Whatcha Watchin'?

[hepcat]

Peacock has a new British mini series that’s an adaptation of The Day of the Jackal. It stars Eddie Redmayne, who I’m a big fan of. I started it and so far it’s pretty damn good (with the exception of some questionable music choices). Of course I’m a fan of the original too….and not the crappy Bruce Willis version.

[Sudy]

What?? How could you not be a fan of the film that so brilliantly incorporated this not-at-all ear-bleedingly annoying hit?

[hepcat]

I will admit to enjoying Red Tape from Agent Provocateur at the time.



My issue with the music in this new remake is that it seems to dominate too many scenes. I don't need a blaring song to set the mood for every scene.

[paulbaxter]

I just discovered Detroiters on Netflix. Just hilarious. Probably just a little better if you're in or from the area. Lots of local references for sure. There's a bit in one episode about a guy asking for a ride home to his house in Lake Orion. It's a hell of a drive from downtown Detroit. But I'd still recommend the show to non-Detroiters. Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson star. If you watched Veep, Sam played Richard Splett.

[hepcat]

Detroiters is amazing.



But you're burying the lede here. Tim Robinson is behind the equally amazing comedy skit show I Think You Should Leave.

[YellowKing]

Just finishing up Ripley on Netflix. I know I'm a bit late to the party, but damn was this an amazing series. Beautiful cinematography (the choice to go black and white was genius), and the acting (particularly Andrew Scott as Ripley) was incredible. Haven't watched such a riveting series in a long time.

[hepcat]

The black and white cinematography is practically a lead character in the show. The trees lining the street while Ripley drives back and forth to bury a body at one point stands out as one of the most beautiful and haunting shots in a show I've ever seen.



Here's a great article in Vanity Fair about the cinematography.

I told my boss to watch it and he sat down with his wife one night shortly thereafter to check it out. He said his wife wouldn't leave the couch until she'd watched about 4 episodes in a row.

[Rumpy]

I personally on the other hand didn't care much for it. I think I gave up on it about halfway through.

[Malificent]

I respected the Hell out of Ripley. I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe I'm just in a mental space where I'm tired of humans being evil.

[hepcat]

I binged the next 4 episodes of Day of the Jackal the last couple of days. I still like it, but they sacrificed the one thing I really liked about his character at first: he’s very, very cautious about his “hits”. But they kind of veer away from that in episode 3. After that he seems to become less calculating to some degree.

Redmayne is still great though. And the lead investigator chasing him has grown on me as she starts to do some questionable things in pursuit of the Jackal. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 right now.

[AWS260]

I've been watching sumo on-and-off this year; NHK's YouTube channel shows all the matches from the top-level tournaments.

Tonight I watched this documentary about a yokozuna who retired a few years back. It's good.

[Kraken]

Been watching Black Adder on Hulu because neither Wife nor I have ever seen it before. Tonight amongst the credits I saw Chris Barrie. Hmmm (said I), that name's familiar. Red Dwarf, I think, but IDK who he played. It must have been a regular character if I recognize the credit. Wife asks her pocket computer and it tells her it was Rimmer. This episode was taped a year before Red Dwarf began, and like most Black Adder characters he was unrecognizable in so much makeup and costuming. (We saw Tom Baker a few nights ago and only realized it when the credits rolled. In retrospect his voice was a tell, but under his sea captain getup he could've been anyone.)

Trying to place familiar actors is part of the fun of watching 40-year-old shows from another country.

Speaking as someone very late to the party, Black Adder holds up pretty well if you can tolerate the period gay jokes and the timeless British fascination with men in drag.

[Isgrimnur]

He was the French revolutionary.

[Kraken]

Having finished Black Adder last night -- great series ending, btw -- we started Jeeves and Wooster tonight. The first episode didn't wow me but I trust Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry to bring it home. The whole series is on Youtube.

I'll confess that I only knew Hugh Laurie as "House," a show I never watched but knew enough about to think that Laurie was a dramatic actor. I'd also seen him as minor characters in one or two other dramatic roles. Watching his comedic roots has been delightful, even if he did only ever play a twit.

[gilraen]

I'll confess that I only knew Hugh Laurie as "House," a show I never watched but knew enough about to think that Laurie was a dramatic actor. I'd also seen him as minor characters in one or two other dramatic roles. Watching his comedic roots has been delightful, even if he did only ever play a twit.

He does a fantastic job playing a villain on The Night Manager.

[YellowKing]

I just finished Grotesquerie, the horror series that came out on Hulu last year.

I really, really enjoyed it. It was co-created by Ryan Murphy, so it definitely had an "American Horror Story" vibe to it. And like American Horror Story, this series take some really unexpected twists and turns. It gets VERY Twin Peaks-ian at times with some really bizarre characters, and that was probably my favorite aspect of the whole show.

The performances are absolutely stellar, and Niecy Nash-Betts deserves some sort of award for her portrayal of Detective Lois Tryon. She carries this entire show on her back and is in nearly every scene for 10 episodes. It's a phenomenal piece of work.

It's not perfect. Ryan Murphy seems to have a hard time sticking his landings, something that has plagued American Horror Story for years. I think the series should have stopped at 8 episodes instead of a rather dull, dragged out final two episodes. Still, if you're a horror fan (and particularly a Twin Peaks fan), I think you could do worse than checking this one out. It's filled with deeply (and I mean DEEPLY) flawed characters which makes for some riveting viewing.

[hepcat]

I'm burned out on Murphy. I feel like he relies on stunt casting more than he does on actual stories these days. I've tried to start grotesquerie a few times, but the moment I see a person famous for things other than acting, it just makes me turn it off. I had the same problem with the last season of American Horror Story, a series I used to love. I think I made it halfway through the first episode before I realized I had zero interest in the story...and adding Kardashians to the mix only made it even less attractive to me.

[Daehawk]

Enter your zip code to see what stations are near to you for tv.

https://www.antennasdirect.com/

[hepcat]

I've already seen it, and I highly recommend the Indian film Kill on Hulu. It's a fantastic action film with a LOT of violence. The opening title screen doesn’t even show up until halfway through the film because THAT'S when the hero decides he's had enough...and unleashes a shit ton of violence. Before that, he tries to play somewhat nice. Even if it's still a damn good action film then too.

But after the mid movie credits? Yeah...it lives up to its title.

[Kraken]

Been watching Abbott Elementary on Hulu. It's a lightweight feel-good comedy, if you're into that. It does contain children, but they're more plot devices than characters.

We're also binging King of the Hill, and are already into season 4 (out of 13!). Hulu's going to revive it later this year.

The new season of All Creatures Great and Small dropped on PBS this month. Sadly, only seven episodes, so we blew through it in a week. Might be the goodest feeling of all feel-good shows.

[telcta]

One TV show the wife and I just binged was The Knick with Clive Owen. Man, that was incredible and looked so good. I swear every episode there was at least one scene I had to look away from the TV. I know how most of the effects were done, but still, it was rough for me. But I don’t regret watching this piece of art.

All episodes were directed by Steven Soderbergh and he also edited and was the cinematographer (under different names).

I think this show slipped under my radar since it was originally on Cinemax. Both seasons are now on Max.

[YellowKing]

In addition to my Buffy rewatch, I'm currently bingeing my way through Dexter. I had watched up to Season 5 when it was airing, but never finished it. And now with a sequel, prequel, and another new sequel series, I figured it was time to catch up.

[Kraken]

I remember Dexter starting out great and gradually declining with each new season. Accurate?

[disarm]

I remember Dexter starting out great and gradually declining with each new season. Accurate?

Season four of Dexter (with John Lithgow) was definitely the peak of the series. The original run wasn't actually bad after that, but it just didn't maintain the ridiculously awesome quality of that one season, so people were disappointed. They also didn't do a great job of wrapping up the original story...lot of people felt like the conclusion didn't really fit the character we grew to know.

I never bothered with any of the follow-ups, but they seem to have gotten pretty mixed reviews.

[Kraken]

I'd forgotten about Lithgow, who elevates everything he's in (and is still alive, btw).

[JCC]

I concur with the opinion that after season 4 you get seriously diminishing returns from Dexter. I will say that seaason 6 has an excellent twist, but other than that I was limping my way to the original finale, which was terrible. I haven't watched any of the stuff that came out after that.

[Exodor]

Orphan Black: Echoes premieres tonight at 10 on AMC. It's a sequel to Orphan Black (duh) with no Tatiana Maslani, unfortunately. "Taking place in 2052, 37 years since the end of the original "Orphan Black" series, Echoes follows the life of the now adult Kira, played by Krysten Ritter, and her wife."

Hard to imagine it living up to the original but Ima give it a chance.

I don't think you ever followed up with your thoughts on Orphan Black: Echoes. We enjoyed the original series but haven't really heard anything about this - was it worth your time?


We're halfway through season two of "Invasion" on AppleTV+. It's dumb but I enjoy alien invasion stories. I almost bailed when a character floating in space swam forward to return to their ship. That's not how space works.

[hepcat]

It definitely outstayed its welcome, that's for sure. Then it decided to leave a bag of flaming dog poop on the stoop on the way out the door.

I'm just surprised he was popular enough to resurrect this many times. I mean, he was literally shot to death in the finale for the first revival. Now they're going to bring him back to life for a sequel?

I'd think by this point, the entire world would know what he looks like. I mean, he's killed more people than influenza.

[Daehawk]

I watched the first ep of Tracker last night. Its the guy from Green Lantern. The trailer and story looked promising but that first ep was just horrible. I think one is done with that one. Now I gotta find something else.

[Kraken]

I don't think you ever followed up with your thoughts on Orphan Black: Echoes. We enjoyed the original series but haven't really heard anything about this - was it worth your time?

No. The original was all about the many faces of Tatiana, and the reboot had nothing remotely like that. I'm not even sure that I finished out the season.

[hepcat]

I watched the first ep of Tracker last night. Its the guy from Green Lantern. The trailer and story looked promising but that first ep was just horrible. I think one is done with that one. Now I gotta find something else.

Do you mean the actor who played Green Arrow in Smallville?

[gilraen]

Tracker is not a good show but it's entertaining enough. I watch it but I'm losing patience for the network shows that release 7-8 episodes and then take a 2+ month hiatus. High Potential did the same thing, and there are only 13 episodes in a season - they will air the season finale next week. I have a sneaking suspicion I will forget about the show by the time season 2 comes out.

[Daehawk]

I watched the first ep of Tracker last night. Its the guy from Green Lantern. The trailer and story looked promising but that first ep was just horrible. I think one is done with that one. Now I gotta find something else.

Do you mean the actor who played Green Arrow in Smallville?

Yes that green guy. DOH!

[Daehawk]

I just discovered Pop Culture Jeopardy and its pretty good.