Topic: Dave's TV Snobbery Topic with added Low Brow Self Indulgences

[tubby]

Enjoying Sherwood. A lot going on under the surface, cracking cast as well

Yeah only watched the first episode so far but it was quality drama.

[Gili Gulu]

Watched the first episode of Season 3 of For All Mankind, thought it was really great. I was getting a little put off by the soapy elements in the previous season, like

Spoiler

Mrs Baldwin having the affair with the Stevens' young son

[close]

, but I felt this was really gripping.

[Armand9]

Finally finished Severance last night so I probably missed most of the discussion before due to avoiding spoilers.

I think the finale was possibly the best episode of TV I've seen since Ozymandias. Its an amazing show, something of a cross between Lost and a concept out of Black Mirror.

i just binged it, knew fuckall about it but saw it was highly rated and read the synopsis, ok it's in my ball park and gave it a go

well made and written highly polished show, genre wise stepford wives vibe and that's not a spoiler cos they show you the set up from the off and its main theme is something we've seen before many times but the outfit has changed a little and it's done very well (from twilight zone to outer limits and beyond to individual shows like west world we've played this game before)

extremely slow but that is really a given for this kind of genre (esp as an episodic tv show) and it's all about the hook, which for me ended up being more prosaic than i had hoped

Spoiler

if the finale is ringing true, it's the most boring option they could've applied to the scenario as it's the most obvious and basic - ie the one that immediately comes to mind, so that was disappointing in their option choice. however, it's done well so there's not actual disappointment with what you see on screen, just not what you hoped for if you were me*. coupled to that there are still some unanswered questions that im interested in, so i'll defo watch another season, just wish they'd chosen a less obvious purpose and motive for severance - which at its core is 'big brother' (not the reality tv show bollocks, the 1984 original big brother version)

*of course, being this kind of show they could totally switch what is 'really' going on at any point they like, which could bode well or worse for the show

[close]

[Buck Pete]

Finished the HBO mini-series on Sky Atlantic last night "The Staircase"

Based on a true story and stars Colin Firth and Toni Collette.

Really bizarre story about a writer in Durham, North Carolina who was accused of killing his wife after she was found at the bottom of the stairs.

Lots of secrets and lies, dodgy attorneys, suspect forensics and wild theories as to what happened.  A really good whodunnit / whatdunnit. 

[Schmidt]

Finished the HBO mini-series on Sky Atlantic last night "The Staircase"

Based on a true story and stars Colin Firth and Toni Collette.

Really bizarre story about a writer in Durham, North Carolina who was accused of killing his wife after she was found at the bottom of the stairs.

Lots of secrets and lies, dodgy attorneys, suspect forensics and wild theories as to what happened.  A really good whodunnit / whatdunnit. 

The documentary is good too, there's also a pretty wild theory online that an owl did it which is pretty credible when you read it.

[RedSince86]

Finished the HBO mini-series on Sky Atlantic last night "The Staircase"

Based on a true story and stars Colin Firth and Toni Collette.

Really bizarre story about a writer in Durham, North Carolina who was accused of killing his wife after she was found at the bottom of the stairs.

Lots of secrets and lies, dodgy attorneys, suspect forensics and wild theories as to what happened.  A really good whodunnit / whatdunnit.

You should watch the documentary "Death On The Staircase" that Storyville did on BBC in the early 00's, it's on Netflix now.

Fly on the wall style, i think its 12 episodes, it's essential viewing.

[peachybum]

I thought the first 2 episodes of The Old Man were great. Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are excellent as always and the fight scene featuring a 72 y/o badass was impressive.

[Buck Pete]

The documentary is good too, there's also a pretty wild theory online that an owl did it which is pretty credible when you read it.

Yeah, they touched on the owl theory but it didn't go anywhere.  As you say, credible explanation.

Yes, defo gonna check out the actual doc too.  The HBO mini-series heavily features the French team who made the documentary.  It was a dramatization of the making of the documentary (if that makes sense).

[Spongebob Redpants]

You should watch the documentary "Death On The Staircase" that Storyville did on BBC in the early 00's, it's on Netflix now.

Fly on the wall style, i think its 12 episodes, it's essential viewing.

13 episodes in total . Finished watching it last week - An incredible story in all respects .

Shows up the American legal system to be the shitshow that it can be . Also bizarre is the fact that the Media are involved in the case pretty much from the off , with a lot of baseless or plain wrong speculation being reported as the trial progresses .

I read that some members of the Peterson family have criticised the new series for the added dramatisation of the actual events

[Spongebob Redpants]

Yeah, they touched on the owl theory but it didn't go anywhere.  As you say, credible explanation.

Yes, defo gonna check out the actual doc too.  The HBO mini-series heavily features the French team who made the documentary.  It was a dramatization of the making of the documentary (if that makes sense).

The French team sold them the rights to use documentary footage , a decision the director now regrets .

[Buck Pete]

I read that some members of the Peterson family have criticised the new series for the added dramatisation of the actual events

Yeah I can imagine.  The whole family was made out to be pretty dysfunctional and often downright weird.

[Buck Pete]

The French team sold them the rights to use documentary footage , a decision the director now regrets .

Sure I cant remember any stock footage being used in the HBO drama mini-series mate.  Or are you meaning something else?

[Spongebob Redpants]

Sure I cant remember any stock footage being used in the HBO drama mini-series mate.  Or are you meaning something else?

Apologies mate - I was talking shite ( not for the first time ).

The director sold the the archive footage he shot for The Staircase to the director of the HBO version. Not seen the HBO version and assumed some footage was used .

[Macphisto80]

If you're a fan of Stephen King, horror, and mystery story telling like Lost (obviously before it ended) then I recommend watching a show called 'From'. It's been excellent so far. My only concern about it is that because it's from the makers of Lost, that it goes down a similar path in the story telling and amounts to a sum of fuck all by the end of it. Or that it gets cancelled before that might happen because no one's really talking about it.

[Spongebob Redpants]

If you're a fan of Stephen King, horror, and mystery story telling like Lost (obviously before it ended) then I recommend watching a show called 'From'. It's been excellent so far. My only concern about it is that because it's from the makers of Lost, that it goes down a similar path in the story telling and amounts to a sum of fuck all by the end of it. Or that it gets cancelled before that might happen because no one's really talking about it.

Remember reading about this but didn't know it was out yet .It was renewed for a second seaon in April.

I'll put it on my watch list . Sounds a similar premise to Wayward Pines ?

[Macphisto80]

Remember reading about this but didn't know it was out yet .It was renewed for a second seaon in April.

I'll put it on my watch list . Sounds a similar premise to Wayward Pines ?

I've never seen Wayward Pines, but seen it being  compared to that in terms of its tone. It's sort of like a Outer Limits meets Salem's Lot, meets Lost and maybe something else. It's got all the ingredients to be a classic TV show. Just hoping they don't pull a 'Lost' on it.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Yeah, they touched on the owl theory but it didn't go anywhere.  As you say, credible explanation.

Yes, defo gonna check out the actual doc too.  The HBO mini-series heavily features the French team who made the documentary.  It was a dramatization of the making of the documentary (if that makes sense).

After the Netflix doc ‘The Staircase’ took off, David Rudolph went on a Q&A tour all over the world. I went to the one in Islington that Martin Fitzgerald hosted and Rudolph said then that there just wasn’t enough time to build a credible case for the owl theory - it landed on their desks close to closing arguments. Said if he had the info from the start they would have led with it, absolutely.

He was also pretty furious at this documentary and how he and most others are portrayed.

Found it funny that when he landed in England at the time, he wanted to take on ‘a soccer game’ and ended up at St James’ Park I think. I still follow him on Twitter now and it seemed to spark a liking of the game for him!

[Peabee]

I thought the first 2 episodes of The Old Man were great. Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are excellent as always and the fight scene featuring a 72 y/o badass was impressive.

Yeah the fight scenes were great, as they didn’t ignore the fact he’s a septuagenarian, but he was relentless and crafty as fuck, yet he would have been killed if it wasn’t for his dogs.

[disgraced cake]

I thought the first 2 episodes of The Old Man were great. Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are excellent as always and the fight scene featuring a 72 y/o badass was impressive.

Hadn't heard of this but that's exactly the type of casting that'll draw me in. Anywhere to watch this (UK) ?

[Armand9]

I've never seen Wayward Pines, but seen it being  compared to that in terms of its tone. It's sort of like a Outer Limits meets Salem's Lot, meets Lost and maybe something else. It's got all the ingredients to be a classic TV show. Just hoping they don't pull a 'Lost' on it.

you had me with outer limits and salem's lot (love the two part 1979 adaptation with james mason and david soul, of all people) but lost me with Lost - hated that show cos all my mates would fucking bang on about it forever telling me to watch it and all they'd talk about was fucking Lost down the pub. Eventually I relented and gave it a spin and just couldn't get into it at all and fucked it off pretty quick. Which later proved amusing to me when they all started bitching about it.

While King is an excellent story teller with incredible output of usually good quality he's piss poor at endings in general and no matter how good you are, if your endings are subpar, ultimately it leaves an audience deflated, which for me is usually the case with King even tho i admire his imagination and story telling and to be honest im in fucking awe of his output, it's ridiculous.

As From isn't written by King i might give it a spin, i've downloaded it and may go to it when everything else has dried up. Thanks for the head's up.

btw i do realise King had nothing to do with Lost, just when his name comes up i always lament how fantastic some of his shit would've been if he could create a good endings.

[peachybum]

Hadn't heard of this but that's exactly the type of casting that'll draw me in. Anywhere to watch this (UK) ?

i think it's coming to Disney+ eventually.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

If you're a fan of Stephen King, horror, and mystery story telling like Lost (obviously before it ended) then I recommend watching a show called 'From'. It's been excellent so far. My only concern about it is that because it's from the makers of Lost, that it goes down a similar path in the story telling and amounts to a sum of fuck all by the end of it. Or that it gets cancelled before that might happen because no one's really talking about it.

Oh I heard about this show, it seems a little like a Silent Hill story which I am a big fan of, where can I watch it in the UK?

[Macphisto80]

you had me with outer limits and salem's lot (love the two part 1979 adaptation with james mason and david soul, of all people) but lost me with Lost - hated that show cos all my mates would fucking bang on about it forever telling me to watch it and all they'd talk about was fucking Lost down the pub. Eventually I relented and gave it a spin and just couldn't get into it at all and fucked it off pretty quick. Which later proved amusing to me when they all started bitching about it.

While King is an excellent story teller with incredible output of usually good quality he's piss poor at endings in general and no matter how good you are, if your endings are subpar, ultimately it leaves an audience deflated, which for me is usually the case with King even tho i admire his imagination and story telling and to be honest im in fucking awe of his output, it's ridiculous.

As From isn't written by King i might give it a spin, i've downloaded it and may go to it when everything else has dried up. Thanks for the head's up.

btw i do realise King had nothing to do with Lost, just when his name comes up i always lament how fantastic some of his shit would've been if he could create a good endings.

Well, you'll be happy to know that the writing, at least up until what I've watched, which is just over half way through,  isn't anything like Lost. In fact, the writers of the show seem to be fully aware of this and the audience's thinking. This isn't a spoiler, but there's a scene where one of the characters writes something on a wall that is a direct wink and a nod to the ending of Lost and  completely gets that shit out of the way, and in a very intelligent manner. There's a few things I've noticed so far like this. It's as if the writers are aware of what the audience will be thinking at certain points, questioning things characters are doing and certain other aspects of the mystery, and then a scene or two later, these things get brought up or addressed in a very intuitive and realistic manner. They don't seem to be dragging their heels and chucking nebulous shite in there for the sake of it, a'la Lost just because it's weird and keeps the viewers on hooks. So far there seems to be a rhyme and a reason, and the more you watch, the more invested you get.

[Macphisto80]

Oh I heard about this show, it seems a little like a Silent Hill story which I am a big fan of, where can I watch it in the UK?

Not sure. It's on a streaming service called 'Epix' or something. I think it's on Amazon Prime. It's nearly impossible to find on torrents - probably due to its name which is just vague as fuck if you're searching for anything to do with it - but I found it on a streaming website that I watch uploaded shows on.

https://series9.la/

And search From 2022.

[Henry Gale]

People wouldn't be surprised to know I love From  proper Lost vibes from it. I just hope they don't cancel it.

[pazcom]

Not sure. It's on a streaming service called 'Epix' or something. I think it's on Amazon Prime. It's nearly impossible to find on torrents - probably due to its name which is just vague as fuck if you're searching for anything to do with it - but I found it on a streaming website that I watch uploaded shows on.

https://series9.la/

And search From 2022.

Just tried to find it on Amazon Prime, no joy. I think you'd need to add Epix as an add on. Not sure if Epix is availble on UK Amazon Prime.

[Armand9]

Not sure. It's on a streaming service called 'Epix' or something. I think it's on Amazon Prime. It's nearly impossible to find on torrents - probably due to its name which is just vague as fuck if you're searching for anything to do with it - but I found it on a streaming website that I watch uploaded shows on.

https://series9.la/

And search From 2022.

i think you're right on why it's difficult to find on torrents but i found it using 'From season 1 2022' on a very old and popular site (wouldn't come up on the regular one i usually use), if that's of any help to anyone

EDIT
tho i just did a test and if you do an episode search rather than a season search, it did come up on my regular site (duh! dont know why this didn't occur to me when i was looking for it), eg From S01E01 etc

Well, you'll be happy to know that the writing, at least up until what I've watched, which is just over half way through,  isn't anything like Lost. In fact, the writers of the show seem to be fully aware of this and the audience's thinking. This isn't a spoiler, but there's a scene where one of the characters writes something on a wall that is a direct wink and a nod to the ending of Lost and  completely gets that shit out of the way, and in a very intelligent manner. There's a few things I've noticed so far like this. It's as if the writers are aware of what the audience will be thinking at certain points, questioning things characters are doing and certain other aspects of the mystery, and then a scene or two later, these things get brought up or addressed in a very intuitive and realistic manner. They don't seem to be dragging their heels and chucking nebulous shite in there for the sake of it, a'la Lost just because it's weird and keeps the viewers on hooks. So far there seems to be a rhyme and a reason, and the more you watch, the more invested you get.

you've convinced me, i'll watch it over the next few days at some point

[WhereAngelsPlay]

It's on all the apps,not sure about the free results but it pulls loads of torrents through RD.

[AndyInVA]

No Time To Die is on Amazon Prime in the states.

[pazcom]

No Time To Die is on Amazon Prime in the states.

Amazon Prime UK had all the Bond films for a while, something to do with Amazon buying the rights.

[Macphisto80]

Finished From. Didn't disappoint whatsover. Quality from start to finish. It ended just as it started to reveal a few things about its world and presented new stuff. Hopfully it doesn't pull a "Lost" but it does seem like the writers do have a planned narrative by the way things were set up and paced throughout. It deserves its own thread.

[BarryCrocker]

Managed to binge through 'We Own This City' over the weekend. Sensational piece of television and a very sad indictment on how some cities are policed and run.

[Lee1-6Liv]

The first two episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 2 are up on Disney +, think I might wait for them all and binge it.

[duvva 💅]

Thought Sherwood was excellent. Didn’t end up being about what it initially seemed and without wanting to give too much away it spoke to the damage done both in the past and now by division within communities. Some brilliant performances by a top cast as well

[bradders1011]

Thought Sherwood was excellent. Didn’t end up being about what it initially seemed and without wanting to give too much away it spoke to the damage done both in the past and now by division within communities. Some brilliant performances by a top cast as well

Yeah it was excellent. Not sure it needs a second series though, hope it doesn't go all Broadchurch and tarnish what should have been a great standalone drama.

[duvva 💅]

Yeah it was excellent. Not sure it needs a second series though, hope it doesn't go all Broadchurch and tarnish what should have been a great standalone drama.

Yeah I was surprised they announced that. It sounds like there will be a similar underlying focus but could be in a different area with some different characters. But as you say hopefully it doesn’t go all Broadchurch

[Buck Pete]

3 episodes into 'Severance'

This is one seriously strange and altogether unnerving show.  Bloody good though if you like a nice slow burner.

[Lee1-6Liv]

3 episodes into 'Severance'

This is one seriously strange and altogether unnerving show.  Bloody good though if you like a nice slow burner.

I thought the first three episodes were a bit repetitive but it really goes up a notch from the fourth one on.

[kaesarsosei]

The scene at the start of Episode 3 or 4 I think where Adam Scott's innie tries to put on "warm eyes" for Helli is one of the funiest things I've seen this year.

[Buck Pete]

The scene at the start of Episode 3 or 4 I think where Adam Scott's innie tries to put on "warm eyes" for Helli is one of the funiest things I've seen this year.

Its a remarkable TV show, I'm kind of hooked but i don't know why.  Its so melancholy but abstract and cool.  Each episode is like one big dream sequence.

Don't know what it is as I can't quite put my finger on it, but it reminds me of the show from the late 60's called "The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan.

Oh yeah. I hate Milchick!