Has anyone watched Ken Burns’ new documentary on Benjamin Franklin? I heard him interviewed on a my local NPR station the other day and thought that I’d like to watch.
I watched it last spring. I had to get through it in small chunks. I think it is harder to document the lives of people pre-film, so I don’t want to be too critical. I enjoyed Country Music, Jackie Robinson, Muhammed Ali and some of the other series more, but still found Benjamin Franklin worthwhile.
My husband and I have been watching 61st Street. It’s a little ham fisted but it has an actor I love from Doctor Who, and I would literally listen to Courtney B Vance read the phone book- I love that man’s voice so much!
Burns has a documentary starting next week about America’s involvement (or non-involvement) with the Jews before and during WWII. The review I read seemed to think Burns presented a balanced picture that the US did very little but was in a hard position because of immigration laws and quotas passed in the 1920s.
have heard lots of comments about Friday Night light series - and started watching. Thanks for the rec, all !
Better late than never…we finally watched Ted Lasso and enjoyed it!
LOVE the character development in Ted Lasso. What a talented bunch.
Ted Lasso fans might like Trying (Apple TV, 3 seasons). We’ve been enjoying it, getting sad to be near the end of 3rd season.
BBC iPlayer
Am I the only one watching Bad Sisters on Apple+? It’s terrific!
My sister has recommended Bad Sisters to me! I still haven’t figured out if I have Apple+ (I know I have Apple TV but not sure if that’s the same thing…).
It’s the same thing, I think.
For anyone who’s been a fan of My Name Is Earl and/or Raising Hope, I highly recommend Sprung on Freevee (formerly IMDBtv - you can get to it through the Amazon Prime app but don’t need to be a subscriber). A lot of crossover with show creators, actors, and general vibe. Short season, finale just released today.
Apologies if this was already posted but the search function is being a little wonky right now.
Right now?!?!
“Bancroft”, Brit Box. Excellent.
I tend to post about shows that I have been positive about, like Bosch, The Expanse, The Fringe, etc. Thought I’d mention a couple that I watched that I didn’t like, probably because I had high expectations because of either the source material, or the people involved.
1- Foundation. Classic Sci-Fi unfaithfully brought to the screen. All the wonder of the original book is missing. Drear.
2- Russian Doll. Really, really liked the 1st season, despite the ending. Finally gave up after the 7th episode of the 2nd season. Convoluted, and I just don’t care enough to wade through it. Natasha Lyonne went from being one of the most engaging, fascinating personalities on TV, to a messed up, dysfunctional, boor - can women be boors?
3- Sandman. Again, I somehow lasted through to the 7th episode because I like Gaiman. All style, no substance. No mas.
Totally agree with you about Russian Doll.
I loved season 1 and was so looking forward to the second season. I stopped caring about what was happening after a couple of episodes. I think I did technically watch them all but it was mostly background noise while doing other things. So disappointing.
I not only gave up on Foundation, I changed my mind on re-reading the books.
I made it through all of Russian Doll but preferred season one. Reading the tv boards helped me a great deal.
So far through episode 5 of Sandman, which was very good, but I’ve read it goes downhill from there.
Loved Expanse!
Natasha Lyonne is on my can’t watch list. I just find something about her affect so un-engaging that I can’t watch her. I know I’m in the minority. Other actors on my no-go list ( all for very different reasons) Sandra Oh, Martin Short,Chris Elliott ( loved Schitt’s creek but fast forwarded through his scenes as much as possible)
It was better to think of Foundation as a TV show that had nothing to do with the books except repeating some names. I still didn’t think it was very good though.
I did reread the books which I had remember enjoying in high school. I thought they were pretty dreadful now. The premise is cool, but the characters and dialog - oof. And don’t get me started on the stereotyping of women.
The Expanse is wonderful, both the books and the TV show. They aren’t identical either, but close enough. The casting is really well done.