[Scarabin]

With two episodes shown, "Prisoners of war" seems to get better and better. Reserving judgment on "Homeland". Cannot decide if the air of hysteria is due to overworked scriptwriters or an accurate portrayal of our time?

[mike777]

Someone on bbo, not sure who recommend Spiral, a gritty French Cop series on Netflix. I am hooked. It showa a Paris as crime ridden and falling apart at the social seam. A side of Paris none of us ever see. A Paris in chaos.


http://en.wikipedia....iral_(TV_series)

OTOH if you want a funny very funny show check out the old Dick VAn Dyck show. It holds up and you see America in the early 1960's.
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Dick_VanDyke

[GreenMan]

Scarabin, on 2013-October-11, 00:56, said:

Reserving judgment on "Homeland". Cannot decide if the air of hysteria is due to overworked scriptwriters or an accurate portrayal of our time?

It seems to be three separate stories so far: The CIA, Carrie, the Brodie family. I hope they start coming together real soon or it's just a soap opera.

[Scarabin]

Well, Brodie is back but still separate stories! Cannot see how they'll converge but maybe next week.

[gwnn]

I'm watching The Newsroom, season 2 now. Great stuff!

[kenberg]

I'm still fine with Homeland. I find the general setting plausible. I find the characters actions to be consistent with their personalities. But maybe this season should be the last. There comes a time to say a fond farewell. Or there can come a time when we all get tired of it and go elsewhere.

The young Brodie girl is developing well, as an actress and as a role on this particular show.

[blackshoe]

I'm watching The Blacklist. It's got some interesting twists, although the bit about treating Reddington as an "enemy combatant" is a bit annoying. He is, as he says frequently, a criminal. He's not Hannibal Lecter, either. He's a broker, not a doer - although he is ruthless. I think James Spader does a pretty good job with the character.

[billw55]

blackshoe, on 2013-October-21, 06:31, said:

I'm watching The Blacklist. It's got some interesting twists, although the bit about treating Reddington as an "enemy combatant" is a bit annoying. He is, as he says frequently, a criminal. He's not Hannibal Lecter, either. He's a broker, not a doer - although he is ruthless. I think James Spader does a pretty good job with the character.

I must admit Spader is a good character actor. However I watched one episode and found severe credibility problems. This guy is so dangerous that they keep him in a fancy facility, and even in his own little special box. But then they just let him go out to dinner. He (of course) promptly escapes, they have lost him, but instead of going away he just gets back in their van to talk and return to custody. Hmmmm. I guess every show has unrealisms, and we generally suspend disbelief if we like the show enough, but this time I didn't.

[blackshoe]

The character has an agenda, clearly. That agenda involves a list of people he thinks the world would be better off without (and he's probably right). It also involves FBI agent Elizabeth Keene for some as yet unknown (though I have my suspicions) reason. The whole "enemy combatant, lock him up on a container ship, keep him in heavy chains, keep him in an isolation chamber in a heavily guarded facility" thing I just dismissed as Hollywood bullshit. Or maybe they're trying to indoctrinate us to accept that this is a reasonable way to treat people. Either way, I just ignore it. But I grant that if you can't do that, the show becomes much less interesting.

[mike777]

Yes Blacklist has 2 tricks, the villain and pretty good ones of the week and just who the heck is fbi agent liz and her hubby and what are they up to? Spader makes the show. I will keep watching but the comments above are on target.


Long wait for Homeland season 2 on Netflix...I wait. btw it is filmed around where I live. I watched Newsroom....I guess this season was a bit better than last. Again I recommend Spiral, French Paris cop show for anyone on Netflix. It shows the very gritty side of Paris and French justice system. Very different from USA/UK/CAnada

[billw55]

Props for a fine episode of Castle last night. I think that show is back on track.

[barmar]

mike777, on 2013-October-22, 03:02, said:

Yes Blacklist has 2 tricks, the villain and pretty good ones of the week and just who the heck is fbi agent liz and her hubby and what are they up to? Spader makes the show. I will keep watching but the comments above are on target.

I also find Liz very interesting. She's not just a pretty face. Spader is just doing the same kind of schtick he's done in the past. It's not detrimental, because he does it so well, but I wouldn't watch if I weren't curious about the Elizabeth Keene mystery.

[billw55]

barmar, on 2013-October-23, 09:48, said:

I also find Liz very interesting. She's not just a pretty face. Spader is just doing the same kind of schtick he's done in the past. It's not detrimental, because he does it so well, but I wouldn't watch if I weren't curious about the Elizabeth Keene mystery.

Let's see. Reddington is particularly interested in her, to the point that he voluntarily remains in custody just to talk to her. She has some mysteries about her father. Hmm what could it be ... <darth vader voice>

[mike777]

billw55, on 2013-October-24, 06:10, said:

Let's see. Reddington is particularly intereted in her, to the point that he voluntarily remains in custody just to talk to her. She has some mysteries about her father. Hmm what could it be ... <darth vader voice>

that would be pretty boring outcome, how about she is his Mother, his sister, his mother?

[kenberg]

billw55, on 2013-October-22, 06:06, said:

Props for a fine episode of Castle last night. I think that show is back on track.

Yes, probably. Somehow I missed how Beckett got her old job back. The new guy that replaced her seems to be gone, she has her job, was there an explanation?

[billw55]

kenberg, on 2013-October-24, 08:12, said:

Yes, probably. Somehow I missed how Beckett got her old job back. The new guy that replaced her seems to be gone, she has her job, was there an explanation?

The feds fired her. I missed one episode where (I assume) she got rehired at NYPD. Don't know about the fill in guy.

[kenberg]

billw55, on 2013-October-24, 10:02, said:

The feds fired her. I missed one episode where (I assume) she got rehired at NYPD. Don't know about the fill in guy.

Right, the reds fired her. While she was in D.C there was a guy in NY at her old desk and he was a real slob, driving everyone nuts. After getting fired she was back in NY, helping with an investigation but w/o the official capacity to lead it. Not that that really stopped her. I thought that there was a comment about it being too bad that there was now no opening to take her back. As of the last episode, she is back with her old job.

I think that the writers, producers, etc got an earful about the new split D.C/N.Y setting and decided to undo it. They couldn't really figure out just how, so what the hell, it's tv, they just did it. And I am glad that they did.

[barmar]

Here's what happened. In last week's episode "Number One Fan", the woman who took the hostages turned out to have been given up for adoption, and her birth father was a prominent businessman who is also golf buddies with the Police Commissioner. Castle and Kate cleared her of murder charges, and proved that it was actually the businessman's son-in-law who did it to frame her so she wouldn't get a trust fund. The businessman then called in a favor and got the Commissioner to reinstate her.

[billw55]

kenberg, on 2013-October-24, 10:49, said:

I think that the writers, producers, etc got an earful about the new split D.C/N.Y setting and decided to undo it. They couldn't really figure out just how, so what the hell, it's tv, they just did it. And I am glad that they did.

My nickel says they planned it that way from the start.

[Scarabin]

mike777, on 2013-October-22, 03:02, said:

Yes Blacklist has 2 tricks, the villain and pretty good ones of the week and just who the heck is fbi agent liz and her hubby and what are they up to? Spader makes the show. I will keep watching but the comments above are on target.


Long wait for Homeland season 2 on Netflix...I wait. btw it is filmed around where I live. I watched Newsroom....I guess this season was a bit better than last. Again I recommend Spiral, French Paris cop show for anyone on Netflix. It shows the very gritty side of Paris and French justice system. Very different from USA/UK/CAnada

When I miss an episode of Homeland I can see it on tenplay.com.au. It's the website of one of our local(ie not cable) TV channels. It may not work for you - when I've accessed similar sites in US I've been told the facilities only apply to locals - but it may be worth a try.