TV You Have Watched

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, it's a masterclass of how to deliver horror in series format.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is.... well, it's generous to class it as horror. I've spoken to people to were able to enjoy it more for what it is but for us it fell well, well short of its predecessor and is more interested in the non-horror story aspects.


Umbrella Academy: Season 03
The first half was something of a chore, the show is to cyclical each season in structure though the second half built up an impressive comeback with some proper character development and a much better delivered threat unfolding even if the mcguffin at the end was effectively made up nonsense to wriggle out of the corner they were in. However... the cliffhanger for the fourth and final season fell completely flat. It just doesn't mesh at all and it's easy to see them making continuity errors etc, high risk of running an extra season having squandered the opportunity for the perfect ending if they're not careful.

[Atticus]

I finished The Haunting of Hill House yesterday. I think it’s the best horror thing I’ve seen.

Putting aside the fact I’m imagining spooks in the dark corners of my flat and getting really jumpy, watching the series was emotionally draining and I’m a bit of a wreck.

I had my watch checking my heart rate and it occasionally jumped to 110 bpm during certain scenes. I was constantly checking corners of the screen when people were talking because occasionally there’d be some freaky ghost just… standing there. The camera wouldn’t draw attention to it at all which felt worse than if it had.

There are jump scares but the constant dread and the family tragedy stuff really got to me. The acting is so good that I often rewatched dialogue scenes right after they finished. There’s an episode halfway through that is an emotional rollercoaster that is filmed like a single take so there’s barely any time to rest or collect your thoughts.

It's such a great show. After watching, someone at work made me aware there's loads and loads of hidden stuff you might miss. I really need to watch it again. So so good.

[fuse]

Yep, watched the Bad Sisters finale and was very impressed with how they wrapped up what'd already been a really solid series. It's dark and serious but also hilarious and charming. Great stuff.

Also watched the Netflix Eat the Rich documentary about the GME stock / WallStreetBets thing. I came with a certain degree of familiarity in the issue so hadn't expected to learn much, but even still came away let down, feeling like it wanted to sensationalise above all else. It felt highly unfocused; the prominence of internet memes in the community they're talking about clearly justified, at least to them, featuring them every five bloody minutes, and when they weren't doing that it was pairing up every bit of narration with a hilarious (read: not hilarious) piece of stock footage to illustrate the spoken words. Its choice of people to focus was questionable, allowing them to hype the movement up and waiting right until the very end of the final episode to drop a brief mention of "this person lost their house" and so on.

[Colin]

Watched the first three episodes of The Bear last night on Disney, really enjoyed it.

[Atticus]

Watched the first three episodes of The Bear last night on Disney, really enjoyed it.

It's a quality show. I thought you might enjoy the Chicago'y vibe

[Colin]

Just finished it tonight Phil. Without a doubt, and by quite a margin, my favourite thing I’ve watched on TV in a long time. More please.

[Atticus]

I watched the final ep last night and agree with you 100% Total breath of fresh air. Can’t wait for S2.

[Colin]

Episode 7. Man, it finished and I looked at my wife and said “I think that was a one take episode”, breathtaking, and intense as ****. Was glad when we googled it that I was right. They ran that FIVE times seemingly, you could feel it. Absolutely brilliant.

[Atticus]

I was so into ep 7, in all its intensity, that it took a while for the penny to drop. You feel like you’ve put a shift in yourself after watching it!

[fuse]

Also now started The Bear. I used to visit Chicago semi-regularly for work, and while I could take or leave deep dish and the regional take on hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches were my always my thing. In the opening minutes you also had repeated teases of Refused's 'New Noise', and Matty Matheson repping with a Harm's Way shirt. This... feels laser-targeted to my interests

Daft personal reasons aside though, yeah, the show's pretty damn great. I feel like it loses me a little bit when it turns to the usual suspects shouting over each other to build tension, because it finds so many other ways to do that and to drive the story forward which work so much better for it. It's not quite Whiplash-level (thank god) but the anxiousness of it all definitely works for creating the right mood for a show based primarily in the kitchen, though. Keen to see how it wraps up, with the comments above getting me particularly psyched for it.

Though it has increased my pain about the lack of an Al's / Portillo's in London tenfold.

[QualityChimp]

I saw there's a second season of Gangs of London starting on Sky, so I thought I'd watch the first episode, directed by Gareth "The Raid" Evans. Then followed on with the 2nd episode with the gypsy camp raid and the third with the axe fight.
By that point, I thought "sod it" and I've crammed the whole first season in this weekend, ready to start the new one.

I think I must've watched episode 5 about six times now, it's phenomenal.

I've mentioned it before, but it's not just the siege on the safehouse, but the build-up beforehand, with the various parties all separate before being slowly drawn together before being shown they're all in the same place by this really clever drone shot.
Spoilers, obviously, but so good!

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[QualityChimp]

Watched a bunch of other stuff with the missus.

Friday Night Live - bloody loved it. Made me laugh, made me cheer and genuinely shocked me at one moment. You know exactly what I mean if you saw it...

Mock The Week - last ever episode. 17 years is a good run but I'm still not 100% sure why it's cancelled.

Have I Got News For You - they're struggling to keep up with all the shenanigans at No. 10 at the moment!

The Detectorists - S3 still has lots of joy and it's easier to watch knowing everything will be alright in the end.

EDIT: I also finished off the first season of Final Space (Netflix), which is great and watched the first episode of The Peripheral (Prime), which is pretty graphically violent in places! Interesting and will watch more, though.

[prinnysquad]

I’ve just watched The Bear on the recommendation of you nerds.

It was good. It’s the second intense kitcheny thing I’ve watched this year (Boiling Point being the first) and has utterly confirmed my unsuitability to ever work in that type of setting. The shouting and endless aggro isn’t something that I could ever find tolerable.

The show itself is a fascinating beast. I get what it’s trying to do and it mostly succeeds. There’s some great character work and it’s absorbing viewing. I just can’t like Richie, though. The shades of vulnerability he shows at times should endear him, but he’s such an unpleasant loudmouth, I can’t like him at all. I think it’ll resolve itself (for me) in another series, because 8 episodes isn’t enough time for sensible writing to allow that side to firmly break through. It would be unrealistic, sloppy development, so I’m ok with it. Carmen is almost the reverse. I should like him fully, but he’s got a dickish side that means I can’t do that, either. Again, that’s a strength.

[Finsbury Girl]

Yeah so have seen the first 3 or 4 episodes of The Bear - wow! Loving it so far. Thanks peeps for the heads up

[Colin]

Studio 666. My wife has gone down to London for a couple of nights, so this is when I take the chance to watch stuff I know she’ll say is ****. In this case she would’ve been right, but it was so **** I still liked it. Pat Smear is gold.

EDIT: So **** it’s messed with my brain and this was supposed to be in the film thread.