I’ve been spending a lot of time working on print layouts lately, and when I’m at home I set up the iPad and stream movies as I work. First up, I’m catching up with the HBO series True Detective after seeing the pilot episode on a repeat. It’s really, really good. Whatever your opinion of Harrelson or McConaughey, they are both doing outstanding work in this show—one as a flawed family man and the other as a haunted, nihilistic addict. The last episode (4) ended with a 6-minute tracking shot that rivals anything Scorsese or Cuaron have done for its complexity and fluidity, and I was white-knuckling the edges of my iPad without realizing it before it was over.

I used to watch Justified in its first season, but when our schedules and TVs got scrambled, I fell off and got behind. I’ve been catching up now that we have Amazon Prime, and I remember why I liked the show. The second season picked up all kinds of awards, and rightfully so; the characters are rich and the writing is solid.

I’ve also been watching selected episodes of The Walking Dead to see if it’s something worth picking up, and while it’s not as compelling as True Detective, it’s not bad. I’ve read reviews that complain about characters continually making poor decisions, and from what I’ve seen it’s pretty true, but I like some of the leads and I’ll keep sampling it here and there.

Amazon also has a couple of pilots available to sample, the first of which I watched was Bosch, based on a Michael Connolly character. It’s got Titus Welliver, another Deadwood alumnus, as the lead, a strong storyline, and good writing. I can’t say the same for The After, which comes off as a weak ripoff of LOST with annoying characters and more tropes than I care to admit.