[generic] What have you viewed recently?

As recommended by @Mad Maluja I have started watching "Art of Persia" on BBC4.
IT'S BRILLIANT!
As much history as culture it's must watch viewing for all of us here.

Art of Persia, Series 1: Episode 1: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000k48g via @bbciplayer

It’s like strolling down memory Lane for me. I lived in Iran from 1972 to 1979 and it was a fantastic experience. My Halcyon days, then I had to come back and live in Blighty. I remember clambering up the rock face below the tombs of the Persian kings and the tomb of Cyrus. The mosque in Shiraz was amazing. I wish I could screen grab my memories. But the ziggurat at Chogazambil was awesome and is the inspiration for the ruins in the Red Desert of Gwenthia. The sand next to the ruin was strewn with bricks with cuneiform writing and tourists could just pick them up and walk off with them. Only a lonely illkempt watchman stood guard and didn’t stop anyone taking the bricks. It was sad to see. My dad had a Bedford motor caravan with the accordion style top. Waking up to see the ruins of Persepolis from the car park, as a kid, is one of my enduring memories. Alas the magnificent tents, bedecked in silks and chandeliers that the Shah had put to impress visiting dignitaries at a lavish show he hosted, have all been looted and only the steel skeletons are left behind (which are seen in episode 3 of the show if I remember). The summer palace of the shah in Shiraz had every rose there was available at that time.
 
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The Craft: Legacy (NOW TV Movies) - oh, that's not a good thing at all. I am a massive fan of The Craft and this was a particularly weak remake/sequel (it couldn't quite make up its mind, even with the 'shock' reveal at the end) that just didn't know what it was doing. None of the bite of the original and the magic was far too easy to do for them. A lot of it was more like the Little Mix video for Black Magic.


Disappointed face activated
 
Ok, just engaged with the Watch on BBC iPlayer.
Very impressed.

It's a clockpunk grunge indie reboot of the Guards in Ankh Morpork. I recommend it, but don't go in assuming cuddly Pratchett. It's been written by people who clearly know Discworld well but aren't being restrained by it.

8/10, maybe 9

The Watch, Series 1: 1. A Near Vimes Experience: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09jgnbv via @bbciplayer
 
I’m sorry to say, I’m of the opinion that The Watch series is nothing like Pratchett and I do not recommend it if you are a fan of his work. I got the impression that the writers didn’t know the material they were working with and tried to make it ”edgey”.
 
I’m sorry to say, I’m of the opinion that The Watch series is nothing like Pratchett and I do not recommend it if you are a fan of his work. I got the impression that the writers didn’t know the material they were working with and tried to make it ”edgey”.
I am happy to disagree..
 
Go and read the Watch books and tell me how much the characters onscreen reflect those in the book.
Well there are quite a lot, so I'll be back in a few years..Of course I have read them..

So:
Vimes: an alcoholic door kicker who reforms when he meets his wife, but is always just one sip from a bender. Also, takes in waifs and strays.
Carrot: lad who thinks he is a dwarf but is deeply moral and is really a King.. and fancies Angua.
Angua: she's a girl who's a werewolf and is conflicted about it .. and fancies Carrot.
Vetinari: he's a manipulative bastard

the 2 that differ are:

Cheery: ok she's a totally different character, but I like her
Sybil: she's a lot more proactive and a lot less charity fete

the Goblins: just brilliant!

Now.. I am no purist, if you want Hamlet played by a woman in a treehouse in Lothlorien, I am down with it.. but I think for a show that is 'inspired by', it's a great re-imagining..

Oh and DEATH! Yes, a cool Afro-America dude, I love it..

But we won't agree, what I would hope is that people can see the merits of diversity and the need for creators to have room to create..

See also: Tolkien fans, Shakespeare fans and so on..
 
Sybil: she's a lot more proactive and a lot less charity fete

THIS still irks.

Yes it’s quite a charming little series - especially the punk bits. And it’s not Terry Pratchett.

(Amongst other things, it rushed to Carcer and rushed to the Auditors. And it wasted Detritus whose subtle story arc is handled delightfully in the books. Why do people adapting things always rush to the end and cram in things which were built towards in the original materials?)

I watched it all and was quite entertained.

But to keep Vimes pretty much as is but make Sybil younger and less “womanly” is ageist and…. I don’t have an …ist term which ultimately makes it misogynist. IMHO.

(Got nothing against the actress. Just miscast.)

Pratchett’s female love interests always have at least one major feature that clearly divorces them from the “ideal woman” which is continually rammed down our throats in all media. And his male protagonists love them anyway. As men do in the real world. For me it’s one of his touchstones.

I’m very defensive of Sybil. I love the character. And I love Vime’s love for her.

BTW:

Book
Audio book
Audio play
Stage play
Animation
TV Series

That’s six different media I’ve consumed this story in so far. And I can’t help feeling I’ve missed one. They really need to adapt some of the other Vimes books at some point.
 
I watched both series of Catweazle for the very first time on Britbox. What a charming television show, with a lot of familiar faces from the era making an appearance. It's a crying shame they don't make children's programmes like that any more. Sadly, the film source could do with some tending loving care and is in desperate need of restoration. I give it a very strong 9/10.

I also tried to view The Watch, but after three episodes I gave up. Christina only managed one episode. Although the premise was nice and the writing wasn't terrible, we both agreed it was nothing like the books and it felt to us to be some vague parody of Pratchett's original. A very disappointing 2/10.

Batwoman season two: This series is great because of the supporting cast. Everyone around the lead, such as Rachel Skarsten (Beth Kane/Alice), do a marvelous job to hold the show up. Like season one, it's the lead that lets the show down. Javicia Leslie (Ryan Wilder/Batwoman) is a big improvement on Ruby Rose and I hope she improves in season three. A positive 7/10.

The Secrets of the London Underground on Yesterday is a very nice documentary series presented by historian Tin Dunn and Siddy Holloway, especially if you are into the history of trains and transport. The series explores just some of the hidden and abandoned underground stations, which is something I kind of love and would like to explore in person one day, and goes behind the scenes at the London Transport Museum. My interest was sparked by reading and watching Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and some of the places visited were used as locations in the making of the 90s television series and for recent James Bond films. It's also a cracking series to watch for coming up with ideas for potential RPG scenarios set in London.
 
Possessor - sci-fi/horror starring Andrea Riseborough as an assassin who carries out her assignments by transferring her consciousness to a convenient patsy who does the job before being made to top themselves. She works for an amoral Canadian corporation for whom murder is just business by other means. Very gory and mean spirited film. Some interesting ideas but they do get drowned in all the blood, snot and teeth. Final third of the film drags a bit as well. Sean Bean has a great cameo as an obnoxious Steve Jobs style tech billionaire. Directed by Brandon Cronenberg who seems to be a chip off the old block, if not quite the equal of his father.
 
Watchmen - I caught up with the HBO 'limited' series which explores what the universe of the Watchmen graphic novel would look like 30 years on. I enjoyed this, and it even managed to make the psychic squid from the original feel credible(*). The series focuses on racial tensions, the choices of massive levels of power (Dr Manhatten) and continues the exploration around why people wear masks. I enjoyed this and was a little disappointed that they've decided not to go any further. The soundtrack was by Ross and Reznor and worked well for me.

(*)I have to admit that I didn't mind the changes Zack Snyder made to the ending in the movie version as I think it ended up being more coherent for a mass audience that may have not been familiar with the original material.
 
Shadow and Bone on Netflix based on the novel of the same name. We watched this on the recommendation of a friend and we have blown through the eight-part series in just three days. I must admit, I found the series to be better than expected, with great writing and some exceptional acting. Netflix needed another hit like The Witcher and I believe they have found it with the Grishaverse. I'm already looking forward to season two, based upon Siege and Storm, and I've downloaded the trilogy onto my Kindle. An impressive 10/10.
 
Shadow and Bone on Netflix based on the novel of the same name. We watched this on the recommendation of a friend and we have blown through the eight-part series in just three days. I must admit, I found the series to be better than expected, with great writing and some exceptional acting. Netflix needed another hit like The Witcher and I believe they have found it with the Grishaverse. I'm already looking forward to season two, based upon Siege and Storm, and I've downloaded the trilogy onto my Kindle. An impressive 10/10.
Thanks for this, I wasn't sure. I shall indulge now.
 
Double Jeopardy (Netflix) - okay thriller I missed in 1999. Felt a bit undercooked and Tommy Lee Jones was under-used. Maybe I’m too used the character development you get in series these days?
 
The Expanse - Season 5 (Prime) binge watched this weekend and was as excellent as I remembered from the books. They handled the issue with Cas Anvar with subtlety and I’m looking forward to the next season. Of course, it all gets even more messy. I suspect they’ll handle the remaining books as movies due to the time jumps.

Kate (Netflix) you’ve seen it all before but good action flick set in Tokyo with an assassin poisoned with 24h to get her revenge before she dies.

Guns Akimbo (Prime) - Daniel Radcliffe as the nerd who gets drawn into a real life death match after posting one troll comment too many. Knowingly sending up the genre and very very violent.
 
The Expanse - Season 5 (Prime) binge watched this weekend and was as excellent as I remembered from the books. They handled the issue with Cas Anvar with subtlety and I’m looking forward to the next season. Of course, it all gets even more messy. I suspect they’ll handle the remaining books as movies due to the time jumps.
I kind of hope not.. the long form of TV seems so much more suited, movies just seem so.. well... short.. Like you I am just waiting for the new novel...
 
Back from a couple of months of no TV, didn't really miss it but have started watching again with Alice in Borderland (Netflix) and am now five episodes in.

Three lads hiding from the Tokyo police in a toilet emerge to find the entire population of the city has vanished. They are joined by a young woman who informs them that they are all now involuntary players in a series of lethal games; win, and get a 'visa' which grants you a few days more life, lose and die. Refuse to play, and when your visa runs out, you die.

Each episode has a game-of-the-week internal plot revolving around a specific game, and clues to the overall questions of who is doing this, why, and how. Individual games are usually co-operative, encouraging the players to build teams, but occasionally competitive, when only one player can survive, which places those teams under stress.

Made in Japanese, but dubbed into English. Apparently based on a graphic novel of the same name, which I have not read. Very violent in places.
 
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Two episodes in and Foundation (Apple TV+) is great. Absolutely nails the feel of the books but modernises them and fills in the spaces. It'll be too slow for some though. I did read that the entire plot (6 books) may well take 80 episodes...
 
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