Tag: TV shows

Between Things: Technology Has Betrayed Us

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We finally watched Hamilton! Yay! Wanna know what we thought? Well, you can’t! Apparently, the Universe (aka Pay’s aging MacBook Air) doesn’t want you to hear what we have to say about it and has destroyed our recording. So no new episode at the moment, but thankfully technology hasn’t yet stopped Pay from blogging about TV watching and book reading.

Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)

A TV show that’s based on a movie that’s based on a book that’s about real life. Layers.

Lots of folks have told me to watch Friday Night Lights, the critically-acclaimed NBC drama based on Friday Night Lights, the critically-acclaimed film… Which is, in turn, inspired by Friday Night Lights: a Town, a Team, and a Dream, the critically-acclaimed non-fiction book. If you’ve never heard of the TV show, the film, or the non-fiction book, you might not know that they all feature a small Texas town where life revolves around high school football. So, if you didn’t know that before, you do now. This is a place of learning and facts.

Various Dillon residents assume various power stances/squats/sits

In Friday Night Lights, the TV Show, we follow Coach Eric Taylor, the beloved coach of the Panthers, a successful high school football team in the fictional Texas town of Dillon. Although Coach Taylor is at the center of the show, we also spend a lot of time with his wife, Tami, their daughter, Julie, the players and their families.

Although it took a few episodes for it to grab me, I ended up really enjoying the show. At it’s core, it’s a feel-good, optimistic drama, that celebrates family – blood or otherwise – and community. Also it does that magical thing where it tricks you, the viewer who doesn’t care about sports, into thinking you might actually care about sports. But then you realize you’ve just become very attached to Matt Saracen and you want him to be the best quarterback he can be because his home life is hard and he’s so precious and takes such good care of his grandma and is just too good for this world!!!

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

My friends, I’m attempting another Goodreads Reading Challenge this year. I’m only doing 12 books this time because I’m a woman who learns from her past mistakes and knows not to repeat them.

One of the books I’ve read this year is The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. A couple years ago, I made it a goal to read more fantasy and sci-fi by women of color, especially black women. A lot of my Googling “black woman fantasy novel good ones where to start please help” led me to N.K. Jemisin. So on my list she went.

This novel, the first in a trilogy, tells the story of Yeine, who is summoned to the capital by her estranged grandfather to compete for his throne. The story itself is fairly contained, but there are large scope things like captured gods and religious propaganda and the mystery of the falling out between Yeine’s mother and her grandfather.

This was a fun read. When I finished it, I did feel like there was something more I wanted from the story but it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly that was. Despite that, once things got going, and Yeine started unraveling some interesting mysteries, I was along for the ride.

As I understand it, the sequel leaves Yeine behind and focuses on another character in this world. Jemisin has some cool and unique world-building here, so I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy at some point. And a lot of people recommending Jemisin seem to really like her later series, so I look forward to reading those as well.

Please Like Me (2013-2016)

I don’t think I actually knew anything about Please Like Me when I added it to my Hulu watchlist some time ago. But I added it and then I guess I forgot about it? I don’t know. My mind is a mysterious thing.

Thankfully, I was reminded of its existence when the show’s creator, Josh Thomas, created another show called Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. At the recommendation of a friend, I watched a few episodes of that but decided I just had to see Josh Thomas’ first creation first.

PLM is quintessential dramedy. It’s funny and witty and absurd but also – watch out! – you could be crying any minute. I liked this one a lot. I was constantly impressed by the weird ways they weaved in poignant and moving moments. Also watching a coming out story that isn’t fraught or dramatic is always refreshing. Thomas does not shy away from showing men loving on and being sexual with other men, which I think is lovely. I also loved that one of the core relationships of the show is the strong friendship between Josh and his best friend and roommate, Tom. Men! It’s okay to love your male friends a lot!

Anyway, watch Please Like Me.

Just because there’s no new episode this week, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep an eye/ear out for the next one! You better subscribe so you know when it’s coming! Or why not even suggest a thing? Do it! We dare you!

Episode 9: The Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestig(ious)

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Our experiences as Black and Latinx women frame our conversations on the podcast. We create this show for our own entertainment, but know there are others listening who may expect us to talk about the fight to end police brutality against Black Americans. For many reasons we do not delve deep into the real world parallels of today’s episode topic, not least of which is the fact that we recorded this before the current Black Lives Matter protests across the country.

It feels surreal that people still need to hear this: Black. Lives. Matter. No ifs, no buts, no “perfect victims.” Every Black life matters.

We hope this episode offers a brief escape from the onslaught of news, if you need it. We also hope you, like us, are keeping informed, and listening to local and national community leaders on how to help dismantle the system built to oppress Black people. The resources are out there. Find them. Use them.

The thing about prestigious institutions is that they usually cost money. That holds true not just in universities but also in TV viewing opportunities. Seeing as neither of us has had regular access to HBO, it’s no surprise that we had never actually watched some of the most well-regarded television shows in recent history.

Cover of The Wire, Season 1

In this episode we discuss the first episode of The Wire, one of the most compelling shows to showcase the relationship between Black communities and the police, and a two time-Emmy winning drama. As Maryland natives of a certain age, people were generally shocked when we would say we had never seen the show.

We both could see why this show is so well-regarded and agreed it is well worth finishing the series. Though considering the heavy, realistic subject matter, it’s not something we can just pick up on a whim. We’ll have to be in a the right mindset to be able to watch it all.

Next we watched Veep, the multi-Emmy awarded comedy. Seeing as this show came out shortly after college when we were both severely underemployed, it’s not much of a shock we didn’t have regular HBO access.

As fans of British comedy, we could see the similarities to the original British material. Even so, this first episode didn’t really grab Pay at first, but by the end of the discussion she was convinced to give a few more episodes a try.

Episode Highlights

  • Which one of us got a quarantine home hair cut?
  • How much time do we spend talking about Idris Elba?
  • Was May the worst month of 2020? (Honestly, TBD.)

Further Reading/Watching