TV You Have Watched

[randombs]

No spoilers. The rest of us can’t see this yet due to seasons 6 to 10 not having been made yet.

Whoops! I should’ve clarified my mum works at Sony etc etc.

[Atticus]

Watched the first ep of The Old Man last night. The set-up could be from Incredible Hulk era tv, so it's nothing out of the ordinary, but it's well made and Jeff Bridges is class ... and that's enough to make me want to watch episode 2.

[fallenangle]

Tried C4 Nine Perfect Strangers last night. Fairly heavy-weight cast: Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving but did it grab me? No.

It is set up like an Agatha Christie type of murder mystery with nine unlikely strangers ending up at the same 'wellness' retreat. Whether there is going to be a murder or it involves some sort of revenge element or other mystery I have no idea. I'll give episode two a go next week but at this point I'm not expecting to be suddenly engaged by it.

Have to mark the end of The Great Season 2 on C4 last night. Excellent finale to top an enjoyable and often very funny series - there is going to be a hole in my TV viewing schedule it will be difficult to fill.

[Atticus]

I tried an episode of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared last night and it was very good. Much better than what I was expecting, far exceeding the gimmick of a kids' show done dark/adult. I never saw the youtube series so jumping in cold to the tv show. The first episode sees the three main characters (Red Guy, Yellow Guy and Duck) getting jobs and going out to work (at a factory called Peterson’s and Sons and Friends Bits & Parts Ltd ) Great observations mixed with the surreal (the vending machines, hehe). It's well written and performed, well made and totally refreshing.

[QualityChimp]

Keep meaning to watch that, cheers Atticus.

[Neon Ignition]

Final Space: Season 03
I'd read that this season isn't as good. I wouldn't say that's the case, more that it sidelines a lot of the time focused on humour in order to focus on ramping up the dramatic stakes. It was really good and beyond its set up for Season 04 really didn't help in driving the frustration that it's not only been cancelled but is being terminated from existence too.

[charlesr]

Eat The Rich - Netflix Documentary, so well over the top, but fascinating. I kind of followed the Gamestop saga at the time, but never realised how close it came to pulling the whole financial system down (when the hedge funds go, the pensions go etc). And Robinhood tanking afterwards because everyone refused to use them.

[QualityChimp]

Dipping into Final Space S1 before it disappears into the rift forever.
So glad I have as I really like it. Gary is a loveable idiot.

New series of Taskmaster has started and it's the usual laughs at the absurdity of how the contestants face the tasks.

Detectorists S2. Enjoying seeing more of these pair of metal detecting loons.

Hawkeye. Started this after finishing Eternals and it's a strong start with an interesting lead and a great fight in a wine cellar, using the bottles as weapons.

I watched another episode of Rick & Morty and it's okay.

[Atticus]

Anyone watching The Bear on Disney+? It's about a chef who leaves his fancy restaurant job in New York when he inherits his late brother's sandwich shop in Chicago. The lead is excellent, wearing the weight of the world he seems to be carrying and looking permanently exhausted, it's a performance that brings something real and authentic. The pace of the show is amazing too, it's got a proper energy, though one minor complaint is it can be a little over shouty at times. That's a busy kitchen for you I suppose. Think I'm around 4 eps in. It's very good. Recommended.

[QualityChimp]

Thanks, this is popping up everywhere and it's hard to separate the promos from personal recommendation!

[randombs]

Just seen the first episode of The Haunting of Hill House.

It’s terrifying, especially right now at 3am

[Brad]

Finished Bad Sisters on Apple TV on Friday. Best TV I’ve seen in years and an ending that really delivers (usually the point of failure in any medium I think).

[fuse]

Finished Bad Sisters on Apple TV on Friday. Best TV I’ve seen in years and an ending that really delivers (usually the point of failure in any medium I think).

We can't watch the finale until mid-week at the earliest, but I'm glad to hear you think they nailed the ending! This was my only real worry at this point because yeah, up until now it's been great TV. Sharon Horgan rules.

Watched one episode of Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared which was quite enjoyable and I can see me dipping into when I need a 30 min chuckle. Also tried an episode of Netflix's take on The Mole, as I remember really liking that back in the day - and uh, it's quite jarringly American, with the production values and the editing, one-on-one cuts to explain every piece of nuance, and everyone looking like they've come to the show on the back of a modelling career. Will maybe try a few more but it's not got the same charm I remember from the original.

We've also turned to The Good Wife as our new thing that has a million episodes and can go on in the background. It's alright? There's an overarching plot but you can also very easily just ignore a bunch of them as each one is very predictably self-contained. At least in House you could play the game where you have to guess the patient in the pre-credits, sheesh.

[Brad]

3 episodes in on The Old Man on Disney+

Very good so far. Nice mix of action, character development and storytelling. Will continue.

[randombs]

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.

I know there’s The Haunting of Bly Manor and even as I type this, I’m starting to wonder if I should just watch it or take a break from horror for a while.

I’ve started F is for Family again which is just the thing to get my groove back so I’ll try to resist Bly!