Tango with the Zeitgest

[steepholm]

[Poll #1939316]

This is in aid of being prepared when asked what I'd like for Christmas, so please don't just put down your favourite. Try to factor in my tastes, as far as you're aware of them! All advice gratefully received.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Big Love. (The first few eps get tiresomely into polygamous sex, obviously to get the audience into the storyline, but the characters begin to take on life, and it becomes a terrific series, nothing like it, with fascinating women. And a transcendent ending.)

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I've not heard of that one. It looks intriguing!

[jemck.livejournal.com]

Saw the first series of Big Love when it was on free to air TV and thought it was fascinating, v well written and acted, stellar cast. Have just put the box set on my own Xmas list, thanks for the reminder!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Every season gets getter--hope you enjoy it as much as I did. (Oh, the women in it! Wow!)

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Under no circumstances must you see Wallander. Neither must I. Or anyone. I recommend: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346336/ instead. It has, admittedly, one of the worst titles ever chosen even for a TV-series but this was pre-Silvio era and I´d review it any time: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/best_of_youth/ Saw it per chance on arte and couldn´t stop watching.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip - a new one on me! (I'm rather relieved about Wallander - it sounded a bit dull.)

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

It´s one of those big surprises in the positive sense, quite wonderful, with at the time unknown young actors, won a Golden Palmtree in Cannes, I think. Haven´t seen anything like it, incredible to imagine this was done as a TV-series at all and in Italy at the time.

Wallander would be the choice if you really wanted to be bored stiff and didn´t know, how to go about it, yet!

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Best of Youth is really good. A friend from that generation says it's a bit tamer than his own experience. That shocked me.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

La meglio gioventù is excellent. No romp.

Nine

[jemck.livejournal.com]

As long as you're okay with sub-titles and y'know, the whole murdered children thing.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Subtitles, no problem - I've been watching nothing but anime for the last six months. Murdered children... it depends whether we get to know them first, and/or watch them being murdered. Simply stumbling upon their remains is fine!

[jemck.livejournal.com]

we get to know the victim/her family/see what happened/what the consequences for her family are through gradual revelation throughout the series - so it's definitely a series to watch when one is in a pretty robust place mentally, personally speaking.

[oonaseckar.livejournal.com]

Dexter has a rational protagonist who explains his actions, and tries to live according to his own precepts whilst not being infallible or completely consistent. Being a serial killer could be regarded as purely incidental.

Also, how about anti-recs? Sex & the City.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Dexter has a rational protagonist who explains his actions, and tries to live according to his own precepts whilst not being infallible or completely consistent. Being a serial killer could be regarded as purely incidental.

That sounds intriguing...

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I'm no help to you here because I've not watched any of those either!

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I'm of no help on this one. Only two of them have I seen more than a couple episodes of, and in both cases I quit after the first season, for disparate reasons. One I've seen a couple episodes of, a couple more I've seen short clips of without being moved to see any more, and three of them I've never even heard of.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Anyway, if you are the kind of lit teacher I had in school, which I think and hope you are not, the kind who gives the students dank, depressing, boring modern works which go nowhere and in which nothing happens except the characters exuding angst (examples: Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Conrad, Evan Connell, John Knowles), then I would say run, do not walk, towards Mad Men, because it's exactly that sort of thing.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads-up. I prefer to leave that kind of thing to David Gilmour.

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

Peaky Blinders.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I've only seen the trailers, which reminded me a little of When the Boat Comes In crossed with Gangs of New York - not necessarily a bad combination!

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

A million times better than either! In my view, the best drama on BBC2 for years. And a new series has been commissioned!

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

In fact - nothing like either. Better acted, not American, Brummie accents & not a 'bwoat' in sight.

[jemck.livejournal.com]

Oh excellent, hadn't heard Peaky Blinders has been recommissioned. I agree it's outstanding - best telly of the year so far, on many, many levels.

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree more. A class act!

[shark-hat.livejournal.com]

Criminal Minds? Elizabeth Bear has lots of recap posts- I think this http://matociquala.livejournal.com/979520.html discussion of the first series points at bits of why I like it, but also, lots of strong female characters who aren't Strong Female Characters- they're individual people, not a stereotype of kick-ass sexy- and excellent ensemble acting.
It's about an FBI team profiling serial killers so it has nasty elements, but no more than The Wire or Dexter, I think.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I like the look of that one.

[sheenaghpugh]

I've never seen any of them either. My favourite box set is probably the complete Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Though Hornblower is close.

[gillo]

Garrow's Law? Early Misfits?

I have a feeling you would detest Downton Abbey, Sex and the City and most of Desperate Housewives, though you might not dislike the first season of the latter.

I recently bought the DVD of the 80s sitcom Nightingales, which we are rewatching with great enjoyment - utterly bonkers but wonderful scripts and performances.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I caught Garrow's Law once, and enjoyed it (I'm also a bit of an addict of the Old Bailey transcripts on which it is largely based). I suspect you're right about Downton and Desperate, but they bob up so often in conversation that I was beginning to feel culpably ignorant.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Swedish Wallander or British? I like the Swedish one, because it's less glossy and, obviously, they don't mispronounce the names. And also I like Krister Henriksson in the role, though I know others think Rolf Lassgård is the definitive Wallander.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

That's true, I should have specified. I expect I would have gone for the Swedish version anyway.

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Borgen! (Which is great, and which I'd bet you'd like.)

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

That one I've watched! Or at least I've seen quite a few episodes, initially at the behest of my mother, who's a fan. Initially I was lukewarm (I was thinking - "It's nordic - so where are the bodies? Does not compute!"), but it grew on me.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I'd not heard of that. Amazon tells me...

"The body of a woman is found in the middle of the Øresund Bridge. Half of it belongs to a Swedish politician, the other half to a Danish prostitute."

I'm confused. Does 'it' refer to the bridge, or the body? If the body, does it mean that the prostitute led a shady double life working as a politician? Or are these in fact two halves of two separate bodies, and not "the body of a woman" at all?

Well, I'm curious, anyway!

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I read the full stop after 'counterpart' as a comma! Gripping would be make a great name for a Danish cop. (Better than Grøping, anyway.)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I understand an English-French remake has just started, set in the Channel Tunnel. Hsven't seen either, but initial reviews suggested the English-French version doesn't live up to the original.

I don't suppose I can interest you in Deadwood? I haven't done any Deadwood pushing in a long time, though I had a great success with an ex-boss. It's the sort of thing that you like if you like that sort of thing...

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

What other national borders might be used for spin-offs, I wonder? (From an original story by Ötzi the iceman.)

I haven't done any Deadwood pushing in a long time

Perhaps you were going through a Deadwood Stage? ker-ching I could give it a try, though I've never felt the same about Ian McShane since he did over Merriman in The Seeker...

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Mad Men is not nearly as depressing as The Wire or Breaking Bad, imo, and a lot less violent. Some very intense character examination against the rapid change of American culture.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

That's useful to know. Increasingly, I find that I only enjoy unrealistic violence, if that.

[agoraphiliac.livejournal.com]

I'm weighing in too late to be helpful, perhaps, but I find Dexter unbearably bad. Bad writing, especially the clunky characterization via a combination of voice-over from the main character and dialogues between main character and his dead father.

I'd say: The Wire or Breaking Bad, or the Swedish The Killing, or any of these intriguing ones I haven't seen that were mentioned here, including Best of Youth and Borgen.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I'm still wavering, but I'm currently most drawn by The Bridge and Best of Youth, with The Killing leading the chasing pack.

[mary919.livejournal.com]

I don't know you well enough to actually say-- I only answered to see what others picked.

That said-- I found the last season (or actually the last two seasons) of Mad Men rather disturbing, but love the early seasons. I have watched them many times on Netflix. Also Sports Night and West Wing-- but that may reflect an acquired taste for fast paced dialog and talking while walking.