WHATCHA WATCHING?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: TV, anyone? We just watched DOWN CEMETERY ROAD, every single bit of it, and at one point I said to Jonathan, wow I love this, but, what again? Is the point? I completely don’t understand it. Eventually it was all made clear, ish, kind of, and some loose ends were not tied up, but it was really fun to watch. Rhys, it’s Emma Thompson’s hair you need to see. Go for it.

PLURIBUS, yes yes yes, fabulous. Thought-provoking, fantastic. Would you trade away your individuality if you could be happy and know everything? Ah, I don’t want to describe too much, but it is about (to me, at least) the dangers of AI. 

SLOW HORSES continues to be wonderfully entertaining. (Mick Herron wrote Cemetery Road, too.) And we just started watching HIJACK, with Idris Elba.

I know I am leaving something out. How about you, Reds and readers?

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m in RE-watch mode with SHERLOCK. Remembering how fabulous Benedict Cumberbatch was and how smart the writing was. But honestly there’s nary a single clue or red herring that I remember from having seen these before. The solutions are SO complicated, and sometimes I”m not even sure exactly what the crime is. Doesn’t matter… I do love Sherlock and Mary and Watson and Mrs. Hudson.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We’ve just finished the final episode of STRANGER THINGS. We found this last season a little confusing, especially since it had been so long since the previous one, but we loved the way they wrapped everything up. It was such fun to see all the lovely kids grow up over the course of the series.

Also, we watched the ERAS tour documentary, which was fascinating. The technical side of the productions was just astounding, and the effort and dedication the tour took, not just from Taylor but from all the dancers and singers and musicians and crew, was incredibly moving. I only wish I’d had the experience of seeing it in person.

JENN McKINLAY: We are currently watching THE LOWDOWN, starring Ethan Hawke, and it is excellent - we are only two episodes in, however. Before that, we watched THE CHAIR COMPANY…um…wildly entertaining and yet soooo bizarre. We loved, loved, loved, NOBODY WANTS THIS. We also caught the movie MARTY SUPREME and it was utterly bonkers and very entertaining.

RHYS BOWEN: We haven’t been watching much because we had family around and then John was in hospital. When I’m in de-stress mode I watch the tennis channel and right now there are some good tournaments going on in Australia. It is also nostalgia for me because it reminds me of times in Australia, watching those tournaments with my mum.

But we did start one of the new Agatha Christies the other night. The Pale Horse, which was one of her really good stories. But Agatha writes in a way that is calm and genteel. No gore. No sensationalism. This rendition was horrific and we turned it off after about twenty minutes. And retreated back to old favorites. Recently discovered a Maigret with Rowan Atkinson. They are really good and it’s fun to see him playing a deep and serious character.


LUCY BURDETTE: As you know, I am the world’s fussiest television watcher. By the way, Jenn, we went to see Marty Supreme. I hated it! About 2/3 of the way through, I mentioned to John that this was hard to take. He said he didn’t like it either and let’s leave. And so we did. But then we saw Song Sung Blue, which was sad but so excellent! Now I am looking forward to watching another new one about a stand-up comic who is getting divorced. It’s called Is This Thing On?

On the television front, nix on Cemetery Road. And I haven’t gotten hooked by Slow Horses, though I know I’m in the minority. We did watch the first episode of the new season of Shetland and absolutely loved it. We also watched episode one of the new season of THE PITT. John loves it, I will give it another try. Fussy.


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m also in a TV funk. I don’t feel like anything dark, but most comedies aren’t my cup of tea. I watched WAKE UP DEAD MAN when Youngest was home and we both adored it. I’d love for more series or movies in the traditional Agatha Christie vein, but it’s getting hard to find one I haven’t already seen! Happily, a new adaptation of The Seven Dials Mystery was released on Netflix yesterday, so that’s going to be my weekend watch. Now, if PBS will just let us know when MARBLE HALL MURDERS (third in the wonderful Moonflower Murders series) is being released, I’ll call myself good for the month.

HANK: Oh, yes Seven Dials, looking forward! But somehow...I think all those look to campy for me. But hope persists! And anything by Anthony Horowitz, I'm totally in. And oh, the Lincoln Lawyer is coming up.  Yay.

How about you all, Reds and Readers? Whatcha watching?

Comma comma down doo-bee-doo down down....

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I had so much fun with Jenn’s meet-cute post, and it got me thinking about what was the opposite of meet-cute? Leave-cute? Of course, bad breakups. (I hope you recognize the song "lyrics" in today's title...)

We don’t want to go anywhere upsetting today, of course, but breakups can be pretty funny. Yes, they can.

Once I broke up with a perfectly nice guy because we went to see the Robert Altman movie Nashville, and I adored it, adored it! And he loathed it. How could that be, I wondered? And I finally said “you know, if you don’t love that movie, I can’t see a future for us”. And that was the end of that.

And on the other end, once a guy broke up with me, saying: “Hank, you may absolutely be the perfect woman, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you are just not a good enough tennis player, and I can’t live my life with that.” And that was the end of that.

How about you, Reds and readers? Any ridiculous breakups?

HALLIE EPHRON: My nastiest breakup came after my boyfriend dropped me at the airport for a trip to Ghana (I had a summer job) and then (I found out later) he ran off to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. To add insult to injury, it turned out the plane I was ticketed on was over-sold and I had to find a way back to my parents’ apartment in New York, tail between my legs, and never did get to Ghana. A week later I reconnected with the boy I’d dumped … who turned out to be the keeper of a lifetime, my Jerry.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I think the worst would be the boyfriend who dumped me for my best friend (I was sixteen, he was eighteen.) I was also friends with his younger sister, and when I would come over to see the sister, ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend would be naked in bed, holding court like John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Ouch. However, I am now friends with him on Facebook, and sort of named a character after him in A KILLING OF INNOCENTS, so I suppose time heals all wounds.

JENN McKINLAY: This reminds me of Seinfeld and all the ridiculous reasons they would have to break up with people – a close talker, a face painter, they had something off-putting like wart remover in their medicine cabinet, etc. I dumped a guy because he was a horrible tipper – inexcusable. And I was dumped because I am freakishly tall. Dude might have thought about that before he asked me out. Sheesh.

RHYS BOWEN: I was once the dumper to a very nice boy and still feel bad about it. I had a boyfriend in Germany whom I was very keen on. But I was back in England at college so I met this boy called Alex and went out with him. He started to get too keen on me so a friend told me to write him a letter to break it off saying it wasn’t fair to my regular boy friend. I did this and regretted it instantly. It really hurt Alex. I hadn’t realized until then how much he liked me. Until then I hadn’t realized that guys have feelings too!

LUCY BURDETTE: I have one for each side. I think it was in eighth grade and my sister was having a boy-girl party as she was a year older. My mother must have suggested that my friend Laura and I could also each invite one boy. Oh, the drama! Hers declined, but mine accepted, and then I went into full panic mode. He came, but I don’t think I even spoke to him because he was wearing tall white socks. Did you hear me sisters? Tall, white socks! I’m so sorry Jay I was that shallow😁

Worst dumping line, when a guy I’d been seeing for a while and liked very much, said to me: I think we could have a nice enough life. And that was the end of that!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Lucy, talk about damning with faint praise! My silliest breakup was with the archaeology professor I started dating in my senior year. He was twenty years older than I, and though he had a lot of nice qualities (and I thought he was hot) I came to realize I was both too mature for him - yes, I’m being serious! - and also that I was too young to spend all my couple-time socializing with academics in their early forties.

I was living in DC, and he was in upstate NY, and the breaking point came after I saw a matinee of FOOTLOOSE. Walking out of the theater, I thought, “I’m wasting my youth on this guy! I want to have fun and go dancing!” So I sent him a dear John letter. And then the skunk confessed he’d cheated on me when he was at his dig the past summer!!! I was so glad I’d kicked him foot-loose.

About ten months later, I went to a GW graduate student mixer and met this curly-haired redhead named Ross. And yes, we did go dancing and had lots of fun!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Jen, you are not freakishly tall. And SO agree about the tipping thing--that is just the "tip" of the psychological iceberg.  Julia, I love that movies were the catalyst for both of us! Lucy, “a nice enough life”?? Whoa. How about you, Reds and Readers? Any funny stories about breakups?

Let's do...LUNCH!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Lunch, lunch, I love lunch. I’ve always loved lunch. For 40-some years as a reporter, I looked forward to it every day, it was a lifesaver and a sanity saver. I do remember, though, the franticness. Once on the way back to file a story, I was so hungry, but SO late, so I ran into a sandwich place and said:

“How long for a tuna sandwich?”

And the guy said: “Two minutes!”

And I said: “Too long!” And raced back to the car and my story.

(And that’s how stressful TV news is. That's what taught me to always carry almonds.)

But now, working from home, I am still excited about lunch. I will admit, most days I have half of a turkey and swiss sandwich on rye bread with Honeycup mustard, Siete chips and a half-sour pickle. If we have arugula, all the better. SO BORING, I know, but I am in love with it. I don't usually have lunch until 2:30, yes, 2:30. But it's perfect.

How about you, Reds and Readers? Are you a lunch fan? What's on the menu?

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m a big fan of food in general, so what’s not to love about LUNCH?! Especially a fan of last night’s leftovers. Alternatively, I love any excuse to heat a pair of frozen cheese blintzes and eat them with sour cream and canned cherry pie filling. Not healthy but very satisfying.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Yes, I love lunch, especially when it gives me a chance to read. Love leftovers, especially soup, or (I know it’s a cliche but it’s so good) I’ll make avocado toast with good bakery sourdough, one of the tiny avocados from Trader Joe’s, olive oil, lemon juice, flakey salt, sriracha, and radish sprouts from the farmer’s market. Totally yum.

JENN McKINLAY: Big fan of lunch but I never eat it unless I’m meeting friends for lunch, which I do a couple of times each month. At home, I’m more of a snacker and a nice plate of cheese and crackers with pickles and olives can get me to dinner no problem.

RHYS BOWEN: Meeting friends for lunch is what keeps me sane! I have lovely friends both in California and Arizona whom I meet regularly (Jenn. Waving at you!) and escaping from work and concentration for lunch is just perfect. When I’m home alone it’s whatever I can grab. In winter I make big soups with whatever I can throw in. Summer it’s salad, or avocado plus whatever protein is left over.

LUCY BURDETTE: Gotta have lunch! And usually before noon. I don’t too often go out for lunch, although I love seeing friends, but it takes up a lot of time and I’ll often eat more than I should. The best thing is leftovers such as some of the delicious pea soup I made the other day or lentil soup or anything in that family. If I have a little cottage oat biscuit to eat on the side, that’s even better!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Count me among the lunch fans, both at home (sandwiches! With fancy mustards!) and going out to a restaurant. It’s also become a bit of a trend with my friends to do lunchtime entertaining, and I love it. You go to someone’s house on Sunday afternoon, enjoy good food and conversation, and get home before dark. You don’t have to think about whether to say yes or no to a drink, because what’s on offer is coffee, tea and fruity seltzer. Honestly, it’s an ideal way to entertain.

How about you, Reds and Readers? Are you a lunch fan? What's on the menu? Your turn to order!