TV shows you most recently finished watching

we just watched the first 2 (or rather 4; I'll explain) episodes of "Bodyguard", a 6-part British political thriller from 2018. David Budd (played by Richard Madden), a British Army war veteran suffering from PTSD, who is now working for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service who is divorced with two kids who live with their mum, foils a terrorist bomb attack on a train and is assigned as the principal protection officer (PPO) for the ambitious female home secretary of the UK, whose politics he despises. she is pushing a planned new law called RIPA 18, an extension of the RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) from 2000 which would give the police access to private data of citizens. the two have an affair.

a first attempted sniper assassination of her fails, a second attempt with a bomb is successful though. Budd tries to keep their affair secret and becomes suspicious because of this.

BBC One made this a 6 part series; German TV joined 2 of these episodes respectively, so the series became a 3 part one for German TV.

the series received numerous awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe as best television series in the category drama. Madden received a Golden Globe as best actor in a television series in the category drama.

we watched the first 2 episodes at the online channel of ZDF (a German TV channel); episode 3 is not available yet. the series is top notch!

oh, and on a side note: the name of the female home secretary is, believe it or not, Julia Montague, a combination of Julia Capulet and Romeo Montague from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"

I probably didn't enjoy as much as most but it was okay. Too much stylistic mish mash of different era's of recent British history for my taste and I found the storyline charting a fictional rise in fascism not convincing and even a little contrived. On the plus side, singer/actor Paloma Faith is a hoot playing a deranged northern psycho 'b***h' while James Purefoy added much needed tension and threat. 7/10

If something passes the time and doesn't annoy me then it often gets 7/10. Roughly I tend to see it like this:

5/10 and below not really worth bothering with 

6/10 watchable and has decent production standards

7/10 very entertaining , high production standards but not especially original

8/10 one of the more interesting things to come out this year

9/10 top notch , interesting, original and a little challenging

10/10 very rare indeed . Has to be perfect. Maybe Boardwalk Empire , Six Feet Under fall into that category but not a lot else in my book!

Still watching Brand New Cherry Flavor (thoroughly enjoying) and like you I less enjoyed Nine Perfect Strangers .  I guess my main issue is Nicole Kidman's face which is now far too distracting. Shame as she is a fine actor but there is a limit on the ole nip and tuck. I really loved the dynamic between Melissa McCarthy's and Bobby Cannavale's characters but less convinced by the family. Overall it was entertaining and a few caustically ironic things to say about 'New Age' therapy although seemed in the end to totally pull its punches and chicken out of the dark ending expected. Perhaps it would have been a bit too grim to stomach?! 7/10

Finished this the other week. I rather enjoyed it as it's a bit out there. 

Unlike Nine Perfect Strangers which I finished a few days ago. I thought it might have had a science-fiction or supernatural twist, but alas no. It's simply 9 people with various problems being drugged at a health resort; and that's about it. 3/10 as the acting was quite good.

Fringe was brillaint.....wished it had run longer. Eureka was just ok.

The one I've been watching these days is Reply 1988, from 2016. (Not to be confused with Reply 1997 or Reply 1994. Each series is a stand-alone season with completely different characters. Reply 1988's considered the best one.) It's a slice-of-life dramedy full of quirky characters. Having grown up in the 80s, this one makes me much more nostalgic for that time period than, say, Stranger Things.

I rate Reply 1988 with my other top-tier favorites - Mr. Queen, Strong Girl Bong-soon, Crash Landing On You, Mr Sunshine, Goblin (aka Guardian: The Lonely and Great God), When the Camellia Blooms, My Mister, Hotel Del Luna. I think they can all be found at Viki.com.