Thankful for TV Binging

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for many things, including all of you that read and support my blog.  It truly has been very helpful and means a lot to me.  I wish you and all your loved ones many blissful moments.

One great thing about long holiday weekends is being able to binge watch TV and catch up on or start shows you've been meaning to watch.  Here are two of my favorites that are pretty quick to get through.  Really I was just going to mention one, but since it's a bit dark and heavy, I thought I'd throw in a comedy for those of you that want to watch something lighter during the holiday.

Broadchurch
This series follows a small seaside town as it copes with and tries to find the culprit in the murder of an 11-year-old boy.  Leading the investigation are a detective brought in from out of town, who seems to be damaged and have secrets of his own (David Tennant), and a capable and kind local who was passed up for a promotion when he came in to fill that role (Olivia Colman).  As the series unfolds, we find that in this small town where everyone knows each other, everyone has secrets to hide and anyone could be guilty.  You're left guessing whodunit right up until the end.  Even the cast didn't find out who the murderer was until near the end of filming.

In addition to gripping writing and amazing acting, the tellers of this story were brilliant in their choices for cinematography, editing, and music.  It's no wonder it received such critical acclaim, awards, and viewer popularity.  It was brought back for a second series with a different crime at the center of the story, so if you have time after watching the first series, go ahead and watch the second.

The Thick of It
One of the funniest shows I've seen, this political comedy follows the ridiculous (and maybe not that far off) dealings of Members of Parliament and their staff.  The star of the show is a character named Malcolm Tucker, wonderfully played by Peter Capaldi, who is the character we all know exists in politics everywhere but who we may not always know by name.  He's the spin doctor, the puppeteer, the guy that can "convince" people to act, speak, and vote in the way that's needed at the time.  In real life we hate them, but as a TV character, we can't help but love this particular foul-mouthed incarnation.

Just a warning, there is a lot of foul language in The Thick of It, so if you're sensitive to that, I'd recommend watching something else.  Another comedy I like is Rev. - It's about a vicar and his relationships with his parish, the church, and his family.  It's funny, sweet, and also has the lovely Olivia Colman in a very different role than the one she plays in Broadchurch.  (For some reason, the third season of Rev. doesn't seem to be on Amazon at this time, but it may be available on Hulu.)

So those are my two (or three) picks for this Thanksgiving weekend.  Something entertaining to avoid the stress and mess of shopping.  If you need a shopping fix, you can always shop online while watching these shows.  Why deal with grumpy, swear-y, aggressive shoppers when you can watch grumpy, swear-y, aggressive, but lovable characters on TV?

Basketball - from the NBA to college

It's almost time!  In two days, we see the first official game of the college basketball season.  I love watching college basketball and have since 2000, but every year between April and October/November, I seem to forget how much.  When I watch that first game in the fall, I am consumed by bliss stronger than I anticipated.  No matter what happened that day, I instantly feel great.

I've written and talked about my history with basketball quite a bit in school applications, job interviews, and elsewhere, but for those of you not familiar with the story . . .

I haven't always had such kind feelings towards basketball.  I remember going to my brother's games when we were younger, but I don't actually remember watching much.  I was probably finding some other form of entertainment like climbing on and under the bleachers or checking out the concessions stand while the game was going on.  I remember getting Gene Keady's autograph but really only finding it interesting/exciting because other people found it interesting/exciting.  And I definitely felt some resentment towards my high school athletics department in general because they kept getting funding even though our teams were not very good while the music department experienced cuts and had some of the best choirs in the region.

But in 1998, my attitude started to soften.  I accidentally started watching the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers.  As often happened, I was doing homework with the TV on, and I was too lazy to change the channel.  I caught myself watching the game, and I became hooked.  Maybe Reggie Miller's three-pointers have some hypnotic quality.  I actively tuned in to the rest of the finals, disappointed when the Pacers lost and thrilled when the Bulls beat the Jazz.

For years after that, I followed the finals closely, picking which team I would support on a series-by-series basis.  Growing up in an area where the closest NBA team were the Toronto Raptors, I didn't have any strong allegiances. Which brings me to college basketball.

While I became a fan of the NBA in '98, I still didn't have much interest in college, high school, or any other form of basketball.  Those other games just didn't seem as exciting.  Then team allegiance sucked me in.  I got into a college that had a decent team.  Even before I finished the first semester of my senior year in high school, I started following the Stanford Cardinal.  Not having cable, I couldn't watch the game, but I definitely knew and celebrated when Stanford beat Duke in the Pete Newell Challenge in December 2000.  And I closely watched and followed every game in the NCAA tournament that season, and every season since then.  (More on the tourney some other time.  It deserves it's own post.)

Having a team to root for made the game that much better.  And the more I watched college basketball, the more I appreciated the strategy, skill, team dynamics, leadership, etc.  It quickly overtook my love of the NBA, which to me had more flash but not as much heart and soul.

The best part of college basketball was being able to watch all the home games in person.  Before college, I had never gone to a live game, other than my brother's or my high school's.  There's nothing like watching 10 talented players and 2 legendary coaches battle it out while standing on the floor, center court, with just two rows of rich people in folding chairs in front of you.  In college, every single game matters, and everyone involved cares deeply about what happens and the outcome.

That's why, come Friday night, you know what I'll be doing.