What was the last TV show you watched?

[Touchofevil]

Babylon Berlin first two episodes of season 3.

It hasn't lost a step since season 2 - still visually beautiful and still complex and engrossing story telling.

We end up stopping and rewinding now and then as the architecture, clothes, cars, etc. are so Fedora Lounge fun, that we sometimes miss reading the lines because we're so busy looking at everything.

We tried it a while back but couldn’t get into it. If I remember correctly, it was the voice dubbing that was distracting. Maybe it is time for another try.

 

[Touchofevil]

The first two episodes of season three of Ozarks. Still enjoying this show.

 

[Fading Fast]

We tried it a while back but couldn’t get into it. If I remember correctly, it was the voice dubbing that was distracting. Maybe it is time for another try.

We watch it with subtitles so, without trying (as it just came up that way on Netflix for us), we avoided that issue.

If you have the time, give it another chance with subtitles. I think - knowing how much our tastes overlap - that you'd enjoy it.

 

[belfastboy]

Netflix drama...."UnOrthodox". a 4 episode drama. We are two episodes in and it is great. The lead character is compelling and very well acted.

 

[Fading Fast]

Netflix drama...."UnOrthodox". a 4 episode drama. We are two episodes in and it is great. The lead character is compelling and very well acted.

Agree completely. My comments on the show here: #17274

 

[belfastboy]

View attachment 223751
All four episodes of Unorthodox on Netflix.

The outline of the story is not original: a young member of an Orthodox Jewish community doesn't fit in and tries to leave. We saw a version of this story recently in Disobedience and there were echoes of it in Witness and several other movies whose names I've forgotten, but have seen over the years.

But what story really is new? The skill is in telling it well and it is told very well here. A young girl, Esty, kinda fit in, kinda didn't growing up in the Orthodox community. She loves her grandmother and seems okay with the overall culture, but dislikes that she isn't allowed to pursue music. But she reaches a breaking point when she and her new husband fail to click sexually, which brings everything else to a head.

Her "escape" plan has her fleeing to Germany where, owing to her parentage, she has guaranteed citizenship and where she hopes she can build a career as a pianist (the instrument she learned furtively when growing up). While she doesn't reach out to her immediately, her estranged mother, who gave her the citizenship documents years ago, lives in Germany.

From here, the story shifts to her trying to find a place for herself in a foreign country and strange (to her) culture (what we think of as the regular world). Watching her make friends with regular German kids her own age is genuinely talented movie making - both she and they are intrigued and respectful of each other, but there's also a "looking at a Martian" feel both for Esty and the German kids.

Adding tension, (not a spoiler as it comes up early), Esty has just learned that she is pregnant (after all the awful, awkward attempts, they finally got there), which causes the Orthodox community to send her husband and a cousin to find her and bring her back.

The cousin, a returned "escapee" himself, is a piece of work - a gambler (he's in debt and needs the "community" to bail him out) who frequents whorehouses and bars (perhaps obvious, but these are not approved Orthodox hobbies) - returned to the community. As he tells Esty, there's no place for him (or her) in the "outside" world. He might not be a good Orthodox Jewish man, but there is no better one to send on a mission requiring a combination of mental blackmail and strong-armed detective work.

Okay, other than the conclusion, that's the big-picture story and it's all done really well; in part, because, yes you root (really hard) for Esty, but you can, at some level, also see the community's viewpoint. Real life and real story telling takes place in the gray; Unorthodox reveals plenty of life's gray.

Thank you for this review. I watched another Netflix drama about a woman escaping the Ultraorthodox community in Israel. Is there a difference between Hassidim and Heredi sects of Judaism? Here in Vancouver we have a Lubavitch centre (which is somewhat Hassidic) but they do not look like the ones in these two movies.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

The first two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. The pilot was slightly different from the rest of the series, especially how oil is discovered on the Clampett land. The title for one show was The Hillbillies of Beverly Hills, and the iconic theme song is not yet present. Next episode, it's the package one thinks of. A little twist, probably missing from reruns and later seasons, was after the opening song, there's a couple more lines about "the sponsor of the week", Kellogg's, with the rhyming tag of "from Battle Creek."
Creator Paul Henning also brought us Petticoat Junction, The Bob Cummings Show, and produced some of Green Acres. After all these years his stuff still cracks me up.

 

[belfastboy]

The first two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. The pilot was slightly different from the rest of the series, especially how oil is discovered on the Clampett land. The title for one show was The Hillbillies of Beverly Hills, and the iconic theme song is not yet present. Next episode, it's the package one thinks of. A little twist, probably missing from reruns and later seasons, was after the opening song, there's a couple more lines about "the sponsor of the week", Kellogg's, with the rhyming tag of "from Battle Creek."
Creator Paul Henning also brought us Petticoat Junction, The Bob Cummings Show, and produced some of Green Acres. After all these years his stuff still cracks me up.

Still have a mad crush on Ellie Mae!

 

[1967Cougar390]

The first two episodes of season three of Ozarks. Still enjoying this show.

Hang on for a wild ride! My wife and I finished watching season three last night. I can’t wait for season four. Enjoy!
Steven

 

[1967Cougar390]

I started watching Mr. Lucky on Amazon Prime. I really enjoy classic television from the 50’s and early 60’s.

Steven

 

[Worf]

Been bingin' this series on Amazon Prime called "Tales From The Loop". It's an 8 episode anthology that bears only a passing resemblance to"Stranger Things". It's set in an indeterminate late 60's early 70's time frame but things are there that shouldn't be, like robots, strange spheres and other reality bending relics. Where as ST hits you over the head with '80's nostalgia TFTL is a very slow burn and each episode focuses on a different character... We found it fascinating. I recommend.

Worf

 

[Fading Fast]

Thank you for this review. I watched another Netflix drama about a woman escaping the Ultraorthodox community in Israel. Is there a difference between Hassidim and Heredi sects of Judaism? Here in Vancouver we have a Lubavitch centre (which is somewhat Hassidic) but they do not look like the ones in these two movies.

Your on-point questions are well past my pay grade. The community in this show is the one I read about the most as the local NYC press covers it regularly. If somebody know the answers to your questions that would be great.

Also, I was wondering about the really big, round black fur hats that some of the men wear - do they have a specific religious meaning / why do only some of the men seem to wear them / do you have to wear them (as some seem to do) in the summer as they must be insanely hot?

 

[1967Cougar390]

My wife and I watched two episodes of Epix’s “War of the Worlds”. We both enjoyed it. It’s a different take on the classic movie and is set in Europe. I think the character development is great and when subtitles are used they flow really well. It’s kind of eerie to watch during the Covid19 pandemic, but still a good story.

Steven

 

[belfastboy]

Your on-point questions are well past my pay grade. The community in this show is the one I read about the most as the local NYC press covers it regularly. If somebody know the answers to your questions that would be great.

Also, I was wondering about the really big, round black fur hats that some of the men wear - do they have a specific religious meaning / why do only some of the men seem to wear them / do you have to wear them (as some seem to do) in the summer as they must be insanely hot?

I was joking with my wife...saying I liked these Hassidim men....they too are hat people just like me! There is a great short 22 min doc on Netflix...The Making of UnOrthodox. Gives some back ground and behind the scenes stuff. The big hats...striemel (sp?) are very expensive, made from 6 mink pelts costing upwards of $2000. The ones in the show are fake fur as they had to make so many...each one custom fit for each extra. I did some googling last night. It appears as Judaism is similar to Protestanism in the multitude of split off sects...then split off sects of split off sects.

 

[Touchofevil]

We watch it with subtitles so, without trying (as it just came up that way on Netflix for us), we avoided that issue.

If you have the time, give it another chance with subtitles. I think - knowing how much our tastes overlap - that you'd enjoy it.

We watch almost everything with subtitles so that wasn’t it, but there have been a lot of shows that didn’t take the first go around.

 

[Fading Fast]

We watch almost everything with subtitles so that wasn’t it, but there have been a lot of shows that didn’t take the first go around.

I get it - happens to us. If you get the chance, give it a second chance as I really think you'll like it.

Haven't watched it yet (saw it a long time ago), but recorded today's Noir Alley movie, "Address Unknown."

 

[belfastboy]

Your on-point questions are well past my pay grade. The community in this show is the one I read about the most as the local NYC press covers it regularly. If somebody know the answers to your questions that would be great.

Also, I was wondering about the really big, round black fur hats that some of the men wear - do they have a specific religious meaning / why do only some of the men seem to wear them / do you have to wear them (as some seem to do) in the summer as they must be insanely hot?

Now I am bummed out for the rest of the day. I found a used Shtreimel hat on Etsy for $300. My wife has put her foot down and said absolutely not! I tried to sell her on how warm it would keep me in winter but that was not enough to sway her to my side. You can pay up to $5000 I guess depending on the fur quality, perhaps up to Sable. They do reflect status in the community and there is a joke that if a Hassidim's house is burning he rescues the children then his shtreimel…….no mention of the wife.

 

[Touchofevil]

I get it - happens to us. If you get the chance, give it a second chance as I really think you'll like it.

Haven't watched it yet (saw it a long time ago), but recorded today's Noir Alley movie, "Address Unknown."

Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire took us three or four times before we got hooked. However with each show we tried jumping in during a season as opposed to starting at the beginning. Peaky Blinders took us a few times of trying to watch the first episode before it became one of our favorite shows. Patience and becoming invested in the characters is all it took. With television shows that can be difficult for me as I usually would rather be reading instead of watching.

 

[Touchofevil]

Last night, more season three Ozark. Very entertaining season so far.

 

[1967Cougar390]

Last night, more season three Ozark. Very entertaining season so far.

I believe this is the best season of the series.
Steven