Television programmes

Finished the first season of House of Cards (US) and then and watched the UK version (two series into it out of three) and my conclusion is they are both good, but if you had only the time to watch one, watch the UK version, to my mind its the better of the two.

The main difference I think that has appealed to me is that whilst both versions break the fourth wall the US version he just talks to the audience, the UK version makes you a co-conspirator.
In the UK version he doesnt just talk to the audience in general he talks directly to the viewer watching, using 'we' and 'our' to make you part of his Machiavellian scheming. And it works you find yourself on his side and rooting for his diabolical schemes to work whilst being appalled at his actions, and by drawing you in and making you a part of it he also plays the viewer as much as any character- and thats genius. You become a part of the story just by watching it.
The Shakespeare roots  in this play of power is also more clear in the UK version, in fact he quotes Shakespeare plays at appropriate moments, whereas whilst the Shakespearean  element is present in the US version they never directly reference it.

And whilst both leads are excellent the US version is a little too likeable compared to the UK version- the UK version is still magnetic and hypnotic in character but he is (in his conspiratorial asides to the viewer) a much bigger bastard.

I've been working my way through Breaking Bad, though somewhat slow since I'm watching with my parents. (My brother marathoned the first four and a half seasons several months ago). We're about halfway through season 2 and already the show has improved massively over the first season. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of it.

Ive never seen Breaking Bad Eldo- I take it you would recommend it? If so I shall add it to my watch list!

Ive now finished watching all of the UK version of House of Cards.
I have to admit I have no idea how the US version is going to deal with its second series, which in the UK version is centered on rivalry with the Monarchy.
The first season pretty simple, they just moved him from being a UK Parliamentary Whip to a Congressional Whip- but I cant think what they will use to fill in for the Monarchy, as the US system just doesnt have an equivalent.
Will be interesting to find out how they decide to tackle it though.

Well I'm still only a fraction of the way through the series, but I'd recommend it, yeah. Based on the people I know who watch a lot of cable dramas, Breaking Bad and Mad Men seem to be the gold standard for current shows.

On the subject of House of Cards, I suspect that...

Spoiler:

That makes a lot of sense Eldo- and also explains another noticeable difference between the two-

Spoiler:

Not seen house of cards yet, so I'll not click those spoilers just yet, but I've also just begun watching Breakin Bad after countless recommendations from friends. The first episodes I got to admit were a bit unsettling, but the show looks really promising so far (only 5 episodes into the first season yet)

Well thats 2 Forumshire recommendations for it and thats more than good enough for me- time to get downloading!

Breaking Bad is really good  

DA being back on the tv makes me so happy! #bestshowever #snuggles #cosysunday
Also, I'd like everyone to take a moment of silence and think about WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ON BREAKING BAD TONIGHT!!!!

Found these were on Youtube.
I enjoyed this series when it was on.

Here's the Youtube description-

Hamish Macbeth is a television series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the west coast of Scotland. The titular character was played by Robert Carlyle.



Its sort of, quirky, with a quirky cast of characters.

One episode of Breaking Bad left!!!!! Once you guys get to the end of the fifth season, you'll be glad you stuck with it to the end.  

I'm just not sure how they can tie up all these loose ends in one episode.  

Next Sunday can't get here fast enough.  

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Found these were on Youtube.
I enjoyed this series when it was on.



Its sort of, quirky, with a quirky cast of characters.

yes, quirky in that it refuses to load. And I was interested dalgurnit.

Bollocks- plays fine at this end! Damn it I think you wold enjoy it too Halfy. Gentle Sunday night tv.

Found it on Netflix, so all is good. but given a queue of 30 ahead of it due to my time constraints, I'm afraid it will be close to a year before I get to it.

Do none of the episodes on youtube play for you?

2nd ep

I have been reading all the books recently, and Hamish is Petty, but without the buckie. The actor in the tv series however doesnt look like the description in the book, he should have flaming red hair.

The tv series is 'loosely based on' by its own admission.
At least unlike PJ they dont make claims to be an adaptation.

Ive only read one of the books, and that was fairly recently, and it was noticeably different in lots of ways.

Breaking Bad is getting better with each episode. At first I thought it was good, but couldn't quite understand all the hype, but this show really rewards you for sticking with it. I'm currently on episode 10 of season 2 and already I'm starting to think that 5 seasons is a little on the short side

Breaking Bad ends tomorrow night! I hate to see this show end.  But at least it didn't sink to the depths of awfulness that Dexter did in it's last four seasons (and don't get me started on Dexter's series finale, what an absolute waste).   

Breaking Bad is officially over. The ending was fantastic; it was the ending we were all hoping for. I have never become so emotionally involved in a tv show before. Goodbye Breaking Bad.    

I suggest Merlin. the ending gets me every time.  

I've managed to avoid any major Breaking Bad finale spoilers (thanks guys!), but I'm looking forward to finishing the series myself in a while. We finished season two last week but haven't watched any new episodes in a few days since everyone in the family had stuff to do this weekend.

I won't spoil anything for Breaking Bad, but that show was really good. Very good writing. I might even get the special series blu-ray bundle. It seems like one of those shows I actually want to own on physical media.  

Watched the first two episodes of Breaking Bad season 3 on Netflix tonight.  At the end of season 2 I thought the

Spoiler:

was a bit much to just take but I thought they handled it pretty well in the season 3 opener.  Sure, the laws of reality get a little wonky at times in this show, but it's still undeniably very good.  More than that, it's still improving despite already being at a very high level.  Or maybe I'm just getting more and more invested.  Either way, I can only imagine what the fifth season must be like.

Yeah there's a whole episode of MythBusters that's devoted to Breaking Bad and most of the stuff doesn't hold up to Adam and Jamie's tests. But hey, can't be as bad as falling hundreds of feet on a rickety wooden bridge!