TV & Film The TV Room

For those of you who get BBC One, I am under the impression that Strike season 4 just dropped. This TV show is based on Lethal White (book 4) of the CB Strike series by Robert Galbraith (AKA) JK Rowling.

For us Americans, we will have to wait a while longer. Seasons 1 - 3 are available on Cinemax.

I've read all the books and I think Lethal White was my favorite plot/mystery-wise. But the Stike/Robin relationship issues were more annoying than anything else.

I've seen Season 1 - 3 on TV. They were all great. One thing that really stands out was the casting. They got the perfect Strike and Robin.
 
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So after the 49ers lost, i was feeling sort of sad and needed something funny/silly/stupid to watch.

Julie and the Phantoms is getting a lot of love on Netflix and it seemed to fit the bill.

Ended up watching a bunch of episodes last night. Its very High School Musical but with ghosts.

Here is a song.

the setup. Julie can see the ghosts but no one else can unless they are playing music with Julie. Her best friend doesn't believe her so she sets up a demonstration.

 
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There is one episode, just one, of the original Perry Mason series that was filmed in color. I’m looking at it right now as it airs on ME-TV. I can’t get used to seeing it in color. That’s probably why I haven’t checked out the “reimagined Perry Mason” on HBO. 😬

Let me explain: Perry Mason is essentially film noir on television. It started as a series of mystery books. There were actually some films made before it launched on TV. Since film noir and black and white are so closely linked, it seems fitting that most of the series would be in black and white.
 
we finished watching Murdoch Mysteries and we are looking forward to the few episodes of season 14 that will come out on CBC in the new year

then we started on Burden of Truth, another Canadian CBC production which is on Netflix in Canada, and found it interesting although a bit tough to watch sometimes as it addresses the inequities of the indigenous people here in Manitoba - we have just 4 episodes left in Season 3

started also watching "24" which we have never watched - 7 seasons are on Amazon Prime and we are enjoying it so far

Emma JC
 
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So after the 49ers lost, i was feeling sort of sad and needed something funny/silly/stupid to watch.

Julie and the Phantoms is getting a lot of love on Netflix and it seemed to fit the bill.

Ended up watching a bunch of episodes last night. Its very High School Musical but with ghosts.

Kudos to the showrunners going with a very diverse cast. Julie is half Hispanic. Her girlfriend is Black. Although the ghosts are all white, one is gay. There is another ghost who is Asian.

I finished the show Monday night. Started Sunday night. So I really did binge it. Just nine episodes and the writers left room for a season 2.
 
I've had an angry problem with TV for most of my adult life. It's likely to do with my childhood with limited TV and my realization that the less I watched tv the more I understood, and that other people didn't understand me. My grandfather told me "gee those people on television told me about things I never knew I needed" in the most sarcastic, intense way I've never forgotten it. After spending a childhood with my grandparents, I reacted the total opposite of my mother. One of her most disgusting habits is probably that of putting television on as soon as she wakes up in the morning like a loser. It made me angry every day I lived at her house briefly in my 20s. I hated the sound of it, the noise, the propaganda. My grandparents surrounded me either in silence or nothing but radio music/record player. Even after being ALLOWED to watch tv I kind of...got over it.-But then it made everything I remember about television so much more meaningful. The irony of my hatred of television that is that 80s-90s music came alive for me finally on MTV in a way that permanently shaped my person as an adult. Music videos still make up about 90% of my musical consumption on YouTube. My ex was similar. When he wasn't watching Italian art films, he was showing some new music video channel. Early 80s re-runs are home for me. "Alice" and "Facts of Life" retrieve irreplaceable memories, and my grandparents instilled in me a lifelong love of public television. I mean if that's the thing you were only allowed to watch until you were 5, you also would only like PBS documentaries and Nat Geo.

AND THAT IS WHO I AM. It's shocking. I am almost 40 years old and if I stay in a hotel that actually has cable I'm so drained and disappointed by television. It seems sinister and dark to me. I hate television. The only channels I can stand to watch are things like PBS and The Nature Channel.

In fact when I see what is on the television on this rare occasions, I realize why I can not and will never get across to most Americans. What is on television IS DISTURBING. It's mostly advertising and propaganda. It's truly scary. It's annoying and upsetting. Like that song from the 80s, 57 Channels and Nothing On.

That being said, the pandemic and all its cloistering brought me closer again to television for the first time in almost 30 years. Amazon Prime became a favorite of mine due to their reduced cost for students and people with EBT. I discovered The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel which is the most guilty pleasure show I've watched in years. I watched all three seasons. Before that, the only shows I'll watch on TV aren't actually on television but streaming without commercials, and are American Horror Story (some seasons better than others), anything on nature/science documentary, and Penny Dreadful. I also fell in love with City of Angels during the pandemic. Partly because of my departure from my beloved LA 3 years ago. It was cancelled after one season, Twin Peaks was cancelled after two, I've never believed that multiple seasons made a great tv show. Look at the 1970s cult classic Fawlty Towers.


 
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Last night we watched "My Octopus Teacher" on Netflix... it was so good! In the past I have been in the water with wild spotted dolphins and so the documentary was very relatable for me.

Emma JC
 
I've had an angry problem with TV for most of my adult life. It's likely to do with my childhood with limited TV and my realization that the less I watched tv the more I understood, and that other people didn't understand me. My grandfather told me "gee those people on television told me about things I never knew I needed" in the most sarcastic, intense way I've never forgotten it. After spending a childhood with my grandparents, I reacted the total opposite of my mother. One of her most disgusting habits is probably that of putting television on as soon as she wakes up in the morning like a loser. It made me angry every day I lived at her house briefly in my 20s. I hated the sound of it, the noise, the propaganda. My grandparents surrounded me either in silence or nothing but radio music/record player. Even after being ALLOWED to watch tv I kind of...got over it.-But then it made everything I remember about television so much more meaningful. The irony of my hatred of television that is that 80s-90s music came alive for me finally on MTV in a way that permanently shaped my person as an adult. Music videos still make up about 90% of my musical consumption on YouTube. My ex was similar. When he wasn't watching Italian art films, he was showing some new music video channel. Early 80s re-runs are home for me. "Alice" and "Facts of Life" retrieve irreplaceable memories, and my grandparents instilled in me a lifelong love of public television. I mean if that's the thing you were only allowed to watch until you were 5, you also would only like PBS documentaries and Nat Geo.

AND THAT IS WHO I AM. It's shocking. I am almost 40 years old and if I stay in a hotel that actually has cable I'm so drained and disappointed by television. It seems sinister and dark to me. I hate television. The only channels I can stand to watch are things like PBS and The Nature Channel.

In fact when I see what is on the television on this rare occasions, I realize why I can not and will never get across to most Americans. What is on television IS DISTURBING. It's mostly advertising and propaganda. It's truly scary. It's annoying and upsetting. Like that song from the 80s, 57 Channels and Nothing On.

That being said, the pandemic and all its cloistering brought me closer again to television for the first time in almost 30 years. Amazon Prime became a favorite of mine due to their reduced cost for students and people with EBT. I discovered The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel which is the most guilty pleasure show I've watched in years. I watched all three seasons. Before that, the only shows I'll watch on TV aren't actually on television but streaming without commercials, and are American Horror Story (some seasons better than others), anything on nature/science documentary, and Penny Dreadful. I also fell in love with City of Angels during the pandemic. Partly because of my departure from my beloved LA 3 years ago. It was cancelled after one season, Twin Peaks was cancelled after two, I've never believed that multiple seasons made a great tv show. Look at the 1970s cult classic Fawlty Towers.



I love Ms. Maisel too. There is a lot of, I guess nostalgia for me. Being Jewish and from NY. I also think that Ms. Maislel's daughter and I would be about the same age. And my family even did some vacations in the Catskills.
 
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Last night we watched "My Octopus Teacher" on Netflix... it was so good! In the past I have been in the water with wild spotted dolphins and so the documentary was very relatable for me.

Emma JC
Wow. Never even heard of that. Just put it on my list.
 
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On the CW and the Toronto front, we now have the show The Coroner coming up.


I'm still a few episodes behind but I like it.
One strange thing about it is that for a serialized drama there is little (read any) continuity between the episodes. It may be because of issues in production due to Corona. or it might just by the showrunner's style. I haven't watched enough episodes to tell if I like it or not.

One interesting thing is that episode 6 had a Black Live Matters theme. I wonder if other TV crime shows are going to do this (or have done this).
 
I'm still a few episodes behind but I like it.
One strange thing about it is that for a serialized drama there is little (read any) continuity between the episodes. It may be because of issues in production due to Corona. or it might just by the showrunner's style. I haven't watched enough episodes to tell if I like it or not.

One interesting thing is that episode 6 had a Black Live Matters theme. I wonder if other TV crime shows are going to do this (or have done this).


Well, I'm all caught up now and the continuity issues seem to be solved. Epi 7 is the first part of a two-parter, even.

I also just learned that the TV show is also based on book series. Just like Bones.

 
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It’s Hallmark Season. :smile:I decided to subscribe to sling until after the holidays since we don’t have cable tv. I get Hallmark and HGTV, a few news stations that I can stream live and a host of other channels. I’ve watched Friends, Golden Girls and I think the Walking Dead finale is on tonight. But I really did it for Hallmark. 😁I’m so happy lol.
 
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It’s Hallmark Season. :smile:I decided to subscribe to sling until after the holidays since we don’t have cable tv. I get Hallmark and HGTV, a few news stations that I can stream live and a host of other channels. I’ve watched Friends, Golden Girls and I think the Walking Dead finale is on tonight. But I really did it for Hallmark. 😁I’m so happy lol.

If you are happy with Sling that is great and keep with it. Because of Geography (i guess) Sling did not work for me. my sister was getting YouTubeTV so I piggybacked on her account. (we were already sharing Netflix accounts. I had to get a new streaming device - my old AppleTV didn't work with it. I got the lowest price Roku. So I get Roku channels now too.

Not a fan of hallmark anyway. but now I get them too. I am a big fan of mysteries and hallmark makes some made for TV movie mysteries. but I haven't gotten around to them yet.
 
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It’s Hallmark Season. :smile:I decided to subscribe to sling until after the holidays since we don’t have cable tv. I get Hallmark and HGTV, a few news stations that I can stream live and a host of other channels. I’ve watched Friends, Golden Girls and I think the Walking Dead finale is on tonight. But I really did it for Hallmark. 😁I’m so happy lol.
I don't think I watched one Christmas film last year! I will this year. I want to get a real tree finally and make an effort with being indoors so much. :)

I am going to get the free trial of SHUDDER | Stream Horror, Thrillers, and Suspense Ad-Free and Uncut tomorrow. Shudder is like Netflix but just horror.

I know Christmas films and horror films seem like opposite sides of the spectrum but I enjoy both.:D
 
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I used to love horror films so much. Now they scare me! Lol. I can watch certain ones but nothing with the devil/possession or anything where people are tortured!
 
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Season 4 of FARGO and Long Way Up, on Netflix Greenleaf.

WARNING: Fargo has a slaughter house scene and cattle are given the head kill with compressed air gun.
 
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I have had Sling in the past and really liked it! I just subscribed to a free week trial of fubo tv so I could see The Walking Dead tonight! I will not subscribe to it though because it is very expensive which they don't tell you until you sign up for the trial. It is even more than I could get regular cable tv for! Sling is reasonable and I might sign up for it again.
 
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