TV You Have Watched

[Neon Ignition]

Had to be done:

Wellington Paranormal: Season 03
Whilst the last two episodes lost some momentum the first four were probably amongst the strongest in across the show. Seems like a fourth run is locked in but might be the last one, hope it also delivers as it's a loveable show.

[Neon Ignition]

Vigil
In the end it was alright, solid enough for a one off run. The main issue was probably that it was fairly obvious from episode one as to who the onboard villain was so whilst there were twists it meant the finale didn't entirely land.

[Atticus]

I just watched all 10 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm again. It’s been so good, so many things I’d forgotten about. You can see how the show has developed over its 20 years and the 10th season might be it’s absolute best. Not many sit-coms achieve that. There’s just so much going on in it (the spite store thread is genius ). Roll on S11 … not long now.

[monel]

I just watched all 10 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm again. It’s been so good, so many things I’d forgotten about. You can see how the show has developed over its 20 years and the 10th season might be it’s absolute best. Not many sit-coms achieve that. There’s just so much going on in it (the spite store thread is genius ). Roll on S11 … not long now.

Leon was like the sitcom version of a super sub. Came on and killed it. For a while at least. I don't think the last season is the best, but could be far worse.

[wheelaa]

Still loving Blake's 7. Series 2 ep 3 tonight.

(I'd forgotten how little Gan has to do. One ep, he brought the others a cup of coffee / brown space juice. In yesterday's, Zen has informed us twice that the Liberator is losing power, 20 seconds later Gan 'Liberator is losing power'. Blake's 6.5.)

Utterly brilliant.

[wheelaa]

RIP Gan. Blake's 6 now. Cracking episode though.

[Neon Ignition]

Blush
The 10 minute animated short from Apple. I've seen similar tales before but it's very nicely told regardless and hits the emotional beats it needs to in its brief run time.

[QualityChimp]

Finished the last couple of episodes of S1 Black Summer (Netflix) filmed just outside @Kyrss' pad.
With FOMO and a zillion shows to watch, I was rushing through this, when I should just put my phone down and watch it.
Once episode I skimmed through, but there was very little dialogue - the whole twist of the episode, so I rewatched it properly.

The finale episode was suitably frenetic, although everyone was firing on full-auto without a care about preserving ammo or aiming for the head. Silly gripe at the end of what was a thrilling series.

Started the 2nd season and it's man, rather than zeds, that are the biggest threat.

Also started Oats Studios (Netflix)- a series of Neill Blomkamp shorts. He directs the first one and it's Sigourney Weaver Vs. aliens, so I guess they both made an aliens film together, after all!

[QualityChimp]

Ooh, I finished off What... If? on Disney Plus and really enjoyed it.

I wish they'd have used some traditional animation like the Star Wars one, but the stories themselves were great and it's worth watching the series right to the end.

[teddymeow]

Struggling a bit recently with "stuff" so have wanted something brainless to watch in an evening.

Prime Video have multiple seasons of Hell's Kitchen USA available which is just so dumb!!

[QualityChimp]

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Watched some Gravity Falls (via Disney+) with my daughter, which was ace.
I really like Kristen Schaal and she's great in this, but all the cast are fun.
Loads of stuff that went over my daughter's head that I was really chuckling at, especially in the videogame episode where he brings a Street Fighter II-esque character to life as a bodyguard, including the bit where he goes past a kid as he is given a brand new car...

->Open Spoiler<-

On a very different note and definitely without my daughter, I finished Season 2 of Black Summer (via Netflix).
I've got a bit of zombie fatigue, but found this to be an absolute lesson in tension. Recommended.

I found the combination of disparate stories, the threat of the undead, the threat of the living turning within moments of death, the low survival rate, minimal padding (30 to 40 mins max per episode), knowing people can distrust each other or trust each other, the long takes and interesting cinematography made me blaze through it.
It hadn't gripped my after a few episodes and nearly gave up, but then it clicked.

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[Neon Ignition]

I wish TWD had never broached the subject of the undead being less than a threat than the living, it killed that show.


Dispatches from Elsewhere
So, this is ultimately a show formed around the idea of individuals being deeply lost and unsatisfied with life. They notice a flyer with a number to call and end up following a chain of clues leading them through a sort of mystery game. It's an odd little tale with lots of weird moments but it's mostly about them rediscovering a connection with feeling alive and with others as they follow the rabbit hole of clues. The wobble is at the end when the show turns meta to make this point, a move it does in its final five minutes again when it breaks the fourth wall, but in doing so you can't escape the sense that it throws a carefully built sense of investment away. Clever but a little unsatisfying at the end.

[fuse]

We switched to subbed Squid Game for the rest of the series and I had a much better time. I liked it, but I also feel like I've seen too many takes on the 'death game' for any of the story beats to wrong-foot me, which was a shame. I'll give it credit for being well executed, though.


Also recently watched The Chair, which I liked a lot. It stars Sandra Oh - who is both likeable and very funny - as the newly-appointed head of English Literature in a prestigious US university. It's focused on the faculty staff and is a short little thing; just six 30 minute episodes. It could've easily run out some of the storylines a little longer and been better for it, but I also respect what they did manage out of the run time.

[Neon Ignition]

The Grand Tour: Lockdown
I definitely find myself getting snagged on the scripted aspects more than I used to but considering the circumstances this was decent fun, more so than the show ever was.

Squid Game
The missus dropped out after three episodes of falling asleep. I pushed on and it certainly has its moments like the key sequences of episode four or pretty much all of episode five. I'm definitely coloured by exposure to similar stories before, it's definitely a well made show but there's nothing about it that warrants the immense fuss made and I'd argue even at one season it was over long, I'd have no interest in another being made.

[QualityChimp]

Squid Game
The missus dropped out after three episodes of falling asleep. I pushed on and it certainly has its moments like the key sequences of episode four or pretty much all of episode five. I'm definitely coloured by exposure to similar stories before, it's definitely a well made show but there's nothing about it that warrants the immense fuss made and I'd argue even at one season it was over long, I'd have no interest in another being made.

Here he comes, Meh of Easttown!