British Shows that You Need to See Now

Netflix has given us the ability to try out many TV shows that we otherwise wouldn't have noticed.  There are a few BBC shows that Chris and I have found worthy of binge-watching, and I want to recommend them to anyone looking for something new and interesting to watch.

Sherlock.  If you were a fan of House, books about Sherlock Holmes or the recent Hollywood movies about the famous detective, you should definitely give this series a chance.  Every episode is about movie-length, which causes it to only have 2-3 episode seasons with long hiatuses.  However, the wait is worth it, as the young actor playing Sherlock truly breathes new life into the complicated and eccentric character.  His friendship with John is the catalyst for the show, which explores their backgrounds and the basis for their mutual loyalty.  The cases they take are modernized and very intriguing, and the mental processes that Sherlock uses to solve mysteries are shown in a unique fashion.

Doctor Who.  If you haven't heard of it, start out by watching the 1st and 2nd season of the most recent version of this show (the show also aired in the 60s and 70s).  Dr. Who is played by new actors regularly and each new Doctor brings a new unique personality to the show.  I'm not a huge fan of the first doctor in Season 1, but really got dragged into the series in the second season.  Fans of science fiction, fantasy or people craving something different will love this show.  The show is a phenomenon that even has an annual convention for its fans.

The IT Crowd is a British sitcom that recently aired its last show after a long hiatus.  It is about the IT staff of a large company, which consists of two young nerdy guys and their new female manager.  It puts me in fits of laughter every time, even after I've seen an episode many times.  The characters end up in ridiculous scenarios filled with misunderstandings.  I would argue that the biggest nerd on this show, Moss, is more lovable and hilarious than the Sheldon character on the Big Bang Theory, but find out for yourself.  Just leave some time when you start it, because I can't imagine wanting to turn it off after watching the first episode.

Orphan Black is about to begin its second season, which can be watched on BBC America.  I'd describe this as a mystery/thriller.  It is dark and there are many twists.  The coolest thing about this show is that the star actress plays numerous characters, and each one is as complex and unique as the next.

Below are some trailers, openings, and scenes from the shows above to help get you started.  All  of them are on Netflix and the three dramas still air on BBC America.

I am definitely not an expert on British television, so I'm sure that I'm missing out on some great titles, but hope that some of you find a new favorite in this short list.  To give credit where credit is due, I'll admit that Chris had to convince me to give these shows a try, despite my skepticism of the premises, and that I'm really happy that I took his word for it.

My 5 favorite Political News Sites

Before you read this, note that the sites that I visit most often have a bit of a liberal bias and focus primarily on U.S. politics.  I'm often overwhelmed by the amount of news and research on the internet, so it can be difficult to find a few sites that are consistently interesting.  All of the sites are also free.

• The Huffington Post has a great politics section with intriguing headlines and pictures to go with the newest articles.  It gives the option of a quick view so that you can read the first few sentences of an article before opening it in a new tab, and it offers many short clips from youtube, television and news stories that are accompanied with a few paragraphs describing the video.  This way if you don't have time or the ability to use sound on your computer all of the time, you still get a good description of the video along with some thoughts on its impact..  It also links to various other news sites, so you do have various perspectives available on many topics.

• Media Matters frequently targets Fox News, and rightly so, but they also expose any lies recently covered on other popular news outlets.  They include clips of the TV news shows that they write about, and provide concrete evidence of any political bias and deception. They also have a great weekly radio show on the Sirius XM Progress Channel.

• Think Progress has articles on all types of interesting topics that affect Americans every day, and always have something worth reading that includes facts and statistics to back up any theory.  I'm a fan of their Tumblr site for the excellent infographics that entice you to read their articles.

• The Nation offers a weekly print edition that I subscribed to for awhile that certainly offered interesting reads, but now I visit their website instead.  Their articles are well written and well researched, and are often on topics that mainstream newspapers and news sites choose to ignore.  I really appreciate their willingness to report the truth even when it is uncomfortable.

• Politifact.com is not perfect and is sometimes a bit lenient on what they allow politicians to call "the truth," but if you want a quick analysis of a lie from a campaign commercial or an often repeated lie by any officeholder, this is a good site to reference.  If you are sick of someone you know touting a lie to discredit a politician that you support, a link to this site will often give you enough evidence to (at least) keep them from repeating the lie again in your presence.

I tend to keep up with my favorite news sources by following them on Twitter and Google+.  To read through headlines quickly and open up articles that seem interesting, I have created a Twitter list of my favorite news sources.  I've found that Twitter is the best place to get an an overview of what is in the news without getting too much commentary, pictures or opinions which can take awhile to look through. Google+ is great if I want to get pictures and details of the news stories before I read them, so I tend to be more selective in the news sources that I choose so I am not scrolling forever without finding many unique stories.

If you have a Kindle and haven't downloaded the "Send to Kindle" button for your browser, I definitely recommend doing so.  You can send any article that you don't have time to read at the moment directly to your Kindle allowing you to read it later.  This allows me to save articles as I see them and then curl up in the evening with my Kindle to read all of the articles I didn't have time to read earlier at once.

Movies on a Budget

I'll admit it: I want to save as much money as possible. This effort extends into watching movies at home or at the theatre. Below are just a few ways that I've found to see the movies that I want for a decent price.

What movie should I see?

Rotten Tomatoes: I won't pay to see a movie until I check its rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but I am sure to check both the audience's rating and the critic's rating. Sometimes the average of the two makes a movie look much worse than it is, and this is especially true in the case of comedies. I love Will Ferrell for example, but I also know many of his movies are going to be rated low by sophisticated film critics, so I focus on the audience rating if I plan to see one of his movies.

IMDB: Find out all of the details of the movie that you want to see, but be sure to avoid reading the spoilers. I check their ratings if the Rotten Tomatoes rating left me unsure as to whether or not I should see a particular film.  Of course, there are also many other review sites that you can use to help you decide.

Should I go to the theater or wait and watch it at home?

Kita prefers that we watch movies at home with him

This choice has to be based on your personal preference.  The movies that I choose to see in theaters tend to be visually stimulating, such as action movies, superhero movies and 3D movies, but if I am very excited about a new movie and simply can't wait for it then I see it at the theater.

Check out tomorrow's post to get tips on how to save on the movies that you choose to watch (either at home or at the theater).