Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“Sex Ed” (7 out of 10) – Written by Bill Kennedy; Directed by Isaac Feder; Starring Haley Joel Osment, Glen Powell, Castille Landon, Retta, Lorenza Izzo, and Matt Walsh; 92 minutes; Release date: November 7, 2014; Rated R.

“Sex Ed” stars Haley Joel Osment as Ed Cole, a young aspiring teacher, who works at a bagel shop with no real prospects either professionally or romantically. After receiving yet another rejection letter for a teaching position Cole decides to go to the school and demand an interview.

Once at the school, Cole meets the principal (Walsh) who is all but checked out but impressed by Cole’s ambition offers him a job teaching a mandatory after school program for troubled kids.

After accepting the job Cole leaves his apartment and finds a place closer to the school. His new landlord (Retta) helps Cole to find out what kind of man he wants to be and gives him the push he needs to take control of his life.

Cole soon realizes that the kids in his program are at the cusp of sexual activity, confused, and horribly ignorant on the subject of their own bodies. In response to this information Cole begins teaching them Sex Ed during their class time despite his lack of experience both in teaching and in the bedroom.

Despite his lack of qualifications Cole endears himself to his students with his honest and forthcoming nature concerning their questions and they soon grow to trust him. Cole befriends a student named Tito and sits with him after class one afternoon while he waits for his sister, Pilar, to pick him up. Cole and Pilar begin to build a relationship, despite her being involved with another man which threatens both to end his sexual dry spell and puts him at risk of serious physical harm at the hands of her boyfriend Hector.

Despite Hector’s threats, Cole begins to develop a sense of self-confidence making him a better teacher and more attractive to those he would pursue, but all is not well in the world of sexual enlightenment.

One of the most vocal and disruptive students is sent to the Principal for his behavior triggering a visit from his father, a reverend who works closely with the school. Upon learning of Mr. Cole’s teaching curriculum he starts working toward having the program shut down and Mr. Cole is eventually let go from his position, finding himself back at the bagel shop.

Cue the appearance of Retta, the voice of unfettered reason. She pep talks Cole into reclaiming his job and his relationship with Pilar. After a particularly inspiring oh captain, my captain moment, the reverend sees that what Mr. Cole is offering the students is actually of value and supports his program. Cole makes a grand romantic gesture that, while only moderately accomplished, succeeds in winning back the favor of Pilar.

SPOILERS AHEAD

However, this movie doesn’t go down the expected path of the protagonist winning the day and the girl. That’s one of the reasons this film was so endearing, it felt not only real but right. Cole ends up pushing Pilar away just moments before he would have finally lost his virginity when he realizes that they aren’t compatible and she doesn’t appreciate him for who he is. Despite not ever losing his virginity during the course of the movie, one of the obvious goals set out at the beginning of the story, what Cole finds instead is a sense of self-worth and comfort with who he is, flaws and all, as well as the respect of his friends, students, and peers.

The movie is notable for its ability to tread the road less travelled in terms of tropes and the performances from both Osment and Retta, the later offering my favorite line in the movie, “Would you want to be with a woman that you wouldn’t drink half a handle of rum and eat an eyeball for?”  

 And the answer, my friends, is a resounding no.

Osment will return to the screen next as a fictionalized version of real life Canadian Nazi sympathizer Adrien Arcand in Kevin Smith’s “Yoga Hosers,” the followup to “Tusk” and second of three planned films in the “True North Trilogy.”

While Netflix has been killing it with their original programming, it’s important to venture far from the trending list—which is how I found “Danger 5.” From the moment that I saw episode titles like ‘Lizard Soldiers of the Third Reich’ and ‘Kill-Men of the Rising Sun,’ I knew that “Danger 5” and I had to become best friends. After a steady binge-watch, I had both seasons under my belt and now find myself wanting more.

Created by Australian filmmakers Dario Russo and David Ashby, “Danger 5” unwraps a psychedelic alterna-history in which a special squad of soldiers, assassins and one mixologist are tasked with the impossible mission of killing Adolf Hitler. The squad has a loose basis on archetypes most commonly found in 1960’s B-movies. Jackson (David Ashby) is the lone-wolf American, Ilsa (Natasa Ristic) is the fearless Russian vamp, Tucker (Sean James Murphy) is the eagle scout scientist who nurses a crush on Claire (Amanda Simons), the group’s British moral compass, and Pierre (Aldo Mignone), who never accepts a mission without bringing along an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails.

While “Danger 5” is funny because of its deliberate low-budget aesthetic and self-referential humor, it manages to sidestep the trap that have claimed mockbusters like “Sharknado.” You don’t watch “Danger 5” to see it make fun of itself, you watch it to see how awesome it looks when filmmakers and actors invest so much effort in making it feel low-budget. There’s a ton of meticulous detail that goes into the show’s production design. All of the buildings and vehicles that inevitably explode are miniatures built by the crew, and the story jet sets all over the world, making it feel bigger than it actually is.

Recently, I had a chance to talk with series co-creator Dario Russo about the show’s inner workings, and here’s what happened:

Big Shiny Robot: One of the most interesting things about “Danger 5” is the old-school filmmaking techniques that you use to make the story happen. Why did you opt for these techniques in lieu of something more modern?

Russo: Throughout high school I watched a lot of B-movies. All sorts spanning the 50’s through to the 90’s—mainly creature features. I always got a kick out of really shit production design that had been executed with extreme honesty. I guess “Plan 9 From Outer Space” is sort of the godfather of that phenomena. My favourite for a long time was “Alligator,” an 80’s movie with Robert Forster. A baby alligator gets flushed down the toilet where it mutates into a huge beast and terrorises the city. This movie had a fantastic array of prac FX techniques including a full-sized animation alligator mixed with real alligators on miniature sets—brilliant. Eventually, I became obsessed with the Dino De Laurentiis films from the 60’s, predominantly Mario Bava’s “Danger Diabolik,” which is a masterpiece of mixed prac effects that achieve an aggregate score of around 40% believability. This obsession lead to “Italian Spiderman,” and “Italian Spiderman” lead to “Danger 5.” Both of them are really just love letters to great and not so great practical effects and cinematic conventions of the past. These ‘visible string’ production techniques also add another dimension of comedy to the production, which a lot of people respond to. I think Frank Zappa sums this up pretty well in his song ‘Cheepnis.’

BSR: What directors/films did you draw upon for inspiration?

Russo: For series 1, David and I drew a lot of influence from the Connery Bond films, Dino De Laurentiis productions, TV shows like “Thunderbirds” and “The Avengers.” Also 60’s Tokusatsu movies like the early Godzilla series, “Latitude Zero,” “Kamen Rider,” etc. For series 2 we harvested inspiration from every 80’s movie and TV show we could think of: “Miami Vice,” “Scarface,” “Terminator,” “The Hidden,” “Star Wars,” “Back to The Future,” “American Werewolf in London,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”…too much.

BSR: You were recently nominated for an award by the Australian Director’s Guild—what does that nomination say about the work you’ve put into “Danger 5?”

Russo: It’s a great feeling to be nominated for anything. Ever. Even the ‘encouragement’ award you get for playing soccer in year 6. Which I think I won once—though I don’t think I should have been encouraged. I can’t play soccer for shit. To be recognised by your peers in the industry is great! I’m very grateful. 

BSR: While it would be easy to throw in a few self-referential winks at the campiness of the show’s aesthetic, “Danger 5” seems to take itself very seriously. Was this a conscious decision, or did it happen organically?

Russo: It was always intentional, from the way David and I wrote the scripts, to the way actors deliver their lines, to the use of production design elements even down the use of sound effects. Particularly with series 1 it was crucial that the subject matter was played straight. That was key to the comedy. We never wanted the humour to feel really schlock—it had to feel serious within its own universe. This level of dryness probably made the show pretty hard to approach for some viewers. With series 2 we wetted up the comedy quite a bit. Let actors run with their characters a bit more and put in more jokes in general. I’m happy with both approaches within the context of each series.

BSR: What was the inspiration for the shift in decades between series one and two of “Danger 5?”

Russo: Firstly, David and I felt we had exhausted all the jokes we could make within the series 1 paradigm. Secondly, after 3 years of production, we were sick of the 60’s. David in particular has always been an 80’s action movie fanatic, and we’ve watched “Die Hard” like, a thousand times between us. The 80’s inspired us. It let us take everything to the next level.

BSR: By my count, a given episode of “Danger 5” can feature dialogue spoken in four different languages. What made you take that approach instead of having everyone speak English? 

Russo: We wanted to create a show of unknown origin. I don’t think there is anything in either series that makes you think ‘AUSTRALIA!’—save the heavy-handed Aussie-ness of Tucker in series 2—and this was important to us. Plus making Ilsa a 100% Russian speaker is 100% badass.

BSR: I read that your father Carmine plays Adolf Hitler in “Danger 5.” How did your dad get involved with the show, and what’s it like working with him?

Russo: Dad played Professore Bernardi in “Italian Spiderman,” because he was the oldest and most accessible Italian speaker that I had at the time. He was hilarious! It worked. So while David and I were writing series 1 (at my parents’ house), we got to the point where we had to figure out who could play Hitler. I photoshopped a fringe and moustache on my dad’s passport photo. It worked. I went into the lounge room and asked my dad if he wanted to play Hitler in our TV show. He said yes. The Magic of cinema! He’s watched a lot of Hitler docs, so he was well-prepared. As for working with him, Dad was super professional. The only difference between him and alternate actor is he had carte blanche on being grumpy at me if we’re taking too long to film something. Mum and Dad were on-set a lot actually—particulalry on series 2, as they had both retired. It was great. I think on-set parents should be an official crew role.

BSR: What’s the status of Danger 5? Is a series 3 in the works? If so, when can we see it?

Russo: At the moment it looks like we’re going to remake “Home Improvement.” Tucker will be the Tim character, Jackson will be Al and Hitler is Wilson.

Because you deserve it, check out this BSR classic about Russo’s first project, “Italian Spiderman.”

The world of novels is a seemingly bottomless pit of story choices, one look inside any chain book store is enough to tell you that there are more books available than can possibly be read in one lifetime. I read anywhere between twenty-five and fifty books a year depending on length and how much time I spend writing, playing video games, watching TV, and generally being lazy. I had a stark realization a year or so ago that I have a limited number of years left in my life, and a limited number of years multiplied by twenty-five to fifty books equals a limited number of books. As a result I both increased the amount of time I devote to reading and became more discerning about what books I’ll read.

To that end, if I can find fifteen of your books on the grocery store bookshelf I probably avoid your stories, I don’t know why but at a young age I became convinced that those authors weren’t worth reading. As a result I’ve never read a book by Danielle Steele, James Patterson, or Dean Koontz and I’ve never felt cheated by this decision.

Until now.

“Odd Thomas” (7 out of 10) – Based on the novel by Dean Koontz; Adapted and directed by Stephen Sommers; Starring Anton Yelchin, Willem Dafoe, and Addison Timlin; Run time: 97 minutes; Released February 28, 2014.

“Odd Thomas” is a story about a twenty year old kid in a sleepy California town. The movie, and the novel derives its name from the main character who says that his name was perhaps a mistake when the T was dropped from Todd on his birth certificate, or maybe not.

Odd has the ability to see the dead, an ability inherited from his mother who spent her latter years in an asylum, for this reason Odd has kept his abilities a secret except from his girlfriend and the local police chief. His abilities often give him inside information into solving violent crimes.

In addition to seeing the dead, Odd can also see grim creatures, portents of death, which he calls Bodachs. Odd takes great pains to ensure that the Bodachs don’t know that he knows about them, if they find out, they’ll kill him. He’s seen it before.

The movie sets up a complex violent caper involving bowling alleys, explosions, demonic creatures, ghosts, and tragedy which will keep you on your toes and guessing through to the end. The relationship between Odd and his girlfriend Stormy has Jim and Pam levels of chemistry and gives a model of a relationship we should all hope to have. Which raises the tension when at climax of the story Stormy’s life is threatened. Odd is in a race to save hundreds of lives, including those most close to him, following a trail of ghostly crumbs and Bodachs in an attempt to prevent mass destruction.

It feels like “Dead Like Me” meets “John Dies at the End” meets “Pushing Daisies” with a homegrown terrorism plot mixed in.

Imagine my surprise when after finishing “Odd Thomas” on Netflix I was met with the information that it was based on a novel by Dean Koontz. But… but I really liked that, I can’t have liked that, it’s a Dean Koontz story, I told myself.

Suddenly I’m reconsidering my thoughts on existence and the quality of grocery store novels, which is a pretty impressive feat for  a movie I’ve never heard of before.

The “Odd Thomas” story was continued into several more books, the last of which came out earlier this year, as well as three comic books that explore the universe Koontz created. “Odd Thomas” can be viewed streaming on Netflix right now, until it’s gone. Don’t miss it.

Marvel.com announced today that Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead,” “Wolf of Wall Street”) will be playing Frank Castle, who you may know as The Punisher, in “Daredevil” Season 2, slated to release on Netflix in 2016. 

“Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences,” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television. “Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.”

If “Daredevil” isn’t your favorite Netflix Original to date, this should do nothing but send it up the ladder for you. Hell’s Kitchen is going to be a lot messier next season.

Looking for a weekend binge? Watch Star Crossed on Netflix. It’s a Romeo and Juliet meets sci-fi mashup and it’s well worth your time.

The premise: In 2014, aliens crash land on the earth. In 2024, they still live here, but in a militarized ghetto with zero rights. For the first time, seven teenage aliens – Atrians – are allowed to live everyone’s dream, and attend American public high school. A human girl, Emery Whitehill (Aimee Teagarden) and an Atrian boy, Roman (Matt Lanter) fall in love.

Trust me I know how it sounds. When someone gave me this recommendation I was extremely wary. But stick with me.

Although the arrival of aliens at school has dissenters, those loud mouthed class clown jock types quickly come to the side of their peers. The close-minded haters, against integration of Atrians and humans, are all the adults. It’s interesting considering the story is only set 10 years in the future, indicating that older millennials would be the ones to show their extreme prejudice if aliens ever did land on earth. It’s awesome to see a show with tolerant youth working together. Cool Girl Taylor immediately accepts Emery upon her return from a life-threatening illness that caused her to grow up in a hospital. She is not an insecure, bitchy type – and Emery herself exhibits characteristics unlike some of her damsel in distress counterparts. She is resourceful, calm, honest and kind – and totally able to save herself.

I loved the casual diversity of the show. Many of the main cast members are non-white actors, and there is homosexual love displayed and expressed with an attitude of “well, obviously.” In fact, one of the Atrians (who falls in love with another girl) tells her friend that loving someone based on their gender seems limiting. It’s an interesting and sweet perspective I did not expect to get from a show on the CW.

Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“Bill Nye the Science Guy” Created by Bill Nye, James McKenna, and Erren Gottlieb; Hosted by Bill Nye; Starring Bill Nye, Chais Dean, Suzanne Mikawa, Ivyann Schwan, and Jaffar Smith; Narrated by Pat Cashman; Originally aired September 10, 1993 on PBS.

I’ve written previously about Bill Nye, my short time in close proximity with him, his career, and how he instilled a love of science into a generation. You can read about how I almost fainted like I was a teenage girl in the sixties and The Beatles just walked by, and about the creation of his TV persona and edutainment career at the previous links, but some of it bears repeating. Seriously guys, I sat a few chairs away from Bill Nye for an hour once and had heart palpitations.

Nye has  a degree in engineering and worked for Boeing before becoming a TV personality and science popularizer. At Boeing he developed a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor for the 747, he also holds a patent for ballet shoes and a magnifying glass made of a plastic bag and water. It may not make him the next Nikola Tesla, but he’s never claimed to be, and it’s more real world science than I’ve ever pulled off. What Bill claims to be is a mad lover and defender of the scientific method and it shows.

The Science Guy character first originated as part of a Seattle sketch comedy show called “Almost Live!” On the show Nye did six minute segments explaining scientific concepts in a humorous way. It’s worth noting that Nye’s other recurring segment on the show was as Speedwalker, a Seattle superhero who fought crime through the power of walking swiftly. After “Almost Live!” the Science Guy character was next seen as the silent assistant to Doc Brown in the live action segments of the animated “Back to the Future” series. 

The popularity of the “Back to the Future” segments led to Nye hosting his own show, the one we all know and love.

“Bill Nye the Science Guy” ran on PBS and was funded by the National Science Foundation and support from viewers like you. The series ran for 100 episodes, each of which explored a single topic of some branch of science. Each episode features a number of segments including “Way Cool Scientist” where Nye introduced the audience to an actual scientist and their work or “Nifty Home Experiment” in which the kids at home are shown a simple experiment related to the topic that they can do at home (with adult supervision).  Many of the episodes also featured a parody music video lampooning a popular song and replacing the lyrics with some related to the episode’s topic.

Netflix is currently streaming a selection of 30 of those episodes for subscribers. Nye intercut educational content with wacky humor, always skirting the line of the absurd.

Some of my fondest school memories were watching the TV roll in on that tall metal stand and hearing that ridiculous theme song start, “Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill…”

I’m glad that a new generation of kids have the opportunity to see it too.

Science rules.

COMING SOON ON NETFLIX

“Sense8” 06/05/2015

One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other’s lives, each other’s secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as “Sensates.” Created by the Wachowskis.

“Orange is the New Black” 06/12/2015

The women of Litchfield unapologetically return for the third coming. With a crisis of faith and their beliefs and loyalties being tested, each character must decide what and who to believe in.

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 06/11/2015

Follow the continued adventures of Agent Coulson and the satellite events of the MCU.

“Pussy Riot a Punk Prayer” 06/15/2015

A documentary following the protest and subsequent imprisonment of members of the band “Pussy Riot”

ENJOY THESE BEFORE THEY’RE GONE

“Rain Man” ends 06/01/2015

“Silence of the Lambs” ends 06/01/2015

“Jack Reacher” ends 06/30/2015

Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“The Science of Doctor Who” Written by Brian Cox, Directed by Steve Smith, Starring Brian Cox, Matt Smith, Dallas Campbell, Jim Al-Hkalili, Charles Chance, and Rufus Hound. Originally aired November 14, 2013.

Everyone knows that “Doctor Who” is on Netflix, it’s one of the most popular programs they have, so much so that when the fans found out the license was running out and it would be pulled from the streaming service they rallied enough support to keep it around, thank Crom.

What you may not know is that there is also a one hour special called “The Science of Doctor Who” written and hosted by physicist Brian Cox.

Cox is an English scientist, professor of particle physics at the University of Mancheser, and science popularizer. He also plays a mean keyboard. His credentials along with English citizenship makes him the perfect scientist to tackle the science of the longest running sci-fi series on television.

During the course of the hour Cox makes the case that while “Doctor Who” is a work of fiction and was never intended to represent real science, that much of its content can be explained or at least explored through what we know about the universe, astrophysics, and the nature of time.

Cox covers such topics as the possibility of alien life in the universe, how each of us travel through time relatively, and the most easily digestible explanation of spaghettification at the event horizon of a black hole.

The program is primarily a recorded lecture held at the Royal Institution’s lecture hall, but the content is intercut with segments of Cox in the Tardis with the eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith.

The interplay between the Doctor’s fictional knowledge of time and space with Cox’s real knowledge allows for a few well earned laughs.

Cox leverages the long running and recently increasing popularity of “Doctor Who” to trick the audience into being educated and enlightened. He talks about heady scientific hypotheses and theories through the framework of the Doctor and his adventures and while the ultimate conclusion is that humanity is nowhere near unlocking the secrets of traveling through time and vast distances of space, he lays the groundwork for why these things might be possible at some point in the future, and how, in at least some small way, we’re all time travelers. 

Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“Daredevil” (9 out of 10) Based on characters created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett; Adapted for Netflix by Drew Goddard; Starring Charlie Cox, Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, Vicent D’Onofrio, Rosario Dawson, and Toby Leonard Moore. Rated TV-MA.

Finally the first of the Netflix Marvel television series has arrived. “Daredevil” began streaming yesterday and if my sphere of the world is any indication, people are gobbling it up. I didn’t have a chance to start watching it until almost ten last night, I watched two episodes and then got up early to watch more and if I didn’t have plans for most of today, I’d probably finish the season before the sun sets.

There’s no point beating around the bush on this one, it’s good. Surprisingly good.

I’ve been pretty skeptical of this series leading up to it. Despite Marvel’s proven track record with their characters’ adaptation since “Iron Man” I was a little let down by “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” and the last time Daredevil came to the screen it was lackluster. Full disclosure, I kind of enjoy the Affleck “Daredevil” movie. If I were to rank all comic book movies by quality it would be somewhere near the bottom but when all is said and done, I like super hero movies, even bad ones. Guilty pleasure.

Despite the free hallway pass I give to the live action movie I wondered how they would get past that stigma, how they could reinvent the character so as to not conjure images of a movie that the fanboys almost universally hate.

They pulled it off. What Christopher Nolan did for Batman, Drew Goddard has done for Daredevil.

They found a way to express Matt Murdock’s heightened senses without resorting to the radar vision of the previous film, Murdock’s movements don’t feel the slightest bit campy, rather they are the movements of a finely tuned and highly perceptive human being. The costume is subtle and seemingly easy to recreate. I predict it will make many appearances at conventions through the rest of the year.

Four episodes in and I’ve lost any doubts that I once had. I’ll gobble up all thirteen episodes in the next few days, then wait impatiently for what comes next. Daredevil precedes his comrades Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist to the small screen. Once they’ve all been properly introduced to the masses via individual series, they’ll all team up in a final Marvel mini-series “The Defenders.”

In the very first episode there are subtle allusions to the events of the MCU. While looking for office space, Matt and Foggy Nelson are told by a realtor that this particular building was barely touched by “the incident” a reference to the events of “The Avengers.” Core characters of the MCU are also mentioned as asides, though not by name.

It’s worth noting that while the Marvel movies have, so far, been pretty family friendly for the most part, this series is not. Though it exists in the same universe, these characters live much closer to the earth, the creative team doesn’t have the luxury of hiding the violence behind blue energy or comedic beats.

Hell’s Kitchen is a dark city and the series is equally so. In the first few minutes you’ve got a pretty good idea of what kind of show you’re watching and while Murdock does live by a moral code, he’s not above breaking bones and creating fear to get the information he needs.

The violence culminates into a spurting but beautiful blossom of blood in the third episode, without giving spoilers, there are two deaths in that episode that you won’t soon forget, you’ll know them when you see them. While the peak violence is implied rather than shown explicitly, it leaves a small enough gap for your imagination to fill in, horribly.

When a comic book adaptation fails it hurts more than an original work. When a character has decades of material already at your disposal, with proven arcs and elements you can only blame yourself if it fails. It’s clear that Drew Goddard and his team have mined the territory, found what makes the character most interesting, most believable, and most worth caring about, and put it on the screen. They pulled it off. What Christopher Nolan did for Batman, Drew Goddard has done for Daredevil.

While I haven’t yet finished the run, and there’s plenty of time for the tide to turn, if it maintains its course it will change the way the public sees the character, I’d anticipate a rise in the sales of Daredevil books in the coming months.

I’m also excited to see Marvel successfully creating a universe this expansive, when all is said and done we’ll have 21 movies and 7 live action series essentially telling the same incredibly detailed story, and to my knowledge nothing like that has ever been done on the screen before.

This series also gives me hope for what Goddard has planned for the future, he penned the script for “The Martian” and he wrote and will direct DC’s “The Sinister Six.” In addition he’s attached as writer to the screen adaptation of the novel “Robopocalypse” as well as a heretofore untitled Spider-Man reboot.

In short, this is the Daredevil we didn’t know we needed. It has taken what DC has done with their live action television series, and improved upon it. It’s well written, well acted, and intense. It’s everything that keeps you clicking that next episode button. I can’t wait to see what Netflix and Marvel have in store for us next.

Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“Derek” (9 out of 10) Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais; Starring Ricky Gervais, Kerry Godliman, David Earl, Karl Pilkington, Holli Dempsey, and Bret Goldstein. 

Ricky Gervais is a comedian who appeals pretty closely to my particular sensibilities and I’ve followed his career and admired him for many years. It’s always a treat when he makes a cameo in something I’m watching, even more so when he has a chance to run the stage and have control. His version of “The Office” introduced me to Martin Freeman and the mockumentary style of television. His feature films like “The Invention of Lying” have provided comedy that speaks to me and my worldview. But my favorite thing Gervais has ever done is his latest series, “Derek” which effectively ended with a one hour special finale that began streaming on Netlflix yesterday.

“Derek” does something that I’ve never seen done in television before, it tells stories that feel authentic. In a recent interview with Yahoo News Gervais talks about how modern culture is one of seeking fame. That everyone wants to be a singer or an actor, everyone craves the limelight. This was something I became aware of the first time I saw “Fight Club.” During one of Tyler Durden’s monologues he says “we’ve been all raised by television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won’t and we’re slowly learning that fact. and we’re very very pissed off.” And he’s right.

Movies and television become an escape from the everyday because the worlds they portray don’t follow the rules of real life. In TV the protagonist is only fifteen minutes away from their big break, their problems don’t feel real because we know they’ll resolve themselves. Liam Neeson is only three big fight scenes from saving his daughter, John Cusack is only one grand romantic gesture away from getting the girl. It’s fun to watch, it’s satisfying, but it isn’t real, and it creates a false sense of guaranteed success in our minds. “Derek” doesn’t tow that line, it shows life as it is, the characters aren’t pretty, things almost always go from bad to worse, and there is a consistent sense of loss, yet somehow it still feels optimistic, it still presents a positive model for life.

The character of Derek is perpetually happy, optimistic to a fault, and almost never disappointed. Gervais describes him as being a mix between a child, full of optimism and hope before the world has a chance to beat them down, and a dog who is always happy, always having a good time. While he is certainly naïve, and is sometimes taken advantage of, you can’t help but look at Derek and wish you were like him.

Throughout the series you see a stream of characters come into Broad Hill, an old folks home, and each of them leaves better than they arrived, even if they’re leaving in a casket. Derek’s unfettered optimism is infectious, he becomes the moral and emotional compass of everyone around him, despite his mannerisms and naivety you can’t help but realize that he’s right. The show broaches topics of love, life, trust, and perhaps most consistently, death. The show can be raunchy and hilarious, and in a moment it can take a turn and suddenly tears are welling. Derek is a character that even through the screen elicits an emotional response, a desire to align with him.

Gervais perfectly melts into the role, if you were unfamiliar with him before seeing the show you would believe that he is exactly as he appears on screen and he provides a character that gives us all a model for our own lives. In any question you could ask yourself what Derek would do and you will never steer wrong.

Despite Netflix’s desire to take “Derek” to a third season, Gervais has made the decision to end the series now in order to avoid a decline in its quality and while I’m sad to see it go, I’m glad to know that its legacy will be preserved. What Gervais has crafted is nothing short of a masterpiece. The special that began streaming on Netflix yesterday ends a wonderful piece of fiction in a satisfying way but without destroying what makes it great, which means that everyone doesn’t necessarily get what they want or what they deserve. The hour long episode centers around Hannah planning her wedding with very little money and a baby immediately on the way, and Kev having an emotional crisis at the hands of alcohol. Despite its heavy themes it leaves the viewer with a sense of completion and hope. It leaves you with the knowledge that you don’t need lots of money or prestige, so long as you have people you care about and who care about you, and you try as best you can to help the people around you. “Derek” cements the idea that all people have worth and that love and kindness will bring the best out of people.

You could write a philosophy book on the way Derek lives his life, not an episode goes by without him giving you something to think about, or a new way to face your problems. Derek leaves us with one final piece of advice, “If you want happiness for an hour take a nap, if you want happiness for a day go fishing, if you want happiness for a year win the lottery, if you want happiness for a lifetime help other people.”

If you haven’t watched “Derek” at all, don’t cut yourself short, start from the beginning before watching the special. While each episode can stand on its own and remain almost as powerful, the arc of each character makes every moment deeper. It is a gem among so much static, it would be a disservice for you to miss it.

“Derek” earns nine stars out of ten, it’s as close to a perfect show as I’ve ever seen. I only wish Karl Pilkington had stuck around longer.

Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…

“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” (7 out of 10) – Based on the 1197 Israeli film “The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum; Written by Daniel Talitz; Directed by Phil Alden Robinson; Starring Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, and Hamis Linklater; 83 minutes; Rated R.

“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” tells the story of Henry Altmann (Williams) a habitually angry man prone to fits of blind rage, the first of which we witness when his car is struck by a cab on his way to a doctor’s appointment for chronic headaches. Once at the appointment Altmann is told that he has an inoperable brain aneurysm near his brain stem.

Despite being told to control his anger, as any increase in blood pressure could mean his imminent demise, he becomes enraged at the news and screams at Doctor Sharon Gill (Kunis) to tell him how long he has left. Intimidated by his demeanor she looks around the room and sees a magazine with the words “90 minutes” on the cover and in a panic, tells him that’s how long he has left.

Altmann storms out of the office while Doctor Gill mumbles that he’s a dead prick under her breath, Altmann has some choice words for her as well.

After leaving the hospital Altmann goes to his office where his brother (Dinklage) is holding a meeting and tells the assembled party that a client of his has recently learned that he only has 90 minutes to live, he then asks them what they would recommend he tell the client to do with his limited time.

After taking in their advice he decides to reconcile with his wife, make love to her one last time, and die in her loving arms. Unfortunately his plan doesn’t go off as planned, instead he discovers that his wife has been having a longstanding affair with one of their neighbors.

Meanwhile Doctor Gill realizes the consequences of her actions both regarding her actions with Mr. Altmann and her affair with one of her colleagues, and makes chase through the city looking for Altmann and the opportunity to right her wrongs.

Along the way, both Altmann and Doctor Gill examine the choices they’ve made that have led them to their current circumstances and realize things about themselves that alter the course of the rest of their lives, however long that may be.

“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” shows Williams’ breaking out of his norm a little bit and in this robot’s opinion, that’s when we got the best out of him. It also includes an all-star cast including cameos by Louis C.K. and James Earl Jones. Though I must admit that hearing Kunis call him a dead prick and hearing him talk about the years on his tombstone, 1951 to 2014, hurt my heart a little bit because life, unfortunately in this case, imitated art.

This was one of Williams’ last projects followed only by “A merry Friggin’ Christmas” and “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” as well as his final project as the voice of Dennis in “Absolutely Anything” due for release this year.