telly talk

Occasionally I like to pass along some recommendations for good things on the telly (delayed, because I watch through Netflix or Amazon Prime). I have a new favorite, just four episodes in, called Last Tango in Halifax.

Initially I thought this was set in Nova Scotia, but it is set somewhere in West Yorkshire, England. The setting is gorgeous. The language is interesting and charming. The characters are complex and each has redeeming qualities, some more than others. The story lines intersect like threads in a spider web, and the humor and drama are thoroughly entertaining. 

A big recommend and a big thank you to BBC One and Netflix. So far, Netflix has 12 of the 18 episodes and I am already slowing down the watching after four episodes so I don't have too long a gap before series three comes to Netflix. 

Honorable mention goes to an unlikely Ricky Gervais series on Netflix called Derek. It isn't what I expected from Ricky Gervais, and when I first "met" the character Derek, I wondered if Ricky was making fun in a way I didn't like. However, I stayed with it, watched two episodes, and I saw something very interesting in the way the show depicts what is worthy in life.The show is a vehicle for presenting true kindness and honor, thinly veiled as a story about caring for the elderly. (There is one repulsive character, and the show provides a vehicle for even tolerating or finding acceptance of the repulsive.) Give it a try. I haven't watched many of the episodes yet, but it too is worth your time when you can find it (the time, that is, not Derek).

Two other shows we have been enjoying on Amazon Prime are more episodes of Drunk History and Key and Peele. Netflix recently added new episodes of Wilfred, so we'll have to check those out.