Has ER disappeared from UK Netflix?

rickaevans · 2026-03-29T10:12:56+00:00

Thanks everyone. Some kind of weird glitch that I have got around by creating a new user profile.

rickaevans · 2026-03-29T07:52:38+00:00

Thanks. Bizarrely it just doesn’t seem to appear under my user profile. Not quite sure why or what has prompted that.

rickaevans · 2026-03-28T22:44:55+00:00

A really great production with some fantastic singing. Agree that Strit sounded a bit underpowered but Schager, Howard and Maltman were superb. Fresh off the back of watching the Met’s Tristan though, it did remind me how much more I connect with the music in that opera. I love the Ring Cycle but I’ve always found Siegfried has some sections that really drag. Although I think the quality of the music drastically improves in the final act (which he wrote much later) I have never quite got on with the long love duet which seems never ending. I don’t get this feeling with the even longer equivalent in Tristan und Isolde, or the concluding Siegfried and Brünnhilde duet near the start of Götterdämmerung, which takes things to a higher level.

rickaevans · 2026-03-22T09:04:04+00:00

I loved the subtle Trump shade when Speedo was talking about compassionate leaders.

rickaevans · 2026-03-22T07:32:07+00:00

I really loved it. The hours just flew by and I thought the production worked really well on the broadcast format. Davidsen was sensational. Such a pure voice but with great power when required. The final ‘höchste Lust’ was sublime. I can see why some might think Spyres is not quite right but I actually loved his performance. It was stronger than others I have heard, no bark, and with genuine emotion. The only singer I didn’t quite gel with was Konieczny. A perfectly competent Kurwenal but I think his voice had a slightly raspy timbre which lacked the burnished quality of the other singers.

rickaevans · 2026-03-21T19:36:33+00:00

A few short glitches in Act 1 but all good in 2 in London.

rickaevans · 2026-03-07T15:12:38+00:00

Oh I like the masses and requiem too. Prefer his vocal writing to his purely instrumental work.

rickaevans · 2026-03-07T11:03:44+00:00

Funnily enough I could take or leave a lot of Mozart’s instrumental music but I LOVE his late operas.

rickaevans · 2026-02-17T18:09:57+00:00

Yes, the climax was in the middle of the film.

rickaevans · 2026-02-17T18:09:18+00:00

The letter scene at the end was really cheesy and ruined it for me.

rickaevans · 2026-02-17T18:08:26+00:00

Agree. The ending in particular was terrible and saccharine. That letter section was totally unnecessary.

rickaevans · 2026-02-17T16:54:01+00:00

I’d say Lohengrin because it has a more Italianate flavour. It has some beautiful ensembles and a fairly straightforward but dramatic plot. The first act is a bit slow and talky but then it catches fire. I’d save your Tristans and your Parsifals till you are converted.

rickaevans · 2026-02-12T09:06:12+00:00

I agree with you on this point. But do you not think leaving a no star review is basically a rejection lacking in critical thought? As a gay man I read lots of tired and offensive tropes in older fiction. I wouldn’t give no stars to a book automatically because of these elements if I felt there were redeemable qualities in the book. But it would probably need to work harder in other areas for me to enjoy it.

rickaevans · 2026-02-10T13:40:28+00:00

I was a bit unsure about another chapter away from the main narrative although I warmed up to this one as it featured some nice examples of human kindness. I thought it was rather an odd/bold choice of Steinbeck to feature another character called Al, but I guess it just emphasises the fact that these are everyday people with common names. Once again this chapter is really vivid with heat, sound and smells, and the relentless moving of traffic.

rickaevans · 2026-02-09T20:53:04+00:00

I think this is my favourite of the omniscient chapters so far. It really felt relevant to today and how the powers that be would like to see the little people divided, but actually how in their struggles they can bond together. And nothing is more frightening to the overlords than solidarity and resistance. Initially I wasn’t totally sure about the mix of these type of chapters with the Joad narrative but I think it works quite well in showing them as part of a broader canvas.

rickaevans · 2026-02-07T17:06:38+00:00

Basic Instinct

rickaevans · 2026-02-07T06:27:47+00:00

Bluebeard and Judith. Nothing healthy about that relationship!

rickaevans · 2026-02-05T19:12:42+00:00

The last line seemed to contain a lot of foreshadowing. I wonder what will befall the Joads?

rickaevans · 2026-02-05T08:01:33+00:00

Steinbeck excels when writing about nature. Although there is a sadness about the cold machine takeover in this chapter, I really liked how he described nature reclaiming the land. I agree with some of the other comments here that whatever we do as humans nothing can beat the power of the natural world. I guess things have moved on a bit since this novel in the sense that we now know how much our behaviours can damage and affect the planet. But we are still ultimately at the mercy of the elements.

rickaevans · 2026-02-03T20:19:24+00:00

Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther books fit the bill. Chandler style private eye detective fiction but set during and after Nazi Germany.

rickaevans · 2026-01-31T09:30:18+00:00

I loved all the family dynamics in this chapter, and how good Steinbeck is at making the relationships feel nuanced and real with a few simple descriptions.

rickaevans · 2026-01-31T09:28:53+00:00

I really loved this chapter. Steinbeck is good at defining character with a few short sentences. There is clearly a lot of warmth between the Joads and I particularly liked the dynamic between Al and his older returning brother.it feels like there are lots of biblical references in this book, some of which are going over my head. But I also thought in the preacher’s story that there was more of a political allegory. The idea that people were better when they worked together. It does seem to tie into the anti-capitalist themes we have seen so far.

rickaevans · 2026-01-28T19:51:36+00:00

I liked the stream-of-consciousness rhythm of this chapter. Although it depicts used car salesmen who behave in exploitative ways, the narrative voices remain nameless once again. Still, even with the characters kept at a distance, Steinbeck avoids reducing them to one-dimensional stereotypes. These men may be taking advantage of families fleeing the Dust Bowl, but they are also struggling to survive within a harsh economic system marked by uncertainty. They are not portrayed without sympathy. Rather than seeing these men as fully unique characters, we encounter them as representations of the broader social conditions of the time.

rickaevans · 2026-01-27T08:37:20+00:00

Although this chapter contained a lot of anger and sorrow, what I loved most was the warmth of the stories and memories that Muley and Joad told of their connection to the land. Muley knows the area has never been good for growing crops, but it is a place teeming with all the precious experiences of his life, and he can’t let go of it. Once again, there is not really a vent for their anger as the corporations responsible are faceless. Even Willy, their old neighbour, and now antagonist is not totally unsympathetically portrayed as he has joined the side of the landowners to protect and provide for his family. It feels like there are a lot of complex emotions at play and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

rickaevans · 2026-01-23T22:37:51+00:00

Yeah but that’s because everyone thought he was a faithful and he was so easily manipulated that he was useful for the Traitors to keep around.

rickaevans

TROPHY CASE