I started Black Snow last night, an Australian cold case police detective show. Very good so far, but I’m not past the first episode yet. It’s rated100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If you’ve seen clips of it, then you’ve probably seen the whole thing. You only see a few bits and pieces of it in the show.
I only know him through British Bake-off but I’m shocked to hear that he’s straight.
I don’t watch bake off. I know him from The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd and Taskmaster. Normal is not a word I would use.
There might be some good news on that front.
Just finished watching the newly released eight-part miniseries This City is Ours on BBC iPlayer. It’s about a Liverpool crime family. Great character development and storytelling. The final episode was brilliant.
Finished watching ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3. It was pretty good, although there were a LOT of crimes that were solved in 10 episodes. Especially in the last episode, where a serial killer resurfaces after a decade, kills again, and then the case is solved by Bosch and a new detective. All in a few days’ time.
And I still don’t know how Bosch got back home from Mexico in episode 9. The Federales had him surrounded and his plane took off without him.
That was a case that had been in every season of Bosch from the beginning and I think they felt the pressure to not leave audiences hanging in case Bosch never returns on-screen, which officially is the plan aside from occasional guest appearances on spin-offs.
I really only know him from Taskmaster (as well as some of the other panel/game shows) and The IT Crowd. He’s surprisingly athletic. To be clear, when I say ‘surprisingly athletic’, I’m just saying that if you know him from his comedy, you’d be surprised at how much more athletic he is than you’d have guessed. On Taskmaster, even in the heels he wore on the show, he always did well any tasks that were sporty in nature.
Just as an example, this isn’t someone that’s never picked up a golf club or kicked a soccer/football.
I wish I could find the clip of someone on Big Fat Quiz (Rob Beckett? Richard Ayoade? Jack Whitehall?) calling him the fucking bat boy. I don’t have time to be go any further down that rabbit hole.
Unrelated…or I guess it is related considering the thread, but the new season of Taskmaster just started, or at least just started airing on youtube. I was a bit worried about Jason Mantzoukas being on it. He tends to play the same character on everything I’ve seen him in and I was worried about a full season of that character front and center. But from the single episode I’ve seen, I think my fears were unfounded.
Agreed about Jason Mantzoukas. I’m an avid TM watcher and usually it takes me a couple of episodes to warm up to a series cast but not this time. Hooked from the first episode.
I’ve seen him on enough podcasts and interviews to know that he’s not a guy who feels the need to be in character all the time.
I’ve studied English people my entire life.
British entertainers seem to go two routes, either as the stock everyman in awkward social situations or as a Theatrical Jester, what Russel Brand calls the look of ‘Mental Illness’. It’s how a somewhat conservative society likes it’s entertainers to look, it eases our minds knowing whatever they do is not to be taken seriously and whatever social taboo or norm is broken is some kind of street performance. So Russel Brand, Tim Minchin, Noel Fielding and Eddie Izzard and others put on the eye shadow, tease the hair and don the Mick Jagger apparel and go out for the day. In only Eddie’s case is it even more than an act.
Not so sure about Russell Brand - his “look of mental illness” increasingly appears to be an accurate portrayal of his personality.
(Jason Mantzoukas did a great turn in one episode of Legion - he was “same as always” on the surface but with a subtle undertone of menace that he pulled off beautifully.)
If the lighting in The Handmaid’s Tale was any darker, we wouldn’t be able to see it at all. What a PITA to watch.
I finally got around to starting to watch Poker Face and I really like it. At first I was afraid every episode was going to end with her having to deal with Cliff showing up and what she was going to have to do to get away from him. But the last few I’ve watched haven’t had Cliff show up at all.
Are you watching the first season or the second? The second season is airing now. I watched the first and am currently watching the second. The title of the series doesn’t make a lot of sense if you only watch the second season.
I like it, too. My only quibbles are that the detective seems a little more performatively angsty than previously. And both seasons have featured young attractive women going missing. Are those the only cold cases in Oz? It makes it shade a tiny bit towards exploitation to me.
But again, I’m enjoying it for what it is.
I’m halfway through the 1st season now.
My only quibbles are that the detective seems a little more performatively angsty than previously.
Boy, that’s saying a lot! I’m really enjoying it so far, but, yeah, a detective with a troubled past is a huge cliche. I guess they’re trying to get their money’s worth by making his past extra troubling.
And both seasons have featured young attractive women going missing. Are those the only cold cases in Oz?
Eh, 2 out of 2 isn’t saying much. Hopefully we get a 3rd season.
Apparently, back in the day with X-Files, Anderson was paid less than Duchovny. She expected it, not being known, but it happened even after he left the series. Same hours, same everything, she had to fight for her salary. Apparently, it happened in the revival as well. They still tried to pay her less. On top of that, Anderson and Duchovny had different styles that clashed over 12-16 hour days, six days a week.
I’m wondering if we wouldn’t be having the same conversation about Anderson and Duchovny if the original run had been in the time of social media? I have no co-workers on my team I would want to spend that much time with.
I finished s5 and started s6 and I’m getting sick of Castle. His narcissism is more blatant, as I binge episodes. That’s his shtick, that he hasn’t grown up, and they are sticking with it. Maybe they want to “stay true to the characters” and why people like it but it’s wearing thin. They are both damaged, in different ways, but I do think Castle is worse. In the end, I don’t think they should have gotten together. At least Fillion learned this for The Rookie and has an ensemble cast so he isn’t in everything.
Speaking of The Rookie, they had another True Crime episode. I don’t know why they keep doing those. Those end up being rated in the 4s on IMDB every year. I did find the resolution with the new rookies interesting. I think that has already been renewed for s8.
I am caught up on Doctor Who and have enjoyed this season. I thought the last one, focusing on Ruby, was a good follow up to life of a companion after the Doctor.
We are still excited for Murderbot!
Thanks for the discussion!
Preach it! Next batman film will likely be totally black. Might as well listen to a good radio drama.
Thought I’d give Government Cheese a try. So far (two eps), it’s holding my attention.