Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

[Animalmother]

Funnily enough I really liked the 3 you didn't. Lucky 13, Secret War and Fish Night were the highlights. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a 2nd season.

[Sly Boots]

Yeah, Zima Blue was one of my faves, also the one with the three robot tourists, can't remember the name.

Also the one where a ship crew gets teleported across the galaxy, again can't recall the name.

Edit: Three Robots and Beyond the Aquila Rift.

[Alan]

Finished off Lovecraft Country and really liked it a lot but it is inconsistent. The second episode in particular makes it feel like a mid tier Outer Limits but others were really excellent, particularly liked the one with the Korean girl. It is batshit silly at times and that makes me like it even more.

[elgaucho]

Finished off Lovecraft Country and really liked it a lot but it is inconsistent. The second episode in particular makes it feel like a mid tier Outer Limits but others were really excellent, particularly liked the one with the Korean girl. It is batshit silly at times and that makes me like it even more.

Yeah I finished that too. I genuinely can't make up my mind on this show. It's not a classic, but it is watchable. I just find it breaches the limits of the ridiculous at times, when it could have been so much more sinister, and so much less hammy. The korean girl episode probably was the best, and certainly one of the more "human" episodes. The others just seemed to lack something in terms of character depth - i never really cared about anyone in the show from start to finish.

[Achtung Englander]

The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)

10/10

What a fantastic story. This is best TV I have seen since Chernobyl. Superb production values, acting and it completely hooked me in from the get-go. I liked it so much I bought the book halfway through the series. Netflix done good with this one.

Next series - The Spy

[Sly Boots]

Watched a few things recently.

Haunting of Bly Manor [Netflix]

I ended up bailing on this a couple of episodes from the end, I just couldn't take it any more. Not the scares, which were too few and far between, being basically restricted to the last 30 seconds of an hour-long episode to entice you to come back for the next one. It was the endless monologues by secondary characters we didn't care about, which were meandering and poorly written - the televisual equivalent of an infodump. From the middle of the series I was rolling my eyes and checking my phone so often I barely saw what was going on. Which was generally very little.

A poor follow-up to the excellent Haunting of Hill House.

Truth Seekers [Prime]

I quite enjoyed this, but it falls into the same camp as Space Force, in that it's not really a comedy but has moments that raise a smile. I guess it can be described as a more naturalistic style of comedy, that is in vogue at the moment, than the old setup-punchline of sitcoms of old. It is, however quite interesting and occasionally a bit spooky. It's also apparent by the end that there's a lot more going on than first meets the eye, and questions - such as what is up with Simon Pegg's preposterous wig - start to get somewhat answered. Solid 7/10 kind of show, and I'd watch a second series.

Barbarians [Netflix]

Really enjoying this. It's the story of how the German tribes came to defeat the Roman Empire at Teutoborg Forest (warning, 2,000 year old spoilers ). I'm only three episodes in but it's already very good. It's a period of history I'm greatly interested in, and it's quite novel watching something from the non-Roman perspective... it's a German production (subtitled) and the Romans are agreeably pantomimish villains. I don't think it's got quite the production budget of some of the other dramas for the period, but still very good.

Blood of Zeus [Netflix]

They're clearly going for a bit of a Castlevania thing here, and while I don't think they quite pull it off, people who like that show will probably find something to enjoy here. Again, only a few episodes in but will continue with it.

[Achtung Englander]

thanks SB, regards Haunting of Bly Manor as yours in the second review that said it was meh - so I will take it off from my list

if you have time can you check out Upload on Prime. It looks kinda good. If you have the time !

Still think Netflix category management is seriously dire. I really hope they make it more like Plex where you can breakdown your lists multiple ways. Finding stuff on Plex is 100 times faster than on Netflix.

[Sly Boots]

thanks SB, regards Haunting of Bly Manor as yours in the second review that said it was meh - so I will take it off from my list

if you have time can you check out Upload on Prime. It looks kinda good. If you have the time !

Still think Netflix category management is seriously dire. I really hope they make it more like Plex where you can breakdown your lists multiple ways. Finding stuff on Plex is 100 times faster than on Netflix.

Yeah, watched Upload earlier in the year (can't remember if mentioned it here), I thought it was really good and am looking forward to the next season.

[Achtung Englander]

you're my man !

[Sly Boots]

you're my man !

NP

Fwiw this is what I said about it back then (posted in June, it seems):

Upload

New Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks & Rec etc) series on Prime. Set in the near-future where people (at least those wealthy enough) can be uploaded to a digital afterlife when they're about to die.

Blitzed through the series (10 episodes) in the space of three nights, enjoyed it a lot. Just as with Daniels' recent Space Force, it's ostensibly a comedy but while there are some laughs to be had (often at the corporate-run, micro-transaction infested future world the characters inhabit), it's not really what it sets out to do. At its heart it's more of a romance story between the male lead who inhabits one such digital afterlife, and his 'Angel' (basically, tech support), a living woman, which even in this future is quite taboo. There's also a mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death, which are gradually revealed throughout the series (and lead into a second one).

I thought it was really well done, and of this and Space Force this is the one I'd have no hesitation recommending. No big names in the cast, but the leads in particular do a stellar job of being believable and relatable, and while I'm not a huge romance fan generally, this one drew me in.

[Sly Boots]

The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)

10/10

What a fantastic story. This is best TV I have seen since Chernobyl. Superb production values, acting and it completely hooked me in from the get-go. I liked it so much I bought the book halfway through the series. Netflix done good with this one.

Just watched the first one. Really enjoyed that!

[Achtung Englander]

It gets better...

The production values are sky high

[Animalmother]

Watching Close Enough on Netflix. A silly animated series about 2 young parents starting to feel old. First few episodes were a bit odd but enjoying it now once I got the vibe of it.

[Sly Boots]

The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)

10/10

What a fantastic story. This is best TV I have seen since Chernobyl. Superb production values, acting and it completely hooked me in from the get-go. I liked it so much I bought the book halfway through the series. Netflix done good with this one.

Next series - The Spy

I have to bump this again. We're about half a dozen episodes in now (I think there's one more?) and it really is exceptional. If you watch one Netflix show this autumn, make it this one.

[Animalmother]

The Liberator
New series on Netflix about Mexican and Native American soldiers during WW2. It's live action but cell shaded (I think that's the right term..) so it looks like a comic. Watched first 2 episodes and like it so far, it's not great but still enjoyable enough. Top marks to the vehicle animation.

It feels like your watching an FMV game from the 90's with the fixed camera angles and somewhat janky dialogue, or a TellTale game even.