[tv show] What TV shows are you watching

[LeMarchand]

Finished Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix. Kinda enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Best character was the evil witch! Bad news for any fans: I seem to be in the majority as Netflix have given it the axe.

[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.

 

Netflix have just announced a third season of this, to be released in 2025.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Finished Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix. Kinda enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Best character was the evil witch! Bad news for any fans: I seem to be in the majority as Netflix have given it the axe.

 

Genuinely enjoyed this more than Sandman and somewhat annoyed it's gone.

There's very little point watching anything on netflix these days unless it's a limited series or already completed.

 

They're VERY trigger happy. It's like the early noughties all over again.

[LeMarchand]

Genuinely enjoyed this more than Sandman and somewhat annoyed it's gone.

There's very little point watching anything on netflix these days unless it's a limited series or already completed.

 

They're VERY trigger happy. It's like the early noughties all over again.

 

As someone who bought the "Sandman" comics on release I'm going to have to disagree on which I'd rather have a second season of - especially if they do "A Midsummer Night's Dream". That said, they'd set things up nicely for a second season of DBD that we'll now never see. They could be dialing back on Neil Gaiman shows after recent revelations.

 

The Netflix cancellation I think I'm most miffed at would be "Shadow and Bone". It wasn't a great show, and its ambition outstretched its budget, but they never got to the best bits of the "Crows" books.

[LeMarchand]

As someone who bought the "Sandman" comics on release I'm going to have to disagree on which I'd rather have a second season of - especially if they do "A Midsummer Night's Dream". That said, they'd set things up nicely for a second season of DBD that we'll now never see. They could be dialing back on Neil Gaiman shows after recent revelations.

 

This should, of course, say allegations.

 

On Netflix being cancellation crims: At least, as far as I remember, they haven't totally pulled shows from the platform like Disney did with "Willow".

[Simcfc73]

The jackal started off superbly but has tailed off in the past few episodes (IMHO).

 

Better than Bruce in his wigs though.

[LeMarchand]

Finished the third season of My Life Is Murder on Acorn. "Cosy Crime" that is is one of Mme LeMarchand's shows. S1 was set in Australia while S2 and onwards moves to NZ. More of the same with snarky ex-cop Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) working as a consultant for the local force. The legal system in the antipodes seems to have much more lax laws when it comes to illegal searches is my big takeaway.

 

S3 sees Alexa's sidekick take a back seat for a few episodes, to be replaced by a thinner, whiter, character who then sticks around as does Alexa's ex-criminal brother. There seems to have been some behind the scenes changes as Alexa always had way too much blusher, but her hair, makeup and wardrobe in this season make her look more like a Karen than an Alexa. Still, if you want cosy crime in the sun you could do worse.

[LeMarchand]

Watched the first episode of Cross on Prime Video. Had been looking forward to it as I've liked Aldis Hodge since his "Leverage" days and the previous screen iterations of the character (Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry) were watchable. Found this one a bit hard going, with too much going on (two or three killers on the prowl unless they're all the same person) and a lot of racial tension stuff that I can't remember being such a big feature in the films. Not read the books. Hoping it gets better.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Just finished season 2 of The Diplomat on Netflix.

 

A solid series, potentially let down by being two episodes shorter than season 1. Great fun though and despite excellent performances by the cast, the whole show was stolen by West Wing alum Allison Janney who is just one of the finest actors of her generation and brings more gravitas to one arched eyebrow than most do in an entire career.

 

Thoroughly enjoyable series that ended far too soon.

[LeMarchand]

Watched the first episode of Interior Chinatown on Disney. A waiter in a cop show set in Chinatown wants to be a main character. It's an interesting idea but doesn't really gel so far, seeming more like a poor low-key drama so when the meta stuff happens it feels "off". Will give it a couple more episodes.

[6Foot2]

Watched the first episode of Cross on Prime Video. Had been looking forward to it as I've liked Aldis Hodge since his "Leverage" days and the previous screen iterations of the character (Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry) were watchable. Found this one a bit hard going, with too much going on (two or three killers on the prowl unless they're all the same person) and a lot of racial tension stuff that I can't remember being such a big feature in the films. Not read the books. Hoping it gets better.

 

I watched it. Cross did not come over as "brilliant" nor did other characters that were suggested as "gifted". It wasn't terrible, but it didn't come up to expectations for me.

 

Not a spoiler: It was left open for the possiblity of a second series. If that does come, I probably won't watch it.

[MartinT]

the whole show was stolen by West Wing alum Allison Janney who is just one of the finest actors of her generation

 

Totally agree, she is just class.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Totally agree, she is just class.

Yeah she's brilliant. CJ Cregg is one of those characters that stick with you long after the show is done and everything she's done since The West Wing has been brilliant too.

[Dos_Box]

Binged Kaos on Netflix this week whilst I've been convalescing and really enjoyed it. It's Greek mythology with a modern twist and has dark humour and brutality in almost equal amounts.

There is a great cast of experienced and upcoming actors, wonderful production values and an amazing soundtrack. Sadly they have already said there will not be a second season, but fingers crossed they change their minds.

What I really liked though is that whilst it may seem over the top at times, it actually fits in exactly with greek legends and how the gods really behaved in the myths.

The trailers do it no justice sadly.

Have a clip (NSFW):

 

Edited November 21, 2024 by Dos_Box

[Ditto]

Probably worth pointing out the above is NSFW, but at least it doesn't have the liver peck!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Binged Kaos on Netflix this week whilst I've been convalescing and really enjoyed it. It's Greek mythology with a modern twist and has dark humour and brutality in almost equal amounts.

There is a great cast of experienced and upcoming actors, wonderful production values and an amazing soundtrack. Sadly they have already said there will not be a second season, but fingers crossed they change their minds.

What I really liked though is that whilst it may seem over the top at times, it actually fits in exactly with greek legends and how the gods reall behaved.

The trailers do it no justice sadly.

Have a clip:

 

Bloomin' brilliant wasn't it?

[Dos_Box]

Bloomin' brilliant wasn't it?

 

Yeah, I was very surprised, it just had (almost) everything, and seeing Jeff Goldbum going from bumbling diety to downright sinister and evil diety in the space of seconds was a joy.

It was also great to spend a lot of time recognising actors who suddenly appear. I really do hope Netflix see's the error of its ways and comission a second season.

I also got the impression that every actor was having a blast with this, and my favorite was Nabhaan Rizwan playing Zeus's son Dionysus, he's got some great comedic timing and Lucy spent a lot of time impressed by his wardrobe

Edited November 21, 2024 by Dos_Box

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Yeah, I was very surprised, it just had (almost) everything, and seeing Jeff Goldbum going from bumbling diety to downright sinister and evil diety in the space of seconds was a joy.

It was also great to spend a lot of time recognising actors who suddenly appear. I really do hope Netflix see's the error of its ways and comission a second season.

I also got the impression that every actor was having a blast with this, and my favorite was Nabhaan Rizwan playing Zeus's son Dionysus, he's got some great comedic timing and Lucy spent a lot of time impressed by his wardrobe

 

I read that Jeff Goldblum thoroughly enjoyed the role and was not impressed at the series cancellation. Hopefully his displeasure carries weight.

Dionysus was brilliant! The perfect foil for a lot of the grimmer stuff.

[LeMarchand]

Watched Episode 6 of Paris Has Fallen last night. Unfortunately, after a strong start, it's got to the mid-season "ridiculous twists to stretch things out to make our episode order" stage. Sean Harris is absolutely amazing as the antagonist, though. I can't remember him being so stand out in the other stuff of his I've seen; maybe I should rewatch the Mission Impossibles with him in? Despite being set in Paris, the MI6 agent (Ritu Arya) does give them an excuse for most of the dialogue to be in English even though she speaks French, though there are some subtitles. E6 did contain some unintentional comedy gold when the French Chief was interrogating a French agent and it was obviously felt that it would be too much for people to read, leading to, "We must conduct this interrogation in English so that our MI6 partners can follow".

[Rob_D]

Finished Arcane Season 2 today. That was a very good show. I hope they do more stuff in the LoL universe.

[LeMarchand]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Without getting too political, S05E02 must have had those who try to argue that The Federation isn't a Utopia frothing.

[synaesthesia]

Been watching Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing during my lunch break. Absolute tonic for the mind, whether you fish or not. Wonderful videography, banter between the guys, gorgeous settings. Pretty much the only televised thing I've watched of late - certainly on purpose anyway.

[HarryMonkey]

Been watching Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing during my lunch break. Absolute tonic for the mind, whether you fish or not. Wonderful videography, banter between the guys, gorgeous settings. Pretty much the only televised thing I've watched of late - certainly on purpose anyway.

 

Probably the best thing on TV. They've got the go ahead for a new series next year too.

[Ditto]

Probably the best thing on TV. They've got the go ahead for a new series next year too.

 

Absolutely agree. I recently found out that a long time friend loves the program too - and admits there is no interest in the fishing, just the great show the pair put on. I think I have watched them all from Series 1, but then as a kid I did go fishing. They've even fished the same stretch of the quirky River Mole that starts in West Sussex and meanders through Surrey joining the River Thames at Hampton Court Palace that I did.

[LeMarchand]

The Brothers Sun (Netflix). When the head of Taiwan's most powerful Triad barely survives an assassination attempt his oldest son heads to the US to try to keep is younger brother safe. A younger brother who has no idea about the family "business". So far, a lot of fun. TRAILER VERY VIOLENT AND SWEARY.

 

 

Finally finished this; pretty good but not essential. If interested but worried that it only lasted one season, the ending ties up the season well though does introduce a couple of potential new plot lines for the hoped-for second season.