HALLIE EPHRON: One of my favorite children’s books to read to my kids was Dr. Seuss’s OLD HAT, NEW HAT. I read it so many times, in fact, that I can pretty much recite it from memory.
It's the story of a bear who's looking for a new hat to replace his old one.
One by one he rejects them:
Too beefy, too bumpy;
Too twisty, too twirly;
Too wrinkly, too curly…
Until he finds the one that's just right.
I feel like that curmudgeonly bear when I look at the plethora of offerings on network and streaming TV. Too violent, too depressing, too scary, too silly, too dumb, …
So I’m always on the lookout for a show I can enjoy without reservations. Recently I tripped over one on Netflix that I can recommend wholeheartedly.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
It’s South Korean (yes, there are subtitles) and I am so hooked.
Apparently I’m not the only one – it’s been a smash in South Korea and now it's topping the Netflix charts
Each episode has a bit of a mystery (YES!) and the main character is Attorney Woo Young-woo (played by the enchanting, Park Eun-bin), a young woman with autism spectrum disorder. She’s got a (yes extraordinary) ability to remember anything she’s read, plus an intense love for the law and (trust me, it works) whales.
But she’s defeated by the prospect of entering a building through a revolving door and can’t abide being touched.
Each episode contains is a twisty tale with a conundrum and ethical issues that are really worth thinking about. Add some romance. Food. It’s also very funny.
Sometimes Attorney Woo wins; sometimes she loses. She’s utterly endearing. The supporting cast is sublime.
JUST RIGHT, as Brother Bear would have said.
Lucky you who haven’t discovered the show, you have all 16 episodes of Season 1 to watch. Sadly for me I’ll have to wait, until they’ve finished filming Season 2.
Have you found any unexpectedly wonderful network or streamed shows that you'd recommend to the rest of us picky picky viewers?
This sounds like a good show, Hallie, although now I am wondering a bit about South Korean television . . . isn’t “The Good Doctor” based on a same-named South Korean series? And both shows feature an autistic lead character?
ReplyDeleteSad to say, I’m afraid I don’t have any show recommendations . . . .
sounds intriguing Hallie, we've not seen that show. The only thing I'm watching is the final season of Shetland. I love seeing all the scenery that we know from our trip! It's a little dark though, appropriate for an ending. Waiting eagerly for The Crown...
ReplyDeleteOh, Hallie, I know exactly what you are looking for but I can't help. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have almost given up TV completely. However, with the guidance of all of my new friends here and on FCF, I have read dozens of new-to-me authors and kept a journal of all the books I have read. Although I have not succeeded in keeping a journal of the audiobooks, dozens as well, I have experienced many new authors and also become familiar with many narrators.
ReplyDeleteAttorney Woo sounds like something I would enjoy. Maybe I'll sit down and give it a try.
I'm hoping someone will recommend something that is not on Netflix, which is simply beyond my budget. I haven't watched the first episode yet, but I am hoping that Magpie Murders will live up to the hype. On PBS.
ReplyDeleteLove All Creatures Great and Small on PBS.
DeleteDiana
Judi, just a thought: PBS Passport. For making a monthly contribution (as little as $5), you gain access online to most PBS programs, past and present. Check the website for your local PBS station. Enjoy. Elisabeth
DeleteI'll piggyback on Elisabeth's comment to add Peacock (which my sister and brother in law enjoy) and Apple TV (which I have) are both $4.99 per month. Apple doesn't have the enormous backlog of content that other services do, but it's very good. And of course, there's always the library DVDs!
DeleteHallie here — I watched the first installment of Magpie Murders and *loved* it!! I had loved the book - beautiful production and a wonderfully twisty meta tale
DeleteI am a big fan and supporter of PBS! I also have Britbox which carries so many older shows that I have loved.
DeleteThanks, Hallie, the show sounds worth a try. Like Judy, I've almost given up tv since the pandemic. I can't concentrate and give up after a few minutes--the only exception being Escape to the Country on Britbox. No plot, so undemanding, great scenery.
ReplyDeleteFlora, audiobooks have totally replaced TV for me. If I have baking or cooking or cleaning or just neighborhood walking, it is easy to listen to a story.
DeleteLove Escape to the Country which is also broadcast on the Dabl channel if you can get it
DeleteThanks Hallie sounds "just right" !!
ReplyDeleteWe liked Ted Lasso on Apple TV, and don't subscribe to any other shows (we need to re-think this!) so we just watch what is on Network TV. Which is terribly limited. We like Father Brown, Hope Street, Death in Paradise (British all on PBS), Finding your Roots with Dr. Gates.
Clare: I love that show! It hit all the right notes for me. I’m a sucker for courtroom drama. I love The Good Fight spin-off from The Good Wife on Paramount Plus. I think it also comes out on regular CBS. The first seasons are more traditional courtroom fights. The last few are about the absurdity of what is going in in our world today. Another really fun Netflix show is ‘Old enough’. It’s a Japanese show about little kids doing their first errand. They are very cute and Japan is really beautiful. I have really appreciated how many shows in different languages Netflix brings us that I would never have been able to see otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Old Hat New Hat is published as part of the Bright Beginnings books with the Cat in the Hat logo, it is actually by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
ReplyDeleteI watched and enjoyed the first episode of Magpie Murders on PBS. Having just read the book I know whodunnit so I am not sure if it will keep my interest going forward. I will keep watching to see. I am looking forward to season 3 of All Creatures Great and Small in January also on PBS.
I used to always watch The Good Doctor, but I quit watching most TV during the pandemic. When this season picked up from a cliffhanger that I knew nothing about I just didn’t tune in again. I guess I would just rather read and watch author interviews on my laptop now.
I've been wondering if this was worth a watch, Hallie, so thank you! Sounds a little like a female Monk, with subtitles.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for the next seasons of The Good Karma Hospital and The Crown, and so wishing Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist wasn't finished. But if you get a chance to see either of these, they are both quirky and wonderful, and got me through some pandemic duldrums. Another series I really enjoyed was the Father Brown spinoff, The Sister Boniface Mysteries. Good, clean fun, with a side helping of murder.
Correcting myself now it is the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners.
ReplyDeleteI've been been watching Silent Witness on Britbox. I started with Season 1 and am now on Season 16. Only 9 seasons to go LOL!!!! I love although it can be a little loose with the facts sometimes. If you're the least bit squeamish, it's definitely not for you. I think sometimes they like to show blood and guts just to get their viewers to scream and shut their eyes. But the plots are interesting and I'm definitely invested in the characters. I also watch HistoryHit on YouTube. It's a subscription but doesn't cost much. Great English history documentaries. An American sister show called America History Hit has just started but I haven't watched it yet. I also watch PBS. I don't have a television set so all my watching is confined to the desktop which is just fine with me. I was basically done with network TV before the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful! I bet I could get hubby hooked, too. He was stationed in Korea and learned the language. He loves to practice. Alas, I cancelled all my streaming services but Prime. With all those choices, couldn't find much to catch my interest over the long term. Waiting now all the episodes of Blue Bloods to drop before I reup that membership and to see what AMC does with the Hillerman mysteries - Loved Dark Winds. If you haven't seen it, check it out. I'll return to Netflix when the new season of The Crown releases.
ReplyDeleteKait, if you're on Prime, let me suggest my two favs over the past year or so - The City and The City and Counterpart. They're both amazingly written mysteries - Counterpart is a spy thriller - with great casts and fascinating premises. Highly recommend.
DeleteThanks, Julia, I'll check them out!
DeleteI loved that show. There is not a lot on NetFlix that I care to watch, but every once in a while, I stumble across one like this or The Queen's Gambit or Inventing Anna ---
ReplyDeleteHow delightful, Hallie. I'll have to look for that.
ReplyDeleteHere's a "just right" one for you. We've been watching The Indian Doctor. Set in Wales in the early sixties, it shows a doctor and his wife who've come from India to this village for him to take over caring for the residents. The wife is very sophisticated and accustomed to having servants, and thought they were going to settle in London. The doctor is gentle and devoted and determined to stay. There's a coal mine. There's tragedy. There's humor. Of course small town gossip, LOTS of it, and romance. Highly recommend.
I loved that show! It needed to last longer, was my only complaint. The Indian couple was so endearing.
DeleteAgree,
DeleteOh, is it over? We are halfway into season two, and I think there is a third.
DeleteI like the INDIAN DOCTOR too--love the characters.
DeleteI think there were three seasons, if I remember correctly. I watched it a couple years ago.
DeleteThere were so many layers in INDIAN DOCTOR, so many issues faced, including vaccination deniers and racist assumptions, and so much kindness at the heart. Loved it.
DeleteI'm not sure when I'll be ready to watch a show for which I need to read subtitles. I'd rather read actual books if I'm going to read. ;-)
I'm on the fence about Magpie Murders. But then again, I didn't like the book. On Netflix I recommend a fictionalized telling of a real event, "High Water". On cable tv I've enjoyed the "Red Election" series on Ovation.
ReplyDeleteI just started watching Attorney Woo, and I love it! I’m forcing myself not to binge-watch it.
ReplyDeleteUntil the pandemic, I never had streaming services and I had dropped cable many years earlier. But I found that I couldn’t concentrate on reading, so I slowly added some streaming services, and began watching TV, mostly detective or mystery programs. I love The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix. I’m also watching some of the British programs. Death in Paradise is one of my favorites. Harry Wild is another.
DebRo
Have to go off topic a bit…recommending this episode of the podcast for the Colin McEnroe Show from Connecticut Public. “It’s No Mystery Why We’re Drawn to Crime Fiction”, broadcast on Tuesday, October 18. As the promos say “available wherever you get your podcasts”. Happy Wednesday, Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestion, Elisabeth!
DeleteGreat post, Hallie! I really have to upgrade my computer so that I can get Netflix. Right now I can get both Acorn TV on my Apple iPad. I love the British shows on Acorn TV like Midsomer Murders and Doctor Martin. And there are some shows on Apple TV that I love. I watch them on my iPad too.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the entire BAD SISTERS. It is a dark comedy. Based on the Swedish series (I think). This series is set in Ireland.
Feeling blessed that I can Still get Britbox and PBS Passport on my computer. Watching Agatha Christie mysteries on Britbox. Love All Creatures Great and Small on PBS. Planning to watch Magpie Murders on PBS.
Diana
New to this amazing blog (thanks to a great SIC class I attended last night with Lucy Burdette)! I also recently started watching this show (Extraordinary Attorney Woo) and love it. The Americans and Bad Sisters are my other current shows that I am enjoying. Grateful for all of these show recommendations before heading into the long winter months here in Maine. I am planning to find the Shetland series next.
ReplyDeleteStacia, may I suggest my favorite Maine TV watching? Find a show or movie that's set on a tropical beach and crank up your electric heater. Even if the writing's bad and the acting's flat, you still get a little balmy escape!
DeleteSo, Julia, does Maine PBS air “Murder in Paradise”? ;-) Elisabeth
DeleteOh, yes, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is delightful. I tell everyone about it. Recently I discovered Derry Girls and devoured it too. Another surprise smash hit I highly recommend is the Japanese series, Midnight Diner, set in a small eating spot in an alley and focused on a quiet, observant cook and the collection of regulars who stop in for food and company and to share the problems in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like fun. If I had Netflix, I'd check it out.
ReplyDeleteI've been loving the reboot/requel of Quantum Leap on NBC. They have all new characters, but they are picking up threads from the original. It's been a fun ride so far, and I hope it continues that way.
(And I do have to point out that Old Hat New Hat was actually written by the Berenstains and not Dr. Seuss.)
Mark, I was a huge Quantum Leap fan, and I've been holding out against the remake because I didn't want to de disappointed. I'll give it a try, now.
DeleteSome fans are hating it, comparing it negatively to the original. I hope you find it fun and take it in the spirit it is intended. I feel like there is a lot of love for the original in it, even if it has some differences.
DeleteI watched the first episode "by mistake", don't think it's one anymore, Haha.
ReplyDeleteJudging by the illustration, the book is a Berenstain Bear book, not Dr. Seuss.
ReplyDeleteI have been watching the newest season of Doc Martin on Acorn. His bedside manner cracks me up. Also on Acorn is a delightful series set in South Africa called Recipes for Love and Murder. Yes, there is murder but you don't see it or the nasty details. Tannie Maria writes the advice column for the local paper and always includes a recipe that she thinks will improve the situation of the advice seeker. When one of her letter writers is found murdered she and a reporter on the paper try to find out who did it. Part of the charm of the show is watching her cooking with love.
ReplyDeleteOooh, thanks Hallie from this "picky,picky" viewer. Sounds great. I have found soothing fun in watching Stanley Tucci's series about Italian food.(CNN) Really. Cause he's a delightful host and sometime, what we really need from tv is something that has no relation to real life,right? On the other hand, we have started watching a new network cop show,(CBS) East New York. That is a struggling, mostly very rough neighborhood in Brooklyn. And I worked there, a long time ago.So far, excellent cast, interesting characters populating the precinct and very real issues.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely look it up. We love the Good Doctor. Our grandson is on the autism spectrum, so it's of special interest. Also, Mark, I love Quantum Leap! A fan of the first and not disappointed in the remake. The stories are excellent. Especially since we found out how Magic was connected!
ReplyDeleteme, too, on woo!!
ReplyDeleteHallie, I loved Old Hat, New Hat, too, although it was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain (The Berenstain Bears). However Dr. Seuss was the publisher and editor, and he's responsible for the line of Bright and Early Books, to which this book belongs. With it being Halloween time, I just wanted to mention that Bears in the Night and The Spooky Old Tree, both by Stan and Jan and both a part of Dr. Seuss' Bright and Early Books, are great for young children. I even had a board game for my two kids based on The Spooky Old Tree. Thanks for reminding me of these books and how much I loved reading them with my children.
ReplyDeleteAnd, thanks for reminding me about Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I remember someone mentioning it, and then I forgot about it. I have my PBS favorites, Call the Midwife, All Creatures Great and Small, Father Brown, Doc Martin, Endeavor, and Inspector Lewis. I'm still grieving for Unforgotten. I couldn't get into Van Der Valk. I need to get over to Acorn and watch the new season of Doc Martin. I think I've been saving it, but for what, I don't know.
One show that I thought was done really well, but I don't hear too much about, is Ridley Road on PBS. "Set against the backdrop of London in the swinging sixties, Ridley Road is in an East End world where far-right fascism is on the rise. When Vivien Epstein follows her lover into danger and he is caught between life and death, Vivien finds herself going undercover with the fascists, not only for him, but for the sake of her country." I learned a lot about the resurgence of fascism in London during the 1960s. I think it can still be found on PBS Passport.
I just watched The Watcher on Netflix and found it to be wonderfully creepy. It has an all-star cast and they all do a great job. I'm looking forward to trying out The Magpie Murders. And, I love Ted Lasso and Stranger Things. I have rather eclectic tastes.
I really enjoyed Attorney Woo as well. I also like Murder in Provence on Britbox, which goes well with wine, and Signora Volpe.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Reds and Readers, for all these suggestions--I've been scribbling down titles as I fast as I can read. Attorney Woo tops the list, but you've given me other possibilities, assuming I can get them here in Bern. Deb mentioned the Lincoln Lawyer, which I thought was very good (and I'm a huge Michael Connelly fan, so very picky.) My husband and I were captivated by the fourth season of "Borgen" (a Danish show on Netflix about a powerful woman politician)--you don't have to have seen the other three seasons to follow it. And for thought-provoking humor, another Danish show on Netflix is called "Rita," about an unconventional primary and middle-school teacher who is better at dealing with her pupils (at least, most of the time) than her own complicated life.
ReplyDeletePlus: Twenty-six years ago I read Old Hat, New Hat to my son countless times--it's still on the shelf for small visitors. I love it, too. So simple and yet so creative.
I, also, delight in Attorney Woo; out-of-the-box, creative thinking! Just saw "Annika" on PBS & it's another British murder mystery; addicted already.
ReplyDeleteYes! I posted about this, in this very spot, a couple of weeks ago! I absolutely love love love it! so pleased to hear you love it too!
ReplyDeleteNobody ever listens to me…
ReplyDeleteDarn it. So sorry I missed this post. I love this show! I'm halfway through the season and it ticks all the boxes. Love, love, love Attorney Woo!!!
ReplyDelete