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TV Shows

Normal People: Accurate Mental Health Representation on the Small Screen

Trigger Warning: The following post includes mention of mental illness and suicide. In 2018, Sally Rooney, author of Conversation With Friends, came out with her highly anticipated second novel. And less than 2 years later it has been adapted into a Hulu/BBC mini-series. This rapid turnover is virtual unheard of in the book industry, where it can be years, even decades before a film or show adaption is considered (e.g. Good Omens, American Gods, Shadowhunters). One reason for this is that most book lovers, myself included very rarely enjoy book adaptations, be they TV shows or movies (though there definitely…

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TV Shows

The Boys: the Abuse of Power in Positions of Authority

While we’ve seen the concept of corrupt law enforcement in countless mediums, a recent example who has done it in a way that mirrors reality uncannily well is the Amazon Prime Original TV series The Boys (2019). Based off the controversial graphic novel of the same name written by Garth Ennis, The Boys in its very concept exemplifies how its superheroes/superhero corporation, called Vought, act as direct metaphors of police officers and the reality of our current law enforcement system. The Boys delves into the nefarious underbelly of capitalism and corporate America, and boy, does it go all in. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

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TV Shows

The Stranger: When Plot is Sacrificed for Views

There’s a feeling particularly delightful of watching the first episode of a show and getting that feeling in your chest where you just know this is going to be a show you cannot stop watching. Unfortunately for me, that feeling more often than not ends up twisting into a bitter disappointment by the end, feeling as if you were robbed of the deserved ending. That was how I felt about the Netflix original series, The Stranger, adapted from Harlan Coben’s 2005 book of the same name.  Going into the series I felt incredibly excited, namely because I have an unsubtle…

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TV Shows

American Gods: Season 1 vs. Season 2

During quarantine, I found myself buying an Amazon Prime subscription so that I could finally watch a bunch of shows I’ve been dying to catch up on, and American Gods was at the top of my list (along with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, and Good Omens, all of which I will inevitably review in the future!). Naturally, two weeks into my Prime binge, I had already watched the full two seasons of the show. And while I absolutely loved Season 1, I can’t necessarily say the same thing about Season 2. Here’s why. (Warning: major spoilers for both…

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Reflections

International Women’s Day Recommendation List

Happy International Women’s Day! Being as we are two women who run this blog, we are very unsurprisingly huge advocates of female representation and celebration. Too often we find ourselves writing posts about the lack of women in many fields of the media. Recently we talked about the lack of female creators and actors at the Oscars, along with a generally dismal lack of diversity of any type.  Though we are resistant to the idea of reserving the recognition and acknowledgment deserving by women to just one day, we are not opposed to using the opportunity to spam the world…

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TV Shows

Top Favourites 2019: TV Shows

February is already upon us, but 2020 has still barely just begun. There is so much to look forward to this year – new books, shows, films, music, and more. It is around this time that S & I always like to reflect on the previous year’s highlights. Last year we did our Best Release series of posts for our top 2018 book, film, TV show and musical album. This year, we’re highlighting a handful of our favourites as opposed to just one. Because let’s face it, 2019 brought about a lot of great content, and we’re all for celebrating…

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