Finished TV series—who watches?

[SleepingDog]

The Terminal List

It is on Amazon Prime and consists of 8 episodes which are 50 to 65 minutes long (averaging about 58 minutes). The classification is 15 (i.e. 15 years old plus). I don't think that I could do it justice so I will quote Nemesis42 (IMDB site).

"This is a terrifically well made story, expertly executed in all departments. The final twist was the only failure for me but you decide.

Outstanding emotional arcs, perfect casting and writing. The flashback sequence the last time he's in his house was so well done and appropriate - the montage rose up to meet the strong need for it at that point in the story. A perfect symphony between form and narrative. "

We watch to be entertained but also to explore our beliefs and perhaps to change some of our behaviour. So when it had finished I asked myself if I had suffered in the way Reece did and I had the skill set and support system he had would I of done the same? I was a little shocked that my answer was yes.

Still it was a good revenge thriller with comments on big business and politics but it is also a love story. I would agree with the 81 that users on IMDB gave the story.

 

[Brian Boru]

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd 1987
Blair Brown
James Greene
Allyn Ann McLerie

Does anyone know where to get or see this show? I watched it ~30 years ago and it's very good, but I've never been able to find it anywhere this century.

 

[SleepingDog]

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd 1987
Blair Brown
James Greene
Allyn Ann McLerie

Does anyone know where to get or see this show? I watched it ~30 years ago and it's very good, but I've never been able to find it anywhere this century.

It seems that it is available on DVD for $32 per season on DVDPlanetStore so that is probably USA. While WWW.FOUNDTHATFILM.CO.UK will charge £50 for all 5 seasons.

Hope that helps.

PS music rights problems stops the series going to "streaming" though why it's ok to create DVD seems strange - but that business practices for you.

 

[Frindis]

Just finished watching the Man vs. Bee starring Rowan Atkinson as Trevor, a man with juuuust a hint of OCD who happens to get a job as a housesitter in a multimillion-dollar house with a very, VERY expensive art collection. One day a bee decides to visit the house and the rest goes exactly the way you think it will go. 5/10.

 

[Brian Boru]

Hope that helps

Okay, your cover is blown—clearly you are a WakingDog! Great finds.

DVDPlanetStore so that is probably USA

Pakistan actually, and out of the running at $160 v £50 from UK.

Thanks a bunch, and woof

 

[SleepingDog]

Absentia [2017]
10 episodes (40-42 mins., except 1st one 50mins)
15 rating
Stana Katic
Patrick Huesinger
Neil Jackson

Back in 2019 I came across this series when I joined Amazon Prime. I have seen it described as a crime mystery drama though I think that undersells it. On one level the story is about the impact of a returning, presumed dead, mother who had been kidnapped six years ago. Her husband has re-married and her son does not recognise her. Then there is the psychological impact of six years of torture. This is the drama bit. It is very dark in places (the cast played pranks on each other between takes to lighten the mood).

At another level is the mystery of why was she "released"? Things get quickly out of control but Emily, with some support from her family, has to take matters in to her own hands mainly because the police are bordering on stupid.

I may be reaching too far but I think that the writers also took a shot at the police/ FBI. At one point Emily asks a Boston PD officer is he looking to close the case or to find the truth? It often feels that the police are portrayed as a bureaucracy more concerned with "following the evidence" and "following procedure" rather than searching for the truth and keeping the innocent out of jail.

There are some holes in the plot but there are not serious and there are plenty of twists and turns. I would probably give it a 70 to 80 out of 100.

 

[Brian Boru]

The Lost Symbol 2021
10x45m episodes PG
Ashley Zukerman
Eddie Izzard
Valorie Curry
Based on a Dan Brown book. Ending provided opening for another season, but this one wrapped up fully, so I regard it as finished.

If you saw The Da Vinci Code and/or Angels and Demons, skip this. It's a younger Robert Langdon, and just doesn't work. I took bathroom breaks and told GF to leave it running—"Did I miss anything?" … "Uh, no".

I'm not a big fan of the whole Dan Brown "I saw that logo on the 4th urinal in the public bathroom of a Marrakesh side street, it symbolized "I'm burstin" for ancient desert nomads who worshipped the camel god" spiel. But the movies are watchable 6/10 efforts.

Cast don't pull it off, time jumps are unclear, pacing varies a lot… and there's just no saving grace to say "I'll watch it for this"—I was even hoping for car chases and explosions around episode 3!

3/10

 

[Frindis]

Better Call Saul [2015-2022] from the creators Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould. Some of the stars in it: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patric Fabian, Michael McKean, Michael Mando, Tony Dalton, Giancarlo Esposito, and many more.

Story
A spinoff, prequel, and at times a sequel to Breaking Bad. You follow Jimmy McGill, a fresh public defender played by Bob Odenkirk who tries to make ends meet by indulging in some questionable methods of law practicing. He soon finds out that there is more money being made from hustling people and together with his GF and law practicing Kim Wexler, played by Rhea Seehorn, they build their own castle of deception and power.

Rating
Superb characters that you will both hate and love. Deep character developments, some of the better ones of this decade, if not the best. The cinematography is extremely well done and some episodes are just quite breathtaking. The story is easy to follow, and you'll partake in seeing situations from both the good guys and bad guys. If you liked Breaking Bad, there is no way in hell you are not going to love this one.

10/10

 

[STEL DR]

I watched ''The Sandman" which I really liked!!! Anyone watching it this week can share some insights about the show.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Wow. I've never even looked at this section of the forums before.

Anyway, the last show I finished was Outer Range on Amazon Prime. It's a really crazy show. It's kind of like a Stranger Things for adults. They'd better come out with a season 2, because they didn't answer any questions in that season finale.

 

[Brian Boru]

I've never even looked at this section of the forums before

We've enjoyed the respite, thank you for your kindness

 

[Brian Boru]

Pine Gap 2018 6x1h episodes
Parker Sawyers
Jacqueline McKenzie
Steve Toussaint
Tess Haubrich
This is a very good spy mini series in the vein of Smiley or Johnny Worricker—ie interesting and tense with hardly a gun fight, car chase or explosion in sight.

Set in the real Pine Gap 'Five Eyes' facility near Alice Springs in mid Australia, its geopolitical plot deals with the tussle with China over the disputed South China Sea. Its in-house plot is about discovering a mole, and there are a few other inter-personal sub-plots going on also.

The cast is very good—only one I knew before was Jacqueline from The 4400—and the script does a great job between not blinding with tech and also not over-explaining. Pacing is nice, keeps moving along nicely. I really like it, shame there doesn't seem to be a Season 2 planned—there are a couple of unresolved plot points, but the main ones are concluded.

85/100.

 

[Brian Boru]

Echoes 2022 7x47m episodes
Michelle Monaghan
Matt Bomer
Karen Robinson
This is mainly the Michelle Monaghan show, and she does a fine job playing identical twins who like to confuse people by playing who's who games. Rest of the cast range from ok to very good—Karen great, Matt poor.

However, the rest is a bit of a mess. Script, direction, pacing, flashbacks, big plot holes, poor ending. Pity, cos there's a good story in there, and some good twists. Too much padding and repetition, 4-5 episodes should have done it.

It's worth watching for Michelle's performance as two same-but-different women, which she pulls off very well.

6/10—around 4/10 without Michelle.

 

[Brian Boru]

The Last Kingdom 2015, 46 x 1h
Alexander Dreymon
Eliza Butterworth
Arnas Fedaravicius
David Dawson
Millie Brady
Adrian Schiller
Superb drama about the survival of German England, and its gradual expansion out from under Viking rule. Many historical figures, from Alfred the Great who led the survival, to his grandson Aethelstan who was the first king of unified England.

Cast is mostly great, a few duds in last two seasons, but otherwise tops. David is the outstanding actor for me as Alfred, with Millie, Adrian and Eliza also excellent. This may well be Alexander's career-defining work, he totally fits the part like a swash to a buckle.

Despite many battles—boring as always, you've seen one guy run thru, you've seen 1,000 run thru—the series focuses on many characters and stories which are built in depth, without ever becoming overwhelming.

10/10

 

[SleepingDog]

Walkers crisps are offering a free month's subscription to Paramount+ providing you buy one of their promotional packs. The crisps cost around £2 - if you like crisps then it's a free subscription. Offer closes midnight on 31st December 2022. Previous and current Paramount+ subscribers excluded.

I have eat the crisps and I am looking forward to seeing ST Discovery, ST New Worlds, Halo and Let The Right One In.

Not sure if this is the right place but I thought that TV viewers might look here every now and then.

 

[Brian Boru]

The Lørenskog Disappearance 2022, 5x52m
Yngvild Støen Grotmol
Jonas Strand Gravli
Christian Rubeck
Specially for @Frindis, since I cost him a NFT elsewhere
Slow interesting crime drama from Norway, based on real events, about the disappearance of a billionaire's wife.

Cast are fine, and I like the whole visual presentation—yes, I'm a fan of white Pacing is okay, not too slow, not that much irrelevant content—so generally well done.

Problems are it's somewhat disjointed, with each episode concentrating on a separate group of interested parties …eg police, media, lawyers… so I found it hard to knit the thing together—too many "Have we met hir before?" moments. Also confusion about what was going on at times—which city, building etc.

I was watching over dinner, so not fully focused. Perhaps if you want to work at it, it would all hang together. Oh yeah… the ending is very unamerican

7/10

 

[Frindis]

@Brian Boru Not seen that one, but not really a shocker since I don't usually watch a lot of Norwegian movies. I tend to find the acting a bit too, erm "norsk". I do like movies about a slice of our history, like
Pathfinder (1987), The King's Choice (2016), Max Manus: Man of War, The 12th Man, Kon-Tiki (1950)/Kon-Tiki (2012) and a couple more I can't remember out of the box. We also do have some good comedies and fantasy movies, but for the most part, it is the historical movies that I personally find most interesting. Perhaps @Slasken got some more. Anyways, got a little off track there, have to watch more series soon.

 

[Slasken]

I don't watch a lot of Norwegian movies either, or movies period. I'm more of a TV-series guy. The best Norwegian movie is in my opinion "Flåklypa Grand Prix / Pinchcliff Grand Prix"

I do watch a lot of true crime, but I haven't watched "The Lørenskog disappearance". I haven't watched it because that case is far from concluded, and I feel it probably won't cast any more light on the case than what I've read in the media. Fun fact, I used to live there.

I think "Wisting" was a good Norwegian series.

 

[Brian Boru]

The Chestnut Man 2021 6x50m
David Dencik
Danica Curcic
Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
This would be 9/10 if it wasn't for major plot problems. I don't look for realism, but there are limits to how much stupid stuff I can swallow with equanimity. Also, a bit more gore than necessary imo.

That aside, excellent and beautiful Nordic Noir from Denmark. Very moody, dark and autumnal—just great cinematography. Cast are great, and the first 5 episodes are top notch pacing and tension. Last episode is poor, cliched and stupidest of the lot.

75/100

 

[Brian Boru]

Entrapped 2022 6x50m
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson
Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir
Thomas Bo Larsen
More from Brr world, this time Iceland. A sequel to the well rated Trapped, cast are good but story is a bit… I dunno, not very solid, I guess. Supposed to be a serious crime drama, but just didn't seem too serious at times—hmm, I'm making less sense than the show now.

Some beautiful scenery of course, I would've liked some more of that. It's worth a look for 6 episodes.

65/100

 

[Zloth]

I finished Andor. Ummm, what are people so excited about? It's not bad, but it seems fairly average to me. I liked Kenobi's series more than this one, frankly.

 

[Brian Boru]

The IT Crowd 2006 25x25m
Chris O'Dowd
Richard Ayoade
Katherine Parkinson
If you like farce, this is very good—I immediately thought Fawlty Towers when I started watching it. First 2 seasons are the best, 3rd lags a bit, but picks up again. Cast are all good, but Richard is the one who caught my eye.

Short episodes, so you can always turn it off and turn it on again

8/10

 

[Brian Boru]

Devil in Ohio 2022 8x45
Emily Deschanel
Sam Jaeger
Gerardo Celasco
Good cast and premise, bad plot, too slow, bad ending. 5/10 being generous.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

The IT Crowd 2006 25x25m
Chris O'Dowd
Richard Ayoade
Katherine Parkinson
If you like farce, this is very good—I immediately thought Fawlty Towers when I started watching it. First 2 seasons are the best, 3rd lags a bit, but picks up again. Cast are all good, but Richard is the one who caught my eye.

Short episodes, so you can always turn it off and turn it on again

8/10

It's a great show. I agree with you about seasons 1 and 2 being the best. And Richard Ayoade really is awesome. He's very talented. I believe he's into PC gaming a lot, too. This is old, but a good watch.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25yG5d_qHQE

 

[WoodenSaucer]

We've been watching The Chosen. We were late to the game, and just started watching it a couple of months ago. We're finally caught up now. They did a really great job making it.