What are you watching these days?

[Front-Ranger]

I'm watching a series on Amazon Prime called "Outer Range." It's set on a Wyoming ranch and has some sci-fi overtones like "Stranger Things". Anybody else watching it?

[Front-Ranger]

Such a fun article in the New York Times this morning: "Half of Meryl Streep's acting is glasses business."

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/14/arts/meryl-streep-acting.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220715&instance_id=66690&nl=the-morning&regi_id=91026593&segment_id=98571&te=1&user_id=8b5ad6a133ffcce0b9fda3ccfb15b213

I love the way the graphics and text dance around each other.

[Front-Ranger]

The movie "Living" is very good. It's about a salaryman in London who learns he has a short time to live (not really a spoiler since it's in the trailer etc.) and is strangely uplifting. I went especially because the lead was played by Bill Nighy. I love his acting.

There were many symbolic elements in the film. It's sort of a "Brokeback Mountain" for the geriatric Britophile.

[Front-Ranger]

Last night I broke an over-a-year television fast to watch a movie on TV instead of on my computer. It was mesmerizing--the color saturation, the emotion on the characters' faces, the epic sweep. I'll tell you more about it later, or maybe I'll give a few clues and make you guess what I watched.

[southendmd]

I came across a hilarious British show on youtube.  It is a parody of every documentary you've ever seen.  But the real find is the host:  Philomena Cunk.  As played by Diane Morgan, she is beyond funny:  very deadpan, she has these huge, wide-set eyes, and a strong Northern English accent that makes her sound particularly stupid.  She drops some marvelous malapropisms.  Some of the funniest parts are when she interviews real experts and asks them ridiculous questions.  I don't know how she or the experts keep a straight face. 

The shows vary from 5-minute clips to 30-minute shows.  If you search for "Cunk",  you'll find them. 

There is a series called "Cunk on Britain" which is a funny history of all of Britain in four 30-minute episodes.  I binged it last weekend.  Example:  "Sir Francis Drake's ship was called the Golden Hind, which is Tudor for 'ass of gold'.  Drake was the first to circumcise the globe, which is probably why the ship is called a 'clipper'.  And at any moment there's the prospect that you might sail off the edge of the Earth.  It's a sobering thought, which they would've needed, considering they were pissed to the bollocks on rum."

"Cunk on Shakespeare" was probably my favorite. 

There is a whole new series that is on Netflix called "Cunk on Earth", which is a history of the earth in five 30-minute episodes.  I hope to see it this weekend

[Front-Ranger]

Oh, that sounds fabulous! I did so love Monty Python's send-up of the Attenborough documentaries. I''ll look for it!

[serious crayons]

I've seen little TikTok type videos of Philomena Cunk on Facebook or wherever, presented without context. At first, I thought she was just kind of an incompetent interviewer, but by the second or third time I realized it was comedy.

"Documentary Now," also a comedy mockumentary show, is supposed to be good.

[serious crayons]

Last night I broke an over-a-year television fast to watch a movie on TV instead of on my computer. It was mesmerizing--the color saturation, the emotion on the characters' faces, the epic sweep. I'll tell you more about it later, or maybe I'll give a few clues and make you guess what I watched.

So you continued watching TV-like content on your computer but not on your TV set? What was the objective of the fast? (I don't mean this to sound challenging or anything    -- just curious!)

I'd love to play the guessing game with a description of the movie!

[Front-Ranger]

It just kind of happened naturally since I can't get my streaming services on my TV. I suppose I could hook up my TV to the cable system to get them but I'm too lazy to do that plus I'd have to pay a steep cable fee, maybe $30-$50 a month. In addition, I tend to fall asleep when I'm sitting on the sofa in front of the TV and not when I'm sitting in my computer chair. Also, sometimes I like to stop the show and take notes on my computer. Those are the main reasons.

The DVD I watched was from the library, but it is a recent release. It is a story that has been told over centuries and in many different media: books, plays, drama, musicals, you name it.

[Front-Ranger]

Last night I broke an over-a-year television fast to watch a movie on TV instead of on my computer. It was mesmerizing--the color saturation, the emotion on the characters' faces, the epic sweep. I'll tell you more about it later, or maybe I'll give a few clues and make you guess what I watched.

Oops, I left th is hanging! If there are no guesses, I'll tell you what it was that I watched to break my TV fast. It's a story that has been told over centuries and in many different media: books, plays, drama, musicals, you name it.

So, I returned that DVD to the library today and got three other shows: The Big Night, A Walk in the Woods, and (to correct the gender imbalance) T?R!