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Spawn.S1.

Not the movie, but the HBO animated series.

I'm reasonably sure this was never broadcast in the UK at the time, or, if so, was on a paywalled service that wasn't anywhere near as common as it is now.

Either way, I was interested to see this available on demand, and downloaded the first season.

Firstly, I want to take a little time out to discuss the intros to each episode by McFarlane himself. In what I can only describe as a love child of Stan Lee and the Crypt Keeper, Seth monologues some cheesy dialogue with all the earnestness and lack of self awareness of a first year film student. I can't say it ruins the show, but my God it doesn't fill the viewer with confidence as to what is to come.

Thankfully, the meat of the show demonstrates an uptick in quality. The whole affair feels very nineties, but the animation looks good, the voice cast (led by Keith David as Spawn, which is inspired) do an admirable job with what they're working with.

It feels in many ways like the aim was to create an 18 rated Batman: The Animated Series, and while it falls short of matching what is perhaps still the yardstick for animated superhero shows, it does enough right, and is suitably lightweight in terms of commitment at 3 x 6ep seasons, to be worth a watch.

Quantum Leap (2022

Good news everyone! They’ve not tried to reinvent the wheel!

This is a continuation of the original. Kind of Quantum Leap: The Next Generation, rather than The New Adventures of Sam Beckett.

Everything we enjoyed about the original is here. The overall plot remains the same. Ziggy is still Ziggy (though I do miss the squeals!). But, there are some underlying “meanwhile, back at the camp” type mysteries unfolding. And happy to report those seem rooted in the existing lore of the series. I say seem, as I’m only 5 episodes deep. Whilst I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen so far, there is still room for disappointment and dropping of the ball.

It’s pleasing to see a reinvention of this ilk. And the cast are really likeable. Even if the original was never really your bag, this is at the very, very least a confident, competent, enjoyable show.

It’s up on Paramount+ in the UK, and I say definitely give it a whirl.

Though….that being said? Outside of bingeing during a Free Trial, this isn’t compelling enough to sign up to P+ on its own. But if you’ve done so for Star Trek and Beavis and Butthead, like I did, this is plenty good enough secondary fare.

Silo (Apple TV)

I have just finished season 1 of Silo.

10 episodes - 10,000 people live in an underground silo but history is repressed (for reasons) so nobody really knows how long they have been underground or why they are there. They live in a well ordered society but if anybody asks to "go outside" or commits a heinous crime they are obliged to go outside the bunker and clean the sensors that show the toxic, dangerous world outside, whilst the rest of the silo watches. None of them last more than a few minutes but for some reason, they always clean.....

I actually really enjoyed this, great performances all round, interesting set design / costumes and enough mystery to keep me interested. There is a big conspiracy theory and I guessed right on a few things but not all.

I haven't read the books though and apparently there were quite a few changes but overall it seems to have been well received by those that have read them.

Near the end of The Blacklist season 8.
They killed off Glen Carter. The actor died ( Clark Middleton) . Glen was one of the best characters. They gave his passing a whole episode and it was good fun, they handled it very well. The replaced Glen with his mother and she is a blast. I really like the mannerism that are so much like Glen. It really feels like she could be his mother. That's one of the things I like about this show characters who are related displaying traits of their relations. Body language. it adds a lot to the scene and the story. I like it when actors act instead of walk to spot and say their lines.
The Big Bad in this season is a real monster and it's believable.
Small gripes about the usual stuff but throwing that out it's been good. A few more episodes to watch still.

 Azreal13 wrote:
Spawn.S1.

Not the movie, but the HBO animated series.

I'm reasonably sure this was never broadcast in the UK at the time, or, if so, was on a paywalled service that wasn't anywhere near as common as it is now.

Either way, I was interested to see this available on demand, and downloaded the first season.

Firstly, I want to take a little time out to discuss the intros to each episode by McFarlane himself. In what I can only describe as a love child of Stan Lee and the Crypt Keeper, Seth monologues some cheesy dialogue with all the earnestness and lack of self awareness of a first year film student. I can't say it ruins the show, but my God it doesn't fill the viewer with confidence as to what is to come.

Thankfully, the meat of the show demonstrates an uptick in quality. The whole affair feels very nineties, but the animation looks good, the voice cast (led by Keith David as Spawn, which is inspired) do an admirable job with what they're working with.

It feels in many ways like the aim was to create an 18 rated Batman: The Animated Series, and while it falls short of matching what is perhaps still the yardstick for animated superhero shows, it does enough right, and is suitably lightweight in terms of commitment at 3 x 6ep seasons, to be worth a watch.

Actually it was on late night Fox Kids. I distinctly remember watching it when i was 12 or 13 and being amused at the voice of Goliath swearing and murdering like a trooper.

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Spawn.S1.

Not the movie, but the HBO animated series.

I'm reasonably sure this was never broadcast in the UK at the time, or, if so, was on a paywalled service that wasn't anywhere near as common as it is now.

Either way, I was interested to see this available on demand, and downloaded the first season.

Firstly, I want to take a little time out to discuss the intros to each episode by McFarlane himself. In what I can only describe as a love child of Stan Lee and the Crypt Keeper, Seth monologues some cheesy dialogue with all the earnestness and lack of self awareness of a first year film student. I can't say it ruins the show, but my God it doesn't fill the viewer with confidence as to what is to come.

Thankfully, the meat of the show demonstrates an uptick in quality. The whole affair feels very nineties, but the animation looks good, the voice cast (led by Keith David as Spawn, which is inspired) do an admirable job with what they're working with.

It feels in many ways like the aim was to create an 18 rated Batman: The Animated Series, and while it falls short of matching what is perhaps still the yardstick for animated superhero shows, it does enough right, and is suitably lightweight in terms of commitment at 3 x 6ep seasons, to be worth a watch.

Actually it was on late night Fox Kids. I distinctly remember watching it when i was 12 or 13 and being amused at the voice of Goliath swearing and murdering like a trooper.

It was for sure HBO. They tried a lot of adult animation programing for a few years.

It might've switched stations after it did its initial run, but it started on HBO.

Either way, not the UK and Fox Kids was a paywalled channel on Sky, so I'll stick with my point.

One of my wife’s and my hobbies is cake decorating, so we’ve been watching a lot of cake shows.

Nailed it.

This is the best one. This is legitimately good television.

Is It Cake?

This is like one of those YouTube videos that auto plays when you try to scroll past it on Facebook. Compelling in the mold of an old Nickelodeon game show, but definitely not for everyone.

Sugar Rush

You ever want to watch an anodyne show because you’re sure everyone involved secretly hates each other? This is that show.

Cupcake Wars

This is Sugar Rush if everyone was just over it. Still, worth it for that one contestant who used mayonnaise instead of buttercream—on purpose!—and then ranted about the judges not appreciating his daring when eliminated.

My daughter went through a massive is it cake? Binge they are undeniably talented in a very specific way. There is also Baking Impossible where they need to bake cakes to float and do various were engineering challenges

Finished The blacklist season 8.
They built up agent Keen to take over for Redington and killed her off because the actress was planning to leave the show.
Ultimately a waste of time. The episodes were good some of the gimmicks were a lot of fun.
Just sad about the way this happened because it reminded me of Twin Peaks. A show that could have rant for 20 seasons because there was no conclusion. Two more seasons and it's over.

I'm not mad she wanted to leave and all that it just makes all the work they put in, I don't know maybe they should have done it sooner and moved on already.

I'm more sad about Jelly bean carter having been written off as died because the actor passed away. That dude was amazing.

 Flinty wrote:
My daughter went through a massive is it cake? Binge they are undeniably talented in a very specific way. There is also Baking Impossible where they need to bake cakes to float and do various were engineering challenges

Oh, I’m going to have to check that one out. Is Baking Impossible on a free service?

Thanks for the recommendation.

None of these new baking shows hold a candle to Duff's old show.

My family are also "baking enthusiasts" so I have seen them all, possibly twice. There are also tons of knock-off baking shows all over the Free-TV streaming universe, and most of them suck.

 warhead01 wrote:
Finished The blacklist season 8.
They built up agent Keen to take over for Redington and killed her off because the actress was planning to leave the show.
Ultimately a waste of time. The episodes were good some of the gimmicks were a lot of fun.
Just sad about the way this happened because it reminded me of Twin Peaks. A show that could have rant for 20 seasons because there was no conclusion. Two more seasons and it's over.

I'm not mad she wanted to leave and all that it just makes all the work they put in, I don't know maybe they should have done it sooner and moved on already.

I'm more sad about Jelly bean carter having been written off as died because the actor passed away. That dude was amazing.

Hi, future Blacklist here. You can probably stop watching me now. You may want to keep watching out of curiosity, and that's fine, but it's only fair to warn you that the dynamics that the character of Elizabeth brought to the show only really reveal themselves in their absence.

 Easy E wrote:
None of these new baking shows hold a candle to Duff's old show.

My family are also "baking enthusiasts" so I have seen them all, possibly twice. There are also tons of knock-off baking shows all over the Free-TV streaming universe, and most of them suck.

Which one is Duff’s old show?

And yeah, most of them are crap. My wife has been looking for something to fill the hole left by Nailed It and Man About Cake (a YouTube instructional series). I tend to read or doomscroll while she watches, or even work on miniatures.

 Azreal13 wrote:

 warhead01 wrote:
Finished The blacklist season 8.
They built up agent Keen to take over for Redington and killed her off because the actress was planning to leave the show.
Ultimately a waste of time. The episodes were good some of the gimmicks were a lot of fun.
Just sad about the way this happened because it reminded me of Twin Peaks. A show that could have rant for 20 seasons because there was no conclusion. Two more seasons and it's over.

I'm not mad she wanted to leave and all that it just makes all the work they put in, I don't know maybe they should have done it sooner and moved on already.

I'm more sad about Jelly bean carter having been written off as died because the actor passed away. That dude was amazing.

Hi, future Blacklist here. You can probably stop watching me now. You may want to keep watching out of curiosity, and that's fine, but it's only fair to warn you that the dynamics that the character of Elizabeth brought to the show only really reveal themselves in their absence.

Thanks for the heads up.
You're probably right. I found the subreddit and got the impression it as very down hill after season 8. I'll probably wait a while before I see the last two I haven't read anything good about them.
It was fun while it lasted so there's that.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
None of these new baking shows hold a candle to Duff's old show.

My family are also "baking enthusiasts" so I have seen them all, possibly twice. There are also tons of knock-off baking shows all over the Free-TV streaming universe, and most of them suck.

Which one is Duff’s old show?

And yeah, most of them are crap. My wife has been looking for something to fill the hole left by Nailed It and Man About Cake (a YouTube instructional series). I tend to read or doomscroll while she watches, or even work on miniatures.

Ace of Cakes IIRC

Might seem dated now, as it was one of the first cake shows. It is not a competition and more of a "slice of life" style show.

I remember Ace of Cakes making a huge Squig cake for a Baltimore Games Day.

The Horrors of Dolores Roach

A modern retelling of Sweeney Todd, transposed to modern New York. Apparently based off a successful stage play.

This is good. Very very good!

What If...

My favourite Marvel TV series so far.
While there were a couple meh episodes (Party Thor was a bit too silly compared to the rest, and Starlord T'Challa felt like bad fan fiction), overall it was really good and hopefully they still make that second season.

FLCL - 2000

I really like this short show. Just one of those things that becomes special to a person I guess.
FLCL introduced me to the Pillows. I really enjoy that band even though I don't understand a word of it mostly. I figure the music more or less tells one what they need to know even if you don't speak the language.


FLCL Alternative - 2018
First, too much time has passed and the magic just isn't there in the same way.
It's mostly just filler and nostalgia farming.

I will say what I like about it is getting more Haruko and more about her wants and character. She's emotional in a way she wasn't in FLCL and that's actually interesting. Not character growth but showing more layers of her character and her frustration with not getting her way.

Watching FLCL Progressive next and waiting for the next two installments which may be other this year or next.

Elementary

Super late to this party, as this was of course contemporaneous to Martin Freeman Looking Exasperated But This Time He’s Looking Exasperated In Bendyditch Custartsplatch`s Flat.

Johnny Lee Miller stars as Holmes, with Lucy Liu as sidekick Joan Watson.

And to be honest? This is far more enjoyable than Sherlock. That’s not to say Sherlock Am Bad, just that this is more my jam.

Good Omens 2

Season 2 went up on Amazon Prime this morning. As a big ol’ fan of Gaiman and Pratchett, I’ll admit to nervousness here, as sadly one half of that partnership is no longer with us.

Gaiman has assured he and Pterry had discussed a follow up book. And this is based on their chats and notes and what have you. But the nervousness remains.

But, Episode 1? So far, so genuinely good. I mean, it’s Tennant and Sheen so we can hardly go terribly far wrong. Hell, season 1 involved the woeful Jack “you can tell his Mum and Dad worked in the industry” Whitehall and somehow wasn’t ruined by his talentless, one note presence.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The Horrors of Dolores Roach

A modern retelling of Sweeney Todd, transposed to modern New York. Apparently based off a successful stage play.

This is good. Very very good!

Hmm, I totally dismissed this when it came up in my recommended viewing - nowhere did it sound like it was a Sweeney Todd retelling. Might give this a watch....

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Elementary

Super late to this party, as this was of course contemporaneous to Martin Freeman Looking Exasperated But This Time He’s Looking Exasperated In Bendyditch Custartsplatch`s Flat.

Johnny Lee Miller stars as Holmes, with Lucy Liu as sidekick Joan Watson.

And to be honest? This is far more enjoyable than Sherlock. That’s not to say Sherlock Am Bad, just that this is more my jam.

Currently enjoying Elementary myself. Up to Season 4 so far and barely a foot wrong. Vinnie Jones is that bare foot. (Why? Why do they do it? Can't they see? Don't they understand?)

And that’s Good Omens 2 done and dusted.

Overall you can notice Pterry’s sad absence here and there. But it remains pretty brilliant all the same. And it rather obviously lines us up for a third season.

American Horror Story, Coven

The third season of AHS.

This I feel is where it really starred to find its feet. Murder House was a decent enough start, and I don’t feel Asylum quite rose to the occasion. But Coven was for me where it defined itself properly.

Straight in with the supernatural, bringing it front and centre. And as such the writers and cast got to play around a bit more.

However I’ve only watched it a couple of times before. And I don’t know why!

If you’ve not partaken of AHS before, I think I’d say Murder House first, then this one.

The Bear

I love food. I love teevee. This is both.

First episode in and it’s pretty decent. Always interesting to see the contrast between Fine Dining and Normal Grub Done Well.

Gangs of London

Only part way though but I'm really enjoying this, despite crime dramas not usually being my cup of tea, it's probably down to all the gratuitous violence (Apparently, watching two men absolutely pummel the stuffing out of each other during a gruelling, slog-fest of a punch-up, is my thing now).

 aku-chan wrote:
Gangs of London

I bailed out quite early in season 2, but I quite liked season 1 as a stand-alone thing.


Was mentioned a little while ago...
FROM
Is it too much for me to hope that the creators actually have a plan for the ending and they aren't making it up on the fly? If this is going somewhere then I'll keep watching, but it's also another one of those shows where if the next season doesn't get made then I shan't cry about it.
One little thing I do like is that on occasion the writers are not treating the audience like idiots. There's a plot point involving O- blood type and the characters don't waste out time over explaining the implications. Similarly the trolley problem is mentioned as a throw away remark and again there is no unnecessary dialogue to explain it. You either get it or it's not important enough to derail the script. That's writing that's respectful of the audience, which is only remarkable due to the very low bar that has been set by modern mass media.

Twisted Metal

Of all the videogame franchises you'd pick for TV dramatisation, I'm not sure many would have picked a near 30 year old, post Apoc racing game as a front runner, yet here we are.

Even more surprising is how it is so much better than it has a right to be.

Make no mistake, it knows what it is and leans into it. On the spectrum of post apocalyptic television it's much closer to something like Will Forte's Last Man On Earth than it is The Walking Dead, but with the added lunacy of heavily armed and armoured vehicles hurtling around a near empty North American road network.

There's no point in me explaining the background or the plot, because it's an utterly generic post apocalyptic wasteland and an utterly generic "retrieve macguffin against the clock" storyline.

What makes this is the stellar casting, packed full of names and faces you'll recognise, as well as one voice, and a judicious use of what I suspect was a relatively small budget, ensuring you feel like you've got a dose of action, even when, in reality, they save nearly all of the FX budget for the big showdown at the end.

All that, and it's done and dusted in 10 30 minute episodes, ensuring there's little slack in the momentum (although there is one EP in the middle which feels a little out of place, even if it does do some necessary work story wise.)

It ends perfectly positioned for an absolutely bonkers second season too, so watch it so that happens!