Watch an entire TV series - Check!

This has been probably one of the craziest weeks I can remember. Travel, new allergies, God "coincidences," South Africa, and so much more (and yes, I'm going to leave it that vague). Needless to say, my completion of the list hasn't been happening. Thankfully, I have one in my arsenal I had finished when I started the blog that I have been keeping for just such a dry spell. Because I know you don't want to go too long without a new posting, right? :)

When we used to peruse Blockbuster on "what do you want to do?" nights, I had always been intrigued by a TV series called Dead Like Me, which was about an 18-year-old girl who died (hit by the toilet seat from a de-orbiting Russian Space station) and was tasked with being a grim reaper. Despite the story framework, it claimed to be funny, and I wanted to see what it was all about. Alas, it always got passed over, and then our Blockbuster went the way of Mervyn's, so I thought my chance was lost.

But, huzzah! Netflix brought the possibility anew, and when it popped up as suggested I knew it was time. Being just two seasons with a closing movie, it seemed like the perfect length for this list.


You should know that it is a Showtime series, so the language is very adult, as is the subject matter - it is death, after all - and discussions among the characters. But it was done very tastefully (except the movie, more on that disaster later) and while the story was set around "reaping" what carried it was fantastic character development. You really end up caring about this group, which gathers every morning at Der Waffle Haus to receive assignments, and watch as each reaper tries to come to terms with their own past, present, and future. The humor comes from the fact that, while doing their "eternal" job (to be ended at some point, they know not when), they still have to earn real money to live. So, while they may be running out at lunch to find the person who will die in a bank that day, they still have to punch the clock as a meter maid, a staffing company representative, an actress...or doing whatever else they can to make cash. It also deals with the "living" side of things, following the main character's family as they cope with the loss of their daughter/sister.

It does not move you to rethink what happens after death (at least it didn't for me), but like all good fiction it does move you to ponder how you are living your life now and see things in a way you might not have before. For me, it was appreciating the small things. And it made me wish I had a breakfast group. Of course, that would require waking up early...

As for the follow-up movie - if you ever decide to watch the series, leave it at that. If there were ever anything I could be allowed to un-see, this would make my top ten list. It was made five years later, with different writers, a different actress for one of the characters, a different set of rules, and allowed things that just should never have been and visuals never used in the series. I wanted just a little extra taste of the series, so ignored all the warnings about it and watched it anyway, figuring it couldn't be all that bad. Yes, yes it can. While it clears up the relationship between the main character and her sister, it does so poorly and answers none of the important questions. If you decide to watch the series, skip the movie. They have almost nothing in common.