The Idiot Box
Thoughts on TV shows and my current viewing habits
Last November, CBS chose not to make season 4 of Star Trek Discovery available on Netflix. Netflix has been the home of this show outside of the US, for the past four years. This is due to Paramount + being launched in Europe sometime in 2022 and CBS wants to keep such a popular franchise on their own streaming platform. Naturally fans were unhappy. Then to add insult to injury CBS pulled all prior seasons of Star Trek Discovery from Netflix. However, due to the negative feedback, a last minute deal was made with Pluto TV; a streaming service which offers 110+ live TV channels on its UK platform and hundreds of on-demand films and TV episodes. It’s a free service supported by adverts and it lacks the polish and presentation of Netflix. I don’t consider it an optimal way to watch a show such as Star Trek Discovery. This is a timely reminder how licensed content can “vanish” from your platform of choice.
So much for what I haven’t been watching. Here’s a summary of the shows that I have managed to watch in the last three months.
Stay Close is a British mystery drama miniseries based on the 2012 novel by Harlan Coben. The story has been relocated from the US to the UK and I was quite surprised how well this change works. Megan Pierce (Cush Jumbo) is a suburban mum living in the suburb, harbouring a secret. Michael Broome (James Nesbitt) is a detective still haunted by a cold case from seventeen years ago. Their paths cross when a new missing person's case impacts upon both their pasts. Stay Close is involving, convoluted and entertaining although I doubt real life crime is ever this complex.
Four Lives. This three part drama follows the true story of the families of four young gay men. Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor were murdered by Stephen Port between in 2014 and 2015. There deaths were not initially treated as murders or connected and the police investigation was a litany of incompetence and institutional prejudice. Sheridan Smith stars as Sarah Sak, the mother of Anthony Walgate who campaigned tirelessly to get justice for her son. There’s also a compelling performance by comedian and writer Stephen Merchant as the killer Stephen Port.
Universe. Professor Brian Cox tries to make the complexities of the universe accessible to the general public in this four part series. It treads a difficult path, trying to make the impenetrable and at times abstract science understandable to the layman. It takes time to dwell on the majesty of the universe but in doing so comes across as ponderous at times. Perhaps a shorter running time for each episode would have helped. It’s always a pleasure to see the BBC producing science content but this worthy show does fall between two stools.
After Life. Season 3 of Ricky Gervais’s black comedy drama was a necessary codicil to the story arc. There was a need for closure regarding the fate of specific characters such as Postman Pat (Joe Wilkinson) and Kath (Diane Morgan). I personally still found it funny and applaud the realities of life that Gervais does not shy away from. I believe it played better with viewers than it did with the critics who seem at times too focused on analysis, context and intent rather than just experiencing the show.
Reacher. I’ve not read any of the Jack Reacher books but was aware that a lot of fans were not happy with the casting of Tom Cruise in the two feature films. This eight part television adaptation of the first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor, does exactly what it’s supposed to. Ex-Military Policemen, Jack Racher, visits the town of Margrave, Georgia, and becomes embroiled in a murderous conspiracy by a gang of counterfeiters. Reacher is deadpan, the dialogue is hard boiled and the action scenes are gritty. Alan Ritchson looks the part and is very likeable. The show doesn’t reinvent the wheel but delivers on its promise. It’s all very binge watchable, which is what everyone I know who’s watched it has done. I’d happily watch another season.
