MovieChat Forums > Westside (2015) Discussion > Newcomer to this

Newcomer to this

posted 9 years ago by sluggr-2
19 replies | jump to latest

I'm from America, (Portlandia, Oregon to be exact) and have been getting more into AU/NZ TV over the last couple of years. I think Rake and Upper Middle Bogan are some of the best shows out there at the moment. Just finished Winter recently, and glommed onto this as a new series. Have not seen Outrageous Fortune, and this show was almost a no-go after a few brief viewing of 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there. In the first 25 minutes I found Ted to be a seriously unlikable character. I came to the board to see how others felt and after learning of the series history and being a prequel, decided to give it another go. That was right before he did the bar caper during the big race, and I have to say the second half of ep01 was like watching a different show. I'm grabbing ep02 and ep03 as I type this.

My reason for this post concerns Outrageous Fortune. Obviously most of you have seen it and I'm guessing that it hasn't spoiled your enjoyment of this, much like seeing "Breaking Bad" doesn't spoil "Better Call Saul" as the prequel. Should I go ahead and look for it now since as a 10yo series it may be harder for me to track down? I assume the House and the Krugerands are a big part of OF. It took me the better part of a year to get all the episodes of The Sweeney and I don't relish repeating that task.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] elmparkstick 9 years ago

I'm in the UK and I went to the effort of locating and watching all 107 episodes - so I would say definately worth it!

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

I'm also American, Phoenix Arizona and I am an AVID NZ and Aussie TV watcher (and UK).

Outrageous Fortune is fantastic and I don't think Westside would really ruin it for you much. In fact, Westside has made me decide I want to binge OF and have been doing this past couple days as I get over a mild bout of food poisoning.

Definitely recommend.

Leave me to my dark bidding on the internet!!

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

I watched ep 2 and 3 and I think I'm in for the long run here. Ted reminds me a bit of Peter Krause from 6 Ft Under, Sportsnight, and Parenthood. Rita is a bit better version of Carmella Soprano than Edie falco played, and Wolfie could take AJ with both arms tied behind his back.

I really like that we can see stuff from all over in near real time these days. In the states it was like the only foreign TV we saw was what PBS, and for a short time, A&E thought we were entitled to see based on their political correctness leanings. We could see Rumpole, but certainly not Rake. Am looking forward to The Saboteurs tonight.

There are sources for s01 of OF on P2P so the quest starts. When it ends, though, I do not know as I'm well into the second month trying to get all of s02 of Green Wing.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

I find tunnelbear to be exceptionally useful. and only $5 a month for unlimited streaming

Oooooo I LOVE Green Wing!! Got that on DVD 

I remember when I was younger I always used to watch Monty Python and other stuff on PBS....and my Doctor Who

I'll be honest, I hardly watch any "home grown" shows anymore LOL...apart from scifi stuff.

Leave me to my dark bidding on the internet!!

[–] bjoner-1 9 years ago

We LOVED OF. I think it might be one of my favourite shows ever, even if some scenes were horrendously sad (and I would have tweaked the ending a smidge, but that's cos I'm a romantic fool and would have liked to see Wolf and Cheryl getting back together).

I don't think it really matters which you see first, but I would recommend finding OF cos it is so amazing. It has been released on dvd :) it is possible to find, we only discovered it a couple of years ago. There are some inside stories from OF that are explained in Westside, the Krugerrands being one of them. I think we probably need to re-watch OF when we're done with Westside.

And loving Falani already!

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

I'm already binge watching Outrageous Fortune...I just could not resist

In one of the episodes, Ted mentioned "Auntie Pat" who we saw in Westside. Apparently, she not only "took care" of Rita when Ted was gone, but the three of them also had a thing. That gave me a chuckle.

Leave me to my dark bidding on the internet!!

[–] hoopyfrood 9 years ago

Let me also say my bit as an American fan of Antipodean telly. I know I am totally late with this advice but you don't need to have seen OF to watch this. But you also totally need to see OF. Because it's the freakin' best!

I do agree that Ted came off as a bit of a twat in the beginning but the performance levels out pretty quickly. I hope you enjoyed the rest of it, I see you pressed on!

Funny that you mention A&E, I remember finding Lovejoy that way. It was still better than nothing else. Do you remember when MTV played uncensored Flying Circus episodes late Sunday nights? That was a glorious time.

Also glad to hear you are into Green Wing, sorry you are having trouble getting the second series. I think it used to be on Hulu. Still one of the funniest things ever done. Did you see Campus? A lot of the same folks. Not as great but it still introduced me to Sara Pascoe, Dolly Wells and Katherine Ryan. Funny ladies there. A few of the same folks were involved in The Delivery Man with Darren Boyd. Also didn't do well but I thought it was funny as hell.

"It's a man's job to protect his bitch from seagulls." - Stephen Fry

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

My Green Wing source came through on P2P and i finally got the entire series on HD. Dr Statham was getting a bit too psycho in the end, but the rest of them were brilliant throughout. That scene of Karen going out the window, and no one noticing yet still bringing her coffee every morning was as black as humor gets.

I'm actually coming from the other direction having seen most of them in Spy 2011 and Episodes first. Its funny how one gets introduced to a character and then with IMDB is able to move through their career in a winding fashion. The scene with Darren Boyd and Guy's pocket knife will be forever etched in my head (as well as his).

Just finished ep 6 of Westside. Did not see that coming. Would they consider a second series given how this one is received?

We had Python viewing groups in college in 75. Took over entire TV lounges on Sunday night at 11. I remember one year when Cleveland PBS decided to do a pledge drive before Python, and the announcer had to come on and ask people to stop calling the pledge numbers asking for Python to be aired. We were an unruly bunch. My college later had Chapman come and speak and another Pythonite and I were invited back to host him on Campus. Such a chore. ;-)

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

I first saw Python when it used to be aired on my local PBS station, too. Back then, ours used to do a marathon over Memorial Day weekend. I was 13 when I was allowed a tv in my room and I stayed up all night to watch the show.

I highly recommend the BBC 4 biopic "Holy Flying Circus". It's about the controversy and all that surrounded the movie "Life of Brian". The casting is utterly fantastic and Darren Boyd as John Cleese has to be seen. He was amazing.

I know Darren is great with comedy, but did you see his uber creepy performance in Fortitude???? eeesh

Do you want some bisghetti?

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

Playing Cleese must have been incredible pressure on Boyd. Probably about as hard as playing Marty Feldman. I don't think I even recognized him initially on Fortitude. One of those seeing his name in the credits and going "huh?" moments.

I'm trying to locate "My Family" just to see what Robert Lindsay is like outside of his role as "The Examiner" on Spy.

I was sort of Hoping that Richard Ayode would show up on Humans as a synth. He pretty much already played one on IT Crowd. Even just a cameo of him as a synth bartender would be an epic call-back.

That being said, I did watch s01e01 of OF last night and wasn't nearly as impressed as I was with the pilot of Westside. I have two more in the queue so it will get some more effort. I also need to distance Robyn from Rake and Bogans.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

He was so good that if they ever remake Fawlty Towers he better be cast as Basil Fawlty

My Family is a good show. Definitely watch if you can.

There is a movie called "The Watch". You should see it if you haven't. Ayoade is hilare.

I'm watching Humans but not liking it nearly as much as the original series Akta Manniskor.

Don't give up on OF :)

Do you want some bisghetti?

[–] hoopyfrood 9 years ago

Oh wow. I think you win! I can't even imagine getting to host Chapman on a tour like that. It must have been an incredible experience. I was just being made in '75 so my exposure didn't come until later.

I totally agree about following a career like that. It can be such an interesting journey. In this instance, I think I saw Spy first, then Green Wing but Boyd was a key part of that leap. Another good show with GW alumni is Bluestone 42. It has Oliver Chris and Katie Lyons in a bomb disposal squad in Afghanistan. Hilarity ensues! But seriously, it manages to walk the line between funny and respectful and pulls it off well.

I see that you are having problems getting into Outrageous Fortune. I second the vote to keep with it. Interesting that you are trying to remove Robyn's other roles from your head. That was my first exposure to her so it was a clean slate here. I did enjoy her in Bogan, though. Haven't seen Agent Anna yet, do you recommend?

"It's a man's job to protect his bitch from seagulls." - Stephen Fry

[–] koruchick 9 years ago

Hey, a kiwi here! Robyn is a great actress, but sorry Agent Anna is CRAP!! ughh, seriously so cringe-worthy it makes me wanna vomit. Don't waste your time. I do recommend checking out mystery thriller The Blue Rose (with Antonia & Siobhan) and comedy-drama Nothing Trivial (starring Shane/Hayden & Nicole/Kasey). Step Dave (starring Aidee/Draska) and Cover Band are also worth a look.

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

I am all the way through s01e03 of OF so far. Is it just me or do the West's children resemble the Bogans: hot slutty daughter, dimwitted son, smart conniving daughter? My P2P source is about as fast as watching it OTA in real time. :(

I see that Darren Boyd will be in the 2ep(?) 4th series of Luther. Oh how I wanted it to be Idris chasing Dominic West as the criminal!

Another IMDBer put me onto the series "Community" about an off-the-wall community college in Colorado. I initially wrote it off because it had the Chevy Chase kiss of death association. Very well done black comedy, even along the lines of Spy where they lift movie themes for episodes. They have a 2-part campus paintball episode that has every single spaghetti western reference in one part, and then the second is chock full of star wars references. They also rip on modern cultural phenomena as much as Eric Cartman on a good day. I finally understand all the love for Alison Brie on Mad Men.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

I am all the way through s01e03 of OF so far. Is it just me or do the West's children resemble the Bogans: hot slutty daughter, dimwitted son, smart conniving daughter? My P2P source is about as fast as watching it OTA in real time. :(

It's more the other way around. Upper Middle Bogan wasn't done until 2013, whereas Outrageous Fortune ran from 2005 to 2010.

The Blue Rose (with Antonia & Siobhan) and comedy-drama Nothing Trivial (starring Shane/Hayden & Nicole/Kasey). Step Dave (starring Aidee/Draska)

I agree with alcatelz on those. All three are excellent.

I also add The Jaquie Brown Diaries.

Did you ever track down My Family?

If I know Stu this was probably the way he wanted to go, disemboweled by werewolves

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

No luck on My Family yet. I have watched 5 eps (1-5) of OF but the source for them is brutally slow. Liking it so far though Van has got to be one of the most mentally challenged people on TV, wait, take that back, the guy the West's adopted who went into the garbage truck was slightly dumber.

Will look for The Blue Rose.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] !!!deleted!!! (28686785) 9 years ago

Yeah, but I like Van and his friend, Munter. They're quite funny.

Sucks when it takes so long to get a show. I'm surprised My Family isn't on Netflix, they seem to have heaps of stuff generally.

I can only guess about it being on there since I don't have Netflix, though LOL

If I know Stu this was probably the way he wanted to go, disemboweled by werewolves

[–] sluggr-2 8 years ago

Well, 6 months after starting I finally finished season 1 of OF. Ep 09 was hung for a long time. Almost 7B people on this planet and only one other person has placed OF on P2P for sharing. What are the odds? Oh, about 7B to 1. Starting to grab s02 so I expect to post about it mid summer or so.

Darren Boyd was amazing in Luther. I really think he has the range to be another Tom Hanks if he gets the opportunities.

No luck with My family but I'm actually behind on several series so there hasn't been much of an effort to track it down.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] bjoner-1 8 years ago

Van is a real annoyance in the beginning, but he grows on you :)