Thanks to a Black Friday deal for Britbox, I’ve been on a binge of shows from the United Kingdom. I’ve gone from UK shows on Britbox to finding others on PBS, Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, and Peacock. Many of them are pretty engrossing and of course have cliffhangers, so you have to come back to see what happens! So my usual routine of working with news on, or old movies has morphed into mysteries, murder cases, lots of UK cop talk (“no comment”), and offers of a “cuppa”. Watching SHETLAND gave me the urge to move the family to Northern Scotland, until I read that the highest temperature reached is about 75 degrees in the summer. Yeah… that’s probably not going to fly for the Florida boy.
I'm amazed at the list of shows that I’ve seen in this month or so. My wife started the Black Friday deal early, I got a late start. Most of the shows have been decent, some great, a few were meh (and it wasn’t on Britbox).
While I’ve been watching during the day I've been doing work for Marvel or O’Reilly. When things are winding down at night, I catch an episode or two, and start drawing the actors. This is not anything unusual for people in my field or any artists really. We draw what's in front of us, and what interests us. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked from a photo and a moving image. The moving image certainly helps when you’re trying to nail down a likeness of a person.
I was still interested in capturing some of the feeling of the drawings from previous weeks - that scribbly, searching and sometimes abstract nature, while at the same time capturing the likeness. I don’t know if I succeeded on any of those levels. I think the two drawings are good drawings, but I’m hoping for something better down the line. As always with any type of artwork is a continuous search and sometimes bumpy road. With the Sarah Lancashire Happy Valley drawing I was thinking of going into a more graphic look, but again, it’s a process. The yellow vest is iconic for the UK police, so I decided to only use that color along with the checker police blue pattern.
Here’s a rundown of shows I’ve seen recently that I posted on Facebook. If I add SHETLAND, LINE OF DUTY (both on Britbox), and HAPPY VALLEY (on Crackle) to the list, they jump to the top. I highly recommend those three shows.
THE VICTIM. Did a mother seek to get revenge on the man who may have killed her son years before? Interesting exploration of who is a victim. Well done. 6 episode series. On BritBox.
THE BAY. I think I like my copper shows with plenty of soap opera elements. Missing kids, DI involved with family under investigation, family drama, whodunits...all lead to a good soaper of a show. 3 seasons (only seen one) on BritBox.
REDEMPTION. Mom (who's a DI) finds out that her estranged daughter has committed suicide. Or has she? And that she has two grandkids. Whodunits, and family drama. I liked this one. 6 episode series on BritBox.
THE TOWER. Who pushed a seasoned cop and teenager off the roof of a high rise apartment building? Dryish whodunit without the soaper stuff I like. 3 episodes on BritBox.
TRIGGER POINT. The bomb squad tracks down terrorists and diffuses bombs. I guess clocks ticking down is suspenseful, but name actors never blow up, right? First few episodes were ok. Maybe I'll go back. Dunno. 2 seasons (?) on Peacock.
PREY. Did a seasoned cop kill his wife and son? Lots of chasing, and THE FUGITIVE and 39 STEPS stunts and feels, but some "huh wha?" moments for me. This one wasn't magic for me. 2 (3?) seasons (only saw 1) on Hulu.
Well, I should get back to drawing. And watching. As always, thanks for your time and support.
JMJ