The Golden Age of TV. So, what are you watching?

[ashmie]

Been rediscovering something called terrestrial television. It's really quite quaint but there has been a lot of good things on this Christmas. So far.

Knowing me Knowing Yule, The Vikings with Kirk Douglas followed by Scrooged, Muppets Christmas Carol, Alan Bennett Diaries, The Lady in the Van, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Singing in the Rain, Dr Who and Home Alone. Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn and Dances with Wolves.

My only question is when is Die Hard?

[me_in_japan]

I've watched quite a bit of stuff recently, mostly as background viewing while painting. In no particular order, my thoughts are:

Spectral: a movie on netflix. Kinda special-forces vs ghosts. Fun enough. shooty-shooty blam-blam hokum, tbh. OK, though.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: a TV show on netflix. It has Elijah Wood as the main character and is (very, very loosely) based on Douglas Adam's novel of the same name. It's pretty good, actually. The cast is very solid, although the chap playing Dirk is channeling Matt Smith's Doctor Who a little too much for my liking. It has a good wibbly wobbly story and a tight script. (a brief summary: regular joe (Wood) has regular life, then meets Dirk, a detective who detects by waiting for coincidences to point him in the right direction. Regular Joe's life falls apart astonishingly quickly. There are serial killers, evil cults, time travellers, and a very significant corgi. Also a kitten.) I believe it originated on BBC America, but not 100% sure. Overall, well worth a watch. For what it's worth, Mrs MiJ also enjoyed this.

Zoo: A TV show on netflix. Sorry, Zoo, but you were crap. I have no idea why I watched a whole season. Basic premise is: the animals all over the world get all "Screw you, humanity, we're taking earth back." Cue lots of running around being attacked in unlikely ways by lions and bats and stuff. The basic concept could have worked, if they had made any kind of attempt at supplying a believable reason for it, but nah. The whole show seems based on two assumptions: 1) All viewers are already scared of all animals, and 2) No viewer has even the simplest understanding of animal behaviour. Very poor, and in no way worth a watch.

From Dusk Till Dawn: a TV show on netflix. Actually much, much better than I expected. Basically, it's the story of the movie, but completely re-jigged and made to last 10 episodes. This works surprisingly well, as there is much more room for character development, backstory on the vamps, and so on. It's helped by a good cast (everyone is good, but the guy who plays the ranger-in-pursuit is particularly good, also Robert Patrick does well as the preacher/dad (Harvey Keitel in the movie.) It was re-written for TV by Robert Rodriguez, who also directs several of the episodes. There's a good deal of Texas rootin tootin shootin, with a shout-out to Jake Busey's crotch-gun, and later on (once they reach the strip club) a healthy dose of pulling-off of arms, impaling, and general gore. If you liked the movie, you'll like this. If you didn't, you wont.

And finally, some stuff I watched with the kids, but which is worth a watch anyway:

The Jungle Book - the new live-action one. Good script, good story, but notable mostly for the ridiculous ease with which you can believe these animals are walking around having conversations. CG so good you forget that it's there.

Zootopia - fun movie about a rookie cop who teams up with a con man and has to solve a series of kidnappings. Or a deep and thoughtful movie about the dangers of racial profiling and how we take our preconceptions for granted.

Finding Dory - another fun movie about a fish who decides to look for her mum and dad, capers ensue. Or, a deep and thoughtful movie about how living with mental illness is bloody hard going, both on the individual concerned and those around them upon whom they necessarily become dependent.

Troll Hunters: a cartoon on netflix. This is a show about a boy from modern day america who finds a magical amulet and learns he is now the protector of the trolls (who live between the cracks) and has to hunt down bad-guy trolls. The premise is so-so, but don't let that put you off. The show was created by Guilermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2, Pan's Labyrinth etc) based on a book he wrote, and it's got his fingerprints all over it. Good dialogue, interesting creature design, fun characters. It's definitely a kids show, but it's easily one of the better ones I've seen for years. On a par with Rebels, I'd say, although it lacks that show's Star Wars appeal, obvs.

[Lovejoy]

So..I finished Westworld.. it's worth seeing, but I regret actually buying it instead of waiting for a Netflix release or another free way to view it. Don't believe the hype, folks.
It started hopefully, with some nice (if slightly predictable) twists, but there seemed to be too much muddled plotting and wasted opportunity. Not that it's bad, it just feels unsatisfactory - not the fantastic new must see show that people were suggesting in my opinion. Hopkins is terrific though.

Started Breaking Bad again and am halfway through season 2. Can't go wrong, really.

[ashmie]

I just finished Game of Thrones and started on Black Sails and the OA. Also enjoying The Expanse, Orange is the new black and Star Trek original series. I'm waiting for the second half of season 7 for Walking Dead which is my personal favourite. I'm a middle aged person who likes their TV and games, nothing wrong with that. I'm happy with it for now.

[me_in_japan]

How is the OA? I'm curious but not sure if it's worth the time investment...

[Konrad]

Have not been watching much of anything recently, except for every gore-drenched moment of "Ash Vs Evil Dead" Season 2 this weekend. I have no regrets. Always bring a gun to a puppet fight.

[ashmie]

Konrad, I just started on Ash Vs Evil Dead season 1. It's deliciously awful, I love it and am savoring each episode. (20 minutes).
MiJ The OA is good if you want something spooky and weird to watch. It probably wouldn't be worth it if you are already watching Black Mirror or Stranger Things alongside. I'm trying to balance my viewing between mild horror supernatural, swashbuckling, fantasy, comedy and sci-fi otherwise it all get s a bit heavy on Netflix at times and effects my outlook.

[me_in_japan]

@Konrad - how are you watching season two of Ash vs Evil Dead? Do tell, as I very much enjoyed season 1.

@Ash (hopefully not vs any Evil, Dead or otherwise) - I may check out the OA, then. I found Black Mirror heavy going, albeit very good, and Stranger Things, while awesome, was long enough ago that I can walk down the kinda-spooky-wierd storyline again without feeling tired of it.

[AndrewGPaul]

Man, this only being able to watch one episode a week is painful ...

The first half of Vikings series 4 was a bit weak, but the second half has been rather excellent, covering the Great Heathen Invasion. It's now covering the same events as The Last Kingdom, but not quite in the same way. A pity there's only a couple of episodes left to go.

Lucifer has been consistently good, too. Once those are finished, I'll need to stump up the cash for Game of Thrones series 6. And perhaps Star Wars Rebels series 3.

I also watched all 5 series of the How To Train Your Dragon spinoff series. Some episodes got a bit repetitive, but perhaps that's because I watched several years-worth of telly in three weeks.

[Primarch]

I've been watching Vikings myself and I agree about season 4. It seems like a lot of the old cast are leaving in favour of new characters and story arcs. Still trying to decide if I like Ivar or loathe him.
I've also been watching the new season of Agents of Shield, though it's been pretty meh since the series first started. The current season seems to be focusing a little more on the British members of the cast which is good. In previous seasons they seemed to just be standing around in the background most of the time.