Tara Ward: The Penguin, A Very Royal Scandal, Nightsleeper

The Penguin  

Following the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb aka The Penguin seeks to fill the power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone’s death and finally give his mother the life he promised. But first, Oz must confront enemies new and old (Neon). 

 

A Very Royal Scandal  

Based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations the Prince faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre. A Very Royal Scandal follows the action of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the event itself and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever (Prime Video). 

 

Nightsleeper 

The overnight train from Glasgow to London is hacked. Passengers are trapped on board, including police officer Joe. As the train hurtles towards disaster, Joe manages to make contact with Abby, the cyber security director (ThreeNow). 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from Newstalk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Twenty three minutes past ten, which means it's screen time
time on Newstalk, said b. Taraward is with us this
time every week with three show recommendations to watch your
stream at home. Hey Tara, good morning. Let's begin with
the show streaming on Neon starring Colin Farrell. Tell us
about the Penguin.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, this is new HBO drama and it's the latest
spin off from the Batman World. And it's about the
villain of the Batman universe, the Penguin. And yes, it
stars Colin Farrell. He is reprising the role that he
played in the Batman Movie in twenty twenty two as Oz,
the Penguin Cob, and he's unrecognizable here. He's wearing a
lot of prosthetics and a body suit and has transformed

(00:51):
himself into this balding, overweight old man who looks nothing
like Colin Farrell. Probably looks a lot more like Tony
Soprano than Colin Farrell does. And this show does feel
a lot like the Sopranos in Gotham City. It's a
mob drama, a mafia drama. It's about the Penguin's rise
the underwear of Gotham City, and it's taking that story
of the villain and turning him into an anti hero,

(01:11):
you know, someone you would sympathize with. So there's lots
of shooting here, lots of organized crime, lots of conversations
and dark corners, and so in a lot of ways
it feels quite familiar. But you don't need to know
the ins and outs of the DC Comics world or
the Batman world to enjoy this. You can watch this
very much as a standalone show. It's dark and gritty.

(01:32):
You know, it's an HBO show. So the quality is good.
It looks good, and I think as this series goes
on it will become more of a psychological thriller rather
than just being a mob drama.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay, that sounds really good, and yeah, it sounds like
a bit of me. That's the Penguin. So that's on
Neon Starr and Colin Ferrell on Prime Video a very
royal scandal.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah, this is the second show in just a few
months to revisit the twenty nineteen BBC Newsnight interview with
Prince Andrew and that of course was the incredible interview
where Prince Andrew talked about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein
and it was a disaster. He didn't come out of
the interview looking good at all. And the first series, Scoop,
came out in April on Netflix and it starred Billy

(02:13):
Piper and Gillian Anderson. This series, A Very Real Scandal,
takes the same event, but takes a wider view than
Scoop did. It focuses more on both sides, So you've
got the BBC side through the journalist Emily Matless's eyes,
but also the royal side, the reasons why they allowed
the interview and the fallout after it, and so I

(02:33):
think because of that, this feels a bit like an
episode of The Crown. Michael Sheen plays Prince Andrew and
Ruth Wilson plays Emily Mateless, So they are both very
good in this as you would expect. They've gone to
a lot of effort in terms of, you know, replicating
those mannerisms and the voices, and they very much look
like those real people. And Emily Maitliss was an executive

(02:53):
producer on this series, so I think that gives the
show a few more nuggets of inside knowledge that that
scoop would not have. So if you like the Crown,
I think you'll enjoy this version. I'm not sure that
we need to dramas about this event, particularly when it's
not that long ago. But it's one of those huge
stories that appeal to people. And it's a case of

(03:14):
two big studios rushing to get it done and both
shows coming out at the same time.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah right, nice, Okay, one's got Emily Matlace so producing,
so I think that's yeah, that's a plus. That's a
very royal scandal on Prime Video and on three now
Night Sleeper. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
If you're looking for something with big energy, fast paced,
lots of twists and turns and kind of ridiculous but
in a good way, this is Night Sleeper and it's
on three Now. It's a six part BBC drama and
it takes place on a train that has been cyber hacked.
So it's a night train traveling from Glasgow to London.
Cyber Hackers have taken control of the train. The passengers

(03:50):
are trapped on board, including a policeman named Joe, who,
when he realizes the train is racing uncontrollably towards disaster
has to find out who on board is helping the hijackers,
while also dealing with the government's cybersecurity team who are
trying to work out what's going on. This is cliched
and far fetched, but so much fun. Lots of action,

(04:11):
lots of cliffhangers and suspense. It takes place in real time,
so that kind of adds to the tension. You know,
it isn't perfect. It's very unrealistic, but it's a show
you can just escape into and enjoy it for what
it is and just be entertained by it.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Very good. Okay, that sounds like a bit of fun.
That's night Sleeper. It's on three now, A very royal
scandal is on Prime Video, and The Penguin is on Neon.
That's our screen Time Expert Tara Award. Thank you, Tara.
We will see you next week.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.