Recommended Television Programmes

[Pulcinella]

The reviews are mixed (to put it mildly) but I'd already added it to my 'Netflix' list and will probably tune in for Episode 1 this evening.

So different from the famous (and beautifully shot) film, also available on Netflix, which we watched a couple of days after finishing Ripley.
Scott is much more sinister, but his 'survival sequence' after the killing on the boat is ridiculous: was he looking to be the next 007, getting out of impossible situations?

[vinteuil]

... his 'survival sequence' after the killing on the boat is ridiculous: was he looking to be the next 007, getting out of impossible situations?

I loved it. I loved the confidence of the film-makers to allow a good ten minutes or more for the getting rid of the body. And the continuing incompetence of Ripley (foreshadowed in the New York scenes with his incompetence as a scammer), allied with his improbable ingenuity, is a continuing source of joy (Ripley is not a master criminal - he keeps making mistakes from which he has to rescue himself with an increasing spiral of other deeds) - I had not appreciated before the potential for (black) comedy here : it really is very funny...

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[LMcD]

It’s exceptionally good! The film noir look is perfectly (and perfectly appropriately) recreated, with all the attendant brooding tension, and the soundtrack is spot-on to match. The pacing is so good and every shot a marvel. It’s not a series for bingeing, it’s worth saving episodes for times when they can be fully absorbed & appreciated.

(I’ve previously found Andrew Scott annoying in everything he’s done, but not here - he’s just right.)

I can only think that the negative reviews are from people with Tik-Tok attention spans and an inability to enjoy black & white film-making

I don't binge - tempted though I was to race through the later episodes of 'The Dropout' !

[kernelbogey]

'The Dropout' is an absorbing 8-part series, tucked away late at night on BBC1, about the Theranos scandal. Amanda Seyfried, who plays big-time fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, is mesmerising. All episodes available on iPlayer.

Just binged the first two episodes: I agree it's mesmerising (not just Seyfried). I was pretty mesmerised during Holmes's (actual) trial, too.

[LMcD]

I've just watched the meticulously crafted Episode 1 of 'Ripley' and agree 100% with NA's comments. It's not without its humour, especially the repeated direction ''su, su, su, su, su'

[smittims]

Just to add to my #2764, the Schubert programme includes Les Illuminations, with a tenor rather than Heather Harper, with whom Marriner made a memorable HMV recording.

Ater many years of listening to Neville Marriner , I think this was the first time I've seen him conduct. I was impressed by his very professional, no-nonsense gesture, which reminded me a little of Paul Hindemith. Maye all those years as an orchestral player left him with no love for 'miming-the-music' show-off conductors.

[LMcD]

I think Alfred Hitchcock would have enjoyed the humour - sometimes comical, sometimes grim - that characterizes Episode 3 of 'Ripley'. The boat deserves a nomination as Best Supporting Actor when the awards season comes around!

[vinteuil]

I think Alfred Hitchcock would have enjoyed the humour - sometimes comical, sometimes grim - that characterizes Episode 3 of 'Ripley'. The boat deserves a nomination as Best Supporting Actor when the awards season comes around!

... I agree - but there will be stiff competition from the cat in episode 5

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[LMcD]

... I agree - but there will be stiff competition from the cat in episode 5

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After 5 increasingly Hitchcockian (Hitchcockesque?) episodes, my nominations for Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A TV Drama Series are:

Ripley - the boat
Ripley - the cat
Ripley - the elevator.

[vinteuil]

After 5 increasingly Hitchcockian (Hitchcockesque?) episodes, my nominations for Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A TV Drama Series are:

Ripley - the boat
Ripley - the cat
Ripley - the elevator.

... and a special mention for the stairs - interior and exterior

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[Pulcinella]

... and a special mention for the stairs - interior and exterior

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And the cloths used to mop up the blood: they were super efficient.

[LMcD]

And the cloths used to mop up the blood: they were super efficient.

I'm trying to estimate how many steps Tom might have climbed by the end of Episode 8 - at the current rate it could well be something like 39 (thousand).

[vinteuil]

I'm trying to estimate how many steps Tom might have climbed by the end of Episode 8 - at the current rate it could well be something like 39 (thousand).

... Inspector Ravini notably refused to go back to Atrani to re-interview Marge because of the steps

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[Serial_Apologist]

And the cloths used to mop up the blood: they were super efficient.

Flash wipe done?

[LMcD]

Flash wipe done?

Looks like it - no sign of blood between the street door and F's FIAT (a car which, to judge from Tom's expression earlier, did not meet with the latter's approval).