My Covid-19 Staycation

I've been an Amazon Prime member for a few years but, though I knew vaguely of it's existence, I never thought of availing myself of the Prime Video aspect of my membership. Frankly, I thought it would be too much trouble to get Prime shows on my TV. I thought it would require downloading to my pc and other mesmerizing technical challenges beyond my feeble knowledge. Then, I heard about the fire stick.

It cost about $40. Just plug it into one of your TV's HDMI ports, grab the remote and away you go into the land of Amazon Prime Video. I've since bought a new TV from Best Buy which has a button for Amazon Prime on its remote, so the fire stick's no longer needed.

Anyway, Rotten Tomatoes has a page dedicated to The 54 Best Amazon Prime TV Shows which seemed like a good place to start our sampling process. Below are our reactions to several shows we've viewed.

#1 Fleabag: A sexually-liberated, irritable woman navigates modern life in London in this comedy. Based on star Phoebe Waller-Bridge's play of the same name. I thoroughly enjoyed the series though my wife did not because of language and sex. So, I watched on my own all the episodes of all the seasons. Not sure it's my favorite, but I can see why it would be ranked so high.

#3 Catastrophe: An unplanned pregnancy turns a weekend tryst into a serious commitment for a British woman and an American tourist. Starring and written by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, with Julie Perreault. Not suitable for family time, again, because of language and blatant humping. But, I quickly became a big fan and watched every episode.

#4 Home Coming: A caseworker at a facility that treats soldiers returning from war interacts with veteran who is eager to return to civilian life. Starring Julia Roberts and Bobby Cannavale. My wife yawned through the first couple of episodes, her subtle way of letting me know she wasn't interested. Being very sensitive, I pick up on these things. Anyway, I love Julia Roberts, despite that annoying laugh, and watched season one. Season two isn't available at this time.

#6 Bosch: Based on the character and novels of Michael Connelly, each season focuses on a single crime. I've long been a fan of the novels and haven't been disappointed by the portrayal on TV. My wife enjoys the series, too, so we watch it together during our frequent family viewing times. We're midway through season four.

#8 Sneaky Pete: After being released from prison, a con man hides from debtors by assuming his cellmate's identity and lands a job with his faux-family's bail-bond business. Starring Giovanni Ribisi, Marin Ireland and Margo Martindale, Pete is always on the con. My wife tolerates this one. Of course, I like it more.

#11 Forever: Married couple June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen) live a comfortable but predictable life in suburban Riverside, California. For 12 years they've had the same conversations, eaten the same meals and taken pleasant vacations at the same rented lake house. But after June talks Oscar into shaking things up with a ski trip, the pair suddenly find themselves in completely unfamiliar territory. Forever is an utterly original, insightful and poignant comedy about love, commitment, and marriage. My wife found this one boring, so I watched it on my own after she hit the sack and liked it.

#17 The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: Set in the 1950s, Miriam "Midge" Maisel is a content wife and mother whose perfect life takes a sudden turn when she discovers an unknown talent -- stand-up comedy. Starring Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Zegen, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle. Wifey nixed this one because of the "terrible things" Midge does to other people. Me, I love it, find it at times hysterical and am marching through the episodes.