What Was the Last Television Episode You Watched?

Steve Harrison said:
Episode 3 of the WWII US air force drama, Masters of the Air.

I like the series, but IMO it's not a patch on Band of Brothers, which was made by the same team. It doesn't have the same realism and grit as the earlier series and there's something unreal about the CGI aerial scenes. They are spectacular and often harrowing, but there's a cartoonish quality to them (similar to the recent remake of Midway). It also has too much Spielberg nostalgic schmaltz for my liking.

But despite all that, the characters and story are engaging and I'm a sucker for WWII stories, so I'll watch the whole thing.
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OK, I take it all back. I've just finished Masters of the Air and loved it from episode 4 on!

I also watched the one hour documentary Speilberg made to accompany the series, The Bloody 100th, which is also well worth a watch.
 
BANACEK - Now You See Me, Now You Don't - Last episode of the series is ruined by the fact that it isn't too hard to guess the twist due to the particular actor's hard to disguise voice. This one lacked Polish proverbs too. On the other hand it did have Gretchen Corbett who could naturally play well off stars like Peppard or James Garner.

Premiered 50 years ago this week.
 
THE INVADERS- The Watchers - Kevin McCarthy is a scientist and an alien who snatched his body (they make his nose look funny so he doesn't quite match). David Vincent uses a gun a few times in this to kill the aliens. I don't see why he doesn't do that more often--he can tell when someone is an alien by their finger--he could attack them with a hatchet and they will disappear-problem solved.


KOJAK- Down A Long and Lonely River -- Paul Michael Glaser is an ex-con who seeks to find out who sent him up the river--a couple of Police Woman cast members also appear, and Jennifer Aniston's father is the big crook. Premiered 50 years ago this week.

PETROCELLI - Terror By the Book - A writer is shot and Anne Francis is the suspect. Tony learns his brand of root beer is going out of business so he buys the little remaining inventory wholesale--but how much is "little?" For once--very rare--Pete is shown interviewing someone on his own (Kurt Russell's father).
 
BATMAN - An Egg Grows in Gotham/The Yegg Foes in Gotham - Egghead uses laughing gas on the dynamic duo which they counter with sad pills. You do wonder how this series would have been if they were more serious in approach but we take what we can get. It is amusing.

MCCLOUD - This Must Be The Alamo ---During a heatwave, Clifford has to manage a desk at police headquarters and leaves Broadhurst in charge. But various problems from a found baby to a mafia hit man posing as a lawyer plague the precinct.

Sgt. Joe Broadhurst: You mean that, sir?
Chief Peter B. Clifford: You know any sane person who's making jokes in this heat?
Sgt. Joe Broadhurst: Only McCloud...
Chief Peter B. Clifford: I said 'sane person'.

Premiered 50 years ago today.
 
Just watched the 10 episode series “The Girl from Oslo”. Although still generally similar to a typical Homeland style story of kidnapping in the Middle East it was a nice spin to have the home setting of Oslo rather than in the US. Gripping in parts.
 
Two new series for me.

Watched the first two episodes of Platform 7. Started off interesting, but it's getting a bit silly and far fetched in places. Described as a 'supernatural thriller' - no, it's not.

Also watched the first two episodes of The Detectorists. I knew that I was going to like this series, and I honestly don't know why I've left it this long before I started. It's very cleverly done, and I'm going to do my best not to binge watch it.
 
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Finished the six episodes of Dark Winds second season, from last year. It's a re-shaping of some elements of Tony Hillerman's Navaho Tribal Police mysteries. For me and for Miz Pogo it is a greatly welcomed re-telling of the well read Hillerman opus. One of the things that we loved in the books was the evocation of the landscape as well as of the people. The events make it very dark. but the acting as well as the setting made it binge watching for us.
Of special note for me were a few of the actors of an overall special cast.
  • Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn
  • Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito
  • Deanna Allison as Emma and
  • Nicholas Logan as Colton Wolf
Jeri Ryan is notable in a supporting role. It was produced by George RR Martin and Robert Redford,
both southwest friends of Hillerman. Saw it on a library DVD.
 
THE WILD WILD WEST - The Night of the Kraken - spooky atmosphere although many familiar elements from other shows. But it was ok.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - The Heir Apparent -- I liked how Rollin removes his disguise without anyone noticing that he does it.

KOJAK - Mojo -- The poor man's Clint Eastwood, Ed Lauter, steals some morphine to sell back to the company boss (who it turns out--is in on the heist). Kojak poses as a chemist to get close to the thieves so he can use his amazing hearing to know where the hideout is. He gives a suspect a lollipop. Stavros gets a plant "Sam" to keep his other plant "Shirley" company. Premiered 50 years ago this week.
 
Gentlemen on Netflix. Watched the first 2 episodes of this amusing series about a second son who unexpectedly inherits a Dukedom over his useless coke-sniffing older brother, who, it turns out, is in all sorts of debt to dubious, Dickensian characters.
Entertaining, droll dialogue, twisty farcical plot, great production. Very Guy Ritchie, if you like that kind of thing.
 
HEC RAMSEY - Only Birds and Fools-- A pair of inventors come to New Prospect to try out their aerial craft which intrigues Hec--so much so that he delays closing in on the killer of a rival inventor so he can see if it can fly. Good melodrama moments for what is the final episode of the series. Premiered 50 years ago.
 
Star Trek TNG Season 7 ep whatever - Sub Rosa. Number One Son reported that he had been told this was possibly the worst TNG episode but boy oh boy! He and a I were in the hysterical giggles the whole way through. I mean aside from the story, which one online review describes as "insanely, deliriously, hilariously, notoriously, transcendently bad", some of technical stuff was pretty damn weird too. One shot had us stop the DVD and replay it a couple of times to try and work out what had gone so wrong with it.

Crusher and Troi are having a conversation. Both sitting, directly facing each other. The setup is shot standard Hollywood 30ish degrees off the line of action conversation style. Alternating matched three quarter profile and OTS shots of Crusher (looking off screen left) and Troi (looking off screen right). At the end of the conversation Troi stands, turns away then turns back and starts talking to Crusher again except now she is talking to the place where Crusher was at the start of the scene before she sat down. To do this Troi is now facing screen left and her eyeline implies Crusher is standing. The reverse angle has Crusher still sat where she was but looking screen right and upwards where we know Troi is standing. Somewhere in the shooting of this screen the continuity person and/or director really screwed up.

Other highlights included trying to work out how, during the storm sequence, it was that the lightening was able to go flashy flashy through the window out of sync with the lightning going flashy flashy under the door right next to it, and the obvious lack of an establishing shot/dialogue which would have told the audience the scene in which Quint was zapped to death took place in the planet's weather control station and not on the Enterprise and not left us wondering how he'd managed to get off the planet and onboard.

The next episode, Lower Decks, by contrast, turned out to be one of the best episodes. I really like it when shows step away from their formula (and get it right! - he hastily added as he realised Sub Rosa wasn't exactly a routine by the numbers episode). The series' regular main characters are almost sidelined as we follow a bunch of new characters. The mystery as to what is going on is well kept until it is revealed. The fact that a sympathetic character dies (albeit off screen) is well done. I think it is a compliment to say it was a very Babylon Five like episode.
 
I remember Lower Decks. That episode did stand out--since I haven't seen the show in 30 years. I still remember the Vulcan.


MANNIX - Who Will Dig The Graves? - Joe is hired by a dying millionaire to find his hippie singer wife who faked her death. He says he wants to reconcile--but actually just wants her found so he can kill her and Mannix. And he is not really dying and not really who he appears to be either. Dean Stanton guest stars and sings (just add Harry to the front).

CANNON - Murder By Proxy - Anne Francis is framed for murder and Frank has to figure out who did it.

KOJAK - Therapy By Dynamite --a mad bomber is loose--blowing up people at random it seems. Turns out he (Stephen Keats) is actually trying to help the people he is in group therapy with. Theo joins the group (he sure does not fit a therapy group session). What's interesting is that a woman in a troubled marriage learns that the guy killed a secretary because he thought she was having an affair with the woman's husband. But he killed the wrong one. So he sets another bomb--and after he is killed and they have to find the last bomb--and even though the police are on the case-the jilted wife still wants "the other woman" to blow up and tries to keep them from learning about it. Premiered 50 years ago this week.
 
First 2 episodes of Ripley (Netflix). This is very good. Gorgeous B&W cinematography in Southern Italy. Set in the 1950’s, the eponymous sociopathic conman, played by Professor Moriarty, disturbs the arcadian existence of a rich young American expat.
 
IRONSIDE - Joss Sticks and Wedding Bells --- An asian girl shows up at the door and the Chief reveals she is his daughter. From his days reporting from Tokyo? No--it turns out she was a child he adopted by mail and had never met. And she was now there to ask his permission to marry. Boy has that not aged well. Her betrothed had to get some money from a loan shark in order to bring her over from Korea and he can't afford the interest. He goes to his boss (Dana Elcar) to get an advance on his salary but the boss says he can't risk it---as he tossed an envelope of money on his cluttered desk and then goes to answer the phone. He comes back and can't see the envelope. He then calls the cops to find the bridegroom.
Then Ironside goes to visit the guy and notices his desk is so messy--how could he be sure the employee took it. Elcar then demonstrates that he knows where everything is on his desk--and to his surprise--discovers the money under the mess. Embarrased--he says "do you know of a hole I can crawl into?"
and Ironside says "no but I do suggest you get a new filing system."
 
hitmouse said:
Gentlemen on Netflix. Watched the first 2 episodes of this amusing series about a second son who unexpectedly inherits a Dukedom over his useless coke-sniffing older brother, who, it turns out, is in all sorts of debt to dubious, Dickensian characters.
Entertaining, droll dialogue, twisty farcical plot, great production. Very Guy Ritchie, if you like that kind of thing.
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And the missus and I  did like it. We just watched the last two episodes on Friday.
 
hitmouse said:
First 2 episodes of Ripley (Netflix). This is very good. Gorgeous B&W cinematography in Southern Italy. Set in the 1950’s, the eponymous sociopathic conman, played by Professor Moriarty, disturbs the arcadian existence of a rich young American expat.
Click to expand...
We're watching this too. It's superbly done. Reminded me of 'Strangers On A Train,' which Patricia Highsmith also wrote, and which features a similar character who worms his way into somebody's life.
 
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