Midsummer usually calls for a column about entertainment – it’s the season of blockbuster movies, page turners at the beach and top TV shows.
Like last year, I devoured this year’s season of The Bear, the Disney+ comedy that just garnered 13 Emmy nominations this week, including four top acting nods as well as top comedy. I’m not sure why this highly acclaimed and award-winning series is in the comedy category, but there are funny parts.
The very best parts of the series are about dysfunctional families, including that of Carmy Berzatto, who returns home to run the family restaurant after the death of his older brother. He turns a run-down sandwich joint called The Beef, into The Bear, a fine-dining establishment worthy of a Michelin star.
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Carmy’s mom, with whom he has an estranged relationship. I challenge you to find scenes with more realistic family dynamics than those involving Curtis on TV today. Try it, you’ll like it. I promise.
Another show I devoured recently is Netflix’s Dept. Q, a police show set in Edinburgh starring the wonderful Matthew Goode and others including Kate Dickie, who viewers might remember from Game of Thrones. This is a cold-case procedural, done with humour and darkness.
Edinburgh, with its looming castle, sheltered closes and Gothic architecture, is the perfect setting. It probably didn’t hurt that I spent a week in Edinburgh earlier this summer, so I recognized many of the scenes and streets, but even for viewers who haven’t been there, the city is another start of the show.
The case itself is twisted, with a creepy backstory and fully formed characters, particularly Goode’s detective character Carl Morck. He’s damaged and he’s not working on it. For now, there’s only one season of Dept. Q, and one complete case, but I believe a second season is promised. Can’t wait.
As far as reading, while it’s not exactly a typical beach read, I’m reading Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs by Garth Mullins. That name might sound familiar to readers – Mullins is a harm-reduction activist from Vancouver, and this is a memoir of his life as a person addicted to opioids in our region. It’s a page-turner, filled with the recent history of the opioid crisis from an insider’s perspective.
We see the headlines every day about six people a day dying from toxic drugs in B.C., but Mullins’ story puts a human face to that tragedy and explains the ins and outs, such as the effects of B.C.’s. decision to change methadone users over to methadose or the links between sexual abuse or the Sixties Scoop and addiction. If you want a better understanding of what’s happening on Vancouver’s streets, I highly recommend this book. Mullins is also the executive producer and host of Crackdown, an award-winning podcast.
As I’ve written before, I spend a lot of time walking. One of my favourite things to do while walking is listening to podcasts. I haven’t gotten into audiobooks or ebooks because I prefer the real thing, but podcasts make sense to me. They’re like a radio show you can take with you and listen to at your convenience.
A few years ago, I listened to The Retrievals, a terrifying real-life story of the pain women can experience while undergoing fertility treatments. It was shocking, both for the story it told and for the ability of reporter Susan Burton to create such a vivid experience for listeners. I’ve never forgotten it.
This summer, season two is out, and it may be even more visceral, to steal a word used on the show. I’ve only listened to the first episode so far, and it was about a woman who felt everything while she underwent a C-section. They haven’t yet reported on the reasons for that, but I’m definitely planning on checking out the second episode on another walk soon.
Summer is fleeting, enjoy it while you can.
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected].
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