[tv show] What TV shows are you watching

[Koldov]

Leftovers is possibly the best show

 

Interesting theme, rather than the usual '98% of the population die' disaster scenario, only 2% of the population disappear (MCU 'Blip' style)... but it is still unnerving and gives a lot of scope for exploring the trauma in those it leaves behind. Hope it doesn't get silly... already a bit put off by the 'cult' members smoking (plot element/theme/visual cue) that conveys something which will all be explained in time I'm sure...

[LeMarchand]

Interesting theme, rather than the usual '98% of the population die' disaster scenario, only 2% of the population disappear (MCU 'Blip' style)... but it is still unnerving and gives a lot of scope for exploring the trauma in those it leaves behind. Hope it doesn't get silly... already a bit put off by the 'cult' members smoking (plot element/theme/visual cue) that conveys something which will all be explained in time I'm sure...

 

I couldn't get into it and gave up, but it got a lot of praise from the critics (especially the later seasons). If you were impressed with the pilot it's probably one you'll want to stick with.

[Norphy]

Anyone watching the new series of the Orville?

 

I don’t know, it’s alright but there’s something about it that’s a bit, well, off really. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

[Simcfc73]

Anyone watching the new series of the Orville?

 

I don’t know, it’s alright but there’s something about it that’s a bit, well, off really. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

 

I gave up on Orville a while ago but stumbled across it on Disney+ so watched the end of last season and the beginning of this. its definitely not a must see for me.

[MartinT]

'The Leftovers'

 

Watched it all a while ago. Very weird, very compelling show. It'll keep you watching and there are some real gasp moments.

[LeMarchand]

Anyone watching the new series of the Orville?

 

If the ladies of Château LeMarchand didn't love its Next Gen vibes I wouldn't be as, while I find it watchable, I'd rather watch something else from the massive "one day" collection. Is the difference that they've virtually excised the "funny" bits so it seems odd when a slacker moment creeps in? Also, the first 2 eps seemed to major on the doctor rather than rotate the focus. BTW, anyone else noticed that she seems to be like the baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells? Green blob, robot, uni tutor who later - she'll do anything to anything!

[TIOAOA]

Just finished it. Bit underwhelmed. Thought McGregor was terrible. A shame as I've enjoyed the other offspins

[LeMarchand]

Finally caught the first 2 eps of Ms. Marvel. Liking it so far, though the busy background animations are obviously aimed at younger people than me.

[LeMarchand]

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/1-month-free-paramount-trial-using-code-3956938

 

1 month of Paramount+ for free. I suspect the voucher is cunningly timed so it won't take you to the end of "Strange New Worlds".

[Koldov]

I'd just started noticing this being pushed as a channel in Prime (I think) and thought I might be tempted for Halo and Strange New Worlds, so good timing... Do they have the latest season of Discovery...?

[LeMarchand]

They've got the first four seasons, and will show S5* on release. For some reason in looks like Picard and Lower Decks are still with Amazon.

 

Edit: *May be a while, as filming has not long started.

Edited July 1, 2022 by LeMarchand

[Norphy]

They've got Prodigy as well, if you're interested in that.

[Koldov]

Going to have to be some serious binge watching... or I can see me ending up with yet another monthly subscription....

 

Got... to... get... a... life...

[mikeprice]

Going to have to be some serious binge watching... or I can see me ending up with yet another monthly subscription....

 

Got... to... get... a... life...

 

Binge watching and Edugeek

 

I thought that was a life????

[Simcfc73]

Really enjoying The Terminal List with Chris Pratt... its escapism fluff but quite exciting.

 

The office attack bit was very 'Heat'

[Rob_D]

Just finished watching the Undeclared War on Channel4. Not what I was expecting, but very compelling.

[6Foot2]

Just finished watching the Undeclared War on Channel4. Not what I was expecting, but very compelling.

 

I thought it ended incomplete, like it had another half hour or so to run. Not a criticism, just an observation.

[LeMarchand]

Just finished Stranger Things S4: WOW!

 

I'd advise anyone watching to try to get it watched ASAP as far too many headlines are verging on spoilers.

[Rob_D]

I thought it ended incomplete, like it had another half hour or so to run. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Yes, we went back to check if we'd missed the final episode somehow.

Cutting off at the end of the climax without having a proper (just a truncated) denouement/epilogue seems to be a trend floating around at the moment.

[Dos_Box]

Just finished Stranger Things S4 and was very impressed. I may have to watch the last one again as it was quite late by the time it finshed and I don't think I got everything!

Also finished Night Sky, which I enjoyed a lot. A very slow burn that answers very little but leaves the questions hanging to bring you back (but in a good way), and top performances throughout. Besides, anything with JK Simmonds in is almost always epic!

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by Dos_Box

[MartinT]

Also finished Night Sky, which I enjoyed a lot. A very slow burn that answers very little but leaves the questions hanging to bring you back (but in a good way), and top performances throughout. Besides, anything with JK Simmonds in is almost always epic!

 

Night Sky was excellent, a high quality slow burner, as you said. I look forward to the next series.

 

Speaking of JK Simmons, have you watched Counterpart? Truly superb.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Dos_Box

[LeMarchand]

Night Sky was excellent, a high quality slow burner, as you said. I look forward to the next series.

 

Bad news: https://deadline.com/2022/07/night-sky-canceled-prime-video-one-season-1235058505/

 

Haven't started in on it yet. Still worth watching?

[LeMarchand]

Hotel Del Luna (Netflix)

 

 

Trailer is the best of a bad bunch that don't do the show justice.

 

Fantasy/Romance/Horror/Comedy

 

"Achingly romantic" - Mme LeMarchand

Chan-sung, a young hotelier, returns to his native Korea and finds that he must pay off his father's debt to the Hotel Del Luna by becoming its new manager. He is gifted with ability to see ghosts as the hotel is no ordinary one; it is a stopping place for souls to rest and come to terms with their death before they journey on to the next stage. He soon learns that he is the only human there and the three main staff members resent his presence and the owner, the beautiful, enigmatic, and mercurial Man-wol seems to barely tolerate him. Chan-sung seems to have some sort of tie to Man-wol, seeing key moments in her past life in his dreams, and learning the tragic story behind the founding of the hotel and how Man-wol has been the owner for over a millenium. As they grow closer, it starts to seem as if people in Chan-sung's circle are reincarnations of those he sees in Man-wol's past. Could he be the rebel/bandit who looked after her, or the captain who loved her? Meanwhile, the barren Moon Tree at the centre of the hotel starts to flower, and the prophecy is that when the flowers fall it will be time for Man-wol, her staff, and the hotel to move on...

 

There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the bare bones. Most episodes are around 75 minutes, some more - admittedly the running time might be shorter without at least one photomontage set to a revolving selection of saccharine Korean pop ballads - and tend to pack in developments in the main plot, a two or three episode arc and a ghost-of-the week. It's a bit hard to recommend enthusiastically as, unless you have watched a few shows like this, the odd lurches into mugging "humour" may be a bit hard to take. Also, whilst the ending makes sense it probably won't be the one most viewers wanted, and the epilogue/s will have you searching for an "Ending Explained" piece. I would say that it's a hope for the future. As for the post-credits sequence, the mystery guy is HUGE in Korea. Imagine if Game of Thrones had ended with something like an announcement that a new challenger for the throne was coming, and all we saw was armour and helmet until the helmet was removed to reveal... Tom Cruise.

 

All that said, I would say it's worth a go if any of the above intrigues. Give it three or four episodes and then decide. I wasn't feeling it at first, but it went from a "haven't watched for a while and there's nothing better on" to a "next episode?" watch. I even looked if there was a BluRay but all I could find was a DVD of dubious provenance. Mme LeMarchand is rarely emotionally moved by TV/films but was visibly affected by the reveal about the hotel's first guest in Episode 14 and later announced that she couldn't see the proposed US remake being anything like as magical, describing the show as "achingly romantic" - high praise indeed from her, hence the quote above! As for my reaction? As the show progessed, I started to care more and more about what would happend to all the staff of the hotel, and let's just say that my hayfever flared up something rotten in the final episode.

[Simcfc73]

Didn't really get the undeclared war.. maybe cos I cant take Pegg seriously after Spaced

 

Loved The Boys.. shame its so short.

 

Midwich cuckoos was trash IMHO, just terrible acting

 

Not sure about Ms Marvel, my daughter likes it but I guess its aimed at her and not me

[paulkerton]

Just finished watching The Boys S3, which is getting better as each season goes on.

 

Also currently watching The Orville: New Horizons, which has been really excellent this season. Really has matured as a product, and isn't just a pastiche of Star Trek TNG anymore, it's become its own thing whilst still being very much a love letter to Gene Roddenberry.

 

I'm also working through Halo, which I think is much better than some of the most vociferous fans of the games have been suggesting. I do love the games and their story, but this is clearly an alternative universe telling, and they're very much in the set up for the main story right now. Also Charlie Murphy is amazing in anything I've seen in her in and is again here.

 

Also, Star Trek : Strange New Worlds - which is again EXCELLENT. Seriously well made and acted.

Doing similar work to The Orville: New Horizons but from a very different angle. Really good cast, and it was an excellent decision to go back to more of a weekly story with season arc plot on top (more like Who) rather than Discovery or Picard doing its long narrative telling.