Category: TV

It has been kind of a slow summer, so it is always fun to find a new show to watch.  My wife recently found out that even though Comcast doesn’t broadcast the channel WGN America it does have their shows On Demand, and one of those shows is Manhattan.  It is not about the burrow of New York City, but rather the Manhattan project.  Which as you know is where they created the Atom Bomb (You did know that right?).

The show doesn’t strive for historical accuracy, but since so much of it is a still a secret I am not sure how accurate they can be.  However, it is interesting to watch these scientists try and outsmart each other all while trying to end the war before more American lives are lost, and they are driven by the fear that the enemy will create the bomb first.  They think they know how destructive the bomb can be, but they are unsure and it scares them.  Plus the government is so scared that secrets will leak out that the scientists and their families are under constant scrutiny.

I don’t think this show will win any awards, but it is not the type of show that comes around a lot, and definitely not one that is made by a small Middle American regional channel.  I have been enjoying watching it, and I think that you would too.  Hey what else do you have to watch this summer?

Idris Elba.

American audiences have been introduced to him only recently in Prometheus, the two Thor movies, and of course Pacific Rim in which he cancels the apocalypse. He also plays a very bad man in HBO’s #1 Ladies Detective Agency. However, over across the pond Mr. Elba is known for his role as DCI John Luther. Besides a few outliers like Batman and Columbo, England has created the vast majority of detectives you’ve ever seen or read. From the Great Detective, Sherlock, to the little old lady, Ms. Marple, English writers love to kill people and then solve the mystery.

The team behind Luther follow in this grand British tradition; killing and solving with the best of them in three series or as we say across the pond, seasons. I recently finished the four episodes of Series 3, so is it a show you need to see?

Yes, but start with Series 1 and 2 since each builds on the last and feed a lot of what’s going on in Series 3. There are essentially five stories going on: three mysteries, a love story, and Luther having to deal with his past. I didn’t care as much for the mysteries this go around, although the second one is a nice reflection of Luther. Series 1 and 2 had better ones, especially the finale of series 2. However, it’s not about the mysteries as much as it’s about Idris Elba acting the crap out of Luther.

Luther is powerful, incredibly brilliant, but the poor guy never seems to get a break and Elba, like a master craftsman, shows the emotions that are just bursting at the seams and often comes out in dramatic effect. I highly suggest Luther, it’s on Netflix and each Series is only a few episodes so you can watch it all in short order. And if you a more concrete reason…

Idris Elba.