Mr Smaggle and I are low key obsessed with TV ads. I know that sounds weird but we just really like them. Some of them we like because they’re awesome. Like the Kona car ad that has the dancing car wash brushes in it or any Apple ad ever or rather every Spike Jonze ad ever.
We also like ads that don’t make any sense because it’s fun to laugh at them.
There’s one about ‘your local liney’ that totally baffles us. It shows a guy on a ladder fixing the power lines and everyone in the street knows his name. It’s kind of a ‘get to know your local liney’ kind of thing. Which isn’t a problem in itself but I’m confused because I have no idea what the ad is for. People who fix powerlines? Is that a thing that needs a marketing budget? Also if there’s a person who is outside your house fixing the power line with enough regularity that you know their name either they’re either a spy and they’re casing your house or they’re rubbish at their job. A ‘liney’ job is not really a regularly recurring customer service situation. It’s not like a postperson. I actually tried to find a link to a video of this ad and couldn’t find one but I did find this Reddit thread which gave me instant validation. ‘What the snot!’ is now my new favourite phrase. Get used to it.
Our love of ads is extra weird because hardly anyone I know watches free to air TV anymore. Most of our mates exclusively watch Netflix or other streaming services which for the most part are ad-free. So when I drop my perfect impersonation of the ‘Wynston with a Y!’ ad, no one knows what the hell I’m doing. Super disappointing.
The thing is, we discover some really incredible stuff on free to air TV that we would have totally missed if we just defaulted to Netflix every night.
With all the ‘Top ten shows to watch on Netflix’ blog posts doing the rounds, I thought I’d pop together a few shows I’ve been watching recently that AREN’T on Netflix. Except one, but I really wanted to include it so I’m going to anyway. All of these shows are available on Aussie TV or on Aussie Netflix because who else is totally jack of seeing a great TV show but finding out it’s only available on Foxtel or US Netflix? Thought so.
Where to watch it – SBS on demand
We discovered this the other day and promptly binge-watched the whole six episodes. It’s about the Branch Davidians and the Waco siege. I’m true crime-obsessed and that obsession often spills over into cults and as such, I thought I was fairly well versed on the Waco situation but this drama series opened my eyes to a different part of the story I hadn’t heard much about. It stars Michael Shannon (the creepy guy from every movie or TV show you’ve watched since Boardwalk Empire), John Leguizamo and Rory Culkin. As I was writing this I googled the guy who played David Koresh because I thought I’d never seen him before and it turns out I bloody well have and he’s played by Taylor Kitsch, better known as Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights. I need to clarify that correctly identifying actors in TV shows and movies is one of my superpowers, so I take my theoretical hat off to Mr Kitsch. He looked like a totally different person in this mini-series. Well done sir! This is coming from the woman who spotted Julie Garner in her first 30 seconds in Ozark. I’m REALLY good at this and he totally got me. Someone give the lad an Emmy already.
Where to watch it – SBS on demand
I saw this advertised when I was watching something else and it looked really funny. It’s got one of my favourite actors in it Chris Geere (and yes he does look like Mr Smaggle) and an actress I’ve never seen before called Aya Cash. It’s about two people who are a bit shit but somehow end up in a relationship. I’ve really loving it, it’s super funny and very brash. There’s a lot of British style humour in it which really pleases me. It’s also been in production for six years so I have no idea how I missed it but I’m stoked to have a new show I’m not going to run out of episodes of anytime soon.
Where to watch it – Netflix (which is in most households now anyway so it kind of counts as regular TV right?)
We literally started watching it this week and it’s totally living up to the hype. I’ll watch pretty much anything with Laura Linney in it – she makes excellent career decisions. Jason Bateman is also a fairly safe bet. Plus drug cartel TV shows always seem to be excellent. Have you ever noticed that?
Where to watch it – SBS on demand
Hosted by Richard Ayoade of the IT Crowd, it’s a travel show where he takes other comedians on a weekend away. He’s had Lena Dunham, John Hamm, Greg Davies and Noel Feilding on the show and it’s always hilarious. It’s a lovely low-commitment show you can dip in and out of because every episode is stand alone.
Where to watch it – Channel Ten
There’s a British version of this show I love so when I saw there was an Aussie version, I was hooked. I’ve always loved RPA and 24 Hours in Emergency so I knew this would be right up my ally. It’s basically a show where you kind of ride along with Aussie paramedics and see what their job is like. I love it and I love paramedics. They’re just no bullshit, super sensible, awesome people.
What about you? What do you think are the best TV series to watch in Australia?
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