Darryl returns to Geektown Radio to talk Canadian crime, fighting games, Star Trek and Bob Odenkirk’s recent film. Dave has been finishing off a few shows, building a pirate settlement and, as ever, keeping an eye on a rather busy week of TV news.
Darryl is back from Hollywood North News this week, and he starts with ‘Murder in a Small Town’, the Canadian crime drama whose first two seasons are now on Netflix. It follows a police chief who moved to a quiet coastal town, apparently without checking how often quiet coastal towns on television have murders. Darryl explains why the mysteries work and why the relationship between the two leads gives the series something more to play with between cases.
He has also started ‘Bones’ for the first time. Yes, all 12 seasons are sitting there on Netflix, and he has decided to see what the fuss was about. Dave, who watched the whole thing during its original run, is more than happy to encourage him down that particular rabbit hole.
Away from television, Darryl reports back from VS Fighting XIV at Millennium Point in Birmingham. He went along to watch the fighting game tournament in person after years of following it online, and came away impressed by both the competition and the venue.
Next up is ‘Furies’ series two. Darryl remains a big fan of the French crime drama, which follows a young woman drawn into Paris’s criminal underworld while seeking revenge. The new season picks up after a time jump, with its lead hoping to leave that life behind. As you might expect, the underworld is less keen on letting her go.
There is also a discussion of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ and its willingness to get a little silly. Darryl loves the freedom the show gives its cast and writers. Dave has enjoyed the latest season too, although he wonders whether the balance tipped a bit too far towards its more playful episodes. If you have strong feelings about puppet episodes in ‘Star Trek’, this may be the conversation for you.
Darryl rounds off his viewing with ‘Normal’, the action comedy starring Bob Odenkirk (‘Better Call Saul’) as a temporary sheriff arriving in a small Minnesota town. His assignment seems straightforward until a bank robbery sends everything sideways. Darryl is careful not to spoil the film’s twists, but he reckons it is a fun ride.
Dave, meanwhile, has finished ‘Ludwig’ series two and disagrees with Gray’s assessment from last week. He thinks the second run holds up wonderfully, both as a cosy mystery and as the continuing story of puzzle maker John Taylor’s search for answers about his missing brother. With a Christmas special on the way and series three already filming, there is plenty more to come.
He has also finished the ‘Supergirl’ film. Dave enjoyed its different take on Kara and thinks Jason Momoa (‘Game of Thrones’) is rather perfectly cast as Lobo. Darryl enjoyed the film too, but has a few reservations about the changes made to the comic it adapts.
The finale of ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ gets a much more enthusiastic response from Dave. What began as an odd sounding ‘Big Bang Theory’ spin-off has become a thoroughly entertaining multiverse comedy, and its ending leaves him keen to see where the already renewed series goes next.
There are quick check-ins with ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Slow Horses’ and ‘Lanterns’ before Dave moves to his latest game, ‘Corsair Cove’. It is a pirate-themed city builder that asks you to construct a settlement up cliffs and around awkward island geography. That makes its supply routes a little more complicated than usual, although Dave is having a great time working them out and sending ships off to raid neighbouring islands.
Then it is time for the news. ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ will end with its third season, while ‘A Man on the Inside’ is also heading for a third and final outing. Netflix has cancelled ‘How to Get to Heaven from Belfast’, although creator Lisa McGee has another project in the works at the streamer. On the renewal side, ‘Crew Girl’ and ‘The Beast in Me’ are both coming back.
We also cover premiere dates for Hugh Laurie’s crime drama ‘The Wanted Man’ and ‘Black Doves’ series two, plus the casting change that has prompted quite a reaction among ‘Dept. Q’ fans.
Netflix has announced several new UK shows, including Charlie Brooker’s apparently very serious, and apparently very silly, crime comedy ‘Blackmere’; the Sarah Lancashire thriller ‘Witch Hunt’; and ‘Hot or Cold’, a game show led by Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade in which the contestants do not actually know what they are supposed to do.
Elsewhere, Jensen Ackles (‘Supernatural’, ‘The Boys’) is set to lead ‘Rules of Prey’, a crime thriller based on John Sandford’s books. There is a live action Mary Poppins series in development that could explore the stranger side of the original novels, and ‘Darkwing Duck’ is returning in a new Disney+ series with Mark Hamill (‘Star Wars’) and Seth Rogen (‘The Studio’) among the voice cast.
Finally, we look ahead to the shows arriving on UK television and streaming over the coming week. The list includes ‘Winter’, ‘Break Clause’, ‘Scrubs’, ‘The Celebrity Traitors’, ‘Coven Academy’, ‘Kill Jackie’, ‘WAR’, ‘The Reluctant Vampire’, ‘Pierre’ and ‘Anna Pigeon’. There should be enough there to keep your watchlist in a suitably unreasonable state.
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