Decent Recent TV

[RobYob]

The Boroughs not quite Stranger Things in a retirement village as has been advertised but with an excellent cast, good music and a story that mostly doesn't go too far off the rails it's solid entertainment.

Only very tangentially related but also starring some venerable acting talent A man on the inside is a lot of fun* now finished season 2. Ted Danson as an amateur PI driving his professional boss around the bend and gives a lot of laughs.

*deals with dementia in parts which hits very hard if you've had a loved one go that way.

[Matty]

The Boys season 5 ended on a damp squib

Other than some absurdist violence, it just felt formulaic, and more of a traditional superhero show. Soldier Boy was wasted and may as well have not been there other than some quippy lines.

[Rich B]

The Boys season 5 ended on a damp squib

Other than some absurdist violence, it just felt formulaic, and more of a traditional superhero show. Soldier Boy was wasted and may as well have not been there other than some quippy lines.

Yeah, im struggling to finish the last few episodes - its just a bit dull -> invent some new problem -> Butcher/MM know a supe who has the answer -> find them and have interaction with them and Homelander -> repeat…

[RobYob]

Spider Noir something a little different than the usual MCU fair, dangerous dames, gangsterous villains, corrupted bosses and everyone chewing on the scenery. Oh wait...

Anyway I found it good fun, Cage just about pulls off acting twenty years younger (they really need to invest in CGI de-aging hands now) and Gleeson is a great Mr Big.

A couple of interesting music stings are very reminiscent of Spider verse (Can't believe we're still waiting for the third movie).

[mik]

The Mother Of All Cons

Stumbled into this last week. It’s intentionally drawn out - they could definitely have told the story in less than three episodes, so it can be slow, but it’s a pretty jaw-dropping story.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002q76g

[dinny_g]

Mr Inbetween always looked good on Social Media clips but never had the channel.

Recently got Disney + through Sky so gave it a go.

Only 2 episodes in but really good. Ray’s the definition of quiet menace

Finished the 3rd series on Sunday - it really is a very good series - hilarious and brutal and poignant.

I thought the ending was perfect - left it open to let you decide how it finishes. There'll be no more so it's a great and fitting ending

[Beany]

Watched Severance at the weekend, both series so far.

A quite enjoyable show, good conceit, great, charismatic as fuck cast, but fuck me I hope they have a proper exit strategy for it, because it smells like one of those shows that could go all JJ Abrams "we don't know how to finish this, release the smoke monster" sort of stupid - it felt like the middle of season 2 was already a bit lacking in focus and chucking in filler before pulling it together towards the end.

Also the directors have a hardon for long shots, and someone needs to tell them that >1min of someone running through the same 150ft of corridor cleverly reconfigured and edited to look contiguous isn't actually clever, it's onanism through editing and no-one is impressed any more.

Come back to us when you build quarter a mile of the set and do one *actual* shot, uncut. That would be technically impressive. Fancy editing is not, in this day and age. In their defence though, most of the rest of the direction and cinematography is really rather nice.

A good 7/10 so far, despite my grumbling, though. It's a bit like Pluribus in that even when it's being a bit odd, it's still interesting.

[mik]

Just finished watching Mr Inbetween on Disney+. It really is excellent. Highly recommended.

I only twigged recently that this was on Disney+

Have seen loads of clips on yuchoob, but it is (of course) way better watching whole episodes. I'm only half way through S2 but enjoying.

This has been mentioned by a few people - finished it tonight. Stretches credibility a little at times, but overall - very much enjoyed.

8.5 Dimmies out of 10

[Holley]

Widows Bay on Apple TV. Mild horror comedy series about a town mayor of a tiny island trying to bring in tourism. Island is haunted and residents are strange. Gives Jaws, Shaun of the Dead vibes. Not that scary but very funny.

9 Sea Hags out of 10.

[mik]

Alice & Steve (on Disney+)

Funny. Lots of highly uncomfortable moments . Engaging.

8.5 years younger than your partner out of 10

[Beany]

House of the Dragon S3

Well christ, if they'd finished S2 with that* I think most people would have shut the fuck about the pacing being slow.

Lets see how it goes...

* (S2 of HotD was supposed to be ten episodes, and it was supposed to end with this - but then WB cut it down to eight eps, then almost immediately after, the writers strike happened and so the showrunners couldn't rewrite anything to make the pacing better upon pain of lawsuits from the unions, hence why it felt so weirdly empty as a season - it literally had no ending)

[dinny_g]

High Potential

I'm a sucker for paper thin US cop shows and this is one paper thin US cop show. I think the format will wear eventually. Cops stare at an evidence wall with no idea who the killer. Morgan spots a flower, in a TV programme, on a magazine cover, on a table... That's been MOVED... , and solves the whole case...

But it's inoffensive and has the occasional funny moment. I suspect I'll make it to half way through season 2 before giving up...

[Gavster]

Began watching Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness last week and it’s pretty good Larry David fare. He’s revisiting parts of US history and putting his classic spin on things. Best bit from Ep.1 was a very typical David bumping into Rosa Parks on a bus

[mik]

Legends on Netflix with Alan Partridge - pretty good
Set in the 90's, lots of period cars polished within an inch of their lives. And a 90's soundtrack

Finished this last night. Stretched belief a little at times, but overall very enjoyable.

Wasn't totally convinced by Tom Hughes as gangland boss Carter. Tom Burke was good though (Guy), and Carter's main henchman Johnny Harris (Eddie McKee) was great.

9 large inbound narcotics shipments out of 10.

[Matty]

House of the Dragon S3

Well christ, if they'd finished S2 with that* I think most people would have shut the fuck about the pacing being slow.

Lets see how it goes...

* (S2 of HotD was supposed to be ten episodes, and it was supposed to end with this - but then WB cut it down to eight eps, then almost immediately after, the writers strike happened and so the showrunners couldn't rewrite anything to make the pacing better upon pain of lawsuits from the unions, hence why it felt so weirdly empty as a season - it literally had no ending)

I still need to watch this, and the whimsical spin off they did. However, I've heard leas-than-great things about the first season so I guess I'll need to burn through it.

[Beany]

HotD
S1 = legit good
S2 = as noted, hobbled by circumstance. People say it's as bad as GoT S8, but those people are actually, genuinely media illiterate imbeciles, it's nowhere near that bad - you can just tell that they couldn't tighten things up when shooting, and the pacing is a bit slower than it could be. I suspect it flows better when S2E8-->S3E1/E2 aren't separated by two years in between, given they were never intended to be.
S3 = effectively started this week with S3E3

AKOTSK is very good, and it's only about three and a half hours - you can watch the whole lot between lunch and dinner. I'd say calling it whimsical is perhaps a bit of a stretch; it's self-serious enough for it's short, localised narrative, but it has a bit more fun with the characters and scenarios where it can.

[jamcg]

Late to the party, just finished watching afterlife. What a fantastic show that is. Absolute rollercoaster of emotion, s2 finale left me feeling physically drained after watching that

[Ascender]

Has anyone watched From? I've heard people say it's kind of like Lost which is obviously not necessarily a slam-dunk depending on your view of that show.

Interview With The Vampire seems to have had some excellent reviews and is now on to S3.

@Beany - I'm looking forward to watching House of the Dragon S3, I've really enjoyed the first two and adjust going to save the 3rd series up.

[ZedLeg]

Been watching a rise of the nazis/ww2 doc on netflix and while this isn’t new information, the tactics Hitler and his gang used to grab power is pretty much a play by play for MAGA.

When you see it laid out step by step, it’s kind of shocking how brazen it is.

[ZedLeg]

Has anyone watched From? I've heard people say it's kind of like Lost which is obviously not necessarily a slam-dunk depending on your view of that show.

Interview With The Vampire seems to have had some excellent reviews and is now on to S3.

@Beany - I'm looking forward to watching House of the Dragon S3, I've really enjoyed the first two and adjust going to save the 3rd series up.

I watched S1 and 2 of From and liked it, never caught up because S3 took ages to come out and I forgot about it.

It’s not really like lost per se, same kind of mystery but more obviously horror.

If you like folk horror it’s worth a go imo.