Won't bore you too many of the morning details: we basically wandered Publix and Kroger more than an hour to find the best deals (we had to wait on James' prescriptions anyway). When we got home he wasn't feeling well, so we spent our Sunday inside. I packed up the Independence Day decorations—half were down, but I hadn't put them up yet—and read some of Queen of the Road, but mostly caught up on stuff that had been delayed by our Harry Potter movie marathon: Colour Confidential, a couple of Futurama episodes, the final How the States Got Their Shapes (for the season, we hope). I was particularly looking forward to the latter because of their discussing regional accents. Interesting that "tonic" as a word for soda is dying out in Massachusetts. You couldn't go there in the 1960s without hearing everyone say "tonic." Probably due to the homogenization they discussed near the end of the episode.

We had our usual summer supper tonight, chicken breast strips in a mixed greens salad with mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, and chow mein noodles, with Trader Joe's chocolate cake for dessert, then watched part two of Torchwood: Miracle Day. I've never been so on the fence about a series. I mean, I'm intrigued by what's going on, what part Pullman's character will play in this, who's behind the manipulation, etc. Did love Gwen's "I'm Welsh!" when she decked the rogue agent. But Myles and Barrowman have such small parts at this point, and Captain Jack isn't his usual larger-than-life self. It was disappointing.

Plus there's a charm to British programs that American-produced shows just can't seem to capture. They're more character-driven, more introspective, less about action and more about people and concepts. I'm thinking particularly of those chilling "closed door" scenes in Children of Earth where the government types are trying to figure out where the 10 percent of the children will come from. I've been a Anglophile of British programming since 1974 when Doctor Who first appeared on WGBH in Boston, and I've watched everything from The Good Life to All Creatures Great and Small to Lord Peter Wimsey. There's just something about the differing view of a British-produced program that I find irresistible. And so far parts one and two of Miracle Day have veered into the inevitable plotlines of the endless action films over the years where innocent characters are framed, conspiracy theories abound, and one doesn’t know who to trust. I've counted on British dramas not to lead me down that endlessly rutted path. (And...sigh...not the CIA again.)

I'm really hoping the next parts turn this feeling around. There's a good production team behind this series.

But right now this isn't the Torchwood I've "come to know and love."

Labels: errands, food, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 8:58:00 PM

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