What are you watching on TV

Watched Season Three of Afterlife with Ricky Gervais. I loved it, I laughed and cried. He wrapped it all up so I don't think there will be another season.

Hope to agree with you, Gillian. I've never been keen on Ricky Gervais, but our daughter said Afterlife was worth watching but the sadness within it might upset her mother. (Now thankfully recovered from a depressed state). So Sunday night we took the risk and watched the first four episodes of series one. Finished series one last night and got into series two.

To say I am surprised would be an understatement. The way Gervais has mixed the poignancy and sadness with humour is quite remarkable. And in the process there lessons in humanity. The acting in it is impeccable too, the extreme characters are just this side of believable. An excellent experience.

Yellowjackets

Quote by gillianleeza

Watched Season Three of Afterlife with Ricky Gervais. I loved it, I laughed and cried. He wrapped it all up so I don't think there will be another season.

Yup. Binged it too. The critics have flamed the third season. I think 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the fans like it. And yes, season three is it’s last, and perfectly so. No need to continue.

This whole third season I kept saying, “Not the dog! Not the dog!” The series finale was somewhat cliche and cheesy, almost stealing from Six Feet Under, but not, and I’d argue close to wrap-up-loose-ends perfect.

Was the traveling county fair a metaphor for life and death? Hmm. The doggie had white whiskers. “Not the dog!”

His handling of the cheque was perfect. But the best part was how he kept beating his brother-in-law.

“Not the dog!”

The Ray Donovan series was abruptly cancelled, disallowing the team to properly wrap up the series. Well, Liev et al did so in a wonderful movie last week. It ended almost as I’d hoped and expected. But there was a sneaky little twist that explained so much. Family secrets. We’ve all got them, but not like the Donovan’s.

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Still chugging away with The Man in High Castle. Almost done season two. The interconnected parallel universe interaction stuff is a real mindF***. I hope it makes sense by the end. But that high ranking Nazi. What an incredible actor. And his storylines are overly complex and monumental. He handles everything with breathtaking skill. Huge, huge fan here. Actually, there have been some outstanding performances for some unexpected actors. At times, I think I’m more engrossed by their talent.

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Ozark and Billions restart this week and next.

So much to watch!

The Curse of Oak Island on Wednesdays, Chicago Fire on Fridays. Also on Fridays, a new drama from Germany, Dark Woods (Das Geheimnis des Todeswaldes). On catch-up, another German crime drama, Der Pass, Season two.

No doubt they will all finish at once and I will be left with nothing, as so often happens.

I just started season four of Ozarks. I am eager to see how they wrap up this final season. I thought the whole series was done well with excellent writing and storytelling.

I finished watching part one of the final season of Ozark. I was not amused to see that they had broken it down into two parts with the second airing sometime this year. It's still excellent so I hope that they will give it a worthy ending.

I have just finished watching a Danish series on All4, Cry Wolf.

It is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl who claims to have a violent stepfather who beats her. The problem is, there is no evidence. The social services caseworker believes her and has her and her nine-year-old brother removed from the home and placed with a foster family. A problem soon becomes clear... is she telling the truth?

I started watching the new show, The Gilded Age, from the writers of Downton Abbey. To my surprise, I am finding it quite fascinating... As always, Christine Baranski is great as the arrogant and condescending gentlewoman.

For the Olympics, CBC (who have the Canadian broadcast and streaming rights for the games) has stocked their Gem streaming service with documentaries about China. We have started one by the BBC hosted by Michael Wood, on the history of China. While my wife is Chinese, she's not really that much of a historian so she enjoys watching programs about the subject.

Long list of things I'm watching

Started binge watching Army Wives again on DVD I love the cast .

Watched Scooby Doo Where are you seasons 1 and 2.

Started season 2 of the Originals and season 2 of Vampire Diaries and just wasn't feeling it ... Might pick them up again later .

We just blew through all of Archive 81 in a couple days. I really liked it (I love the whole found footage video thing), though I thought the ending was kinda weak. It didn't sink the series, I still really liked it, but they didn't quite nail the landing.

I think we are trying Station Eleven next. Talia is not big into sci-fi, I may need to sell this one.

Just finished, The Man in High Castle. Season Four, its final, was turbulent and emotional. Although the series was not tidily wrapped up with a big red full-understanding bow, leaving many interpretations for the future, it’s undoubtedly a series that will remain with me for a very long time. The father-son relationship rocked me the most. If you’ve seen this, you’ll know what I mean. It’s not a show, or book, for everyone, but if you enjoy stories about WWII, alternative realities, resistance movements, the multiverse and parallel universes, and the complexities of human survival, it may be a series for you.

After several seasons, I toasted Billions. The writers have messed up and sadly, the brilliant cast is paying for it. I don’t expect the series to last much longer after this season. 🤢

Still can’t get into Peaky Blinders. Will try a little harder. There are regional, historical backstories that I’m not privy to that I think would help. I’ll give it another go.

I also abandoned, Sex Education. It lost its mojo. The kids are great. The adult roles and involvement should have been minimized.

Killing Eve is restarting in a week or so. High hopes for it, but I fear the worst. Where do they go without being cliché?

Anyone watch Rick & Morty or Bob’s Burgers? My son wants us to watch them, but I’m hesitant. R & M is pretty crude, but it’s a teenager boy’s funny. The writing is witty. I know nothing about Bob’s Burgers, so no expectations might be a good thing.

Bring on Better Call Saul. Huge desire for that one.

Same with Family of Dragons or whatever the GoT spin-off is called. If Sir George gives it the thumbs up, it must be close to his vision versus that of the two showrunners that butchered the last two seasons of GoT. In fairness, they probably tried to overcome a deficit position. Anyone else think that that fiasco has more to do with R.R. not giving them the material they needed to properly finish the series? I think, after George passes, the knives will come out and place all the blame at the foot of his coffin.

Lastly, a new hobbitish series is coming to town. Has wonderful promise. Looks good.

Rick & Morty rocks. I watched The Man in the High Castle but think it jumped the shark after the second series. I really enjoyed Fargo up until the last series. Peaky Blinders is about the best thing on the box at the moment IMHO.

Quote by Brad_Naylor

Rick & Morty rocks. I watched The Man in the High Castle but think it jumped the shark after the second series. I really enjoyed Fargo up until the last series. Peaky Blinders is about the best thing on the box at the moment IMHO.

R & M rocks? I feared someone would say that. It’s kinda pulling me in.

I felt the series took a turn with the traveller thing, but also found that to be a unique twist. Was there something in particular that occurred in MITHC that caused you to think of Fonzie, a swimming pool, and lemon sharks? Please do tell. Thanks.

And that Peaky Blinders thing. Am I correct thinking I’m missing some regional backstory understanding? When should I expect the hook?

I thought MITHC got off to a great start. I believe it could have, and should have, been fitted into two seasons. Like a lot of these kind of shows, once they get an audience they tend to milk it. I think LOST is a good example of shark jumping. Westworld also went on for too long. All the best shows I've seen pull you in, take you on a ride and know when to stop. Breaking Bad was a good example of knowing when to stop. It left me wanting more and that's what makes it great. That's just my opinion though.

Quote by Brad_Naylor

I thought MITHC got off to a great start. I believe it could have, and should have, been fitted into two seasons. Like a lot of these kind of shows, once they get an audience they tend to milk it. I think LOST is a good example of shark jumping. Westworld also went on for too long. All the best shows I've seen pull you in, take you on a ride and know when to stop. Breaking Bad was a good example of knowing when to stop. It left me wanting more and that's what makes it great. That's just my opinion though.

I didn’t watch Lost, but I agree about Westworld. Started out great, and with a bunch of great ideas, but then spent so much time building out a whole “mythology” they lost all immediacy. I assume they were borrowing a page from Lost in doing so.

Really looking forward to the last season of Better Call Saul.

I’d give Lost a wide berth. After 121 episodes it turns out they were all dead. This did not come as a surprise to anyone who managed to wade through season one. I agree with you, I'm looking forward to Better Call Saul. I think it's way above anything on offer at the moment.

TV Schedule for tonight (all Youtube):

PBS Space Time on Cosmic Strings produced by the Big Bang

PBS Sound Field on the return of Pop Punk

SciShow on why our eyes move when we are thinking

Anything else interesting that gets posted between now and when I exercise.

I watched Pieces of Her on Netflix based on a Karin Slaughter novel. It was good, and it kept my attention. I don't ask for much more than that these days. I was pleased to see they had announced a date for the final episodes of Ozark. I'll be spending April 29 binging the last seven episodes for my birthday.

Agreed, it was most attention-holding, Gillian. Only the cancer sequence seemed irrelevant --or did we miss something?

Just watched PBS "Call the Midwife" but then had to get to the computer.

Just started Dopesick. Really strong so far. Michael Keaton is excellent, and keeps reminding me of Ed Harris in it.

Just finished Army Wives.. next up Criminal Minds ..

Just finished the first two hours of Benjamin Franklin. Excellent, of course. Learned a lot I did not know about him. But he was certainly free with his inventions, refusing to have them patented.

Quote by elizabethblack

Just finished the first two hours of Benjamin Franklin. Excellent, of course. Learned a lot I did not know about him. But he was certainly free with his inventions, refusing to have them patented.

I watched a bio of him (not the Burns one, which is what I assume you are watching) a while back and he had quite an interesting life. We mostly hear about the kite thing and his role in the Revolution but there's a lot more to the story, eh.

I get to watch the last two hours of Benjamin Franklin tonight. Yes, Scott, it is the Burns one. I have a great deal of trust in his work. And I never get bored with any of them.

I've been watching way too many documentaries lately. I was trying to take a break from viewing the news but landed on some unsettling stories. The Bleeding Edge on Netflix is an interesting recounting of how medical devices end up on the market in the US and how it is even bigger a lobbying and money making industry than big Pharma. It was eye-opening.

Quote by gillianleeza
how medical devices end up on the market in the US and how it is even bigger a lobbying and money making industry than big Pharma. It was eye-opening.

Well, Gill, that certainly wasn't something to lift your mood. Seems you can look under anything and come up with greed. We are masters of greed in the U.S. and many other countries.

Would rather talk about my bluebells blooming. An absolute joy in my area as they cover fields everywhere until the trees leaf out to block sunshine. So, for a few weeks - beauty galore: