Categories
Review

What Have I Been Watching?

What have you been watching lately? Well, I have a few things I have binged watched, and thoroughly enjoyed. Below is a list of shows in no particular order.

In this post are 12 shows to binge-watch – I hope you enjoy them as much as I did

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4

I have watched all the other seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and was keen to see what would happen in the fourth installment.

What is the 4th season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel About?

“The fourth season finds Midge enraged and humiliated after being fired. She struggles to restart her career and vows to only do headliner gigs, not opening acts. Complicating matters, a Daily News reporter continually disparages Midge’s performances in print. Meanwhile, a jealous Sophie Lennon again thwarts Midge’s career. Joel’s landlords are unhappy that his successful club draws attention to their illegal activities. Joel also copes with girlfriend Mei’s unexpected pregnancy, his mother’s meddling, and his father’s heart attack. Midge becomes the comic emcee at a strip club, seemingly content to languish there until police raid the place. Lenny Bruce gets Midge out in time, then helps reboot her career.” Wikipedia.

Severance

Severance is a very mysterious show that only reveals little bits of the story and makes you question everything. It always ends with you learning a little bit more but in fact still not knowing mostly everything and yes leaves you with more unanswered questions. Even though the show makes you want more it is intriguing, and engaging and has you wonder what is going to happen next.

What is Severance About?

“From Ben Stiller and creator Dan Erickson, Severance centres around Mark Scout (Adam Scott), a leader of a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives.

Poster for Severance

This experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the centre of an unravelling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.

Severance features Adam Scott, who stars alongside Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette, Emmy-winner John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus, and Academy Award winner Christopher Walken.”

The last episode ends with you learning more about Hellie R and I had no idea about her real life (referenced as her outie). I am sure you will be shocked when you see this too… and no I will not give you any spoilers.

Russian Doll

I was wondering what to watch and found Russian Doll on Netflix, and yes I am late to the party to have suddenly discovered season 1. This late discovery has an upside, season 2 comes out April 20th, and looks very interesting. The show has taken a turn that I had not thought of. In season 2 it appears that it is playing with time travel. At the time of posting this post, I have only watched 2 episodes of the second series and so far it is very good and not the way I thought the time travel would occur.

Russian Doll Season 2

What is Russian Doll About?

Nadia Vulvokov who is played by Natasha Lyonne dies in horrible accidents and also silly accidents that you think couldn’t kill you but they do kill Nadia. She always comes back to life and relives the same night of her birthday. Nadia ends up in the bathroom every time she comes back to life and then wonders why she is there and no one else is going through what she is. No one knows that she is living the same day. Although she lives the same day over and over again (yes a little like groundhog day) Nadia manages to have a few things change, but she keeps on dying and yes ending up back in the bathroom at her birthday party yet again.

During a freak meeting, Nadia meets Alan Charlie Barnett who is going through the same thing as Nadia. Alan keeps on dying and reliving the same day soon. Nadia and Alan work on a plan to try and break the cycle and finally live a different day and of course not die.

It is a clever and funny show that also has dramatic and touching moments. Be prepared for a lot of swearing and Nadia smoking what appears to be boxes and boxes of cigarettes (as a nonsmoker I find this harder than the drinking in the show). Even with the smoking, it is a fun and addictive show that is a refreshing take on reliving the same moment over and over again.

The Chestnut Man

What is Chestnut Man About?

The Chestnut Man is a Danish drama. It starts in 1987 with a horrible murder of a whole family but with only two survivors, kids from the family were the only people to live after a terrible violent event.
” More than thirty years later, in present-day Copenhagen, a young woman is found murdered in a playground with one of her hands missing. Detective Naia Thulin is assigned to the case. With her reluctant new partner, Mark Hess, they notice a tiny figurine made of chestnuts lying next to the body. A mysterious piece of evidence is soon discovered on the chestnut man—the fingerprint of a missing girl, the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung.”

I was hooked on this show and needed to find out who the Chestnut Man was and more about the 30-year mystery. It is not a show for kids and is just for adults only. Many of the images are quite grizzly and would give kids nightmares. I for one love murder mysteries and a show that has good suspense as well as a story gets me hooked, and that is what the Chestnut Man did for me.

Safe

What is Safe about?

Tom Delaney played by Michael C. Hall is a widowed surgeon. During the first episode Tom’s teenage daughter goes missing and during his search to find her he begins uncovering the dark secrets of the people closest to him.

I quite liked this show as it was a thriller and a who done it and one that had you guessing what would happen next. However, due to Michael C. Hall’s English accent, I was rather curious about that due to the fact that he is indeed American and has never to my knowledge played anyone that is not American. It took me a while to see him as an English father, and mind you he did a good job but for me, it was his accent. I felt that he could have been an American father in England and that would have made his role much more convincing.

Bridgerton Season 2

I watched series 1 of Bridgerton and thought it was very entertaining, mainly the very good-looking men, and the scenes where they are naked were a nice touch to the story. I was not only taken by the good-looking cast but also by the pomp and pageantry of costumes, decor and so much more of the show.

What is Bridgerton Season 2 About?

Did you know?
Bridgerton‘s second season is the most-watched English-language television series on Netflix with 627.11 million hours viewed since its March 25, 2022 launch.”

Grey’s Anatomy Series 18

I have watched Grey’s Anatomy since it started 18 years ago…wow it has been running a long time. In one episode in Series 18, they did flashbacks of when some characters started at the hospital and gosh they looked so young. If you have never watched an episode you have 18 years of shows to catch up on, I have been totally involved in the characters’ lives.

“Grey’s Anatomy is an American medical drama television series. The show “focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into seasoned doctors while balancing personal and professional relationships.” Wikipedia

I have now started watching the following:

I am keen to watch the following:

Stranger Things – Season 4 (May 27th 2022)

Dead to Me – Season 3 (Final season – hopefully this year)

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Categories
Education

Learning With Masterclass

Would you love to learn from the best in the business?

Cannot afford the classes? Or the airfare to get you to where these amazing people live?

If you sign up to Masterclass you can get classes with the best of the best in writing, filmmaking, television, comedy and more.

I found out about Masterclass via an advertisement on Facebook.

I love making films, videos and writing scripts. I have so many ideas and stories in my head it is hard to figure out which idea to start next.

The advertisement for Masterclass showcasing Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television. As a massive fan of Shonda and her work, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and also Scandal.

I had to take the class.

I had to find out how to make my ideas into a television series. Yep…soon there will be a wonderful series that was created by me.

Being in Australia and having online delivery made signing up a no-brainer. I paid and had my seat in the online class even before it opened… I was that keen.


Due to the standard of teaching and the array of things that you can learn, I signed up as an affiliate of Masterclass. I've loved every minute of learning with Masterclass and wanted to share this great resource with my lovely readers.

Being a mum means that I have restrictions on my time. My time is spent looking after everyone if you are too busy mum or dad you wish to have time for yourself.

Time to learn and to do something you are super interested in. Meet new friends from around the world and spend time working on something that isn't related to kids.

Having the ability to be in these classes from my own home or anywhere I am as long as I have my laptop or iPhone is brilliant.

Another amazing offer is if you get the MasterClass All-Access Pass  you can do any of the classes. You pay $280 AUD to access all classes for a year. That means you can do any class from any teacher!

You don't have to learn from Shonda, you can learn from the following:

This is not a complete list but you get the idea, there are many different experts to learn from.

You can even be in your pj's and be learning from Martin Scorsese or James Patterson.

The courses are so informative, Shonda Rhimes' course is set up with so much info:

  • Video Lessons
  • Resources - You can download PDF Class workbook and any scripts that help with the video lessons.
  • Hub to talk to fellow students
  • Students can upload a video question and Shonda Rhimes replies in a video response on the class page.
  • If you need any help you can always email and the team at Masterclass will get back to you.
Grab a coffee or hot cup of tea and get learning today!
Grab a coffee or hot cup of tea and get learning today!

Being a parent does mean you are always on the go. It is nice to be able to do something for you for a change.

I hope learning more about Masterclass gives you some great ideas of what to learn about next.

Maybe your next dinner party can be from all the fab skills you picked up at Gordon Ramsay's online class?

Disclaimer:  I was so impressed by how great Masterclass was I had to share, and have also signed up as an affiliate for any Masterclass course. If you do click one of the links and sign up for a class I will get some money for sharing.

The reason for letting you all know was not to make heaps of money (Yes being richer would be nice too) but to showcase what an amazing resource this is for people who wish to expand their brains, and find that online courses are the way to go.

To actually get classes with these awesome people would be near to impossible, and if you do sign up for a class you have them in your house, via video and teaching you your favourite subject.

Also as a mum, I am all about keeping costs low and this fits perfectly in with my idea of expanding my brain and not spending a fortune. The courses are well-priced and of great value.

I hope you love it as much as I have and still do. I cannot wait to do more classes.

If you have someone's birthday coming up soon, you can Give the Gift of MasterClass and they will have so much fun learning.

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Categories
4 years and beyond

Shows Cancelled!

No Pictures Please - Angry Face!
This is how I feel about my shows being cancelled. Angry!

Why is it that many of the shows that I just love have been cancelled.  The only explanation is that the shows were not getting the numbers that the studio demanded each week and so cancels them.  The following have been cancelled, Flash Forward, GCB, and now Private Practice. I was shocked at all of them as they are good shows, but Private Practice has been on for ages and has only just come back for its 6th season. This show has been on since 2007, so I am a bit stunned they are cancelling it and we will only see up to the 13th episode. I just hope that they wrap up the story as leaving it hanging is very annoying if you ask me.

With Flash Forward it just ended and no more episodes. I was wanting to find out what happened, how the story affected certain characters, and if the event that happened before would occur again. There were so many questions left unanswered.  GCB was a new show that only did the first series but was clever and funny, maybe the religious themes or the humour associated put people off. I would like to think that we are open to all things however it is sad to think that a clever, witty show that I love has again been cancelled. In relation to Private Practice, I am not sure what they are thinking as it has high ratings and a huge following since it is a spin off from Grey’s Anatomy, maybe due to the age of the show they have decided to end it. Not sure but it just annoys me when things I like to watch go away or are cancelled.

Years ago shows stayed on the television longer than they do now. Programmers did not move them around so that no one could watch it and therefore not get the audience so of course their only decision would be to cancel the show. In Australia the show you like to watch is on at a reasonable time, so you watch it and like it. Then for an unknown reason, or it could be for an event, the tennis/Olympics your show gets a later time slot. Then this later time slot becomes the norm, and more and more you miss seeing it due to the fact that it is not on when you want to see it. You decide to record your show, then eventually they don’t put it on anymore and you never find out what happens.

Why can’t networks give some shows a longer chance to shine? Why is it that if they don’t hit the highs of what is expected they are immediately pulled? It takes time to develop a following, and of course these shows had a good fan base and many of my friends and family here were all following them. Other people I have come into contact are just as outraged as I. Note to the networks from a viewer – Take more time to decide if a show is not going to work, give it more time to develop the fan base and if the show is clever, and funny, and has good writing and acting, it will get there. Trust me!

So what are your thoughts? Has a show that you liked been cancelled? Does this annoy you? It does me as I never find out what happened to all the characters. One of my good friends never watches a show that has not lived beyond the first series. He has invested and been burnt by networks cancelling shows. I tend to agree, but I feel you need to give things a go and support the new up and coming shows. If you only watch the established ones you don’t give the others a chance.  I know it is a cost to the network, but would you not think it is an investment and if it works out would be better than cancelling the show altogether?

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