What are you watching on the television?

ZeroJones wrote:

Dead Lemon wrote:

ZeroJones wrote:

As of Friday, Gogglebox! Great stuff.

The Manc bloke's reaction to the C-bomb being dropped on that old timey show was amazing

The one that looks like an angry potato? We don't like that family in our house...

Aye, not a big fan of them usually (though like their dogs) but thought his reaction was great.

As for which families/viewers I like/dislike:

Top Tier Viewers:
1. Siddiquis - best family
2. Leon and June
3. Dom and Steph - the drunk posh couple
4. Sandy and Sandra

The OK/Not Bad/Passable Viewers:
1. The Hairdresser Guys
2. German guy's family and the silent guy
3. Angry Potato Man and the House of Dogs
4. The two older blokes
5. Tapper Dad and Tapper Son

The Get the Feck Off My TV Group:
1. Moffat family - Stupid try-hard daughter is not funny.
2. The Vicar Lady - stop talking
3. Those numpties in the caravan
4. Tapper mum and Tapper daughter/hellbeast

Broad agreement, except I'd swap the vicar lady (my Gogglebox crush ) for the two old dudes.

ZeroJones wrote:

As of Friday, Gogglebox! Great stuff.

Why? Just why? Why does this even exist? I swear the television executives were high and had a brainstorming session where the idea was to come up with the worst idea ever for a television programme. Clearly they succeeded. I just don't for the life of me understand why anyone would watch it.

Gogglebox is just a bit of fun, as far as I'm concerned. It can be slow, weird, very staged and there are a lot of people I don't care for on it - but it's harmless enough and a bit of a laugh.

~~~

Last night Jo and I watched Immigration Street. What a strange programme! Even if you think Channel 4 were irresponsible to show the intimidation segments, that is what happened - though I admit that not conceding that the word 'immigration' could be a little sensitive was not smart.

Gogglebox should be terrible. But C4 actually did their research; instead of just picking any old shlubs that wanted to be on telly, they made sure they found people who would actually have something funny/intelligent to say. It actually has restored some of my faith in the human race; it turns out, most people know when bullshit is happening.

I'd be quite happy with "at home with the Siddiquis"; I can't hear a bad word said about the Rev. Kate and the Moffats though. It's actually Leon and June that have slipped down the ranks for me; I agree with Leon's political standpoint, but he's so bloody rude to June, it's uncomfortable.

Anyone watching Fortitude? Isn't it really very odd indeed? :affraid:

Review - Under the Dome (Season 1)

I finally got around to watching the first season of Under the Dome, a series based on a Stephen King novel.  Think The Simpsons Movie, but with less Homer or The Midwich Cuckoos (Village of the Damned) with less crazy and creepy children.  The premise is a dome suddenly cuts off the small town of Chester's Mill and how the residents cope with this problem.  Here's a clue; it is America, so there are lots of guns and people go nuts pretty quickly.

As you would expect in a show like this, it has plenty of plot twists and characters with troubled pasts.  Overall the cast is reasonably likeable and do a serviceable job, with the only really familiar face in it (for me) being the Dean Norris, Hank from Breaking Bad and fortunately there aren't any stand-out annoying characters that tend to plague just about every show.  There is an explanation of sorts as to why they are inside a dome, but there looks to be some time before the full reason is exposed.

Overall, I found it to be decent television fare, and am looking forward to seeing what they do in season 2.

Rating: Enjoyed - Worth watching, especially if you find Stephen King and fairly lightweight science fiction entertaining.

Yeah, always intended to give that show a go - I really enjoy Stephen King's novels, and Dean Norris is a great actor.

ZeroJones wrote:

Anyone watching Fortitude? Isn't it really very odd indeed? :affraid:

Yep, really enjoying it. Odd but very intriguing. Plus the scenery and setting is amazing, would be great to live in such a place... For a while at least, not long term.

Dead Lemon wrote:

ZeroJones wrote:

Anyone watching Fortitude? Isn't it really very odd indeed? :affraid:

Yep, really enjoying it. Odd but very intriguing. Plus the scenery and setting is amazing, would be great to live in such a place... For a while at least, not long term.

Jo and I are expecting a sci-fi-style conclusion, although the more I think of options, the more appear that could be terrestrial.

We've started on the new series of First Dates, and je suis déjà in love with Fred.

DIGRESSION ALERT: And the icon to prove it!

Also, MasterChef. Love MasterChef - so much so that I write it 'MasterChef'. At any rate, a pleasure to have it back on our screens. They've shaken up the early stages cleverly, which is proving a real treat.

@oldschool - I tried to get into Under the dome but it seemed like a show that in the long run would never provide any answers as why they are in this situation, Dean Norris was great in his role though .

The_Jaster wrote:

@oldschool - I tried to get into Under the dome but it seemed like a show that in the long run would never provide any answers as why they are in this situation, Dean Norris was great in his role though .  

That is the trouble with television programmes that rely on being renewed year by year, they will drag out the central plot for as long as they are on air, usually screwing up the premise that underpinned it. I have heard bad reports of season 2. I would prefer shows be like Breaking Bad in their concept (and Babylon 5), that being the story is written and the number of seasons decided prior to commencement, leaving us with the confidence that it is all headed for a proper conclusion. That being said, although it isn't a must watch show, it was enjoyable.

Fair play to ye, I'd also really like TV shows to take the breaking bad approach as well.

I watched the first couple episodes of UtD. It amused me when he cow got chopped in half.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I watched the first couple episodes of UtD. It amused me when he cow got chopped in half.

It was pretty funny and they sounded very much like a Wookie.  




I just finished the last episode of Big Love (2006-2011) and I thoroughly enjoyed it, much more so than say Breaking Bad (which also starred Aaron Paul who is in this).  With what is a most intriguing and interesting story, it was backed by a great cast, led by one of my favourite actors, Bill Paxton, who I loved in Weird Science, but absolutely made Aliens the great movie it is.  The story itself is about a polygamous Mormon family in Utah, Paxton and his 3 wives.  The intrigue surrounds his roots with a fundamentalist compound, one which he was thrown off of as a 14 year old.  The characters within the compound and the religious politics involved are just so well fleshed out.  It is all the better that the head of the compound is Harry Dean-Stanton (Repo Man) and Paxton's father, Bruce Dern (Silent Running), two great character actors.  Suffice to say, trying to manage 3 wives was a rocky path all through the series, making for terrific viewing.

The best aspect of the series is how it confronts your potential prejudice against polygamy, and potentially Mormons in general.  I need to add for context that I have had some involvement with and friends inside the Mormon Church and even though I am hardcore Atheist, I found them to be lovely people.  I still have regular Mormon visitors to our home now.  I have sat politely whilst they bless their food, both at theirs and my home.  Yet despite this, I believe Mormon is a cult , a fake church and they know that.  It is perhaps my connection with Mormons that made the show more interesting to me, but I doubt it, as it is just a great show.

It also succeeded in making me think deeper about polygamy.  Once I did not support it, but now I do.  Just like same-sex marriage, which I have been a vocal supporter of for over 30 years, what others do is not mine, nor the state's concern.  However, for tax and welfare reasons, I do believe that the state should only recognise the first married.  

Amongst the many matters the show made me think about, it also angered me in a lot of ways, mainly due to child welfare and woman's rights.  Woman within the show were portrayed as assets, to be traded around within the compound, daughters given to old men as wives, as young as 13, also being denied an education.  Knowing that historically, this is an entirely accurate account of this branch of the church made me both angry and sad.  They were all convinced it was part of God's plan and they remained subservient.

Anyway, my enjoyment of Big Love morphed into a rant about church and human rights.

Rating: Loved - One of the best series I have watched, enjoyable from start to finish, with a terrific story and excellent actors inhabiting great characters.

It's Dara & Ed's Great Big Adventure for me. My two favourite stand-ups together, travelling through Central America? Yes, please! There is some #bantz, as you might expect, but there's a good chunk of political discussion, too. Enjoyable, all told.

Oooh what channel is that on, Zero?

ZeroJones wrote:

And her banging on about probabilities reminded me of both maths and Quantum Leap, two of my favourite things.

OHMYGODYES!

I love Quantum Leap. It is just the most watchable thing ever made. Sure it's never the best 45 minutes of television ever made, but it's never less than a fun ride.

The_Jaster wrote:

Oooh what channel is that on, Zero?

BBC2, sir! It's the last one coming up, though...

Drunkalilly wrote:

ZeroJones wrote:

And her banging on about probabilities reminded me of both maths and Quantum Leap, two of my favourite things.

OHMYGODYES!

I love Quantum Leap. It is just the most watchable thing ever made. Sure it's never the best 45 minutes of television ever made, but it's never less than a fun ride.

Agreed. Recently watched the whole series for the first time. Absolutely cracking stuff!

Quantum Leap is fucking quality! I still really need to buy this as well.

zero wrote:

BBC2, sir! It's the last one coming up, though...    

I'm sure it'll be added to iplayer at some point.

It's twenty years to the day since the debut of Father Ted on Channel 4, so I'm rewatching the first series for the first time in a good long while.

We're all in agreement that Father Ted is the greatest sitcom of all time, right?

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

It's twenty years to the day since the debut of Father Ted on Channel 4, so I'm rewatching the first series for the first time in a good long while.

We're all in agreement that Father Ted is the greatest sitcom of all time, right?

Yes.

Just - from the Young Ones and the IT Crowd. But for consistent LOLs, Father Ted is the best.

It's just in front on Porridge and Still Game for me, but - absolutely! - "for consistent LOLs, Father Ted is the best".

Yeh, I'd agree with that; father Ted is bloody funny.