Watchable telly

[ketteringram]

2 hours ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

Not sure judging stuff on the country of origin, or whether it is well received by Joe Public makes a deal of sense. British TV, same as any country, offers good and bad output. Refusing to watch anything because of the country of origin is as closed-minded as refusing to watch anything with subtitles. I concede it's all about opinions, though I'm not sure how folk can form an opinion (or why they'd offer one) on shows they've never watched. 

There's no way I'd refuse to watch something because of where it's made.

Re that last part of your post. Well it's impossible to watch everything, so you've got to form a bit of an opinion about something, before you watch it surely? For example, if you really don't  like science fiction, there's probably not much point watching it. Same with the usual sort of murder/police investigation stuff which has been done to death , pun intended. 

[Comrade 86]

5 minutes ago, ketteringram said:

There's no way I'd refuse to watch something because of where it's made.

Re that last part of your post. Well it's impossible to watch everything, so you've got to form a bit of an opinion about something, before you watch it surely? For example, if you really don't  like science fiction, there's probably not much point watching it. Same with the usual sort of murder/police investigation stuff which has been done to death , pun intended. 

The choice as to whether something is likely to entertain is not the same as an opinion on whether it's any good though, is it? I'd not typically have watched something like Happy Valley, but I did enjoy the first series. What I wouldn't do is assume something is pants because the great unwashed like it. That to me is just plain daft. One poster, who vanished off here not so long ago, asked me if I was on drugs becuase I'd ventured that there were some Korean movies worth watching. Now clearly I'm bang on the gear but that's not why I like Korean cinema.

Anyway, each to their own. We can't all like the same stuff, but this is a thread for recommendations first and foremost.

[ketteringram]

23 minutes ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

The choice as to whether something is likely to entertain is not the same as an opinion on whether it's any good though, is it? 

Absolutely not. I'm not sure anyone's saying that though. 

[BucksRam]

I watch a mix of "English language" shows, but also make a point of dipping into foreign offerings as there's so much good stuff out there: Dark, Bordertown, Money Heist, Lupin, Squid Game, All Of Us Are Dead, Alice in Borderland, The Woods, The Bridge, Black Spot...there are loads. 

[Bob The Badger]

Who has opinions on the ending of Happy Valley?

Me, that's who.

Spoiler if you haven't watched it yet.

Don't scroll past here.

Or here.

And definitely don't go lower then here.

---------------

I was disappointed.

Too many loose ends and the way they tried to tie up the plot line about the pharmacist felt lazy and too contrived with her finding the pills.

They'd have been better leaving it that he got away with it and showing them charge the school teacher for the murder. 

Him being charged for something he didn't do but could very well have ended up doing, would have felt more satisfying - to me anyway.

And why did he know to kill the 3 goons in the car? I presume you were meant to think they were going to kill him, but why and how did he know other than a random petrol can? They could have killed him any number of times and before he was suspicious. Am I missing something?

But my biggest gripe was the final scene that was powerful, but didn't make sense.

Psychopaths, presuming he was one, have an inability to feel empathy, that is what makes them psychopaths. Yet all of a sudden he's turned into a Buddhist monk complete with self-immolation.

I did like the belt and braces comment though, genius.

I still enjoyed it and overall the acting and script were of the highest order.

[Jimbo Ram]

Brilliant series, brilliant final episode. Got it spot on ?

[Anag Ram]

4 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

Who has opinions on the ending of Happy Valley?

Me, that's who.

Spoiler if you haven't watched it yet.

Don't scroll past here.

Or here.

And definitely don't go lower then here.

---------------

I was disappointed.

Too many loose ends and the way they tried to tie up the plot line about the pharmacist felt lazy and too contrived with her finding the pills.

They'd have been better leaving it that he got away with it and showing them charge the school teacher for the murder. 

Him being charged for something he didn't do but could very well have ended up doing, would have felt more satisfying - to me anyway.

And why did he know to kill the 3 goons in the car? I presume you were meant to think they were going to kill him, but why and how did he know other than a random petrol can? They could have killed him any number of times and before he was suspicious. Am I missing something?

But my biggest gripe was the final scene that was powerful, but didn't make sense.

Psychopaths, presuming he was one, have an inability to feel empathy, that is what makes them psychopaths. Yet all of a sudden he's turned into a Buddhist monk complete with self-immolation.

I did like the belt and braces comment though, genius.

I still enjoyed it and overall the acting and script were of the highest order.

I’m with you and I blame the BBC. They are so desperate for a success that they’ve plugged it to death. 
It’s a bit like Breaking Bad which was great whilst a minor TV gem then got bigger and fatter.

 I struggled to stay awake. Those who saw it as sensational have been in lockdown too long.

Sarah Lancashire and James Norton were great but overall it was very 6/10.

[Rev]

4 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

Who has opinions on the ending of Happy Valley?

Me, that's who.

Spoiler if you haven't watched it yet.

Don't scroll past here.

Or here.

And definitely don't go lower then here.

---------------

I was disappointed.

Too many loose ends and the way they tried to tie up the plot line about the pharmacist felt lazy and too contrived with her finding the pills.

They'd have been better leaving it that he got away with it and showing them charge the school teacher for the murder. 

Him being charged for something he didn't do but could very well have ended up doing, would have felt more satisfying - to me anyway.

And why did he know to kill the 3 goons in the car? I presume you were meant to think they were going to kill him, but why and how did he know other than a random petrol can? They could have killed him any number of times and before he was suspicious. Am I missing something?

You'd normally store a canister of petrol in the boot of a car, not in the backseat.  By being in the car, when he wasn't meant to be, was a decent enough flag.

He saw the bulge of a weapon in the fella who was sat next to him trousers, hence him making an excuse and getting tooled up.

But my biggest gripe was the final scene that was powerful, but didn't make sense.

Psychopaths, presuming he was one, have an inability to feel empathy, that is what makes them psychopaths. Yet all of a sudden he's turned into a Buddhist monk complete with self-immolation.

Fair point, but i did allow him to utter the line "I forgive you", which lead to a perfect volley of abuse back.

I think the overaching theme was tiredness at the shitty lives they all were leading.

I did like the belt and braces comment though, genius.

I still enjoyed it and overall the acting and script were of the highest order.

 

[Crewton]

11 hours ago, Rev said:

 

Was he actually a psychopath though - he wasn't treated as such by the prison service? 

Narcissistic, controlling, sadistic, misogynistic and sociopathic perhaps, but not a classic psychopath? 

There were certainly clunky and contrived parts in the final episode though, suggesting that they should have made an extra episode. 

[EtoileSportiveDeDerby]

On Netflix, The man who wanted to see it all. A documentary about this mad German who set off in the 60's with a few $ in his pocket and cycled to all countries in the world in 51 years. My dad actually met him when cycling in the south of France and bought a couple of the photos he was selling to fund his travel. Really enjoyed it.

[Comrade 86]

Happy Valley... I really liked the first series, though it lost me a bit in the second. Despite that, curiosity got the better of me and I've just watched the final episode of series 3. Bloomin marvellous would be my appraisal. Not sure I agree with the implausible bits. Enough red flags on the car journey that I was actually thinking, best run for your f****** life long before he got in the car!

More importantly, I thought Sarah (Insert the)shire was absolutely brilliant. Overall, yes it's quite parochial, yes, it occasionally borders on cosy, but the sum of its parts make it top notch telly for me. FWIW, I've never seen a series yet I couldn't have picked holes in had I wanted too. The trick is to entertain the viewer sufficiently that there's no will to over-analyse and HV did that for me in spades. In a totally different stratosphere to LoD for my money, so I'm glad I changed my mind about completing the series.

[Alph]

I'm up to episode 4 of The Last Of Us and losing the will to carry on. 

Everything that was good about the games character development is rushed or missing. 

The best episode was episode 3 and that was one with the main characters barely in it. Decent episode that. 

As a franchise fanboy I think the hype is mix of wishful thinking and bandwagon hype. 

The Road, The Walking Dead (sometimes), Black Summer, A Quiet Place.... I could go on. Lots of similar TV in the genre that had better child actors, more engaging characters and depressing world. 

The game is so superior in acting and chemistry that it should be embarrassing for Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Not that anything could harm Druckmann's ego. 

The show is nothing more than a time filler. The wait for the next episode has never felt easier. 

Gutted

[Ram-Alf]

1 hour ago, Alpha said:

I'm up to episode 4 of The Last Of Us and losing the will to carry on. 

 

I've got all the series on TeaTV, I lost the will to live when the man and his Daughter were about to be shot by a soldier(episode 1) who was then shot by a friend of the man who was about to be shot...they should have let the soldier shoot the man and his Daughter then that would have been the end of what I consider an absolute load of bill hooks 

[Bob The Badger]

Finished episode 2 of The Last of Us.

Scoring 9.2 on IMDB is an utter travesty and I can only imagine 98% of the people who voted were either fans of the game, fans of Zombies with bad hair does or on acid.

I've never played the game, I can talk or leave Zombies unless they come to my front door and I'm on mushrooms not acid, so I won't be voting that high.

It's not particularly bad, the young girl has some really funny and well written lines and the acting is pretty good, but it all feels a bit formulaic.

I may try another episode but I shall let Mrs Badger make the call and won't be arsed if she'd rather watch something else.

Having said that, we've nothing imminent I'm looking to get my teeth into.

I'm intrigued by Kaleidoscope, but it looks a tad too much like money Heist which I thought was b*******. 

 

[Stive Pesley]

59 minutes ago, Bob The Badger said:

I'm intrigued by Kaleidoscope, but it looks a tad too much like money Heist which I thought was b*******. 

Having finished it last night, my lasting opinion of it would be that they spent a bit too much time on the gimmick of having the episodes play/make sense in any order and not enough time on the plot

Lots of bits that seemed glossed over and all a bit too convenient. 

Plus - I fail to see how if you watched the last chronological episode (6 months after the heist) first you wouldn't just be totally lost and give up on it. 

[NottsRam]

Decided to give Mare of Easttown a go having read some good reviews.  I am on episode 3 and hooked.

[Comrade 86]

2 minutes ago, NottsRam said:

Decided to give Mare of Easttown a go having read some good reviews.  I am on episode 3 and hooked.

Good call. It's fab. Kate Winslet an absolute star turn. Sadly no season 2 to look forward to.

[NottsRam]

Has anyone watched North Sea Connection (BBC).  Thought i might give it a go.

[Poynton ram]

Early Doors on iplayer is a giggle. Perhaps a little predictable at times but Mark Benton is worth watching and I love the miserable old bloke Tommy

[Bob The Badger]

4 hours ago, NottsRam said:

Decided to give Mare of Easttown a go having read some good reviews.  I am on episode 3 and hooked.

It' fantastic. I love that Kate Winslet refused to wear make-up and also did a load of ad-libbing, like the scene where she ate the wotsit type things.