One of my guilty pleasures of retirement is being able to watch television series—in their entirety—on Netflix. We’re not big on watching TV series as they air, only because we forget to turn on the television until we go to bed at night. No problem, if you have Netflix online streaming. We don’t even have to wait for a DVD to arrive in the mail. We can catch up on a season in one week—if we can handle the shift in our circadian rhythms. Many is the time we’ve been up until the wee hours of the morning because we have to see “just one more episode.” And retirement allows us to sleep in the following day.
Series we’ve watched on Netflix include Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Bramwell, Doc Martin, Monarch of the Glen, All Creatures Great and Small, Last Tango in Halifax, Sherlock, West Wing, and most recently, Breaking Bad. You notice a proclivity to British series? I am mad about good British television.
The problem with immersing yourself in an entire series? When the series ends, you feel as if your family has abandoned you. When I see the cast of Downton Abbey now, after a nine-month hiatus between seasons, I want to sob with joy at having them back in my life again. I want to drop in on Chummy and Peter to see how Baby Fred is getting along (Call the Midwife). I've got a few, choice words for Celia, when I next see her (Last Tango in Halifax). And I find myself wanting to call Josh Lyman (West Wing) and ask him what he’s been up to. (We saw the actor, Bradley Whitford, in Saving Mr. Banks, and couldn’t believe that Josh had taken a job with Disney. What a step down from Chief of Staff at the White House!)
I’m not a complete television addict. There is hope for me. In fact, if you know of a good series I should watch, please don’t tell me. I need to catch up on my sleep!
