Pennyworth

Total Control
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Total Control

16 October 2019 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week

Nancy Drew
The CW (US)’s Nancy Drew

This week’s reviews

I miss my iPad. The screen broke a couple of weeks ago and although I had it repaired, they didn’t repair it properly, so I had to take it back again.

That means I’ve been confined to watching TV on my iPhone and not ‘co-browsing’ any more. Couple that with the “one connector so you can listen or charge but not both” syndrome and the crap battery life now available on my now old iPhone 7 and you can see my lack of iPad has been seriously cramping TMINE’s style – and review schedule.

However, over the past week, I’ve managed to review Nancy Drew (US: The CW) and season one of Raising Dion (Netflix), which ain’t bad. But as always, it’s the francophone TV that suffers in these things and I didn’t manage to watch either season two of Plan Cœur (The Hookup Plan) or any of that Beau Séjour on Walter Presents.

Oh well. Cometh the weekend, cometh the iPad, so hopefully I’ll be able to start watching more again.

Watchmen
HBO’s Watchmen

What’s coming this week

I’ve not watched any movies this week at all – thanks, broken iPad – but that does give me room to review Jason Bourne spin-off Treadstone (US: USA; UK: Amazon) tomorrow.

Competition for Boxset Monday/Tuesday is frenetic, however. Released today on YouTube is season two of Impulse, which I hope to watch, and coming on Friday are Paul Rudd comedy Living With Yourself (Netflix) and romance anthology Modern Love (Amazon). I suspect I’ll go with Living With Yourself, as it’s only 8×25 minutes, but let’s be surprised next week, hey? I might even watch The Hookup Plan or Beau Séjour.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, we’re finally be getting HBO’s Watchmen sequel series, so I’ll definitely be chatting about that on either Monday or Tuesday.

Conner and Krypto
Conner and Krypto in DC Universe (US)’s Titans

The regulars

I’d like to have watched Engrenages (Spiral), but no iPad, two episodes? I got 10 minutes in and decided it was up to the usual quality, but never had the chance to get any further. I never even got to see Audrey Fleurot, bar the ‘Précédemment dans Engrenages‘ at the beginning. Shame!

Cometh the iPad, cometh more Spiral.

That meant I had to stick to the new, stable, regulars list for now. After the jump, I’ll be talking about Batwoman, Evil, Magnum PI, Mr InBetween, Mr Robot, Pennyworth, Stumptown and Titans.

Lots of US TV, huh? But as always, the rest of the world has television we can watch. In Australia, a show called Total Control has just started. Dull name, hey?

But as we learned with Doctor Doctor – aka The Heart Guy – Australians do like to rename their shows for international audiences. So while Australian readers and I can chat about Total Control after the jump, by the time it hits UK screens, you’ll find we may have been talking about the far more excitingly titled Black B****.

See you in a mo.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Total Control”
Almost Family
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Almost Family and Mr Robot

9 October 2019 Rob Buckley 13 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week

Ruby Rose

This week’s reviews

This week’s been a bit quieter than planned reviews-wise. I did manage to review Batwoman (US: The CW) as planned; however, I’m just finishing episode eight (of nine) of Raising Dion, which is obviously a day or two later than Boxset Monday and Tuesday allows. But it’s a shoo-in for next week.

What’s coming this week

Orange Thursday didn’t happen again, either. Sorry. However, fingers crossed, we’ll be looking at Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) and – in a brief flashback to Weekly Wonder Woman – Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019).

As well as Raising Dion, the coming week should also bring us Nancy Drew (US: The CW) and eternal optimist that I am, I’m hoping to watch season two of Plan Cœur (The Hookup Plan) over the weekend.

And after that, Fall 2019 – part three begins…

Mr Robot
Mr Robot

The regulars

Fall 2019 – part one and Fall 2019 – part two brought us new shows, but I’ve been winnowing again. I can’t really be bothered with either Prodigal Son or Emergence any more, so they’ve been dropped from the viewing queue.

But that still leaves us with Evil, Magnum PI, Mr InBetween, Pennyworth, Stumptown and Titans. On top that, Mr Robot has made his comeback.

All of those after the jump, together with a brief rundown of last week’s extra turkey, Almost Family.

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Magnum PI
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Magnum PI

2 October 2019 Rob Buckley 5 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week

Godfather of Harlem
Giancarlo Esposito and Forest Whitaker in Epix’s Godfather of Harlem

This week’s reviews

Fall season is now well under way in the US and over the past week and a bit, I’ve been doing some pretty extensive coverage. However, since this is Peak TV™, this year, I’ve finally had to let my standards slip and only do full reviews for shows that actually look like I could watch them.

That means that since the previous WHYBW, I’ve managed to do proper reviews of Stumptown and Evil, as well as semi-reviews of The Unicorn, Carol’s Second Act, Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside.

Incidentally, I did try to watch Epix (US)’s period gangster drama Godfather of Harlem, as it stars Forest Whitaker, Giancarlo Esposito and Vincent D’Onofrio. However, it was after about 10 minutes of watching Whitaker get out of 1960s jail and return to Harlem that I realised that while the back projection was amusingly Hitchcockian, I was actually bored rigid.

Why? Oh yes. I remember. I hate gangster dramas and I actively dislike Forest Whitaker. Sorry, dude, but that performance was fine in Ghost Dog, but you can’t keep doing it.

Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman © Jack Rowand/The CW

What’s coming this week

We’re about to enter phase two of Fall 2019, so the regular US broadcast networks are hurling a couple of new shows in our direction this week: Almost Family (Fox) and Batwoman (The CW). Netflix has Raising Dion coming our way on Friday and I’m going to try to play catch up with Hotel Beau Séjour on Walter Presents. We also have some returning regulars to look forward to, including the final season of Mr Robot.

All during one of my busiest work periods of the year. Oh well – I’ll do my best. But PeakTV™, hey?

Michael Sheen in Fox's Prodigal Son
Michael Sheen in Fox’s Prodigal Son

The regulars

Fortunately for my viewing schedule, a whole bunch of regulars are coming to an end, which means that after the jump, we’ll be talking about the season/series finales of כפולים (False Flag), Flateyjargátan (The Flatey Enigma) and Glitch.

However, week two of the Fall season means we have new shows in the viewing queue. In the past week, I’ve separated the potential wheat from the obvious chaff and confined my second-episode viewing to Emergence, Mixed-ish and Prodigal Son – will they last another week?

I’ll also be chatting about the latest episodes of Mr Inbetween and Titans, as well as the return of Magnum P.I. Meanwhile, my catch-up of Pennyworth continues with Cilla Black.

Surprise, surprise! Indeed, can guess which show is getting promoted to the regulars list?

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Magnum PI”
Mr InBetween
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including The I-Land and Mr InBetween

18 September 2019 Rob Buckley 8 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week

Der Pass (Pagan Peak)

This week’s reviews

With the unofficial ‘week of boxsets’ over, TMINE’s been back to a slightly more normal pace. Last week’s Orange Thursday covered Long Shot (2019) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018), while Boxset Tuesday this week covered Austro-German Bron/Broen (The Bridge) adaptation Der Pass (Pagan Peak).

Tune in on Monday for a chance to win Der Pass on DVD, BTW.

However, that’s it for normal pace. Fall season 2019’s about to hit us, everyone. Brace yourselves – incoming…

David Tennant in Netflix’s Criminal

What’s coming this week

Tomorrow is Orange Thursday and as of yet, I’ve not watched a single movie. It’s not looking good is it, but I’ll try to sneak one in tonight.

Boxset Monday is almost certainly going to be Netflix’s multi-country anthology interrogation show Criminal. However, après ça, le déluge, as it’s new-show time.

I can’t say exactly which days the reviews will come and whether they’ll be rolled into next week’s WHYBW, but coming next week, I’m hoping to subject my eyeballs to: Bob ♥ Abishola (CBS), All Rise (CBS), Prodigal Son (Fox), Bluff City Law (NBC), Mixed-ish (ABC), Emergence (ABC), Stumptown (ABC), Creepshow (Shudder), The Unicorn (CBS), Perfect Harmony (NBC), Carol’s Second Act (CBS), Sunnyside (NBC) and Evil (CBS).

I won’t lie to you – there might be some slippage with that schedule, perhaps into the following week, and other things may suffer. But I’ll do my best.

Mr InBetween
Mr InBetween

The regulars

It’s the usual usuals after the jump: כפולים (False Flag), Flateyjargátan (The Flatey Enigma), Glitch, Pennyworth and Titans. However, on top of that, Mr InBetween has made his return. There’s lovely, hey?

I’ll also have a few words to say about Netflix’s The I-Land. Will they be kind words or harsh words, you may wonder? Well, either it was the best Netflix show I’ve ever seen or it was the absolute worst. Have a guess which.

All of that, after the jump.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including The I-Land and Mr InBetween”
Airdates

What time, TMINE? Including Pennyworth, Modern Love and Daybreak

13 September 2019 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest TV shows from around the world will air in the UK

Another week without acquisitions, I’m afraid. Jesus, you might all have to watch British TV programmes at this rate, you poor souls. Fortunately, we do have a few new dates.

Premiere dates

Modern Love

Modern Love (Amazon)

Premiere date: Friday, October 18

Inspired by the popular New York Times column of the same name, Modern Love is a half-hour romantic comedy series exploring love in all of its complicated and beautiful forms, as each standalone episode brings some of the column’s most beloved stories to life with a stellar cast.

The cast includes Jane Alexander, Sofia Boutella, Olivia Cooke, Tina Fey, Andy Garcia, Anne Hathaway, Catherine Keener, Dev Patel, Andrew Scott, John Slattery and Shea Whigham.

Daybreak (Netflix)

Premiere date: Thursday, October 24

Based on the graphic novel by Brian Ralph, the series is a dark comedy which follows 17-year-old high school outcast, Josh, as he searches for his missing girlfriend, Sam, in post-apocalyptic Glendale, California. Joined by a ragtag group of misfits including a pyromaniac 12 year old Angelica and Josh’s former high school bully Wesley, now turned pacifist samurai, Josh tries to stay alive amongst the horde of Mad Max-style gangs (evil jocks, cheerleaders turned Amazon warriors), zombie-like creatures called Ghoulies, and everything else this brave new world throws at him.

Pennyworth
Jack Bannon in Pennyworth

Pennyworth (US: Epix; UK: StarzPlay)

Premiere date: Friday, October 25

Delightfully bonkers prequel to Batman-prequel Gotham focused on the life of future Bat-butler extraordinaire Alfred Pennyworth. Set in an alternative reality 1960s London, it sees Alfred freshly out of the SAS trying to set up his own security company. Along the way, he encounters future boss Thomas Wayne, his boss’ future wife Martha Kane and a series of blighters ranging from the left-wing No Names League to the right-wing Raven Society – and Paloma Faith.

A wonderful homage to everything 60s from The Avengers through to kitchen sink dramas, with a cracking central performance from the world’s best young Michael Caine impersonator (Jack Bannon), the show alternates genres on a knife’s edge, going from comedy to Alan Bennett-style Talking Head, but always maintaining a real English, sardonic authenticity (“There’s a Happy Eater near Luton. You love a fry-up.”).

TMINE episode reviews

https://youtu.be/KbQzKeX_dZ8