Current Watching

[Simon G]

New series starts tonight.
P&I have watched it since the beginning. It's much loved in our gaff.
Getting Frank Skinner to do the first series really helped. Leant it an air of respectability and a household name that none of the other carried yet*
As did having Tim Key (who created a lot of the tasks with Alex) sort of showing everyone what was to be expected of a contestant.

*Of course Ranganathan and Widdecombe are granny's favourite these days too.

It could have been broken completely as a concept by Al Murray's turn, but (little) Alex Horne managed to rejig the tasks to make that far more difficult.

Series 5 with Bob Mortimer and Sally Phillips was my favourite.

This intrigues me - I'm currently halfway through the last episode of series 1. I agree that Frank Skinner was a brilliant addition.

[hobbes]

Ha, yeah, I only got turned on to Taskmaster a couple months ago. Am now at season 7.

New series starts tonight.
P&I have watched it since the beginning. It's much loved in our gaff.
Getting Frank Skinner to do the first series really helped. Leant it an air of respectability and a household name that none of the other carried yet*
As did having Tim Key (who created a lot of the tasks with Alex) sort of showing everyone what was to be expected of a contestant.

*Of course Ranganathan and Widdecombe are granny's favourite these days too.

It could have been broken completely as a concept by Al Murray's turn, but (little) Alex Horne managed to rejig the tasks to make that far more difficult.

Series 5 with Bob Mortimer and Sally Phillips was my favourite.

[Amor de Cosmos]

I should, and kinda do, like The New Look (Amazon) for several reasons. It deals with the post-war French fashion industry via the troubles of Coco Chanel and the rise of Christian Dior. The series has a fair bit to to recommend it. Not least Chanel's collaboration with the German occupiers, and the introverted Dior's quiet commitment to both his craft and his family. It shades toward sentimentality at times but never sinks into mawkishness. At it's best it illustrates the almost overnight shift from brutal German repression to French vengefulness towards collaborators. On the downside the language bugs me. It's essentially a French story, and many of the actors are French, including Juliette Binoche as Chanel, the rest are English, like Ben Mendelsohn (Dior) or at least non-French, as is the dialogue. So what you have is a French story with some French actors speaking English, and some English speaking actors imitating French speaking people. It could just be me, but why not have a French cast and subtitles? We're all used to them these days. Otherwise recommended.

[diggedy derek]

Well, I really enjoyed The Dropout in the end. I think it has just enough science to tell the story effectively, and details some crucial things like Siemens machines being used in Theranos labs, and the discussions around exactly how much blood they needed. The supporting cast is really good actually, and it brings to life things like shareholders and lab managers which might sound kind of boring. Stephen Fry's really good actually, even if he's kind of playing himself. There's imaginative sets and styling which like Mad Men tell their own story.

Yeah, really enjoyable watch. I thought I knew most of the story already, but this really complemented it.

[Ginger Yellow]

Ha, yeah, I only got turned on to Taskmaster a couple months ago. Am now at season 7.

[Simon G]

I decided on Taskmaster instead. 3 episodes in and it is amazing. Why am I so late to these things?

[Simon G]

I completed Peep Show and absolutely loved it.

One of those shows that probably would have gone right over my head when the first series started, but it was very binge worthy.

Now I need another series to get stuck into - a colleague suggested Psyche yesterday, so will see if I can find that somewhere.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

When Harry Met Sally popped up on BBC1 last night.
I've probably seen it 20 or 30 times because if it's on and I'm channel flicking, I'll always stop and watch.

A definite candidate for my favourite film of all time.

Good shout, it would be in my all-time top 10 for sure, probably even top 5. (My number one, as you are all absolutely *gagging* to learn, would be The Lives of Others, with Billy Wilder's The Apartment not far behind.)

[hobbes]

Paramount has an adaptation of the Playstation game Twisted Metal. I have never played the game but the first episode gives a pretty good feel for it.
It's got some cast too. Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Neve Campbell, Will Arnett, Thomas Hayden Church.
So far it's just shown that Mackie is better at drama than comedy.

[Tratorello]

******** POSSIBLE SPOILER FOR "3 BODY PROBLEM" ******
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****








Watching "3 Body Problem" and, mostly enjoying it, but it's hard to think we should be rooting for the humans when they commit one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks ever committed to screen!

[Nocturnal Submission]

Just watched Radioactive, the Marie Curie biopic.

The critics weren't overly impressed apparently but, knowing little about her life, I enjoyed it and it's never a chore to watch Rosamund Pike.

The film also provided two candidates for the AITIDKUT thread - Marie Curie's daughter also won a Nobel Prize & mother and daughter helped set-up and operate mobile radiography units on the Western Front during WWI.

[ursus arctos]

Originally a podcast

The series was first released on Hulu in the US and then on Disney+/Star internationally

[RobW]

Having massively enjoyed investigative journalist John Carreyrou's wonderful book on the Theranos scandal Bad Blood around 5 years ago, I couldn't resist this dramatisation of the story on BBC I-player:

BBC One - The Dropout

I've just watched the first episode and it seems pretty good so far.

Yeah, I watched the first episode last night. Was The Dropout originally on Disney? Pretty sure I saw it on another streaming service but didn't bother with it. Will pursue with it.

Am up to episode 5 of Babylon Berlin now, but with 35 episodes still left, I feel I might have to extend my subscription with Now TV.

Curb continues to make me laugh, so will look forward to seeing the latest episode tonight.

[Mr Delicieux]

I’ve come around on Curb. It is one of the greatest shows of all time.

It's a world I enjoy visiting immensely, and when it's good I sit there grinning like the idiot I am.

[hobbes]

When Harry Met Sally popped up on BBC1 last night.
I've probably seen it 20 or 30 times because if it's on and I'm channel flicking, I'll always stop and watch.

A definite candidate for my favourite film of all time.

[Hot Pepsi]

I’ve come around on Curb. It is one of the greatest shows of all time.

[Uncle Ethan]

I have the opposite reaction to the British upper classes. Started watching Saltburn and just wanted them all to die slow, awful deaths. The Gentlemen (having seen the movie) has started off okay.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Having massively enjoyed investigative journalist John Carreyrou's wonderful book on the Theranos scandal Bad Blood around 5 years ago, I couldn't resist this dramatisation of the story on BBC I-player:

BBC One - The Dropout

I've just watched the first episode and it seems pretty good so far.

[Hot Pepsi]

Still watching Larry Sanders Show, looking up what happened to all the people on the show.

The woman who played Hank’s wife is now a very successful realtor in LA.

It’s unclear how Hank never got fired.

[Eggchaser]

Finished Blue Eye Samurai and finally got to watch the voice artist credits.

I'd spotted George Takei's presence but was genuinely gobsmacked at seeing Sir Kenneth Branagh's name come up.

[WOM]

Is that still around? I think it had 5 or 6 seasons, the first on mainstream TV and then it shifted to CMTV.

Entertainingly trashy. Connie Britton is always enjoyable to watch.

Nah, it ended long ago. We're just getting on board now. On the CTV app here.

[San Bernardhinault]

I thought Vince Vaughn had become a bit persona non grata for his dodgy political views. Also that Hollywood was not charmed by tales of his, er, lack of rigour compared to Reese Witherspoon on Four Christmases.

Anyway, I enjoyed Queenpins well enough. Lightweight entertainment, of course, but nicely made.

Yesterday we somehow ended up watching a 20 year old movie called America's Sweethearts. Somewhere someone had described it as interesting and indy under the veneer of a rom com, the missus tells me. I've no idea how. It is the most basic and simplistic of rom coms. The cast is incredible - Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta Jones, Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Christopher Walken, Stanley Tucci, Hank Azaria, Alan Arkin, plus cameos like the bloke who plays Dwight in The Office, and Larry King. The film doesn't live up to the cast. It is still part of the era when John Cusack clearly had a clause in all his contracts that he had to wear a long black coat.

[San Bernardhinault]

Is that still around? I think it had 5 or 6 seasons, the first on mainstream TV and then it shifted to CMTV.

Entertainingly trashy. Connie Britton is always enjoyable to watch.

[WOM]

We’ve begun watching Nashville and are very much enjoying it. It’s basically Dallas, with country music instead of oil. I don’t suspect it’ll become an OTF favourite for a variety of reasons, but we’re enjoying both the music and the setting - and I suspect our familiarity with both helps a bit. But otherwise it’s a family / friends / drama based on the Nashville music scene. T-bone Burnett is the music director, so the songs - even as sung by actors - are surprisingly good.

[danielmak]

I watched Marlowe on Prime last night. The script is based on a book written by an Irish writer that picks up the Marlowe character. I assume maybe the character is out of copyright. Anyway, it was a good film. It was slow by contemporary noir standards. Liam Neeson plays Marlowe. Interestingly, all of the exterior (Los Angeles) scenes were shot in Barcelona.