Slow Horses

I put off watching this because while I thought it might be interesting in a half novel way to see Oldman muck about as the anti-Smiley I also thought it was likely to be shite

Now I'm sure some of you have seen it and do indeed consider it shite but I otoh have been very pleasantly surprised at how much much I'm having. It is that rare beast that seems to be smart about cliffhanger plot twists and just manages to keep you on the edge of "oh this is ridiculous" but paying off and dragging you back in.

and scott-thomas is all time foxy in it

I really like the show. Have watched both seasons.

much much!

Saw like 2 episodes cos my mum told me to. Thought it was quite good? Don't watch TV much so didn't see any more. Great contribution imago

I like it a lot. Gary Oldman is ridiculously watchable.

Literally started watching it a couple of weeks ago and have now almost finished the second season. Think the third one is out imminently.

Had always thought it was a comedy for some reason, and whilst it does have chuckles, it gets pretty intense at times and is definitely more drama than dramedy.

Oldman obviously having a blast and some of the support great too. It's also not afraid to jettison cast members, which was kind of surprising given how Slough House is a fairly small team to start with

i like how bad of a spy our pretty boy is

^yes it's a simple idea but highly effective

Third one's out end of this month.

It's like a really high-end BBC One Sunday night drama. Obviously I love it, but the surprise for me is that the husband also loves it, despite the fact that he never watches BBC One Sunday night dramas, no, not even Line of Duty.

i think the tone is a lot more fun and flash than that tbh

say to compare it to that submarine one- dreaful, overplotted, heavy THEME THEME THEME overwrought waste of all talent involved

this would undercut almost every large theme moment with a beat such as the duran duran looking spy constantly turning in the wrong direction or Oldman uttering a hoarse delboy faaarkawwf

the ending was underwhelming (our standish/partner/oldman reveal) and i cant for the life of me figure out even in the internal show logic how taverner is allowed remain in situ other than being blinded by her wardrobe but all in all that's not an awful tally in the 'against' column

haven't watched the show but i've been mainlining the books recently, they are very fun and well-written. however, the show seems to be going directly from the books (s1 is book 1, s2 is book 2, etc) so it might be hard to enjoy the books if you've already seen the show.

i enjoyed the slow reveal that gary oldman's v amusing disgusting savagery is both the unsurprising cover for a sensitive heart but also a rather more surprising reaction to having done something truly appalling in the line of duty

Deems would I like this

The submarine one - Vigil - had one great line, and only that:

https://i.imgur.com/SiDlcHX.jpeg

We greatly enjoyed Vigil in our house. Husband watched about ten minutes of it over the back of the sofa, when someone was saying to Suranne Jones "how are you in confined spaces?" and husband gasped and said, "Oh no, my husband was killed by a confined space!" which, well. It was very that.

This is obviously not that, but it does remind me of that other one where Ron Perlman messes about with cameras.

there are levels on which one can enjoy terribly lazy nonsense and look, suranne jones is great and i like endeavour too but all in all that moneybwas better spent on irrigation

gyac- yeah i think so its lively and snappy

I read the first book this year, owing to my desire to stretch out any genre fiction series as long as possible I probably won’t read the second one until the new year

i've only watched season 1 but this show exceeded my expectations. it bears superficial resemblance to other slightly more subdued espionage/police thrillers in some ways, along with itself involving slightly more subdued clock-racing and homegrown terrorism vs the more histrionic 24, but it really is its own thing. it somehow manages to never lose its humor even in the midst of all the catastrophic events and mistakes of the lead characters, even while engaging in some absolutely pitch-black twists at the very end of the season. the right-wing reporter being unceremoniously taken care of was maybe a bit unbelievable, as it seemed like a very public bit of problem-handling, but I'm curious to see where it goes from there. absolutely hateful character, so well-played. Featuring an extremely likable and blatantly flawed crew of heroes, per the concept, plus an appropriately repulsive and "gray hat" performance from Oldman. Kristin Scott Thomas could probably play the icy agency goon role in her sleep, she's vv good. bonus lols from the Coldplay CD being stuck in the car.

the journalist was a brilliant performance, yes. i think its rare to so unshowily but perfectly nail that kind of odious personality, he made me itch with every expression/word

i should remember his name but the guy who ends up romancing is equally good in a role that on paper is just light relief but he absolutely makes it so much better

unlike jamie from the thick of it who is i think the only below par performance

3rd series is good … the first 10 minutes or so is a bit worrying - teasing that it’s become a generic spy thriller - but all is fine.

And Vigil is back with series 2 today, minus submarine. We are thoroughly spoiled.

Enjoying the new season so far

Just starting this show, about 3 episodes in. Really enjoyable. Will wait to read thread until I am at least through season 2.

New season is so good. Jackson Lamb has gone to a whole new level of Jackson Lamb-ness.

season 2 finale incoming

took a break because of frustration at how awful a spy ginger fella is

i know hes meant to be i know thats the joke but

honestly

lol this show repays these little irritations tenfold ofc

Just finished s3 -- for some reason I thought I had one more ep to go, so during the climax I was like "How can they possibly ratchet up the intensity even further???" & then it just ended lol. Fun show, I'll keep watching as long as they want to keep making it.

I do wonder if they will eventually run out of obnoxious supporting characters from previous seasons to bring back for heel turns and nasty on-screen deaths

That final episode...nothing interesting happened? All the big plot points landed in episode 5 (except the Standish/Lamb conversation), this was mostly just a bunch of people shooting at each other. Maybe I'm looking for the wrong show.

As a show, it’s very good at managing changes of mood and tension within an individual episode.

otm

i trust it fully at this stage, especially when i know its fucking with me

xxp the baddies get their comeuppance, surely that counts for summat?

sophie okonedo as devalera now pls

Fun show, I'll keep watching as long as they want to keep making it.

^OTM

watched through to the end and fully agree it was a poor wrap up with the time and focus on all the wrong things

but the best season overall

The "next season" previews make it look like it's already shot?
There weren't any scenes hinting at it but here's hoping Oldman finally has to team up Buddy Comedy-style with an increasingly Alzheimer's addled Pryce.
Also Oldman's slobby surliness makes me wish he'd also played Johnny Rotten in Sid & Nancy.

Yeah, friend of mine saw them shooting some Christmassy stuff earlier in the year but that's clearly season 4 which they must have recorded at the same time as this one.

yes its reported as back to back filming

I think it was only this season that I realised what a silly show this is (and that's ok).

and scott-thomas is all time foxy in it

oh just wait

If it turns out they’re ex lovers i might die of happiness

Who’s the LOTR fan that came up with Elessar Intelligence Services

probably Douglas

hilarious how lamb is always two steps ahead of the other horses

A bit less enthused about s2 which feels very patchy and which was all over the place. Dmac was like, it’s part of its charm but idk, when your man the silent assassin doesn’t notice a whole phone slipped into his jacket pocket I was kind of out on it?

HOWEVER

the final scene is shot at St Michael’s Cornhill, one of my favourite churches I’ve ever been to, I have always wondered why it hasn’t featured in film more because that door is so distinctive and the blue is so beautiful.

Also how did your man go from Nigel Farage cutout except actually elected to Home Secretary, I must have missed the exposition on that

we could ask the same of many irl cabinet members tbf!

agree S2 is weak at points

S3 is the best imo so

There weren't any scenes hinting at it but here's hoping Oldman finally has to team up Buddy Comedy-style with an increasingly Alzheimer's addled Pryce

ive not read the books but ive had an idea or two about pryce since early in season 1 tbh and im getting more certain all the time

next season preview seems Roddy-centric, not sure how I feel about that. I'm liking the new team member in the hoodie though, what an excellent weirdo.

Very good season. Apparently the Harkness character is featured in later books ... will be happy to see Hugo Weaving in future season(s)

Agree that Roddy is best in small doses.

It's interesting how we like different things.... I quite like the idea of seeing more Roddy and.... I didn't much take to Harkness and thought the plot around him was quite poor. Pretty much groaned when he was able to magically escape from the Park through the use of a few envelopes

I can't believe how long it took me to realize that was Weaving. The voice got me first, but I guess I hadn't seen him in anything for quite some time, not since the first dumb Hobbit flick.

It's interesting how we like different things.... I quite like the idea of seeing more Roddy and.... [Hidden text. Tap to view]

Mild criticism - would prefer more Lamb less River

one of moses' early songs iirc

Lol, v good, high standard.

would prefer more Lamb less River

agree. not enough Lamb this season, and yes, was the weakest so far but still very enjoyable. also, i'm generally a very big Jonathan Pryce fan but his character got really annoying.

_would prefer more Lamb less River_

agree. not enough Lamb this season, and yes, was the weakest so far but still very enjoyable. also, i'm generally a very big Jonathan Pryce fan but his character got really annoying.

watched a couple of episodes of this series and it’s crap! so badly put together it feels like it was picked up off the cutting room floor, no time for people establish/re-establish relationships (other seasons did this), and key plot points missing. it’s rushed as hell and there’s no warmth whatsoever. why was this made so quickly after / or at the same time as the previous series? presumably acting commitments among the cast?

I loved this season - but I think def could have benefited from another episode or two

This season was the first time I found myself looking at an episode list and wondering how much longer this was going to go on. Felt like there was just the threadbarest of plots (oh great, another evil parent or evil children trope story) to hang the quips and funny scenes on. Sniveling First Desk character was terrible. There's no credible way he could have ascended to that position without someone sextorting him beforehand.

there’s no warmth whatsoever

Yeah this is it. I finished the season yesterday and have been pondering my take, but I think my summary is it's all plot no character, and the plot isn't good either. It's fine to watch - the previous seasons did sufficient character work that it's nice to spend more time with them - but the world they live in doesn't feel any richer than it did at the end of last season and that's a wasted opportunity.

Elements I liked well enough:
- River and his grandfather
- Visit to grim small town in France (with your man from Spiral running the bar)
- Giti and new Dogs boss trying to navigate toxic office politics

This was the first season that felt a bit “more of the same” to me, but still v enjoyable. I’m personally quite fond of crap spyman River Cartwright and his terrible stealth skills (he walked into a secret French spy mansion though the front door!!). But I agree there wasn’t enough Gary Oldman this time around.

In a sense Lamb is a bit “overpowered”, it would be interesting to see him sweat for a change.

oh great, another evil parent or evil children trope story

yeah while I seemingly enjoyed S4 more than most here I did find my heart sinking a bit re the Darth Vader stuff

I suppose this is partly a flaw of the books themselves, but it’s become formulaic that a major cast member will not survive the season. Even though I liked Marcus and was sad to see him sacrifice himself, that plot device has diminishing returns by season 4. It’s not a coincidence that they are restocking the supporting cast with new recruits at this point - because they’ve gone back to this well too many times now.

Taverner's parting line to Lamb during that scene in the rain makes this an A+ season.

After several years/seasons of recommendations we finally started this the other night. It's ... OK! Kinda sillier than I expected?

pretty good summary

golly the new leader of the dogs is awfully attractive

Haha the book I read with her in it mentions it every time she appears.

i liked this season.

these shows never have much emotional resilience and more often than not aby attempt to inject it is forced and botched

performances were good and it absolutely clipped along, id say it delivered

i've been binging this now that we have apple, i feel like a year or so off from reading the books i have enough distance now to enjoy the show as its own thing. it's very good! it does hold very close to the books but they changed part of the plot of "dead lions" for the second series:

iirc the whole family living in the village and some of the other villagers were russian "cicadas" in the book, not just the mom. i feel like the conclusion of the plane flying into the city was different too but i don't remember exactly what happened

maybe for the puns i am too dim to realize thread but is 'slow horses' meant to be a pun of 'slough house'?

Yeah, Park jargon as I understand it

I got three months free AppleTV with a new iPad so am bingeing on this at the moment. Whoever does the location scouting for it deserves a raise! So many well chosen bits of London and scenes where you can't believe they got permission to film - a crowded Berwick Street, a walk across Westminster Bridge. Really captures the feel of the city's size and reach, the way you can find yourself in an eerily quiet corner at night, even close to the centre. Almost makes me want to move back - almost.

Not reading this thread as I'm only up to S2E3 but registering that said episode contains the most authentically terrifying portrayal of a certain kind of English family I've ever seen, all three of them were viscerally skim-crawling, whether they're KGB assets or not. Amazing stuff, onto the next...

With regards to the location filming - I think 90% of it is shot inbetween Kings Cross, Angel and Barbican! They’ve done an amazing job (or not - because I guess I noticed it) of making the Barbican estate stand in for countless different places.

Did Roddy Ho get jacked between seasons 1 and 2?

I reupped top Apple to watch Severance season 2 and on a whim decided to watch this top fill out the rest of the subscription period, but now I'm probably going to keep my sub till I finish this.

This is better anyway

Roddy definitely becomes much more of a clueless arsehole (somehow) between S1 and S2. It's like how Blackadder leant into Baldrick being extremely stupid at the same stage. Amusing payoff in the S2 finale at least

My wife's read the books and reports that Roddy is even more unlikable in them — more of an incel creep (not that the TV version doesn't have elements of that, but he's kind of too goofy to really object to).

We subscribed to Apple for both this and Severance, burned through Severance first and now through the first three seasons of Slow Horses. Terrifically enjoyable show. I like the whole cast, but obviously Oldman is the feature. I like that every episode has at least one scene where he does his 2-steps-ahead-of-everyone routine.

On balance I'm enjoying SH much more than Severance, but I'm pretty sure ILX has the receipts for my TV taste being terrible.

Oh I agree, although it's hard to compare them. Slow Horses has the benefit of being adapted from books with well constructed plots, and what it's doing is more familiar in terms of genre than Severance. But it's very good at it.

I think the key to Slow Horses is that it's not about a bunch of misunderstood geniuses who are actually great spies. The only passable genius is Lamb, the rest have their strengths but they are also sincerely fuckups, you don't lose sight of how they landed in Slough House to begin with.

Oh yeah, having the team actively and obviously being flawed makes (some of) them more endearing than if they were all a bunch of 007s. And if they're not endearing, they at least bring the lolz (like Min forgetting to get petrol in season 1).

roddy is grosser in the books but also funnier, because you're privy to his internal monologues that show how completely deluded he is about himeself

I loved season 4 - I don’t disagree with the A-plot criticisms upthread but it has the strength of the best golden age prestige shows where the A-plot doesn’t matter all that much because the secondary characters are so well-realized.

agree

still can't believe this show dedicated an entire third of a season to a (multi-location) shootout and (kinda) pulled it off

Missed this thread a few months back when we binged all of these. V much enjoyed it.
For some reason it slightly blew my mind when I switched on to Tinker Tailer Solder Spy on tv (which I've watched at least once if not more) and remembered that that was also Gary Oldman. Like I knew it factually, if you'd have asked me I could've told you, but in my head there's no way they're the same person. He's fantastic.

There's a throwaway mention of Smiley in SH and for a hot second I wondered if he was an in-universe person or if those books/movies existed therein.

River was given the collected works of Le Carre by grandpa when he was a kid.

Don’t know if that line made it into the TV show though.

london also exists in most lecarres iirc

I'm reading the first book. I find Herron's prose a little perfunctory, although he's quite readable, and nothing sticks out as specifically bad. But -- I'm not sure I'd understand the plot, or find the characters quite so likeable, if I hadn't seen the show already. It's amazing how much of the book made it into the TV show - at times it feels a bit like the book is Herron's novelisation of his own novel.

I'm halfway through season 3 now, and the pace of the show seems to be: first half of the season is just kind of there and fine, but the watchability ramps up as we get closer to the finale.

All caught up now but in the season 4 finale, did I miss a detail explaining why whelan gave the shoot to kill order on River?

I've already forgotten why they did that but I think the point of the show on a cosmic level is that they will keep doing that

Season 5 starts 25 September