Rate the last series you've seen

[paranoid101]

Reacher Amazon Prime

Jack Reacher done right, way better then the Cruise movies.

8/10

[Neil]

LOL! My other half wants to watch it now... So going through it again :)

[MinionZombie]

I've come late to it as a series, but I've just started the fourth season/series of Peaky Blinders.

I was aware of its glowing reputation, and a couple of friends raved about it, but I just missed the boat on it and there was always various other things to watch. Anyway, after having fallen out of love with Designated Survivor (first season was excellent, but I only managed a mere six episodes of the second season as the quality of the writing and showrunning just fell through the fucking floor), I saw all five series of Peaky Blinders was on Netflix and decided to give it a spin.

I wasn't especially taken in the first few episodes of series 1, but it did enough to keep me watching as I could see the quality of the cast and the writing (by Steven Knight - who also wrote the movies Eastern Promises and Locke, both of which were excellent) - I just needed a bit of time to get into it as a show, which I felt more by the end of series 1 and certainly found in series 2, which is where I got hooked by it. I yomped through series 3 and now I've just got going on series 4. Loving it!

[Neil]

I've come late to it as a series, but I've just started the fourth season/series of Peaky Blinders.

I was aware of its glowing reputation, and a couple of friends raved about it, but I just missed the boat on it and there was always various other things to watch. Anyway, after having fallen out of love with Designated Survivor (first season was excellent, but I only managed a mere six episodes of the second season as the quality of the writing and showrunning just fell through the fucking floor), I saw all five series of Peaky Blinders was on Netflix and decided to give it a spin.

I wasn't especially taken in the first few episodes of series 1, but it did enough to keep me watching as I could see the quality of the cast and the writing (by Steven Knight - who also wrote the movies Eastern Promises and Locke, both of which were excellent) - I just needed a bit of time to get into it as a show, which I felt more by the end of series 1 and certainly found in series 2, which is where I got hooked by it. I yomped through series 3 and now I've just got going on series 4. Loving it!

Another one on my ever increasing list of series to watch...

[MinionZombie]

Another one on my ever increasing list of series to watch...

Definitely worthwhile. I'm really enjoying it. Better late than never, eh?

[paranoid101]

I've been watching a few Korean series on Netflix of late, here's a couple I've finished.

My Name

This was an alight police vs mobsters series, Young girls mobster father is Killed and she is told he was killed by a corrupt cop, So she is trained in fighting by the main Leader of the mobster and Is told to infiltrate the Police to find out who did it.

This was ok, some nice fight scenes and the usual twists and betrayals that go into these type of series.

5/10

The Silent Sea

As earth in the near future begins to run out of fresh water a research base is built on the Moon as they find the Moon has water at its core, later all communication is lost to the Moon base, a team is sent up to collect the Moons water samples and find out what has happened, but all is not as it seems.

This series was good even though it ripped off a plot line from Aliens, its got the father from Train to Busan in it as well as the actress from Jupiter's ascending and Cloud Atlas, looks great and well acted.

7/10

[paranoid101]

Peacemaker

James Gunn's follow up TV series from The Suicide Squad movie, If you liked the movie you will love the series, we follow John Cena's Peacemaker who's in the hospital with injures he received from the film, he then has to join a new crew being run by Amanda Waller to be the killer of the team that are looking into why some rich and powerful people are acting strange and might be a danger to the world.

This series is funny, gory, daft, sad, touching, sweet and has lots of action. it's brilliantly acted has a fantastic soundtrack.

9/10

WHXq62VCaCM

[MinionZombie]

The Boys presents: Diabolical
Amazon Prime. 8 episodes - all animated shorts of about 12 minutes.

The first four a rock solid, the back four are a bit more of a mixed bag and mileage will vary, but there was only one or two that didn't particularly hit for me. Well worth checking out for fans of The Boys.

[paranoid101]

The Boys presents: Diabolical

Was pretty good, enjoyed the different animation styles, it was nice to see the comic book versions of Billy Butcher and Wee Hughie in episode 3, also I think episode 8 had the most tie in to the TV series showing Homelanders Childhood in flashbacks.

7/10

[shootemindehead]

Reacher

I've never read any of the Lee Child books and never saw any of the Cruise films, so this was my first foray into the world of Jack Reacher, or Reacher as everyone calls him (even his mum, which would result in a number of "why does my mum hate me" kiddie crying fits no doubt).

It's an OK(ish) police procedural who's main gimmick is Jack Reacher himself, and while the actual investigative part of the show is fine with a serviceable plot, it's the central character that is its main problem. Jack Reacher cannot fly, he hasn't got super speed, he hasn't got X-Ray vision. But he's no less a superhero, with a thoroughly ridiculous and unrealistic set of skills and talent that allows him to solve any problem, whether it's intellectual or physical. Reacher is the World's Greatest Detective minus the cape and Batman should hang his head in shame.

Reacher is the 6ft 5, built like a brick shithouse, fantasy that every 90lb weakling wished they were. He's very tall, very strong, has all the right answers and all the right moves. He does no wrong and stands up for everything that's "right", who's only drawback is seems to be slightly autistic oddities here and there.

He's, literally, a character that a 10 year old boy would come up with.

While Jack Reacher is the show's biggest weakness, the support is generally fine. His love interest, Roscoe Conklin (not a bloke), is ok, even though she initially has some tropey elements of Strong Female Character oozing out of her and I could never once believe in their "relationship". And Oscar Finlay, the tight ass police captain Reacher has to work with on the case, is well played and is probably the best character in the show. The baddies are very bad, indeed, are generally performed in an adequate, though obvious, fashion with no surprises at all and everything plays out in a fairly perfunctory manner.

All in all 'Reacher' is fine, I guess, if completely unremarkable in any of its aspects and doesn't outstay its welcome due to being just 8 episodes long. Not sure if I'll be that bothered with an S02 if and when one is made.

My biggest takeaway from the show was, if Jack Reacher is a 6ft 5 super soldier giant, how the hell did the diminutive 3ft 4 Tom Cruise get the job for the movies?



5/10

[MinionZombie]

I suppose it's fair to say that Reacher is a bit of a 'Gary Sue'. He is a bit of a power fantasy, always quite capable in certain situations. It is enjoyable to see him figure out how to deal with certain problems, or piecing things together in ways I could never do, but at the same time it is fair to say that he wasn't challenged enough throughout.

I'm similarly unfamiliar with the books. However, considering his size and intelligence, it at least makes sense that he's not overly challenged (i.e. not the circa 110lb actresses blitzing the 200+lb stunt men who are a foot taller than them in, say, Birds of Prey) ... but then again, that also means there's little challenge out there waiting for Reacher ... so where is the tension or the stakes or the risk?

I enjoyed it, but wasn't bowled over by it either. I would like to see a second season, but with some improvements and more oomph.

[Neil]

Reacher

I've never read any of the Lee Child books and never saw any of the Cruise films, so this was my first foray into the world of Jack Reacher, or Reacher as everyone calls him (even his mum, which would result in a number of "why does my mum hate me" kiddie crying fits no doubt).

It's an OK(ish) police procedural who's main gimmick is Jack Reacher himself, and while the actual investigative part of the show is fine with a serviceable plot, it's the central character that is its main problem. Jack Reacher cannot fly, he hasn't got super speed, he hasn't got X-Ray vision. But he's no less a superhero, with a thoroughly ridiculous and unrealistic set of skills and talent that allows him to solve any problem, whether it's intellectual or physical. Reacher is the World's Greatest Detective minus the cape and Batman should hang his head in shame.

Reacher is the 6ft 5, built like a brick shithouse, fantasy that every 90lb weakling wished they were. He's very tall, very strong, has all the right answers and all the right moves. He does no wrong and stands up for everything that's "right", who's only drawback is seems to be slightly autistic oddities here and there.

He's, literally, a character that a 10 year old boy would come up with.

While Jack Reacher is the show's biggest weakness, the support is generally fine. His love interest, Roscoe Conklin (not a bloke), is ok, even though she initially has some tropey elements of Strong Female Character oozing out of her and I could never once believe in their "relationship". And Oscar Finlay, the tight ass police captain Reacher has to work with on the case, is well played and is probably the best character in the show. The baddies are very bad, indeed, are generally performed in an adequate, though obvious, fashion with no surprises at all and everything plays out in a fairly perfunctory manner.

All in all 'Reacher' is fine, I guess, if completely unremarkable in any of its aspects and doesn't outstay its welcome due to being just 8 episodes long. Not sure if I'll be that bothered with an S02 if and when one is made.

My biggest takeaway from the show was, if Jack Reacher is a 6ft 5 super soldier giant, how the hell did the diminutive 3ft 4 Tom Cruise get the job for the movies?



5/10
Wow! That seems harsh? His backstory is explained as the books goes on. Not only does it become clear that size/build wise he is a freak of nature, but he has almost a photographic memory and honed skilled from years in the MPs.

I thought it was a good mix of action with good characters and dialog in there too :)

[MinionZombie]

Wow! That seems harsh? His backstory is explained as the books goes on. Not only does it become clear that size/build wise he is a freak of nature, but he has almost a photographic memory and honed skilled from years in the MPs.

I thought it was a good mix of action with good characters and dialog in there too :)

They must be angling to do multiple seasons to develop the character across. Season 2 has already been ordered, but I could have used a little bit more insight into his past over the course of this season.

I must say, I am a sucker for characters who have uncanny abilities to identify revealing pieces of information from details unseen by most folks.

[Neil]

They must be angling to do multiple seasons to develop the character across. Season 2 has already been ordered, but I could have used a little bit more insight into his past over the course of this season.

I must say, I am a sucker for characters who have uncanny abilities to identify revealing pieces of information from details unseen by most folks.

I've gone through about 25 of the books and IMHO they range from enjoyable with a couple of stand out very very good ones. There was even one if I recall correctly that jumped back to that period where he had his own MP team, and that was a good one. So there's plenty of good material to run with :)

[shootemindehead]

Wow! That seems harsh? His backstory is explained as the books goes on. Not only does it become clear that size/build wise he is a freak of nature, but he has almost a photographic memory and honed skilled from years in the MPs.

I thought it was a good mix of action with good characters and dialog in there too :)

I wouldn't class it as harsh at all. Jack Reacher is a ridiculous character in a serviceable plot. He's a silly super soldier with unbelievable skills and you never once sense that he might ever be in any danger of failure at any point. He's one twist away from being a parody.

Reacher, the TV series, is airport fiction. It's something that you can rattle off in a short sitting, but it's nothing to write home about or even recommend.

It's the epitome of "OK", with a very poor and juvenile central character. I'd say if you've bugger all else to watch, have a look. But other than that... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Neil]

I wouldn't class it as harsh at all. Jack Reacher is a ridiculous character in a serviceable plot. He's a silly super soldier with unbelievable skills and you never once sense that he might ever be in any danger of failure at any point. He's one twist away from being a parody.

Reacher, the TV series, is airport fiction. It's something that you can rattle off in a short sitting, but it's nothing to write home about or even recommend.

It's the epitome of "OK", with a very poor and juvenile central character. I'd say if you've bugger all else to watch, have a look. But other than that... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fair enough... Guess only one of us will be watching series 2 ;)

[MinionZombie]

Resident Alien
I enjoyed the first season, I didn't love it but I liked it. Considering it was a SyFy show, it was surprising that it didn't get shit-canned after one round of episodes. However, considering how the show seems to be going at the moment, I'd be surprised if there was a season three. There's been three episodes shown so far of season two, and quite quickly there was a whiff of suspicion about the plotting - whereby the side and supporting characters begin to have sizeable plots of their own, including the kinda awkward subplot about the mayor and his wife exploring 'BDSM kink play' ... yeah ... and in a show that isn't 'adult rated' and has plenty of content restrictions (it's in a weird grey area where it's trying to be all things to all people in terms of content, that 'one-foot-out' half-assed commitment sorta thing, like a bookworm trying to be an edgelord).

Anyway, the third episode really took the piss. The main plot was the town's women having a drunken night out, with the episode at large serving as an opportunity for the writer to make middle school level political ramblings about the gender pay gap, women's beauty standards (as spouted by a child, weirdly enough - and as if male beauty standards and grooming don't exist, a particularly unbelievable take in 2022), and to include double-standard lines of dialogue such as 'when a woman's talking you sit down and shut up'. Now, if you gender-swapped this episode and kept the dialogue the same, you'd quite rightly be slagged off for being sexist (or, in the hyperbolic lingo style of today, full-blown misogynist), but apparently this way around it's okay. That's not equality, that's revenge, and it does nothing to advance relations between the sexes or come to deeper understanding of one another.

There was a rather crowbarred-in subplot about a female scientist whose boss is a gropey letch (do they not have HR in that work place?!) and while any reasonable person would agree that, yes, that's completely not on, it felt like, overall, this episode had an entire bowl of cherries tossed on top and then punched down into the cake. Tortured metaphor aside, the episode had all the subtlety of a beer belch during a church service and with all the depth of thought and critical thinking of, say, a tubthumping nationalist or a pissed off toddler. Every point was laboured so forcefully and so often that you had to remind yourself constantly that, yes, this is indeed a show about an alien trapped on planet earth with intentions to annihilate the human population while dealing with conflicting emotions about the whole thing.

Indeed, the main story is about an alien, and yet the main plot of this episode was a very poorly handled 'girl power' riff. The very fact that your main character (who's also an alien and also the friggin' narrator!!!) - and your main storyline (which is about an alien tasked with destroying all the human life on Earth!!!) - is getting sidelined for cheap talking points, political argy-bargy that's about as fresh as a week old salmon washed-up on the riverside and about as revelatory as 'the sky is blue', and a series of promoted subplots where supporting players are getting main player levels of attention, suggests a bizarre misunderstanding of your key plot and how to tell that story. It also smacks of filler in the worst way.

It's all the more irritating, because while making these hamfisted talking points (any sane person would agree that, yes, sexual harrassment is wrong and illegal, as is paying somebody less money for the same amount of work at the same level of education/skill on the basis of sex/gender/race/etc) they make many of the women look kinda weak-willed and incapable of speaking up for themselves in the most basic manner. Is this the 1950s?

It was all so clumsy and was another step backwards in what the previous episodes were establishing - reducing the main plotline in favour of rather mixed-bag and everyday subplots about the various townsfolk. I'll see how it goes from here, but if this is the new direction of the show then it'll either be time to ditch out or SyFy will notice the tumbling ratings and cancel it as per their usual MO.

[paranoid101]

Book of Boba Fett

Was alright, but really got good in the Last 3 episode, enjoyed it over all but hated the mods gang on their stupid scooters and the crappy chase they were in.

Pluses- Rancor, Salacc pit, Mando, Luke looked a lot better in this series, good action, Cad Bane.

Minus- Pacing, Mods gang, also Cad Bane not explained for those that don't watch the Cartoons or read the comics, my lass want who is he, while I'm grinning like a mad man lol.

6/10 for the first 4 episodes and 7/10 for the last 3.

[Neil]

Book of Boba Fett

Was alright, but really got good in the Last 3 episode, enjoyed it over all but hated the mods gang on their stupid scooters and the crappy chase they were in.

Pluses- Rancor, Salacc pit, Mando, Luke looked a lot better in this series, good action, Cad Bane.

Minus- Pacing, Mods gang, also Cad Bane not explained for those that don't watch the Cartoons or read the comics, my lass want who is he, while I'm grinning like a mad man lol.

6/10 for the first 4 episodes and 7/10 for the last 3.

As I sort of asked MZ, shall I just watch the last three episodes of the series then? Watched ep1 and 2 and just felt myeh about them...

[MinionZombie]

Book of Boba Fett

Was alright, but really got good in the Last 3 episode, enjoyed it over all but hated the mods gang on their stupid scooters and the crappy chase they were in.

Pluses- Rancor, Salacc pit, Mando, Luke looked a lot better in this series, good action, Cad Bane.

Minus- Pacing, Mods gang, also Cad Bane not explained for those that don't watch the Cartoons or read the comics, my lass want who is he, while I'm grinning like a mad man lol.

6/10 for the first 4 episodes and 7/10 for the last 3.

Yeah, I couldn't be doing with the mod gang either. They felt so out-of-place, and their bikes sucked anyway - had that awful 'trying to making something that's really slow and clunky look fast and slippery' vibe to it. They just felt like they were on some kid's wheeled toy being pushed by an asthmatic hamster. You could see them trying to 'lean in' to turns, but the bikes just stayed rigidly upright. It looked awful, plus the mod gang were all annoying anyway. I don't want some teenage Tattoine tosspots rolling about the joint ... jog on.

Yeah, I had no idea who Cad Bane was whatsoever. I understood from the 'importance' that they placed on the moment that he was somebody big, but being totally unfamiliar with anything the character had been in - and the character as a whole - it was all lost on me.

The best episodes - the last three - were basically Mando episodes anyway, especially eps 5 & 6.


As I sort of asked MZ, shall I just watch the last three episodes of the series then? Watched ep1 and 2 and just felt myeh about them...

Fuckin' yes! Get on with it! :rolleyes::lol::D

[shootemindehead]

As I sort of asked MZ, shall I just watch the last three episodes of the series then? Watched ep1 and 2 and just felt myeh about them...

If you have any interest in the Mandalorian TV show, then yes. Although the last episode of BOBF is shite really.

But the fact that the Mando is in there at all just shows how completely and utterly redundant the BOBF was.

[paranoid101]

As I sort of asked MZ, shall I just watch the last three episodes of the series then? Watched ep1 and 2 and just felt myeh about them...

If you want to see how Boba Fett got out of the sarlac pit you could watch the first episode, but the last 3 are the best out of the bunch and you wont miss much not watching the first 4.

- - - Updated - - -


Yeah, I couldn't be doing with the mod gang either. They felt so out-of-place, and their bikes sucked anyway - had that awful 'trying to making something that's really slow and clunky look fast and slippery' vibe to it. They just felt like they were on some kid's wheeled toy being pushed by an asthmatic hamster. You could see them trying to 'lean in' to turns, but the bikes just stayed rigidly upright. It looked awful, plus the mod gang were all annoying anyway. I don't want some teenage Tattoine tosspots rolling about the joint ... jog on.

Yeah, I had no idea who Cad Bane was whatsoever. I understood from the 'importance' that they placed on the moment that he was somebody big, but being totally unfamiliar with anything the character had been in - and the character as a whole - it was all lost on me.

The best episodes - the last three - were basically Mando episodes anyway, especially eps 5 & 6.



Fuckin' yes! Get on with it! :rolleyes::lol::D

Here the Star Wars Wiki about Cad Bane https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cad_Bane.

Hes also the reason for Boba Fett's dent in his Helmet and why when cad's Hat fell off he had the plate on his head, In a cut seen in one of the cartoons they had a duel about who was the best bounty hunter.

[MinionZombie]

Human Resources
Okay, so technically I've only watched the first 15 minutes of episode one before giving up - but not even a single smirk raised. Ten episodes? I'm not gonna sit through it. I've enjoyed Big Mouth (which this is a spin-off from), but even that can be a bit patchy. I think I just don't dig the idea of turning supporting players into main characters, as is the case here with Human Resources (where the various 'hormone monsters, love bugs etc' all work). They work well within Big Mouth, but I just don't see it really working with them alone. What else could you have done as a spin-off from Big Mouth? I really don't know, other than this show, but it inherently feels a bit 'off'. It didn't grab me whatsoever, whereas Big Mouth had a much better hook. It's not fair to dismiss it on just 15 minutes, but I just couldn't be arsed. I was already lukewarm to the idea of it, and with not even a whiff of a smirk, nevermind a smile or a laugh, I just thought 'nah, mate'.

Formula 1: Drive To Survive - Season 4
I'm a big F1 fan, and I've enjoyed this show, but it does need to make some changes with it's fifth season (which would cover this 2022 season about to start). The way the show is edited is one of the main issues. On the one hand it does well to tell the stories of the paddock and the season as a whole, but if a story doesn't fit the narrative structure then it's out (e.g. George Russell's epic stand-in weekend for Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the 2020 season was swept aside entirely in season three, with a brief mention here in season four as background context for another story). The big problem, though, is inventing bullshit - season 3 had the egregious notion that Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz (both at McLaren at that point in time as team mates) were bitter rivals, when they were both clearly mates - and still are (they golf together for crying out loud!) ... a lot of fans pointed that out as bullshit, so it was funny to see season 4 try to rectify that ... before trying to play up a bitter rivalry between Lando Norris and new team mate Daniel Ricciardo. Indeed, there's also been a fair bit of 'moving around audio' to make it seem like comments are connected to points in time that they don't belong to, or shunting in-car radio messages about. It's supposed to be a documentary, not make-believe. Casual viewers will be getting lead down the garden path, but anyone with a passing knowledge of editing or F1 will notice these silly bits of editing. It's also a bit of a joke that the show has been nominated for numerous sound editing awards considering how iffy the truth of it is - e.g. George Russell navigating the bus stop chicane at Spa (in Belgium), which is a 1st or 2nd gear corner, with his engine sound running in at least 5th gear! :rolleyes:

Still, it's an enjoyable show, especially when you get to see the behind the scenes stories you don't get to see during the season - indeed, this is where the show should put more focus, because season 4 was a bit limp despite the 2021 season being so friggin' epic. I think, perhaps, people were so familiar with the 2021 season that the majority of the storylines were lacking tension because you already know what happens. Apparently there's gonna be changes made for season five, so I hope they fix the problems that have crept into the show.

[Neil]

Jimmy Savile A British Horror Story (Netflix documentary) - While it was interesting, this didn't really find its stride IMHO. There was a far more interesting documentary in there to be had I recon.

[MinionZombie]

Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story
Two-part documentary by the BBC, available on-demand right now. It was quite good, fairly balanced, and gave me a broader picture of the censorious old nuisance. A lot of what she did was misguided or downright wrong-headed, but there was the odd thing that she did (like helping get a Child Protection law onto the books) that actually did some good for the world, rather than just hectoring other people to behave like she wanted, which is the majority of what she got up to (which also included Biblical levels of homophobia). Well worth checking out for a larger view of her and her movement, she certainly knew how to campaign, but it's also interesting to see how the forces of change and freedom are ultimately more powerful.


Jimmy Savile A British Horror Story (Netflix documentary) - While it was interesting, this didn't really find its stride IMHO. There was a far more interesting documentary in there to be had I recon.

Really? I thought it was very well done. First part was more about establishing just how gigantic he was as a celebrity, the power base he grew around him, his influence - with a simmering of the darkness bubbling in the background - and then the second part was about the tipping point and the exposure of who he really was.

I found the various clips of Savile to be particularly fascinating now in the context of knowing what he was getting up to. Seeing how he basically 'ran towards' accusations of being a creepy old perv with a joke and a wink, as if to disarm the notion (i.e. it would have looked more suspicious if he'd denied and ran away from it, so in viewers' eyes at the time it'd appear to be less likely). Seeing his warped psychology at work in those clips was quite something, and it's amazing just how much more he leaned into the creepy old perv persona as he got into his later years, as if he was challenging everyone to see him for what he really was.

[Neil]

Really? I thought it was very well done. First part was more about establishing just how gigantic he was as a celebrity, the power base he grew around him, his influence - with a simmering of the darkness bubbling in the background - and then the second part was about the tipping point and the exposure of who he really was.

I found the various clips of Savile to be particularly fascinating now in the context of knowing what he was getting up to. Seeing how he basically 'ran towards' accusations of being a creepy old perv with a joke and a wink, as if to disarm the notion (i.e. it would have looked more suspicious if he'd denied and ran away from it, so in viewers' eyes at the time it'd appear to be less likely). Seeing his warped psychology at work in those clips was quite something, and it's amazing just how much more he leaned into the creepy old perv persona as he got into his later years, as if he was challenging everyone to see him for what he really was.

Oh, it was well done. And indeed some of the insights were very interesting - like the personal advice to the Royals - but for me it just felt given the 3hrs or so, it could have delved deeper. A lot of it for me felt it was going around in circles...

ps: A mentioned of Peter Sutcliffe who was at Broadmoor might have been interesting... Especially as his 3rd victim was oddly just yards from Savile's appartment. There was also no mention of him possibly visiting the hospital morge too... :eek:



Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story
...censorious old nuisance...LOL!

[MinionZombie]

Oh, it was well done. And indeed some of the insights were very interesting - like the personal advice to the Royals - but for me it just felt given the 3hrs or so, it could have delved deeper. A lot of it for me felt it was going around in circles...

ps: A mentioned of Peter Sutcliffe who was at Broadmoor might have been interesting... Especially as his 3rd victim was oddly just yards from Savile's appartment. There was also no mention of him possibly visiting the hospital morge too... :eek:

Perhaps they didn't include the Sutcliffe angle as it'd go fairly off-topic and would be hard to slot in without going into a whole bunch of other tangential detail? I wasn't aware of that aside, but probably because it's 'only' a coincidence that'll be why it wasn't included.

I was wondering if they'd mention the rumours/allegations/suggestions of possible necrophilia. Even as an aside it wasn't mentioned.

I can see what you mean about it maybe 'going round in circles' as it did spend a lot of time establishing just how big a star he was etc, somewhat making the same points a few too many times, although I wasn't too bothered by that when watching it - but I can see what you mean.

[Neil]

Perhaps they didn't include the Sutcliffe angle as it'd go fairly off-topic and would be hard to slot in without going into a whole bunch of other tangential detail? I wasn't aware of that aside, but probably because it's 'only' a coincidence that'll be why it wasn't included.

I was wondering if they'd mention the rumours/allegations/suggestions of possible necrophilia. Even as an aside it wasn't mentioned.

I can see what you mean about it maybe 'going round in circles' as it did spend a lot of time establishing just how big a star he was etc, somewhat making the same points a few too many times, although I wasn't too bothered by that when watching it - but I can see what you mean.

Netflix Space X documentary next...

[shootemindehead]

I think the Saville doc came off as relatively poor because there isn't an awful lot to go on other than he was a creepy individual who increasingly hid his creepiness less and less. But actual proof, in support of what people have said about him, is pretty thin on the ground it has to be said. There's tons of allegations against Saville and there's loads of people who say he was a creepy bugger, but that's not the same thing as bone fide evidence and proof. Into the bargain, Saville was dead before any real kind of investigation happened into his activities. While it was well put together, it also came off as a bit anaemic.

The most interesting thing about that Saville documentary was the influence he had over the Royal family and how hard Thatcher lobbied for his Knighthood.

In contrast, I'm watching the Netflix doc about the Yorkshire Ripper and it's far more interesting because there was an actual criminal investigation going on while he was carrying out his particular deeds in the 70's and 80's. It's a much fuller documentary as a result and far more...satisfying...if that's the word to be used.

[MinionZombie]

I think the Saville doc came off as relatively poor because there isn't an awful lot to go on other than he was a creepy individual who increasingly hid his creepiness less and less. But actual proof, in support of what people have said about him, is pretty thin on the ground it has to be said. There's tons of allegations against Saville and there's loads of people who say he was a creepy bugger, but that's not the same thing as bone fide evidence and proof. Into the bargain, Saville was dead before any real kind of investigation happened into his activities. While it was well put together, it also came off as a bit anaemic.

The most interesting thing about that Saville documentary was the influence he had over the Royal family and how hard Thatcher lobbied for his Knighthood.

In contrast, I'm watching the Netflix doc about the Yorkshire Ripper and it's far more interesting because there was an actual criminal investigation going on while he was carrying out his particular deeds in the 70's and 80's. It's a much fuller documentary as a result and far more...satisfying...if that's the word to be used.

I suppose that's inherently part of the problem with that kind of a case - sexual abuse, violence etc - versus, say, The Yorkshire Ripper, where you have bodies and all sorts of potential evidence left behind (blood, semen, footprints, tyre prints, potential witnesses, maybe a phone call, a piece of clothing/fibres etc etc etc). Plus, there's the added mystery aspect as the serial killer is unknown until they're caught.

There's inherently a massive difficulty with sex abuse cases because it so often comes down to very little physical evidence (unless, say, the victim goes directly to the authorities and is properly dealt with, examined, and has their clothes/belongings taken in for various tests). It's even worse in cases of historical abuse, because it's so many years or even decades later and then it becomes quite impossible to have anything more to go on than testimony.

In the Savile case, what was found was a lot of correlation between the statements made, so there was a clear pattern of behaviour. Plus, there was the sheer volume of allegations and statements made with several hundred lines of inquiry pursued. It's not a case of one-on-one, or two-on-one. But of course, sexual abusers aren't necessarily going to leave behind a nice tidy package of evidence, like a video or photographic record of the act (although this does of course happen in various cases, moreso now than back in Savile's day that's for sure). Savile groping someone, for instance, you're only going to come away with testimony unless someone else saw it to corroborate the story or it was somehow recorded on video etc.

That's always going to be the problem with that sort of a case, or many cases of sexual abuse, because physical evidence can be very hard to obtain and then it does just come down to things like statements, allegations, and trying to draw points of connection (e.g. across multiple statements, or establishing the accused's whereabouts at the time of the alleged crime etc).

The two cases are very different. The Savile doc is fascinating from a 'group psychology' standpoint, the way the public at large thought about Savile, how Savile worked with his image and reputation, the way he targeted specific groups of people who were vulnerable and/or unlikely to be listened to (e.g. the girls at Duncroft), the way he wedged himself firmly within the establishment, the way he tackled rumours about himself, the way society operated at the time and so on. It wasn't until, as they say in the doc, with websites like Friends Reuinited that people were able to talk more easily and openly with people who had similar experiences. Before that so many thought they were the only one.

Back to that Netflix Yorkshire Ripper doc - yes, it was very well made. Fascinating, too, to see just how ineffective some of the policing procedures were at the time, not to mention the inherent biases and discrimination that actually aided the Ripper's crimes (e.g. dismissing victims as "prostitutes" and "bad mothers" and so on). Eventually there was no denying that there was a serious problem on their hands, but even still, so many failiings. Then again, such failings are learned from by others who then help improve detection techniques.

Have you see the Netflix doc about The Times Square Killer? That was quite well done. Very gruesome stuff, too. :eek:

I'll be interested to see the upcoming Conversations with a Serial Killer about John Wayne Gacy (comes out in about a week IIRC).

[Neil]

BTW - Fun fact: Savile was interviewed as part of the Yorkshire Ripper murders...

[shootemindehead]

Back to that Netflix Yorkshire Ripper doc - yes, it was very well made. Fascinating, too, to see just how ineffective some of the policing procedures were at the time, not to mention the inherent biases and discrimination that actually aided the Ripper's crimes (e.g. dismissing victims as "prostitutes" and "bad mothers" and so on). Eventually there was no denying that there was a serious problem on their hands, but even still, so many failiings. Then again, such failings are learned from by others who then help improve detection techniques.

Actually felt that the West Yorkshire Police got a bit of a bad rap in the program. While there were some missteps involved and some questionable procedure for sure, it was absolutely a difficult case to pursue and Sutcliffe proved to be quite the shrewd character. In addition, the "coppering" was done using now woefully outdated methods, like rolodexing and knocking on doors...and hoaxers made everything 100 times harder than it should have been. In particular, "Wearside Jack" who, remarkably, had the same rare blood group as Sutcliffe.

Plus, he WAS targeting prostitutes, even if it wasn't exclusively. He was eventually caught with a prostitute Olivia Reivers, who he was most likely going to kill that night. So I think that angle in the doc which damned the police for following up on that was a little bit unfair.


Have you see the Netflix doc about The Times Square Killer? That was quite well done. Very gruesome stuff, too. :eek:

That's the Torso Murder weirdo right? No, I haven't seen that. It's probably popped up in my feed, so I'll have a check. I'm on a bit of serial killer umph at the mo, but I've read all of this stuff long before. An old friend of mine did criminal psychology in uni in the 90's and lent me all her study material. I suppose we all have a morbid fascination with these types.

[paranoid101]

I grew up about 10 miles away from where Peter Sutcliffe Lived, I do remember going to pick my Mum up with my Dad as a Kid when she worked evenings in the height of his killing, scary time knowing a killer was operating near where you Live, did watch the Netflix documentary and It did bring back lots of memory's of that time.

[MinionZombie]

Actually felt that the West Yorkshire Police got a bit of a bad rap in the program. While there were some missteps involved and some questionable procedure for sure, it was absolutely a difficult case to pursue and Sutcliffe proved to be quite the shrewd character. In addition, the "coppering" was done using now woefully outdated methods, like rolodexing and knocking on doors...and hoaxers made everything 100 times harder than it should have been. In particular, "Wearside Jack" who, remarkably, had the same rare blood group as Sutcliffe.

Plus, he WAS targeting prostitutes, even if it wasn't exclusively. He was eventually caught with a prostitute Olivia Reivers, who he was most likely going to kill that night. So I think that angle in the doc which damned the police for following up on that was a little bit unfair.

That's the Torso Murder weirdo right? No, I haven't seen that. It's probably popped up in my feed, so I'll have a check. I'm on a bit of serial killer umph at the mo, but I've read all of this stuff long before. An old friend of mine did criminal psychology in uni in the 90's and lent me all her study material. I suppose we all have a morbid fascination with these types.

1) Aye, fair point, although it is interesting to see the comparison between policing then and now ... mind you, policing still leaves plenty to be desired sometimes ... but at least the techniques have improved greatly.

2) I suppose part of the angle was that there was an element of thinking within the police (and even society at large) that victims found to be prostitutes (to whatever degree) were somehow 'lesser' than good, clean 'normal folk'.

3) Yep - the Torso Murders. Quite gruesome. Set against the sleazy backdrop of 1980s Time Square, which was a right pit of vice at the time in the last few years before Mickey Mouse riding a wave of eminent domain with Rudy Giuliani as co-pilot swept in and washed away the scum and jizzed advertising everywhere like the grand finale of a bukkake festival.

4) Yeah, there is a dark and morbid fascination with this sort of stuff. I suppose one of the bizarre aspects of intrigue is the 'absolute freedom of the apex predator', this ghoulish beast inside a normal-looking person walking among ordinary folk, how close some have come to death, how driven by their own perversion and madness and diseased minds these people were. There's also the fascinating psychology behind it all, from the obvious stuff with the killers, to the smaller stuff - such as how one of Ted Bundy's victims, IIRC (or maybe it was Edmund Kemper - but I think Bundy), was in his car and clearly in huge trouble and their mind switched to just being super worried about a test they were going to miss at school and how they'd be in trouble ... dark, troubling, fascinating...


I grew up about 10 miles away from where Peter Sutcliffe Lived, I do remember going to pick my Mum up with my Dad as a Kid when she worked evenings in the height of his killing, scary time knowing a killer was operating near where you Live, did watch the Netflix documentary and It did bring back lots of memory's of that time.

Crikey! :stunned:

[shootemindehead]

1) Aye, fair point, although it is interesting to see the comparison between policing then and now ... mind you, policing still leaves plenty to be desired sometimes ... but at least the techniques have improved greatly.

2) I suppose part of the angle was that there was an element of thinking within the police (and even society at large) that victims found to be prostitutes (to whatever degree) were somehow 'lesser' than good, clean 'normal folk'.

3) Yep - the Torso Murders. Quite gruesome. Set against the sleazy backdrop of 1980s Time Square, which was a right pit of vice at the time in the last few years before Mickey Mouse riding a wave of eminent domain with Rudy Giuliani as co-pilot swept in and washed away the scum and jizzed advertising everywhere like the grand finale of a bukkake festival.

4) Yeah, there is a dark and morbid fascination with this sort of stuff. I suppose one of the bizarre aspects of intrigue is the 'absolute freedom of the apex predator', this ghoulish beast inside a normal-looking person walking among ordinary folk, how close some have come to death, how driven by their own perversion and madness and diseased minds these people were. There's also the fascinating psychology behind it all, from the obvious stuff with the killers, to the smaller stuff - such as how one of Ted Bundy's victims, IIRC (or maybe it was Edmund Kemper - but I think Bundy), was in his car and clearly in huge trouble and their mind switched to just being super worried about a test they were going to miss at school and how they'd be in trouble ... dark, troubling, fascinating...

1. Policing is never easy, even in straightforward cases, and the Yorkshire Ripper tied up the police in knots for ages. He was no fool and when you're dealing with someone like that it can be extremely hard to nail them down. What is surprising in a lot of these cases is that these killers are often caught through their own carelessness or by chance. Dennis Nilsen successfully evaded any policing into his crimes for ages and was only caught because a Dyno Rod guy found human remains in his drain. Dahmer was caught because one of his intended victims boxed him in the face and ran out the door. Gacy was collared because he got careless too. All too often these serial killers get put away because they just slip up in the end.

2. It's certainly the case that the West Yorkshire Police used the terms "respectable" and "innocent" when Sutcliffe started to broaden his target list to non prostitutes. But, let's be honest here, prostitution is not respectable and has never been seen as such. Nor should it IMO. Although I don't think the police treated the crimes as anything less than murder, otherwise there wouldn't have been an investigation in the first place. I find that damning the police for not sanitising their language to be a bit shrill. Plus, I think the police using those types of words in their statements were probably trying to troll Sutcliffe, for want of a better word, in an effort to get him to either turn himself in or slip up. Could they have done better? Probably. But we're talking about the 1970's here and language was used quite differently back then.

3. We started looking at that Torso Murders doc last night. Grim stuff. Yeah, Times Square and 42nd Street were dens of inequity alright. But mostly only for the people who went looking for that stuff. Most people could walk down 42nd like it was any other. These days it's just another faceless area of NYC really. When I first went there in the 90's, it was after it had been cleaned up, and most New Yorkers that I knew were quite disappointed at what it had turned into. They call it Disney Land. It looked and felt nothing like the movie depiction that I grew up with...and not a grindhouse to be found. :(

4. Apex predators or just sad human beings whose psychology has become messed up for whatever reason. I find that most of these serial killers are just pathetic, lonely, people who were usually never able to express themselves properly when they were younger or grew up in unusual circumstances. In the cases of Dahmer or Nilsen, gay men who when faced with the societal attitudes of the times meant they grew up with a warped sense of themselves, for instance. Of course, there are numerous "types" of serial killer and they kill for a variety of reasons. But psychological damage is always the case somewhere along the line. One wonders how much outside forces are responsible for shaping a lot of these people's minds and how much comes solely from themselves.

[Neil]

Have you see the Netflix doc about The Times Square Killer? That was quite well done. Very gruesome stuff, too. :eek:
A documentary about Richard Cottingham by Richard Cunningham (Ron Howard)...

Just watched it... Interesting...

[Neil]

Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer (Netflix) - Very good/interesting!

[MinionZombie]

Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer (Netflix) - Very good/interesting!

Another very good doc! I wasn't all that familiar with the Night Stalker, so it was quite the rollercoaster. How he was captured was pretty crazy.

Speaking of...

Conversations with a Serial Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Just came up on Netflix yesterday and I blasted all three episodes. It's from Joe Berlinger (who did The Ted Bundy Tapes), so you know it's going to be well put together. Again, very good. If you're into these kind of docs then it's a must-see.

[Neil]

Another very good doc! I wasn't all that familiar with the Night Stalker, so it was quite the rollercoaster. How he was captured was pretty crazy.
A situations like the pair of detectives waiting at the dentists for Ramirez's return, being cancelled to save money and replaced with an alarm button? And then the FIRST day the detectives aren't there Ramirez comes in, and the button doesn't work? WOW!

By sheer coincidence.. So I went thru this entire documentary yesterday morning, before going up to London in the afternoon. In the evening I went on a Jack the Ripper tour. The guy running it mentioned at one point, the case that got him into serial killers and the like was... "The Night Stalker" :)


Speaking of...

Conversations with a Serial Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Just came up on Netflix yesterday and I blasted all three episodes. It's from Joe Berlinger (who did The Ted Bundy Tapes), so you know it's going to be well put together. Again, very good. If you're into these kind of docs then it's a must-see.

Sheesh! I'll add that to the list too :)

[paranoid101]

Barry Sky Comedy

Our anti hero of this black comedy series is Barry played by Bill Hader who also created, wrote and Directed both seasons, Barry is an Ex-Marine who now is a depressed low level Hitman who handler Monroe Fuches who is played by the fantastic Stephen Root, get a hit job for him from the Chechens Mafia in Los Angels, after following his target to a small theatre where young Actors train to become movie stars and are taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) he is drawn into the world of Acting and finds a love interest in Sally (Sarah Goldberg), but of cause his Hitman world wont let him get away from the business so easily.

I watched both series over a couple of nights, its easy to do due to each season having only 8 episodes and each being 30 minutes long and its really good, the first season does spend a bit of time getting going and finding its feet, the second series is a lot better, season three is starting this week on Sky too.

So it's a funny, violent, black comedy and is well worth a watch if you can get through the few episodes of the first series.

Season one 7/10, season two 8.5/10 also never Bum-Rush

[Neil]

The Ripper (Netflix) - Very interesting documentary on the 1970s-80s serial killer. Interesting to see how the police scuppered their own investigation. 8/10

[paranoid101]

Arcane Netflix

I went into this show blind, I know its based on the League of Legends game, of which I know nothing about, but thankfully knowing nothing about the game doesn't matter because this Anime series is one of the best things I've watched all year.

It's set in a steampunk world which is trying to put science and magic together and were the upper class look down at those that live in the lower parts of the city, the story is about two sister living in the lower city trying to make a living and survive in this world and they end up I think becoming characters in the game, so it's their back story.

This series is amazing the voice acting, the animation, special effects, story is just brilliant, its just a wonderful series, don't miss it if you can help it.

10/10

[Neil]

I think the Saville doc came off as relatively poor because there isn't an awful lot to go on other than he was a creepy individual who increasingly hid his creepiness less and less. But actual proof, in support of what people have said about him, is pretty thin on the ground it has to be said. There's tons of allegations against Saville and there's loads of people who say he was a creepy bugger, but that's not the same thing as bone fide evidence and proof. Into the bargain, Saville was dead before any real kind of investigation happened into his activities. While it was well put together, it also came off as a bit anaemic.

The most interesting thing about that Saville documentary was the influence he had over the Royal family and how hard Thatcher lobbied for his Knighthood.


I thought it was very well done. First part was more about establishing just how gigantic he was as a celebrity, the power base he grew around him, his influence - with a simmering of the darkness bubbling in the background - and then the second part was about the tipping point and the exposure of who he really was.

I found the various clips of Savile to be particularly fascinating now in the context of knowing what he was getting up to. Seeing how he basically 'ran towards' accusations of being a creepy old perv with a joke and a wink, as if to disarm the notion (i.e. it would have looked more suspicious if he'd denied and ran away from it, so in viewers' eyes at the time it'd appear to be less likely). Seeing his warped psychology at work in those clips was quite something, and it's amazing just how much more he leaned into the creepy old perv persona as he got into his later years, as if he was challenging everyone to see him for what he really was.

This YouTube podcast was VERY interesting! Giving a very insightful and more personal account of Saville IMHO.

KL6nD_7aQlc

[Neil]

The Movies That Made Us: Season 3 (Netflix)
A series going through the making of some famous cult films. Pretty enjoyable stuff!

Halloween
Friday the 13th <-- Tom Savini pops up in this one
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Robocop
Aliens
Coming to America
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Elf

[Neil]

The Last Dance (Netflix) - Ten part series on Michael Jordan and The Chicago Bulls basketball team.

I know very little about basketball, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this series...

N9Z9JtNcCWY

[Neil]

Meltdown: Three Mile Island (Netflix) - Very good look at the disaster. I wasn't aware of all the background to it. Recommended!

[MinionZombie]

Meltdown: Three Mile Island (Netflix) - Very good look at the disaster. I wasn't aware of all the background to it. Recommended!

Make that doubly recommended - I watched it as well. Didn't know much about it, so this was a bit of an eye-opener! :stunned:

Interesting that since TMI only two new reactors have been commissioned in the USA, both of which are massively over-budget and neither of which are functioning. :rockbrow:

[Neil]

Make that doubly recommended - I watched it as well. Didn't know much about it, so this was a bit of an eye-opener! :stunned:

Interesting that since TMI only two new reactors have been commissioned in the USA, both of which are massively over-budget and neither of which are functioning. :rockbrow:


Indeed, and the odd death of Karen Silkwood...

- - - Updated - - -


The Movies That Made Us: Season 3 (Netflix)
A series going through the making of some famous cult films. Pretty enjoyable stuff!

Halloween
Friday the 13th <-- Tom Savini pops up in this one
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Robocop
Aliens
Coming to America
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Elf

OK! The Robocop one is GOOD! Aliens next!

[MinionZombie]

The Pentaverate
It was alright. I like some gags quite a lot (the Jeremy Irons intros and riffing on 'skip intro', the crazy conspiracy loon, the 'Netflix re-edits', how Canada is in standard definition 4:3 while the USA is in high definition 16:9), but other gags kinda fall a bit flat. I felt the first half was overall stronger than the second half, and the last episode makes a really fumbled attempt to make 'identity politics' funny within the context (it just flops like a near-dead fish instead and is a right clanger that sucks you out of the show), and it really doesn't add anything at all. Considering that part of the conceit of the show was that the Pentaverate was a 'nice' secret cabal of world movers, they should've stuck more to the angle of there being a 'bad apple' and looking to return to their original intentions. I enjoyed the style of the show as well, a sort of mish-mash of new and old tech. Overall good, but could've been better.


OK! The Robocop one is GOOD! Aliens next!

Indeed! The one for "Aliens" was quite good, too. You get a much better look into why the role of Hicks was replaced. On any of the featurettes on official releases they've always been a bit vague about it, but this being it's own thing they've been able to be far more honest about it. The ones for Halloween/ANOES/F13th weren't all that revelatory for me as I already know so much about them, but there were one or two things here or there that I wasn't aware of, and it's fun to see the overall story.

I could do with a little less of the over-editing and constant 'call backs' to some interview snippet or other, mind you. I don't think it's particularly necessary. The show's got personality, but it's a bit over-eager with it. Still quite good and entertaining, though.

[paranoid101]

Resident Evil Netflix

Awful just Awful.

2/10 gave it a 2 and not a 1is because of it staring Lance Reddick

[MinionZombie]

Resident Evil Netflix

Awful just Awful.

2/10 gave it a 2 and not a 1is because of it staring Lance Reddick

Oof! I've been starting to hear it's not good.

To be honest, ever since Netflix announced it I've had almost zero interest in seeing it anyway. Was barely aware it had even been released. Saw a couple of clips and didn't dig the vibe, same for the trailer. Much prefer the recent movie, even if it did cock up too many things (characterisation, suspense and tension, shoving too much into too little run time, etc).

[Neil]

For All Mankind (Apple TV) - Finished season 1, which was very good. An alternative reality where the Russians beat the US to the moon and a huge space race ensued. There's three series.

HZS9M52Bd_w

[Neil]

For All Mankind (Apple TV) - Finished season 1, which was very good. An alternative reality where the Russians beat the US to the moon and a huge space race ensued. There's three series.

HZS9M52Bd_w

Season 2 pretty good too ;)

[Neil]

Season 2 pretty good too ;)

Finished all 3 series. Generally brilliiant!

[MinionZombie]

Sprung
From Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope). Available on FreeVee (via Amazon Prime). If you're familiar with those two aforementioned shows then you'll know what vibe to expect, but as this isn't network TV any more he's able to be a bit less constrained content wise. Set during the first lockdown for Covid, it manages a rare thing - to be a good show involving the pandemic. It helps that they don't bang on about it too much, only when necessary, and they take the piss out of a lot of things from the early days of the 'pandy'. Anyway, it's about a group of convicts who get released from prison due to the pandemic (low risk crims were indeed released early because of Covid), who then form a ragtag family and plot to take down a scumbag congresswoman who financially benefitted from insider trading relating to the pandemic.

The cast of characters are a colourful bunch of weirdos and it genuinely had me laughing out loud, despite many things in real life that inspire the total opposite. Worth checking out. :thumbsup:

[MinionZombie]

The Terminal List
I was initially not going to bother with this show when it first came out because of the terrible critics reviews, but then when I saw that the audience were actually really digging it there was clearly something rotten in the state of criticdom.

Now, it has taken me quite a while to get around to it, but finally did and I thought it was very enjoyable and delivered exactly what you want from this type of show (see also Reacher and Jack Ryan). In fact, this was possibly the best of the three. You've got your standard revenge, conspiracy, and military genre elements, but it pulls them off well with some excellent action thrown into the mix. I loved all of the attention to detail - the 'military movement porn' throughout was a thrill, showing a lot of training for Pratt, but also added a real edge to the combat scenes. Even with the familiar elements of the genre there were still moments that surprised me or went in a direction I wasn't expecting. It was pretty well-paced, too, compared to both Reacher and Jack Ryan, which at times felt like they were having to stretch their budget and parse out the action set pieces with a fair bit of talk.

I've no idea what the sniffy critics were complaining about, but then again these are probably the same people who jizz their pants for She-Hulk and Rings of Power, so it's hardly surprising they took against it. Difference here, though, is that TTL respects its characters and source material ... who'd-a-thunk that'd be a winning approach? Golly! :p

A solid 8/10 from me. If there's a second season I'd certainly watch it.

[MinionZombie]

Clark
A six-part Swedish series about 'Stockholm Syndrome' criminal Clark Oloffsson, from "Spun" director Jonas Akerlund. Overall I enjoyed it, but it did feel over-long, even at six episodes (each of which felt about 5 to 10 minutes too long each). Also, being that the whole show is from the perspective of a psychopathic narcicist, proceedings begin to really wear thin after the mid-point as the repeating behaviour (riddled with bank robberies, binge sessions on the town, and lots of naked ladies) becomes quite predictable and, honestly, a bit dull. A much sharper and breezier four episode run could have helped, or allowing others in his story more of a say to balance things out (a half-arsed bit of 'think about the people whose lives you negatively impacted' moral lecture in the closing five minutes is far too little far too late). Would I re-watch it? No. Did I enjoy it generally? Yes. Could it have been better? Yes. Is it still worth watching? Overall, sure.

[Neil]

The Recruit (Netflix) - A superior up beat CIA affair. A good fun ride... (8 episodes)

[Neil]

KaKbUUdzOYw

[Neil]

KaKbUUdzOYw

Finished S4. Once again pretty good stuff!