United Kingdom - TV SHOWS & MOVIES

[Pauline]

I just read that article. It sounds great - an Icelandic murder mystery. I'll look for it on BBC iplayer. I am waiting for Shetland to end before starting a new police series (otherwise I mix up the stories) so haven't watched Happy Valley yet.

Have you watched all the Shetland series @Jim Zurer ? They are very good. His male co-worker is a comedian here but he is playing a straight part. He was very funny on the Charlie Brooker series.

 

[Jim Zurer]

I have not watched Shetland....I note that there are several previous seasons. Any downside to starting without seeing Seasons 1 and 2?

 

[Pauline]

You'll miss a bit of his personal back story about his daughter, but I can catch you up with that. The first series were based on the Anne Cleeves books, but this one is a new story. The Scottish scenery is wonderful. I would watch it without having seen the earlier ones.

We gave in and watched the first episode of Happy Valley tonight. I liked it, but is is hard to understand what people are saying. Those accents, and some mumbling.

 

[Roz]

... hard to understand what people are saying. Those accents, and some mumbling

I usually turn on the subtitles, if available, on the British TV we watch.

 

[jonathan]

We do just the same, for some US shows (certainly The Wire, though we were fine with Breaking Bad).

 

[Pauline]

Can we do that with BBC shows? Happy Valley is on again tonight - I will see if we can do that.

 

[Jim Zurer]

The iPlayer that I use has subtitles/closed-captioning--there is a big "S" at the bottom right of the screen. Interestingly, the subtitles are very small when I cast them from the downloaded file on my computer but big when I stream. However when I use my smartphone to cast to the television, the downloaded program has very large and legible closed captioning.

http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/tv/using_subtitles

 

[Pauline]

For @Jim Zurer - the Shetland back story. The main detective, Jimmy Perez, is single, raising the daughter of his late wife. He is not her father but her father, Duncan Hunter, lives on Shetland and appears from time to time in the stories. That is about it.

BBC One - Introducing the characters and stories in the new series of Shetland

The actor Steven Robertson plays D.C. Sandy Wilson. I thought this was the same actor who is Limmy on Charlie Brooker's show - but it isn't! Limmy is Brian "Limmy" Limond! Robertson born in 1977, Limmy in 1974. Robertson is from Shetland, Limmy from closer to Glasgow. I guess I was mixing up these young Scottish actors!

Here is a video of Limmy, who has nothing to do with Shetland.

 

[Pauline]

Some posted this on Facebook. A map of the UK showing where TV series are filmed!

http://www.citylab.com/navigator/20...tish-tv-shows-mapped/462945/?utm_source=atlas

This is the link to the people who created it.

http://timritz.com/tvmap-explore/

 

[Jim Zurer]

The new BBC series--The Night Manager--based on the John LeCarre novel premieres tonight....What is the buzz about it in Britain?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g14d5

 

[jonathan]

Previews have been enthusiastic, and the cast is excellent. We've just started a week in Austria, so won't be watching live, but definitely catching up on our return.

 

[Pauline]

We will watch tonight. There have been a lot of ads for it.

The last episode of Shetland was overwhelming. This is the best series by far. They are no longer following the Ann Cleaves books but are writing new plots based on her characters (I think).

And Trapped, the Icelandic drama, is very good! No lovely scenes of Iceland - it takes place in northern Iceland, almost at the Arctic Circle, in the winter. All snow!! Snow, and wind and cold.

 

[Chris]

I'm looking forward to Shetland being available here. I liked the early books but the most recent two were tedious at best. It's probably a good idea they are writing new plots!

 

[jonathan]

Yes, Trapped is great! The Danish ferry captain was in both Borgen and The Killing.

 

[Jim Zurer]

We are very much enjoying Season 2 of Happy Valley....I thought Episode 1 was a bit off but the next two have been as sharp as ever. I see that it comes to Netflix in the US on March 16.

Have to find time for Shetland and Trapped......

 

[Roz]

This isn't actually a British series (although I think it was shown on BBC), but has anyone watched the Australian series A Place to Call Home? It's been called an Australian Downton Abbey, but it's set in the 1950s. We started watching it on Acorn TV, having signed up for a free month's trial. We are now so hooked on it that we will definitely start paying for a subscription ($5/mo; $50/yr) when the free trial runs out. Here's a pretty good article about it: High Drama from Down Under.

Acorn TV does have a lot of good British shows on streaming, as well as a few from other countries, which I don't think are generally available elsewhere in the US.

By the way, if anyone wants to watch Acorn TV on an Apple TV (as we are doing), don't sign up for a subscription through the iTunes store. Apple will charge an extra fee, which you don't have to pay if you sign up through the Acorn TV website. Then you can just get the free app through the iTunes store, but not pay Apple for the subscription.

 

[PatrickLondon]

Re Happy Valley and subtitles. There was a mildly amusing tale of cross-cultural misunderstanding in my paper the other day, concerning the way they talked of "butties" (slang for sandwiches or filled rolls), and the American co-worker who thought they were talking about something else entirely........

 

[Pauline]

We watched the final show of season 2 of Happy Valley tonight - fabulous. And they advertised season 2 of the English/French version of The Tunnel starting soon.

I've never had a buttie but aren't they just sandwiches in a burger bun? I see chip butties listed which must be chips, like French Fries, on a roll? Usually I just see bacon butties listed and they are very popular here (but not with me).

 

[PatrickLondon]

Yes, devastating ending for series 2, with some loose ends - and an alarming prospect - left for a new series......

I'm not a northerner (as a Londoner, I'm more used to "sarnies" as a slang word for sandwiches), but I don't think a "buttie" has to be tied to a bun (and certainly not a burger bun, which is a recent import) rather than slices of bread. It might be more common in a bap, perhaps (just to confuse the issue)........

And I noticed that Sainsbury's latest idea, in their little advertising clips on commercial TV, is a suggestion for, of all abominations, bacon in hot cross buns.

 

[Pauline]

Well that explains it - it is a northern term. I didn't realize that. I don't know where we got the idea it was in a burger bun. It is hard to believe that we have been living here for 6 years. We hear terms all the time that we don't understand. Much of Happy Valley had to be replayed to try to get what they were saying.

I have heard the term sarnie - but have never used it. I still feel like a fraud saying "loo"!