Lists: All the TV I've Watched While Sick
With all the drugs that have been in my system this week, it's been impossible to concentrate on anything, so I've spent endless hours clocked out and watching the television set. Here's a taste of how I've been amusing myself - with the exception of Utena, all shows are currently streaming on Netflix and/or Amazon:
- Revolutionary Girl Utena: It's odd, but for years I thought I'd seen this series in its entirety. It wasn't until I popped in the first disc of the "Apocalypse Saga" box set that I realized, "Hang on, I don't remember any of this." I'd somehow missed the entire final third of the series. I spent most of my first day sick in bed watching Utena with my mouth hanging open. It's such a bizarre, random, and confusing series...but it's also incredibly entertaining.
- Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace: Hampton Court: Sean and I visited this palace during our 2011 trip to England, and I loved every minute of the trip. Watching this documentary on Netflix took me right back to our adventure, and it was awesome.
- Nosferatu: I know this is a major silent film classic, but it put me to sleep. Bummer.
- Crimes of the Century: A CNN series focused on major assassination attempts and bombings. Hour-long episodes focus on things like the Unabomber, the Waco standoff, and the assassination of Ronald Reagan. I remember hearing about many of these events when they originally happened, but I was so young in the 1990s that I didn't understand the details so it was really fascinating to go back and hear the background on each event.
- Secrets of Selfridges: The rags-to-riches story of an American who opened a department store in England and made heaps of money, only to end up impoverished once again after being forced out of the business he'd started after embezzling millions of dollars to pay his gold-digger girlfriend's gambling debts.
- NOVA: Who Killed Limburgh's Baby?: The actual documentary wasn't really good - it just didn't seem like they had enough material to fill the hour time slot so they spent a lot of time chasing a dead end - but I was shocked that they displayed photos of the baby's corpse as part of the program. It was gruesome and really, really sad to see his desiccated little body.
- NOVA: Manhunt - Boston Bombers: Fascinating look at the technology used to track down the two men who bombed the Boston Marathon last year.
- Secrets of Highclere Castle: Home of the TV show Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle is also the ancestral home and residence of Lord and Lady Carnarvon. It was interesting to see interviews with them as they discuss what it's like to live in a historic home and their roles as "stewards" seeing over the estate before passing it on to the next family member. It also talked a bit about the history of the servants who lived in the castle over the years, and the history of the Carnarvon family. (The 5th Lord of Carnarvon famously sponsored the Tutankhamen expedition.)
- NOVA: Cold Case JFK: Very in-depth look at the Kennedy assassination. Again, what was most shocking to me was the very gruesome shooting video, where you can see Kennedy's blood and brains flying out of his head, and the autopsy photos. I was shocked that the Kennedy family allowed these pictures of his body to be displayed on national TV! I mean, usually you see simulations in these types of cold case shows, but no, that's a real president right there.
- NOVA: Building Pharaoh's Chariot: Not a particularly exciting documentary - experimental archaeologists decide to recreate an Egyptian chariot to see how well it would have worked. But I never miss a show about Egypt when I find it on Netflix!
- Daria: Ah, the 1990s. I miss my high school self.
- Downton Abbey: I loved the first season of Downton Abbey, but for some reason I never got around to continuing the show. Today, I decided to start working on the second series, so I'm about halfway through it now.