Watchmen

What have you been watching? Including Virgin River and Truth Be Told

18 December 2019 Rob Buckley 9 Comments

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

This decade’s reviews

Christmas may only be one day, but somehow it manages to knock a couple of weeks out of the year. It’s no different with TMINE, either – just imagine our office party! – as we’ll be closing down on Friday until 6 January 2020.

Holidays are coming, as a certain yearly advert puts it.

That means this’ll be the last WHYBW of 2019 and indeed the decade for anyone who isn’t a great big pedant. Have I prepared anything special? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.

All I can say for my round-up of 2010-19 is that this decade, TMINE published more than 6,600 posts and more than 1,500 TV reviews, sometimes of multiple TV episodes, which is an awful lot of writing about and watching tele. I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

What’s coming this week

I’m going to push the boat out and say there might be an Orange Thursday, tomorrow, seeing as I’ve now watched both The Fear of God and Netflix’s new movie, 6 Underground. I’ll just need to write the reviews. However, that’s easier said than done, particularly given I’m seeing the new Star Wars in the evening. So we’ll see what transpires.

But after the jump, as promised, I’ll be taking a look at Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told, as well as the slightly unexpected Virgin River from Netflix.

Otherwise, the reviews will start again in the New Year.

The regulars

With Christmas nearly here, most of the regular shows have scaled down, but after the jump, we’ll also be talking about the latest episodes of Evil, For All Mankind, The Mandalorian and Mr Robot, as well as the season and (probably) series finale of Watchmen.

See you in a mo.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Virgin River and Truth Be Told”

It’s that moment you’ve all been waiting for: it’s the TMINE Top N programmes of 2019!

17 December 2019 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

As usual at this time of year, TMINE is busily packing its bags to get ready for its annual Christmas break. We’re not there yet, though, as everything will continue until Thursday at least, although I have a Christmas party to go to on Friday so who knows what’ll happen then?

However, barring minor miracles, there’ll be no more shows that are both new and excellent for me to review this year, which means I can at last unveil TMINE’s Top N programmes of 2019, where N is a positive integer that you can guess, if you want. You haven’t got long. Just a few paragraphs in fact.

Here are previous years’ Top Ns:

2015: Top 9
2016: Top 13
2017: Top 14
2018: Top 14

I will say at this point, though, that despite the expansion in streaming services this year, N<14 for 2019. And for about the first half of the year, it looked like it wouldn’t be more than a handful. However, things have perked up since.

That’s all the clues you’re getting, mind.

There are other TV shows

As always, the caveat:

I’ve not watched every TV programme broadcast or acquired in the UK this year and I barely watched any live TV, so there are almost certainly some good shows that that I’ve left off the list. And, of course, there are a few shows that started well but I’ve not finished yet, so aren’t eligible for the list.

So best not to think of this as the definitive “Best new TV shows from all the shows that have aired around the world of 2019”, so much as just the “Top TV shows I would recommend to a friend of the ones I’ve reviewed in 2019”.

Old stuff is good

I should also point out that this is all the new shows that have hit TMINE’s TV-viewing radar this year, and it’s worth remembering that sometimes the best TV can come from people who have already been making great TV.

So honourable mentions for the following ineligible shows that have continued to provide me with considerable viewing pleasure this year:

Le bureau des légendes (The Bureau) (France: Canal+; UK: Sundance TV) – seasons three and four
Dark (Netflix) – season two
Engrenages (Spiral) (France: Canal+; UK: BBC Four) – season eight
Impulse (YouTube) – season two
Legion (US: FX; UK: Fox UK) – season three

Drum roll, please

But now, to the Top N of 2019. As always, feel free to leave your own recommendations in the comments, on your own blog or on the TMINE Facebook page.

Continue reading “It’s that moment you’ve all been waiting for: it’s the TMINE Top N programmes of 2019!”

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

12 December 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

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.