TV

Talk about what's worth watching. Or what we can miss.

Make sure you watch John Oliver this week. If you don't have HBO, find someone who does. The "Fuck 2016" final minutes are hilarious.

I haven't followed a series in over a decade but I started watching This is Us. I was so hoping the hot brother would turn out gay, I mean he is an actor,but no such luck. Frig!
The only other thing I crave is TCM. I don't think a day goes by when I don't want to record a film but where is the time to watch them? They had on Crossing Delancey yesterday which I have always wanted to see,now if they only showed Hester Street I will be all ready for Hanukah.
Just read that Shannon Diughtery is very ill. How much I loved 9021 back in the day.

I gobbled up The Crown like crazy -- it's really good; it takes its time but each episode is a little self-contained, so it's easy to not binge them all in a row. It was driving me crazy where I had seen the lead actress before and it only took me nine episodes to figure out she was Little Dorrit.

I was surprised that they got away with showing how really dumb they all are -- there's even an episode where the Elizabeth basically admits it -- since so many of them are still alive.

alans -- that actor does play gay on the late, lamented Revenge -- I want to say the last two seasons. He makes out a few times shirtless with Nolan.

I kind of think they have to just embrace -- I don't want to say dumbness, but I'm struggling to think of the right word. I think they have to deliberately turn away from actively educating themselves, because if they were really learned a lot about the world and wanted to engage in it, the forced passivity of their lives would drive them crazy. (My personal theory is that Charles is so nuts because he is just smart enough to realize how trapped he is by his own position.)

DG_Strong-thanks for that information, I don't know the series Revenge but I will look it up.

The first season of Revenge was such great soap opera. But it got worse every season. I wonder it it got Madeleine Stowe her parttime TCM gig.

Yes, TCM is great, Alan. When they scheduled The Sorry and the Pity last night, who could have thought, as deeg pointed out else where.

DG, I watched episode 1 of The Crown a couple days ago--it's good.

I want to put in a plug for Good Girls Revolt on Amazon, which is based on the 1969 strike at Newsweek by women researchers. I keep seeing comparisons to Mad Men, but really it's a different thing and a bunch of fun.

>2 karenwall: When I heard it was the last show of the season, my first thought was that he's going to say he's emigrating back to England. So glad he didn't, but wish his season would run a little longer. That was an absolutely fantastic show!

>8 karenwall: The sorrow and the pity?

Are you a Gilmore Girls superfan?

37/50

'>12 cindydavid4: Some wires got crossed! S & P is a totally different issue.I am not sure which show you are ta!king about.

10> Oh, that really looks good. Have to finish Transparent first.

This weekend I am planning on watching A Carol Burnett Christmas on dvd. This is a series of episodes Carol did during her Gary Moore run. Sounds like fun.

I've been watching Fleabag on amazon prime. It's pretty wonderful although a bit dark. I'm a bit iffy on the breaking the fourth wall thing but I like the complicity between the unnamed main character and the audience. also, if you liked Olivia Colman in Broadchurch, she is unbelievably good in this as the wickedly passive aggressive stepmother. Just delicious.

Has anyone watched the Amazon series The Last Tycoon? I haven't been over there much lately and hadn't heard of it.

Has it gone beyond the pilot? I know they did that Amazon pilot thing with it and it got picked up but I didn't think it was up yet as a series. I thought the pilot was okay but I didn't love Matt Bomer in it -- though he looks good in all the clothes, which is halfway to a successful Fitzgerald adaptation. It's as far as anyone's ever gotten, though -- has there ever been a really good one?

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" was good, short film from way back which a professor I TA'd for used to show in her introductory class. But usually it's" Look at the great twenties clothes."

Well, I am super convinced Gatsby is unfilmable.

My friend Gerry, referenced above is of a like mind.

Yoo hoo, Kat: The Son is now a series.

So, has anyone else watched the new Gilmore Girls on Netflix? I liked it overall, with a few quibbles. It was a little fan-servicey in places, but for the most part the cameos were fun and all of the parts with my girlfriend--I mean Kelly Bishop as Emily--were the best. My view that Alexis Bledel is not much of an actress still stands--the only interesting thing about her are the lines written for her to say. She can't do much with them. Lauren Graham runs circles around her on that front. Plus, so much fun is made of Wild (which I LIKED so I'm not being mean) which was hilarious. And I won't spoil it, but the Sutton Foster parts are freaking fantastic.

We started watching This is It which is full of all kinds of sentimental hooks and twists but I am really enjoying it.

>24 SPRankin: Not yet, my husband is unfamiliar with the series so about a month or so ago we started watching, it'll be a while yet before we finish and get to the new ones. I am eagerly awaiting the return to Stars Hollow!

I watched the new Gilmore Girls this weekend. Because I only watched the original series in bits and pieces, most of Rory's old boyfriend cameos didn't mean much to me, but I did like the first two episodes, and some of the last one. And yes, Kelly Bishop is the best part of the show. I also thought they handled Richard's death very well.

There are a lot of Parenthood and Bunheads cameos as well. The only part I actively disliked was the return of that dumb college high jinks group Rory was in at Yale.

I read a horrible review of the new GG episodes (on Slate or Jezebel or something), which made me think I don't need to hurry up and finish the original series (I quit watching in s.6 or 7 originally). But I'm sure I'll eventually get there. They just made it sound so dull and mean, which made me think that Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband are still super bitter about being kicked off originally. I still think that's true, because of other things I've read, but they might be totally justified...I'm not overly concerned.

But SP, I completely agree about Alexis Bledel. I've never thought she could act at all. She always whines, so she's only affective when she's acting like a crying baby....which is a lot.

I watched the GG reboot over Thanksgiving with my daughter and my niece and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. (The return of the Life and Death brigade was the low point, though.) It's not really as good as the original, but Kelly Bishop is magnificent and Lauren Graham was very good, and I even though Alexis Bledel was a wee bit better than she was in the original.

They are very much made for fans, though -- tons of callbacks. And watching with your daughter and niece the day after Thanksgiving while sipping cocoa is probably the ideal viewing experience.

>30 gayla.bassham: The other night I watched "Summer" while Bruce got ready to go out, and as he wandered through he'd laugh at GG lines. At one point made me rewind because he missed a visual bit, and then settled himself on the couch to watch more before reluctantly leaving.

(Who are the Life and Death brigade?)

Planning on watching A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight..haven't seen it in years.

>31 mkunruh: The dumb secret society at Yale that Logan was part of, and led to Rory stealing the yacht and getting suspended and who run around in gorilla masks and top hats.

The more I think about it, the more I really don't get Rory's storyline. As they point out 5000 times, she's 32 and supposedly 10 years into (going by her clothing and travel budget) what appears to have been until this point a successful career. But everything about the way she's written makes her seem like someone in her early 20s with few connections, and hardly anything to show for it. After 10 years, she would have a million editors in her contacts and hundreds of clips, and she would have at least a couple of staff positions under her belt. It's definitely believable to struggle in your career at any age, but this just doesn't track as the way a 30-something would struggle.

For example, if she was Christiane Amanpour's (cameo! callback!) associate producer or something, and working hard but realized that she was never going to ascend to that level and get to write or report the way she always assumed she would, because she just didn't have the drive or the chops. Then her choice becomes whether to stay in a stressful, demanding, unsatisfying field that's not going to work out the way you dreamed when you were 22 or get out while you're young enough to start over in something else. Not so much floundering as facing the reality of your circumstances and deciding which way to go. That seems verrrrrry 30-something to me.

>33 SPRankin: Ahhh. Thanks. The gorilla masks appeared in the last episode (as you know) and I guessed that was them. They are stupid. And I agree with you on the Rory storyline. I thought it was odd. Service to the "greater good" -- Gilmore Girls. Regardless, I ate it up last week. Just what I needed.

I'm speculating that the reason Rory's storyline made so little sense is that it is basically what the Palladinos had originally conceived for season 7; they just dusted it off for use in the reunion, and it really doesn't work well for a 32-year-old. Rory was always spoiled and entitled, but her immaturity as a 32-year-old was even more grating than it was when she was 22.

Is anyone watching "Designated Survivor"? It's slowly reeling me in, but it almost comes off as "House of Cards" where the president is a good guy and everyone else is evil. And Kiefer Sutherland talks in a very concerned whisper most of the time, but I guess that's how he plays 'very concerned.'

Crown was very good, and This Is Us had me hooked from the very first, with the Terrible Towel scene :)

Mark and I are watching The Crown and enjoying it.

>36 cnolin: We're watching Designated Survivor. I'm not completely sold on it. There's just something about it that feels cheesy. There are so many eye-rolling moments, but we keep watching because my husband enjoys it.

Karen, I'm enjoying The Crown, too.

>38 AprilAdamson:: Yeah, Designated Survivor was perfect for my 2-week recovery period from foot surgery. The Vicodin helped, too. I also found a Medici series on Netflix that is a good way to while away an hour at a time. One ironic moment was the meeting of Cosimo (played by Richard Madden, "Robb Stark" of GoT) and his new father-in-law (played by David Bradley, "Walder Frey") - my loopy mind kept wanting to yell "It's a TRAP!" to even further mix my metaphors :)

Ha. That's basically why I can't watch that Grantchester show with James Norton as the dishy crime-solving vicar. I saw him first as a dishy psychopathic sadist in Happy Valley and now I have trust issues.

>40 SPRankin: Isn't that the truth, SP. It was very jarring to try to try to get my head wrapped around his character in Grantchester. Very weird.

Oh I thought he was so hot as the serial killer and now I think he looks like my schlubby neighbor. Which is probably more revealing than I want it to be.

He loses a great deal of dishiness in the second series of Happy Valley and just gets really red-faced and twitchy.

>42 DG_Strong: I much prefer him as the serial killer, even in the second season.

>4 DG_Strong: I've heard that Matt Smith is rather bland as Phillip. Can anyone confirm or deny?

>29 JulieCarter: I've only seen on of the GG episodes, the last one, and it I found that the it captured well the feel of the series at its best. There is drama, angst, humor, and love. I thought it worked well.

>36 cnolin: I've struggled to enjoyed Designated Survivor. I watched the first four and have recorded the rest. Every time I am looking for something to watch I skip it.

These days it is The Flash that I have been enjoying. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is a lot of fun.

>45 brodiew2: Flash is fun -- I particularly enjoy Cisco -- but the mother death angst combined with yet another time line is driving me nuts this season.

Why the People Vs. Oj Simpson is being nominated for so many awards (and mentioned by the New Yorker as one of the best series of the past year) is beyond me . I thought this had to be
one of the biggest pieces of trash I have ever seen. I only stuck with it because it was so over the top and trashy that it was actually fun. John Travolta is hysterically horrible with way
too much make-up that his face looks pink and Cuba Gooding Jr. jumps up and down as the Juice so many times that I cringed watching it. It is really awful.

>46 mkunruh: I hear you, mkunruh. Not only mother death angst, but father death angst and now... the show has definitely moved away from the wonder and magnificent storytelling of season one. The mainstay of the show, for me, is Tom Cavanagh. His Wells variations are an awesome thing to behold.

" I only stuck with it because it was so over the top and trashy that it was actually fun."

But it wasn't over the top -- we had an insider expert -- Lynn! -- at Book Balloon who basically said the whole thing on a day to day basis was ten times more ridiculous than how it was depicted.

But Travolta and Gooding were terrible, I agree with that.

Alan, the Travolta portrayal of Shapiro was just plain awful and Gooding was really miscast as OJ. OJ was a big, charming guy and Shapiro wasn't such a silly baffooon. They got so much else so right in the show it was disappointing that those two were so off.

But the rest of the cast - and the story and what happened - was spot on. I am Marcia's best friend and I was a L.A. DDA along with her and I lived every day of that case with her. (I was mentioned in one of the early episodes.) When they first announced that they were going to do the series, both Marcia and I were so disheartened because we thought it was going to be yet another story about how she blew it.

But it wasn't. All the stuff that appeared over-the-top really happened - the dialogue, the courtroom scenes, all of it really. Ryan Murphy really wanted to get it right and he did.

Years ago, I once had this TV director come to court with me because he wanted to see what really happened in an actual courtroom. One of the cases he observed was a preliminary hearing involving a guy that kidnapped women and shaved his initials into their pubic hair. And that was just one of the cases he saw, though I'm sure it was the one he remembers best.

When the day was over he came over to me and thanked me and I'll always remember what he said, he told me, "I think I've been pointing my camera the wrong way." And then added something about the truth being so much more interesting and bizarre than anything a screenwriter could make up.

And I think that's true and that was the case with the OJ series you saw - most of the scenes you saw, especially the courtroom scenes, were so spot-on as to what happened and it was so fascinating because of that. Or at least I thought so.

Editing to add:

At BookBalloon we talked about each episode after it aired and I told everyone about the stuff they didn't see and you'd realize just how much more crazy it was than what they showed on TV.

Thank-you Lynn for all of that information, I missed the discussion on BB. I still have the final two episodes to watch. I didn't know anything about the case when it was happening because I was
so grossed out by the entire thing and furious that Tina Brown gave it so much coverage in the NYer at the time. So when I started watching the series when it first came out I looked up Marcia Clarke to see what she thought. Apparently she and Christopher Darden (?)end up having an affair in the series, I haven't gotten there yet, and they asked Marcia about this and she laughed and
said no that never happened but they were very close. One of the things that I found so interesting was how much Marcia smoked, they really make a big deal of that in the series. I'm looking forward to the final two episodes (plan to watch them during my upcoming holiday break) and I'm really sorry I missed your discussion way back when. I just think the acting is so god-awful. The woman who plays Marcia is good,but the rest of them are an embarrassment. I mean David Schwimmer? Oh is that an embarrassment---Juice, Juice, calm down!

Alan, I think you're right about most of the acting. I found the whole thing fascinating, but the actors playing OJ, Shapiro, Kardashian, Johnny whatshisface....all pretty awful, I agree. I thought Marcia and Chris Darden were good, and overall I loved it. And Lynn is awesome and she says it was like that, so I love it even more! LOL (Still haven't watched the other OJ show that came out this year. It's sitting on my DVR.)

I haven't been watching much lately except sports and Real Housewives (NYC, Beverly Hills, Orange County)....so, that means I've been drinking too much!

I plan to spend my ten days off of work glued to TCM......I love my tcm.

Jan. 10th can't get here soon enough: Taboo starring Tom Hardy. But it's not because of him. The storyline and previews push all my buttons.

Also, I'm trying to avoid the online sneak preview of the new season of "Homeland," because I don't want to wait 3 weeks for the next episode. I'll probably cave, though, because I'm dying to find out Quinn's fate. He's the main reason I watch it!

I've just seen ads for that, Pat, and don't know much about it at all. But it's winter and I am definitely in the mood for something creepy/magicky.

It looks pretty interesting to me too. I will at least try it. It can't be worse than Snoop and Martha's Pot Luck Party.

I think the Snoop/Martha thing is really funny, even if it is the same joke over and over. And it has too many of Snoop's friends, when they could just as easily flip it and have it be Martha and Ina Garten and some other society dame or whatever and then Snoop being the odd bird out. There's something about Martha being the punchline every time that doesn't quiiiiite sit well with me. But she seems to be in on it, so whatever.

Oh, she's totally in on it. It just felt like they're trying really hard and it's too scripted. I didn't make it through the first episode, so maybe I am missing out. Just too many jokes where I was expecting a rim shot and stuff. Martha's not great at doing off-the-cuff.

But damn it, I missed Taboo. Have to find a rerun or On Demand, I guess.

I just remembered I never finished watching Happy Valley. So I'll get back to that and then maybe Black Mirror. Rodney (where is he?) recommended it on FB. The Çrown was great.

>54 Pat_D: I like Quinn also, I'm glad you think his fate is up in the air.

Taboo. I dunno. It's only got eight episodes or whatever so I'll probably stick around but it's almost laughably butch, with the raw meat and the snot and the nobody ever having heard of soap. It's almost comical. I do like the cast, though since all the dialogue is grunted it could have just as well been done by one guy in a sound booth. But I'll stick around -- I didn't like Peaky Blinders until like the 4th episode, so who knows.

I watched the first episode of a newish Netflix series, Call my Agent, and enjoyed it. I'm still watching The Crown, but it will be a good follow-up.

I need to get back to Happy Valley, and get over my wussyness (word? spelling?) re the kidnapping.

I'm all up to date on "Happy Valley," which isn't an earth shaker, but it managed to keep me watching. Not much of a recommendation, though, because I'd watch anything with Sarah Lancashire or Maxine Peake. Speaking of the latter, there's a little Irish movie - "Run and Jump" - that's a "don't miss" if you're a Peake fan.

While I was down all those months, I ran out of things to watch and wound up subscribing to that Acorn channel. I must have watched every U.K. series made within the past couple of decades. Except for the comedies.

Caught the first episode of "Taboo" which was okay. I'll stick with it because I read a few reviewers who had seen the first 3 or 4 episodes and they all wrote that it gets better after the setup episodes.

Heads up for all my fellow Khal Drogo fans: Frontier will be starting soon on EDIT: Netflix, and it's already copped a second season renewal before it's even begun! I will so be there.

I caved and watched that "Homeland" preview. Don't want to spoil anything, but HooBoy. This season should be interesting.

Binge watched the six hours of The Night Manager yesterday. It's very good if you like international thrillers. The six hours have a bit of padding, which is mainly geographic place setting shots. It's a bit more linear than a typical LeCarre novel.

But the acting is fantastic -- six actors, at least, who kept my attention whenever they were on the screen. The only performances I'm a little wavery on is Tom Hiddleston's. I couldn't quite figure out if his flatness was because of the character or because he is, in effect, a flat actor. And Tom Hollander had me scratching my head .... "where have I seen him before?" Turns out the only other thing I've seen him in was Gosford Park.

>64 tpc_real: The night manager character is one of my all time favourite characters in Le Carré novels (after Smiley, of course), so Hiddleston was a major road block when I started watching it and I quit, despite having paid for the series. I should try again and try to ignore him (hard, considering his centrality to the plot).

Last night we watched "Taking the Stage," and enjoyed it a great deal. Plus, the audience looked like they were having a gas, and that's always fun too.

Mir, I didn't think the TV Night Manager was all that, either, and I thought Hugh Laurie was terribly miscast.

Watched the first episode of The Heavy Water War on Netflix. It's a dramatization of the heavy water plant in Norway that is taken over by the Germans during WWII and how the Allies got into the country to destroy it so Germany wouldn't be able to build the bomb. My husband, who hates anything with subtitles, really enjoyed it. There is a lot of English spoken in the film, so there are less subtitles than usual.

I thought Laurie was inspired against type casting. But yeah, it's just a serviceable series -- it's certainly not genre- or medium-breaking like Breaking Bad or House of Cards (which was really only good for one season).

Which reminds me -- are they still continuing with House of Cards? I can't imagine a series about a fictional president being more breathtaking than watching the real presidency over the next four years.

I had typed a long list of favorite movies/tv series of 2016 (and I do mean long. TV/Movie watching was all I could do, besides reading, for months), and my computer black-screened. It's been doing that a lot, lately. Guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I think I'm done with laptops/tablets.

Lynn, have you watched The Expanse? It's a surprisingly good Bladerunner-like SF noir.

I'm not Lynn, obviously, but started it recently and agree. I'm looking forward to finishing season 1 and starting season 2.

Not as highbrow, if you can call The Expance highbrow, but I enjoyed the Killjoys too. Lots of fun.

And The Expanse is based on the series of books by James S.A. Corey, starting with Leviathan Wakes (which I have started but never finished, my fault not the book's).

I may try The Night Manager anyway. I'm guessing all the awards or accolades it's gotten have all been for acting?

Who has watched American Crime (not the OJ one, but the one from ABC or whoever)? I started to watch the second season, but it was very uncomfortable for me, and Lili Taylor can really get on my nerves. How is the first season? I've seen it praised, but not by anyone I know.

So, I watched the first episode of Netflix's "Frontier" with Jason Momoa, and I wasn't impressed. The dialog is way too modern for that era, costumes look stock, and the plot feels amateurish. It has 5-star reviews, so maybe it gets better. I dunno. I might give it a couple more episodes.

Interestingly, because it's a Canadian production purchased by Netflix I don't get it via Netflix (although I can access it via another stream service). Sorry to hear it is clunky. The Hudson Bay is a major part of Settler history and I was a bit intrigued.

I'm watching Westworld and kicking myself because I keep forgetting to record PBS shows, so missed the first episode of Victoria.

You can watch it online until 01/29, Mir.

Finished "Sneaky Pete" last night. It's a slow starter, but I liked it. Bryan Cranston plays kind of a stock bad guy, but he doesn't really have much screen time. Audrey is a great role for Margo Martindale. A memorable actress from "Homeland" plays her daughter, and Martha from "The Americans" even shows up.

<73 Mir-not to give anything away but she hooks up with Albert.

>76 laurenbufferd: Hehehehehe

25 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2017 (according to Rolling Stone).

I'm in for just about all of them, except the Star Trek and standup comedians things.

And, hey, I didn't know Timothy Olyphant was starring in that "Santa Clarita Diet" thing. Everytime I say I'm done with zombies...

I know -- I like almost everyone involved with Santa Clarita Diet but I'm a no-zombies person so I have to think about it a bit. And Olyphant -- who reaaaaaly hates doing press things and talk shows -- is making the rounds for this one; he really believes in it.

I wish I could say I liked the Lemony Snicket thing because it's really well done and it looks great and it's pretty fully-imagined, but after three episodes I'm out. It's just not my thing -- I'm very impatient with it and just watch the clock the entire time. But I absolutely see why people do like it, I suppose.

On the plus side, I love Riverdale! Because I am apparently a fourteen year-old girl.

I couldn't make it through the first episode of the Lemony Snicket thing. Even though I have an aversion to musicals, I have enjoyed exceptions (I'd have sold a lot of my precious material belongings to have seen Hamilton with the original cast. Most here remember my staunch feelings about the historical revision of Hamilton's contributions, and I raved ad nauseam about Chernow's book when it first came out), so I tried to give it a chance.

I have Riverdale on the Genie, because the AV Club has been raving about it, now I'm even more curious about it.

There's a couple things on that list I'd not even heard of: the bordello thing made by and starring all women, the Einstein thing, etc. But I'm almost salivating for a few of the others.

Unlike everyone else I'm a bit trepidatious about this upcoming, late and abbreviated Game of Thrones. It's going to be hard to measure up against the past season, especially the final two episodes directed Miguel Sapochnik (who D&D were unable to secure for this season because he'd already committed to some dumb superhero thing..., but yay! Alan Taylor's back), which I think were masterpieces of other-worldly art for television. But, hey, I had very low expectations going into that season, because I was sure Snow and the North were going to get short shrift, and look how that turned out. I already know one thing about the upcoming season that will have book purists wringing their hands and pulling out their hair, so of course I can't wait for it.

I'm also DVR'ing Legend which pushes a lot of my buttons, and for those who didn't watch the first season of the excruciatingly sloooow but fantastic The Missing, get caught up. That was a very discussable series with stellar performances.

I think book purists are not in play because there hasn't been a book in a while. Im looking forward to this short season, but wow there have been a ton of filming spoilers. I don't generally mind them, but it got ridiculous this year - and we are half a year away from the first show. Ah well. Oh did you see this? Interesting speculation....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjAq1rsyl5Q&gt;

Oh, Pat, I suspect you'll hate Riverdale. But it is kind of hitting a sweet spot somewhere in between Mean Girls and Twin Peaks for me.

Really late to the viewing but I binged watched the OJ series over the weekend. It was fantastic. I won't rehash what was talked about here months ago. I just enjoyed the hell out of it.

But, as I posted on Facebook, it's amazing how far telephone technology has come in 20 years, but in terms of racism, sexism, violence against women, we haven't moved a bit. Maybe even regressed.

Also watched three episodes of Stranger Things. Secret science labs doing things to kids, with then strange things escaping from the lab isn't really my thing ... but .... the four main child actors (the three boys and 11) are good actors so I may just continue even though I'm not that curious as to what Matthew Modine is doing to make things that look like they came from a Guillermo del Toro movie.

Hey Pat, hadn't even heard of The Expanse. I'll have to check it out.

Has anyone been watching Vikings on the History Channel? I think Joseph Finn was the only one watching besides me. The main character Ragnar kicked the bucket this season in the most horrific (and historically accurate) way, shown graphically on TV. Seriously nightmare time.

It's also the last season of Black Sails which has been just great. I missed the whole first year because it looked so cheesy but it's just gotten better and better and they haven't felt the need to show boobs all season! SP, are you still watching that?

Also looking forward to Game of Thrones. I've given up thinking he'll get the books out in time.

Anyone watching 24:Legacy?

The Expanse is terrific, lynn. It's built around a bunch of good, conflicted characters set in a future in which Earth, the Mars and the people who live in the asteroid belt are all at each other's throats. Throw in a real mystery and you have something that will hook you right away.

Sten, what network is The Expanse on?

Edit: Never mind, I found it.

I'm not watching much tv but on Thursdays, the line-up is Project Runway Jr and then Nashville. It all makes me pretty damn happy.

You should add Riverdale for a perfect Thursday -- I was kind of willing to dismiss it as a guilty pleasure but I actually think it's attempting something bigger by shifting the focus to the Betty/Veronica dynamic (which it does big time in episode 3) and taking on larger issues -- slut shaming is the big thing in Ep 3. And it's interesting how B/V attempt to get their revenge but in a lot of ways mess that up too -- like there's no perfect answer; revenge is just part of a cycle. Did we learn NOTHING from Emily Thorne?

Also Barb(!) shows up as Big Ethel, who is now just Ethel. The show is smart that way, nodding to the comics but doing its own thing.

>Has anyone been watching Vikings on the History Channel? I think Joseph Finn was the only one watching besides me. The main character Ragnar kicked the bucket this season in the most horrific (and historically accurate) way, shown graphically on TV. Seriously nightmare time.

Lynn, I binge watched it when I was immobile. I thought the first 3 seasons were surprisingly good, but I just can't get into this season. I think they jumped ahead too fast. It all felt rushed to me.

I really like The Expanse. I went into it cold last year... didn't know anything about it... was just desperate for some distraction. It's like a mash-up of Bladerunner + Aliens. The first season was great. This one is starting off a little slow, but I'll stick with it.

I made an error in my last post. I meant Legion, not Legend. Watched the first episode which was pretty freaky and intriguing.

So, I watched the first episode of The Clarita Diet which I thought was just meh. But then I gave it a second chance and wound up watching the next three in a row. Drew Barrymore needs to work on her comedic timing but Olyphant is hilarious. I haven't laughed out loud like that in a good long while.

I watched the first episode of Clarita Diet and liked it up to a point. Then it got waaaaaay too gross for me and I had to sign off. Just not into eating--or waching someone eat--bloody human flesh.

Pat, Vikings did take a big leap in time near the start of this season and then had Ragnar's bizarre, unwelcome return home. Really unsure what happened with that. But the last few episodes were terrific. They have the best finales.

Also meant to ask, anyone else watching The Last Man On Earth? That has great finale episodes does too.

I'll have to check out The Expanse.

>92 Nancy_Sirvent: Ha! We probably stopped watching at the same moment. I think I'll venture back in, but not after a 13 hour work day.

>84 tpc_real: I had the same reaction -- the kids were outstanding. I thought the sister was quite good too.

Legion looks intriguing. I will watch the new Star Trek, because I can't but. I'm really excited they are putting out a new season of The Fall; I enjoyed the crap out the first group of episodes, odd ending and all. And, I'm looking forward to Twin Peaks.

I watched the first episode of Unfortunate Events with my 16 year old. Neither of us minded it, both of us appreciated the atmosphere, but I suspect we won't be rushing back to finish it. I'll report back if we do. (The youngest has a thing for 3-name Doogie -- blanking on his name right now and too lazy to look it up -- so he was happy, but I thought he was just off, too much Barney, I think.)

I've added Riverdale to my check-out list.

Right now Bruce and I are watching WestWorld and I'm enjoying the puzzle and the women, particularly Thandie Newton.

I sat down with the first two episodes of Amazon's "The Collection." It's Mad Men except it's Paris instead of New York, fashion instead of advertising, and Mamie Gummer instead of Betty Draper. It's not very good, but it's dresses and Paris and oui oui oui and I swear there are at least five baguettes in the first episode.

Also, like Mad Men, everyone has a secret.

For those of you looking for a little amusing distraction, I can recommend Other Space which is available on-line (https://www.yahoo.com/tv/other-space-episode-1-into-the-great-211801697.html).

There are only 8 episodes because Yahoo gave up on trying to produce web shows, but the 8 episodes are very funny, and by the end, strangely affecting. I really wish someone else would pick up the idea, because it's pretty well done in an intentionally cheesy way.

We have been slowly watching Vegas on Amazon Prime. The best thing about it is Carrie Ann Moss's costumes, but those are pretty darn good. It's good fluff that we can both enjoy (rarely do my screen tastes overlap with my husband's.)

Lynn, I have heard good things about The Last Man on Earth, so I watched three episodes (as well as The Girl on the Train) on a recent plane ride. I thought they were pretty good, though it was about the middle of season 1 that I watched. But I'll have to go back and start from the beginning.

So many shows out there! I've been catching up with some things on my DVR and Netflix. Watched a show about the Menendez brothers. Such terrible actors (the real guys! Real actors would do a much better job). Finally started OJ Simpson: Made in America (not the other OJ one with actors, which I liked a lot). It's 10 hours long! Jeez. I kept putting it off because there are five episodes, but I just discovered each one is 2 hours. But it's interesting so far, because I think it's really showing how he became the abuser and murderer. I'm always interested in that.

Also watching some Star Trek Voyager, some Star Wars Clone Wars, regular tv shows like Brooklyn Nine Nine, Real Housewives, etc. And some movies on my DVR so I can delete some of this junk!

It's uncanny how predictive Homeland is every season.

>99 Pat_D: Switch to 24. :-P

I make fun because I'm a long time fan.

Not what I meant, but that's my bad.

Anyone else caught up on The Expanse? This week's episode's ending was so good. Big things afoot. Finally.

Pick your poison:

Big Little Lies starts Sunday at 9 on HBO.

CMT is joining the series game with "Sun Records" on Feb. 23rd:

"The eight-part limited series based on the Tony-winning musical "Million Dollar Quartet" follows the early years of rock'n'roll as Sam Phillips (Chad Michael Murray) guides the rise of such stars as Elvis Presley (Drake Milligan), Johnny Cash (Kevin Fonteyne), Jerry Lee Lewis (Christian Lees), and Jimmy Swaggart (Jonah Lees). "

Feb. 24th: This year's Sundance winner: "I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore," available on Netflix, and the new Amazon series "Patriot."

Feb. 27th: "When We Rise" starts on ABC.

"Eight-hour miniseries about the history of America's gay rights movement from Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black stars Guy Pearce, Mary Louise-Parker, Michael K. Williams, Rachel Griffiths, and Ivory Aquino, with guest appearances from David Hyde Pierce, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, and Denis O'Hare. Gus Van Sant directs tonight's opener (other directors include Dee Rees, Thomas Schlamme, and Black himself). The miniseries will air nightly this week through Friday (skipping Tuesday for a Presidential address)."

March 1st: "National Treasure" starts on Hulu:

USA debut of hit UK series from Jack Thorne (This Is England, Skins). Robbie Coltrane stars as a popular comedian who is accused of sexual abuse. Julie Walters and Andrea Riseborough also star.

March 5th: "Feud: Bette and Joan" starts on FX.

March 7th: The Americans returns.

March 15th: "Hap and Leonard" returns to Sundance.

March 17th: "Marvel's Iron Fist" premiers on Netflix.

March 24th: "Grace and Frankie" are back on Netflix.

March 29th: "Harlots" on Hulu.

March 31st: "The Discovery" on Netflix:

"Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Robert Redford, and Jesse Plemmons star in a Netflix original film set in a world where the afterlife has been proven to exist (and people are literally dying to get there). Charlie McDowell (The One I Love) directs."

April 8th: "The Son" starts on AMC.

April 10th: "Better Call Saul" begins again on AMC (yes!).

April 16th: "Guerrilla" ("A British co-production, this six-part limited series from John Ridley (ABC's American Crime, 12 Years a Slave) follows a black activist movement during 1970s London. Idris Elba and Freida Pinto head the cast."), and "The Leftovers" (final season) on Showtime.

April 22nd: "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" on HBO.

April 26th: "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu.

Most looking forward to "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"Oh I so hope they do that story justice!! Ditto Handmaid's Tale.

I'd also add that Game of Thrones is supposed to be back for season 7 in June. But thats very likely to change several times before we know for sure.

I went looking to see if they are going to be filming a third season of Happy Valley. I found an article that said there will be a season three but probably not until 2018. It all depends on when the writer feels like writing the next season.

Also, are any of you watching Hinterland? LOVE that show.

Hinterland, hmmm... I think I started to watch that. I'll recheck that one.

Forgot to mention that another very hotly anticipated AMC series, an adaptation of Dan Simmons' The Terror is going to be shown in 10 one-hour installments sometime this fall. No exact date.

So far, they've hit it out of the park with casting:

Jared Harris as Francis Crozier
Tobias Menzies as James Fitzjames
Ciaran Hinds as John Franklin
Paul Ready as Henry Goodsir
Adam Nagaitis as Cornelius Hickey
Edward Ashley
Liam Garrigan
Ronan Raftery

Man, I get cold just thinking back to that reading experience. Can't wait for this one.

Mid-April also brings the return of Fargo -- Carrie Coon, Ewan McGregor (playing brothers but not twins), David Thewlis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jim Gaffigan

SLAP ----> PatD.

How could I have forgotten that one?

Thanks, deeg.

Bill Maher took a lot of flack for having Milo Yiannopoulos (the Breitbart News editor who was banned from Twitter for harassment and whose scheduled appearance at Berkeley caused those recent riots). The one-on-one interview was shrug-worthy, but sparks flew during Yiannopoulos' interaction with the panel on the after-show YouTube Live Overtime. The Republican guy cracked me up when he said, "I don't want any questions."

In case you missed it.

He comes off exactly as self-described: a troll who seems to revel in self-hatred. Perfectly modeled for today's internet as evidenced by the already cumulated two million views.

I saw him described recently as "exactly like Ann Coulter, but more feminine," which I did laugh at except it's an insult to more feminines everywhere.

Someone said something like that on the show's panel (not the Overtime one), and he considered it a compliment.

There's a million trolls like him, that's why I find him very shrug-worthy. What I do find disturbing is the level of masochism involved. The fact that he manages to push people's buttons just because he can, and then revels in the abuse he gets for it is really not healthy.

I guess the act is making him money, though, so...

Well, his book deal was canceled so maybe not so much now.

Good.

I'm very worried about Quinn.

My dad and I finished the entire second season of The Missing in 3 afternoons (didn't know Starz had joined the binge model). I don't know what it is about Tchéky Karyo, but I have a major soft spot for him.

Not sure what to think about "Big Little Lies." I didn't read the book, so I'm staying away from spoilers. The first episode is all setup, and I've grown used to that with these cable series. However, rich, whiny moms and spoiled brats just do not push any of my buttons. As usual, I'll give it 3-4 episodes before making up my mind.

I think the SECRETS will popping up soon. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but Kidman's very wiggy wig is distracting.

That wig really is awful.

Pretty people, scenery, secrets. I like it.

It's good and juicy and kinda dirty (and despite the wig, Kidman is really going for it) and everyone seems awful and drives along spectacular cliffside highways so I'm in the tank. Witherspoon and Dern--especially Dern--are fantastic. Also, the music is good.

I haven't even heard of The Missing, I don't think, so I need to check that out. And Big Little Lies (which I now realize I am going to confuse with Pretty Little Liars for the rest of time...but we call that one Lying Little Bitches, because that's what my BIL thought it was called!).

Has anyone watched The Detour? It was recommended to me, and then yesterday I just found out it was created by Samantha Bee and her husband (who stars in it, I think?). I adore her, so I want to see it. Might have to sign up for Hulu again for a month and just watch all of it and all of The Mindy Project that I haven't seen, and Difficult People season 2.

The music is so good! And the scenery. And yes, despite the wig, Nicole Kidman is so fearless. Really enjoy that. I am delighted to see Witherspoon is something that suits her comic timing - I always thought she was funnier than any movie has allowed her to be. Well, maybe not Election. But any movie since.

I started watching Girls again and this season, it's quite good. Sunday nights episode with Matthew Rhys as Philip Roth-lite was excellent.

I just saw the first episode, but the music is good! I was delighted to hear my favourite Martha Wainwright song.

I had to go check who was murdered because I hate suspense and I was worried about who was killed. But now I can relax and just enjoy the story as it unfolds.

Miriam, your post made me laugh.

I started watching We Will Rise. It is very very very earnest! But the argument it makes - that the gay liberation movement was related to other civil rights movements is a good one. And I am so glad that women are not being left out of the story! I even love seeing Rosie O'Donnell as Del Martin.

There has been some backlash in right wing media so I guess it's doing something right.

Watched the final episode of "Taboo." I liked the series well enough but wasn't blown away by it.

>115 Pat_D:

Kidman must have a bad wig clause in all of her contracts. She wears a terrible one in Lion, too, and it's so distracting that it's almost a movie-killer even though she's very good in the movie.

I was surprised it didn't come off in that last scene, if you get my drift.

"Benedict Cumberbatch will star, reports Deadline Hollywood, in a new five-episode limited series for Showtime called Melrose, based on a series of novels by Edward St. Aubyn, Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother’s Milk, and At Last."

I remember Edward loved those books. I read one of them, but I can't remember which one.

Yep, I know Edward loved them. I have the omnibus edition of the first 4, so I will need to move those up the ridiculous neverending TBR stack.

St. Aubyn is great, and I'm surprised that he's being adapted for TV. I hope they don't sanitize him. Julie, I think it was you who sent me one of his books last Christmastime.

So thrilled to see Kiernan Shipka as Bette's daughter in Feud. Also enjoying Big Little Lies. And speaking of wigs, The Americans starts tomorrow!

Also enjoyed Rhys in Girls.

Wasn't Rhys great in Girls? That was an incredible episode.

I didn't think Feud was particularly convincing, but I did think it was fun.

In preparation to watch Feud I plan on renting whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Tcm had it on about a month ago but I didn't record it.

Has anyone checked out Hulu's "National Treasure" yet? It's deeply unsettling and distressing and it has an absolutely phenomenal trio of actors -- Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters and the great Andrea Riseborough (doing a sliiiight variation on her Bloodline act) -- who have all just opened up the throttle and said "well, let's do this." The story is somewhat Jimmy Saville-inspired (though he's mentioned in it, so its not really him) but you really do switch back and forth thinking guilty or innocent. There are only four episodes, so you can watch the whole thing tonight!

That's on my list.

I recently watched her in "Shepards and Butchers," and she was terrific as the prosecuting attorney. It's an absolutely devastating depiction of the mass, sanctioned murders in 1980's South Africa in the name of Apartheid. Steve Coogan, of all people, gives an award-worthy performance as the defending attorney of a 17 yr. old who was forced to participate in the hangings (sometimes up to seven a day), as a prison guard. It's based on the book written by a New Zealand former judge. It is riveting, but be forewarned that it is not a movie for delicate souls.

I just started watching This Is US, and I love how the show was put together, going back in time to present day and the show will definitely be a new favorite it already is along with Stranger Things on Netflix. Though back to the new series This Isite US, the actors perform there scenes perfectly, and I had more to add lol I totally forgot what I was going to say which will drive me crazy but yes I love that show.

I really wish I liked This is Us more because MAN everyone loves it so much and I kind of feel left out by not loving it -- I'm okay with it, and if it's on and I'm all out of Doris Day movies to watch, I'll watch...but I can't shake the feeling that without the scrambled-up structure, it's just a family soap opera. And that's fine, that can be a thing.

I do think they rely a bit heavily on the ta-da! at the end of almost every episode. Soon the shock will be when NOTHING happens at the end! And I'm kind of philosophically opposed to the normalization and acceptance of Mandy Moore as a thespian.

But it's fine, really. I just wish I liked it more.

Is anyone watching the probably soon to be canceled Trial & Error? It's borderline terrible but John Lithgow should be put on Mt Rushmore -- he drags the whole thing up to a watchable level. He's really funny in it. The rest of it....eh, not so much. And repeat my sentence about Mandy Moore here, but replace her name with Sherri Shepard's.

I'm kind of the same re: This Is Us. I never cry at the things most people do, which makes me feel like a low-grade sociopath (might be high-grade--don't think I'm the right person to make that call! Probably more like a 10% ethanol sociopath with engine cleaning additives). Plus I watched all of Parenthood (and never cried once) so I feel sort of NBC multi-generationaled out.

Sherri Shepard said one funny thing. It was on 30 Rock, and it was the word "Ham."

This post sponsored by NBC and BP.

We tried Trial & Error. You're right, DG, about John Lithgow. How is he so good at everything he does? We'll give it another try this week, but I'm not counting on it staying around for long. For one thing, they weren't even able to sustain the facial recognition problem; I caught a couple misses on that one in the second half hour. Some of the jokes are just too dumb. How are they going to be able to drag the basic premise out to a multi-year show?

I was faithful to This is Us and after, maybe nine episodes I decided I had enough of them. I was really tired of the manipulativeness of the family and the constant refrain of "big three" drove me a little
insane. Although I felt they dealt with the issues of obeisity in an interesting way, that too got tiring.
The whole thing became tiring so I happily gave it up. I hate being hooked to a series anyways.

I have also enjoyed This Is Us. But I think it will have a short life because like DG said, there are only so many "ta-da" moments they can give us before it gets totally undone. But in the meantime, let the tears flow!

Okay, so I went back and OnDemanded "Big Little Lies," and I just watched the finale last night. I've never been much of a Nicole Kidman fan, but that was the best acting I've seen her do.

For me, Kidman was the great surprise of the series. She was extraordinary.

I'm watching Trial & Error, because Entertainment Weekly practically guaranteed anyone who loved Parks & Rec would love it. I enjoy parts of it, but it's definitely very inferior to P&R. This characters are silly and gimmicky in a way that can't sustain a show. The main lawyer guy is a dork, and I keep getting distracted by how his hair is parted on the side of his head. No, actually, I get distracted by some pretty bad acting...except Lithgow, yes. But, I'm still watching until it gets canceled (probably).

I was also watching Making History, and I thought some of it was funny. But it might already have been canceled. I haven't checked, but there are only 5 episodes, so maybe.

Powerless, however, is hilarious. It's silly as all get out, but it makes me laugh more than most comedy tv shows. And Legion...I adored the first episode, but I haven't finished the rest yet. But it's pushing a lot of my buttons, including a lot of use of green. I'm loving the production design.

"The main lawyer guy is a dork, and I keep getting distracted by how his hair is parted on the side of his head"

I got obsessed with noticing how long-waisted he is. Like look when he's sitting down and they show him from the side -- a belt can't keep his pants in place.

So. The season finale of Homeland happened. I can't even type about it. Not unexpected, but still...

I haven't seen the season premiere of Better Call Saul, yet. Maybe this afternoon.

DG, I'll have to look for that. I don't think I've particularly noticed that. I do keep noticing that they put little tufts of hair in front of the prosecutor's ears. I mean, I know they stick out a little, but it's nothing so bad you have to give her sideburns.

There's also a three-part documentary on PBS which is finishing up tonight. Love my DVR.

April, speaking of PBS, did you (or anyone) watch Dickensian miniseries with Stephen Rhea? It was a BBC miniseries, but your mention of PBS reminded me of it.

Pat, shoot, no! We don't get BBC America if they showed it on that network. Did you see it? What did you think?

I'm only up to Episode 5 or 6. It's very slow and talky and derivative of all the Dickens classics, but I like Stephen Rhea's character (he plays the dodgy detective), and I'm on for the whole ride.

Is any one watching 'Taken'? It's only connection to the movie series is the name. It is a very well done military action show. It is very Jason Bourne-like, but better. The action scenes are top notch for a network show and the main and supporting cast are interesting. weekly stories are compelling and, unlike some past shows, the jeopardy feels real. Give it a go. You won't be disappointed.

My son likes that show, but I haven't seen it.

Did anyone watch Ep. 1 of Guerilla, about the 1970's activists in the U.K.? It was okay. Mostly setup, so I'll give it a few more chances.

FARGO TONIGHT!

Wow. Lots of book adaptations upcoming.

HBO is adapting Fahrenheit 451 with Michael B. Jordan as Montag and Micahel Sheen as Beatty. The Julie Christie version was one of the first flicks I ever saw in the theater unchaperoned. I was going to school in Bangkok and we'd read it for assignment.Then I skipped with a bunch of friends to watch it in a Thai movie house, dubbed in Thai with English subtitles. I can't remember ever watching it again.

Ive watched it a few times; last time I realized how dated it looks, but the theme was still so timely. Be curious to see this new one.

Did anyone catch Henrietta Lachs last night?

I love the Truffaut version of Fahrenheit. I think the look is quite right and the end is so gorgeous, with the snow.

This is so stupid but did anyone watch The Americans this week? It would have been episode 7 and I can't find it anywhere on demand.

How do you know if something aired? It's making the Virgo in me itch like crazy to think about missing an episode.

Cindy, I saw Henrietta Lacks this afternoon. Good stuff.

I've recorded Henrietta Lacks, and I'm looking forward to it. Such a good book.

Lauren, I think most On Demand stuff won't show up until a week after it aired.

Fargo is such a treat.

And, oh man, Chuck on Better Call Saul has finally secured a permanent spot on my shit list. I have to keep reminding myself it's just a TV show every time that spineless, passive/aggressive, egocentric whackjob is on my screen. Especially because I just know that it's Kim who is going suffer the worst when all is said and done.

Any theories on the direction of this final season of The Americans? I don't know how to do the hide thing on this forum, but I bet we're all thinking the same thing. I don't know exactly how or when Oleg's story became my favorite part of the show, but it has.

Catching up a bit -- I thought there was way too much Skloot in the Lacks movie but, eh, ok. Oprah's not really an actress, is she?

Fargo is such a delicious slow burn so far, setting up so many things that half of them have to be red herrings -- I cannot WAIT to see how the early L. Ron Hubbard-ish pulp sci-fi books play into it. I love it so much, even the repeated joke of the automatic doors not seeing Gloria. And Mary Elizabeth Winstead is KILLING IT as Nikki Swango.

Deeg, I wondered about that, her research and conversations with the family, as well as her explanations were a vital part of the book. So Im not surprised she'd play a big role, but does it overtake the actual story (and no, Oprah is not really an actress) Haven't watched it yet, will soon

>American Epic on PBS

I absolutely loved Fargo's little almost one-off short story episode last night. Just one tiny relevant thing connecting to the rest of the season; the rest was just a shaggy dog story. Love love love.

Is anybody watching The Americans? Because - MARTHA!!

This is the pentultimate season of The Americans, and I definitely see a lot of plot-thread-gathering so far in preparation for the final season. Increasing disenchantment in P and E with their mission, actual historical events/looming crisis in the USSR, the FBI--everything.

I agree about the Oleg parts (and the Oleg theory --and don't forget Misha is back in the USSR), and I'm also kind of loving how they shed Henry in a way that feels consistent with the story. Tuan is a more interesting kid for them to "parent." The stakes are higher with him and and make an interesting counterpoint to how they're dealing with Paige.

I'm glad to have Henry safely tucked away in New England, where he can go on to Dartmouth, join the Young Republicans and get a job with Goldman Sachs.

DG> "I absolutely loved Fargo's little almost one-off short story episode last night."

I especially liked the comical but layered, Jetson's-like "I can help" animated robot story.

The new Twin Peaks starts Sunday on Showtime.

Your speed-binge guide to (almost) understanding Twin Peaks.

Ooh....some good stuff coming out now!

BBC Upcoming Dramas for 2017

From Variety:

"The BBC has ordered up 11 new high-end dramas, including new television versions of “The War of the Worlds,” “Little Women,” and “Black Narcissus.” The three titles are the latest classic novel adaptations to be commissioned by BBC Drama, which is currently in production on a new four-part adaptation of E.M. Forster’s “Howard’s End” (pictured) by Oscar-winner Kenneth Lonergan for BBC One and Starz.

Also in the lineup are the first-ever screen adaptation of Vikram Seth’s 1993 novel “A Suitable Boy” and three-part true-story drama “A Very English Scandal,” written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Stephen Frears."

How did I miss this? They made the finale season of Samurai Jack? David and I watched this religiously back in the day. Would love to see this but don't see when it is repeating (I know its on Adult Swim but its just showing the times for the past episiodes). Anyone have any ideas?

It's funny, I hadn't heard of Samurai Jack until it was bumped for Rick and Morty's season 3 opener (my 16-year-old's current obsession, and well worth watching, its fun and dark) and now I want to see it. But I just checked, and it looks like the entire final season is available to stream on the Adult Swim website.

I was sick and watched an entire season of Empire. Let me tell you people, Cookie cured me.

I'm very interested to see how they handle A Suitable Boy in any sort of economical story-telling fashion. I look forward to the entire episode devoted to showing us how shoes are made by hand.

>171 mkunruh:
For some reason I wasn't able to get on Adult Swim, then duh, realized I could get it by demand. Didn't get a chance to watch it yesterday, but will soon!

I binged all nine hours of Top of the Lake: China Girl over the last three nights. I didn't notice it was going to move to Hulu, so I had to watch three hours a night as they disappeared from OnDemand. It wasn't great -- I thought moving the series to Sydney from the rural New Zealand setting of the first one kind of destroyed whatever weird vibe the first one had. This new one reminded me of nothing so much as a Jane Tennison Prime Suspect, only not as good.

But Elisabeth Moss is so good in it. Is there another actress on TV that has had three whopper roles in different recurring series, all so different? This, Offred and Peggy?

Nicole Kidman is borderline camp in it, tearing around in wide-leg culottes and an enormous frizzy grey wig. The wig is kind of fascinating, though.

>175 DG_Strong:..ABC down under are showing a repeat series of Top of the Lake series one, I see that Miranda in series two is the giant lady knight from Game of Thrones, this lady I really liked!! Elizabeth Moss is such a talented actor, I am following on SBS TV Handmaiden's Tale.

Nicole as per your description in series two sounds a sight to behold.

Haven't been watching the emmys but am thrilled to hear that John Lithgow, won Supporting Actor, Drama: “The Crown” (Netflix) Amazing performance in a series that is filled with great actors

Did not like the first Top of the Lake. So slow and boring! But that's just me. I also sometimes have a hard time getting the fact that Elisabeth Moss is a Scientologist out of my head, unfortunately. I still really want to watch The Handmaid's Tale, but I haven't subscribed to Hulu. Someday.

And I can't believe I haven't watched The Crown yet! I heard such good things about it. There are just so many things to watch, and this stupid thing called life getting in the way.

I am watching from video hire Series One of "Versailles" it is taking up most of my viewing time, but oh so fascinatingly good, acting, costumes, plotting etc. I missed this series one on SBS TV. Series two is now showing each week, really looking forward to the latest extravaganza.

Just a reminder to keep your eyes peeled for these soon-to-be-showing:

The Alienist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9867sT-Y1M

Dan Simmons' The Terror

Mindhunter, the Netflix series, is kinda based on a book. John Douglas' Mindhunter and his other books as well. I believe Charlize Theron read Mindhunter, was fascinated, read all his other stuff, and bought the rights to develop this show. Exactly like I did, except for the last part. I love Douglas' books and his work. He was really my inspiration when I began to study forensic psychology and science in college. Well, him and Clarice Starling (her mentor, Crawford, was based on Douglas in Silence of the Lambs).

Is the series any good? I was reading the description the other night and was intrigued but overloaded with other stuff to watch (I'm about half way through 3 other series) but if you give it the thumbs up, I'll add it to my watch list.

It doesn't premiere until tomorrow (Oct. 13). I'll definitely check it out and let you know! :)

cool beans -- looking forward to hearing. :)

We just finished 9/10 in the Vietnam series and Kissinger/Nixon combo has me so filled with bile I think I'm going to have a stroke.

Also, Project Runway, This is Us, and The Collection on PBS which looks very cheaply made but it's Nazis and Paris and Frances De La Tour so there's that.
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Two episodes in on Netflix's "Mindhunter," and I'm hooked. I think it is highly bingeable.

I was gaga over "Mr. Robot," but found the second season disappointing. Watched the third season premier, which was mesmerizing, and now I'm back on board.

Finished up with "Mr. Mercedes." It's a quality production with very good writing, quirky but believable characters, and mostly fine acting (except for Mary Louise Parker). Especially notable were Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway (both Treadaways have become favorites of mine. Loved Harry's Victor Frankenstein in "Penny Dreadful," and Luke's Vincent in "Fortitude"), and Holland Taylor. Two newcomers (to me, anyway), managed to steal every scene they are in, though: Justine Lupe as Holly and Breeda Wool as Lou were both terrific.

I know I've probably been the only one in this group watching "Halt and Catch Fire" all four seasons, but just in case: reminder that the two-hour series finale is Saturday. I'm going to miss this one.

Hi guys, need to catch up. I loved the first season of Mr. Robot too Pat and was “eh” on the second. Have the new one taped so glad to hear that it’s good.

Loved and yet disappointed in Game of Thrones this last season. Really felt the loss of Martin’s plotting and the time-frame stuff was crazy-making.

Cannot wait for “The Alienist.”

And onto the most pressing matter of all - Project Runwan and THE TWINS. They were really annoying as hell and must’ve been unbearable to be around but they seemed like they were good-hearted - kind of like my mother’s side of the family.

So I wasn’t sorry to see them gone but I ended up feeling sorry for Claire (and I didn’t want to feel sorry for her) and thought Margarita and Michael looked awful, although maybe that was part editing if the producers knew something in advance. Anyway, Kentaro for the win.

Two episodes in, and I think the dialogue in Mindhunter is absolutely terrible -- but that's true of literally everything David Fincher has ever touched except maybe Zodiac -- but I'll keep watching the show; I do like the period and the setup.

Lynn I totally agree with you about GOT. While I loved the season, I really did miss Martin's turn of a phrase to create an image of a scene, the way he could use a conversation to say so much about a character. The last two seasons (and Im a huge fan of season 6) badly needed him.

Regarding GOT, have you heard whether or not Martin ever intends to finish the books? I’ve already read 1-5 and I didn’t think I would want to read any new ones coming out but now I think I might.

The TV series is feeling so rushed and plot-driven rather than focused on the characters the way it was in the past. I mean I know they need to bring this thing to an end and I am still enjoying it but it’s just....different.

Spoiler for GOT if you didn’t watch this last season:

As an example of something that made me crazy - remember the scene where Sansa and Arya were arguing, which set up the tension in the finale in the courtroom scene when we thought Sansa was going to name Arya and she picks Littlefinger instead? Well, we know that the arguing scene between them was phony, so why did they show it? Littlefinger wasn’t there to observe the argument, only us - so it was just a cheat IMHO to set up the surprise at the end.

And the way everyone travels around so easily (over time and distance) and the crazy catch-a-zombie plan felt off too. I know Martin got too caught up with making the time/place parts work in the books but the show does the opposite to expedite the action.

They say that the deal was made at the start that Martin was supposed to give an outline of the story and its conclusion to the producers in case he didn’t finish the books in time. I’m sure Martin did plan to have one of the dragons turn into the zombie and I thought that was pretty cool and I didn’t see that coming when I was reading the books.

Most people are betting no, that GRRM will ever finish. As to your comment about rushing to the end with plot driven episodes, I totally agree. The time thing i kinda understand; nothing in the books is really happening at the same time. But some things were just over the top last season. The romance between Jon and Dany happened in a heartbeat. I saw no chemistry there, no reason why they suddenly clicked, no developement like it was with Jon and Ygritte. Lots of lost opportunities .

(btw did you know that Kit and Leslie, the actros who play Jon and ygritte, are getting married for real!)

re the Sansa Arya scene - the actor who played Bran said that there was a scene before that which got cut, where Sansa comes to Bran for help to get rid of LF. Keeping that in would have gone a long way to explaining, and to get that the three were setting this up to get LF. REally a bad move.

Yeah the zombie dragon was pretty amazing!

This next season is going to be crazier. I get why the producers wanted their lives back and stopped at 8 seasons. But this speed of light rush is not fun.

Lynn! So good to see you posting again!

Yeah, GoT definitely felt rushed this past season, but I still marvel at the production level and the battle scenes these past two seasons have blown me away.

So, my son talked me into giving HBO's new show from David Simon a try. I'm a David Simon fan, but something about Franco kind of squicks me out. Four episodes in and I'm surprised at this series about the porno industry in the '70's. It's really, really good.

Is that The Deuce? I heard that was from Simon. The Wire series set the high bar for me so I started taping The Deuce and thought about binge-watching it. Glad to hear you like it because I was toying with the idea of just deleting it.

By the way, meant to add that I agree with you about VIkings. Was totally a thumb’s up for me until it stopped making sense. Those first couple/three years were terrific.

Yep. My bad for not mentioning the title. It's The Deuce and it's a definite keeper, Lynn. Don't delete!

I second Pat, don't delete, it's fabulous! I knew almost nothing about it before I started watching, except that it was Simon and it took about 20 minutes before I recognized Franco. He's actually very good and he also usually annoys me. (Although not as much as Jared Leto does).

I just finished binge watching Legion and LOVED it. It's from a Marvel spin-off, so part of the Marvel universe, but written for adults (i.e. not action and boob-obsessed 14-year olds), plus it had Jean Smart, Aubrey Plaza, and that guy from Downtown Abby. It's not easily watched -- I ended up downloading part of it from iTunes, but worth seeking out.

on edit: Legion was developed by Noah Hawley who wrote (produced?) the first season of Fargo as well as that book that everyone is reading about the plane crash.

Just watched the end of series one of The Handmaid's Tale, I hope it will not be long for the next series.

I am also a big fan of The Deuce. I think they do an awesome job of capturing the period without nostalgia and with the complexity intact. Yes, there are some weak points - Franco is just silly as those twins and I find his relationship with the college girl pretty boring - I guess the writers felt like we needed to see some white people having consensual sex (although the college gal is played by Margarita Levieva who some of you might remember as the REAL Emily Thorne in Revenge). But Maggie Gyllenhall is outstanding as is Dominique Fishback .

On another note, PR hits a new low with the Shopkins challenge.

OMG, that Shopkins thing made me laugh so hard -- though despite it all, the clothing was mostly interesting.

Mir, I started watching Legion but never finished it. I have all the episodes on the Genie. I'll have to go back and finish. Thanks for the heads up.

I love The Deuce! Different scene in similar territory, but this wins on every level where Vinyl’s macho antihero bullshit failed. I’m also a definite meh on Franco, and I find him a little tiresome in this (the playing twins gimmick is very...gimmicky), but the rest of the cast is fantastic. And Gyllenhaal just walks away with it.

Darlene is my favorite character. I love the bit about how her regular John just pays her to watch old, black and white movies with him in his rented room. Her whole persona is beautifully written as is the complex relationship she has with her pimp. Loved the scene where he waited until 4 am for her to show up after a night of movie watching with her John, and he's all ready to rip her a new one, until he discovers it was one of his long-time favorite movies, too.

I've never seen a bad David Simon show. I should have known, despite Franco, it would be a winner. Surprisingly, as unnecessary as the twin gimmick is (so far, anyway), it doesn't distract or annoy me.

D'Angelo (from The Wire) is playing a good part, too.

I loved Legion too! It was very different from all the other Marvel properties, though I watch all of them.

I've completely ignored The Deuce, because I am not a big fan of Franco or Gyllenhaal, and I'm kind of tired of the 70s nostalgia stuff going on with series. I just don't care about that time period that much (I was a tiny kid). I'm not sure even the recommendations here are going to make me ignore all the red flags and watch this one, even though I agree The Wire is one of the best shows ever.

But I was super exhausted after last week at work (lots of major stuff going on, and of course I ended up doing a lot more than I should have because everyone else SUX and is DUMM), so I dumbed it down over the weekend. Watched all of the series Great News, no idea why. And then I started rewatching season 3 of The Mindy Project, because when it moved to Hulu, I stopped watching, but I couldn't remember what was going on. I'm actually enjoying this a lot more right now than I used to. There's some subtler comedy sometimes that I don't think most people catch. It's not brilliant or anything, but a lot better than I remember.

Viewing a repeat of Vikings, series four and loving it, new series five is coming up soon. I must track down the first lot of series at my video hire store.

I loved the first few seasons of Vikings but then it started falling apart for me. I don’t know whether or not the writers didn’t think it was going to get renewed for as long as it did or what, but after a while there were these weird jumps in time and the characters didn’t feel like they were the acting like the same people anymore.

I am *loving* season 3 of Mr. Robot. I was ready to give up on that one after season 2 but it’s terrific again.

Project Runway - I predict Tim is saving his “save” for either Ayana, Brandon or Kentaro.

May try to watch some of The Deuce today. It’s 1000 degrees outside and Marc’s at the Dodger game (he’s a lizard he should be fine.) Very few businesses and houses around here have air-conditioning but me - I’m special - so it’s a perfect TV day.

"Project Runway - I predict Tim is saving his “save” for either Ayana, Brandon or Kentaro."

I think it will depend on what order the remainder get aufed. Kenya is still dead weight, as is Margarita, even though I sort of like her "here, hold my earrings" scrappiness. But if those two go first (as they should), I don't think he'll use the save at all because then it'll be down to Brandon, Kentaro and Ayana for the finals. But if there's a fluke elimination of the best three, absolutely, he'll use it.

Just watched Project Runway. As Tom and Lorenzo used to say, “Go home Tim, you’re drunk.”

Couldn’t believe he used his save for that Wonder Woman suit. Looks like Margarita’s aufed next week and the final three will be who we predicted.

Oh god, Karen T and I were texting during it and we said the same thing, though I was petrified they would eliminate Kentaro and Tim WOULDN'T use it. But of course he had to save Margarita (we said he had clearly drunk a few) because he basically told her the dress was a winner. We of course both loved Kentaro's thing, even though it was none of the things it was supposed to be challenge-wise. I did not like the implication that Kentaro looked to Brandon for inspiration -- even though I like Brandon's work, he has frequently relied on Kentaro for workroom help and advice, so that's just an ass-backwards accusation. Kentaro does have editing trouble, though.

They still have to get rid of Kenya too. I knew they were going to oo and ahh over that dress simply because it fit so well but it was just a shade too Talbot's/Church Lady to be "editorial." WHICH BY THE WAY I am just going to say about everything now. "This hamburger is very editorial." "I wish people could figure out the editorial of this 4-way stop." "Your honor, I'm sorry, but this evidence is very editorial." Because it doesn't seem to have any consistent real-world meaning.

Ooooo, Olivia Colman takes over on The Crown as ERII ages.

I don't know who that is, but why can't they use make up to age Foy? I really love her in this role. (Cant wait for December to see season 2)

Olivia Colman is perfect! Broadchurch lady!

I like Foy as young Elizabeth, but I think the best thing going for her in the part is that Elizabeth is supposed to be the least interesting thing in the show at that point -- she's an unformed blank. And Foy has that kind of face, where she's a complete cipher.

Started on a new series on SBS TV Cardinal, it shows some promise with a few little mysteries apart from the murders popping up.

>210 DG_Strong: Ok I get your point. I'll certainly give the show a shot.

Started watching The Menendez series because I thought it would be great trash but now I am totally hooked and I think it is so well written and the acting is amazing. I really don’t know Edie Falco but her performance is sensational as is the fellow who lo lays Erik. I never followed the case,never read the Dominick Donne verbiage,so it’s really interesting. I watched half of the oj thing last year and thought that was total fun trash. But this is really well done. I was also surprised to learn that the menendez case occurred years before the oj trial and judge ito has a tiny part to play in the court case. Who knew?

> 211 Cardinal is a Canadian mystery series based on the Giles Blunt books. I keep meaning to check it out, and forgetting. Happy to have the reminder.

Still watching Manhunters and enjoying it. Love all the science stuff. Just started watching Stranger Things (season 2) because it's fun and I'm so rarely into watching what everyone else (in RL) is watching.

>214 mkunruh: Cardinal part two is showing tomorrow evening, sounds interesting.

>213 alans: I have not been watching Menendez series as over the years I have seen a few real life docos, fascinating as the murders are I can understand first timers to this case finding it gripping.

I also started Mindhunters (not Manhunters, Miriam!) and am loving it. This is my jam. This is what I wanted to do with my life, once upon a time (forensic psych, not sitting on my ass binge watching tv shows).

I'm recording the Menendez show, and I'm glad to hear it's good. I recently watched a new documentary about it, so I am primed with details!

I don’t know anything about the menendez story for me it is all new. Sadly the reviews on IMDb are terrible and I don’t know why. I really don’t find this to be cheesey in the least like that oj thing was,I thought that was a total embarrassment which is why I loved watching. What is interesting about this series is that it is totally on the side of the bros. Before when I had heard about the case all I knew was that they were spoiled losers who offed their folks. I’m still not certain what to think after five episodes,but Edie Falco is sensational and the other fascinating thing is that the entire menendez legal team are women and super smart and super tough. Just great stuff.

Watched the beginning of a new series on SBS TV, The Frozen Dead listed a a French thriller with a killer twist. Great on the edge of seat viewing for me, the background music is wonderfully haunting.

I started Broken today. I remember reading about it when it was first showing in the U.K. and the reviews were fantastic. Two episodes in and I'm hooked. All of the acting is stellar, but Sean Bean's performance is hypnotic.

Has anyone watched Glitch on Netflix? I watched the first episode a while back and thought it was good. I just have too many shows going on, so I put it on the back burner. I'm trying Stranger Things, need to finish Iron Fist, catch up on several others that I took a break from. I still haven't finished Gilmore Girls! The first one, not that Year in the Life thing. I guess I never got past season 6 in GG. It's just not that good, I guess.

I have a coworker who has been watching Game of Thrones with his son. They sped through the first 6 seasons, and he'd come to me to discuss every day. With season 7, they're slowing it down, because then they're going to have to wait forever like the rest of us to see the end. But it's fun talking about it, and I'm always surprised at how much I actually remember about this show. Most shows I forget pretty quickly, but I must watch this one a lot more closely. It's kind of funny with some of the things he notices, or his frustration at things we were all frustrated with. He keeps wondering where Gendry is. Makes me laugh, because everyone talked about it for years! He has watched them all in a matter of weeks/months.

>204 lynn_r:..I am with you regarding the early Viking Series, I have watched later series but not the first few, I am now trawling thru mainly to find out how Ragnar came to father a Queens child and the priest Athelstan father also a Royal child!! It is coming up very soon (I hope).

Let's hope new season coming up will shape up, without Ragnar!!

Four episodes of six done and Netflix's Alias Grace is good. Atwood herself was a "supervising producer," and the behind the camera staff is loaded up with talent: Sarah Polley wrote, Mary Harron directs. It zips along, though Anna Paquin's accent is problematic, which is what we always say about Anna Paquin's accent no matter which one she's doing.

I'm going to start that tonight.

I want to watch that, but I would like to read the book first. Of course, it's like the one Atwood I don't have, so I just have to spend more money or go to the library, where every book I check out magically becomes a book I no longer feel like reading right now....

>225 JulieCarter: I can relate to your "no longer feel like reading" feeling two books that I collected this week from my local library are being returned by me unread!! I think it may be call readers block!!

Project Runway finale: I was rooting for Kentaro. I am so glad he won! At first I thought it hurt him having his work shown on some of the larger size models.

I wasn’t a big fan of the use of the larger size models this season. I. like watching the show too see amazing works of art displayed best - which is on impossibly built runway models. Otherwise just call the show Project Clothing Designer.

I didn't mind the different models, since they sprinkled them around and everyone had to have their ridiculous "I'VE NEVER DESIGNED FOR A BIG FAT SIZE 4 BEFORE" screaming meltdown, but it did throw some focus onto them - they TALKED! - and I always hate that; I do not care what the models think about the outfits; you're wearing a bathing suit made out of a tire iron and three pixie sticks. MAKE IT WORK.

I was Team Kentaro from episode one (you can go back and look!) so I thought the finale was great. I had Margartia and Brandon switched in my final four, but honestly, there was Kentaro and then the Grand Canyon and then everyone else.

I saw your FB post about Wendy Pepper!

Her obit:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=anne-stewart&amp...

Not at all certain I can tolerate Jeff Daniels as a bad guy but, otherwise, Godless just might work out. Mayhap a little TOO arty but difficult to resist the cinematography.

Watched a Wonderful multi award winning movie from Mexico/Spanish
"The Thin Yellow Line" 5*

Also noticed on my TV guide is one of my favorite French comedy movies "Heartbreaker" the John Travolta dance scene is a real hoot.

Just watched the Project Runway Reunion show - the one where all the designers get together again to eat s’mores and sing Kumbaya.

I now dislike Margarita more than I did before and thought she was rude to Kentaro and really ungracious about his win. I really wasn’t too crazy about the way Kenya and Anaya dealt with that either. Gratitude ladies.

As to Kentaro, what a sweetheart and love him to bits, along with Brandon. You’re right DG, it was interesting to see their work - without being able to consult or influence each other. Kentaro showed he was the better designer.

And what’s with Tim saying this was the most talented group ever? He has been saying that every year now.

Watched the fascinating last episode of Menendez Brothers.

I think Tim does always say that --except he really seemed to dislike the entire group the Ashley year. I did think that when they were showing the high and lows of the runway this time around, there were a LOT of good results, more than I remember from past years. They seemed more spread out over more than just two or three designers; a half dozen of them did manage to churn out decent things repeatedly.

The only reason I ever liked Margarita is because I thought she'd be good in a fight. She's mean, that one.

And man, no one likes those twins. I was surprised at how pointed Amy was regarding them especially. REPEATEDLY. She was talking so much she was almost the host of the reunion!

The last five minutes of the Menendez series-wow-who expected that?

> 235 alans

The end of the three trials, new judge new jury and guilty verdict!! I found it fascinating to see these two young men in the now 2017.

But they didn't get the death sentence and that is not the very end of the series....there is a big reveal at the end of the series that no one can forsee. Apparently Leslie Abramson gave up law and
now runs an animal hospital or something like that.

I think the first judge in the series-the one that sends the trial out of LA was the real Judge Ito.

>237 alans: Looking forward to finding this big reveal...

I've been waiting for Dickensian to show up on American tv for like a year and forgot that I had preordered the DVDs months and months ago so of course they arrived yesterday and now I see the series starts next week on PBS. ANYWAY I started it. It's good and tricksy; you don't have to know Dickens to get who's who, but I do think it helps with the different threads of plot intersection - the parts that confuse me ALL involve the Dickens books I haven't read, so now when anything baffles me, I just think, oh, Barnaby Rudge, I guess.

It's basically David Thomson's Suspects only with all Dickens characters. It's fun, though the half-hour episodes breeze by so quickly, you almost feel like nothing is happening.

Well, I could write a graduate level thesis on the odd, alternate universe that is the world of Hallmark Christmas movies. Those, At Home with Amy Sedaris, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel have been my TV viewing of note over the last month or so. I’m sure there is some thread connecting them all, but I’m not sure what it is.

Escapism.

>239 DG_Strong: What night is PBS showing Dickensian? Is it on Masterpiece?

It ran locally here last May, I just missed it -- so I assume they're just re-running it. In that confusing way where no two PBS affiliates air the same things at the same times.

D.g. talked about The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel awhile back, but it wasn't available up here in the fridged north. It just appeared on Canadian Amazon Prime and I've been doing my version of binge watching (1 to 2 episodes a night) and really loving it. Such perfect escapism.

Also, Marvel AGENTS of Shield is appropriately dystopian this season, and doing a decent job of it. I've watched since the not-so-great first season, so I'm pleased that it continues to improve.

I have recorded and sooo enjoying Djiango Unchained, what a hoot of a movie. I love Christopher Waltz as Dr King Schultz. Sad to see a very short viewing of Bruce Dern early in this movie. Still have more to watch as it is a very long movie.

I started watching Here and Now n HBO and it's icky but the people are so pretty! The character of the mother is so hateful - is all of Allan Ball's stuff so misogynist?

Finally, the last season of The Americans. The jeans are tragic, as is the state of Philip and Elizabeth's marriage.

Oh, I love this show so much. The suspense is killing me.

I know, right? Someone major has to die, don't they? How else can it conclude?

I am in season 2 of the Crown, Jessica Jones, and Agent Peggy Carter. I am using my son's Hulu account to my advantage.

Howard's End really was perfection.

The Americans is just absolutely killing it this season. Has there ever been a character like Elizabeth?

I saw an interview with Hayley Atwell somewhere - probably Entertainment Weekly, that's about my style -- where she was asked about a sequel to Howards End. I sure would have liked to have seen the expression on her face before her answer.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/05/the-americans-review-harvest.html

Don t read until you see last night's episode. I need to watch it again.

When can we talk about The Americans?

I have so many things to say about the finale, but I don't want to spoil anyone.

I know - I'm waiting for the official go-ahead.

I am here and ready, read NYT, Vulture, AVClub, Vox.

Did you read the New Yorker article by Emily Nussbaum. It's so so good.

I thought the ending was absolutely gutting.

I’ll read that next. It was gutting. My eyes are welling up now just thinking about it.

There is also a good piece by Kara Weisenstein in the Vice website.

I have to thank BB for turning me on to this show because F/X isn’t on my radar at all, though I watched the O. J. Simpson show.

I've been thinking about that damn ending all day!

More than any other program I can think of, this one just made me uncomfortable in a way that I could not resist. I went into the finale not knowing what I wanted to see happen. And then when it did or didn't (who knows) it felt right and wrong all at once. Because even now, who knows what was true, what was a lie, not just in the finale but throughout the whole series. Which is what the characters are left to ponder ...

Poor Paige. I’ve sometimes disliked her but her slugging vodka alone in a safe house was heartbreaking. What are her options? Does the FBI have anything on her? Could she possibly reconnect with Henry? Her future seems the least settled of anyone.

I agree - hers may be the life most ruined. I don't think she can reach out to Henry because it's his innocence that is saving him. And all her ids are buried in a woods somewhere near the Canadian border.

But I've been think of all those families torn apart by the Jennings'. Is it their comeuppance - to lose both their children?

I think Stan will help Paige stay out of jail, but I don't think he or Henry will trust her and I'm not sure how she's going to pay for college, so -- yeah, I think she's got a very rocky road.

I also feel terrible for Stan, whose marriage (relationship? I can't remember if they actually got married) with Renee can't possibly survive his new suspicions.

I have seen a lot of people online complaining that Elizabeth and Philip weren't punished enough, but I thought this was really the worst and most fitting punishment the creators could have dreamed up for them -- alone in what is really a foreign land to them; without their children, whose lives they have ruined; and about to have a front row seat for the destruction of everything they thought they were fighting for.

I agree, Gayla. Much more effective than them being in jail or dead. I think Stan and Renee are married, but I am not certain.

I'm barely scanning the "Americans" posts because we're several seasons behind. But we'll get there just when y'all are sick of it. I exist to frustrate y'all.

DONT READ THIS

I agree, this was the most fitting punishment for the Jennings. Even at the beginning of the episode, when Philip says they should leave Henry, I said - ok, that's the sacrifice. So I found the train station scene very shocking and I think moaned audibly when I realized what was going down. Despite the questionable quality of their parenting, I think Philip + Elizabeth thought of themselves as a real family bound by love. I found it all quite gutting and even the 20/20 irony of knowing what is about to happen and there's a good chance they could see one other again didn't stop it from all being horrible.

I don't feel bad for Stan. He was really really bad at his job. He got involved with an informant for god sakes.

That scene in the garage was luscious. It could have gone n for hours. I was so happy. Matthew Rhys is so the real deal.

Thanks! I didn't read it.

There’s a great interview with Rhys and Russell in The Hollywood Reporter about their perceptions of their characters as parents. They got at some things I think were missing from some of the other writing. Think about it, Philip has now lost two sons. The longing on his face when he observes the family in McDonald’s is another of those wrenching moments because he loves his children, no matter what else he has done. I’m going to be really mad if this series is ignored come awards time.

Popping in briefly to let folks know -- you can hide text in posts as "spoiler alerts" by enclosing them in "spoiler" tags:

<spoiler> spoiler text here </spoiler>

looks like this:
spoiler text here

Thanks, sbl, good to know.

Did anyone watch Pose? The first 15 minutes were eye-gougingly bad but it improved dramatically. It's very earnest.

It is on my list but no one else in my house seems super-interested.

I never heard of Pose.

Me either, but now I'm going to watch it. Actually, its very timely for a variety of reasons.

I did, Lauren, and I agree the first bit was kind of dire. It reminded me of Fame (more the TV show, than the movie). But I also agree that after a wobbly start, it improved considerably--and even the dire part was still pretty fun to watch.

I am making myself happy rewatching Big Love. Never get tired of Mary Kay Place. Never.

I remember some of the same people discussing the end of Big Love as The Americans.

I think Pose (one episode in) has the same bad/good combo as the recent Rise.

A month later! Now I think Pose is really good; the only Ryan Murphy show that's free of cynicism (even Glee had an occasional sourness to it). I will say that a few of the actors are not as....polished....as they probably could be, but even that lends the show a kind of "let's put on a show" quality. The worst actor on the show -- who plays Electra Abundance -- is also the most mesmerizing and has the most, hmm, peculiar way of delivering her lines. It's actually quite hard to imitate, as my poor sister has borne witness to.

I started watching the Americans a few years ago, but I didn't continue. Now I think I need to try again. Is it streaming somewhere? I checked Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.

>281 AprilAdamson: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-americans will show you where you can get it...

Finally watched the Pose finale. It seems like it was written before they knew they had a second season, everything was sewn up and tidy. But boy, did that show grow on me. I thought the acting really got better and better, except for poor Electra who never lost that bizarre stylized speech pattern but she was so mesmerizing, it didn't really matter.

Luckily, they had one seasoned actor - Billy Porter. Jeez. The real deal.

I had read that some of the storylines came from trans people who worked on the show and honestly, I think that was one of the overall strengths. There was a veracity about the series that was so unusual - and as DG pointed out, done without cynicism .

Yes, I agree on all points -- especially about the lack of cynicism. It was so incredibly genuine that I watched the first half of the season waiting for the usual Ryan Murphy mean streak to kick in but it never did, which makes me want to re-watch those first episodes without that expectation to see if I see them differently. And also yes on the idea that they thought it was only going to have a single season -- I particularly loved that for the final scene in the diner -- which I assume takes place at 3am, post-ball -- even Helena showed up, like she wasn't too busy being the only (visible) teacher or administrator at the New School for Dance.

A friend mentioned to me about Dominique Jackson's performance as Electra that yes, it seems terrible on the surface but Electra speaks and gestures EXACTLY as a dirt poor Harlem queen would if her goal was to sound like a Dynasty diva; that all of Electra's reference points would have been culled from 70s 80s television, so Jackson is getting it exactly right. I don't quite know if I buy it, but it's an interesting argument.

The Emmys are coming up; Pose didn't air in time to qualify but if they miss the chance of having the actresses who play Electra, Blanca and Angel out there presenting something, they'll have really missed a chance to DO something.

I work with someone who has that same very specific diction and slightly off affect so I think its a thing. I just don't know what kind of thing it is.

Agreed about the Emmys. I can't think of an actress that brought it quite the way MJ Rodriguez (Blanca) did. That performance was just so deep, she just kept pulling and pulling it from somewhere - I found her incredibly moving. And Angel - so ethereally beautiful.

It was a real surprise, that show.

>282 lesmel: Thanks, lesmel.

Late to the discussion, but Rachel featured the real-life story which The Americans was based upon on one of her shows. The series' ending pretty much stayed true to the facts. Both of the couple's sons fought the Canadian government re: deportment to Russia and their loss of citizenship. They really, really did not want to accompany their parents back to Russia.

I know there's historically not been too many interested in sports around here, but is anyone watching the LeBron produced Starz series Warriors of Liberty City? The football footage is actually a small part of the show. This is an excellent study for any social anthropology freaks. Highly recommended.

I stumbled upon the movie The Tale on HBO last night. Has anyone else seen it? The movie is a true story about a 13-year old girl who was sexually abused. But mostly the movie is about memory and time, and that is also reflected in the movie stylistically. The writer and director is Jennifer Fox, who was that girl in 1973. It's unlike anything I've ever seen, and it's excellent. Highly recommended.

It's not getting great reviews, but Mahershala Ali's performance is, so I'm looking forward to watching the first episode of True Detective tonight. ~ HBO Sunday Nights

Just started watching season one of Shitt's Creek and it is totally blowing me away-I think it's the funniest
thing I've ever seen.

And season 1 is the least funny season! They really find their footing in the second one and then it just takes off.

Oh my god, I love that show. I just thought I'd check out a couple of episodes one night, and then I had to binge them ALL IMMEDIATELY (I exaggerate). I just love Dan Levy. And Catherine O'Hara is always great. Her weird diction in this show cracks me up sometimes. And after I binged it, I found myself talking with my hands a lot and acting too much like Alexis. Heh.

Heh. Dan Levy was one of the hosts for The Great Canadian Baking Show. He was very sweet. The nice thing about Netflix is that shows like Schitt's Creek get a wider audience.

I am watching True Detective because Mahershala Ali, but I have to say when those corn dollies showed up I just about lost it. Honest to GOD, why?

I'm hooked after just a couple episodes. Mahershala Ali *and* Scoot McNairy? So much good right there. McNairy's performance as Gordon in "Halt and Catch Fire" (a woefully under-watched series from AMC) was an eye-opener.

Finished watching a 4 part series of Butterfly great casting, also hooked on a few on SBS, Vikings , The State and French thriller Nox. I see Versailles is also coming up, it is a repeat, for me a rewatch is in order.

Finished the final of the Vikings, I am sure there will be a follow up.

The final of Nox on SBS was so harrowing but very vengeful as well in the last thirty seconds.

Now waiting for the second in the series of three The Cry so far sooo good from ABC.

Diving in to say that Russian Doll on Netflix is super fab. Loved it. Bruce, Erin and I watched all 4 hours or so in one big gulp. Plus it's written, produced, and directed by women (ignoring the CK Lewis's former producer is involved -- still sorting out how I should feel about that) and Natassja Lyonne kicks butt.

Sold!

It’s 100% nuts

I saw the first episode and liked it. She's my favorite actor on OITNB.

And, in local gossip, Lea Delaria (the Big Boo character) just bought a big bar/nightclub in Provincetown. The town is abuzz.

Russian Doll was 100% enjoyable. I liked that it was a mystery and puzzle that felt resolved and complete but wasn't actually solved. Usually with puzzle-ish type shows it's the other way round.

There's a theory floating around (forgive the lack of link, but I imagine it's easy to find) that reads Russian Doll as a recovery metaphor. It's an interesting take -- I'm not sure I buy it, but it's fun to watch it through that lens.

(I'm replying to this in the TV 2 thread)