Summer break!
But leaving with two suggestions
Today is the summer solstice which means it’s time for the summer brake. But before I go, I have two suggestions, one kinda unorthodox.
I have been watching Grantchester on PBS since 2014. A Protestant takeoff to Father Brown in that an Anglican priest takes to solving murders along side a policeman. (Originally just a 3+, Father Brown has gotten better over the years.) DI Geordie Keating – played by Robson Green – is at first reluctant but he and the priest become great friends. Through it’s first 10 seasons, the priest has changed twice and I have gone up and down on the series. The latest, Reverend Alpheus “Alphy” Kotteram played by Rishi Nair, is a real improvement over the previous but each of the three have personal problems that in the case of the second, became quite annoying.
The main reason to watch Grantchester has been Robson Green. He lifts up whatever he does. I first came across him in Wire in the Blood. By this last 11th season, the Granchester ensemble cast has become a family and the series has settled into a comfortable way to watch the action and relationships. I’ll enjoy watching things end and will probably miss Geordie.
My second suggestion comes out of left field. I came across Widow’s Bay while looking for something to pass time during recovery from a medical. I found it on Apple TV, a new series that combines horror and comedy. Katie Dippold wrote for Parks and Recreation and the cop comedy The Heat. Neither of these have I watched but I understand they were funny. Widow’s Bay is very funny yet with real horror, no cheats. Mayor Tom Loftis – played by Matthew Rhys – is the focus of much of the comedy. He doesn’t mean to be funny but he’s trying to bring in the tourists while his island sits on deeply buried evil. He attracts the horror too. I won’t say more here but after four of the 10 short episodes, if I was rating this, it would be a five.
So off I go for the summer, see you in the fall. Remember, the archives are rich with things to watch when you’re hiding from the heat.
Robson is the man!