Journal of a slashy woman

I don't anticipate getting fannish about either of these shows, but I enjoyed both. They are similar, in that both are mysteries, with a complicated plot that lasts the entire 6-8 episode season, tying together seemingly disparate threads. Tonally so so different.

Dark Winds: I've only watched the first two seasons, taking a little break before seasons 3 and 4. Set on a reservation in the 1970s, Dark Winds focuses on the local police force, led by Joe Leaphorn, and his two deputies, Bernadette Manuelito and Jim Chee. The clothes, furnishings, etc. were amusing to revisit, as I'm old enough to remember those styles, and the Native American culture interesting. Overall very serious, both because of the hard life on the reservation and the personal trauma suffered by Leaphorn.

Currently on Netflix/AMC. I don't usually binge shows, but I do like coming late to this show so that I can watch an episode a day. I'd have trouble keeping everything straight if I had to wait a week between each episode. Dark Winds is based on a book series by Tony Hillerman. I haven't read any of them, so can't speak to the faithfulness to the source material.

Deadloch: I've only watched the first season, as the second doesn't stream until March 20. Set in Australia in current days, Deadloch also focuses on the local police force, led by the lesbian Dulcie Collins, whose partner is the local veterinarian. A man is found murdered on the local beach, and Collins clashes with the detective sent to investigate, another woman. So many women in this series, almost all of the main characters, it's just delightful. The mayor, the rich matriarch, one of the deputies, the two young native women who find the first body, etc. Also, the victims are all male, which is a pleasing change.

Deadloch has lots of humor, which I admit I struggled with a bit, especially from the visiting detective, whose personality is really broad and makes lots of extravagant complaints. I had to consciously accept that she was supposed to be funny, and then she was hysterical. Occasionally I was a little confused by the cultural differences and a few of the accents were difficult for me, but overall well worth the adjustment.

On Prime, though hopefully will circulate to other channels for those who don't have it.

I watched The X-Files from the beginning, just on the basis that the trailer looked interesting, and enjoyed it very much the first 4-5 seasons. I was reasonably fannish, attending several conventions, but didn't get much into fanfic or interacting on whatever kind of internet forum it would have been then.

Seeing Chris Carter at a convention was one of the things that started burning me out. Because people were asking about the 'conspiracy' episodes and how they tied together, and looking at him, I thought: you don't have an overall plan and you're really entertained that fans are spending so much time believing you do and trying to figure it out.

I could have been completely maligning him, of course, but the more episodes that seemed to tie together but left viewers dangling, the more I burned out. I think I watched an episode of two after David Duchovny left but I didn't warm to the new characters and dropped it.

I watched the first season of the reboot and hated it, though I don't remember much now.

So I'm not looking for more X-Files but I've read that Ryan Coogler is producing the reboot, and okay. For him, I will give it a try. I thought Black Panther was an excellent movie and I trust that Coogler will have an interesting take. Supernatural stories can be fun.