Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Hawkeye, Hot Zone: Anthrax, Titans and Lost in Space

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

I’ve been goaded. Well, prodded really. There were some actual movie reviews last week, so I guess I’d better do some TV reviews. Apparently, that’s what TMINE’s supposed to be for. Tarnation.

Fortunately, I’ve been watching a decent amount of TV, so I won’t simply be doing shadow puppets for you and pretending that it’s a review for this last WHYBW of 2021.

First up, the return of two regulars, and then after the jump, we can talk about two new shows: Hawkeye (Disney+) and Hot Zone: Anthrax (Disney+)

Lost in Space (season 3) (Netflix)

Lost in Space (Netflix) is back for its third and final season… and I’m confused. Every season more or less is a build up to showing us how the Space Family Robinson got ‘lost in space’ with the evil Doctor Smith (Parker Posey). It then ends with them… ‘lost in space’. And then with the next season, it resets and we have to watch them get lost in space all over again.

Season two ended especially well in that regard. They’re on the spaceship, they’re there with the robot and evil Dr Smith, they don’t know where they are but they are in the middle of space, nowhere near anyone else or a planet that looks a lot like Canada.

Good build-up. Surely they’re not going to reset again are they?

Well, hot damn. Guess what? Season three starts with them all stuck on yet another planet that looks like Canada with all the other kids. Again. What the hell? Even if we hadn’t already had a show that’s almost exactly the same as that (The 100), why are we doing it for the third season in a row for Lost in Space?

I managed to watch about two episodes before I just gave up. I’ve now seen this story twice – I don’t need to see it for a third time. And can’t the whole family actually be in the same place together for so much as an entire episode?

Titans (US: HBO Max; UK: Netflix)

You probably won’t remember this – why would you? – but I made it through the first four episodes of season three of Titans back in September, then gave up as it was so horrid and all the characters I cared about got killed off.

Well, it’s comics, so guess what? One of them came back from the dead, it turned out, something I discovered this weekend, so I figured that as this was now on Netflix in the UK, I’d give it a rewatch from the point from when said character returns.

So… episodes nine through 13 of Titans are bad. Not outright terrible, but pretty close. It’s all meaningless, inconsequential namechecking of comic characters but none of the characters act like either themselves or even slightly coherently thought-out human beings (or aliens). The acting seems to have got a lot worse, too, and the fights don’t have that grittiness to them that they used to. What it does have is trite teen romances and outright sadism.

I would say that if I was looking for positives, seeing (spoiler alert) the Amazons, as well as Donna Troy and Raven again was great, as they were by far the most interesting characters and interpretations of DC lore. But it’s all just so comic-strippy, so lacking in any real depth, and actually downright silly at times that it just felt like I was losing IQ points watching it.

Plus how high-stake are your perils when at least half the cast have died and come back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ttU1iKSpdA
Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Hawkeye, Hot Zone: Anthrax, Titans and Lost in Space”
Red Hood in Titans
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Titans and Superman & Lois

Look at that! It’s September. Didn’t time fly?

So what did I watch in August? Not a lot, to be honest. This actually wasn’t for want of trying but there haven’t been any appetising-looking new TV shows for me to bite my teeth into, TBH. I’m still considering Vigil on BBC One, mind, because it has submarines in it.

There’s one other exception: yet another remake of Fantasy Island, this time for Fox.

I thought about watching that. Then decided not to. It was August after all, and if normality is going to reassert itself post-Covid, we have to reassert the old rules, too: start a new show in August and TMINE will ignore you.

I also realised there’s a whole bunch of shows that are coming back for second seasons that I can’t be bothered with either. So Stargirl on Amazon isn’t getting much love from me, either.

That meant I’ve only been watching a couple of the regulars, both superhero shows, one concluding, one returning.

Superman & Lois

Superman & Lois remained perfect almost to the end, even if Lovely Wife did watch five minutes of it and declare it “terrible”. I thought it was great. Thrilling and exciting, with Adam Rayner proving a wonderful villain. The finale suffered maybe a little from being a slight retread of a previous episode, copying its conclusion and get-out mechanism, but I don’t think it suffered too much from that.

If I had one niggle, though, it’s the final scene: I just didn’t care. The funeral was oddly moving, given what it was. That’s not my niggle. That person showed up. I didn’t care. It was anti-climactic and actually put me off from watching the next season. But only a bit. I’ll definitely be back.

Titans

Meanwhile, Titans is back, now on HBO Max in the US. The main cast are a bit jauntier and a bit less angsty than before, although the absence of both Raven and Donna Troy is a real detraction from the show. Where it works still is on its depiction of superheroes growing up and ageing. This is still very much a show about sidekicks who are now too old to be sidekicks and need to move out of their friends’ shadows – and superheroes who are now old to be doing anything much at all, really.

The problem is that this season so far has focused on the ‘birth’ of Red Hood. Those who know their comics will not be surprised by who that is and the show only takes a couple of episodes to reveal all there. More surprising is just how bleak and miserable it all is. People are dying and getting tortured. Batman’s off murdering people. Not even Scarecrow – Pete from Mad Men – can add any fun to things. It’s just so unpleasant.

So I’ve given up after four episodes. Guys, we’ve been through so much misery over the past year and a half, I’d just like to watch something fun, please. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ttU1iKSpdA
Netflix's Messiah
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Party of Five and Arrowverse crossover – part 2

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

We’re midway through the second week back following the Christmas break, and already, we’ve unveiled a cornucopia of reviews. On Monday, Boxset Monday took in no fewer than eight new shows from the Spring 2020 season in the US, Canada and Australia:

US TV

  • Deputy
  • Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
  • FBI: Most Wanted
  • Dare Me
  • Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector

Canadian TV

  • Nurses
  • Fortunate Son

Australian TV

  • The Gloaming

And yesterday, The Outsider (US: HBO; UK: Sky Atlantic) got checked out by TMINE, too. And there’s more to come tomorrow (and maybe Friday).

Today, however, we’ll only be looking at one new show – Freeform (US)’s reboot/update of Party of Five – and the very few regulars still in the viewing queue: Evil, Stumptown and the second half of Messiah.

Oh yes – and we’ll also take in the second, concluding part of The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths Arrowverse crossover, which is itself a tale of two halves.

Let’s talk about all of that after the jump.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Party of Five and Arrowverse crossover – part 2”
Abigail Breslin in Hulu's Reprisal
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including The Moodys, Reprisal and Work in Progress

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

The Moodys
Fox (US)’s The Moodys

This week’s reviews

Ironically, with Christmas just around the corner, we’re starting to track back on course with the TMINE schedule. Sure, Orange Thursday happened yesterday, but it still happened and it was quality stuff: Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and The Philadelphia Experiment (2012). The reviews, that is – The Philadelphia Experiment was dreadful.

Otherwise, that’s been it, because I’ve been saving everything up to review today. So after the jump, you can find out what I thought about Fox (US)’s remake of Australia’s The Moodys, Hulu (US)’s David Lynch meets vengeance noir Reprisal and Showtime (US)’s moderately hopeful, gentle, genteel, lesbian/trans rom-com Work in Progress.

And it’s that time again! Yes, The CW’s Arrowverse shows are crossing over this week, with the cast all jumping over to each other’s shows. But with Arrow ending this season, they’ve upped the ante on last year’s Elseworlds crossover exponentially, to give us guest appearances from superhero shows and movies both current and past. And we’re going to talk about the first three of the five episodes after the jump. The other two are next year – I’m not just slacking off.

What’s coming this week

I didn’t manage to get to either Netflix’s V Wars or Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told, but even though I’m away again this weekend (cue Slade: it’s Christmas!), I hope to take in a few episodes of one or the other.

However, that’s about it for new TV shows this week, so I might have to ferret out something from the back catalogue to talk about.

On the other hand, there might not be time as next week will see the return of the yearly end-of-year TMINE tradition: I’ll be unveiling 2019’s TMINE’s Top N TV programmes, where N is a positive integer that you can have hours of fun guessing in advance. What’s in your Top N this year?

And thanks to Orange Thursday, I might even do a Top N films. Don’t hold me to that, though.

HBO’s Silicon Valley © Eddy Chen/HBO

The regulars

After the jump, we’ll also be talking about the latest episodes of the regulars: Evil, For All Mankind, The Mandalorian, Mr Robot, Servant, Silicon Valley, Stumptown and Watchmen, as well as the season and indeed series finale of Silicon Valley.

I’ve just lost patience with one of them. Can you guess which?

See you in a mo.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including The Moodys, Reprisal and Work in Progress”
Merry Happy Whatever
Streaming TV

What have you been watching? Including Merry Happy Whatever

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

Servant
Apple TV+’s Servant

This week’s reviews

Yep, despite my best efforts, it’s Thursday again for WHYBW. Next week, though. Next week.

Not much reviews-wise this week, but I did take in the first three episodes of Apple TV+’s Servant.

V-Wars
Netflix’s V Wars

What’s coming this week

It’s going to be another light one this week, since although Netflix released the (probably not that great) V Wars today, I’m away this weekend and Monday, so won’t have time to watch or review a whole boxset.

However, I will review Fox (US)’s remake of Australia’s The Moodys and Showtime (US)’s Work in Progress. I might also get round to watching at least an episode of Hulu (US)’s Reprisal and Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told – and maybe of V Wars, too.

Dollface
Hulu’s Dollface

The regulars

Evil‘s still on a Thanksgiving holiday, so after the jump, we’ll be talking about the latest episodes of the regulars: The Mandalorian, Mr Robot, Silicon Valley, Stumptown and Watchmen, as well as the season finale of Titans. I also barrelled through the remaining episodes of Dollface.

But it’s worth pointing out that pretty much all of those are on TMINE’s recommended list and thus the crème de la crème of current TV output. Sure, I’ve ragged on some of them of late, but I think this week I’ve learnt the value of patience, thanks particularly due to Mr Robot, but also Watchmen.

Therefore, perhaps I shouldn’t be so curt in this section – because not just one, not just two, but three of those shows have served up some really sublime TV this week, with a fourth serving up a meme and some soup.

See you in a mo.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Merry Happy Whatever”