Watching Television Week 47 of 2018

While I watched a bunch of different programs last week these three were ones that stood out for me during week 47 of 2018.

• Doctor Who, season 11, episode 7 – Kerblam! – Is this the future of Amazon? Or are we already there in today’s big warehouse online stores? Either way, in this episode, the team lands on a moon that’s filled with anonymous robotic employees that blindly follow their corporate overlords – the entire planet is Amazon. Surprisingly, though, we’re not following the basic storytelling style that the past few episodes have thrown out there, instead the “bad guy” turns out not to be the big corporation. It’s a pretty good episode that doesn’t try to push a politically correct agenda as the past few shows have done. There was also a lot less history lesson in this story where it seemed to look more towards future possibilities instead of Earth’s past. In any case I felt this was one of the more enjoyable episodes in a pretty good season.

• The Curse of Oak Island, season 6, episode 2 – Gold Rush – In this episode the brothers head to the Alberta College of Art and Design to speak with gemologist and master goldsmith Charles Lewton-Brain. While it turns out the stone in the brooch found in episode 1 was made of glass, the block twisting techniques used in the setting fell out of fashion around the 1340s. This could indicate that this item is from the 14th century, a revelation that surprises Marty. Later in the episode, the team heads to St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where electron microscope examination allows Dr. Christina Brosseau to declare that parts of the brooch are covered with gold leaf. All of which leads up to Marty’s announcement to Dave Blankenship that “We have found our first gold on Oak Island.” On the whole it was a pretty good episode that kept advancing more clues in the mystery of Oak Island.

• Secrets of the Lost, season 1, episode 7 – Tut’s Forbidden Secrets – For whatever reason, I’m unable to find much mention of this show on IMDB or on Google in general but I know I watched the show and felt I learned something. That something, though, is something I’m a bit surprised I had not heard much of previously since I’ve watched quite a few King Tut shows over the years. The fact that the current theory that King Tut’s death was the result of a broken leg complicated by malaria and avascular bone necrosis was something I had not heard of previously. Actually, I had heard of the broken leg but the diseases were not something I knew of (the show even indicated he used a cane because the necrosis got so bad). Sadly, this was something that apparently was discovered in 2010 and I am only now learning of it. Oh well, it doesn’t make much difference to the memories I have from seeing the King Tut exhibit in LA when I was a kid, but it does point to the fact that learning is a life-long activity, hopefully the next thing I learn won’t take so long to get to me.

Let me know if you watched any of these shows and what you thought.

TV | Watching Television Week 47 of 2018