Author Topic: Television tonight: what's worth watching? (Read 336046 times)

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #600 on:** 12 August, 2015, 12:37:58 pm »

Cycling Weekly is going into the TV business?

Kim · « **Reply #601 on:** 12 August, 2015, 12:53:02 pm »

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 12 August, 2015, 12:37:58 pm

Cycling Weekly is going into the TV business?

Sadly not. It's a TV network that makes programmes about (mostly) vampires and superheroes for teenagers. Some of them are almost watchable, but inevitably jump the shark in the third episode.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #602 on:** 12 August, 2015, 01:08:42 pm »

I can sort of understand the appeal of vampires as it's "cool" to do Stuffs like stay up all night and never get any older. Superheroes - with the possible exception of ones called Tony - are a closed book to me.

I am happy to remain in ignorance of this "CW" phenomenon.

Wascally Weasel · « **Reply #603 on:** 12 August, 2015, 01:10:24 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 12 August, 2015, 12:53:02 pm

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 12 August, 2015, 12:37:58 pm
Cycling Weekly is going into the TV business?

Sadly not. It's a TV network that makes programmes about (mostly) vampires and superheroes for teenagers. Some of them are almost watchable, but inevitably jump the shark in the third episode.

Do the sharks have frikkin lasers?

Kim · « **Reply #604 on:** 12 August, 2015, 01:27:45 pm »

Centuries-old vampires hanging around with high school girls are creepy, and Buffy already did it better, anyway.

All the best superheroes are called Tony.

Lasers feature all too rarely in the CW's output.

Legs · « **Reply #605 on:** 18 August, 2015, 09:50:06 am »

Unadulterated televoyeurism.

https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/travel-guides

Seriously non-U, seriously entertaining. My wife likened the 'back at home' scenes to Creature Comforts. The highlight of last night's episode was the outrageously camp fella declaring of a Tenerifean black sand beach 'you can't build a sandcastle with mucky sand like that', while behind him an artist was sculpting a breathtaking sand cathedral.

Ruthie · « **Reply #606 on:** 25 August, 2015, 02:29:19 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 03 August, 2015, 09:58:11 pm

Flying to the Ends of the Earth, on Channel 4 tonight. It was episode two, but it's on 4OD.

Arthur Williams uses tiny little planes, DeHavilland twin otters mostly, to fly to the most remote places in Nepal and get an insight into the lives of the people who eke out an existence there.

It was a bit sad really, stories of rank exploitation in sublime landscapes, but it was very good, if only for the take offs and landings on teeny weeny airstrips dug out of the sides of mountains. I'll be watching the rest of them. It's Australia next week.

Australia was wonderful, but the final one (Northern Canada by seaplane) was just brilliant. I flew over some of these territories in the Winter, it looked like another planet, but there are people living up there. And bears, and rainforests.

Arthur had a go at flying all the aircraft, which he does in them all, but the seaplane landing was a bit special. What a fab programme.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #607 on:** 26 August, 2015, 06:09:04 pm »

As is usual with televisual wossnames I come to recommend things which have already been broadcast, in this case Soup Cans & Superstars: How Pop Art Changed The World, which is on iPlayer for another four weeks. Refreshingly free from the ponciness that all too often accompanies programmes about art and as for the subject: anything which makes ~~Baby Jesus~~ Abstract Expressionist cry is undoubtedly a Good Thing

robgul · « **Reply #608 on:** 30 August, 2015, 05:35:13 pm »

Dragon's Den tonight (30 August) has a pitch from a cycle holiday business - Ride25 - I know the people involved at Ride25, but don't know the outcome of the pitch .. although the teaser trailer has one of the Dragon's (dunno his name) suggesting they are "taking him for a ride"

May be interesting to see what Ride25 pitches, and how they fare with forthcoming funding (if any) . . .

Rob

Kim · « **Reply #609 on:** 31 August, 2015, 10:45:11 pm »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01pptp0/cbeebies-bedtime-stories-329-my-friend-nigel

I still think he'd have been better presenting Top Gear.

menthel · « **Reply #610 on:** 04 September, 2015, 11:46:44 am »

Cradle to Grave last night- very, very enjoyable!

rafletcher · « **Reply #611 on:** 04 September, 2015, 12:03:50 pm »

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 26 August, 2015, 06:09:04 pm

As is usual with televisual wossnames I come to recommend things which have already been broadcast, in this case Soup Cans & Superstars: How Pop Art Changed The World, which is on iPlayer for another four weeks. Refreshingly free from the ponciness that all too often accompanies programmes about art and as for the subject: anything which makes ~~Baby Jesus~~ Abstract Expressionist cry is undoubtedly a Good Thing

Agreed, and showed/shows some of the lesser known works / artists as well.

Thor · « **Reply #612 on:** 07 September, 2015, 10:28:46 pm »

Just watched Ireland's Wild River: The Mighty Shannon. Some extraordinary wildlife photography.

Andrij · « **Reply #613 on:** 08 September, 2015, 07:26:45 pm »

Antigone

Caught this earlier in the year. Great production and performances.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #614 on:** 08 September, 2015, 07:53:55 pm »

Not tonight, but tomorrow there's a program about the Ordnance Survey on BBC for you map heads.

Ruthie · « **Reply #615 on:** 12 September, 2015, 01:01:26 pm »

Ooh, NightCops is visiting Darlo tonight! I wonder if anyone I know will be on it

Ruthie · « **Reply #616 on:** 12 September, 2015, 10:08:21 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 12 September, 2015, 01:01:26 pm

Ooh, NightCops is visiting Darlo tonight! I wonder if anyone I know will be on it

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Ruthie · « **Reply #617 on:** 13 September, 2015, 10:42:33 am »

Obese: A Year To Save My Life USA (S1, ep8)

This guy weights 490 lbs and he's been taken out on a 100 mile bike ride in the heat. To give him a reality check.

It appears to have worked

Andrij · « **Reply #618 on:** 13 September, 2015, 01:23:05 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 08 September, 2015, 07:53:55 pm

Not tonight, but tomorrow there's a program about the Ordnance Survey on BBC for you map heads.

Asterix, the former Gaul. · « **Reply #619 on:** 14 September, 2015, 08:20:35 am »

On catch-up TV I just watched "Bletchley Park: Code-breaking's Forgotten Genius" about the Hut 6 cryptographer Gordon Welchman. His contribution to the task was on a par with that of Alan Turing apparently but in a very different way.

The most interesting aspect IMO was approach to the task and his post war life when partly due to British spending cuts he continued his work in the USA. It seems that much of what he did now underpins present day security methods, including the use of the internet by any one of us! Hi guys!

The book he wrote wasn't actually banned but made him persona non grata in security circles who gave him a rough ride. It's called 'THE HUT SIX STORY : BREAKING THE ENIGMA CODES' and if you want it today, it will cost you £354 on Amazon co uk

On French Amazon you can still order it, new, for 13 Euros.

It seems that if you were a British technological genius during WW2 then you had to tread very carefully once you were expendable.

Legs · « **Reply #620 on:** 14 September, 2015, 09:25:58 am »

Quote from: menthel on 04 September, 2015, 11:46:44 am

Cradle to Grave last night- very, very enjoyable!

Caught up with these on iPlayer. Thanks for putting me onto that. I don't generally like Peter Kay, and it's easy to think that Danny Baker is just the face you'd like to pummel on your doorstep, but this is really excellent.

citoyen · « **Reply #621 on:** 14 September, 2015, 01:22:53 pm »

The first episode of Cradle To Grave was great - especially the funeral scene, which had me guffawing loudly - but I found the second ep a bit meh. I suspect there's a danger of it becoming very formulaic very quickly. Will probably keep watching though.

I've also been watching the repeats of Fawlty Towers on Gold, which they're showing to celebrate its 40th birthday. Obviously I've seen them all many times before but not for a few years, and while they're still extremely funny in places, I was surprised at how dated they are. I told my son he must watch it because it's a classic, but it portrays a world that bears little resemblance to the one he's growing up in.

Vince · « **Reply #622 on:** 14 September, 2015, 08:13:37 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 12 September, 2015, 01:01:26 pm

Ooh, NightCops is visiting Darlo tonight! I wonder if anyone I know will be on it

I was very surprised to see a friend of mine on Crime Watch a while ago. Fortunately he was one of the good guys.

Legs · « **Reply #623 on:** 22 September, 2015, 11:41:49 am »

Not just for geeky (ex-)maths teachers like me...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06csx20/secret-knowledge-the-art-of-the-impossible-mc-escher-and-me

Kim · « **Reply #624 on:** 22 September, 2015, 01:10:22 pm »

Also on a geeky note, I forgot to mention:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p030s5bx/calculating-ada-the-countess-of-computing