Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. I spent most of the week devastated by my missing Oryctolagus cuniculus friends Bernard D. Bunny and his little sister Belle. It did not help that I pulled a muscle during the week as well. My novelist has had to lift me up onto the bed, chair and couch and I feel utterly helpless. The good thing is I do not have to go on any walks this week. I stroll to keep my svelte figure, but hikes are an utter pain in my nether regions. I am instead roaming a little outside and it has been sunny and the temperatures have been rather pleasant.
One good thing that happened this week was I got to chat with Sergio the Squirrel. He said he nearly had a run in with the big furry beast. He had just settled in for the night when he heard something scratching at the bottom of his tree. He peeked down from his knothole and saw the oversized cat sharpening her claws on the bark. He jumped back and hid inside his drey and waited there until dawn. At that time, he bravely peered out again and the gigantic feline was gone.
He said he had not seen the Bunny siblings but would keep an eye out for them for me. I thanked him and invited him to tea. He said he was more of a coffee drinker. I gladly accommodated my guest by brewing him a hot cappuccino. I must say I am a talented amateur barista. He thanked me profusely and ravished the French cookies my novelist picked up on sale at Costco this week. He told me it was his busiest time of year gathering up sustenance for the winter. He said he was grateful to live in our neighborhood because he did not have to run through busy streets when he hoarded. Our world is his grocery store. He thanked me for the afternoon refreshments and the next day I found an assortment of Pacific Northwest conifers in front of my door.
Then, early Wednesday morning after the sun rose, I went outside and saw my dear Bernard hop through the nearby fence. I ran to him and licked his face profusely, which I immediately regretted as he tasted of dirt. He told me he and Belle had hidden in their tunnels again thanks to Belle’s keen sense of smell. I told him about Bebe’s refusal to agree not to harm the wildlife and would only acknowledge the contract was between her and the domestic pets. He found this most disturbing. I told him of my injury, and he agreed to discuss the matter with the other bunnies and squirrels. Until next week, I bid you adieu.
MY BOOKS
You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!
STREAM OF THE WEEK: BROADCHURCH (2013) Netflix, Roku, Tubi, PlutoTV, Peacock
This week I thought I would take a short break from hidden gem movies to talk about a British television show written for grownups that is leaving Netflix at the end of October. It is also streaming on Roku, Tubi, Pluto and Peacock. If you have never seen it, you really, really should. This is one of the best television shows in recent memory. An absolutely engrossing, brilliantly conceived piece of filmmaking that will keep you riveted from beginning to end. Twenty-three of the twenty-four episodes were written by Chris Chibnall. Only one was written by Louise Fox. I think that far too many shows have way too many writers and it is phenomenal when one person writes all or just about all the episodes. You are bound to get more consistency and a truer vision that way. I would say any given show should have no more than three writers. Too many writers spoil the scripts. Not to mention many writers are arrogant, emotional jerks, and in writing, dictatorship is good.
The show is set in a fictional sleepy little coastal town in Great Britan called Broadchurch. One morning the body of an eleven-year-old boy named Danny (Oskar McNamara) is found on the beach. Danny is the son of Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) and Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan) and brother of Chloe (Charlotte Beaumont). The head detective in the town is D.S. Ellie Miller (brilliantly played by Olivia Coleman). But reserved out-of-town detective D.I. Alec Hardy (also brilliantly played by David Tennant) takes the lead on the case.
Hardy is determined to solve this murder because his last case was left unresolved. As Hardy and Miller start to investigate, they discover whoever murdered Danny likely knew him and is a local sending the two detectives on a journey to uncover the secrets of the town’s residents which include the Reverand of the town (Arthur Darvill), Mark’s work partner Nige (Joe Sims), caravan dweller Susan Wright (Pauline Quirke), Danny’s best friend and Miller’s son Tom (Adam Wilson), shop owner Jack Marshal (David Bradley), and hotel owner Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay). Due to the Latimer family wanting more exposure on the case they enlist Miller’s nephew Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey) one of the local news reporters to stir up more attention much to the irritation of his boss Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles). Olly contacts Karen White (Vicky McClure) a reporter from a larger newspaper who’s been lurking around the community looking for a story to help move things into action.
