krankydoodle

I really like both shows, but this comment struck me because I had just been thinking that the British show benefits from having longer episodes. In the US version, I feel like the plots sometimes don't have enough time to develop. The episode with Pete's wife and the more recent one with flashbacks to Sassapis's father seemed a bit rushed to me.

I have Peacock premium and unfortunately it doesn't indicate which shows are only available behind the paywall, so I'm sorry but I don't know.

Peacock is highlighting a collection called Disability on Screen. In addition to Paralympics coverage, there are stand-up specials from Josh Blue, documentaries like Murderball, and movies and tv shows with disability representation. There's also a 10-episode reality show called Born for Business: "With little in common but their refusal to let their disabilities define them, entrepreneurs Qiana, Collette, Chris and Lexi meet to discuss the challenges they face in their divergent businesses." I don't watch a lot of reality tv so probably won't watch it, but would be interested to hear what others think.

I think that they went from a 0 to 60 on this one. They found each other attractive and interesting, but to run away, fly to New York and elope seemed like a stretch to me and kind of silly. I finally watched ep10 and I agree that this subplot could've used a few more episodes to develop if that's the direction they wanted to go in. I also thought it was odd that the Monty we saw here didn't seem to match the one we've been hearing about. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I got the impression that in addition to having multiple affairs, he was fond of jetsetting and wasn't great with money. In this episode, his biggest failing was that he was working so much that he'd been neglecting his marriage. Considering how unhappy we've seen Lady Felicia with her marriage across multiple seasons, I wish the show had followed through by having her leave him. It would've been interesting seeing her adjusting to a separation and maybe eventually a divorce, but I guess this was the easiest route since she's not a regular anymore.

The tidbits from the new book about the making of Mad Max: Fury Road are interesting. I remember hearing about Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy clashing on set not long after the movie was released (7 years ago now!), but it seemed to be put down to different working styles. From the excerpts in the AV Club article, though, it sounds like Hardy was being incredibly unprofessional to put it mildly.

I don't enjoy this show's brand of silliness as much as I used to, but I agree that the most recent set of episodes are an improvement over the Christmas special. I really like Harry, but I think that has more to do with the actor than the character who--apart from his need to exercise in order to think better--seems too grounded for this show. I also don't know why they added another character when there are already some who are underserved/clumsily dragged into investigations. But I'm glad the show isn't milking the potential rivalry between Toni and Harry or the relationship issues with Toni-Bill and Agatha-James, though I guess that last one is still up in the air given Agatha's reaction to his engagement.

This is off to a promising start. The characters are interesting, the mystery is intriguing, and there's enough humor to mix things up a bit. I especially liked Adam Scott's scenes with his sister and seeing Patricia Arquette in what looks like a meaty role. The show also looks great, though the maze-like hallways, too close for comfort desk arrangement, and the office building in the middle of a massive parking lot are bringing back grim memories from my time working at a big pharma company.

I didn't make it through episode 5 because she was being so awful that even Father Brown should've had enough. Writing in a complaint that the butcher's shop had rats based on some idle rumors? Ugh! The butcher shouldn't have given in at the end by allowing her to shop there again. Ha, I'm the opposite because the only Flambeau episodes I've enjoyed are the ones with Lady Felicia.

I struggled with Ava at first when the pilot ended with her gleefully wasting the money intended for new supplies, but I appreciate how the show has used the character since then. In addition to her many other funny moments that people have already mentioned, her calling Janine "Dork Dash" in this episode cracked me up. I also agree with what everyone else has said about Jacob. I liked that he was honest but carefully worded his opinion of Tariq in deference to Janine. I especially loved the scene where he reveals that he didn't tell Janine about his relationship because he didn't want to be asked to weigh in on hers.

I think my expectations for Werewolves Within were too high because I found it a bit disappointing. Sam Richardson was delightful of course, but it just wasn't as funny as I had hoped. It's still worth watching, but is definitely not in the top tier of werewolf movies or horror comedies. The Night House, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. I knew it would at least be watchable given that Rebecca Hall is the lead, but it's been a while since I've seen a horror movie so compelling. It takes its time establishing the character and setting before things get going and then it does a great job doling out scares and reveals. It's a shame this came out during the pandemic because it didn't get the attention it deserved.

I think the only other Jennifer Lopez romcom I've seen is The Wedding Planner, so that article was an interesting read. It reminded me of some of the discussions around Mindy Kaling's The Mindy Project. As for Marry Me, I wouldn't argue it's a good movie but I enjoyed it. It definitely helped that I came into it already liking Lopez and Owen Wilson because the premise is eye-rollingly ridiculous so the movie really depends on their charm to carry it off. It seemed a bit choppy and there were elements I didn't like, but darn if I didn't feel happy while watching it. I also teared up at the couples interviews (a la When Harry Met Sally) that closed the movie, so I may be an easy mark.

We got enough snow yesterday that work was called off and I had plans to be productive, but then I discovered that Law & Order: Los Angeles was on IMDBtv. I know it's ranked pretty low in the franchise, but I got sucked in mostly because of Corey Stoll who I just find so compelling and appealing. I don't love him enough to watch The Strain (eye worms, ew), but might start watching Billions now that he's a regular. He sported an unfortunate mustache in the first batch of L&O episodes, but even that wasn't enough to obscure his hotness.

Remember WENN, AMC's first scripted show from the 90s is finally available to stream on AMC+. Only the first season so far, but hopefully they'll add the rest. It was so clever and charming and never really got its due. Also frustrating was that the final episode ended on a cliffhanger (I was Team Victor).

Ha, I usually don't notice what people are wearing but I actually loved the cardigan she had on early in the episode. I also liked Gregory's coat in their last scene. My favorite part of the episode was the look of dawning realization on Ava's face when Malcolm revealed that he saw through her, followed immediately by her trying to get rid of him.

The Love & Basketball flashback, the respect for Paddington 2, the Usual Suspects-like reveal about the fake sob story were all great. I'm so glad someone recommended this show to me and I hope more people find it.

I really liked it. I was a little frustrated when Melody stayed behind after rescuing Jess and have a few other nitpicks, but this is the first show in a long while that I've found compelling enough to watch all the way through so eh. I was happy that Mark really was a loyal and loving friend to Dan. Their hug in the last episode was sweet and I hope we get another season if only so we can see them reunited.

I'm annoyed with how they're dragging out the will they-won't they with Dr. Lynch by having him get engaged to his insufferable girlfriend after Matilda didn't show up to their blind date which she still doesn't know about 🙄. I also don't like how they made PC Foster kind of incompetent (or at least more than I remember him being in the first season). I noticed they seem to have dropped his crush on Matilda. Anyway, despite my griping, I'm still enjoying the show and am happy for the new episodes. I was really looking forward to Stay Close, but sadly didn't make it past the first episode. I'm halfway through Archive 81 on Netflix and am loving it so far, but that's more mystery-horror.

I've finished the first 2 episodes and am really enjoying it so far. When shows (or books) are split into 2 timelines, I often find one less compelling than the other so I'm happy that's not the case here. I listened to the podcast when it first started a few years ago. Season 2 took a really strange turn and I only made it a few episodes in. It wasn't bad, but it pivoted so much that it essentially became a different series IIRC. I'll be interested to see if the Netflix show goes the same way.

I didn't have high expectations for this but was planning on seeing it for Ariana DeBose. Now I'm more excited because someone whose opinion I usually trust when it comes to movies (Ira Madison III on the Keep It! podcast) had nothing but praise for it, which carries a lot of weight with me because of how much he loves the original movie and because he generally doesn't enjoy Ansel Elgort. He sounded almost apologetic when talking about it because I think he went in expecting to hate it, but he singled out the script, Mike Faist as Riff, and DeBose as Anita.

What a great finale. I'm surprised no one dropped anything with all the running around they were doing, especially during that demanding showstopper. I felt terrible for Crystelle (who I didn't realize is only 26, younger than Lizzie which surprised me) when her final element in the showstopper was revealed to be raw. I really like Crystelle and Chigs, but Giuseppe has been my favorite, so I was thrilled for him to win. His reactions to the video from his family and then to winning made me tear up. ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention Noel's amazing Phenomena shirt, which I loved. But I also have to say that I thought he was a bit intrusive a few times this episode despite having acknowledged and apologizing for that tendency last week.

I watched Schmigadoon! recently and in a cast of very talented people, Ariana DeBose stood out. I love her voice and found her so charismatic and impressive that I'm planning to watch West Side Story just to see her as Anita. She has a few other upcoming movies listed on IMDB including a Matthew Vaughn-directed action movie that also stars Henry Cavill, Catherine O'Hara, and other big names, so she's well on her way.

I admired Jürgen's restraint. As much as I generally enjoy Noel, he was really pushing it and I don't think I would've handled his needling (lighthearted though I'm sure it was meant to be) as well. I appreciated at least that when Noel and Matt came out for the showstopper, they apologized for bothering the bakers and didn't mess around when announcing times during that grueling final challenge. Of course, that didn't stop Matt from winking and nudging when Crystelle talked about putting her candle in a hole 🙄

I like Lopez well enough, really like Wilson, but tend to be disappointed by most romcoms, so am surprised by how eager I am to watch this. It looks like the kind of frothy nonsense with a happy ending that I need right now.

Chigs just made People Magazine's list of 25 of the Sexiest Men You Can Watch on TV Now. I'm glad they picked a nice photo for him because the choices for some of the others are baffling.

I'm disappointed in the 4 episodes of Dalgliesh I've watched on Acorn. There's a lot to enjoy about the show, like the casting and overall production, but the adaptations are too short. There are 2 45-minute episodes for each book and I just don't think that's enough time to develop the characters or do justice to PD James's work. The ending of Shroud for a Nightingale, in particular, didn't have much of an impact because we'd hardly seen the characters interacting. I remember the adaptations starring Roy Marsden being miniseries-length and quite faithful to the books, so maybe I'll track those down to rewatch and compare.