A few new series and mini-series starting up this week, so what have you been watching?
Another 50/50 episode of Mitchell and Webb last night (ironically enough): 'Remain Indoors' remains one of the most darkly funny things around. Psychoville I might get round to watching in my lunchbreak, if I have enough time. Occupation is waiting for a few hours of available downtime, since lovely wife's undying love for James Nesbitt mandates that we watch it together.
Episode 4 of Mental was quite one of the most painfully bad episodes of anything ever made – even worse than Painkiller Jane – so I'm giving up on that.
Haven't watched Nurse Jackie this week yet, since for some reason, it won't go onto my iPod at the moment. Royal Pains and Burn Notice are waiting for me when I get home – last week's were both good, so you should be watching them if you're not already.
Simon Schama's John Donne was typically Simon Schama-esque: all very exciting and involving when you watch it, but you can't remember a thing afterwards. Michael Woods' Beowulf was far more memorable for its slower pace.
I also caught an episode of an old documentary series called The Power of Myth, which is basically a collection of interviews with Joseph Campbell. Surprisingly Christian in its analysis and a bit sketchy on the details, but very interesting and worth watching if you have a mo.
As always, no spoilers unless you're going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please? Ta!
June 19, 2009 | Reply
I think I sent my DVR into a snit this week. I think it was expecting a bit of a vacation now that the regular season is over, but instead I'm finding either new series to watch or individual episodes that I may have missed in the past. So it was giving me warnings on various entries as to how long it would keep them.
A lot of things I recorded however, I either checked out only the first few minutes or erased sight unseen.
The reasons varied:
'Hawthorne' - your review of it as being dull convinced me it was just a waste of my time.
'Cupid' - even though it was the final episode, I had never seen the others in this remake. And I had never seen the original, so why bother? (I do plan to catch the original someday though.)
'Ideal' - wanted to sample it but after five minutes I gave up because I just couldn't figure out what the fat slob character was saying. (The only phrase I made out was "corned beef hash" to some guy on the phone and that just made me hungry.)
'The Mentalist' - had seen it already but didn't recognize the onscreen plot summary when programming the DVR.
So once all those were gone, my DVR was happy and took away all the other notices.
Those shows I did watch:
I did catch this week's 'Mental'.... Was it the sub-plot about Sciorra's daughter that bothered you? Because that was crap to me. But I did enjoy the main storyline, at least until the big climax - I kept thinking, where are the factory workers during all of that?
The final episode of 'Foyle's War' - I like when a TV show teaches me something (assuming Operation Tiger actually happened; I plan to research that later today). Nothing was left too tidily wrapped up, but I expect everybody's lives continued for the better.
'Kings' - I wish they always approached this as being a mini-series and not as something that had any kind of chance for renewal. Because it is pretty good and doesn't deserve that stink of failure about it.
'Harper's Island' - yeah, I know it's not very good at all, but I'm enjoying the creative ways characters are being dispatched. Yeah, I'm twisted. And I'm too deeply invested now - I need to see if my theory of the killer is correct.
'Z Rock' - one of the bright lights for my summer viewing. This is one funny show. It's being shown in IFC over here, but if you can find it (through whatever means - ahem! - do so!)
'The Unusuals' - this was the final episode and I'm sorry to see it go. I think this was a great show in the tradition of 'Barney Miller', at least as far as the types of crimes they investigated. At least it went out with just about everybody well-served, escept for Terry Kinney (but his was a thankless role). Besides, the storylines for most of the others seemed to wrap up in the last few weeks anyway.
I still have all of my Thursday night viewing to catch still - 'Burn Notice', 'Royal Pains', and 'The Listener'.
June 19, 2009 | Reply
Ha, it amuses me that you couldn't understand Johnny Vegas' accent.
Ideal finished this week and I loved the series but each episode was less enjoyable than the one before it for me. I think perhaps once the surprise of the crazy characters has worn off it no longer works so well... there aren't many jokes that aren't based on how stupid Jenny is. But whatever, it is still highly imaginative to the point of being a work of art (that sequence with the red leather face with a zip for a mouth was... unnervingly delightful) and I have the dvds for series 1 to watch now.
I also saw Krod Mondoom (sp?) which is possibly something to be ashamed of. Cliched and predictable but I'm a fantasy fan so I appreciate the tropes contained within. And it does raise a few smiles which is more than can be said for most comedy on tv.
Michael McIntyre's roadshow is kind of okay viewing. Some of the standups are pretty good. Very few have their own character though. Where are the Izzards and Baileys of the future?
And although I swore to stop raving about it, series 5 of Outrageous Fortune started a few weeks ago and I finally found the first two episodes online and watched them. Not very impressive compared to previous series openers but I've seen things turn around very quickly with this show and really there is a point where you love a show so much quality doesn't matter any more, it's just about spending time with familiar people.
June 19, 2009 | Reply
Been a bit busy for much TV this week, but did watch Occupation. As you haven't seen it yet, Rob, I'll keep me thoughts to meself. Tho' your wife shouldn't be disappointed in JN. He was brilliant. And I will say it was sufficiently gripping for us to set time aside in a very very busy week to watch it.
Other then that QT last night, where I think everyone on the panel managed to annoy me, and half of the Supersizers which I found quite fun, tho' I can't remember dinner parties being like that in the 80s. Maybe I didn't know the right people (-: Sue Perkin's assessment of cocktail drinking rang a lot of bells though!
June 20, 2009 | Reply
"'Hawthorne' - your review of it as being dull convinced me it was just a waste of my time."
Good.
"I did catch this week's 'Mental'.... Was it the sub-plot about Sciorra's daughter that bothered you? Because that was crap to me."
That, and the rubbish acting, annoyed me less than the selectively (or is it electively in the US, as Mental suggests?) mute child playing video games in his head and twiddling his fingers because he's bipolar. And do they really leave heavy industrial factories to run by themselves these days?