Tara Ward: The Abandons, Trigger Point, Fisk

The Abandons 

In 1850s Washington, two families led by powerful matriarchs — one wealthy, one poor but deeply loyal — battle for supremacy on the lawless frontier (Netflix). 

  

Trigger Point

Death is always just a heartbeat away for bomb disposal officer Lana Washington. In the new season, what appears to be a bomb threat in central London soon reveals itself as something far more sinister (TVNZ+).

 

Fisk 

Family feuds. Money squabbles. Wobbly furniture. A no-nonsense lawyer joins a low-rent wills and probate firm after her marriage and career implode (Netflix). 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
AB Jack says, Peter absolutely love Allen Davis. Thank you
so much for the interview. Fantastic to hear that he's
coming to New Zealand. Yeah, I'm a big fan from
wayback as well. QI so good A Jonathan Creek, so good,
underrated show. I reckon Jonathan Creek ninety two. Ninety two
is our text number if you want to send us
a message this morning. Speaking of fantastic TV shows. Now

(00:33):
it's time for your screen time picks for this week.
Tara Reward is our screen time experts. She's got three
recommendations for us.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Good a, Tara, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Let's begin this morning with The Abandons on Netflix.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Yeah. This is a new American Western series that just
began on Netflix. It stars Gillian Anderson and Lena Heady
and it's made by Kurt Sutter, who created shows like
Sons of Anarchy and The Shield, and those are both
quite dark and gritty shows, and has bought that kind
of sensibility to this new Western series. This is in

(01:06):
Washington in the eighteen fifties, and it's about two women
who are each the matriarch of their family and their
battle over some land that Gillian Anderson's character wants to
mine for silver. And it's about how far each woman
will go to get what they want and what they'll
do to protect their family, and it's about love and
revenge and greed and survival as well. A Western with

(01:29):
two women calling the shots is quite a modern take
on this era. But I think you're watching this for
a bit of escapism and a show that you won't
have to think too hard about, because this sort of
embraces all the cliches you would expect in a Western,
the gun slinging and the cattle stealing and the tough
town in the middle of nowhere. It's a bit like
Sons of Anarchy mixed in with Yellowstone, Like I've got

(01:50):
horses instead of motorbikes, and you know, it is a
bit formulaic. There's a few soapy love stories in here
as well. But I would watch this just for Gillian Anderson,
who I always think is so good, so compelling, and
here she's playing this mean, ruthless matriarch who has not
going to back down easily, and she just holds this
whole show together.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Oh fantastic cool. Okay, that's the Abandons on Netflix, on
TV and Z Plus the tense British drama trigger Point.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, there's a new season of trigger Point which starts
tomorrow on TVNZ Plus. And trigger Point is one of
those shows that you know, it's completely over the top
and this stuff would never happen in real life, but
it doesn't matter. This is fun and fast and reliably
great television. This is a British police drama. It's made
by JD mccurio, who of course created brilliant shows like

(02:42):
Line of Duty and Bodyguard. And it's about a bomb
disposal officer named Lana Washington who as a war veteran
and is now the go to expert for diffusing bombs
under extreme pressure and basically in every episode she uses
her unique set of skills to prevent terrorist attacks involving

(03:02):
explosives and hostages. She's protecting the city of London while
also trying to find out the identity of these terrorist
serial killers. That's great stuff. Lana is played by Vicky McClure,
who starre in Line of Duty. She knows how to
deliver in these twisty police dramas, you know, it's slick,

(03:23):
lots of cliffhangers intention and I think if you just
embrace the ridiculousness of it all and don't worry too
much about the odd plot hole or how far fetched
it might seem, then you can just really enjoy this
for what it is, which is just entertainment. So season
three drops tomorrow morning, but seasons one and two are
already up on TVNZ plus.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
Now, okay cool, So that is trigger point. It's on
TVNZ Plus and on Netflix.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Fisc Yeah, Fisk is one of my favorite comedies and
the third season has just dropped on Netflix. This is
a really dry Australian comedy. It starts Kitty Flanagan, who
also co created and wrote the show, and she plays
Halen Tudor Fisk, who is a corporate lawyer who goes
through a very bad, humiliating divorce and loses everything and

(04:10):
has to move in with her elderly father and his boyfriend,
and she has to take a job in a small,
run down suburban law firm that deals with wills and
estates and Fisc is quite socially awkward. She never says
the right thing, she doesn't suffer fools, she's not really
a people person, and the humor here is in her
daily interactions with her colleagues and her clients and all

(04:34):
the local idiots. It's such a delightful show, very sharp
and witty, but also quite warm and gentle, and the
characters are quirky but very lovable. If you like other
comedies like Utopia or Colin from Accounts or even Frontline
going way Back, I think you'll love this as well.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, it's so good. I really really enjoyed first So yeah,
total all that recommendation. Fisk is on Netflix. Tara, did
you ever watch Jonathan Creek back in the day.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
I was just thinking in the intro Jonathan Creek is
such an underrated show. Ye, it was great, and of
course on QI as well, and Davis love him on QI.
He just plays that role of the dance. Yeah. Yeah,
it's so great.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, he's very good. No, thank you so much. We'll
make for Tara's recommendations for this week's screen Time picks
her up on the news Talks he'd b website. So
The Abandons is the one with Gillian Anderson that's on Netflix.
Fisk is the Australian comedy that's on Netflix as well.
Trigger point is the British drama with the bombs bomb
disposal expert that's on TV and Z Plus. Thanks for

(05:37):
your messages. Jake has put me a note, so Jack,
I can't get the Jonathan Creek theme music out of
my head. Now. I'm from the UK, so I watched
it all those years ago and you cannot forget the music.
It is so good a dance Macard obviously doing a
terrible job of that, but you know the one.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
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