It's good fun. It's character driven humor more than anything else, and all actors...lead and supporting...are delivering quality work across all four of the seasons. Fun guest stars appear as well, often playing fictionalized versions of 'themselves'. As to the mysteries themselves, they are a tad too reliant on coincidences but they're overall pretty satisfying.
I caught up with NIGHTSLEEPER. It dragged a bit towards the end. Plenty of padding and a wholy unsatisfactory ending. Generally though, a decent effort which I enjoyed despite the preposterousness of the on-train proceedings. Events in the UK have recently hinted that the chaos created by a terrorist(s) hacking into a country's essential computerbased infrastuctures is very real, so a round of applause for a story tackling a genuine threat and managing it effectively. I think we mentioned actor Joe Cole in the frame for Bond after his appearance as TV's version of Harry Palmer. I wouldn't be against it, but while he was good in this, he seems - like Michael Caine - to suggest someone more working class and Palmer [at least the consistent visual version of Palmer] fitted him well. Bond? Hmm, the jury might have a long out.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I’m loving the return of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
I’m not a fisherman and have little interest in it…but I adore this program. Now into its 7th series, it’s just a joy to watch Bob & Paul have a fish, chat about silly stuff, chat about serious health issues, chat about family, watch Bob ‘cook’ and watch Bob fall over - a lot 🤣
The premise is these two friends (and comedians/actors) go to different rivers throughout the UK & Ireland and fish for the ‘local’ fish…always letting the fish go after catching them…whilst doing so they talk about their various health issues and family members and stay overnight in various B&B’s or holiday lets.
The idea for the show is ridiculously simple, and they thought they might get a single series out of it…and here we are in the 7th series…the undoubted star of the show though is Ted, the dog owned by the shows Executive Producer…who has just written his ‘pawtobiography’ about working on the show 🤣 it’s due out in November.
I've been on That's TV which shows vintage comedies, in particular Rising Damp and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads.
Intrigued to see the actor playing the bossy maitre d at the supposedly posh restaurant where Rigsby hopes to charm Miss Jones - I couldn't quite place hime their realised he was one of the sinister MI5 operatives who resembled Harold Wilson in The Ipcress File 10 or so years earlier!
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I’ve watched the first two in the new Prof. Brian Cox series Solar System…absolutely brilliant, although I do think Prof. Cox must be an executive producer or something…he’s filmed all over the world in some fabulous places 🤣
6 superlative episodes of the best television series currently running. Gary Oldman has made Jackson Lamb one of the most iconic characters that television has ever produced. I cannot praise this superb series high enough. If you like espionage, then you won’t see anything better than this.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Agreed 100%. Four great seasons of television so far for SLOW HORSES.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
Anyone else watching Ludwig?
This has David Mitchell playing twin brothers - although we only see one as the other is missing.
John Taylor is a puzzle setter who uses the name Ludwig when setting his puzzles, his twin brother DCI James Taylor goes missing in mysterious circumstances. James’s wife calls John in to try and find what happened to him…John is basically a recluse and socially awkward, but agrees to help as his brother going missing is a puzzle. John passes himself off as his twin to try and recover his brother’s notebook from the police station…whilst there he gets sidetracked to go to a murder, as the murder can be solved by reading all the witness statements and plotting a graph, John HAS to solve it as he can’t leave puzzles unsolved. This seems to happen each time he’s at the station looking for more clues to his brother’s whereabouts.
It’s far better than I’ve explained above. Honestly 🤗
Ludwig is rubbish. Like Sir Miles, I am enjoying it. It's almost a lesson to the Bond films, which have missed that test for quite a while - to come up with something that is on the one hand quite preposterous and incredible, yet also make it highly enjoyable - the enjoyment given topspin by the very knowledge that you know it's preposterous and still find it enjoyable.
Anne Maxwell Martin lends a voice of authority to it, as if to say, you better believe this - perhaps like Bernard Lee did back in the day.
Oh, final episode of the melancholic and meandering 1977 drama Love for Lydia set in the 20s last night on Talking Pictures TV - seems I've been watching this since June or July and it hasn't been made clear how many episodes it is, so I missed the first half last night, only someone reminded me. Good stuff, but best watched in instalments - you couldn't binge watch it really on a box set, it doesn't work like that, you have to live with it for months.
Evocative, reminded me of songs in the charts at the time like Mull of Kintyre and Wuthering Heights.
I watched the 3-part bio of Liz Taylor, one of my fav actresses. It was a bit scratchy and as usual with modern day TV profiles it omitted a ton of documented career history to concentrate on the personal scandals, some of which were interesting, most not. The third episode was devoted to her charity work towards AIDS research. Lots of family and friends contributions lent an air of authenticity. Kim Kardasian's observation that Taylor was the world's first multimedia influencer has some merit, but a profile which suggests her acting career at MGM started with National Velvet [it was Lassie Come Home] and neglects to mention she won an Academy Award for Butterfield 8 shows a lack of close attention to detail. A potted history, then, no more.
We started the new TOMB RAIDER animated show on Netflix. It's a direct sequel to the rebooted video game trilogy, so the plotting and characters have carried over. I loved the rebooted video games so this is right up my alley. Three episodes in and the wife and I are enjoying it quite a bit.
We also watched CADDO LAKE on Max. This is a one-off movie, not a series. I can recommend it but I can't go into the plotting as that'd be a major spoiler. I can't even reference what it's reminiscent to without spoiling anything. Regardless, we enjoyed it quite a bit and thought it executed its premise pretty well. It's also very well acted and directed, helping to sell the revealed premise. Go in clean if you're going to watch it.
A 4-part ITV drama based on the true story of the British Post Office hiding the fact that their new computer system was systematically falsely claiming that SubPostmasters were stealing money from the tills. Bankruptcy, mental trauma and suicide all followed as these poor people were put through the courts with the government controlled Post Office knowing that these people were innocent.
Toby Jones stars as Alan Bates one of the accused SubPostmasters who is caught up in the scandal. He starts a campaign group and it takes 20 years for some form of justice to be had.
The story is compelling, the acting is superb, it’s a lesson in how the little people are trodden into the dirt by the almighty State, but how these little people can band together and become a force for the good.
A must-see programme.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
10 episodes starring Anthony Hopkins, Sara Martins (Death In Paradise), Tom Hughes and Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel).
In 79 AD, Rome is under the leadership of the elderly Emperor Vespasian, along with his sons, Titus and Domitianus. They are building the Colosseum to give to the people of Rome. Betting supremo Tenax, works to raise enough money to create his own team to race in the Circus Maximus, with the help of famed racer Scorpus. Carla, goes to Rome to free her daughters, Aura and Jula, from slavey and her son, Kwame, from being a gladiator. After Vespasian dies and Titus is appointed his successor, Domitianus and Tenax conspire together to retake power.
Directed by Roland Emmerich, this is a wild romp full of gratuitous sex and violence. It’s Ancient Rome with Dallas style soap opera plot lines. If you ignore the implausibilities and sit back with a cold beer and a slice of pizza, you will find it great fun.
The ending would lead the way for a second season.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
THE FRANCHISE on MAX has been incredibly funny. If you haven't seen it or heard of it, it's a satire about a huge studio making another entry in a superhero franchise (think MCU). All of the crap that they're going through is very, very funny. Really well written and acted with some very big laughs.
The Walking Dead was a superb series. It has spawned several spin-offs during, and since, it’s run has ended, to various degrees of success. This one concentrates on my favourite character from the original series, Daryl Dixon. Dixon is washed ashore into France and tries to find out how he got there and searches for a return to the US.
Norman Reedus is excellent in his role but I found the story to be lacklustre. The action scenes are still good but I didn’t take to the other characters. The ending introduces the return of Carol from the original series and an intro into season two.
I will give it a go, this season only had 6 episodes so I was able to get to the end, if it had been 13 or more I think I would have given up.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I saw an article on this series a couple weeks ago, I shoulda posted a link or quoted because its relevant to us!. The show is produced by Armando Iannucci (Veep) and... Sam Mendes!
in the article Mendes was talking about the challenges of trying to be a creative artist directing a franchise entry and admitted he was inspired by the rules and restrictions imposed when making his Bond films!
I'll see if that articles still online and maybe post a link to it tomorrow
This is the sort of programme that the BBC does so well. Jonathan Creek, Hustle, New Tricks - all enjoyable series as long as you jettison all thoughts of believability and just coast along for the ride, and Ludwig joins that list of favourites of mine.
Twin brothers, one goes missing, so the other (a puzzle setter) takes his place as a police inspector who solves murders and tries to solve the mystery of his brothers disappearance.
Great entertainment - more, please!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Watched a documentary on Sky Arts last night about Hammer Productions called Heroes, Legends and Monsters. [Surely should have been Movies, Monsters and Moguls?] Quite interesting as it focussed on the personalities behind the films not the movies themselves and how the changing economic and social times affected the output and type of product the studio fostered. For instance, I had forgotten Hammer produced The Lady Vanishes (1979) which in its silliness hinted back to the studios founding years when it made Dick Barton knock-offs.
This was followed by a watch of The Omen on BBC2, which I reviewed here back in 2022. A decent enough flick. Halloween telly was not blessed with shock and horror last night.
Carrie was on last night, I hadn't seen it - lots of full frontal female shower scene nudity in the opening scene and it was only 9pm! I haven't seen it and didn't tune in then as I had had an early start, plus it all seemed a bit salacious.
A 6-part thriller set in real time as the Glasgow-London overnight express train is taken over by terrorists using remote control technology by hacking into the networks computer system. The usual array of passengers and staff on board the train and the security staff at the Security Centre try to stop the train and work out if anyone on board or at the Centre are involved in the plot.
It’s reasonably exciting with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Written by Alan Bennett this is a monologue starring Patricia Routledge as Peggy Schofield, an office worker who thinks that she is more important than she actually is. In an acting tour de force we learn of office life, canteen talk and the gradual decline in health as Peggy is admitted to hospital. I’ve always admired Patricia Routledge’s performances as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthropp, but this single play tops the lot in an absolutely mesmerising performance. Top quality writing, a riveting poignant story that breaks the heart.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
A 3-part documentary on the search for the missing Lord Lucan who is accused of murdering the family nanny and attempted murder of his wife.
It’s 50 years ago this week that the event happened and the documentary follows the murdered nanny’s son’s search over 17 years to track down Lucan. He thinks he has found him in Australia with a lot of evidence, including facial recognition, but there is also a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Ultimately, the sad thing is the obsessional mentality of the son, where you can see his yearning for justice, but not seeing the effect that it is having on his own family.
It’s a must see series for all those who remember these events half a century ago.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
yep, Steve Martin Short.
It's good fun. It's character driven humor more than anything else, and all actors...lead and supporting...are delivering quality work across all four of the seasons. Fun guest stars appear as well, often playing fictionalized versions of 'themselves'. As to the mysteries themselves, they are a tad too reliant on coincidences but they're overall pretty satisfying.
I caught up with NIGHTSLEEPER. It dragged a bit towards the end. Plenty of padding and a wholy unsatisfactory ending. Generally though, a decent effort which I enjoyed despite the preposterousness of the on-train proceedings. Events in the UK have recently hinted that the chaos created by a terrorist(s) hacking into a country's essential computerbased infrastuctures is very real, so a round of applause for a story tackling a genuine threat and managing it effectively. I think we mentioned actor Joe Cole in the frame for Bond after his appearance as TV's version of Harry Palmer. I wouldn't be against it, but while he was good in this, he seems - like Michael Caine - to suggest someone more working class and Palmer [at least the consistent visual version of Palmer] fitted him well. Bond? Hmm, the jury might have a long out.
I’m loving the return of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
I’m not a fisherman and have little interest in it…but I adore this program. Now into its 7th series, it’s just a joy to watch Bob & Paul have a fish, chat about silly stuff, chat about serious health issues, chat about family, watch Bob ‘cook’ and watch Bob fall over - a lot 🤣
The premise is these two friends (and comedians/actors) go to different rivers throughout the UK & Ireland and fish for the ‘local’ fish…always letting the fish go after catching them…whilst doing so they talk about their various health issues and family members and stay overnight in various B&B’s or holiday lets.
The idea for the show is ridiculously simple, and they thought they might get a single series out of it…and here we are in the 7th series…the undoubted star of the show though is Ted, the dog owned by the shows Executive Producer…who has just written his ‘pawtobiography’ about working on the show 🤣 it’s due out in November.
And away!
I've been on That's TV which shows vintage comedies, in particular Rising Damp and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads.
Intrigued to see the actor playing the bossy maitre d at the supposedly posh restaurant where Rigsby hopes to charm Miss Jones - I couldn't quite place hime their realised he was one of the sinister MI5 operatives who resembled Harold Wilson in The Ipcress File 10 or so years earlier!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I’ve watched the first two in the new Prof. Brian Cox series Solar System…absolutely brilliant, although I do think Prof. Cox must be an executive producer or something…he’s filmed all over the world in some fabulous places 🤣
SLOW HORSES Season 4
6 superlative episodes of the best television series currently running. Gary Oldman has made Jackson Lamb one of the most iconic characters that television has ever produced. I cannot praise this superb series high enough. If you like espionage, then you won’t see anything better than this.
Agreed 100%. Four great seasons of television so far for SLOW HORSES.
Anyone else watching Ludwig?
This has David Mitchell playing twin brothers - although we only see one as the other is missing.
John Taylor is a puzzle setter who uses the name Ludwig when setting his puzzles, his twin brother DCI James Taylor goes missing in mysterious circumstances. James’s wife calls John in to try and find what happened to him…John is basically a recluse and socially awkward, but agrees to help as his brother going missing is a puzzle. John passes himself off as his twin to try and recover his brother’s notebook from the police station…whilst there he gets sidetracked to go to a murder, as the murder can be solved by reading all the witness statements and plotting a graph, John HAS to solve it as he can’t leave puzzles unsolved. This seems to happen each time he’s at the station looking for more clues to his brother’s whereabouts.
It’s far better than I’ve explained above. Honestly 🤗
Ludwig is rubbish. Like Sir Miles, I am enjoying it. It's almost a lesson to the Bond films, which have missed that test for quite a while - to come up with something that is on the one hand quite preposterous and incredible, yet also make it highly enjoyable - the enjoyment given topspin by the very knowledge that you know it's preposterous and still find it enjoyable.
Anne Maxwell Martin lends a voice of authority to it, as if to say, you better believe this - perhaps like Bernard Lee did back in the day.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Oh, final episode of the melancholic and meandering 1977 drama Love for Lydia set in the 20s last night on Talking Pictures TV - seems I've been watching this since June or July and it hasn't been made clear how many episodes it is, so I missed the first half last night, only someone reminded me. Good stuff, but best watched in instalments - you couldn't binge watch it really on a box set, it doesn't work like that, you have to live with it for months.
Evocative, reminded me of songs in the charts at the time like Mull of Kintyre and Wuthering Heights.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I watched the 3-part bio of Liz Taylor, one of my fav actresses. It was a bit scratchy and as usual with modern day TV profiles it omitted a ton of documented career history to concentrate on the personal scandals, some of which were interesting, most not. The third episode was devoted to her charity work towards AIDS research. Lots of family and friends contributions lent an air of authenticity. Kim Kardasian's observation that Taylor was the world's first multimedia influencer has some merit, but a profile which suggests her acting career at MGM started with National Velvet [it was Lassie Come Home] and neglects to mention she won an Academy Award for Butterfield 8 shows a lack of close attention to detail. A potted history, then, no more.
We started the new TOMB RAIDER animated show on Netflix. It's a direct sequel to the rebooted video game trilogy, so the plotting and characters have carried over. I loved the rebooted video games so this is right up my alley. Three episodes in and the wife and I are enjoying it quite a bit.
We also watched CADDO LAKE on Max. This is a one-off movie, not a series. I can recommend it but I can't go into the plotting as that'd be a major spoiler. I can't even reference what it's reminiscent to without spoiling anything. Regardless, we enjoyed it quite a bit and thought it executed its premise pretty well. It's also very well acted and directed, helping to sell the revealed premise. Go in clean if you're going to watch it.
MR. BATES vs THE POST OFFICE (2024)
A 4-part ITV drama based on the true story of the British Post Office hiding the fact that their new computer system was systematically falsely claiming that SubPostmasters were stealing money from the tills. Bankruptcy, mental trauma and suicide all followed as these poor people were put through the courts with the government controlled Post Office knowing that these people were innocent.
Toby Jones stars as Alan Bates one of the accused SubPostmasters who is caught up in the scandal. He starts a campaign group and it takes 20 years for some form of justice to be had.
The story is compelling, the acting is superb, it’s a lesson in how the little people are trodden into the dirt by the almighty State, but how these little people can band together and become a force for the good.
A must-see programme.
It is a great series…the podcast is even better though…it’s a horrible, horrible story.
THOSE ABOUT TO DIE (2024)
10 episodes starring Anthony Hopkins, Sara Martins (Death In Paradise), Tom Hughes and Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel).
In 79 AD, Rome is under the leadership of the elderly Emperor Vespasian, along with his sons, Titus and Domitianus. They are building the Colosseum to give to the people of Rome. Betting supremo Tenax, works to raise enough money to create his own team to race in the Circus Maximus, with the help of famed racer Scorpus. Carla, goes to Rome to free her daughters, Aura and Jula, from slavey and her son, Kwame, from being a gladiator. After Vespasian dies and Titus is appointed his successor, Domitianus and Tenax conspire together to retake power.
Directed by Roland Emmerich, this is a wild romp full of gratuitous sex and violence. It’s Ancient Rome with Dallas style soap opera plot lines. If you ignore the implausibilities and sit back with a cold beer and a slice of pizza, you will find it great fun.
The ending would lead the way for a second season.
THE FRANCHISE on MAX has been incredibly funny. If you haven't seen it or heard of it, it's a satire about a huge studio making another entry in a superhero franchise (think MCU). All of the crap that they're going through is very, very funny. Really well written and acted with some very big laughs.
Four episodes so far.
THE WALKING DEAD - DARYL DIXON Season One (2023)
The Walking Dead was a superb series. It has spawned several spin-offs during, and since, it’s run has ended, to various degrees of success. This one concentrates on my favourite character from the original series, Daryl Dixon. Dixon is washed ashore into France and tries to find out how he got there and searches for a return to the US.
Norman Reedus is excellent in his role but I found the story to be lacklustre. The action scenes are still good but I didn’t take to the other characters. The ending introduces the return of Carol from the original series and an intro into season two.
I will give it a go, this season only had 6 episodes so I was able to get to the end, if it had been 13 or more I think I would have given up.
Yea, I was underwhelmed by this series as well…I found it a little confusing to start with…it’s an experiment with the format that didn’t quite work…
I saw an article on this series a couple weeks ago, I shoulda posted a link or quoted because its relevant to us!. The show is produced by Armando Iannucci (Veep) and... Sam Mendes!
in the article Mendes was talking about the challenges of trying to be a creative artist directing a franchise entry and admitted he was inspired by the rules and restrictions imposed when making his Bond films!
I'll see if that articles still online and maybe post a link to it tomorrow
LUDWIG (2024)
This is the sort of programme that the BBC does so well. Jonathan Creek, Hustle, New Tricks - all enjoyable series as long as you jettison all thoughts of believability and just coast along for the ride, and Ludwig joins that list of favourites of mine.
Twin brothers, one goes missing, so the other (a puzzle setter) takes his place as a police inspector who solves murders and tries to solve the mystery of his brothers disappearance.
Great entertainment - more, please!
AGATHA ALL ALONG had its finale tonight. I'm happy to say that it stuck the landing, unlike countless other MCU shows.
Really enjoyed it overall.
I wholeheartedly agree…it was a great series…and series 2 has been commissioned 👏🏻
Another season? Fantastic news!! 😁👏
Watched a documentary on Sky Arts last night about Hammer Productions called Heroes, Legends and Monsters. [Surely should have been Movies, Monsters and Moguls?] Quite interesting as it focussed on the personalities behind the films not the movies themselves and how the changing economic and social times affected the output and type of product the studio fostered. For instance, I had forgotten Hammer produced The Lady Vanishes (1979) which in its silliness hinted back to the studios founding years when it made Dick Barton knock-offs.
This was followed by a watch of The Omen on BBC2, which I reviewed here back in 2022. A decent enough flick. Halloween telly was not blessed with shock and horror last night.
Carrie was on last night, I hadn't seen it - lots of full frontal female shower scene nudity in the opening scene and it was only 9pm! I haven't seen it and didn't tune in then as I had had an early start, plus it all seemed a bit salacious.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
THE DIPLOMAT season 2 landed on Netflix yesterday. Great start to the season so far.
NIGHTSLEEPER (2024) BBC iPlayer
A 6-part thriller set in real time as the Glasgow-London overnight express train is taken over by terrorists using remote control technology by hacking into the networks computer system. The usual array of passengers and staff on board the train and the security staff at the Security Centre try to stop the train and work out if anyone on board or at the Centre are involved in the plot.
It’s reasonably exciting with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE (1982) BBC iPlayer
Written by Alan Bennett this is a monologue starring Patricia Routledge as Peggy Schofield, an office worker who thinks that she is more important than she actually is. In an acting tour de force we learn of office life, canteen talk and the gradual decline in health as Peggy is admitted to hospital. I’ve always admired Patricia Routledge’s performances as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthropp, but this single play tops the lot in an absolutely mesmerising performance. Top quality writing, a riveting poignant story that breaks the heart.
@CoolHandBond Truly a magnificent performance. Ms. Routledge is an institution.
Acting at its finest.
LUCAN (2024) BBC iPlayer
A 3-part documentary on the search for the missing Lord Lucan who is accused of murdering the family nanny and attempted murder of his wife.
It’s 50 years ago this week that the event happened and the documentary follows the murdered nanny’s son’s search over 17 years to track down Lucan. He thinks he has found him in Australia with a lot of evidence, including facial recognition, but there is also a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Ultimately, the sad thing is the obsessional mentality of the son, where you can see his yearning for justice, but not seeing the effect that it is having on his own family.
It’s a must see series for all those who remember these events half a century ago.