Do we live in a golden age of television?

[Boydy]

This is more Harry Potter, from what I've seen so far
Fuck that then.

[Baz]

I recently finished off People Just Do Nothing. Started it aaaaages ago cos my mate banged on about it, then Mike mentioned recently he binged it, so I picked it back up. It’s really great. Chabuddy G is possibly one of the funniest characters in anything ever, his timing is just brilliant. Apparently he’s in this Sandman you’re all on about, weirdly!

The film is garbage though, sadly. Might give Sneakerhead (got Beats in) a go, or Peacock (got Grindah and Steves in, and written by Steves).

And soz Foe but The Office wasn’t doing it for me so I’ve sacked it off.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I recently finished off People Just Do Nothing. Started it aaaaages ago cos my mate banged on about it, then Mike mentioned recently he binged it, so I picked it back up. It’s really great. Chabuddy G is possibly one of the funniest characters in anything ever, his timing is just brilliant. Apparently he’s in this Sandman you’re all on about, weirdly!

The film is garbage though, sadly. Might give Sneakerhead (got Beats in) a go, or Peacock (got Grindah and Steves in, and written by Steves).

And soz Foe but The Office wasn’t doing it for me so I’ve sacked it off.

He is, it's a minor role and he's annoying in it.

Much like he was on Taskmaster.

[Don]

Sherwood seemed to get positive reviews but it was such a mess that it invariably ended as a steaming heap of shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Finished The Sandman, it starts a little slow has a good middle (4, 5 and 6 were really solid episodes) and then it just limps slowly to a finish.

Overall I liked it but it falls short of being great.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

The more clips I've seen/stuff I've read about season 4 of Stranger Things only reinforces it should have been a 1 season affair.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just finished the third and final season of Locke & Key and I was a little disappointed.

Easily the weakest of the three, it felt rushed and never really got into it's stride.

[mo]

Ending a brilliant TV series often seems to be the most challenging aspect, but I think Better Call Saul got it spot on. The whole thing seems to have been a fairly slow boil to a really packed ending, but I've never really minded that. There's something about the aesthetic of Albuquerque I've really enjoyed in Breaking Bad and BCS which I think I'll really miss. Will have to re-watch both in a couple of years I think.

[Lofty]

Yeah it was a decent end. Brilliant series all the way through.

She-Hulk on the other hand looks She-ite

[John Arne]

I just watched the final season of Brooklyn Nine Nine.

The difference in quality from the first 5 seasons to the final 3 really is huge. Still enjoyable, but not nearly as fun to watch.

[randomlegend]

The thief, his wife and the canoe is good.

[Manc]

Aren't you in the Maldives? I'll look forward to Kiko's review of Miranda live from Schonbrunn Palace.

[randomlegend]

I watched it on the plane.

[Yevrah]

The thief, his wife and the canoe is good.

Yeah, I enjoyed that too. Quality acting all round and a decent enough story for the length of it.

[Kikó]

Aren't you in the Maldives? I'll look forward to Kiko's review of Miranda live from Schonbrunn Palace.

12 hours on a train is too much fyi.

[Ben]

The thief, his wife and the canoe is good.

I live about half an hour from Seaton Carew and the accents are all wrong, to the point I couldn't deal with it. They've clearly seen Seaton is technically in County Durham and thought that'll do. The Hartlepool/Seaton accent is closer to a Middlesbrough accent than a Durham one.

Dunno what you reckon, Dave.?

[randomlegend]

I've seen those complaints since, but I have no clue how the accent is meant to sound so fortunately didn't care.

[Spikey M]

The Hartlepool/Seaton accent is closer to a Middlesbrough accent than a Durham one.

https://i.ibb.co/L18rDSV/j44fn0mlt2x81.jpg

[Jimmy Floyd]

There are only three accents in the north: Dibnah, Boycott and Waddell.

[Lewis]

And Liverpool unfortunately.

[Shindig]

I can sort of tell them apart but it's all just a much of a muchness.

[Ben]

I can sort of tell them apart but it's all just a much of a muchness.

It’s like saying you sound Mackem.

[Spikey M]

He does. There is no difference between a Geordie and a Mackem.

[Shindig]

That simply doesn't happen, to be honest. Geordie is the Tyne-Tees accent of record. At worst, a yank will call me Scottish.

[Ben]

I used to think so but now I’ve lived amongst it, it’s pretty different.

It’s like me saying Essex and London is the same.

[Spikey M]

Essex is just a tamer East London accent. That said, there are the likes of Bam and his builder mates that pre pretty much indistinguishable from Danny Dyer.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I could tell apart at least 4 different south London accents, 5 if you include the wagwan shite. Roy Hodgson is so distinctly Croydon it's hard to explain. In America though I can only hear three accents: Sopranos, Ned Flanders, and everyone else.

[Dave.]

I live about half an hour from Seaton Carew and the accents are all wrong, to the point I couldn't deal with it. They've clearly seen Seaton is technically in County Durham and thought that'll do. The Hartlepool/Seaton accent is closer to a Middlesbrough accent than a Durham one.

Dunno what you reckon, Dave.?

Just to confuse things, I find the Seaton and Hartlepool accents to be slightly different. Seaton is definitely closer to a Middlesbrough accent whilst Hartlepool is mainly Middlesbrough but can vary a little bit. I haven't seen this particular programme but can appreciate it would have been a tricky one to get right. With accents, a person's upbringing and social background also has to be taken into account.

[Manc]

S2 of Atlanta is wild.

[John Arne]

There are only three accents in the north: Dibnah, Boycott and Waddell.

Pretty sure they represented my brother in court a couple of month back.

[Don]

S2 of Atlanta is wild.

Where would one find this on?

[Baz]

Where would one find this on?

Disney+

Or Cinema app on a firestick (https://www.firesticktricks.com/cinema-apk-firestick.html) if you want it illegitimately.

[randomlegend]

Is the new GoT thing any good?

[Alex]

I thought the first episode was decent, yeah. I haven't seen the second one yet. But it at least felt like an attempt at a return to the sort of writing that you got in GoT before it fell apart at the end. The cast is good too.

[Spikey M]

I couldn't get into it.

[randomlegend]

I thought the first episode was decent, yeah. I haven't seen the second one yet. But it at least felt like an attempt at a return to the sort of writing that you got in GoT before it fell apart at the end. The cast is good too.

I assume it's not D and D writing it?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I assume it's not D and D writing it?

It's not.

I haven't started on it yet but it's based on a prequel book that GRRM wrote (and has half completed) and the D & D lads have nothing to do with it.

[Lewis]

I was thinking I would let it get a few series in to see if people still rate it before I bother. I'm not committing to another decade blind if it turns out shit.

[Boydy]

I was thinking I would let it get a few series in to see if people still rate it before I bother. I'm not committing to another decade blind if it turns out shit.
Tbf I did that with Game of Thrones and still got fucked by the final series.

[igor_balis]

Tbf I did that with Game of Thrones and still got fucked by the final series.

Ha same.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Despite how shit GoT was at the end, I think overall the journey was worth it.

I'm not convinced I can be arsed with Way of the Dragon or whatever this one's called, but we'll see.

[Kikó]

I don't know. I finished it pretty pissed off with how they decided to chuck it all away and those wasted series on that meaningless land/training the youngest stark.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Finally got round to watching The Staircase.

Waiting for the verdict was genuinely tense stuff, fuck knows how that jury found him guilty. I'm also stunned that people listened to Deaver, it was clear that he was chatting bollocks.

[Mazuuurk]

Finally got round to watching The Staircase.

Waiting for the verdict was genuinely tense stuff, fuck knows how that jury found him guilty. I'm also stunned that people listened to Deaver, it was clear that he was chatting bollocks.



Yet, for the life of me I can't figure out how and OWL would be the cause of death.

[Yevrah]

Occam's razor in action.

[Spikey M]

*talon.

[Giggles]

Anyone watch the man who fell to earth? It’s starting to bore me a bit 4 episodes in and wondering if it’s worth persevering with.

[Bernanke]

I'm surprised by how much I'm into these two Rings of Power episodes. The dwarves in the second one are a highlight.

It's not nearly as interesting as the original trilogy, but night and day compared to The Hobbit.

[Yevrah]

What’s the episode schedule?

[Kikó]

Black Bird was great.

[Alex]

What’s the episode schedule?

The first two (of eight) are out and then, I believe, it is one every Friday until completion.

[Alex]

I watched We Own This City over the course of last week and thought it was fairly good. It felt a little bit like "spot The Wire cast member" at times, and some of Bernthal's acting was a bit over the top for me, but other than that I mostly enjoyed it.

[Yevrah]

Watched the first episode of Rings of Power this morning. Just a whole mess of meh, with absolute turkey written all over it.

[Manc]

A billion pounds well spent then.

[Spikey M]

Aside from Better Call Saul are there actually any decent spin offs? I can't think of any. Certainly not from the Fantasy genre.

[Lewis]

Frasier.

[Shindig]

I'm Alan Partridge. You could make a case for that counting. Maybe throw Brass Eye into the mix on that logic.

[Giggles]

The Fast Show.

[Bernanke]

Boston Legal.

[Lewis]

Eastenders did a flashback episode and the lad who played teenage Phil Mitchell is like his clone.

[Alex]

Speaking of spin-off's, the third episode of House of the Dragon was really good I thought. Damon Targaryen is an absolute lad.

[Giggles]

Eastenders did a flashback episode and the lad who played teenage Phil Mitchell is like his clone.

I caught the start of that this evening flicking around and the flashback kept me watching. They couldn’t have got closer had they gone back in time and got the actor as a kid.

[Yevrah]

This Rings of Power fallout is getting tasty, think this might be the one that genuinely ends up with some nasty repercussions.

[CJay]

This Rings of Power fallout is getting tasty, think this might be the one that genuinely ends up with some nasty repercussions.

What’s the fallout? Any links etc?

[niko_cee]

I just read this:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/sep/05/the-backlash-to-rule-them-all-every-controversy-about-the-rings-of-power-so-far

But I've no idea. What are nasty repercussions?

[Yevrah]

Well, I suspect the inexperienced and hardly battle hardened actors involved (who’ve been absolutely thrown under the bus by Amazon during the PR phase and for the show itself, as it’s bad) are going to get an increasing amount of hate online to the point where something that we’ve not really seen before may happen. Not entirely sure what that may look like, but if the current standard keeps up there's no way it's lasting five seasons for a start.

It looks like the straw that may break the camels back in that you can’t just hire a diverse cast of actors and think that’s enough to make the show good when you couple it with boring storylines, cringetastic dialogue and then cry racism and trolling when people point out it’s a bit shit. There will absolutely be some of that, as idiots will idiot, but they'd have been drowned out quite comfortably if the show was any good.

[Lewis]

Is it actually 'diverse'? I've only seen shots of black characters rather than a diverse group of races. Your first point is probably wrong in that case. They aren't pulling the plug on anything once they've made a massive show of all the black people in it. Not unless Bezos wants the FBI kicking his door in.

[Yevrah]

Is it actually 'diverse'? I've only seen shots of black characters rather than a diverse group of races. Your first point is probably wrong in that case. They aren't pulling the plug on anything once they've made a massive show of all the black people in it. Not unless Bezos wants the FBI kicking his door in.

The people who made and star in it say it's diverse.... It costs $60m an episode (having seen the first not really sure why), so I doubt even Bezos would continue that for long if no one's watching it.

[niko_cee]

Lenny Henry as a proto hobbit sounds lolworthy enough to have a watch of.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Actors/luvvies inhabit a world where making something diverse is either more important than making something good, or they might even think that the two come to the same thing. It's not the same world that the viewers live in, alas.

[Yevrah]

That’s absolutely the case - the cast have been pushing the diverse angle so much in their interviews in the lead up to its release that I genuinely don’t think they recognise what business they’re in anymore.

[phonics]

The people mad about a hobbit being black are way worse than any Hollywood luvvie. Get a grip.

[Ian]

I've missed all of this apparently other than people saying it's pretty but boring and the slice of the racism stuff I've seen via Neil Gaiman on Twitter pointing out to cranks that the source material literally describes the pre-hobbits as having brown skin and the one in particular who replied going YEAH ER WELL MAYBE TOLKIEN JUST MEANT THEY'RE TANNED FROM WORKING ON FARMS????

That said that article suggests they all have mad Irish accents too unless the Harfoots aren't the ones I thought they were.

"Pretty but boring" does seem to be the Amazon fantasy TV show theme though. I liked WOT well enough but would struggle to really give it a hard recommendation for that same reason.

It's like they watched Game of Thrones but only the middle 70% of every series.

[Yevrah]

The people mad about a hobbit being black are way worse than any Hollywood luvvie. Get a grip.

This is the problem though, it’s a misrepresentation to claim that people are mad because a hobbit is black. Sure there are some who are, but for the vast majority they’re mad because something they cared about has been turned into a bland and boring tv show and they’ve been told they’re wrong for thinking it’s shit by the critics and racist for thinking it’s shit by the makers.

[Yevrah]

Lenny Henry as a proto hobbit sounds lolworthy enough to have a watch of.

Like Nigel from Eastenders in The Pianist, it's an appalling piece of casting. Any remaining hope of one being immersed in a fantasy land after the snorefest opening is ripped away from you when he turns up on screen and you mind instantly smiles and starts to wonder how he's been, if he's still friends with Dawn French and whether any of the streaming platforms have Chef! on them.

[Lewis]

You could live with the brown proto-Hobbits, although, given the context, the book could just mean swarthy rather than Lenny Henry. It would work either way. There aren't any black elves though, wounding seventeen orcs and killing one, so make your mind up.

[Yevrah]

If I have any problem with that at all it’s not the specifics of who they cast, more the overarching principle the makers had that the show should reflect the World today. If that’s what you want to do, have some balls, take a risk and make something else.

[Boydy]

If I have any problem with that at all it’s not the specifics of who they cast, more the overarching principle the makers had that the show should reflect the World today. If that’s what you want to do, have some balls, take a risk and make something else.

I was going to say hopefully one of the repercussions of this will be big studios making original shows and films instead of adaptstions and spin-offs since people inevitably just get annoyed at them for whatever reason and they can't be arsed with the backlash.

It probably won't happen, as I'm sure for the majority of these extended universes or whatever you want to call them there are enough people out there to lap them up, but one can hope.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The people mad about a hobbit being black are way worse than any Hollywood luvvie. Get a grip.

It's not that anyone should be mad about black hobbits, it's that the people making it think that the fact of having black hobbits makes it good.

[Yevrah]

It's not that anyone should be mad about black hobbits, it's that the people making it think that the fact of having black hobbits makes it good.

On that note the stuff that Sophia Nomvete (who plays a black female dwarf) has been saying in the press tours is genuinely insane and was what first alerted me to the shit storm brewing here. You’d be forgiven for thinking from her words alone that this boring and badly written tv show is having as much impact on race relations as South Africa winning the rugby World Cup did, from its casting alone.

I feel for here really as unless she’s gone rogue Amazon have obviously put her up to it and she clearly speaks with passion, but it’s so unbelievably deluded it’s hard to work out how the hell something like that gets signed off.

[phonics]

It's not that anyone should be mad about black hobbits, it's that the people making it think that the fact of having black hobbits makes it good.

Thats an absurd take. They don't think it 'makes it good'. They didn't cast a black hobbit and go 'well the scripts dog shit and the CGI looks like toilet but fuck me have we got a bunch of different skin tone, Emmys here we come.'

[Yevrah]

Thats an absurd take. They don't think it 'makes it good''

They genuinely do. Just have a look at some of the PR for it.

[phonics]

It makes it ‘better’ in some sense of things. it doesn’t make it good. It’s a PR point. They’re trying to get good PR. That’s the point. Would you like them to say the black people make it worse?

[Yevrah]

Surely when promoting something you highlight what makes it good to attract people to it, in this case and admittedly only from what I've seen (but I've seen a fair bit now) they're promoting the diversity aspect of it beyond anything else. Ergo, that's what they think makes it good. If you agree that's the angle they've gone for then I can't see how you can come to any other conclusion.

[phonics]

It's almost like they think it's a superficial way they can get the most attention on it. Not that they think it defines the project. You know, the whole point of a PR campaign.

Look at the end of the day, anyone pissing and moaning about LOTR ‘going woke’ is a giant fucking loser.

[Yevrah]

But the words and frequency with which they’re using them clearly indicate that they think it does define the project. Now they could be lying and setting up the actors to say that to get the maximum exposure, but that’s a pretty nutbag strategy if the underlying product is as bad as it appears to be so far.

And from the string of absolute wank we’ve seen in regards to old/pre-existing IP reboots/sequels there’s a pretty clear trend that suggests the makers do think that’s enough to hang a project on.

[Lewis]

'We need something superficial to draw attention to our billion dollar version of a universally loved...'

[Disco]

Diversity of cast (among a million other things) is a selling point, how is that a shock to anyone in this day and age?

[Pepe]

I was going to say hopefully one of the repercussions of this will be big studios making original shows and films instead of adaptstions and spin-offs since people inevitably just get annoyed at them for whatever reason and they can't be arsed with the backlash.

People moan yet still watch, so they will keep making them.

[Pepe]

I do not think that it is a selling point. More of an 'if I don't do it I will get in trouble' type of thing.

[Bernanke]

Show is great. Angry racists and Tolkien wankers is also great. Can't wait for the next episode.

[Disco]

What's it even about anyway, the Silmarillion is the only thing of any substance that hasn't already been adapted (and whichever Tolkein is left has never been keen to flog the rights to it).

[Lofty]

LOTR series is bad mainly because it is boring. Diversity hires are lol but more distracting than anything, Lenny Henry the main offender. I was over GOT but watching both new GOT wipes the floor with LOTR, because it stacks it's roster with likeable cunts. Binary good and evil is more cartoonish, and mysterious magic men aren't that mysterious in a world that is full of magic and monsters. My main feeling about LOTR so far is just 'meh'.

[Alex]

I imagine Lenny Henry is only jarring to us because he's Lenny Henry, the bloke from Comic Relief. The yanks and the rest of the world presumably don't have a fucking clue who he is. Hasn't he done Shakespeare and stuff? He's probably at least somewhat qualified, in terms of acting chops, for a minor role in the show.

[Yevrah]

He’s absolutely qualified for a bit part, problem is as I said above is that he’s immediately recognisable as Lenny Henry to almost everyone in one of Amazon’s biggest markets and he’s nowhere near good enough an actor to make you forget that.

Presumably at one stage Amazon had an idea of the importance of this IP or else they wouldn’t have spent hundreds of billions of dollars obtaining it, but they absolutely forgot when making that decision.

[Lewis]

The UK is in fact one of Amazon's biggest markets.

EDIT: lol deleted it. The confidence as well. :happycry:

[phonics]

I forgot that Asian markets don't count. My bad.

[Yevrah]

Our population may be a lot lower than elsewhere but I didn't even need to check to know we're obviously one of its biggest markets, every single cunt who lives here has a subscription and we love spending money on absolute shite we don't need. Repeatedly.

[Lofty]

I just finished a rewatch of Breaking Bad and that final season is brutal.

[Pepe]

The fantasy genre is shit anyway.

[Yevrah]

Yeah, I never particularly liked Lord of the Rings in the first place and the third film would.not.end.

[Manc]

I just finished a rewatch of Breaking Bad and that final season is brutal.

I need to pick this up again at some point. Ducked out when Skylar made the show unbearable iirc.

[niko_cee]

Yeah, I never particularly liked Lord of the Rings in the first place and the third film would.not.end.

The hallmark of a really good trilogy is that the third one doesn't end in a horrific sing song.

Toy Story, erm, I'm sure there are others although it's hard to come up with one where the third isn't a massive turd off the top of my head.

Beverly Hills Cop? All classics.

[Shindig]

Robocop 3 ended on a truly awful moment in script writing. And then he flew away on a jetpack never to be seen or heard from again. Ever.

[niko_cee]

Aye, there seems to be a lot of examples of 1 and 2 being good and then 3 being dreadful.

[Pepe]

I wouldn't say that LOTR 2 was any good. I did enjoy the first one at the time.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The movies were all shit, especially the second.

[Spikey M]

The fantasy genre is shit anyway.

Correct.

[Kikó]

What's wrong with you guys? They were great.

[niko_cee]

I wouldn't say that LOTR 2 was any good. I did enjoy the first one at the time.

I wasn't necessarily putting LotR into that theory. They're all about the same, but the last one does have the singing. More like Terminator, Alien, The Godfather, Robocop.

Peter Jackson's films were alright though, and a damn sight better than most modern fantasy bilge.

[Mazuuurk]

The Nolan Batman trilogy I thought was good and concluded well.

[Pepe]

Back to the Future. :cool:

[Manc]

S2 of Atlanta is wild.

S3 is a bit of a mess.

[SvN]

Most trilogies have a weak third act. I think the Before trilogy is one of the few that don't.

[Ian]

Bourne Ultimatum is my favourite of the Bourne films I think*, which was a trilogy at one point, so dunno if that counts at all.

* Identity might be the "better" film but Ultimatum has two or three sequences (London, Morocco and then when they're hunting him at the end) that I absolutely love and I enjoy it leaning just a little into the silly bombast of something more Bond-y.

[Ben]

Plus Paddy Considine. :cool:

[Disco]

Bourne at least tried something interesting with the first film (and almost with whichever one had not-Bourne in it), the sequels were mostly thinly veiled excuses for indecipherable camera work and re-using that one bit of music they wrote.

Same with Craig era Bond films, first one maybe tries something like Casino Royale but then immediately throws it all in the bin and it's back to whacky cars and baddies with weird faces.

[Ben]

Extreme Ways is a Moby track, so you can't even give them that.

They also used Ready, Steady, Go by Oakenfold. :cool:

[Manc]

The Bourne films have the rugged realism that every good action film needs. Neeson nailed the genre in Taken.

[Giggles]

Cobra Kai series 5. A day well spent.

[Yevrah]

Watched all of the thing about Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds on Disney+ today, was pretty good.

[mo]

I particularly enjoy how ordinary the player's lives seem to be. Average salary of £40k isn't much more than what I earn and seeing the goalie doing some plastering for his bathroom brings that home.

[Yevrah]

£40k would be a scary salary as a footballer, given you're probably finished in your early 30s at that level.

[Ben]

Yeah that’s brutal.

[Lewis]

I find Ryan Reynolds annoying, like 'Ryan Reynolds' is a persona he puts on in interviews and the like. Is he like that in the programme?

[mo]

Yeah he seems to be playing the character Ryan Reynolds. It's quite off-putting. Rob Mcwhatsisface seems more genuine but you can tell he'd have run the club into the ground if he'd gone it alone.

[Boydy]

I've been watching some of that too. It's quite good. I've never watched any of the other football documentaries though so not sure how it compares to them.

[Yevrah]

I find Ryan Reynolds annoying, like 'Ryan Reynolds' is a persona he puts on in interviews and the like. Is he like that in the programme?

I think he's just like that (or doesn't know how to turn it off at this stage) and it is a bit annoying normally, but didn't grate during this for some reason.

[Yevrah]

I've been watching some of that too. It's quite good. I've never watched any of the other football documentaries though so not sure how it compares to them.

I think it's quite unique in the sense of Reynolds leveraging his fame to directly boost the commercial income of the club, which I can't recall anyone ever doing before. The Class of 92 (:vomit:) probably missed a trick there.

[Giggles]

I've been watching some of that too. It's quite good. I've never watched any of the other football documentaries though so not sure how it compares to them.

Sunderland is worth a watch.

[Mike]

Yeah, the Sunderland one is the best one.

[Manc]

Is Kenobi worth a watch or should I ignore and simply go for The Mandalorian?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kenobi is decent but it's nothing on Mando which is brilliant.

[Giggles]

Is watch both if you’re into that kind of thing.

[Kikó]

I'm nearly at the end of American Crime Story - the killing of Gianni Versace. It's very very good.

[Yevrah]

Ooh, I need to get on that. Really enjoyed the OJ one.

[Alex]

The didn't quite take to the Versace one in the same way, for some reason. It was OK though. The Clinton one was decent.

[randomlegend]

First episode of House of the Dragon gets RL's seal of "good".

[ScousePig]

I think they might be filming another Sunderland till I die series. I'm sure the cameras were there when the Alex Neil debacle unfolded the other week.

Sunderland fans generally seem to find the documentary quite annoying, though it does always seem to be catching us at our worst. Which, incidentally, is why it's better than the others.

[Shindig]

Some of them probably remember Premier Passions as well. Letting the cameras in rarely does clubs up here any favours.

[Luke Emia]

I think they might be filming another Sunderland till I die series. I'm sure the cameras were there when the Alex Neil debacle unfolded the other week.

Sunderland fans generally seem to find the documentary quite annoying, though it does always seem to be catching us at our worst. Which, incidentally, is why it's better than the others.

Oh I hope so that 1st season was incredible in every way.

[Baz]

I find Ryan Reynolds annoying, like 'Ryan Reynolds' is a persona he puts on in interviews and the like. Is he like that in the programme?Me too normally, but he comes across as very funny in this. It’s either very smooth editing or he is in fact very witty.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just finished Cobra Kai season 5 and I think it might be the best season so far. Top quality stuff.

[igor_balis]

Sunderland is worth a watch.

Yeah it's really good. I watched it in Norwich when I was living with two proper performative trustafarians (one wrote a newsletter about 5g causing cancer with her mother, lol), and I enjoyed it despite them both constantly tutting and wondering how I could find it interesting and how football is terrible and they're all thugs who earn too much money.

I remember once being like "yeah, well, there's a lot of money in football, billions, and it's better the footballers themselves earn it rather than the owners pocketing it right? And these lot are probably only on like 20k a week which is a lot but still" and I just got a pause and "yeah I just think they earn too much money". Can't you fuck off and burn down a mobile phone tower and leave me in peace you silly bitch?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

You could have just said you've watched it.

[igor_balis]

I like stories

[phonics]

Tbf the guy only time Mahow has told a single thing about himself it was that his dad was an absolute shagger and he was obsessed with a Ukrainian cam girl. You can understand why he doesn’t like the precedent of people talking about their life experiences.

[Baz]

Plus the gaming chair, sonic lunchbox and small hand thing.

[Spikey M]

And he has family in Shoebury. :sick:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

And he has family in Shoebury. :sick:
Not family.

[AyDee]

And he has family in Shoebury. :sick:

Diss Shoebury again and I'll come for you.

[Spikey M]

Why is it that people from the biggest shitholes are always so proud of their home towns (that they left ASAP usually)? There's a psychology thesis in that.

[Disco]

Diss Shoebury again and I'll come for you.

If it gets you out of Shoebury then he's done you a favour.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Devil In Ohio is pretty damn shit. The acting isn't great, the plot is fairly paint by numbers, it's too damn slow, the evil group don't feel that evil/powerful etc etc and yet I couldn't stop watching it.

[Lofty]

Why is it that people from the biggest shitholes are always so proud of their home towns (that they left ASAP usually)? There's a psychology thesis in that.

Barrow has gone down hill since I left apparently, when you'd have thought it would have improved somewhat in my abscence.

[Spikey M]

You were clearly Barrows Emile Heskey. You attracted all the wrong'ns and allow the norms to function.

[Baz]

I tried watching Ladhood but I didn’t get on with it at all so have sacked it off, two episodes into season two.

[Don]

That went downhill so quickly, season 1 is good, if basic, but by season 3 it became tragic.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided to finally start on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia last night and I'm instantly hooked.

Not sure why it's taken me so long to get on board but I'm glad I finally have.

[Boydy]

How much have you seen? It gets even better when Danny DeVito joins.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just starting the last episode of season 1 so no DeVito yet.

[Manc]

How does it compare to Arrested Development?

[Spikey M]

Dahmer on Netflix is pretty good, but it could easily be a Napoleon Dynamite spin off where Napoleon has had a psychotic break and Pedro is in the freezer.

[Baz]

How does it compare to Arrested Development?
Not as funny, but still worth watching.

[ScousePig]

I tried watching Ladhood but I didn’t get on with it at all so have sacked it off, two episodes into season two.

I watched it as it's so close to home, both in terms of location and the age of the bloke. At one point the sister and her friend outlined a night out and it would basically be a standard Friday/Saturday night out when I was a teenager.

[Yevrah]

Dahmer on Netflix is pretty good, but it could easily be a Napoleon Dynamite spin off where Napoleon has had a psychotic break and Pedro is in the freezer.

I thought the first few episodes were really good, but I'm up to about 7 now and it's running out of steam.

[Spikey M]

I thought the first few episodes were really good, but I'm up to about 7 now and it's running out of steam.

If it was British it would have been done in 3 or 4 episodes - like the excellent "Four Lives" with Stephen Merchant playing Stephen Port - but it's American, so we should just be happy that it isn't 15 seasons long.

[randomlegend]

Thought season 2 of The Capture was pretty good.

The build-you-own-Prime-Minister MAGIC algorithm was a bit stupid but that aside. Was nice to have a BBC drama thing that bucked the trend and actually gave us a satisfying ending for once.

[Baz]

1575852929415671808

Moron tagged Gillian Anderson instead of Britta.

[Baz]

I thought the first few episodes were really good, but I'm up to about 7 now and it's running out of steam.

Yep. The one after the deaf lad episode is toss, so presuming it carries on like that now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1575852929415671808

Moron tagged Gillian Anderson instead of Britta.

:drool:

Also, I had heard that Donald Glover was not likely to come back for a film :sherlock:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Up to halfway through season 5 in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and I absolutely love it.

The Nightman Cometh is such a good episode btw, taking a (great) song from an early episode and fleshing it out into a batshit musical is incredible.

On the other hand I'm struggling a bit with Trailer Park Boys now. I absolutely loved it for the first seven seasons but the specials (Christmas special, the films, Live shows and the Swearnet film) have been a bit shit and season 8 which I finished the other night just doesn't feel like Trailer Park Boys any more.

The eighth season has felt more like a TV show which is leaning too heavily into what made the characters good and as such is making it a little much at times. I miss the mockumentary style.

[wullie]

That's around the same point I stopped with it. I went back and tried again but there's a definite change from the point it was brought back by Netflix.

[Magic]

Not as funny, but still worth watching.

It's miles better than Arrested Development.

[niko_cee]

I've always had a strong dislike of killer whales so good on the BBC for doing this hatchet job on their Free Willy bullshit PR machine in Frozen Planet 2.

[Clunge]

Watched that last night. Motherfuckers. Incredible though.

[Spikey M]

I've always had a strong dislike of killer whales so good on the BBC for doing this hatchet job on their Free Willy bullshit PR machine in Frozen Planet 2.

They are dolphins pretending to be whales, and dolphins are bastards. All of them. The only ocean bound mammal to used dead fish as sex toys.

Lofty is the only land based mammal to do the same iirc.

[Spikey M]

Into The Deep on Netflix is one of the maddest things I've seen in some time.

It's essentially a murderer making a documentary about the run-up to his first murder in real time, whilst nobody else involved knows that's what's happening.

Echoes of some of those Jimmy Savile interview clips.

[igor_balis]

Agreed Sir Andy Mahowry and wullie

The stuff after the revival is pretty terrible, you can tell the original creator sold the rights to Bubbles Ricky and Julian and stopped being involved before it came back. It's a bit like what happened to the Simpsons, except if the Simpsons had jumped straight from golden era s4-6ish straight to Moe make dating app called bumble except it's called Dumble season 76 hellscape without the slow decline transitional s7-10ish period.

Obviously trailer park boys prob makes most people (e.g. the thickos making them their fortune through the weird TPB cottage industry) think ha ha bubbles freak haha Ricky stupid haha Julian...er, drinking rum and coke, but I do honestly think during its peak, the subtlety of the writing and world building and shit is fucking immense. When I finished my first watch of the original 7 seasons I almost convinced myself it was the greatest television show ever made, but I was doing a lot of drugs then.

[wullie]

I loved how the first run of it looked really cheap and shitty because it basically was, the move to HD and the general sheen with the revival made it all feel a bit cold and off. Same thing with the Simpsons when they changed animation and everything's so clean and quiet now, both completely devoid of the charm they had.

[randomlegend]

Lovesick is decent easy-watching-with-the-wife TV.

[Lofty]

The real gold of TPB was stuff like Ricky falling down the shopping cart hill, presumably unscripted.

[igor_balis]

The real gold of TPB was stuff like Ricky falling down the shopping cart hill, presumably unscripted.

Haha yeah I also loved those stupid little moments like that, they really helped the mockumentary vibe. Something which TPB did about a billion times better than The Office.

[Alex]

I honestly don't think House of the Dragon, at the moment, is that far off Game of Thrones when it was at its peak. It's just getting stronger and stronger as it goes. Far, far better than I had any expectation of it being. Daemon Targaryen is genuinely quite close to being my favourite character from the whole franchise.

[Bernanke]

The throne room scene in the latest episode was ace.

[Alex]

It was class, wasn't it? What a guy.

[Boydy]

Wreck on BBC (iplayer only? I'm not sure) is good. Started it last night and finished it tonight.

[Kikó]

Don't know if I mentioned it in here but the Deutschland series are worth a watch. Currently on 89. Really interesting time in modern history.

[wullie]

I loved 83 but the second one messing about in Africa put me off, keep meaning to go back and watch the rest.

[Kikó]

Dunno. I liked the story in Angola and the ANC. 83 didn't have English subtitles so we actually skipped it.

[Ben]

How have I not heard of this? Sounds great.

[wullie]

The Able Archer story in the first one is great, mad how close they came to outright nuclear war. I think it was just the relocation in 86 that put me off even though a show called Deutschland obviously isn't staying too far away for long, we'll get back to it at some point. We had a bit of a spate of watching German stuff at the time too, didn't like Babylon Berlin and Dogs of Berlin, liked The Wave, Balloon and Dark.

[Shindig]

Sounds right up my alley. I never did watch Heimat but maybe it's time to check that out.

[Manc]

I got halfway through 83 before the Channel 4 streaming quality killed me off.

[Baz]

I got halfway through 83 before the Channel 4 streaming quality killed me off.

Similarly I’ve been struggling to watch Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared cos All4 is absolutely littered with ads. It’s not 2004, let me watch my programme in peace.

[Clunge]

All4's ads are bizarrely inconsistent. Some shows cut to ads only to cut back to the show immediately, while others serve massive ad breaks 4/5 times per episode. I think the longest one I ever got was a seven-minute ad break.

[Ben]

Not sure how All4 responds to it because I've not tried, but for other streaming sites I use the Brave web browser and it completely eliminates all ads. I only ever see a YouTube advert these days when I'm using the work computer.

[Clunge]

Excellent intel, ta.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Finished She Hulk: Attorney At Law and I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it as the trailers made it look a little weak.

I thought the first couple of episodes were a little slow but the final few were excellent. The cameos were done well and Maslany was brilliant in the lead role.

[randomlegend]

That horrendous twerking scene that was doing the rounds has made me never want to watch it.

[Yevrah]

Finished S1 of welcome to Wrexham. Brilliant show.

[Baz]

Finished S1 of welcome to Wrexham. Brilliant show.

I didn’t realise they weren’t all out when I watched it, but it came up on Disney+ yesterday and I realised I’ve loads left now. Watched the history of Wales one yesterday, which was a bit rubbish tbh, but looking forward to normal episodes from here.

Also went on holiday to North Wales recently and the amount of people in Wrexham shirts was pretty insane.

[Alex]

I've just finished the first season of Rings of Power and I think it really grew into itself as it progressed. There was a lot of table setting and exposition in the early episodes but the last three were pretty great.

[Boydy]

I finally seem to have got into The Sopranos after a few abortive attempts before. Finished the first season last night and was really enjoying it by that point.

[SvN]

You're weak. You're outta control. And you've become an embarrassment to yourself and everybody else.

[phonics]

https://scontent.fman1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/242300658_564537464601282_5981043421133860468_n.jp g?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=LBkvuMeHKYQAX8J1fpf&_nc_oc=AQm_kJA9AGW7qmfQtK_sO99XoAoDHV3jbP5jjUEglba BnBFVDS6XHvOCxzq8QvWGsKI&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-1.fna&oh=03_AVLFcqekgUettmWotNmD4q8-usc1cDax25wZd7zLmYaoDA&oe=635A1B29

Your hair was in the toilet. Disgusting.

[Manc]

I've just finished the first season of Rings of Power and I think it really grew into itself as it progressed. There was a lot of table setting and exposition in the early episodes but the last three were pretty great.

Comfortably one of the worst takes this thread has ever seen.

[Alex]

I stand by it.

Ever seen though? Surely we have had some very bad takes in here over the years! Am I that far off the mark here? :D

[Alex]

You're weak. You're outta control. And you've become an embarrassment to yourself and everybody else.

Fucking nauseating.

You don't ever admit the existence of this thing. Ever!

[Giggles]

I’m out of shows now on Apple TV. Anyone any recommendations? Probably time I cancelled some of them anyway.

[Baz]

The “Hollywood distraction” episode of Welcome to Wrexham is very good.

[Lofty]

House of the Dragon series finale was excellent. Makes Rings of Power look even more dull.

[Bernanke]

Agreed. I probably for a long while into the season still wanted to hate it based on the final seasons of GoT, but it's fantastic.

[randomlegend]

I'm only just over halfway through the series but it's so fucking good.

Really brings back what a tragedy the latter part of the original was.

[randomlegend]

Also going to keep shilling Mr Inbetween until the entire board has seen it.

[Bernanke]

Paddy Considine's performance is elite, and Emma D'Arcy is getting better every episode. She was incredible in the finale.

[Manc]

Is HOTD a prequel or sequel?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Prequel, it's set like 200 years before GoT.

I'm a couple of episodes behind but the last one I watched (8), it was incredibly how sick and frail they managed to make Paddy Considine.

Really enjoying it thus far and will knock the final two episodes out this week.

[Kikó]

Ok you've all built it up. I'm going to start, and regret, watching the new GoT.


Lord of the rings was ok without really doing much

[Bernanke]

It is leagues better than that dull Amazon effort.

[niko_cee]

I never watched GoT, and watched a bit of that new one but I found the language off putting. Long haired blonde king guy [is that Paddy Consadine?] giving it full effing and jeffing doesn't really work for me in a high fantasy setting even if "fucking hell it's a dragon" is probably quite a realistic piece of dialogue [I have no idea if there are dragons in this thing].

[Jimmy Floyd]

The thing with GoT (I haven't watched the new one) is that it isn't really a high fantasy setting, or at least the original isn't, and it really goes easy on the magic etc for most of the way through, with dragons being the only real example. It's more of a kind of medieval bizzarro world.

The language I found offputting was all the stuff (mainly from the books, probably) like 'They broke their fast', 'Ser' instead of Sir, 'manhood' for cock etc. Bit twee.

[randomlegend]

I never watched GoT, and watched a bit of that new one but I found the language off putting. Long haired blonde king guy [is that Paddy Consadine?] giving it full effing and jeffing doesn't really work for me in a high fantasy setting even if "fucking hell it's a dragon" is probably quite a realistic piece of dialogue [I have no idea if there are dragons in this thing].

The fact they swear etc. realistically makes it much more immersive imo.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

I'm 4 episodes in and enjoying it so far. Was waiting for it to all come out then blitz in a week or so.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided to finally start on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia last night and I'm instantly hooked.

Not sure why it's taken me so long to get on board but I'm glad I finally have.

I've now seen every episode.

It's amazing. I'm not sure if it's as good as Arrested Development and Parks & Rec for me but it's close.

[Spikey M]

Working my way through Cabinet of Curiosities and it's very 'Netflix does Goosebumps for adults', but it's decent enough for what it is. It has superb reviews online, which is a bit surprising.

Edit: OK, episode 4 is just a bad Black Mirror episode.

[Don]

The fact it's used to justify mediocrity so commonly these days should be the sign. Cancel Netflix.

[Lofty]

The reviews will be skewed because it's Guillermo Del Toro and a lot of people believe he is infallible.

[Shindig]

If he was so great, he would've voiced himself in Death Stranding.

[Lewis]

The Lovebox in Your Living Room was good.

[Yevrah]

Yeah, enjoyed it a lot.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Finished the last two episodes of House of the Dragon tonight and they were brilliant. Not far off some of GoT's best episodes really.

[Giggles]

These Jedi animated shorts are making me think I should give the Clone Wars a go.

[Dark Soldier]

Working my way through Cabinet of Curiosities and it's very 'Netflix does Goosebumps for adults', but it's decent enough for what it is. It has superb reviews online, which is a bit surprising.

Edit: OK, episode 4 is just a bad Black Mirror episode.

del Toro, bar Pan's, is usually gash, but this series is great.

Episode 3 is fantastic.

[Spikey M]

del Toro, bar Pan's, is usually gash, but this series is great.

Episode 3 is fantastic.

Episode 4 (the skin cream one) was terrible, but the others are fine. I'm not sure I would venture as far as great, but I appreciate weird horror is very much your scene.

That said, I still haven't watched any after the fourth yet. Might blitz them tonight and tomorrow. 'tiz the season and all that.

[Dark Soldier]

I loved the fourth, decent commentary, fucked up ideas, loved the whole low rent back water gu-hugh vibe to the people in it.

Let's fight Spikes.

[Spikey M]

I wouldn't fight over this, however, if you have seen (and liked) "I'm Thinking Of Ending Things" then I'll meet you at the Trafford Centre at 9pm sharp.

[Disco]

These Jedi animated shorts are making me think I should give the Clone Wars a go.

Certainly worth trying, can recommend.

[Giggles]

Certainly worth trying, can recommend.

The series overlaps with Ep3 near the end does it?

Also, I found a 90 minute one-off one along with the series too. Is that to be watched at some stage during the series or is it completely separate?

[Disco]

I think so, it's a while since I watched the end, fair to say there are quite a few things from the main films that crop up at various points. Didn't bother with the film either and the internet seems unsure where it would sit so I would just ignore it.

[Giggles]

Cheers. I normally wouldn’t touch a show with so many series I haven’t seen but I think I’d be into this, and there’s not many shows I’m watching lately anyway.

Speaking of SW - Andor has settled in really nicely of late. The latest episode was excellent.

[Dark Soldier]

I wouldn't fight over this, however, if you have seen (and liked) "I'm Thinking Of Ending Things" then I'll meet you at the Trafford Centre at 9pm sharp.

The film was shite. Book is amazing though and happy to send you my copy if you want a read.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Batter him with it at the Trafford Centre.

[Spikey M]

We might need to have that fight DS. Episode 7: The Viewing is possibly the worst thing I've ever seen.

Please advise of a convenient time and place.

[Don]

The new Adam Curtis one on iPlayer about Russian history might be his best work to date, great stuff.

[Spikey M]

That's tonight sorted. Cheers. Xx

[Alex]

The film was shite. Book is amazing though and happy to send you my copy if you want a read.

I'm with you on this. I sat and read the book cover to cover, I know it's not a particularly long book but I couldn't put it down. But I also thought the film was a bag of shite.

Have you read his other one, "Foe"? Not as good but I also really enjoyed it. This has just prompted to me the check and find out he's just recently released a new one too. I'll be all over that.

[Spikey M]

Is it about a translucent man that nonces trampolines and makes poor investment decisions?

[Alex]

:D

Expertly done that. Bravo.

[Foe]

:(