What are you watching?

[pipistrelle]

I’m watching The Night Strangler, one of The Night Stalker movies from the early 1970s. Love this line:

This isn’t Fun Town, USA! THIS IS SEATTLE!

[AndyinPA]

Finished Landscapers on HBO tonight. Thoroughly enjoyed, but it was only four episodes.

[bill_g]

Sword of Trust

On Netflix streaming.

If you want something light, uncomplicated, but timely and entertaining, this Marc Maron film will do nicely. As usual he's swinging at segments of society trying to land a punch in the nose. This time he made a gazpacho out of several current issues, served it up cold, and hoped you enjoy it.

The great great grand daughter of a Confedrate general inherits a Civil War era sword that proves the South won, and she decides to pawn it at Maron's shop.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt4938084/

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.

There is a musical goof which N10 will appreciate. In the last scene “The Skaters’ Waltz” is played. It was composed in 1882. Dr. Thorne was published in 1858. The costumes are the correct period.

[keith]

Right now I'm watching the ABC(Australia) New Year Show.

Some crap some OK.

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of entertainers coming on stage at these variety shows and asking "how are you all doing?" It is, IMHO, trite and boring.

[Kriselda Gray]

I like Stevie Nicks, but I definitely agree on Rod Stewart. The most grating, obnoxious voice in all of rockdom, however, has got to be (sorry, Kriselda) Geddy Lee. He makes my tinnitus sound good.

ROFL! It's ok - I understand criticism of Geddy's voice. I once hated it so much that I'd practically fly across my room to change the station when a Rush song came on. It was listening to their instrumentals that got me hooked. What Alex Lifeson does with a guitar is simply amazing and - for me - made it worth getting used to Geddy's voice just so I could hear more of his playing. But even now, Ged's voice is *not* among my favorites.

My favorite singers include Stevie Nicks, David Gilmour (also another favorite guitarist,) James LaBrie (Dream Theater, though I don't care too much for most of their songs,) and Freddie Mercury ( ) among others I'm too tired to remember right now...

[Luke]

With Disney+, we decided to watch some of Star Wars again. But it's been so many years since watching the original three films (and never saw the others) that we had no idea how to watch them. There are so many films and TV shows it was overwhelming. We found this great article and it was perfect: https://www.fatherly.com/play/whats-the ... irst-time/ Seeing Solo and Rogue One was a great reminder/primer to get back to the original 1977 film (now called Episode IV: A New Hope, we didn't even know that). Rogue One segues perfectly into IV. Great fun!

And Mark Hamill says Luke Skywalker could "of course" be gay.

MH.JPG (46.05 KiB) Viewed 857 times

Luke Skywalker Was "Of Course" Gay, Says Mark Hamill
Published 15:13, 28 September 2021 BST

Mark Hamill has stated that Luke Skywalker's sexuality is whatever fans would like it to be, and that "of course" it's possible that the Jedi Master was gay. The non-canonical Legends timeline sees Luke meet a smuggler named Mara Jade, who was formerly the Emperor's Hand and believed that Luke killed Palpatine. In their journey together, she realised that the Emperor had lied to her about his death but her directive to assassinate Luke remained. In killing Luke's clone, she is freed of her servitude to Palpatine, and the relationship between the two Jedi deepens and Luke eventually proposes to her.

While Leia and Han got together in the original trilogy, there was never a romantic interest written into the storyline for Luke. As a result, his sexuality has never been confirmed, and so the character has become important to Star Wars fans from all walks of life.

Actor Mark Hamill's opinion on Luke's identity is something that fans are likely to take into account as he is the face of the iconic Jedi Master. In short, he's completely on board with any interpretation of the character that offers comfort to marginalised people. "I just read online that JJ is very much open to that," said the actor in an interview with The Sun in 2016. At the Oscar Wilde Awards of that year, the director of The Force Awakens and The Rise Of Skywalker expressed that it would be "insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive" to think that non-normative sexualities would not be a part of the galaxy far, far away.

"In the old days, you would get fan mail," continued Hamill.. "But now fans are writing and asking all these questions: 'I'm bullied in school ... I'm afraid to come out.' "They say to me: 'Could Luke be gay?' I'd say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer. If you think Luke is gay, of course he is," he concluded. "You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves."

https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/news/game ... l-20210928







Funny Medium post about the idea:

[John Thomas8]

A strange book review:

[neonzx]

I don't know if the Luke character was gay or not. There was little in the movies to suggest anything -- unlike a majority of Hollywood film and TV that inserts sex scenes inappropriately that would never happen in real world scenarios....

But, sex sells. But, too, also, Star Wars sold without sex, so go figure.

With Disney+, we deciI doded to watch some of Star Wars again. But it's been so many years since watching the original three films (and never saw the others) that we had no idea how to watch them. There are so many films and TV shows it was overwhelming. We found this great article and it was perfect: https://www.fatherly.com/play/whats-the ... irst-time/ Seeing Solo and Rogue One was a great reminder/primer to get back to the original 1977 film (now called Episode IV: A New Hope, we didn't even know that). Rogue One segues perfectly into IV. Great fun!

And Mark Hamill says Luke Skywalker could "of course" be gay.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

https://www.allure.com/story/aretha-fra ... -interview

Aretha Franklin's Beauty Legacy Lives on Through the Respect Film
The lead artists behind hair and makeup share the behind-the-scenes moments that made this must-see film so mesmerizing.
Behind the Beehives
One of the first challenges the pair faced in the process of styling the actors who played Franklin was the lack of photos they had of the singers as a kid or a teen. There simply weren't any pictures of her from when she was very young. Instead, Davis and Martin pored through images of Franklin's contemporaries to inform the costuming for those scenes in the film. "We definitely pulled our references from what was current at that time, whether it was pictures of church services, concerts, girl groups, family portraits, and high school yearbooks," explains Davis. Many of the images they browsed through were in black and white, so, Martin notes, they had to research popular color palettes from the time in order to add that dimension.

For the more grown-up version of Franklin, Davis says it was of utmost importance to get all the details right. It's the small things, he explains, that draw the viewer close and put them in the time period of Franklin's heyday. The singer's signature beehive hairstyle, for instance, was particularly key to accurately portray. It's something Davis initially thought would be a challenge, but it turned out to be easier than he thought. "I specifically asked the wig maker to do kinkier edges on that unit because I wanted it to be as authentic as possible for the period," he explains. "I wanted it to look like it was Black natural hair that had been pressed out."

One thing that was unique about this production, Martin shares, is that there were several Black staffers working on it, a rather uncommon occurrence in the movie industry. "You normally don't see a trailer full of African-Americans on a project. It was a lovely thing to see that it was people like myself telling Aretha Franklin's story," he says. But even with so many Black people on set, Davis notes that his greatest challenge was finding enough hairstylists that could work with natural, Afro-textured hair, especially when it came to styling extras for the church scenes, concerts, and anything that required larger crowds.

[Phoenix520]

Raised by Wolves
HBO Max

This is a crazy-good, crazy sci-fi series. It involves a couple of Androids raising human children on another planet after Earth is destroyed, a war between atheists and believers, and a whole lot of interesting dialogue.

No one you know is in it* but it’s so different you might enjoy it.




* Unless you know Travis Flimmel from Vikings, or Abubakar Salim from video games or CB Strike.

[Dr. Ken]

Succession. It's good everyone in the family is fighting to take over their dad's media empire.

[pipistrelle]

I'm not watching the cool new shows you kids like. I'm watching season 4 of Doctor Who, circa 2008. In "The Sontaran Stratagem," we meet a young, super-rich genius who is collaborating with aliens to kill off the Earth. For some reason he reminds me of a cross between Zuck and Shrkeli. Given how long ago this show was made, it's not comforting.

[neonzx]

I'm not watching the cool new shows you kids like. I'm watching season 4 of Doctor Who, circa 2008. In "The Sontaran Stratagem," we meet a young, super-rich genius who is collaborating with aliens to kill off the Earth. For some reason he reminds me of a cross between Zuck and Shrkeli. Given how long ago this show was made, it's not comforting.

I remember watching the early seasons of Dr.Who when it ran on PBS in my youthy years -- first taste of British cinema outside James Bond ...

"It's bigger on the inside".

I wouldn't put much thought into comparing storylines with current events, though.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

DCI Banks is a BBC production on hulu. Great production values and writing. Good acting. The end of the first episode disappoints for those of us who understand inhuman humans (LM K, maybenaut).

[pipistrelle]

DCI Banks is a BBC production on hulu. Great production values and writing. Good acting. The end of the first episode disappoints for those of us who understand inhuman humans (LM K, maybenaut).

LM K and Maybenaut are inhuman humans?

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

pipi - Thanks for the heads up.

The end of the first episode disappoints for those of us like LM K and maybenaut who understand inhuman humans.

[AndyinPA]

Don't Look Up on Netflix.

Watch all the way through the credits!

[neonzx]

Well, I've gotten through 9 seasons of Stargate SG-1 in about 5 weeks. And those are full seasons meaning 20+ episodes each. I got one more to go because there were only 10 seasons. I'll queue up this DCI Banks thing you kids are going on about.

[keith]

Well, I've gotten through 9 seasons of Stargate SG-1 in about 5 weeks. And those are full seasons meaning 20+ episodes each. I got one more to go because there were only 10 seasons. I'll queue up this DCI Banks thing you kids are going on about.

Seems like there were about 20 seasons, but I'll defer to your more recent research.

[bob]

Don't Look Up on Netflix.

Watch all the way through the credits!

Meryl Strep's body double!

[neonzx]

Well, I've gotten through 9 seasons of Stargate SG-1 in about 5 weeks. And those are full seasons meaning 20+ episodes each. I got one more to go because there were only 10 seasons. I'll queue up this DCI Banks thing you kids are going on about.

Seems like there were about 20 seasons, but I'll defer to your more recent research.

IMDB says 10 years .... '97 - '07. I believe that is sufficient evidence.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118480/

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

"Perry Mason" abides. Hubby's mom, who we are caring for in her home, selected this to watch last night. Damn, Raymond Burr has beautiful eyes! And that smirk! Wowza! Settle down, orlylicious! I know he was on your team, but my team can appreciate his fine aspect.

Also, too, the writing is excellent, if you ignore the courtroom scene confessions. The writers had the judges and other characters explain legal procedures for the viewer. It's fun to see character actors in their youth. "There's old what's-her-name!"

[AndyinPA]

I had such a crush on Raymond Burr back in the day.

[realist]

DCI Banks is a BBC production on hulu. Great production values and writing. Good acting. The end of the first episode disappoints for those of us who understand inhuman humans (LM K, maybenaut).

Mia and I watched DCI Banks and enjoyed it, along with several other British mysteries. It took me a while to get back to watching them without her, but I have and still enjoy them. Among them are Shetland (a real favorite) Midsommer Murders, Vera (another one we liked very much) Murdoch Mysteries (a really fun and different one) Whitechapel and many other excellent ones. We got them in Acorn and/or Britbox.