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
I did one of those movie review things: Greyhound(2020)
Netflix’s Signs
Next on TMINE
The upcoming week’s going to be quite busy, with work mounting up pre August break, but I’m going to give reviewing Aladdin (2019) another try.
Helping to ease my workload, however, is that looking ahead through the schedules, we have practically no new shows scheduled to come our way any time soon. In fact, all I could see was Signs on Netflix, which is an imported Polish cop show from 2018.
You can tell the summer season is here, but added to Covid, we’ve hit what I assume must be the opposite of peak TV – trough TV?
I’ll just have to stick with the regulars, I guess. Talking of which…
What TMINE has been watching
So it’s patently clear I can’t do boxsets right now. And trying to do them is, ironically, making it less likely that I watch/review things (sorry, Babylon Berlin). So rather than keep muttering on about Dark et al, I’ll carry on doing what I did with Das Boot and review now what I’ve seen so far and then just treat them as shows I watch weekly.
Which given next week is the last week before TMINE’s August holidays is probably just as a stupid as trying to watch boxsets.
Anyway, that means from now on, the usual regulars will be: Baron Noir, Condor, Dark, Das Boot, Doom Patrol,Stargirl and The Twilight Zone. We can talk about them after the jump.
I did try to watch season 2 of Humans (UK: Channel 4), given it’s now on Netflix. We made it through half an episode and quite enjoyed it, but it seems to have lost its metaphor and is basically an excuse to have androids/gynoids chatting and working out their feelings. The arrival of Carrie-Anne Moss on the scene did make me consider watching more, though.
And as mentioned in my Greyhound review, I’ve started rewatching ITV’s Hornblower, which stars a rather young Ioan Gruffudd. It’s very disconcerting watching it now, because… it’s really good. It’s a really good, scripted ITV show that isn’t a crime drama, a period crime drama or something that involves the aristocracy and country houses. The dialogue is also straight out of Forester. And it’s surprisingly dark, too, straight from the outset. Plus what sets! It’s like being on the Victory in Portsmouth, they’re so good.
So I know what I’m probably watching on my holidays at least.
But in contrast to this forthcoming week, last week brought us three new shows, so after the jump, we’ll be talking about: Brave New World, Cursed and United We Fall.
An occasional look at what classic TV shows Talking Pictures (Sky 328 | Freeview 81 | Freesat 306 | Virgin 445) is going to be airing soon
The week commencing August 24 gives us one new show from Talking Pictures, although it’s not the first time it’s been in the schedules.
Together
Starts: Monday, August 24, 2pm (weekdays)
Originally broadcast from 1980-1981, Together was a daytime soap opera made by Southern Television. Rutherford Court was a modern block of sheltered accommodation flats run by a housing association – where each home had its own share of dramas, tensions, happiness and heartbreak.
The warden in charge was played by Sheila Fay, her husband was the odd-job man about the place, played by John Burgess, and their teenage daughter, who had countless problems with her love life, was played by future Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene. Other residents included a newly-wed couple who were having marital difficulties, with realistic scenes because the actors, Richard Everett and Gillian Bailey (who played Billie in Here Come the Double Deckers!), were married in real-life.
Two sisters shared another apartment, one enduring a messy divorce, a nervous breakdown and a battle with the bottle, providing ample gossip for the other characters, including a recently bereaved pensioner, a retired hospital matron and an ex-London cab driver with a roving eye, played by Victor Maddern.
The second series was broadcast live with a Cleo Laine recording for the theme tune. Made with the intention of targeting a daytime audience, the series soon had dedicated viewers. Ground-breaking at the time, the scripts tackled current issues such as marital problems, divorce, mental illness and relationships, paving the way for future TV dramas and soaps.
Regular Cast: Victor Maddern, Kathleen Byron, Hilda Fenemore, Margaretta Scott, John Burgess, Sarah Greene, Sheila Fay, Jonty Miller, Derek Harding, Richard Everett, Gillian Bailey, Paul Hastings, Sheila Gill, Christopher Burgess, Delena Kidd, Stephen Churchett, Carol Hawkins, Brian Jameson, Christine Pollon, John Malcolm, Wally Thomas, Gina Maher, Annie Leake, Ernest Hare, Raymond Francis.
