Three lifelong friends reunite after the death of an old classmate turns a wake into a dark mystery. They embark on a thrilling adventure across Ireland, piecing together enigmatic truths amid complicated lives.

We started watching the absolutely crazy Irish dramady, How To Get To Heaven From Belfast written by the team that brought you Derry Girls, and, in between the wonderfully twisted storyline, machine-gun delivered dialogue, and hilarious stunts, we were rolling around on the couch in stitches. I laughed so much my jaw hurt.

This is must-see TV if you’re looking for a break from the usual crime caper, especially as this one is laced with some great Irish snark and humour. Never mind some class acting by our 3 leading ladies.

Grab some popcorn and just enjoy the ride.

This weekend we caught a couple of episodes of a new show on Netflix called: Last Meals, in which the host, Josh Scherer from Mythical Kitchen, interviews a celebrity about their lives whilst enjoying what they would eat for their last meal on Earth. Hence the name of the show. 

Funnily enough Gabz talked about this over on Mastodon too, writing in his post Last Meal all the delicious things he’d have for his last meal. So of course, I had to follow suit and write about what I would love to eat as my Last Meal.

First Course

I would start with a soup, Gazpacho to be exact. And not any Gazpacho, my fav was made by the head chef at the Musee des Beaux Arts restaurant here, in Quebec City. It was bursting with flavour and definitely up there in soup heaven.

Second Course

I’d follow that up with my favourite ham & mushroom pizza (or, even just a slice) from the No. 900 which does the best pizza I’ve ever tasted outside of Italy. Well okay, I haven’t tasted every pizza. But this one is pretty close to the best you’ll ever taste, and so says the Michelin Guide.

Main Course

Ah, there are so many dishes I’d want to taste again and for my last meal. Dishes my mother cooked me as a kid. Her sweet and sour pork, her Chinese BBQ pork, or her 5 spice slow roasted pork. But of them all, I think I would go for her traditional Sunday roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings and my dad’s special gravy. 

Maybe, like the show, I could have a small tasting of all these dishes and maybe side of my mum’s mac and cheese as well, thanks.

Dessert

No meal is complete without at least one or two desserts. And out of all the ice creams I’ve tasted over my life time, and enjoyed, I think, in the end, I’d go for the singularly outstanding tasting lemon merengue pie made locally, here, on the island the ile d’Orleans. The lemon quotient in these pies is off the charts. Never mind the soft fluffy pillow of merengue that sits atop the tart velvety lemon filling that literally make your mouth salivate.

Not to be outdone, I’d also want a serving of my mother’s stick-to-your-ribs rice pudding. It was thick enough you could stand a spoon up in it and rich enough that you couldn’t stop eating it. And yes, we all fought over who got the skin off the top. There was never enough to go around. 

And there you have it. I might even finish the meal off with a good coffee, a selection of cheeses and Carr’s water biscuits. Except, I’m no longer allowed coffee, so maybe a good Turkish or Moroccan mint tea. 

And you, what would you have for your last meal on earth?

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Set in the struggling fishing community of Snook’s Arm, Newfoundland, the story follows local fisherman Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) as he and his family deal with economic uncertainty, a looming government resettlement program.

I watched the last couple of episodes last night of, Below, a Canadian based miniseries on Netflix. While it’s billed as a supernatural thriller, and while it does have some thrilling moments, I wouldn’t say there were any supernatural elements, not really. Though there were moments when the action will make you jump. But it’s all very earth-bound (or is that sea-bound?) dread provided by a very plausible monster.

And no, I won’t tell you what it is, you’ll just have to watch this fun, moody and, dare I say it, atmospheric series. Some excellent performances, a great supporting cast, and even better scenery make this one a thoroughly enjoyable romp at sea.

The English-dubbed Mexican show, Bandidos, about a group of desperate friends and frenemies coming together to find lost Spanish treasure, turned out to be an absolute comedy gem.

Full of action and fun, this one had me laughing at the group’s antics as they try to outwit the bad guys and get to the treasure first. All-in-all, a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the Mexican countryside.

I’m really looking forward to jumping in and watching season 2.

This Scottish drama The Island is set on one of the Hebridean islands and centres on a dysfunctional family with secrets. The head of this family just happens to be the Lord of the Manor whose wife is brutally murder.

What unfolds is a fairly slow, meandering story of lies, deceit, and betrayals all of which lead to an obvious conclusion. That said, the scenery was magnificent. The acting, however, was a tad earnest. Not bad if you have nothing else to watch.

We started watching The Bombing of Pan Am 103 a BBC coproduction showing on Netflix. We’re 3 episodes in this 5-part mini series and, let me tell you, it’s gripping and tense in a documentary style way, with scenes of real footage intercut between the dramatisation of the event and aftermath.

This one is both a little chilling but nonetheless, compulsive viewing. Also, I was surprised by a number of things I learned last night that I never knew about about the crash and subsequent inquiry.

We’ll watch the last 2 episodes tonight.

Finally, got to see this week’s episode of Silo and, wow, this is what we’ve all been waiting for. And finally, some action, and answers as to what’s been going on while we weren’t looking. We’ve had 4 torturous episodes of being spoon fed tiny snippets of information and background with, to be honest, what felt like a lot of unnecessary filler.

And suddenly, in episode 5? A whole load of missing threads are revealed and we get to see what’s happening. Though, not quite why, not yet. But that glimpse gives me hope we’re rumbling toward an explosive, if not, climactic finish to the season.

Yay!

Following on from watching Tehran yesterday, we started, or I should say, I started watching Sugar on Apple TV. The OH didn’t like it and, after about 10 minutes, left me to watch it on my own. I have to admit, I found it a little off to begin with but, stuck with it through to a second and then, third episode and now? I’m looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

Certainly a different take on the Gumshoe Detective slash P.I. genre, with some big reveal coming and, given the clues, I think I know what. Talk about mash-up.

Will see how this one pans out.

We watched the last couple of episodes from S3 of Tehran last night and, let me say, it ended with a Bang!

A very satisfying bang at that.

The build-up through three season of this Israeli spy thriller has been expertly done, with twisty, savvy, politically-dripping storylines ripped from the headlines. What with guest appearances from Glenn Close and Hugh Laurie, the acting has been top-notch. The writing gripping. And the tension, absolutely nerve-wrecking.

But, is it the end? No. It seems not. There’s one more season coming next year. And I for one can’t wait to see what the ruthless Yulia has in store for our intrepid spy, Tamar.

As we have 3 months of Apple TV for free, we started binge watching one show after another. And, last night, watched the first few episode of the world’s worst TV show, ever: Star City.

I mean, come on people, every last character on this really show was speaking with a regional British accent that, quite honestly, had me laughing. Aren’t they all supposed to be, eh, Russian?

I think I was in some sort of cultural shock, or something. Hearing these people earnestly being cruel and vindictive in a harsh northern English accent, or delivering dead-pan sentiments of someone’s misconduct with a Glaswegian twang was just too much. Then, when, the erstwhile (boo, hiss) baddie, Anna Maxwell Martin as Lyudmilla Raskova, the head of the KGB surveillance department at Star City bleated on at someone, I lost it altogether.

At least in For All Mankind the Russian characters were played by various European actors who had those clipped vowels and accents that lent credibility to them being ‘Russian’. But in Star City?

It’s like we’re stuck in a dull rainy corner of Manchester or northern Leeds. Any minute we’ll hear the theme song to Coronation Street playing on a black and white telly in the corner of someone’s apartment.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

If you haven’t seen it yet, then I’m here to tell you, get thee hence and go watch the new German spy thriller, Unfamiliar, on Netflix. Because it’s one of the best things I’ve seen this year (yeah, okay, we’re only in the middle of February, but the statement is still true.) We literally inhaled three episodes a night for the last couple of nights caught up in the guessing game of who, what, where, and why.

A taut, well paced, action-filled thriller that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.

A desperate father searching for his runaway daughter gets caught up in a murder case and stumbles upon secrets that could destroy his family for good.

We watched the last couple of episodes of Harlan Coben’s mini series, Run Away, on Netflix last night. And, well, what can I say? What seemed like a great premise and a story ripped straight from the news headlines, this one came across as convoluted rather than clever. And muddled rather than twisted. Both of us kind of guessed early on certain key plot points even before the so-called great reveal at the end.

There were some interesting aspects, but over-all? It lacked integrity in that we’re once again presented with the big bad cult brainwashing people into subservient belief. As the side plot, quite frankly, it bordered on the ridiculous. And then, the big reveal?

Seriously, no. Just, no.

We watched the torturous last episode of season 4 of Stranger Things last night which left me asking a number of questions. Like, “Why the hell did I put myself through watching several overly long episodes bulked out with so. much. filler?”

And … “Do I really want to watch season 5 based on my viewing experience of season 4?”

And … the answer is, no, maybe, I don’t know. Honestly. I might leave watching it till sometime in January, at least till all the episodes have aired and all the hype is over with.

As for what I thought of season 4? It wasn’t my favourite for a number of reasons (seasons 1 and 2 were the best). The humour was thin on the ground this time around, wedged in between lengthy and very boring monologues. And then what felt like tedious schlock action pieces.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the monster being a dude in a really bad rubber suit.

I mean, really? Sigh, I wanted so much more.

I’ve persisted with The Abandons despite being triggered in the first episode and then, taking a over a week before watching the next episode. Why did I come back to it? I’m not sure other than being intrigued to see where a show (and a western at that) starring not one but two female leads, goes.

The main event and catalyst in the first episode put me off wanting to watch more. But here I am 4 episodes in and wondering which of the two women, Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson) or Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), will win the day in their battle of wills?

And how will it all end? In hell fire and damnation I suspect.