A Netflix Guide to Shaking an Early Fall Cold
With the chilly weather and the beginning of cold and flu season upon us, many of us are hunkering down, spending more time indoors and doing what some of us do best – “Netflix and chill”. Like my colleagues who have reviewed television in other excellent articles within this issue, I too have decided to write about what is on our favourite streaming site that I watched over the weekend.
NARCOS
Rating: *****
Drama
Starring: Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook and Pedro Pascal
Written by: Chris Brancato and directed by Jose Padilha
After much encouragement from my little brother, I decided to start the series Narcos – a drama following the life of Pablo Escobar during his climb to power within the Colombian drug cartel and the explosion of the cocaine industry during the 1980s. An American Drug Enforcement Agency officer, who relocates to Bogota in an attempt to curb the import of cocaine globally and capture Escobar, narrates the series and provides a look into relations between the American and Colombian military and governments. What I appreciate the most is that it is primarily in Spanish, with genuine actors who speak the language. Interestingly, the episodes are also sprinkled with real life footage of specific events that coincide with the plot line. Narcos is not for the faint of heart, it is brutal, bloody, and gives an insight into the ruthlessness of the drug cartels. Currently, one ten-episode season is on Netflix, with episodes being on average an hour long, and season two being released next year. This is not necessarily a binge watch show that leaves you hanging at the end of each episode. So yes, you can rip yourself from the screen and go to class.
THE SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO
Rating: ****
Documentary
Directed by Ian Cheney
I stumbled upon this documentary after losing the rock paper scissors match my boyfriend and I have for who choses what to watch (I had my eye on The Mindy Project, he said for us to check out this), and I am happy to say (just this one time) that I lost. The documentary explores the origin of General Tso Chicken; and a little spoiler alert, General Tso Chicken is actually not traditionally Chinese cooking (shocking!). Rather, it is the concoction of a Taiwanese chef in upper Manhattan during the mid 1960s in an attempt to appeal to American taste buds. The film travels from the United States to Asia in an attempt to find out who General Tso actually was and how his name came to be on every Chinese restaurant menu on this side of the Pacific. Through a series of interviews, director Ian Cheney addresses deeper issues faced by Chinese immigrants to the United States during the twentieth century and how local Chinese organizations assist immigrants to find work primarily in restaurants. During one of the interviews, the owners of a Chinese restaurant in Missouri claim that after visiting their restaurant and tasting their deep-fried chicken in the 1970s, McDonalds executives created the Chicken McNugget. This film is an excellent range of history and culinary appreciation in one. I would suggest, however, not to watch it on an empty stomach as I can guarantee you will be ordering delivery ten minutes in.
LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Rating: *****
Drama
Starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino, Raúl Esparza
Created by (the legendary) Dick Wolf
A tried and true, oldie but goodie, Law & Order: SVU follows the dedicated detectives of the Special Victims Unit in New York City who investigate vicious felonies. A fixture in the legal drama world, Law & Order: SVU always provides for good entertainment, with guest stars from your other favourite shows (keep an eye out for Orange is the New Black spottings in SVU season sixteen), cross over episodes with Chicago PD and strong leadership by Olivia Benson. Netflix has the most recent four seasons and provide viewers with a quick and easy way of catching up for the seventeenth season that has recently started this fall. SVU is a go-to show when you don’t want to think about what to watch. It will always provide for fantastic dramatic entertainment. Dun Dun.
TO NOTE:
To add to my colleague Henry Limheng’s article TV L Rev, Netflix has the entire first season of How to Get Away with Murder. That is on my list for next week.