Election 2020

[KLaban]

That isn't too surprising for those with a strong anti-American sentiment. The series relies heavily on American cultural symbols, for which you need to either live there, or, as a minimum, have some knowledge and affinity toward American way of life.

I've no great affinity with, love of, or knowledge of the American way of life but thoroughly enjoyed Breaking Bad.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

That isn't too surprising for those with a strong anti-American sentiment.

Nonsense, that's yet another strawman.... There are very few people here with Anti-American sentiments.

If one challenges actions that defy logic, or morality, or whatever, in the eyes of others, then that's what it is. Nothing to do with Anti-Americanism.

[SharonVL]

I have that series, Craig, but after a few episodes I found that I could not gel with the characters at all. The rest of the family thought it wonderful, but I couldn't get into their mindset with it.

I enjoy the Italian Montalbano and Gomorrah quite alot, as well as the French duo Engrenages and Braquo; House, of course. The Shield was quite a fast-paced watch too. Of the Americans, I think I liked Sopranos the most.

Rob

Too violent and depressing for me. I do think Bryan Cranston is a great actor.

[Rob C]

Too violent and depressing for me. I do think Bryan Cranston is a great actor.

I'd go one further, Sharon, and say that, in general, even supporting actors in all of these series are incredibly good. It looks like the fate of being a star or a support is nothing more than supreme good fortune and active agents representing you!

I get the same impression listening to many backing singers.

So much talent out there.

Rob

[Robert Roaldi]

I'd go one further, Sharon, and say that, in general, even supporting actors in all of these series are incredibly good. It looks like the fate of being a star or a support is nothing more than supreme good fortune and active agents representing you!

I get the same impression listening to many backing singers.

So much talent out there.

Rob

A bit off-topic maybe but we probably need a break. We watched the first season of Breaking Bad, terrific nihilist theme, enjoyment having little to do with being either pro- or anti-American, assuming that has any real meaning. It was good drama, period. Is Hamlet pro- or anti-Danish? 

I thought the series was a bit instructive about the drug culture though, as it does not depict it as a supply-side problem, i.e., bad things that "other" people do to us, but rather portrays it as a commodities market, albeit one ruled by the logic criminal gangs. The best dope floats to the top, is that the new American dream?  It sure ain't Disney.

Two terrific HBO series were The Wire and Treme, both by the same production team that did NBC's Homicide, Life on the Street. Both were riveting in their own way, though The Wire may have more violence than some people are comfortable with, though never gratuitous.

There is another American drama series, The Sinner, that we enjoyed the first two seasons of so far. There is crime and a tiny amount of on-screen violence but they were really long-form character-driven drama, the best kind of drama for TV. Dense writing, lots happening between the ears, a lot like the best of British drama.

Speaking of which, the 3 British police series Shetland, Vera, and Line of Duty are all very good. The first two are in the tradition of Morse, central detective character and the entourage, police procedural but again with lots happening between the ears. Line of Duty is a fantastic thriller. The interrogation scenes alone are gold.

We're halfway through another British series, Bancroft. Good but not quite first rate, but could get there.

Covid-19 might be good business for Netflix, Acorn, etc.

[Rob C]

A bit off-topic maybe but we probably need a break. We watched the first season of Breaking Bad, terrific nihilist theme, enjoyment having little to do with being either pro- or anti-American, assuming that has any real meaning. It was good drama, period. Is Hamlet pro- or anti-Danish? 

I thought the series was a bit instructive about the drug culture though, as it does not depict it as a supply-side problem, i.e., bad things that "other" people do to us, but rather portrays it as a commodities market, albeit one ruled by the logic criminal gangs. The best dope floats to the top, is that the new American dream?  It sure ain't Disney.

Two terrific HBO series were The Wire and Treme, both by the same production team that did NBC's Homicide, Life on the Street. Both were riveting in their own way, though The Wire may have more violence than some people are comfortable with, though never gratuitous.

There is another American drama series, The Sinner, that we enjoyed the first two seasons of so far. There is crime and a tiny amount of on-screen violence but they were really long-form character-driven drama, the best kind of drama for TV. Dense writing, lots happening between the ears, a lot like the best of British drama.

Speaking of which, the 3 British police series Shetland, Vera, and Line of Duty are all very good. The first two are in the tradition of Morse, central detective character and the entourage, police procedural but again with lots happening between the ears. Line of Duty is a fantastic thriller. The interrogation scenes alone are gold.

We're halfway through another British series, Bancroft. Good but not quite first rate, but could get there.

Covid-19 might be good business for Netflix, Acorn, etc.

I've got quite a few Brit series available to me courtesy the family, but I can't raise enthusiasm to watch. It might be familiarity breeding contempt, but the accents drive me nuts. As much as I dislike the old, 40s- 70s television news reader voices, the recent vogue for thickish regional offerings - a sop to political correctness and faux equality - makes me switch right off. I dislike the murdering of the English language and the modern affliction of all-inclusivity. Frankly, I have a lot of faith in some forms of elitism, believing that there is more to be gained by good example than bad.

Another series for which I have access but not desire is Game of Thrones. Watched one or two, and thought nope, c'est pas pour moi.

I must have massive receptor failings.

:-(

[James Clark]

I've got quite a few Brit series available to me courtesy the family, but I can't raise enthusiasm to watch. It might be familiarity breeding contempt, but the accents drive me nuts. As much as I dislike the old, 40s- 70s television news reader voices, the recent vogue for thickish regional offerings - a sop to political correctness and faux equality - makes me switch right off. I dislike the murdering of the English language and the modern affliction of all-inclusivity. Frankly, I have a lot of faith in some forms of elitism, believing that there is more to be gained by good example than bad.

Another series for which I have access but not desire is Game of Thrones. Watched one or two, and thought nope, c'est pas pour moi.

I must have massive receptor failings.

:-(

I’m with you, Rob.  Neither Breaking Bad nor GoT really grabbed me.  You’ve probably seen the recent BBC Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch?  If not, it’s some good stuff.  I’ve also really enjoyed an American network comedy called “The Good Place.”  And “Mad Men” is dear to me.  And a little too close to reality

[James Clark]

Oh, absolutely!

The left has stretched the definition of racism so much that everything they don't like is "racist." It lost its power. Cliche. Worn-out.

But we had this discussions many forum posts ago. For example, that Mexican judge... When a Supreme Court Justice claims that a Latina judge will always make a better decision than a white judge... what's that? I would say her opinion, but if you want equivalence within your stretched definitions, that's racism.

FWIW I don’t think it’s a stretch to consider Sotamayor’s comments “racist” in that instance. There’s a caveat, though, which I’ll go into when I’m off my iPad and back onto a desktop. 

[rabanito]

Another series for which I have access but not desire is Game of Thrones. Watched one or two, and thought nope, c'est pas pour moi.

I must have massive receptor failings.

:-(

The door of the lighthouse was ajar. They pushed it open and walked
into a shuttered twilight. Through an archway on the further side of
the room they could see the bottom of the staircase that led up to the
higher floors. Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet.

"Mr. Savage!"

Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet
turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south,
south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as
unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-
east, east. ...
]

I read this stuff some years ago. Welcome to the new world.
Take care...

[Alan Klein]

FWIW I don’t think it’s a stretch to consider Sotamayor’s comments “racist” in that instance. There’s a caveat, though, which I’ll go into when I’m off my iPad and back onto a desktop. 

If a white judge had said that he thought that white people make better judges because of this that or something else, we would consider that a racist remark.  We shouldn't be defining ourselves as better than others based on race.  I thought we're past that already.  In America, each person stands on their own.

But I understand where she was going with that.  That her experiences as a Latina gave her a different perspective in deciding cases.  Actually more than the race question is another more important consideration.  Her point was that her experiences as a Latina would help her arrive at decisions that non Latinos wouldn't consider.  So what she said was that experiences count more than what the Constitution says.  This idea we can throw the constitution away and decide based on experiences and feelings is what legislating from the bench is all about.  It ignores what the constitution means.  Justices should not be doing that.  They are not there to make moral judgments but rather legal ones. 

[Chris Kern]

It might be familiarity breeding contempt, but the accents drive me nuts. As much as I dislike the old, 40s- 70s television news reader voices, the recent vogue for thickish regional offerings - a sop to political correctness and faux equality - makes me switch right off.

If you think you have difficulty with British regional accents, imagine what it's like for people here in the States.  My wife and I routinely switch on the "closed captions" when watching TV series from the U.K.  One need go no further for proof of Shaw's quip about two countries separated by a common language.

On the other hand, neither of us has much difficulty understanding the dialogue in the occasional dramatic imports from Australia or New Zealand that show up on our cable TV service.  Although our accents are different, perhaps we colonials all share some sort of underlying common speech pattern.

What really impresses me, though, is how perfectly British actors, as well as those from down under, routinely learn to mimic an American accent.  I'm often surprised to discover that an actor who speaks what my radio voice coach used to call "classic Midwestern" (the U.S. broadcast industry's equivalent of the Beeb's former standard for spoken English) actually spent his or her formative years an ocean away from here.  Some of our thicker regional dialects―e.g., from Appalachia―pose more of a challenge, but they're typically difficult for American actors, too.

Unfortunately, this linguistic virtuosity only seems to cross the Atlantic in one direction.  We've seen a couple of plays in London theaters with a cast that included American actors, and their attempts to sound British were pathetic.

[Alan Klein]

If you think you have difficulty with British regional accents, imagine what it's like for people here in the States.  My wife and I routinely switch on the "closed captions" when watching TV series from the U.K.  One need go no further for proof of Shaw's quip about two countries separated by a common language.

On the other hand, neither of us has much difficulty understanding the dialogue in the occasional dramatic imports from Australia or New Zealand that show up on our cable TV service.  Although our accents are different, perhaps we colonials all share some sort of underlying common speech pattern.

What really impresses me, though, is how perfectly British actors, as well as those from down under, routinely learn to mimic an American accent.  I'm often surprised to discover that an actor who speaks what my radio voice coach used to call "classic Midwestern" (the U.S. broadcast industry's equivalent of the Beeb's former standard for spoken English) actually spent his or her formative years an ocean away from here.  Some of our thicker regional dialects―e.g., from Appalachia―pose more of a challenge, but they're typically difficult for American actors, too.

Unfortunately, this linguistic virtuosity only seems to cross the Atlantic in one direction.  We've seen a couple of plays in London theaters with a cast that included American actors, and their attempts to sound British were pathetic.

Maybe because like the Australians and New Zealanders, we too are British outcasts. 

[SharonVL]

We love the mystery series Vera set in Northumberland. We had to buy a new tv to understand some of the actors. It did help a little.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I’m with you, Rob.  Neither Breaking Bad nor GoT really grabbed me.  You’ve probably seen the recent BBC Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch?  If not, it’s some good stuff.  I’ve also really enjoyed an American network comedy called “The Good Place.”  And “Mad Men” is dear to me.  And a little too close to reality

Taste's an odd thing, isn't it? I found GoT gripped me almost from the outset and didn't let go (until the slightly disappointing 7th series and the hugely disappointing 8th): as my wife was away, I binged through 60 hours in only a little over a month. In contrast, I found Sherlock irritating beyond measure and I couldn't see the comedy in The Good Place.

Breaking Bad and Mad Men are on my list, as are The Wire (with subtitles, as the one episode I watched might as well have been in ancient Greek) and, as I very much enjoyed the original, the US version of House of Cards.

I do recommend Succession, too. I've not reached the end yet, but it's awfully good.

Jeremy

[Robert Roaldi]

We love the mystery series Vera set in Northumberland. We had to buy a new tv to understand some of the actors. It did help a little.

A good sound system matters, but I'm finding more and more that the "dramatic" musical score interferes with voices. It might be my aging hearing. It's especially bad when actors are speaking softly to each other, in full keeping with the conversation, but if you're going to do that, turn off the damn music. I can tell when a plot turns dramatic, you don't need to hit me over the head with it.

If you like Vera, you'll probably like Shetland.

[SharonVL]

I’ll check that out Robert.

[Alan Klein]

A good sound system matters, but I'm finding more and more that the "dramatic" musical score interferes with voices. It might be my aging hearing. It's especially bad when actors are speaking softly to each other, in full keeping with the conversation, but if you're going to do that, turn off the damn music. I can tell when a plot turns dramatic, you don't need to hit me over the head with it.

If you like Vera, you'll probably like Shetland.

I bought a speaker bar that has a switch that amplifies voices while keep background sounds down.  I too have age hearing problems with background noise.  The sound bar helps a little.  If I still can't hear, I'll switch the captions on. 

[Alan Goldhammer]

I've no great affinity with, love of, or knowledge of the American way of life but thoroughly enjoyed Breaking Bad.

"The Wire" was a far better show and covered more interesting things.  I enjoyed Breaking Bad but I think the prequel, Better Call Saul is more nuanced.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Covid-19 might be good business for Netflix, Acorn, etc.

Berlin Babylon on Netflix is wonderful.  Third season just dropped about a week ago.  It is reportedly the most expensive television project produced in Germany.

[KLaban]

"The Wire" was a far better show and covered more interesting things.  I enjoyed Breaking Bad but I think the prequel, Better Call Saul is more nuanced.

Yup, I also enjoyed Better Call Saul.