RugbyRebels

Outer Range is maybe worth a watch. As with these things, it starts strong but then needs the characters to act more and more insanely as the story goes on in order to keep the plot going. Very strong cast let down by what is probably far less than meets the eye in terms of the mystery.

Finally finished Lovecraft Country. It's not great. Thematically it echoes the Watchmen series by taking an existing story (extremely loosely in this instance) which was nothing to do with race, and making it all about race. Unlike Watchmen this is not well written, or even acted (in the case of the lead).

Son of Mathonwy wrote:Finally finished Lovecraft Country. It's not great. Thematically it echoes the Watchmen series by taking an existing story (extremely loosely in this instance) which was nothing to do with race, and making it all about race. Unlike Watchmen this is not well written, or even acted (in the case of the lead).

Bet you a lot of people hadn't heard of Emmett till or Tulsa before watching that.

morepork wrote:

Son of Mathonwy wrote:Finally finished Lovecraft Country. It's not great. Thematically it echoes the Watchmen series by taking an existing story (extremely loosely in this instance) which was nothing to do with race, and making it all about race. Unlike Watchmen this is not well written, or even acted (in the case of the lead).

Bet you a lot of people hadn't heard of Emmett till or Tulsa before watching that.

True, so it did some good. In an ideal world, both of those, particularly the almost unbelievable Tulsa deserve a series of their own, without the distraction of SciFi or fantasy.

I binge watched We Own the City last night, well worth a watch.

Hellbound is unfortunately not the TV version of Hellraiser II. But if you want more Korean fun, it's pretty good. The CGI lets it down a little (in design, not technology) but there's much apocalyptic enjoyment to be had here, and some shades of Death Note.

I got round to watching The OA recently. Not all may agree but I liked it. A brilliant first episode, and an end which was pretty satisfying considering the series was axed 3 seasons early. The explanation could never live up to the show's initial promise but it was highly distinctive.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... -sturridge

Only 2 episodes in so far, loving it.

loving slow horses...........2 episodes in........

Which Tyler wrote:

Binged that yesterday, good viewing.

Numbers wrote:

Which Tyler wrote:

Binged that yesterday, good viewing.

Good stuff, one of the better episodes.

In general, it's a very good show (assuming Gaiman is your cup of tea, that is . . . I expect plenty would think it's a load of nonsense), pretty close to the comic, very rich in material and, as a result, highly varied from one episode to the next.

The only real problem is Dream himself, the actor looks the part but is too wooden.

Lots of great shows out there.

House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power are both hitting the mark. HOTD is Game of thrones with a complete set of new characters and a lot more dragons. No surprises, but I'm not tiring of the format while they keep the quality up. TROP is a little more surprising - it's not simply a remake of Lord of the Rings - and I'm interested to see where it goes (or how it gets to where we know it goes in the end).

Better Call Saul is finished, and it's excellent. Not quite as good a Breaking Bad, perhaps ran for a season too long, but great TV.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is IMO the best ST since the original. This is partly because it unashamedly follows the formula, but also because the characters are well-written and the cast bring warmth and humour to roles. This is in total contrast to the humourless ST: Discovery, which spawned this spin-off.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is great. More in the mould of Rogue One than the main Star Wars films it's a worthy addition to the story. Not exactly free of plot holes (it's Star Wars after all) but it's still vastly superior to the new trilogy.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is worth watching. Not a scary as Hill House but a good, solid story and cast.

Night Sky is unusual (although similar to Outer Range in some ways). Slow-paced but worth the ride.

Foundation is very good. It looks great and the storyline is quite unusual. The plot is not without some highly unlikely occurrences but the mature tone (presumably due to the source material) makes this well worth watching.

The Looming Tower on Prime is pretty good.

Numbers wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:17 am The Looming Tower on Prime is pretty good.

Yeah, it's good. I saw it on BBC2 a year or 2 back.

Currently watching Shetland; Rising Damp and Persuaders.

Just finished McDonald & Dodds. All good.

Caught up with Colin Murray's Coynt-doyn ( a big lift from Ann R )
with his mates naughty Rachel & Suzie-dictionary.
Some unassuming young guy from Shropshire studying in Wuss,
has just completed his 'octochamp' run (8 wins, then leave) in which he was undefeated in all of his 120 rounds (first ever), joined a select group of 4 to have passed 1000 points in his 8 games, and bagged the highest ever score on the show in the current format, of 154. Wemarkable.

The Rings of Power ends its first season well. Although I saw the reveal coming, it was quite satisfying.

I watched The Bear yesterday, compelling viewing and in 30 minute chunks so quite easy to binge.

Anyone got any spoiler-free opinions on Rings of Power or Interview with the Vampire?


I'm wary about both of them - and wary of spoilers if I go looking

Which Tyler wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 7:55 pm Anyone got any spoiler-free opinions on Rings of Power or Interview with the Vampire?


I'm wary about both of them - and wary of spoilers if I go looking

Rings of Power is great if you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings films and don't expect it to be like Game of Thrones. It's fantasy on the other end of the spectrum - good vs evil, not flawed human vs flawed human vs yet another flawed human. I find both enjoyable in quite different ways. GOT is gripping but in the end who really cares who wins? TROP has less surprises, less realism - the characters are more single-faceted - but you may care more what happens to them. And for epic spectacle, there's no better place than high fantasy.

Which Tyler wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 7:55 pm Anyone got any spoiler-free opinions on Rings of Power or Interview with the Vampire?


I'm wary about both of them - and wary of spoilers if I go looking

Interview with the Vampire is well done. Other than some choices which would dismay the anti-woke element, there are no great surprises so far if you've seen the film. Anne Rice being an executive producer gives me some confidence at this fairly early stage in the show.

Son of Mathonwy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 21, 2022 10:02 amInterview with the Vampire is well done. Other than some choices which would dismay the anti-woke element, there are no great surprises so far if you've seen the film. Anne Rice being an executive producer gives me some confidence at this fairly early stage in the show.

Thank you
I quite liked the film, wife is a fan of the books, and dubious.

Anne Rice is doing well to be an exec producer - didn't she die last year? presumably an honourific

Andor is great. It's gritty and downbeat, as befits a prequel to Rogue One. As with that film (by a long way the best of the Disney efforts) we're watching a rebellion which really has the odds against it and (other than the protagonist who obviously must survive to reach the events of Rogue One) you feel the characters are in genuine peril.