Free for Now

A lot of streaming services are offering free shows lately, so I'm trying to catch what I can. I checked out AppleTV+ (which is a terrible name that confuses me vs the hardware device) and I need to binge some Dickinson and the Little America series, but I also want to rewatch that Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase on HBO. Definitely a much better movie than the ghost-obsessed CW show.

I saw the story about Disney doing a "live-action" CGI remake of Robin Hood, and I wondered how could that possibly work? But then somebody proposed Zootopia's Nick Wilde as the model for the foxy Robin, and that's not a bad idea at all. I don't hate it. They just gotta be careful that it doesn't veer into Cats territory.

Anyway, I watched the Tigertail movie on Netflix, and it was a very poignant tale about what-might-have-beens and a father's inability to communicate with his daughter. Told in Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles, we explore the backstory and the present of a Taiwanese immigrant played by Tzi Ma. He passes on bad parental advice like "crying never solves anything" and avoids heartache by working nonstop so he'll barely see his family. The timeline is a little confusing with some of the present-day vs near-present flashbacks, but overall it's a great, tragic tale, and something Asian-focused to hold me over until Mulan arrives.

I'm trying to find a new cozy mystery series, too, and I've watched the Frankie Drake Mysteries from Canada. They've started airing on PBS lately. I was lukewarm to the first couple of episodes, but the 3rd is starting to feel better. I'm trying not to compare it too much to the Miss Fisher Mysteries that I miss so much, and I am annoyed about them having Ernest Hemingway as a character. But it is nice to see that actress from Houdini and Doyle having fun. Really, I'm missing a Murder She Wrote-type show or an adaptation of Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball in all her glory. But the problem is when I search for mysteries or whodunnits to watch, all I get are recommendations for cop procedurals or true crime series, and that is NOT the same! Especially those tedious shows that drag a mystery out all season.