17 Comments

I'll start! One thing I have really been digging is the ensemble cast trend with TV. Especially since the horror anthologies are the ones taking the lead! Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk using the same actors for American Horror Story was a big risk, but has paid off. Now Mike Flanagan is doing the same with his "Haunting Of..." series. It ties TV to the stage like it used to be back when TV first launched. For me it adds more depth to the experience.

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I'm a conservatory graduate (Liberal Arts-Voice) who loves classical music. Rachmaninoff playing his own compositions is terrific. So is Marta Argerich attacking Rachmaninoff's 2nd and 3rd Concertos. Bach piano works, and Chopin, Telemann. I also love Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Pavarotti, and Andrea Bocelli (managed a tremendous crossover career between classical and contemporary music). Andrew Lloyd Weber. Love John Williams movie scores, also Danny Elfman, Basil Poledorus, John Powell, and Jerry Goldsmith. Books: Ellis Peters, Ray Bradbury, PILLARS OF THE EARTH, Scott Turow, Rachel Maddow, and Jeffery Deaver (a relative). "Leverage" and "Dark Matter" were great on TV. I also watch "Midsomer Murders", but prefer "Endeavor". "Frankie Drake" not so much, but definitely "Miss Fisher". "Downton Abbey" and its movie. Lots of PBS, NOVA, and some cooking shows like "Lidia" and "America's Test Kitchen". 'Nough said.

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Now that's quite a list! I love Rachmaninoff! I usually listen to the Vivaldi radio station on Spotify which mixes in a ton of Bach, Chopin, Debussy, and so many others. It's funny, I used to be able to name a composer by ear when I was younger, but now that I listen to everything on shuffle I mix them up. Funny how the mind changes as one gets older...

Now, if we're talking movie scores, Ennio Morricone's The Mission is probably the greatest movie score composition ever. I love the collaboration with him and Yo Yo Ma doing different pieces from his different scores.

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I like Morricone, but he doesn't change keys enough for my taste. I used to sing Rachmaninoff: he wrote beautiful lines for voice. So did Benjamin Britten, who was first a singer. Now you've got "The Mission" theme going in my head! Always fun to find another musician/author online.

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I’m really appreciating how channels like HBO, etc. are taking a book and putting it in a series instead of trying to stuff it all in to a 2 hour movie. Game of Thrones for example. I hear CBS (?) is trying The Stand (again) which I feel is the only way you can tell that story cinematically.

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I agree. I loved what HBO did with Lovecraft Country. And I'm looking forward to The Stand in December!

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Something that I have really enjoyed that is a bit off the beaten path is a show called Reprisal on Hulu. It has a number of excellent actors and is an impressively complex story that is set in an alternate (but similar) America. Super cool. Sad it won’t get a second season but honestly I feel it stands alone pretty well.

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I'll need to check that out, for sure.

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Loved Dark Matter, then they didn’t renew and it was like the loss of an appendage. Same for Almost Human a few years back.

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I feel ya on both of those shows. Especially Dark Matter. That scratched my space crime itch and it was a bummer they ended it.

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Huge, huge fan of Leverage. Just started another rewatch.

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I haven't gotten into Leverage. I've heard it's great. Gonna check that out!

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I may have been late to the party but I really got hooked on the cop show Bosch on Amazon Prime - now of course I've started reading the books that the series is based on.

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I love Bosch! I haven't read any of the books, but I really dig the Amazon series. I'm two seasons behind. I need to get back into it.

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Waiting now for the seventh and final season to come out - Covid stopped production but I think they have been able to get back in the studio again - the books started further back in time - hard to get used to Bosch as a Vietnam Veteran but at the time it was the most current war to be a part of - I like where the series started - more current events to connect with

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I don’t have a lot of time to watch TV, but the hubby and I are slowly working through The 100 (on Netflix, just finished season 3). One of the rare times that I can say that the show is 100% better than the books. I quit reading them after book 3. We also started watching The Boys. It’s a pretty awesome show, I highly recommend it (it’s on Amazon Prime).

As for books, I’m excited that The Wheel of Time is being adapted for TV on Amazon Prime. Filming started before Covid hit, but I’m not sure now when it will premier. It’s probably my 2nd favourite fantasy series, with Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series taking first place. I would love to see that adapted to TV, but I think a lot of the storyline would get lost in translation.

I enjoy fairly a wide variety of genres, but fantasy/urban fantasy, and dystopian are up at the top. My favourite dystopian series is Z-Burbia - and I swear to jeebuz I’m not just saying that because of the current audience 😆. I honestly recommend it every chance I get.

I currently own 1,373 books, 830 of which I haven’t read yet (I keep track using Goodreads) 😅. I just buy books much faster than I can possibly read them.

Hmmmmm, what else....movie scoreS...whether you are a fan of Twilight or not (I am, go ahead and fight me over it 😉), I strongly urge you to check out the sound tracks to the movies. There’s definitely some great music in there.

I guess that’s it for now!

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Very nice! I am behind on The 100 (haven't read the books) and I can't wait to start Season 2 of The Boys!

I didn't know Wheel of Time was being turned into a series. I haven't read the books, but I'll totally watch the show. Funny thing: read fantasy isn't my thing, but watching fantasy is. Weird, right?

And, of course, thanks for the Z-Burbia praise. One day I'll revisit those crazy Stanfords and see what tales they still have to tell...

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