THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

I’m up to episode 7, it’s a really good original series, will finish watching by tomorrow and hoping series 2 isn’t far off

To be honest it's a bit pedestrian for the middle few filler episodes but last 3-4 episodes it delivers. Final episode leaves you wanting more.

Hello Tomorrow

Apple TV +

Having watched the first series, I’m still not sure if I really like it. It’s a fairly bizarre comedy/drama programme set in a futuristic 1950s, where a group of sales people are flogging non existent properties on the moon.

Travelling around different towns, fleecing the locals then moving on to their next location.

The retro futuristic gadgetry is quite quirky, with floating 50s cars, 50s style robots, an early Skype system (in black and white) and many other oddities

There are plenty of sub plots between the main characters, including Jack, who finds his estranged son Joey in one of the towns, rather than revealing who he is, Jack takes Joey on as a salesman.

Episodes are only around 30 minutes, so it’s an easy watch to fill a gap in the evening

Cast includes: Billy Crudup, Alison Pill, Nicholas Podnay and Hank Azaria

As I said at the top, I’m not totally convinced by it, but it’s watchable

I’d rate it 6/10

Starting in today. Will report back

I watched Mr Inbetween.

It's definitely different and worth a watch.

I'm giving it 8/10 but wouldn't watch it a second time.

It's definitely different for me because I'm a movie guy, I cannot get into series'. So if a series grabs me then I know it's definitely something.

Glad you watched it, mind

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So many good series' to watch that you'd love.

The Shield is one, particularly if you like an anti-hero.

Jury Duty.
Free on Amazon Prime's Freeview service. Documentary following one juror (Ron) in a US civil court case. Except everyone else are actors. The other jurors, the judge, the plaintiff, defendant, lawyers, witnesses, everyone except Ron who has no idea. Like a real life Truman show.
Very funny, would definitely recommend

Fight The Power: How Hip-hop Changed The World

Basically the Chuck D show, and let's be honest, that's no bad thing. Executive producer, and possibly the world's greatest rapper, Mr D gives us the history of Hip-hop. From the nascent stylings of The Last Poets in the 60's, right up the modern global straddling genre that's is become.

Being who the producer, and main interviewee is, we also get the social history of the black power movement. In fact there's almost no music in the first episode at all. We're almost at the end of the first hour of this four part BBC documentary before early pioneer DJ Cool Herc comes up with the brilliant idea of taking the best parts of records and playing them over and over, and thus a brand new art movement was born.

The duality of the rise in the music coupled with the continued oppression of black people in America is brilliantly done. It shows the evolution of the form from the aforementioned Last Poets right up to multimillionaire Jay-Z campaigning for Obama, and unfortunately ends with the election of Trump. The somewhat heavy handed narrative being that no matter what happens, things always stay the same. America is an extremely racist country, and always will be. It ends with the murder of George Floyd, while Trump tells us that he’s done more for black people than any other president with the possible exception of Lincoln. Everyone knows what a prick he is, and we don’t need Chuck D and Killer Mike telling us that simple fact.

But of course there's the music. Almost exclusively black, in fact the only white artist featured being Eminem. There's no mention of The Beastie Boys whatsoever which was a disappointment for me personally. That oversight apart, mid-period hip-hop is outstanding. Fear Of A Black Planet is an outstanding album. Likewise Straight Outta' Compton. For me, the music starts to fall away after that. I'm not a fan of the West Coast style of Snoop Dog etc'. To it's credit, it doesn't shy away from the more misogynistic elements that rap became post early 90's. I don't like the majority of what passes for hip-hop these days. But how shit would an art form be if it didn't evolve?

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For those that like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.

Beckham

It’s good, very good. I’m not a particular fan of his one way or the other, but my admiration for him, and indeed The Current Mrs Beckham, has risen after watching this four part Netflix miniseries. As most will know, I’m currently recovering from a long term illness, so this filling four hours of my day was very welcome indeed.

Directed by Fisher Stevens (communications director Hugo from Succession oddly enough) this is perhaps the most candid profile of a public figure you’ll ever see. Nothing is left unsaid. With perhaps his alleged affair with Rebecca Loos, which is discussed at great length, but we never discover if he actually did have an extra-marital fling, being the only thing left unsaid.

There are three scenes which will endear you to them. He’s talking about when he first met Victoria “I just fancied her”, it then cuts to her talking about the same meeting “I fancied him”. It’s lovely, and obviously from watching this that they are still madly in love with one another. There’s another scene when he’s driving through Madrid at the height of his fame. He can hardly drive for fans jumping in front of the car, banging on the windows, it’s dreadful. His wife and son, who’s a toddler at the timer, are sat in the back, terrified. He turns around and gently reassures his son that they can’t get in and everything is going to be okay. And then of course, Roy Keane. In the wake of his red card against Argentina in the ‘98 World Cup, Beckham became public enemy No’1. Initially vilified by the media and fans, it eventually spilled onto the pitch with opposition players targeting him. Old Roy soon puts a stop to that, and we’re shown him, Keane, grabbing some unfortunate defender by the neck. It stopped pretty soon after that.

And talking of Keane, it’s absolutely jam packed with famous names. The aforementioned Keane, the Neville brothers, Solskjær, Ferguson, Capello, Brazilian Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Sporty Spice, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Hooky out of New Order, Cantona, Figo, and most impressively of all, Michel Salgado, and a host of others. None of whom have a bad word to say about him.

As a person, he does come across as very much a man who likes to be in control in all aspects of his life, right down to staying up after midnight every day to clean his house. He freely admits that this goes way beyond strange, and that his family don’t appreciate his efforts, but he also takes the endless pisstaking from them in extreme good humour. He comes across as someone who’s family are his entire life. He gets this from his own parents, featured throughout, his mother being the good cop to his father's bad. They instilled in him the ability to work extremely hard to get what he wants in life, and embrace the comfort of a loving family.

Above all the extreme nonsense that continues to surround him, you’re reminded just how brilliant a footballer he was. I really enjoyed this. Obviously if you're on this forum you're a footy fan, but as I said to The Current Mrs Gers, you don't need to either like the beautiful game, or indeed like brand Beckham to enjoy this. Highly recommended.

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For those that like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.