What will you be watching on TV tonight (2024)?

[TastyReuben]

We finally watched the very first thing I put on my Netflix watchlist six years ago - Errmentari, which was based on a Basque fairytale about a blacksmith who imprisoned and tortured a demon who’d double-crossed him (not really, IMO!).

It sat on my list for so long because, after putting it on there, it never really grabbed me, and we finally watched it just to get it off there, and ended up liking it quite a bit, up to a point near the end. Then it kind of crashed a little.

 

[Morning Glory]

Yes, it’s already on my watchlist!

Yeah, its an interesting watch. There are a few other series 'behind the scenes' at UK hotels.

Tonight its The Traitors - coming to a close by the end of the week. I think it was a US show originally? Anyway, I find it quite compelling. The setting is wonderful.

 

[TastyReuben]

We finished all of Slow Horses, MrsT is fully addicted to Downton Abbey, but the Upstairs, Downstairs parallels are troubling to me.

We’re caught up on All Creatures… and Miss Scarlet (I do not like the lead character at all!), as we get just one episode a week (that’s so 20th century!), and we’re going to wrap up an Irish-Canadian thing we’re watching just to get through, so…we should be starting a couple of new things tonight, I think.

Will it be Acorn?…Netflix?…BritBox?…AppleTV+?…we shall see…

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Watched Saltburn.
It was not what I expected at all.
I don’t understand the comedy tag they put on films that don’t seem at all funny. An ‘occasional wry smile’ tag would be better.

 

[TastyReuben]

MrsT chose to start Ashoka on Disney+ and I settled on Fool Me Once - I’ll watch anything with Joanna Lumley in it.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

MrsT chose to start Ashoka on Disney+ and I settled on Fool Me Once - I’ll watch anything with Joanna Lumley in it.

I watched the first episode of that.
I found it a bit odd.
Feels like a brit programme made for an american audience which I suppose it would be if netflix are paying for it

There's a definite sea change in the stuff that's being produced in the UK now and it seems to have a strong slant on appealing to other markets.

There's one called Sanderton (another british historical period drama) that was filmed right here, they used our yard for their film crew. It was a total flop in the UK so we were surprised when they returned to film further series.

We asked them how considering it was a washout and they replied yep the english don't like it but the Americans love it.

That's so weird isn't it? It must have something to do with the perceptions of British history or culture that we don't share

 

[TastyReuben]

There's a definite sea change in the stuff that's being produced in the UK now and it seems to have a strong slant on appealing to other markets.

Yeah, it’s funny, it’s the same way here, really. Studios here expect to make their bank on the international market more and more.

The whole “appeal to other markets” is a fascinating subject to me - and it’s purely our perception, but MrsT and I both feel that, between the US and UK, there’s this leveling taking place, where British productions feel more and more Americanized and American productions are increasingly Britted up a bit.

Another way streaming has changed the landscape, I suppose. I remember being a kid/teen in the ‘70’s/‘80’s, and the only outlet here for British shows was PBS, and devouring those, even if they weren’t always hep or trendy (seriously how many 13yo boys hung on every episode of Love for Lydia! ), and those programs felt almost otherworldly, but now…Slow Horses, Bridgerton, Downton Abbey…those don’t “feel” all that British to me, they’re very homogenized.

 

[TastyReuben]

I watched the first episode of that.
I found it a bit odd.

The first episode…it hasn’t grabbed me yet, and honestly, the premise isn’t something that would normally appeal to me - I’m just there for Dame Jo right now.

Interesting thing, regarding the whole “international market” subject…it’s apparently based on an American novel, set in the US, but it’s been retooled to place it in the UK!

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

The first episode…it hasn’t grabbed me yet, and honestly, the premise isn’t something that would normally appeal to me - I’m just there for Dame Jo right now.

Interesting thing, regarding the whole “international market” subject…it’s apparently based on an American novel, set in the US, but it’s been retooled to place it in the UK!

That explains it out of place feeling

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Yeah, it’s funny, it’s the same way here, really. Studios here expect to make their bank on the international market more and more.

The whole “appeal to other markets” is a fascinating subject to me - and it’s purely our perception, but MrsT and I both feel that, between the US and UK, there’s this leveling taking place, where British productions feel more and more Americanized and American productions are increasingly Britted up a bit.

Another way streaming has changed the landscape, I suppose. I remember being a kid/teen in the ‘70’s/‘80’s, and the only outlet here for British shows was PBS, and devouring those, even if they weren’t always hep or trendy (seriously how many 13yo boys hung on every episode of Love for Lydia! ), and those programs felt almost otherworldly, but now…Slow Horses, Bridgerton, Downton Abbey…those don’t “feel” all that British to me, they’re very homogenized.

Absolutely.
It's strange to think the internet could slowly turn everyone into one homogenised mass

So what is the Brit feel in American progs?

 

[TastyReuben]

So what is the Brit feel in American progs?

Generally that they’re added to class the joint up a bit, or if a really dastardly villain is needed…they better have a British accent!

Seriously, though, another aspect is…and this is hard to say without being offensive, I think, and I’m not going to navigate this very well, so my apologies in advance, but here goes: when we think back to first moving to the UK and watching nothing but UK programming, MrsT and I were delighted at the (for lack of a better word) realism of British actors compared to American ones - Hollywood sensibilities have always leaned toward the glamorous, even if the character wasn’t meant to be all that glamorous, where British actors looked like real people you’d see on the street (exceptions apply, of course).

I remember the very first nude scene we saw on regular Brit TV - what surprised us wasn’t that there was a nude scene on regular TV, we already knew that was more relaxed, but that the actor in the scene was a middle-aged, man-boobed, pot-bellied, not-so-impressively-endowed man stepping out of the shower - we both immediately commented, “That would never happen in the States,” and what we both meant by that was, “If you’re going to be naked in an American movie, you better look more attractive than your audience.” - and to be clear, we were pleased with the realism.

I still remember the hoopla and all the media coverage of Kathy Bates when she did a nude scene, because it was such a big deal that someone who was a good bit older than 25 and a good bit heavier than 105 pounds was “brave enough” to shed her clothes and show her floppy breasts - and that was considered a watershed moment that was supposed to open the door for more realism and less ageism in Hollywood and…it hasn’t really happened.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Generally that they’re added to class the joint up a bit, or if a really dastardly villain is needed…they better have a British accent!

Seriously, though, another aspect is…and this is hard to say without being offensive, I think, and I’m not going to navigate this very well, so my apologies in advance, but here goes: when we think back to first moving to the UK and watching nothing but UK programming, MrsT and I were delighted at the (for lack of a better word) realism of British actors compared to American ones - Hollywood sensibilities have always leaned toward the glamorous, even if the character wasn’t meant to be all that glamorous, where British actors looked like real people you’d see on the street (exceptions apply, of course).

I remember the very first nude scene we saw on regular Brit TV - what surprised us wasn’t that there was a nude scene on regular TV, we already knew that was more relaxed, but that the actor in the scene was a middle-aged, man-boobed, pot-bellied, not-so-impressively-endowed man stepping out of the shower - we both immediately commented, “That would never happen in the States,” and what we both meant by that was, “If you’re going to be naked in an American movie, you better look more attractive than your audience.” - and to be clear, we were pleased with the realism.

I still remember the hoopla and all the media coverage of Kathy Bates when she did a nude scene, because it was such a big deal that someone who was a good bit older than 25 and a good bit heavier than 105 pounds was “brave enough” to shed her clothes and show her floppy breasts - and that was considered a watershed moment that was supposed to open the door for more realism and less ageism in Hollywood and…it hasn’t really happened.

Well I think thats very well said and now it’s my turn to apologise - that is the turn off for a lot of Brits when we watch American tv and films. It doesn't feel realistic, everything is glossy, supersized and unrealistically good looking.
The teeth are like brilliant white paint, the skin is peeled and polished to a high shine, there’s large amounts of makeup, coiffed hair, unusually good attire, the houses and kitchens are immaculate (or or really grotty to make a point), the plastic surgery and straining for perfection is very distracting.

Just like you say we tend to like watching stuff with normal looking people in it, when the main protagonist isn’t groomed within an inch of their life and looks like Joe Bloggs we‘re more invested in whether things will turn out ok for them. I suppose it’s easier to relate to.

As for the villain, yep we often say “Oh god another English villain, it was better in the 80’s when they were always Russian”

Mind you I have just watched something American where the baddies were Chinese so maybe there’s a new typecasting on the horizon?

One of the things that always draws ire from Mr SSOAP is when there is or has been a sex scene in something American and the woman has still got her bra on

 

[TastyReuben]

Well I think thats very well said

Thanks - I worry about that, because I’ve expressed that before to some British folks and have been met with, “Oh, so you’re saying all British actors are ugly, is that it?”

It doesn't feel realistic, everything is glossy, supersized and unrealistically good looking.

Oh, I agree completely. “Poor” families will still be in sleek apartments or the immaculate 6-bed Victorian with a half-acre yard.

We were watching something not long ago, some police procedural thing, and the cop had to talk to some homeless folks, and after a few seconds of these street people with brilliant white teeth and trendy hairstyles, MrsT said, “Why do those homeless people look better than me?!”

Another example, just last night - she was watching Ashoka and one of the characters, in some act of getting ready for space action (I know next to nothing about SW, BTW, so I wasn’t paying attention), reached behind her, grabbed her long, stringy hair in a ponytail, then used her big knife to crudely saw it off (can’t have long hair when you’re about to go on some sci-fi quest!).

Very next scene…it’s arranged perfectly in a sassy new ‘do, with an oh-so-cute side part, the bits in back all teased out and gelled into place - I suppose she had time to stop off at the galactic salon on the way to her spaceship or whatever…which she could have just done without the earlier drama! - “You wanna see how much I mean business?!?! Do you?!?! Well, would someone who isn’t fully committed to the mission…CUT HER OWN HAIR OFF WITH A BOWIE KNIFE?!?!”

One of the things that always draws ire from Mr SSOAP is when there is or has been a sex scene in something American and the woman has still got her bra on

Oh, that’s a constant source of amusement for us. We’ll see two people under the covers, obviously getting it on (let’s just say, the rumpy’s all pumpy ), and for whatever reason, as soon as they’re finished, one will say, “I’m late for work!” or whatever, throw back the blankets, and… there they are in their underpants!

Now, I know you can scooch some things out of the way and to the side, but their underwear will be all smooth, wrinkle-free, perfectly fit to their undercarriages…really, were you two even touching?!?!

I want to see people rolling out of bed with red marks on their skin, hair all pushed to one side, one sock on, one sock under a pillow, that sort of thing.

That’s probably due to the TV and movie ratings here, though - the less racy, the easier for that sweet spot of PG-13/TV-14, where most studios seem to want to be.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Another example, just last night - she was watching Ashoka and one of the characters, in some act of getting ready for space action (I know next to nothing about SW, BTW, so I wasn’t paying attention), reached behind her, grabbed her long, stringy hair in a ponytail, then used her big knife to crudely saw it off (can’t have long hair when you’re about to go on some sci-fi quest!).

Very next scene…it’s arranged perfectly in a sassy new ‘do, with an oh-so-cute side part, the bits in back all teased out and gelled into place - I suppose she had time to stop off at the galactic salon on the way to her spaceship or whatever…which she could have just done without the earlier drama! - “You wanna see how much I mean business?!?! Do you?!?! Well, would someone who isn’t fully committed to the mission…CUT HER OWN HAIR OFF WITH A BOWIE KNIFE?!?!”

My family love Star Wars so I know exactly the scene your wife's talking about and I said out loud "Whaaa?!"
So tough and unencumbered by vanity she hacks off her own ponytail in the most pointless way then in the next scene is so re-glossed I assume must have felt great remorse by having visited the hairdressers to fix her moment of madness. I missed the next part because I was too busy imagining the conversation she had to have with the stylist about what she'd done

Thanks - I worry about that, because I’ve expressed that before to some British folks and have been met with, “Oh, so you’re saying all British actors are ugly, is that it?”

Ugly with bad teeth
It's true we prefer faulty looks and ragged realism. Who knows why

Oh, that’s a constant source of amusement for us. We’ll see two people under the covers, obviously getting it on (let’s just say, the rumpy’s all pumpy ), and for whatever reason, as soon as they’re finished, one will say, “I’m late for work!” or whatever, throw back the blankets, and… there they are in their underpants!

 

[caseydog]

Well I think thats very well said and now it’s my turn to apologise - that is the turn off for a lot of Brits when we watch American tv and films. It doesn't feel realistic, everything is glossy, supersized and unrealistically good looking.
The teeth are like brilliant white paint, the skin is peeled and polished to a high shine, there’s large amounts of makeup, coiffed hair, unusually good attire, the houses and kitchens are immaculate (or or really grotty to make a point), the plastic surgery and straining for perfection is very distracting.

Just like you say we tend to like watching stuff with normal looking people in it, when the main protagonist isn’t groomed within an inch of their life and looks like Joe Bloggs we‘re more invested in whether things will turn out ok for them. I suppose it’s easier to relate to.

As for the villain, yep we often say “Oh god another English villain, it was better in the 80’s when they were always Russian”

Mind you I have just watched something American where the baddies were Chinese so maybe there’s a new typecasting on the horizon?

One of the things that always draws ire from Mr SSOAP is when there is or has been a sex scene in something American and the woman has still got her bra on

I remember the first time I saw Are You Being Served? John Inman's teeth. I couldn't help thinking, "Surely you make enough money to get those teeth fixed."

BTW, that is a British TV show I never liked.

CD