The Small Screen: TV

[Kieran]

I loved that show, but I only watched season 1. I know it was cancelled, but didn't know they actually made 2nd season. Netflix has a tendency to cancel good shows, which is a pity.

Btw I finished watching "Babylon Berlin" season 4 and enjoyed it.

Now I have 2 episodes left of "The Tourist", which @Moxie recommended about a year ago. I like it too, it's fun, plot and characters feel like I'm watching Coen brothers work.

Yeah there’s two seasons. Switch of pace in the second, but the first one ended so powerfully with the scenes in the school that we were having to relearn some small clues that we’d missed, that become central to season 2.

She’s a fabulous actress as well as a great writer..

 

[Kieran]

Apple TV can be hit and miss - both Foundation and For All Mankind basically ruined by anachronistic DIE casting and modish politically motivated storylines, yet both could have been great - but recently we watched two excellent shows, both free from creative interference.

Hijack with Idris Elba is a very good thriller set in the sky on a flight from Dubai to London. The title tells what it’s about and what’s impressive is that they got a whole seven episode mini series out of it, without flab.

Black Bird is simply excellent. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a crook who went undercover in prison to get a confession from a serial killer. Taron Egerton, Elton John in the movie, and especially Paul Walter Hauser bring the impact in this show…

 

[don_fabio]

Hijack with Idris Elba is a very good thriller set in the sky on a flight from Dubai to London. The title tells what it’s about and what’s impressive is that they got a whole seven episode mini series out of it, without flab.

Haven't watched it, but sounds good to me.

Black Bird is simply excellent. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a crook who went undercover in prison to get a confession from a serial killer. Taron Egerton, Elton John in the movie, and especially Paul Walter Hauser bring the impact in this show…

I enjoyed this show. Good story, well paced. The guy who played serial killer (Paul Walter Hauser) was very convincing in his role. I recommend it too, it's quality TV.

 

[britbox]

Game of Thrones has to be #2

 

[Moxie]

I watched "Ripley" on Netflix. It's very good, and absolutely beautifully shot. It's an interesting take on the Ripley stories. I found it a bit insular and one-note, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Andrew Scott's take on Ripley is dead-eyed and terrifying. By contrast, I went back and watched "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which had Matt Damon as Ripley. Totally different takes. Both good. I loved the comparison to Carravaggio in this one, and the artfulness in that. Also, the b/w worked. If you're inclined, also try "Purple Noon," which is French and has Alain Delon as Ripley. It's very good. A story so good it keeps on giving.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Apple TV can be hit and miss - both Foundation and For All Mankind basically ruined by anachronistic DIE casting and modish politically motivated storylines, yet both could have been great - but recently we watched two excellent shows, both free from creative interference.

Hijack with Idris Elba is a very good thriller set in the sky on a flight from Dubai to London. The title tells what it’s about and what’s impressive is that they got a whole seven episode mini series out of it, without flab.

Black Bird is simply excellent. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a crook who went undercover in prison to get a confession from a serial killer. Taron Egerton, Elton John in the movie, and especially Paul Walter Hauser bring the impact in this show…

hijack was very good..

 

[Jelenafan]

“Baby Reindeer” was a fascinating mini series, if a bit uncomfortable to watch at times. The stalking and reaction to it, or more accurately, “non-reacting” to the aggression was plausibly presented.

That the victim chose to portray himself in the actual series is just one of the stranger then fictions aspects of the storyline & narrative.

 

[don_fabio]

“Baby Reindeer” was a fascinating mini series, if a bit uncomfortable to watch at times. The stalking and reaction to it, or more accurately, “non-reacting” to the aggression was plausibly presented.

That the victim chose to portray himself in the actual series is just one of the stranger then fictions aspects of the storyline & narrative.

This tv series is a total freak show. It's actually great and distrubing at the same time. I have yet to finish 3 episodes. Agree that the main actor who is the actual guy and who came out with this story just add another layer to how f...ed up this whole story is.

 

[Moxie]

This tv series is a total freak show. It's actually great and distrubing at the same time. I have yet to finish 3 episodes. Agree that the main actor who is the actual guy and who came out with this story just add another layer to how f...ed up this whole story is.

A friend of mine who is a fan of it told me to watch 4 episodes before giving up. Good he said that, because I'm tempted. The lead character is pretty hard to like. And to say it's about "stalking" rather mischaracterizes it. I'm 3 episodes in, so we're at about the same place, Don. We'll compare notes soon.

 

[don_fabio]

A friend of mine who is a fan of it told me to watch 4 episodes before giving up. Good he said that, because I'm tempted. The lead character is pretty hard to like. And to say it's about "stalking" rather mischaracterizes it. I'm 3 episodes in, so we're at about the same place, Don. We'll compare notes soon.

I just finished watching, so you have some catch up to do Agree about the main guy, not likeable at all. Yeah, this TV series is deeper than the whole stalking story.

 

[Moxie]

I just finished watching, so you have some catch up to do Agree about the main guy, not likeable at all. Yeah, this TV series is deeper than the whole stalking story.

So? Should I stick with it?

 

[don_fabio]

So? Should I stick with it?

Definitely.

 

[Jelenafan]

This tv series is a total freak show. It's actually great and distrubing at the same time. I have yet to finish 3 episodes. Agree that the main actor who is the actual guy and who came out with this story just add another layer to how f...ed up this whole story is.

Add that the woman was already a prior serial stalker who had served prison terms and again, it’s so complicated because of the *victim’s* own issues & trauma.

I will say that the repetitive nature of the first few episodes makes more sense as new revelations unfold , like the layers of an onion, so that you recall past events in a different light.

 

[don_fabio]

Add that the woman was already a prior serial stalker who had served prison terms and again, it’s so complicated because of the *victim’s* own issues & trauma.

Yeah, I mean sentences for stalking seem rather short. You can stalk one, get caught and then move on to the next one. That's what she did here.

The story is a lot about previous traumas (main guy's father has a huge trauma from childhood too) and how it affects a person's life from that moment and how you deal with it. This we become aware more about after that brutal episode I think number 4, when a main guy gets hooked into a bad relation with a scenarist rapist. The main character knew what was waiting for him, but he kept coming back just to succeed/get famous, which makes me conclude that the story is also about how badly you want something in life. I mean at what cost and is it worth it then?

Lots of stuff, they are questioning the sequality as well, coming out of the closet sort of speak and how you deal with those challenges. This might be the weirdest love triangle I ever seen on a screen, the guy who doesn't know does he like men or women and he is in love/relation with a transsexual, while at the same time being stalked by a crazy woman seeking for attention and he clearly develops some feelings for her too.

I will say that the repetitive nature of the first few episodes makes more sense as new revelations unfold , like the layers of an onion, so that you recall past events in a different light.

By the end of tv series both him and the stalker lady have a lot more in common than it looked at the beginning. They both have traumas of their own and they get connected to each other in a bizzarre way. The lady is stalking him and he is trying to push her back, but not really, because it suits him too, to have someone care about him. He even feels sorry for her when they take her away and he tries to understand her by sorting all those audio messages. They wrapped up the end nicely with a powerful scene revealing where the baby reindeer name came from.