Game of Thrones (Season 1): I've really enjoyed the books, so I figured I should watch the show. Finally got around to it. Not bad! Very beautiful. Not the most faithful adaptation, but for that it's a really good one. It doesn't do stuff the way it's done in the book just because that's how the book did it. It also doesn't try to fit in every little detail, for which I thank my lucky stars. I am curious to see how it follows through, since some of those changes will prove to be significant as we move forward, but I have faith they can carry a thread.
Now we just need GRRM to finish the next damn book before the series catches up with him.
Sherlock (BBC), Season 2: Even though I really enjoyed Robert Downey Jr's version of Sherlock, I LOVE Benedict Cumberbatch's. (Can I also take a moment to marvel over how delightfully English his name is? Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch! Okay. Aside over.) Martin Freeman also plays a wonderful quintessential Englishman, which is exactly what Watson needs to be, so I fully enjoy watching this adaption. As someone who's read (most of) the Holmes stories and been a fan since the age of 8, I really like what this adaptation does to the stories.
As with Game of Thrones, it's a great adaptation because it doesn't slavishly tie itself to the minutiae of the stories. I do like the sprinkling of details and in-jokes from the originals, I admit. Early Season 1 spent a lot more time making those heavy-handedly obvious, probably in the same way that TV show pilots go out of their way to be explicit about plot points and personalities (in order to establish this all firmly in the mind, so there's no mistaking where this is going). Season 2 is a shade more subtle.
The show's take on Holmesian villainy is quirky. Not entirely sure how I feel about that yet.
Watching Episode 3 of Series 2 on Monday or Tuesday. Then back to waiting.
Downton Abbey: Yep, another British show. Downton Abbey is a fantastic character drama. Despite its token similarity to my interest in other British shows, it is actually a little surprising that I like this show: I generally have *very* little interest in the time period 1880-1950. That speaks a lot to the show's ability to speak in character rather than plot. I watched all of Series 1 in one go, then watched Series 2 followed by Series 1 again when Series 2 came out. Not sure when Series 3 will hit Hulu/Netflix, but once it does I think you can guess what I'm going to be doing.
How I Met Your Mother: And here's a non-British show. I don't remember whether I've mentioned watching this or not. I was very late to the party -- didn't start watching it until Season 6 was midway through -- but I'm glad I came around to it. I'm a NPH fan from days of old (Doogie Howser was one of my favorite re-run TV shows; love him in Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog; and he does stage as well as film, which is always a plus for me), but I am going to shame-facedly admit that my being drawn to this show is probably a LOT like the twenty-somethings of the 90s being drawn to Friends. It's a sitcom about being a twenty-something in the city. I'm a twenty-something in the city (sort of)! I can RELATE.
Actually, I only wish I could relate. It's a lot more like I feel like I have a life and interesting stories to tell because of the show. Oh well.
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I don't have cable/satellite, so I only get my TV through Hulu and Netflix. As a result, I have yet to catch up on Burn Notice (still need to watch Season 5), and I don't pay attention to new shows. I also miss out on commercials. I didn't realize how weird this is until recently, because I'm a shut-in and I hang around nerds who don't watch TV. When I visited my parents, they started talking about their favorite commercials, and I had to keep saying, "I haven't seen that."
I feel even MORE isolated and alone now.
At least I have TV...
