Craig Ferguson’s new stand up special on Netflix: I saw the first half last night, it was very funny. Contrast that with one they had recently by Jerry Sienfeld. His standup is so painfully not funny, I couldn’t make it more than a few minutes.
So there’s a Netflix series based on the Witcher books coming…
I just started watching and was in love with it in the first 5 minutes. But how can you forget Chris Elliot (as the mayor, no less)?
My wife and I just finished Dark. During the run it went some dark places indeed. It is nothing like Stranger Things. As a German I think it is the finest pice of genre TV produced here since decades. While still being thoroughly German to the core. Of course by Netflix standards maybe not great. It has some weird pacing and the plot is uneven and convoluted. It feels more like an intro, similar to Travellers in that regard I feel. They kind of closed some of the strands and left themselves open for another season. I would watch it.
Originally on AMC but now on Netflix, I’m digging the shit out of Turn - so much so that I just bought the book on which it’s based.
I watched the whole run of this on AMC-- good stuff.
For some reason whenever I would see the promos on AMC I would remark to myself that it looked interesting - and then forget all about it. I started watching due only to the incessant nagging of a friend.
How historical does it keep on being? I remember reading first season was pretty true to real events, but after that it went steeply downhill regarding that?
I’m about halfway through S2 and while I’m pretty sure the current storyline is ahistorical ,it hasn’t yet reached House of Cards-level ridiculousness.
Dark (German show talked about above) got renewed by Netflix. So it’s a go for Season 2.
La Casa De Papel.
Spanish miniseries about a heist. Halfway through. Moves pretty well. Good acting. Characters fairly interesting.
The Toys That Made Us - Documentary series covering some fab toy lines. The first four episodes are up now, (Star Wars, Barbie, He-Man, and GI Joe) and the other four are coming. It’s not just a nostalgia trip. There are some meaty interviews with the toy creators, and some history of the companies themselves.
I sat down to watch the Star Wars episode and wound up binge-watching the rest of the series. The He-Man episode is probably the best. So much seat-of-the-pants creation!
I think for the first time ever, we hear from the actual Kenner lawyer that negotiated the Star Wars merchandising deal. There have been rumors for decades that it wasn’t all that cherry for George Lucas or 20th Century Fox and it turns out that the rumors were true! The studio end of the deal was terrible. 5% of sales shared by George and the studio, in perpetuity as long as Kenner was able to write a check for $10k a year. George and Co mad a ton of money from those royalties, but they could’ve made so much more if they hadn’t been desperate to sign before the release of Star Wars. Hasbro could’ve kept that sweet deal forever if they just hadn’t forgotten to send a check in the mid-90’s! Amazing screw-up.
I’ve only seen the Star Wars episode so far, but heard good things about the whole series.
It has what may be the worst opening theme I’ve ever seen, but stick with it, the actual show is good!
Just finished La Mante (The Mantis). It’s a six episode French series about a serial killer who is a copycat killer trying to replicate the murders of The Mantis. Very well done and very clever. The twist is the Mantis, in prison, is a woman and the mother of one of the detectives, so she offers to help but only if her son is the one she interacts with, and he despises her. I really enjoyed it.
Let’s talk stand-up specials briefly. Last year’s Michael Che special was really great. And then last month there was a Judd Apatow standup special, and I found that really surprisingly funny. His imitations of his daughters is just so side-splitting.
And over the last couple of days I watched the latest Dave Chappelle collection (Equanimity and The Bird Revelation), which were both really funny, and both really different. The second one (Bird Revelation) is a much smaller, intimate setting, and he’s talking about more serious topics.
Not watched the Chappelle ones, but in 2017 I enjoyed Sarah Silverman, Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia, Jen Kirkman and Hasan Minahj.
I’m about halfway through the second episode of Wanted, an Australian import on Netflix, and I’m about to give up. Netflix says it was a huge smash in Australia, but it’s really eye-rolling.
At no less than twice in the first episode do the main characters manage to incapacitate a gunman who was about to execute them, and instead of picking up the gunman’s pistol, they run away.
Also, there’s such an obvious solution to their dilemma,but they can’t even entertain the idea.
That’s how far I made it into Wanted. I kept hoping someone from here would watch it and tell me if it got good or not.
Good ist too much said. I enjoyed it while on the commute. It is stretching believability and they act plain dumb. But some of these issues are explained later on. I watched all available so far.