One word : Vox Machina
Confined with oldest kiddo away from plague carriers, have started Chuck rewatch from beginning
Chuck Google Search
If youāre into historical/travel documentaries, Kate Humble did a great series on The Frankincense Trail; itās on YouTube, and I highly recommend it (as well as her series on the Spice Trade).
Just the stuff I love. Canāt wait to start this series. Thanks for the reference.
Do you know much about the Uluburun Shipwreck from the late 14th century BC? Archaeologists have been mapping the various goods onboard the ship to re-create Mediterranean trade routes, so Iāll be interested in comparing overland routes.
I know nothing about it; never even heard of it. But I do find some of the history of trade going back that far quite interesting; and something that if I was ever taught anything about it in school, none of it stuck. Being of Celtic heritage (probably mixed with a fair amount of Viking; red hair and such), I especially find the salt trade interesting.
But while I find it interesting, I still know very little about it; perhaps enough to throw out one or two āinteresting factsā at a cocktail party, but certainly not enough to engage in a real conversation about it.
I find there is just so much cool stuff to learn; none (or very little) of which was ever even mentioned in schools, where history was mainly just a sequence of wars.
Right now, we just started watching a series about British Canals. Part history, part travel; totally engrossing. The type of stuff that makes so many other things suddenly make sense, once you understand some connections.
If you are able to stream PBS, look for Walking Hadrianās Wall, with British actor Robson Green.
I watched a bit of that; then PBS put it on their Premium level. Looked pretty good. Maybe one day Iāll have access again.
I find the history of the Borders area especially interesting; Iām from Clan Elliott, which was given a castle (Hermitage Castle) and land in the Borders by Robert the Bruce (not sure who they took it from). Castle is still in the family, although there is no roof, so technically āin ruinsā, which means no taxes. In return for the land and castle, the clan was tasked with protecting the border from the English, and were one of the few clans to ride horses.
Of course, the English had less interest in Scotland than many perceived, so much of their time was spend doing their own raids into England. So when I see movies portray the āsavage hoardsā invading from the North, I can proudly say āThatās MY Peopleā 
One of the interesting factoids I picked up from this series was that the wall was actually more about taxation than about invading hordes. Ten percent tax to cross one of gates patrolled by Roman soldiers. If you were herding 40 head of cattle, you owed the Romans 4.
The series talked a lot about the archaeology of the Roman forts along the wall. Some pretty sophisticated engineering.
I haveā¦ opinions.
Judgy, judgy opinions.
S03 January 25th (Technically S02, since S01 was two parts)
Grew up on He-Man so Kevin Smithās revelation was updated nostalgia on overdrive for me.
Watching Harry Wild w/ Jane Seymour on Acorn-and itās been renewed for a 3rd season!.
Initially, put off watching it due to the criticsā comments that nobody could like Harry because she corrected folks grammar. That is minimal-but she is very well read-and she doesnāt allow folks preconceptions of the āretiredā stop her. [If i looked like J Seymour at 72+, I wouldnāt either] Though she isnāt above using a cane/hunching over and huge eyeglasses to allow the unwary to let their guard down.
An Irish sexy-grandma detective w/ a Dublin high-schooler[Fergus-Rohan Nedd] used as muscle.
I have enjoyed Harry Wild; donāt have Acorn at the moment, so havenāt watched all of it, but Iām firmly of the opinion that anything with Jane Seymour in it is worth watching! (I think Iāve had a crush on her since she played Solitaire, even though sheās a fair amount older than I).
Jane Seymour is not that much younger than I.
I too have a taste for older women.
Saw all the Harry Wildās to date. Had a strange thought as I finished season 2, that it was a British equivalent of Murder She Wrote,
Started watching Season 3 of Astrid. The portrayal of an autistic crime solver is endearing, and the actress who plays her is truly talented and not autistic.
Finished Season 7 of Paris Murders.
I was thinking a sexy, Irish, wine-swigging Miss Marple who spends 50% of her time in pubs.. To my mind, Murder She wrote was ruined when Jessica moved from Cabot Cove to New York and from there, jet-setting all over the world. Interesting but no longer charming and I missed the bumbling sheriff and Claude Atkins.
Friends (who either stream ACORN or BRITBOX or BBC premium) were discussing the reason we prefer British mystery than those in the US(though I am a firm admirer of the original Law & Order). Lack of blood, character development and CHARM. Are British viewers charmed by any American shows?
Must watch. So friggin good.
Way underrated and probably one of the top releases of 2023 in terms of story and production.
Less violence overall, and AGE ā most of the Brit detectives and stars are middle-aged and older. In US mysteries, itās a lot of 20- and 30-somethings running around, trying to look cool and imitate super-heroes. Older people are tokens and afterthoughts.
Please note ā I have nothing against 20- and 30-somethings, but American culture is fixated on youth and that translates into a lot of shallow writing for TV and movies.
Age may be the reason Only Murders in the Building is popular! Steve Martin, Martin Short and Meryl Streep(though she looks great), are no spring chickens!. Or maybe folks tune in because they like theCHARMING building-which is really located in New York, not a mock-up in Burbank. .
I 
OMITB.
One of my favorite things about the Tennant/Tate 2023 Christmas specials was seeing two actors in their early- to mid-50s doing hero-y things, and especially the character of Donna doing it as a āsandwichā caregiver (teenage kid + parent + grandparent).
Only Murders recently became available on a channel that I do get. Iāve started recording them, but missed the first three episodes. Did I miss too much of the story to know what/who is going on?
Ironically, Iāve watched only the first 3 episodes of Murders so far, but thatās enough to say you may figure out much of what is going on, but youāve missed some pretty critical (at least, looks as if it will turn out that way) stuff.
I think weāll have to finish recovering from the holidays before we start back to watching; more than a few twists to keep track of, and not really sure where some are going.