and we're back to wallowing in old favorites (at least for television)

[rose_griffes]

I was going to reply to the comments on my previous post about getting frustrated early in season four of The Expanse, but instead I watched the next episode, 4.04. And got so annoyed that I didn't even finish it.

Hard to say how much of that is the show truly getting to a low point in the writing versus my frame of mind--which is not particularly positive at the moment. Although I think at least some of the blame rests on THAT FACE. Burn Gorman's villain face. I want to punch it. He's The Worst, and not in a fun way. Ugh.

So I'm rewatching season two of The Good Place and contemplating watching more of the Charmed reboot, because I think that's the level of tension I can handle in my visual fiction. Feel free to recommend something equally fluffy and care-free on Netflix or Amazon.

(I'm not saying "Goodbye forever!" to The Expanse, but it's definitely on hold.)

Books: Sabaa Tahir's Ember quadrology has captured my attention. Tahir's world-building is excellent and her prose solid. What I felt was a bit lacking was a strong bond to the characters. But with three books' worth of reading time, I am more invested than before. Also, it's just a heckuva story. (Current publishing date for book four is December 1, 2020.) An adventure series based on the Roman empire? Pretty cool. By the way, book one is still the weakest link at this point. I enjoyed it, but I didn't rush to read the next book. After finishing book two I immediately went to the online library to check out book three.

Lucy Parker has a contemporary romance novel series set in London; I read and enjoyed book one, Act Like It. It fits the "fluffy and care-free" requirement I mentioned for new television. (Tahir's books, on the other hand, do NOT. But I still enjoyed 'em.)

Comments

[shadowkat]

I enjoyed the Trevor Noah stand ups specials on Netflix. Son of Patricia and Afraid of the Dark - although, they had the unexpected side of effect of causing me to fall head over heels in love with Trevor Noah.

Also, my mother and brother are heavily recommending The English Game on Netflix.

I'm right there with you - I can't watch anything that frustrates me, makes me angry or gives me any level of tension or anxiety.

BTW - you were right about "Rise of Skywalker" - I saw that recently and thought, yep, I agree with rose's review. It's makes the same mistakes Last Jedi did just in the opposite direction. LOL! It was however a great film to watch right now - fluffy, compelling, and since I was thoroughly spoiled on it - no tension whatsoever. I think I liked it better now than I would have in the fall - watching it in the theaters.

I may check out the Ember quadrology. I'm still stuck on historical romance novels at the moment.

[rose_griffes]

Tahir's quadrology does have some tense moments, but since I'm not so closely bonded to the characters, that tension is bearable. There is a terrible emperor character who does awful things, as you would expect from a book series loosely based on the Roman empire. But I'm guessing that the series is marketed as YA, so there are limits to the awfulness.

Oooh, I'll definitely add Trevor Noah's standup to the queue. I like what I've seen of Noah's work so far. I'll pass for now on The English Game; I'm not really that fond of Julian Fellowes' work.

[shadowkat]

I'm on the fence about the English Game...for some of the same reasons.

Considering trying Diseny + and Hulu though...or another Korean Romance on Netflix. But I kind of want fluffy musical animation, old movies, and superheroes at the moment.

[fleurviolette]

Have you watched Succession?

[rose_griffes]

No. It doesn't seem like my kind of show--a bit too heavy on the "everyone is awful" element, which doesn't have much appeal for me.

[fleurviolette]

I will say that it is a heavy show with dark humor tho the acting is good.

Have you watched Devs?

[rose_griffes]

It's on Hulu, right? I'm not currently paying for a subscription for that platform.

[fleurviolette]

Yeah, it's an interesting sci fi thriller from the director of Ex Machina and Annihilation. It has Sonoya Mizuno as the protagonist while Nick Offerman plays the complete opposite of Ron Swanson.

[elperian]

because I think that's the level of tension I can handle in my visual fiction.

I've been watching Burn Notice for the first time (currently on S3) for this very reason. Contemplating a rewatch of LOST because I feel like I could relate even MORE this time around.

[tinny]

Did you watch all of Brooklyn Nine-Nine yet? Other than that, I really have no recs that are not Chinese, oops.