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TV Tuesdays Free Talk
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
I've been watching Columbo on and off for about 6 months and I'm nearing the end. I haven't seen an episode since I was a kid but it's such a solid and consistent show except perhaps the final season - a series of 90 minute specials released over 13 years.
One thing I came to love about his character that I hadn't picked up on is not simply the infamous "just one more thing" but the way he incessantly keeps needling and badgering the suspects. Thoroughly recommended despite being dated.
Thinking of tackling The Rockford Files next.
I started watching the pilot - 1968's Prescription: Murder - based on this recommendation. I've always thought of Columbo as an "old guy", but Falk was 5 years younger than I am now in that first one.
You're not wrong though, it ran from 1968-2003 - 75 in hist last appearance. Apparently a proposed finale was turned down in 2008. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Just finished the pilot. It was pretty gripping actually. I'll be watching more. I didn't understand the end of this first one though...
Does not bode well for me that I struggled to keep up 😅
We have to infer one hidden detail
The doctor strangles his wife after planning a trip together and she dies later in the hospital. Columbo discovers the plan to disguise his mistress/patient as his wife boarding and leaving the plane . She crumbles under Columbo's threats and pressure and agrees to fake her death at the pool (implying Columbo set this up off-screen). Overhearing the doctor's contempt causes her to fully co-operate with the police.Just deserts?
I assumed it was the mistress but remember wondering how could she have dried and changed so quickly. Poetic justice though if it was someone else disguised as her.What a coincidence! I started watching Columbo, for the first time, very recently, I even commented about it!.
For anyone else interested, it's worth reading your more detailed analysis than mine.
The only thing I'd mention is he lost his right eye at 3 to cancer and it's a prosthetic - same as mine as if I needed any more
Most of the TV shows I'm following aren't on right now :(. My Sonarr is getting bored.
Rick & Morty and Star Trek Lower Decks is about all that's currently running and both are great.
Spin up Jellyseerr and have a looksy as there are some good shows worth watching.
I’m not sleeping much at the moment so I've taken to rewatching episodes of 'I Claudius' and 'Rome' each night as a contrast of rendering a historical period.
'I Claudius' has dated quite a bit (it was made in the mid 70s by the BBC) but still has some clever intrigues and machinations. It looks, by today's standards, quite low budget (the makeup in particular is glaringly bad) but the excellent ensemble of actors gives it wings. The theme music in particular stands out as a childhood memory of mine, there's just nothing else like it.
'Rome', the 2005 HBO and BBC hit, is likely well known here. It covers the travails of a broad section of roman society, as opposed to 'I Claudius' which only really observes the very top, and as a consequence gives all the characters much greater depth of motivation.
In particular I am amused by the different renderings of Octavian/Augustus, the only character common to both shows. In 'Rome' we see him as a child prodigy, cunning tactician/politician. And in 'I Claudius', much later in life to the point that his succession is a major theme of the show, he's this very ordinary man buffeted about by the ambitions and scrabbling of those around him.
I recently subscribed to HBO max and I've been rewatching Game of Thrones. I'm nearing the end and I was thinking about watching Rome next. I enjoy period pieces revolving around political drama.
Wolf Hall is another favorite of mine that should scratch that itch too. I don't think there's a series I've rewatched as much.
Just finished Disenchantment. I'm sad it's over. Definitely felt a bit rushed, and a lot left unexplained or vague. Wish we would've had another season or two to really flesh out all the mysteries and plot points before wrapping it all up, especially the second planet thing.
But at least we have more Futurama coming with the second half of its new season at some point.
I don't have Netflix anymore so I can't watch the newest season, but I always felt like Disenchantment had so much potential but was rarely actually funny. I still watched it (and I've seen the first three seasons twice at least) but it was pretty uneven throughout the whole run.
Disenchantment could be classified as a dramedy.
I do believe it is actually comedy, but it's 1970s/1980s animated comedy. It reminds me of old Asterix cartoons. Or early The Simpsons.
Nowadays we expect way more JPM (jokes per minute).
Been watching Rick and Morty. JR's departure hasn't effected it one bit, the new performers are great.
This week's episode was pretty entertaining. Getting to see Rick and Jerry become friends was fun, and I loved how the entire episode was a complex set up for the classic "guy steps on a rake" gag.
I’ve started Atlanta and Peaky Blinders now, and while they’re largely unrelated and almost opposites in terms of nearly everything, I’m thinking maybe I should take up crime?
It's not super new, I've been really impressed with Endeavor (I watch it on britbox streaming svc). I'm a big fan of murder mystery shows and this one is top tier. Only complaint sometimes is that I have to really focus to follow everything that's going on. It's sort of similar to sherlock holmes in that the main character is several orders of magnitude more observant and knowledgeable than his compatriots, but he's not nearly so condescending as most of the modern sherlock takes have been. Father Brown (also on britbox) is a good one too - and you don't have to pay as much attention. :)
What do you think about Father Brown? Not new but curious while we're on the subject of Bri'ish murder mysteries :)
Big big fan of Father Brown. I've seen all 10 seasons. It's well written, (not a ton of plot holes or lame mechanics), generally positive/life affirming, and the characters are consistent within their personal ethos', though some of them do grow/evolve over seasons, in a believable way. There is a recurring character (Flambeau) who I'm not a fan of (I just skip those episodes), but it has more to do w/how he consistently takes advantage of Father Brown, not a complaint w/the writing.
Is it still on Netflix?
Edit: BritBox, of course. Curses. Maybe'll I'll check em out
I started the current season of Bosch: Legacy, which has one of the worst theme songs ever... only losing out to Star Trek: Enterprise.
Anyway, its a good series overall, but the writing is sometimes clunky. Still worth a watch if you've read any of the books (new one out next week or so.)
Our Flag Means Death, Doom Patrol, Lower Decks, GenV are all cruising along nicely. The Sunday night animation block is also relatively strong, but I decided to drop Krapopolis. It isn't bad, but I just don't give a shit.
Once this all slows down, I'm excited to get back to Top Boy, which I'm starting over.
The thing with TV right now is that there is a lot of good stuff, but not a lot of great stuff. I want a series like Too Old to Die Young (not literally asking for Copenhagen Cowboy) --- or something social like Game of Thrones etc.
Oh! I've also got some Colombo kicking around like @bhrgunatha. Its a great series that holds up well. Its great because he isn't a serial killer like Jessica Fletcher, pinning her crimes on the innocent and achieving release through her novels.
I've started watching Jonathan Creek lately. I've been a fan og QI for years and Alan Davies mentions this show regularly, so I thought I'd give it a go. It's pretty good, but if you expect Davies to be funny, you'd be out of luck. He plays an awkward private investigator which can be a bit fun at times, but mostly it's a classic British mystery of the week. The weird tension between Davies and Caroline Quentin is fun though. I would recommend it if you like British mystery shows.
The wife and I watched Behind Her Eyes last week. I can honestly say it keeps you guessing about where it's going and definitely throws some head scratchers in.
Once you've seen it, you want to rewatch it to search out the plot twists that were there all along. It's not the best acted show, but stick with it.