OMG! We've joined the 21st century

[mumsisdaughter]

D'you know that old phrase: 'The cobblers children haven't got shoes' ?? Well, my other half repairs TVs etc for a living and though we've had a smart TV (HD and 3D) for a while, we've just never got round to actually linking it to the internet. Well, no more! I bought a Fire TV stick the other day and he fixed it to the set in a matter of moments and now there's sooooo much to choose from I'm bewildered and shell-shocked by it all.

I've been a member of Amazon Prime for years, in order to get next-day delivery, but now the price has gone up because they've added in what used to be LoveFilm so that's why I bought the Fire stick so I can get my money's worth.

So what I'm getting round to asking is, particularly if you are resident in US (or even if you're not and you know US TV series), what would you recommend I start with? Bearing in mind that we've never had SkyTV, I know I'm a long way behind in what series are good to watch.

I tend to watch horror/spooky things like 'The Walking Dead', 'Vampire Diaries' or serious cop shows like 'Happy Valley', 'Longmire' though I'm not beyond witty comedy. Please no romcom or shows with canned laughter.

Really open to anything that makes me think :D

Awaiting your recs with bated breath...

Comments

[gairid]

I have Kindle Fire too! Awesome :) I love the Longmire series; good cast, good story-telling (though they have drifted from the book series a bit and I love the books too!) have just about caught up with 'The Following' - FBI agent (Kevin Bacon) chasing/obsessed with an amazing James Purefoy-as-serial killer). 'True Detective' (Matt McConnaughey & Woody Harrelson S1 is gorgeously dark and gloomy, in a Louisiana setting (the most serious police drama I've seen in a long time.I am about to start 'Halt and Catch Fire' next. Those are the first recs that come to mind. If you don't see something in the previews or the lists that just get shown you, search by title;; much faster.

Also? 'Grimm' is pretty good and better marathoned than waiting week to week.

ENJOY YOURSELF!

[mumsisdaughter]

Thanks for the suggestions :) Can you get 'Ripper Street'? Excellent series about the early Victorian police.

I did watch the first few episodes of 'Grimm' when ordinary terrestrial TV showed it but didn't follow it up. I see the benefit of watching a season as a block.

Btw, Happy Birthday, Brian!

[gairid]

Yes, we've watched Ripper Street: very good and not what I expeced at all. Debra particularly likes it.

Brian says thanks :)

[bee]

SECONDING RIPPER STREET

but I can't in all good conscience recommend Grimm. It's ok for the first couple seasons but it leans heavily on gaslighting storylines. Stop watching after the zombie episode is my rec.

Also I cannot warn you against watching Once Upon a Time enough. Season one is... sort of okay. DO NOT WATCH PAST SEASON ONE.

[mumsisdaughter]

BBC made the first two seasons of Ripper Street but Amazon Prime has made the third series so I'm able to watch that now :)

I watched half a dozen episodes of Grimm and then realised I didn't really care enough about the characters to pursue it further.

Once Upon a Time has been on TV here already, certainly two series, not sure if it's been three. I adore anything that Robbie Carlyle does. I can't get enough of his acting, voice and quirky face. Perfect for Rumplestiltskin. I agree the storyline is meh. Without Robbie, I wouldn't bother watching it.

[bee]

Yeah Grimm is like, it tries to be both SPN and OUAT at the same time and just doesn't work. Like there's some great metaphors-for-transness in the wesen and there's great potential (and also Sasha Roiz mmm tasty Sasha Roiz), but it just... doesn't seem to ever reach that potential. It's like the people writing it don't even like fairy tales!

Robbie Carlyle is definitely the coolest part of that show. The reason I don't like anything past season 1 is bc in season 1 he's what I always call a Proper Fairy and I got so incredibly upset when they abandoned that for the typical manpain mcbroodyface given to every male character ever. I LIKED HIM BEING A FAIRY.

[gairid]

Finished S1 of Halt & Catch Fir yesterday which we enjoyed very much. Good story, of course, and made more exciting than I thought it could possibly be as far as being able to maintain a certain level of tension.

Also, Long, lean Lee Pace (and his eyebrows) wearing beautifully tailored narrow suits is its own form of gratification. Debra and I agree that he and Tom Hiddleston are tied for most Louis-esque body type (though both are taller than canon Louis. LP 6'5" and TH 6'2:"!)

[mumsisdaughter]

Thank you, thank you :)

Oooo, last night saw Auntie Beeb's first episode of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and 'twas excellent! Really bringing Susanna Clarke's epic tome to life :D AND the opening was filmed in York...fabulous!

[gairid]

I didn't know that was a thing! I must look for it ---such a great story!

[mumsisdaughter]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02mrqzv

with lots of extra features if you can access this site or

http://www.bbcamerica.com/jonathan-strange-and-mr-norrell/

and there are some trailers on YouTube.

[bee]

1. You'll love Penny Dreadful. It just started so there's not a lot to catch up with. There's some Native American racism and the standard Victorian trope of asylum horror, but from what I hear it's a really feminist show and is a lot of fun and very positive.

2. SkyTV did a really good adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal as well as The Hogfather. Highly recommend Going Postal (and then read it! It's a good book too, and the book is different while not being different at all, if that makes sense). Also I recommend reading Discworld just generally. Start with Carpe Jugulum maybe.

3. If you haven't checked it out, Supernatural is wonderful trash. Join me in my garbage fandom. Join me. You're a fellow Anne Rice fan you understand enjoyable trash I'm sure. XD IT IS SO TRASH I LOVE IT??? WHY.

4. I hear good things about the cartoon Gravity Falls. No canned laughter. Very occult/cryptozoology/urban legend based. Also has a great young female character (Mabel).

[mumsisdaughter]

1. Penny Dreadful does look good from the trailers being shown but it's on Sky, which we don't subscribe to (Mr Murdoch is not getting any of my hard-earned pension!)

2. I have been a TP fan since The Colour of Magic was read on radio back in 1984, I think. I have bought each book as it has been published and have reread most of them, also his other books written before Discworld and alongside that series eg Truckers trilogy, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Dodger etc and of course that brilliant collaboration, Good Omens (BBC did an excellent dramatisation for radio over 6 parts, recently).

3. Lost track of how many series of Supernatural I've seen or which series I've missed. I kind of dip into that.

4. Thanks for the Gravity Falls rec, I hadn't heard of that.

Followed another rec and now I'm following The Following! Intense stuff but I'm sure it's very triggery for some folk.

[bee]

I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE A DISC FAN. *flails* *whispers* Ohmygod we share another fandom.

*gives you some lilac bc of what today is*

Well Sky did both the really good adaptions but I was able to er, acquire them. They fell off the back of a lorry. You know. That kind of acquisition. Same with penny dreadful! Do you have any techies in y'all's family? Everything I recc'd to you is easy to find in the usual places. And hey—doing it that way sticks it to the Man.

ahahaha I was like that with SPN don't worry. Netflix is great for keeping track for you, that's the only reason I didn't lose my spot.