BENGALURU: Ifinally did it. Spent hours doing what so many people have already done during the peak of the pandemic last year. Like many other trends, I caught on late to this one too. I don’t think I will ever make Dalgona coffee, or learn how to play the ukulele, or jog on my balcony in this lifetime. But I did end up staying awake all night, and binge-watched a series on an OTT platform, finishing it one go last week. For the first time.
Those who know me well can call me a late bloomer again. Those who know me better will just conclude that it was a big aberration in the nocturnal behaviour of someone who feels no embarrassment in crying out for the need of a nine-hour sleep cycle. At the end of it all, I was left wondering why I let myself get lured into the fleeting moments of enjoyment. The way most one-night escapades would be ending. I guess. See, that’s the effect of the online content talking, not me.
So what kept me going despite the groggy eyes, and a workday looming ahead? The new Perry Mason show, a much-praised adaptation based on the crime books I got hooked onto in my late teens. It did what a Paatal Lok, Scam 1992 or even a heist drama like Lupin couldn’t. Perry Mason was largely responsible for getting me captivated by crime fiction, before the debonair Remington Steele and the goofy Karamchand descended on our TV sets. And before Agatha Christie books became my favourite travel companion.
So it was the eager anticipation of the crisp cross-examination in the courtroom, the last-minute dashing in of the dashing Paul Drake with a significant piece of evidence, and the final breaking of the culprit, that kept me from looking at the clock the entire night. But none of it came. What stood out in the mind after the series concluded was some brilliant production and acting, a needlessly convoluted plot, and flashes of flesh – dead, as well as in throes of passion – taking up the screen frequently.
Like so many other OTT shows, I wish I had been able to watch this with my 12-year-old. He really does enjoy watching Jolly LLB, and I wanted to show him the ‘original’ lawyer hero created by Erle Stanley Gardner. But he was packed off to bed soon after the scene showing sitophilia stretched on. And the show once again brought in the realisation that children who are too old for Pokemon and Oggy, too young for popular web series, and too disinterested in Hindi television dramas, have been the most deprived of entertainment options during the last one year.
I had thought that Emily in Paris would make a good, light watching experience for us after a full day at work. But the plan had to be shelved after the first episode showed her fishing out a vibrator from her bag. I decided not to venture anywhere near The White Tiger the moment a colleague mentioned that she was revulsed at the extent of crass language used in the movie. What followed was a brief discussion about whether cuss words, graphic violence and sex scenes have become tropes for online content. As someone said, it’s meant to be ‘over the top’. Underwhelming, I would say, tuning into David Suchet’s brilliant Poirot.