What I'm Watching: Blackberry, Fellow Travelers, The Our Flag Means Death Finale, and More

Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Fellow Travelers, Showtime

Here’s a quick rundown on everything I watched, read, and wrote about last week:

The shows:

• I think Fellow Travelers is one of my favorite shows of the year. I know it’ll be an uphill battle getting people to watch it, since it’s on Showtime and no one seems to have that anymore, but it’s absolutely worth grabbing a subscription. It’s a sprawling yet intimate look at America’s lavender scare told mainly through the eyes of one closeted couple working for the government. Romantic, emotional, gutting, and morally complicated, it’s anchored by two great performances from Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey – the latter of which cemented himself as one of my favorite actors with this performance.

The movies:

• I caught up with the gorgeous Apple TV animated movie Wolfwalkers this week and was pretty blown away by it. I haven’t caught the rest of Tomm Moore’s Irish folklore trilogy (he also made The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea), but you don’t need to watch those movies to love this one. I cannot express how much I would’ve made this movie my entire personality if I’d seen it when I was 10. I mean, tomboy girls who turn into wolves in their sleep?! It also has an interesting sociopolitical context (1600s Ireland under British rule) and is visually gorgeous, with the look of a classic children’s book come to life.
• I had high expectations for the tech history movie BlackBerry after hearing so much hype around it this year, and while I’m not sure it’ll crack my own top 5, I really enjoyed it. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton is earning plenty of buzz for his abrasive performance, but I’m even more endeared to director Matt Johnson’s role as the giddy, geeky best friend of Jay Baruchel’s Blackberry inventor. All in all, this is a pretty great entry in the tech tragedies genre, but it mostly just made me want to rewatch Halt and Catch Fire.
• I’m watching a few more documentaries to round out my ballot for the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and I was impressed with Netflix’s Victim/Suspect, an investigative look into everything that can go wrong with the sexual assault reporting process. While I’m not sure the movie benefited from putting so much of its meta-narrative (about a reporter trying to tell the story of these women) into the story’s framework, it’s still a shocking and informative watch. Having worked at a reporting and resource center, I figured I already knew everything about this topic, but I was wrong.

The reads:

• I was oddly enraptured by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar’s novella Gwendy’s Button Box, which is probably meant to be about the life-or-death feeling of growing up – though I think it doubled just as well as a look at how the phobia portion of having OCD can feel. It’s a strange little story but I liked it, and I was impressed that Chizmar’s writing style blended effortlessly with King’s.
• On the article front, I thought Emma Fraser’s deep dive into the history of pregnancy tests on TV (for Primetimer) was brilliant, thorough, and the type of essay I wish I could write all the time.
• I wrapped up my 31 comics challenge (reply or message me if you’d like a copy of my full reading list!) by starting a couple new series. The first is I Hate This Place, Kyle Starks’ action-packed and gory horror story about a lesbian couple who inherit a farmhouse that’s haunted by monsters and ghosts. Pulpy and relentless, it definitely hooked me enough to keep me reading.
• I’m a bit more mixed on the first installment of Dan Watters’ haunted house saga Home Sick Pilots, which despite setting its story in the punk scene (the title is a band name, and a great one) includes some muddled, high-concept lore. At any rate, with this, my horror comics watch has ended.

Odds and ends:

• I had a lot of fun breaking the latest news this past week, so excuse me while I yell about it like an old-timey paperboy in the street. EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Social Network 2 may or may not happen! There’s going to be a Michael Fassbender-led Western series from the creator of True Detective! Aquaman 2 allegedly has less drama than you thought!
• Elsewhere on the internet, it’s ironic that I was worried Our Flag Means Death fans would think I was too hard on the season finale with this piece for IGN about the “safe” (but perhaps necessary) ending it chose, when in reality tons of fans ended up being WAY more angry about a totally different writing choice the episode made.
• I don’t think I actually ever shared my Lessons in Chemistry review with y’all, so here it is.
• If you’ve been reading my recent M*A*S*H stuff, hopefully you’ll like this piece, in which I looked into the origins of a fun fact about the finale that sounds like an urban legend but is actually true.
• In trying to catch up with CBC’s Uncover podcasts, I recently listened to The Pit, a true crime story that left me with a lot of mixed feelings towards its prime suspect and, at times, the podcast itself. If you’re interested in the legal system this is an interesting listen, as a lot of this story has to do with the controversial Canadian police technique called a “Mr. Big” sting, and its central trial is unusual for other reasons as well (murder charge with no body, right to a speedy trial, etc). The story is still ongoing, so just don’t expect a clear resolution.

If you feel so inclined, reply to this post and tell me about your Halloween costume this year – pop culture-related or not. Personally, I had planned to go as Velma but the skirt I bought didn’t fit so I ended up with a pair of Chucky overalls instead. The jury’s still out on whether I’ll wear them before the night is through – it’s been a long week and I’m tired. It’s funny how the holidays you start out so hyped for can sometimes turn out to be so quiet. Regardless, I’m having a really good day and hope y’all are too. Until next week, happy Halloween!