I’ve been very into the new season of True Detective. I loved season one, which I believe was also early in the McConaissance. Season two was garbage; season three was better.
Part of why I’m liking season four is the linkages to season one. It made me want to go back and watch season one, which I did last week whilst in Moncton. I’d forgotten how good it was.
One other linkage in season four: the appearance of Nivi Pedersen, who I just finished watching in season four of Borgen.
We did an atypical parallel-y thing this past little while: we took turns reading Fleishman Is In Trouble (indigo) to each other some days, while watching episodes of the show on other days. It was fun to see in near-real-time how the TV adaptation differed (not much), whether the narrative device would work (it did), and how the actors understood the characters even as we were learning them only slightly ahead.
It was fun. I’d do it again, if we find a book we like where we haven’t already watched the show.
So. Much. Good. TV.
Recently I finished season one of Ahsoka, season three of Only Murders In The Building, season three of Borgen, and the entirety of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Together Lindsay and I watched Deadloch and Painkiller, and we just started Peaky Blinders today.
On the sports-watching front, it was obviously devastating to see the Jays swept out of the wildcard series for the second year in a row, but at least the Canadiens’ season has started (and the Raptors’ season begins soon). Hope springs eternal.
From last Sunday’s blog post:
“Today’s been a bit better, but I’m still feeling pretty wonky. Two COVID rapid tests have proved negative, but it sure as heck feels like it. I’m hoping I’ll feel nearly back to normal by tomorrow, my first real day of vacation.”
Narrator: he did not feel nearly back to normal.
Whatever this was — a third rapid test confirmed it wasn’t COVID — laid me out most of the week, save a work-ish drinks thing on Thursday at Chez Nous. Actually, I took a bunch of DayQuil just to make it to said drinks, which was a mistake, because I don’t remember the second half of the evening. Anyway. Being this sick has allowed me to catch up on a bunch of TV, like season 4 and part of season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I’m all caught up on Ahsoka, Billions, and Only Murders In The Building, and we’ve just started Painkiller. We’ve even caught up on a ton of backlogged Last Week Tonight eps.
Still, I’d rather feel like I could breathe normally.
It’s actually crazy how much good TV is available. We can barely get through it before excellent shit surfaces. We finished Succession (obviously), Yellowjackets S2, all three seasons of Mythic Quest, what is possibly/probably the last season of Ted Lasso, both seasons of Single Drunk Female, and Love and Death.
I’m still watching Borgen S3 and Silo S1, and as I type this we’re spending a rainy Saturday bingeing Lucky Hank.
The brief spate of summer-like weather seems like a fever dream now, as the turn from April into May appears to be mired in a forecast of cold & rain. Things may turn again by the middle of next week, but until then we’re mostly sheltering in place, watching TV.
Of course, with neither the Canadiens nor the Raptors making the playoffs (the first time since 2012 that’s happened) my spring evenings have been relatively sports-free. I’ve been filling them, and rainy days like this one, watching Ted Lasso and The Diplomat and Single Drunk Female and Borgen.
I kind of forget that in recent months we also watched a few more movies — Nope (very good), Blue Jasmine (also very good), and The French Dispatch (excellent).
I know some day the weather will turn nice again and I’ll detach myself from the TV. But today is not that day.
I know, I know, it’s Canada and it’s still March. I have no right to expect warm weather, or even decent weather. But usually by the time Spring has officially sprung things have started to turn to the brighter & warmer. This year, though — nyet. Rainy, grey, cold.
Back in February, when I was lamenting this particular winter, I detailed how I was pushing myself to get up and out of the house. “Lord knows, I can’t keep drowning myself in TV,” I said. But then I proceeded to drown myself in TV.
Luckily, there remain plenty of TV shows of superlative quality. I finished both seasons of Slow Horses, the first season of The Last Of Us, and the second season of Only Murders In The Building. I’m in the midst of watching the latest seasons of The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, Yellowjackets, Party Down, and You. The final season of Succession starts tomorrow, and we haven’t even started the new season of Ted Lasso yet.
And in a purchase that combines two of my other favourite media (movies, books) I recently picked up Heat 2 (amazon) which apparently covers both the period immediately after the movie Heat concludes, and some origin story behind the movie’s characters. I’m pretty excited to read it.
It’s been brutally cold for the last 36 hours or so. Well, brutally cold for Toronto, not for the rest of Canada. There was at least a bit of sunlight, a rarity these last two months, but it was too cold to go outside and enjoy it. I feel trapped inside, though I’m glad we’re in the house and not the loft anymore.
I have to say: in recent years I’ve found Januaries and Februaries harder and harder to deal with. I’m not sure I’d be formally diagnosed with SAD, but I certainly recognize the struggle in myself in the tough parts of the season. So, I’m trying to push out of it. I have drinks lined up two old friends/ex-colleagues this week. Then Lindsay and I are going to a play on Saturday, and might work a dinner in there too. I’m also trying to organize myself into a work trip in March.
Lord knows, I can’t keep drowning myself in TV…though it’s been good TV. I finished the exceptional Better Call Saul, I binged Yellowstone (which is mediocre, but entertaining), I’ve started The Last Of Us and the new season of The Bad Batch, and I’ve somehow found myself halfway through The Staircase. Just as well there’re so many good shows; it’s been hard to watch both the Canadiens and Raptors lately. I’m basically hoping for good trade deadline drama and high draft picks.
To sum this year up: I know Groundhog Day is absurd, but — having a vested interest in eventually seeing the sun — I found myself wondering what the woodchuck’s prognosis for spring would be on Thursday. Of course, this is the year they found the poor groundhog dead.
I’ve finally gotten around to starting Better Call Saul (imdb | rotten tomatoes) and, two seasons in, I’m hooked. Such great fleshing out of backstory, plenty of familiar Breaking Bad characters appearing right from the get-go, and strong new additions to the universe, notably Rhea Seehorn.
Meanwhile, we’ve been trying to make our way through the first season of Slow Horses (imdb | rotten tomatoes) but it’s *ahem* slow going.
All that, and I haven’t even started the new season of The Bad Batch, The Last Of Us, Fleishman Is In Trouble, Severance, or a bunch of other apparently-good shows. I have work to do. (Fun, high-quality work.)
Today is day one of ~1.5 weeks’ vacation. We’re not traveling to Nova Scotia this year, though, choosing instead to stay here in Toronto and be cozy. Good thing, too — today would have been our likely travel day, and it’s a brutal winter storm out there.
So, we’ll stay put. We’ll catch up on TV shows (we just finished season one of Yellowjackets (imdb) and an old British miniseries called Secret State (imdb), and I have plenty more lined up). We’ll delve into the wine collection. We might finish Pandemic: Legacy. I’ll watch the World Juniors and write up my year-end lists & summary. We’ll try to tackle the mountain of sweets our parents sent to our home. We’ll snuggle with Kramer. We’ll watch Die Hard and Four Christmases.
We’ll miss visiting family, but it’s going to be a fun end of the year.
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 