TV and Movies

[deepwaterdotter]

I liked the first episode.  The scenery is lovely.

[JamandBread]

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@deepwaterdotter wrote:

I liked the first episode.  The scenery is lovely.

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Agree! Very pretty scenery. Glad to have some new programming to look forward to on Sunday nights.

[ladyfox412]

I streamed the first 2 episodes.  So far so good.  Portofino is stunning and one of our favorite places.

[golding76]

Loving Italy and Italian and Greek coastal resort areas the way I do, I was an easy mark for Hotel Portofino.   I also have a weakness for hotel-centric productions because they offer peeks into the lives of various types who might not, otherwise, be gathered together.

The scenery is yummy, I agree.  During the mother/son discussion on art, where mother Bella is stretched out on a white balustrade with luscious, big blooms all about, I ached to be there in her place.  

I do have some slight reservations (pun intended) regarding this production that thrusts us headlong into the lives of the hotel operators and their guests.  There were so many possible and actual dalliances going on that I had the sensation that the writers had thrown a plate of spaghetti at a wall and will focus on what sticks.  Too much of this and that all at once.  It disturbed me on some level. 

Maybe everything will sort itself out as we go further into the stories that will unfold.  Maybe the spotlight will fall on one or two at a time in each episode.  I will certainly watch this as it has so many features that charm me.  

And almost forgot...we also have blackmail going on and stealthy sleuthing for possible fascists.  This hotel is overbooked.

[occasionalrain]

@JamandBread 

I agree, there was little character development and seemed formula in the multiple plots going on simultaneously.

[golding76]

Who else remembers when the glitterati flocked to Portofino and not Positano?  We're talking about the late 1950s and the 1960s here.  Capri was always a destination for movie stars, wealthy yacht owners and other prominent folks, but at the midpoint of the last century, Portofino was the most desirable port of call, not Positano.

Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher in Portofino 

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Portofino

Jackie Kennedy in Portofino, 1961

[JamandBread]

Second episode tonight and I enjoyed it quite a bit more than last week. I'm sticking with it!

Watched Citizen Ashe on CNN after, which was incredible.

[golding76]

JamandBread, I agree that tonight's episode was far more engaging than last week's.  It wasn't as phrenetic and all over the place.  Hotel Portofino does much better when it focuses on and fleshes out each character.  Of course, last week was "First Impressions" week, and they had to introduce so many characters to us all at once.  With a huge cast of characters, the show could not avoid overwhelming the viewer.

Some of the characters have already captured my deep interest.

[I read that they are filming this series in Croatia.]

[ladyfox412]

I streamed episode 3 this morning via PBS/Masterpiece.  I enjoyed it.

[occasionalrain]

Watched episode two; the writing leaves plenty to be desired and the acting is just a bit above amateur. The scenery is beautiful, so there is that.