The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, September 6

Hey, everyone!

Let’s take a prompt from Twitter and work from there.

Ramble of the Day

I stumbled across an important question on Twitter the other day and figured it would be fun to share. Plus, I will use the more than 280 characters I have and explain my picks. Keep in mind that I’m not very good at bingeing, and that I do not subscribe to all of the many streaming platforms.

In no particular order, here are the five TV series/shows that define my tastes.

1. Better Call Saul

I do love a well produced drama, and Better Call Saul is that. The plot is incredibly gripping in both a short-term and long-term sense, as it is a fun experiment in how to keep viewers on the edge of their seats when they know how the series ends. The actors are compelling, and the production value is so high that it makes it easy on the eyes. It’s easily one of my favorite shows that’s currently running.

2. Jane the Virgin

A smart show that can do many things at once and somehow never loses its point, Jane the Virgin is best because it does not take itself too seriously. It masters being a telenovela while staying away from certain stereotypes and embracing others. It offers a wonderful balance of comedy and drama, again with talented writers and actors. The writing of the character of Rogelio de la Vega is particularly impressive, as he has all of the characteristics of being a vain and annoying semi-famous person, though ends up being hilarious and likable enough to keep him around with no problem.

3. The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale (and predecessor of sorts, The Soup)

I love to balance well-made programs with a little bit of quality trash, and these since-canceled shows did a marvelous job documenting the best of the worst on television. You only need to watch a few episodes to get the gist, as you get to watch clips from sometimes terrible shows and laugh at them. The jokes sometimes tell themselves, but it was a fun way to spend a half hour once a week observing very unique human beings (like the guy who though driving over his partner’s ankle was not a big deal).

4. Sirens

Another one of those canceled shows, Sirens was based off the British show about paramedics, though relocated from Leeds to Chicago. It had the usual gloss that shows on the USA network have, but brought plenty of laughs through the situations their characters ended up in. Each character is written in stellar fashion, with fast and snippy dialogue that makes it enjoyable for someone who is naturally sarcastic like me. (Plus, as someone who is easily distracted by bad accents, I really appreciated Jessica McNamee’s accent work, which was the best I’ve ever seen.)

5. Black Mirror

Finally, this anthology series is one of the few shows I’ve actually been good at bingeing. Some episodes are naturally better than others, but each episode provides a creative spin on the technology debate without sticking to the boring points of the argument, allowing the creative people involved to really shine. My favorite part is that it has this literary element that explores the question of what happens when humans truly lose control of themselves without ever really going overboard or becoming unrealistic.

Honorable mention: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Vanderpump Rules

tl;dr: I like TV shows, and I’m sure you do, too.

Links of the Day

Crystal Palace shared that Wilfried Zaha has made a “substantial financial contribution” to Palace Ladies after a report surfaced that the club was forcing players to raise money to stay on the team.

Luke Shaw said he almost lost his leg after he broke it in a Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven three years ago.

David Beckham’s MLS team will be called Club Internacional de Futbol Miami, or Inter Miami CF.

Harry Maguire admitted that the England players, like the rest of us, do not understand the UEFA Nations League.

Today’s longer read: Chris Wright details the differences between association football and futsal, and some difficulties members of the Danish team that lost to Slovakia might have faced for ESPN