TV

Some TV programs I've enjoyed lately:

Picard

I enjoyed Picard a lot. It's definitely not The Next Generation, but it definitely is Star Trek. I enjoyed seeing them bring back some characters. I especially enjoyed seeing Troi do some actual counselling in the few minutes of screen time she had - I think her guest appearances in non-TNG episodes did far more for her character than TNG ever did. It'd be nice to see more of her and Riker. I would like to see more of what happened to Seven between Voyager and Picard, because she's obviously undergone a whole lot of character development off-screen.

I felt it was better than Discovery.

The Expanse

I'm not exaggerating when I say I think The Expanse might be the best piece of television I've ever watched. The Expanse is based on a series of books, so it has the advantage of having a well defined story in advance of being filmed. It does differ slightly from the books, in some ways for the better. The attention to detail is fantastic and unlike anything I've ever seen in a science fiction TV show. The first season is a bit bewildering because there are a lot of things happening in parallel which take time to pay off, but I would definitely advise anyone to stick with it even if they don't feel they're fully understanding it.

If you've watched Babylon 5 and ever since you've felt mildly irritated that TV programs just don't live up to the story telling of B5, then look no further than The Expanse!

Good Omens

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.

I read the book years ago and I have no real memories of it other than I thought it was amazing. I've read and love most of Terry Pratchett's output, and I've read a small amount of Neil Gaiman's (for whom I have a great deal of admiration, but his work doesn't grab me like Terry Pratchett's did).

The TV program is amazing too. I think it's quite a lot better than the Discworld TV adaptations. Neil Gaiman was heavily involved in its production and he achieved something quite notable in that he managed to translate the charm of the book into the charm of the television screen.

The casting of Crowley and Aziraphale (David Tennant and Michael Sheen respectively) is perfect. The whole program is exceptionally well done and I am elated to see one of Terry Pratchett's creations be translated so wonderfully to TV. If ever they make more TV adaptations of Discworld, I hope Neil Gaiman is involved (which is quite a strange thing to say...).

Belgravia

I'm only on episode 2, so it may improve yet, but so far Belgravia feels like what would happen if you tried to remake Downton Abbey in a way that it wasn't Downton Abbey and also if you took all the charm out of it. It's watchable, but it's not nearly as good as Downton Abbey. Downton somehow made what was often a fairly banal story about people's uneventful lives seem engaging (well, if you ignore the car crash and the rape and the murder conviction and the regicide attempt...), whereas Belgravia jumps straight into the dramatic end without making you interested in the characters.

Also, I have to note that the music is incredibly similar to Downton. And the dialogue could have been written by George Lucas.

I'm not really impressed so far.