Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

No one could have predicted…

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Let me file that under fuck it.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

T R E 4 5 O N

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

You are here: Home / Medium Cool / Medium Cool – What’s Everybody Watching?

Medium Cool – What’s Everybody Watching?

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in.  We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered.  We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

I’ve had company all weekend, so let’s just keep this simple.

What’s everybody watching?

Where are you watching it?

What’s the premise of the show?

I found out yesterday that there’s a new NCIS show set in Sydney Australia.  Is anyone watching BoschL Legacy, Season 2?  I understand that the first 4 episodes are out already. Anything new out there on network TV or streaming?

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  4. 4.

    laura

    Two Taika Waititi produced shows on hulu: Reservation Dogs– perfection, it’s got characters with deep back stories, a story arch that is so painful and yet made show beautiful where the cracks let the light in and a cast of actors that will delight and amaze. I’m in absolute awe of young Canadian Paulina Alexis!

    What we do in the shadows- just gut busting peaks of laughter over the many types of shenanigans that these Staten Island vampires get up to.

    I’ve really tried to not give any spoilers, but I urge you to give each/both a looksee. They may not be for everybody, but they are so very right in so very many ways.

  6. 6.

    MagdaInBlack

    @laura: I’ve had “What We Do In The Shadows” on my list, just haven’t gotten around to watching. I’ve seen enough clips to know its my kind of goofy.

  7. 7.

    BellaPea

    I am currently watching the new season of The Crown. There has been some criticism, but Elizabeth Debecki’s portrayal of Princess Diana is amazing. I remember her well, and Debecki has really caught her voice and mannerisms. I am not loving Imelda Staton’s take on Queen Elizabeth II–Helen Mirren and Olivia Coleman spoiled me, I guess.

  12. 12.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on AppleTV: Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.  The acting is great, interesting story and the action sequences are very nerve-wracking!

    For All Mankind (Season 5) on AppleTV: Alternate history of the space race.  This season is set in early-2000’s and Mars colonization continues.

    Hotel Portafino (PBS): period drama set in Italy.

    World On Fire (PBS): WW2 period drama.

    Lessons In Chemistry (AppleTV+): a disgruntled woman uses her chemistry expertise to start a Julia Child-esque cooking series on tv.

    Naked Attraction (HBOMax): Brittish dating game show where one contestant picks from several potential dates based on their naked bodies (and faces and voices).  The main contestant must also get naked.  It shows a surprising diversity of body types, races, gender identities etc.

    The Crown (Season 6) Netflix: The show is finally at Diana’s final days.  It has a much different vibe than other seasons but is still very good.

  13. 13.

    TheOtherHank

    We just finished Gen V, the The Boys spinoff. I liked it, though it is disturbing.

    And just for fun I watched a movie I haven’t seen for literal decades: Somewhere in Time, the Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour time travel romance.

    And I’ve got queued up, but not yet started Season 9 of Brokenwood Mysteries. Love me some cozy murder mysteries.

  14. 14.

    JaySinWA

    @WaterGirl: Hulu, Laura said.

    I finally canceled Hulu after the end of Reservation Dogs. Never got into What We do in the shadows.

    All of Season two of Bosch: Legacy is up on FreeVee

    Definitely worth watching.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    @laura:

    Two fabulous shows in vastly different ways. Shadows remains one of the funniest things ever made and my inside joke is that one of my kid’s college roommates is from…Staten Island.

    Reservation Dogs is all-time great teevee just on the surface: an indigenous creative team, writers, cast and in my utterly not-educated eye, what they made seems letter perfect. Funny, sweet, heartbreaking all at once and did anybody see the Deer Lady episode coming? I did not and just, wow.

    Dig below the surface and find one of the most honest shows ever made about teens. I will miss it a good deal and at some point intend to watch it again.

  16. 16.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @BellaPea: I still think Claire Foy was the best Elizabeth.  Agreed about Staton and Debicki (who I swoon for anyways) though Emma Corwin was also really good as Diana, imo.   Dominic West is such a great actor but I don’t really see him as Charles.

  17. 17.

    Phylllis

    Rewatching Six Feet Under on Netflix. Not sure I can hang with Brenda & Billy’s shenanigans this time around though. A lot of good British stuff coming up, Archie with Jason Isaacs on Britbox in December, along with a standalone Vera episode

    ETA: and The Crown as well.

  18. 18.

    cope

    Tomorrow we host our quasi-weekly “Resident Alien” dinner. We are rewatching season 2 in preparation for season 3 being released sometime early next year. Tacos are on the menu.

  20. 20.

    trollhattan

    Prime has a new offering: “Colin from Accounts.” If you enjoy Aussie humour, this is as sure a thing as I’ll ever pitch. Good god it’s funny.

  21. 21.

    Yutsano

    I just finished season 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks and now I am just watching various YouTube channels until a new Trek iteration comes along.

  24. 24.

    prostratedragon

    @Ben Cisco:  Happy Birthday!

    “Watching” Little Bird on PBS at the moment, though as the quotes suggest I’m a bit distracted. Good series, though.

  26. 26.

    MattF

    Started watching Dune on Netflix and started (re)reading the book. Read it all many years ago, so I know the story. Noted that Haunting of Hill House got excellent reviews, so that might be next.

    ETA: Also noted that there’s a new Bill Watterson book out, will probably buy it.

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Just the other day, I discovered this pilot for an online series by GLITCH Productions, called the The Amazing Digital Circus. It premiered a month ago and as of this writing has 125 million views. I’ve seen people say it’s the most successful and most viewed pilot episode in history.

    I highly recommend it! What’s there so far is pretty solid. Very colorful, distinct characters; awesome premise. I don’t want to spoil too much, but the creator has confirmed that it’s more or less based on I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

  29. 29.

    rekoob

    Recently watched Turn Every Page, the documentary about the decades-long collaboration of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb by Gottlieb’s daughter Lizzie. Got it through The Criterion Channel, which I still find to be a remarkable streaming service. It’s an incredibly rich and varied platform for films of all description, enhanced with historical interviews, and peppered with contemporary artists talking about their favorite films and directors. If you want to know about Czech avant-garde cinema or early LGBTQIA+ filmmaking, it’s pretty comprehensive. You can also find Shorts by time — from 45 minutes down to 5.

  30. 30.

    Mike in NC

    Halfway through “Bosch: Legacy” and just caught the first episode of the final season of “The Crown”.

    Love “What We Do In The Shadows”. The actor who plays the vampire ‘familiar’ went on one of the late night shows and performed as Rep. George Santos R-NY) a while back.

  31. 31.

    JaySinWA

    @JaySinWA: We had a tip about The Bridge (the Norwegian Swedish version that The Tunnel did as a remake) watched the first episode and decided against going farther, remembering how convoluted the Tunnel was. There are several remakes of The Bridge, under that title. Freevee has an American/Mexican variant that is incorrectly link as the Swedish version from IMDB. The English dubbed original is on the Plex free channels

    ETA correcting country of origin.

  32. 32.

    Mousebumples

    Currently watching Daisy Jones and the Six on Prime. Limited run series about a 70s rock band. I’m enjoying it so far, though it also makes me wish for a someday film about Fleetwood Mac. (or a serial drama?)

  34. 34.

    CaseyL

    No TV, but I do have streaming.  Watched Season 2 of Loki, because I adore Hiddleston’s Loki.  Talk about a character arc!

    Haven’t watched much else.

    Reading is more my thing, always has been, and I am currently devouring the latest in C. J.  Cherryh’s “Foreigner” series (scifi, very complex and intelligent; Cherryh is so so good at writing non-Terran humanoid species with their own biology, history, philosophies, etc.).  Unfortunately,  I’m finding this particular entry heavy going.  Every writer seems to have certain schticks that shape their writing, and at some point the schtick can get to be too much.  There are a few of those overtaking this book – which was heavily delayed due to the pandemic, and then medical emergencies, and it appears Cherryh needed her long-time partner (? or spouse – I don’t know if they’re married) to help with the writing.  The strain shows.

  36. 36.

    villiageidiocy

    Two short run, half hour shows well worth your time if you like odd humor.

    Fisk – Australian lawyer gets a job not well suited to her misanthropic personality.

    Anxious People – Scandinavian police procedural, involving a bank robber and witnesses who are strangely unco-operative. The humor comes in bits, and it is dramatic and humane at the same time.

  37. 37.

    villiageidiocy

    Also, the movie version of “What We Do In The Shadows” is superior to the tv show. I highly recommend it.

  38. 38.

    zhena gogolia

    @Alison Rose: That looks funny. I’ll watch it while doing P/T.

    ETA: We’re watching the Albert Brooks documentary on Max — very funny and touching. And The Gilded Age — very silly and stilted, but great costumes and sets.

  39. 39.

    Raven

    We made it to the beach! We got about 150 miles from home and realized we(I) didn’t throw the bag with the computers in the car so it’s phones for a week!

  40. 40.

    geg6

    Having liked the American version of Ghosts on CBS, I have begun watching the original British version.  I do so like a silly half hour comedy.

    i still can’t recommend Jury Duty enough.  Amazing acting under the most insane circumstances.

    And, of course, the new season of GBBS is lovely so far.  Noel has a much better partner, Allison, and Paul Hollywood seems a bit nicer.  Love the cast!

  43. 43.

    piratedan

    in these times of idiocy I’ve been doing a lot of MST3K to help me cope with the stupid.  Already donated to their fundraiser for season 14.  They’ve lined up the rights to do Battle Beyond the Stars and Plan 9 from Outer Space, which would be glorious if they can get it funded.

  47. 47.

    Brachiator

    I’m watching The Gilded Age on HBO. I like New York City social history, all levels of society. It’s a pretty good series about the era of the Robber Barons, and most of the main characters are inspired by the actual upper class people of the era.

    There is an interesting subplot involving a black woman journalist whose parents are from the Black upper class of Brooklyn, again inspired by actual history.

    Earlier, someone recommended Blue Eye Samurai, an animated series on Netflix set in feudal Japan. It’s been highly rated. I looked at the trailer and the animation is great. There is a considerable amount of violence in these adventures of a mixed race woman samurai.

    The first episode is available for free on YouTube.

    The trailer for the series.

    ETA. HBO is now Max.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    We haven’t started The Crown yet. We really liked both Debicki and West in their roles in the last season. I’m okay with Staunton and Pryce. Their lives are in a less interesting place — Foy and Smith got all the fireworks.

  50. 50.

    mali muso

    Slowly making our way through the most recent season of Lupin. Really wish they’d consider casting Omar Sy as Bond. He is just so good.

    I gave the first episode of Wheel of Time a spin (heh) on Prime last night. Not totally sure if I’ll commit to the whole series but I think I’ll try a few more episodes to see.

    Been savoring each week’s new episode of Great British Baking Show. Pure comfort watching. Liking the new co-presenter they brought on this year and the much more “back to basics” challenges.

  53. 53.

    Splitting Image

    @MattF:

    ETA: Also noted that there’s a new Bill Watterson book out, will probably buy it.

    Thank you. I hadn’t heard about that.

  54. 54.

    JaySinWA

    @UncleEbeneezer: I’ll take your word for it. Obviously The Bridge got remade in several different country specific versions because it was compelling.

    I just wasn’t up to the dark, disturbing and as I recall confusing things I remembered from The Tunnel.

  55. 55.

    jackmac

    Marvel is geting a lot of bad press lately for lackluster movies and series, but I really liked the recent Loki season two. Well-produced, acted and with great special effects (and with a satisfying ending for the character and his arc). And it took the bad taste my mouth from that awful Nick Fury / Secret Invasion series from earlier this year.

    I’m otherwise not watching much this week. I’ve escaped the Midwest with the family for 10 days in SoCal on vacation and decompressing from stressful work weeks. Nothing like sunny and 70 degrees while sitting in a hot tub in late November to cure what ails!

  56. 56.

    Booski Minki

    I’ve been watching “Scavengers Reign” The animation is a bit like Moebius. It’s about a group of astronauts marooned on a beautiful but dangerous planet

  57. 57.

    dmsilev

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    For All Mankind (Season 5) on AppleTV: Alternate history of the space race.  This season is set in early-2000’s and Mars colonization continues.

    At least so far, the current season (4, I think) is both realistic and depressing: Mars is colonized, yes, but there’s a profound have/have-not dichotomy. The upper echelons of Mars personnel, the astronauts and so forth, have it good; locally grown (greenhouse) food, comfortable living spaces, etc. All enabled by the have-not contract workers, who are living the very best Company Town lifestyle. Crap food, crap living, pay in company scrip, you name it. Basically, most of the base is living in Elon Musk’s vision for the future.

    I’ve only watched the first two episodes, but at least so far it’s a very strong theme of the season. Like I said, realistic and depressing.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    Several recent items.

    Netflix: He’s Expecting. Much better Japanese dramedy than it sounds like it would be. Title explains the premise. The English dubbed version is tolerable for those who eschew subtitles..

    MHz Choice: <emThe Bridge Danish-Swedish detectiving. There’s even an English dubbed version of both seasons now.

    Paris Police 1905. Self-explanatory. Sequel to the series set in 1900.

    Homicide Hills. Light toned German police investigations. Doling out the final season in small doses as know it is ending.

    Freezing Embrace. Straight up Finnish police drama.

    Prime: Murdoch Mysteries Canadian Victorian.Edwardian era police show with tongue firmly in cheek. 15 seasons (except season 14) currently on Freevee. Think amalgam of Monk and Columbo set in old Toronto.

    Micawber. Mini-series about the travails and foibles of the Dickens character.

    The Night They Raided Minsky’s. Pleased to see it pop up after all these years.

    Tubi: Forgotten Movie Music, 1929 – 1958. Self explanatory.

    The Catcher Was a Spy. Not badly done little film about baseball player Moe Berg’s exploits during WW2.

    Crack in the World. Journeyman second billing SF drama which have always had a soft spot for. Late career (as in sobered up) Dana Andrews.

    The Architect. Uncompromising blueprint artiste butts heads with a couple who hied him to build a house.

    Mrs. Henderson Presents. Dramatization of the true tale of the widowed producer who brought titillation to the London stage.

  59. 59.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @dmsilev: Whoops, you are right it’s Season 4.  Yes, it’s also giving very similar labor-unrest vibes that we saw in later seasons of Battlestar Galactica.

  61. 61.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @JaySinWA: Understandable.  If you aren’t in the mood for incredibly dark, violent etc., The Bridge is definitely not a series for you.  The Nordic version was one of the more disturbing crime/suspense series I have ever watched.  And I have pretty high tolerance for that sort of thing.

  62. 62.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @jackmac: Enjoy!  I still remember my first couple Thanksgivings here I was just dumbfounded that it could be in the 70’s-80’s and sunny, having lived most of my life in Boston, Delaware, Philly and often having snow for Turkey Day…

  63. 63.

    Layer8Problem

    My partner’s watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo, we’re both watching Lessons in Chemistry and we just started The Crown.

    I’m casting about for something as engaging as Borgen, Call My Agent!, or The Bureau and coming up empty.  And there’s a fourth season of Babylon Berlin that was already shown in Germany last year that Netflix hasn’t deigned to put on in the States.

  64. 64.

    Craig

    The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix. Fantastic. Great writing that wraps all kinds of themes and quotes from Pie into a crazy tale of a pharmaceutic family(fuck you sacklers). Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood are amazing in this.

  67. 67.

    Miss Bianca

    @geg6: I saw the first season of Ghosts on DVD and really liked it – how many season are out there?

    I’m re-watching Outlander, primarily because I wanted to be binging on Scottish accents while I was preparing one for a stage role, but I’d forgotten how much I liked it!

  69. 69.

    Citizen Dave

    1. My favorite is Nathan Fielder, and the current The Curse (with Emma Stone) on Showtime/paramount plus/prime.  But pissed off because the Ep. 2 that should be available isn’t…
    • We started The Crown, season 6, Ep 2 playing right now.  I’m a meh on it.  Harder when you lived through this history.  The first few seasons were great because I was learning things.  And they were so well done.
  70. 70.

    Ihop

    I just watched “Marcel the shell with shoes on”

    I’ll keep it polite, but holy fuck it was wonderful. Sweet and wierd.

  71. 71.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We are also watching My Brilliant Friend on HBO, which is a really superb Italian series about two girls/women who have a very complicated, life-long friendship amidst the challenges of navigating life in 1950’s Italy.  My wife is all caught up and ready for the fourth season but she’s getting me up to speed with the third so we can watch the final season together.  It’s a really excellent show.  Heavy on Misogyny and domestic abuse (physical & mental) which does not surprise this Italian-American, but it is also incredibly moving and really celebrates the strength and intelligence of the women characters.  Also has lots of great fashion and a very attractive cast.

  75. 75.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Layer8Problem: I’m casting about for something as engaging as Borgen

    That’s gonna be tough to match.  Borgen was truly one of the most addictive and high-quality series we’ve ever seen.  Have you tried The Restaurant?  That one was also great (except for the mini-season coda).

    In other, unrelated genres: Beef on Netflix was probably the best show in the past several years, and The Staircase, Love & Death, The Investigation were all really excellent true-crime dramas.

  76. 76.

    Cec65

    Rewatching the Orville Season 1 on Hulu, Invincible Season 2 on Prime, and have to start seeing season 2 of the Wheel of Time on Prime

  77. 77.

    prostratedragon

    @NotMax: I like Murdoch Mysteries. Good stories (apart from a couple of recurring ones I could do without and which don’t detract from the whole), fine production design, hilarious steampunk touches, great score from Robert Carli (the theme sounds like a gimcrack Peter Gunn), and the ineffable George Crabtree.

  78. 78.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Citizen Dave: We are thinking of starting The Curse, but not sure how it looks.  I love The Rehearsal but my wife kinda hates it (she enjoys it but it just makes her so uncomfortable, lol).

  79. 79.

    p.a.

    Agreed on Fall of the House of Usher, finished a week ago, 👍🏻👍🏻

    Currently almost done with The Boys, really fun and sharp anti-conservative,  anti-American capitalism show, a bit gratuitous on the gore.  If you don’t know it, imagine The Avengers acting like tRump’s inner circle.  Has “Gus” from Breaking Bad and “Bones”/”Éomer” from Trek reboot movie/LOTR movies as mains.

     

    If you like food, on youtube check out Beryl Shereshewsky.  Just a fun young woman based in NYC eating the city’s multifarious offerings , sometimes as take-out, sometimes cooking, sometimes on-the-town.

    https://youtu.be/g39l56_COS4?si=S3H1oCsGqVfobRyD

  83. 83.

    citizen dave

    @UncleEbeneezer: First episode of The Curse was great, and there are 9 more to go.  I loved The Rehearsal as well.  Nathan and Emma were on Kimmel the other night (can watch on YouTube), it was quite funny–a bit by Nathan.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    @prostratedragon

    It’s a fun ride. Like that each season (more or less) advances forward one year. Also very progressive (in its time) so far as feminism and race go. Glaring miscasting once, though: William Shatner as Mark Twain.

    Originally blazed through 11 seasons back when I had Hulu.

  86. 86.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Layer8Problem: If you liked The Investigation I think you would also love The Staircase and Love & Death.  Like The Investigation, both are true crime dramas about stories that are truly stranger than fiction.  Like “nobody would ever believe this” if someone handed you the scripts, even though they are all true stories.  And both have amazing casts and a ton of twists and turns.

  89. 89.

    MattF

    @NotMax: Yup, that also works for me. Thanks to Montgomery County Public Library. I can see how services like this are a good thing— reduces theft of electronic media, for one thing.

  90. 90.

    prostratedragon

    @NotMax:  An episode in a recent season featured a triumphant visit to Toronto by Marcus Garvey during the early years of his movement. Whatever the literal facts, very engaging.

  91. 91.

    Marc

    The Great British Baking Show is heading towards the semi-finals, it’s the best season in the past few years. We’ve also been watching Lessons in Chemistry  on AppleTV, Brie Larson as a talented chemist during the early 60s who’s frustrated as an under-appreciated college lab tech and ends up starring in a popular TV cooking show.  Last night my wife found the movie In Love and Deep Water on Netflix, a Japanese rom-com and murder mystery set aboard a cruise ship heading towards Europe.  Cute (kawaii) and a lot of fun, but it does help to have a little familiarity with Japanese culture and humor.

  92. 92.

    phein64

    @villiageidiocy: Broken record here, but:

    If you like “What We Do in the Shadows,” check out the 2010 Belgian mockumentary, “Vampires.”   It’s played as if it’s a straight PBS/BBC-style documentary — think the Louds in “An American Family.”

  93. 93.

    Juice Box

    The FTFNYT had an article today about the movies that are new to Amazon Prime. Even though they were all big names, I’m not much of a movie goer, so there were plenty that I haven’t seen. When I’m done with Bosch and the new Brokenwood Mysteries season, I’ll work through some of those in the comfort of my own living room.

    I finished the new (2022) season of Imma Tataranni on MHz before we went to Italy last month and then I got lucky and was able to watch the 2023 season in Italy. Even if police procedurals aren’t your thing, the drone shots over Matera in the opening sequence are spectacular. 

  94. 94.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax: I just saw a great expression in the comments on the YouTube video Alison Rose recommended (a lawyer and a JAG critiquing A Few Good Men):

    “God, marines are such premadonnas!”

  97. 97.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ihop:

    I just watched “Marcel the shell with shoes on”
    I’ll keep it polite, but holy fuck it was wonderful. Sweet and wierd.

    It’s so good!

    My brother and I took his three boys to see it when it was still in theaters. I found it to be too weird at first but then got into the story. Definitely rewatchable.

  98. 98.

    Dan B

    I’ve been watching people watching, and sharing their reactions to, Red White and Royal Blue.  It’s all sexual orientations so there are lots of different things they react to.  The gay guys go nuts for Taylor Zakhar Perez and to a lesser extent for Nathaniel ( the prince).  I feel like I’ve seen the movie because I’ve watched four different groups and they play different bits.

    I watched a gay 26 year old do the same for Fellow Travelers.  It’s very disturbing to him although it’s my history.  And the characters are neurotic and very human.  Matt Bomer is controlling.  It’s disturbing since he usually is a charmer and is also sweet in real life.

    It’s great to have two high production value gay folks/ series on at the same time LGBTQ people are under attack.  Rustin is on Netflix and though it’s not getting great reviews I’m glad to see the story of this amazing black gay pioneer told.

  99. 99.

    StringOnAStick

    Season two of Annika is available now (PBS Mystery), and word is that they are currently filming season 3.  Season two was a little slow to start but it has been over two years I think and the show had to find its footing again.  The murders are really just incidental, the true treasure in the show is the interpersonal relationships.

  101. 101.

    Robert Sneddon

    “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” on Crunchyroll. A Japanese anime series about connections and loss following the immortal elf Frieren who has spent a mayfly ten years with her companions on a journey to defeat the Demon King, and now it’s over. She wanders off for fifty years or so with a “see you later” and when “later” comes around she finds change suddenly difficult to cope with. The animation is by Madhouse doing what they do best, humour and drama and a sharp-edged realness infusing the regular fantasy tropes.

  102. 102.

    Quaker in a Basement

    @NotMax: Crack in the World?

    Haw! I remember that one from childhood days. I saw it with my cousins in a small-town Alabama single-screen theatre.

  103. 103.

    ChrisSherbak

    @Ben Cisco: Congrats!

    As for the OP, I normally don’t watch NCIS sorts of shows, their plotting always seems… plodding. HOWEVER, I love the storylines and people in NCIS: Hawai’i (I squee every time I see them spell it that way.) So I have hopes that NCIS: Sydney (Sinney? Do they actually say it like that? Enquiring minds!) will similarly tweek my fancy.

  104. 104.

    Chris

    What’s everybody watching?

    Multiple things.

    I’m most of the way through a rewatch of MacGyver, to go with my earlier rewatch of The A-Team.  Because damn it, eighties camp is great.  I also frequently find myself thinking “man, very few people today would dare to be this balls-to-the-wall liberal” (Leverage is one of the few, and probably the spiritual successor to both – the basic setup of a small team of outlaws helping those who’ve fallen through the cracks is The A-Team, but the liberal politics and fondness for ripped-from-the-headlines stories is pure MacGyver).

    I’m halfway through Lower Decks, as part of my general attempt to catch up on modern Star Trek.  Already done Strange New Worlds, not sure if Picard or Discovery will be next.

    Currently on season 4 of Elementary, which is so much better than it has any right to be, especially since it was viewed by so many when it first came off as a pale imitation of Sherlock.  That’s my go-to “thing to have on in the background when working.”

    And about to finish the first season of Peaky Blinders, which scratches both my fondness for crime fiction and my fondness for historical fiction.  As a sidenote, I’ve seen Sam Neill play an American, an Englishman, a Russian, and now an Irishman; struggling to remember if I’ve ever seen a role that had him use his actual Kiwi accent.

  105. 105.

    Chris

    @mali muso:

    Slowly making our way through the most recent season of Lupin. Really wish they’d consider casting Omar Sy as Bond. He is just so good.

    Well, that’d put an interesting spin on all those “is it okay for the next James Bond to be black?” Internet arguments.

    In that the news of a Frenchman is being cast as James Bond would cause so much outrage among so many patriotic Britons, the fact that he’s also black might not even register.

  107. 107.

    Chris

    @jackmac:

    And it took the bad taste my mouth from that awful Nick Fury / Secret Invasion series from earlier this year.

    Secret Invasion stood out in my memory because when the comic it’s based on came out all the way back in the 2000s, I was already creeped out by how much the ad campaign for it looked like cringeworthy 1950s pamphlets against race mixing.  Watched all of two episodes of the show and was like “nope, this isn’t any better.  I’m out.”

  108. 108.

    FelonyGovt

    A Murder At The End of the World, on FX thru Hulu. A murder mystery at a retreat in Iceland organized by a high-tech billionaire (Clive Owens, better looking and more personable than his real-life counterparts), with Emma Corrin as an enigmatic young hacker.

  109. 109.

    JoyceH

    I was in the mood for a long story so I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy – I’ve never seen it before and there are nineteen seasons.

  110. 110.

    Leto

    For those that like animation, got two that we’ve recently watch and just absolutely loved:

    HBO: Scavengers Reign

    Synopsis

    The series follows the survivors of the damaged interstellar cargo ship Demeter 227 who are stranded on Vesta, an alien planet bustling with flora and fauna but filled with dangers. The survivors start off separated in three groups: Azi and her robot companion Levi, Sam and Ursula, and the isolated Kamen.

    Netflix: Blue Eye Samurai

    Premise

    During Japan’s Edo period (17th century), half-white half-Japanese swordsmaster Mizu quests for vengeance against four white men who illegally remain in Japan during the closing of its borders by the Tokugawa shogunate.[3]

    Both have highly distinctive animation styles. Scavengers Reign has this 70s style animation and coloring, which helps lend to the overall trippy experience. While Blue Eye’s animation is modern and exquisite. And have I mentioned the stories are very good?

  111. 111.

    Grover Gardner

    Oh, my, I must save this thread.  So many good reccomendations.  Spouse and I are watching Boardwalk Empire, just wonderful,  the acting is superb.

  113. 113.

    Annamal

    Yellowjackets is as good and unhinged and ridiculous as everyone said it was.

    Deadloch (on prime) is also unhinged and ridiculous  and calls out so many Broadchurch/small town murder tropes while also being an engaging murder mystery. The Kates (of the webseries the Katering show) really outdid themselves.

    Love what we do in the shadows, also have a soft spot for Wellington Paranormal which is another spinoff of the original movie and is the exact opposite of copaganda.

  116. 116.

    TS

    I’m watching the UK series Annika – not sure where you may have/are able to watch it in the US – (probably PBS). We get such things in Australia a year or two after they are on UK TV

    It is supposedly a crime series (Witty, enigmatic DI Annika Strandhed heads up the Marine Homicide Unit, tasked with solving murders in and around the Scottish waters)  for me it is a comedy and soap opera with a crime included to give it a reason to exist.  We seem to enjoy every episode a little more than the previous one – they are all most enjoyable.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13643704/

  118. 118.

    Tony Jay

    I’m always in bed when these take place. 😭

    Anyhoo, What We Do In The Shadows is great, though we did sort of drift away in the later series. Wellington Paranormal is two series of aching funny.

    Fall of the House of Usher doesn’t quite have the crawling horror of Haunting of Hill House, but the revolving ensemble cast are still top notch. Nice to see the Gugino Goddess getting a meatier role than in the last few Flanagan outings, and frankly I could listen to Bruce Greenwood read the lottery numbers. Guy is just charming.

    Currently bombing around through Doctor Who continuity with the boy getting ready for next weekend’s Specials. Tennant and Smith were fantastic, but by the clanking balls of the Cyber-Commander Capaldi is awesome. Fingers very much crossed that RTD leans into correcting that Timeless Child abomination and uses his clout to push back on the BBC’s efforts to dumb the show down.

  119. 119.

    TS

    @NotMax:

    two on PBS Masterpiece

    Worth a look  – can take a couple of episodes to realise what a fun watch it is – but once hooked, impossible to stop watching. It is just fun, no great lecture or story to tell or retribution for crime, pure entertainment. Each episode is a new crime, but the “soap” side leaves one wondering at the end of most episodes.

  120. 120.

    NotMax

    @TS

    Worth a look (though could be paced more adroitly) is the Aussie mini-series <The Secret History of My Family, available on Prime, tracing the descendants of transportees of the 19th century to present times.

  122. 122.

    TS

    @NotMax:

    I don’t subscribe to Prime & don’t know the series but do have family who arrived here as convicts in 1788 onwards – plus some 19th century settlers.

    Thanks for the info – will check.

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