The Shrink Next Door
Surprisingly good acting and writing with plenty of flinch blench cringe factor.
Yes, very good acting in this!
Before you watch this, you want to listen to the podcast and its updates. It was created by a NYT writer who lived literally next door to the "patient" and watched it all unfold, as well as doing some research for his blog.
The TV version is radically different, even to changing the name of the shrink's wife. It goes to a lot of trouble for her to repeatedly say that she's not a part of things, when in the podcast it seems like she was. I suspect that there is significant lawyering going on behind the scenes, and it's interesting to see now it's portrayed so differently.
We saw the same with Dirty John: the podcast was one thing, with you wondering how the victim could have been so naive - but the TV version paints her very very differently.
I watched The Mandalorian, Star Trek Discovery and The Expanse all around the same time last year. The Expanse was hands down the best when comes to world building, character development, and plots. You know, all things that make a good sci-fi show. Mandalorian was a distant 3rd, really made for kids, I think, as it lacked any sophistication and was severely over-rated. Discovery was good, but relied too much, for awhile on alternate universe plotlines, which I grow tired of. Hopefully they will get even more away from that on the next season. Though season 4 of The Expanse was a bit slow, they picked up much better on season 5 as its best season. Sad to know this is the last one.
Jury still out on Foundation. It was my favorite scifi series of books in my youth, when I actually read books. I understand why they had to change a lot given the scope of Asimov's vision, but its been great so far.
Also, having finished off all the available Veras, I'm starting on A Touch of Frost in the British mysteries genre. (At least I can understand the Manchester accent a tad easier than I could the Northumberland enunciation.)
Also still watching reruns of Gunsmoke and Columbo on my iPad as a sleep aid before bed.
I watched The Mandalorian, Star Trek Discovery and The Expanse all around the same time last year. The Expanse was hands down the best when comes to world building, character development, and plots. You know, all things that make a good sci-fi show. Mandalorian was a distant 3rd, really made for kids, I think, as it lacked any sophistication and was severely over-rated. Discovery was good, but relied too much, for awhile on alternate universe plotlines, which I grow tired of. Hopefully they will get even more away from that on the next season. Though season 4 of The Expanse was a bit slow, they picked up much better on season 5 as its best season. Sad to know this is the last one.
Jury still out on Foundation. It was my favorite scifi series of books in my youth, when I actually read books. I understand why they had to change a lot given the scope of Asimov's vision, but its been great so far.
past couple of nights: when i go to hit the sack, i see squid game running on my bedroom screen partner talking on the phone with a family member watching too my life = lot of content, not a lot of freed time
I liked the first season the most but they're all pretty great. Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton) has the best "aw shucks" smile as he tells people that he's about to ruin their worlds...unless they help him...
"Bosch" isn't quite as good in its final season. Harry Bosch is a bit preachy and his partner Jerry has become a plot afterthought. Titus Welliver will continue playing Bosch after this season but in a different series. I've read that he'll play an investigator on retainer for his former nemesis, the lawyer Honey Chandler.
"Chair" with Sandra Oh on Netflix is pretty good and funny so far (episode 3).
Netflix also has a great series in German, "How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)." Very funny and fast-paced.
"Imposters" on Netflix is outstanding if improbable. A happily married young man discovers one day that he's flat broke and his wife has taken off on him. He soon discovers that others have suffered the same fate. The series lasted for only two seasons but probably ended at the right time. Lots of twists and laughs.
The first two seasons of "The Affair" (Amazon Prime) are superb but season three is turning into a soap opera with crises and character meltdowns that aren't really credible. The acting is brilliant, though.
