Favourite TV Series

Stranger things was very good.

Just started watching Santa Clarita diet on Netflix. Very funny. Drew Barrymore is surprisingly good

 

Used to love MacGyver.

Current reboot is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really awful.

 

Walking Dead. I'm so into it now that not watching one episode per night is painful.

 

Is Richard Dean Anderson going to show up as his Dad?

 

Agree. Watched opening episode and turned off just after that intro bit. Badly acted. Wooden. Incredibly cheesey. Absolutely terrible.

 

I hope RDA does not grace his godly presence and can ascend this utterly sh!te twaddle.

Yep - same as. Endured about 10 minutes of painful acting and was prepared to persist longer, but when he started stopping bullets and taking out a professional gunman with nothing but a small 15" silver serving tray followed by a really awfully choreographed dive behind a sofa I switched off.

 

I didn't start walking dead until about 4 months ago. Me and the other half have been binge watching it up until now but like Diamond, only watching the odd episode now is pain-fall, almost as much as the season 7 opener!

 

I started watching Homeland a couple of weeks ago, very good first series.

 

Yes, it is.

Sadly, that first series turns out to be the best series of all of them.

 

Farscape is re-running on Pick right now.

Frelling great.

 

Yep I missed this on the first pass and after binge watching Andromeda thought this was the next one to series link. Enjoying it at the moment.

 

Still loving the Walking Dead. We're on easy street...

 

Andromeda was ace! Really bad acting but it is really good! The last season was a bit of a slog but there were a couple of good parts, particularly when he goes in to the cupboard to get something out and pulls out a sword...

 

Where do you watch the US Office? I stupidly lent my boxset to my brother and they took it off Netflix :rant:

 

Yep I like little nods to other jobs like that.
In the first series he commented that he "Used to be bigger" referring to Hercules.

Michael Weatherly in NCIS one said he had about as much chance as dating Jessica Alba. He did in real life when they were filming Dark Angel.

I'm sure I caught a Alien being introduced of Farscape the other night and Cryton said " What Worf?" before being corrected.

 

TV Shows You've Recently Seen

I know there's a thread already for films, but I don't see one for TV shows and I'd like to discuss one I've recently watched. Namely 'Criminal Minds'.




Although Cifriana is a huge fan of this type of show, I don't usually bother my head with such nonsense. However I have my Tivo box set up to record anything that includes Cuba and so managed to record an episode of Criminal Minds in addition to the usual selection of rubbish films starring Cuba Gooding.

This episode was called 'Criminal Minds - Beyond Borders' and was made during 2016. It was obviously made at the time that Obama was moving towards easing the relentless US blockade and isolation of the pearl of the Antilles, so I thought I’d be interested to see it and see if any of this softening of the US line had crossed over to program makers. Not a bit of it. It was the most politically charged ‘entertainment’ program I think I’ve ever seen. It was a good example of how propaganda works and how people learn the things they ‘know’ about Cuba and the world.

The rather ridiculous premise was that US tourists were getting bumped off in Cuba and the respective governments had agreed for the Criminal Minds gang to team up with the Cuban police in order to solve the murders.

We didn't get to hear what the Cuban police might have thought of this idea, but the first 15 minutes of the show were given over to the Criminal Minds Cops expounding their thoughts on the problems they might face in getting on with their colleagues based 90 miles away.

We yawned as the chief mind explained what every single US/UK TV show/book/film/discussion ever has always been at pains to declare: "It's stuck in a timewarp y'know. It's a museum!"

"There's be no SIPS, IRIS, LOL or BRB to help you there" said the chief. Presumably some kind of computer programs they use in the US. "And remember, it's a POLICE STATE!" he added with a straight face, probably having forgotten that despite only having 5% of the world's population, the USA has 25% of the world's prisoners.

So off they go to Havana and meet up with unfriendly and uncooperative 'Cuban' police. Actually they were of course US people dressed in (very good actually) Cuban police uniforms who acted the part by speaking fluent English in a "eh meester" Speedy Gonzalez style.

When they decided on the story for the program, they obviously decided on the core which was (preposterously) that a US couple who were living in Cuba hated their homeland and had decided to murder US tourists for reasons that weren't altogether clear, but were somehow linked to a crazed admiration for Che Guevara.

They'd obviously then had a think about it and realised that the problem would be that krazy killer kouple would at some point in the show have to expound on the reasons for their hatred of the US and their love of Che and that this might come a little too close to the truth for comfort.

To get around this (and presumably to satisfy any viewers from Miami), the show practically stopped on several occasions whilst Mr Chief Mind looked directly into camera and explained at length all that is wrong with Cuba and the Cubans and Che Guevara. One of Castro’s thugs y’know. Mass murderer. Tsk tsk. That killer couple are really kooky and krazy to be liking him aren’t they? It turned out that the killers were following Che’s trail from Santiago to Havana and just before one ad break the criminal master minds were left on tenterhooks because they were now heading for Santa Clara – scene of Che’s greatest massacre according to them. Or where he and a dozen men derailed and captured an entire armoured train and the soldiers within after a brief firefight according to me.

Similarly the fake Cuban cops often chimed in with their own carefully scripted condemnations. For example Chief Cuban cop produces some photos that the killers have taken of their victims. “Where did you get these?” demanded chief Criminal Mind. “Zey were sent to ze state-controlled press, meeester” he replies.

Another way they obviously decided to slide their political condemnation into the show was to have the krazy killers theme their killings around Che Guevara’s famous sayings and slogans. That must have been a real struggle and stretched the bounds of credibility well beyond breaking point. For example kooky lady killer rubbed her lips in blood and left bloody lipstick kiss marks all over the victim’s face to illustrate Che’s saying about every Revolutionary being inspired by love.

When they caught and confronted the killers in a crowded hotel lobby, male krazy killer, spouted Che’s murderous words before the two of them let loose in their final firefight before being gunned down in a blaze of glory. “We must not let these harsh times destroy the warmth in our hearts”. You see what I mean when I say the words didn’t fit the actions.

Anyway, that was that. The show was over and Speedy Gonzalez cop number one who had been converted into their friend was their to see them off as they walked up the big ramp into the back of their special criminal mindsmobile aeroplane. “Wow! Ees theeess how the American poleees travel?” he stammered – overawed by their magnificence and wealth. Chief Mind pulls an envelope out of his pocket and hands it over to Speedy. “Oh wow! Wow! WOW!! Eeets an eenveetation to go to the USA poleess academy!” Speedy is literally jumping for joy at the prospect of escaping his homeland. The minds smile superciliously and continue to swagger, John Wayne-style, up the plane ramp. Credits role.

My point regarding all this is not just that it was a pathetic show with a fantastic story line that nobody would believe in a million years, it’s more the political nature of it. With the warming of relations, I’d really hoped that the show might reflect that a little bit. I thought perhaps Chief Mind might find out that there were one or two lessons he could learn from the less technical ad computerised policing of his Cuban colleagues and we could all reflect on how we’re neighbours really and there’s plenty we can learn from one another. But no. The Cuban cops (except for Speedy of the invitation) were all cruel, clodhopping idiots, stuck in the stone age and with not an original thought amongst them. The clever criminal minds crew solved every aspect of the case from beginning to end. What a shame and what a missed opportunity.

I wondered about what would have happened if a show with the same premise had been made by Cubavision. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been nearly so political, although maybe the US cops would have been portrayed as technology-bound nitwits to some extent.

 

A new series of Line Of Duty starting on BBC very soon. Hopefully the quality of previous series' continues. It has been simply brilliant.

 

Been watching Madam Secretary recently, I downloaded series one and two, and am now into series three and up to date, enjoying it.

 

Am re-watching the Farscape series myself. Not sure I caught that reference but I don't know of any connection between the 2 series either actor or production.

Did google it and just came up with this utterly ridiculous mixture of TNG, TOS and Farscape...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCl7GS-fAas

 

Also took in the first episode of the Lethal Weapon series the other night.

Really surprisingly very good and very true to the original aside from a scene on a race track that went a bit ott.

It makes a change from all the current reboots (mainly films) that are trying to reboot with crap actors and horrible slapstick comedy and jokes that really detract from their predecessors like 21 Jump Street and CHiPS.

Opening credits showing Damien Wayans immediately made me think it was going to be ****e, but he and the Riggs character really made it unexpectedly enjoyable. A good mix of humour and seriousness that paid a fantastic tribute to the original series and the acting as great.

Next episode tomorrow and am hoping it continues in the same vein.

 

I have watched the whole of season one, keep with it as it just gets better. They have done a good job with the story and keeping kind of faithful to the original characters from the films.

 

Probably been mentioned on here before (hopefully) but the series Detectorists is something ive discovered recently and enjoyed more than anything ive seen for many a year.
Brilliantly acted by all and scripted by Mackenzie Crook (Gareth from the Office) it comes across like an old fashioned, gentle, very British sitcom.. a Good life for the modern age if you like.
It deservedly won a Bafta.




If you havent got Netflix you can find all episodes from series 1&2 on Dailymotion. There's talk of a 3rd series and i jolly well hope there is one.

 

Saw a Cuban episode of this recently. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4967378/

I have to say that unfortunately it was laugh out loud inaccurate shyte. I wouldn't bother downloading that one if I were you...

 

Anyone seen Black-ish?

I started watching it after Donald Trump tweeted that it was racist because there wasn't a sitcom called 'White-ish'

Very funny in places.

Favourite quote so far (which I shall use profusely in the future) - "We're still a long, long way away from things being completely different."

 

I've just binged 10 episodes of the latest Homeland. That's suddenly turned into a very interesting series. I noticed that Mandy Patinkin has also been in the driving seat for production of the episodes - which when you remember his exceptionally forthright views about Israeli government policy - possibly explains the very different direction of the show.

Hopefully it's on C4's catch-up for people who've never seen the show.

 

I started watching it on Netflix a couple of months ago, I've just started series 4.

 

No, I missed the first few episodes as first five are unavailable. So didnt bother.

....somewhat annoyed as I enjoyed all the other series.

 

Prison Break is back on Tuesday/Wednesday!

 

atlanta. a master class

 

Narcos
House of Cards
Taboo