‘Blacklist’ and ‘Blue’

By ROB PATTERSON

So I was talking to my Mom a while back – 92 years old and still in fine fettle, BTW – and she asked me what books I’d been reading (a frequent topic with us). I had to admit it has been a short list of late.

Regular recent readers can likely guess why. I’ve been close to entranced by my smart TV. My major reading and watching time are the same: at end of day, before I fall asleep. Experts apparently opine that the former is quite beneficial; the thinking on the latter is mixed, tending towards it being problematic.

No matter. It’s my ritual and I enjoy it. And as much as I need to step up my reading, I go on and on here about streaming TV for good reasons. Plus at the end of somewhat long days of outputting onto my computer, I do appreciate how TV allows me to simply lay back and be fed my visual entertainment. And value how I can make my specific TV viewing work on my terms more than ever before.

One case in point: I’ve been regularly watching the 1993-2005 series NYPD Blue. I would see an episode on occasion in its original airing and liked the show. Back then it was a pain to analog VCR copy a show weekly.

Now I can watch all 12 seasons on my own schedule. And I enjoy it not just because it was a groundbreaking and excellent series and one of the finest police procedural shows ever. For me, it’s a buffet of the New York City I lived in. The opening sequences that flash New York visuals often show places and sights well known and dear to me from there; the credit roll that soon follows every week in the early seasons flashes on a junk sculpture on the next block north of my last apartment, done by an artist I was friendly with. And I know I am not alone in enjoying that about NYPD Blue. My friend Stephanie, a native New Yorker, was on a kick with the series when she spent time living and working in Los Angeles, and missed her hometown.

As a reader I always have a few books I’m in the midst of beside my bed. Whichever I pick up and read depends on my mood. Smart TV allows me to be similar with my TV viewing.

Hence while I’m on my NYPD Blue kick, I’ve also been digging into a more recent series, The Blacklist. The crime drama originated on ABC in 2013 and is still going strong. It stars James Spader in a brilliantly compelling turn as Raymond Reddington, a former Naval Intelligence operative turned criminal and fugitive. After years of eluding capture, he makes a deal with the FBI to help battle the world’s worst criminals – the “blacklist” he has – in exchange for immunity. It’s a clever, rather original and quite engaging series with a modern kick to it and ongoing backstory lines that in time get peeled open like layers of onion skin.

If neither of those two piques my interest as my current mood at the time, there’s a new series I’ve been pulled into that offers a third regular viewing option: The First. It’s a somewhat moody drama with a dark noir-ish look on Hulu that explores the personal and professional challenges of the first manned space mission to Mars. It’s in a way the flip side of The Right Stuff, and stars Sean Penn, who, for all his idiosyncrasies, remains one of the finest actors alive. And it’s nice to see him be able to stretch out into the long-form character development a series offers.

If none of my three major favorites suits how I feel, there’s a plethora of other shows and films available to browse through to find something I’ll enjoy. With streaming TV, we are no longer at the mercy of anyone’s scheduling but our own.

Populist Picks

Musical Album: In The Blue Light by Paul Simon – The master indulges in a desire many musical artists share: to revise and redo songs that they didn’t quite get right the first time around. He wisely chooses all lesser known material and delivers exquisite readings on an immensely satisfying collection that may not have the pop appeal of his best-known works yet brims with musical imagination and sophistication.

Book: Fins: Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit by William Knoedelseder – Veteran newspaper journalist and TV newsman Knoedelseder has written about corruption in the record business (Stiffed), the history of Budweiser beer (Bitter Brew) and the 1970s ground zero of the modern standup comedy boom (I’m Dying Up Here, which inspired the fictional Showtime series of the same name.) Here he explores the story of the American auto industry’s growth to an industrial powerhouse and cultural phenomenon by interweaving it with the family history and life of Earl, who introduced sleek styling to automobiles. The result is a fascinating and revelatory mix of macro and micro perspectives.

Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas. Email orca@prismnet.com.

From The Progressive Populist, March 1, 2019

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