this isn't so much a review as it is Reasons Why This is Ideal Comfort Watching
If the object belongs to a relative or friend, the team (either the host or the craftspeople themselves) always ask the loved one's name and remember it later. And they always say “thank you for trusting us with it”
The care they take with paintings/toys/sculptures/instruments etc has a big similarity to work. People trust us in times of great vulnerability – we do drastic things sometimes – and we always hope they come out better than the person who came in.
A rotating cast of white British men act as the “helicoptered-in” detective inspector working with a tiny team of local sergeants and constables. Each DI starts their run of episodes literally flying in, most often from London, and often struggle with culture shock, to comedic effect.
Despite the fairly frequent cast changes, the stories emphasise camaraderie and community. Where the previous shows I've talked about focus on how close-knit communities close around their own and exclude the outsiders, community in Death in Paradise is much more inclusive. There's more about taking care of each other and accepting each other's foibles.
Each episode is incredibly formulaic. Plenty of locked room mysteries here, only slightly bumbling detective work and a round-up at the end. Comfort watching, only if you don't mind the lingering taste of colonialism.
Even before I watched it, I knew I would add this movie to my “comfort watching” list. It is delightful from start to finish.
David Copperfield tells the story of the many families he's been in, the many lives and names that he's taken up. Moving from poverty to riches, London to Kent to Yarmouth, each story has a distinct voice.
The casting is incredible. Dev Patel would make a fantastic Doctor – there's Hugh Laurie and Peter Capaldi, who are underrated comics both, the pair of eyebrow fiends – Ben Whishaw plays Uriah Heep to slimy perfection.
Oh it is so good and it feels like a warm cup of tea with slightly dodgy homemade cookies.
A Japanese TV series centred around a diner which opens only from midnight to 7 am.
The scarred owner explicitly hints at a mysterious dark past, but that rarely plays a big role. Most of the characters are people society wouldn't consider “respectable”, or who don't fit in.
The food featured is incredibly simple, but not plain. Butter rice, omelettes, ochazuke – all staples of home cooking, all things that one could cook at home. And while it teeters on the edge, it doesn't fall into the trap of sentimentality and cloying sweetness.
Each episode clocks in at 20 minutes – short and sweet for a meal break...