What TV series are you currently watching?

[George]

Now enjoying Mandy for the second time. Hilarious show.

[Todd]

Not a show I'm watching, but a catalog of shows I didn't watch in 1987.  I have vague recollections of The Dirty Dozen TV show, though I never watched it, but I can't even recall any of the others.  It's quite surprising to learn that George C Scott had a late career series.

[SimonNZ]

Paused this after the first scene to confirm something I hadn't realized at time of purchase

...and, yes, it is a remake of the French series The Bureau.

Interestingly all the actors have such a different energy to their French counterparts that it seems quite fresh, despite my having seen The Bureau quite recently and it sticking closely to the same story.

[Roy Bland]

no dvd but sometime broadcasted

[AnotherSpin]

Paused this after the first scene to confirm something I hadn't realized at time of purchase

...and, yes, it is a remake of the French series The Bureau.

Interestingly all the actors have such a different energy to their French counterparts that it seems quite fresh, despite my having seen The Bureau quite recently and it sticking closely to the same story.

When I think of The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes), the memories come rushing back, its taut pacing, psychological depth, and the quiet intensity of its characters. It remains, without question, one of the finest espionage series I've ever seen.

By contrast, The Agency, its American remake, barely left a trace, despite the fact I watched it quite recently. The narrative seemed to evaporate almost immediately, leaving behind only one vivid image: Richard Gere's character, whose presence was memorable, but not enough to anchor the series in my mind. It's as if The Bureau etched itself into my cinematic memory, while The Agency merely passed through it.

[Todd]

For rather obvious reasons, PBS shows now stream on YouTube next day, such as this prestige series documentary about loveable ol' Hank.  No less than Niall Ferguson is on hand for recurring interview spots, as are some (understandably) embittered old underlings, along with others.  As usual for the show, the presentation is solid, the information is (truncated) warts and all, and the overall approach is close to neutral.  To be sure, passionate fans of one of the most ruthless practitioners of American imperialism – pretty much just family members at this point, one would think – and ardent ideological/intellectual foes may or will be displeased, but it makes for better than average viewing.  While PBS itself may be on the ropes, the show attracted many funders, so perhaps it can live on in its current form, irrespective of whether the network survives.  If not, at least there are many acceptable substitutes now.

Hopefully, Ken Burns' upcoming The American Revolution gets the same next day YouTube streaming treatment.  I can't be bothered to watch shows at original airtimes anymore.

[Roy Bland]

[Spotted Horses]

I used to love that series when it was on the air, and I got the complete set, although I've only watched one episode so far. It wears well, compared with some other television of the era.

[drogulus]

When I think of The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes), the memories come rushing back, its taut pacing, psychological depth, and the quiet intensity of its characters. It remains, without question, one of the finest espionage series I've ever seen.

By contrast, The Agency, its American remake, barely left a trace, despite the fact I watched it quite recently. The narrative seemed to evaporate almost immediately, leaving behind only one vivid image: Richard Gere's character, whose presence was memorable, but not enough to anchor the series in my mind. It's as if The Bureau etched itself into my cinematic memory, while The Agency merely passed through it.

    France has historic ties to North Africa and the Middle East that made the original series feel plausible, and it certainly helped that it was loosely based on real events.

[George]

[George]

This is so good. Very rarely, I think, does a show get better with each episode - this one does, and I think it did that because it had a clear, distinct ending point - to many shows dawdle on because of success - not this one. One of the greatest shows ever, easily a top 5 show for me, maybe even a top 3.

I have a complaint. We don't get enough of Karolina on this show. 

[SimonNZ]

Has anyone seen Ozark?

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on that box.

[hopefullytrusting]

I have a complaint. We don't get enough of Karolina on this show. 

Lol, I actually went back and watched the end to Season 3 and 4 today. Season 3 because I was trying to confirm a timeline I had with Tom, and Season 4 because - come on - the perfect ending for the powerhouse couple - Tom and Greg.  Also, the Season 3 ending had a great Tom and Greg team really solidifying who they are. Such a great show.

[/quote]

Has anyone seen Ozark?

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on that box.

If you like Breaking Bad, you will like that show. I found nothing innovative in the show, but the acting is top notch, the locations are gorgeous, and it is brutal when it comes to the violence. There are also enough ways to distinguish the leads - Cranston and Bateman - from each other, so you will feel like you are watching a new show. For me, Ozark suffers because it came second, and thus a lot of its characters will feel like caricatures of Breaking Bad, but the acting is so excellent, I honestly never found that a problem.

If race issues bother you a lot, as in Breaking Bad, then you might not like the show.

[Daverz]

SS-GB, a 2017 British adaptation of the Len Deighton novel about a British police superintendent in Nazi-occupied Britain (on Amazon Prime).  I read this many years ago, but I'd forgotten any details about the plot.  This TV adaptation (6 episodes) was pretty watchable.

[Fëanor]

If you like Breaking Bad, you will like that show {Ozark}. I found nothing innovative in the show, but the acting is top notch, the locations are gorgeous, and it is brutal when it comes to the violence. There are also enough ways to distinguish the leads - Cranston and Bateman - from each other, so you will feel like you are watching a new show. For me, Ozark suffers because it came second, and thus a lot of its characters will feel like caricatures of Breaking Bad, but the acting is so excellent, I honestly never found that a problem.

If race issues bother you a lot, as in Breaking Bad, then you might not like the show.

I held off watching Ozark for a long time after watching the first episode or two.  What kept me away was the stark brutality  even that early on.  But given its popularity I did watch the series to the end and it's an excellent one compared to most of the tripe that's out there.

Be forewarned, however, that brutality remains stark throughout.  Fear is the instigating motivation for the principal couple who are drawn unwilling into a criminal enterprise.  Over time motives become a little more complicated, the woman more than the man being the more driven to continue rather than attempt to withdraw from the criminal game.

The characters are nuanced but nevertheless stark.  Overall the ambience, including the colour tones, remain dark throughout.  There is little humour except the occasional dark irony.

OK, Breaking Bad is the better show with more varied characters and plot twists, but Ozark is worth the watching.



Another series for which I haven't got pass a few episodes is The Talented Mr Ripley.  Just too noir for me.

[hopefullytrusting]

I held off watching Ozark for a long time after watching the first episode or two.  What kept me away was the stark brutality  even that early on.  But given its popularity I did watch the series to the end and it's an excellent one compared to most of the tripe that's out there.

Be forewarned, however, that brutality remains stark throughout.  Fear is the instigating motivation for the principal couple who are drawn unwilling into a criminal enterprise.  Over time motives become a little more complicated, the woman more than the man being the more driven to continue rather than attempt to withdraw from the criminal game.

The characters are nuanced but nevertheless stark.  Overall the ambience, including the colour tones, remain dark throughout.  There is little humour except the occasional dark irony.

OK, Breaking Bad is the better show with more varied characters and plot twists, but Ozark is worth the watching.

This is an excellent summation of the show, and I agree with it in full - Ozark is worth the watch, and I will even say that some of its high moments, obviously I cannot say what those are without spoiling, match the high points of Breaking Bad, but, while Breaking Bad spreads out those moments over the emotional spectrum - Ozark only has the one - fear.

[SimonNZ]

Strated:

[Todd]

Death By Lightning.  I had no idea that this show was even coming.  James Garfield is a what could have been president, and this mini-series covers his presidency and assassination in modern, stylized fashion.  Too much mediocre CGI ruins multiple scenes, and modern sensibilities pop up more than a little.  (A couple anachronisms stand out.  One is a mention of the East Wing, and the other is an unlikely though possible use of the word "motherfucker" by one of the most powerful men in the country at the time.)  At the center is Michael Shannon in the lead.  He does a creditable job both portraying Garfield's curated and genuine-ish (relative) humility, and a better job delivering a stemwinder, for which Garfield, one of the two or three best American political orators between Lincoln and Bryan, was well known.  The showrunners chose to exclude Garfield's open anti-Mormon bigotry.

Betty Gilpin does nice work as Lucretia, and the show portrays the marriage of equals, time and place considered, decently.  Matthew Macfadyen plays assassin Charles Guiteau with an off-kilter, lightly psychotic touch, and the show is softer on the man than it should be.  (I admit that I generally take a dim view of assassins.)  Ron Swanson Nick Offerman plays a president for the second time in his career, this time as a boisterous, bawdy, brawling Chester Arthur for the more than occasional chuckle with edge.  The show tosses in appearances of various Gilded Age personages – Grant, Douglass, Bob Lincoln, Sherman the Younger, AGB – and it is fun to see the tale so woven.

Really, though, the reason I wanted to watch this show was to see how it would portray the political battle between two of the heavyweights of the era between Lincoln and McKinley, namely the Continental Liar James Blaine and Lord Roscoe Conkling, a man whose significance remains arguably greater today globally than in his own time nationally, though no one other than commercial con law enthusiasts and specialized historians really discuss him.  Ultimately, though Bradley Whitford amuses as Blaine and Shea Whigam exudes gleeful nastiness as Conkling, the characterizations ain't Snickers. 

So, decent, with Shannon the main attraction.

[hopefullytrusting]

One of the truly great episodes of television: Law & Order: Criminal Intent's Cherry Red

[SimonNZ]

For an Israeli-made tv series this has been surprisingly critical of the Mossad.