During the writers and actors strikes in the US (the writers' one has finally ended) I have still had plenty of TV from the UK to watch, and one of my new favorites is Mrs. Sidhu Investigates on Acorn TV.
AcornTV is one of the quintessential streaming options for British and beyond programming. For a very reasonable fee (monthly $5.99 or annual special $59.99) members get access to a wide variety of current and classic comedies, dramas, mysteries, documentaries, and even foreign language gems. Either through a web browser, like Safari, or their free app, enjoy the best video and audio quality on any device. I enjoy the control with pause, reverse or fast forward, and one special feature, I personally enjoy, is the closed caption button providing the text for the dialogue.
The pandemic has directly effected our lives in many ways and we have tried desperately to find ways to keep ourselves engaged or distracted. We’re used to reruns, and in many cases don’t mind binging our favorite sit-com and movie series, but there’s On Demand, Netflix, Pay-Per-View, and a wide selection of streaming services for reasonable to “Ouch!” fees. For several years now, my “reasonable” membership in two streaming services has provided this Anglophile access to a wide variety of UK television shows and movies, some new and some longtime favorites.
It’s 1958 London, and the tabloids are all over the news—Inspector Michael Jericho has received the Queen’s Award for Bravery, and with his impeccable team at Scotland Yard, “London can sleep safe at night.” However, the realty is darker, more intense, more...murderous than the headlines: Jericho: The Man of Action
What better way to fill the “stay home” hours than by streaming clever and fun murder mysteries! AcornTV has an excellent library of vintage, iconic, and contemporary mysteries, dramas, and police procedurals. Get your Sherlock on with lots of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple, then Pie in the Sky, Above Suspicion, and Deadwater Fell. But your reasonable monthly or annual membership also includes comedies (French Fields, Trivia), documentaries (The Family Farm, Bollywood), and feature films (The Return, The Scapegoat).
So many streaming options are available nowadays, each varying in type of programming, devices needed, and membership requirements. I have been a member of AcornTV for over two years, and with a reasonable monthly fee and annual payment option, I have been thrilled with the diversity of genre, original air date, country of origin, number of episodes, and length of availability.
In 2017 I reviewed over 150 marvelously entertaining books along with connecting with loads of talented and delightfully friendly authors. Set with the task of choosing my top favorites for the year has been a serious challenge since every single book, and a few television shows, have/has provided me with hours of entertainment and some inspiration…So, drum roll, please!
In March, ACORN-TV had the exclusive US premier streaming all episodes of Midsomer Murders as it entered its nineteenth season. Beginning with author Caroline Graham’s iconic lead Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby and following with his cousin DCI John Barnaby, the mysteries give the idyllic English countryside a darker underside where one will find family rivalries, backstabbing business partners, husbands against wives, wives against husbands, money issues, inheritance squabbles, and plenty of women scorned.
