What We’re Watching, Vol. 15 – October 2020
At The Attic on Eighth, we are clearly a multimedia bunch, with our regular reading discussions and film lists. In fact, some of our very first interactions as friends were excitedly messaging scene for scene reactions to shared shows across oceans and time zones. In this monthly series we gather to chat our most recent views. Nothing keeps us close like binge-watching together, even if we’re not in the same room.
Caitlin Carroll
I’ve had a hard time committing to television shows lately, but there is still something hypnotic about environmental and nature documentaries. I’ve been watching Netflix’s Night on Earth. Night on Earth takes you around the world, showing you the nocturnal goings-on of the animal kingdom. The visuals are spectacular. It’s nice, in the midst of all of this, to take in the wonder of the world. This show also filled the void that Blue Planet and Blue Planet II left when they were taken off of Netflix. However, since then I have borrowed Blue Planet II from the library. It is equally outstanding, with added bonus footage at the end of each episode that show how each episode was filmed and how dangerous some of the filmmaking was. I know that television shows about sea creatures and nocturnal animals don't sound soothing, but there’s something about the beautiful camera angles and the amount of fascinating information being thrown at you each episode that fills my heart with joy.
Amy Richardson
I’m in a period of my life right now where I binge watch a show until I get to the last few episodes and then I stop watching because I can’t seem to bear to actually get to the end. So far I’ve watched most of Stranger Things series 3 and all but the last couple of Sex Education. I took a brief break from shows a couple of months ago to binge all of the Twilight movies - they are truly terrible, but something about how awful they are helped me to relax and I felt better than I had in ages! I’ve also been getting my teeth into the BBC documentary Once Upon a Time in Iraq which looks at both sides of the Iraq conflict and is incredibly moving but also difficult to watch. The grief and pain on display can be hard to bear in a world where there is already so much stress and sadness in day to day life. The Netflix release of Enola Holmes (Henry Cavil’s hair!!) has proven to be a much needed injection of fun to my watching. I’m mainly finding that I can only watch things that are mainly trash, with maybe a good acting performance to redeem them, so I have resorted to Netflix’s oeuvre of awful teen romcoms (think The Kissing Booth etc). I will happily take recs of films and shows in this vein and slowly work myself up towards watching Emily In Paris. I’m just not sure I can handle it right now.
Zoë G. Burnett
Dark (2019 - ) on Netflix is messing with me. Set in the wooded German town of Winden, children begin to disappear as the local nuclear power plant is being forced to close its doors. The thing is, this has all happened before. Part Twin Peaks, part Back to the Future, and part Stranger Things, and all completely unsettling. It’s been awhile since a series has pulled me in so insidiously, but I’m pacing myself. With three seasons available so far, the goal is to stretch Dark out until October’s end. No promises.
Kara Thompson
I recently decided to try out the new Apple TV+ streaming service and oh boy, I found a lot of new shows to binge. I just recently finished the first season of Ted Lasso, a feel-good show about a former American football coach (played by the hilarious Jason Sudeikis) who is hired to coach a professional football team in England, a sport which he knows little about. I have to add that I have no interest in sports, but the characters and relationships in this show kept me coming back. I’ve also been watching the British comedy series Trying which follows a couple trying to navigate the adoption process after struggling with infertility. It’s so funny but also makes me want to cry at times and the main characters’ relationship is just so sweet. If you’re looking for something heartwarming to watch, I definitely recommend this show.
Olivia Gündüz-Willemin
Like Kara, I decided to finally look at my Apple TV+ subscription this month and discovered the absolute delight that is Ted Lasso. I was reluctant to pick it up (do I care about sports? no), but I’m so so glad that I did. It’s just hands down the most wholesome and feel-good thing I’ve watched in ages. It’s funny and sweet, but somehow is never saccharine or lacking in depth. It’s been a week or so since I finished it but I still find myself wanting more.
Like much of the internet, I went down the Emily in Paris spiral earlier in the month, but unlike most of the internet, I didn’t hate it. It’s dumb and it’s not very good, but it is pleasantly entertaining. That Emily makes it in Paris without speaking any French is of course horrible, but I’ve met many an Emily. And I’ve meant many a mean fashion world person in Paris. They’re all stereotypes, but they don’t invalidate the premise of the entire show. It’s a fun show to watch over a weekend, gives you a couple laughs, and lets you easily move on. A bit of what we need in this strange year, if you ask me.
October otherwise means one thing to me: an ongoing Gilmore Girls rewatch. I started it last year (my third rewatch), paused once spring came around, and picked it back up this September. While the show hasn’t aged particularly well with some of its quips, it’s familiar, mostly funny, and its setting never really gets old. It’s my favorite thing to have on, in the background, while I’m needlepointing, or when I’m in complete shutdown after work and can’t bring myself to do anything.