Critical Mass: tell us about your TV choices

[celebaelin]

This post is copied across more or less verbatim from the parent thread because that place will be gone before the Season ends.

Season 2 of House of the Dragon is not catching my interest to any great extent. This is noteworthy because I am exactly the sort of person who should be glued to the telly in rapt attention; perhaps this is because episode 1 is largely the fallout from the finale of season 1 and 'setting up the table' for the imminent war - I must hope so. Other than the political assassination of the heir apparent to Westeros (oh yawn - right? In truth though a child of perhaps 3 with no power, say or revealed character whose impact on the bigger events is zero) in the final minutes the highlight was undoubtedly learning that Ser Criston Cole has now been the personal f*ck toy of the queens on both sides of the imminent conflict. Or more accurately one queen and one queen mother (Rhaenyra and Alicent) and is now, amongst his other duties as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Rug Muncher Pursuivant to the queen dowager in the Red Keep. This salacious stuff is usually only of passing interest to me in GoT and had been left entirely off screen IIRC in HotD until now but the image of Alicent's naked back as she hurriedly dismounts from honing Criston's sword when her daughter in law, with the princess in her arms, rushes into Alicent's chambers to tell her of her grandson's murder is lingering with me. Alicent incidentally is still pretty easy on the eye although it is the fact that Ser Criston doesn't appear to have aged much in the 20-25 years we've known him that has more readily been pointed out by the meme makers.

While I'm on the subject the current occupants of the Red Keep and their kin have done some pretty horrendous stuff, I mean not Cersei level horrendous but there are non-zero numbers of ball park psychotic murders which they have performed, arranged, instigated or been a party to. Because they are not shown smirking and rubbing their hands with glee this is often overlooked and they're attracting less casual vilification than the Lannisters. For a comparable point in the progress of the story (the death of Robert Baratheon say) they appear to be comparable and the role of Otto Hightower looks suspiciously like that of Tywin Lannister even beyond the obvious fact that they both serve as Hand of the King in their respective storylines. Yet I find that the Hightowers are somehow more sympathetic - I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe it's that they shown rationalising rather than scheming although the outcomes have been more or less identical.

Season 2 of House of the Dragon is definitely improving. It's subtler than GoT in that in many cases the goodie/baddie distinction is less marked (ie there are misdeeds on the part of most of the characters). In fact I guess the least credible aspect (apart from, you know, dragons) is that at least one character has no readily identifiable blood on their hands. Remember this is still about the struggles of dynastic succession so the situation dictates that the scheming would make key players at least morally culpable in the deaths of rivals and most probably directly involved and/or a willing contributor to their demise to some extent. There is an apparent suggestion that not giving voice to a thought or understanding is the same as not being to blame for a sequence of likely events - I hold that this is not so even if in the unlikely scenario of a trial being held a conviction would be difficult to secure.

I'm actually staying up to watch the first UK showing of HotD S2 E5. I must be enjoying it!

[Admin]

As if by magic…

[jenny]

I could not get into HoTD. However, I have very much enjoyed watching both seasons of The Hour on Acorn, thanks to PDR's recommendation. They don't seem to make 'em like that any more, and I wish they would. Excellent actors, dialogue, setting etc.

[pdr]

We've recently watched "The Jetty" (BBC iPlayer) and really enjoyed it - Jenna Coleman leading an excellent cast with a plot that twists right up to the end. We also watched the BBC/Australian series "High Country" - another crime story with more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing that doesn't actually disclose what the whole story is about until well into the final episode while giving lots of footage of the (rather beautify) Victorian Alps.

Both recommended.

PDR

[celebaelin]

HotD is moving along although given that we've now had 6 of the 8 the pace is not exactly breakneck.  Daemon Targaryen is becoming more of a focus if only because we're not entirely sure if he's guilt-ridden, poisoned or merely inherently insane in the typical Targaryen manner.

I like it - it requires more thought than GoT which, while it may not be popular with fans, does make up a little for the general lack of action.  Whether the fact that there's a character whose name is pronounced in the same way mine is a factor I shall leave to your imagination.

[jenny]

I'm enjoying a series on the Roku app called Being Erica. A screwed-up thirty-something woman finds a therapist who can send her back in time to relive and possibly change some poor choices she made in earlier life.

[efros]

Watching the Paris opening shenanigans... not impressed.

[crissdee]

Genuinely surprised to hear it was Olympic Games time again. Been kind of taken up with my own affairs for the last few weeks, but it never even came up in conversation, the advantage of like-minded friends....

[efros]

I dug out my copy of the London 2012 opening and showed it to the wife to highlight just how bad the French one is. She agreed.

[barbados]

I don’t think anyone coukd beat the Queen jumping out of a plane with Daniel Craig, and Rowan Atkinson’s excellent interpretation of chariots of fire.

[eeyoresmum]

I watched those super-fast montages of Olympic moments through the ages, and was surprised how many faces I recognised - Jesse, Wilma Rudolph, Abebe Bikila, and moments remembered, like Derek Redmond helped across the line by his dad, The thunderous Ode to Joy in Nagano...
Yup,it makes me feel old, but also happy that I Was There (in a way ;-).

[tetsabb]

Last evening we watched the second in the series of Terror at 30,000 feet
This was an inaccurate title, as the Qantas Airbus did not get very high as it left Singapore in 2010 before it blew into Number 2 engine.
Quite scary for all concerned, though, as usual, the pilots remained calm and worked to solve the problems. Not helped by the computer system being unable to.priorotise alarms, so they were just deluged with fault reports.

Qite extraordinary event.

[alexanderhoward]

I finally decided to watch the first episode of Fallout. It is not my sort of thing, and I am not into computer games, but the programme is spectacularly done and deserves to succeed for that reason alone.

[jenny]

As I am isolating in my bedroom at the moment, owing to Woodsman still testing negative for Covid and us wishing to avoid him getting it from me, I have binge-watched my way through another four episodes of Being Erica. It continues to be good. I’m not sure I have the intellectual energy for watching anything more demanding at the moment, though I might try the new Ghostbusters movie later.

[tetsabb]

I hope you recover soon, Jenny.
😍

[jenny]

So do I tetsabb and thank you for the good wishes. I am still feeling quite poorly. However as I had a TV to myself last night (Woodsman and I are staying well apart in the hope he doesn’t get it - he’s fine so far) I watched Ghostbusters - Frozen Empire. Great fun, and with lots of nods back to the original.

[tetsabb]

Well, what an edifying evening's entertainment we had last night!
A documentary about Kyle Rittenhouse the little scrote who shot 3 people in rioting in Kenosha. A lot of footage from the evening in question, and from the court case as well as from his trial, along with appearances from various people involved. The widow of one of his victims was very moving. This guy had hit Kitten house with his skateboard, which the defence in trial claimed was a deadly weapon. OK, I would not want to be hit by one but Rittenhouse had an AR-15.
Rittenhouse's own appearance reiterated his defence that he was the victim in all this.
A fine example of why male Murcan teenagers should be locked up and away from society until they can behave.

Then a 90-minute film on Trump ally and fixer Roger Stone. He had plans afoot for 'Stop the Steal' agitation in 2016, in case Trump had lost against Clinton.
What an odious creep
After an evening mired in tge American right I felt soiled.

[jenny]

I don't think I would want to expose myself to either of those programmes!

As Woodsman and I were watching TV together last night, for the first time since last Wednesday, we continued our viewing of The West Wing and also Spooks - both old shows but both more interesting to us than much of the dross currently available.

[efros]

Spooks was renamed for the US market as MI5, racist connotations in the title over here.

[franticllama]

We have to have a TV rota now otherwise 11 protests. So she gets one night choosing TV. Her choice is Young Sheldon. I don't know why she finds the depiction of an autistic child to be entertaining...
With almost 14 we are watching AJ and the Queen - not exactly high budget but entertaining and gay so it fits our agenda. Finally J and I are watching Agents of Shield which is highly entertaining without requiring too much mental energy to get through. We've done a few fairly intense series in a row so something a bit lighter is appreciated.

[celebaelin]

S2 E7 of HotD wasn't as exciting as you felt it should be.  Is the whole thing being drawn out to keep the spending down and the number of Seasons up for the same amount of writing?  Maybe.  The season finale is next should provide some answers.

[tetsabb]

Jul 31, 2024 17:34:37 GMT franticllama said:

Finally J and I are watching Agents of Shield which is highly entertaining without requiring too much mental energy to get through. 

Agents of SHIELD was great fun.

[tetsabb]

As a complete contrast to Tuesday's viewing, last evening we watched 'Atomic People', survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, mostly in their 90s, recounting their experiences of the attacks and the aftermath. One old lad addressed the UN last year, a0nd basically said tgat, with rising tension over Gaza and Ukraine, you must not use these weapons.
All through the late 40s and beyond they were treated badly by Japanese society, and had to fight hard to achieve recognition for their suffering, such as whether to have children or not.

No bitterness, just quiet dignity.
Like holocaust survivors, they will not be long around.
Their accounts should be broadcast to school children everywhere.

[jenny]

What channel is Agents of Shield on? Sounds like fun.

[tetsabb]

Hurrah! Only Connect returns this evening  8 pm BBC 2.

Also, for those of a certain vintage, at 9 on BBC4  an episode of Call  My Bluff is being shown, from 1974. At the time in our house  it was required viewing. It will be interesting to see how it has aged. 
I wonder if suze may find it interesting.

[Bondee]

Aug 12, 2024 9:15:19 GMT tetsabb said:

Hurrah! Only Connect returns this evening  8 pm BBC 2.

I was unaware of that! Thank you. Back to MMOCUC on Monday evenings for the foreseeable.

[suze]

Aug 12, 2024 9:15:19 GMT tetsabb said:

Also, for those of a certain vintage, at 9 on BBC4  an episode of Call  My Bluff is being shown, from 1974. At the time in our house  it was required viewing. It will be interesting to see how it has aged. 
I wonder if suze may find it interesting.

TGH opines that it will not have aged well, and that Robert Robinson's wig will have aged even less well.

But I've only seen Call My Bluff on YouTube before, so I shall be sure to take the opportunity to see it on a television set!

[tetsabb]

Aug 12, 2024 13:17:37 GMT suze said:

Aug 12, 2024 9:15:19 GMT tetsabb said:

Also, for those of a certain vintage, at 9 on BBC4  an episode of Call  My Bluff is being shown, from 1974. At the time in our house  it was required viewing. It will be interesting to see how it has aged. 
I wonder if suze may find it interesting.

TGH opines that it will not have aged well, and that Robert Robinson's wig will have aged even less well.

But I've only seen Call My Bluff on YouTube before, so I shall be sure to take the opportunity to see it on a television set!

Combover, Shirley?

[crissdee]

Jul 31, 2024 17:34:37 GMT franticllama said:

We have to have a TV rota now otherwise 11 protests. So she gets one night choosing TV. Her choice is Young Sheldon. I don't know why she finds the depiction of an autistic child to be entertaining...

I personally like YS, but to say it is about an autistic child is like saying Titanic is about a boat.  Technically correct, but rather missing the bigger picture.

[suze]

Aug 12, 2024 14:18:44 GMT tetsabb said:

Aug 12, 2024 13:17:37 GMT suze said:

TGH opines that it will not have aged well, and that Robert Robinson's wig will have aged even less well.

But I've only seen Call My Bluff on YouTube before, so I shall be sure to take the opportunity to see it on a television set!

Combover, Shirley?

Yes, that's a proper Bobby Charlton!  I shall chastise TGH for suggesting a wig.

He was right about Call My Bluff in general, though.  It hasn't aged especially well.

Joanna Lumley, aged 28 and with dark hair, still sounded like Joanna Lumley.  I don't really know what Frank Muir did, but I've heard of him, and I've just about heard of the actist Simon Williams (he's in The Archers) and of the late journaler and jazz musician Miles Kingston.  Mr Kington smoked on set; you could do that in those days, but Miss Lumley - a lifelong smoker - didn't.

Who Mary Peach and Patrick Campbell, Baron Glenavy were, I had to go to Wikipedia to find out.  Lord Campbell is not related to the actist of the early C20, Mrs Patrick Campbell, the woman who scandalised polite society by saying bloody on the West End stage.

A parlour game for posh people, and let's stick in a couple of random bits of Latin so that common folk won't understand.