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Post by tod2 on Nov 1, 2017 5:58:27 GMT
Just watched the third episode of "The Good Doctor". Quite entertaining but has it's lapses.
Do autistic people really display symptoms like vacant staring, ignoring others, and speaking in halting sentences? If so, qualifying as an above average surgeon must be an amazing achievement.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 1, 2017 13:14:46 GMT
We just “discovered” and binge-watched the first season (2000) of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, With Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld. Mr. Kimby loved it. I found it very funny, but the emptiness of big-city life, the disconnect from nature, and the lack of real warmth in the relationships paint such a bleak picture. Makes me sad to think many/most people might live that way...
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 1, 2017 13:22:21 GMT
I have a morbid interest in Curb Your Enthusiasm from time to time but it depresses me more than it amuses me.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 8, 2017 23:32:17 GMT
I have now seen 4 episodes of "The Night of". 4 more episodes to go. I am hooked.
John Turturro's foot problem is disgusting, but that is the whole point of it. |
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Post by Kimby on Nov 9, 2017 3:34:37 GMT
I was looking forward to binging on the airplane several more episodes of BIG LITTLE LIES. But I just read an article about actress and producer Reese Witherspoon, and realized that the series is ONLY 7 episodes, and I’ve seen 6 and 1/2. :-( Sounds like there may be a 2nd season to come, however.
On the bright side, we checked out from our library season 2 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the whole first season of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, which we’ve heard good things about, and will take them with us to Florida.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 9, 2017 4:28:00 GMT
Shield wall!!!!! Vikings returns on November 29, but will it be as good without Ragnar?  This is from a Rotten Tomatoes article called 7 tv Shows You Should Binge-Watch this November: What it is: In the mood for a meaty, generations-spanning period drama that has violence, politics, sex, and true-to-history recreations to spare? Look no further than Vikings, Michael Hirst’s brilliant follow-up to The Tudors. The heart of the series is legendary rags-to-riches viking Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), his rise to power, and how he passes that power to his children and their children thereafter. Why you should watch it: Vikings is complex, calculated storytelling at its best. Gorgeous, lush sets and production design, committed and gritty performances all around — it is a wonder that the program doesn’t garner acclaim on par with Game of Thrones (though it certainly draws comparisons). But somehow, there’s a viewers’ pleasure to being in on a well-kept secret. Join the club before season 5 returns November 29. Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Playstation Video, Vudu |
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 9, 2017 6:53:14 GMT
I didn't know that the Vikings had 21st century football player haircuts.
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Post by patricklondon on Nov 9, 2017 10:28:21 GMT
We're currently having a slew of documentaries about Russia and the revolution, from Lucy Worsley performing her usual shtick (complete with costume changes) on the history of the Romanovs, to Eisenstein's October (the one with the big set pieces that still get used as though they were contemporary newsreel clips, but were staged for this 10th anniversary movie: yes, all right, it's full of visual invention, but it's still pretty crude propaganda, with all the standard silent movie tropes for evil villains and upright heroes), and on the BBC's on demand service a three-hour documentary about the Gulag. My blog | My photos | My video clips[/sURL] My Librivox | "too literate to be spam" |
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Post by Kimby on Nov 27, 2017 3:15:54 GMT
I was so disappointed that the airplane in-flight entertainment system had dropped Big Little Eyes from their list of offerings, though it’s a current season show. So I have .75 episode left to watch. :-(
On the other hand, we really - surprisingly - enjoyed FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, about a Texas high school football team and its coach and players, and the coach’s family, and the players families and cheerleaders and young love...well-written characters played by good actors. I was skeptical that I would like it, but I did.
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Post by patricklondon on Nov 27, 2017 14:42:25 GMT
BBC4 has just started showing the second series of Témoins, set in a northern seaside town in France. I see a central role goes to Audrey Fleuret (whom I last saw as the ambitious young lawyer in Engrenages). She plays the rediscovered lover of fifteen men (oooo-kay), who have been missing for years and have been dumped, frozen (fairly) solid, in a bus on a lonely road..... Pass the popcorn. And the bag of toffees. This is going to be a puzzler. My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by patricklondon on Nov 27, 2017 21:29:53 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 6, 2017 5:45:29 GMT
Just watched the first episode of this & know that I will watch another one ~
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Post by Kimby on Dec 6, 2017 13:02:45 GMT
We just started watching FARGO, based on the Coen brothers’ movie of the same title. Billy Bob Thornton is deliciously evil in his role, and it’s fun to see what Bob Odenkirk did between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The hapless lead character is very good, and his wife was so bitingly critical of him that you cheer when he loses it and smashes her face in with a hammer. The frozen landscape is a character all by itself.
Apparently there are 3 seasons (so far), each following the same “anthology format” of the original Fargo movie, but with different crimes and mostly different characters.
I’m reminded of Blood Simple, the Coen’s first movie from 1984, when I watch this show.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 6, 2017 21:06:45 GMT
OH is watching back to back Grimm on Netflix....which is basically Buffy only with better make up, it's comfort viewing for my beloved and I'm being nice to him atm  . I watched a superb Storyville documentary on BBC iPlayer (on my laptop) about how the twin Voyager space probes defied all the odds and almost 40 years later continue to beam revolutionary information across unimaginable distances...it was on for 94 minutes and BRILLIANT. Also started watching Gregory Porter's Popular Voices also on BBC iPlayer. There are 3 in the series and I've just watched the first one. Last night we had 3 new documentary type shows about Mexico Earth's Festival of Life, Handmade in Mexico and The Art That Made Mexico: Paradise, Power and Prayers I had to record them because Jeffers is entrenched in a Grimm marathon *sigh* |
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Post by questa on Dec 7, 2017 6:48:31 GMT
Just watched the third episode of "The Good Doctor". Quite entertaining but has it's lapses. Do autistic people really display symptoms like vacant staring, ignoring others, and speaking in halting sentences? If so, qualifying as an above average surgeon must be an amazing achievement. Hi Tod2, The picture of the doctor is a a composite of some of the most common behaviours in autistic people. A few points...He is a savant (discussed in 1st episode) "Savant syndrome is a condition in which a person demonstrates one or more profound and prodigious capacities or abilities far in excess of what would be considered normal, yet often also has significant deficits in other areas of brain processing."So when he looks at injured/sick people he SEES the processes taking place. He is aware of what is happening in a way others can't be. His mind works faster and he breaks off a sentence because he is way ahead again. The 'vacant staring' is very common in autistic people. They hear and see and communicate very differently to mainstream people. Communication or lack of it is the main problem. We learn from a week or so old to copy facial moves and use body language, we learn to match our tones and speech to the words we are using and the circumstances of the moment. We use eye contact to mirror the content of our chatting. Kids who are autistic have to be physically taught by pictures of smiley faces, sad faces what emotion the other person is showing. Then they have to learn how to respond appropriately to other things. Matching voice control to the message is difficult for us. "It's not what he said but the way he said it". It is easier to use a sing-song voice and short sentences than learning a whole new repertoire of meanings. The Good Doctor is an interesting series...How communication takes place and what happens when autistic people are so stressed they go into meltdown. The surgical side is accurate enough and the good guys don't always save the day. Google Autistic Savant and see and hear 4 famous ones. |
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 7, 2017 8:21:59 GMT
I did that Questa. Fascinating.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 7, 2017 8:30:07 GMT
Yes, I will too soon as I get a nice long break to pay it good attention.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 9, 2017 0:32:48 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Dec 9, 2017 16:10:16 GMT
I've been bingeing on Season 3 of Broadchurch. I've been waiting for this awhile and it hasn't disappointed. It really makes me want to visit the Coast of UK. In the meantime, today Netflix commences with Season 2 of The Crown of which Season 1 was devoured in no time. No medical drama of any kind for me ever. I had to skip the 2nd season of Broadchurch after giving it a try, but avidly watched season 3. God, there is so much incredible acting in that series. Meanwhile, I quiver with excitement waiting for The Crown tonight. Supposedly this season will encompass the Profumo scandal, episodes which Cristine Keeler won't be seeing, as she died four days ago. For a weird sit-com, try Loudermilk. Yes, the acting in Broadchurch is superb!! And, the cinematography doesn't hurt either. Ah, The Crown.... I was always intrigued by The Profumo Affair and devoured anything that made reference to it. The movie that was made about it, the name which escapes me now was riveting although, I don't know that I would refer to it as great cinema. It was the sleaze and other content of the oh "so high and mighty do fall" that drew me in. I will scope out Loudermilk but, as you know, I'm not a big sitcomer. I just finished up the aforementioned Season 3 of Broadchurch. So well done. It seems that so very many of the series that I find to be the most riveting are British productions. |
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Post by Kimby on Dec 9, 2017 16:18:48 GMT
Ooooo ~ I just realized that Netflix released all of season two of THE CROWN at the same time! *control. must have control* Yesterday I watched the last episode of the last season of Great British Bake Off, for me the bingeiest thing I've ever been hooked on. Well, if the first episode of season two of The Crown is anything to go by, I won't have any trouble staying away from binge activity.  I did feel last season that things dragged at times, but was okay with that. This episode, even as it covered soapish personal life and important political/historical events, somehow managed to be borderline boring. Also, I was distracted by the fact that Claire Foy has stupidly messed with her looks, becoming yet another woman whose lips proceed her into the room. Her "enhancement" is not all that grotesque compared to some, but gives her a bulldog look tragically at odds with her former prettiness. Also -- and I may have ranted about this elsewhere, but so what -- why can't period clothes stay true to the period? We're not trying to recreate the everyday fashion of the Myceans, only the 1950s, a period which many many many many viewers of the show actually lived through. The waist goes at the waistline. That's not so hard, is it? Another quibble -- the hairstyles have leaped forward at least seven years to the fluffier, flippier stage. Too bad there are no photographs of Queen Elizabeth from 1956 for them to copy.  On the positive side, Claire Foy is such a good actress and really inhabits her role. Jeremy Northam's portrayal of Anthony Eden is extremely interesting and compelling, but everyone in the series is good, although I continue to find Matt Smith somewhat under-animated. I could not agree with you more Bixa. I found my mind wandering at times and had difficulty with staying focused. I made it though 2 and a half episodes. Princess Margaret is the only one livening it up. Hints of the Profumo affair are beginning to emerge. Bingeable? Nah... I'll end up watching all of it I'm pretty sure but at a leisurely pace unless something really shakes it up. (I didn't really find the clothes to be out of sync with the period. I'll have to pay closer attention). Plodding Moving along with my impressions of The Crown, I watched a few( likely 3) more episodes. Still a tad on the slow side but I'm sticking with it. So far, Princess Margaret seems to be the one with the most personality. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2017 19:35:13 GMT
Homicide was likely my favorite TV series of all time.
Everything about it, the acting, writing, and how human it was compelled me in a way no other series of that genre ever has before or since.
Many of the stories were based on real life events. One in particular was based on a horrific crime that occurred here in NOLA in the 1990's which my husband while working as an EMT was one of the response team on the scene and he was haunted by this for some time. (they also used great music and one local band from here were a favorite and one of the musicians I know told me how much they loved working with their crew up in Baltimore).
I do not know to this day why the series was discontinued. The Wire, while just ok to me, did not come close to this series.
(As an aside, I was downtown one day going to get my passport renewed. I took a shortcut through the Riverside Hilton lobby and lo and behold saw Andree Braugher.
I would never ever disturb someone of notoriety and distinction be it actor, musician whomever.
I did however make eye contact with him and nodded my head at him in a non verbal form of homage.
He flashed me that indistinguishable grin and I was like a school girl for the remainder of the day.
He was that cool.
It turns out he was in town filming a made for TV movie about two high school basketball teams during the days of segregation and a game between an all white vs. all Afro-American team.
I did see it and it was stellar.)
Sorry for the thread jack good people.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 10, 2017 0:08:30 GMT
Homicide was likely my favorite TV series of all time. Everything about it, the acting, writing, and how human it was compelled me in a way no other series of that genre ever has before or since. Based on these rave reviews, I have placed a hold at my library on DVD set containing season 1 & 2 of Homicide. Thanks! |
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Post by Kimby on Dec 10, 2017 5:08:03 GMT
Thanks, huckle. I’m waiting for the library to email me that it is available, but I’ll be sure to let you know. I also reservedFargo Season 2.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 13, 2017 15:38:17 GMT
I just started watching London Spy with Ben Whishaw. Just saw the first episode so far. Whoa! I do understand the -18 rating.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 13, 2017 15:47:24 GMT
What rating system is that K2? Is -18 a good or bad rating?
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 13, 2017 15:53:00 GMT
It's the British rating system. In the French system, it would get a -12 at most, probably not even that -- although I haven't seen the other episodes yet. Obviously the American rating would just be "R" from what I have seen.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 13, 2017 16:23:10 GMT
I much preferred The Wire to Homicide, although I understand all the reasons why Homicide was exceptional. Somewhere in the depths of the Small Screen Viewing thread are my thoughts on the subject.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 13, 2017 22:37:59 GMT
Standing in line at the bank where of course we were all being subjected to the high-mounted tv sets, I fell into conversation with my line neighbor. She pointed out, quite accurately, that there are no quality dramas, police procedurals, etc. on Mexican tv. Because of cable, she was aware of there being such things on US tv. That's a very real comparison. So here I am reading about the comparisons between American/British/French series while in the midst of watching Homicide: Life on the Street, which is always compared to The Wire. Because I loved The Wire so much, I was keenly aware of "the contest" when I began watching Homicide. In this situation, at least, I think there is no comparison because they're both so excellent in their separate ways. Guess what I'm trying to say is that good is good and Kerouac is quite right about the grass always seeming greener. Also, to take one particularly good example and hold it up as being typical of a country's television standards isn't very accurate. For every great series we can think of from our respective countries, we can think of something else that makes us cringe. You are braver than I, Thill. You too, Kerouac. I just didn't think I could deal with Biutiful. Casimira, I've only watched five (I think) episodes of Homicide so far and am totally, completely hooked. Recently watched the episode Three Men and Adena, which is one of the most remarkable feats of writing and acting I've ever seen, certainly on tv. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2017 0:58:59 GMT
At the risk of having a TV Guide hurled at me, I have to say that I think The Wire was better than Homicide: Life on the Street, the show that gave rise to The Wire. Homicide was excellent, but The Wire was less mannered, thus more gripping. |
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Post by questa on Dec 14, 2017 2:31:32 GMT
Does anyone here remember a series called "Callan" [I'm looking at Patrick and Mossie here]. 1970s
It had Edward Woodward as a MI6 operative and Russell Hunter as "Lonely", a homeless and unwashed informer as Callan's assistant. Anthony Valentine played the part of Toby Mears, another operative, jealous of Callan's status in the secret department.
Filmed in grainy B&W it was a grim reminder that the Cold War was full on. At times MI6 had to eliminate enemy operatives so Callan would arrange 'an accident'
In one series he is captured by KGB agents and subjected to torture and drugs to get him to name other agents. He is exchanged back to UK and becomes the Department leader. Next series shows he is too damaged, so it's back to the field.
With such a good cast and excellent writing, this series would interest this generation as well as it did mine.
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