An Octopus, A Magician, and Stealth Dancers Walk Onto Your TV Screen In These 3 Series
Dazzling, demented sci-fi fantasy thrillers with a touch of magic and the occult
Highly sexual. Highly violent. Drugs, raves, and discos. Torture, survival, flashdance. Get ready to have your mind enter multiple dimensions.
The OA
Once upon a time, I worked in a magical garden in a flowery fairyland. After working particularly hard installing and then taking down trillions of twinkling Christmas lights, our boss took us out to a thank-you lunch.
Most of us changed out of our fairy uniforms and into floral attire.
We made it into the restaurant before the rain started. The siren threatened to blare, a tornado watch in effect.
We ate our coconut popcorn shrimp and smoked salmon. Sipped our iced tea.
And Maura* piped up, “Y’all seen The OA?” I shook my head “no” while others nodded “yes” and delighted in how much they liked the creepy show.
The OA matches the eerie, unpredictable weather from that day.
There’s a mad scientist who kidnaps adults to kill and revive, kill and revive, kill and revive. The mad scientist is doing it for discovery, for advancement. But at what cost?
It’s the most intense sci-fi show I’ve ever seen and I couldn’t turn my head away.
Flower power and octopus adventures wrap up the final season. You’ll have to watch to see how and why.
In my 30s I took a few San Soo and Krav Maga classes. In my 20s I took a bunch of yoga and a little Pilates. In high school, at my public school, I took creative movement. These skills are all relevant to the captives’ discovered superpower.
2 seasons. A cult following. Pop culture — one of the only cults it’s okay to join.
Sense8
If you’ve ever had an interest in astral projection, psychic powers, mind collaboration — or groupthink…try Sense8.
Telepathy. At 11 or 12 a friend and I would try to read each other’s minds. We simply thought of numbers and tried to visualize what the other was thinking.
2? No. 3? No. 8? Yes! See, we are psychic!
Once, I had a vision that turned out to be true. It was of a man committing suicide. We even communicated. After, I felt shook, like I couldn’t let go of the connection.
Imagine having a group of people you know from all over the world whose minds you can read and situations you can infiltrate by switching bodies with your minds. Lost yet?
That’s okay. This fantastically intense and socially aware show does a much better job explaining the nuances of the plot.
2 Seasons. Enter at your own risk.
The Magicians
I am a Magician. Well, according to my Tarot birth cards, I’m The Magician, The Wheel of Fortune, and The Sun.
When I was an elementary-aged girl my dad gifted me a magic trick kit. And a balloon animal kit. I made great dachshunds but this is about magic. I wasn’t great at card tricks but it was fun to try. Who doesn’t like a quarter appearing somewhere unexpected? And colorful tissue endlessly coming out of a sleeve.
I’ve also been a depressed college student. Imagine if you were given the chance to work through your depression in real quests in a tangible fantasy world. That’d be pretty cool, eh?
The Magicians is quirky, funny, sexy, and pretty damn progressive. A main character gets to live out that adventure above. Elements of the occult and fairytales dot the characters’ adventures. Each main character goes on a hero’s quest. Adventure, fantasy, and occasional musicals will bring magic into your mundane middle-aged life. Oops, too personal?
5 seasons. Welcome to a grownup Wonderland. Will you find your magic?
Lindsay Rae Brown inspired me to try a different style of review with her lobster confessions article. Thanks, Linds!
Aimée Brown Gramblin is practically a superspy because that’s basically what writers are, right? She dabbles in nonfiction articles, emits poetry, and lives her life as a WIP memoirist. She sometimes dabbles in pop culture musings.
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