Posts Tagged ‘streaming television series’
Stumble On
Streaming television entertainment can be as pernicious as social media apps’ algorithm-driven endless scrolling features. Before the credits even start to roll, the screen flips to a promo for another enticing new series that matches your viewing history.
I tend to tell people that I’ve stumbled on to some new show that looks promising, but the truth is closer to these programs being purposely placed before my eyes. This weekend it is “Bad Monkey” with Vince Vaughn in the lead role that has grabbed our attention after just two initial episodes. Once again we find ourselves hooked into a series that is too new for us to indulge in a binge-fest that finishes in a couple of days like we would a good book.
We are stuck waiting for the next episode to drop on Wednesday.
It was just instinct that had both Cyndie and me feeling this was going to be worth our attention for some high entertainment value until we caught a segment on CBS Sunday Morning that introduced us to author Carl Hiaasen who wrote the novel the show is based on. Deeper in their piece on the show and this author, they reveal the series producer is Bill Lawrence whose work includes two other favorites of ours, “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking” among his other creations.
In this case, I shouldn’t complain about the automated output that algorithms dictate to show up before my eyes.
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Remote Viewing
We are getting so much pleasure out of being able to see and hear what the horses are up to from the cozy confines of our house.
Horses are incredible creatures. These four beautiful mares bring a special energy to our property. Standing with them provides its own reward but I’m noticing that experience becoming enhanced by the opportunities to look in on them between visits and see their behaviors when no people are around.
I was thinking maybe we would watch streaming television series less often now that we can view our horses, but in reality, we can easily peek in on them during commercial breaks or between episodes. People are constantly multitasking because we always have mobile computerized devices within reach.
After watching the Golden Globe Awards Show last night, our list of things we’d like to see grew by a surprising number of titles. When winter weather doesn’t provide conditions for the usual outdoor entertainment, movies and TV series become a cozy alternative.
That is… an alternative when we’re not reading books, listening to music, baking in the kitchen, assembling jigsaw puzzles, or out walking Asher.
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Latest Binge
With unfettered access to streaming television episodes this weekend, we ended up binging, “Patriot,” a five-year-old Amazon Prime Video that is a dark, comedic, assassin drama. I’m kind of a sucker for the merging of quirky dark humor in reality-based situations of high-drama, national “off-the-book” intelligence agent action. The series repeatedly involves situations where a relatively simple goal becomes complicated in multiple, and often messy, ways.
Riddled with a fair number of plot holes and illogical setups that all deserve to be ignored for the good of the rest of what’s so absorbing about the series, I would guess this 2-season story is ripe for critique by those who choose. I’m not interested in doing that.
One aspect that I appreciated about the writing was the merging of local authorities trying to process scenes resulting from international espionage type of incidents. A more conventional spy story will either ignore or have “the agency” wipe a scene so the main operative can carry on a mission unburdened by the consequences of previous actions.
In addition to that, there are multiple side dramas by coworkers at the firm where the main character had mischievously landed a “cover” position allowing him to travel to off-limits countries.
In “Patriot,” the persistent pursuit by local officials trying to solve their mysteries as well as the interruptions by people with personal agendas becomes a primary interwoven thread of the ever more convoluted challenges faced by the protagonist. It’s a bit like a Bourne-style CIA assassin story with ten times more real-life having a constant complicating impact.
Binging the story provided an entertaining escape from reality for a couple of rainy days at the lake.
Between showers on a walk with Delilah, she walked deeper in the water than is her usual preference because of the enticing sight of ducks lounging around on the floating mat. I had no plan of getting wet so stood by nervously waiting to see how bad she wanted to go after them. I figured I could quickly kick off shoes and wade further in if she decided to swim, but that wasn’t my preference.
She has shown no interest in swimming all the other times we invited her into the water.
Delilah decided the ducks weren’t enough reason to change that pattern and returned to shore to finish our walk.
Worked for me. There were a couple episodes left to be binged before bedtime.
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Great Distraction
Last night, despite the hefty drama of flashing lightning and booming thunder, Cyndie and I tuned out the horrors of war on the other side of the world and the wild weather locally to immerse ourselves in the opening episodes of a two-year-old streaming television series. It is both intelligent and funny and oh so refreshing.
We have missed another real-time popularity spike of a series that everyone was talking about. It doesn’t matter which one. Our rural connection limitations leave us out of the loop with current events. We have our moments of excited fanaticism after the fact, on our own. The world has already said everything there is to be said about the shows by the time we get around to watching.
We laughed and binged our way through four episodes and only stopped because real life couldn’t be put off any longer. I feel profoundly grateful that artists produce shows like this for our entertainment and enlightenment.
As much as it pains me to know the victims of the ongoing war in the real world don’t have the luxury of taking a break from it all, my health requires I clear my head of the atrocities as often as possible.
We experienced a new tree down across one of our trails yesterday before the big storms had even arrived.
I walked around to get a different angle and discovered the hole created by the toppled trunk was completely full of standing water.
It’s no surprise the dead tree no longer had a firm enough grip on the earth to remain standing.
Feels a little like a metaphor for a lot of aspects of life these days. Too bad our trees can’t take a break and watch a popular streaming television series every so often to escape the hazards of surviving everything the universe dishes up day after day.
I’m on my own today while Cyndie is visiting in the Cities, so I will have to delay further binging until she returns home. I hope to delve into more great distraction as soon as I can talk her into it after she gets back.
It will fuel my reserves of love so I have all the more to beam toward Ukrainians wherever they are in the world or at home under military assault.
It’s a mystery, even as I do it. Thinking of all the people of Ukraine and escaping from endless news about them, both at the same time.
Imagining peace…
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Relative Something 