For me, it’s the fatigue. See, by now you probably know I have three incurable , chronic illnesses. You don’t?! 😉 No problem, I’ll run them down for you so YOU KNOW that I know what a bad day, relapse, fatigue or loneliness is. I have Multiple Sclerosis, Ulcerative Colitis and Spondylosis so between the three, I can hide behind a locked door and stream or write for weeks. What’s my viewing preference? Well, it USED to be action and drug game movies person. Now, I’ve transformed myself into a… hmmm…. shhhhiiiiiiiiiid… anything-that-takes-my-mind-off-the-pain kind of person. 😎
I’m wasting your time. Let’s go!
1.) Sense 8 (2 seasons + 2hr finale)
If you have NEVER heard of Sense 8… It’s totally cool beans. The premise is that Sensates have the ability to communicate and “act through each other” regardless of distance or location. Why is it #1? I have MS and I imagine that when my episodes hit, it’s my Sensate needing me so we switch bodies and stuff. You don’t get it do you? Imagine you and I are Sensates. You’re somewhere around the world, struggling to write something and BAM! I start talking to you, telepathically or in-your-mind. You STILL write whatever it is you have to write so I take over body, you take mine. I finish your writing thing, we laugh about it and switch back. Tell me that doesn’t sound FLY THAN A MUTHA! Well, of course, the Sensates have drawbacks, a common enemy and all sorts of drama but that is why you gotta watch it. I will warn you, it starts notoriously slow and confusing. It actually took me three attempts to finish episode one.
2.) Stranger Things (3 seasons)
Off top, I see Stranger Things as ET on steroids. It’s a slow starter too but when it goes, it GOES. The premise is that four middle school friends encounter aliens, a female human experiment and of course become submerged in government conspiracies to cover it all up. If it stopped there, I would not watch but the relationships spiraling off the center plot are amazing. Winona Ryder plays her heart out as the confused but resilient single mother of a missing boy abducted from thin air.
Anthing Marvel (5 series total, 4 independent characters, 1 team based)
Let’s see, Dare Devil is #1 with great fights and a simple yet interesting plot. Unfamiliar? Dare Devil is a blind, pro bono lawyer by day. By night, he is the superhero whose remaining 4 senses give him his superpowers. Jessica Jones is #2 with an outstanding plot and character development. She is an alcoholic private detective with super strength and pretty much nothing else. It gets kinda wild for her juggling personal demons, superpowered cases and monthly bills. I gotta add this, every single character chosen is on point with their appearance! Luke Cage catches #3 purely off its cultural ties and direction. What I mean is it’s strong black cast, Afre Woodard, Mahershala Ali, Frankie Faison before introducing Michael Cotton as the signature hero. It loses major points with the first season villain antics. Iron Fist brings up the #4. Nice action but casting and character development are lacking. I’m an old school fan of comics and know the stories but only pushed through because of that fact. The Defenders has all 4 together! If forced to place a ranking on Defenders vs. the individual series… It would be #3.
4.) You (2 seasons)
Wow… I don’t even know where to start. You is basically the story of a fictional stalker/killer told from the perspective of the stalker/killer. Confused? Probably not yet but the plot twists and storytelling will shake your foundation. Don’t believe me? I wouldn’t believe it either except I’ve obviously watched and obviously feel some kind of way about the perpetrator and victim.
5.) Patriot Act with ( 5 volumes)
Stop. Communicate. Listen. There is something magically terrifying about the way Hasan Minhaj can weave a complicated and intimate connection between current events and your front door. YUP. He drops each episode with careful precision, connecting dots, politicians, personal histories, policies, high levels of greed and corruption. For extra fun and excitement, he interviews pivotal leaders and players about the very questionable decisions that his show is bring attention to. For comparisons sake, call it the Daily Show with Trevor Noah on freaking steroids.
6.) Don’t F*ck With Cats (3 one hour episodes)
Okay, that is IT in a nutshell. Don’t f*ck with cats. I’m dead ass serious homie. Let’s start with this. True story. Couple years ago, some dude starts posting kitten killing videos on FB. Real talk. He is recording himself killing kittens and posts that crap. The documentary is the 3-year search to find him. I get it. You’re not an animal lover so why do you care. I am not either but this thing gets deep, grimy and gritty. Literally thousands of online users are uniting across FREAKING CONTINENTS to catch him. They set up FB groups, chats, all kinds of stuff and HE somehow infiltrates the search groups and starts threatening the searchers because he finds their identities before they find his. REAL SHIT SHOW! How interesting was it? I watched it alone, bragged so much about it that I watched it AGAIN within a week with family, on New Year’s Day.
7.) The Witcher (1 season)
I’m bringing up Witcher but I admit, I struggled with it. Personally, I felt the characters were ALL underdeveloped. Witcher is based on a collection of Polish short stories about a monster hunter named Geralt. His “kind” are not welcome among regular people because the stories surrounding Witchers, their greed, powers, ambitions, etc. So, the premise is he adventures about the land, slaying monsters, avoiding human affairs, unknowingly running towards the very destiny he abhors, blah blah blah. I haven’t sold it yet have I? Cool beans. Henry Cavill as the long, white haired Witcher is really, REALLY good. Netflix slides in the love-making scenes with a Game-of-Thrones feel just for kicks but the special effects were nice. I dig how Netflix selects super powered stuff that doesn’t rely too heavily on crazy super powers like, flight, eye beams, energy, etc. The bard is an interesting side story as well.
8.) Hap & Leonard (3 seasons)
DISCLAIMER: I am a Michael K. Williams fan. Matter fact, I’m such a fan, I ONLY tried the show out because he was in it. Yoooo… I’m glad I did because I really dig it. You got 2 homies looking for treasure. Classic tale right? Yes BUT this is another example of just flat out great acting and perfect casting taking over the script. Michael Williams does his thing as expected. James Purefoy, his homie Hap, and Christina Hendricks, Hap’s ex, are going toe-to-toe in this series. Their behaviors and mannerisms feel authentic as HECK! The storyline is consistent too so I focused on the acting and character development.
9.) Shot In The Dark (1 season)
I am not a reality show guy. Faaaaaar from it. 🤷🏾♂️ Closest I come to a reality show is NFL Football. That is until THIS series blew me away. The series follows rival freelance stringers and the insanity involving their chosen professions. Maaaaaaan, I had no idea what a stringer was either! 🤣🤣 Stringers are the people that make a living being the first to video car wrecks, fires, murder scenes and everything negative in your local news cycle. Yeah, who wants that job? Not me but OMG is it captivating. They’re up ALL night, driving in shifts or solo, multiple police scanners, armed with oodles of high quality cameras and pull up to the WORST scenes and record. Lots of times, they don’t even offer to help to show themselves. They record and immediately start contacting competing news outlets to sell to highest bidder. You, me, we, are home watching the news unbeknownst to how ABC, CBS, FOX gets all that prime, local action. Stringers! And, and, AND they’re beefing with each other, fighting, hustling, the whole nine. It is a cold world out there and somebodies are making a serious profit filming it all.
10.) Abducted In Plain Sight ( 1.5 hour documentary)
*stares at reader*
You don’t get it folks. The title is very clear, Abducted in Plain Sight. Somebody was kidnapped, maybe broad daylight, maybe at a public space but you know somebody was taken. Then the true story absolutely goes bonkers with reckless faith and sheer ignorance. A young girl was kidnapped multiple times by a family’s adult, male friend. Yes, you read right, kidnapped multiple times by the saaaaaaaame friend. What. The. ____?! AND the parents are willing participants in the documentary giving such honest, naive explanations that it rubs your soul. I mean, again. The SAME friend kidnaps their 12 year old daughter multiple times. SPOILER! Naw, I won’t ruin the TRUE story buuuuuuut…. this documentary will have calling and telling others to watch because you’re sitting in hot disbelief.
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