We watched the first episode of Landman with John Hamm and Billy Bob Thornton. It’s about Texas oil rigs. We liked the first episode so we’ll continue. I love Billy Bob, but if I didn’t know his voice I would never have known it was him. He’s had major face work done. It doesn’t look like him anymore.
I’ve read all of the books (I think) and IIRC, Chee was studying to be a shaman.
It may have just been a way for Hillerman to write about Navaho beliefs & superstitions, but I don’t remember anybody successfully using magic or voodoo.
Sorta- some of the natives believe in it, but IIRC they have no direct effect anyone can see.
Right- but of course if you believe in a curse, it can work- sorta.
I agree. Hillerman used it as a device to give a nod to the traditions and beliefs, and the series of novels intertwines those beliefs with actual police work, but there aren’t any mystical occurrences that I can recall.
Yes, that scene was deliberately that way…and it did not reflect the reality of the situation. I also didn’t care for the office characters much. I wasn’t into it until about halfway through, and I saw what they were doing, and it was not what I thought.
Watch the entire episode, and if you still don’t care for it, that’s fine. It’s the Kathy Bates character that drew me in. So far, all the office politics is a bit cheesy (i.e. typical for a network dramedy).
Thanks for the input and comments! We’ll probably give it another shot.
Watching Monk in Netflix…into season 2 now and liking so far. Main characters Monk, Sharona and the police captain are beautifully etched out and the actors did a great job
Using our free sample of AppleTV+, we finally got to see Masters of the Air. Not as good as The Pacific or the superior Bands of Brothers, it was still a good watch. It took a few episodes before we warmed up to the characters, but the flying sequences were outstanding. And that final episode, with the POW’s endless marching and the discovery of the death camps, was harrowing. If you’ve seen the other two series and have not seen this one, do so if you have the opportunity. You will not be disappointed.
I assume because of the ‘placebo effect’? The victim would have to know about the curse and believe in voodoo (or whatever magic) for that to work, and I don’t remember if she did in the story.
I also don’t understand how a curse could persuade a spider to bite somebody.
As an aside, I was bitten by a black widow when I was in my 20s. I had a goose egg sized, somewhat painful, lump on my leg for over a month, but no other ill effects. Out of curiosity I did some research and was told that for a black widow bite to be lethal the victim would have to have an underlying health problem or infirmity, or so said the authorities available to me at the time.
To be fair, the thing in that episode was definitely no Black Window spider.
If you liked those I would recommend Generation Kill about a Marine Recon Unit in the Iraq War.
I enjoyed A Man on the Inside, the new Netfix show with Ted Danson going undercover in a retirement home. It’s billed as a “crime comedy” but it’s just as concerned with themes of family and aging.
I liked the early Monk, when Monk was a brilliant detective with a quirk. Later one it became a man with quirks and comedy relief cops.
Right, and yeah, no - spells dont work on spiders.
I quit early. I turned it on once and yeah, the officers were beyond zany. It had really changed…for the worse to an occasional viewer.
What did you think was off about it? An actual black widow spider has a larger abdomen in relation to its body than the spider in the screenshot from the show, but size-wise and otherwise I don’t think it was that off.
The size is way off. As is the shape and color. It is wrong in almost every way possible to be wrong.
You’re right. Mea culpa.
I just gave up on Brilliant Minds. It’s been a little iffy for me from the beginning because of the flashbacks to the main character’s relationship with his mother. But this week’s episode jumped the shark.
I just loooooooved Big Bang Theory…still watch a few episodes every now and then
Fair enough. My main issue is not how it looked, but the fact that a show I’m otherwise enjoying has this cheesy supernatural subplot element that feels shoehorned in.
I stumbled upon Mrs. Sidhu Investigates on my library’s Hoopla App. Nice little mystery series. Mrs. Sidhu is a caterer who stumbles upon murders (probably a good reason not to hire her :)). She’s extremely likeable and uses her cooking (which is extremely good) to get witnesses to open up to her. DCI Burton, who is the chief investigator, keeps trying to get her to leave things alone, but Mrs. Sidhu is so charming – and feeds him important clues – so that he is forced to accept her. The contrast between the bubbly Mrs. Sidhu and the clinically depressed Burton makes a nice contrast.