One show I like and am sorry that it was canceled was Boss, with Kelsey Grammer and the lady from Law & Order: SVU. That was a good show even though the camera person (people?) either couldn’t hold a camera straight or was trying to be all artsy (which is something I detest).
I just finished watching Boss on Netflix, and I’m sure the reason why it was canceled is that it had no positive characters that people could identify with. Many (and maybe even most) people can’t watch or read anything if they can’t “identify.” Which testifies to the poverty of their individuality.
I’m also binge-watching Gilmore Girls (I can’t write unless I have something playing in the background). It’s a great show but it’s too bluntly and unimaginatively Freudian even for me. Rory grows up without a Dad, so she is clingy, weepy and pathetic with guys. Lorelei has controlling parents, so she has huge commitment issues and suffers from sexual dysfunction. And yes, that’s how it works, but this could all be presented more elegantly.
So here are my television experiences of the moment. What are yours? Anything to recommend?
Clarissa's Blog 
There is nobody much to identify with in Game of Thrones, but it is popular. I like the books, but have not watched more than one or two episodes of the HBO series.
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I haven’t watched but, from what I hear, Game of Thrones is a very violent show. People try to sublimate their internal aggression through it. So it’s the violence itself they identify with.
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We’re watching ‘The Fall’ currently on Netflix streaming.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294189/
I liked this from a review of the show:
Refreshingly, none of the tropes we’ve been trained to expect in a story about a powerful woman play out. Nobody resents Gibson’s appearance on the scene or questions her authority. Her gender is a non-issue; subordinates hop to when she enters a room and they follow her commands without question. Gibson doesn’t try to submerge her femininity and stomp around barking out orders. In Anderson’s restrained yet compelling performance, Gibson is cool, calm, and always chic, with the most fabulous coat in detectivedom.
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THis does sound like something we might enjoy. Thank you!
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We are watching Damages, with Glenn Close. It is very good entertainment.
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That’s exactly the one I had in mind to watch next! It’s like you and I read each other’s thoughts. 🙂
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Plus I LOVE Glenn Close.
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I know you well.
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I gave that a shot but couldn’t get past the Glenn Close character. Seems like it was inspired by a 10 year old’s idea of what powerful women are like. Just absurd.
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The first season of Damages is just about as entertaining as television gets! I think you’ll like it, Clarissa.
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Although yes, the Glenn Close character is the prototype of the powerful woman in US fiction.
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I second The Fall and Damages! The Fall is so feminist it just makes me want to hug people. Damages is nice since each season has a well defined arc, so you don’t have to marathon multiple season strung together.
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It is very good TV, very enjoyable, provided that you can get over some clichés about powerful women. And who does not admire Close’s acting skills?
Season 3 is very, very good.
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I am watching (via DVD) UFO, a great 1969 science fiction series about a top-secret agency fighting alien invaders. It’s not for everyone, because its darker tone and characters were a contrast to STAR TREK.
And I’m waiting for HANNIBAL to return for its third season. Again, not a show for everyone–I have how they get away with some of the things depicted in the show since it airs on a major network. But the cinematography, the acting, and the intelligent writing makes it a must-see for me.
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Right now I’m watching Garfunkel and Oates, which is like Flight of the Conchords, but with American women instead of Kiwi men, namely, it’s about a musical comedy duo whose art (their songs) imitates their lives.
It’s a good mix of humour that’s a bit more earthy, and then a bit more surreal. One of my fave running jokes is that the two of them aren’t fans of talking to their agent on the phone, so they try to make the experience more bearable by imagining him as a muppet, which they faithfully recreate onscreen.
I have way too much free time on my hands until I move to Vancouver, so I’m also re-watching Take Home Chef, which is a reality show that has random customers at an upscale grocery (mostly married women) running into a sexy Australian chef at the grocery store who offers to cook a meal for her and her family while she relaxes and watches him shop and cook.
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I can’t do humor at all but Take Home Chef is really great. What a lovely show.
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I’ve started watching Twin Peaks. People have been trying to sell me on the depth and profoundity of the show since I was 11, but nobody told me how funny the thing was until 3 days ago. It’s pretty damn funny.
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Even though the plot is absolutely ridiculous, Twin Peaks is the only TV show I have ever seen that actually moves a little bit in the direction of art. And that makes it absolutely unique. The way it works with the visual imagery and explores the collective subconscious is very special.
I wouldn’t call it profound. It’s beautiful, that’s all. In terms of ideas, it’s absolutely empty. And that makes it very postmodern. 🙂
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I’ve been watching MAS*H–a show from the 1970’s about an army hospital in the Korean War. It’s one of my favorites, and I love having it on Netflix because I don’t have to turn on the TV and hope it might be on. :p When I’m done I think I might re-watch Alias (a spy series with Jennifer Garner).
I’m also waiting for the next season of Orphan Black to appear on DVD.
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Would it sound strange to you that I’m actually watching movies and shows right now for the music?
I’ve had Paul Oakenfold’s “Ready, Steady, Go” playing frequently over the past week, and I’ve also had some bits from Harry Gregson Williams (and Hybrid Soundsystem) from “Total Recall” and “Man on Fire” playing as well.
Actually, West Country and Welsh electronic music seems to be taking over my playlist while I’m writing this next piece …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqaUZkyLqO4
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Haven’t watched the Boss, but that pseudo-edgy handheld camera thing drives me CRAZY. Unless it’s done really well to film a certain kind of well-directed and -acted tension filled action scene, it’s just annoying.
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“Haven’t watched the Boss, but that pseudo-edgy handheld camera thing drives me CRAZY. Unless it’s done really well to film a certain kind of well-directed and -acted tension filled action scene, it’s just annoying.”
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“Coupling” BBC TV series from early 2000’s. The show basically took the US TV series Friends to the next level.
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It’s great to have you here, Twitter friend and fellow pro-Ukrainian fighter. 🙂
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