I’ve been watching The Fall on Acorn, the series which answers the question “can Gillian Anderson speak in Margaret Thatcher’s voice?”. The answer is yes she can. The show is quite tense and unique in that we know the serial killer pretty much right away but we see the plot unfold from his point of view as well as from the detectives’.
I’ve also been watching Happy Valley, also on Acorn. Definitely worth a binge watch. Can’t say a lot more without spoiling but if you like crime series with character development and tension this is for you.
Having watched most of Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour I saw that Peacock also has Ray Bradbury Theater, an HBO series from the 1980s. Oh my! It has some pretty big stars: Peter O’Toole, Drew Barrymore (age 11), Jeff Goldblum, etc. The plots are paper thin, all based on Bradbury’s own stories, but the whole thing is dragged down by lazy directing, and is ruined by HORRID 80’s synthesizer music. Good enough for curiosity seekers, but painful to watch.
Agree completely with your comments on the Ray Bradbury Theater. Good idea ruined by the execution.
We just finished Black Snow (which since we’re also watching Dark Winds at the same time had us confusing titles – “Y’know, in Black Winds, er, Dark Snow.”) It’s on cable, but was available to binge On Demand from the start of the series. We started binging after the second episode, because we were eager to find out what was going on. Fascinating series with little known (to me) history of Australian slavery of Vanuatu islanders. But it was a contemporary whodunit, with the, by now, mandatory conflicted detective with a backstory of his own. Highly recommended.
Most of the way through Twisted Metal (Peacock). Starring Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz (Rosa on Brooklyn Nine-Nine). It’s kind of stupid, but it’s fun. Surprisingly little vehicular combat for a show based on a vehicular combat game, but that kind of shit is exorbitantly expensive, so I’ll give them a pass on that. For now. They’ve done a decent job of incorporating characters from the game and giving them a story. Curious how they’ll work in Axel.
Took a peek at Prime’s The Outlaws. Produced by Stephen Merchant, who also has a roll in it, and guest stars Christopher Walken. It’s a comedy-drama about a group of disparate people who are thrown together to do community service because they’ve committed petty crimes.
I saw that on the Beeb, didn’t realise it was co-produced with Amazon, I wondered how they had managed to snare Christopher Walken on a meagre BBC budget.
I’ve watched the first two episodes of Strange Planet on Apple TV. The hyperliteral dialog is very entertaining but the stories are pretty low-stakes and a little preachy in an “I’m OK, You’re OK” manner.
I tried getting into Sandman and Good Omens, but I just can’t.
I like the cast for the most part and I did enjoy two episodes of Sandman (the diner and the guy who was granted immortality) and I remember finishing the book of Good Omens, but the whole thing just feels a bit lacking. Can’t put my finger on it, I feel like I have to drag myself to watch it.
We’re starting up Season 4 of Good Girls and it doesn’t take us long to get to the point that we remember why it had taken so long to get back.
Man it is stupid. And the people in it are stupid. And it is bleak. They’re criminals yet make absolutely no money. Yet, are near being arrested all the time, and the main bad guy seems to just float about getting away with everything. And when they cut a break, take a breath, then the idiot husband (Matthew Lillard) just fucks everything up for everyone again.
I’ve not spoilered that because it pretty much holds for the main plot of every single damn season.
One season past a hate watch now. It may go the way of American Gods - Season 2, and True Blood - Season 6: really stupid episode, and that’s that, no more.
I enjoyed Sandman but I can understand why you might not get into it, it does feel a little…clinical?.. at times, perhaps a little detached? Maybe just due to the nature of the main character. Those two episodes you mention were my favourites too.
I liked it, but man is it dark. I can’t remember if we finished the season or not. Sometimes we just stop watching very good, very dark things because it’s emotionally exhausting.
Now watching Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon. It’s about a man who dies and is reborn as a magic vending machine in a D&D-type world. He can only speak in set phrases (“Hello there”, “Insert coin”, etc) but can transform into any kind of vending machine that exists (and there are a LOT of them, especially in Japan).
It’s kind of like an industrial for the Japanese vending machine industry, but more ridiculous (and without the songs).