August TV shows

[dolorosa_12]

We spent a lot of this month travelling, so unsurprisingly I've not finished a huge number of TV shows. The ones I did watch were a good mixture of genres. They are as follows:

The Newsreader, an Australian miniseries about a fictional TV news show in the 1980s, structured around big breaking news stories of the period (the Lindy Chamberlain case, the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, and so on). It was an interesting snapshot of a time and place, with a great cast. I'm the daughter of two Australian journalists (one of whom worked for over forty years in TV news), and most of their social circle is other Australian journalists, and I'd say the series rang true for the most part. Neither of my parents ever worked for commercial news, though, so perhaps the things that seemed glaringly off were more accurate to that kind of broadcast network. In any case, I'm looking forward to the next season.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke, a lighthearted mystery series about a Victorian lady detective solving crimes in London, returned for the second season. This is a pretty undemanding show — the mysteries aren't particularly complex or twisty, the Victorian setting jumps from trope to trope, and the titular characters (the lady detective and her childhood friend in the police force) bicker and flirt — but it's nice when you want the TV equivalent of a bag of sweets.

Becoming Elizabeth is a historical drama about the Tudor royal family, focusing on Elizabeth's youth. I'm generally a bit Tudored out when it comes to British historical drama, but it turns out that if the show is set in a less saturated time period (the years between Henry VIII's death and Elizabeth's accession to the throne; currently it's covered the period of her younger half-brother Edward VI's rule) I'll happily watch it. The show is definitely going for a Game of Thrones vibe (sex, violence, lots of betrayal), but that's certainly in keeping with the turbulent times it covers. I feel for once that it also portrays people's relationships with religion during this period in an interesting and realistic way — some people's religious feelings are sincere and deeply felt, others are using religion as a source of power, others out of a sense of expediency — and a deep sense of tension and unease as a result of religious upheavals runs through the whole show. It's beautifully shot in an almost painterly way, and in general is just gorgeous to look at. My only quibble would be the interpretation it puts on some events and character motivations.

First Kill is a deeply silly Netflix show that is right up my alley: a forbidden romance between a teenage vampire and a teenage vampire hunter, both of whom are girls, unfolding with soap operatic levels of drama. What can I say — I just love vampires? This has sadly already been cancelled after a single season (which inevitably ended on a cliffhanger.

I didn't grow up with Star Trek, nor have I watched much of it, so I don't know enough to have strong opinions about any series. However, I've been enjoying Strange New Worlds a lot: meandering, episodic, case-of-the-week stuff, with just enough multi-episode character development to keep you caring and watching. Genuine Trek fans will no doubt have more to say about the show, but for my part I just think it's fun.

On the other hand, I am a fan of The Sandman comics, and knew that there was a lot of pressure on the Netflix adaptation to do right by the beloved source material. From my perspective, the show was equal to the task: a great cast, a thoughtful translation of the material from page to screen, and just enough tweaks to make something which felt groundbreaking in the 1980s/90s feel similarly in the twenty-first century. I loved that it was given the breathing space to unfold in a leisurely way, and I loved the sense of obvious care with which it had been made. I personally would have preferred it to have kept its original time period (rather than taking place for the most part in our own current time), but that's really my only complaint.

Having written all that out, it now feels as if I've watched more than I thought when starting this post!

Comments

[spikedluv]

I'm glad you're enjoying Strange New Worlds (I only know a little bit, but I enjoyed it a lot, too) and that The Sandman (which I haven't seen or read o_O) lived up to the source material.

[dolorosa_12]

They were both great shows, in very different ways!

[chestnut_pod]

Lovely to hear about a show with interesting commentary on religion and religious people!

[dolorosa_12]

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's a particularly complex commentary, it's just more that I often feel that historical fiction assumes that religion (particularly the majority religion as practiced by individuals in positions of power) was always — and solely — an expression of power. It can be that, but the reality was probably more complicated than that, and I feel sometimes that this refusal to accept this demonstrates a lack of imagination and empathy on the part of writers. So it was refreshing to see a show that argued that religion (particularly in a context of schism and religious conflict) represented in a more nuanced way.

[raven]

I am a big Star Trek fan and love SNW for most of the same reasons - it's not trying to be Big and Arc-Plotty and Dramatic but has the same low-key loving vibe of nineties Star Trek where the characters are sweet and the monsters of the week are fun. It feels like exactly what the people want at this point in time!

[dolorosa_12]

This is exactly what I like about it too! I love serialised TV, but sometimes I just need something where the stakes are lower — especially after Discovery just completely went off the rails over the past season.

[sewn]

Oh, I'm sad to hear First Kill was axed. I really enjoyed it all around.

Agreed on all counts on The Sandman. It was a joy to see it unfold on our screens after all these years.

[dolorosa_12]

It's such a shame — Netflix is so trigger happy when it comes to cancelling shows.

I'm glad you also enjoyed The Sandman.

[lilysea]

Yes, I enjoyed First Kill a lot too, and was sad to see it axed!

There aren't enough SF/Fantasy shows with F/F romances!

[dolorosa_12]

I totally agree — such a shame it was cancelled!

[lirazel]

Oooh, The Newsreader sounds very up my alley, and I had not heard of it.

[dolorosa_12]

It really is wonderful — I hope you enjoy it!

[scintilla10]

I really enjoy Strange New Worlds, too!

First Kill was incredibly silly, but I was also disappointed to hear it had been cancelled.

[dolorosa_12]

Both shows were a lot of fun, in very different ways. Netflix is terrible for cancelling shows after just one season, especially if they end on a cliffhanger. It's so disappointing.

[geckoholic]

Ah no, First Kill has already been axed? UGH. I still gotta watch it... is it a mean cliffhanger? Or a fanfic fodder cliffhanger?


Also you actually got me curious about Becoming Elisabeth, hmmm.

[dolorosa_12]

I know, the Netflix curse strikes again! They cancel things so brutally!

is it a mean cliffhanger? Or a fanfic fodder cliffhanger?

Kind of both, really.

I don't want to overstate the case with Becoming Elizabeth. It's refreshing to see a Tudor drama set in a less well-trodden period of history, but it's still fairly soap-operatic. I liked it, but it is trying very hard to be Game of Thrones.