Bob The Badger

13 minutes ago, Ewetube said:

Virgin Media's customer support.

Self-service tills.

MPs.

Ring pull lids on cans of dog food.

Expensive anti-wrinkle potions - my wife's face looks no different, my bank balance does.

@Ewetube's testicles if his wife reads this post. 

Ticketmaster's internet security. 

Cough medicine. 

Anything that says it will stop dogs chewing. 

Leeds support guaranteeing a swift return to this Premier League. 

Any electrical device that's spent more than 17 minutes in my shed. 

Dental anaesthetic more than .001mm away from the point of injection.

Telling people to 'just do it'

Using facts in any argument with Mrs Badger.

5 hours ago, Anag Ram said:

Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t expect absolute realism from TV drama series in the same way I don’t think ‘He would never have survived that’ when Wile E Coyote gets hit by a falling anvil.

 

Context is everything.

Some series work really well because they are so realistic, and I personally get sucked into the story more.

If I'm watching something that is super realistic, and suddenly something happens that pulls me out of the story because it's preposterous, then it ruins the flow.

Slow Horses is a classic example. The great acting, witty script, and interesting storyline were all ruined by an ending so preposterous that it didn't so much stretch credulity as snap it in half. 

I'm not sure why there was the need to do that tbh.

Having said that, I expect nonsense with a Guy Ritchie series like The Gentleman, so it's perfectly contextual. The same goes for Marvel-type films, sci-fi, or even Roadrunner.

It's not just you (which I know you know). I expect most people don't mind. Otherwise, they wouldn't make such stuff. And I don't consciously mind. It's not a choice I make. It just pulls me out of the story, and I lose interest or get irritated.

It's no coincidence that programs like The Wire, Love/Hate, Gomorrah, Spiral, Band of Brothers, The Sopranos, and Top Boy, which are often rated really highly, on this board are also pretty realistic. I'd say that is why we like them on many occasions. 

I'm not saying they don't stretch realism, but you rarely think, 'well, that absolutely could never happen'

I'd prefer not to give a crap, tbh.

And Mrs Badger would definitely rather I didn't.

10 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Really liked it and Casey and Marco are excellent characters, as you have pointed out, the former in particular. She's played by Emily Fairn, though I can't find much else she's done other than a Black Mirror episode that I can't actually recall. 

Did you enjoy the final episode?

I thought the way that Franny changed was just lazy screenwriting, giving them an easy out.

And I'm usually dead relaxed about how things finish 😬

21 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Jeremy Renner is clearly superhuman. New years Day 2023 he was in a life-threatening snow plow accident that broke 38 of his bones, punctured his lung, and caused one of his eyeballs to pop out of his head and yet less than 18 months later, Sunday sees the release of Mayor of Kingstown season 3. I mean the guy actually died (several times) and was revived and doctors told him he'd never even walk again. Bonkers.

If you've not caught this show, then a word to the wise, you really ought to. It's one of the best shows in years IMO. Sadly, August 4th is the effective date for me as there's no way I can watch this drip-fed. Strictly binge material.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11712058/

 

Holy sh1t, I thought that had been shelved after he almost died!

The first two were great, so we will definitely watch them. Thanks for the heads up. We finished Sugar last night. I really enjoyed it, and it's clearly set up for season two. I have no clue why they had the random cop kill near the end, but maybe that feeds into the next season.

A very stylish series, but not just stylish for the sake of it like (I thought) Ripley was, but really in keeping.

We have never watched Boardwalk Empire, so we will start that tonight as it's on Sky. For some reason, I thought it was only available on Prime pay-per-view.

1 hour ago, Comrade 86 said:

Ha! Not the emojis!!! 

Yeah, I hear you. It's so hard though, when you've produced 4 series or whatever (Gomorrah), then you're into the 5th and last and folk are dying for it to top everything that went before. I didn't think it fell off that much to be fair and it was one of those shows that could really only end one way. I actually didn't want it to end the way it did, but I knew it would anyway. I think I'm quite sentimental about shows I really like though. I can cut a lot of slack for a loss of form if the balance has been really good.

Thanks for the heads up on The OA btw. Had never heard of it. Watched the first series and despite a slightly meandering mid-section, it started and finished with a boom. Watched the first episode of season 2 early this morning and am now thoroughly intrigued! 

I think it was @Eddie who mentioned The OA. I watched the first series and thought it was ok, but never bothered with the second.

2 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

You got that with Gomorrah and hated that too! You're a very hard man to please 😂

Don't make me start using emojis!

I was joking about the hail of bullets; it was the looking like they were in love strolling into the sunset bit that I didn't like. It just didn't seem to fit.

As for Gomorrah, it was the entire final series. I cannot remember too much about the final episode tbh, but I seemed to remember it was a bit of a let down.

On 28/05/2024 at 14:57, Crewton said:

Great

Spiral - for me, it was a show that got better and better and didn't stop until the pretty realistic conclusion.

The Wire - again,  a highly plausible conclusion to a magnificent programme.

Poor

Dexter - not just the ending, but most of the last series was a let down, which was a shame because everything that went before it was superb.

The Office - too cosy and sentimental for a sharply cynical programme.

 

 

I 100% agree that Spiral got better. It is in my top 10 of all time. I just think the end was too perfect and almost Americanised.

I didn't hate it, in all honesty, I just don't think it was in keeping with the gritty and realistic feel to the programme. Everybody dying in a hail of bullets was called for imho.

 

Watched the first 3 episodes of Sugar on Apple TV with Colin Farrell.

It wasn't until In Bruges that I really started to like him as an actor, and he delivers again in this.

Playing a rather unusual private detective with a Government background and the ability to speak multiple languages. He's been hired by a wealthy Hollywood film producer to find his missing granddaughter.  

There are a lot of shenanigans going on, and it's getting a bit weird, but it's very stylish, and I'm starting to really enjoy it. 

Finished The Gathering on Channel 4 last night.

A solid Nigel Callaghan/10.

The sorry does bounce around a lot on the timeline, but almost everything seems to these days.

The plot did get a tad convoluted towards the end, but the acting was high quality, and a couple of minor plot flaws didn't bother an old pedant like me.

If you like solid Brit drama and a plot with a bit of a twist, you will like this.

Inspired by the watchable telly thread and Love/Hate comments, I thought I'd start a Love/Hate TV series endings.

What series do you think nailed it, and which copped out or just screwed the pooch to coin an American phrase.

It must have been at least two seasons, and nothing that is still going on, as we obviously haven't seen the end yet. Although I think we can all agree that Line of Duty if it ever ends will suck, but it started sucking quite a while ago.

Loved it.

Love/Hate - Those trainers!

Top Boy - May be my favourite ending ever. Loved the way that they made the leads less and less likeable.

The Sopranos -  I know a lot of people hated this, but I thought they got it about right. It was always going to be super tough.

Only Fools and Horses - Nuff said.

Black Adder - The greatest ever climax to a comedy series, to have you blubbing.

Hated it.

Gomorrah - the whole final season left me disappointed.

Spiral - probably didn't hate it, and Mrs Badger actually loved it, but too happy for an old cynic like me. More people needed to die.

Happy Valley - Cop out and cliched end to a great series.

Fauda - Just a weird end to a brilliant series.

Homeland—After all the hype, I was expecting something insanely good, but it turned out to be utterly predictable and boring.

4 hours ago, Wolfie20 said:

Finally got round to watching the last 2 series of Love/Hate. Absolutely brilliant, superb acting by so many and an ending which means there's no Series 6 to potentialy lessen what's gone before.

They totally nailed the ending with Love/Hate, unlike so many.

I feel a thread coming on.

59 minutes ago, AndyinLiverpool said:

Over here in Pedants' corner, we feel bound to point out that 'Pop Pickers' was an Alan Freeman thing.

I know, but the meme needed a disgraced Yorkshireman with a DJ background to work. I'm gonna give that person a pass. 

After a good night's sleep, I still feel exactly the same as I did after the final whistle.

9 hours ago, IslandExile said:

'twas a joke. I would expect supporters of any and all teams to do exactly the same but I just wanted to have a go at Leeds....you see, I'm not overly fond of that club or its "fans".

I presumed you wqere joking, but then @Tamworthram had me doubting not only you, but my own humanity. 

We really should be there for them in their hour of need as they drive unhappily up the M1.

Leeds, Leeds, have fallen apart again.

I can't watch.

Largely, because I haven't got Sky.

But if I did, I'd probably not be able to watch anyway.

Hold on you Saints!

Two episodes into The Gathering on Channel 4 about a girl attacked at an illegal rave.

Some really excellent acting, and I think it's going to be really good.

Amazingly, the timeline is all over the place.

This is so common now, but Mrs Badger has been doing it for a decade or more. She gets into bed and falls asleep immediately to show me what the end will look like.

Sadly, she forgets to go back to the process that led up to that bit, but at least she's being creative.

If Leeds lose, I hope they see a lot of Rams fans waving to them over the bridges as they drive home.

A few banners like we endured would be nice, too.

Went to James Acaster last night.

I was expecting more crowd work with a show called 'Hecklers Welcome' but there was none until right at the end when a guy blind drunk asked him to sing his Kettering song.

There were lots of very clever callbacks and some sharp writing, but I was less than blown away. Not even close to Ranganathan or Tom Allen for me, but pretty enjoyable and glad I went.

7.5/10

And YouTube is social media.

It dawned on me yesterday that I really don't visit that many. Most of my time is spent on news sites, here, the LA Rams message board, and social media, with much of the latter for work.

I'm sad to say that I don't really have any others.

On 22/05/2024 at 08:36, Mostyn6 said:

generally all busy towns/cities that are diverse and multi-cultural are dumps.

Truro has plenty of drug takers and alcoholics sleeping rough and it's about the size of Matlock. Saw a drunk young couple being bundled into a cop car as I walked to the dentist early. 

Truro is not really known for its multicultural diversity. Although I think the fat woman with green hair screaming at the copper may have been from Devon.

its almost like decades of neglect in mental health services, and support systems in general have had a negative impact. 

Since 2014, the budget to deal with addiction issues has been halved, when inflation is taken into consideration. 

Finished Hatton Garden on Netflix last night.

This came out on BBC originally, and I'm guessing a bunch of you saw it.

About the Hatton Gardens safe vault break in, I thought it was great.

Timothy Spall is a tremendous actor who does as good a job as a nasty East End villain as he did as a gay literary professor in The Sixth Commandment. 

In fact, the acting throughout was first-rate.

Gangster movie with no guns or explicit threats of death. Amazing, it was entertaining, really.