Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

[Wrathbone]

Ludwig

I normally avoid detective dramas like the plague, but I'll watch anything that stars David Mitchell and the setup for the show is quite fun: he plays a puzzle-maker who's completely withdrawn from the world, but ends up having to pretend to be his identical twin brother who is a detective and has disappeared in strange circumstances. It's played as a light comedy drama, with Mitchell's usual exasperation at the stupidity of everyday life being absolutely appropriate for his character.

Very much enjoyed it. It's more of a mystery than the gritty police procedurals I loathe - more Jonathan Creek than Line of Duty - and watching Mitchell squirm at being forced to do things he's hugely uncomfortable with is always entertaining. Also he gave the most accurate performance of a panic attack I've ever seen on screen.

[Raid]

I was unaware of this programme's existence, but it sounds right up my street. I'll give it a go.

[Sly Boots]

Ludwig

I normally avoid detective dramas like the plague, but I'll watch anything that stars David Mitchell and the setup for the show is quite fun: he plays a puzzle-maker who's completely withdrawn from the world, but ends up having to pretend to be his identical twin brother who is a detective and has disappeared in strange circumstances. It's played as a light comedy drama, with Mitchell's usual exasperation at the stupidity of everyday life being absolutely appropriate for his character.

Very much enjoyed it. It's more of a mystery than the gritty police procedurals I loathe - more Jonathan Creek than Line of Duty - and watching Mitchell squirm at being forced to do things he's hugely uncomfortable with is always entertaining. Also he gave the most accurate performance of a panic attack I've ever seen on screen.

This is great fun btw. We're about halfway through the series and really enjoying it so far.

[Wrathbone]

Oh wow, hadn’t realised the full series was already on iPlayer- I’d been watching it weekly like a peasant on TV!

[Animalmother]

Stargate SG1 episode 200
First time I've seen this and it's probably the best self parody I've ever seen a show do. They really take the piss out of themselves and similar shows. It's something different every 5 minutes with a rip on Star Trek, Team America and Farscape to name but a few. I believe after this episode they also announced the end to the show once the season ended.

[Raid]

Stargate SG1 episode 200
First time I've seen this and it's probably the best self parody I've ever seen a show do. They really take the piss out of themselves and similar shows. It's something different every 5 minutes with a rip on Star Trek, Team America and Farscape to name but a few. I believe after this episode they also announced the end to the show once the season ended.

The skit for Farscape, a show I'd watched and loved long before I started on SG1, is one of the funniest direct piss-takes of a TV competitor I can think of and I'm astounded they got away with it.

[Raid]

Ludwig

I normally avoid detective dramas like the plague, but I'll watch anything that stars David Mitchell and the setup for the show is quite fun: he plays a puzzle-maker who's completely withdrawn from the world, but ends up having to pretend to be his identical twin brother who is a detective and has disappeared in strange circumstances. It's played as a light comedy drama, with Mitchell's usual exasperation at the stupidity of everyday life being absolutely appropriate for his character.

Very much enjoyed it. It's more of a mystery than the gritty police procedurals I loathe - more Jonathan Creek than Line of Duty - and watching Mitchell squirm at being forced to do things he's hugely uncomfortable with is always entertaining. Also he gave the most accurate performance of a panic attack I've ever seen on screen.

Just finished it myself now, and I agree on most counts. As much as I enjoyed Line of Duty, this is far more my type of crime show; more Midsomer Murders than hard-boiled, expletive-spewing detectives struggling with heroine addictions or something. Give me a comfortable jumper and a sense of whimsy any day. I too will also watch anything featuring David Mitchell.

So yes, thoroughly enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to season 2.

[Wrathbone]

Yep, I finished it yesterday and thought it was superb. Really strong characters that I’ve become invested in, an intriguing overarching conspiracy, fun self-contained mysteries per episode and just the right level of humour. Mitchell’s really shown his drama chops in this too - there were a few moments where his performance genuinely choked me up.

[Sly Boots]

Thirded!

[Tommy]

Just got up to date with Only Murders in the Building, which I'm really enjoying. I think initially I just wanted to watch it because of Short/Martin, but actally I think it's great generally.

[Sly Boots]

Just got up to date with Only Murders in the Building, which I'm really enjoying. I think initially I just wanted to watch it because of Short/Martin, but actally I think it's great generally.

Agree with this too, big fan of OMITB, a couple of episodes into S4 and the quality is still high.

[Raid]

Same. I did watch the first couple of episodes but decided to wait for it to finish airing before I continue so I can binge-watch it.

I mostly started watching for Steve Martin, I honestly wasn't much of a fan of Martin Short beforehand (only from just not having seen a lot of stuff he's been in), and knew nothing about Selena Gomez other than her being one of those Disney Channel kids that star in a dozen terrible TV films, get thrown into a pop career and then immediately discarded once they hit 18 and are suddenly capable of making their own decisions (I hasten to add this is a commentary on Disney, not any of the kids themselves). It's funny that Gomez is the dour glue that holds the two wacky old men together with that sort of a background, but it works extremely well and the three have so much chemistry together.

[Animalmother]

So I finished the last season of Stargate SG1. I watched 10 years of a series in about 6 months so I feel at a bit of a loss now. The last episode was interesting and a strange one to end on. Still have the tv movies and Atlantis to finish so that's good.

Overview of the series is it's very enjoyable and fun to watch. Didn't take itself too seriously and very likable cast. Amanda Tapping is a stone cold fox and Michael Shanks is one handsome bastard. Don't think I've ever seen either in anything else. Yeah it was great and as I'm still amazed it only got one more show and a couple of average games.

[Raid]

I watched 10 years of a series in about 6 months so I feel at a bit of a loss now.

I always feel the same way at the end of binge-watching a long-running series; putting an episode of that on is easier than figuring out what else I want to watch, and suddenly that's no longer an option and I've long since forgotten what else was on my watch list.

Glad you enjoyed SG1 though. Atlantis is certainly worth finishing. I think it comes to a more satisfying conclusion than SG-1, which I don't think should have been extended into the Ori stuff which was never as good even if I love some of the moments that happen during it. I personally recommend watching Stargate Universe too, but only if you go into it knowing that it doesn't have a proper ending. It's a very different tone to the other series so it may not be to your tastes, but it's great once it gets going, and it's a real shame they never got to finish it.

[Animalmother]

I watched Universe when it was very briefly available in Netflix a while back. Enjoyed it well enough but it didn't feel like Stargate, more like a spin off of Battlestar Galactica (which might be up next for a binge...). It was actually starting to get interesting when it got canned.