What's currently good on the BBC iPlayer?

[Spymaster]

I binged Warriors yesterday. I saw it when it first came out but didn't recall how very good it is. A highly underrated 2-parter about a British peacekeeping detachment in Bosnia, during the Yugoslavian break-up in the early 90s. Extraordinarily grim and heartbreaking in places, and does a great job of portraying just how helpless UN peacekeepers must often feel, and the toll it takes on them.

 

[T & P]

One for Anne Rice fans - just found the series adaptation of The Mayfair Witches, which somehow I had managed to not know existed or forgotten about.
Settling down in front of episode 1 now, will report back.

Edit: Failing to grip me so far, and it has terrible reviews on IMDB

We've watched six episodes, and are reasonably enjoying it on the whole. Some episodes are properly gripping, though some feel more run-of-the-mill and formulaic. I'd say certainly nothing less than 6/10 overall. Haven't finished it though.

But when it comes to any series or films with strong prominently female leads, and in particular when the storyline involves patriarchical societies, you should most definitely treat IMDB ratings with extreme caution. In particular with new films or series. There is absolutely no doubt that that the alt-righters and 4Chaners of this world have long been embarking in mass downvoting campaigns of any and all such products that offend their misogynist values. Eventually as time passes, the IMDB ratings increase by several points as normal human being audiences add their votes.

 

[Maggot]

Watched the first episode a couple of nights ago.

It's a bit "zany", which I hate, but there's enough interest there for me to watch the next one.

Enjoyed Boat Story, didn't think it zany in the slightest.

 

[Orang Utan]

I haven’t actually seen it yet, but there is an in-depth 3-part documentary - Disco: The Sound Of Revolution up there. I hear it’s as good as you’d expect from a BBC4 music doc, so probably worth a watch even if disco isn’t your thing - the politics and cultural background of it all should be of interest to anyone, music fan or not:

BBC Two - Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, Series 1, Rock the Boat

A global music craze is born in the loft apartments and basement bars of 1970s New York.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bus Honeygun]

We tried Boat Story but struggled to suspend the disbelief of an old-fashioned sheet metal factory oop north in the 21st century full of busy workers and a distracted foreman, a sea fishing boat hundreds of miles from port with a crew of one who gets boarded by a lone copper on a drugs raid and said boat getting washed up on shore in an urban area without anyone previously noticing.

 

[Chilli.s]

Boat Story but struggled to suspend the disbelief

Yeah, supervisor cuts yer hand off at work, thats enough compo to make stealing a drugs shipment unnecessary. Early morning dog walkers would have found that boat at the crack of sparrows fart

 

[Voley]

Absolutely loving the dark, violent comedy of Boat Story.

View attachment 403236

Boat Story

Two strangers. One boat. Nothing to lose. An unexpected discovery could mean a second chance - or a bloody end. Dark comic thriller with Paterson Joseph and Daisy Haggard.

www.bbc.co.uk

Review: Boat Story review – Daisy Haggard’s hilariously dark drama is worthy of Tarantino or the Coen brothers

We're really enjoying this too. Mad plot, laugh out loud funny in places. We're 4 episodes in and haven't a fucking clue where it's going.

 

[nagapie]

We tried Boat Story but struggled to suspend the disbelief of an old-fashioned sheet metal factory oop north in the 21st century full of busy workers and a distracted foreman, a sea fishing boat hundreds of miles from port with a crew of one who gets boarded by a lone copper on a drugs raid and said boat getting washed up on shore in an urban area without anyone previously noticing.

It's quite clearly a story and is not designed to be realistic.
Although I could have done without the play technique.
Overall very enjoyable.

 

[Orang Utan]

I haven’t actually seen it yet, but there is an in-depth 3-part documentary - Disco: The Sound Of Revolution up there. I hear it’s as good as you’d expect from a BBC4 music doc, so probably worth a watch even if disco isn’t your thing - the politics and cultural background of it all should be of interest to anyone, music fan or not:

BBC Two - Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, Series 1, Rock the Boat

A global music craze is born in the loft apartments and basement bars of 1970s New York.

www.bbc.co.uk

This is excellent - deeper and more detailed than expected - the talking heads are all legit and knowledgeable, there’s contemporary news/entertainment footage galore and an abundance of wall-to-wall disco bangers.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I binged Warriors yesterday. I saw it when it first came out but didn't recall how very good it is. A highly underrated 2-parter about a British peacekeeping detachment in Bosnia, during the Yugoslavian break-up in the early 90s. Extraordinarily grim and heartbreaking in places, and does a great job of portraying just how helpless UN peacekeepers must often feel, and the toll it takes on them.

Speaking of UN peacekeepers, I recommend Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With The Devil, which has also been adapted for screen, about his service with the UN in Rwanda.

Shake Hands with the Devil (book) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Maggot]

Yeah, supervisor cuts yer hand off at work, thats enough compo to make stealing a drugs shipment unnecessary.

But her supervisor gave her a drink after the accident and said she was drunk at work, so she didn't get any compo.

 

[MBV]

Boat Story is better than I expected.

The Here We Go Christmas special was disappointing.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Anyone tried Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico? Looks like a follow up to Stanley Tucci in Italy.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Boat Story is better than I expected.

Really enjoying it - a lot of Fargo about it.

 

[Spymaster]

Really enjoying it - a lot of Fargo about it.

Gonna have to give this another go.

 

[oryx]

Anyone tried Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico? Looks like a follow up to Stanley Tucci in Italy.

Yes. It's ok, but didn't have the depth or quite the same appeal as the Tucci series.

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

Obviously the Whoniverse. It’s all on there. Epic.

I stopped Prime and Netflix in the summer and since then this has formed the backbone of my nightly viewing.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Gonna have to give this another go.

Just finished it. You should, as it’s fantastic!

 

[Chz]

Watching the Sketch Artist on 4 Player. Drives the mrs nuts because she can't decipher the French-Canadian accent, despite being a native French speaker.

I'm not paying a tremendous amount of attention to it, it just strikes me that Tamsin Greig seems to have a younger, French-Canadian sister in it.

 

[danny la rouge]

she can't decipher the French-Canadian accent, despite being a native French speaker.

That’s probably why.

 

[porp]

Kin. An Irish series about Dublin crime gangs feuding over drug turf.

Excellent stuff but the Kinsellas must be Ireland's stupidest crime family, and wouldn't have lasted long IRL. It also takes them until the end of the penultimate episode to figure out the solution that's obvious to everyone else by the end of the first.

It's a top watch all the same and there's a second series that's not yet on iPlayer.

rubbershoes Mr.Bishie

Agreed, enjoyable violent fluff, what I pay my licence fee for. Also taught me something - Kinsella is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable - KIN-sella, not Kin-SELLA

 

[D'wards]

The Kemps All Gold is hilarious

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I was very happy to find that The Singing Detective is currently on there

 

[scifisam]

Murder Is Easy - Christie adaptation. One of the best standalone Christie adaptations I've ever seen. The changes they made (mainly having the main guy be Nigerian) were fully incorporated into the plot and added to it a lot.

 

[danny la rouge]

Murder Is Easy - Christie adaptation. One of the best standalone Christie adaptations I've ever seen. The changes they made (mainly having the main guy be Nigerian) were fully incorporated into the plot and added to it a lot.

Wowser! The plot changes were fine, but I thought the whole thing was amateur and weirdly paced. And often unintentionally hilarious.

 

[scifisam]

Wowser! The plot changes were fine, but I thought the whole thing was amateur and weirdly paced. And often unintentionally hilarious.

Really? I loved it. The little bits of comedy seemed intentional.

 

[danny la rouge]

Really? I loved it. The little bits of comedy seemed intentional.

Really. I thought it was awful. But we’re all different.

 

[two sheds]

There's apparently a programme on the Picts this week on bbc? which I'm hoping to catch at some point.

 

[Plumdaff]

The Tourist season 2 is up in its entirety. Not quite as good as the immaculate first season, but an enjoyable enough romp, this time sponsored by the Irish Tourist Board.

 

[Kaka Tim]

The Tourist season 2 is up in its entirety. Not quite as good as the immaculate first season, but an enjoyable enough romp, this time sponsored by the Irish Tourist Board.

Yeah. Hard to top the first season, it's big reveals and beautifully ambiguous ending. But, yeah this is still fun, the sort of reformed ethan crumb being a particular highlight.