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Post by htmb on Mar 21, 2020 16:03:51 GMT
We’ve started watching The Americans. I’ve seen a couple of seasons already, but it was long enough ago that I’ve forgotten most of the details.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 21, 2020 16:13:30 GMT
We really enjoyed The Americans, once we got over the strangeness of rooting for Russian spies. Watched all the seasons. Mostly satisfying denouement.
It was fun seeing Brody from Homeland as the FBI agent next door.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 22, 2020 12:15:25 GMT
Over the last two days I watched all 30 episodes of a dramedy series about a layabout 30 year-old who suddenly has real life come and slap him in the face (Irresponsable) and then I watched the 10 episodes of a web series about a university geek who needs to get revenge for a disgusting hazing incident and then things get out of hand when he hacks the internet accounts and telephones of all of the other students (Stalk).
I found the viewing disturbing for an unusual reason -- the same actor played the teenage son in the first series and the student in the second series, and it was a bit complicated for me to adjust to a completely different personality and atmosphere without a viewing pause.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 22, 2020 12:43:36 GMT
We are at the top of the library hold list for This Is Us season three, but the library has suspended all services till further notice and all holds are put on hold.
With our poor internet service, we don’t stream anything except short video clips (SNL opening sketches, e.g.). So we are in a bit of a drought, TV series-wise.
However, we are in possession of the whole first season of Breaking Bad, which we had to BUY when we left this library item in Florida over the long summer. Mr. Kimby has planned to watch it during my September trip to Peru, but that may not happen...
Will be fun revisiting Walter White’s beginnings.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2020 22:27:54 GMT
Kimby, if it's any consolation I have super-dooper extra fast broadband and am now having trouble streaming sometimes because the whole city is using the internet at the same time I am. Those bastards. Anyway, in the spirit of this too shall pass, I dangle delights to which we can look forward all the way into autumn ~ britishperioddramas.com/lists/best-new-british-tv-period-drama-series-2020/
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2020 6:01:31 GMT
Tonight I watched the first episode of Vienna Blood, which I thought someone had mentioned in this thread, but I can't find it.
Anyway, it's well mounted and well cast. Although I didn't find it terribly compelling, I was entertained & willing to give it another chance.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 2, 2020 6:12:52 GMT
I've been watching The Glades. It is terrible.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 2, 2020 16:55:02 GMT
I liked Vienna Blood altho it was a very short series.
Son has got an Amazon subscription so we should be able to watch the new star trek series Picard I'm looking forward to that.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2020 17:06:12 GMT
Well, at least there were 6 episodes in Vienna Blood's first season -- so much better than the cheat of only 3 (three!) episodes in the latest season of Endeavour.
Cheery, check out "The New Yorker presents" on Amazon, which has some interesting stuff.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 3, 2020 2:50:04 GMT
Is anyone else watching season three of Ozark on Netflix?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2020 19:20:54 GMT
After the evening news on France 2, there is a 5 minute comedy series called Vestiaires (Locker Room) concerning a swimming club for the handicapped. The quality of the various jokes is not at all the point, but to show us how the handicapped live and joke about each other, and also to show us their bodies, since let's face it -- we always wonder about it but rarely get to see their exact disabilities.
One of the episodes concerning this quite good looking quadruple amputee (but not the one that I am linking below) has Théo Curin explaining how he learned to swim so well. "My father took me down to the ocean every day and just threw me in the water. I had to swim back to shore." His friend replies something along the lines of "That's was pretty extreme, wasn't it?" Théo replies. "The swimming was nothing. Getting out of the plastic bag was the hard part."
This is the sort of joke that would never be accepted if told by an able bodied person.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 4, 2020 19:34:56 GMT
I will have a look when I get son's codes to get on Amazon Bixa. Thanks for the tip.
New series of Killing Eve is being advertised on the beeb...can't wait.
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Post by htmb on Apr 4, 2020 19:56:19 GMT
After the evening news on France 2, there is a 5 minute comedy series called Vestiaires (Locker Room) concerning a swimming club for the handicapped. The quality of the various jokes is not at all the point, but to show us how the handicapped live and joke about each other, and also to show us their bodies, since let's face it -- we always wonder about it but rarely get to see their exact disabilities. Amazing what people are capable of doing!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 14, 2020 3:56:27 GMT
I am still dragging myself through season two of My Brilliant Friend, which fascinates me even as the narrator girl makes me want to smack her. The character is really rather creepy and her less-advantaged friend is her own special kind of screwed up. I can't believe I'm still watching it, but I can't tear myself away. Belgravia continues to deliver for my costume drama jones. Tonight a friend recommended two Israeli series: Srugim and Shtisel, which she says are really riveting.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 14, 2020 14:03:07 GMT
We’ve been jonesing badly for a series to watch during the quarantine, now that we’ve finished re-watching the first season of Breaking Bad (only SEVEN episodes!). With the library closed, and streaming not practicable on our dodgy internet connection, we were THRILLED to begin two new series on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater: WORLD ON FIRE is a BBC production, set during the German invasion of Poland during WWII, and has engaging characters, a love triangle and several strong female leads, including Helen Hunt as an American journalist. There are 7 episodes, and eventually the action will expand beyond Poland to Britain, France, Germany and the US. www.imdb.com/title/tt8001092/BAPTISTE is a spin-off of The Missing, and spans six episodes. It is set in Amsterdam, where a sex worker goes missing, and leads to a human trafficking gang. There is a cold-blooded Romanian killer to start things off, and two engaging two leading men, Tcheky Karyo and Tom Hollander. www.imdb.com/title/tt8259142/Thank the goddess for public broadcasting!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 14, 2020 14:51:24 GMT
I can't believe I'm still watching it, but I can't tear myself away. Oh, I watched all four seasons of the crummy The Glades, because I had nothing better to do, so I understand watching things that are not top notch. What was funny about The Glades is that season 4 ends on an incredible dramatic cliffhanger, but the series was cancelled before they could tell us what happened.
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Post by htmb on Apr 14, 2020 16:28:05 GMT
I am still dragging myself through season two of My Brilliant Friend, which fascinates me even as the narrator girl makes me want to smack her. The character is really rather creepy and her less-advantaged friend is her own special kind of screwed up. I can't believe I'm still watching it, but I can't tear myself away.. I’m waiting for a moment by myself to start watching season 2. For me, it’s like self punishment discipline. Reading all three books was, too.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 14, 2020 18:21:48 GMT
I understand watching things that are not top notch. The thing is, it is pretty top notch in terms of production, direction, casting (those faces!) re-creation of eras, etc. etc. I started watching it because it takes place in Naples, even though I hated the book. It's well done, so I keep watching even though I hate the same characters I hated in the book. I’m waiting for a moment by myself to start watching season 2. For me, it’s like self punishment discipline. Reading all three books was, too. Gawd, you are so disciplined! I didn't make it through the first book and thought the narrator was obsessed & creepy. That certainly comes across in the series, too, and Lila is straining the hell out of my always rather limited compassion.
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Post by htmb on Apr 14, 2020 18:33:12 GMT
Twisted tales, to be sure. I also started reading them because I was looking for something that would teach more more about life in southern Italy. If you hated the first book, you made the right call. The second and third are no better. But......for me, there was something very compelling. Obviously,
I did find that watching the first series helped me to better understand the first book, and also improved my ability to focus on books two and three.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 14, 2020 19:08:47 GMT
How do you say, "Life's too short" in Italian? (Or in Nnapulitano, if you prefer.)
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Post by Kimby on Apr 15, 2020 14:38:30 GMT
I loved the first season of My Brilliant Friend and look forward to the second season.
I will not subject myself to the punishment of reading the books, thanks to the harsh reviews of you trusted readers.
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Post by htmb on Apr 15, 2020 16:09:06 GMT
You never know, Kimby. I’m very glad I read all three, though it wasn’t easy at times. But my taste in books also tends to be very different from what others seem to like. One thing about the series that I found, for me, was the inability to like or relate to any of the characters in more than very superficial ways.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 15, 2020 19:30:29 GMT
(My attention span is so short now, and my reward-craving so strong, from overuse of Facebook and forums, that I can’t concentrate on a book unless it’s totally engrossing or engaging...)
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Post by patricklondon on Apr 18, 2020 5:31:40 GMT
This may be a bit premature, but ITV is trailing a new series of Van der Valk, due to start at the end of the month. Originally based on Nicolas Freeling's Ansterdam-set novels, there were two separate runs before in the 70s and 90s (re-run on one of the archive channels not so long ago). The new one stars Marc Warren, who usually plays rather nervy and often villainous characters, so that should be interesting. I hope they do justice (as the previous adapters didn't) to Van der Valk's wife, who's much more striking in the books. My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam"
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 19, 2020 19:39:40 GMT
Ooh thanks for the tip Patrick.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 19, 2020 20:01:37 GMT
I'm still skimming through old stuff since my cable service proposes something like 150 different series in replay. I've watched 3 episodes of Falling Skies, but it is so predictable that I know I'm going to stop. The fact that there are something like 4 or 5 seasons of it indicates that the story goes absolutely nowhere, like most continuous series.
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Post by spaceneedle on Apr 20, 2020 7:11:51 GMT
Currently on Season 2 of Ozark, which is really good so far.
One of my more recent favorites is Succession, which is an HBO series. Really great.
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Post by lugg on Apr 22, 2020 7:59:35 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 22, 2020 14:19:52 GMT
Thanks for the recommendations, Spaceneedle & Lugg. I really need another series to get into, but nothing has appealed lately. Both of your recommendations sound really good.
Ohhhh, Ozark! I'm a huge fan, Spaceneedle -- just finished season 3. One thing I really like about it is that it doesn't lose itself in its own plot. By that I mean that no matter the twists and turns, it stays logically on course & never cheaply relies on some forced plot event for things to make sense.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 22, 2020 16:49:54 GMT
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