Which television shows are you watching? β'

[Birdjaguar]

I just finished 6 episodes of the BBC Bodyguard on Netflix. I wish there were more right now.

 

[rah]

With the wife out of town and crappy weather on Saturday, I watched the entire first season of Ozark. While the plot was totally silly at times, I did like the characters so I kept watching. I started the second season and it seems they want to top themselves in terms of silliness but I'm sucked in regardless.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Bodyguard

A very good, "twisty n' turny" thriller that has some very tense moments. Keeley Hawes plays the UK Home Secretary (for Americans, that's sort of like our Attorney General) and Richard Madden plays her Primary Protection Officer. Hawes' character is a Conservative promoting a controversial anti-terrorism bill in Parliament. Madden plays the Secretary's Principal Protection Officer, a war veteran with mixed feelings about the UK's involvements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Political intrigue ensues, personal demons run amok. Great performances from the endless fountain of British character actors - Sophie Rundle was the only one I recognized, from The Bletchley Circle. Action scenes are staged for tension rather than thrills, a la the "car chase" scene at the border crossing in Villeneuve's Sicario. British turner-of-screws Alfred Hitchcock is nodding approvingly, I expect. Originally on BBC One, it's on Netflix here.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I finished The Americans this weekend. I was happy with the way it ended. Things were certainly left in a messy state which makes sense given the circumstances.

 

[EgonSpengler]

On Bodyguard:

Spoiler :

I was convinced that Julia survived the explosion and her death was announced just to throw off the assassins. Especially after the news broadcast said the funeral would be closed to the public. I suppose with the way the series ended, the possibility that she's alive is left open for the writers of a 2nd season to decide. If there is no 2nd season, though, I think she's really dead.

On the series finale of The Americans:

Spoiler :

I was glad they didn't kill Stan. They totally could have, in the sense that it would have been a plausible thing for the characters to do (well, for Elizabeth to do - I don't think Phillip would've been able to pull the trigger). Some people even think they should have, but I thought Elizabeth would've tried to avoid killing him right in front of Paige. After what happened to Nina and Martha, I didn't want to see another 'good guy' go down. I suppose Martha might still get home, in a few years, but she wouldn't know that.

Also, I don't think Renee was a spy. I think that whole thing was just the writers, directors, and actress f'ing with us. I think it was meant to be an open question, that the viewer could make up her own mind about, like whether or not Deckard is a replicant. Even the moment at the end when she glances back at the Jennings' house seemed intended to be ambiguous, and the look on Laurie Holden's face could work within either interpretation.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Spoiler The Americans :

I too liked the fact that they didn't kill Stan and that he let them go. I also liked that they left their kids behind as that made sense in their situation. I was not at all surprised that Paige stayed behind although I have no clue what her plan is or how she's going to survive given Stan now knows she was in on the spy ring.

I actually fully expected for Phil and Elizabeth to have been killed in the end and was surprised that they got away. I do like this ending though.

Also, started watching Babylon 5. I had seen some episodes as a kid but don't remember anything from it. All I can say about it so far is that the CGI aged really bad.

 

[Birdjaguar]

On Bodyguard:

Spoiler :

I was convinced that Julia survived the explosion and her death was announced just to throw off the assassins. Especially after the news broadcast said the funeral would be closed to the public. I suppose with the way the series ended, the possibility that she's alive is left open for the writers of a 2nd season to decide. If there is no 2nd season, though, I think she's really dead.

That thought crossed my mind too. I hope there is a second season.

 

[Leathaface]

I watched an episode of The Chase on ITV. It is an entertaining show, there are some good questions.

 

[cardgame]

Netflix's new Sabrina is pretty darn good so far

 

[Broken_Erika]

Spoiler The Americans :

I too liked the fact that they didn't kill Stan and that he let them go. I also liked that they left their kids behind as that made sense in their situation. I was not at all surprised that Paige stayed behind although I have no clue what her plan is or how she's going to survive given Stan now knows she was in on the spy ring.

I actually fully expected for Phil and Elizabeth to have been killed in the end and was surprised that they got away. I do like this ending though.

Also, started watching Babylon 5. I had seen some episodes as a kid but don't remember anything from it. All I can say about it so far is that the CGI aged really bad.

The first couple seasons used commodore amigas for the CGI if i remember correctly.....

 

[Arakhor]

B5's space battles are still spectacular though.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Spoiler The Americans :

I too liked the fact that they didn't kill Stan and that he let them go. I also liked that they left their kids behind as that made sense in their situation. I was not at all surprised that Paige stayed behind although I have no clue what her plan is or how she's going to survive given Stan now knows she was in on the spy ring.

I actually fully expected for Phil and Elizabeth to have been killed in the end and was surprised that they got away. I do like this ending though.

On The Americans series finale:

Spoiler :

I had no idea, going into the finale, who would live and who would die. I thought the writers might kick the audience in the teeth and kill Phillip but not Elizabeth.

The moment we saw Paige standing on the platform outside the train was very effective. I thought Keri Russell performed that scene really well. I think Stan will look after Henry and leave Paige alone, provided she quits the family business, and I think she would.

I wouldn't mind seeing some kind of follow-up in 6 or 8 years, just to see where the characters are after the end of the Cold War, but there would have to be some kind of compelling story. It couldn't just be a "where are they now?"-type thing. I don't think the show was popular enough to generate something new, and it doesn't strike me as something that will become more popular after it's ended, like Firefly, so it would almost have to be some kind of "passion project" by a studio or streaming service exec who was a fan of the show. I also want to see another season of Hannibal, after Bryan Fuller gets the rights to Clarice Starling and Buffalo Bill. I won't hold my breath on either one, but you never know. And, heck, the business landscape of television could be completely different in a few years.

 

[maxmayer]

Guys, i want to advise nice serials i watched last time. First is Ghotem, and secondis Daredevil. If you are DC or Marvel fan you would like it

 

[Takhisis]

Apparently Nathan Fillon is in a new series in which he plays an actual policeman. I wonder how meta it will get.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Apparently Nathan Fillon is in a new series in which he plays an actual policeman. I wonder how meta it will get.

It's one of those shows that rests entirely on the charisma of the lead(s). It's Fillion doing his thing, plus Melissa O'Neil, who was in Dark Matter, and Richard T. Jones, whose IMDb page is a mile long (if you're a scifi fan you might remember him from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). The premise is okay. It's a show about uniformed patrol officers, rather than plainclothes detectives, which is a nice change of pace. It ain't Southland, but what is? It's a little bit predictable, but it's well-executed. Like The Orville, it's trying to balance drama with comedy and hasn't quite found its spot yet. But mainly, it's Fillion being Fillion. If you liked Castle, you'll probably like this.

 

[civvver]

I am watching season 2 of netflix's castlevania. Season 1 was pretty good. It's like western anime basically, super gory and with some language. But the plot actually seems well done for a series based on a video game. Anyway it's short enough that if you hate it you didn't invest much and you don't need to know anything about the video game to like it. I've never played any castlevania game myself.

I also saw netflix is going to be doing a series based on The Witcher. Sounds interesting, that's some good IP there, but there's a huge rush of people to copy game of thrones and vikings success and most have fizzled out.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I also saw netflix is going to be doing a series based on The Witcher. Sounds interesting, that's some good IP there, but there's a huge rush of people to copy game of thrones and vikings success and most have fizzled out.

Naomi Watts has been cast for the Game of Thrones prequel series. Meanwhile, Amazon is spending around the GDP of Tonga on a Lord of the Rings prequel series, and Netflix plans to raise $2 billion in new debt to fund content spending.

 

[civvver]

Yeah I heard abou the lotr prequel stuff, which sounds interesting. But I'm actually more excited about the Wheel of Time. Amazon supposedly is developing that as well.

It still surprises me people take on netflix's debt and extreme content spending. Their growth is going to slow at some point and their revenues don't match yet they just keep raising cheap money to expand and the stock goes bananas. You know that future of tesla thread? Could easily have a future of netflix one.

 

[Birdjaguar]

"Mozart in the Jungle" is much better than I expected and I will binge my way through it with pleasure.

 

[Birdjaguar]

... and Netflix plans to raise $2 billion in new debt to fund content spending.

They just bought a bunch of sound stages in Albuquerque for producing that new content.