Your Ten Favorite Shows Currently on Television

Interesting to see people liking that show! I couldnt get past the cringey hipsterness... but some of their skits are ok .

cringeyness mostly wears off after an episode but maybe not knowing the hallmarks of aussie hipsterdom helps

Saw the trailer for that and whilst parts of it did seem a bit cringey, I was intrigued so will give it a go

The parts where they lean into the cringey hipsterness, like the haircut skit, were some of my favorite parts

i got some laughs out of it but there is so much yelling. like they think that yelling something automatically makes it funnier. very yell-y.

OK I take back what I said because I just saw "Filling up on cheese before dinner" and it killed me.

that's a good un

I've only seen the first episode but have been watching various clips on youtube and I'm sold.

I kinda lost track of films this month and instead focused on television, with mixed results.
Here’s my late October through end of November viewing. Open to conversation about any of these.

Top 8:

• Jeopardy (Syndicated) - Watched every episode this season and it’s been a bumpy one for the contestants and of course for Alex, who is clearly tiring and often going hoarse. It’s saddening but I am finding I want to see this through with him.
• The Mandalorian (Disney) - The initial static shock bloom of “wow i guess i care about star wars again?” is somewhat off the rose but the atmospheric storytelling, old-school samurai flick tricks, inventive character designs, surprise guests of the week and pulpy capers make this consistently enjoyable. I wish they hadn’t felt the need to name baby yoda Google or whatever.
• Roadkill (BBC1) - Sputters a bit at the halfway mark but I thought it really stuck the landing.
• Bluey (Disney, Australia BC )- It’s astonishing how consistent, joyous and creative Bluey is. It and “I Will Destroy You” might be my favorite things on teevee this year, which makes for a helluva study in opposites.
• Aunty Donna’s Big Ol House of Fun (Netflix) - Better more than its worse and its highs justify the moments that don’t pay off. A cowdoy?
• How To with John Wilson (HBO) - Utterly original, spectacularly clever even it it is broadly and perhaps necessarily uneven from episode to episode. That said, it’s still must-see even when it goes nowhere. I can’t really recommend it enough.
• Desus and Mero (Showtime) - Currently on hiatus but still the best talk show on television.
• The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse (Disney) - Only two episodes in, but already shockingly weird and self-assured in its visuals and storytelling. In much the same way as the also excellent Looney Tunes on HBO, this is fully aware of its history and happy to borrow from a near-century of classic ideas but also to cadge from contemporary art and underground cartooning. I mean seriously, can you believe this still is from a Disney approved show?

• Ghosts (S1+2, BBC1)
• Adventure Time: Distant Lands (HBO)
• The Great British Bake-Off (Channel 4, Netflix)
• Jeopardy: The Greatest of All Time (ABC)
• Ceramics: A Fragile History (2011, BBC4)

• Flesh and Blood (ITV)
• We Are Who We Are (HBO)
• The Eric Andre Show (Adult Swim)
• Mandy (2019, BBC2)

• Animaniacs (Hulu)
• Moonbase 8 (Showtime)
• Trickster (CBC)
• Candy Land (Food Network)
• Truth Seekers (Amazon)
• The Comedy Store (Showtime)

• The Secret History of Writing (BBC4)
• African Renaissance (BBC4)
• Women Make Film (TCM, BFI)
• Dream Corp LLC (S2, Adult Swim)
• The Flight Attendant (HBO)

• Battlestar Galactica (S2, Sci-Fi)
• Louie (S1+2, FX)
• Adventure Time (S1+2, Cartoon Network)

• Black Narcissus (FX)
• Small Axe (Amazon, BBC1)
• The Reagans (Showtime)
• The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
• City So Real (Nat Geo)
• The Third Day (HBO)
• Lovecraft Country (HBO)
• Monsterland (Hulu)
• Cobra (Sky1)
• Gangs of London (Sky)
• The Trouble with Maggie Cole (ITV)
• Warrior (Cinemax)
• A Wilderness of Error (FX)

Animaniacs is v enjoyable imo

i managed two episodes and that's as far as nostalgia could take me. Looney Tunes + Mickey Mouse provide a creative visual and authorial spark that I couldn't find in the Animaniacs reboot... and I was looking!

Was disappointed by small axe episode one, was excited for it and its great to see that story told but it couldn't shake off the cliches of a Hollywood court drama i thought - how are the other episodes?

There's only two out so far and I haven't tried either yet. They're really full length films, right?

First was 2 hours, the second and third are 70 mins.

Heard good things, musically, about the second but haven't had time to watch either of the two that have aired yet.

Second was wonderful. Didn’t watch the first yet.

(just watching 2nd one now. And it turns out i saw them setting up one of the locations for it - the two girls meeting in the playground under the railway arches was filmed in ravenscourt park - the playground equipment and the street light were props)

The Flight Attendant is a really good time btw! Reminds me in some ways of Killing Eve.

Another vote for Lovers Rock btw, having watched it now. Brave TV for a Sunday evening being all black cast and having virtually no plot. The Silly Games bit.

Beforeigners is awesome! so many hilarious details ... goats, so many goats

So, The Watch. Oh boy.

oh boy yes or oh boy no

it looks terrible

Oh boy it's an absolute clusterfuck xp

I don't think The Watch is that bad. It's not good, but that's not the same thing.

Interesting that many of the objections (on IMDb at least) are of the WOKE POLICE HAVE RUINED THIS variety and quoting self-identifying as tall as 'proof' he predicted and hated the WOKE AGENDA.

Forgive the thread spam, but I wanted to note that this show's 2020 season is nominated in the 2020 ILX TV poll:

ILX's Best Television of 2020 Poll / VOTING AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD / Voting Ends After January 29, 2021

If you like this show and you'd like to see it have a good showing in the poll (running in February) all you need to do is submit a ballot including it and your other favorites (3 minimum, 25 maximum, ranked by your favorite to least favorite) to forksclovetofu at gmail. It'll take five minutes; get to it!

A dozen new episodes of the new Looney Tunes Cartoons on HBO today; the first batch of ten was as good and as funny as anything that was on tv last year. Super highly recommended if you have any love for the classic toons.

Blown Away, the Netflix glassblowing reality show is back today so that's my evening taken care of.

Ha! We were just watching that right on my lunch break. My 14-yr-old walked by and is now binging season 1.

1. The Pembrokeshire Murders

Just aired on ITV and is a goodlooking true crime procedural set in Wales with good turns, few airs and a very refreshingly straightforward, boiled-down narrative. Bonus luke evans in his native accent.

So as of this writing:

Blown Away (S2, Netflix - Finished)
The Great Pottery Throw Down (S3, BBC2 - In Progress)
Only Connect (S15 and S16, BBC2 - Finishing S15, In Progress on S16)
Jeopardy (Syndicated - Ongoing until I die... I think Ken Jennings is doing a phenomenal job!)
Painting with John (S1, HBO - In Progress)
WandaVision (S1, Disney - In Progress)
Staged (S2, BBC1 - Finished)
Kim's Convenience (S5, CBC - In Progress)
Lupin (S1, Netflix - In Progress)
Looney Tunes Cartoons (S1 pt 2, HBO - In Progress and, tbh, this batch are a letdown from the heights of the first half of the season: notably less perverse and batshit creative)
Call My Agent! (S1, France 2/Netflix - In Progress)
Pulling (S1/S2/Special, BBC3 - Finished)
50 States of Fright (S1, Quibi/Roku - In Progress, lol this is terrible)
Mickey Mouse (S3/4/5, Disney - In Progress)

https://emilyvdw.substack.com/p/the-loop

Everybody goes in for snark because it's easy.

As if, pfft.

Great piece - I like Emily’s writing (also a reliably good & fun guest when she appears on Blank Check podcast)

Yes indeed, overall that was well thought-provoking.

Within criticism, flirting with entering the loop is a regular thing. When you love something nobody else loves or hate something everybody else is cheering on, it’s easy to fall into a pattern where “what you love” becomes synonymous with “you.”

Something I've been thinking about fandom in general. Someone on Twitter called me a "culture vulture", I think because I listen to a variety of styles of music -- I have to say that one hit a nerve. It's not too far from cultural appropriation really. Is it better to just stay in my lane? Should I avoid exploring new styles of music etc because they're trendy?

This is a tangent sorry.

That piece is very good. It made me think about Dennis Perkins, the AV Club critic who spent the last four years judging every episode of Saturday Night Live based solely on whether it shouted angrily enough about the evils of the Trump administration (hint: it didn't). Literally nothing else mattered to him but why Weekend Update was so soft on the White House.

your lane is the world, listen to everything in it

<3

This appears to have been the thread where The Circle got discussed so on the eve of the final I'll mention this year's edition.

The last two nights have had EVERYTHING and we still have the Felix reveal to come which will knock Alex/Kate into a cocked hat. Manrika will totally lose her shit and could go all Fight Night. The order they go to dinner could be the most important thing.

I think ultimately putting two players in sufficiently late that only one of them can get blocked could be good work by the producers, it'll give an impression as least that coming in late doesn't exclude you from the final (even though the public will probably rate them bottom because both this pair are dicks).

Andy will block Alice, which will lead to hilarity when everyone else works out who Pippa & Femi are. From the bottom in the final then will be Father Tom, Manrika, Felix, Andy and Syed. Andy is *nice* but Syed had been funny which is more likely to play to a voting audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auxeLrtk7tk

Anyone else watching Wellington Paranormal?

Low budget WWDITS spin off that doesn't quite hit the highs of WWDITS but is still very funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApxbN3Bp6f4

what in the nsfw world...
https://peepoodo.bobbypills.com/

What are you watching Wellington Paranormal on?

xp ugh, never mind: i watched one and it's not worth noting.

It's on Season 3 in NZ but only just aired in UK (all 3 seasons on Sky) and is coming to the US soon on The CW/HBO Max xp

Based on the first episode, Pause with Sam Jay is looking suspiciously like it is going to be one of my new favorite shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5zPy0VLxBM

i saw her in a little club in London and she was absolutely amaaazing. she gave us all shit for not laughing loud enough

https://i.imgur.com/nrXoEiz.jpg

she's sharp as a razor. Ziwe is playing with fire, Sam Jay is just taking headshots.

dang, six months huh. i went on a 2000's british sitcom kick. This isn't complete but anyway.

Top Ten TV Right Now
Only Connect s16, s17- BBC 2
Hajime No Ippo s1 (2000) - Crunchyroll
Desus and Mero s3 - Showtime
Reservation Dogs s1 - FX
Ted Lasso s2 - Apple
Ghosts s3 - BBC1
Phoneshop s1 s2 s3 (2010-2013) - E4 (mostly done with s2, this is good stuff)

Also Currently in Play
Rosehaven s5 - ABC Aussie
Back on the Record with Bob Costas s1 - HBO
Let's Make a Mug Too s1 - Crunchyroll
Rick and Morty s5 - Adult Swim

Probably the two best shows of 2021
Last Chance U Basketball s1 - Netflix
Mr In-Between s3 - FX

Other Very Very Good Stuff Watched Over the Past Half Year
Chad s1 - TBS
Why Are You Like This? s1 - ABC Aussie
Giri/Haji s1 (2019) - Netflix
Pui Pui Molcar s1 - Netflix
The Real World Homecoming: New York - Paramount
Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun s1 - Netflix
Fisk s1 - ABC Aussie
Hospital s7 - BBC2
Pause with Sam Jay s1 - HBO
Motherland s3 - BBC2
Friday Night Dinner s1-s6 (2011 to 2020) - Channel 4
This Time with Alan Partridge s2 - BBC1
Peter Kay's Car Share s1, s2 (2015-2018) - BBC1
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace s1 (2004) - Channel 4
A Touch of Cloth s1-3 (2012-2014) - Sky1

And Some Mostly to Pretty Good Stuff
Plebs s4 (2018), s5 (2019) - iTV
The Baby-Sitters Club s1 (2020) - Netflix
So I'm a Spider So What s1 - Crunchyroll
I Think You Should Leave s2 - Netflix
Flatbush Misdemeanors s1 - Showtime (this show gives me anxiety)
Secrets of the Museum s2 - BBC2
Loki s1 - Disney
Last Week Tonight s8 - HBO
Chickens s1 (2013) - Sky1

And This Was Flawed but Okay
WandaVision s1 - Disney (we interrupt this carefully structured pastiche for a magic fight in the sky)
How to Be Bohemian s1 (2015) - BBC4 (Coren-Mitchell is often interesting but what a snob)
Kim's Convenience s5 - Netflix (boy did they ever fuck up the ending here)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier s1 - Disney (i barely even remember what the plot was here)
Kid Cosmic s1 - Netflix (I tapped out after five episodes but it's not bad)
Starstruck s1 - BBC3 (3 good episodes and then 3 lame ones)
Mythic Quest s2 - Apple (I wish this had a bit more of the Always Sunny gonzo quality, it's a bit too tame)
Ziwe s1 - Showtime (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/28/ziwe-is-trapped-in-an-interminable-dance-with-whiteness)
Home Economics s1 - ABC (promising concept, trite execution)
Hacks s1 - HBO (really wanted this to be better but at least Jean Smart is fun in it)
Trollies s1-s3 (2011-2013) - Sky1 (okay comfort food but the returns began to sharply diminish as the cast evacuated)
All That Glitters s1 - Netflix (great reality show, good work and THE WORST HOST EVER. Bad judges too.)

Nope
The White Lotus s1 - HBO
Schmigadoon s1 - Apple +
Centaurworld s1 - Netflix
Ultra City Smiths s1 - AMC

Immediate On Deck
The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff s1 (2011) - BBC2
Jam and Jerusalem s1 (2006) - BBC1
Black Books s1 (2000) - Channel 4
Heels s1 - Starz
The Newsreader s1 - ABC Aussie
Brand New Cherry Flavor s1 - Netflix
The North Water s1 - AMC (by the creator of Looking!)
What If s1 - Disney
Mr Corman s1 - Disney
Uprising s1 - BBC1
The Investigation s1 - TV2
Jellystone s1 - HBO