What other TV shows do you watch?

[Arcadia]

I definitely pronounce the "h" in whip. Isn't that what it's there for?  

I don't think I notice when other people don't, though. I hear so many accents around here, I think I've become inured to most variations in pronunciation. 

No, the folks in The Alienist don't sound particularly American to me either, but at that period in time, maybe that's what Americans sounded like? I assume that's what they're going for, anyway, a sense of antiquity.

[Carol the Dabbler]

What amazes me is that the product name is actually spelt Cool Whip, rather than Kool Wip or something else more trademarkable.

[Pseudonym]

I started watching Dark Tourist today, apologies to non Netflix folks, that's where I do most of my watching. It's a journalist who tours the world doing dark and disturbing tourist attractions... it's weirdly fascinating. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

This is a real-life journalist?

[Pseudonym]

Yea, it's a documentary. 

It reminds me a little bit of the various Louis Theroux series, but he asks less cringey questions. 

[Pseudonym]

Binge watched the entire season and now have to wait for more to be made.

Was definitely interesting, but I had to close my eyes for some bits. 

[Hikari]

This show has been around since 2014 but I'd only seen one episode.  I'm watching it properly all the way through.

Shetland (BBC-TV) Starring Doug Henshall

This three-season (so far?) series is based on a series of books by Ann Cleves, author of the Vera books.  Set in the starkly beautiful Shetland islands (the dialect is uber-Scots, and Inverness is 'down south'), murders in this rural and sparsely populated region do happen and they are investigated by DI Jimmy Perez and his team.  Raised on remote Fair Isle (pop. 70, or thereabouts, the land of famous sweaters), an unlikely spot for a family with the surname 'Perez', Jimmy works on the main island now which constitutes 'the big city'.  Doug Henshall is a very appealing lead and the scenery is gorgeous.  The music is as evocative as the landscapes.  The pacing tends to resemble treacle in February (or, if up in Shetland, it could be mid-August).  Shetland looks like a wonderful place for a month's holiday; any longer requires a hardy constitution and an equally  hardy pair of hiking boots.

[Carol the Dabbler]

So how does he come by the name Perez?  Or is it a local name that just happens to be spelt the same?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

So how does he come by the name Perez? 

This Wikipedia article  may explain it.  The flagship of the Spanish Armada ran aground on Fair Isle in 1588, so I suppose it's possible that some of the sailors either stayed behind or at least left their genes and surnames.  I've been able to find no mention of Spanish blood in the local population, but it makes an interesting story in any case.

[Hikari]

14 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

This Wikipedia article  may explain it.  The flagship of the Spanish Armada ran aground on Fair Isle in 1588, so I suppose it's possible that some of the sailors either stayed behind or at least left their genes and surnames.  I've been able to find no mention of Spanish blood in the local population, but it makes an interesting story in any case.

Yes, I believe that is the author's explanation.  I have read one book in the series, Raven Black, in which a bit of space is devoted to Jimmy's heritage.  It is my recollection that Jimmy of the books presents as slightly darker and more Spanish looking than does the very fair, blond Doug Henshall.  His name is pronounced 'PEAR-ez', not as we might more likely say "pah-REZ".

There are exponentially many more sheep on Fair Isle than people, if it does not have a greater population than 70 human souls since 1588.

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Hikari said:

Jimmy of the books presents as slightly darker and more Spanish looking than does the very fair, blond Doug Henshall.  His name is pronounced 'PEAR-ez', not as we might more likely say "pah-REZ".

I was already assuming that pronunciation, considering that the name has had over 400 years to become naturalized on Fair Isle.  I once lived in a small town in SE Massachusetts where several formerly French-Canadian names have become wincingly anglicized in far less time than that.

Jimmy himself is likewise 10 to 20 generations removed from some shipwrecked sailor, so his genes have had plenty of time to average out in the local pool.

[Artemis]

I'm in the middle of season 3 of "Fargo" right now, and man is it intense.  I still like season 1 best, but this is good so far.

I also started "Castle Rock" on Hulu.  I only know Stephen King's work moderately well, but I've caught several references so far.  I wasn't sure it'd be something I'd like, but it has me hooked now, unraveling the mystery.

 

[Pseudonym]

Yeesh, I'm watching 'I Survived an Animal Attack.' I'd definitely never go hiking if we had any of these animals. (Or swimming.)

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

Yeesh, I'm watching 'I Survived an Animal Attack.' I'd definitely never go hiking if we had any of these animals. (Or swimming.)

Such as?

[Pseudonym]

Well someone in the US just got savaged by a grizzly, someone from Canada is currently recounting being mauled by a polar bear, and there have been several shark attacks. It's one of those programs that's horrible and yet weirdly fascinating. 

[Pseudonym]

Rattlesnake now. "It was a beautiful thing, but it was a wicked thing..."

And I suspect yet another shark. 

Edit: Ah, turns out it's an alligator. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I know a fellow who was gored by a rhino.  He survived, but is still in a lot of pain.

I should probably not point out that being attacked by wild animals is one of the features of a career in environmental science.  So I won't.

 

[Pseudonym]

Yea, except our wild animals are pretty harmless compared to other countries so *shrug*

[Carol the Dabbler]

Forgot to mention that the rhino goring occurred in England.

[Pseudonym]

I won't be roaming around any safari parks. One of the other attacks on the program was someone getting attacked by a chimp at a sanctuary. Grim. 

[Pseudonym]

Has anyone watched Cardinal? It's a Canadian police drama, nothing overly original but entertaining enough. A bit gross/gory in places. 

[Pseudonym]

OMG, I just watched the first episode of Insatiable on Netflix. There was a lot of uproar when the trailer was first released because it seemed like it was all going to be about fat-shaming. The producers said it was going to be a satire. I thought it sounded like it might be entertaining in a frivolous kind of way, and was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. My god, it's horrific. Pretty much every insulting, inappropriate thing you can think of has a series of gags set up around it, and the examples include pedophilia, cancer, unfounded accusations destroying someone's life, alcoholism, violence, a 'comedic' secretly gay best friend, and a lovely little touch of suicide ideation at the end. I shrug off a lot of crap in TV shows, but I watched most of this with my mouth open unable to quite believe what they were making jokes about. 'Ass cancer,' oh hilarious. Accusations of pedophilia, what could be funnier? Oh, and it also has lines like 'pretty girls don't have to settle'... when it's talking about a court case. WTF. It's just so poorly conceived it's mind boggling. 

[Arcadia]

Now you know how I feel when I read the front page of the Washington Post every morning. I keep thinking I'll get inured to our new "president", but instead I just keep getting more mind-boggled....

[Pseudonym]

I think the rest of the world is with you there.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Now you know how I feel when I read the front page of the Washington Post every morning.

So why do you keep doing that?  Morbid fascination?

Seriously, I don't understand why people feel obligated to keep up with everything that's gone wrong anywhere in the world.  It's depressing as hell, there's hardly ever anything they can do about it, and any time there's a truly major item they'll hear about it anyway.