tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

I didn't post last week because it was mostly just the same as the previous week -- football, football, tennis, more football, some baseball, and various Star Trek reruns.

But I've been off from work the past week, and there is less sports as teams/players get narrowed down, so I have actually managed some actual non-sports viewing this week.

I watched, and finished three new shows:

1. A three-part documentary called Free Nelson Mandela which was about, well, the long struggle to get Nelson Mandela released from jail/end Apartheid. It was excellent.

2. The Killings at Parrish Station, which is an excellent, creepy/spooky Australian police drama with a bit of an X-Files vibe to it. Pretty sure it's just a limited series. Online summary: "In 1987, a pair of detectives investigate the brutal massacre of four scientists at a remote Australian desert research station, the case dragging one of the detectives into a decades-long spiral of obsession and estrangement." Anyway, it jumps between timelines, and gets weirder as it goes on, with plot turns that can’t help but keep you hooked. No idea if it's streaming on anything -- I torrented it.

3. Love Story -- the JFK Jr.-Carolyn Bessette bio-drama. I know it's been out for a while now, but it didn't initially interest me much. But I wanted something on the light side, and had seen the lead actor in a round-table interview with a few other TV stars and he seemed interesting, so I gave it a go.

I also tried Monster: The Ed Gein Story but gave up after a couple of episodes. It wasn't the horribleness of what Gein did -- it was the Nazi stuff that I just didn't want to deal with.

I also finally finished Widow's Bay and caught got caught up with Criminal Minds.

As for looking forward to... I may be excited about the World Cup final -- totally depends on which teams are in the final. As for actual tv shows, I may start Star City this week.

I also saw Love Story -- what did you think of it?

I enjoyed it. It wasn't new ground for me -- I was well aware of the JFK Jr.-Carolyn Bessette story already. I was very impressed with Paul Anthony Kelly's portrayal of JFK Jr. Sarah Pidgeon had the easier role since there's hardly anything public about Bessette for her to draw on (I think she said in an interview there was only one brief clip of Bessette saying a few words in public vs JFK Jr.'s entire life being pretty much public record). This is the round table interview I watched with Kelly that led me to watch the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC5R1Rt2sWw

I was a bit surprised the Sarah Pidgeon was nominated for an emmy but Kelly wasn't.

I looked up the Killings at Parrish Station - it's available on HBO Max in the UK, and Ireland (apparently Warner Brothers has the international rights to it), but it's also on Apple TV in select regions, and in Australia on Stan.

Edited: it's not available in the US on streaming. I couldn't get it on television. I think you can get it on a computer in the US, but not certain.

Edited 2026-07-12 01:45 (UTC)

I think you can get it on a computer in the US

Not sure what you mean by that -- unless you're referencing torrenting. And yes, via torrenting, it's available to anyone (who's willing to torrent).

Episode 5 of Interview with the Vampire was good, especially the flashbacks and everything with Louis. After a great first season and a fantastic second season, it does feel like they bit off more than they can chew with S3 though. The weekly song releases really elevate this season for me. They make me think about the episodes a bit more without needing a re-watch.
We got four new songs. "Stained Glass Eyes" is fantastic and I loved the whole scene with it. I have to say though, "When I Call Out Your Name" is my favorite of all released songs so far. It's funny considering that it's about my least favorite character.

The second episode of Silo also felt a lot shorter than it was. I find it so easy to get lost in this world and at this point I just really, really want to know the background. I like how the flashbacks directly related to what is happening to Juliette.

Last week I decided to watch some movies during my commute and only worked from home once. I started with How to Make a Killing which had a protagonist I couldn't root for and a bunch of awful characters. I think Glen Powell carried the movie well, but Margaret Qualley was not charismatic enough in her role. Overall I liked it though.
Then I wanted to watch the new Enola Holmes movie, but landed on re-watching 1 and 2 first. The third movie is definitely the weakest one for me. I wasn't a big fan of the setting or at least they could have done more with it. I don't know.

I'm not expecting to have Netflix again for some while and it's no rush for me, but that's disappointing to hear about Enola Holmes.

Maybe it's a "me problem" because I prefer a Holmes story set in London. I think you can tell that it's different director though. There was also something about the visuals that bothered me. It felt too polished.

Not just you. I have no problem with a Holmes adaptation being set somewhere or sometime else, but I feel like London is a character itself in the original stories. It was something I appreciated about the Sherlock series.

I actually wrote my (not very good) BA thesis about different depictions of London in recent* Sherlock Holmes adaptations. I completely forgot about that when making my comment :D

*Right after Sherlock S2 and the second movie with RDJ.

Ha 🙂 If you'd be willing to post it here at

tv_talk, I'd certainly be interested in reading it.

Caught up on Daily Show (didn't miss much due to the holidays) and Jeopardy.

Watched one more episode of Brokenwood and Grantchester. Have started Rings of Power S2 and Legend OF Vox Machina, though I'm not sure if we'll finish the season in the next 13 days we have Prime.

I will finish Wheel of Time's final season as I have only 2 more episodes to go. It's clear it's going to leave a great deal hanging -- such a shame about its cancellation.

We finished the final season of Good Omens which I wrote about.

Far fewer World Cup games at last, so I expect viewing to be back to normal next week.

I've also been watching Duchess of Duke Street. Surprising to see an older British series where a season was 15 episodes! I'm just finishing S1 but might or might not get through S2 before our cut off.

I only watched the first season of Wheel of Time, are the other seasons worth it? I know it got cancelled, so I'd stopped.

Rings of Power S2 is not as good as S1. I was disappointed. It kind of loses focus in the second season.

That's too bad since I assume Rings will be getting further seasons.

Hard to say as it depends on what you particularly liked about Wheel. I'd already watched S2 when I read about the cancellation but I wanted to see where things were headed. I also quite liked Foundation, which is what it most reminds me of -- not in a direct storyline way but in a world building one. Plus, of course, lots of parts for women.

Yeah, Amazon made the decision to pursue Rings over Wheel. They apparently lost a good portion of the book audience/fandom for Wheel - by veering drastically from the books in various spots, making it rather controversial an adaptation. Rings? They were adapting from Tolkien's notes, short stories, novellas, indexes and world building - so it had more leeway. Also the audience/fandom was a bit more open to their interpretation - oh it was controversial but not as controversial apparently, and did better.

I had troubles following Wheel - it's filmed mostly at night - couldn't see a lot of it, and none of the characters really interested me. I couldn't get into the books. But mainly? It had too long between seasons and then got cancelled - so I forgot the first season by the time the second came out. The same thing happened with the Witcher, Rings of Power (I had to re-watch the last four episodes), and Foundation. I lose the show - because it takes too long for the next season to pop up.

Edited 2026-07-12 02:25 (UTC)

Finished Legend of Vox Machina, The Mighty Neine, and The Final Season of The Bear - and they gave me a television hang over, which I think I've finally managed to break by watching something completely different.

The Mighty Neine is more LGBTA friendly than Vox Machina. It has multiple LGBTA relationships forming. Also starts with the characters meeting up. Has one season so far. Next one isn't slated to drop until much later this year or next. Prime likes to wait a while to drop seasons, much like Netflix. Vox - took two years to drop Seasons 2 and 3, and almost four years for season 4.

The Bear dropped faster. I've seen all of it now, except for the Gary episode which I ignored. I may go back to see - don't know. A little bit of pre-Bear Ritchie can go a long way, and it focuses on pre-Bear Ritchie.

Currently watching?

Started Little House on the Prairie - it's the reboot on Netflix. It surprised me. It's based more on the actual story of Laura Ingalls Wilder than on her books or a hybrid of both, and as a result slightly darker and more adult. And it has bits of mystery in it - like why the Ingalls left their home in Wisconsin for the Prairie in Kansas. Why they left the house in the Big Woods. And the mother's prejudices against the Native Americans, while the father is a bit more open to them. It's also less in Laura's perspective. I'd say it's more compelling than the original television series with Michael Langdon and a lot better written. Eight episodes in the first season. (It's been renewed for a second season already. )Appealing and diverse cast. Much better than expected and a whole lot better than the 1970s original. I can see why it's gotten good reviews. Reminds me a little of what they did with Anne with and E, except I found this to be more watchable, Anne with an E - I couldn't get into.

Martina and Chris Evert:The Final Match documentary on Netflix - is quite good. I cried through most of it. It's about their long-term and often fraught friendship and how they help each other overcome cancer. It's also an indictment of our media.

Flirting with Interview with the Vampire (although I think I just want to watch The Vampire Lestate but not badly enough to subscribe to AMC. I'd have to drop something else. I'll wait for it to pop up on Netflix - which it will in a year or so.) And The Dark, also Silo, the rest of Widow's Bay, the Rooster, and The Killings of Parish Station, and Dark Winds S4 (which popped up on Netflix). Netflix gets the second distribution of a lot of AMC series.

I was interested in the Final Match doc, and you've reminded me to add it to my list.

I've seen some episodes of Little House over the years but was never a viewer. I was interested to read your take on it.

I watched Little House as a child in the 1970s. Although usually only the first half of it, and often my best friend at the time would tell me what happened on the way home from school. Why? I lived on the East Coast at the time - and it aired at 8pm, and bedtime was 8:30 pm. I don't remember it that well or only vaguely? And we didn't watch it that frequently - because my mother didn't like Michael Langdon, and my parents weren't fond of it.

I did read the books - and had them read to me as a small child. They were read to me when I was five or six, I think? And I may have read a few in the second or third grade. Vaguely remember it. I liked the books better than the 1970s series.

The new series is closer to the books, and takes passages directly out of them. Langdon apparently moved away from the books and took dramatic license - he could do whatever he wanted as long as it fit "family values" - so the whole bit about the land belonging to the Osage Tribe was removed from the series, while it is in the books, and is partly the reason the Ingalls leave the Kansas Prairie eventually but that's not in the 1970s television show. This version is more true to what actually happened, and shows both the Osage's perspective and the settler's equally, which is interesting.

Acorn's showing new The Chelsea Detective next month. So I'll be signed in til September.

I finished watching my Deadwood dvds. I ordered the movie and am looking forward to it. I'm doing a rewatch of my dvds and Burn Notice is happening now.

Unfortunately I think we're unlikely to get to anything besides Brokenwood before our subscription runs out this month. But we won't finish that either so next time we can try out more things.

I watched the movie Undertone (a big snooze fest) yesterday and decided to give A Discovery of Witches another chance for the dreamy Matthew Goode (will probably abandon it again as soon as I remember why I didn't continue watching it back when the first season premiered).

Edited 2026-07-12 09:59 (UTC)

for the dreamy Matthew Goode

This is so relatable. I really like him. :-)

A Discovery of Witches is so cheesy. It completely relies on the chemistry between Teresa and Matthew. I get abandoning it at any point ;)

I almost threw in the towel after half of S1 but I did end up seeing the whole thing. I felt it got better as it went along.

We just watched the first (and only available) episode of The Apartment Job about (relatively sympathetic) gangsters scamming the residents of an upscale apartment block. Seems fun so far. (Netflix, Kdrama.)

Also, Nonnas (Vince Vaughan movie, Netflix) based on a true story about an Italian restaurant. Lowkey and enjoyable. Toy Story 5 in the cinema (it was fine? I always forget that I'm not really into the franchise). Smallfoot (kids' movie) on DVD.

More White Collar with my sister, and more Bluey. Finished off Miraculous Brothers and re-started Legends (UK, Netflix). Finished Fisk.

Edited 2026-07-12 10:35 (UTC)

I didn't watch a lot last week because I was prepping to go on vacation and because I was reading. So I mostly continued with the third season of Leverage and finished that.

I am now at my aunt and uncle's and they watch a lot more various shows than I do. Last evening, we watched Will Trent, which I had never seen, but which turned out to be a police procedural. I think. Hard to tell; they have a new internet setup with a new modem and router and it's all very glitchy. The show kept freezing and then fast forwarding to catch up to itself, and there was often no sound. So while I got the gist of it, I can't say I enjoyed it. (Also, really tired from having gotten up at 2:30 a.m. to leave the house at 4:00 a.m. and drive eight hours, so I really didn't care.)

Wow, that sounds like a really frustrating viewing experience. I can only guess it has to do with very slow internet which can't handle streaming speeds.

Rewatched some Pitt episodes, and watched an episode of Midsomer Murders I somehow hadn't watched yet. Other than that mostly been watching The Apothecary Diaries and Patalliro, both things that have been on pause for months/years. Having fun with logging episodes in the new app.

Last week, First Frost was recced here, a 2025 cdrama about two people who used to be highschool sweethearts sharing an apartment. The first episode impressed me *a lot*, with wonderful characters with very different family lives, large trauma, and not-too-luxurious living conditions. Unfortunately, it declined quickly after that and eps 4-6 were a real slog. The ML never tells the FL the truth, trying to care for her with actions while pretending that's not what he's doing, and at the same time being jealous and possessive and obstinate about it, and I just want to strangle him the whole time. I'm sure there's a reason he's possessive and not communicating (I know the FL has relatively good reason -> trauma), but so far it hasn't been revealed and ugh. I had hoped it would be better than Love Has Fireworks, because it started out so well, but right now it's grating. But I'm hanging in there.

I continued Love Has Fireworks in short bursts between First Frost, but only managed an ep or so, now on ep 6. It's starting to look better again compared to First Frost, but I'll keep watching both of them. (Also, I joined the viki team for Love Has Fireworks, so it's a good idea to keep watching for that alone.)

Since neither of these really made me happy, I finally returned to Our Times, the 80s retro thing with Wu Lei and Hou Minghao, and I'm still enjoying the hell out of that! I'm now on ep9, and there are tiny train ticket stubs, handwritten letters with stamps, long crowded overnight train rides, long-distance landline phonecalls. And terrible wardrobe! (And - so far very cute and innocent - romance.) I love it.

My Disney+ subscription is nearing its end. I tried half an episode of Andor, but it made me nauseous so I had to stop. I did like the acting of the main character. Very good indeed. I hated the robot. I liked the worldbuilding from the little I saw of it. It felt like a very interesting setting, but I'm not willing to sit through it if i have to battle nausea the whole time.

I also watched Zootopia 2, and that was brilliant! It starts out at breckneck pace, both plot-wise and joke-wise, and never lets up until the end. The only thing I didn't like was how the major confrontation was cut like a fanvid, the music being more important than the action. It definitely removed me from what was happening, which cannot be the goal of a climax... So that was strange, but it's my only complaint. Overall, I really loved the movie. It has a good message (just like the first one, very needed these days), and the friendship between the main characters was wonderful as always.

Speak Up Saturday

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