GOOD TV

[Tripps]

BBC Sport personality of the year is on TV. I read that the lady footballer is favourite.

Wow - she stands a 1/7 in the betting which is favourite indeed. I'd never heard of her so checked wikipedia -

"Seems In 2022, Mead broke Jimmy Greaves' 61-year-old record of the most goals scored in a season by an England player of either gender". That's a curious achievement.

PS - She won - of course.

Wisely Ronnie O'Sullivan did not turn up but watched it on a video link from Dubai. Good judge I'd say.

[Stanley]

It passed me by, I am such a sad old git!

[Big Kev]

Binge watched the four part series Strike on iPlayer last night. It's adapted from the books by Richard Galbraith (J.K. Rowling), a good watch with a nice little twist at the end.

[Stanley]

I keep looking at that and wondering if it's worth a go....
I watched the WW1 film 1917 last night. Wonderful visual effects, god knows how they did it.

[PanBiker]

The entire film was shot with a continuous single camera.

The remake of All Quite On The Western Front which has the German perspective is worth a watch as well. Available on Netflix if you have it.

[Big Kev]

A different role for Daniel Craig, watched Knives Out and Knives Out: Glass Onion on Netflix. Two 'whodunnit' films, very amusing.

[Tripps]

I'm watching the first two episodes of Tinker Tailor. Didn't realise it was made as long ago as 1979.
There is no other description that fits other than "superb". Stark contrast to what he get for "drama" now.

PS Stonehouse was quite good too. Next part tonight.

[Stanley]

I agree about Tinker Tailor David. What channel is it on?

[Tripps]

I think it was BBC 4, and Stonehouse is on ITV.
I think I like them because they are either factual, or pretty close to it - not from the box ticking pen of a soap opera writer. I guess that suits my personality.

[Stanley]

I'll look for that David. It's a while since I last watched it and you are right, it is so good!

[Gloria]

We watched the first two of Stonehouse last night, I like the dramas based on fact, very watchable.

[Stanley]

I watched Tinker Tailor last night. Thanks David for reminding me. Now I need to find the second half of the story. Was it Smiley's People?

[Tripps]

I can't get over how old the series is. Made in 1979. I got lost in the middle - but enjoyed the end which I think I understood.

The music was perfect, and a few things jumped out at me.

All the spies were white, male, middle aged and wore suits and ties all the time. How did someone called Esterhazy (Hungarian?) get positive clearance back in the day? The only woman to have a strong part was Beryl Read. Smiley's wife Ann was mentioned throughout but I think only appeared in the last few minutes.

Did they really smoke so much then? Probably - I did in the 60's! I didn't drink so much whisky though. I smiled when I saw the train passengers struggling with suitcases - not one had wheels on.

PS - Just noticed that Karla was played by Patrick Stewart from Star Trek.

****************************

I think Stonehouse could have been condensed to two episodes? He was a 'piece of work' but I can't help wondering how many of his sort are in the House today. Quite a few I'd guess. Was Betty Boothroyd always in Harold Wilson's office to give her opinion on everything? I doubt it. Harold seemed to be constantly rehearsing for a future career as a stand up comedian.

Just my thoughts. I will delete TV critic from my future career list.

[Tripps]

Just switched Dragon's Den off. That's a first. It's a new series and I like the programme.

The third applicants are planted - as were the first two - to tick boxes on the BBC woke scorecard.

It's almost enough to make me stop paying the TV Licence.

[Stanley]

I watched 'A Murder of Quality', One of the first appearances for George Smiley. This was the original film and George was played by Denholm Elliot. Some more good old names in the cast, Glenda Jackson and Joss Ackland to name two more. Very high quality viewing.... We don't see a lot of that these days.

[MickBrett]

We watched the first 2 episodes of the new series of Happy Valley.

[Stanley]

I'm enjoying the snooker. I watched Hossein Vafaei beat Mark Selby and tonight I will watch Ronnie on Catch-up as he wins his first round match beating Luca Brecel in the afternoon session yesterday.

[PanBiker]

We watched the first 2 episodes of the new series of Happy Valley.

Aye, Catherine has a plateful at the moment.

[MickBrett]

Last night we watched Stonehouse, a 3 part mini series which was better than we expected.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13005652/

[Tripps]

Last night we watched Stonehouse, a 3 part mini series which was better than we expected.

It was based on real events - not the vivid imagination of a 'drama' writer. There was a follow up documentary programme on a couple of nights ago which showed they kept quite close to the original story in the dramatisation. Who is a 'John Stonehouse' in the current Parliament I ask myself?

Regarding Sarah Lancashire - I watched some of the last series and it was OK until she was really savagely beaten up, and then not long afterwards portrayed as being fully recovered with no after effects at all. I think this sort of thing is one of the big drawbacks with 'dramas'. I include fire scenes, where the actors go in an out of a burning building. Compare that with the reality of a house fire for example. I don't watch it or most other 'dramas' now. Am I being too fussy perhaps, and should I suspend my disbelief to watch such stuff? I do when I watch Nyoka - Queen of the Jungle.

I watched a BBC 4 programme about art last night. Featured a lot about Manchester Art Gallery, and showed a favourite painting of mine The Hireling Shepherd which I saw in real life while I was at school. I also learned that 'Zoffany' wasn't just an Irish racehorse as I'd imagined - but also an artist with an interesting life story.

The education continues. So much to learn, so little time

[MickBrett]

I watched a BBC 4 programme about art last night. Featured a lot about Manchester Art Gallery

What was the name of the programme? My sister may be interested in this.

[Tripps]

It was this -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bgfwdn

[MickBrett]

Thank you

[Stanley]

I agree with you David, they treat some scenes like the fires and beatings you mention far too lightly. In practice they are life-changing and yes that's why I can't watch a lot of today's TV. You don't need to suspend disbelief when you're watching seal pups being rescued from entanglements with plastic waste off Pelican Point in Namibia on Youtube.
I think the problem with me is I know too much about the consequences of these things in real life and so cannot suspend disbelief enough to watch the drama in comfort.
Is it another consequence of old age?

[Stanley]

More wonderful snooker. This time Judd Trump and Ryan Day. Superb cliff hanging stuff. Trump won is the end by a whisker!