Just watched the first episode of BBC 4's Tunes for Tyrants with Suzy Klein. The first one looks at the music of Weimar Germany and Lenin-period Russia, with modern performances of the songs alongside archive footage.
There's a very dark moment when she and a German cabaret singer perform a late 1920s song taking the piss out of the Nazis but with lyrics that today are deeply discomforting, followed shortly after by a very sensitive discussion of the Horst-Wessel Lied.
On a lighter part of the show, the performance of Camille Saint-Saëns' Swan on piano and theremin is sublimely beautiful and worth catching in itself. Oh, and she destroys a piano with a sledgehammer at some point.
There's a very dark moment when she and a German cabaret singer perform a late 1920s song taking the piss out of the Nazis but with lyrics that today are deeply discomforting, followed shortly after by a very sensitive discussion of the Horst-Wessel Lied.
On a lighter part of the show, the performance of Camille Saint-Saëns' Swan on piano and theremin is sublimely beautiful and worth catching in itself. Oh, and she destroys a piano with a sledgehammer at some point.
Finished 'Back'. I enjoyed it more as a drama rather than as a laugh-a-minute comedy although there were some very funny moments in there. Andrew (Robert Webb) was brilliantly manipulative throughout. I felt the twist at the end fell a bit flat, however.
It raised a smile every now and again but just wasn't funny enough. If it didn't have Mitchell and Webb in it we wouldn't even be talking about it, as the supporting cast were dreadful.
I enjoyed it immensely.
TheVision wrote:
I enjoyed it immensely.
Quelle surprise, PraiseBot.
I have no idea if Netflix shows go in here or the US thread. Meh.
Anyway, Mindhunter: very good. If I told you it was a character drama exec-produced by David Fincher about the dawn of criminal profiling in the FBI in the 70s, you'd probably immediately be able to imagine what it's like. Refrshingly free of cliché so far (three episodes in), and with some great performances from the two male leads and a particularly mesmeric work from the actor playing the first serial killer interviewee we've seen so far.
Anyway, Mindhunter: very good. If I told you it was a character drama exec-produced by David Fincher about the dawn of criminal profiling in the FBI in the 70s, you'd probably immediately be able to imagine what it's like. Refrshingly free of cliché so far (three episodes in), and with some great performances from the two male leads and a particularly mesmeric work from the actor playing the first serial killer interviewee we've seen so far.
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
I have no idea if Netflix shows go in here or the US thread. Meh.
Anyway, Mindhunter: very good. If I told you it was a character drama exec-produced by David Fincher about the dawn of criminal profiling in the FBI in the 70s, you'd probably immediately be able to imagine what it's like. Refrshingly free of cliché so far (three episodes in), and with some great performances from the two male leads and a particularly mesmeric work from the actor playing the first serial killer interviewee we've seen so far.
Anyway, Mindhunter: very good. If I told you it was a character drama exec-produced by David Fincher about the dawn of criminal profiling in the FBI in the 70s, you'd probably immediately be able to imagine what it's like. Refrshingly free of cliché so far (three episodes in), and with some great performances from the two male leads and a particularly mesmeric work from the actor playing the first serial killer interviewee we've seen so far.
Start a Netflix originals thread!
Watched the first episode of 'Gunpowder'. Suitably mucky for the period and a rather gruesome demonstration of Stuart entertainment at the start. Some of the dialogue was a little clunky, however, and I really didn't think Mark Gatiss was particularly well cast as Sir Robert Cecil. I'll probably catch the next two parts nonetheless.
I then watched ten minutes of ITV2's 'Bromans' that I'd idly taped out of perverse curiosity before I found myself yearning to be thrown to the lions myself.
I then watched ten minutes of ITV2's 'Bromans' that I'd idly taped out of perverse curiosity before I found myself yearning to be thrown to the lions myself.
Kern wrote:
Watched the first episode of 'Gunpowder'. Suitably mucky for the period and a rather gruesome demonstration of Stuart entertainment at the start. Some of the dialogue was a little clunky, however, and I really didn't think Mark Gatiss was particularly well cast as Sir Robert Cecil. I'll probably catch the next two parts nonetheless.
Yes. Crikey. Was not quite expecting that right off the gun but yeah. Episode itself was OK. And i am now sure I did see him in the pub.
I wasn't aware of this until it had been on for weeks already so I'll mention it here in case anyone else is in a similar position: a new season of W1A is currently showing and will no doubt* be as hilarious as the preceding seasons and the olympic thing it started as.
*I say that because I'm stockpiling it and haven't actually started watching it myself as yet.
*I say that because I'm stockpiling it and haven't actually started watching it myself as yet.
That's one of those shows that sounds really up my street based on what I've heard but which I've yet to actually watch. Must make amends.
Kern wrote:
That's one of those shows that sounds really up my street based on what I've heard but which I've yet to actually watch. Must make amends.
It's probably worth watching them in order (starting with 'Twenty Twelve' which is really the first series) if you can. Not because there are massively important plots to follow or anything but new characters do come in at times and I think it would be better appreciated if you see them from their point of introduction rather than as they stand now.
Findus Fop wrote:
devilman wrote:
Been watching 'The Fall' on Amazon these past few evenings. Enjoyed the first two seasons, once I got used to the slowish pace of it all and the terrible subtitling in season two. Got to the end of season two only to find that season three isn't included in Prime and has to be paid for separately. Gits.
You're missing nothing, third series was a waste of time.
Amazon added series three the other day, so I thought I'd give a go. You're not wrong so far.. bloody hell.
Gotta say, s12 of Red Dwaft has actually been...pretty good. I’m surprised. I can’t stand the canned laughter but otherwise it’s been actually watchable and occasionally quite funny.
XII is filmed with an audience.
I think Red Dwarf always has been.
I think Red Dwarf always has been.
Didn't they switch to an audience for nuDwarf, and it was measurably worse for it?
Oh, apparently not. Live audience for every episode.
Even if it is I’m not convinced that the laughter track that plays over the top of it is from the same audience’s reactions. The actors don’t react to the laughter at all and lines are read out while “laughter” is still going on from a previous joke. Happy to be proven wrong if you know something I don’t.
Satsuma wrote:
Even if it is I’m not convinced that the laughter track that plays over the top of it is from the same audience’s reactions. The actors don’t react to the laughter at all and lines are read out while “laughter” is still going on from a previous joke. Happy to be proven wrong if you know something I don’t.
According to Llewellyn there's always a live studio audience, but for some shots/scenes where they can't, they dub over a laugh track from separate audience reactions.
Bamba wrote:
Kern wrote:
That's one of those shows that sounds really up my street based on what I've heard but which I've yet to actually watch. Must make amends.
It's probably worth watching them in order (starting with 'Twenty Twelve' which is really the first series) if you can. Not because there are massively important plots to follow or anything but new characters do come in at times and I think it would be better appreciated if you see them from their point of introduction rather than as they stand now.
I began to think they were running out of plot, but I still enjoyed the last series. Anna Rampton’s meltdown was great, and it was nice to see that Will haplessly provided a solution to a problem that the other high flyers were struggling to cope with. Still very much worth watching.
No studio audience for S7. The laugh track was recorded "live" after. The extended versions of S7 have no laugh track and it's proper eerie. I think those versions are on the DVDs
According to something I heard in an interview ages ago, comedies shot in front of live audiences often air with a laugh track rather than the audience's reaction, at least in part. Recording the audience can mess up timing of jokes, or have one person laughing distractingly loud, or otherwise get in the way of the show. The live audience is there to help the actor's performance, not be part of the show.
It's also quite hard to get the same laugh for a joke when you've heard it three times due to retakes.
Ken Levine, who used to write for 'Frasier', 'MASH', and 'Cheers', wrote a blog post about this recently.
Ken Levine, who used to write for 'Frasier', 'MASH', and 'Cheers', wrote a blog post about this recently.
I similarly either read a piece or watched a program once that said that there is a tendency for some members of an audience to give the last or loudest laugh, laugh beyond the natural laugh period or in a notable manner to be able to give an identifiable laugh for when they watch it back, so the audience laughter is smoothed post-production.
I went to a taping of Harry Hills TV burp once and they definitely put a laugh track on afterwards. The show we saw was quite different to the one that actually went out on TV so I guess the moral of the story is to not believe anything you see or hear on telly.
TheVision wrote:
I went to a taping of Harry Hills TV burp once and they definitely put a laugh track on afterwards. The show we saw was quite different to the one that actually went out on TV so I guess the moral of the story is to not believe anything you see or hear on telly.
The penny and the pie were NOT YOURS!!!
I only find laugh tracks annoying when I don't find something particularly funny, or if the audience make that annoying whooping noise every scene. I often forget that 'Frasier' has an audience, for example. But I'm glad for most of the stuff I watch these days they aren't there.
Mr Russell wrote:
TheVision wrote:
I went to a taping of Harry Hills TV burp once and they definitely put a laugh track on afterwards. The show we saw was quite different to the one that actually went out on TV so I guess the moral of the story is to not believe anything you see or hear on telly.
The penny and the pie were NOT YOURS!!!
Is this the next big game show scandal?
Kern wrote:
Ken Levine, who used to write for 'Frasier', 'MASH', and 'Cheers', wrote a blog post about this recently.
Quote:
Here’s an interesting thing – audiences respond way better to things they see live actors do rather than watching finished pre-records. In other words, let’s say I’m directing an episode with a car scene. I will pre-shoot it.
The editor will put it together that night and the following night when we shoot the show in front of 250 people we’ll have the ability to play it back for them and record their laughter.
However, when I direct, instead of showing that finished scene I bring out the actors involved, place them in two chairs, explain to the audience that they’re in a car driving, and have the actors do the scene live. I record the audio and even though the audience has to now imagine the scene, they laugh much louder having real actors performing the scene.
It all goes back to why some shows are filmed in front of an audience in the first place – there’s a real energy the cast derives from a live audience. They feed off their laughter. Their performances go up and if the writing is good the whole show rises. It’s intangible but the home viewer can sense it.
Getting back to that car scene, I wonder what would happen if we just aired the scene of the two actors on chairs instead of the real one with them in an actual car. I don't think the home audience would be thinking about the laugh track at that moment.
The editor will put it together that night and the following night when we shoot the show in front of 250 people we’ll have the ability to play it back for them and record their laughter.
However, when I direct, instead of showing that finished scene I bring out the actors involved, place them in two chairs, explain to the audience that they’re in a car driving, and have the actors do the scene live. I record the audio and even though the audience has to now imagine the scene, they laugh much louder having real actors performing the scene.
It all goes back to why some shows are filmed in front of an audience in the first place – there’s a real energy the cast derives from a live audience. They feed off their laughter. Their performances go up and if the writing is good the whole show rises. It’s intangible but the home viewer can sense it.
Getting back to that car scene, I wonder what would happen if we just aired the scene of the two actors on chairs instead of the real one with them in an actual car. I don't think the home audience would be thinking about the laugh track at that moment.
Fun fact - if they use prerecorded (or 'canned') laughter, often those recording are very old, and the people laughing in them are almost certainly dead.
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Kern wrote:
Ken Levine, who used to write for 'Frasier', 'MASH', and 'Cheers', wrote a blog post about this recently.
Quote:
Here’s an interesting thing – audiences respond way better to things they see live actors do rather than watching finished pre-records. In other words, let’s say I’m directing an episode with a car scene. I will pre-shoot it.
The editor will put it together that night and the following night when we shoot the show in front of 250 people we’ll have the ability to play it back for them and record their laughter.
However, when I direct, instead of showing that finished scene I bring out the actors involved, place them in two chairs, explain to the audience that they’re in a car driving, and have the actors do the scene live. I record the audio and even though the audience has to now imagine the scene, they laugh much louder having real actors performing the scene.
It all goes back to why some shows are filmed in front of an audience in the first place – there’s a real energy the cast derives from a live audience. They feed off their laughter. Their performances go up and if the writing is good the whole show rises. It’s intangible but the home viewer can sense it.
Getting back to that car scene, I wonder what would happen if we just aired the scene of the two actors on chairs instead of the real one with them in an actual car. I don't think the home audience would be thinking about the laugh track at that moment.
The editor will put it together that night and the following night when we shoot the show in front of 250 people we’ll have the ability to play it back for them and record their laughter.
However, when I direct, instead of showing that finished scene I bring out the actors involved, place them in two chairs, explain to the audience that they’re in a car driving, and have the actors do the scene live. I record the audio and even though the audience has to now imagine the scene, they laugh much louder having real actors performing the scene.
It all goes back to why some shows are filmed in front of an audience in the first place – there’s a real energy the cast derives from a live audience. They feed off their laughter. Their performances go up and if the writing is good the whole show rises. It’s intangible but the home viewer can sense it.
Getting back to that car scene, I wonder what would happen if we just aired the scene of the two actors on chairs instead of the real one with them in an actual car. I don't think the home audience would be thinking about the laugh track at that moment.
I remember watching him tip over completely on the Smeg Ups VHS
Grim... wrote:
Fun fact - if they use prerecorded (or 'canned') laughter, often those recording are very old, and the people laughing in them are almost certainly dead.
If Dead Can Dance, presumably Dead Can Laugh.
Howard’s End on the Beeb. Brill. Just hope they get to the end before one of the cast is accused of sexual shenanigans and has to be edited out and replaced by Christopher Plummer.
I watched a programme last night and it was called Motherload. It's got Philonmena Cunk (Diane Morgan) in it and I thought it was very funny.
It's about parents dealing with the school run, PTA and stuff like that. Most amusing.
It's about parents dealing with the school run, PTA and stuff like that. Most amusing.
TheVision wrote:
I watched a programme last night and it was called Motherload. It's got Philonmena Cunk (Diane Morgan) in it and I thought it was very funny.
It's about parents dealing with the school run, PTA and stuff like that. Most amusing.
It's about parents dealing with the school run, PTA and stuff like that. Most amusing.
Motherland! Though Motherload is almost as good a name.
Loved the pilot, not caught the series yet, thanks for the heads up
'Peaky Blinders' starts again tonight! Yay!
Kern wrote:
'Peaky Blinders' starts again tonight! Yay!
I think I have missed season 3 completely.... arse..
KovacsC wrote:
Kern wrote:
'Peaky Blinders' starts again tonight! Yay!
I think I have missed season 3 completely.... arse..
It’s on the iPlayer I think
Did anyone else watch the final of Robot Wars last night? I came into the series about half way through but I wish I'd watched the lot. It was great!
Ha, yeah. That was some epic roboteering right there.
Incidentally, did anyone watch Can We Live With Robots on saturday night?
Super interesting look at the development of robots and the connections human beings are trying to forge with them. Unsurprisingly spent the majority of the programme in Japan. The whole show was weirdly built around this rather-shoehorned premise of the choreographer-cum-presenter trying to explore human-robot relationships through dance. Could have done without the inevitable 10-minute showstopper dance at the end, but I am a known philistine when it comes to dramatic prancin'.
Also featured this dude and his robot.
Super interesting look at the development of robots and the connections human beings are trying to forge with them. Unsurprisingly spent the majority of the programme in Japan. The whole show was weirdly built around this rather-shoehorned premise of the choreographer-cum-presenter trying to explore human-robot relationships through dance. Could have done without the inevitable 10-minute showstopper dance at the end, but I am a known philistine when it comes to dramatic prancin'.
Also featured this dude and his robot.
I am finally watching Line Of Duty, the BBC drama about the police's Anti-Corruption force. It's very good. It's on Netflix if you missed it at the time, like me.
It's bloody excellent
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
I am finally watching Line Of Duty, the BBC drama about the police's Anti-Corruption force. It's very good. It's on Netflix if you missed it at the time, like me.
So I'm halfway through S2 and omg omg omg. Keeley Hawes is just amazing.
Final episode of Bancroft was annoying, but perhaps paves the way for another series, although there has been no mention of that as far as I know.
DBSnappa wrote:
KovacsC wrote:
Kern wrote:
'Peaky Blinders' starts again tonight! Yay!
I think I have missed season 3 completely.... arse..
It’s on the iPlayer I think
Caught it on Netflix.. will try and catch up tonight
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
I am finally watching Line Of Duty, the BBC drama about the police's Anti-Corruption force. It's very good. It's on Netflix if you missed it at the time, like me.
So I'm halfway through S2 and omg omg omg. Keeley Hawes is just amazing.
This just goes from strength to strength. A regular household quote now, upon anything going wrong, is to snarl "catching criminals is hard enough, BUT CATCHING BENT COPPERS... GIVE ME STRENGTH!"
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
I am finally watching Line Of Duty, the BBC drama about the police's Anti-Corruption force. It's very good. It's on Netflix if you missed it at the time, like me.
So I'm halfway through S2 and omg omg omg. Keeley Hawes is just amazing.
This just goes from strength to strength. A regular household quote now, upon anything going wrong, is to snarl "catching criminals is hard enough, BUT CATCHING BENT COPPERS... GIVE ME STRENGTH!"
His accent is absolutely amazing, too. To my mind this is about the best British TV output in years.
