Wasting Away in TV Land, or A Few Shows to Watch in Your Spare Time

I'm not the kind of guy who pretends to be a highbrow. That's not to say I might not like the opera or ballet, if exposed to live performances on a regular basis. I do appreciate classical music when hearing it live. Sure, I could see myself sipping on a glass of Weller 12 Year bourbon, surrounded by $10,000 of audio gear blasting out a little Tchaikovsky as I pondered the world and my place in it. But, in truth, there are other things, sadly quite pedestrian in nature, that I'd rather do in my spare time.

I find myself in the midst of a three-week run at home. Not only that, but paying work has become alarmingly scarce. In other words, I have some time on my hands. I am catching up on editing just3things videos and work around the house. Typically, by 4 p.m. or so, I am settled into my recliner in front of the TV.

Not a huge expenditure in my annual budget, but one that I could transform into some needed cash for the aforementioned home-improvement projects, is the $200 per year I shovel at Netflix and Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime does have some added value, of which I make good use as I order lots of stuff from Amazon, taking advantage of Prime's free two-day shipping. Each month Prime also allows me to download a free book from a selection of six to eight novels its editors assemble. I also, however, make good use of Amazon's selection of movies and TV series that are free to watch through Amazon Prime. This, of course, is Netflix's core business.

From the time I hop into my recliner around 4:00, until I prepare dinner around 6:30 or 7:00, I'll binge watch three or four episodes of some TV series provided by one of these two content services. Some are Netflix or Amazon originals, some are recently aired series I just missed on regular cable or network TV, and some air on channels I can't find or are unfamiliar with.

Both download-viewing services now allow members to download certain TV series and movies to a device for future viewing. I usually have four or five episodes of some TV series that I can watch on airplanes when traveling.

Here are a few of the series I keep up with on Netflix and Amazon:

Bosch (Amazon) – Based on the series of novels with Bosch as the protagonist, each season is a collection of eight or so episodes based on one of the books. Well structured, written and acted, its a great way to get through a rainy Saturday.

The Man in the High Castle (Amazon) – To be honest, I have no clue what this series is about and I've watched two seasons. The premise is that the Germans and Japanese won WWII. Japan controls everything west of the Rockies, while the Nazis control the rest of what was the U.S. But, this is some sort of alternate universe among other universes of which we are aware because some guy (the man in the high castle) has canisters of films revealing the other realities. Admittedly, this is something I only watch because I can. I am so confused by what's going on, I find it almost unwatchable at times.

Patriot (Amazon) – I was turned on to this quirky series involving a CIA operative with his father as his direct supervisor by some of the PR guys at Honda. He is a reluctant agent undercover with some sort of provider of oil pipeline materials. Two oddities about the series that are fun are the fact that the agent composes and sings songs about his spy work, as well as whenever someone in the pipeline supply company talks about anything work related, it's just double talk. Some of this is simply hysterical.

The core clones of Orphan Black. My favorite: Helena on far right.

Orphan Black (Amazon) – This is the one show I always try to convince people with Amazon Prime to watch when the topic of TV watching surfaces in conversation. The premise is that as babies, several female clones were released into the population in different locations and into different situations. All are unaware they are clones. They begin stumbling across one another and linking up to save themselves and defeat the corporation that made them. The writing and acting is brilliant. Thanks to modern computer tech, several of these clones can appear on camera at the same time and interact with one another. You would never know you are watching the same actor assume all of the clone identities. My favorite of the clones: the Ukrainian assassin.

Goliath (Amazon) – This is a Billy Bob Thornton vehicle and it is an excellent drama. There is only one season (so far), but the stage is set for more to follow. The premise of the first season is a disgraced, down-on-his-luck attorney assembles a rag-tag staff to take on a big corp in a wrongful-death suit. It's gritty, gripping and good.

She can eat my brain and solve my murder any time.

iZombie (Netflix) – This is a series originally airing on the CW network. The premise is that some combination of a tainted recreational drug and an energy drink was consumed by a bunch of people attending a party on a yacht, turning them into zombies. The show's protagonist was turned into a zombie by one of the party goers and wakes up on shore the next morning craving brains. Long story short: She parlays her medical school experience into a job at the county morgue, where she dines on the brains of murder victims then assumes their personalities. Her morgue boss is aware and supportive of her situation. She partners with a homicide detective to help solve the murders. It's nothing short of escapist fun.

Iron Fist (Netflix) – A Netflix project, this Marvel production is everything we've come to expect from Marvel. I'm not a comic-book fan boy. I never spent much time with comic books as a kid and, certainly not as an adult. I don't know how closely the TV series follows the mythology of the comic-book series, but the show is entertaining and the resident hottie is a Japanese martial arts master. It doesn't get much better than that!