favorite current tv series...

[EagerBeaver]

I am watching a very interesting British spy drama just released onto Netflix Thursday, called Black Doves. Netflix renewed it for a second season just 2 days post-release which for them is highly unusual. Anyway, it stars Keira Knightley who works for a private spy organization, which is British based but sells classified information to the highest bidder with no regard for ideological position of said highest bidder. Knightley has a very lucrative honeytrap going as she has seduced and married a fast rising politician in the British government from whom she is stealing classified information. There is more to it than that but that's all you really need to know. Filmed in a neo noir style and has your typical British production values.

This Black Doves organization is sort of a different version of U.N.C.L.E. in the Man from U.N.C.L.E TV series. Whereas U.N.C.L.E. was interested in maintaining international law and order, the Black Doves organization is a purely for profit company which doesn't give a shit who they sell their secrets to- the highest bidder gets them. They are the free agents of the spy world.

 

[Johnny test]

I am watching a very interesting British spy drama just released onto Netflix Thursday, called Black Doves. Netflix renewed it for a second season just 2 days post-release which for them is highly unusual. Anyway, it stars Keira Knightley who works for a private spy organization, which is British based but sells classified information to the highest bidder with no regard for ideological position of said highest bidder. Knightley has a very lucrative honeytrap going as she has seduced and married a fast rising politician in the British government from whom she is stealing classified information. There is more to it than that but that's all you really need to know. Filmed in a neo noir style and has your typical British production values.

This Black Doves organization is sort of a different version of U.N.C.L.E. in the Man from U.N.C.L.E TV series. Whereas U.N.C.L.E. was interested in maintaining international law and order, the Black Doves organization is a purely for profit company which doesn't give a shit who they sell their secrets to- the highest bidder gets them. They are the free agents of the spy world.

I'm halfway through it and it's not bad, many too many flashbacks but very watchable.
Not super excited since i find Keira Knightley quite unremarkable but the plot is entertaining.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Yellowstone
To everyone’s shock i only started to watch this great series last month & now that i’ve seen every episode so far i have to confess that it’s an absolutely great series & the many praises it has received are all wel deserved! This is probably my favorite series since Game of Thrones ended! Brilliant!

 

[Johnny test]

Yellowstone
To everyone’s shock i only started to watch this great series last month & now that i’ve seen every episode so far i have to confess that it’s an absolutely great series & the many praises it has received are all wel deserved! This is probably my favorite series since Game of Thrones ended! Brilliant!

Haven't started yet but i watched several Taylor Sheridan's produced TV-shows since he's pretty much everywhere these days, "Mayor of Kingstown" and "Landman" lately.
Landman is pretty impressive since it's about an unusual topic (oil industry) that doesn't particularly interest me and characters that i don't find particularly sympathetic. And yet, the acting, the story and the dialogues are so incredible that i can't wait till next week for a new episode.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Landman is pretty impressive since it's about an unusual topic (oil industry) that doesn't particularly interest me and characters that i don't find particularly sympathetic. And yet, the acting, the story and the dialogues are so incredible that i can't wait till next week for a new episode.

I felt the same way about ‘Succession’ yet it was probably my favorite series when it was on.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Madness (2024)
New murder-mystery miniseries on Netflix starring Coleman Domingo. I watched the first five episodes yesterday & i find it very good! I plan to watch the rest tonight.

You do not mention that there are certain frauds on the viewer, one of which is that although the series is presented as taking place in Philadelphiia, it was actually filmed in Toronto for financial reasons. This fraud comes to a head when the main character and his daughter walk into a restaurant and order a couple of Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, and watch the cook puts mayonnaise on them. No cook in Philadelphia would ever do such a thing. Only a Canadian would. Most Philadelphians would say "get the fuck out of here with mayo on my Philly Cheesesteak." I have heard that many TVs were broken in Philadelphia by viewers upset by this scene.

 

[Johnny test]

You do not mention that there are certain frauds on the viewer, one of which is that although the series is presented as taking place in Philadelphiia, it was actually filmed in Toronto for financial reasons. This fraud comes to a head when the main character and his daughter walk into a restaurant and order a couple of Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, and watch the cook puts mayonnaise on them. No cook in Philadelphia would ever do such a thing. Only a Canadian would. Most Philadelphians would say "get the fuck out of here with mayo on my Philly Cheesesteak." I have heard that many TVs were broken in Philadelphia by viewers upset by this scene.

You do realize that there's a gazillion of US movies or tv shows that are shot in Canada, mostly Toronto and Vancouver right?

Hollywood North - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[EagerBeaver]

You do realize that there's a gazillion of US movies or tv shows that are shot in Canada, mostly Toronto and Vancouver right?

Of course I do- as I said in the above post, it's cheaper to do so. That doesn't suspend the obligation to get certain details right like the essential ingredients of a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.

 

[Johnny test]

you're right and it happens a lot of times, i like the movie "ronin" but the car chase in the streets of Paris makes absolutely no sense for a parisian.
i also realized that if i notice these kind of details it's usually when the movie/tv show story is not fascinating enough

 

[Fradi]

The View.

 

[Johnny test]

I'm currently watching The Agency with Michael Fassbender which is a remake of Le bureau des légendes (The Bureau in English) and, for some reasons, i never watched the French version which is a bit weird for me
Anyway both shows are now available on the same platform so i had the chance to compare the 2 and it's quite surprising since, besides a couple of changes it's the exact same story, even the dialogues and the structure of each episode.
The photography is quite different, the French one being more realistic, down to earth and they toned down some sexual references in the US adaptation.
Anyway it's a great TV show, well, 2 great tv shows in fact, so i recommend them both.
If you fancy Michael Fassbender watch the US version, and the French one if Mathieu Kassovitz is your favorite.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The View.

I love the View! However i haven’t watched it since the US election. I’ve been taking a break from politics.

 

[Fradi]

I love the View! However i haven’t watched it since the US election. I’ve been taking a break from politics.

I was being sarcastic lol.
Can’t stand those women.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Black Doves (2024)
Six-part miniseries starring Keira Knightley & Ben Whishaw. It’s billed as a murder mystery thriller involving british, chinese & american spies. I enjoyed it very much however i needed to rewind the final episode back & forth several times since the plot was getting a bit complicated. I wanted to make sure i got everything right! I expect that there will be a second season. Watched it on Netflix.

 

[Johnny test]

Black Doves (2024)
Six-part miniseries starring Keira Knightley & Ben Whishaw. It’s billed as a murder mystery thriller involving british, chinese & american spies. I enjoyed it very much however i needed to rewind the final episode back & forth several times since the plot was getting a bit complicated. I wanted to make sure i got everything right! I expect that there will be a second season. Watched it on Netflix.

it was mentioned a couple of weeks ago, found it average but entertaining.
I still think Keira Knightley is quite average at best, lots of holes in the behaviour of the characters but that doens't bother me that much, i think The Diplomat, another Netflix mini was way better.
And you're correct, season 2 was announced even before the premiere

 

[tomcattwo]

Spécial ops: lioness season 1 —. 2

Black doves

The killing season 1 to 4

Reacher season 1 and 2.

The Day of the jackal

Red eye

The madness. Season 1

Annika season 1–2

Blue eye samuraï

 

[Doc Holliday]

it was mentioned a couple of weeks ago, found it average but entertaining.
I still think Keira Knightley is quite average at best, lots of holes in the behaviour of the characters but that doens't bother me that much, i think The Diplomat, another Netflix mini was way better.
And you're correct, season 2 was announced even before the premiere

I don’t disagree. I have yet to watch The Diplomat & plan to in the near future.

 

[Doc Holliday]

La Palma (2024)
Norwegian miniseries which just showed up on Netflix. It’s a four-part miniseries where vacationers from Norway head to a resort located on La Palma island which is located in the Canary Islands. What they don’t know is that there is an active volcano just about to erupt which will cause all kinds of disastrous events such as a tsunami. The series centres on a family of vacationers during Christmas week & the geologists who become aware of the impending disaster & their difficulties trying to coax politicians to do something to warn the population. I really enjoyed this series & it’s currently one of the most-watched tv shows on Netflix Canada. It’s very well made, the actors are superb & the special effects very believable. I recommend it!

 

[EagerBeaver]

La Palma (2024)
Norwegian miniseries which just showed up on Netflix. It’s a four-part miniseries where vacationers from Norway head to a resort located on La Palma island which is located in the Canary Islands. What they don’t know is that there is an active volcano just about to erupt which will cause all kinds of disastrous events such as a tsunami. The series centres on a family of vacationers during Christmas week & the geologists who become aware of the impending disaster & their difficulties trying to coax politicians to do something to warn the population. I really enjoyed this series & it’s currently one of the most-watched tv shows on Netflix Canada. It’s very well made, the actors are superb & the special effects very believable. I recommend it!

It's the #2 ranked TV show on Netflix in the USA this week. The #1 show is the new season of Virgin River and the #1 movie is Carry On with Jason Bateman.

 

[EagerBeaver]

La Palma (2024)
Norwegian miniseries which just showed up on Netflix. It’s a four-part miniseries where vacationers from Norway head to a resort located on La Palma island which is located in the Canary Islands. What they don’t know is that there is an active volcano just about to erupt which will cause all kinds of disastrous events such as a tsunami. The series centres on a family of vacationers during Christmas week & the geologists who become aware of the impending disaster & their difficulties trying to coax politicians to do something to warn the population. I really enjoyed this series & it’s currently one of the most-watched tv shows on Netflix Canada. It’s very well made, the actors are superb & the special effects very believable. I recommend it!

I completely agree with Doc Holliday's review of La Palma. I watched all 4 episodes and it's one of the better miniseries I have seen on Netflix this year. Very thought provoking and grapples with issues like the ethics involved in issuing impending disaster warnings to the public and "triage" in getting off an island when there are limited numbers of boats to do so. One scene in particular made me think about what it must have been like when the Titanic sank without anywhere near enough lifeboats available to carry all of those on board, meaning a bunch of people were going to need to suck it up and drown or die of hypothermia. Mostly men of course, but I think some men did make it on to the last boats. Whether that was at gunpoint or due to a payment of cash, who knows. The dead were not available to be interviewed to tell us.

I thought the special effects were pretty good although I have one minor critique: the CGI clearly slowed down the tsunami wave for dramatic effect. The wave seems to slowly linger in the background while the scrambling characters get their escape acts together when, in reality, it would have been barrelling at them at speeds in excess of 700 miles per hour (1,126.54 km per hour). This did serve to ratchet up the drama a few clicks, so I give them a pass on this scientific inaccuracy, but it's my only criticism and did not effect my overall enjoyment of the series.

I really enjoyed the actors, and those of you who have watched any Scandinavian TV will recognize Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Haukur, who has acted in many Icelandic as well as Norwegian productions. He is actually an American by birth (born in Connecticut), and he speaks the King's English in some scenes in this series. The producers only gave him a supporting role, although he is a bigger star than anyone in this show. That being said, the acting leads were all very good in their parts.

It should also be mentioned that the series was filmed on location in La Palma.