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    I presume it;s a Finland thing. Outside of Finland the only network that has the rights is Netflix, while inside Finland, presumably the original channel it was shown on on TV still holds the exclusive rights within the country, for a while longer

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      As I previously mentioned I have recently discovered and thoroughly enjoying Borgen, but even less than a decade on there are momemts when it looks almost charmingly anachronistic - even the vaguest whiff of financial or sexual impropriety sees politicians forced to quit their positions.

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        I appreciate that its not high-brow, but the new series (10!) of Taskmaster had me genuinely laughing at loud at times.

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          Disney+/NatGeo has a new The Right Stuff series about John Glenn, Alan Shepard, etc. I don’t like it as much as For All Mankind, but it’s ok. So far, it’s really just about the personalities of the astronauts and how they were marketed in order to secure public support for the space program which, of course, was mostly about Cold War propaganda and Tang.
          Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 16-10-2020, 19:28.

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            Originally posted by nmrfox View Post
            I appreciate that its not high-brow, but the new series (10!) of Taskmaster had me genuinely laughing at loud at times.
            Been watching series 1-9 on Dave for the past 7 months, so absolutely delighted that there's a new series on. Daisy May Cooper has me in hysterics.

            Just watching The Trial of the Chicago Seven right now. John Doman, John Carroll Lynch in supporting roles and Sacha Baron Cohen in serious acting mode - loving it already.

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              I chanced upon Grayson Perry's Big American Road Trip last night and watched a couple of episodes. It's not exactly gripping stuff but it was OK. The scene when he accused the attendees of a Martha's Vineyard dinner party of whatever it was that he was trying to articulate (he'd maybe had a glass or two of wine more than was a good idea) was sphinctertighteningtastic.
              Last edited by Nocturnal Submission; 17-10-2020, 15:07.

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                Originally posted by nmrfox View Post
                I appreciate that its not high-brow, but the new series (10!) of Taskmaster had me genuinely laughing at loud at times.
                Highbrow, schmighbrow. Taskmaster is amazerin.

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                  Still bingeing Scrubs. I’ve made it my mission.

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                    I started Schitt's Creek last night. 5 episodes in, I love it.

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                      Just watching Enola Holmes....not sure if I think it's good or not.

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                        I quite enjoyed it on the basis that it is a kid's film. And whatshername has a real screen presence for such a youngun.

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                          Yeah, and it was well-made - sets, costumes, etc.

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                            I finished Scrubs proper. Eight seasons. Ugly wept at the end. It ends with JD’s last day before taking a new job to be closer to his kid and him imagining the future in super 8. Everything works out great for everyone. Peter Gabriel’s version of “The Book of Love” plays.

                            Life isn’t really like that, is it? It’s more like the ending of season 7, which happened just before the writer’s strike and was the last episode on NBC. That one features an elaborate fairy tale fantasy frames by Cox telling his kid a bedtime story based on a case at the hospital where they figure out a girl has Wilson’s disease. The ending is ambiguous, but it sort of summarizes the whole series.

                            There was a very real chance that was going to end up being the end of the show, but they weren’t sure, so they didn’t wrap up the storylines nor did they advance any.

                            The other best episodes were the sad ones. The best of the late ones was the one where JD and Turk sit with a dying guy who has no family and admit they are also scared of death.

                            Also the one where they get three transplants from a woman - who they knew - who turns out to have rabies. That one wasn’t very realistic medically, I don’t think, but it was emotionally.


                            I may rewatch season 9 later. That was really a different show, however, as we discussed before. It deserved a longer run but it’s ok that it didn’t get it. Bill Lawrence said he was glad it continued, just to give those people a job during the recession, but I don’t think he was very involved in it and the original cast kinda faded out of it.
                            Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 18-10-2020, 22:34.

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                              I just watched the first episode of Roadkill, the new political drama on BBC1. Despite a strong cast, led by Hugh Laurie and Helen McCrory, it wasn't compelling, mainly because of David Hare's clunky script and characterisation-by-numbers. Sidse Babett Knudsen seems wasted in a thin mistress role The dialogue was hopelessly overloaded with intellectual exposition, lightened with the odd witty epigram that would get polite titters at the National Theatre. Most of it was overlaid with irritating piano music, which sacrificed any mood of suspense in favour of unmerited self-congratulatory cleverness. A vintage unconvincing nightlife scene played out to Totally Wired, which could be the dance music of choice for hedonistic twentysomethings for all I know but didn't convince as such here.

                              These non-thrilling thrillers are a Hare speciality, presumably green lit on the basis of his past reputation rather than the quality of the project to hand. I should give it another chance next week in case it improves but past experience suggests that is unlikely. On the upside, at least it wasn't a new Stephen Poliakoff snorefest.

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                                Originally posted by hobbes View Post
                                I quite enjoyed it on the basis that it is a kid's film. And whatshername has a real screen presence for such a youngun.
                                Hadn't realised it was a YA book...ultimately really quite charming.

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                                  Yay! Star Trek Discovery is back!

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                                    Originally posted by RobW View Post


                                    Just watching The Trial of the Chicago Seven right now. John Doman, John Carroll Lynch in supporting roles and Sacha Baron Cohen in serious acting mode - loving it already.
                                    We watched this the other night. It's one of those dramatic productions where I'm oddly ambivalent mainly because I'm so wedded to the characters as the were presented at the time, that I find other interpretations slightly disturbing. For example the height discrepancy between Sacha Baron Cohen (Abbie Hoffman) and Jeremy Strong (Jerry Rubin) made them look like a comedy duo. In a sense they were I suppose, but I couldn't help but feel the film overplayed it. Similarly Frank Langella wasn't the Judge Julius Hoffman in my head. He was too large and intimidating. The real Hoffman, while just as abrasive and bat-shit crazy, was small and wizened looking. I also kept wondering whether Jane Fonda would really have married Eddy Redmayne's Tom Hayden. I realise these things aren't important in a piece of fiction, but if you were following this trial avidly on a daily basis you can't but have strong opinions about the players. That aside, it followed events as closely as I remember them, and I particularly liked the mixture of documentary footage with reconstruction especially when it came to the police riot.*

                                    *plus ca change, eh?

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                                      So. We finished Schitt's Creek and then watched the cast ensemble / summary show.

                                      I cried five times.

                                      Not even sorry.

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                                        Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post

                                        We watched this the other night. It's one of those dramatic productions where I'm oddly ambivalent mainly because I'm so wedded to the characters as the were presented at the time, that I find other interpretations slightly disturbing. For example the height discrepancy between Sacha Baron Cohen (Abbie Hoffman) and Jeremy Strong (Jerry Rubin) made them look like a comedy duo. In a sense they were I suppose, but I couldn't help but feel the film overplayed it. Similarly Frank Langella wasn't the Judge Julius Hoffman in my head. He was too large and intimidating. The real Hoffman, while just as abrasive and bat-shit crazy, was small and wizened looking. I also kept wondering whether Jane Fonda would really have married Eddy Redmayne's Tom Hayden. I realise these things aren't important in a piece of fiction, but if you were following this trial avidly on a daily basis you can't but have strong opinions about the players. That aside, it followed events as closely as I remember them, and I particularly liked the mixture of documentary footage with reconstruction especially when it came to the police riot.*

                                        *plus ca change, eh?
                                        It’s an Aaron Sorkin thing. I’m not sure if I want to watch it or not.

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                                          I'm not a fan either, but It's better than most of his recent stuff.

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                                            I like most of his work, but his politics have been, at least traditionally, way too
                                            uncynical, so to speak.

                                            The Big Picture podcast discussed this all at length this week. They both recommended the film, but I just don’t want to think about the Vietnam War right now.

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                                              Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                                              I just watched the first episode of Roadkill, the new political drama on BBC1. Despite a strong cast, led by Hugh Laurie and Helen McCrory, it wasn't compelling, mainly because of David Hare's clunky script and characterisation-by-numbers. Sidse Babett Knudsen seems wasted in a thin mistress role The dialogue was hopelessly overloaded with intellectual exposition, lightened with the odd witty epigram that would get polite titters at the National Theatre. Most of it was overlaid with irritating piano music, which sacrificed any mood of suspense in favour of unmerited self-congratulatory cleverness. A vintage unconvincing nightlife scene played out to Totally Wired, which could be the dance music of choice for hedonistic twentysomethings for all I know but didn't convince as such here.

                                              These non-thrilling thrillers are a Hare speciality, presumably green lit on the basis of his past reputation rather than the quality of the project to hand. I should give it another chance next week in case it improves but past experience suggests that is unlikely. On the upside, at least it wasn't a new Stephen Poliakoff snorefest.
                                              Yes, as dull as ditchwater.

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                                                Who the fuck would soundtrack a nightclub scene with early 80s Fall?

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                                                  I am finding the BBC series Ambulance engaging - though I am not normally into reality TV docos. It's the ambos of course who make the show. From the dispatcher who lost her son to a stabbing, the former City trader who really does seem to have found a new purpose in life and the various Kiwis and Aussies who seem to turn up every other episode.

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                                                    Is that the one narrated by Christopher Ecclestone? It's the only real life doco series we always watch, and it's excellent. There's an Aussie equivalent we don't bother with, too much melodrama.

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