Binge Worthy TV Shows

Sometimes I think the DVR is the best and worst invention ever.  The best because I can record shows when I'm not home and watch them whenever.  The worst because I record a lot of TV shows and then I end up watching an entire season over the course of a day or two. For a television junkie, the DVR is a big old enabler. 
 
Here are a few of my favorite binge worthy shows: 


Angie Tribeca on TBS

From the mind of Steve Carell and his wife, Nancy Walls Carell, Angie Tribeca is a police procedural satire in the spirit of Police Squad.  Rashida Jones plays the titular detective who gets a new partner in the pilot episode. TBS aired the first season of 10 episodes as a 25-hour marathon, so this show was truly made for binge watching.  The humor is very reminiscent of the movies Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Surely (don't call me Shirley) you will want to give this show a try. 




Killjoys on Syfy

Killjoys follows a trio of bounty hunters, Dutch, Dav and Johnny as they work in a four planet system called The Quad. Hello, space bounty hunters!  What isn't to love about this show?  Killjoys, especially in the second season is a great mix of humor, drama and action.  The leader of this rag-tag trio is Dutch, and she is a woman who knows how to take care of herself.  You wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley.  The best part of this show is her relationship (strictly platonic) with Johnny.  Also Pree, every episode with Pree is automatically my favorite episode. 




Dark Matter on Syfy

Dark Matter is a bit darker (ha) in tone than Killjoys.  A group of six people wake up on the space ship Raza, with no memory of who they are.  They name themselves One through Six based on the order in which they woke up.  Dark Matter was created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie based upon their comic book of the same name.  Both men at one time or another were writers and executive producers on the Stargate TV shows. If you are a fan of the Stargate shows, you will see some familiar faces pop up now and then. Even without their memories, it becomes clear that the leader of the Raza crew is "Two" and she is a kick-butt, take names later (if they are still alive) kind of woman.   

 
The 100 on the CW

This post-apocalyptic drama follows a group of teens (100 of them in all) as they become the first humans to return to Earth, 97 years after a devastating nuclear apocalypse.  The twist here is that the teens are all technically criminals and Earth isn't quite as uninhabited as those still living in space think.  Also, the colony of space ships is failing so returning to Earth is pretty much their only chance of survival.  The CW is famous for dramas with very pretty people, and The 100 does deliver on that front. However, they don't stay so pretty (yes they actually get dirty and the dirt sticks) and life on planet Earth is BRUTAL.  Think Lord of the Flies, Game of Thrones brutal.  I record this show because sometimes I just need to stop my DVR, walk away and decompress.  Fair warning, this show will bring about emotions.


 UnREAL on the Lifetime channel.

I did a review of this show that you can read here.  Basically this is a show about the making of a fictional reality dating show and it is CRAZY.  Plus each season (season 2 just ended) is only 10 episodes long so you could easily watch a season in one day.







~Amy, Adult Services

Staff Review: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany

Where do I begin? To review something that you have undying affection for is harder than you might think. I suspect I need to delve a bit deeper than: I ♥ Harry Potter ♥ always.

As most of you know, the Harry Potter stories were published in seven books and through these
books, we see the whole story arc of wizard Harry's teen years (the glorious triumphs and far too many tragedies) and the ultimate fight of good versus evil, love versus hate. The last book came out in July 2007. Nine years ago! For those of us who are super-fans, that is eons. My love for Harry Potter knows no bounds and I was beyond thrilled when I realized that there was to be "the eighth Harry Potter story" coming out.

What surprised so many people was that this eighth story is a written as a play. It is being performed this summer in London. So many of us will never get the chance to see this play across the pond, but we do get the script for it.

I knew it was going to be a play script. I knew it would be different. But what I didn't expect was how quickly the story jumps right into the action. But that makes sense, I realized, because a play is all dialogue. All the words need to count and they need to propel the action forward.

I can only hope that someday the play will come to Iowa. I'd even be happy with a DVD of the stage production in London. I think that there must be so much visual storytelling here that we miss a lot of the drama of the words in the script: all the meaningful looks, pregnant pauses, no-doubt gorgeous and magical set pieces. I miss J.K.'s ability to bring you into the story by her fantastic descriptions of magical locations, also the peeks into the minds of the characters and how they are feeling. All of these things are burned in my memory, but for someone who hasn't read these books *cough* so many times, they might not get it at all.

...Angie, may I hijack your review for a moment? This is Amy.  I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, but nowhere near as obsessed as Angie.  Though I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I feel cheated.  I feel cheated because J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller and I really want to return to the world of Harry Potter and see Hogwarts as it is now.  With Harry, Hermione, Ron and yes, even Malfoy's children attending school, learning spells, getting into shenanigans and forging their own path in the world.  But alas I don't think that will ever happen. So curse you J.K. Rowling for dangling this carrot and then just taking it away.  Okay, selfish rant over.  You may return to Angie's review now...

Thanks, Amy, for that insight. I will say that I always hold out hope that there will be more written about the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling. This seems to be the case on her website "Pottermore" After the heaviness of what happened in the last few books, however, I don't think we will be able to get our innocence back. Sigh. That doesn't mean I won't keep reading them however. These books are like family to us super-fans.

Update: Rumors are flying that some film producers want to make this play into one, or some say even three movies. Who knows if this is true, but we can always dream.

~Angie (and Amy), Adult Services

Staff Review: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany

Where do I begin? To review something that you have undying affection for is harder than you might think. I suspect I need to delve a bit deeper than: I ♥ Harry Potter ♥ always.

As most of you know, the Harry Potter stories were published in seven books and through these
books, we see the whole story arc of wizard Harry's teen years (the glorious triumphs and far too many tragedies) and the ultimate fight of good versus evil, love versus hate. The last book came out in July 2007. Nine years ago! For those of us who are super-fans, that is eons. My love for Harry Potter knows no bounds and I was beyond thrilled when I realized that there was to be "the eighth Harry Potter story" coming out.

What surprised so many people was that this eighth story is a written as a play. It is being performed this summer in London. So many of us will never get the chance to see this play across the pond, but we do get the script for it.

I knew it was going to be a play script. I knew it would be different. But what I didn't expect was how quickly the story jumps right into the action. But that makes sense, I realized, because a play is all dialogue. All the words need to count and they need to propel the action forward.

I can only hope that someday the play will come to Iowa. I'd even be happy with a DVD of the stage production in London. I think that there must be so much visual storytelling here that we miss a lot of the drama of the words in the script: all the meaningful looks, pregnant pauses, no-doubt gorgeous and magical set pieces. I miss J.K.'s ability to bring you into the story by her fantastic descriptions of magical locations, also the peeks into the minds of the characters and how they are feeling. All of these things are burned in my memory, but for someone who hasn't read these books *cough* so many times, they might not get it at all.

...Angie, may I hijack your review for a moment? This is Amy.  I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, but nowhere near as obsessed as Angie.  Though I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I feel cheated.  I feel cheated because J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller and I really want to return to the world of Harry Potter and see Hogwarts as it is now.  With Harry, Hermione, Ron and yes, even Malfoy's children attending school, learning spells, getting into shenanigans and forging their own path in the world.  But alas I don't think that will ever happen. So curse you J.K. Rowling for dangling this carrot and then just taking it away.  Okay, selfish rant over.  You may return to Angie's review now...

Thanks, Amy, for that insight. I will say that I always hold out hope that there will be more written about the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling. This seems to be the case on her website "Pottermore" After the heaviness of what happened in the last few books, however, I don't think we will be able to get our innocence back. Sigh. That doesn't mean I won't keep reading them however. These books are like family to us super-fans.

Update: Rumors are flying that some film producers want to make this play into one, or some say even three movies. Who knows if this is true, but we can always dream.

~Angie (and Amy), Adult Services

Staff Review: Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

What fun this book was! We had a lovely and animated discussion of Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart for August's Book Club.

I chose this book in particular because it was a mystery and very much outside of my normal reading habits. I do like to stretch my reading boundaries and it also happens to fulfill the "Read a Mystery" challenge for the Great Reading Challenge! The premise seemed intriguing too: The year is 1915, the location: New Jersey, USA. There are three sisters living on a farm and taking care of themselves just fine, thank you very much. The story begins as the sisters are out shopping. Along comes a newfangled automobile which quite suddenly and rather rudely smashes into the ladies' horse-drawn buggy.

What starts as a simple quest to recoup the cost of a demolished buggy turns into an all-out war with the corrupt factory owner (and errant automobile driver) who refuses to pay and in fact, insists on harassing and taunting these ladies with threats and bullets until they feel they are trapped in their home and under siege. But even as we can feel their fear and worry, and the unfairness of the general treatment of women at this time, we also see their strength and fortitude.

Constance, Norma and Fleurette Kopp just wanted to go about their own business, but as they are thrust into an unwanted struggle, they grow to meet the challenge and then some. All three end up being a hero in their own way in this story. As we watch them take on the corrupt boss and his henchmen (as well as some of the gender norms expected during this era), we get to savor some sweet justice. The best part of the whole story, to me, is the fact that it is based on a true story. The Kopp sisters were real and they were actually involved in a story much like this one! It is great that this tale of three incredible women is finally being told.

This mystery isn't a whodunit, not really. But it does keep us on the edge of our seat wondering how all the pieces fit and how things happened the way they did. I recommend this for anyone who can appreciate sharp and capable main characters who are up against a society that doesn't really respect them, but who do what needs to be done regardless. There are some great one-liners in this book and a general sense of playfulness, even as there are some more serious and thoughtful elements that pin the story together. A great read overall! And it's a series too - Book 2 will be out in September and it is called Lady Cop Makes Trouble.

~Angie, Adult Services

New Item Tuesday

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2bLPCHB

Staff Review: My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

The publication of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels (a quartet) has been one of the biggest literary events of the century (granted, we're only sixteen years in, but still). To say Ferrante has gathered brilliant accolades, that she's garnered the wildest acclaim, would be an understatement. The publishing industry and the media have already inducted her into the literary pantheon. For this reason, and because the slim Europa paperbacks that embody her U.S. translations are so attractive, I finally took the plunge. At this point I'm two books in.

Ferrante herself is a mystery woman. No one knows who she is, what she looks like, or where she lives. This in itself, in an age of massive media attention to every big new thing, is remarkable and might reasonably be perceived as a sort of media blitz of its own (search "Elena Ferrante's identity" and you get over 100,000 results). Everyone is speculating, guessing, even claiming to have found her. If she remains elusive, it will be a marvel.

So, what do I think of the quartet halfway in? I'd have to say I like them, I dislike them, and I can't seem to put them down. Ferrante creates an exquisitely detailed world that spans decades and brings Naples to life politically and culturally. The story line follows the friendship of two Neapolitan girls born just after World War II. They're five or six as My Brilliant Friend begins and about twenty as the second novel, The Story of a New Name, concludes (they'll be going on seventy by the end of the series).

Elena and Lila were born in the same poor, violent neighborhood in Naples, where husbands beat wives, brothers beat sisters, parents beat kids, and the typical hissed threat is "Do that again and so help me God I will kill you." At that time in Italy, feminism wasn't a concept nor was divorce legal; the lives of many Italian women were bleak. Many men's lives weren't so great either.

Elena, the studious good girl, and Lila, the rebel, are both unusually bright but only Elena completes high school and even goes on to college. Over the years the girls' friendship waxes and wanes, sometimes breaking off tumultuously. Events play out within a large cast of neighborhood characters: family members, schoolmates, boyfriends, teachers, parents, shopkeepers, and the notorious Solara family, linked to the Camorra (Neapolitan organized crime), whose members control the neighborhood through loansharking, extortion, threats, beatings, and even murder.

It's not the novels' gritty setting with its violence and corruption that, at times, turns me off. It's the wildly unpredictable nature of Elena and Lila's friendship. At times Lila's a true-blue friend and at other times she behaves in unpredictable, despicable, and cruel ways. She hurts Elena again and again. Of course, it can certainly be said that she hurts herself more. Elena gets in a few licks too, at one point dumping a box of Lila's journals, painstakingly written over the years and entrusted to Elena's care, into the Arno River. Their breaches can make for tough reading. 

Reviewing this series in the Financial Times, the novelist Claire Messud wrote, "I end up thinking that the people who don't see Ferrante's genius are those who can't face her uncomfortable truths: that women's friendships are as much about hatred as love . . . ." I guess I can't -- or don't -- accept that particular "truth," but I also can't stop reading the novels; I'm just about to start book three, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. Ferrante has created a series that's powerfully compelling. And, in the end, maybe my love/hate relationship with it is fitting. After all, Lila and Elena love and hate each other for over sixty years. Maybe I'm just not Neapolitan enough to get it.

~Ann, Adult Services