TV Tuesday - Two up One Down

I've still been watching movies while working out this summer, so my series viewing has been down. I still always have one (or two) TV programs going, to fill in on weekends or at the end of the day when the movie ends before the workout. Hubs and I also often have one going upstairs that we watch together while winding down at the end of the day. I recently finished three seasons/series ... two up and one down. Amazon, Hulu and Netflix presents ...

Downstairs, watching in the gym, it was back to Black. I discovered Orphan Black back in 2015 when the first season was on Prime. Season 2 was added shortly and then I had to wait a while between seasons. It would air in the UK, be available for purchase, and then finally make it's way to Prime. Season by season. Season three in 2016. Season four in 2017 ... and now the fifth, and final season here in 2018. I was glad that I was able to get back into it easily after a year. As I mention during any and all reviews of this show, kudos to the main actress for portraying so many different roles so well. While much of the difference is in appearance (while they are identical, the hair, clothes, etc. are unique to each), the mannerisms and voice of each is so differently done. Absolutely impressive. I'm sure there has to be a lot of trickery done behind the camera as well to create the doubles (triple, quadruples ...) in many scenes. As for the story ... I enjoyed it too. The sci-fi aspect of cloning and a nefarious underground development. I was happy enough with how things wrapped up.

Then there is The Handmaid's Tale, a Hulu original ... I'd watched Season 1 down in the gym. Hubs had heard the buzz about it, so we gave it a try together. It was a rewatch for me as he caught up on Season 1, then it was on to Season 2 together. Hubs would often comment on how depressing and awful (the feeling) the episodes were. They are! Sometimes he'd have to turn on a little comedy (standup or The IT Crowd) just to shake it off afterward. I'd read the book ... but season two was all it's own, taking off on storylines long after the book had ended (and we had never had glimpses of Canada or the Colony as we did in the series). Season was a little disjointed for me as it flipped around from three different storylines plus numerous flashbacks. About halfway things tightened up some. It was interesting to me how it could make you hate certain characters, then feel sorry for the same ones as some humanity and background was introduced. So much character conflict as well as everything else going on. Not sure how I felt about that ending ...

While we were watching Handmaid's Tale, we got caught up to the episodes that had aired and had to wait the week in-between ... so Hubs and I needed a new show for upstairs. We gave Altered Carbon a try. Hubs is a fan of Joel Kinnaman, but the sci-fi nature of the show was probably more up my alley. It was a pretty complex, mind (and time)-bending story-line.  I think I liked it ...

As I watch a series downstairs in the gym, I generally TRY to at least complete the episode by the end of the day. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu hold my spot, so it's not a big deal if I don't end when an episode ends. If I do an hour of elliptical and an hour on the treadmill, that is three episodes (as they are generally 40 minutes long, although this can vary). But alas, in summer, my two hours in the gym isn't happening every day. Sticking with movies, so many are about an hour and a half, which works well, and are a little more motivating to get to the end of (I need the closure) ... but my series are my backup. Slow going, but I get through them ...