Binge watched tv shows (Part 1)

We just finished Deadloch too. I like Dulcie and the other characters. I thought Cath was just over the the top enough, but thought Eddie was too over the top (but better by the end). And too much cursing overall - it wasn’t needed/didn’t add to the story.

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Beats having the lips blown up. I just cringe at that.

We started watching a series called Vera (on Britbox). It’s a crime series based in Northumberland (north-east section of England) and the protagonist is Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, who is a bit obsessive and always solves the crime. I read that the series was on PBS originally. There are many seasons, but we found that it’s easy to follow because there’s a new story with each new episode.

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This has been mentioned before, usually by me or @MYOS1634 . But yes, I highly recommend for fans of the genre.

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I just found Vera on Amazon Prime. Yay!

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If you like Vera have you checked out Shetland? Novels by the same author as the Vera series (Ann Cleeves), as good quality as Vera. The remote Shetland Islands are a character in the plot lines in themselves.

Head sleuth, Det. Jimmy Perez has been replaced in the newest series by the woman who played Agatha Raisin (her name escapes me), but we didn’t see any drop in quality.

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Ashley Jensen. Yanks will be more likely to recognize her as Christina McKinney on Ugly Betty

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Thank you—we never watched Ugly Betty.

No problem. I never watched Agatha Raisin.

She was Ricky Gervais’ kinda girlfriend (she played the nurse not the wife) in “Afterlife” too.

“Vera” and “Shetland” are pretty cozy to me, though not as cozy as “Father Brown” which is basically “Murder She Wrote” level of cozy. “Shetland” is filmed on location and the scenery is a big draw for me.

We have been watching “No Offence” on BritBox and I have really liked it. It’s not cozy. It’s got some humor, though, but is a pretty gritty at times police procedural. Set in Manchester UK. It’s more along the lines of “Happy Valley” although I would say there’s a smidge more humor and it’s a wee bit less dark.

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I’d add the spin-off Sister Boniface Mysteries to that, which I also enjoy. But make no mistake by thinking that these two shows are anything but mindless knitting television. :grin:

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Just read that David Leon has been back to play Joe Ashworth (Vera’s right hand man). That’s great. I prefer him over Kenny Doughty (DS Aiden Healy).

What annoys me about Vera is that no matter how many years her team has worked for her, she has to tell them how to do their jobs “Joe checks CCTV”, “Kenny - checks the bank account, “Holly - check social media”, etc., over and over, like they would not have known what to do.

Vera did not behave like that in the book. She appreciated and respected her staff’s intelligence and skills far more than the show made her out to be. The show is good but the book is better.

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Interesting. I have not read the Vera books but I like the Shetland show more than the books. The scenery is so amazing.

Totally agree. I can’t get into Shetland, the book. The show is excellent, both with Jimmy Perez and Ashley, the new female lead (I did watch Agatha Raisin). Ashley Jensen has aged considerably since then.

Re. Vera, the book. You can skip book 1 or even book 2. Ann Cleeves has rounded into form from book 3 on. There is one book they could not turn it into a show, too difficult to do. I happen to like that book a lot. If you want to read Vera, start from book #3. I believe you will enjoy the book.

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I’m going to be sad when I finish Trying in a couple more episodes. It reminds me of Dectorists in how I feel about the characters. Something about these good feeling British sitcoms with multiple wonderful characters that I just don’t think American sitcoms do the same way very often. ( Parks and Recreation and the current Abbot Elementary would be my exceptions to that statement. ) I actually thought Trying was an American show when I first saw it listed on AppleTV and dismissed it because I figured it would be endless jokes about having sex at inconvenient times/places. I’m so glad the mention here made me take another look.

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People at my current company kept on suggesting that I watch Suits, and were implying that it might bring back memories. So I started last week. Had to tell them that it was totally unrealistic. But I will say it is pretty entertaining. Didn’t even notice that Meghan Markle was in it until my wife mentioned it. I told them the most realistic portrayal of law firm life was LA Law, although of course timelines had to be severely shortened.

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I just finished it yesterday. It will be hard to wait for the next season to come out.

I love how Nikki and Jason are so good at communicating their feelings with each other. A good role model for young couples! And they don’t take each other for granted.

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We finished it yesterday. Wasn’t what we expected but we both enjoyed it. Much less action/spy vibe vs a deep study of the relationship dynamics.

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Enjoyed Curb Your Enthusiasm, so glad it’s back for a final season.

DS was home for a visit and we were looking for something none of us had watched. The last time we did this, we watched The Recruit…to give you an idea of what we enjoy together.

We started The Brothers Sun (5 of 8 episodes) and find it very entertaining. Michelle Yeoh is in it. There are action sequences and humor. The hard part will be waiting to continue the series until DS is back.