Netflix...Best Current Shows & Why You Like Them?

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Designated Survivor is very good. Kiefer Sutherland plays the new President after nearly the entire US House, Senate, Supreme Court, President and VP are killed. Two seasons so far, third comes out later this year.

I enjoyed DS, too, particularly the early episodes.

Tonight I watched a submarine heist drama called Black Sea. It's reasonably suspenseful and interesting enough. Certainly not a great movie but I was actually expecting it to be much worse and would have been pleasantly surprised had it been only 3/4 as good as it was.

One of my problems with Netflix is how many movies and tv shows are not in English. Mostly I prefer English language entertainment. It's not that I have anything against foreign films and such when I want to watch them, but it's hard to tell what you're getting until you scroll down to look at the audio options.

Anyway, you can filter for English or whatever language you are interested in.

Link to the filter.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[John Rose]

The OA
Missing girl returns after a long absence. After that everything is just strange. You're never sure even what kind of a story it is.

Hoo-ray! They've recently put up "The OA Part 2".
Equally mysterious and intriguing.
If you liked "Twin Peaks (Return)", "Sense8" and "Lost", then you'd probably enjoy it.

 

[John Rose]

"Midnight Diner - Tokyo Stories"
Japanese with English subtitles.

The setting of Midnight Diner is a small 12 seat Izakaya called "Meshiya" in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Despite the restaurant's strange opening hours, 12 am to 7 am, it is popular with the busy nightlife of Shinjuku. The Shinjuku setting, and the hours of operation, mean that much of the Midnight Diner story takes place at night.
[snip]
Generally, each episode deals with a drama focused on a particular customer. (Only rarely are the dramas about the Master himself; one notable exception occurs in the first movie, where the master injures his hand and can't cook). The plot will introduce the characters of the episode, and then detail their personal challenges. The Master, although generally taciturn, offers help and advice to his customers. [1] The plot will generally offer some philosophical lesson as part of the story, be it simple or complicated. Some of the stories are lighthearted, others more dramatic.

Generally, each episode will focus on a particular dish, often the favorite of the character that the episode is about, which relates to the story, and briefly show the preparation of it.

Only 1/2 hour episodes, with charming little "slice of life" standalone story lines.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Secret City.

An Australian show. Politics. Corruption. A spy or two. International relations. Murder. The main character is a journalist in the first season and a media consultant in the second, but terrific in both.

There are a lot of characters to keep up with, but not so many that it's hopeless. Once I got used to the Australian speech patterns which were difficult for me even with subtitles on (I wear hearing aids and have trouble hearing dialogue on the tube) the show became easier to sort out. For a spy show it's not too terribly convoluted.

I've not seen both seasons and gone back to watch the first season again. I think I like the second season better. Although the second season is a different and somewhat discrete story, the first season is a necessary prequel without which the second season won't make sense.

If this sort of thing is your cup of tea this one's very well done. There's nothing stupid about it. It's themes are clear and the plot makes sense. The acting, direction, writing and all that very good.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Tester28]

I saw a very good Netflix series recently

Murder Mountain

It's a close look at the legalised marijuana industry around Humboldt County California.

Part murder investigation, partly historical, very well made.

I also liked The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann as I never followed the original case closely...
you could not make this story up even if you tried.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I saw a very good Netflix series recently

Murder Mountain

It's a close look at the legalised marijuana industry around Humboldt County California.

Part murder investigation, partly historical, very well made.

I also liked The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann as I never followed the original case closely...
you could not make this story up even if you tried.

Thanks. Both are shows I've considered, and will, now thanks to you, probably watch.

I've spent a lot of time in Humboldt County visiting relatives and enjoying the beauty of the area (redwoods, rivers, mountains, etc). I've not really heard anything much about crime there other than marijuana growing and the usual redneck stuff of rural areas. The area has a mix of old money, old land wealth, new marijuana wealth, easy money living, and poverty from declining industries (such as lumber). The county is very rural and a very far cry from the Bay Area. There are certainly plenty of crazies and California style weirdos there, but mostly what I've seen has been pretty decent folks.

It will be interesting to look at it from the perspective of Murder Mountain.

I don't mean to give the impression I think I know much about Humboldt County. I've been there as a visitor and a tourist and have neither lived there nor studied the area or its culture. I have at least 15 or 20 family members or in-laws who currently live in Humboldt County and know or have met a fair number of people mostly through them, but that's a very small slice of the county. I've spent a good bit of time in five or six of Humboldt County's areas, towns, or smallish cities, from Shelter Cove to Eureka and Arcadia and everywhere in between. I've driven all over the place and been shown the sights by local insiders, too. It's a very large and diverse county.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[mikelz777]

Check out The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man. There have been many a story out there where Bill Murray is said to just casually show up and join someone's party or to hang out and sing karaoke with them or to pose with them in their wedding pictures. Are these stories true or are they just an urban myth? A documentarian goes out and interviews people to hear their Bill Murray stories. At first I was a bit leery because the cues from the beginning lead me to think that they would be having actors re-enact the said incidences but thankfully the stories are told with actual footage or pictures.

I found this documentary to be fun and entertaining. It's short (70 minutes) and it serves its subject matter well. What I like about this is that Bill Murray is a very famous and recognizable guy but he has been known for doing these kind of things just for the fun of it. He just wants to be a normal guy, hanging out and doing normal things with normal people. At the same time, he can't escape his fame or popularity so he knows that wherever he shows up and participates, it's going to be a memorable event for the people who are there. He's in a position to do anything he wants in life yet he chooses to do what he does perhaps as a way of seeking or maintaining a sense of normalcy despite coming form a world that few people would ever know. Recommended!!

 

[Bakker1964]

Apparently, it is all true. He usually prefaces the brief interludes with a comment like "No one will ever believe you" . . .

 

[mightyeskimo]

The Umbrella Academy! Wonderfully original!

 

[joeyboy]

Secret city was good. There are two seasons I think.

 

[joeyboy]

We like Bordertown and it's in Finnish. The plots are good.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Check out The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man. There have been many a story out there where Bill Murray is said to just casually show up and join someone's party or to hang out and sing karaoke with them or to pose with them in their wedding pictures. Are these stories true or are they just an urban myth? A documentarian goes out and interviews people to hear their Bill Murray stories. At first I was a bit leery because the cues from the beginning lead me to think that they would be having actors re-enact the said incidences but thankfully the stories are told with actual footage or pictures.

I found this documentary to be fun and entertaining. It's short (70 minutes) and it serves its subject matter well. What I like about this is that Bill Murray is a very famous and recognizable guy but he has been known for doing these kind of things just for the fun of it. He just wants to be a normal guy, hanging out and doing normal things with normal people. At the same time, he can't escape his fame or popularity so he knows that wherever he shows up and participates, it's going to be a memorable event for the people who are there. He's in a position to do anything he wants in life yet he chooses to do what he does perhaps as a way of seeking or maintaining a sense of normalcy despite coming form a world that few people would ever know. Recommended!!

I've heard of him being here in town, in a very good restaurant, and being, in the opinion of everyone who has told me the story, a great guy, a regular guy, a normal guy, on the other end of the spectrum from a jerk. Also, that he was incredibly funny.

I'll find and watch the show. Thanks.

 

[KeenDogg]

Wife and I enjoyed Derry Girls very much.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Cracker]

I liked "After Life" very much (the new Ricky Gervais series).

What annoys me while reading your suggestions is the obviously thinned out German Netflix programme (e.g. not a single James Bond movie) :-(.

 

[BigLeegr]

I've seen only a few episodes so far but I liked Brooklyn 99. A comedy cop show. Diverse characters with pretty good scripts (again, so far, as I've seen only around 10 episodes so it may not hold up but from what I've read it stays good for a while at least.).

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've recently watched a couple of pretty good shows.

Before mentioning them I should mention Longmire. It is a multiple season really good cop show. The setting is the modern West so there are some horses and cowboy hats and Indians Native Americans. The characters are good. The show gets a bit quirky at times but is usually normally complex good guys are sufficiently evil bad guys going at it.

Last night I watched a new show (few episodes so can be watched in an evening) called Traitors. It's an immediate post WW2 spy show with American and Russian and British spies. Sometimes it's not so easy to determine which is which, but it all becomes clear enough.

I'm a fan of the WW2 period in history and found the show satisfying in that regard, but the main character - a young woman out for adventure and getting more than she signed up for - carries the period piece quite well. She has adequate help from her friends and enemies. Sex, violence, intrigue, and duplicity abound.

Delhi Crime? I've watched part of the series. It is a great view of modern India and an interesting show. However, the closed captioning is spotty to the degree that I'm far too often left with no ability to follow the dialogue. Shame on Netflix for releasing a show without doing the technical job of adding adequate subtitles; either do it right or don't do it, Netflix!

Deep Water is a mini series I wasn't sure I'd like, but it's pretty good. The setting is so nice I'd love to go live there, but I'm not sure if I'd be thrilled with the residents. Particular not when there's a serial killer around. The mystery is two fold and both present tense and old murders end up being solved. The bad guys are truly bad. The heroine is cute as she can be. It's a well done police procedural. I would never attend a Gay Pride Parade but the guys and gals on this beach do it right.

It's been a while since I watched the three seasons of the Doctor Blake Mysteries which are soon to disappear from Netflix. They're worth a weekend. He's a general practice small town prodigal son physician's son and physician and a part time forensic pathologist and crime solver at odds with the community and the police and himself. Lovely show in many ways. His household is loaded with delightful women, too, which helps.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[njpaddy]

We watch hardly anything on Netflix anymore. We mostly stream Prime, Acorn and Britbox. After cancellation of Dr Blake, we planned to cancel Netflix until a new season of "Kim's Convenience" showed up. I delayed canceling until we finish it. I'm thinking about dropping Netflix streaming and going back to Netflix dvd rental.

 

[CJB3]

Hoo-ray! They've recently put up "The OA Part 2".
Equally mysterious and intriguing.
If you liked "Twin Peaks (Return)", "Sense8" and "Lost", then you'd probably enjoy it.

Loving the OA season 2. I think I like it more than season 1.

 

[UTVol]

I sometimes watch Midsomer Murders.

It's a police procedural set in a fictional but upscale and beautiful area of England. The villages are picturesque and the people are genteel, but murders abound. Usually there are three murders per episode.

Each episode is discrete. Only a few of the characters are recurrent (the police, the chief officer's wife and daughter). The tone of each episode is discrete, too. Some episodes seem patterned after old movies or plays or something (I can't put my finger on it exactly). Sometimes it seems whimsical. Other times it is scary and reminiscent of a chiller/thriller. Much is made sometimes of pagan themes, witchcraft, and New Age sewage. The show pokes fun at all sorts of stuff. I'm sure much of it goes over the head of this American. I get the distinct impression it does at any rate.

Demanding of attention to characters and plot details, it's a good show according to me. My wife dislikes it. She things it's too hard to follow and too gory. It is not typically gory but she's caught the few gory scenes. I'll admit the few episodes she's watched with me have been the worst I've seen.

It's not like to be everyone's cup of tea, but some episodes are stellar.

I'm a huge fan of midsomer murders. Took me a bit to get into it and can be slow at times but I love this show. Another one is Bodyguard which is a netflix series is awesome! Last Kingdom is at the top of the list as well.

 

[i_dont_bite]

Love death robots. Wow! Mind blown.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk