Normal People – miniseries

Excellent TV.

On Rotten Tomatoes 91% “Certified Fresh”.

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne Sheridan is awesome as the self-declared High School social outcast.

AND she was terrific later as the lead in Where the Crawdads Sing.

Count me a fan.

Normal People (2020) is an Irish romantic psychological drama limited series … is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Sally Rooney.

The series follows the relationship between Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal), as they navigate adulthood from their final days in secondary school to their undergraduate years in Trinity College.  …

Critics praise the subtle performances, directing, writing, aesthetics, and portrayal of mature content.

Sarah Greene as Lorraine Waldron, Connell’s single mother, is terrific. The character to admire in this drama.

After all that rah rah … I must admit I only made it through the first 6 episodes. I got to depressed with how Marianne lets her life be ruined. And that Connell lets her.

Detectorists – season 1&2

A most British comedy. 😀

Bad teeth and all.

96%+ on Rotten Tomatoes.

… The plot revolves around the lives, loves and metal-detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. …

The show ran for three series from 2014 to 2017, including a 2015 Christmas special. A further Christmas special aired in 2022. …

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times “can’t recommend it enough”, saying: “Like the ordinary lives it magnifies, Detectorists has the air of seeming to be small and immense at once, to be about hardly anything and almost everything. It is full of space and packed with life.” …

Wikipedia

Diana Rigg had a funny role in this series. Sadly, she died in 2020.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

New Tricks – season 1

Randy and Val watched all 107 episodes (12 seasons) of a very popular British TV series.

So far, I’ve managed only the 1st season. Entertaining.

In episode 7, for example, the old timers must do their annual physical evaluation. 😀

I admire British TV for including actors that don’t look like actors. And older actors. These could be real people you’d see on the street.

New Tricks (2004 – 2015) focuses on the work of the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) – a fictional division within London’s Metropolitan Police Service tasked with re-investigating unsolved crimes.

UCOS primarily functioned with a senior police detective overseeing the work of three retired police officers who would handle each case, and who could bring in police support when needed.  …

… devised the title of the programme around the proverb “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks“. …

The theme tune of the programme is sung by cast member Dennis Waterman. The song is “It’s Alright” (written by Mike Moran). …

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The Other Two – season 1

FUNNY

R-rated.

The Other Two … follows two floundering millennial siblings who must grapple with their 13-year-old brother’s overnight fame. 

A gay aspiring actor, Cary (Drew Tarver), and his sister Brooke (Heléne Yorke), a former professional dancer …

Chase Dubek (a.k.a. ChaseDreams), a teen pop sensation who’s declared as the “Next Big White Kid” (Bieber) in music after his homemade music video, “I Wanna Marry U at Recess,” went viral on YouTube. 

I was won over when the family rented Justin Theroux’s Fake Apartment in NYC.

Hilarious.

Here’s Justin’s boot closet. 😀

I understand he was OK with the joke.

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The Leftovers – season 3

Critics love this TV series for its originality and courage.

Frontal nudity.

But I find it embarrassingly weird for weird sake at times.

In season 3 the most compelling character is Scott Glenn as Kevin Garvey, Justin Theroux‘s (Kevin Garvey) father. He’s great. Very believable.

Inexplicably, the show moves from Texas to Australia a week before the seventh anniversary of the Sudden Departure when 2% of the world’s population had disappeared without explanation.

Season 3 does have some super memorable scenes. I’ll never forget the hotel room book burning in episode four. Film students need study how that was done.

This is a show that’s impossible to end — wrapping up all the loose ends. Yet the finale was one of the best scenes of all. Well done.

Overall, however — I’d say season 3 is weakest. IF you wanted to watch this show at all, season 1 would be best.

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Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Dead Lions (2013) won the Crime Writers’ Association 2013 Gold Dagger award.

It’s #2 of Mick Herron‘s Slough House series, which have been adapted for the Slow Horses TV series.

I’d say the TV show is better than the book — but they are both good.

London’s Slough House is where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what’s left of their failed careers.
The “slow horses,” as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. Maybe they messed up an op badly and can’t be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. …

Now the slow horses have a chance at redemption.

An old Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered.

As the agents dig into their fallen comrade’s circumstances, they uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world.

How many more people will have to die to keep those secrets buried?

Good Reads

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Son of a Critch – season 2

An endearing Canadian sitcom based in Newfoundland.

It’s based on the school days of comedian Mark Critch who’s age-48. I’m quite a bit older but still get nostalgic over some of the news stories of the day featured in the show.

Critch plays his father (Mike Critch) in the series, while child actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth plays the young Critch.

Malcolm McDowell is a treat as Patrick “Pop” Critch, Mark’s grandfather. Turns out he once worked running Rum for Al Capone during prohibition. 😀

I’ll be watching season 3 next year.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Luther – season 5

We were worried the excellent TV show would end after season 4 because Idris Elba was too much in demand elsewhere.

Happily, after a long gap, season 5 dropped in 2019. I finally saw it on CBC GEM in Canada.

It’s only 4 episodes.

85% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I’d rate it even higher. Believable and entertaining dialogue.

Smart.

Psychotic killer and love interest, Alice Morgan, is back. There’s a lot of blood and gore.

Luther’s old adversary George Cornelius is the bad guy.

Dermot Crowley as DSU Martin Schenk is excellent in that role. As is new recruit DS Catherine Halliday as a bizarrely upbeat cop.

There will be no season 6. But there is a follow-up movie called Luther: The Fallen Sun, released 2023. It should end up on Netflix.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Leftovers – season 2

The Leftovers is a supernatural drama TV series that aired 2014 – 2017. …

… begins three years after the “Sudden Departure“, a global event that resulted in 2% of the world’s population disappearing. …

Despite receiving average Nielsen ratings throughout its run, the series has developed a cult following. …

This show is skillfully done. It’s surprising. Never cliche.

Season 2 takes place a year after the first season, centering around the fourth anniversary of the Departure.

It’s weirder than season 1. Perhaps slightly better.

I still don’t like any of the characters aside from Reverend Matt. His belief is inspiring.

While some scenes take place in Mapleton, New York (the first season’s setting) and other locations, the majority of the season takes place in Jarden, Texas, also known as Miracle, a town from which no one departed. …

… multiple storylines, notably the ideological battle between those who believe Miracle is special and those who do not,

Kevin and Nora’s relationship being tested by Kevin’s increasingly erratic mental state, the Murphy family’s search for their missing daughter, and Matt’s attempts to prove the existence of a miracle only he witnessed. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.