Five Things You Should Watch Because I Say So

January sucks. It’s a fact of life and everyone knows it. If you were born or married in January, I’m sorry but it’s true and you should have known better. The weather sucks, the movies suck, and you have to listen to people you don’t care about talk about art movies you haven’t seen because they look really depressing. So, to ease the pain, here are five things that are great and will help tide you over until you can go outside again without putting on four layers. Also, all but one of these are on Netflix instant view, which will make them all easier to watch if you have it.



1. The IT Crowd

“Deep in the sub basement of the ambiguous company of Reynholm Industries, are not one, but two socially awkward IT guys. Moss, an electronics wizard and overly naive man and Roy, a lazy disgruntled co-worker have to provide support for Reynholm Industries with their inept boss, Jen, that doesn't know the difference between hardware and software. The show revolves around Moss and Roy's antics both at work and out socially, which always ends badly.” [IMDB]

The show works best when taking seemingly insignificant parts of everyday life and blowing them up in to utterly hilarious overblown monstrosities and will be instantly endearing to anyone who has been the “computer person” in the office.


2. Downton Abbey

“The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the reign of King George V. The first series spans two years before the Great War, beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic, which sets the story in motion.” [Wikipedia]

This show is far funnier than that preview lets on and extremely addicting. Even with the large cast, all of the characters are interesting and each given their time to shine so no one ever seems extraneous (*coughcough*)Glee(*cough*).


3. “Blink” (Doctor Who)

“The episode focuses on a young woman, Sally Sparrow, trying to solve the connection between 17 separate DVD titles, and statues that move when no-one is looking at them.” [Wikipedia]

I am not telling you to watch all of Doctor Who (yet), but if you’re still on the fence about getting into it, watch this episode from the show's third season. It’s a terrific mix of mystery and sci-fi and since the Doctor is only in the episode for about five minutes, you don't need to be a Whovian to enjoy it. Also, you will never look at statues the same way again.


4. The Fall

“In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances. “ [IMDB]

This movie is gorgeous. Watch it in HD; it’s that pretty. It sacrifices a complex story for those visuals but that actually works in the movie’s favor by not completely overwhelming the viewer.



5. Pitch Black

In the film, dangerous criminal Richard B. Riddick (Diesel) is being transported to prison in a cargo spacecraft. When the spaceship is damaged by comet debris and makes an emergency crash landing on an empty desert planet, Riddick escapes. However, when predatory flying alien creatures begin attacking the survivors, Riddick joins forces with the crew to develop a plan to escape the planet. [Wikipedia]

I’m sure if you had asked this movie’s creators to explain the plot of their movie to you, the name “Riddick” would not have been said nearly as much as it is written in the above summary. That is because Vin Diesel makes this movie. Sure, it’s good on its own merits but his performance makes it great.


So what are you waiting for? These things aren’t going to watch themselves.