What I’ve been watching

Monday, September 27, 2021 Permalink

I’ve not been doing as much reading this year. Instead I seem to have rediscovered my TV-watching mojo. Or rather, my TV streaming mojo.

A long time ago – before Netflix and the like – I talked about how much I enjoyed binge-watching television series. I pondered if it was akin to an addiction. Back then it was via DVDs and I raced my way through Deadwood, Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and Entourage, but now of course we have a plethora of choices. I only pay for two services (Amazon Prime and Netflix) but have access to AppleTV+ after buying a new phone a few months ago. I’m also a huge fan of Australia’s ABCiView and SBSonDemand (despite its repetitive ads).

I’ve recently rewatched all of the new series of Doctor Who, for example. I’d seen them before but it’s great to go back and rewatch with future happenings in mind.

I’m still slowly working my way through Blacklist. I’m very late to this party and mentioned before I wasn’t James Spader fan. My viewing of it seems less urgent for some reason so I’m pacing myself and given each of the eight seasons has over 20 episodes I’d say I’m doing pretty well to be nearing the end of series five.

Of course there are those channels and platforms that eke out the shows old-skool style releasing weekly episodes. Until recently Friday night was my Ted Lasso and Brooklyn Nine-Nine night, though the latter has finished of course. *sobs*

But without further ado I thought I’d share some faves.

Halt and Catch Fire (SBSonDemand)

Stephen King tweeted that he’d binged all 40 episodes in a short period of time so I thought I’d give it a go. And. I. Could. Not. Stop.

There are only four seasons and each very different. It’s set in Silicon Valley in the 1980s-90s and follows the advent of laptop computers, online gaming, the internet, search platforms and the like. The characters’ arcs are amazing to watch and it wasn’t until the final episode I realised the focus of the series had very much moved from two male leads to the two female leads. It’s clever, annoying, shocking and so so sad. I’d certainly recommend it. It also reignited my love for Lee Pace who I’d loved in the TV show Pushing Daisies.

So much so I’ve started watching Foundation (AppleTV+) in which he appears. It’s based on the books by Isaac Asimov and the first two episodes were released last week. I’m not convinced I’m gonna love it but the second episode ended in an interesting kinda way, so…

Lucifer (Netflix)

I’ve talked about Lucifer here before and was delighted to discover Netflix had extended the series. I loved a lot about this show and though there was much sobbing in this final season I was disappointed there was less of a focus on crime-solving. Neither was I overly enamoured of the direction the storyline took but, it’s done and I think regular viewers will have a sense of closure.

 

Sex Education (Netflix)

I was a latecomer to this so I got to watch seasons one and two consecutively. I wouldn’t have said I was desperately waiting for season three but – as has been the case in the past – once I started I had to keep going. It’s a very charming and inclusive show (in a good way, although it does sometimes feel like we’re being whacked over the head with life-lessons) and certainly has something for everyone.

War of the Worlds (Australia – SBSonDemand – weekly)

I’ve hung in with this as season two kicked off a few weeks ago and I’ll continue to watch it but it doesn’t feel like much has happened for some time. I keep expecting some big reveal about the aliens and how they come to ‘be’ but it feels a bit like we’re spinning our wheels at the moment.

Ted Lasso (AppleTV+)

The name (character and show) on everyone’s lips. I put off watching this for some time as I expected it to be a bit slapstick-like and I hate that kind of humour (ie. almost everything Adam Sandler did a decade or so ago, or those movies about men’s bucks nights). But of course it’s sooooo much more than that. Never has a TV comedy made me cry as much as this has and I know I’m not alone. The writing is clever, story arcs interesting and surprising, and acting great. It’s been sweeping the awards season and deservedly so.

And…. there’s certainly more but this is probably already long enough.

Any suggestions for what comes next? I’m thinking the series Des (starring David Tennant on SBS and The Newsreader (with Anna Torv, who I love) on ABC.

** Pics all from IMDb. Links in titles.

34 Comments
  • Jen
    September 27, 2021

    Thank you Deb, I will persevere with Halt and Catch Fire. Recommend The Expanse on Amazon, each season gets better and better and I’m hooked. AP Bio now on Netflix seasons 1 & 2 are good too.

    • Debbish
      September 27, 2021

      I think what I liked Halt & Catch Fire was how much some of the characters changed over the course of the show. I was disappointed with some changes of direction at times, but they later made sense.

  • Jo
    September 27, 2021

    I have a couple of series to catch up on with Lucifer, so thanks for the reminder. I still haven’t watched Ted lasso, but I did watch The Newsreader…and enjoyed it.

    • Debbish
      September 27, 2021

      I gather The Newsreader grew in popularity as the series went on. I guess a lot of people caught up with it on iView?

      • Jo
        September 27, 2021

        I watched it from week 1 and looked forward to every Monday to catch up on iview during my lunch hour.

  • leannelc
    September 27, 2021

    I haven’t found any series to watch for a long time. I loved The Rookie on 7+ catch up TV – Nathan Fillion is just lovely and all three seasons are on there atm. Other than that, I tried watching The Block but gave up on all the contrived drama etc, I’ve been watching a few reno shows on 9 catch up TV. But other than that it’s been a bit of youtube and plenty of reading. Hope you keep finding shows that interest you.

    • Debbish
      September 27, 2021

      I’m not a fan of reality TV shows so I haven’t watched any for ages. Or any real TV. I like Nathan Fillion but haven’t watched The Rookie. (I just saw him tweeting about the latest episode on Twitter though!)

      I have actually been watching RFDS (the remake of the Flying Doctors series) with mum when I stay with her each week. She’s recorded it and we’ve watched it together.

      I suspect I’ll hit a wall soon and lose interest in TV for a bit and go back to reading. My nights are spent usually with one or the other and rarely both.

  • Vanessa
    September 27, 2021

    Ben watched Blacklist so I’ve seen chunks of it and I feel like I want to watch it all from the start (aka pay attention this time haha) but also that’s a lot to commit to.

    I do also have apple tv thanks to device land but haven’t even opened it to watch the things I wanted to on it. I think it’s because I’m more of a “switch off and rewatch” after work type.

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      As you know I only tend to watch TV or read at night and find myself doing one or the other. I’m actually thinking – longer term – I might ditch Prime (Amazon) and pay for AppleTV+ when it comes to that as there’s not much I watch on Prime.

  • Debbie
    September 27, 2021

    Thanks for this Deb, I often wonder to watch with so much choice out there! My husband has different tastes to me so we usually compromise, we have been married for 41 years so we’re used to doing that! We’ve been watching War of the Worlds and still in the first season but enjoying it. I also read a book about Hasidic Jews recently and mentioned it to my local book club buddies, who suggested Unorthodox on SBS on Demand and it’s quite interesting so far. It’s funny what you say about Ted Lasso because I’ve been putting off watching that was well for similar reasons but my sister and now you, have recommended it so maybe I should give it a go! #lifethisweek

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      I watched Unorthodox on Netflix if it’s the same one and enjoyed it. And yes, you should give Ted Lasso a go!

  • Min Write of the Middle
    September 27, 2021

    Thanks for all the viewing suggestions! I’m only signed up to Netflix. There are so many paid TV options it confuses me. Every time a new series or movie is promoted – it’s on another one I haven’t heard of. For example there was something that looked good that I wanted to watch but I discovered it was on HULI – another new one I hadn’t heard of before. Why so many? It blows my mind! You can’t sign up to them all! Anyway – something I watched recently on Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed was ClickBait. It’s an 8 part series and I found it riveting and basically binge watched it.

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      Oh yes, I’ve heard of ClickBait and think it’s written by an Aussie author Christian White.

      I get confused by the options as well as some to include additional channels as part of it – BINGE, STAN, HULU, FOXTEL etc…

  • Tanya
    September 27, 2021

    I really do need to give Sex Education another go…I downloaded season 1 and decided that I would watch it on a flight from Perth to Melb…it was a very full plane and you can imagine the lady in the middle seats surprise of that very full on first scene in episode 1…and all the people in the rows behind me…I couldn’t find the stop button quick enough!

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      Ha yes, when I was writing the post I was going to comment on the fact it’s something that ‘all the family’ could watch. But then I tried ti imagine teenagers sitting watching it with their parents and wondered if they might feel very uncomfortable….

  • Jennifer Jones
    September 27, 2021

    I don’t watch netflix, even though we have it, so do miss out on so much, but it’s a time issue. I’ve just watched Newsreader and can recommend. Really looking forward to Des. Anything with David Tennant will do me. I enjoyed your post Deb.

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      I think David Tennant recently won an award recently for his acting in Des so I thought I’d give it a go. Sanch mentions something else he was in recently, but I didn’t enjoy that as much.

      And yes, I’ve heard good things about The Newsreader so keen to watch that.

  • Sanch @ Sanch Writes
    September 27, 2021

    Is the final season of Brooklyn 99 out yet? I haven’t seen it! Also Ted Lasso! Yet to watch S2 but I’m waiting for all the episodes to drop. I haven’t finished Lucifer’s latest season. Ooh if you like David Tennant, watch Deadwater Fell. I think it was on SBS on Demand. On Sunday I also binge-watched Clickbait on Netflix. Again, recommend! There’s of course, Schitt’s Creek if you haven’t watched it yet. And Superstore. For something that does your head in. How to get away with murder. Also, I think I see why I’ve been struggling with reading too…

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      I watched Deadwater Fell but was a bit meh. Perhaps it felt a little predictable, or I don’t like knowing who’s the baddie from the outset?

      Yes, all of the last series of Brooklyn 99 is now on SBSonDemand. The last eps aired a few weeks ago.

      I’ve never watched Schitt’s Creek but really must given how much everyone loves it. Though I’ve heard you have to give it a few episodes to settle into it.

  • Tracey (Carpe Librum)
    September 28, 2021

    Just finished watching The Newsreader and absolutely loved it. Highly recommended 🙂

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      Oh thanks, I definitely watch it. I loved Anna Torv in Fringe and Mindhunter.

  • rawsonjl
    September 28, 2021

    We really enjoyed Halt and Catch Fire too!

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      Oh yes, I loved how much the characters changed – especially Gordon and Joe. I watched it far too quickly and so kept dreaming about it at night when I would sleep. In retrospect 40 episodes in a week was a smidge too much!

  • Lydia C. Lee
    September 28, 2021

    I keep hearing about the Newsreader. Must check it out. I am LOVING Squid Games (but so messed up. Very hardcore) I love Post Mortum. So funny and endearing (tho a bit grusome). I thought Hacks was funny and I like Feeling Good.

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      Oh yes I keep hearing about Squid Games since its release. I don’t know much about it other than people are talking about it so I must check it out.

  • Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid
    September 28, 2021

    Huge Ted fans here – having to wait for each episode to drop is killing me! I too am mourning the loss of Brooklyn Nine Nine – I have a precint shaped hole in my heart! Have you watched Superstore? If you liked Nine Nine, I think you’d like it. Looking forward to the last season of Lucifer but currently loving Good Girls – so, so good – also highly recommend Clickbait – it’s a great short series and will keep you guessing until the very end!

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      I haven’t watched SuperStore but quite a few people talk about it so I need to give it a go. (And Clickbait.)

    • Debbish
      September 28, 2021

      PS. I haven’t watched The Good Girls as I’m not a fan of Christina Hendricks. I’m not sure if it’s cos she played a horrible character in the TV show Firefly or because she annoyed me in Mad Men.

  • Tailorsmeasure
    September 29, 2021

    There’s a huge number of things to watch though we’re pretty slow to work our way through a series here and there. I’ve heard Lucifer mentioned a few times and Ted Lassoo. Just doesn’t seem enough hours in the week to take them all in.

    • Debbish
      September 30, 2021

      True. I downloaded Ted Lasso onto my iPad for my mother to watch while I’ve been staying with her for a few days. She’s read two books and caught up on other TV but I suspect won’t get to them while I’m here.

  • Kate W
    September 29, 2021

    Highly recommend Ku’damm on SBS – the German version of Mad Men, set in a dance studio in Berlin in the 50s, but with deeper themes related to WWII. There are three seasons – you can watch them as standalone, but now that S3 has been released Ive gone back to the beginning and rewatching S1 and S2 (because the costumes and sets are glorious).

    • Debbish
      September 30, 2021

      Oh I’ve not heard of Ku’damm before and it sounds like fun. I’ll have a look. Thanks!

  • Denyse Whelan Blogs
    September 30, 2021

    Not really a TV series fan nor much of a watcher these days. Something about preferring social media and lack of attention span. I have netflix. Husband has Stan, Fox and Netflix. He watches much more than I do ever and it’s always been the way. Occasionally we “click” and watch something together but that tends to be Foxtel lifestyle show. I am, still, watching snippets of Downton Abbey for my comfort viewing each night…about 20 mins a time. I am glad you have great shows to watch and others are recommending more too.
    Thank you for sharing your post for this week’s link up in Life This Week on Denyse Whelan Blogs. It’s a lovely sharing place you’ve visited and added your post. I wish you well and next Monday, the link up is Share Your Snaps…but of course, any post, old or new, on/off prompts is most welcome. Denyse.

    • Debbish
      October 1, 2021

      I’m in the midst of a huge TV-watching binge at the moment. I’m not sure it’s healthy but then don’t know what else I should do with my evenings otherwise – other than read of course, but I’m pretty sure I do enough of that as well.

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