I’ve Been Watching

For the past month, I have been in a weird place with TV. For the first time in a long time, I don’t want to re-watch anything. I have been happy to watch an episode of The Office or Friends at any given moment for, like, ever, but lately… I want something new. I don’t know, it’s weird. I have written on here before about my obsession with Saturday Night Live this season (except the Kristen Wiig episode, which was the worst thing ever) and other new shows like Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Younger. I’ve also discovered some other shows that are new, at least to me, and have been great.

RuPaul’s Drag Race

I feel like this show is so apart of our cultural zeitgeist that I didn’t think I needed to watch it. I also always held a slight stigma against drag, because I don’t like when men take something women do and make it theirs, since women have always been marginalized- treated as stupid when they’re performing femininity, held back when they’re not… Also, one of my dissertation classmates did a project on drag and we didn’t get along since he’d made unpleasant comments about community college transfer students (WCC and ACC alum here!). But my preconceptions all went out the window when I decided to give this show  a shot and was instantly hooked. I like the drag performers, and found it to be a nicer, more loving and all around better version of America’s Next Top Model (a show I was obsessed with in high school). Everyone says season 6 is the best, but I liked the most recent season, 8, and found it to be more focused on the craft and talent than reality show drama. Plus, the subreddit is fun. Would recommend!

Hotel Hell

This is one of those shows that seems stupid but is actually amazing. Gordon Ramsay goes to hotels across America and stays there and yells at the owners and then helps them. It’s Kitchen Nightmares on steroids. Seasons 1 and 2 have idiotic bits, like every episode had to include Gordon Ramsay getting naked and getting in the shower at each hotel, but season 3 really grew up. The production value got better, and I regret how quickly I watched season 3 since there are only a handful of episodes. This is the perfect show to watch while you eat dinner, if you’re into that sort of thing (props if you’re not and actually talk and chew mindfully at the dinner table).

BBC’s Sherlock Holmes and the Abominable Bride

Netflix finally got this special and includes it in season 3, and I have to say, you really need to see this before season 4 of Sherlock airs on January 2nd. It’s not so much a companion special as it is a very different and very cool episode of the regular season. There’s a lot of awesome fan service, plenty of nods to Sir A.C. Doyle’s original writings about Sherlock, and the 1860s London sets are so good they make Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them look like a cheap joke. I love Sherlock and find John Watson to be absolutely delightful. All the main characters are such insanely good actors, I just love it.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

You already know. Gilmore Girls is back, with Amy Sherman-Palladino at the helm again, for four mini-movies almost a decade later. This was incredibly anticipated by everyone on the internet, or so it seemed on the sites I frequent, and I had a great time watching this and drinking wine and eating healthy (and therefore not very Gilmore) snacks with my friend Rose when it premiered. The best part is now I get to listen to one of my favorite podcasts, The Gilmore Guys, break it down episode by episode. I really loved the episodes initially, but now I think the ones penned by Daniel Palladino were a little weird and the whole endeavor was just a set-up for more episodes, but it was fun to return to Stars Hollow overall. It may just be that I’m racist against brunettes, but this wasn’t my favorite show to begin with, and the zaniness lends itself to criticism more easily than other types of humor do. I don’t need to recommend it, because if you’re the type to watch it, you already have. Maybe twice.

What are you watching? Leave a comment below!

-Taylor

PS: Taylor Doosey wanting sewers in the new Gilmore Girls was a huge story error since they had a festival way back in season one when Rory was dating Dean to celebrate the new sewers! So they had them way back then! I mean come on now, Gilmore Girls.