What to watch this week

There are feuds and fights in our latest recommendations

WRITERS ENJOY a good rivalry, whether suspenseful (Sherlock v Moriarty) or silly (Tom v Jerry). Feuds feature in our recommendations this week: businessmen face off in boardrooms; boxers step into the ring. These tales are not merely about conflict. They explore ambition, deceit and the American dream. But there is one show you should skip: the rivalries in a popular French series have become less about the protagonist’s sharp mind and more about his mind-blowing stunts.

“Rivals” (on Disney+)This bonkbuster show is as seductive as ever, as it returns for the second half of its second season.

“Rivals” (on Disney+)This bonkbuster show is as seductive as ever, as it returns for the second half of its second season. (Streaming services are increasingly fond of releasing their biggest shows in this annoying way in order to keep fans signed up.) As before, the battle between two television companies is background noise. The flirtations and flings are the real drama. And now, after the death of his wife, Lord Baddingham (a deliciously conniving David Tennant, pictured top) has even fewer qualms about going after whom, and what, he wants.

“Rocky” (on streaming platforms)Perceptions of “Rocky”, released in November 1976, have been clouded by its increasingly silly sequels—and the subsequent action-hero career of Sylvester Stallone (below), its writer and star. The Oscar-winning original doesn’t actually include much fighting. Instead, as Mr Stallone puts it in his moving new memoir, the tale of a down-at-heel Philadelphia heavyweight who gets a shot at the big time is “a love story about regular people looking for dignity and respect”. Its underlying theme is being poor in America. At 50, “Rocky” isn’t as good as you remember: it’s better.

“Until the End of the World” (on streaming platforms)The centenary of Route 66 on November 11th offers an excuse to watch Wim Wenders’s masterful road-trip film. The sci-fi movie is set in 1999, as the world braces for the impact of a rogue Indian nuclear satellite. It follows an inventor and a party girl as they travel across Europe, Russia, China and Australia. The film captures two sorts of feelings perfectly. First, those that arise from the adventures, mishaps and delights of the best road trips. And second, the sense of hope and global connectedness that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union.

And what not to watch:

“Lupin” (on Netflix)This French thriller takes its name from Arsène Lupin, a fictional gentleman thief conjured by Maurice Leblanc. The character’s smarts and schemes are an inspiration to Assane Diop (Omar Sy, above) as he plots to avenge the wrongful imprisonment and death of his father. That was what made the first three seasons so entertaining: Diop had to be clever to outwit his powerful rivals. But now the showrunners—including Mr Sy—have decided that Diop should be something akin to a “superhero”. The result is ludicrous. Diop performs all sorts of stunts, including scaling the Eiffel Tower. What made “Lupin” enjoyable was the protagonist’s brains, not his brawn.