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
The lack of new (and watchable) TV, as well as continuing lockdown, means it’s been a slow week for TMINE.
I did shoot through a mighty list of Disney movies for Covideodrome on Wednesday, but that was it. Sorry! I’ll do better this week.
A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes
What TMINE has been watching
I’ve got one episode further into season 3 of Baron Noir; I also started on season 2 of Das Boot. But that was it for scripted. I will finish them at some point. Although I said that about the third season of Babylon Berlin and look what happened there; Das Boot wasn’t too inspiring, either, and didn’t make me think, “Ooh, I must watch the rest of this immediately.”
I’ve been watching a tad more in the unscripted realm. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes (which confusingly is also called Greek Island Odyssey) is on Fridays on 5 and is about 50% travelog, as our Bettany goes from island to island and samples local food and customs, 50% historical piece as she visits museums and archaeological sites, tying them into Odysseus’ return home from the Trojan War.
It is, of course, fine and engaging, but the level of artifice is slightly annoying. Bettany’s faux pretence to be surprised at everything, even the basics, grates after a while, particularly when she forgets and says things like “I’m so pleased it’s a kylix.” Similarly, her level of Greek (for someone who regularly spends time in Athens, has been visiting since the 80s, etc) is oddly basic, even on things that she’s been good at in other episodes. Until she forgets and is good again.
The editing is also a little strange. In the latest episode, as she supposedly retraces Odysseus’ journey home from Turkey to Ithaca, she first hits Delos, then heads to Ikaria, then heads for Mykonos – even though the only real way to get to Delos is on a boat from Mykonos. Yep, it’s all been reordered.
Sure. You’d go to Delos, then Ikaria, then Mykonos, wouldn’t you?
That said, it’s great to watch and there’s some good archaeology, if you can overlook the dumbing down for 5. It’s also several hundred miles better than Joanna Lumley’s similar effort.
Matthew Rhys in Perry Mason
Next on TMINE
Movies-wise, we tucked into Bad Boys For Life (2019) over the weekend, so that’ll be this week’s Covideodrome. Airing last night was Perry Mason (US: HBO; UK: Sky Atlantic). But that’s about it for new shows.
Fortunately, returning this week are old regulars Doom Patrol (US: HBO Max; UK: StarzPlay), Dark (Netflix) and The Twilight Zone (US: CBS All Access; UK: Syfy), so at least there’ll be something to watch.
After the jump…
After the jump, the latest episode of Stargirl gets a review. Is that it? No, because Condor (US: Audience; UK: Universal) came back with three whole episodes for me to talk about.
