I’m not ashamed to admit I spend a lot of my off-time watching movies and TV shows, many of them sadly short-lived. If you’re looking for something new to entertain you, here’s what I’ve enjoyed. (All of these save one are available from Netflix on DVD and most, at the time this was written, on instant-play streaming.)
Dead Like Me
“A new series about life after life.”
Georgia “George” Lass is an 18-year-old college dropout with little ambition and no enthusiasm for life. When her mortal life is ended by a piece of falling space station debris, her immortal life as a Reaper begins. Working with the “merry band of grim reapers”–made up of a druggie, an actress who died in a fire on the set of Gone with the Wind, a kick-ass meter maid, and the mysterious boss-man Rube–Georgia beings truly living.
I found Dead Like Me particularly relevant to my life at the time I watched it, so maybe it won’t have the same effect on you, but each episode points out the important things in life without being cheesy.
There is a subsequent movie-followup titled Dead Like Me: Life After Death, but I strongly recommend just skipping it and leaving DLM like it should be at the end of the season 2 finale. A different writer, cast characters missing and, in one horrible case, replaced–make for a dull, disappointing movie with no real conclusion.
Doctor Who
So. I know this isn’t anything near being a short-lived series (it began originally in the 60′s, ran through the 80′s, and was restarted in 2005), but it is so good. It’s British! :-) Basically, it’s about this amazing humanoid alien named the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He travels around in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and saves the universe time and again. Who is actually rather hard to describe without making it sound downright weird, but Charlie McDonnell does a brilliant job of it in his YouTube video, “Doctor Who?” so I’ll just leave you with that. If you’re interested but wondering where to start, I suggest beginning with “new Who” Season 1, episode 1 titled Rose and moving on from there through to the 5 specials made in 2009, and on to the most recent season(s).
Firefly
Sort of a space-western with a Chinese influence, Firefly centers on the crew of cargo ship Serenity. I’m going to assume you’ve probably heard of this and simply recommend it to you, but if you’ve yet to get around to watching it, it is quite good.
Don’t miss the follow-up movie, Serenity, which makes a decent conclusion to the show, but for me lost the feeling that made the show so amazing in the first place.
Horatio Hornblower
Based off the books by C.S. Forester, this eight-volume BBC/A&E miniseries centers around Horatio Hornblower, a midshipman who starts his life aboard the H.M.S. Justinian as a sickly young man. Life in His Majesty’s Navy during the Napoleonic Wars forces Hornblower to grow up quickly, and allows him to grow into a capable leader and fine captain.
This is a series I really can’t recommend enough–it has action, adventure, romance, amazing characters who you come to love. (Nice bit of naval eye-candy, too, both sailing ship-wise and dashing naval officer-wise.) Don’t worry about being confused by nautical jargon; the script does an excellent job of explaining what is going on without going into too much detail or taking away from the plot. (And it’s even correct, most of the time.)
Hornblower is a bit of a hard find if you don’t want to buy it right away (even Netflix is missing the first 6 volumes from their collection), but it is well worth the search. I suggest checking your local library system, or borrowing from friends.
While it isn’t completely important that you watch the movies in order, I do encourage it, even if just for watching Hornblower’s character fill out. The “correct” order is: The Duel (UK title – An Even Chance), The Fire Ships, The Duchess and the Devil, The Wrong War (UK title – The Frogs and the Lobsters), Mutiny, Retribution, Loyalty, and Duty.
Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995)
You know the classic story, but this is the screen adaptation you need to watch.
Pushing Daisies
“life. death. and life again.”
Ned has the ability to bring people back to life with one touch. But if they for more than 60 seconds, someone else’s life is forfeit. With his gift discovered by a private eye, Ned turns to helping with murder investigations along with running his shop, The Pie Hole. That’s goes fine until he comes across the body of his childhood crush and true love, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles and must make a choice.
Pushing Daisies captured my mom, my sister, and me from the start. It’s a brilliant mix of a fairytale and a crime show, with splendid characterization–and a cutie Piemaker to boot. It is extremely quirky, and whimsical but yet adult. It’s a bit hard to describe, but I suggest trying it.
Torchwood
“The twenty-first century is when it all changes.”
During a death scene investigation, PC Gwen Cooper stumbles upon a strange group whose method of investigation is more than a little out of the ordinary. Having seen to much, Gwen is eventually inducted into the Cardiff branch of Torchwood as an alien investigator.
Torchwood is a spin-off series of Doctor Who, but is not all that related and completely different in content. Torchwood can be pretty heavy-duty stuff; it has aliens, sex, violence, etc. But it has amazingly well done characterizations and fascinating characters (especially Owen).
While you will enjoy more fun little references if you’ve seen Doctor Who seasons 1-4, having seen Who first is not a requirement.
Wonderfalls
Apathetic 24-year-old Jaye Tyler has a college degree, but works at a Niagara Falls gift shop called “Wonderfalls.” Outshone by her elder siblings Darren and Sharon, Jaye doesn’t have much hope of or interest in doing something with her life. Jaye’s prickly exterior is breached when she meets the handsome new bartender at the local restaurant The Barrel, and when various animal-shaped objects (a wax lion, a creamer in the form of a cow) begin giving her advice on how to do good in the world, Jaye can’t help but follow it.
This is definitely weird little show, and even though it only lasted for a single season, the end wraps up nicely making it more like a long miniseries. Jaye has a sharp wit that she uses freely, and all the characters are quirky and interesting.
