What TV series are you currently watching?

[Iota]

Having a break from Shetland for a while (hope to be able to repeat those words one day, replacing 'from' with 'on' ...) and am two episodes into Time -



- which is brilliant but gruelling.

[Irons]

Having a break from Shetland for a while (hope to be able to repeat those words one day, replacing 'from' with 'on' ...) and am two episodes into Time -



- which is brilliant but gruelling.

Snooker balls in a bag attack had me squirming.

A McGovern sequel set in a women's prison has recently been transmitted.

Getting back to Shetland. Much effing and jeffing in latest episodes which I didn't recall in earlier series. Lost count of dead bodies and the DI Perez replacement is suitably hard nosed. 

[George]

[Todd]

After a few years, I revisited Billions to watch the last 2.5 seasons.  (The season splitting marketing ploy started by Breaking Bad annoys.)  Season 5/2 is the best of the lot, but after Steven Cohen Bobby Axelrod leaves, the show compels less, and it does not regain its footing later.  Corey Stoll certainly is not at fault for his portrayal of Donald Trump-cum-Bill Gates Michael Prince, it's just that the character doesn't really work that well and doesn't really have as much menace as a billionaire with unlimited ambition ought to.  The show's fixation of stilted, pop culture reference saturated dialogue grates after a while, but it remains sharp in places.  The introduction in the final season of Melina Kanakaredes as a politician suspiciously resembling a party-swapped Kristi Noem is great good fun.  In the event Ms Noem rises to national prominence, she will be a challenge for actresses to play.  Ms Kanakaredes is gorgeous, of course, and in great shape for a fifty-something, but Ms Noem is in a different league.  Anyhoo, the final season wraps up in an unsatisfying, saccharine way.  I wanted more bite and edge.  Meh.  Watching the show did remind me that I need to finish the last season of Succession – a thought that occurred when one of the episodes of this show was titled, um, Succession.

[George]

Watching the show did remind me that I need to finish the last season of Succession – a thought that occurred when one of the episodes of this show was titled, um, Succession.

Not sure if you follow the roasts on youtube, but comedian Joe List had a nice dig on Billions at a roast last year. Something along the lines of "Dan Soder is on Billions, or as I call it, Succession for retards."   

[Todd]

Not sure if you follow the roasts on youtube, but comedian Joe List had a nice dig on Billions at a roast last year. Something along the lines of "Dan Soder is on Billions, or as I call it, Succession for retards." 

I don't follow roasts in particular - Anthony Jeselnik or Gilbert Gottfried have to be in them for me to watch.  Succession is the better show, but it does not have Jeffrey DeMunn.  He's the secret weapon in Billions.

[George]

I don't follow roasts in particular - Anthony Jeselnik or Gilbert Gottfried have to be in them for me to watch.  Succession is the better show, but it does not have Jeffrey DeMunn.  He's the secret weapon in Billions.

Jeselnik's performance in the Sheen roast got me interested in the roasts in general. And in his standup, which is great. And I'll watch or listen to anything with Gilbert in it. 

[Todd]

Jeselnik's performance in the Sheen roast got me interested in the roasts in general. And in his standup, which is great. And I'll watch or listen to anything with Gilbert in it. 

I had already found Jeselnik when I saw the Sheen roast - he was why I decided to watch the roast.  The Michael J Fox joke and back and forth with Patrice O'Neal are gold.  Gottfried's bit in the Trump roast is so magnificent it should be preserved by the Smithsonian. 

[George]

I had already found Jeselnik when I saw the Sheen roast - he was why I decided to watch the roast.  The Michael J Fox joke and back and forth with Patrice O'Neal are gold.  Gottfried's bit in the Trump roast is so magnificent it should be preserved by the Smithsonian. 

The Gottfried roast performance that sticks out with me is the one at the Saget roast.

[Todd]

The Gottfried roast performance that sticks out with me is the one at the Saget roast.

That is gold, too.  But nothing compares to Norm Macdonald in the Saget roast.  I occasionally watch that stand-alone, along with other Macdonald bits like the Courtney Thorne-Smith interview on Conan.

[Karl Henning]

having a curious time with Thriller (the early 60s anthology show hosted by Boris Karloff.) I'm only up to the 31^st episode (of 67, over two seasons.) I'm enjoying it, finding it interesting, yet for whatever reason, it's not generally impassioning me. Two of the episodes I've seen latest, "The Devil's Ticket" and "A Good Imagination," were especially good, and each have a quasi-Twilight Zone twist at the end.  "The Devil's Ticket" has an artist pressured by a bargain with the devil to paint a portrait. It's utterly different from The Picture of Dorian Gray. Shan't say more for fear of spoilage.  "A Good Imagination" stars Patricia Barry Twilight Zone. It was also on the Zone that I've recently seen Andrews, in "Third from the Sun," in which he's Fritz Weaver's nemesis.

[Iota]

Snooker balls in a bag attack had me squirming.

A McGovern sequel set in a women's prison has recently been transmitted.

I finished series 1 of Time with Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, and found it astonishing. Brilliant as Bean and Graham are they seem to reach new heights here, and combined with Jimmy McGovern's sensational writing, the dramatic power/intensity of it is extraordinary.

I saw that women's prison sequel awaiting and will certainly get round to it, but they have some act to follow.

Getting back to Shetland. Much effing and jeffing in latest episodes which I didn't recall in earlier series. Lost count of dead bodies and the DI Perez replacement is suitably hard nosed. 

Yes, Shetland's undertakers certainly don't seem to lack business .. Look forward to meeting the new DI when the time comes.

[DavidW]

I watched Loki season 2.  It had a satisfying but bitter sweet ending.

[drogulus]

    I watched the first 2 episodes of the new season of The Crown. The fatal tunnel is looming.

[milk]

Tanner 88

Awesome series. Altman/Trudeau
This one starts very slow buts gets better and better. This is what politics used to be: image and personal destruction: wasn't that quaint?

We're also rewatching LOUIE. It's 30 bucks for the whole thing on his website. Interesting stuff.

[SimonNZ]

[SimonNZ]

[drogulus]

     Now I'm watching The Long Shadow, a docuseries on the Yorkshire Ripper. I've watched the first couple of episodes and the story is gripping. Toby Jones and Lee Ingleby are outstanding.

     The violence isn't shown (so far), and that's for the best I think.

[Irons]

Now I'm watching The Long Shadow, a docuseries on the Yorkshire Ripper. I've watched the first couple of episodes and the story is gripping. Toby Jones and Lee Ingleby are outstanding.

     The violence isn't shown (so far), and that's for the best I think.

Excellent series. I have always thought implied violence or horror is more effective then seeing the actual act. As you will soon discover David Morrissey will join Jones and Ingleby.

Not West Yorkshire's Police finest moment.

[drogulus]

As you will soon discover David Morrissey will join Jones and Ingleby.

     I spotted Morrissey in an early scene. I figured he wouldn't just be around for a few seconds.

     I need to watch State of Play again.