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[OT] Two TV Show Recommendations

Call.Me.Ishmael
Rhode Island
Both from Sony/Apple TV...

SLOW HORSES: Based on the "Slough House" novels by Mick Herron. This is a spy thriller sitting closer to le Carré than Ludlum. It's about a group of dysfunctional MI5 agents exiled from the mainstream service for various offenses. Gary Oldman stars as lead misfit and giant asshole Jackson Lamb (not a bad fit as Oldman played George Smiley in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".) Lamb is what would happen if George Smiley was a low-functioning alcoholic with some hard drugs tossed in the mix. It's a good watch if you're into a spy thriller a frosting of dark comedy.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5875444/


FOR ALL MANKIND: An alternate history drama set in a past where the global space race did not die off after the moon landings. It's an interesting character-driven drama with high-stakes suspense inserted in all the right places. It also takes deeper dives into NASA; aerospace engineering; as well as domestic and international politics, intrigue, and espionage. The series also looks at a variety of social issues without being ham-fisted about it. It's created by Ronald D. Moore, who rebooted Battlestar Galactica many years ago. He's doing a better job with this series, to be honest. Three very good seasons are out so far. A fourth season has been ordered.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/

31 comments

Latest

Hank Moody
•
2 years ago
Thanks for the recs Ish. I LOVED that battlestar galactica reboot and am interested in what else Moore can do.
PhredJohnson
•
2 years ago
Appreciate the recommendations as well. I enjoyed The Expanse on Prime. Future. Earth and Mars fully populated and dislike/distrust each other. The “belters” inhabit and mine the asteroids, are exploited by the “inners” of earth/mars and revolt.
motorhead
•
2 years ago
The best thing I’ve watched this year is “The Offer” about the making of The Godfather.

Surprisingly good when you consider the topic sounds like a dull documentary. Extremely well acted.
georgmicrodong
•
2 years ago
Both of those have been on my "To Be Watched" list for a while now. Just need to get to them.
Electronman
•
2 years ago
Two favorites for me:

Dopesick, about Purdue Pharma and the marketing and abuse of oxycontin.

Bad sisters, a dark comedy about four sisters trying to kill the husband of the fifth sister.
gammanu95
•
2 years ago
Jenna Ortega. She is a hot little 20-year old piece of ass.

The Expanse was a great fucking show.

Reacher and Jack Ryan have been pretty good.

This season of Yellowstone has sucked.



motorhead
•
2 years ago
I agree “Yellowstone” has been bad this season. Only one good episode. And the episode with Beth and Rip in the mountains on the cattle drive - sure the scenery was pretty but the music was overly dramatic and nothing happened to move the plot forward
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
The Expanse was a great show. Took the 'science' in science fiction more seriously than most SF shows or movies.
Studme53
•
2 years ago
^ Great recommendation on Slow Horses. Gary Oldman is excellent and hilarious. Smart show too
Studme53
•
2 years ago
Read the 1st expanse book - love sci-fi but not a page turner. Felt the same way about the series.

I read “The Quantum Magician” at some PL’s suggestion (Ishmael?) - excellent hard sci-fi - thanks !
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
Yep, I recommended "The Quantum Magician" a couple of months ago.
londonguy
•
2 years ago
Do any of you know the series in which a girl had the power to move things around using the power of her mind? I think it’s fairly recent and had at least a second season?
twentyfive
•
2 years ago
^ Bewitched, but it's not recent
londonguy
•
2 years ago
Thanks 25. I thought it was recent, apologies.
londonguy
•
2 years ago
Just saw a clip, maybe I’m thinking of something else
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
Off the top of my head, nothing comes to mind. If you could be a little more specific it might help.
doctorevil
•
2 years ago
Not really a series, but a genre of series--I have been watching documentaries on the Apollo moon missions. Apollo: The Lost Tapes on Hulu is a good example. There are similar series or one off documentaries on Netflix, and there is also the NASA channel, which in addition to having features on current activities has historical programs. They are as good as any modern science fiction movies. More than 50 years after the fact, with SpaceX and Blue Origin launches routine, many don't realize how extraordinary and risky these flights were. A fire killed the first three Apollo astronauts during testing. Apollo 11 landed on the moon only after Neil Armstrong took over from the flight computer that was heading for a field of boulders, found a new landing spot, and landed with only seconds of fuel left. The real shows on Apollo 13, which experienced a fuel tank explosion on the way to the moon, is better than the Ron Howard Hollywood movie (which in itself was very good).
twentyfive
•
2 years ago
^ If you like the docudrama version you can watch the movie adaptation of The Right Stuff, even though it was a good account of the early days of the space program, it doesn't come close to the book written by Tom Wolfe, which was incredibly researched and a fantastic read
motorhead
•
2 years ago
Because of this this thread , I started binging For All of Mankind

Not what I expected but very entertaining
Studme53
•
2 years ago
^ I love sci-fi, so I tried For All of Mankind. Too much woke revisionist history. Read The Right Stuff instead if you haven’t yet.
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
"For All Mankind" is great.
motorhead
•
2 years ago
I’ve gotten thru the first 5 episodes - if nothing else it reminds you that EVERYONE smoked like a chimney in the 60’s and 70’s

Lol. But if all the astronauts were such heavy smokers and drinkers, how’d they survive a long space flight
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
"Mayor of Kingstown" on Paramount+. This show was created by Taylor Sheridan ("Yellowstone"; "Hell or High Water") and Hugh Dillon.

"Mayor of Kingstown follows the powerful McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption, and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither."

Is it as good as "Yellowstone"...no. Is it still very good?...yes. Jeremy Renner is great in this (and I don't mind looking at Emma Laird...).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11712058/
drewcareypnw
•
2 years ago
@CMI thanks. I love Le Carre. I will watch this next. Have you see The Bureau? Similar vibe and caliber.
gammanu95
•
2 years ago
I hate monthly bills and subscription services. I like to buy something outright one time, like TUSCL lifetime VIP, and be done with it. I enjoy Yellowstone as well as the free previews of 1883 and 1923, but will not purchase another streaming service. I ignored Netflix for the longest time, was a late adopter of Disney+ and Prime, and just do not see the point of throwing more money into the hole of subscription services when it was supposed to free us from the yoke of cable.

Having said that, The Last of Us was good enough to give me nightmares. Very well-acted and a riveting first episode. I never played the game it is based on, but I am looking forward to seeing it's take on the dystopian modern world full of mushroom monsters. That reminds me of a joke:

A mushroom walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "We don't serve mushrooms in here!"
The mushroom asks, "Why not? I'm a fungi."
motorhead
•
2 years ago
Thanks for the recommendation of “For All Mankind”

I’m into season 3. I can’t think of a better show on TV right now. It’s amazing.

Just enough sci-fi and alt-history for men and soap opera for women. Great show.
azdd
•
2 years ago
So I waded through season one of The White Lotus, mostly waiting to see Alexandria Dedarrio’s tits, which didn’t happen. Not sure whether to invest in watching season two or not. Also in the middle of season one of Your Honor, but it’s depressing. I like Cranston, so just watched Jerry and Marge Go Large, a true story about a math whiz that found a flaw in a state lottery game that allowed him and his friends in his small town to win millions. It was reasonably entertaining.
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
"...mostly waiting to see Alexandria Dedarrio’s tits..."

You want "True Detective," Season 1, which is very good in addition to the eye candy.
drewcareypnw
•
2 years ago
@cmi: Slow Horses was awesome! Top quality British gritty spy fare. Loved it. Thank you!
Call.Me.Ishmael
•
2 years ago
^ Glad you liked it.
Hank Moody
•
2 years ago
I much preferred S2 of The White Lotus. Lots more tits too, though none of the caliber of Daddario’s, but that’s an extremely high bar with plenty of room underneath for some great ones.
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