New telly shows thread

[Rhythm]

Is any knowledge of or interest in football recommended?

I was told that not liking football wouldn't be a barrier. That may be true but every single piece of toxicity you can find around football is openly on display in that first episode

[WiteWulf]

I know I am late to the party but Ted Lasso is brilliant !

After much persuasion by mates I gave this a go. That first episode is incredibly-offputting. Haven't been back to it since then.

Same.

Yup, same here. Felt quite uncomfortable watching it to be honest. But I'm told by friends that it's a lovely warm show. Didn't get that at all.

[WiteWulf]

My favourite new TV show, if you can find a copy in the Internet Lending Library, is Creamerie. It's a black comedy from New Zealand set 8 years after a mysterious virus has killed all male humans. Three friends are running a dairy farm (the Creamerie of the title). One of them is desperate to have a child but there's a cult-like group of Aryan-esque women controlling access to the remaining sperm banks and artificial insemination program. Out of the blue a man appears on the farm, and the plot thickens...

If it sounds a lot like Y: The Last Man, it is, but without the feeling it was written by a horny teenage boy. The writing is far more reminiscent of early Black Mirror. I'm three episodes in, it's weekly and half an hour an episode. Give it a go.

[WiteWulf]

Oh, also, Shadow And Bone on Netflix is really good. Steampunk/magic action drama, big budget, gorgeous sets and costumes in a 19th century Russia style setting, plus monsters. My overriding impression from the first few episodes was that it wasn't trying too hard, it all feels really natural and isn't desperately trying to be the next Game of Thrones. If anything it reminded me of Max Gladstone's Craft Cycle, one of my favourite book series of recent years.

[Harlequin]

I know I am late to the party but Ted Lasso is brilliant !

After much persuasion by mates I gave this a go. That first episode is incredibly-offputting. Haven't been back to it since then.

Same.

Yup, same here. Felt quite uncomfortable watching it to be honest. But I'm told by friends that it's a lovely warm show. Didn't get that at all.

Could the eventual plot be that the protagonist slowly drains away the toxicity with the power of his homely USAmerican ways and teaches those horrible Europeans the value of love and friendship?

[WiteWulf]

Could the eventual plot be that the protagonist slowly drains away the toxicity with the power of his homely USAmerican ways and teaches those horrible Europeans the value of love and friendship?

Yes, I believe that is indeed the plot

[Rhythm]

Could the eventual plot be that the protagonist slowly drains away the toxicity with the power of his homely USAmerican ways and teaches those horrible Europeans the value of love and friendship?

I'm guessing so, but even if that's the case, "plucky American saves aggressive Brits from themselves via the medium of commercial sport" doesn't really appeal.

[Misfit]

Could the eventual plot be that the protagonist slowly drains away the toxicity with the power of his homely USAmerican ways and teaches those horrible Europeans the value of love and friendship?

I'm guessing so, but even if that's the case, "plucky American saves aggressive Brits from themselves via the medium of commercial sport" doesn't really appeal.

Wow, what sad soulless husks of human beings you all are!*

I don't think it is at all like that. Ted Lasso, is refreshing, funny and heartwarming a really nice show in a sea of violent, depressing, dark TV. I laughed and cried on the journey.

Saying that some of the crude language used by the club director describing what she'd like to see done to her ex-husband in the first episode made my wife instructed me to switch off and she won't go back.

I'd say give it a few episodes, as it does take a little while. But I'm not feeling hope in the conversion!

It's rare I'd say look at IMDB reviews as they swing madly from 10/10 to 1/10, but look at IMDB reviews as there is barely a blip out of the 9s and 10s:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10986410/r ... ngFilter=0

Exactly What Comedy Should Be
Ted Lasso has Heart
So much heart in a tv series... was unexpected
It Won Over My Cold Heart
I never want it to end...
World show me some kindness
Exactly what we need right now.
Astonishingly good
That was unexpected
Been a while since we've had perfection

*Just in case anyone is offended, I'm joking, you are of course entitled to your own opinion, like my wife, but are just wrong!

[Deckard]

Its great - nice to see a nice person on tv in a major role for a change. It feels like Frasier in that an interest in his choice of career will add extra laughs but is not essential...The last episode I watched at the Children's charity awards was surprisingly moving.......Who can't admire a comedy that has two people out on a date that consists solely of chess moves ?

[Rhythm]

Those kind of comments, Misfit and Harlequin, are what prompted me to try it.

Question: from episode 2 onwards does it feature less of the toxic press, aggressive pub fan types, WAGs, appearance-obsessed footballers and lazy observations of British vs US life?

[phattslagg]

Yeah, I really didn’t want to enjoy Ted Lasso, but must admit it had totally won me over by the end of the series.

[Misfit]

Question: from episode 2 onwards does it feature less of the toxic press, aggressive pub fan types, WAGs, appearance-obsessed footballers and lazy observations of British vs US life?

I'd say yes.

At the very least they are there to be shown up as what they are or are much more than they initially appear.

If that is what you got from episode 1 then I feel you should risk a couple more.

Yeah, I really didn’t want to enjoy Ted Lasso, but must admit it had totally won me over by the end of the series.

Cool. That helps my case. Clearly from the reactions on here and my wife, episode 1 leaves something to get past.

[VNVObit]

I found Ted Lasso really enjoyable. It helped that I recognised most of the location shots (used to visit there regularly before we had children!), some of which have very good memories of.
Characters do develop over the series and there is a bit more depth to them all than initial impressions suggest

Looking forward to the second series now

[Rhythm]

Watched the 2nd episode and yeah, definitely not for me. The football component is just too much for me to get past.

Really reminds me of The Royle Family and Shameless, which were other much-lauded comedies but where I simply couldn't get on with the setting(s)

Never mind, plenty of other stuff to watch

[merman]

Binged Wellington Paranormal from Taika Watiti and Jermaine Clement.

It’s a spin off from the film What We Do In The Shadows. It follows two police officers that get involved in investigating unusual occurrences in the city - ghosts, vampires, alien abduction and zombies.

Somehow the deadpan New Zealand accent and the strange goings on fit together, like a sarcastic X-Files (it even references Mulder & Scully in the first episode).