I haven’t made a post on what I’ve been watching in ages, even if I have written down my thoughts. So this list is alphabetical, not chronological.

Belgravia Historical mini-series about two families, one old gentry, the other rich on trading, getting their lives entwined in 1830’s London. A good cast and decent costumes, and, somewhat unusual, more focus on the middle-aged than the sparkling ner lovers. Of course, Philip Glenister is always good, but it’s Harriet Walter and Tamsin Grieg who really shines. I got slightly annoyed because everything hinged on not taking a very sensible and practical action, to begin with. But apart from that, I enjoyed it.

Bosch You have already seen it before; maverick police detective with a crashed marriage and a troubled past. But Titus Welliver is very good and lots of solid acting all around, and not just from the leads. Also, people mostly look like people and not Hollywood handsome. I just watched season 6, and then decided to re-watch it from the beginning, which I haven’t done before. I’ve just finished season 3. I’ve always liked the show a lot, but seeing them back to back like this and not a year apart really drives home how well-made it is. Of course, it’s no minus I’ve had a low-key crush on Titis Welliver since Deadwood. And in season 3 Arnold Vosloo shows up as one of Bosch’s antagonists, and I have a bit of a crush on him as well. Also, I think the relationship between Bosch and his teenage daughter Maddie is very well-written.

Messiah Set in the near future a man emerges in the Middle East quickly attracting followers who claim he is the Messiah. He eventually emerges in the USA, gathering even more followers. What makes the show interesting is how the people who meet him react to him, grappling with the question of who he actually is; Messiah, a madman, a spy or, possibly Anti-Christ. It’s pretty slow-paced and filmed in several languages, but I thought it really interesting and the cast was very good. And I was pleasantly distracted by Tomer Sisley who is a dead-ringer to a man I was once very much in love with.



The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. I’ve seen these movies before, of course. But as I’m currently writing Mummy-fic I felt I needed a refresher. They are great fun, especially in the first movie. And I can’t think of any movies so full of eye-candy. Oded Fehr, Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, AND Arnold Vosloo. It’s almost ridiculous. And Rachel Weisz’s Evy is gorgeous and saves Rick at least as many times as he saves her.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels I adore the original Penny Dreadful and one of the things I liked was how they used already existing literary monsters and made a new story out of it. Magic and supernatural beings were the core of the story- it’s the backbone, and it would have been impossible to tell the story without it. Also Eva Green.

This new series is set in 1930’s Los Angeles with completely new characters. It looks gorgeous. It's well cast and acted. I like the plot too. BUT. Three episodes in the supernatural bits have been few and far between and I’ve realised you could remove them altogether and tell the exact same story. Basically the only thing you would have to change is not having Natalie Dormer play several characters. The magic in this show feels like cosmetics put on so they could call it Penny Dreadful. I don’t think it’s a bad show at all; in fact, I like it- but I would vastly have preferred it without the supernatural bits. Also; Natalie Dormer ain’t bad, but she’s not Eva Green.

The Young Pope and it’s sequel The New Pope The lady we rented the palazzo from in Venice told us that Jude Law had lived there just a few weeks before and that a scene in The New Pope had been filmed in our gorgeous Art Deco bathroom. Which is the sole reason we started watching this show. The bathroom must have been cut because we never spotted it, but we found we like the show very much.

A new pope is elected and he is only in his forties and, being played by Jude Law, attractive. The initial assumption is that he will be a liberal pope, but he quickly turns out to be very conservative. He may also be a saint. In the sequel, he is in a coma which makes it necessary to elect a new pope, gleefully played by John Malkovich. A lot of the plot concerns the running of the papal state, but I’d say the core issue is parental abandonment; in the first series physical and the second psychological. Terrific cast- I’ve always been pretty lukewarm towards Jude Law, but he was really good here. But my favourite was pudgy Silvio Orlando as Cardinal Voiello. He was just so good, giving his initially antagonistic character so much depth and feeling. And it was very beautifully filmed.

If you are a fan of Jude Law you also get plenty of opportunities to see him prance around only clad in minimal white underwear.

Yesterday it was finally time to watch Deadwood, The Movie. As you may have noticed, the show is one of my all-time favorite tv-shows, which is even more amazing considering I really don’t like Westerns. I still don’t know why I even gave it a chance. But I did, and I loved it, and was extremely annoyed with its cancellation, as the story clearly wasn’t all told yet. The writing is good, the acting excellent and costumes and sets are good too. It’s also the show which opened my eyes to Ian McShane and Titus Welliver. For years after the cancellation, there were rumours of a movie to properly end it, but after more than a decade I had long since lost hops. Until earlier this year when I suddenly learned that there really was a movie coming, with basically the whole cast too. Absent are Powers Boothe as Cy as well as the actor who played Richardson, as they have died, and Titus Welliver couldn’t be in it due to other commitments. They also changed the actress who played Sofia, probably because the original child actress only ever did Deadwood, so presumably had no interest in pursuing an acting career.

Anyway, the movie is set ten years after the series ended, and a celebration causes a number of character who has moved away from the town to return. The plot is simple; Hearst returns to make a bid on Charles Utter’s property; the main drive of the movie is the various characters interacting with each other. I really, really liked it, and overall I think the writers did a good job, and it was lovely to see all the characters again.

( Spoilers )

I’ve also watched The Falcon Takes Over with George Sanders recently. It was a bit odd. The plot was a blatant steal of Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely, and it didn’t work particularly well. It’s not a happy story and smashed badly with the general feel of light-hearted mystery. I especially found the “funny” character of the Falcon’s sidekick rather trying. But George Sanders is very dashing and randomly kiss three of the five female characters the movie boasted.

This made me want to reread Chandler, and also lead me to an article which stated that it’s impossible to think of Philip Marlowe without seeing Humphrey Bogart. Which I don’t. I very definitely don’t see Bogart as Marlowe. Which made me half-remember a TV-series with Phillip Marlowe in my teens. I couldn’t recall much, but Google provided me with Marlowe, Private Eye with Powers Boothe, airing in 1983. And sure enough, this is what my Marlowe has always looked like in my mind’s eye:



I also found the first season, of two, on DVD, and have not watched it. I didn’t expect much, but it’s actually really good! It’s based on Chandler’s short stories, which I haven’t read, so I can’t say how well-adapted it is. But the 30’s settings are spot on and has a great film noir-feeling. Most of the time the female characters look more 30’s than 80’s too. I definitely recommend it, and it seems at least some of the episodes can be found on Youtube:



I also watched Rebecca, which I have seen before. It’s a good movie, but for Laurence Olivier. I never understood why he’s such a highly rated actor- I always find s him terrible wooden. Also, I can’t stand Maxim de Winters as a character. ( Spoilers )

We are currently watching Gentleman Jack, and loving it. It’s a period drama, based on the diaries of an Ann Lister who was a wealthy landowner in the first half of the 19th century. She was a lesbian, and though it wasn’t unlawful in Great Britain at the time, it certainly wasn’t accepted either. (It was forbidden for men to have sex with other men, but as sex in people’s mind meant penetration by a penis, women couldn’t really have sex with women. There was a case contemporary to Ann Lister where two female teachers were caught in the act but was acquitted as they lacked penises and therefore wasn’t able to have sex…) anyways, the series depict Ann in her forties where she, somewhat grudgingly, returns to her home after having lived with another woman as companion for some time. Miss Lister is the object of much curiosity; she is unmarried, she always dresses in black, and though she wears skirts, her attire is as mannish as she possibly can get away with. She falls in love with rich, but frail Anne Walker, feelings which are mutual, but Miss Walker, who is much younger and influenced by her relatives, struggles with her feelings and her fear of what society will say about them. It’s well-acted and the costumes are gorgeous, and I really like how rounded the characters are. Miss Lister may the heroine, but she is also snobbish, and she has a tense relationship with her sister. But then, at times, they have an interaction which underlines that even if they are at odds they do understand each other the way sisters do and love each other as well. Season 1 is ongoing and season 2 is already cleared.

I Am the Night A really interesting story based on the life of Fauna Hodel. It’s 1965 and teenage Pat has grown up with her African-American mother. She’s very light-skinned and often passes as white. By coincidence, she learns she is really adopted, her real name is Fauna and her real mother was white. She contacts her real grandfather, George Hodel, who invites her to Los Angeles. But when she gets there her grandfather proves elusive, and Fauna encounters more and more disturbing hints about her mother and her family. ( Spoilers )stronger person.

Killing Eve. I enjoyed this season as much a style last, and I’m happy to hear there will be a third season.

Spoilers under the Spoilers-cuts

Game of Thrones The stupidest season ever. ( Spoilers )

Just about the only thing I have liked with this season is Sansa and Arya.

But I liked season 4 of Lucier a lot more than season 3. ( Spoilers )

Still find Killing Eve hilarious.

We watched Miss Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries, and enjoyed it, even if it isn’t as good as the original. Phryne is missing, presumed dead, and her niece, who never met her aunt, inherits. I liked Peregrine’s good-natured enthusiasms and the 60’s setting but found the side-kicks paler than the original.

Got caught up on Grantchester. ( Spoilers )

Did I say that I continued watching the reboot of Charmed despite my misgivings? Well, I have, and it has grown on me. The original was, after all, pretty cheesy and silly at times, so why shouldn’t this one be the same on occasion? And it isn’t at all prone to dress up the Charmed Ones in revealing outfits.

And May 31 can’t come soon enough- I’m eagerly awaiting Good Omens and Deadwood

I’ve only seen the first episode of American Gods, and I’m sadly a little underwhelmed. Also, I got annoyed. ( Spoilers )

I still enjoy Blacklist, though I feel the show has outlived itself. Even if they are very amusing, the sole purpose now seems to be letting Red steal scenes. Logic be damned. ( Spoilers )

Supernatural isn’t bad this season, but I feel it doesn’t really take off. ( Spoilers )

Husband and I re-watched Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It’s aging very well and is still my favourite adaption. And the costumes are lovely- my only (slight) beef is that Jane, Lizzie, and Lydia frequently have deep-cut necklines during the day. But I can live with that. Feeling inspired we went on watching the adaption of Persuasion with Rupert Penry-Jones, who was adorable as usual. I still think the version with Ciaran Hinds is vastly better in all respects. And now we are watching the early 80’s series of Jane Eyre with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke. Apart from the rooms being very obviously studios, I think it’s still very good. It was my introduction to the story and I feel hard for Mr. Rochester and identified myself with Jane. I was also pleased to notice the time period is accurate. Most adaption set Jane Eyre around the time it was published, 1847, but the story is actually set several years earlier, as Jane Eyre is talking about events taking place when she was young. The year is never set in the novel, but one give away is that Jane never travels by train. The series starts in 1822 and people are depressed in Regency, and the main part takes place in 1830, with waistlines still high, but much closer to the natural waistline. And the costumes are really beautiful too.

Someone had a George Sander’s secret on fandomsecrets which prompted me to re-watch Ivanhoe yesterday; something which I have been thinking since I talked about it on The Snowflake Challenge. It was highly enjoyable, but not exactly good. The character Ivanhoe is rather blah, to begin with, and Robert Taylor is rather boring. Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca of York is still heartbreakingly beautiful, but not given much to do than look just lovely. Guy Rolfe’s Prince John was very good and very evil, but George Sanders' Bois-Guilbert was best. Though a bad guy he doesn’t comes across as particularly evil, and though he remains selfish, it’s also obvious he genuinely falls for Rebecca.

I then went on to watchAll About Eve which is one of my all-time favourite movies. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommended. It’s a wickedly funny movie about an aging actress who gets her life infiltrated by a young fan. Bette Davis is great as Margot Channing, and George Sanders got an Oscar for the role of malevolent theatre critic Addison DeWitt. It also rocks Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles. She’s doing her mainstay ditzy blonde, but with a few subtle hints of actually having a brain somewhere. One of the reasons why I like this movie is how many unlikeable traits most of the characters have. ( Spoilers )
And now I have a plot bunny for a fanfic no one would want to read. I doubt there is much, if any, interest in all About Eve-fic, and then add a pairing which you may only see if you squint a lot, and add some more disturbing themes… Oh well, I may write it out for my own amusement, if no one else.

I finished Crossing Lines. It had the worst bridge ever between season 2 and 3; season 2 ended with one character being involved with something potentially very dangerous, and the season ended with another character entering her hotel room, seeing her in her bed and sinking down into a chair. Which might have meant he found her dead- or found her sleeping and was so relieved he had to sit down.

And then season 3 started and all but three characters were gone. They were addressed in passing as “gone home to their countries”, with absolutely no mention of what happened to this character. Presumably, she survived, but what about the cliffhanger? Which was something season 2 had built toward the whole season. Absolutely nothing was said about that. Very annoying! BUT. Season three was was actually the best season with much better plots. Goran Visnjic was stellar, and I enjoyed the other actors as well. It is rather surprising it was canceled after this season.

Husband got me into watching Riverdale. I read Archie as a child and never cared much for it, so the show didn’t appeal. Well, it’s a very different animal. I like it; it’s rather like Twin Peaks, but I wish I could have seen it when I was a teenager. I think I would have loved it passionately then. And I’m sure I would have developed a huge crush on Jughead Jones.

I’ve just started to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and I love it! It’s very funny and Midge is such a likable character- though I don’t think she should have been a parent- she seems very interested in her children. And it’s gorgeous! I crave her wardrobe too! I love the colour combinations!

( See what I mean )

I also look forward to Good Omens, American Gods, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Meme nicked from liadt

1.What shows you watching these days?
This autumn I have watched/still watch;

Doctor Who I really like Thirteen, and I like the new companions too, but somehow I find this season a bit- lackluster. I don’t hate anything, but I don’t particularly love anything either.

The Good Life I like this show more and more. The idea is original and clever, and I like the actors. Even, surprisingly, Red Danson who I never cared for before.

Brooklyn-Nine-Nine I know, I know, this show have been around forever, but I haven’t watched it before. It shouldn’t be something I like, but I love it, much to my surprise.

Charmed I’m a bit unsure about this reboot, but so far I haven’t stopped watching. I’m very meh about all the love interests though- I only like the police girlfriend, and now she seems to be gone. *mutters*

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina I enjoyed it a lot, and it was vuísually stunning, but it felt a bit wobbly at times. I definitely think it has potential. I can get why not everyone cares for it.

The Man In the High Castle I liked this season better than the second, but it was also very obvious it already knew there is a fourth season cleared. It also managed to give me two really awful nightmares featuring Rufus Sewell's John Smith. Which says something of how scary I found that character, and how well Sewell plays him.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair Beautifully filmed and well-acted, but also hiuínged on a few things which I found extremely unlikely. Like an author writing about a real crime NOT checking up the background on one of the major characters? Wouldn’t happen. But I enjoyed it while I watched.

The kid and I are taking a break from Supernatural (we’ve finished season 4) and are watching Penny Dreadful. I enjoy the re-watch and he enjoys getting to know the show. He may look like his father, but he sure is his mother’s son when it comes to interests and taste. I’m also curious about the spin-off set in the 1930’s. It can go both ways. And I hope we get to have some of the characters from the original. Several of them are immortal, after all.

( Read more... )

I haven’t talked about what I watch in ages. Currently, I’m very much looking forward to Doctor Who. I’ve always liked Jodie Whitaker and I like how dorky she looks at the first glimpses of her Doctor. I’m more unsure of an ensemble cast. It hasn’t always been handled well, but the last time the TARDIS had these many people on board it was around 1980, and, well, there was a lot that wasn’t handled well then. As I always love the Doctor/Master dynamics I hope the master will return. And I would love to have either Michelle Gomez or John Simm back, but I guess when the Master return it will be in a new incarnation. It’s funny, but I really disliked John Simms two first stints as the Master

I also wait eagerly for The Man In the High Castles and Good Omens.

Husband and I have laughed our way through Upstart Crow. I’ve never heard of it until a friend recommended it. If you haven’t either, it’s a sitcom about William Shakespeare, written by Ben Elton. It very much reads like something he has been thinking of since Blackadder, and some parts feel like Elton would have wanted someone from those series to play it. Most notable Kit Marlowe who Rik Mayall would have rocked. Clever historical puns and digs at current political affairs, and decent costumes. I was delighted when Bob, short for Kate, made a cameo. I wonder if we ever will see Miranda Richardson as an aging Queen Elizabeth.

I’m currently re-watching Ashes to Ashes. I started with Life On Mars, but even if I liked it when I first saw it, I just couldn’t get into it again. Is it blasphemy to like Ashes to Ashes better? It may simply be because even if life On Mars is fun visually because it looks like my early childhood, the early 70’s isn’t really something I remember. But the early 80’s, that’s my pre-teens right there, and I love the visuals and the music. I also enjoy the chemistry between Alex and Gene Hunt. Who is slightly nicer her than in Life On Mars. Slightly.

I almost gave Preacher a miss as I didn’t like season 2, but I gave it a try and I’m glad I did. Season 3 was good, and I liked that the Saints of Killers finally got to do more than just kill people, as I really like Graham McTavish and so far his acting skills have been pretty wasted.
Husband and I are also watching all the Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Not all episodes are well-written, but the visuals are amazing. And David Suchet is perfect- watching them like this really brings to home what a well-rounded character he has made of Christie’s very two-dimensional detective.

Actually, I have been re-watching a lot lately. Probably because it's nice to fall back on the true and tried when life makes you feel frazzled. A secret on Fandom secrets made me re-watch the Scarlet Pimpernel with Richard E. Grant as the Pimpernel. My recollection was that he was really bad at it, but he was a lot better than I remembered. The problem is that Elizabeth McGovern’s Marguerite is a catastrophe. I usually like her, but here her acting is wooden and she and Richard E. Grant has no chemistry whatsoever. And, perhaps, unfortunately, it is the bad guys who steal the show. Ronan Vibert is a hoot as Robespierre, and Martin Shaw is a smoldering hot Chauvelin. I love his voice- I could listen to him read the telephone catalogue.

After that I checked out Martin Shaw on IMDB which led me to George Gently; a detective show set in the 60’s. It was good and the settings and clothes fantastic, but it was such a depressing show. It’s a safe bet in every episode that everyone will be even more unhappy in the end.

Oh, as we watched the Death of Stalin which was great. I didn’t think it was possible to make comedy out of it, but the movie manages to make it hilarious, without dismissing all the terrible things which happened. Great acting too. Especially Steve Buscemi and Jason Isaacs. The latter chomped up the scenery with glee all while he looks great.



I also enjoyed The Miniaturist, a 17th century drama about a young girl being married off to a rich merchant and finds herself in a very strange household. Set and clothes where near perfect- the only thing I can point to was that all but one female character had the wrong hairstyle. But I can live with that; it was a good show.

Watched Versailles too- but that merits its own post.

And right now I can’t recall what more I have watched, even if it’s really a lot more.

As usual, spoilers under the cuts, so beware!

( Doctor Who )

I’m now six episodes in on Versailles, and I’m sorry to say I find it weaker than the first. (Apart from three huge NO’s, those are heartbreaking!) However, this may be because 17th century history is one of my favourite periods, and a lot of what irks me, has to do with that. If you don’t feel that is important, then I think you won’t find the same thing irritating. And this is what annoys me:

( Versailles, episod 5-6 )

( The costumes of Versailles )

As lways spoilers under the cuts.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. I really liked this book, set in Victorian London, but with a couple of strong fantasy and steampunk elements. It started out with a telegraphist receiving a mysterious watch as an anonymous gift, and a bomb threat, and I thought it would be a bit of a thriller, but it isn’t, really. But it’s a bit hard to describe what happens without spoilers. I can say it’s about a man who see the colours of sounds, and a woman who want to see the ether. And about a man who remembers his future and forgets his past. And two love stories. And a clockwork octopus. And I enjoyed every page of it. This is Pulley’s debit novel and it makes me really excited to see what she writes next.

( Grimm )

( OUAT )

And Versailles will start airing in Sweden on April 13. Wohoo! I only hope it won’t be any hassle, as it’s on a streaming channel we don’t have. It ought not to be a problem, but I’m always sceptical to those things until they do work. I really, really want to watch the new season. If worst come to worst the French DVD will be released by the end of April (with both the English and the French-dubbed version). But I think that if you are in USA you’ll need a DVD player which can play European DVDs.

We finished The Man in the High Castle, season 2, yesterday, and both my husband and I feel a bit shaken. It’s an amazing show and I can’t recommend it enough.

( Spoilers ahead! )