Spending a month with Umbridge

Make no mistake people, this cold I've had for the entire month of July has been a BITCH. You would think I had Consumption but I'm not nearly that ethereal or tragic.


The walk in clinic requested I wear this when I was there.

In fact, I've lived with this cough for so long I named it. She's Umbridge (thanks to Beth for helping the naming process), after the evil Harry Potter character who was forever clearing her throat:  "hem hem". My Umbridge has been equally difficult to get rid of.

The only good thing about having a month-long illness (well, if I'm being honest it's not entirely gone) is that Umbridge and I spent some quality couch time catching up on television. I thought I'd fill you in on what I watched.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3

13 episodes

Dammit, I love this show! I always worry as each season passes if a show is gonna either jump its proverbial shark or just get...lame. I'm happy to report that, for me, neither happened here. Each character continues to become more nuanced and, as one review points out, Kimmy isn't really the "main" character with the others being a Greek chorus; it's a true ensemble piece. The four original characters, Kimmy, Titus, Jaqueline and Lillian get their own complex storylines and become equally important (although Titus remains my very fave). 

Last New Year's Eve I braved the amateur revelers in SF and saw Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski perform together. They were amazing and this season the two had far more screen time together. Winning!  Also, how can you not love a show where a man does his own version of Lemonade when he's feeling jilted, someone is dating Robert Durst, and Maya Rudolph cameos as Dionne Warwick? Pure f-ing gold.

Thumbs way up!

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Season 1

8 episodes

I had seen the ads for this months ago and Elijah Wood was on my favorite podcast (My Dad Wrote a Porno...check it out if you haven't already! You will thank me.) while they were filming. Additionally, I recently listened to a Dirk Gently book (read by author Douglas Adams, RIP) so I thought it was about time I watched this series. 

I liked this series a lot. Samuel Barnett, who plays Dirk, could not be more charming. He's whimsical and nutty yet there is a great deal of depth to his performance. Elijah Wood is also great (but he kind of always is so I'd be bugged if he was phoning it in) and the bevy of supporting characters were all equal to their tasks. Bart, the holistic assassin, is a particular favorite. 

The story is part detective story, part time travel, part science fiction. There were parts of of episodes where I was like "now what the hell is going on??" but some of that can be blamed on Umbridge, I think. Plus there is an adorable black kitten in it. I'm absolutely looking forward to Season 2 (I see that Alan Tudyk will be in the next season! Squee!).

Thumbs up!

Broadchurch Season 2

8 episodes

I was maybe never going to watch this season. I loved Season 1 but Season 2 looked like it was going to be all courtroom drama (I get enough of that on Law & Order episodes which are on 24/7) and angst. And in fact, I had seen some not so favorable reviews.  But I was lured in by my ever-favorite David Tennant, Eve Myles who was in Torchwood and Jodie Whittaker who is the new, female Doctor Who. It is really like a Who convention because Arthur Darville, Rory - companion to Doctor #11 - is also in it. Get a TARDIS in here and we're all good.

Anyway, I thought "I'm sick, I'll check out one episode and see how it goes." Well, I was immediately hooked. 

Broadchurch is a fictional town in Dorset, England. Many of the transition shots are gorgeous views of steep cliffs and pounding ocean waves (a bit like Poldark without the glorious abs). Tennant's character is a police detective who is all sorts of troubled and his partner's husband was the killer in Season 1 so you can imagine how she's doing. They have a great relationship, though. He is gruff and kind of a pillock and she is constantly giving him shit about his attitude. They are charming together.

The directors did employ a bit of a heavy handed (in my opinion) cinematic trope, however. Every single character in this small coastal town has A LOT going on in their lives and most are a bit duplicitous. Every episode has at least one shot of characters standing near something big and reflective (often it's the court building) so the "there are two sides to every issue" idea is hammered home.

The season has a lot of woman-power moments, culminating in an absolutely matriarchal showdown which did Umbridge's and my heart good.
Thumbs up!

(My drink pairing for all these is coconut water. You need to get your electrolytes.)

My takeaways:

#1 - Thank God for Netflix and On Demand. What did folks with colds do before they existed??

#2 - Please note my use of "pillock" above. I watch so much BBC, I'm assimilating into British culture.

#3 - I'm looking forward to NOT posting about being sick soon.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife