How do you manage to make a reflection on binge-watching so profound? This bit has me almost in tears:
“Sometimes you do what you can with the part you’re given. Sometimes you play the same character so long you start introducing your own little touches into the formulaic scripts. Quick, before the next reversal, which we’ve seen before — a last minute escape after loyalties shifted, the script hangs over a cliff — quick — get a joke in! One you wrote yourself.”
And I agree about Poldark. I’ve never watched the show, but the first book was a kindle daily deal, so I gave it a try but didn’t like it. Now I have your abc your wife’s commentary in my head as I think of it: “He’s poor! He’s rich! He’s poor again!”
Thanks so much, Mari. I'm gratified this reached you in the way it did. It's the reason I share writing here!
I still am a sucker for historical shows with good looking people and could imagine an alternate universe where I get pulled into Poldark somehow, but maybe not :). Maybe if it had more battle scenes like Last Kingdom!
Sometimes I don't watch a show because I don't watch much TV and am not really in the habit and suck at sitting still to watch it anyway. Sometimes I don't watch a show because I'm afraid I will love it too much. Hearing about The Last Kingdom feels like I will inevitably watch it someday and not be able to think about anything else for months. It's there, somewhere, at an uncertain distance in the future.
You write about the problems of contemporary life with such self awareness and depth. I’d take your writing over American Beauty any day.
🙇♂️ 🙇♂️ 🙇♂️
How do you manage to make a reflection on binge-watching so profound? This bit has me almost in tears:
“Sometimes you do what you can with the part you’re given. Sometimes you play the same character so long you start introducing your own little touches into the formulaic scripts. Quick, before the next reversal, which we’ve seen before — a last minute escape after loyalties shifted, the script hangs over a cliff — quick — get a joke in! One you wrote yourself.”
And I agree about Poldark. I’ve never watched the show, but the first book was a kindle daily deal, so I gave it a try but didn’t like it. Now I have your abc your wife’s commentary in my head as I think of it: “He’s poor! He’s rich! He’s poor again!”
Thanks so much, Mari. I'm gratified this reached you in the way it did. It's the reason I share writing here!
I still am a sucker for historical shows with good looking people and could imagine an alternate universe where I get pulled into Poldark somehow, but maybe not :). Maybe if it had more battle scenes like Last Kingdom!
Sometimes I don't watch a show because I don't watch much TV and am not really in the habit and suck at sitting still to watch it anyway. Sometimes I don't watch a show because I'm afraid I will love it too much. Hearing about The Last Kingdom feels like I will inevitably watch it someday and not be able to think about anything else for months. It's there, somewhere, at an uncertain distance in the future.
Love the Last Kingdom!