December TV thread

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 Offwidth 01 Dec 2019

As an experiment I thought it worth putting up a parallel to the film threads, especially as online viewing of box sets is still a growing trend in the UK and some of still watch or record broadcast TV.

I've just finished watching Spiral (Engreneges) series 7.... the usual murky dealings of a French crime squad and the criminal justice and political systems in which they sit.... and up to the usual excellent gritty standards. Available on the I Player for a short while yet.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0072wk9/spiral

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_(TV_series)

 Tom Valentine 01 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

For me it's the absolute pinnacle of BBC4  night viewing ( and not just because Maitre Karlsson is the stuff of fantasies). I found a similar French cop show called Braquo which was nearly as good but it fell short in a couple of places.

Good to see Tintin make a return  and the scruffy leads of Laure and Gilou deserve each other.

 Blue Straggler 01 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

I just binge-watched Scream Queens Season 1, deliriously campy fun, like Mean Girls meets Scream, with some very bold dialogue (nasty stuff, but spoken by nasty characters so the writers somehow get away with it) 

 jethro kiernan 02 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

Midway through Succession, an unflattering portrait of thinly veiled Murdoch type family.

 Tom Valentine 02 Dec 2019
In reply to jethro kiernan:

I love the theme tune

In reply to Offwidth:

Andy Murray - Resurfacing

Brilliant feature length documentary about the last couple of years of AM battling his hip injury, going through the rehab and trying to get back on court. Emotional and inspirational. I have total admiration for him....very open access and he comes across warm, vulnerable and completely professional. 

 deepsoup 02 Dec 2019
In reply to Blue Straggler:

> I just binge-watched Scream Queens Season 1, deliriously campy fun, like Mean Girls meets Scream, with some very bold dialogue (nasty stuff, but spoken by nasty characters so the writers somehow get away with it) 


A comedy-horror spoof type thing?  Sounds good.  Streaming?  Where from?  (I'm still digging my heels in and resisting the lure of Amazon Prime so far.)

In a similar vein, possibly.  (Bad pun, sorry.)

"What We Do In The Shadows" is still available on the BBC iPlayer.

It's a 10-episode TV series spin-off of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire 'mockumentary' film of the same name, and it's just delightful.  It's worth having seen the film first, but not at all essential.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0005bky/what-we-do-in-the-shadows

Removed User 02 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

>  "What We Do In The Shadows" is still available on the BBC iPlayer.

>  It's a 10-episode TV series spin-off of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire 'mockumentary' film of the same name, and it's just delightful.

Pretty much everything with Matt Berry in is worth a look, to my mind. 'Disenchantment' perhaps isn't as good as one might hope, but that's not really his fault.

 deepsoup 02 Dec 2019
In reply to Removed UserBwox:

I'm not usually a big fan of his, but he is *perfect* as Laszlo. 

 Blue Straggler 02 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

> A comedy-horror spoof type thing?  Sounds good.  Streaming?  Where from?  (I'm still digging my heels in and resisting the lure of Amazon Prime so far.)

I bought the DVD, £5 delivered. Yes, a comedy-horror thing, not really a spoof, in the same way that Scream wasn't really a spoof. It is tongue-in-cheek yet still somehow the "whodunnit"/murder-mystery aspect does genuinely draw you in. Writers clearly had a lot of fun writing deliberately offensive dialogue for the over-the-top obnoxious spoiled rich brats who comprise the majority of the characters. Performances are fun, I think it is deliberately played and directed to acknowledge that most of these "college students" are blatantly in their mid-late twenties  
Billie "Carrie Fisher's daughter" Lourd is the best as she has the totally deadpan character, but Emma Roberts does a superb job carrying the whole thing, as the top mean rich bitch. 

OP Offwidth 02 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

Just adorable. I feel let down by a lot of modern TV comedy but a few shows really click for me. I thought the film worked much less well.

 Blue Straggler 02 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

> I thought the film worked much less well.

That is interesting as I did like the premise but the film bored me, yet I like Taika in general...

 deepsoup 02 Dec 2019
In reply to Blue Straggler:

> I bought the DVD, £5 delivered.

Cool, I'll have a look at that then, ta.

Oh, and regarding WWDITS..  I agree with Offwidth I think, for my money the film is very good but the TV series is really quite a lot better.  Perhaps you have to be a Kiwi to really, properly appreciate the film.

OP Offwidth 04 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

"I agree with Offwidth"... sticking that in my scrapbook

 deepsoup 04 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

I agree with you about almost everything, that's why it pains me so much that you're such a bollock.

 marsbar 04 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

Well that escalated.....

I'm rather looking forward to the tiger who came to tea.  

OP Offwidth 04 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

Well, I quite like you, despite that: if we can't have some passion in what we believe and enjoy, what is the point in life....

 deepsoup 04 Dec 2019
In reply to marsbar:

> Well that escalated.....

Ha ha.  I did think about adding a winky smiley thing.

I'd never heard of the Tiger Who Came to Tea.  It looks like the TV production has a strong cast - Tamsin Grieg is quite underrated I think, but it's always a good sign if she's in something. 
(Well, on TV at least - lets not talk about The Archers.)

 Blue Straggler 04 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

> Ha ha.  I did think about adding a winky smiley thing.

> I'd never heard of the Tiger Who Came to Tea.  It looks like the TV production has a strong cast - Tamsin Grieg is quite underrated I think, but it's always a good sign if she's in something. 

She had a short but effective role in one of the stronger films of the year, "Official Secrets"

 Tobes 04 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes - 

I must have been abroad at the time coz both these past me by but.....brilliant! lots of Bowie references, politically incorrect, Keeley Hawes (AtA) terrible plots, great character actors, Keeley Hawes, great soundtrack, constant drinking, Keeley Haw......you get the idea ; )  

 yorkshireman 04 Dec 2019
In reply to jethro kiernan:

> Midway through Succession, an unflattering portrait of thinly veiled Murdoch type family.

We watched this and after a couple of episodes wondered how we would stick with it since there's basically no sympathetic characters, everyone is a c%#t. Still, powered through both seasons and ended up loving it. I've worked with some people though who might think it aspirational rather than satirical.

Another vote for Spiral - glad to hear they've just wrapped up filming on season 2. I'll have to check out Braquo.

Season 4 of the Man in the High Castle has just started so that's on the list.

 yorkshireman 04 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Valentine:

> I love the theme tune

It earwormed into my head for quite a while.

Did you see the Boris Johnson version?  youtube.com/watch?v=1XW9V0jDLp4&

 Tom Valentine 04 Dec 2019
In reply to yorkshireman:

Interesting point about dramas where there isn't anyone remotely likeable : to your nomination of Succession, which I agree with totally, I'd like to add Ozarks.

 Tom Valentine 04 Dec 2019
In reply to yorkshireman:

Like it. 

 jethro kiernan 04 Dec 2019
In reply to yorkshireman:

I do sometimes struggle with programs that have no sympathetic character’s but it been fairly quality so far. It’s like watching a nasty David Brent write large 😏

 Blue Straggler 05 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Valentine:

> Interesting point about dramas where there isn't anyone remotely likeable 

Has this been on the increase in fiction in general in the past two decades or am I just either more sensitive to it or picking a lot of this stuff by coincidence? From Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, to We Need To Talk About Kevin, via unlikely fare such as Lucky Number  Slevin and even The Big Sick, it seems to be a thing

russellcampbell 05 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

Spiral 7 was great but a bit complicated to follow.

Ken Burns' [Burns's?] documentary on Country Music is being shown on BBC 4 just now. Has reached episode 4 out of 8. Watched first 4 episodes yesterday. Absolutely brilliant. [To save musical snobs the trouble I've heard all the "yee haw" etc comments  many times.]

 Sean Kelly 05 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

Another vote for Spiral. Stumbled upon this back in series 2 and must catch up on s.1 on YouTube. Even the mrs is a keen fan. Best foreign TV since The Bridge!

OP Offwidth 09 Dec 2019
In reply to Sean Kelly:

Finally got round to watching BBC4 Storyville: Brexit Behind Closed Doors. This is like a comedy spoof on the EU side of the brexit negotiations, but it is in fact real and contains lots of telling information on tne attitudes and behaviour on both sides. Frankly the EU were mad to make this and it feels dirty but important to watch it.

youtube.com/watch?v=FvKGWQXi3rM&

1
OP Offwidth 22 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

A couple to catch up with...

Season 2 of The Sinner... almost as good as the first  in setting a baffling scenario full of flawed characters and running with it without insulting the viewer's' intelligence.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_sinner/s02

Next, Pilger's 'War on the NHS', was very good but I felt flawed by his personalising things in a way that distracted from the key message  (especially the bit about Vince Cable, who I suspect was foolish but no capitalist lizard man). I was also disappointed he didn't put in more numbers ...the US health system is the most expensive per capita state system in the world by a large margin (before any insurance top-ups) and has the worst overall outcomes of any western nation, yet the very best outcomes for those rich enough to afford it ... a system set up to suit the rich and the corporate health giants, at the expense of everyone else.

https://www.itv.com/hub/the-dirty-war-on-the-nhs/2a5959a0001

The UKC thread on it.

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/off_belay/dirty_war_on_the_nhs-713741

 deepsoup 22 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

To stretch the brief of the OP a bit - here's a heads up about a potentially lovely thing on the radio:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ck1c

"Playing in the Dark: Neil Gaiman and the BBC Symphony Orchestra"
Also featuring David Tennant, and AFP.  (I know there are a few fans here.)

This seems to be the same thing that's on R4 split into two episodes a couple of days later: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cl2r

Oh, and also a must for fans of Neil Gaiman:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cl46

Radio adaptation of 'Chivalry', the short story from his 'Smoke and Mirrors' anthology, with Glenda Jackson as Mrs Whitaker.  I'll be slightly disappointed is this is anything less than absolutely delightful.

 melocoton 22 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Valentine:

Profilage is also worth a watch, I have an idea it’s available here. I buy the dvd box sets when I’m in France. Not as violent or edgy as Braquo  or Engrenages but really nice character development and unusual plots.

 deepsoup 26 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

Another recommendation:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cr9s

> Documentary that follows a lone Inuit as he hunts, fishes and constructs an igloo. It tells the story of skills that are disappearing and of how climate change is affecting the lives of Greenland's indigenous people.

> With its focus on the ingenious craft of igloo building before it becomes too late to record it, this is a meditative and poetic sensory immersion in a landscape of ice and snow, an elegy to a world that is melting away.

Not quite 'slow TV', but this is long (an hour and a half) and very sedately paced with quite sparse commentary (in Greenlandic with English subtitles - the "lone Inuit" himself does the talking).  It doesn't really "focus on igloo building" at all, that's just one of the traditional skills the hunter demonstrates and talks about.

It's quite poignant, and the footage is *beautiful* (if a bit cliched in places with the swirly-round drone stuff) - well worth a watch if you have the time and the patience for it.

 kipper12 26 Dec 2019
In reply to deepsoup:

Second this.  One thing that struck me was how much effort our hunter gatherer ancestors needed to invest to find a meal, and how stuffed we would be if we were ever forced back to live off the land, Ray Meres excepted.

In reply to deepsoup:

Great one for kids - Grandpa's Great Escape BBC  Read the book to my children last year and this tv adaption is great with David Walliams acting in it. Deals with the tragedy of alzheimers really  well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09kkxh4

I mentioned Don't F*ck with Cats in another thread. Netflix. Very addictive documentary rollercoaster of internet detectives trying to catch a person who posts very disturbing videos on you tube. Quite a few holes in the plot but great entertainment.

Not new but excellent - Better Call Saul - Netflix. Absolutely brilliant story writing. Superb story arc, character development and deep plot that bubbles along at perfectly judged pace that dovetails brilliantly into the original Breaking Bad. Only the Americans seem to be able to write and film dramas this good. The ability to follow a great story for 40 hours ( I can't think of any duff/filler episodes - and a another 10 in the pipeline for early next year) is so much more immersive than any film could ever get close to IMO. Proper story telling.

 Tom Valentine 29 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

After seeing the first two episodes of Wisting (BBC4 Saturday night slot) I suspect it might be up there with the best of the Nordic cop shows, with the added advantage that the presence of a couple of CIA agents gives the viewer regular breaks from the sub-titles.

 planetmarshall 29 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

The RI Christmas Lectures, always worth watching, were especially excellent this year with Hannah Fry. Also nice to see an old colleague of mine, Anders Langlands, doing the VFX segment on Episode 2.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000crbl

Post edited at 15:27
 deepsoup 29 Dec 2019
In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

There's a live version of Grandpa's Great Escape touring just now, very good show by all accounts.  (Expensive tickets I imagine.)

It's making me feel rather old - for the benefit of anyone else who was a student in the '80s, the live version has Nigel Planer playing Grandpa.  We are not "the young ones" any more!

 deepsoup 29 Dec 2019
In reply to planetmarshall:

I really like Hannah Fry, she would definitely be my favourite telly boffin if it weren't for Alice Roberts.

Have you listened to any of "The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry" on the radio.  They're rather good - 75 episodes available indefinitely as a podcast download from the BBC here:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dx75g

 elsewhere 29 Dec 2019
In reply to Offwidth:

A very scandi scandal - Swedish comedy on All4 player.

Two respectable women on the verge of retirement decide to rob a bank, very funny.

If you like Spiral have a look at Spin (All4?) for French political corruption rather than French legal corruption.

Son of bitch - Brazilian football ref story/ comedy, again all4 or Walter presents.

Code 37 and professor T - Belgian crime 

I'm continuously gob smacked by how much foreign drama is available now and there is some very good stuff.

Post edited at 19:42
 deepsoup 04 Jan 2020
In reply to Offwidth:

Another telly recommendation.  (I know it's not December any more, but it didn't seem worth starting a new thread..)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008n9l

Three very enjoyable unpretentious 1/2hr films following two pals as they go off and have adventures in the Scottish highlands.  There's no macho nonsense here, nothing they do is "extreme", they just get out and enjoy the landscape and (most of the time) each other's company.  Lovely.  The music is good too.


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