TV series worth watching/downloading

[sandman67]

Ok, a couple of reccs from me

first up we have one from one of my favorite genres - film noirish gangster flicks.

MOB CITY

A short but excellent run of dramas set in the late 40s gangland of LA - so very like the recent crime flick Gangster Squad. The drama pits a none too clean detective in the corruption riven LA Police against Bugsy Seigel and Mickey Cohen as ones star is falling as the other rises. In a multi layered plot stretched across 6 episodes we see kippers up and backstabbing a plenty, with the central core draped around the copper and his shady post war past like a cheap hooker. Its great stuff, and i loved it.

Classic smoky noir with a stonking jazz soundtrack. I loved it.

and from another fave genre

BLACK SAILS

Starz channel take the well worn SPARTACUS formula and applies it to a piratical tale during the golden age of piracy that involves the prequel backstory to Treasure Island. As its Starz its not kiddie fare on the Cap's table... Rum, Sodomy and the Lash! Hurrah!

Captain Flint is desperately in search of the big payoff - a legendary Spanish treasure ship set to sail back to Spain from the New World with a kings ransom on board. Unfortunately it coincides with King George decalring open war on pirates, so old Flint not only has to watch for backstabbing from crew and competitor captains like Black Jack Rackham, Anne Bonney and Capn Vane, but also now has every cannon and Marine laden ship of the line on his tail.

Its a bit of a slow starter, and while it really rings all the bells in my belfry genre wise its going to take a few episodes to get hooked methinks. Could be a chest of gold, or could be a barrel full of stinky herrings. Time and tide will tell.

aaaaaaaaand finally, keep a strong weather eye out for the stonkingly good Ray Winstone starred tale of Cornish smugglers, stolen jewels, and cliff top embraces neath a pale smugglers moon - MOONFLEET.

Flintlocks, floozys and foredecks all round! Huzzah!

[migrant]

I liked Mob City but it seems to jump around a little too much. Add that to the fact some of the male leads look similar and what I have seen has confused me.

I liked the idea, I enjoy the noir style films, especially set in my back yard, LA. I'll have to line up a few episodes and see again!

[richard]

aaaaaaaaand finally, keep a strong weather eye out for the stonkingly good Ray Winstone starred tale of Cornish smugglers, stolen jewels, and cliff top embraces neath a pale smugglers moon - MOONFLEET.

Flintlocks, floozys and foredecks all round! Huzzah!

Remember as a child watching this tv film called 'Moonfleet'. Scared the living daylights out of me

[hhfarang]

Just finished 'Breaking Bad' and it's cost me a few late nights. ....

Sir Anthony Hopkins binge watched it last fall. He then wrote a email to Bryan Cranston, the actor who played Walter White. The email was made public. Highly recommended any fan read it. If somehow one don't know who Hopkins is, a career summary for acting awards is 1 Oscar win + 3 nominations, a Golden Globe lifetime achievement award + 9 nominations, 3 BAFTA wins + 4 nominations.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oc ... fan-letter

We just finished binge watching Breaking Bad as well. I had the first three seasons on my pvr (from the Sundance Channel). After we watched those, the missus went out directly and bought seasons 4 and 5 on Dvd.

BTW, President Obama also binge watched it in Hawaii over his holiday vacation break.

[Siani]

Silent Witness is back on...maybe catch up on the last 3 episodes. I think it's pretty good

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007y6k8

Also for those that like it.....Mr Selfridge tonight

[Dannie Boy]

Silent Witness is back on...maybe catch up on the last 3 episodes. I think it's pretty good

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007y6k8

Also for those that like it.....Mr Selfridge tonight

Agree about Silent Witness, have watched the four episodes of the latest series and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I know it was shown almost a year ago, but just started to watch Broadchurch - if you haven't seen it, then it's worth watching (IMO).

[dtaai-maai]

I know it was shown almost a year ago, but just started to watch Broadchurch - if you haven't seen it, then it's worth watching (IMO).

Agreed. It's refreshingly "unAmerican" too. That's not meant to be derogatory - I enjoy many of the US cop/thriller shows, but they are usually far enough removed from reality to quality as fantasy; there is something refreshingly ordinary about many UK police series: Broadchurch and Vera to name but two.

Broadchurch is available on Couchtuner, unlike many good British series.

[dtaai-maai]

I've had more time on my hands recently, so have been sampling and dipping into a number of series on Couchtuner. A brief summary of my own brief evaluation, for what it's worth:

Arrow: Batman with a bow & arrow - 7/10

Blue Bloods: Treacly and sentimental cop show based around the perfect (and non-existent) Irish-American God-fearing, flag-worshiping, let's-all-say-grace-around-the-dinner-table-then-sing-the-national-anthem police family: Great-Grandad, retired Police Commissioner; Grandad (Magnum), current Commissioner, oldest son, deceased police officer killed in the line of duty; son no.2, fiercely dedicated, sod-the-rules homicide cop; daughter, assistant DA; youngest son, lawyer turned cop - the thoughtful one. Surprisingly watchable... 5.5/10

Banshee: ex-con disguised as local sheriff in Amish territory. Quite violent. 7/10

Criminal Minds: standard 'behavioural unit' cop show fare, where the profiles are always perfect. 5/10

Hostages: apparently good cop holding hostage surgeon's family to force her to kill the President... watched the 1st episode, but haven't been back yet. Not sure of the score...

Vikings: brilliant! set in the 'Dark Ages' when the Vikings first discovered the joys of rape and pillage in the northeast of England. 9/10

Under the Dome: US sci-fi show - an impenetrable dome suddenly isolates a rural US community. Not a bad premise, but too many flights of fancy. One for the teenies, I think. 4/10

Unforgettable: a cop who remembers everything. Forgettable. 3/10

Person of Interest: an all-seeing, intelligent super-computer created to prevent terrorism also spots people in mortal danger and gives their details to our heroes, who risk all to save them. Some interesting stuff, though I find the leading tough guy's 'acting' and low-voiced Clint Eastwood impersonation mildly irritating. 7/10

Sons of Anarchy: Hell's Angels gang with no redeeming features that I can see, though one of them loves his baby son... Very popular show, but I'm not sure why yet, but I haven't seen much of it. Not sure of the score...

Sherlock: the 21st century Sherlock - eccentric, egostistical, mind like a computer, no social skills whatsoever. Absolutely brilliant show in every way. 10/10

NCIS: Yet another law enforcement agency, this one courtesy of the Navy (though hardly any of the agents have ever served in the Navy...). It's pretty shallow, unchallenging, relatively inoffensive, quite amusing - but I rather like it! 7.5/10

Orphan Black: grungy girl sees her well-dressed doppelganger fall under a train and assumes her identity. I managed 10 minutes. 3/10

[dtaai-maai]

An alternative site to couchtuner for TV series is watchonlineseries.eu, which seems to have a wider range, includes non-fiction series and more British programmes.

[Homer]

Orphan Black: grungy girl sees her well-dressed doppelganger fall under a train and assumes her identity. I managed 10 minutes. 3/10

I struggled to get through the first episode. My sister had recommended the show. She kept saying watch til the end of the second episode. I did. Oh. My. God. The series has to start slow to establish the lead character and give room for the story to expand. Do not read any reviews! My sister warned me and she was right because the 3 I saw later all gave away the key element of the story in the first few paragraphs. I'm glad I got to see the reveal as the writers and director intended.

[Terry]

........................Sherlock: the 21st century Sherlock - eccentric, egostistical, mind like a computer, no social skills whatsoever. Absolutely brilliant show in every way. 10/10..............

TOTALLY
I 'binge watched' this last week - it's superb stuff

[dtaai-maai]

Orphan Black: grungy girl sees her well-dressed doppelganger fall under a train and assumes her identity. I managed 10 minutes. 3/10

I struggled to get through the first episode. My sister had recommended the show. She kept saying watch til the end of the second episode. I did. Oh. My. God. The series has to start slow to establish the lead character and give room for the story to expand. Do not read any reviews! My sister warned me and she was right because the 3 I saw later all gave away the key element of the story in the first few paragraphs. I'm glad I got to see the reveal as the writers and director intended.

Okay, thanks, I'll give it another try.

Another terrific series I'm just catching up with after watching the first 3 seasons some time ago is Justified.

I did think about getting the Expat TV package, but there's only so much tv you can watch...

[buksida]

Thanks for the recommendations, will look for Black Sails, Sherlock and Justified.

Just finished season 4 of Boardwalk Empire and am halfway through season 3 of Hell On Wheels - both very good.

[Homer]

I liked Mob City but it seems to jump around a little too much. Add that to the fact some of the male leads look similar and what I have seen has confused me.

I've just finished 3 episodes and will see the rest - it's as good as sandman67 said.

Yeah it jumps around in time. But if one can tell the characters apart, there are cues. In one scene a character who died on screen in a previous episode is alive. One scene shows a character with a bandaged face while a scene later in the episode shows him getting punched in the face.

This helps me match the faces to the characters.

Mob-City-Cast-a.jpg (181.37 KiB) Viewed 679 times

[migrant]

I liked Mob City but it seems to jump around a little too much. Add that to the fact some of the male leads look similar and what I have seen has confused me.

I've just finished 3 episodes and will see the rest - it's as good as sandman67 said.

Yeah it jumps around in time. But if one can tell the characters apart, there are cues. In one scene a character who died on screen in a previous episode is alive. One scene shows a character with a bandaged face while a scene later in the episode shows him getting punched in the face.

This helps me match the faces to the characters.

Mob-City-Cast-a.jpg