Kay and Ann have introduced me to some interesting entertainment options in the past. I love it that I am no longer at the mercy of network tv and what’s on at a certain time, but I have the world at my fingertips!
I noticed that the Icelandic movie Rams was on Netflix and watched that tonight. I sometimes have trouble with subtitles while knitting, but I was at a good place on my shawl so I didn’t have a problem. Lots of sheep, lots of sweaters, lots of lonely vistas. Sheep farming, not an easy life. Here’s a link to the trailer
I recently zipped through seasons 1-4 of Veep. Rams sounds great! If you like contemplative documentaries, you might try Into Great Silence, a film about a silent order of monks.
I’m really caught up in TURN, the AMC series about spies during the Revolutionary War. We’re talking colonial spies, British spies, 1776 and that moment when it all started to shift. If you loved Hamilton, this is a good companion–the actors are uniformly memorable, and the history takes me back to a time when the stakes could not be higher, and the future more murky. It is resonating for me, bigly, just now.
I haven’t watched Veep yet, though I’ve heard good things. I tried the Norwegian slow knitting but it was a bit too slow for me!
Right now I’ve been trying to keep up with Masterpiece, Indian Summers and Poldark. If you donate to your local PBS station you get Passport access to many of their older shows as well.
Also cooking shows like A Chef’s Life and The Great British Bake Off. The contestants on British shows, (like the Sewing Bee) are so much more “real” than on US shows.
It sounds like I watch a lot of tv, but it’s an attempt to not watch it live here! On Hulu we’ve been caught up in Being Erica. There’s something about being able to time travel that fascinates me!
I had started to watch Turn, and then wanted my family to join me. It’s set on Long Island but filmed in Virginia, I thought the girls should understand their local history and the lessons there are in it. I’ll put that one on my list as well!
You are so right about British reality TV. It’s more like docu-drama TV. I LOVE GBB. LOVE. So sad that it’s being gutted as it shifts to a different station.
I binged on The crown last week. Watched all the episodes in 4 days. Never really been a fan of historical drama, but I really enjoyed it! Now I am waiting for the new season of The affair on HBO.
my (hollywood screenwriter) little sister turned me onto acorn tv - for all you Anglophiles out there that love a good British mystery or comedy or whatever - check it out. i think you get a free month, and then after that, it’s less than $5/mo, which blows all the other streaming options out of the water.
some of my favs: Blue Murder - love that Northampton accent!, Aussie mystery Deep Water, featuring the lovely Yael Stone from Orange is the new Black, Line of Duty = riveting, Prime Suspect people!, and Vera, just to name a few of my favs…enjoy.
Oh, I’ve never heard of Rams, but that looks wonderful!
I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix lately, and my favorite series have been The Fall, The Crown, and Marcella. I want to give a special shout out to Happy Valley, which I really, really love - the main character is such a real, real person, and a very strong woman.
On regular TV, I’ve been enjoying The Durrells in Corfu (PBS), Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America), and Mars (Nat Geo). Special shoutout here to Blunt Talk (Starz) - this show makes me laugh, I love Patrick Stewart and he seems to be enjoying this very different role, and, major bonus, there is knitting!
I love PBS and I am a Passport member too. Love Poldark, The Durrells in Corfu and Indian Summer. Another one I’m hooked on is A Place to Call Home. Oh my. It’s so juicy! We are out of town this weekend, but am looking forward to “clearing the DVR” when I get home.
The Crown is on my list! I’ve watched The Affair but have mixed feelings. It’s quality drama, but since I am so familiar with the locations it’s jarring. The restaurant she works at is totally tourist. I’ve only eaten there with prople from away. And I can’t believe the owners of the restaurant want to be associated with the fictional owner! I’ll have to give it another try, though I did find myself yelling at the screen and not agreeing with the choices she was making…drama.
Just watched RAMS last night, based on your recommendation, and I loved it The perfect thing to knit to (though it would have been even more perfect if I were knitting a lopapeysa - so many gorgeous ones in the film! But alas, just a superwash merino shawl on the needles here).
I’m deep into The Crown and loving it. It has gotten better and better as Elizabeth has gotten more and more of her own voice as sovereign. So fascinating, and such a great history lesson. I am loving Claire Foy as Elizabeth.
Binge Worthy: I fell into Peaky Blinders and Outlander and can not wait for the next seasons. Each series is a visual feast in different ways. Peaky is theatrically staged and always visually interesting. It takes place in Birmingham right after WWI. The Peaky Blinders are a gang seeking wealth and power and are cunningly led by the star Cillian Murphy. Loved it. Outlander is based on the books by Diana Galbadon and most of it is filmed in Scotland. Full of knits, plaids, sex, castles, and great costumes. Knitting along with these streaming in the background was perf.
The only downside must be that it requiers some focus, with all the dialouge, so I had to find me some easy knitting to go with that show. I started a ribbed skirt.
️ I had heard there was a bit of drama going on…
