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Finishing up Valhalla Murders. Really dark. Not very credible. Still sort of worth a watch. Trapped was much better. Iceland is a great locale for police procedurals.
 
Trying this new Picard series with Patrick Stewart. it does not seem like Trek but more like Star Wars in its look. And the idealism of the original series and even Next Generation is gone. I'll admit that this is set some 100 (?) years after Kirk's time, and any human institution can degrade and become corrupt in less time than that; so the notion that Star Fleet is no longer the galaxy's shining exemplar of justice and right, and that Picard himself must atone for horrible mistakes in judgment, is not *impossible*. I'm just not sure this is the right entertainment for me. And it does seem to be taking a while to get really moving: Picard and his hired ship don't leave on their mission until the end of episode 3.

On the other hand, the performances are subtle and stellar from Alison Pill as a cyberneticist and from the "Mother Superior" of the Romulan warrior-nuns (!) (but remember, the Romulans were shown as having a female starship captain long before Star Fleet was). And though Stewart is now some 81 years old, he acquits himself well, and the scripts have not tried to sell him as an action hero still in his prime.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Trying this new Picard series with Patrick Stewart. it does not seem like Trek but more like Star Wars in its look. And the idealism of the original series and even Next Generation is gone. I'll admit that this is set some 100 (?) years after Kirk's time, and any human institution can degrade and become corrupt in less time than that; so the notion that Star Fleet is no longer the galaxy's shining exemplar of justice and right, and that Picard himself must atone for horrible mistakes in judgment, is not *impossible*. I'm just not sure this is the right entertainment for me. And it does seem to be taking a while to get really moving: Picard and his hired ship don't leave on their mission until the end of episode 3.

On the other hand, the performances are subtle and stellar from Alison Pill as a cyberneticist and from the "Mother Superior" of the Romulan warrior-nuns (!) (but remember, the Romulans were shown as having a female starship captain long before Star Fleet was). And though Stewart is now some 81 years old, he acquits himself well, and the scripts have not tried to sell him as an action hero still in his prime.
Great review. I was interested but don’t have cbs all access so I passed and decided to wait. I had similar misgivings about where this was going give his age and the retrospective theme. The older retired guy looking to fix errors of the past especially where I never remember that many egregious errors from the next generation anyway. They always seemed guided by ethics.

I enjoy the new trek movies but it’s funny to watch these now - set in the past - yet they have way better tech compared to the original series 😂
 
Rhody, I don't have CBS All Access either. Miss Linda got the DVD set for season one from the library.

Better tech, yes, but this show also has that "lens flare/dazzlingly bright light from windows or on the starship set" routine, plus scenes that are lit in bluish-gray, as if Star Fleet can't manage to change out the lightbulbs. It's a failing with almost every modern movie or TV show. To see the stark difference, watch the original True Grit from 1969 and then its remake from the 2000s with Jeff Bridges. Hollywood has forgotten how to use Technicolor, it seems.
 
Nice to see Alison Pill get work and some love. I think she is a terrific actress.
Her scientist here kind of reminds me of Philip Marlowe's narration in Chandler's novel The Lady in the Lake, telling us about a cute receptionist who looked uncertain, "like a new kitten in a house where they don't care about kittens."
 
Flight Attendant (HBO) season 1. Found myself tensing up & stressing myself due to the suspense, then laughing hard at the reactions to character's situations, and then genuinely feeling sad & upset about some of the flashbacks & memories some of the characters had. I really enjoyed season 1.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
The new "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS.

Not as good as the original from the 70's and 80's, definitely has been "sanitized?" for the Millennial crowd, but superb acting.

It's a great serious if you haven't read the books several times like I have! Siegfried and James are every bit as good as the original series actors, James possibly better. Tristan was perfectly cast in the original, this guy does a good job, but he's trying to fill some huge shoes.

For ME, they just took way too much license from the books. But the scenery IS what I imagine "Darrowby" to look like. Gorgeous filming. Lol, the scenery is like an extra character here, much like the author did in the books.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
The Edgar Wallace Mysteries from the 1960s and Scotland Yard from about ten years earlier. Two classic black and white series produced by Anglo Amalgamated being shown on the Talking Pictures channel in the UK. I enjoy the fashions, the cars, and the style of the era, as well as seeing a bit of the UK as it used to be.
 
Young Wallander--Excellent. Ellise Chappell is extraordinary and stunning! The Wallander books are wonderful. I do not think this series has much to do with the grown up Wallander. Although it is credible as capturing a young personality that would becpome the grown up Wallander. Great writing and acting. Attractive cast all around.
 
The new "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS.

Not as good as the original from the 70's and 80's, definitely has been "sanitized?" for the Millennial crowd, but superb acting.

It's a great serious if you haven't read the books several times like I have! Siegfried and James are every bit as good as the original series actors, James possibly better. Tristan was perfectly cast in the original, this guy does a good job, but he's trying to fill some huge shoes.

For ME, they just took way too much license from the books. But the scenery IS what I imagine "Darrowby" to look like. Gorgeous filming. Lol, the scenery is like an extra character here, much like the author did in the books.

It is very sanitized. Almost too much. It's actually sort of cheesy.
 
Did you watch Deadwind on Netflix. Scandinavian noir at its best.
No, but thanks for the suggestion! We are truly enjoying the Scandinavian noir we have seen recently, and I am sure will get right on this one.

Finished Young Wallander last night. I kept thinking we were watching young Inspector Morse. High quality stuff. Very satisfying, and in the end uplifting. A British series set in Sweden. For once with very good-looking actors, who are otherwise very compelling. I mentioned Ellise Chappell, previously. (Sorry for the earlier misspelling.) Adam Pålsson, as Wallander, is equally good-looking, and Leanne Best nearly as appealing. Each is utterly credible, as is Richard Dillane. I suppose some might think the show was a tad too earnest, but as I indicated earlier, that earnestness is fitting for the development of the later Kurt Walander, one of my favorite detectives and a certain respite from the darkness and existential dread that generally pervades Scandinavian noir.
 
Haven't watched more then 20 minutes of TV in probably 15 years. Too busy with actually doing things. Heck, I didn't post on B&B with any regularity for probably 5 years. Only here now because the weather has been intolerable.
 
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