watch it, as the depth of the scandal and destruction of lives is truly horrific. What is equally astonishing is the story of a near two decade fight for justice. It should never take that long and those that feel corporate image is more valuable than lives and livelihoods should be held to account. My now deceased Aunt and Uncle run a rural post in Kent many years ago. Their time included an armed robbery where my Aunt told them off for being 'naughty boys'. I'm so glad they did not get wrapped up in this travesty.

[LeMarchand]

Best not to post it here, but ian Hislop had fun with Jake Perry on Peston over the Post Office.

[Rob_D]

We've been getting into Traitors on BBC1. I find it has a similar vibe to the Apprentice.

[MartinT]

ian Hislop had fun with Jake Perry on Peston over the Post Office.

 

He had his seriously angry face on. Good for him.

[mavhc]

I first saw this in Computer Weekly when I used to be able to get it for free

 

I was horrified at the time and watching this brilliant series just created the same effect

 

Looking at it from an IT point of view I have to comment that the people in trhe company that wrote it have the original specifications (not that interesting) and a log of all changes made to the system and the reasons why

 

has a bit more technical detail

[timbo343]

New series of gladiators (was on Saturday night BBC1) - was really nostalgic though! Brought back some memories of the old events. Not really the same without John Anderson as the new ref was a little bit quick to count down.

 

The 2 hosts Bradley and son Barney Walsh were good a double too.

 

All in all was worth a watch.

[hallb15]

New series of gladiators (was on Saturday night BBC1) - was really nostalgic though! Brought back some memories of the old events. Not really the same without John Anderson as the new ref was a little bit quick to count down.

 

The 2 hosts Bradley and son Barney Walsh were good a double too.

 

All in all was worth a watch.

 

Good to see Viper taking on Wolf's role of the pantomime villain too.

[LeMarchand]

Due to having started it with 3 of us watching and then never having the opportunity to finish as a group until this weekend, only just finished 1899.

 

This started well, but devolved into a lot of crawling/climbing through passages and I'm not sure that the "explanation" made sense. Had it not been cancelled I probably would have stuck it through another season, but I think I would have been on my own for that!

[LeMarchand]

Finished Reacher Season 2. Dumb fun but, as they had already leant into cheesy lines and made at least one joke using the casting of one of the top two bad guys, I felt they missed opportunities for more. Such as

 

SPOILER

 

"What happened to Langston?"

 

"I terminated him."

Anyway, S3 has started filming already. Apparently the book it's based on features a big bad who is even physically bigger than Reacher.

[Simcfc73]

Finished Percy Jackson last night.

 

My daughter is obsessed with it and the squeals and shrieks all the way through said she enjoyed it.

 

it did seem very rushed and could easily have been 10 episodes. She was a bit unimpressed with how quickly they ended the final fight scene but all the elements were there. and she loved it.

[XiJ]

Just finished The Mayans. Binged watched Sons of Anarchy some time ago and enjoyed this too. Read on the news yesterday they’d found 6 bodies who died of gunshots - and some had been set alight in San Berdahino. Life imitating art ?

 

Got Monarch: Legacy of Monsters lined up next.

 

While watching Slow horses with ‘er indoors.

[MartinT]

I started watching Sebastian Fitzek's Therapy and it immediately reminded me of Dark in quality of cinematography and acting. Lo and behold, Stephan Kampwirth appears in both series. I'm hooked already.

 

Watch it in German with English subtitles.

 

Edited February 2, 2024 by MartinT

[LeMarchand]

Watched the first couple of episodes of the Amazon Mr & Mrs Smith show. At a loss as to why people seem to love it. It felt like the actors were making up their lines as they went along, the missions didn't make sense, and the direction was very flat. Probably not helped by me forgetting to adjust the TV prior to watching (Amazon shows often need the picture tinkering with on our set for some reason). I think the Alexander Skarsgard/Eiza Gonzalez pairing in the prologue might have made for a more entertaining show.

[Rob_D]

Only watched the first episode of Mr & Mrs Smith so far, but I agree the presentation and style of the dialogue reminded me of Marriage (BBC drama with Sean Bean and Nicola Walker from 2022), very low energy and ad-libbed feeling. Hopefully it warms up a bit as the characters get to know each other.

[Simcfc73]

I watched the first episode but forgot about it. Took me a while to realise its the guy from community which i binged during covid.

[witch]

All the Harlen Coben adaptations on Netflix. There's loads,, some in foreign too

[MartinT]

All the Harlen Coben adaptations on Netflix. There's loads,, some in foreign too

 

Many are really good but Fool Me Once was mediocre. Michelle Keegan doesn't convince as the ex-army type, the story is full of illogical plot twists and Joanna Lumley was wasted as a ludicrously over-the-top baddie.