Wow, what a trip 'Bandersnatch' is! Head spinner! Part of me does not prefer the interactive element over the immersion of a continuous 'story', but part of me loves the innovation, journey, total cleverness and head f***ery of it all. (sorry - no other word) and of course as always with Black Mirror the message is pretty dark and profound. All round excellent - and a completely rare and unique dramatic experience not to be missed!
Finally watched 'Safe' on Netflix - brilliant. Completely binged it because it's so utterly suspenseful and gripping. Only afterwards did I discover it is written by Danny Brocklehurst, which made me even more excited for 'Brassic'.
On a lighter entertainment note, dating shows are really not my thing but love love loving 'Flirty Dancing' - it's utterly joyful! Watched the first two episodes with a ridiculous grin on my face throughout
Same re 'Safe' RJ, I had a whodunnit theory early on, but was totally wrong. The flashback format and non linear teasing of clues was superb. Brilliant and wholly satisfying drama experience
'Bandersnatch' seems to be a victim of its own cleverness. I'm truly in favour of innovative formats, totally think there is room for a break from the narrative storytelling norm. Yes, it's not the same as being seamlessly swept away, but being involved in the creation of a drama is pretty thrilling. However, 'Bandersnatch' didn't feel like a collaboration with the audience in the end, more of a clever trick. I did enjoy it though and would watch it again and embrace any 'experiment' of a similar ilk, or something else. But, would not want it to be a complete substitute for the glorious thing that 'Black Mirror' is. Cannot wait for the new series!
I've just discovered 'Bojack Horseman' (not sure why it took me so long) on Netflix and I'm hooked already. Not a fan of animation usually, at all. But this is brilliant in so many ways!
Is anyone watching the new series of Cold Feet? It continues to be amazing and Fay Ripley blew me away tonight. Sensational performance. Awards please!
We just started Good Omens and the latest series of Black Mirror last night. I was blown away by both. How could I not be with David Tennant in Good Omens and Nicole Beharie and Antony Mackie in the first episode of BM S5.
David Tennant playing a demon written by Neil Gaiman is just beyond.
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
Watch all of GoT Ellie, not sure how I feel about the ending, but perhaps it was the right ending.
RJ I began Good Omens but lost interest in under 10 minutes (shame on me!) could have been my mood, I will def try again if just for the cast and writer and streaming quality of t on Amazon (4K uhd / hdr? can't remember).
The new series of Black Mirror is as good as it has always been - especially the first and second episodes. Always utterly relevant and poignant with stunning performances and production values. Andrew Scott is outstanding in the second episode, which gabbed me hard then tore me up into little shreds. The first was more an intellectual exercise for me and an exploration of relationships and sexuality with believable near future technology. I liked the big picture 'moral' exploration of that too. BUT WHY ONLY 3 EPISODES?
Have we talked about the second series of Fleabag? Also stunning, again with Andrew Scott. Talking of PWB, I was disappointed with the first episode of the second series of Killing Eve, to me it felt formualic, like as long as each ep has a certain set of tick boxes ticked, make Villanelle both empathetic, tragic and a crazy killer with an obligatory f'ed up murder exemplifying all those qualities, make Eve as conflicted as ever, the tension of lying to her husband increasing, him getting more frustrated and estranged, and keeping him the dark, make Carolyn re exemplify how dark, hard and corrupt she is... reading that back it sounds harsh and super critical and that is of course what the characters are (with grey areas in between) but I just felt that from the first ep. I have absolutely no doubt this will change with the future eps. Which unlike other things I have resisted bingeing all in one go!
What else? Oh yes, now I have a NOW TV pass, I've watched all of A Discovery Of Witches (loved) and was delighted to see Gregg Chillin in it (Owen in Being Human). The Blacklist, Tin Star (Dean Valentine Tiger Raid composer recommended this one too me ages ago), Curfew, all of Westworld (again) - OMG can't wait for the new season have you all seen the trailer?Patrick Melrose (brilliant, disturbing, upsetting, brilliant), watching Chernobyl, Jamestown
On Netflix I have binged all of Good Girls seasons 1 and 2 - extremely addictive, like the female version of Breaking Bad, Second season of Jenji Kohan's Glow (but sorry, I gave up on OITNB), After Life by Rcky Gervais and starring Roisin Conaty, who is by far the best thing about it, didn't find it funny at all, but it was moving drama and my Mum had just passed away so I found it cathartic to watch...
On terrestrial TV I am enjoying Gentleman Jack and did enjoy Victoria series 3 but not as much as the previous 2.
And can we talk about YEARS AND YEARS - with Russell Tovey?
Believe it or not my list is much longer than this, but these are the first that come to mind. And, these are not mentioning all the films I've enjoyed in recent weeks!
I loved the ending to GoT, domino, perfect for me. "Good Omens" is one of my favourite books, I have it in different formats - Kindle, paper, Audible. I was worried about the casting of the Them for the tv series but they were perfect. However, I was slightly underwhelmed by Tennant and Sheen, and just couldn't get away with God being American (although the female bit didn't phase me). But I did buy the script book (well, two copies, actually - one is a Christmas present for my son) and that is great as it includes scenes that were cut, such as the Other Four Horsemen. Yes, if the tv series is available to buy sometime soon I will probably buy it! Haven't seen 'Killing Eve' yet, but I'm recording it so I can binge. I love 'Derry Girls' and wish they would bring it out on DVD so I can feed my habit. I finally got the family to watch and they can't mention it without falling around laughing. 'Victoria' was too historically inaccurate for me, gave up after season two! (Ditto 'Jamestown' and 'Downton Abbey'). NOW TV is great, I'm getting that when my Sky subscription ends in November - I don't watch enough Sky to make it worthwhile. Loved season three of 'Lucifer ', for me it was a brilliant ending, but there have been so many complaints and there talk of another series so it will probably change. Looking forward to 'Brassic' and 'Gameface'!
-- Edited by EllieForster on Thursday 13th of June 2019 05:46:14 PM
Well I'm glad I went back to Good Omens, binged it, loved it! For me, one of the best things was God being a woman!
RJ, just seen your comment about Supernatural. I'm super sad it is ending. For the longest time it seemed like it could have gone on forever, they writing never waned, but the last couple of seasons haven't grabbed me as much. What an achievement for any show to last 15 seasons though and I just discovered 13 of them on Amazon prime, hurrah!
London Kills - anyone watch it today? It's the next crime drama project for Paul Marquess after Suspects! It has already streamed in the states on Acorn TV, and is now airing on BBC 1 each day this week 1.45 pm (odd time considering the subject matter!), but then available on the BBC iplayer. Focussing on a group of top murder detectives in London, same writing team! Possibly filmed in the same locations (??) definitely has similarities. BUT unlike Suspects it appears to be scripted. Despite this it seems more stilted to me than the unscripted Suspects and lacks the thrill, electric energy and spontaneity it had. Biased of course.. but so far it hasn't quite reached the bar set by Suspects for me .... ohhhh Why they didn't just make a series 6 instead?! Can't help but wonder what would have happened if it had been picked up by the BBC. However, Hugo Speers is bloody excellent. I shall try my best to put aside my sorrow and grief for losing our special Suspects but it is impossible to watch without a direct comparison.
Yes, I'm watching this, domino. Better than "Doctors" by a long way! I'm enjoying it but it didn't make me think of "Suspects" at all. They've already commissioned a second series, so someone must feel it's doing alright! I thought it could be a BBC "Red Rock" till I realised it was done by Acorn TV.
"Suspects" was totally original and had that little bit extra from the input by the cast. I doubt very much if it could ever be repeated. But I do think there would have been problems with a sixth series. I know the casting of Lenora Critchlow was popular on the forum, but her character being promoted over Jack was actually quite unpopular with many who hadn't seen "Being Human". That and Jack suddenly discovering he had a daughter - would he have stayed in the force with the hours and being a single parent? Much as I grieve over it ending I do feel it was, perhaps, the best thing. The last season seemed a lot more scripted and had lost some of the spontaneity. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was more of a standard crime drama than the gritty one we had come to know and love.
Yes Acorn commissioned London Fields, Suspects was released in America by them and I'd far have preferred them to commission a new series of Suspects!
We will have to agree to differ on both counts Ellie, I feel there are tons of overlaps with Suspects, but this show differs in all the ways Suspects is better. It came as a surprise to me that Suspects ended when it did, after introducing a new cast and a new team line up, and it felt to me like it was gaining momentum and very much properly getting into its stride, that is what I was observing on social media too. Channel 5 teased us at the end about Jack returning - this in hindsight was quite cruel if they knew that the whole show was ending. As a fan it is almost impossible to set aside the sadness about Suspects when watching this, it would be a lot easier if Paul Marquess had gone on to make something of a completely different genre, like a sci fi or a comedy or something!
I have been watching white Queen and white princess on STARZ...I rewatch it. STARZ came out with Spanish princess..which I have watched. I thought about rewatching the tudors and true blood. I might rewatch being human uk again, I watched all the seasons within three days.
You can never have too many BH rewatches - especially series 4 and 5!
Anyone else watched all of Gentleman Jack? What a perfect ending! Really glad there will be another series
Just binged all of Stranger Things season 3 - what a piece of drama joy. All those 80s references, all the characters having grown and developed and that twist on Eleven's powers... Really loved it - and to anyone who has watched it - what are your theories on the ending / post credits scene?
Spoiler
Who is 'The American'? Is t Hopper (we didn't see him die. Or could it be Billy (maybe he was resurrected!) Or how about Bob?
I'm glad you gave Good Omens another chance, Domino. We just finished it and we both loved it. I just got my Mom watching it too and she is also enjoying it. I was completely smitten with both Tennant and Sheen.
I loved the little wink to Tori Amos in the dialogue. Neil paying her back for all of her lyrics about Neil and his characters.
We just started the current season of Stranger Things. I'm enjoying quite a bit more than last season for some reason.
I still haven't come to grips with a future life without Supernatural.
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
I think I'm the last person who discovered Downton Abbey At first I thought that was too boring, then I could not stop. And since, as I said the other day, I'm hopelessly romantic, I fell in love with the love story of Anna and Mr. Bates A very clever script And since I just got my BBC Media Player up and running, I looked immediately North and South and was really fascinated. It is always difficult to find something that I can watch with my husband together. Downton Abbey is a horror for him. Together we are watching right now Lucifer and Stranger Things. And by coincidence we started with Derry Girls. That's really funny. But hard to understand for us. Is only in the original sound.