What We’re Watching in This Post-Election Hellscape

We here at the Geekiary have been quite rattled by the results of the US Presidential Election. We are, and always have been, a space that enthusiastically highlights content by, for, and about marginalized groups. Most of us are part of one or more of these groups and have very real fears about what the Trump presidency could bring for us and others who may get crushed under their policies.

We face the difficult task of trying to pull ourselves out of some pretty dark and depressing headspaces. Unsurprisingly for most of us, that consisted of binge watching a TV show or two to sort of recalibrate our brains. This list consists of whatever we’ve been individually using to pull ourselves out of this horrible experience. 

For a lot of us, these shows were just good fun to get the dopamine pumping again. Sometimes you just gotta shake some of those happy molecules loose with whatever hyperfixation has you in a chokehold. It’s the only way to even start to overcome a deep depression. For some of us, these stories inspirational or thought provoking in a way that helps us gather our strength so that we can get back into the battle against the current impending bleak future. There’s no one way to reset your brain after something like this. Each person is different, but hopefully something on this list will do what it needs to do to get through this. Or, at the very least, inspires you to find something else that’ll help your brain reset from the experience. 

Quantum Leap (1989)

Recommended by Angie
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Available on The Roku Channel and NBC (for free)

I loved this show when it originally premiered, fell back in love with it in the early 2000s when I discovered slashfic (yes, I ship Sam and Al – they are THE OTP for me), and a few months back got back into a re-watch thanks to Jen Rossman liveblogging their watch on Twitter (yes, I still call it Twitter). I’ve been writing up my off-the-cuff/stream of consciousness thoughts as I re-watch them, posting them on my Dreamwidth. 

If you’re completely unfamiliar with the show, Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) is a scientist who becomes his own experiment and finds himself “leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home”. He’s helped by Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), a hologram from the ‘far off future’ of 1995. (And yes – the fact that he and Sam can’t touch is major angst for us slashers.) There is a ‘sequel’ series that just got canceled that wasn’t half bad and seemed to just find its stride when it got canned. 

While it’s technically a science fiction show (the main premise is time travel, after all), it’s more an anthology series using the time travel as a gimmick to be able to have a wide range of plots. It’s got social commentary out the wazoo and is progressive as hell, especially for 1995: the seventh episode has Sam leaping into a black man during the ’50s and dealing with racism, in season 2 he leaps into a woman – there’s episodes that deal with rape, pregnancy, mental disability, and more.

It also can be incredibly hilarious and heartwarming as well. Scott and Dean have major chemistry (hence the shipping), and Dean makes Al (a womanizing ex-drunk who seems to not know how to be serious) loveable instead of frustrating/annoying. It’s comforting to see a show where (for the most part) the good guys win and the bad guys lose, and the main character is someone you root for. Just a head’s up: in the last season, the show kind of goes off the rails. 

The X-Files / The Lone Gunmen

Recommended by Angie
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery
The X-Files is available on Hulu. The Lone Gunmen is not available on any streaming service, but you can find it on YouTube

As I got back into Quantum Leap slash, I saw myself getting back into The Lone Gunmen slash as well. (Oh, hush – this trio is fun to write and read, even if there are only 9 works on AO3 with my fave pairing of Byers/Frohike and all of them are mine or my friend who wrote with me.) So I started re-watching their episodes of The X-Files and plan on continuing onto a rewatch of the spinoff when I get to it. 

For those of you unfamiliar with them, the Lone Gunmen consist of John Byers (Bruce Harwood), Richard ‘Ringo’ Langly (Dean Haglund), and Mel Frohike (Tom Braidwood) – initially set up as three characters who even Mulder felt were a bit on the edge. But as the show progressed, they became loveable allies to our main team – and then branched out holding their own (both in the stand alone episodes “Unusual Suspects” and “Three of a Kind” as well as in the spinoff). 

The spinoff definitely has its problems: mostly that the showrunners decided to try and make it a full-on comedy as opposed to a thriller/spy series with humor included, and the additional two characters they added were… weak, to say the least, and seemed to take over the show. But it’s still fun to watch the trio tackle problems, and the three have great chemistry together. They are the Three Musketeers and the Three Amigos combined, and play off each other wonderfully. 

It’s weird watching JUST the episodes of the trio in The X-Files. While their first appearance was a ‘monster of the week’ episode, many of their episodes deal with the overarching mythology of the series, and I’m very glad I was already familiar with the plotlines, as otherwise I’d most likely be completely lost. But it’s oddly soothing watching a show where the conspiracies are about alien invasion and monsters that are not human. 

Andor

Recommended by Angel
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Drama
Available on Disney+

This is not a fun, dopamine-producing pick, but a thought provoking one. The first season of Andor came out two years ago, post the first Trump administration, but with ever relevant themes regarding resistance, hope, and what it means to gather strength to fight back against fascism. Unfortunately, these themes are always relevant so regardless who won this election, they are good lessons to keep in mind.

During my current rewatch I’ve found Nemik’s manifesto particularly enlightening. Nemik is a young rebel who joins the small cell of people on Aldahni that are assigned the difficult task of robbing the Empire of more than 80 million credits. His manifesto ends up inspiring Cassian Andor to take the rebellion to heart and go all in on it.  It’s not hard to see why.  These are some powerful words. 

Remember this, Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause.

Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

And then there is, of course, Maarva’s funeral monologue. It’s the match in a tinderbox for the residents of Ferrix, who have been living mostly passively under the Empire’s rule. “The Empire is a disease that lives in darkness. It’s never more alive than when we sleep.” I have watched this one clip probably 20 times since the election. It gives me motivation to push through my current inactive phase, tackle my grief, and get back into the fight.

Not Me

Recommended by Jamie
Genre: Thai BL
Available on YouTube 

White’s twin brother Black is beaten into a coma, and he goes undercover as his brother to investigate. Then he finds out that his brother is basically part of an anarchist activist group intent on bringing down corruption.

I know I’ve already recommended this show before (still my fave Thai BL, Off and Gun are everything in this), but this is a good show to watch if you want to get angry and fired up to enact change. Be gay do crime could be this show’s tagline. If you want to burn the world down, you can live vicariously through these guys, who literally set things on fire. Good times.

We Are

Genre: Thai BL
Recommended by: Jamie
Available on YouTube, Viki, iQIYI

We Are is about a group of friends and their lives in college, but it’s primarily about fine arts students Peem and Q and their romances. It’s sixteen episodes of slice-of-life and I live for it. 

I didn’t expect much from this show when it started but it ended up being one of my go-to rewatches. This is the perfect series to watch when you just want to see people get to be happy. Is there some angst? Yes, of course. But there are four couples and everyone ends up together (sorry if that spoils it for you), and not only that, these are some of the best friendships I’ve seen depicted in a while.

The Owl House

Recommended by Ash Macaulay
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Comedy
Available on Disney+

The Owl House is a 3-season show with short episodes, so it’s great for shorter attention spans. The show stars a 14-year-old named Luz Noceda, an Afro-Dominican American girl who’s creativity and off-the-wall interests get her sent off to a Realty Check Summer Camp. But instead of a summer camp intent on teaching her how to balance a check book and alphabetize files, she finds her way to The Boiling Isles, a magical world full of demons and witches. 

The show’s storyline is incredible, following Luz as she adapts to life on The Boiling Isles, discovers her bisexuality, and eventually helps take down a tyrannical regime. And don’t get me wrong, the story is amazing. But the real heart comes from the characters. Luz is spunky, spirited, and never ever gives up. Her tiny demon friend King, voiced by the one and only Alex Hersch, discovers over time that all he wants is his friends and a community. 

But for me, the real star of the show is Edalyn Clawthorne, an older witch who was cursed as a child to be taken over by an owl demon. Her overall arc is about coming to terms with the bad things that happened to you in the past and eventually using them to bring down your oppressors. I love her. I would do anything for her, genuinely. She is deeply flawed, cynical, and primarily looks out for herself. Her age does not slow her down, nor does it take away from her undeniable charisma and ability to be badass. As an aging millennial myself, I want to be Edalyn when I grow up. 

This show is great for kids and grownups and even during the heavier episodes where you find yourself wanting to cry, the humor and heart shine even brighter. 

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Tell us what you’re watching in the comments below!

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

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