What's on the box?

 Howdy All!

It’s Michelle here. We Cats have decided to incorporate a monthly group post to share some of our favourite things…and this month we thought we’d share our current favourite TV addictions. :-)

And just for a giggle -- here's a picture of me with our very first TV set. We had the grand total of two television stations and thought we were the bees knees! Dear me, how times change. We now have so many channels I'm in danger of developing RSI whenever I decide to channel surf. :-)

So, what are we LoveCats watching (obsessing about!) on the box at the moment...?

 Bronwyn: My favourite addictive TV show is Nashville. I record it every Thursday night and save for a little slice of weekend indulgence (preferably with a slice of something indulgent, like cake or pie!) I’ve had my on-again off-again times over the four (I think!) series but at the moment it’s very much on-again.  I love the Nashville/music industry setting and I loved the original premise pitting an aging Queen of Country against the young, bad-girl diva. I love how backstory informs the character flaws. I love the music and the cameos by real stars — Elton John this past week — and the cast of characters with their on-again off-again relationships...not only romantic, but friendships and rivalries and management and producers and songwriting partners. If there is one character you totally don’t get (I’m looking at you Deacon Claybourne!) then there’s always another to enjoy.

Yvonne: There’s pretty much only one show on in NZ right now that has me riveted and that is How To Get Away With Murder. Honestly, I think it’s so twisted and manipulated and I dislike each and every character in one way or another but I feel compelled to watch because of the twists and turns in the ever-evolving tale. As each sin of the past or present is revealed and just when I think everything is lost, or about to be wrapped up, something else even more convoluted happens to enmesh everyone even stronger in the growing web of truths, lies and deceit and the story shoots off in another direction to totally enthrall me.

Amy: I’m currently loving Call The Midwife. I’m not sure if it’s because of my own nursing background or the fact that midwives fascinate me or the nostalgia that drips from every second but I’m totally bewitched by it. It brings out all the feels with its exquisite writing. There’s rarely an episode that doesn’t have me tearing up at some point. I think it’s that strange mix of gritty and dreamy. Harsh realities trumped by youth and ideals and optimism. I also love that its essentially a female story, a window into a time when birthing was secret women’s business. And Vanessa Redgrave’s gorgeous narration is the cherry on top.
 

Jen: Favourite TV Show…wow, that’s a tough one. We are in the middle of so many great series at the moment including The Good Wife, Vikings, Nashville, Outlander, Game of Thrones, The Americans, Parks and Recreation and more. I would have to say I like The Good Wife the most at the moment. So great watching a series with a powerful female lead.

Helen: I have two favourites! Game of Thrones – I love the diverse characters and how not one character gets a free pass (except for Jon Snow who came back from the dead….but he’s (Kit Harrington – worth a look on Google if not familiar) seriously swoon worthy so I was very happy to see him back after such a dramatic death scene) I love the dialogue and the way they weave hints of things to come. Oh, and did I say I love Jon Snow…

The Walking Dead – I love, love, love this show. Heroics abound in this series. And the bad guys just get badder every season. Of course the good guys prevail, but it’s fascinating to watch the characters play out and develop (or get eaten by zombies)

 Kandy: My recent favourite TV show is Grantchester — featuring an Anglican vicar as an amateur sleuth in 1950s Cambridge. One review calls it “Cluedo with cassocks.” The vicar, Sidney Chambers, happens to be played by the handsome James Norton and his friend the Detective Inspector Geordie Keating is played by another favourite actor Robson Green. There we have it, I’m watching it for the gorgeous male actors! It deals with some interesting social issues of the time and has a ongoing story line of thwarted love. I also like the period settings and fashion. But it’s mainly for James Norton...


 Sue: My favourite TV show at the moment is The Voice—US. There is so much singing talent out there, it is mind boggling. And the variety from blues to country to opera is wonderful. I love watching these people grow from week to week. Their enthusiasm is contagious. I often hate to see someone leave the show. I don't agree with the votes very often!!! What I've also realised is that if a person has a voice they're born with it. So many young people do very well on this and other similar shows. I've always been envious of people who can sing—my tone is flatter than a piece of road kill. Not even worthy of singing in the shower.

 Louisa: My favourite TV show this year is Peaky Blinders. For those that don't know, this is a show about a family of gangsters based in Birmingham, UK just after the first world war. We follow the family through their return from the trenches to dominating the crime scene in Birmingham to (current and 3rd season) living with their riches and the consequences of their, sometimes extremely violent but always understood, actions. The main character, Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, is one of the most tortured and tormented souls I've ever seen and even though some of the things he does (or gets others to do) are violent and dangerous we always know the motivation and conflict and are on his side. It is heart-in-the-mouth viewing. Oh, and the soundtrack and visuals are amazing.


Annie: I’ve been rewatching some old TV series recordings lately and having a ball. My favourite is the adaptation of EF Benson’s Mapp and Lucia starring Geraldine McEwen, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne. Think late 1920s fashion (Geraldine McEwen’s dresses are just fabulous), a small English town with an even smaller social group of upper middle class people, ruled by two strong willed women, each of whom wants to be queen. Add Benson’s snarky, satirical humour, underhanded tricks by the protagonists and fabulous performances. It’s enormous fun.

 Barb: Long Lost Family is my current favourite. I know most fiction writers tend to love dramas or comedies,  but my favourite shows are the stories about long lost family members trying to reconnect, and this is a brand new series I can’t get enough of. In the last series of this kind I’ll never forget the story of the guy who’d been moved from foster home to foster home until one day he decided to look for his biological mother. He ended up finding that while his parents had had him when they were really young, after he was adopted out they eloped and ended up having four more children and were celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary. They’d spent their whole lives looking for him too and the reunion was incredible. I cried buckets.

Michelle: My most recent obsession has been with Goggle Box—which should be on tonight, but the series ended last week. *sob*  I know! I know! How odd is it that I’m sitting in my lounge room at home watching other people sit in their lounge rooms in their homes watching TV, but… I’ve found it utterly compulsive. It’s the voyeur in me, I suspect, but the people we watch—a mixture of families, couples and friends—tease each other, flirt with each other, give each other advice, and beneath it all you can sense how much they care about each other. It’s not gushy love, but it warms the cockles of my heart all the same. Also, in relation to the programs they watch, they say out loud many of the things I only dare to think. Sometimes I agree with their views, sometimes I don’t, but regardless, I often find the program thought provoking. I’m going to miss it until it returns later in the year.

That's quite a selection, huh? You can't say that we cats don't have diverse tastes. :-) It’s your turn now…tell us what's had you glued to on the box recently -- some of us are in need of some new TV inspiration. :-)