New telly shows thread

[RiK]

Me too. The book is something special, and the adaption looks to have mostly done it justice. Probably helps that there isn’t that much magic in the book, so it won’t tax the BBC’s budgets too much. Only problem is with such a rich adaption you will never be able to read the book again without imagining the characters as the BBC portrayed them.

I think I might save them up and read the book first then.

My lack of willpower got the better of me. Rather enjoyed episode 1 :-)

[merman]

Agreed, episode 1 was excellent. It felt like the best bits of period drama and fantasy mixed together, and did not worry too much about exposition to introduce characters.

I will probably read the book after the series has finished though.

[pogo]

Definitely worth reading the book after I think. There’s a lot in it not in the TV series; even with just one episode gone there seems a lot that’s been left out. In particular all the footnotes which are not part of the main plot but entertaining in their right and full of background details such as historic ones which would be hard to work into the series.

Of course you are cursed if you do with the BBC’s versions of the characters but that’s probably not a bad thing. The most striking difference from the book in a way is the setting. It’s right, in that it’s England 200 years ago. But the book doesn't have detailed descriptions, or any that I can recall, of the setting, and leaves it to the reader to fill all that in. And while the BBC rendering of it all looks accurate they have made many decisions, in particular about the characters.

[pogo]

Just caught the second episode of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and it's well into its stride now. All the main characters are now assembled, in London where most of the book takes place. Again not much in the way of magic, but the whole book is like that. If you don’t like it so far then give up now as the next five episodes will be much the same I fear.

[pogo]

More TV about magicians. Looks rather fun, like a grown up, sexy, Harry Potter.

[Deckard]

Bit late to it but loving Car Share with Peter Kay.

[supermario]

Bit late to it but loving Car Share with Peter Kay.

Me too, I reckon Peter Kay should try his acting talents with more serious stuff, kind of like Ronnie Barker.

[RiK]

Mr Robot

Uber-hacker vigilante thriller thing.



Looks promising.

[RiK]

The Messengers:



The Plot (from wiki)

Spoiler: show

Plot
A mysterious object plummets to Earth, sending out a shock wave that causes five strangers to die, only to miraculously come back to life moments later. The members of the group are Vera (Shantel VanSanten), a struggling radio-astronomer living in New Mexico who is searching for her missing son; Erin (Sofia Black-D'Elia), a young mother in Tucson, Arizona who is desperate to protect her seven-year-old daughter Amy from her abusive policeman ex-husband; Peter (Joel Courtney), a troubled high school student and orphan in Little Rock, Arkansas; Raul (J.D. Pardo), a federal agent in Mexico who is looking to escape his dangerous and violent undercover assignment; and Joshua (Jon Fletcher), a charismatic second-generation televangelist in Houston, Texas. Most mysterious of all is the figure known only as The Man (Diogo Morgado), who offers Vera the location of her abducted son if she will help him with one morally complicated task which puts her on a collision course with Rose (Anna Diop), a nurse in Houston who has been in a coma for seven years after being shot by an unknown hitman. Drawn together by fate and biblical prophecy, the "Messengers" soon learn they now have supernatural gifts that might be the only hope for preventing the impending Rapture.

[RiK]

Aquarius

David Duchovny thing set in the 60's about a detective on the hunt for Charles Manson

[RiK]

Watched the first episode of Mr Robot. Looks very promising.

[Darkflame]

The Messengers:



The Plot (from wiki)

Spoiler: show

Plot
A mysterious object plummets to Earth, sending out a shock wave that causes five strangers to die, only to miraculously come back to life moments later. The members of the group are Vera (Shantel VanSanten), a struggling radio-astronomer living in New Mexico who is searching for her missing son; Erin (Sofia Black-D'Elia), a young mother in Tucson, Arizona who is desperate to protect her seven-year-old daughter Amy from her abusive policeman ex-husband; Peter (Joel Courtney), a troubled high school student and orphan in Little Rock, Arkansas; Raul (J.D. Pardo), a federal agent in Mexico who is looking to escape his dangerous and violent undercover assignment; and Joshua (Jon Fletcher), a charismatic second-generation televangelist in Houston, Texas. Most mysterious of all is the figure known only as The Man (Diogo Morgado), who offers Vera the location of her abducted son if she will help him with one morally complicated task which puts her on a collision course with Rose (Anna Diop), a nurse in Houston who has been in a coma for seven years after being shot by an unknown hitman. Drawn together by fate and biblical prophecy, the "Messengers" soon learn they now have supernatural gifts that might be the only hope for preventing the impending Rapture.

Sounds a bit overcooked that plot.

[merman]

Looking through my Sky Plus box, there was something sitting on there from the summer of 2012.

True Love, BBC 1.

Five-part drama series telling five inter-linked stories of love - improvised by the cast. Some great names in there, including David Tenant, David Morrisey, Billie Piper and Jane Horrocks. Great use of music too.

[Harlequin]

Watched the first episode of Mr Robot. Looks very promising.

It does, although I suspect the Fight Club influences go deeper than just the general tone. For a start, it is made clear quite early on that we are witnessing things via the perspective of an unreliable narrator.

The Messengers:
…

Sounds a bit overcooked that plot.

I will give it a go but the reviews have not been good and the series has already been cancelled, although the remaining episodes will still be aired.

[RiK]

Humans:

Set in suburban London, the story takes place in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a Synth – a highly developed, artificially intelligent servant eerily similar to its living counterpart.

And well, Gemma Chan..