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Americana Explored: Man vs History and The Great American Recipe

29 Jan

Man vs. History
Man vs History was a show that originally debuted on the History channel that aired in 2021. Master storyteller and historian Bil Lepp looks at a variety of American historical legends from Houdini’s ability to get out of a straight jacket by supposedly dislocating his shoulder to Ben Franklin supposedly inventing the first swim fins. The episodes all have loose themes such as being centered on iconic stunts or folk tale legends. Lepp interviews experts and even recreates some of the events himself to determine how true the legends are. You can stream all eight episodes using only 4 of your monthly 60 Kanopy tickets. It is rated PG so may not be appropriate for some younger children, but older kids and teens may enjoy watching it along with their parents. I especially enjoyed hearing about some stories based locally such as the Hamilton/Burr duel that took place in nearby Weehawken.

The Great American Recipe
The Great American Recipe returned to PBS for season 3 last year. You can have 5 days to binge the 8 episodes for 5 of your Kanopy monthly tickets. This season Alejandra Ramos returns as host but Tiffany Derry is now joined by Francis Lam, host of public radio’s “The Splendid Table,” and Timothy Hollingsworth, an award winning chef, as judges. The show highlights the regional and ethnic diversity of the American culinary scene with this season’s contestants including those who have Italian, Mexican, Chinese and West African heritage. One contestant from Alaska discusses foraging for ingredients during one of the challenges. This is definitely a program for those who prefer their reality shows low stakes and friendly such as The Great British Baking Show. No one is voted off, though there are constructive critiques of some recipes that were less successful. The show ends with a top 3 and one winner declared, but unlike previous seasons there is no mention of a cookbook; never fear though if you want to create any of the dishes you can find the recipes online. The previous two seasons are also available to borrow from Kanopy and the show has been renewed for a fourth season on PBS.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Cozy Mystery Spinoffs: Beyond Paradise and Frankie Drake Mysteries

19 Jun

Beyond Paradise
One of the favorites of library staff and patrons when it comes to cozy mysteries has been Death in Paradise where a variety of fish out of water UK detectives take on the detective inspector position at an imaginary Caribbean Island, Saint Marie. A fan favorite was DI Humphrey Goodman who left the island to be with his fiancée, Martha. Now in the 2023 spinoff, Beyond Paradise, we find out what they have been up to as the couple leave London to start a new life on the Devon coast, where Martha grew up. Humphrey takes up the vacant position of Detective Inspector at Shipton Abbott police station while Martha opens up a café focused on serving local produce and products. Although less tropical, the town still parallels the other series with its charming seaside visuals, in this case filmed in several Cornish towns. The first season is a bingeworthy 6 episodes, clocking in at just over 5 hours. You don’t have to have watched Death in Paradise to enjoy Beyond Paradise, but if you enjoy the show and haven’t watched the original, it is definitely worth checking out. Both shows are available to stream from Kanopy.

Frankie Drake Mysteries
Another popular long running cozy mystery series is Murdoch Mysteries which is set around a 1895 police station in Canada. This series spun off the Frankie Drake Mysteries set in the 1920’s, though in this case older versions of the Murdoch Mystery characters like George Crabtree make guest appearances in the new show rather than having them be a central focus, which instead is on an all female detective agency. Lauren Lee Smith plays the lead character with Chantel Riley as Trudy Clarke, Frankie’s partner and bff. My two favorites though are Rebecca Liddiard as Mary Shaw a morality officer from the Toronto’s police department who often manages to sneak herself into murder cases and Sharron Matthews who plays Flo Chakowitz, a morgue attendant. The series ran for four years (41 episodes). It is a charming mix of mystery, humor and history.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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