Category: comedy (TV)

TV Review: Ghosts (2019)

When Mike and Alison Cooper learn that Alison has inherited a house in the English countryside from a distant relative, the news could not have come at a better time. They’ve been looking for a place, and the stately historic mansion is far more than they could have ever afforded on their own. They end up with more than they bargain for, though, when Alison has a nearly fatal accident. Its lingering side effects include her being able to see the quirky, tragic ghosts who haunt the place. And wow are there a lot of them, from all different time periods. They range from the surprisingly astute caveman Robin to the over-the-top melodramatic Romantic poet Thomas to the snobby grand Edwardian lady Fanny to more modern ghosts. We won’t even get into all the ghosts crammed in the furnace room. Hilarious complications ensue.

Kelli suggested this delightful British show to me, and I am so glad she did. Thanks for the great recommendation, Kelli! It’s a hilarious show with a lot of heart. Despite the ghostly subplots, it is not really horror, though it does have some amusingly effective jump scares. So, if you want to watch something appropriate for Halloween but are in the mood for something that’s not horror or just don’t have a high tolerance for scary stuff to begin with, check out this show instead.

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TV Review: Justified (2010)

Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood) is unceremoniously banished back to his native Kentucky after his most recent assignment in Miami goes sideways. Let’s just say that Raylan’s quick-draw tendencies probably are a better fit for the 19th century than they are the 21st century. They also say you can’t go home again, but after his dysfunctional, hardscrabble childhood in rural Harlan County, Raylan really doesn’t want to be in Kentucky. Nonetheless, his new boss (Nick Searcy) thinks Raylan may be useful in the task force investigating his one-time coal mining coworker Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), and quite frankly, no other Marshal office wants Raylan. Complications ensue. . . .

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TV Review: All Creatures Great and Small (2020)

James Herriot is a newly qualified Scottish veterinarian who is having trouble finding work during the lean 1930s. His family thinks he may have to join his father on the docks, but he finally gets an opportunity in rural Yorkshire. Upon arrival, he soon learns that his new employer–Siegfried Farnon–is a bit eccentric, to put it mildly, and that practicing veterinary medicine in a rural farming community is quite different from what he learned in the classroom.

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Television Review: Lark Rise to Candleford

In 1890s Oxfordshire, two neighboring towns have a bit of a love/hate relationship. The impoverished rural agricultural hamlet of Lark Rise is small and desperately poor but proud, and its residents are devoted to each other. Nearby Candleford is a larger town and more prosperous. Tension exists between the haves of Candleford and the have-nots of Lark Rise. When teenaged Laura leaves Lark Rise to work at the Candleford post office, she finds herself caught between two worlds that may have more in common than either side thinks. And everyone in both towns find themselves caught in changing times.

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Family Dysfunction, British-Style

Did you know that when you’re in the mood for a good view, your library also has you covered!  And if you need help finding something new and interesting to watch, I am here to help . . . at least once a month when I review a TV show or movie on this blog.

One of the great joys in watching television shows about dysfunctional families is enjoying their antics without personally having to deal with the repercussions. They’re fun to hang out with for a few hours at a time, but there is also something immensely reassuring in knowing that you don’t have to deal with these characters in real life.

And that is exactly the appeal of two British imports I recently watched and enjoyed–The Durrells in Corfu and Blandings. Both are about zany British families in 1920s/1930s, and both are delightfully charming and hilarious. Thanks so much to Julie for adding them both to the library collection!

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