Rando Recommendations: What Pop Culture Thing Do You Recommend (Not Geek Media)

[Snarf Zagyg]

There are always a number of great conversations about geek culture and/or media on enworld, included but not limited to some of the following:

1. The latest MCU TV show on Disney+.
2. Snyderverse ... let's argue.
3. The latest MCU movie on Disney+.
4. Star Wars movies ... let's argue.
5. The latest Star Wars show on Disney+.
6. Books ... does anyone read anymore?
7. The latest 15 Star Trek shows on CBS All... um, Paramount+.
8. The Expanse. Am I still allowed to enjoy it?
9. There's yet another show on Netflix you haven't heard of. It has fantasy/sci fi stuff. Watch it before the next one comes out in 4 hours.
...and so on.

But one thing I was hoping to see is a thread where people on this board go off the beaten path a little, and make a recommendation that isn't your typical "geek media" recommendation. Or, for that matter, isn't your typical "prestige TV" recommendation. Because we're all somewhat up-to-date on the geek media and prestige TV that's out there- or could be.

Instead, I'd like to hear some recommendations for gems that are off the beaten path. Things we wouldn't normally discuss, or that you wouldn't normally watch, but you nevertheless found enthralling. Because I'm all about rules, here's a few to help guide. Feel free to ignore them if you must!

1. NO GEEK MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS. View this as you wish, but that means (for example) no superheroes, no Star Wars or Star Trek, no science fiction or fantasy, no anime. We already have enough of that ....

2. Suggest TV shows or movies, please. First, no one reads anymore. And by "no one," I mean me. Illiteracy- it's what's for breakfast. Second, I don't want everyone to recommend Dua Lipa. We get it. Future Nostalgia is just straight bangers. But we need something fresh.

3. No "prestige TV." Again, we all know Billions and Succession are "good." We are aware the Alias Grace was tragically unappreciated. But muted color and snappy dialogue isn't everything in life (or so someone needs to tell Snyder and Whedon).

4. It has to be something you have watched. Preferably, something that surprised you with how good it is.


Good?

Okay, so I will start this off with my entry and recommendation:

Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Look, I like cars. But I've never been a fan of car racing- NASCAR just seems like a bunch of guys turning left over and over again, and F1 just seems like a bunch of European poseurs driving way too fast.

And you know what? F1 IS a bunch of Euro poseurs (okay, there's an Australian in there too) driving way too fast. But this series (three seasons so far) has made me incredibly interested in a sport that I thought was stupid. Okay, that's not completely fair. I STILL think it's stupid- but it is so GLORIOUS in its stupidity, and pettiness, and politics, and personalities, that I love it.

Somehow, every person I have told about this has also became insanely interested in this; which is to say ... hear me now and believe me later, but this is like some kind of viral drug to get you into the sport. Who knew?

So that's mine. Follow my recommendation at your own risk, lest you start thinking, "Hey, maybe rockin' some cool Ferrari gear wouldn't be so bad?" (Protip: it would be that bad).

What about you? What do you recommend that we don't normally discuss here?


EDITED TO ADD SUGGESTIONS:
1. Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Netflix) (suggested by me)
2. Biography: "Macho Man" Randy Savage (A&E) (payn)
3. All Creatures Great and Small (Reboot) (PBS, Amazon Prime, PBS Passport) (Umbran)
4. Call of the Midwife (Netflix) (Sacrosanct)
5. Doc Martin (Pluto/Hulu?) (Alzrius)
6. Aerial America (Smithsonian Channel) (Wolfram Stout)
7. Birds, real birds (Your own backyard) (Sabathius42)
8. Line of Duty (Hulu) (Morrus)
9. Brooklyn 99 (Hulu/Peacock) (Desert Gled)
10. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Netflix) (TwoSix)
11. Queen Sono (Netflix), Kings of Jo’burg (Netflix) An African City (Youtube), Jinn (Netflix) (Tonguez)
12. Naked and Afraid (Hulu) (Reynard)
13. Knives Out (Prime) (billd91)
14. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Prime), Iron (fantasy network) (Ryujin)
15. The Farewell (Prime), Poirot (Britbox) (Mallus)
16. Good Eats, Homicide Hunter, Midsommer Murders, Rumble, Later...with Jools Holland, And God Spoke, Spinal Tap, Incident at Loch Ness, Line of Duty, Unforgotten (Dannyalcatraz)
17. Best in Show, A Mighty Wind (Umbran)
18. Waiting for Guffman, For Your Consideration (billd91)
19. Attacking the Darkness (Ryujin)
20. Youtube channels- Tasting history with Max Miller, The Charismatic Voice (Ulfgeir)
21. Endeavour (Amazon Prime), Detectorists (AcornTV) (LoganRan)
22. Underground, Sharpe's Rifles, Strike Back, Copper (Mad_Jack)
23. The Devil All the Time (Netflix) (Shroompunk Warlord)
24. The League of Gentlemen (Dailymotion) (MattW)
25. National Geographic shows (Disney+), Chef Ramsay (HawaiiSteveO)
26. Murdoch Mysteries, Duchess of Duke St, Ever After (Lanefan)
27. Samurai Gourmet (Netflix?), Slings and Arrows (Youtube/Amazon), Brother Cadfael (Acorn) (Jaegermonstrous)
28. Todd & The Book of Pure Evil (Dannyalcatraz)
29. The Half of It (Netflix), Fisherman's Friends (Netflix), Unicorn Store (Netflix), Chef (Netflix), Tallulah (Netflix), Dave Made A Maze (Amazon) (Jaegermonstrous)
30. The Toys That Made Us (Imaculata)
31. Top Gear, Hanna (Amazon) (Graybeard)
32. Derry Girls (Netflix), The Detectorists (Netflix), Booksmart (Netflix) (DrunkonDuty)
33. Biography on Wrestler Booker T (A&E) (payn)

 

[payn]

I actually got hooked into the Macho Man Randy Savage biopic on A&E last Sunday. Was interesting to get a mix of pro-wrestling history and learn some about the Macho Man himself. Also, his wife Miss Elizabeth and women's roles in pro wrestling. I'm not a wrestling fan either so was surprised I kept watching.

 

[Umbran]

I was pleasantly entertained by the new All Creatures Great and Small, which aired on PBS as part of their Masterpiece series.

It's just a period piece. Not a deep drama, or uproarious comedy, though it has a bit of both. It fits nicely in the "soothing British TV" category, without being about baking.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I was pleasantly entertained by the new All Creatures Great and Small, which aired on PBS as part of their Masterpiece series.

It's just a period piece. Not a deep drama, or uproarious comedy, though it has a bit of both. It fits nicely in the "soothing British TV" category, without being about baking.

My partner and I watched that series. It was pretty good, even if she kept saying "that wasn't in the books like that at all" lol. It's also based on a true story, if embellished a bit, and I always enjoy things based on a true story. Call of the Midwife (on Netflix) is very much in the same vein as this show, and is also pretty decent.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm a huge fan of the British comedy series Doc Martin, which I discovered quite by accident (literally, I was passing through the room while someone else was watching it, and found myself unable to look away). Describing it as "an irascible but brilliant doctor trying to deal with quirky patients" makes everyone think it sounds like House, but the general tenor strikes me as being very different, as Doc Martin is more of a comedy than a drama.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I was pleasantly entertained by the new All Creatures Great and Small, which aired on PBS as part of their Masterpiece series.

It's just a period piece. Not a deep drama, or uproarious comedy, though it has a bit of both. It fits nicely in the "soothing British TV" category, without being about baking.

I didn't know that there was a new one!

Um, I'm wondering how many people out there know that there was an old one ....

 

[Umbran]

My partner and I watched that series. It was pretty good, even if she kept saying "that wasn't in the books like that at all" lol.

My wife is a veterinarian, and read the books when she was little, so much the same here.

Happy to report the period veterinary medicine was fairly accurate.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm a huge fan of the British comedy series Doc Martin, which I discovered quite by accident (literally, I was passing through the room while someone else was watching it, and found myself unable to look away). Describing it as "an irascible but brilliant doctor trying to deal with quirky patients" makes everyone think it sounds like House, but the general tenor strikes me as being very different, as Doc Martin is more of a comedy than a drama.

So, in Doc Martin, it IS Lupus?

 

[Umbran]

Um, I'm wondering how many people out there know that there was an old one ....

Doctor Who fans know, because Peter Davison was on the old one.

 

[Wolfram stout]

Aerial America, on the Smithsonian Channel. There is also one for Britain but I have not watched it. The show is basically aerial shots from a plane flying over a specific state while a narrator tells about the history and geography. It is incredibly relaxing and informative. I will watch an episode or two on Saturday mornings while gearing up for the day.

And the best part is, you can turn it over during any part of the show and just start watching.