Jenni from the box

Tis the season for staying home and binge-watching right? Even if you do fancy a night out or being mildly more exciting, no one else is. So there's precisely no point and you might as well commit to being at home with something good to watch. I've been watching some good series lately so I figured I would give a little review (I love to share my opinions as you know).

Daisy Jones and The Six

I was excited about this as I'd read the book and it was incredible; Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favourite authors and Daisy Jones and The Six was a masterpiece. It's about The Six, a rock and roll band, and how they started to rise to fame in the glory days of the seventies. When they were joined by Daisy Jones as their lead vocalist is when they really hit the big time though. Daisy Jones, who was tragically beautiful and beautifully tragic in equal measures, she not only turns the band into a crazy success, but she also turns them upside down. Her rivalry and chemistry with unofficial head of the band, Billy, is one for the ages, and together they battle to be in charge. And then one night, without any explanation, Daisy Jones & The Six performed for the very last time, never to be reunited. Many years later, the series delves into the past to look at what happened and unleash some secrets - but are some secrets better left locked away?

Part of the magic of this book was the fact that it's written as a collection of interviews to tell a story of the past. I wasn't sure how it would work when translated to the screen. In fact, when I reviewed the book and mentioned the series, I wrote "I'm unconvinced that such a unique and powerful way of storytelling could possibly translate the same onto a screen." And I have to say that that element of it was lost, as I feared it would be. They still try and retain part of it by ageing up the main characters and showing them being filmed for a documentary, but it almost feels like they're watching, rather than telling the story. Plus, they aren't nearly old enough! They look like they're meant to be about 40, when in the book, the present day was when they were maybe 70 and had had their lives. It doesn't sound like much of a change but it completely altered the ending and how each character felt about everything.

Having said that though, the rest of the series was beautiful! They really captured the chaos of Daisy Jones' character and the chemistry between her and Billy was phenomenal. It covers a lot of issues around addiction and it was incredible seeing (or hearing) all the songs brought to life.

The only part I really didn't like was the butchering of Camila's character; Billy's wife. The book very much conveys the idea that it's possible to love two people, but that some loves are simply greater than others. Camila shows such strength and beauty and complexity of thought and some of her passages were just amazing. All of that was lost, and the series kind of made it seem like Billy was just with her because of a piece of paper, and she came across as stroppy and vengeful.

It was an amazing watch (if not quite as nitty gritty as I would've liked) and I'd definitely recommend it. But if anything, go and read the book!

Sex/Life

I'd wanted to watch this for a while after seeing a clip on Gogglebox and thinking it looked quite juicy! I'm on to season 2 now and while it isn't groundbreakingly amazing, I'd have to say I'd recommend it. It's about Billie, a suburban wife and mum of 2 young kids who has the dream husband. He's handsome, he's rich, he's attentive, he's thoughtful. So why can't she stop thinking about her ex boyfriend from 8 years earlier? A boyfriend who was unattainable and sexy and amazing in bed. When Billie runs into Brad for the first time in years, it turns her world upside down and makes her start to question everything about her perfect life and how happy it really makes her.

I liked that this series was sexy and very female-focussed. But Billie is the whiniest character ever, that I struggled not to find her irritating. Like, she starts having regular breakdowns over her ex-boyfriend fantasies and can't seem to function in social settings. Would that happen? I would argue not. I would also argue that you wouldn't vividly remember sex you'd had 8 years ago to the point you're always reminiscing on exact occurances.

But as something fun and non-committal it's enjoyable. It's also a fun exploration of whether or not women can really have it all (I won't spoil it by telling you if they can or not).

Firefly Lane

This had been on my watch list on Netflix for absolutely ages and I loved it so much! It's basically about 2 best friends, whose friendship has spanned from their teen years to their mid forties. Tully is fiery and sure of a herself and was always destined to be a star. Kate is quirky and romantic and principled. Yet despite their differences, these two fit together like yin and yang and the series follows their friendship from high school drama, to college dorm days, to their first job in journalism, to motherhood and happy ever afters. It's not a particularly dramatic series; it's just really lovely. It covers a lot of heartfelt issues too (it's definitely not just fluffy nothingness) and it's a great example of how female friendships are the most important relationships of all. Plus, I've come to the realisation that I just absolutely love Katherine Heigl and everything she's ever been in!

The Couple Next Door

A Channel 4 drama all about polyamory, with crooked police, creepy stalker neighbours, and a final shootout thrown in? Yes please! This series was only a mini one but it was really good. When Pete and Evie move to the suburbs to start a family, they warn each other not to let their lives become boring. But when they meet neighbours, Danny and Becka, they realise that isn't exactly a risk! It isn't long before the relationships take an unexpected and forbidden turn. But with Pete's job as a journalist taking him hot on the tails of Danny's job as a not-so-holier-than-thou policeman, the dynamic eventually goes from dark and twisted to sinister; will they all make it out with their lives, and their relationships in tact?

The suspense in this series was really good and Hugh Dennis played a creepy stalker amazingly well (although his character arc was extremely strange as they almost built him up to be a big character and then killed his storyline just as quickly). I loved seeing polyamory explored in the mainstream (without making the participants seem like crazy nymphos), although the actual sex in the series felt very awkward and over choreographed. Plus, all of the characters are literally insane, apart from Becka who was pure gold and should be protected at all cost!

Based on a True Story

I loved The Flight Attendant with Kaley Cuoco, so seeing her star in another series with a similar-looking vibe meant I had to watch it immediately. Again, it was about gruesome murder but with a fun and normally quite funny twist. Ava and Nathan are like all couples expecting their first baby; worried about money and worried about failing at it. They have an additional worry than most though, as there's a serial killer on the loose in their neighbourhood. True-crime-obsessed Ava does the incredible though; she figures out who it is! But instead of turning him in, the couple hatch a plan to become the next big thing in true crime by getting him to do a podcast with them. Would you get into bed with a serial killer? And if you did, would you expect it to be funny? This series is very weird but it has a very amusing dark edge to it that I really enjoyed. Watching the 3 of them battle with all the usual challenges of making something a success, but with murder thrown in for good measure was something a bit different. It was also a nice bit of satire on the world's obsession with True Crime and the serial killers it glorifies. The only disappointing part was the ending! I was convinced we'd accidentally not downloaded all the episodes or something. There was probably a lesson or a message in there somewhere, but it came across more that the writers didn't know how to wrap it up well so they just decided not to bother at all. That being said, it's fun and weird and I'd recommend a watch.

Now watching: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I need to watch a few more of the classic sitcoms I think, so I started with It's Always sunny in Philadelphia. I'm only a couple of episodes in but I love a good sitcom and I don't think we make TV right anymore; short episodes but more of them. That's how it should be done! We don't want hour long TV episodes with only 8 to a series that all drop on the same day, once every 3 years (Bridgerton, I'm looking at you!). Give us quantity back! Anyway, this is what I'll be bingeing next, followed probably by The Office.

Now watching: One of us is lying

Even though I'm probably older than the target market for high school series now, I still love the occasional one. This is basically a reimagining of The Breakfast Club - with murder thrown in. The criminal, the girly girl, the jock and the smart one all find themselves in detention with the schools main gossip blogger. And when he mysteriously gets poisoned, it's the 4 of them in the hot seat and being suspected of killing him. It kind of has a Pretty Little Liars feel to it actually, with each of them having secrets they didn't want uncovering. Again, I'm only a couple of episodes in but so far so good!