What was the last TV show you watched?

[Doctor Strange]

Episode 5 of Escape to Dannemora. Nearly unbearably tense! I still think this series is dragging its story out for too long, but it is VERY well done in all other regards.

And is a recorded Broadway show appearing on Netflix a legit "TV show"? Either way, I watched the just-dropped Springsteen On Broadway and it was OUTSTANDING.

I've never been a raging Bruce fan - I've never seen him live, and I only have around five of his earlier albums - but it's hardly news at this point that he's a tremendous performer/guitarist/songwriter/observer. Still, this intimate solo (aside from a couple of tunes where Mrs. Springsteen joins him) acoustic performance is revelatory, and organized with the narrative through-line of spoken material from his autobiography, extremely moving. While there's certainly no lack of great Springsteen performances already available, it's fantastic that this essential summation has been recorded for posterity. Highly recommended!

 

[MisterCairo]

Christmas cavalcade in Canada continues. Last night my wife stayed out running errands, so the girls and I took in that Christmas favourite - Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special!

One cannot ever get enough Grace Jones, Charo and the Delrubio Triplets...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Charo is the Spanish Lyda Roberti.

 

[Touchofevil]

After my first six weeks or so on Prime, I'm one episode away from finishing series 3 of Man in the High Castle. I like it a lot. Also been watching Fear the Walking Dead. I'm a big fan of the original, having been following the comic book since the start, but I also very much enjoyed the slower pace of the first season of this spin off, showing how the outbreak hit some folks, and the 'zombie-lite' nature of it. At times it feels almost more like the old BBC show Survivors (which was reduxed a few years ago, but sadly got cancelled after one series).



Better a foot than a head! Hope you're up and about as normal soon.

Thank you. After physical therapy and if all goes well, I should be walking by March.
Thankfully, I have a stack of books, work, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and TCM to keep me company/entertained.

 

[Worf]

Episode 5 of Escape to Dannemora. Nearly unbearably tense! I still think this series is dragging its story out for too long, but it is VERY well done in all other regards.

And is a recorded Broadway show appearing on Netflix a legit "TV show"? Either way, I watched the just-dropped Springsteen On Broadway and it was OUTSTANDING.

I've never been a raging Bruce fan - I've never seen him live, and I only have around five of his earlier albums - but it's hardly news at this point that he's a tremendous performer/guitarist/songwriter/observer. Still, this intimate solo (aside from a couple of tunes where Mrs. Springsteen joins him) acoustic performance is revelatory, and organized with the narrative through-line of spoken material from his autobiography, extremely moving. While there's certainly no lack of great Springsteen performances already available, it's fantastic that this essential summation has been recorded for posterity. Highly recommended!

Living "upstate" from you but "downstate" from Dannemora Prison... I can tell you that having lived through the absolute hysteria the real life jailbreak caused I've no desire to revisit this event.

Worf

 

[Doctor Strange]

I understand: there are many films/minis nowadays based on real-life events I recall well and have no desire to relive.

But thus far - five eps out of seven - there's really been nothing at all outside the prison, the story is intensely focused on the three principals. So far, it's entirely about the nuts and bolts of the escape from the inside... I don't think the makers are interested in the events from the public perspective. Maybe that will change once it becomes known that there was an escape, but that hasn't occurred yet in the aired episodes.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Ben Stiller has done a great job with Escape to Dannemora. If anyone was surprised, or doubted him as a "serious" director, they should give this mini-series a gander. Beyond the inherent similarities to the actual escape from Alcatraz, I get a strong vibe that this, at times, is purposely a homage to the film Escape from Alcatraz. Maybe that is unavoidable in this situation, or maybe it is unavoidable that I'm associating this with that etc. I sure know it feels like that to me though.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Yes, it has definitely reminded me of Escape From Alcatraz at points too. And the direction isn't a surprise, Stiller has been an accomplished director for years, going back to his early 90s sketch series and Reality Bites.

 

[MisterCairo]

Frosty the Snowman, as the Christmas Cavalcade in Canada continues...

 

[Doctor Strange]

The series finale of Timeless on NBC.

I know a lot of folks here were initially disappointed by this series and gave up on it, and I'll grant you that it was never quite as smart as it should have been in many ways. But it evolved. It was ambitious and well produced, and the charismatic cast (led by the great Abigail Spencer) made it a lot of fun. The finale(?) did its best to tie up all the hanging plot points in two hours, and focused a lot more on emotions than story logic. Yeah, there was perhaps too much fan service... but for a show that was uncanceled TWICE due to fan love, I don't think that's necessarily wrong. Hey, it's an interesting show in the spirit of Time Tunnel and Stargate SG-1, with some history lessons thrown in.

Anyway, I liked it. When the inevitable complete series DVD set comes out next year, I'll be getting it.

 

[Fading Fast]

More episodes of season 2 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," which is incredibly fun if one approaches it as a fantasy - a fantasy about '50s style (more perfect than it ever was) and a fantasy about how fast and smart people talk (the exchanges are often ballet like).

More episodes of season 3 of "The Man in the High Castle," which is still visually stunning, but has let the quality of its story telling and character development slip a bit as it feels more as if each week they make it up versus having a tight season-long plan.

A few more episodes of the "The Great American Holiday Baking Show," which is good, but just not as good as the original British version / the show's excellent Britishness doesn't translate as well with American contestants.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Escape to Dannemora. That was a surprise episode. That was a welcomed surprise episode. I love me some character development, and I didn't realize how much it was probably necessary to fill out the story.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I disagree. I didn't like, or feel we really needed, this episode. This series is much, much, MUCH too long. I mean, the whole first ten minutes of this episode was totally about a victim: did we need this character so carefully defined just so he could be killed? NO. Sure, it's very well done, but it's exhausting overkill.

There is a brilliant four-episode miniseries buried in this bloated seven-part presentation.

 

[MisterCairo]

Christmas Eve tradition of my wife and I - The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special.

We were engaged Christmas eve 2004, and this premiered that night. We watched it together, for reasons I cannot recall, and it has been a regular each Christmas eve since. We've watched it together each year, except 2015, as I was deployed. She watched it at home, I saw it in the wardroom of HMCS Winnipeg, alongside Civitivecchia, Italy.

 

[Edward]

The Christmas episode of The Cilling Adventures of Sabrina. Jolly good.

 

[MisterCairo]

Robbie the Reindeer, choosing the original and proper British-Irish voice casting, rather than the "Americans won't be able to understand it without Ben Still and Brittany Spears" soundtrack.

 

[Worf]

The Christmas episode of The Cilling Adventures of Sabrina. Jolly good.

We saw this too. Interesting show... but the lead girl is still "creepy" to me. Still it's interesting to see how the witches subvert Christianity at every turn. Surprised Fox News hasn't called for their collective heads on spikes!

Worf

 

[Edward]

We saw this too. Interesting show... but the lead girl is still "creepy" to me. Still it's interesting to see how the witches subvert Christianity at every turn. Surprised Fox News hasn't called for their collective heads on spikes!

Worf

Maybe they assume it points to some sort of long game in which the Satanist are ultimately defeated? Certsinly feels a bit that way, though interesting that Christianity is more implied by its broad absence; also the exploration of Satanism promising freedom and actually being, thus far, mostly about men telling women what to do. I have a feeling we'll ultimately see a Faust style (except successful) get-out clause for Sabrina, and one of the Aunts.

 

[MisterCairo]

Wife and I have now finished season one of Outlander. Having read the first two books (so far), I was wondering how they would deal with the time shift. We just watched enough of season two episode one to see how they start out. Should be interesting to see how they play it out!

And I had better get book three...

 

[MisterCairo]

At my sister's hanging out over New Years, spent some time vegetating with my brother on Netflix, an English show called Find it, Fix it, Flog it. Fun times, and I have a new Scouser crush...