The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
TV Recommendations
What have you watched recently, and really liked?
Post your answers in the comments below, for your fellow readers' benefit -- and for mine (I'm always on the lookout).
To prime the pump: Besides the familiar highly recommended shows, such as The Americans, Homeland, and Sherlock,
- Heavy Water War, a 6-episode Norwegian World War II story, based on a recent incident.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a 7-episode BBC series set in a magical English of the Napoleonic Wars era, based on the excellent novel of the same name. (OK, I watched it a few years ago, so it's not that recent, but still worth recommending, I think.)
Special benefit: My wife and I liked both of these, and our tastes are often quite different.
Please post more! (There'll be separate threads in the coming weeks for books and movies, so please save those for then.)
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The Good Place. Comedy with heavy continuity. Especially season one wherein each episode ends with a twist that completely recontextualizes every previous episode. Like a clinic in plot writing. Plus there's loads of bonuses if you're well-versed in philosophy.
The Expanse. Hard sci-fi with politics.
The Protectors (Danish: Livvagterne) is a Danish crime TV series from 2009 that follows the police bodyguard squad P.E.T. (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste),
All of the Wallander productions.
Longmire.
I am sick of the SJW productions normalizing their behavior.
I really enjoyed just about all of "Killing Eve." Excellent acting and writing. Unexpected things happen. Characters we like die. Relatively few times I have to say to myself, "That just would never happen in real life." (If only I could say that about all TV shows.)
...also "The Magicians." Much funnier than I remember the books being. Mostly well acted and some interesting plot twists.
I have not seen a single episode of "Atlanta." But more than a dozen people have told me that it's their favorite show and that I need to start watching it. (I'm not sure how helpful 2nd-hand recommendations really are.)
The Expanse
Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
Occupied
Babylon, Berlin. Fantastic German-language series about a police-detective in turbulent Wiemar-era Berlin. Watch this one next. Seriously. There is a risk of developing a crush on Liv Lisa Fries however, who also appears in a smaller role in:
Counterpart. JK Simmons plays two different versions of himself and kills it. Berlin (this time modern-day) is not the dividing line between East and West but between parallel universes.
Occupied. Norwegian political thriller. Russians take over (with the blessing of the EU) after Norway decides to end oil production for environmental reasons. Political maneuverings like Borgen but now with Russian invaders and Norwegian counter-revolutionaries.
The Expanse. Excellent sci-fi series recently and fortuitously saved from the scrap-heap by Amazon (Jeff Bezos is apparently a fan)
1983. Polish-language alternate-reality (what if the wall had never fallen) political thriller.
Bodyguard. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) is the police body-guard for a UK government official during a period of terrorist threats and political maneuverings.
Narcos. Haven't kept up after the first two seasons after the violence got to be too much of a downer, but incredibly well done.
Pine Gap. Australian series about at joint U.S. - Australian intelligence station in Alice Springs. Hunting for a mole during an intense political confrontation between the U.S. and China with Australia caught in the middle.
Electric Dreams. Anthology series based on Phillip K Dick short stories.
In the category of 'seemingly peaceful small towns with appalling body counts that nobody notices is unusual' the nominees are Foyle's War, Longmire, Shetland, and Grantchester. Of those Foyle's War is clearly the standout and the one with the best excuse for elevated body counts (it takes place on the English channel coast as WWII is getting underway).
Mozart in the Jungle. The most recent season is disappointing, but the first few are very enjoyable with some great music. The episode that features the opera 'Long Island Lolita' based on Amy Fisher is amazing.
In the category of well-made police procedurals set in L.A. there are Bosch and Goliath.
For funny, but thought provoking documentaries about crazy artists, try Exit Through the Gift Shop, Beltracchi, The Art of Forgery, and Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski.
Also Tales by Light is a visual feast about photographers.
I could go on, but better start getting something done around here.
Professor,
I highly recommend "The Most Dangerous Ways to School" on Amazon Prime.
It follows the journey of children around the world who brave weather (extreme heat and cold), wild animals, and the like just for the opportunity to go to school. My children are not old enough to watch it yet, but when they are, I look forward to watching it with them.
There are 2 seasons right now (I think that's it). It's an eye opening experience.
Counterpart - (parallel world cold war thriller, very stylish and with a very strong first season)
A Very Secret Service (Au service de la France) - satirical French spy comedy set in 1958-1962 France very much in the vain of OSS-117, but more acid. Much funnier with some knowledge of French history
The Ministry of Time (El Ministerio del Tiempo) - a Spanish time travel series, with 3 seasons that focuses on Spanish history
Timeless - surprisingly well thought out and now cancelled American un acknowledged knockoff of the above that actually involved changing the timeline permanently as they failed on missions
Riverdale - a surreal and very self aware intentionally overwrought clever and extremely ambitious teen soap reworking of Archie comics that is much more entertaining to adults.
Killing Eve - a broad and very dark spy comedy with Sandra Oh hunting a cute psychopathic assassin
The Magicians - recommended above, it gets better, basically a character study, the breakout is Summer Bishil as Margo, who is basically a demented version of Margo Magee and Hale Appleman as Eliot, a faux sophisticate, who develop into surprisingly deep, yet delightful characters
Riverdale, where classic side characters are killed regularly, Hiram Lodge is a fortysomething Latino crimelord, Jugjead is in a motorcycle gang, Betty Cooper's dad is a serial killer, and the Blossom's run a massive designer meth operation...........
This ain't you parent's Archie comics, that's for sure.
The Expanse - can't really add to the above comments, but it is great.
Band of Brothers - older but still great
Babylon 5 - old but I rewatched recently and still love it. The special effects don't really hold up well, but the story is still great.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Amazon Prime's Bosch. Yeah, it's a cop show, but it's very well done and about to start its fifth season. A bit of language and stuff but Titus Wulliver gives a visceral performance as a gritty, non-PC detective.
I did. But I did forget to mention a couple of other excellent Amazon series: Man in the High Castle and Patriot. Most people already know about Man in the High Castle, but maybe not about Patriot. It's is an absurd satire about a spy who copes with depressive episodes by singing at folk clubs. His cover is working for an industrial piping company in Milwaukee. It's clearly not for everyone, but if it hits your sense of humor, there's nothing else like it.
The podcast TV Talkmachine thinks the title should have been Sad Spies, which honestly would have probably been a better title, but they really like it.
I'll recommend the aforementioned TV Talk Machine podcast as a source to find out what's good out there in these days of too much TV. It's hosted by Hollywood Reporter TV critic, Tim Goodman, and tech journalist Jason Snell of SixColors.com and former editor of Macworld magazine.
It's also a fun podcast. Just watch out for those drop bears (inside joke).
The Almighty Johnsons - a working class New Zealand family that happen to be Norse Gods who emmigrated from Norway. Odin is reborn and everything goes to heck. A lot better than it sounds.
Being a Kiwi production, the highlight is when Thor (Geoff Dolan) sings "Cheryl Moana Marie". It isn't the NZ national anthem, but it might as well be.
The British version of Top Gear and its follow on, Amazon's Grand Tour.
If you like cars, you'll love them. If you regard cars as nothing more than basic transportation, you'll find them boring.
Do you mean recently-produced TV, or older TV which I've been watching recently?
Assuming the latter: if you haven't watched the 1960s B&W series "The Fugitive", it's quite amazingly good. Very well-plotted (like, for instance, "Perry Mason"), very well-acted by really good actors (mostly), and, the show gives a really strong sense of what life was like in small-town/rural USA before the cynical post-Vietnam-War/post-Watergate period. Also, the musical score is wonderful.
The show also takes on some issues (sometimes) which are still important today. You probably already know that the protagonist is an innocent man wrongly convicted of murder, sentenced to death, on the run from the law forced to confront difficult challenges without being able to appeal to the law for help. But he's also a doctor, and several of the episodes involve medical issues. Like, I recently watched one where he finds himself hiding out among members of an "alternative medicine" cult, led by a charismatic quack, and he has to deal with a child who has a life-threatening illness and needs real hospital care. Besides the tension of the situation-- how to get her to a hospital, away from the cultists, without being detected and exposed?-- the episode explores the ethics of the situation quite nicely.
Another older show that holds up really well is the Rockford Files
Even the original Maverick series is still good.
Agree that The Fugitive is a very good series (would like to see it running somewhere so let me know if it is). Most all of The Twilight Zone episodes are both well-written and well-acted.
Have to include "The Prisoner" on list of old shows that haven't aged and can still hold their own.
If you like Patrick McGoohan (I love him and I think almost everything he did is BETTER than "the Prisoner"; Number Six is a one-dimensional, predictable character) be sure to see the four "Columbo" episodes which featured him as murderers, especially "By Dawn's Early Light" and "Agenda for Murder".
Man, how did he keep getting out of prison to kill again?
I liked both the Colombo episodes where Shatner and Nimoy are respectively the killers.
Currently watching Poldark on Amazon Prime. Love it!
Loved Longmire and Justified.
Best show is Homeland, by far.
I made it through about a quarter episode of Poldark and wanted to stab my eyes out. I figured I could find better acting, script writing, and faux and contrived emotion from a daytime soap opera.
There were literally scenes that I wanted to start doing "The Californians" bit from SNL.
That Californians thing at least goes back to a Monte Python skit I just saw where the soap opera chars stand around blabbering about which trains they are taking and catching for transfers.
I don't know where they got it from to parody.
It is a lot older than that, I once read a pre WWII murder mystery in which a radio soap opera was entirely about discussing railway timetables.
The best line in that sketch is when it's suggested that their dead father was murdered and Michael Palin says "we'll surely he just shot himself and hid the gun". Palin always did play shifty characters the best.
DO you know "Friday the Thirteenth: the Series"? Campy late 1980s/early 1990s (one episode is called "Read My Lips") supernatural horror-fantasy, nothing to do with any of the slasher movies. It's about an antique store whose owner made a deal with the Devil to sell supernatural cursed antiques, each of which confers some magical power or benefit for the owner, but all require human sacrifice in order to function. And, the new owners' efforts to recover these antiques from their owners. ("Warehouse 13" is kind of a re-make of the series, but not nearly as good.)
Yes, I do. The lead actress was very attractive.
Louise Robey was amazingly good looking, it was a very good show for its time.
All the women in the show were hot, including Vanity and Gwynnyth Walsh who played the Klingon female B'etor sister of Lursa on Star Trek TNG.
Louise Robey married a nobleman and became a duchess, in real life.
Oh, I forgot, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!!!!!!
Rachel Brosnahan is a star!!!
Now here I agree with you. That show is witty and incredibly entertaining.
It is from the same producer as Gilmore Girls (my wife's favorite show, and one I thought was pretty good). Like Gilmore Girls, it has a lot of quick, witty dialogue. Definitely worth watching.
Fantastic show! Mrs Goodfellow and I both love it.
Mrs Maisel, .We binged through both seasons. It is witty and funny, the peek into the culture and times kept us focused.Reviews said season 2 was a big let down. We did not think so.
The wife got hooked on Heartland. Coming of age on a Canada horse ranch series. Kind of a chick flick thing, but I found myself sucked in and not totally bored. Stranger Things was interesting
Recommendations are most welcome. When you make them, it would be a kindness to mention where your recommended shows ? such as Heavy Water War ? can be found for viewing.
Heavy Water War seems to available in the US via stream through MHz Choice, available as an Amazon Prime add-on, and free trial
Two great shows:
Fauda (Netflix) - absolutely fantastic show of political and cultural tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Superb acting, story-lines, and characters.
When Heroes Fly (Netflix) - an Israel-based show set primarily in Bogota. Again, great characters and acting.
(and another thumbs up for the aforementioned Expanse).
Happy (or at least first season, won't see the next season until it pops up on Netflix) was unique, but really pulled me in. YMMV.
Gotta second The Expanse and Patriot.
How recently? For me it's Lost, which you should study my analysis of at that link before watching, because otherwise you'll probably have no idea what's really happening...unless you have a strong background in mystery/detective drama & lit, chiefly British?plus probably a personal relationship w Lost's maker, as I did for yrs. beforehand.
Other than that, Monk, because I'm a fan of Andy Breckman via 7 Second Delay,the weekly phone-in experimental comedy program he co-hosts w stn. mgr. Ken on WFMU, http://wfmu.org
Breaking Bad is my favorite show of all time, and you can watch it on Netflix. You can also see Better Call Saul (the prequel to Breaking Bad) on Netflix or watch it on AMC.
My favorite 'newer' show would be Jack Ryan which is an Amazon Original Series.
If you liked the Twilight Zone, you could watch Black Mirror (Netflix Original). That one is a little too dark for me to watch continuously, but I did binge-watch Electric Sheep (Amazon Original) which has a lot of the same feel but with a less dystopian/depressing tinge. I also think Electric Sheep does a much better job of exploring topics that are more directly relevant to today's culture.
The Blacklist is great too (and available on Netflix).
My more entertaining/less serious shows that I enjoy include South Park, Archer, and Burn Notice.
I love cars too, so Grand Tour, Top Gear, and Roadkill are fun. If you're into documentaries, Apex: The Story of the Hypercar does a wonderful job telling the story of the development of the world's highest performance (and most expensive) road-legal vehicles.
The four seasons of the Canadian TV police procedural "19-2" were very good, and season 2's initial episode, about a school shooting, was one of the best TV episodes I've watched in decades.
"Trapped," an Icelandic TV series, is excellent.
Also from Canada, the many seasons of "Murdoch Mysteries" are quite good, as is "Cardinal," its third season soon to begin streaming.
From Australia, the two seasons of "The Code" were solid; those of you with an interest in privacy in the digital era will particularly appreciate it.
I definitely echo the positive reviews of "Bosch," "Electric Dreams," "Longmire," "Mozart in the Jungle," "Killing Eve," and "The Blacklist."
Multiple references to Canadian TV and no love for Corner Gas?
If you include older stuff, there's my favorite detective show of all time, on which Lost was largely-to-mostly based, Department S, a British series that aired here half a century ago. It was before Damon Lindelof was born, so I told him about it, especially my favorite episode, "One of Our Aircraft Is Empty", and then a few yrs. later saw it & bits of several other episodes echoed on/as Lost:
"The Duplicated Man" (German title, "Doppelt Oder Nichts")
"A Ticket to Nowhere"
"The Bones of Byrom Blaine"
"The Man in the Elegant Room"
"The Pied Piper of Hambledown"
"The Double Death of Charlie Crippen"
"Six Days"
"The Perfect Operation"
"The Shift that Never Was"
just the intro to "The Mysterious Man in the Flying Machine"
Those are far from the only good episodes of Department S, just (arguably) the ones with a strong link to Lost, albeit not as importantly as "One of Our Aircraft Is Empty". The series had remarkably few clunker episodes.
You may LOL as you notice some of the cx?some very literal, others very abstract.
The Good Place is worth starting from the beginning (the only way to watch it). It's a comedy about moral philosophy. And it works despite some amazing plot twists that might seem like game-enders. And it stars Kristen Bell.
Babylon Berlin is also definitely worth watching. Even if you don't have any facility in German, choose subtitles over dubbing. I agree with the poster above that it is hard to avoid a crush on Liv Lisa Fries. (It's also hard to avoid a crush on Kristen Bell.)
Speaking of Kristen Bell, step into the wayback machine and watch the first season of Veronica Mars if you haven't already. It's a pretty good detective show that is also a pretty good high school drama and features one of the best father-daughter relationships ever created for the screen. I think the second season's plot had problems, and the third season pleased no one. There was also a movie.
The Punisher. The 1st season was an exploration of the ways people become disillusioned with and disappointed by authority, and what the results are.
The second season was lighter on themes, but more fun to watch.
Dark - German language series on Netflix. Small town family drama through time, with a sci fi angle.
Tientsin Mystic - Chinese pre-war X-files on Netflix.
Ajin - Animated. You get extra lives in video games. What if that were true for some people in real life? That's a problem. Good characters. On Netflix.
Vikings - How to get ahead in the Middle Ages. On Amazon Prime.
Jessica Jones - season 1 was good. On Netflix.
Altered Carbon - Murder mystery where people live forever. on Netflix
Stranger Things - obviously
Downtown Abbey - obviously
I second the recommendation of Lost, from above. Forget about the ending. That's only one or 2 episodes out of a hundred. The beginning and middle are great.
Wow. I cannot believe no one's mentioned "The Crown" (streaming on Netflix) yet. Not just for Anglophiles!
More:
Fargo on FX is very good. Criminal enterprises versus stubborn Minnesotans.
I liked Tyrant on FX also.
One Punch Man - animated. Otherwise bored guy becomes world's strongest super hero after a little strength training. Fighting monsters is too easy and it keeps him from buying groceries the day the store runs a sale. On Netflix.
In no particular order:
Stranger Things
The Good Place
The Orville (a spoof/homage to Star Trek)
Daredevil (and all of its related Marvel/Netflix shows: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Iron Fist, and the Defenders).
Better Call Saul (but only after watching all of Breaking Bad first).
A couple I haven't seen mentioned;
The Killing (I have only seen the US version, but it is excellent)
Sneaky Pete
True Detective (Season 1 was really good the first time around; on rewatching, the pomposity ans self-indulgence shine through a little more.) Seasopn 2 stunk, but Season 3 seems promising.
For comedy, I still cant get enough 30 Rock or Arrested Development (1st 3 seasons are best).
I also really liked Mindhunter (about the early days of the FBI's BSU), but that is more of a docudrama.
More or less in descending order --
The Americans: Every minute of every episode
The Tunnel: All 3 seasons
Bloodline: All 3 seasons, but especially the first and second
Justified
Sneaky Pete
Ozark: 1st season
Jessica Jones: 1st season
Orphan Black: 1st season
"I'm Alan Partridge" and related series are worthwhile. The title character and comedy series are from Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci (who subsequently created HBO's Veep).
I am not aware of any current subscription streaming options for the U.S. market -- although DailyMotion has hosted uploaded episodes.
The forthcoming BBC series "This Time With Alan Partridge" (February 2019) may bring about more viewing options for the prior series.
I know you said TV, but I beg your indulgence if I mention a film: "Roma", directed by Alfonso Cuaron.
Its on Netflix so it is also TV.
One of the 4-digit cable channels is playing reruns of "The Avengers" and "Danger Man" every Saturday and Sunday night. Right now, about halfway through the Honor Blackman episodes. Good TV.
I thought this was for recent shows (say in the past year or so), so I wasn't sure how far back we could go. I'll try to avoid repeating some from above.
The Americans - This is a fantastic show that didn't do well in the ratings. It was consistently good, but Season 6 is as good as you'll ever find on TV.
Battlestar Galactica - The modern, Sci-Fi channel version. I was skeptical when a neighbor recommended this. Very good (well, a couple mid-seasons are weak, but just power through them to get to the end).
Coupling - British comedy that might be a touch dated now. Sort of like Friends, but without needing to satisfy American advertisers.
And a couple that have been mentioned before:
Black Mirror - Each episode is self-contained, so you don't have to watch them in order. Every episode is incredibly thought-provoking. "Metalhead" is the stuff of nightmares.
Ozark - Excellent acting, particularly by Jason Bateman and Julia Garner.
I love coupling. 'Inferno' was one of the best episodes ever. Especially when Jack Davenport was put on the spot at dinner.
Also good, and starring both Davenport and a young Idris Elba, the six episode miniseries 'Ultraviolet' from the late 90's.
The media sucks Stalin's balls and are not to be trusted.
I get my news from various YouTubers.
Fuck the media - they are all commie assholes.
Thanks for your thoughtful TV show recommends.
How about sharing your favorite pizza toppings?
Rockabilly:...
Rockabilly: Lock her up!!!
60 comments and I am the first to mention Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell.
Maybe that says something about me.
Also, Rick and Morty. Comedy gold right there.
If people are going to recommend older shows...
The (for comedy, anyway) the obvious pick is "Fawlty Towers." The best sitcom ever on TV. Full stop.
The episodes "The Germans" and "Basil the Rat" are the funniest two TV episodes I have ever seen.
Much of "Blackadder" comes close. If you don't like British cutting humor, then it likely will not appeal to you.
"Ink and Incompatibility" from Blackadder the 3rd is, IMO, the single funniest episode of any show ever.
Something tells me that there is significant overlap between the type of people who frequent nerdy legal blogs and the type of people who find John Cleese high-larious. I am one of them.
P.S. If you laugh at a certain comment in The Germans, you might as well pre-emptively report to a reeducation camp.
"The best sitcom ever on TV. Full stop."
Wrong. Full stop.
You have seen Blackadder yet make this clearly wrong remark. Sad.
And Yes, Minister was better too.
As usual, Bob, you're wrong.
Yes, Minister was great, but Faulty Towers stands alone.
Bob's probably still traumatized from when he bought a Norwegian Guinea Pig as a pet.
If you like Yes, Minister, then The Thick of It, starring a pre Doctor Who Peter Capaldi is also worth a go.
I would add to the list four of my favorite series.
"Vera" (AcornTV and Britbox)
"Midsomer Murders"
"Line of Duty"
And on a much lighter note "The Detectorists"
Call My Agent (French; third season due but I haven't seen any episodes yet). Fictional Parisian talent agency, very well done. The main actors were unknown to me, but are all very good.
A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Ozark.
If you like magic and sleight of hand, "Magic For Humans" on Netflix is fantastic and hilarious. Justin Willman is one of the best around right now.
(a) Heartland, a Canadian series about a ranch family in Alberta, one of whom is a horse-whisperer. If you like horses, beautiful scenery, and generally appealing characters, try it. (It is based on a series of books set in Virginia which I have not read.)
(b) Burden of Truth, a Canadian series about a young woman lawyer;
(c) Resurrection: Ertugrul, the most popular series ever on Turkish television. It is a fictionalized account of the life of the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman the first. At the outset, a tribe of pastoral nomadic Turks have been pushed out of their lands by the Mongols and are seeking a new place to live in the area that is now southeastern Turkey and the neighboring part of Syria. The clothing and objects of daily life are said to be very authentic. If you understand Turkish you can watch it on the Turkish TV web site, but the first two seasons are on Netflix with English subtitles.
The Leftovers. Three compact seasons describing the interface of the existential and the mundane.
Carrie Coon was great in Gone Girl but this is a different llevel of acting craft.
Piano soundtrack throught is sublime (Max Richter).
Brilliant.
Is Night Gallery on anywhere?
That's one my all time favorites.
The classic try channel MEtv shows Nigh Gallery episodes regularly.
Hi Eugene,
You might enjoy "Pine Gap." It's about a joint US-Australian electronic surveilance installation in Pine Gap Australia, and deals with tension between the US and China (and assorted personal drama). It's pretty well done.
Tom
Neither is recent, but both still have fresh episodes coming:
Fargo
Archer
And since the thread has digressed into TV shows of yore, here are a few I didn't see mentioned:
*Strangers With Candy
*Get a Life
Action (one season only)
Frisky Dingo (animated)
*Juvenile sense of humor required
Animated super-hero: THE TICK.
YMMV, but if you can find it, IMO the short-lived (6 episodes?) live-action version is better.
I think Amazon Prime still has both the new and old live-action versions available.
The Romanoffs.
The End of the F--king World.
It's simple:
Fauda (simply the best right now)
The Staircase (there is no way a lawyer cannot be fascinated by this real-life courtroom drama, not fiction or re-enactments)
I also love Bosch because I have long loved the books (I own or have read every Michael Connelly book). But I'm not sure if someone who wasn't such a Bosch novels fanboy would enjoy the show to the same extent.)
All in all when it comes to TV these days, I would still rather read a book.
Letterkenny. It's a comedy set in rural Ontario about farmboys and the local people of their town. Great if you like strange wordplay. It's a fairly unique experience and it's on Hulu now. Just a show about odd small town people, but not talking down to them or showing them as vile. Good character piece.
I enjoyed the "Turn" historical fiction series, based on the American revolutionary war. Very entertaining! Probably the best one I've seen in years.
I am, for the second time, now engaged in a complete re-watch of "The Sopranos," which holds up incredibly well and blazed such a trail for the best of 21st C-so-far on-screen entertainment.
I have probably watched and re-watched more episodes of the Raymond Burr TV series Perry Mason than most anyone on the planet. Of course, the fine points of the law and accepted legal procedures were often bent beyond recognition, even by the standards of the latter 1950's and early 60's. The producers finessed some latitude in this regard by staging trial-like proceedings that actually were not trials, but only to determine whether a charge should be recommended to a grand jury or not.
Add to that, Perry would employ extraordinary devices to hide witnesses and evidence, or unlikely ways to "test" evidence in open court that often confounded the testimony of expert witnesses. Perry and his handsome Private Investigator Paul Drake searched many a property by finding a door unlocked/ajar? and just wandering in and looking around, going through things. The forte of Perry Mason was the alternative explanation of a crime which would then have to be jammed down the throats of the prosecutor and the judge.
Lastly, there were all those ridiculous blurted-out confessions in open court by the "real" guilty party, who 'fesses up to the whole world and even tries to justify themselves sometimes after Perry mercilessly exposes how they almost got away with it. Of course, human nature precludes that from happening in real life
Please
to post comments
Longmire
The Blacklist
World War II? Napoleonic wars? There better be explosions.
WW2? Try 'Danger Five'.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z09bNgSeMI
Westworld is my favorite show ever. Its only in its 2nd season. I feel like watching it puts you in a place where you have to contemplate what choice you would make in a similar situation with competing moral dillemmas over artificial intelligence. Lots of plot twists and reveals keep you guessing where the story is going. Its equal parts sci-fi and western. No lasers or spaceships, just Turing type robots.
The Worricker Trilogy on BBC/Amazon is fabulously well acted and writtenand has seemingly almost every great British and pseudo-British actor of the day in it. A bit reflexively anti-Israel (Thank you BBC) but really wonderful. Sort of like LeCarre updated but quieter and deeper.
The Netflix "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I have not read the books nor seen any other adaptations.
There are a plethora of oddball characters. The child actors are amazing. The evil guy is amazing. They seem to have taken inordinate care in the production, though the only idea I have on how faithful they are to the books is that supposedly the author likes it.
Each book is two 45 minute episodes.
Also on Netflix, Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is wonderful stories, all different, involving customers of a late night small eatery. The food always makes me hungry, but there's only one season, so it does have an end.
Amazon Prime has Mrs Maisel, which fascinates me as a look into different cultures: 1960 New York Jewish community, early standup, and the whole department store set, as it were. Suzy in particular is one hell of a role and I think they all have fun.
If Midnight Diner sounds good, there's another series on Netflix, Samurai Gourmet, whose food makes me just as hungry, but is an altogether different format. It's a light comedy about a retired salary-man who channels a samurai when he eats out on his daily rambles.
I'd say both will be fine if you like Japanese food.
I like Sherlock but I must say that the latest series is so convoluted with so many story arcs that I have to take notes on paper as each episode goes on.
"Rake", from Australia.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07B8WKM71/ ref=atv_dp_season_select_atf
"Criminal lawyer Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh, "Moulin Rouge!") defends the indefensible. From bigamists to cannibals and everything in between, he is a champion of lost causes - and a victim of his own vices. Guest stars include Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving."
My wife and I are working our way through "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961 - 1966). Carl Reiner created the show, and the writing still shines 58 years later. Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke are wonderful together. The Blu-ray release is stunningly good:
Award winning stuff.
(Fox was deadly dull as they loathed both canddates equally.)