Hello and welcome to my podcast My Life and Other Funny Stories. My name is Dagmar Tomášková, I am an English tutor and coach and I created this podcast for English students who want to improve their oral comprehension. As always, you can find the transcription of this episode and vocabulary list in the notes of the podcast. 

Today, I want to share with you something no one asked for, like I mean, not even a single person, but something I really like — I want to share with you my reviews, thoughts and recommendations about TV shows I have recently watched. It was quite surprising how many TV shows I was able to watch in the last few months because I was in a little slump with watching movies and TV shows, I just don’t like doing it alone but I love watching anything with someone else. It is maybe because I can never shut up and have to comment on everything, and what’s the fun in commenting on something when no one can hear me right? But it is not only that, I just don’t like starting new things because then I get swept away by it and I just watch 73 episodes in a week and I don’t have time for it. But lately, I have been in need of more rest for my body and that is why I rewatched some TV shows or watched new ones.

If you’ve been looking for something new to watch and a fun way to practise your English, then stay with me. I’m going to talk about three shows I’ve liked— two of them I’ve liked for years, and the last one might be new to you, but it hit me hard.

Let’s get into it!

Black Mirror

Okay, let me just say this: I love Black Mirror. I could talk about this show for hours. I was contemplating making this episode just about Black Mirror but then I was worried that it would be too specific so I opted out. Anyway, Black Mirror is a British anthology series — anthology is basically a collection of episodes that don!t need to be strictly connected by the story – which means each episode is a different story, kind of like short films, and most of them are set in a very near future where technology has gone just slightly too far.

And what I love about Black Mirror is that it’s not just about tech. It’s about humans. Our relationships. Our memories. Our pain. And sometimes, or quite often, when it comes to these episodes, it gets very, very dark.

You don’t have to start with the first episode and go chronologically, you can choose whichever episode you want.

And that is why I’ll just mention a few episodes that stuck with me. And trust me, it was hard to choose because I kind of love all of them but I have four tiers of my preferences – episodes that I absolutely love, episodes that I like and I enjoy them a lot and love rewatching them, ones that I don’t really care about but I can rewatch them from time to time and ones that I don’t like at all and will never rewatch. Here,  will just mention the ones that I absolutely love.

• The Entire History of You – So this one is about a society where everyone has a little chip in their head that records everything their see and hear. Sounds cool, right? But what if you start obsessing over tiny details in your relationships? It is about infidelity, jealousy and a relationship that is falling apart in front of our eyes. And for that it is a great one for vocabulary connected to emotions, jealousy, memory, and relationships.
• Be Right Back – This one broke my heart. It is about a woman who loses her partner, and then she tries to bring him back through AI. It’s beautiful, creepy, and philosophical. It is a very sad story but I love it.
• White Christmas – This episode is special because it has three mini-episodes in one. It’s dark, it’s disturbing, and it’s incredibly smart. It is about two men who are telling each other stories about their past but there are many surprises and plot twists. Their small stories are interconnected and it has a very strong emotional impact, at least on me.
• Playtest – If you’ve ever played horror video games, don’t watch this one alone. Seriously. It is so freaking creepy.  It explores fear and memory and again… how technology messes with our minds. It is about a guy who is testing a new technology – basically they will put a chip into your head which will create a horror game experience just for your mind. I love this episode but I am so scared everytime I watch it.
• USS Callister – Okay, this one is fun and dark. It is Star Trek themed so the first time I watched it, I wasn’t really into it, I was confused and had no idea what was happening. I have never watched or been a fan of Star Trek so it was just weird for me. But after a few minutes I understood – the Star Trek storyline is basically a game so don’t worry if you are not a fan, it is really interesting and explores the topics of morality. The dialogues are fast, sci-fi-heavy, and sarcastic — great for advanced learners.
• Black Museum – This episode is great if you watched some of the Black Mirror episodes before because it has a lot of easter eggs. Easter eggs are some hidden surprises – like some things and topics from the previous episodes. It is a perfect episode to end the season — it connects many stories, includes some vocabulary about pain, justice, and revenge, and honestly, it gave me chills.
• Common People and Eulogy – These are newer episodes and they feel a bit different from the old ones, they are more about the relationships between people and how technology can influence our life. These are episodes from the 7th season and they were a little depressing, I am not going to lie, and I cried while watching but the stories were just…fantastic.

So yes, if you love asking “What if?” and want to question your entire relationship with your phone after every episode — Black Mirror is for you. Also, British English alert! You’ll get used to the accent, I promise.

YOU 

Okay, now let’s switch gears. To switch gears means to change the thing you are doing or change the subject. So here, we are moving into the second TV Show. Let’s talk about YOU. But like not, you you, the tv show is called YOU. That’s the actual title of the show. I know, very confusing.

It is a bit weird show but I like it anyway. It’s about a guy named Joe who seems nice, a bit awkward, maybe even sweet… until you realise he’s a stalker. A very intelligent, manipulative stalker who falls “in love” and then kind of ruins everyone’s lives.

What makes the show extra unique is that Joe narrates everything — you hear his thoughts, his justifications, his twisted logic. As an English learner, this is gold. Because you hear his inner monologue —inner monologue is again, what he is thinking. It is full of idioms, sarcasm, and everyday vocabulary. And at the same time, you hear the dialogue. So it’s like two layers of language – what people can think and what people say. On the other hand, his thoughts are crazy because he is a literal psychopath and murderer but still, full of useful stuff.

It’s a great way to practise understanding tone — how people say something vs. how they mean it. Also, be ready for some psychological vocabulary, relationship stuff, and true crime energy. The best seasons are the first three, I really like those, then it gets off the rails a little. Off the rails means that it gets even crazier and weirder and the storyline is not as well written as in the first seasons but the fifth season is the last one. So now the story is finished. I recommend if you like a little twisted stories. 

Adolescence 

And lastly, now something that surprised me: Adolescence.

I saw clips of it on Instagram and read people’s reviews about how it is a very well-done show so I decided to give it a try. This tv show is, in comparison to YOU (again, I mean the tv show) more low-key, more emotional, and slower — but so, so real. It deals with teenage stories, identity, friendships, family struggles, and everything that makes growing up or having a child in their teenage years, so difficult.

Basically, it is about a young boy Jamie, who kills a girl from his school. Don’t worry, it is not a spoiler. This is not a story about who did it but about why he did it and the emotional consequences it has on everyone around him.

It’s not a loud show. It’s not action-packed. It is actually very interesting because it only has 4 episodes and each of them is just a one-shot. It means that it has no editing, no cuts. They just shouted “action,” and from then on, it was just one fluent story.  But the acting feels very real. The dialogues are natural, the silences are loud and it all has the feeling of a real conversation. And that’s exactly why I loved it. 

From a language perspective, it’s perfect if you want to practise natural conversational English. It’s full of everyday phrases, emotions, hesitation, slang… all the things real people say when they’re not acting for TV. And because it’s slower, it’s easier to follow. The only thing that can be a little problematic is the accent of some actors because it is all set in northern England, so be sure to have your subtitles on if it is something you struggle with.

Alright, those were my recommendations. 

I hope that it was interesting for you and maybe you got some tips on what to what next time! 

Watching TV shows is such a great way to improve your English. You learn idioms, jokes, sarcasm, rhythm. You start understanding the culture behind the words. And most importantly — it doesn’t feel like homework.

So if you want to improve your listening, your vocabulary, your cultural understanding… and maybe get emotionally destroyed along the way — go pick one of these shows and press play.

Let me know on Instagram if you watched any of these and what you think! I love having conversations about books and TV shows! 

And that’s it. Thank you for listening! If you liked this episode, please leave a five-star rating and share it with your friends. Don’t forget, you can find the transcript and vocabulary list in the podcast notes. See you next time. Bye bye!