What Are You Watching

[kinuta]

'The Honourable Woman' finished last night. I still don't quite understand what happened but the whole series had me gripped. Completely flew in the face of the modern fashion for breathless drama with changing scenes every few seconds - lots of slow camera lingering, enigmatic statements and threads that don't start to make sense for a couple of episodes. And lots of questions left in your head.

I do hope it got some decent ratings so the BBC will take a few more risks - we've quite enough cookery and fly-on-the-school-wall programmes as it is.

Also programme 3/4 of:

A more traditional detective thing but again moves at a leisurely pace. I like the characters, the scenery is stunning and the weather is worse than Worksop.

I completely agree about The Honourable Woman, it was outstanding.

[A Lark Ascending]

I completely agree about The Honourable Woman, it was outstanding.

Good review here:

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/aug/22/the-honourable-woman-hugo-blick-review

Edited August 22, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[jlhoots]

The Bridge - twisted, twisted - but that's what makes it great IMO.

[A Lark Ascending]

Can't say I cared for this. Rootless, feckless folk-singer adrift in a New York/Chicago winter. Loses a cat and finds the wrong one. Probably means something to film buffs but for me it dragged. Quite fun trying to work out who the performers were supposed to be - I think I spotted the Clancy Brothers towards the end and, obviously, Bobbo. Was the jazz junkie in the car meant to be someone specific?

The 50s/60s folk revival is very easy to caricature (can't recall the film that sent it up comically a few years back) - a lot of it sounds like middle class kids pretending to be hobos or fishermen now. But there was some marvellous and very influential music that came out of it. It deserves better.

Edited August 24, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[Shawn]

Doctor Who - Deep Breath, Series 8, episode 1. Overall an odd episode in tone, but it served the purpose of introducing Capaldi and now that's over with we can see how it progresses going forward.

[kinuta]

Rewatching The Shadow Line.

[jazzbo]

Was alright.

[kinuta]

Rewatching -

The State Within - BBC (2006)

[kinuta]

Rewatched - State Of Play - BBC (2003)

Excellent cast.

[jlhoots]

Manhattan - on WGN, about the building of the atomic bomb.

Much better series than I thought it would be.

[kinuta]

Manhattan - on WGN, about the building of the atomic bomb.

Much better series than I thought it would be.

I couldn't get into it, the focus on security paranoia and interpersonal relations put me off. I was looking forward to some nuts and bolts physics, showing how it was done.

[duaneiac]

Any one who was a youngster and saw this made-for-TV movie when it first aired some 40 years ago (such as myself) most assuredly had nightmares for a while afterwards. There were 3 stories in this anthology -- each featuring Karen Black in a different role -- the first two of which are rather tame and not at all terrifying. The final tale though, which featured that little Zuni fetish doll (depicted on the cover) which came to life and attacked Ms. Black's character, was genuinely terrifying. Even watching it today, it is both very scary and very absurd. That episode is a completely solo performance by Ms. Black and her work and the direction of Dan Curtis (creator of the TV series Dark Shadows) makes the story believable and viscerally frightening.

[jlhoots]

Manhattan - on WGN, about the building of the atomic bomb.

Much better series than I thought it would be.

I couldn't get into it, the focus on security paranoia and interpersonal relations put me off. I was looking forward to some nuts and bolts physics, showing how it was done.

Yea - but it's not a documentary.

[A Lark Ascending]

Rewatched - State Of Play - BBC (2003)

Excellent cast.

I loved that series. One of the rare ones I've watched twice.

Just started this about a black British dance band in the 30s and am enjoying it. A bit stylised with somewhat stereotypical characters and I'm pretty sure they're using a late-30s/early 40s music style in the early 30s. But enjoyable.

[Shawn]

Any one who was a youngster and saw this made-for-TV movie when it first aired some 40 years ago (such as myself) most assuredly had nightmares for a while afterwards. There were 3 stories in this anthology -- each featuring Karen Black in a different role -- the first two of which are rather tame and not at all terrifying. The final tale though, which featured that little Zuni fetish doll (depicted on the cover) which came to life and attacked Ms. Black's character, was genuinely terrifying. Even watching it today, it is both very scary and very absurd. That episode is a completely solo performance by Ms. Black and her work and the direction of Dan Curtis (creator of the TV series Dark Shadows) makes the story believable and viscerally frightening.

You should read the original short story by Richard Matheson entitled "Prey", the movie version is tame by comparison.

[jazzbo]

Finished True Blood Season Five on Blu-ray. Just about to start Hamlet, no I mean Sons of Anarchy Season Six on Blu-ray.

[duaneiac]

Any one who was a youngster and saw this made-for-TV movie when it first aired some 40 years ago (such as myself) most assuredly had nightmares for a while afterwards. There were 3 stories in this anthology -- each featuring Karen Black in a different role -- the first two of which are rather tame and not at all terrifying. The final tale though, which featured that little Zuni fetish doll (depicted on the cover) which came to life and attacked Ms. Black's character, was genuinely terrifying. Even watching it today, it is both very scary and very absurd. That episode is a completely solo performance by Ms. Black and her work and the direction of Dan Curtis (creator of the TV series Dark Shadows) makes the story believable and viscerally frightening.

You should read the original short story by Richard Matheson entitled "Prey", the movie version is tame by comparison.

All three stories in this movie were based upon short stories by Mr. Matheson, but he only wrote the screenplay for the attacking doll one. The DVD contains a "special feature" interview with him and he said he knew that story would be the clincher and he wanted to keep it for himself. Ms. Black said in the commentary portion that she made up some of the dialogue she used on the phone calls in that segment to help her flesh out her character and she said the idea for her character's final, unforgettable transformation in the end was her idea.

[Shawn]

Any one who was a youngster and saw this made-for-TV movie when it first aired some 40 years ago (such as myself) most assuredly had nightmares for a while afterwards. There were 3 stories in this anthology -- each featuring Karen Black in a different role -- the first two of which are rather tame and not at all terrifying. The final tale though, which featured that little Zuni fetish doll (depicted on the cover) which came to life and attacked Ms. Black's character, was genuinely terrifying. Even watching it today, it is both very scary and very absurd. That episode is a completely solo performance by Ms. Black and her work and the direction of Dan Curtis (creator of the TV series Dark Shadows) makes the story believable and viscerally frightening.

You should read the original short story by Richard Matheson entitled "Prey", the movie version is tame by comparison.

All three stories in this movie were based upon short stories by Mr. Matheson, but he only wrote the screenplay for the attacking doll one. The DVD contains a "special feature" interview with him and he said he knew that story would be the clincher and he wanted to keep it for himself. Ms. Black said in the commentary portion that she made up some of the dialogue she used on the phone calls in that segment to help her flesh out her character and she said the idea for her character's final, unforgettable transformation in the end was her idea.

Very cool. The first Matheson novel I read was "Bid Time Return", I think it was about a year after the adaptation "Somewhere In Time" was released. I was like 12 at the time, I loved the time travel angle to the movie and picked up the novel at the library. Then I started noticing his name in the credits for Twilight Zone episodes and sci-fi/horror films and I bought a couple short story collections. I've been a fan ever since, he's one of my all-time favorites. He had an impressive career.

[kinuta]

Castles In The Sky - BBC2

An interesting and well done look at the efforts to build a radar defence system in Britain, just prior to WW2.

It succeeded admirably in making me want to pursue the subject in more detail, something the bloated Manhattan completely failed to do.

[Shawn]

I finally finished season 4 of Breaking Bad. It has only taken me 3 years to work my way through seasons 1 thru 4.

I can't binge watch this show, I watch like 5 episodes and then I have to take a break for 4 or 5 months, then go back to it. No idea why...it just wears me out.

[A Lark Ascending]

Castles In The Sky - BBC2

An interesting and well done look at the efforts to build a radar defence system in Britain, just prior to WW2.

It succeeded admirably in making me want to pursue the subject in more detail, something the bloated Manhattan completely failed to do.

Enjoyed that too. As always, the sight of Spitfires scrambling at the end sent me all wobbly.

[A Lark Ascending]

Steered clear of this when broadcast - romance among the codgers isn't really my thing. But after watching 'Happy Valley' I decided to risk it. Well, it is sentimental but I really enjoyed it. Some really engaging characters.

"Constable: A Country Rebel"

Don't know much about Constable (or painting come to that) so found this interesting. Just getting a bit cheesed off with the format of historical programmes. Young trendy chap or chappess leaping round the country with modern scenes all around and the occasional look at a picture or contemporary source. The bit on 'The Haywain' - let's have him doing a jigsaw of it while he talks! I know it's impossible to fill the hour with contemporary images and talking heads are a sure turn-off but there just seems to be a bit of a formula set in.

[jazzbo]

Blu-ray

[jlhoots]

Line Of Duty - season 2

[A Lark Ascending]

After grumbling about the 'Constable' programme I watched one on Turner I recorded a year or more back. Brought home even more starkly why I find the standard contemporary history format so annoying because this one was superb.

No wandering celebrity or luvvy. Commentary was a voice over. Instead of anachronistic scenes of modern Britain/Europe there were careful reconstructions.

But I loved the angle of the programme, focussing on Turner's fascination with new science (Davy, Faraday etc) and his embracing of the new technologies of the industrial revolution at a time when Romanticism tended to look backwards and view 'dark satanic mills' as a wrecker of an earlier world. Utterly compelling.