Netflix Watch Instantly Recommendation Thread

xpost

Oh, and I am opposite. I never turn it on for it just to be on (probably because I haven't had regular tv/cable for over 10 years). When I watch something, I try to pay attention.

Chef's Table, I think is more interesting if you have a familiarity or interest in the chef or type of food they make. There are definitely some clunker episodes. Like one people mention above (LA sushi chef?) I wasn't into at all.

And I have an erg/rower in front of the tv so some of those types of shows are excellent for being a self contained work out. Also, I'm a certified sommelier and specialist of wine and spirits so I like food/restaurant types of shows.

the guy in berlin was one of the ones that you actually still ended up thinking "what a dick!" which was a rare way to end one of those shows.

Granted, a lot of chefs are dicks. It was surprising how nice Massimo Bottura (1st epi) seems. And Eric Ripert. But maybe because he is Buddhist.

xpost - there's definitely a UK/North America disconnect there. We have less channels to flick through and you can generally just land on something that's good enough.

I like Mind of a Chef for the cooking segments and fewer slow tracking shots with tense music but I'm never going to see the latest season with Mission Chinese because fuck watching a series on Facebook.

like publically funded arts or lifestyle programmes that are v well made and kill some time.

I think North America has a ton of channels and I remember the UK (sky tv when I had it) had a lot on. I just am super frugal and was trying to trick myself into being more useful with my time so I got rid of cable.

tell me more about the rower in front of tv. it’s one of the reasons I am considering keeping my old tv and putting it in a side too
with something to work out

Am up to S3 of Chefs Table. I thought I would love the Nancy Silverton ep but it felt a little off to me. Less exciting or meaningful somehow? idk. Still like her tho.

That Russian hottie tho, Vladimir whatsisname? Whoa, crushville. Daaaamn.

All time fave eps are Jeong Kwan, the Korean Buddhist monk, and Ana Ros the self-taught chef from Slovenia. Ana made me cry, I just loved everything about her story.

Least favorite eps: Magnus from Sweden only bc he seemed like such a diiiiiiiiick, and David Barber the farm to table psycho...like he’s nicer to the vegetables than his own staff!

I think I'll start a thread about the new ways to engage with TV and my problems with it that you can't really deal with on a recommendations thread. I really do find it a big problem. highly recommended shows piling up and remaining unwatched. a thread about the fear of the box-set, or whatever.

anyway, Yerac, I've enjoyed talking to you over various threads recently x

xpost, I have a concept2 rower in front of the tv and it works out really well (if you have the space). Sometimes I row over 10k because I stat watching a movie and don't want to stop. But I have to watch with close captioning on.

Thx Jed, you too. I took like an 8-10 yr break and then for some random reason want to post a lot again.

it's worth saying! I did wonder.

Dan Barber is a motherfucker with some dark secrets IMO

xpost I'll watch the Ana Ros one, I don't know anything about her. For recent epis I was only knew Jeong Kwan and Ivan Ramen. And I watched the French one on Alain Passard.

I don't know how I feel about Dan Barber. He just seemed typical to me. My farmer friend worked at Stone Barns and was meh on him.

Jed, are you one of the Glasgow people?

i am!

off topic. I don't think we have met? I've been there maybe 4 times. But not in awhile since people moved/got married etc.

not as far as i know but Glasgow was a hotbed at one point! I think you can still send me a webmail though. or take it to try glasgow more and spare everyone else!

yeah Dan Barber sorry oops not Dave
he also weirded me out with the red pepper eggs. like ok now you’re just fucking with me

highly recommend Ana Ros. A unique story imo

I met Dan Barber. First time we went to Blue Hill at Stone Barns we showed up extra early, walked around the grounds, then went in, we were there for my sister's birthday and she was a pastry cook at then new pretty hip restaurant, and knew one of the cooks, so said cook gave us a tour of the kitchen, the wine cellar, the charcuterie closet or whatever they call it, then while seated Dan Barber came out and spoke to us. We did the full tasting and had tons of annoying dietary considerations and they were great about it and we had one of the best meals of my life. We were there for like 7 hours total.

Went back with my wife's family a few months later, dressed all nice after celebrating her graduation from graduate school, went to take the same type of walk around the farm...kept walking...suddenly we're passing hikers with full trekking gear and we realize we'd long since left the actual farm and entered the Eisnenhower Reservation or whatever that is up there. Got all our nice clothes all sweaty and muddy!

The meal was almost as good, but both being very seasonal I much preferred the rustic winter meal for my sisters birthday to the summer meal of my wife's graduation.

And that's my Blue Hill story.

that’s pretty cool! the farm looks amazing on tv, cannot imagine traipsing around it irl

My friend liked working there but the one thing he mentioned that just seemed stupid and bad was that they were out there all day and there was not a single place to take a break that was under shade. I was like, they can't put a tent out!?! He went through so much sunscreen. I think I have only ever gotten soup/coffee from the cafe there.

The cafe is nice. We’ve gone up there on weekends just to walk around, do the farmers market and get a snack.

wild chef with martin picard is cool. if you want to know how to barbecue muskrat in sub-zero temperatures. plus, his sous chef is cute and dorky.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80145520

I thought the episode I saw of the unusual house series was pretty inspiring.

I can confirm that World's Most Extraordinary Houses is the perfect programme to slump in front of when you have a terrible cold and keep drifting in and out of sleep. No narrative structure, pleasant voices, lovely photography, Zero conflict. So soothing.

^^^^im saving this show like a last xanax

I've enjoyed the first couple of eps of Nailed It but I think it might get old quickly.

We've only seen the first ep, but my favorite thing about Most Extraordinary Houses is when they're kind of grouchy or critical and then they go inside and it's just ... ahh/a-ha. Suddenly it all makes sense and they never want to leave.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Tasteful

^^^^im saving this show like a last xanax

Yes it works like a sedative on a British Baking Show-level

I am in the middle of the Ana Ros epi of Chef's Table. I could watch hours of someone flipped, wiping, cleaning huge cheese rounds.

annihilation is super trash but not, sadly, super fun

just finished hard sun. loved the concept, but it didn't go where i thought it would. agyness deyn was great but jim sturgess suuuuucked so hard - i think he was trying to out-idris iddris elba but he just couldn't pull it off. i couldn't figure out what the dead cop did that was so shady - i was kinda half-watching, so i'm wondering if i missed a reveal??

also: bummed to find out Please LIke Me is not available on US netflix - we watched it while on vacation on the Faroe Islands

we watched it while on vacation on the Faroe Islands

i have so many questions

i'm here all day

- what drew you to the faroe islands for a holiday
- what does one do in the faroe islands on holiday
- were you on the way to somewhere else or
- for some reason i had never considered the faroe islands to have acceptable broadband, although denmark seems to be good at looking after its territories (this is not really a question)
- is there indeed a distinct lack of things to do on the faroe islands which is why you were watching netflix

- a season of Whale Wars was about the Faroes. thought it was stunningly beautiful and put it on the bucket list of places that were probably too hard to get to. husband found cheap flights from copenhagen (2 hr flight - you can also fly there from iceland) so we went for 3 days during a europe trip a couple of years ago. fell in love with the place so went back for a week recently
- if you're me: drive around and look at how fucking gorgeous, clean and peaceful it is; sit in the living room of the quaint little cottage we rented in a tiny isolated village and look at the incredible view. if you're my husband: go on an insane guided hike
- nope. already planning a third trip back next year, for an even longer stay. will probably make traveling there a priority for all future vacations
- i think they have some of the fastest internet in the world?
- there isn't much to do except enjoy the beauty. which is why i love it so much. apparently they have wonderful music festivals during the summer, which i wouldn't mind checking out some time

wow! thanks so much for the write-up

you're welcome! i am a total faroes-convert and love to preach the gospel. i'd recommend it to anyone who wants a truly relaxing holiday and isn't interested in high-heat/beaches (i hate summer)

I am sold. Currently looking at flights to the Faroes from Dublin.

just found some clips on youtube, looks staggeringly beautiful

more so than a shitty guide book i read ~10 years ago which downplayed it in contrast with iceland and only showed a few photos of paddocks

Visitfaroeislands on instagram has amazing pics

bummed to find out Please LIke Me is not available on US netflix

The US channel that showed it basically fully funded the last two series, as not enough people in Australia watched it to keep it going. However, not enough people in America watched that channel to keep it going, so the local rights are probably still tied up with the parent company. (Who make loads of docos and features, but AFAIK the only TV they've sold are uplifting interstitials, produced by Rainn Wilson's "Soul Pancake", to Oprah's OWN network.)

Ugh that sux. We only got thru two seasons. S3 is available on amazon for $15 but not s4.

Xps Airbnb has lots of cottages in tiny villages, which I recommend over staying in one of the few hotels. Tórshavn is the biggest settlement so I’d also avoid that if you want real peace and quiet. We stayed in Funningur the first visit and Elduvík this last visit. Both are about an hour drive from the airport (there’s a bus system but I’d suggest car rental). Tjørnuvík supposedly has the friendliest people but it’s a long single lane road to get there. Viðareiði is really beautiful as well. I want to stay there next time.

The place we stayed in Elduvík was incredible and had a hot tub and amazing views. Owner is nice. Email me if you would like a link to his Airbnb listing Justine at chance press dot com.

Is Please Like Me actually good? I remember it being really irritating and offensively unfunny, so I gave up early on.