Pretty much sums it up for me. I actually enjoyed the first year or so as it was a novelty and the sideplots with the quirky characters kept me entertained. It soon got old though.
And yes I think it started around 2010ish? I’m amazed they’re still dragging it out.
It’s one of the most popular shows in the UK, and has spawned two spin offs. It’s like NCIS, a consistent performer that refuses to die.
I suppose I should view it a bit like a soap (albeit better than those in general).
Admittedly the scenery in Death in Paradise is really nice.
I think it had the potential to be great but the writing (for the solving of the mystery) was so lazy. Agatha Christie it was not. Maybe it’s brilliant nowadays. I’ll never know.
If you didn’t think Death in Paradise was brilliant in its early seasons, you won’t think any differently about its later seasons.
I like the earlier seasons a bit more, but that’s due to the cast. The first two DIs (played by Ben Miller and Kris Marshall), and the first Detective Sergeant, Camille (played by Sara Martins) was better than their various successors, IMO.
I haven’t heard it mentioned, buy I’m by no means an expert of the show. I appreciate you mentioning it because I probably wouldn’t have made it that far in the series. . And “I saw it in the window, and I just couldn’t resist” is one of the best lines I’ve heard in some time.
I just rewatched this. I remember this episode. It aired a lot when I was a kid. And I didn’t understand most of the humor. I didn’t understand why he was hitting the bottle against everything. The puppet scene was classic Tim Conway, though. The actual bit was overplayed, but you can tell he’s not trying to make the audience laugh. He’s trying to make Waggoner laugh. Honestly, if Waggoner hadn’t broken for maybe maybe ten more seconds, that part would have been a total waste. But with Conway, it seems tha tthe timing is always spot on.
I’m a bit turned off by exaggerated German accents, though. It’s been so overplayed over the years, I just find it annoying. I think “cringeworthy” is the word I used earlier.
My favorite part is when Korman speaks sharply in faux German, and Conway translates to Waggoner: “He says you’re a rude, insulting pig! He wants you to stand up!”.
Waggoner briskly stands up.
Korman explodes in anger.
Conway gets to his feet. “I’m sorry”, he tells Waggoner. “He was talking to me”.
The accents are maybe an age thing. I grew up laughing at Nazis on Hogan’s Heros and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Yep, every time I watched it, I got an urge to go on vacation.
An average/mediocre movie? That’s easy: Summer Rental, starring John Candy.
Don’t misunderstand; I love this picture. But it was apparent that this movie was not going to win any awards, Academy or otherwise. The first half of the movie was John Candy bumbling through comedic situations as only Candy could, while the second half concerned itself with preparing for a yacht race. And you could guess who wins the race well before the race is run.
Like I said, I like this film. But really, it’s unremarkable. It didn’t break any new ground, it didn’t make any use of new or emerging film technology, it didn’t try to teach any lessons. It seems to me that it was made almost as an afterthought: “Hey, we’ve got XYZ feet of unexposed film; what should we do with it?”
Oh, c’mon! Summer Rental has to be in the top ten films to feature a “fixin-a-boat” montage set to Jimmy Buffett.
Hey! That happens to be my current favorite show!
Nope.
My pick for mediocre TV is the revival of Law & Order. I watched when Camryn Manheim was on, because I like her, but since she left, the show does not hold my attention well. The production values are as good as ever, and so are the “ripped from the headlines” stories. It’s just not the old show anymore.
A mediocre film I happen to like a lot, but realize is still a B film, is Two on a Guillotine. Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, Cesar Romero. Special effects that could be pulled off by a stage magician (but it’s about a stage magician, so maybe that’s legit). Old, dark house; dead guy who leaves a strange will; booby traps and secret passages; strange figure wandering in the yard; mysterious death (murder?) in the past, and an orphan coming home for the first time in 20 years. Oh, and a guillotine. I saw it for the first time when I was 11, and loved it.
I’m sure if I saw that film for the first time as an adult, I would have laughed all the way through it.