What TV Shows Are You Watching?

[stonemonkts]

Yes. Very good show about Danish politics and media. Not always consistent, I think it veered off a bit after season one, but worthwhile nonetheless.

[jwaggs]

Anyone seen Deutschland 83?

[stonemonkts]

No, but it sure looks like it could be good.

[Chazro]

Just finished binge-watching the new season of 'House Of Cards', amazing! The show really hit's its stride about ep. 7-8. As amazing as Spacey is, this season belonged to Robin Wright, her performance and look is like a stiletto; sharp, dangerous, and so sexy!. Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper is extraordinary this season. I found myself thinking that the last time I watched a show that felt this authentically 'inside' its source material was the Sopranos! Gonna digest what I just experienced and than re-watch later this week!

[A. Kingstone]

[walto]

[walto]

[bluenoter]

[walto]

[A. Kingstone]

[Jazzooo]

Never seen a single episode until last month, we are binge watching modern family. Love it.

[jwaggs]

Now is the time I am supposed to say that the British House of Cards was better.

[walto]

[Chazro]

Yeah, I thought something was wrong with me for not liking 'Better Call Saul'. All these exclamatory reviews but I ain't feelin' it! I can honestly say that the 'crime' genre, regardless of the medium, is a life-long favorite. Yet, surprisingly, I never thought that 'Breaking Bad' was the groundbreaking show most others did. At this point, 'Saul' feels like 'Breaking Bad Lite'! I have the latest episode recorded but haven't gotten around to watching it, it's simply not 'must-see' TV for me!

[jwaggs]

Anybody watching the Jinx?

[Chazro]

Man, Netflix just keeps on bringing it! Their latest original series; Bloodline, starring Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, & Sam Shepard is outstanding! It's also being broadcast in the new 4k format, it's gorgeous to look at! Netflix feels as fresh and innovative as HBO did when it 1st started their original programming (although I gotta admit, I'm so psyched for GOT returning next month!).

[Ron Thorne]

[LennyH]

Thanks, Ron. I'll check it out.

I recently enjoyed A Chef's Table, the Netflix show (liked most of it anyway), and also The Mind Of Chef (not all great episodes but some really strong ones). I don't really like the cooking shows that are all procedural cooking, but love these shows about chefs. Wish there were more.

I miss No Reservations. I just don't like Anthony Bordain's CNN show very much.

The board looks great! Thank you.

[LennyH]

I just had a look and the third season of The Mind of a Chef is available on Amazon Prime. I hadn't seen it yet (Netflix has seasons 1 and 2). The second half of season 3 features Mangus Nilsson, whom I found very interesting in A Chef's Table. I skipped right to his episodes and am plowing through them now!

[Ron Thorne]

Based upon your criteria, I think you'll really enjoy A Chef's Life, Lenny.

Thanks. Glad that you like the changes on Jazztalk.

[Jazzooo]

The board does look great!

On a roll: Ascension, a badly-acted 6 part sci fi mini series with a very original plot and an excellent twist. An interesting failure.

Halt and Catch Fire, an AMC series about people creating the personal computer. Mad Men esque, great cast and writing.

Catastrophe--a charismatic rom-com series, quite funny.

[moldyfigg]

Major Crimes is our favorite network show. Good stories, great cast and lots of humor.

[Jazzooo]

Also just started True Crimes, Season 1. Actors are fantastic, pacing is a little slow for right now in my life. But I should stick with it, right?

[Ron Thorne]

[Ron Thorne]

Why we should all be watching 'The Great British Baking Show'



The cast of "The Great British Baking Show." (courtesy PBS)
By Tien Nguyen

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Name: "The Great British Baking Show." The show is an import from the United Kingdom, where it airs on BBC One as "The Great British Bake Off" and has been a ratings phenomenon.

How many seasons: In the U.K., the show is in its sixth season. An American version was developed by CBS in 2013; hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, it was canceled after only a season. (What a surprise.) PBS acquired the rights soon after and aired the show, in all its British glory, last year. In a bit of confusing programming — and a warning to spoiler-phobes — we're not watching the sixth season along with U.K. audiences. Rather, PBS is airing the fourth season of the show and calling it Season 2. ()

Where the show is shot: In a big tent on the big lawn of a very big manor built in 1797 called Harptree Court in Somerset. Nearby: the Cheddar Caves and Gorge, the Jane Austen Centre, and Glastonbury, home to the legends of the Holy Grail and King Arthur.

Concept: Thirteen amateur bakers compete for the title of best amateur baker in a series of increasingly difficult baking challenges. Each episode is themed (cakes, bread, patisserie, etc.), with three tasks in each. These are the Signature Bake, where contestants bake their version of a standard; the Technical Bake, where contestants are given the bare bones of a recipe and must use their instincts and baking knowledge to fill in the blanks as they go; and the Showstopper, where they construct a grand masterpiece. The show is occasionally interspersed with interesting history bits related to the tasks at hand.

The bakers are judged by Mary Berry, who has published 80 cookbooks in her 60-year career, and Paul Hollywood, a professional baker. Moving things along are hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, both comedians by trade. They provide hilarious color commentary; offer emotional support; toss out puns that are sometimes fantastic, sometimes terrible; and make raunchy jokes about tarts with soggy bottoms. Imagine if Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, or Wanda Sykes, hosted a cooking contest.

At the end of each episode, one contestant is named the Star Baker and one is eliminated from the competition, and so on until there is just one winner, who is awarded the grand prize: an engraved cake plate. Past contestants have become celebrities in their own right — they get cookbook deals or start their own shops — but in the universe of the competition itself, a job well done, and being proud of doing the thing you love, is its own reward. Imagine that.

Production values: High. The aesthetic, from the fonts to the equipment, is charmingly retro-vintage; the setting is beautifully pastoral; there are pretty shots of cakes. There also are no distracting ads, as the BBC has strict editorial rules against product placement (in fact, there was a row a few years ago when the name of the fridge manufacturer was apparently displayed too prominently on the show).

Why you're watching: Because you love food television. Because you hate food television. Because you love accents. Because you love English vernacular. Because you love puns, especially British ones. Because you want to see how a fascinating cross-section of home bakers in the U.K. makes all sorts of familiar and unfamiliar breads and pastries.

While many television cooking competitions these days rely on chaos for drama — or, as Emily Nussbaum put it, in these shows, "food is a perpetual emergency" — "The Great British Baking Show" is considerably, remarkably calmer. With the exception of the Technical challenge, the bakers know in advance what they'll be baking in each round, so the drama lies not in unexpected time constraints or surprise ingredients, but in the more pedestrian stress of whether dough has been laminated properly, say, or whether a sponge cake will rise.

Bakers don't fight with each other — indeed, if someone runs into trouble, often a fellow competitor will lend a hand — they instead fight with their ovens, which they forgot to preheat, or with their doughs, which they didn't proof long enough. All this makes, surprisingly, for thrilling television.

It helps, too, that the show allows the contestants — who range widely in age, ethnicity, profession and class — to be people rather than characters. And they are generally very likable people; you root for them; you want them all to succeed. As do the judges: Berry and Hollywood can be very critical, but they're never mean. You get the sense that they're just as bummed out as the contestant when a bake doesn't work out as planned.

What you're going to want to eat while you're watching it: Tea and biscuits, of course.

What you're going to want to make after you've finished watching it: Whatever the bakers made. And you won't be alone in doing so. The show has so impacted U.K. audiences that the "Bake Off effect" has been credited with a spike in interest in baking, and an increase in sales of baking equipment.

Info: "The Great British Baking Show" airs at 7 p.m. Sundays on PBS. Episodes are also .