One cannot compare festivals but one can certainly have a favourite – mine being Christmas. It’s hard to put my finger on what exactly it is – perhaps the food, or the decor, the weather, or maybe the general spirit – but it never fails to bring that bounce in one’s step. From Shimla to Gangtok, from Delhi to Lapland- no matter which part of the world I have been, the mood of the season has always caught up.
For years I have adored the Christmas brunches at 1911 in The Imperial or the Lawns of Claridges in Delhi. This extraordinary year, however, is going to be a Christmas at home and yet that creates so many possibilities. Who knows, we might just end up decorating a little Christmas tree of our own or perhaps play Santa to friends and family? Who knows, we might just put on some music, turn up the heaters and go through old family albums all evening? Or perhaps this might turn out to be another round of guilt-free binge watching with family – some Christmassy scented candles, home baked goodies, our favourite food pipping hot from the kitchen, and a nice thriller on the OTT to keep us hooked?
Now, there has been a lot of binge watching this year, given the extenuating circumstances. But if you haven’t tried binge watching with family, I strongly recommend it – there’s a family time everyone is going to enjoy. That brings us to the essential question – what to watch. A lot of people would recommend the latest stuff, the shows just out of the oven, I wouldn’t. I would say, go for the series that have had their day in the past. The best part, you don’t have to wait months for the next season, it’s all there! Choose from something that has a combination of crime, humour and mind-bending science.
Here are two of my favourite picks:
White Collar: In a sentence – this is a fun, con-crime, investigation show. I’m not going to spill the beans on the main protagonists, or the storyline (I am sure many have already watched it), but to not talk about Mozzie would be criminal. This character has been played by Willie Garson who you might remember from Sex and the City. Mozzie is somewhat of a real life Uncle Fester – short, stalkish, balding and loves kids – a scholar who is also a con artist. He’s your go-to man for all under the table needs. The mysterious Mozzie knows all and has an answer for everything, if not a solution. Keep an ear out for his folksy witticisms – the stuff of cult admiration. You don’t want to miss out when he drops those rib-kickers with a deadpan face: ‘Behind every worst case scenario, there’s a worse, worst case scenario’ or ‘Lesson number one: We take and we don’t give’.
Mozzie’s personality builds up slowly through the story and that makes it even better. Since he’s not the main character, his appearance in the first few episodes is sparse. It takes thereon as Mozzie brings a peculiar diversity to this lot. He’s got his quirks, is funny and manages to turn around the mood. This Christmas may we all meet the Mozzies in our life – the trusted partner, the man dependable, the brainiac who knows how to make a face smile.
Person of Interest: This one is an intelligent and futuristic show. The possibility of AI processing super-large data for predictive outcomes has attracted the best minds of our time like bees to nectar. Now, if you apply this predictive formula to the realm of crime you make the setting for a perfect thriller. To cut the chase – there’s a machine and it can predict events of violence. It flows naturally then that there’s a team that tries to prevent it. A layered and complex show, it manages to tap into the moral dilemmas of science and its philosophical questions. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking over your shoulder for AI surveillance after watching this show.
Root is the character to watch out for here. She first shows up in the thirteenth episode in a negative role. Actress Amy Acker of TV series Angel and Alias fame seems to have hit a chord with the audience and the character of Root is expanded later with a full back story, family angle and a reformation. With Root a lot of personality comes into the show. She’s a bit of a sociopath with a twisted sense of humour. In fact, she’s a pretty cool assassin, dropping one-liners as she totals men double her size. And did I mention the fight moves – sit with your gloves on, you might be inspired to throw some punches around.
These are light shows for a fun marathon watch. Moreover, it’s Christmas and it’s the end of 2020, you wouldn’t want to dampen the mood with something too bleak. A part of why I particularly enjoy these shows is that I’ve watched them with people close to me. My wife tells me that there is rule to binging – when you begin watching with someone you enter a silent pact that forbids you from gorging the episodes alone. A very new-age pop version of the spirit of Christmas, won’t you say, ‘to be in it together’.