Am a bit disappointed that Watchathon lists HBO Max as one of the networks available. Apparently, though, the access is only for HBO-produced shows–for example, we were looking forward to watching the BBC version of Ghosts and it is not available as part of this promotion.
We finished season 2 and took a break. Now we definitely will continue Bosh in the near future.
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I would’ve liked BBC Ghosts too.
Things DH and I may watch are The Batman, Dune and Succession. DH wants to watch Billions.
We just sat down to watch something and I want to point out that The Batman is showing it’s free until 5/4…I had incorrectly figured everything was free through the entire period.
With Comcast’s watchathon, we watched first 2 episodes of Gilded Age tonight. When it comes to upstairs/downstairs period dramas, Julian Fellows sure knows what he’s doing. Liking it so far.
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We are watching the third season of Snowpiercer and the Apple+ spy series Slow Horses. Gary Oldman is just so good, and the show is so smart…
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Watched Outlander but Covid seems to have caused difficulty in filming. The last 2 episodes worked well together but could have been just 1, extended episode. I was disappointed in the way the character of Malva was treated (I know it’s from the book but it’d have been nice if she’d made more sense). The season felt a bit too static. The self righteous preacher is a complex character I liked (though he’s often hateful).
Gentleman Jack is back on HBO (and on BBC, 2 weeks ahead). (It was recommended to me on this thread years ago and I only picked up on it later, glad I did, started reading the actual diaries which is not light reading but absolutely fascinating.) The mind blowing surprise that the plot comes straight from stuff written in the 1830s* has faded but I still love everything about it so far.
(*Yes, I couldn’t believe that Ann Walker, supposedly shy and not even presented at the Assembly Rooms, behaved the way she did in Episode 2 or especially 3 Season 1 because 1800s… but she did.)
The way the actual diaries are incorporated into dialogue, visuals/props, cinematography is a tour de force.
Basically, this season shows what happens after the wedding, how you build a marriage, with the added problem that no one knows or can know it’s a marriage.
There are issues of growth: finding her voice for AW, reining in hubris for AL. There are pressure issues: family pressure on AW, peer pressure on AL.
And there’s politics, too - which I love. Plus the 1835 elections triggered by the king’s dismissal of Lord Melbourne are really interesting.
I checked the Halifax poll books (voting was public and recorded) to see how everyone voted IRL and loved finding out one person decided they had urgent business somewhere else on that day, rather than voting against their conscience as was required.
I know that, despite being legally barred from voting, Ann&Anne found a way to get their voice heard (albeit in an immoral way for nowadays, but ey, they found a flaw in the law that allowed them to do that, totally “normally” and legally for the time).
And apparently people like love triangles (me: <why is there a video cut of that scene and none of the canal discussion?> then checking the number of views on said video and feeling quite alone in my love of industrial era politics).
Incidentally, I thought this podcast, which deals with stuff that happened for real for Xmas 1834, really well-done, so even if you don’t watch the show but like primary source analysis (or love triangles) try it. Note, though, despite being 1834 material, it’s explicit, so NSFW.
https://www.herstoryinthearchives.com/podcast/episode/3598b6fb/xmas-1834-anne-and-mariana
Apparently no one invited to the Met Gala had time to watch Julian Fellows’ show. 
Interested in Outlaws. Thanks for the recommendation!
Liked Severance, but skipped a little bit.
Just a note that as a courtesy, we do not put plot spoilers in this thread. If you could edit the Outlander and Gentleman Jack details, it would be much appreciated by others who haven’t watched the shows yet. Detailed discussions are usually reserved for show specific threads. Thanks!
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OK, removed the spoilery bits.
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Showtime has two episodes of The First Lady on to entice people to subscribe. But “The First Lady” is pretty dull. The only actress worth watching is Michelle Pfeiffer who is very good as Betty Ford. Viola Davis does a poor acting job as Michelle Obama (and she looks too old for the part) and Gillian Anderson is rehashing her Margaret Thatcher in a different wig as Eleanor Roosevelt.
Watched first two shows of Bosch Legacy. We were not disappointed. Seems slightly less tense, and a slower pace to the Bosch shows, and a (mostly) new set of characters so far. Maddie’s story line as a “boot” is more interesting that I thought it would be.
If you liked Bosch, you’ll probably like this, though, like me, you’ll miss some of the old crowd, especially the cops.
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I watched the first 4, and I liked it more than Bosch. Which considering that I really liked Bosch, that’s saying something. I really liked the new characters, but rumors also abound that some of the old characters may pop in from time to time.
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We just finished The Gilded Age. Maybe it’s because we live fairly close to Newport and visit there regularly, but it was so much fun! Julian Fellows certainly knows what he’s good at.
Christine Baranski’s character seemed like a second-tier Violet Crawley with some of her quips.
One of my favorite movies is Funny Farm, with Chevy Chase. The actor who plays Church, the Russell’s butler, looked so familiar—as a younger man he played the husband of the couple who offered to buy the house at the end of Funny Farm (Bud Culberson!)
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Finished the second season of Russian Doll and really enjoyed it.
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Just finished Ozark with husband and Locke and Key with kids. We’re watching Heartstopper with the kids, very cute.
Finished up “Grace and Frankie”. Good show.
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Agreed. I watched the balance of season 7 last weekend. While sad to see it end, it was time.
I liked seeing Dolly for the 9 to 5 reunion vibe, but man, that scene was stupid .
I plan to watch “Heartstopper” (sweet romcom, based on graphic novel), “The 7 lives of Lea” (time travel/teen/mystery - French but dubbed, Netflix), Julia (1 year in the life of Julia Child, with Sarah Lancashire who’s a fabulous British actress).
Looking forward to Time Traveler’s Wife (mixed reviews, the greatest, hilariously on-the-nose opposite reactions being between a French review that just LOVED the existential questions and the out of order “destructured” narrative + found the leads irresistible, and an American reviewer who found Henry’s random “trips” repetitive and really didn’t like the fact Henry ends up buck naked each time he time travels + found the leads miscast.)
Will report back but if you’ve seen any of those, what did you think?
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Julia was absolutely wonderful! Sarah Lancashire did an amazing job with Julia Child’s unique voice and way of speaking. I binged it in a few days and loved every minute, especially since I was a big fan of The French Chef back in the day.
I have Heartstopper on my list but haven’t started it yet.
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I saw Julia, and really enjoyed it. Sarah Lancashire was pretty amazing, as were her supporting characters. It gives a new perspective not previously covered in other series, although they do take some artistic license with history.
It’s already been renewed for series 2.
On another note, series 2 of Hacks started this week. I missed this show, and am so glad it’s back I find it amazing that Jean Smart, who’s been around forever, has had this amazing career resurgence at the age of 70.
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I came across a review of Conversations with Friends (Hulu) and added it to my watch list along with a previous series from a novel by the same author: Normal People. Any impressions?