Story Stream: 1/9 - 1/15

Hello friends! New week. More stories. Although, admittedly not as many as normal. BUT, for good reason. This week I got completely drawn into one particular story, and spent a fair amount of my free minutes with it. More about that below though. Here we go!
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MOVIES

Alien (1979)

I actually revisited this whole series early on in the COVID days, so less that two years ago. Even still, watching this one this week felt almost like seeing it for the first time. I just can't believe how good it is. Sigourney Weaver is such a badass, and Ridley Scott is clearly a genius. If it's been a while since you've seen this, you should definitely give it another viewing. You won't regret it. Streaming on Amazon Prime. (10/10 - Most Highly Recommended)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

I love this whole side of the Wizarding World. Perhaps not with the same love I have for the Harry Potter films, but still, a lot. I'm very excited about the third (and fourth, and fifth) films, on the horizon. This one is particularly good though. Eddie Redmayne was the perfect lead for this series. Streaming on HBO Max. (9/10 - Very Highly Recommended)
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TV

Servant (Season 2, Episodes 6-10)

Somehow, I just never got around to finishing this. My wife and I binged it straight through until we'd caught up mid-way through Season 2. Then, we just hated waiting week to week, so we let the series finish. But, by then, we'd moved on. Season 3 is coming next week, so we went back to finish it this week. Turns out we stopped watching right when it was about to get really, really interesting. I loved it more upon returning than I did when I initially binged it. I expect Season 3 to be amazing.. Streaming on Apple TV+. (9/10 - Very Highly Recommended)
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PODCASTS

Spectacle - "E3: How Survivor revealed America’s tribalism"

This was our Listening Session episode for the week. I was really looking forward to it, as Survivor is essentially always on in our house (my wife is a HUGE Survivor fan). And the show was good, but not great. The concept was better than the execution in my opinion. Still worth a listen if the episode title jumps out at you, or if you're particularly fond of Survivor / reality TV. If not, probably not worth your time. Streaming on the various podcast listening apps. (5/10 - Recommended)
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BOOKS

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, and J.K. Rowling (2016)

I'd only ever heard from HP fans that this was a bust. But, friends. I loved it so, so, so much. I felt like my imagination was completely engaged from start to finish. And the format didn't bother me in the least. It slowed me down, but in the most helpful way. Plus, it was a very quick read, which is always a good thing. I'm dying to see the actual play now. If you're an HP fan, and somehow haven't read this, you must. It's excellent. Available wherever books are sold. (10/10 - Most Highly Recommended)
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That's it, friends! More to come next week. Also, I've been considering doing some deeper dives on some stories here and there. I'm curious if that's something that would interest you all. Longer essays about particular storytelling techniques that I found especially compelling. Like, for example, if I'd written a whole post about why I find Alien so impressive 43 years after it released. Let me know in the comments if that sounds like something that would interest you!

Thanks, friends. More soon!