What program/film/documentary are you watching now?

[shunwick]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: shunwick

Well, I have watched the first two episodes. It is very slow. When do the aliens attack?

Best wishes,
Steve

warspite1

Can you please remember to add spoiler alerts???? The alien attack has been pencilled in for season 4 episode 2, but not many people know about this yet....

Dear Lord! I thought it was slow but season 4? I am struggling to get through season 1 episode 3.

Best wishes,
Steve

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I watched Der Pass. Apparently this was a shameless re-make of a Swedish production of The Bridge but as I've never seen the latter I didn't really care.

This German language production is set on the Austrian-German border where a murder is discovered. German police (Ellie Stocker) and her Austrian counterpart (Gedeon Winter) investigate. Both are very engaging characters (in a good cop/bad cop kind of way) for entirely different reasons - and the 'baddie' is pretty good too.

Verdict on Der Pass? Excellent value.

...

may pick that uo, the Bridge is possibly the best of that trio of Danish series (incl the Killing and the excellent Borgen)

[shunwick]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: shunwick

ORIGINAL: loki100

Couple of days ago, starting to watch Normal People, truely first rate, if sometimes uncomfortable, drama. Superbly acted,

That's next on my watch list after I have finished watching Devs.

warspite1

Just finished watching Normal People. No spoilers so will keep comments brief. I felt it didn't quite live up to its potential that I assumed it would after watching the first two episodes. But it was still worth watching. The two lead characters were very watchable. Happy to expand on this once you two have finished watching.

Well, just finished watching the series. My thought's on it are mixed. Will wait until loki100 has finished watching it before commenting further.

Best wishes,
Steve

[Orm]

Continuing with re-watching stuff. Currently on season two of Deadwood.

Haven't seen the movie yet. Is it worthwhile to watch it?

[bomccarthy]

ORIGINAL: Orm

Continuing with re-watching stuff. Currently on season two of Deadwood.

Haven't seen the movie yet. Is it worthwhile to watch it?

Yes, but don't expect too much. It's more sentimental than the series, but ties up some threads sort of left hanging by the last season (which wasn't supposed to be the last, but HBO demanded that David Milch drop his commitment to Deadwood in favor of John from Cincinnati ...). A great series to rewatch is Mad Men.

[warspite1]

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: bomccarthy

ORIGINAL: Orm

Continuing with re-watching stuff. Currently on season two of Deadwood.

Haven't seen the movie yet. Is it worthwhile to watch it?

Yes, but don't expect too much. It's more sentimental than the series, but ties up some threads sort of left hanging by the last season (which wasn't supposed to be the last, but HBO demanded that David Milch drop his commitment to Deadwood in favor of John from Cincinnati ...). A great series to rewatch is Mad Men.

Thank you.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

Is that the "parking lot King"?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

Is that the "parking lot King"?

warspite1

No, that is Richard III, the last English King to be killed in battle, ending his dynasty and thus setting the scene for his last resting place to be queried over. There is no doubt where Charles I was buried following his execution.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

I presume that is the English Civil War which set things up for the Pilgrims to settle New England.

And all because they could not decide on the color for the rose . . .

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

I presume that is the English Civil War which set things up for the Pilgrims to settle New England.

And all because they could not decide on the color for the rose . . .

warspite1

No. The Pilgrims began their voyages iirc around 20 years before the Civil War.

The English Civil War between Royalists and Parliamentarians was about 150+ years after the War of The Roses - although that was a sort of civil war. Charles I, Oliver Cromwell et al was nothing to do with the House of York (white rose) vs the Lancastrians (red rose) that saw the Tudors take control of England.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Two excellent 3-part series about the Civil War

Downfall of a King

and

Killing of a King

I definitely should read more about this fascinating subject.

I presume that is the English Civil War which set things up for the Pilgrims to settle New England.

And all because they could not decide on the color for the rose . . .

warspite1

No. The Pilgrims began their voyages iirc around 20 years before the Civil War.

The English Civil War between Royalists and Parliamentarians was about 150+ years after the War of The Roses - although that was a sort of civil war. Charles I, Oliver Cromwell et al was nothing to do with the House of York (white rose) vs the Lancastrians (red rose) that saw the Tudors take control of England.

Thank you. I never did take English history. [:(]

The Pilgrims landed in 1620 at Plymouth Rock.

The Puritans is where the US Cavalry got its yellow scarf from, a symbol of Purity. That is where the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'round the Oak Oak Tree." It is based on a true story of a returning Civil War veteran who spend three years in the POW prison at Andersonville, Georgia. There is a movie about that place.

I'll tell you how it happened. I read a story in Reader's Digest the night before. It was one of those human interest things. It was a half page. It was by Pete Hamil and it started off by saying "Here's a story I heard in a Greenwich Village pub that's been handed down through the ages about a soldier coming home from the Andersonville Prison during the Civil War and he told the stage coach driver that he had written a letter to his girl that he was coming home after being in the Confederate prison for 3 years. There was a big oak tree outside of town. If she wanted him to get off the stagecoach, put a handkerchief on it. He had told the story to the driver and a few other people on the stagecoach. He said he couldn't bear to look. When they got in front of the tree, it was all filled with handkerchiefs." It put a chill up my neck. The next morning I drove up to my partner's house and asked if I could tell him the story before we wrote a song. He didn't want to hear it. I insisted on it and he said "Well, tell it fast." So, I told it fast and he said "Larry, I just got a chill up my neck and my arm. A rush. Tell it again." So, I told it again. He said "I love that story, but handkerchiefs, they have snot in them. Disgusting." I said "Well, what can we do about that?" He said "Let's change handkerchiefs to ribbons. That's prettier." I said "I like that." And he said "Stagecoach...that's yesterday. Let's make it a bus." I said "I love it. What are we gonna call it, Irwin?" Irwin Lavine. To which the late, great Irwin Lavine replied "What do you think if we call it 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree'?" I looked at him and said "I think that's fantastic!" I picked up the guitar. I wrote the first verse and the chorus as if I knew it. Right off the bat it popped out of me, like I knew it like my name. And then I got to the end of the chorus. I'd written the verse and the chorus, all the words on a piece of yellow paper. At the time I'd gotten to the end of it, Irwin says "You didn't tell me you liked it, but I've got the second verse." I looked at him and said "Oh yeah? What is it?" He said "Write this down." So I wrote it down. He said "Sing it." So I sang the first verse, chorus, second verse, chorus. Irwin Levine says "I have the ending." I said "You're kidding. Let me hear it." Just disbelief. "Show me." He wrote the words and melody to the end of the song - "I can't believe I see..." We put it on a tape recorder, jumped up, listened to it one time and gave ourselves a powerful high-five. We both knew that it was fabulous and that's the story of how we wrote it. Not how we got it recorded, that was another story. Nobody wanted to hear it. We first played it for Ringo Starr. The people who listened for Ringo Starr put their hands on the guitar and said I should be ashamed of showing songs like this to people. It's ridiculous about a ribbon in a tree. We should be ashamed of ourselves. It could ruin us and to never show this song to anybody again. The guy's name was Al Steckler. He was the head of A&R for Apple Records in New York.

http://www.classicbands.com/LRussellBrownInterview.html

[warspite1]

For some relaxation I've started to watch Band of Brothers again. Haven't seen this since it first came out but it's even better (a couple of irritations nothwithstanding) than I recall.

What a truly wonderful piece of storytelling. Some fine acting performances too (strange seeing David Schwimmer as the bad guy but he carried it off). It's good to see some fine young British and Irish acting talent on display too; Scott, Warren, McAvoy, Pegg, Graham and of course Lewis - all of whom went on to bigger things.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

For some relaxation I've started to watch Band of Brothers again. Haven't seen this since it first came out but it's even better (a couple of irritations nothwithstanding) than I recall.

What a truly wonderful piece of storytelling. Some fine acting performances too (strange seeing David Schwimmer as the bad guy but he carried it off). It's good to see some fine young British and Irish acting talent on display too; Scott, Warren, McAvoy, Pegg, Graham and of course Lewis - all of whom went on to bigger things.

They even did the American accents pretty well too. Have you ever read the book?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: warspite1

For some relaxation I've started to watch Band of Brothers again. Haven't seen this since it first came out but it's even better (a couple of irritations nothwithstanding) than I recall.

What a truly wonderful piece of storytelling. Some fine acting performances too (strange seeing David Schwimmer as the bad guy but he carried it off). It's good to see some fine young British and Irish acting talent on display too; Scott, Warren, McAvoy, Pegg, Graham and of course Lewis - all of whom went on to bigger things.

They even did the American accents pretty well too. Have you ever read the book?

warspite1

Yes, I find British and Irish actors and actresses are generally good at accents. Not sure why that would be. I seem to recall Bruce Willis deciding (upon being cast as Fallow in Bonfire of the Vanities) he couldn't be arsed to do an English accent and so didn't.....

No, I've never read the book. I should do really but there is always something else that needs attention first over and above this kind of tome [&:]

I suspect I will one day.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: warspite1

For some relaxation I've started to watch Band of Brothers again. Haven't seen this since it first came out but it's even better (a couple of irritations nothwithstanding) than I recall.

What a truly wonderful piece of storytelling. Some fine acting performances too (strange seeing David Schwimmer as the bad guy but he carried it off). It's good to see some fine young British and Irish acting talent on display too; Scott, Warren, McAvoy, Pegg, Graham and of course Lewis - all of whom went on to bigger things.

They even did the American accents pretty well too. Have you ever read the book?

warspite1

Yes, I find British and Irish actors and actresses are generally good at accents. Not sure why that would be. I seem to recall Bruce Willis deciding (upon being cast as Fallow in Bonfire of the Vanities) he couldn't be arsed to do an English accent and so didn't.....

No, I've never read the book. I should do really but there is always something else that needs attention first over and above this kind of tome [&:]

I suspect I will one day.

Episode 5: "Crossroads" is one of my favorite episodes of any series. The focus on leadership, courage under fire and composure in the face of overwhelming odds just took my breath away. My jaw dropped when Winters came over the dike wall and found an entire SS company encamped there. And then another SS company spills into the fray about the time his reinforced platoon is able to engage. Fraught. Tense. Wonderfully done.

The rest of the series is good (although I prefer The Pacific) to very good.[8D]

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: shunwick


..

Just finished watching Normal People. No spoilers so will keep comments brief. I felt it didn't quite live up to its potential that I assumed it would after watching the first two episodes. But it was still worth watching. The two lead characters were very watchable. Happy to expand on this once you two have finished watching.


..
Well, just finished watching the series. My thought's on it are mixed. Will wait until loki100 has finished watching it before commenting further.

Best wishes,
Steve

Just finished it this evening.

Found the middle say #7-#9, a wee bit repetitive but watcheable. Really liked the way it ended up. Now some of that may be recognition of circumstances, small rural community, first in family at University, all sorts of alienation on both sides of the equation and so on.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: loki100

ORIGINAL: shunwick


..

Just finished watching Normal People. No spoilers so will keep comments brief. I felt it didn't quite live up to its potential that I assumed it would after watching the first two episodes. But it was still worth watching. The two lead characters were very watchable. Happy to expand on this once you two have finished watching.


..
Well, just finished watching the series. My thought's on it are mixed. Will wait until loki100 has finished watching it before commenting further.

Best wishes,
Steve

Just finished it this evening.

Found the middle say #7-#9, a wee bit repetitive but watcheable. Really liked the way it ended up. Now some of that may be recognition of circumstances, small rural community, first in family at University, all sorts of alienation on both sides of the equation and so on.

warspite1

SPOILER ALERT FOR NORMAL PEOPLE

As said, I enjoyed the series and felt at the end it was worth watching. However a few things wrankled. The two leads appeared to be really likeable characters at the outset, but I wonder just how likeable Connell actually was - or maybe I just didn't understand his motivations....

I don't think they made clear enough (or I am a bit slow) that it was entirely his decision to conduct the relationship in secret. I think more should have been made of that. It would make Marianne's hurt over the prom more understandable. But perhaps the biggest gripe I have is about the break up after they get back together at Uni. Why did he not want to stay with her that summer? What was that all about? He soon latched on to someone new too. His actions didn't ring true for someone who is supposedly so in love with Marianne. I mean he effectively just said - out of the blue - I'm off.... really? Why? I didn't really get that.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: warspite1


...

As said, I enjoyed the series and felt at the end it was worth watching. However a few things wrankled. The two leads appeared to be really likeable characters at the outset, but I wonder just how likeable Connell actually was - or maybe I just didn't understand his motivations....

I don't think they made clear enough (or I am a bit slow) that it was entirely his decision to conduct the relationship in secret. I think more should have been made of that. It would make Marianne's hurt over the prom more understandable. But perhaps the biggest gripe I have is about the break up after they get back together at Uni. Why did he not want to stay with her that summer? What was that all about? He soon latched on to someone new too. His actions didn't ring true for someone who is supposedly so in love with Marianne. I mean he effectively just said - out of the blue - I'm off.... really? Why? I didn't really get that.

I think he ended up acknowledging some of that - a few times in the end he was clear that he added himself to the list of people who had hurt her?

The scene towards the end of episode 3 (the school prom) was telling, he'd asked out someone who was popular in his group (Marianne really not being so) and all of a sudden he's back in the centre of his peer group, so he traded what he knew was the right thing to (& his mum was brutally explicit about this) for social popularity?

I saw their breakup at the end of Year 1 at Uni as what I'd call hedgehog mating. They were both so scared of being hurt (& of hurting) that neither of them was being clear. So he didn't tell her that he actually needed somewhere to stay and if not with her then he'd have to go back to Carrickfergus for the summer - on the other hand she wouldn't do the obvious (to everyone else) thing and just ask him.

[OldSarge]

I've been binge watching the YahooTube channel Modern History TV, hosted by Jason Kingsley OBE where there are a number of interesting episodes on life in the medieval age. Quite nicely done! It blows the doors off anything on the inaptly named History Channel.