What am I Watching…
July – November 2017
Yeah, I know–I’m woefully behind on this. I’ve been so busy. Unless you follow me on social media or subscribe to my newsletter (The Conspiracy), you have no idea. In between bouts of house hell and writing/editing, I have managed to catch up some on my watch list, including:
- The Defenders, which I immensely enjoyed (though I wished it was less about Danny, aka the Iron Fist)
- Castlevania, Netflix’s animated series, which was surprisingly good!
- The Great British Baking Show, which I’ve been watching in the evenings to wind down
- Death Note, which absolutely sucked.
- New seasons of The Walking Dead, Dark Matter, and Blacklist
And the big winner, Stranger Things season 2! Absolutely in love with this show. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and fix that STAT!
What have you been watching?
April – June 2017
We finally got around to watching Iron Fist, which wasn’t as bad as everyone was making it out to be. It was cheesy and had a few plot snags, but for the most part, it was a fun little show. Definitely the weaker of the Marvel Netflix series.
We’ve also been watching the new MST3K, which is awesome–no shock there–and we’ve been catching up on Agents of Shield. We stopped watching after the end of season 2 and have just finished rewatching the first two seasons and seeing season 3 for the first time. The show got really good! We still have season 4 to watch as well.
January – March 2017
I’ve watched a lot of good TV in the evenings with my husband in the past few months, starting out with iZombie. This isn’t your typical zombie TV series and the fact that it’s set and filmed in the PNW just adds to the awesome. It’s based on a comic book series and so worth watching.
After that, we watched the new Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell series, which was very well done. Think old-school gothic fantasy.
We moved on to finally watching Gotham, which was surprising good! Some of the writing gets a bit cheesy at times, but I love how dark they’ve made Gordon and child Bruce Wayne. This is my kind of Batman/Gotham.
After that, Luke Cage was out on Netflix so we immediately binge watched it. <3 this show. Cannot say it enough. From the music and the realities of Harlem, to the political statements about how much #BlackLivesMatter, they nailed this show.
Despite it being rather hit or miss with folks, we greatly enjoyed The OA. I won’t go into spoilers but feel it’s worth a watch. Very psychological and trippy at times.
And finally, we’ve been watching White Rabbit Project, which is the new project by the cast who used to be on Mythbusters before producers decided they weren’t needed any more. They were never side-kicks and it shows in their new series.
May through August 2016
Yes, I’m behind in updating this so I’m going to lump several months together.
Back in May, I caught up with the season 4 of Orphan Black. If you’re not watching this show, what in the hell’s wrong with you? 😉 All kidding aside, it’s really good. Tight writing and amazing acting.
In June, I caught up with Doctor Who Series 9. I’m going to not spoil it but say I was happy with how two particular characters wrapped up current plot arcs. While I know that Moffat has written some amazing episodes (including those with River Song), I’m very ready for him to leave and someone else to take over.
In July, we joined the rest of the world in watching Netflix’s new show, Stranger Things, which is a serious shout-out to 80’s film and literature. While some have argued that the show makes no sense, we loved it. It’s cheesy at times and heart breaking at others. Overall, <3 it.
In August, we tried watching season 1 Penny Dreadful. Being a “British-American dark fantasy–horror drama television series set in the Victorian era London,” you’d think I’d love it.
The first two episodes, while cheesy, were entertaining. We made it through the fifth episode before quitting from boredom. There were plot lines that were very interesting, but the plot moved incredibly slow as Showtime tried to play up the violence and sex for its audiences. I’ve got nothing against either, but I wanted to get on with the plot and find out what’s happening. (At least Dorian Gray‘s sex scenes are in character with his hedonistic views.)
We moved on to the show Dark Matter, which is streaming on Netflix (at least the first season is). It has some cheesy moments–as is typical with shows produced by Syfy–and a few plot holes, but overall, we’re enjoying the hell out of it. It’s typical space opera with just enough of a twist to make things interesting. The characters are well developed (at least so far) and we’re looking forward to finishing the season.
April 20, 2016
With all the moving chaos, I wasn’t watching a ton of TV. Heck, it’s April and our TV’s aren’t even hooked up at the new house. We plan to fix this ASAP and then, I will gladly jump into Daredevil, Season 2!
Don’t spoil it for me!
I’ve been streaming Castle, season 8 during my lunch break on my laptop. I think the show has run its course, which is usually the case when a “Will they or won’t they?” show answers that question. :/ <3 Nathan Fillion, but the show is feeling rather tired and trite now.
Sigh. Sitcoms feel so short-lived these days.
December 1, 2015
Like most of geekdom, I’m currently making my way through the Jessica Jones series on and by Netflix.
I am completely unfamiliar with the comics, but it doesn’t matter. Netflix has done such a wonderful job with this, I not only don’t feel the lack of knowledge but I’m actually curious now about the comics.
The characters have richness and depth, as did the characters in Daredevil. I didn’t binge watch the series as many did over Thanksgiving weekend, but I would have if I’d had the time.
Honestly, if Netflix keeps up this level of excellence, I’m a fan for them doing all comic-to-TV conversions. And while they’re at it, they can bring back Firefly.
September 15, 2015
I’m way behind on this, I know, but I’ve seen a LOT of good TV since then. For one, I discovered the marvelous land of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, which is one of those cases where the show is as good as the books it’s based on.
Miss Phryne Fisher solves murder mysteries and is elegant while she does it. Take the 1920’s-1940’s prohibition era and toss in a serious feminist who kicks so much ass that there aren’t words adequate enough to explain it.
The fact that the actress playing her is not a young 20-something makes it that much more awesome. It’s rare to see an actress in her late 40’s playing a character so in touch with her sexuality and self. She’s unapologetic about who she is and how forward she is about her beliefs and thoughts.
Another good show I’ve picked up is The Blacklist with James Spader. This one is definitely a more modern show and one that blurs the line between good and evil very well. Spader’s role is that of a criminal–with quite the twist.
He’s a former Navy officer who is now a FBI-most wanted criminal. After eluding the feds for decades, he surrenders and tells the FBI that he has a list of the most dangerous criminals in the world. It’s a list he’s made and is willing to trade. He’ll help them capture the criminals as long as they grant him immunity. The only catch is that he will only with a rookie profiler named Elizabeth Keen.
Of course, there’s way more to it than that! The plot is very tightly woven and all the characters have rich back-stories that fill the series quite well.
I’ll finish watching these just in time to catch up on the start of fall shows like Castle and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 😀
May 15, 2015
I’m really, really busy right now, so I’m not watching much. However, I did get out opening weekend to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
I’m not going to get into the debate on whether Joss Whedon is still a feminist or whether Black Widow’s comments about children are some form of anti-women campaign. Maybe later when I’m less busy.
I’ve heard quite a rumble about tension between the studio and Joss, and how Joss felt about having to cut scenes from the film. The cuts show, but such is life in Hollywood I suppose. It sadly happens in publishing too.
For now, I’ll say that I enjoyed the movie. Not as much as the first Avengers film, but certainly enough to feel good about spending $14 on a movie ticket.
April 27th, 2015
I’m in love with Marvel/Netflix’s Daredevil. It has the tight writing of Agent Carter and the character arcs of Joss Whedon.
Couple that with Vincent D’Onofrio from Law & Order: Criminal Intent playing Fisk aka Kingpin, and I’m sold.
We’re almost to the last episode of season I, and I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do when we get there.
Season 2 needs to happen now.
March 18th, 2015
My wrist is still healing up, so I’ve been catching up on my Netflix backlog. I’m almost done with Season 3 of Warehouse 13. I’ll have to jump to Amazon Prime Instant Videos for season 4 though. I’m enjoying this show, cheesy though it is. It’s a good cheese!
I suppose at some point I’ll have to watch Eureka after all the shout-outs to it in Warehouse 13.
February 18th, 2015
With a broken wrist, I have quite the opportunity to catch up on TV. Besides the normal watching of Castle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Agent Carter, I’ve caught up on Sherlock.
Also, I’m probably one of the only women who doesn’t think Benedict Cumberbatch is hot.
I love this show and can’t wait for Season 4!
I also heard that QI is now on BBC America (now that we no longer have cable). Dammit. I guess I’m still stuck with watching via YouTube.
January 19th, 2015
I’ve been so incredibly busy with the release of Amaskan’s Blood, that my “watching” backlog has grown.
While eating dinner in the evenings, I’ve been streaming Season One of Angel in the background. I’ve seen it multiple times, but sometimes you just need a good fallback in the background as you multitask.
At some point I’ll get back to my long list on Netflix.
December 9, 2014
Image Copyright of BBC.
Finally! Finally Season 8 of Doctor Who is on blu-ray for those of us without cable. We’re excited to see the new doctor and have managed to stay spoiler free.
The only thing I know…
*WARNING: Possible Spoilers*
…is that Clara is leaving. Hallelujah. She annoys me to no end, so I’m excited about this!
Today is my husband’s birthday, so tonight we will enjoy some time with the Doctor.
November 15, 2014
This was filmed not far from where I live.
Oh, my. When I’ve had the time to watch something, my husband and I have been making our way through Twin Peaks.
I remembered the theme song quite well, and I recalled that it was about the death of Laura Palmer. Not too bad considering I was 12 when it came out.
It’s a train wreck and yet, we’ve almost finished the second season. It’s like Law & Order and The X-Files had a love child. Seriously. They recently announced that they are bringing it back, and Netflix promptly tossed the original serious up.
I don’t have any clue why this show was popular. Wikipedia swears it came out in 1990, but the film style and feel of the show remind me of the 1979-1983 range of TV. Train wreck aside, it’s one of those cult classics that’s so bad, you can’t help but love it.
October 15, 2014
The original actress made a better “Carrie.”
I haven’t watched a ton of movies/TV this month on account of promoting Amaskan’s Blood, but I did manage to watch the remake of Stephen King‘s Carrie.
I expected it to suck, because most horror movie remakes do, but it wasn’t that bad. It was surprisingly decent. I prefer the original but still enjoyed this remake. I loved Julianne Moore as the mother. Wow!
I’ve also been watching Castle and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now that they have started up their new seasons. Oh! I’ve also started Walking Dead season 4 now that it is on Netflix. I feel like Castle started with a fizzle, SHIELD started with a bang, and Walking Dead is awesome as it usually is.
September 15, 2014
Wow. So earlier this month I finished Season 2 of Orphan Black, and wow. Just wow. I didn’t think it was possible to get that good a series without Joss Whedon‘s name attached to it.
Other than that, I finally watched the movie, World War Z. I will admit that I’ve read the book, and I’m probably the only person on Earth who hated it. I didn’t like the style. Bugged me to no end. Reading it was like reading the same page of Hemmingway over and over and over again. I was bored to tears. Which is sad, because I love zombies.
However, I greatly enjoyed the film because it was nothing like the book. 🙂 People were irritated by Brad Pitt, but I happen to like him as an actor, and he didn’t bother me one bit. Was it a perfect zombie flick? Nope. But it was good!
August 11, 2014
I’m now plodding through Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I know that it’s supposed to get better, but oy! I’m struggling.
Besides that, I’ve begun watching Season 2 of Orphan Black. Season 1 was amazing, so I’m ecstatic to finally be watching the next season. The new season of Doctor Who begins later this month, though I’ll have to wait for it on blu-ray or Netflix.
I also recently saw the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It wasn’t bad. It was funny enough. But I felt there were some very serious plot holes in it. I was going to write an entire article on it, and then one of my writing friends beat me to it. You can read the article here.
EDIT: I never made it through Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as the original, which irritated me, so I lost interest. :/
June 19, 2014
I’ve been going back through and watching the entire Fullmetal Alchemist series so that I can finally watch the sequel series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Some people get turned off good shows solely because they are anime, but don’t let the fact that this series is animated fool you. There is a depth to the characters and storytelling that draws you in. I absolutely loved the first series—in fact, it reminded me of the rich, complex world and character building of great fantasy classics.
If you haven’t watched, you should. As soon as possible.
Watching the two brothers in their relationship, of course, reminds me of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_uYDPH_NAQ
Between the song and the plot line, I recommend a box of Kleenex. Or maybe two.
April 29, 2014:
On a random whim, my husband and I recently decided to go through Star Trek: The Next Generation in its entirety. We’ve both seen it before, but it’s been a good 15-20 years. We wanted to rewatch it as adults (vs. kids/teens). We’ve reached Season 7, the last season, so we’re almost done.
I meant to go see Divergent in the theaters and managed to miss it, so I’ll have to watch it on blu-ray.
Other than that, we finally watched Wreck-It-Ralph. We had to after seeing Alan Tudyk at ECCC and hearing him do Firefly lines in the voice of King Candy. That was an awesome movie, and I’m glad we watched it. Should have watched it sooner, I think!
Any other good movies we should see?
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