Current TV Shows

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll probably have seen me tweet about my current Netflix addiction at least once. I find that when I'm busy with school or have spent a lot of time writing, watching a new show can help get the creative juices flowing again. Either that or I start on a downward spiral that ends in watching seventeen episodes a day.

Here are some of the TV programmes I've been enjoying recently (so not my all-time favourites, but just those that I've watched in the past few months). Feel free to recommend some more to me in the comments!

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Rating: 5 by five

Oh, Buffy. I am so under your spell. I started watching Buffy last year, though when my Amazon Prime subscription ran out I had only got through the first three seasons. Jump forward to this summer it Dawned on me how much I loved that show so I binged watched seasons 4-7 on Netflix. Buffy isn't just an obsession: it is the best TV show ever made. I can't put into words how much I utterly adore this show.

I understand that the name is cheesy, I really do. And I know that the special effects aren't great, and that the outfits look like crazy birthday cake. If you just stick with the show, I promise that you will fall in love. Never before have I cared for a cast of characters so deeply, or cried such ugly tears. The truth is that even though this show started airing before I was even born, it's timeless. At its core Buffy is a show about empowerment, friendship, heroism and a girl who saved the world a lot. Some of the episodes (Hush, The Body and Once More With Feeling) are works of art in their own right. Also, you get a point if you notice all the references I slipped in.

CHUCK

Rating: 4.5

The reason I decided to watch Chuck was because it starred Zachary Levi, the guy who voiced Flynn Rider in Tangled (which I am utterly obsessed with). Watching one episode turned into binge watching all five seasons in just a few days. No regrets. Chuck is about a geeky guy working a dead end job who receives an email from his college roommate and accidentally gets government secrets downloaded into his brain, making him a CIA/NSA asset known as the Intersect. 

The first thing I need to say about this show is that it is utterly hilarious. I don't understand why not that many people have watched this show because it's definitely the best thing I've watched in a while (excluding Buffy, of course). I laughed, I cried, and I even lost sleep over it. I like to think that the first two seasons of Chuck are what James Bond would be like if you or I were the titular character. Chuck Bartowski is so relatable and I think I'm kind of in love with him. Have you seen his hair in season three? Who wouldn't be? 

THE OUTCAST 

Rating: 4.5

The Outcast is a two part drama that recently aired on the BBC based on the book by Sadie Jones. I didn't really expect that much when I watched this but it completely blew my mind. Set in 1950's England, it follows the adolescence of Lewis Aldridge as he struggles to deal with witnessing the death of his mother. I should warn you that there are some triggering things in this miniseries (sex, self harm, death) but the result was a heartbreaking and emotional show. 

I felt so much compassion towards Lewis, and hated practically every character aside from him and Kit. Yes, it's very depressing and I would have liked an extra five minutes on the end, but I can't express enough how incredible this was. If you're a fan of the kind of miniseries' that the BBC normally produce, I'd definitely watch this one. 

DAREDEVIL

Review: 4.75

Even though I watched this a couple of months ago I still wanted to mention it as it's so damn good. Daredevil is about Matt Murdock, a lawyer by day and a vigilante by night. Although he is blind, he uses his heightened senses to deliver a whole lot of ass whopping. Daredevil is so much edgier than a lot of Marvel shows/films and I think that's part of its appeal. You really get to see the darker underworld of New York and I love the moral ambiguity that is a cause of conflict for Matt. 

I love all the characters, whether it be Foggy Nelson or Wilson Fisk. Matt is my favourite, but each one of them feels so well developed, no matter if they are antagonists. The entire first season is up on Netflix and I'm getting all antsy in the wait for the second. Daredevil is one of the highest quality superhero things I have ever seen and you really, really should watch it. Please. 

GOSSIP GIRL

Rating: 4

I ended up binge watching the entire first season of Gossip Girl in a day. I haven't watched beyond that yet but I really liked what I watched so far. It has to be one of the most addicting shows out there, and even if it is a little over the top most of the time I definitely enjoyed it. The show follows a group of New York teens through relationships and scandals and fallouts, all narrated by the Gossip Girl (an anonymous blog which is filled with all the gossip from this particular school). It sounds stupid and trivial and yeah, it kind of is, but the show is actually kind of good. 

I have to admit that the reason I started watching it was because Michelle Trachtenberg is in it (AKA Dawn Summers), and even though I got spoilt for who the Gossip Girl actually is I definitely want to continue watching. 

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORREL

Rating: 4

It took me a few episodes to really get into this, but Strange and Norrel is yet another reason why I love the BBC. It's an alternate version of history set around the Napoleonic Wars, depicting magic's return to England. Whilst it is slow building, this series managed to be one of the best things I've seen in a while. Although I'm a bit scared to tackle the book (as I think it's over a thousand pages long), I definitely think that this series is worth the watch.

There are so many unexpected plot twists that it's practically impossible to predict what will happen in the next episode. The characters are amazing--my personal favourites are Strange and Childermass)--and the world building is bloody brilliant. Whilst I didn't fall head over heels in love with this series, I would still recommend it to all fantasy/history fans out there.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Rating: 4.5

I've been watching Once Upon a Time for over a year now and I completely love it. It can be cheesy, there's a lot of instalove regarding side characters and I'm not too keen on one particular plot event that happened in season four, but that doesn't change the fact that it's one of my all time favourite shows. I just love it, okay? Fairytales are my favourite thing ever and the fact that there's a whole show about them makes me so happy. You should definitely watch it if you like fantasy/devilishly handsome pirates. 

Once can get a little OTT but it has a wonderful cast of characters, witty dialogue, clever plots and great world building. The character development is so good it's almost at as good as the transition from crayon breaky Willow to scary veiny Willow (sorry for yet another Buffy reference). I'm already so excited for season five.

POLDARK

Poldark aired on the BBC this March (I think?) and even though it took me a few episodes to get into it, I absolutely loved it. Aside from the romance, the costumes and the drama, my favourite part of this show by far is Aidan Turner. If you want to find someone hotter than him I wish you luck, but I doubt you'd succeed. It also helps that he's an excellent actor and has glorious hair.

Demelza is my favourite character and I loved the romance between her and Ross. Poldark is yet another example of the BBC doing what it does best (historical mini-series') and I'm so pumped for series two next year. The series is based on the books by Winston Graham and I own the first on my kindle, so I'm definitely considering reading them soon.