Every now and again, I stumble across a TV series that has me well and truly hooked. As I rarely watch TV and don’t have a Sky subscription I’m usually two or more series behind, meaning that I’m able to binge-watch the new found favourite.
While I may have seen the odd episode, I’ve never followed the likes of ‘Lost’, ‘Mad Men’ or ‘Heroes’. I’m yet to see ‘Breaking Bad’ and though I’ve read every book, I gave up on ‘Games of Thrones’. My brother bought me the boxset but as it has taken permanent residence at his house, I don’t think I’ll start watching it again any time soon.
My TV choices echo my go-to film genres: fantasy and sci-fi. My favourite series continues to be ‘True Blood’. From pretty much the first 10 minutes of s1 ep1 I became totally immersed, finding this drama-fantasy series where vampires have ‘come out the coffin’ to be unmissable.
I’ve also read many of the books on which the series is loosely based, ‘The Southern Vampire Mysteries’ by Charlaine Harris. Harris created a vivid world that HBO brought to the screen magnificently, embellishing it and creating new storylines that held your attention.
Courtesy of Netflix UK, I’ve recently been watching ‘Reign’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’. The latter I’ve been watching for some time while the former I’ve managed to devour all of its 51 episodes in a matter of weeks.
Both series appeal to my passion for fantasy. ‘OUAT’ brings your childhood fairy tale characters to life, pitting them against each other in fairly genteel storylines that usually last for half a series. Snow White and Prince Charming go up against the Evil Queen while Peter Pan, Robin Hood and Enchanted’s Elsa and Anna have also made an appearance.
‘Reign’, on the other hand, takes inspiration from history books, loosely following the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Epitomising the term ‘historical fantasy’, it takes artistic licence, creating love triangles against a backdrop of modern day music and haute couture costumes.
Netflix UK will hopefully continue airing the two series after they have aired in the States. It’ll be interesting to see how successful the ‘Reign’ in particular continues to be, as one of the main characters met a very sad end at the end of season 2.
Cinematic Delights 
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