Here's what I'm watching
15:13TV used to take up so much of my life, replaced it with Jesus, now I'm watching a sane amount of television. Fab stuff.
Here's a few shows for your consideration:
1. The Five
One day in 1995, four youngsters, Mark, Danny, Slade and Pru, play a sick prank (some call it a joke but I found it downright cruel) on Mark's younger brother, Jesse. On this day, Jesse goes missing, leaving the others and Mark's parents - especially his mother - are grieving and traumatised.
A serial killer, Jakob Marosi, claims responsibility for the murder of eight year old Jesse and everyone else tries to live with the pain of what has happened.
Twenty years later, Mark is a lawyer, Danny is a detective, Slade runs a shelter for disadvantaged youths and Pru is a doctor who has just returned from living in the States for many years.
Danny is called onto a called onto the bloody scene of a murdered prostitute - and discovers Jesse's DNA at the scene.
That last line completely drew me in and I made it a point to watch the show and my sister and I made it our show to watch.
For one, I was shocked to discover it was a British drama. I hadn't seen any promo for it and just assumed it was an American show so hearing their accents and clocking the UK was a surprise.
Also, all the claps go to Tico Poulakakis, the show's cinematographer who did an outstanding job. It was one of the first things I commented on and I was able to admire it throughout the series.
Now on to what I thought about the actual content...
With such a strong premise I was disappointed to find that the execution fell flat for me. Ten episodes were way too long; a (maximum) four part miniseries would have been enough. With the many episodes, the story kept dragging on, thus creating a boring watch.
Around episode 2 or 3, I wanted to give up and fought so hard throughout the series to not just Wikipedia episode ten. In fact, I pretty much only continued because a lot of IMDB reviewers said that the finale's twist would be worth it.
The twist was good, I will not lie, I let out a dramatic gasp but after the initial shock wore off, I was left thinking, 'is that it?'.
The cast were really solid even though I found most of the characters to be unreliable and/or annoying and like I said, the plot is gripping but The Five just didn't do enough to be thoroughly engaging.
2. Daria
The amount of times I've been compared to this chick is a lot and last week I realised that I've barely watched any episodes so I set about correcting that problem.
Daria Morgendorffer is a bundle of joy, never without a smile on her face, filled with a zest for life an intelligent, monotonous, blasé teenager who, well look at her. Her expression says it all.
I like her a lot though, sure I think sometimes she needs to take time and not be so damn cheeky but eh, she's happy.
Daria is a foil to pretty much everyone around her, especially her family which consists of vapid younger sister Quinn, who doesn't want to know if it's not fashion or popularity, her workaholic attorney mother, Helen, who is the breadwinner in the Morgendoffer family and clueless but well-meaning father who is prone to getting seriously angry over minute things, Jake.
Daria gets through life with help from her best friend Jane, who is cynical albeit more positive and tolerant than Daria.
Daria is a sound illustration of teenage life and is thoroughly entertaining in its own droll way. I feel her and Jane on a level, and it's ridiculous how often I'm like 'same' when they say something. Plus, Daria has the best one-liners, seriously, look them up.
3. Jane the Virgin
I will be discussing this show in relation to how much has aired so far in the UK, so spoiler alert, and please, if you know more than I do, refrain from telling me lest I cry.
This show is EVERYTHING.
I had to do a subtle build up of font sizes for you to grasp my dramatic love for Jane Gloriana Villanueva and the life she leads. For one, she is an excellent role model, not perfect but also not trying to be. She makes mistakes, she freaks out but she loving, kind and passionate.
Honestly, this show has my heart. So much so that I low-key don't want to talk about it, I just want you to watch it. (By the way, I've just been spending quite a bit of time looking for the accurate pepe meme to put alongside how I would watch someone watch JTV but alas, to no avail).
JTV is set in sunny Miami, where Jane lives with her really out-there mother, Xiomara, who had her at sixteen and abuelá (grandmother), Alba who is strict but loving, highly religious woman. The Venezuelan American family live modestly and the intelligent Jane is working really hard to get through school and become a writer, whilst juggling a job as a waitress of the Marbella Hotel. One day, Jane goes to the doctor for a checkup when she is accidentally ARTIFICIALLY INSEMINATED. I mean, could you imagine?!
Now Jane's pregnant and it turns out the baby's father is none other than Rafael Solano 1. a married man 2. her boss 3. someone she once kissed years prior 4. former lothario 5. cancer survivor and 6. brother to the doctor that artificially inseminated in the first place !!! (I hope you imagined a piano's lower keys being hit in a rising, suspenseful manner after every number).
If you think this reads dramatic, it's because JTV is comically so. Loosely based on a Venezuelan telenovela, Juana la Virgen, the show is essentially a satirical telenovela. I think I may have mentioned before that my family and I used to be completely hooked on El Cuerpo del Deseo about this guy who comes back from the freaking dead and- Grace calm down, that's for another day. Anyway, I am a massive fan of the Latin culture and telenovelas so I'm right at home with JTV which gives viewers a glimpse into what so many people call real life.
The show however, isn't all silly, and deals with some serious issues such as mental health and unwanted pregnancies.
The cast is stellar, Gina Rodriguez is mesmerising in the title role and I'm always in awe of how easily she cries. I don't have enough words to type out my praise for her, I love her and I'm so excited to watch her career grow.
I can find no fault in the rest of the cast, from Yael Grobglas (whose comedic timing is perfect btw) as Petra Solano, Raf's former wacko wife who actually is not as evil as she once was, to Jaime Camil as Jane's father and famous telenovela star, Rogelio de la Vega, who I think is my favourite character. Narcissistic but with a heart of gold, it's never a dull moment when he is on screen, more time I'm smiling as soon as I see him. #whipped #rogelio4eva And guys, Jane's son Mateo is the most adorable boy and best behaved baby actor ever!
By the above screenshot of my Tweet/Twitter, y'all now know that I am #teammj (Rogelio would be proud) for life, I like Jane and (meh) Raf individually but together, as couple, it doesn't sit well with my spirit. Where I'm at, Jane and Michael are due for marriage in like the next episode or something, and the feels are real.
One day in 1995, four youngsters, Mark, Danny, Slade and Pru, play a sick prank (some call it a joke but I found it downright cruel) on Mark's younger brother, Jesse. On this day, Jesse goes missing, leaving the others and Mark's parents - especially his mother - are grieving and traumatised.
A serial killer, Jakob Marosi, claims responsibility for the murder of eight year old Jesse and everyone else tries to live with the pain of what has happened.
Twenty years later, Mark is a lawyer, Danny is a detective, Slade runs a shelter for disadvantaged youths and Pru is a doctor who has just returned from living in the States for many years.
Danny is called onto a called onto the bloody scene of a murdered prostitute - and discovers Jesse's DNA at the scene.
That last line completely drew me in and I made it a point to watch the show and my sister and I made it our show to watch.
For one, I was shocked to discover it was a British drama. I hadn't seen any promo for it and just assumed it was an American show so hearing their accents and clocking the UK was a surprise.
Also, all the claps go to Tico Poulakakis, the show's cinematographer who did an outstanding job. It was one of the first things I commented on and I was able to admire it throughout the series.
Now on to what I thought about the actual content...
With such a strong premise I was disappointed to find that the execution fell flat for me. Ten episodes were way too long; a (maximum) four part miniseries would have been enough. With the many episodes, the story kept dragging on, thus creating a boring watch.
Around episode 2 or 3, I wanted to give up and fought so hard throughout the series to not just Wikipedia episode ten. In fact, I pretty much only continued because a lot of IMDB reviewers said that the finale's twist would be worth it.
The twist was good, I will not lie, I let out a dramatic gasp but after the initial shock wore off, I was left thinking, 'is that it?'.
The cast were really solid even though I found most of the characters to be unreliable and/or annoying and like I said, the plot is gripping but The Five just didn't do enough to be thoroughly engaging.
2. Daria
The amount of times I've been compared to this chick is a lot and last week I realised that I've barely watched any episodes so I set about correcting that problem.
Daria Morgendorffer is
I like her a lot though, sure I think sometimes she needs to take time and not be so damn cheeky but eh, she's happy.
Daria is a foil to pretty much everyone around her, especially her family which consists of vapid younger sister Quinn, who doesn't want to know if it's not fashion or popularity, her workaholic attorney mother, Helen, who is the breadwinner in the Morgendoffer family and clueless but well-meaning father who is prone to getting seriously angry over minute things, Jake.
Daria gets through life with help from her best friend Jane, who is cynical albeit more positive and tolerant than Daria.
 |
| Daria and Jane are not here to play with you |
3. Jane the Virgin
I will be discussing this show in relation to how much has aired so far in the UK, so spoiler alert, and please, if you know more than I do, refrain from telling me lest I cry.
This show is EVERYTHING.
I had to do a subtle build up of font sizes for you to grasp my dramatic love for Jane Gloriana Villanueva and the life she leads. For one, she is an excellent role model, not perfect but also not trying to be. She makes mistakes, she freaks out but she loving, kind and passionate.
Honestly, this show has my heart. So much so that I low-key don't want to talk about it, I just want you to watch it. (By the way, I've just been spending quite a bit of time looking for the accurate pepe meme to put alongside how I would watch someone watch JTV but alas, to no avail).
JTV is set in sunny Miami, where Jane lives with her really out-there mother, Xiomara, who had her at sixteen and abuelá (grandmother), Alba who is strict but loving, highly religious woman. The Venezuelan American family live modestly and the intelligent Jane is working really hard to get through school and become a writer, whilst juggling a job as a waitress of the Marbella Hotel. One day, Jane goes to the doctor for a checkup when she is accidentally ARTIFICIALLY INSEMINATED. I mean, could you imagine?!
Now Jane's pregnant and it turns out the baby's father is none other than Rafael Solano 1. a married man 2. her boss 3. someone she once kissed years prior 4. former lothario 5. cancer survivor and 6. brother to the doctor that artificially inseminated in the first place !!! (I hope you imagined a piano's lower keys being hit in a rising, suspenseful manner after every number).
If you think this reads dramatic, it's because JTV is comically so. Loosely based on a Venezuelan telenovela, Juana la Virgen, the show is essentially a satirical telenovela. I think I may have mentioned before that my family and I used to be completely hooked on El Cuerpo del Deseo about this guy who comes back from the freaking dead and- Grace calm down, that's for another day. Anyway, I am a massive fan of the Latin culture and telenovelas so I'm right at home with JTV which gives viewers a glimpse into what so many people call real life.
The show however, isn't all silly, and deals with some serious issues such as mental health and unwanted pregnancies.
The cast is stellar, Gina Rodriguez is mesmerising in the title role and I'm always in awe of how easily she cries. I don't have enough words to type out my praise for her, I love her and I'm so excited to watch her career grow.
I can find no fault in the rest of the cast, from Yael Grobglas (whose comedic timing is perfect btw) as Petra Solano, Raf's former wacko wife who actually is not as evil as she once was, to Jaime Camil as Jane's father and famous telenovela star, Rogelio de la Vega, who I think is my favourite character. Narcissistic but with a heart of gold, it's never a dull moment when he is on screen, more time I'm smiling as soon as I see him. #whipped #rogelio4eva And guys, Jane's son Mateo is the most adorable boy and best behaved baby actor ever!
 |
| always. |
If you don't already, watch this show.
Doctor's orders. But not Raf's sister. Another doctor.
Guys cry with me: one crazy busy day at work, I was running around the shop floor with a mountain of clothes in my hand and as I'm rushing someone catches my eye. It honestly seemed to happen in slow motion as I looked but because of the pressure I was under I kept running. When everything dies down and I have a moment to myself , I realise who I saw. I realise who I nearly bumped into.
...
Gina Rodriquez.
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