Thursday 13 – Boob Tube Edition
We watch a lot of TV around here. Many weeknights see us plopped down in front of the boob tube watching reruns of something or another (Currently it’s ‘The Office’, though we are almost finished) while we have dinner. We used to eat at the table, and sometimes we still do, but most nights we don’t. Who knows why. After dinner, Maya does the dishes and then goes upstairs to get ready for bed. She gets up early on workdays, and likes a good 9 hours of sleep if she can manage it. Ted and I stay up for a couple more hours, and watch TV or, once in awhile, a movie. In case you are looking for something to watch, here are our shows – and sadly, I think every one of them is streaming, none are on Network TV. We did really enjoy This is Us, but that is the only network show I can think of that we have watched in the last year or two. We even watch our local weather on YouTube. So here, in no particular order, are 13 shows that we have been watching over the last I don’t know how many months. Clearly not all are current. And yes, we pay too much for streaming.
- The Last of Us (HBO) This is a zombie show, based on a very popular video game. Maya played the game and was very excited to watch. Ted and I didn’t care, but were game to give it a try. Ted was a fan of The Walking Dead for the first several seasons, but eventually got bored with it. So the first 2 episodes of The Last of Us were good, but the 3rd episode was phenomenal. Truly lovely TV.
- Kindred (Hulu) I read the book by Octavia Butler a couple of years ago, and I loved it. The story is of a black woman who has recently moved to Los Angeles, and suddenly finds herself time traveling (against her will) back to a plantation in the antebellum south. The TV show varies from the book in the relationships involved, which serves to alter some of the motivations. I don’t think this is a bad thing. Kindred has been renewed for a 2nd season, which is a good thing, since season 1 only got us through about the first 1/3 of the book.
- Poker Face (Peacock) This is a new murder mystery (murder of the week perhaps) by the director of Knives Out. Mostly it reminded Ted and me of a modern day Columbo. The main character, Charlie, can tell whether people are lying or telling the truth, simply by looking at their face. The first episode (the only one we have seen so far) has her starting out in Las Vegas, and things go south pretty quickly. I’m not a big fan of the genre, not sure if we will stick with this one or not. But it’s entertaining and well written, so we may.
- Shrinking (Apple TV) Wow, we really do have a lot of streaming services. We have only seen the first episode thus far, but we liked it. Here’s the official blurb: ‘A grieving therapist starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge changes to people’s lives – including his own.’ Stars Jason Segal and Harrison Ford.
- Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) I liked this show, but it is completely in Ted’s wheelhouse. He loves Steve Martin and Martin Short, and finds them hilarious.
- Wednesday (Netflix) We enjoyed watching this. Funny and well done. Here’s the blurb: ‘Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates a murder spree while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.’
- Star Trek – Strange New Worlds (Paramount) Ted loves the Star Trek universe (and Star Wars, we love the shows on Disney+ expanding that franchise), and found this show to be very inventive. Perhaps his favorite series, though it has a LOT of company. I’ll confess that a lot of the time when we’re watching TV in the evening, I don’t pay close attention, I am reading your blogs or playing games on my iPad. But the episodes that I saw of this were really good.
- The White Lotus (HBO) There are two seasons thus far. Both are located at fabulous resorts with wealthy clientele, and begin with dead bodies being discovered. We then go back a week in time to the arrival of a group of guests (Fantasy Island murder mystery?) and learn more about them, as well as the staff of the hotels. The first season is in Maui, the second is in Sicily. Both are gorgeous, and star the amazing Jennifer Coolidge, though hers is the only character in both seasons.
- The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) Not new by any means, but we are hooked on this show, and look forward to the next (final) season.
- House of the Dragon (HBO) This is the prequel to Game of Thrones, and tells the story of House Targaryen, 200 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones. Maya has read the books, and liked this show more than Ted and I did. I thought it was OK, but didn’t really love it. If you’re a GoT fan, and want to see all things related to that world, then give it a try.
- Hacks (HBO) The story of an unlikely friendship between a legendary comedian fighting to stay relevant in an era of cancel culture, and her young, entitled writer. This was well done, and if there is a season 3, I’m sure we’ll watch it. But it’s not something I think about when it’s not on.
- Stranger Things – Netflix – Ted and Maya both loved Stranger Things from the get go. I found the first season too scary. But I got more into it in the second season, and then went back and watched the first season, and now I’m as hooked as they are.
- Fleishman is in Trouble (Hulu) This is another one that Ted watched, and I kind of watched. I am sometimes too hooked on reading blogs or Facebook or whatever to pay attention to the TV. Not that one is better or worse than the other, but when I miss a good show, yet was in the room when it was on, I feel kind of dumb. This is one of those shows. What I do know is that it is about a recently divorced couple, the husband’s explorations of dating apps, and the wife’s mental illness issues. What I saw of it was really good.
- Bonus shows – The Patient (Hulu) and Inventing Anna (Netflix) The Patient is the story of a psychiatrist and his patient. His patient is a psychopathic killer who wants to stop killing, and he kidnaps his therapist and keeps him hostage in his basement. Very good. I started watching it before I went to France, and watched it when I got back, but we couldn’t get Hulu to work while we were there, so I didn’t see the episodes that I missed. Which is stupid because it’s streaming, and of course I could watch them at any time. But I didn’t and then once I got to the end, the ‘what’s going to happen’ angle was gone. Inventing Anna, my cousin and I watched in France, because Carey had started watching it and wanted to see the rest, and because Netflix did work in France. It is based on a true story about a young woman that convinces the elite class in New York that she is a German heiress, and that they should give her money (short term, of course, because she is crazy wealthy) to invest in her business plans, and she will make them all rich(er). It was OK, but her accent was truly weird. I don’t know if that’s how the person the story is based on really talked or not, but it didn’t sound like any German person I have ever heard. (Any of my German friends seen this? What did you think of the accent?)
How about you? Do you watch too much TV, like we do? What are you watching that I’m missing?
24 Comments
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
Oooh! Yes I like kicking back with the tube in the evenings and on the treadmill. I agree with what you’ve said about the shows that I’ve watched which makes me want to check out the shows that I haven’t seen (most of this list).
Part of the reason that I gave up on Inventing Anna was that I couldn’t take the accent!
J
Beckett, yeah, that accent was crazy. I wonder if the person it was based on has that accent? Was it real or made up? So many questions.
Elisabeth
We watched Inventing Anna and that VOICE was so, so weird and grating. I didn’t love the series, to be honest…but we did finish it because it was a bit like watching a train about to crash and being unable to look away!
J
Elisabeth, that’s exactly right. The show was meh, but we couldn’t look away. I honestly did not care at all about any of the characters.
Sarah
I watch almost no TV. I am a one-show-at-a-time girl. We just finished Dead to Me, and we started The Last of Us. Dorothy has already blown through Wednesday, but she is watching it with me in like 15-minute increments. Thanks for all these recs!!
J
Sarah, we really liked Dead to Me as well. As someone who watches very little TV, The Last of Us is perfect, since it is not a binge show…meaning, you get one episode a week.
Margaret
I don’t watch much TV at all but every time I see a list of other people’s programs, I get an urge to start ALL of them. Then I feel overwhelmed. I don’t have many streaming services so that limits me a lot.
J
Margaret, a list like this would definitely be overwhelming. Kudos to you for not watching much TV. 🙂
Rain Trueax
We don’t watch and TV but if we start, I’ll keep this list in mind for what we might enjoy.
J
Rain, your comment made me laugh. Please don’t start a bad habit on my account!
San
We don’t watch much TV/Shows… mostly News after dinner. I often opt to read or blog (or dabble on my phone LOL) in the evenings. Sometimes I will catch some reruns (of Friends) on TV.
J
San, I’m with you on the dabbling…often I’m paying half attention to the show that Ted is watching. I have found that I enjoy the shows more if I understand what is going on. Perhaps my next goal should be to stop multitasking entertainment.
NGS
I watch very little television and found myself simply overwhelmed by this list! Perhaps this is what non-readers feel like when I start talking about books.
When do you suppose people learn how to watch tv? I feel like I just grew up without watching it (or movies, honestly) and now I find myself unable to sit still for long enough to watch a whole episode. I mean, I can read for HOURS, but just sitting still and watching tv seems impossible. Do we teach kids how to do it and missed the lesson? Do you learn how to do it as an adult? Why can’t I do basic things that everyone else seems to know how to do? (Watch me have an existential crisis in your comments section.)
J
LOL, when I was little we didn’t watch much TV…we lived in Alaska, and there were only 3 channels, and not much on that appealed to kids. Then we moved to California when I was 9, and we had cable and afternoon cartoons, and we started watching a lot more. I love to read, but I find it difficult when the TV is on, so if someone else is watching, it’s difficult for me to concentrate on my book. I can half pay attention while looking at my blog, but not with a book. I kid myself that I would watch less if I lived alone, but I doubt that is true. Ted didn’t watch a lot of TV before we got involved, I got him hooked on a couple of shows. So it’s probably me.
Melissa
Since the girls move out we usually eat dinner in front of the TV, unless our son is home, and then we sit at the table. I loved The Handmaids Tale (I watched this without Hubby), Wednesday, and House of the Dragon (although it seemed to finish very quickly!). I watched Inventing Anna with my daughter and it drew us in with the train wreck in motion, but her voice!!
I’d like to see Kindred, but it’s on Paramount+ here which we’ve never had. We may need to drop another service to watch it, but I don’t think it’s something Hubby will get on board with.
One show I watched by myself that is an old one but good, especially if you’ve read the books was Outlander, I don’t know whether that would interest you.
J
Thanks Melissa! Yes, when we are being smart we will cancel one streaming service and pick up another. Kindred is really good. Is your husband into sci-fi at all? It’s not space or anything, but it does have time travel.
Thanks for the suggestion for Outlander!
Ted
I was hoping that Fleishman is in Trouble would translate well to the screen, but some of it felt like filler. Although, the episode that focused not on Fleishman, but his friend (and narrator of the story) was by far the best — and a thread that wasn’t in the novel.
J
Maybe I should start watching some of these things on my Fabulous Fridays when I’m home…
nance
Rick and I started watching The Last of Us last night, and I’m not feeling compelled to watch more. The first episode feels so disjointed and random. It’s almost like they feel I should already know stuff, and I don’t.
We just finished The Last Kingdom on Netflix, which was Danes and Saxons and lots of blood and gore, but still a good story and good acting for 5 seasons. We prefer the historical/costume dramas, like “Medici” and “Versailles” and “The Borgias”. Oh, and “The Gilded Age”, which was on HBO Max (the previous three were on Netflix). We also really liked “The Patient” and “Hacks” as well as “The White Lotus”.
We tried “Call the Midwife”, but it was not Rick’s cup of tea; I’ll watch it myself here and there, as I do “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” hosted by Jerry Seinfeld (Netflix). That show is very smart about a lot of things.
Do you watch documentaries? I find them fascinating and incredibly edifying. I’ve learned so much about so many things.
J
Nance, I would urge you to watch episode 3 of the Last of Us. It’s stand alone enough that it doesn’t matter whether you’ve seen episode 2, especially if you don’t intend to watch the rest of the show. It was really well done, a really good story. It will surely win awards. I may watch it again today.
Maya and I really liked The Guilded Age, I don’t think Ted watched it with us. Maya is very into historical dramas. I don’t care much in theory, but once I get into them, I’m hooked.
I’m not a big documentary person, just like I don’t do well reading nonfiction most of the time. Maya loves them. I really liked Call the Midwife early on, but forget about it and I don’t think I know the characters anymore.
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
We watched Fleishman is in Trouble, too. I liked it way more than my husband did; it was too “navel gazey” for him. But it is not a ringing endorsement for marriage. Ha! I read the book so that helped me enjoy it more, I think.
Now we are watching the documentary about the Bernie Madoff Ponzie scheme. My husband and I both work in asset management so it’s particularly interesting to me but I think even if you don’t work in finance, it might be interesting. What he got away with for so long is absolutely bananas!!
J
Lisa, my husband read ‘Fleischmann’ too, so maybe that helped him enjoy it more.
I would think with your professional background, the Madoff documentary would be extremely interesting. And yeah, crazy what he got away with!
Ally Bean
I haven’t heard anyone refer to TV as the boob tube in years. Love it. I watch one episode of two different TV shows per night. No more. Lately it’s been Star Trek Voyager & Midsomer Murders. Loved Wednesday, too. I want to see Poker Face but we don’t get Peacock.
J
That’s about what we get in too, one episode with dinner, one episode after. I remember liking Voyager a lot, though I never really forgave the doctor for putting 7 in that cat suit with those high high heels. Ridiculous. She’s in Picard, if you get Paramount +. That’s another one I didn’t really pay attention to while Ted was watching, I think perhaps I should add that to my list of ‘catch up’ shows to see on Fridays when I am home alone.