It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week
Previously on TMINE
So, here’s something interesting about being confined to quarters/being quarantined/being in prison/surviving coronavirus – you end up watching less TV than before. I was actually expecting to watch more, but without my morning commute, I’m actually watching less.
Plus the general ennui and existential angst of it all means I’ve gone to my happy place for the ironing: yep, I’m rewatching Iron Fist. It’s really good. I’ll probably have a lot to say about it next week. New things. Different things. Honest.
All of which meant that the only new show I reviewed this past week was Motherland: Fort Salem and I still haven’t got to the end of season 3 of Babylon Berlin (I’m up to episode eight now). Sorry about that.
The Banker
Next on TMINE
To be honest, I’m actually going to be pretty busy this week and next – my bank account will be happy at least – so I’m not sure how much reviewing I’ll be able to do. However, my eye has been caught by Netflix’s Freud, which is a handy eight episodes long, so that might become a Boxset Monday, although The Guardian reckons it’s ridiculous so maybe not.
Council of Dads (US: NBC) should be getting a review either tomorrow or Monday, though. German/US show Unorthdox comes to Netflix tomorrow, but that doesn’t really appeal. Season three of Ozark is arriving on Friday, as is comic-adaptation Vagrant Queen on Syfy (US), and they appeal a bit more.
Meanwhile, tomorrow’s Orange Thursday is down to one movie again (sigh, I miss going to the movies so much): Apple TV+’s The Banker (2020).
Westworld
The regulars
It’s the usual regulars after the jump: Devs, For Life, Star Trek: Picard, Stateless, Transplant, and War of the Worlds. I’ll also be talking about the latest two episodes of Westworld, which I forgot I’d watched last week, as well as episode three of Amazing Stories, which I gave another try.
I decided, however, not to give The Plot Against America another try – I’m prepared to be proven wrong on this, but it feels like a worthy-fest with less impact than even 11.22.63.
I also watched a bit of an episode of Avenue 5 out of the corner of one eye – it was the episode with John Finnemore in it and you know what? It was all right. I might watch season two at this rate.
It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week
Previously on TMINE
So, erm, yes. There’s this virus thing and we’re all being quarantined. How about that for fun? Still, rather than giving me more TV viewing time, it just gave me more work, which meant that things have been a bit quieter than planned on TMINE this past week.
In fact, there have been no TV reviews this week at all. I have been watching season 3 of Babylon Berlin but I’m only up to episode 8 of 12, so I’ll hold off reviewing that until next week. Although, to be honest, I’m not sure I can muster a whole Boxset Monday review for it, so that’ll probably sneak in with WHYBW next Wednesday.
Orange Thursday did manage to take in both Radioactive (2020) and Joker (2019). But given that that naughty virus, which has already cancelled all the scheduled BFI and BAFTA events, has now closed down all the cinemas, that’ll be the last for reviews and previews of current movies for a while.
Little Fires Everywhere
Next on TMINE
Although pretty much every TV show you can name, UK or overseas, has now shut down production, we do at least have a few new shows that have already been completed coming our way, some of which I hope to watch. What else am I going to do? Go out?
After the jump, though, I’ll take in the latest bit of work from The Wire‘s Ed Burns and David Simon – an adaptation of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, which sees what happens in a parallel universe America when Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR in the presidential election of 1940.
Coming later this week (hopefully) are reviews of Hulu (US)’s Little Fires Everywhere and Freeform (US)’s Motherland: Fort Salem, both of which start today. I’m less likely to watch Julian Fellowes’ dramatisation of the history of football, The English Game (Netflix), teen knight drama The Letter For the King (Netflix) or period fashion biopic Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (Netflix), but they’re on the table at least. I might be able to add Council of Dads (US: NBC) to next week’s WHYBW, as it’s airing on Tuesday, but we’ll wait and see on that.
Meanwhile, tomorrow’s Orange Thursday will head into the exciting world of TV movies. No, not TV Movies – TV movies. First up will be Netflix’s Spenser Confidential (2020), which is a very loose remake of 80s TV show Spenser For Hire (US: ABC) (or at least the original source material).
And then we’re going to head even further back in TV time to the 60s for The Man From UNCLE‘s The Helicopter Spies (1968). Spoiler for the second of those – there aren’t that many helicopters in it.
Stumptown took another holiday again, which means I’ll only be reviewing the following regulars after the jump: Devs, For Life, Star Trek: Picard, Stateless, Transplant, and War of the Worlds. At least one of them’s getting a promotion to the recommended list – isn’t that exciting?
I did try to watch the second episode of Amazing Stories (Apple TV+), but “It’s A Wonderful Life with an aspiring urban female 400m runner” really put me off after about 15 minutes, so that’s not going to be a regular, just something I dip into occasionally, I suspect.
