SDS Roundtable: What are you watching right now?
In our first SDS roundtable where we discuss a wide range of topics during the current sports shutdown, we discuss what various members of the SDS staff are watching on television at home. Hopefully these answers provide some viewing options for readers looking for help to pass the time.
Dustin Schutte:
I’ve got a handful of classic movies saved on my DVR and on my DVD shelf that I have saved for the cold weather, gloomy days, etc. Sitting down to watch Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and other classics is a great way to travel back into cinema history and see how movies became such a prominent aspect of our culture today. Plus, they’re usually really entertaining.
With a little more free time, I’ll probably be able to add a few more to the watch list, skim through Netflix, Disney Plus and TCM to see what other highly-regarded classics are available over the next few weeks. And, let’s be honest, I’ll probably dabble in sports movies like Hoosiers, Rudy and a few others to get my fix.
Jon Cooper:
Since sports have basically taken a hiatus and the kids are home from school, a somewhat distraction-less time has given our family a gift to reflect and remember what matters most in life. We’re watching a lot of Netflix right now since sports hit pause. The last 4 things we’ve watched are The Pharmacist, Spenser Confidential, Designated Survivor and The Office.
We’re on episode 4 of 4 for The Pharmacist, and despite being terrifying, it’s really well done. Spenser Confidential was good; the biggest surprise is that Post Malone was in it and in character. Designated Survivor is already getting old, and we’re still on the first season. So, that one is probably toast soon for another series. (Maybe someone can encourage us to stay the course). The Office, however, is still gold despite having seen every episode multiple times. We’re currently on Season 4, Episode 4, “Money.” I’m already dreading Michael leaving the show.
Connor O’Gara:
There are two separate categories here. There’s “what I’m currently watching” and “what I hope to soon be watching.” Currently, my wife and I are rewatching every Harry Potter movie. Yes, we own all 8 movies, and yes, tell me I’m a nerd for doing that. I have no shame. They still hold up. That Voldemort dude was one bad dark lord. I did the math and those movies are just shy of 20 total hours. In other words, that’s the equivalent of binge-watching roughly 2 seasons of a popular series on Netflix. Don’t judge.
As for “what I hope to soon be watching,” that’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The Office and Parks & Recreation are my 2 favorite shows of all-time and given the common denominator of Michael Schur as the show creator, I’ve been told to give that a shot. Despite my “meh” feelings on Andy Samberg, this is inevitably going to end with us binge-watching every episode and ranking this among our favorite shows ever. Probably. Expectations are high.
Michael Bratton:
If you missed “Hello Ladies” during its run on HBO, you missed out on a hidden comedy gem. It stars Stephen Merchant, co-creator of “The Office” with Ricky Gervais, who plays an awkward but successful tech guy in Los Angeles. His character has incredibly high standards which adds to the humor if you know what Merchant looks like, think Dirk Nowitzki without the basketball skills. Fans of the “The Office” should enjoy this show, which is available on HBO, HBO Go and HBO Now.
Also, I rewatched the 2019 LSU at Alabama game and 2019 Alabama at Auburn games this weekend because I enjoy watching the Crimson Tide lose.
Chris Marler:
I just started Homeland. Good. Ness. If you thought the Kick Six was an emotional roller coaster just wait until you strap in to an episode of Homeland Season 1 have to try and figure out whether or not Claire Danes is sleeping with a terrorist. All jokes aside, I love it so far but have heard season 3 gets a little crazy. Which is admittedly concerning considering the plot I described in the previous sentence about one night stands with Al Qaeda.
Kevin Duffey:
I think Better Call Saul is the best show on right now. It’s definitely a slow burn like it’s “parent” show of Breaking Bad, but the show creators are basically just showing off right now. It’s like when Lane Kiffin was calling touchdown before the Alabama offense even ran the play in the 2014 SEC Championship Game. Because of the success of Breaking Bad, the show creators basically have the green light to just execute, and these guys are throwing 101 MPH fastballs each episode. Because of this “room to breathe,” they take some serious liberties in the early seasons to lay the foundation both in character and story development, but the payoffs later on are worth it. And while it might be slow when watching week-to-week on cable TV, binging these early seasons on Netflix will make getting through them easier and more enjoyable. Like Breaking Bad, when Gus arrives, the show tends to pick up the intensity and keep getting better.
I’m also looking forward to Ozark season 3 on Netflix this month.
Unfortunately for us parents, what we are watching is also not limited to our own personal preferences. My 4-year old is doing her best to stress test the sever and bandwidth capacity of the new Disney+ streaming platform by watching Frozen 2 on a near continuous loop.
Any topic suggestions for future staff roundtables (sports or otherwise)? Please leave suggestions in the comments!
I feel like sports journalists should not be so transparent about their like or dislike of programs.
“Journalists” is a pretty generous term given this site’s past click-baiting and grammatical/fact-checking atrocities.
Yet, here you are. Everyday.
Danggit Chris, it’s been months and I still haven’t gotten my coozie.
I can’t believe free content websites that rely on ad revenue publish articles and titles to generate clicks. Them bastards!
I’ve been watching all five seasons of Boston Legal and lots of YouTube videos.
I have released the nerd. Star Trek Discovery, Picard, His Dark Materials, etc… All very good and different.
haha. this is a safe space. no shame in the nerdy content. we all can nerd out from time to time.
Oh I don’t know about that. I’ve never seen a second of anything Dr. Who, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Stargate or Battlestar related. I’ve only ever seen Episode 1 of Star Wars even.
Just don’t like Sci-Fi. At all.
I have seen older movies like Blade Runner, which was good and Total Recall which was Ok. I have read The Dark Tower series though.
Other than those, I’ve avoided all that stuff on Netflix, Disney’s Baby Yoda.
If you want to count Indiana Jones as Sci-Fi though… I’m a history guy. Was my major, degree.
I’ll take Platoon over Star Wars, Patton over Star Trek and Band of Brothers over Stargate any day.
Also, The Office as well as Parks & Rec are both hot garbage.
I’m actually just as big of a fan of Indiana Jones, Patton, Band of Brothers, and Platoon. Majors in History and CS…so I enjoy those along with SciFi.
Platoon was pretty god. Band of Brothers was so well made.
Is it just me, or was Hacksaw Ridge kind of corny?
Indiana Jones wasn’t sci-fi until the aliens in the fourth movie, but I’d prefer to pretend that one doesn’t exist. Also, personal preference doesn’t really matter so whether you like history or sci-fi or both, it’s all good. Probably not too useful in drawing lines in the sand and trying to define oneself over something as ultimately meaningless as movie genre preference.
Well said, Boxster. I find that other than staying reasonably informed about public and personal safety relating to the virus (just common sense), the news will make us all extremely depressed (no surprise there).
To maintain my remaining sanity, one show that I’ve really enjoyed watching is “Bosch’ on Amazon. The 6th and final season is scheduled to drop sometime in April. The show is essentially detective fiction based on the books written by Michael Connelly (UF grad). The series is compelling, and well-acted and filmed mostly in LA. It has more than served its purpose as far as entertaining and keeping my mind off the news for many hours. I think a lot of people would enjoy watching it. Cheers and best wishes for good health to everyone.