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

[Sly Boots]

Castlevania Nocturne
Follow up to the excellent Castlevania from a few years ago. Set a few hundred years later in France during the Revolution. Watched the first couple of episodes and it's fine. Seems to lack the charm of the previous series and the new Belmont isn't a patch on Trevor. The animation is pretty amazing in places I must say. Will keep watching as it might just need a few episodes to get going.

I started it, but I think I'm going to bail already. I'm finding the main character's, Richter's, voice acting pretty bad - off-puttingly so. And someone I know who loved the original said he didn't like this one, so not sure I'll keep investing the time in it.

[Animalmother]

I haven't watched it since I made that post so I think I've subconsciously already given up on it as well.

Generation V
Spin off from The Boys about teenagers in a college for "gifted" kids. People get turned into meat showers, a scene with a cock that you'll not soon forget and all the soulless corporate types from the main series. Really enjoying it

[Alan]

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Finished! Loved that series, the final season was a little weak at times but still very good overall. I’ll miss Abe most of all (Tony Shahoub is fantastic!)

Good Omens S2
I was expecting this to be a bit rubbish for some reason but it’s great fun so far! Plenty of laughs.

Only Murder In The Building S3
I’m quite over this now, it feels tired. It has some laughs but it just feels stale. I don’t know if I’ll finish it.

[Wrathbone]

Frasier

Colour me surprised - I really enjoyed the first two episodes! The characters are new, the setting is different, but it's Frasier through and through. The writing is witty and sharp as ever, there are some great predicaments they weave themselves into and it had me laughing frequently. They'll never replace Niles (not that they haven't tried), but it's so much better than I expected it to be.

[Animalmother]

The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan's new series on Netflix about the rapid demise of a family of utterly ruthless bastards involved in the medical and drug industry. The deaths are gruesome to say the least with one family member getting knocked off per episode. It's not fantastic but still very enjoyable and I ended up watching the first 3 episodes in a row. Bit like Succession with horror.

There's quite a bit of product placement that I always find hilarious in a series about corporate scumbags.

[Sly Boots]

The Reckoning (BBC)

Understandable if people would rather swerve this due to the subject matter, but imho the production is sensitive towards Savile's victims (and features several of them) and doesn't shy away from the BBC's complicity in his abuse. Although uncomfortable - as it's meant to be - it does also show his efforts to ingratiate him with the elite and powerful to cover up his crimes and shield him from adverse publicity.

And, of course, it's worth watching for a tour de force performance by Steve Coogan.

[Raid]

Frasier

Colour me surprised - I really enjoyed the first two episodes! The characters are new, the setting is different, but it's Frasier through and through. The writing is witty and sharp as ever, there are some great predicaments they weave themselves into and it had me laughing frequently. They'll never replace Niles (not that they haven't tried), but it's so much better than I expected it to be.

I'm a little less enthusiastic. It's clearly made with reverence for the first 11 seasons - the shooting style is identical, and Grammer's performance is absolutely spot-on, but it feels a little too much of a generic sitcom. Part of that is going to be unfamiliarity with the majority of characters and the setting, but with the exception of Grammer and Lyndhurst, the cast are astonishingly bland and I don't think the writing's as strong (it has its moments, but it's not consistently good) . I'm not sure I can remember a single line from Freddie. I think Frasier needs a foil with similar tastes for some of the humour to land properly, as otherwise the rest of the cast will just look on blankly - they're not going to replace Niles, but Frasier does need someone to bounce his fashion and philosophical choices off of rather than his just immediately appearing snobbish.

I haven't been turned off by the first couple of episodes, I'll keep watching, but I'm hoping things will improve a little.

[Snowy]

Generation V
Spin off from The Boys about teenagers in a college for "gifted" kids. People get turned into meat showers, a scene with a cock that you'll not soon forget and all the soulless corporate types from the main series. Really enjoying it

And now two scenes involving cocks that you won't soon forget

Also really enjoying this, instantly drew me in.

[Animalmother]

Stargate SG1
I had an irrational dislike of this show when it first came out and for years afterward, not sure why. I used to catch the end of a random episode and the start of an other one a few years back and started to like it. Started from season one the other day and about 7 episodes in. It's definitely aged in the past 26 years and nearly every alien world looks like a pine forest but it's not bad. I'm guessing it gets into it's stride in later seasons.

[Alan]

There’s some great call backs in later seasons to the garbage that’s in s1, particularly Sams lines. Stick with it, it gets better and better…. mostly. Love that show!

Atlantis also very good too, again mostly after S1.

[Animalmother]

How come this never got a reboot? I know there was that not so well received one a few years back (which I liked) but its surely well overdue a new go.

[Raid]

Yeah, SG1 is very self referential for a 90s /early 00s sci do show, a lot of the entertainment comes from the constantly building level of technology, and callbacks as they then use it for increasingly clever plans. The cast are all great and while the plots are rather silly, the light hearted scripts make it a very entertaining watch.

I think they've tried multiple times to get a reboot off the ground in the last ten years, but nobody wants to pick it up. It doesn't really need one in my opinion, it's still perfectly watchable. Stargate Universe felt like a soft reboot, trying to grab a new audience with a different style, but it flopped spectacularly (despite being really quite good by the end) as the lore was somewhat impenetrable for those unfamiliar with SG1.

[Snowy]

Just started watching Mr Inbetween on the recommendation of a mate.

Australian show about Ray, a divorced guy with a young daughter and a brother in the early stages of motor neurone disease. He works as a doorman at a strip club and is also a hitman. Only a couple of episodes in (each is only 25 mins long, so easy to watch in bites) but am enjoying it. Ray is an interesting character, in some ways a kind and generous guy but also absolutely stone-cold in others.

Worth a look, will post more when I have watched more.

[Hatredsheart]

The Reckoning (BBC)

Understandable if people would rather swerve this due to the subject matter, but imho the production is sensitive towards Savile's victims (and features several of them) and doesn't shy away from the BBC's complicity in his abuse. Although uncomfortable - as it's meant to be - it does also show his efforts to ingratiate him with the elite and powerful to cover up his crimes and shield him from adverse publicity.

And, of course, it's worth watching for a tour de force performance by Steve Coogan.

Having recently finished the book this is based on I can agree this is an honest and excellent portrayal of that vile creature. Surprised to see it on the BBC considering their historical involvement with him.

[Achtung Englander]

GOT: House of the Dragon

Season 1

9/10 - excellent, back to form. The series took inspiration from real events such as medieval English monarchy civil wars and the court of Julius Ceasar and Livia.