What are your "comfort watches"?

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By comfort watches, I mean those series or films that you like to re-watch.

Given the current levels of concern about COVID-19, and the amount of anxiety people are experiencing, and the fact that we're all being encouraged to engage in voluntary social distancing, I thought a list of reliable things we like to re-watch might be of interest, not only because we might also like to re-watch them, but for the purely selfish reason that I've not seen much media of late. Ok, well, ever.

I have several streaming services available via my public libraries; Hoopla, and Kanopy, for instance.

So here are my reliable re-watches. And yes, not everyone will like the same things; that's ok.

Don't yuck someone's yum; just talk about what you like, and maybe, why you like it.

* The extended version of Lord of the Rings.
I just really love this. No, it's not quite what Tolkien would have wanted, but some stuff they really did well.

* The 1989 Branagh Henry V.
I've seen bunches of film/video versions, no live productions, but this is my favorite version. Yes, better than Orson Welles. Streaming for free on Amazon Prime.

* The Branagh Much Ado About Nothing.
Another favorite version. This captures Tuscan sunlight in a way that I really enjoy in winter.

The Secret of Roan Inish.
This is a modern-ish take on the folklore regarding Selkies, sea-dwellers who take the shape of a seal in the water, and cast their skins to live on land. It's from John Sayles, and pretty much not available anywhere, as far as I can see. Gorgeous Irish traditional music, Hebrides scenery. Rude phrases in Irish.

* The Rankin-Bass Hobbit.
I saw this as a teen ager, and there's something delightful about the anime-ish animation, the corny music, etc. It's So Much Better than the films of the Hobbit, which says something about the quality of the films . . .

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Stytch

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Yes, Branaugh's Much Ado...

Mine (the "old" BBC Pride and Predjudice with Colin Firth) is not watched often, but I WANT to watch it often, and not even in that Bridget Jones fast-forward-to-the-pond sort of way. Oh, for six hours (or whatever it is) to sit and watch the entire thing and not think about anything else.
 

regdog

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I watch Transformers, Lord of the Rings, How the Universe Works, a local "slice of NE life" show Chronicle and once I get past the heartbreaking beginning, UP and Big Hero 6 and Wall-E
 

Maryn

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I have some "fluffy" movies I go back to any time things suck or are worrisome. AW Admin, if you care to link any to AW affiliates that make the site a few pennies, please feel free to edit this post.

Kate and Leopold, a time travel romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Huge Ackman (snort!)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, a time travel romp with everyone's favorite good-natured idiots
13 Going on 30, a time travel romantic com... gee, I'm seeing a pattern
Big, Tom Hanks being earnest as hell as a boy trapped in a man's body but it's not time travel, honest
Doc Hollywood, with no time travel whatsoever as Michael J. Fox's values are challenged by small town residents
Local Hero, another all-about-the-money guy changed by a charming small town
Harvey, my second favorite James Stewart* movie
Almost Famous, long live rock and roll and how I wish long lived Philip Seymour Hoffman
Mickey Blue Eyes, Hugh Grant at his comedic bumbling best unwittingly involved with organized crime
The Sting, Redford and Newman as con men you love
Galaxy Quest, about the aging stars of a TV cult show facing a real alien invasion
The Last of the Mohicans, which made me wonder how the book could be so deadly dull

Most of these are not great movies per se, but they make me feel great, which is the whole point.

Maryn, who's avoiding the news successfully so far today

* Funny story about The Kid, our adult daughter. When she was in fourth grade, the kids were asked to name a favorite actor. Virtually all of them named someone handsome or pretty, from teen actors on TV to Sean Connery, who was older than the girl's grandfather. But The Kid named James Stewart. She'd seen Harvey, It's a Wonderful Life, Rear Window, and How the West Was Won, and that was enough. Her second choice, she said, would have been Mickey Rooney, because she loved Young Tom Edison. We didn't have the heart to show her what either man looked like now.
 

cornflake

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My comfort watching is... lighter fare?

Well, sometimes I guess, as I'm rewatching Breaking Bad atm. Santa Clarita Diet, the Office (both the real one and the American), King of the Hill, Extras, Travelers...

Also animated movies, like Secret Life of Pets.
 
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Kjbartolotta

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King of the Hill and American Dad (it's good, not like Family Guy at all I swear!) are on constant rotation at my house. When I'm really depressed I watch the Laura Dern series Enlightenment, but the fact that it was cancelled a season early reminds me there's no justice in the world
 

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* The extended version of Lord of the Rings.
I just really love this. No, it's not quite what Tolkien would have wanted, but some stuff they really did well.

I honestly thought that trilogy was unfilmable. I remember being hugely skeptical when I first heard that it was to be made, especially when I read that the director was planning to use "perspective tricks" rather than CGI for some of the interaction between (for example) humans and hobbits.

I agree that Pete Jackson sometimes went in directions I thought were unfortunate, but on the whole, I can't imagine it ever being surpassed.

For myself, it depends on what kind of escapism I need.

If I'm in the mood for black screwball comedy, then "Raising Arizona".

If I'm in the mood for romantic fantasy, then "The Princess Bride". Or perhaps Miyazaki's animated classic "Spirited Away" which, let's face it, is really a romance with fantasy elements.

Lately I've often rewatched the brilliant docu-drama about the 2008 subprime mortgage & derivatives meltdown, "The Big Short". Not really sure why this is comforting to me? I think it's because Steve Carrell's portrayal of hedge-fund manager Mark Baum is just so pitch-perfect cynical and indignant at the same time, as he watches the entire mess unfold. Everyone in this is brilliant really -- Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling worth special call-outs -- but Steve Carrell is just... amazing in this.

If I'm in the mood for bloody mayhem, then I might watch Takashi Miike's magnificently violent samurai romp "13 Assassins". I can't think of a better vehicle for showing the "Samurai way" -- die with honor, etc.

Or selected scenes of the at times hair-raising Korean action film "War of the Arrows". Set in the 1600s when the Qing dynasty was at war with and raiding into the kingdom of Joseon (Korea).

Or the final incredibly bloody show-down scene of the Korean modern action film "The Man From Nowhere", which (in contrast to its bloody-mindedness) has a surprisingly sweet relationship between the protagonist and the young neighbor girl who befriends him, and whose life he saves from organ-leggers.
 

Kjbartolotta

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* The extended version of Lord of the Rings.
I just really love this. No, it's not quite what Tolkien would have wanted, but some stuff they really did well.

IIRC the family thought poorly of it, or at least Christopher did. Of course, the family's never really been about 'entertainment' and instead just wants to preserve Middle-Earth's legacy as a living world and work of art. But if Tolkien came back to life and started talking shade on that series, I'd tell him he's wrong.
 
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Marissa D

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Oh, we have a copy of The Secret of Roan Inish...on VHS. :tongue My daughters loved it when they were wee.

So, re-watches...

- Anything Miyazaki, but especially Spirited Away and Porco Rosso.
- The Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle Pride and Prejudice. And the Ciaran Hinds Persuasion
-
A bunch of old Mystery! series which we have on DVD--the entire Poirot series, both seasons of Campion (I have a weakness for Peter Davison), Jonathan Creek (the first couple of seasons)
- From the Earth to the Moon series
 

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As well as the LOTR movies, my comfort watches tend to be comedy series. When I'm sick, I watch boxed sets of Father Ted, Black Books, Spaced, and The IT Crowd. The humour in them is sometimes cruder than I like, but there isn't anything else that makes me laugh out loud regularly like those do. For films, some old favourites I always return to are TRON (the original movie), WarGames, Galaxy Quest, Inception, and Sneakers. I really enjoyed The Witcher series on Netflix, and wouldn't mind binge-watching that for a third time. It was good escapism, for me.
 

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It depends on my mood; I go in cycles.

LOTR (Three volumes one after another)

Star Wars Trilogy (All in one day)

The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, Song of the Thin Man (I just love William Powell and Myrna Loy)
All About Eve (Bette Davis)

An Affair to Remember (Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr) which, of course, MUST be followed by Sleepless in Seattle

A Star is Born (Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson)
Always (Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss)

Big (Hanks, of course.)
 

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In video:
M*A*S*H
Seinfeld
Sports Night
A Few Good Men
Star Wars
Princess Bride
Monty Python
LOTR
The IT Crowd
Big as well - I actually own both the movie and the soundtrack
When Harry Met Sally
You've Got Mail

The problem is I can also easily get lost in my earbuds too, so music is it's whole escape for me as well. Here's the last 20 artists from my iPhone's random playlist
Brandenberg Concerti (Bach)
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
Mozart's Requiem
Master's of Guitar (Segovia being primary)
Yes
Billy Joel
AC/DC
Adele
George Strait
Dire Straits
Rush
Brian Stezer
Frank Sinatra
INXS
KC and the Sunshine Band
Justin Timberlake
Kenny Chesney
Michael Jackson
Neil Diamond
Sara Bareilles
Van Morrison
 

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One of my all-time comfort watches is The Sound of Music. And I really shouldn't like it - it should be off the top of my rather low-tolerance sap meter - but it's one I can come back to again and again.

For nostalgic reasons, The Wild Wild West.

And I'm on my fourth or fifth rewatch of The Expanse.

(Though I really don't get much time or chance to rewatch stuff on my own without relatives intruding...)
 

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Maryn, you and I have the same thought about the book Last of the Mohicans. I absolutely love the movie. One of the most visually and musically stunning movies ever made.
 

Kjbartolotta

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Few more shows that really hit that comfort gland for me:

Twilight Zone

Have Gun Will Travel (it's SO good!)

Dick Van Dyke Show

Quantum Leap

Duck Tales (yes, I'm a Reagan baby)

Also, any movie with Arnold in it.

Lately I've been gravitating more to video games for comfort

Gawd how they've saved me over the last few years
 

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Yes, Branaugh's Much Ado...

Mine (the "old" BBC Pride and Predjudice with Colin Firth) is not watched often, but I WANT to watch it often, and not even in that Bridget Jones fast-forward-to-the-pond sort of way. Oh, for six hours (or whatever it is) to sit and watch the entire thing and not think about anything else.

+1

Also, if I am really depressed, something Star Trekish. Usually something in which Patrick Stewart is particularly full of the derring-dos.

The Fugitive.

Also have a big soft spot for The Martian.
 

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Movies:
LOTR - epic and wonderful
Harry Potter 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 - How am I the first in this thread? If there's a Harry Potter on TV, we're probably watching it in this house
The Martian - So lovely to watch a bunch of competent, well-meaning people battle sci-fi elements beyond their control
Ever After - The perfect Cinderella adaptation - I've bought it as a VHS, a DVD, and a Blu-ray

TV series:
Pride and Prejudice miniseries - watching it right now for this purpose!
Jane the Virgin - only rewatched some seasons and watched later ones for the first time recently, but it was a definite comfort watch - this show's mix of heart and humor was the perfect storm for me
DS9 - I haven't seen any of the new Star Trek shows, but this one is the one that gave me the best relationships and show-wide arc
West Wing - when I want to pretend everyone in the government was really trying to do the best for the American people
Firefly - I'm a Browncoat, what can I say?
Seasons 1-3&6 of Glee - Ignoring the Marley seasons, except for a few eps I actually liked, this show is best when I want to turn off my brain and sing-along

Like Jason, I'm as likely to get lost in music, but for the most part, my playlists are soundtracks for my novels (including my #1 playlist).
Playlists that are not:
A Very Glee Playlist - All the songs you know, but with Glee cast singing them - over 24 hours of music :greenie
Workout Glee - See above, but only 25 upbeat songs that are fun to work out to
Doctor Who Soundtrack - My best writing soundtrack. Particularly seasons 1-4/specials are definitely comfort music, whether as background or active listening
Happy playlists 2, 3, & 4 (1 is on CD) - I mean the name says it all
Cool and Easy - when I need a little more chill...I sometimes play this when I have a headache too
New Music - my non-soundtrack go-to. Music I've downloaded in the past several months, organized by flow (until I download more and throw them on the end)
 

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Spongebob. Okay, really any old show you used to watch as a child. I've just been on Youtube looking for any clip on old cartoons, and I seem to gravitate towards that. So many memories of happy times...:e2fish:
 

Maryn

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Soft chuckle. I don't think most of the shows from my childhood exist in any form. Maybe Howdy Doody.
 

cornflake

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Soft chuckle. I don't think most of the shows from my childhood exist in any form. Maybe Howdy Doody.

If it was on tv, it exists. I love old game shows. They predate me but stuff like 'What's My Line?' is so awesome. Just the outfits and the smart people asking smart questions on a game show are fun to watch. it's on BZZR (a game-show cable channel) as well as on youtube. Also, the people who used to appear on game shows -- Salvador Dali, the Gershwins, big gov't officials...

If I can watch a 70-yr-old game show, pretty sure Howdy Doody is out there!
 
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Maryn

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Confession: When I was quite young, my daydream was to be someone very like Kitty Carlisle, a regular on To Tell the Truth. I, too, would have my hair up and wear evening gowns and be terribly clever.

Maryn, thinking one out of three will have to do
 

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Hmm...

Movies:
Con Air (yes, really)
National Treasure
Gone in 60 Seconds (the newer one...that's a lot of Nicholas Cage so far, isn't it?)
Lord of the Rings trilogy
The Last Samurai
Hidalgo
Star Wars Episodes 4-6
The 13th Warrior
Boondock Saints
The Fifth Element
The Hills Have Eyes (the new one, unrated...I have to be in a weird mood to watch this one for comfort)
Evolution
Monty Python And The Holy Grail

TV shows:
Big Bang Theory
Firefly
The Librarians
Futurama


Also, agreed on Harry Potter.
 

regdog

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Movies:
LOTR - epic and wonderful
Harry Potter 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 - How am I the first in this thread? If there's a Harry Potter on TV, we're probably watching it in this house
The Martian - So lovely to watch a bunch of competent, well-meaning people battle sci-fi elements beyond their control
Ever After - The perfect Cinderella adaptation - I've bought it as a VHS, a DVD, and a Blu-ray

TV series:
Pride and Prejudice miniseries - watching it right now for this purpose!
Jane the Virgin - only rewatched some seasons and watched later ones for the first time recently, but it was a definite comfort watch - this show's mix of heart and humor was the perfect storm for me
DS9 - I haven't seen any of the new Star Trek shows, but this one is the one that gave me the best relationships and show-wide arc
West Wing - when I want to pretend everyone in the government was really trying to do the best for the American people
Firefly - I'm a Browncoat, what can I say?
Seasons 1-3&6 of Glee - Ignoring the Marley seasons, except for a few eps I actually liked, this show is best when I want to turn off my brain and sing-along

Like Jason, I'm as likely to get lost in music, but for the most part, my playlists are soundtracks for my novels (including my #1 playlist).
Playlists that are not:
A Very Glee Playlist - All the songs you know, but with Glee cast singing them - over 24 hours of music :greenie
Workout Glee - See above, but only 25 upbeat songs that are fun to work out to
Doctor Who Soundtrack - My best writing soundtrack. Particularly seasons 1-4/specials are definitely comfort music, whether as background or active listening
Happy playlists 2, 3, & 4 (1 is on CD) - I mean the name says it all
Cool and Easy - when I need a little more chill...I sometimes play this when I have a headache too
New Music - my non-soundtrack go-to. Music I've downloaded in the past several months, organized by flow (until I download more and throw them on the end)


SY FY has Harry Potter on all day today.

I like them but have to say the first two are my favorites. The other movies are okay, but can't compare to the first two. Althjough the battle for Hogwarts is excellent.