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Post by richardwoods on Mar 11, 2014 7:04:06 GMT
True Detective on Sky Atlantic on Saturdays at 9.00pm. Really trippy murder / serial killer hunt drama set in Louisiana in the 1990s, done in flashback from Police interviews. Top notch drama where nothing is quite what it seems. Title sequence with music by T Bone Burnett is memorable in itself.
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Post by Greg H on Mar 11, 2014 21:35:37 GMT
True Detective on Sky Atlantic on Saturdays at 9.00pm. Really trippy murder / serial killer hunt drama set in Louisiana in the 1990s, done in flashback from Police interviews. Top notch drama where nothing is quite what it seems. Title sequence with music by T Bone Burnett is memorable in itself. I have generally heard positive murmurs about this, I may well have to try and get the first episode. Cheers!
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Post by Greg H on Mar 19, 2014 19:51:34 GMT
Episode one of True detective was pretty decent. I am looking forward to checking episode two.
Also worth a look in is the pilot episode of the TV series version of from dusk till dawn. Probably won't reinvent television or anything, enjoyable first episode though.
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Post by Marty Schultz on Mar 21, 2014 5:20:33 GMT
Yes Dusk till Dawn and True detective are certainly on my list of stuff to watch.
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Post by Greg H on Aug 11, 2014 18:38:55 GMT
Currently watching season 1 of Defiance, which if a little formulaic is enjoyable enough stuff. Might interest some here
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Post by Marty Schultz on Aug 12, 2014 0:56:36 GMT
Season Two of WENTWORTH has aired in Australia. This Prisoner (Cell block H) re-imagining is going from strength to strength. Warning - Graphic everything.
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Post by richardwoods on Sept 6, 2014 20:04:56 GMT
Have been catching up with Season 2 of Banshee off the Sky+ recently. For those that don't know, this is the story of a recently released prisoner who witnesses the murder of one Lucas Hood who was about to become Sheriff of Banshee, a small mid western town, and decides to take on the role himself. Throw into the mix Proctor, the local corrupt ex Amish gangster, Rabbit, the Ukrainian gangster boss from New York who wants him dead and who is also his ex girl friend / partner in crime's father. As chance would have it, his ex girlfriend is also living in Banchee under an assumed name married to the Mayor. Complicated eh? Season 1 was pretty good, but TBH Season to has got it nailed with some exceptionally strong episodes and performances from the main players. A must watch.
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Post by richardwoods on Sept 8, 2014 8:34:51 GMT
Final season of Boardwalk Empire starts next Saturday, 13th Sept 9.00pm Sky Atlantic.
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Post by richardwoods on Sept 23, 2014 8:39:05 GMT
Just watched the season 2 finale of Hannibal. Wow, amazing art house camera work. The series has become a must see. Mads Mikkelsen's multi layered Lecter is always worth watching. Strong atmospheric performances from all the cast. On the other hand, just tried to watch the first part of season 3 Braquo and gave up 10 mins in. Season 1 was a gritty French Police drama and well worth a look but it should have stopped then. Just about managed to watch Season 2 but nearly gave up a couple of times.
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Post by richardwoods on Oct 24, 2014 19:11:51 GMT
Season 2 of Peaky Blinders is brilliant. That rarest of things these days, a quality UK series. Quirky drama about a razor gang in Birmingham (UK) in the 1920's. Series 1 with its Nick Cave score set the standard, and so far Season 2 is every bit as good. Enjoy Sam Neil's Ulster accent.
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Post by richardwoods on Nov 20, 2014 22:40:14 GMT
Latest good series from the states, The Leftovers, about a society in crisis when 20% of the population disappear without any explanation. Strong performances from the cast as things unravel. Also been watching The Intruders, made by the team that gave us the X Files, which Is about rogue souls taking over other bodies, John Simm stars. Dark and disturbing, with a body snatchers feel to it. Again, strong acting and good writing. Just started watching The Nick, which is about surgeons in New York in 1900, starring Clive Owen as a brilliant but opium and cocaine addicted pioneering surgeon. Steven Soderbergh directs. Two episodes in and it is shaping up as a bit of a classic. As far as the UK is concerned, the second season of The Fall, (Serial killer drama set in Northern Island) with Gillian Anderson is carrying on the high standard set by the first series, but not much else stands out IMHO. Just finished watching Italian production, Corleone, about the rise of the Corleone clan in the Sicilian Mafia and the resulting bloodbath. Another great drama, to a similar high standard as say Romanzo Criminale. I hope that my rambling are some use to you guys!
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Post by richardwoods on Dec 2, 2014 20:10:33 GMT
A friend has recommended Remember Me, a BBC ghost story starring Michael Palin in a non comic role. Watched the first episode on i-Player last night and it is genuinely good so far. In many ways it seems to be a good old fashioned atmospheric ghost story with a lot of implied horror and menace, a bit like the original black and white The Haunting film. Might well be worth a look if you are a fan of the film or this sort of drama.
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Post by Paul Vanezis on Dec 2, 2014 20:44:46 GMT
Generally I think that there is a lot on TV worth watching if you just stick to UK terrestrial home grown output. I'm enjoying 'The Missing' on BBC1, 'The Fall' on BBC2, 'Babylon' on Channel 4...
The second series of 'Utopia' on C4 was also great and over the summer 'An Honourable Woman' on BBC2 held my attention, although I do find Hugo Blick's work a bit ponderous, despite how much I enjoyed 'The Shadow Line'. 'Peaky Blinders' series 2 is recorded and I'll catch up over the Christmas holiday.
I'm not much of a sitcom person, but 'Inside Number 9' was right up my street and there's a second series planned in the new year.
As for non comedy/drama which people don't seem to discuss, 'Sue Perkins and the Mekong River' was great, although I haven't seen it all yet. There is actually loads out there worth watching. Even 'New Tricks' has a new lease of life and apart from better scripts and a new cast, has improved technically now it's no longer shot on 16mm. Never thought I'd say that.
When I look at the modern TV schedule on my EPG, what stands out is how poor the supporting channels are. With the vast number of feature films made over the years, you would think that Film 4 would be able to assemble a diverse schedule, but no. Blockbuster movies which would be a big deal on a normal terrestrial channel are ritually slaughtered 20 times every 6 months. 'The Big Bang Theory', 'Grand Designs', 'The Simpsons' and 'Come Dine with Me' are shown back to back for hours on end, over and over again. ITV1 is a pale shadow of it's former self and Channel 5 has virtually nothing on worth watching.
The only light in an increasingly dark schedule is still the BBC. I won't mourn the loss of BBC3 though, but I am still enjoying what's on 1, 2 & 4.
Oh, and the very good 'Click!' on the BBC News channel.
Paul
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Post by Paul McDermott on Dec 3, 2014 1:43:30 GMT
Yet to get to Utopia but heard good things. One wonders if the upcoming HBO treatment may get Channel 4 to reconsider the unfortunate decision to give it the chop despite critical acclaim and healthy ratings. It reminds me of the story I heard some years back that when MGM was in dire straits, they considered stopping Bond and the Rings trilogy, a bit of an own goal! www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/utopia-remake-gone-girls-david-679813I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed Endeavour. Even more than Lewis, if I’m honest. Initially I thought it’d be a spinoff too far, but the leads are bang on and it satisfies me in providing a mix of interesting puzzles, entertaining character sketches and lovely period visuals. Barrington Pheloung hasn’t lost his touch, either. Having recently suffered through ITV’s A Touch Of Frost and the later Marples, I’m reminded that these are indeed the same lot that gave us David Suchet’s Poirot! An aside: I don't know if you English types get jaded by all the beauty and history you have surrounding you. (Yes, I know there's icky places everywhere and that film and TV production has ways and means of value adding to the look of things.) Certainly I’d swap out my own environs in a second if it was as easy as changing a desktop pattern! Ditto the climate!! The one thing I feel is lacking on telly - and I welcome evidence to the contrary - is the anthology show. Not just touching on supernatural matters, like The Twilight Zone, but just tightly plotted, ingenious and mesmerising short form plays. Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a lot of fun, but they don’t seem to make TV like this today. Black Mirror I had hopes for, but I have found it rather patchy - a bit too sensationalistic, a bit samey. Nevertheless, I hope we’ll see others encouraged to explore that kind of show in the near term. It offers variety and accessibility without the unpalatable insistence on “reality” TV, and when done best, gives a sort of window on tomorrow’s TV shows without the intent to sell you anything. The BBC are well placed to continue their leadership in that regard, and may they remain so committed and supported to that end. New to me but a little dated perhaps, is House. I’ve gotten through the first couple of seasons and found it a fun show. Laurie is marvellous as ever, and his brilliant, ascerbic, layered demeanour offers much of interest, along with the puzzles presented in the differential diagnoses that challenge his team each week. Capaldi’s Doctor is also comically difficult and rude, though with him it seems to be often due to just simply misunderstanding things. To me, he's possibly the most interesting lead in the part in a long while, because he’s given room to be surprising, ambiguous, mature and ever so slightly sinister instead of the more familiar modern range of quaint, cuddly and romantic. The very accessible nature of the eps in Series 8 offer new and lapsed viewers easy points to jump in and sample the show, and I would hope that approach will be maintained next year, where I think we can expect Doctor Who to go from strength to strength with the two Scotsmen (in front of the camera and in the production office) building on this year’s success. Given Capaldi’s chops with making films of his own, it’d be grand if he gets a crack at making a Who - perhaps a special in a year or so, as the rigours of the schedule as the lead would make it a serious challenge to bring about. However, an Oscar winner is nothing to sneeze at, and if he can possibly be tempted, I do hope the opportunity will be provided for him to give it a whirl!
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Post by Richard Marple on Dec 3, 2014 13:07:18 GMT
Film 4 does have the occasional oldie / art house, & world cinema film worth watching.
I remember they had a few Studio Ghibli films with the original Japanese soundtrack a while back.
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