I skipped last for reasons, but I’m back this week with some new things I’ve been watching and reading. Let’s cut right to the chase, because I’m short on time. (Story of my life at the moment.)
Television:
Dark Season 1: This sci-fi show on Apple TV was . . . intriguing. It’s a multiverse show, exploring what the implications would be if you could move at will between different versions of reality. It suffered some from “stupid character syndrome,” where the characters seem to make choices not because they have any solid reasons, but because the plot will work better if they make those decisions. It’s been renewed for a second season, and the last half was stronger than the first, so I’m interested to see where it goes from here.
The Pitt Season 1: Denisa and I are about halfway through this one, and it’s flat out fantastic. Some of this is likely helped by the fact that neither of us have watched any hospital dramas before this, but a large part of it is due to the fact that the show comes at a tremendously important time. So much as changed for healthcare since COVID, and The Pitt brings that to life in brutal detail. It’s definitely an uncomfortable show to watch, and even more discouraging to know how accurate so much of it is, based on conversations I’ve had with friends in the field, and from my personal experience seeing some of the inner workings of healthcare this past year. We’re in a situation where we have great care available, but a system unwilling or unable to provide that care because it’s also very expensive to do so. When I was lying in bed in the ER for three days last fall, it wasn’t because the rest of the hospital was too full. They had plenty of beds. They just couldn’t move me out of the ER, because as soon as they admitted me, then I wouldn’t qualify for priority access to a bed in Portland. It’s a mess. Which makes a show like this, that shines a light on all of it, all the more important.
The Amazing Race: We’re watching the latest season as a family, though we haven’t seen the episode that came out this week. We’re enjoying it a lot, though.
Books:
The Wyrd Sisters: I’m still working my way through the Discworld novels. This was a fun one, and it’s great to see Pratchett getting better and better at what the Discworld books are trying to do. That said, my reading has slowed down the last few weeks as other things have eaten up more of my time. I need to see if I can’t bump it up in priority again.