Now Watching on TV

[the masked man]

It will surprise no-one that my viewing has been very Scandinavian of late. Been watching my box set of Borgen, and thinking it's one of the best series ever, inventive and riding that thin line between cyniciam and idealism. It never disappoints.

And I caught the first two episodes of Modus, the new Swedish thriller on BBC4. This is different, as it pulls the Columbo trick of revealing the murderer in the opening scene. He's wirnessed by an autistic girl who cannot directly explain what she's seen. So far, it's mysterious stuff, as motive remains obscure, but I'm assured it all makes sense in the end. Worth keeping an eye on. First two episodes are on the BBC iPlayer, if you're interested.

[...]

The Missing S2 - just finished last night.

Along with S3 of Line of Duty and S2 of Happy Valley very probably the best thing on UK TV during 2016. Despite the stiff competition, Keeley Hawes must be a shoo-in for next year's BAFTA after missing out for her superb turn in S2 of LOD

[clive gash]

Yes

Simon Cowell

[naughty boy]

I haven't found a single review anywhere, CaB aren't talking about it, there's nothing on Fb, and to top it all I get nothing but an obscure reference from the only fucker here who gives a shit about them.

Brilliant.

[clive gash]

I don't want to spoil it John. Save for a new (?) character in the next-to-last bit (funny if you like hilarious Japanese accents (I do)) it's a greatest hits really. The Action Image Exchange section is a pants-pisser.

[naughty boy]

Oh, fabulous. Thanks.

[Goat Boy]

I don't want to spoil it John. Save for a new (?) character in the next-to-last bit (funny if you like hilarious Japanese accents (I do))

lacist

[Goat Boy]

The lass enjoyed it very much. I'm sure there'll be an added poignancy considering Bobs recent health issues

[naughty boy]

I'm really excited. I'm just a bit concerned at being surrounded by guffawing oafs.

[clive gash]

You will be, cunt next to me took his shirt off

[clive gash]

I don't want to spoil it John. Save for a new (?) character in the next-to-last bit (funny if you like hilarious Japanese accents (I do))

lacist

I'm mixed lace, it's fine.

[clive gash]

You will be, cunt next to me took his shirt off

Plenty of catchphrase anticipators too.

[Goat Boy]

I'm really excited. I'm just a bit concerned at being surrounded by guffawing oafs.

It's why I'm not keen on live comedy in general. It's like being in the audience for an episode of the Daily Show

[naughty boy]

Yeah, I know.

I just want to see my hero BOB in the f.

[clive gash]

Yeah, I know.

I just want to see my hero BOB in the f.

Keep an eye on his hair during the introductory dance.

[naughty boy]

So - a greatest hits, like you say. Which meant lots of warm chuckles and cheers of recognition, not much in the way of surprises. But that's OK. It was a blast to see them both. And the Geordies stuffed into the seats to my left were lovely lads.

The video montage at the start did a great job in showing just how much wonderful stuff they've been responsible for over the years. Vic's much more cuddly these days which meant the old 'you would not BELIEVE...' bollocks from the Big Night Out didn't sound quite right to me.

The pair of them carried the whole thing, didn't they? A lot of work for blokes nearing 60. Shakamoto was a definite highlight - some new stuff there. And Action Image Exchange was a hoot. And the intro stuff with the wig. And Bob's final song (immediately after which, everybody stood up and went straight for the doors rather hurriedly - hadn't come across that before). Oh, and Lovejoy.

Love them to pieces and looking forward to this new sitcom, or whatever they've got planned for the Beeb.

[Geezee]

Binged on The Staircase (and the follow-up) on Youtube over a couple of weeks. I still can't get over how the TV crew managed to "strike gold" (so to speak) on this case - they must have started filming a week or two after the death, and followed it through to its incredible conclusion, with innumerable, improbable twists and turns and interesting characters. How they were able to identify a case, mobilise the necessary resources and convince all the participants (particularly since they are a foreign TV crew) in such a short period of time, and then have that case turn into such an absolute soap opera over the course of so many years, is really incredible. The whole detour into the case in Germany, the fact that the second body was embalmed/exhumed, the whole blowpoke thing, the forceful sister-in-law, the permanently angry-looking DA who looks like the worst kind of high school bully, and perhaps most incredibly the FBI blood spatter expert - whom they spend so much time on in the original documentary, without having any foreknowledgeable of what was about to be revealed about him (but there are so many things in his testimony that really made you wonder)...and just the whole uncertainty/mystery over what on earth happened. Like Making the Murderer, it definitely has its critics for being one-sided, but just because they spend more time with the defense, it doesn't mean, in my mind at least, that it is in any way biased - it lets the dialogue speak for itself, the characters speak for themselves, and you can make your own mind up. Anyone who is convinced they know what happened one way or another has watched another programme, in my mind.

[Six String]

I started watching a new show I like a lot Hap and Leonard. Two guys in Texas in the 1980s. Dark comedy in the same ballpark as Justified. You'll recognize some of the actors. Criminal elements aplenty.

[PresMuffley]

I just found out about this program on A&E called Live PD:

http://www.aetv.com/shows/live-pd

This is how it is described on their site:

From DUI checkpoint stops to high-speed chases, bar fights to gang shootings, domestic disputes to drug busts, A&E’s documentary series Live PD captures it all.

As the debate over the policing of America continues to be a part of the daily conversation across the nation, Live PD viewers get unfettered and unfiltered live access inside a variety of the country’s busiest police forces, both urban and rural, and the communities they patrol on a typical night. Viewers are encouraged to post their comments about what they witness throughout the night on Facebook and Twitter.

In-studio host, ABC’s Dan Abrams, alongside co-host Tom Morris Jr., guide viewers through the night, giving insight to what audiences see in real time (via a mix of dash cams, fixed rig and handheld cameras), bouncing minute-by-minute between the featured police departments and offering an inside look at each live incident.

Two in-studio hosts guiding you through realtime arrests for entertainment - though obviously attempted to be sold as a conversation starter, a real benefit to the uneducated masses - as we are presented with predominantly low income minorities harrassed and taken to jail. Couldn't get much more fucked up than this. If you happened to have any misgivings left about the US being a police state, this should surely squelch them - though if you had uncertainties before, you're probably an idiot anyway, so perhaps not.

[Snarfyguy]

Binged on The Staircase (and the follow-up) on Youtube over a couple of weeks. I still can't get over how the TV crew managed to "strike gold" (so to speak) on this case - they must have started filming a week or two after the death, and followed it through to its incredible conclusion, with innumerable, improbable twists and turns and interesting characters. How they were able to identify a case, mobilise the necessary resources and convince all the participants (particularly since they are a foreign TV crew) in such a short period of time, and then have that case turn into such an absolute soap opera over the course of so many years, is really incredible. The whole detour into the case in Germany, the fact that the second body was embalmed/exhumed, the whole blowpoke thing, the forceful sister-in-law, the permanently angry-looking DA who looks like the worst kind of high school bully, and perhaps most incredibly the FBI blood spatter expert - whom they spend so much time on in the original documentary, without having any foreknowledgeable of what was about to be revealed about him (but there are so many things in his testimony that really made you wonder)...and just the whole uncertainty/mystery over what on earth happened. Like Making the Murderer, it definitely has its critics for being one-sided, but just because they spend more time with the defense, it doesn't mean, in my mind at least, that it is in any way biased - it lets the dialogue speak for itself, the characters speak for themselves, and you can make your own mind up. Anyone who is convinced they know what happened one way or another has watched another programme, in my mind.

Never heard of it before, but I've put it in my Netflix Queue, thanks!