well, now what??

[dreamshark]

We finished the second season of Umbrella Academy (loved it!) and now I need something else to watch. I managed to get Richard to watch UA pretty much every night, which has exhausted his minimal interest in TV watching for now. So this can be something for just me (i.e., it doesn't have to be based on a comic book). I am still poking away at Outlander, but I can only take just so much stabbing and maiming and raping and grisly medical procedures. I finally made it to the long-awaited reunion episode (which had a lot of sex and no violence at all!) and I think that's a good place to pause and contemplate before coming back for the fairly predictable resolution of the cliffhanger ending. 

So... anybody have recommendations? I saw favorable mentions of Dark in some of the online commentary about Umbrella Academy, but I can't say that the one-sentence summary of the show looks at all promising. More sumptuous costume drama might be fun, preferably with a higher sex:torture ratio than Outlander.  I really enjoyed The Great (which actually had about the same ratio as Outlander but more humor). I prefer the short series format, but I do have a weakness for odd little indie sci-fi movies. Odd little indie sci-fie series are even better. I just rewatched Maniac and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. 

Really, I'd just like another Hamish Macbeth, but I think it was one of a kind. 

Comments

[guppiecat]

If you like weird, I can recommend LEGION - originally on FX, not sure which streaming sites have it not. It's X-Men influenced, but not a way that actually requires that you have much knowledge of that universe to appreciate it. Lots of unreliable narrator stuff in it, and it's steampunkish if instead of aiming for the 1800's, they aimed at the 1960's.

It's not for everyone, but I really liked it.

[dreamshark]

Hmm, that might be worth taking a look at. I'm not a huge Marvel fan, but I liked X-Men. Richard might be interested in this one too, if it's available.

[bibliofile]

It's not superhero-show at all, it's the story of the development of one of the more unusual characters from the X-Men. I found in interesting and very SFnal, with people inside each other's heads. Worth checking out to see if you like it.


Have you watched The Almighty Johnsons? It turns out that the Viking gods are alive and well and living in New Zealand. They get told about their godhood when they turn eighteen. So of course, one of the teens is about to turn 18 when the show starts. It has more human aspects than hmm visual demonstrations of godly power. There are sitcom elements too, but I wouldn't call it a sitcom.

[dreamshark]

Richard and I both LOVED The Almighty Johnsons! I was just ever so slightly put off by the extremely male point of view, but not as much as I might have expected. One British reviewer called it "laddish," which is one of those Britishisms that intuitively makes sense the first time you run across it. Yep, that pretty much nails it. Richard appreciated the obvious evidence that the writers did a lot of research into Norse mythology before they threw it all into a blender and came up with this nonsense. There are some very creative, but never uninformed, modern interpretations of the archetypal powers. I was particularly impressed by Braggi, whose ancient power was mastery of Icelandic epic poetry. Which doesn't sound like much of a power unless you know how important epic poetry was in Viking times. And the way the way Balder's sunny fertility god personality contrasted with the dour natures of the two winter gods was just perfect.

I just found another series that is the right blend of quirky, intelligent, and heart-warming to serve as a palate cleanser after too many dark fantasies and violent historicals. It's called "The Durells in Corfu," available free on Prime Video. Somehow, shows like this only seem to exist in BBC-land.