What I'm Watching

It's the end of the semester, and I'm reading not just papers but revisions of papers -- 68 students in my three Comp II classes, and all of them are turning in a ten page research paper with citations. I have to read the papers, I have to check their citations, I have to give feedback. Then half of the students change one thing (or nothing) and resubmit and I have to send them gentle notes advising them not to try that bullshit on me.

But anyway! In the evenings, I have been watching, among other things, Severance, which is on Apple TV. (You can get it for six dollars a month as a "special deal." ) I thought this was a grim and depressing TV show about life in an office, and in fact it is! 

But it's also a SF show about a new procedure that lets you "sever" your work self from your not-at-work self, and goes hard in its critique of pure capitalism. I can't say you'll exactly like it, but it's fascinating and definitely worth watching. Also, gay Christopher Walken. Need I say more?

The final season of The Last Kingdom dropped. It was engaging, and Uhtred finally reclaims Bebbanburg, but it left a lot of open doors. I hear there's going to be a movie. This is a series, btw, about King Alfred and his heirs as they fight the Vikings and unify England. It's also about Uhtred of Bebbanburg, his friends, and his family. A lot of good women characters in this one, and it shows clearly how the Christian religion/cult warped history. Very much worth watching, and there are five seasons, so there's your next six months sorted.

Arcane is an animated series on Netflix, with some beautiful animation and worldbuilding. Apparently based on a video game? You can't tell, except for now and then there's a weird focus on fighting. This one is set in a city that has two levels, the wealthy in the upper city and the poor and disenfranchised down in the "lanes." We follow a handful of characters, some from the the city, some from the lanes, as an invention by a technological genius -- one which couples magic to weapons -- changes the balance of power. Nice writing and characterization, too. Only the first season is out so far.

Russian Doll has just dropped its second season. Russian Doll, you'll remember, is the Netflix show about a woman caught in a time loop -- she keeps living the same miserable night, over and over. It was really good, and won a bunch of awards, so I see why they wanted another swing. Also the lead actor is great. I can't think what they're going to do, exactly. I've got this one on my queue. so technically I'm not watching it yet.

Call the Midwife Season 10 is out on Netflix. We've reached 1967, I think. I still like this show, but it's utterly soap opera. Also I miss Chummy. She was the best. According to Wikipedia, Season 11 is out in England. 

I rewatched the Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice, and have decided this is my favorite P&P. Sorry, Colin Firth.