Just finished watching...

both seasons of Netflix's amazing series "Dark."

Recommended by a friend whom I trust, but who thankfully did not say much about the story itself, my husband and I plunged into "Dark" head first without knowing how deep the water is and wow, is it deep. This smart, dazzling, complicated German series (best watched in the original German with subtitles on, and not with the dreadful, lifeless English language overdub) is in many respects unlike anything we have seen before...a feat hard to achieve in a world which seems to tell the same stories over and over again. While on the surface it may be a detective-crime-missing-child story, it is above and beyond all else, a fantastic science fiction story with a very unique point of view. It is also a very effective psychological study of small town and family dynamics, the destructive nature of secrets, and the suffocating, ravaging consequences of keeping emotions inside. It is also about how all of our choices--and sacrifices--in life, whether based on love or hate, literally determine our and other's destiny. Binge watching this series is both fulfilling and necessary as the storyline is a gigantic, compelling puzzle and the plot points are each fascinating pieces that slot together with a satisfying click.

These events take place in the small German town of Winden, in several time periods (1953, 1986, and 2019), where we see its citizens both as young men and women, and then old. "Dark" is certainly a story about time and its effects on us as humans. The cast is simply phenomenal--I have completely believed every single moment from every actor. Which is why it is necessary to hear their voices as they organically produced emotions...and not an overdub by someone in a sound booth who is not invested in portraying truth. The art direction is impeccable for the different time periods as well. All in all, a stunning achievement without being flashy or having a plotline with car chases or explosions. The third and final season has been filmed and will air sometime in 2020. I can't wait to find out what is going to happen.

Recommend? YES! If you don't know much about it, just start watching. Going in without much prior knowledge is the best way for it to work. But I will advise you to PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION as each detail, face, event, clue, and phrase is very important to the puzzle.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80100172

Just finished binge watching...

...all four seasons of "Transparent," the award-winning (8 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, an AFI award, a British Academy Television award, a Directors Guild of America award, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Producers Guild of America award, 3 Critic's Choice awards, and a Peabody award) Amazon Prime original series. I'd been meaning to see this for a while and I am so glad I did.

If you don't know anything about this series, the story concerns itself with a family whose patriarch (played with stunning restraint and skill by Jeffrey Tambor) decides to live his truth of being transgendered, hence the title "Transparent." But the story arc over the four seasons concerns itself with much more than this single story line. As Shelley the mother (played exquisitely by Judith Light) wisely notes in season three, "When one person in a family transitions, everyone transitions." Billed as a comedy, there are certainly some very amusing and yes, funny moments in it, but taken altogether, it is absolutely a drama. And a sensitive, moving one at that.

In addition to the mother and father (mother and mother) there are three grown children in this family (Gaby Hoffman, Jay Duplass, and Amy Landecker) as well as their associated spouses, lovers, and friends. Over all four seasons, and via multiple story lines and flash backs that move through generations, we get a sweeping story arc that is quite literary at its core. It has fascinating things to say about sexuality, culture, religion, discrimination, psychology, genetic memory, and just generally what it means to be a human being.

The entire cast is beyond talented, and the story, as I just mentioned, is impressive. My only small quibble, and it is a small one, is that there were some things about the fourth season that felt rushed...some of the story lines were given quick answers. Now, I could be imagining this since, as I stop to think of it, the answers were a long time coming, and once an answer to a question arrives, there is an end to that question, that wonder, that probing. Like I said, it is a small quibble and one others may not have even noticed. In no way does it diminish the series or the story as a whole.

Just finished watching...

...the first season of the Netflix original series "Stranger Things."

This delightful, spooky, horror/sci-fi original Netflix series debuted in July and has gained quite a following. And once you see it, it is easy to understand why. "Stranger Things" was created by twins the Duffer Brothers, born in 1984. They have a great nostalgia for the pop culture and films of their childhood so "Stranger Things," with its marvelous retro-synthesizer theme and soundtrack, is set in 1983 and on the surface is a clear, ringing homage to the films and works of Steven Spielberg (particularly "E.T." and "The Goonies"), John Carpenter, Stephen King, and George Lucas. Even the title font looks exactly like something one would find in a George Lucas film. But storywise, the series actually stands on its own quite well.

The show concerns itself with a small town in Indiana where a young boy has disappeared under odd circumstances. Add in his remaining three friends trying to solve the mystery of his absence (like the four friends in "The Goonies") and the discovery of a young girl with paranormal abilities whom they hide in a basement (reminiscent of how the kids hid E.T.), a nefarious covert agency, and you have the recipe for an intriguing saga. Each episode moves along at a great pace and the cast (Winona Ryder as the mother of the young missing boy, David Harbour as the sheriff of the town, Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin as the trio trying to find their friend, and Millie Bobby Brown as a spooky girl with unimaginable powers) is great, throwing themselves into whatever needed to be done to tell this story.

Recommend? Yep, it's great fun, and if you were around for the original sources of inspiration, you'll have even more fun. And Netflix just greenlighted season two!!!

https://www.netflix.com/title/80057281

Just finished watching...

...the second season of the acclaimed original BBC/Netflix series "Happy Valley."

Picking up about a year and a half from where Season One left off, we find our heroine Catherine Cawood as incredibly strong, faithful, fair, and damaged as she ever was. Sarah Lancashire manages to portray perfectly a character so noble but also so human and suffering. It is a performance so thorough and so moving that I ended up feeling like I want to have Catherine as my friend.

We have the usual criminal cases swirling around her, but the intense personal family issues intertwined with crime are back as well. Some wonderful guest stars make appearances in this series including Matthew Lewis (who played Neville Longbottom in the "Harry Potter" films and who has grown up into a rather handsome man), Kevin Doyle (who played Mr. Molesley on "Downton Abbey"), and Shirley Henderson (another "Harry Potter" alum who played the ghost Moaning Myrtle). Henderson in particular does a stellar job as a character whose intentions are not quite clear. She exhibits the kind of subtle, underplayed skill that most actors would kill for.

And I quite like the fact that the series goes out on a doubtful note, without an expected happy ending. After all, the name of the show is meant ironically. We know there is very little happiness in this working town filled with drugs and crime.

Will there be a Season Three? Series creator and writer Sally Wainwright says she has too many commitments for now to think about a third go round. But who knows?

Recommend? YES! After you see Season One...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zqjpj

Just finished watching...

...the first season of the original Netflix/BBC series "Happy Valley."

From the moment we first see Yorkshire police sergeant Catherine Cawood (played by Sarah Lancashire with stunning skill), we know that she is a force to be reckoned with. As she tries to talk a drugged out, suicidal young man out of lighting himself on fire by revealing herself in a nutshell ("I’m Catherine, by the way. I’m forty-seven, I’m divorced, I live with me sister - who’s a recovering heroin addict - I have two grown-up children, one dead and one who don't speak to me. And a grandson...so..."), we see her humor, her tenacity, her wit, her integrity, and her ferocity. And it all gets better from there.

Season One has a six-episode arc and I must say that, while obviously a quality production, I was a little thrown off at first by the close resemblance to the Coen Brothers' film "Fargo," a fact I have seen mentioned by many other entertainment journalists. And like them, I must say that I quickly forgot the resemblance as the story unfolded in its own time and vernacular, sucking me in to an oppressive place and dark circumstances that are, well, harrowing. Turns out the resemblance is superficial.

As the kidnap-ransom-idiot thug story unfolds, we are presented with a beautifully rendered and acted family drama that is not quite a B plot since it does directly involve our A plot! Without saying much more, I will heartily recommend "Happy Valley." Take a look at the marvelous trailer below and know that this is not a typical "cop show."

I can't wait to start watching Season Two...and word is that there may or may not be a Season Three since series creator and writer Sally Wainwright is very busy with other commitments. That's ok. We'll wait.