What are you watching now?
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I started a new Amazon Prime series this afternoon. I believe it's a limited mini-series: "Informer."
A very interesting premise and after one episode, I'm hooked.
The premise is this:
Reza, son of a Pakistani immigrant family (Dad, Mom, younger brother) is arrested for possession of MDMA (Ecstasy) at a nightclub. He is marked as a possible informant to help track the steps of a terrorist (now deceased) who was in London before being killed by a drone strike.
He is approached by the fictional counter-terrorism unit, and has zero interest in cooperating, even after charges are dropped. But then, the man who will become his handler (presumably) discovers that his mother is not really his mother, and is in the UK illegally. He uses that to pressure Reza into cooperating.
I have no idea how it'll play out, but it's a complex and interesting series.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k said in What are you watching now?:
I started a new Amazon Prime series this afternoon. I believe it's a limited mini-series: "Informer."
A very interesting premise and after one episode, I'm hooked.It was a lazy Saturday, so I binged.
Complex and interesting indeed. A somewhat contrived twist at the end, IMO, but it really doesn't detract from the overall arc of the story. Some irrelevant side stories that I think were added as filler to expand it to 6 episodes, but they add to the complexity of the "recruiter" of the story.
Acting is very good (particularly "Gabe" and "Reza"). Directing is good as well, though a bit overdone in the "we're watching through a doorway that's just open" style that seems to be prevalent these days.
Worth a watch.
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“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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@mik said in What are you watching now?:
Still watching Expanse. Just into 9th episode of season 1. Now it starts getting deeper.
The problem with The Expanse is that it's difficult to get in to. So much is laid out early on that makes you think, "What's the point?"
Martian stealth tech? Who cares - wait until season 5 when it becomes supremely important - the storyline rocks.
Jules Pierre Mao? Who cares - just another billionaire with money to burn for his kids (yes, kids). Who cares...wait until season 3.
I can see the authors with a huge storyboard, showing all these plots, and drawing lines, connecting them all.
Miller? Yeah. He becomes important, in a way, in season 4.
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I've just finished watching The Expanse for the second time all the way through.
It's become easily my favourite sci-fi series, surpassing Babylon 5. I'm so glad GK nagged me to watch it so much - it took quite a while, but I'm going to be lost when it's over.
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@doctor-phibes as much as I loved B5, I always found the "non-arc" episodes to be distracting. B5 was the first, as far as I know, show to take the "I'm going to tell you a story and it's going to take 5 years to do it" approach. However, in the days of a 26 episode season, B5 had to rely on a lot of "filler."
Every episode of The Expanse moves the story forward. It's lean, with no filler, and so well done.
The fact that the authors of the books are so heavily invested in the TV show certainly helps.
Like you, when the Amazon production of season 6 ends, I'll be lost as well. There are rumors of a movie which summarizes books 7-9, or another series on another platform. I won't hold my breath, however.
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Another thing...
One of the things I enjoy, on the TV series at least, is the fun/creative names of the spaceships that are in the series. Many of them require a bit of research.
Guy Mollinari
Jefferson Mays
The Weeping SomnambulistAnd of course
Rocinante
I have to think that the authors of the books were the inspiration for many of the ideas that SpaceX has taken (Of Course I Still Love You).
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"Tehran"
It's on AppleTV.
Well-crafted spy thriller. The premise is that a Mossad agent, a hacker, sneaks into Iran with the goal of disabling Iranian radar from detecting a planned Israeli Air Force strike on their nuclear facilities.
Lots of twists and turns, particularly in the last two episodes.
Some of the stuff was a bit far-fetched, but overall I enjoyed it - enough to have binged it this weekend.
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@george-k said in What are you watching now?:
"Tehran"
It's on AppleTV.
Well-crafted spy thriller. The premise is that a Mossad agent, a hacker, sneaks into Iran with the goal of disabling Iranian radar from detecting a planned Israeli Air Force strike on their nuclear facilities.
Lots of twists and turns, particularly in the last two episodes.
Some of the stuff was a bit far-fetched, but overall I enjoyed it - enough to have binged it this weekend.
Episode 1 grabbed me.
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@loki said in What are you watching now?:
Episode 1 grabbed me.
Indeed. It gets a little silly at times, but I have a feeling that it's because they wanted to stretch the series out to 8 episodes. The ending, though not really finishing the story, is satisfying enough to give a sense of completeness, while opening the door to a second season.
Also, it gives a good sense, perhaps even better than "The Americans" of the gritty, dirty work of international espionage. The fact that all of these events occur within a couple hundred miles of each other (Israel, Iran, Turkey) makes it faster-paced.
The guy who plays the Iranian intelligence officer (whose wife flies to Paris) is particularly interesting.
It gets a lot better after episode 1, and I hope it gets renewed for a second season.
I love understated spy shows without all the glitter and BS of Bond.
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Luke and I have finally been able to start digging into The Expanse Season 5. I love Avri
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"For All Mankind"
Binging through this show on Apple TV.
The premise is that, in 1967, the Soviet Union has beaten the USA to landing a man on the moon - by two weeks. NASA scrambles to put a man on the moon, and it succeeds, barely, with Armstrong and Aldrin. The USSR outdoes the USA again, by putting a woman on the moon, and the USA has yet to put an XX chromosome into space. Of course, NASA changes its mission to add women to the program.
Finally, the USA is able to find water on the moon, and establishes a base on the moon for permanent occupation.
Lots of soapy stuff that's distracting. The interposition of historical footage (Nixon) and speculative fiction (Ted Kennedy as president? Really?) is somewhat of a distraction. The drama of the families is another distraction. Psychological issues, marriage issues etc take up a lot of screen time.
However, despite the distractions, it's watchable, even if it's overdone at times. It's a fancy soap opera, but worth a couple of episodes a day.
Not a waste of time, but not great either.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k said in What are you watching now?:
Not a waste of time, but not great either.
Yeah...
Not sure if it's trying to push the "wokeness" buttons or the "soap opera" buttons while retaining some of the alleged "sci-fi" aspects of the show.
Second season is disappointing because it feels like the show is trying to find where it wants to go. For example, the encounter between the Soviet and American teams on the moon base is punctuated by "I Fought the Law and the Law Won."
Really? C'mon man.
New director of NASA struggles with gay-ness while trying to keep job.
Stop it. Just stop.
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Just finished another K Drama called "Itaewon Class". Really liked this one.
It is kind of a David and Goliath story. A kid gets "framed" and sent to jail. The person who did the frame is the son of a big businessman. The kid vows to get revenge by building a business bigger and better than the framer.
I thought good story, good acting, and you liked and fell for the characters. I would rate this one a "watch"
Link to video -
Another British mystery show: "Marcella."
Premise: Retired detective, now a stay-at-home mom, is recruited back to the force. She has to deal with kids, a very aggressive successful husband, who's a bit on the shady side, and some demons, very powerful demons, from her early times as a mom.
Very well acted by the lead, and compelling stories (3 seasons so far).
A lot of her emotional stuff is, imo, overdone. Just tell the story, but in the context of how mysteries are solved, I suppose it's unavoidable.
At the end of Season 2, the story is, basically rebooted, with her working undercover in Ireland.
Very bingeable. Watch it at 1.25 speed on Netflix and you can do a season in a weekend. Despite it's flaws, I'm looking forward to #4.
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Pretty typical British murder mystery show. Each episode is ½ of a story (total of 90 minutes per mystery). There is an overreaching arc, but it's not necessary to start from the beginning. Nice, not-too-complex-and confusing stories (yeah, "Endeavour," I'm looking at you).
Banks is an interesting character, but some of his associates (like Caroline Catz - from "Doc Martin") are just as interesting.
Check out 2-3 mysteries...
I'm lot in love, like "Foyle's War," but it's pretty good, if you like Brit mysteries.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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