What TV series are you currently watching?

[Karl Henning]

Its been a while but I remember the Branagh one being very good.

Yes.

[Karl Henning]

(* chortle *)

Thread Duty:

Last night, I embarked on a re-watch of all of Columbo

Up to "Short Fuse" what a cast: Roddy McDowall, Ida Lupino, Jas Gregory & Wm Windom

[Todd]

I decided to try the low-budget, middle-brow sitcom Schitt's Creek.  Predictable, formulaic, but funny enough to watch in quick succession.  I binge-watched the first season.  Dan Levy is the reason to watch.

[vandermolen]

Watched the new "Van der Valk" last night. A waste of two hours and nowhere as good as the original in the 1970's starring Barry Foster.

Good to know Lol. I was thinking of watching it but will give it a miss now. My neighbour's daughter is in a new Netflix series called 'Hollywood' so I shall watch that instead. I always liked Barry Foster as an actor and especially recall his performance in Hitchcock's 'Frenzy' as the squadron leader in charge of the Polish pilots in 'Battle of Britain' and, of course, as Van der Valk'.

[Biffo]

Watched the new "Van der Valk" last night. A waste of two hours and nowhere as good as the original in the 1970's starring Barry Foster.

I watched it on catch-up TV so it had fewer adverts but it still seemed to last a long time. I wouldn't describe it as a waste of time but it is in the balance whether I will watch another episode, probably not.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Good to know Lol. I was thinking of watching it but will give it a miss now. My neighbour's daughter is in a new Netflix series called 'Hollywood' so I shall watch that instead. I always liked Barry Foster as an actor and especially recall his performance in Hitchcock's 'Frenzy' as the squadron leader in charge of the Polish pilots in 'Battle of Britain' and, of course, as Van der Valk'.

Cool!  Does she have a very big part in it?  Hope that things go well for her.  Looking forward to reading your review of it.

[George]

After Life - Season Two - Really love this darkly funny, touching show. Hope there will be a third season.

[Papy Oli]

Another thumbs up for the season 2 of Ricky Gervais' After Life. Same review as i what I wrote here on the first series: moments of howling laughter, funny cringing, and some emotional punches that will make you want to hold your loved one even closer.

Other series on the go :

- The Last Dance - Netflix documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls - great interviews and insight so far.
- Killing Eve season 3 - Ep 1 & 2 felt really plodding and pedestrian. Ep.3 restored it to its former sarcastic and dark glory.
- The A word : Catching up on series 1 & 2 before the 3rd series starts this week on the BBC, about a family's own struggles and dysfunctions, surrounding their younger boy being diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum. Christopher Eccleston's character as the grandad brings the right amount of light relief to what is otherwise a very touching series. Nice change of scenery with a series that doesn't involve crime, violence, and very little swearing...

[Brian]

Karl, I'm also rewatching all of Columbo but slightly ahead of you. We'll have to compare notes!

I just rewatched Requiem for a Falling Star with Anne Baxter. Went in having almost no memory of it, but it's one of the gems.

The ending of Short Fuse is one of my favorite endings from any of them, but some of the early bits are most notable for the amazing 70s costuming.

[TheGSMoeller]

Just finished DEVS on Hulu, an 8-episode mini-series all written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation). A  unique story that focuses on the loss of loved ones, and the determinism of our reality, and connects them beautifully into a complex, and visually-stunning show. I loved DEVS, it's exactly the type of bold television that I want to see more of. It felt more like an 8-hour movie than 8 separated episodes, which was a very similar presentation to HBO's most recent Watchmen show from last year. 
DEVS is slow-paced, but consistent with its tone throughout, and the final episode is a real mind-bender. I'm an Alex Garland fan and excited to see what he creates next.

[Karl Henning]

Karl, I'm also rewatching all of Columbo but slightly ahead of you. We'll have to compare notes!

I just rewatched Requiem for a Falling Star with Anne Baxter. Went in having almost no memory of it, but it's one of the gems.

The ending of Short Fuse is one of my favorite endings from any of them, but some of the early bits are most notable for the amazing 70s costuming.

Groovy.

When I watched "Etude in Black" again the other day, I was tickled to note both that there was a superfluous harp on the stage for the Mozart Serenade, and that when Columbo asks the perp's wife what quasi una fantasia means, she mistakenly says that it is Latin.

Watched "Dagger of the Mind" last night; had forgotten that Honor Blackman was a guest, and certainly that Jn Williams & Wilfred Hyde-White were the victims.

[vandermolen]

Cool!  Does she have a very big part in it?  Hope that things go well for her.  Looking forward to reading your review of it.

Yes, she plays Vivien Leigh, in episodes 3 and 6 her mum told me. She also has a large role in a new TV series called Snow Piercer, although filming has been halted by Coronavirus.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes, she plays Vivien Leigh, in episodes 3 and 6 her mum told me. She also has a large role in a new TV series called Snow Piercer, although filming has been halted by Coronavirus.

Nice!  I found this about the show:  https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g32222553/hollywood-netflix-cast-real-life/ and there's a trailer here:  https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/news/new-on-netflix-uk-in-may-2020-every-film-and-tv-series-being-added-during-coronavirus-lockdown/ar-BB13qscn

Let me know how you like it.  I haven't tried Netflix (or any other movie/show streaming service before), but very tempted!

PD

[Brian]

Watched "Dagger of the Mind" last night; had forgotten that Honor Blackman was a guest, and certainly that Jn Williams & Wilfred Hyde-White were the victims.

That was not one of my favorites so far - I don't like it as much when Columbo has nothing on the baddies and resorts to pranks to extract a confession.

[Karl Henning]

That was not one of my favorites so far - I don't like it as much when Columbo has nothing on the baddies and resorts to pranks to extract a confession.

Agreed.


In fact, Brian, I expect that's a large part of why the ep drifted out of my awareness.

[Karl Henning]

I must have watched a lot of Hitchcock since my first viewing of "Requiem for a Falling Star": At that time, Edith Head's guest appearance didn't register.

[Biffo]

Last night I watched the second episode of the new Van der Valk or, at least, half of it but before bailing out. Just not engaging with the characters or the plots. The one plus point - Amsterdam looks beautiful.

[Todd]

The third season of Westworld.

The takeaways:

1.) Evan Rachel Wood rocks LBDs.

2.) Aaron Paul is not a good actor.

3.) Vincent Cassel is a good actor and does the bad guy thing well.  He's the only thing worth watching in this season.

4.) Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have jumped the shark.  OK, they did with the second season, but the third season just sucks.  If it were not for the extraordinary production values (eg, HBO uses the greenscreen A-team, whereas Netflix uses the B-team), the show would basically be unwatchable.  I mean, Thandie Newton plays a blade runner that uses Jedi mind tricks on other 'puters and who always knows where she is in the Matrix; AI is on the verge of controlling everything; and evil rich folk attend classist sexy time parties.  That there's some powerful commentary.  The fifth episode - Genre - is pure crap, start to finish, and at that point I wanted to see how bad things could get, and sure enough, each episode gets progressively worse - the viewer gets to see tech inspired by Ghost Recon, chick fights, and Pink Floyd playing over something lifted straight out of Fight Club.  I guess the inclusion of Death Grips is edgy - or would have been half a decade ago.  At least the production team sneaks in the South China Sea and explores the potential impacts of something very similar to the Chinese Social Credit System.  It would have been much better had those elements been in something good. 

[Mandryka]

Just finished DEVS on Hulu, an 8-episode mini-series all written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation). A  unique story that focuses on the loss of loved ones, and the determinism of our reality, and connects them beautifully into a complex, and visually-stunning show. I loved DEVS, it's exactly the type of bold television that I want to see more of. It felt more like an 8-hour movie than 8 separated episodes, which was a very similar presentation to HBO's most recent Watchmen show from last year. 
DEVS is slow-paced, but consistent with its tone throughout, and the final episode is a real mind-bender. I'm an Alex Garland fan and excited to see what he creates next.

I've got as far as Episode 3 of Devs and I cannot make up my mind whether it's utter crap or just crap. It certainly looks good though -- I've got lots of interior design ideas.

[George]

Just started season one yesterday. Enjoyed episode one. "You aren't smellin it right."