Three TV Shows

Over winter break I watched several TV shows. Three of them are worthy of their own blog post, and all of them I am watching on Amazon Prime.

Vikings

This show is super good. This show originally aired on the History Channel and has currently been renewed for a fifth season. I am watching it on Prime, but it is also available on Hulu. Vikings tells the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok, a bad-ass Norseman who pillages England and battles like a hellcat. Vis-a-vis Game of Thrones, the fight scenes are bloody, and the costumes kick butt. Because it airs on the History Channel, the sex scenes are not nearly as graphic as GOT. The hair, beards, and tattoos seal the deal on this show. They are unreal. Total beard envy. Vulture has a slideshow of the epic beards and hair of the characters of Vikings.

Ragnar Lothbrok

Mozart in the Jungle

Another show I fell in love with over break was Mozart in the Jungle. Following fictional characters in the New York Philharmonic, this show is loosely based on Blair Tindall's memoir about being an oboist in that orchestra. The characters in this show are lovely. Eccentric, artistic, poetic.

Rodrigo De Souza

 
The two principal characters are Hailey Routledge, and aspiring oboist and Rodrigo De Souza, the passionate South American conductor the Philharmonic hires at the beginning of the series. But the complementary characters are just as delightful. Saffron Burrows portrays a cellist who was sleeping with the former conductor,  played by Malcom McDowell. Wallace Shawn and Jason Schwartzman also play wonderfully funny characters in the show. After watching even a coupe episodes, it is clear why this show has won a bevy of awards.

Red Oaks

This is a show I happened on that I can't believe I didn't know about before. The show is centered around the character David Myers, a college-aged guy who works summers as a tennis pro at Red Oaks Country Club, an exclusive club in New Jersey. The show is set during the 1980s, which, I think, is why I am attracted to it. The cast also includes Paul Reiser, Jennifer Grey, and Richard Kind, who I love. Several of the episodes were also directed by Amy Heckerling, who also directed Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless. This alone makes the show worth watching. Couple that with the 80s soundtrack and outfits plus really good dialogue and acting, and you have a winner. It also doesn't hurt that the epsisodes are around 25 or so minutes long.

Jennifer Grey and Richard Kind play the parents of David Myers (played by Craig Roberts) in Red Oaks.