Whatcha watchin?

Early fall brings many good things, nestled in among the bad. For me, the negatives are shorter days, increasingly cooler temperatures and more time spent indoors than out. The positives are many: more time for reading (another blog topic to come), more time for writing, more quiet time for introspection and hopefully growth after the wonderfully manic pace of summer.

One of my favorite things about early fall is the start of the new T.V. season. I know it sounds shallow, and it probably is, but I LOVE good visual storytelling and recently T.V. has gone from good to really great, better even than most of the movies I’ve seen in the last year. I thought I’d share some of my favorite shows with you and hear what you love to curl up with in your down time.

I just started a new series from PBS called: “Last Tango in Halifax“. It is about two people who reconnect on FaceBook after a failed date sixty years before. It stars Derek Jacobi, who is wonderful and has a cast of really messed up family members who threaten this new love that’s actually been decades in the making. I’ve only seen two episodes, but they’ve been great. I love quirky families and these characters don’t disappoint.

Foyle’s War is back and it has some of the best writing and acting on T.V. Michael Kitchen is a master and Honeysuckle Weeks is captivating. For those of you who like WWII period pieces and mysteries, this is great.

I’ve also enjoyed Ripper Street and am looking forward to the new season. It’s set in Jack the Ripper’s London, but it’s not really about him. There are three main male characters and the interplay among them is what makes the show for me. Watching Mathew McFadden is no hardship, either.

Since I started with the Brits, here’s some more worth seeing if you get a chance: “Inspector Lewis” is set in Oxford, is well written and the relationship between Lewis and his younger partner, Hathaway, is often wickedly funny; for those of you who enjoy cozy mysteries, “Rosemary & Thyme” is easy to get hooked on; “Sherlock” is FANTASTIC! I can’t wait for that to begin again, although I’ll be waiting until the new year. The writing and acting in SHERLOCK has no peer. It’s that good.

Now onto American and Canadian T.V. I really enjoyed the first season of “Newsroom” a lot. I loved the fast pace, the odd, yet uniformly genuine, characters. I’m still loving “Supernatural” after so many seasons, probably because it’s one of those shows my son and I share an affinity for.  We watched the pilot for “Sleepy Hollow” and although I’m not sold yet, I’m hopeful for the promise of where it could go. “Person of Interest” is intriguing. I didn’t think anyone, no matter how good the writer, could get me to empathize with artificial intelligence, but these writers have. I also like looking at Jim Caviezel. Who knew he had a sense of comedic timing? “Strike Back” is great if you’re into international espionage thrillers, which I am. Both of the male leads are continual eye candy, but it’s the surprises that make this show special. And for those of you who like westerns, and who if they’re honest doesn’t, “Longmire” just gets better with every episode.

The new show I’m most looking forward to is: S.H.I.E.L.D written by Joss Whedon! I love his writing and am so happy Agent Coulson is back among the living. He made the Avengers movie for me. Hope this new show is as good. FIREFLY was one of the all time greats in my opinion and still has a loyal fan base. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on NetFlix, check it out!

Shameless Plug……..I’m excited to watch the second season of VIKINGS from the History channel. I enjoyed the look and the feel of the show as much as the acting, the writing and the story lines. It isn’t due out until winter 2014, which is excellent for me because I’m currently working on a Scottish historical set during the Viking period in Scotland, circa 900AD. I’m loving the story and hoping that the second season of VIKINGS helps draw interest!

So, what do you love to watch? What are you most interesting in seeing this fall? What about T.V. grabs your imagination and holds on? I’d love to hear about some shows I haven’t discovered yet!

Leigh