TV | If you were a child of the '90s who grew up watching The X-Files, Gillian Anderson will always be Special Agent Dana Scully, the more skeptical counterweight to the ever-credulous Fox Mulder. Those of us who associate Anderson with this role will find her well-cast as a serious, hard-nosed investigator (but with a different accent) of strange events as Det. Superintendent Stella Gibson in the BBC series THE FALL. The first season, currently streaming on Netflix, features Gibson chasing a creepy serial killer in Northern Ireland. The second season, being broadcast by the BBC, will be available Jan. 16 on Netflix.
MOVIE | Portland is a progressive city full of bikes, beards, beer and gentle quirkiness. It's also among the cities that have had problems with how their police treat mentally ill people. ALIEN BOY: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JAMES CHASSE documents a particularly well-publicized incident involving a schizophrenic man dying in the back of a police cruiser after an encounter with officers, all of whom are still working in law enforcement. Released in 2013, it toured the indie film circuit and is now available on streaming services.
MUSIC | RUINS is the latest release from Grouper, the performing name of Portland-based ambient musician Liz Harris. Recorded in Aljezur, Portugal, on a portable four-track and upright piano, Harris would walk several miles through the ruins of old estates and small villages to the beach. The result is a melancholic haze that seems to hauntingly fade in and out, with Harris' soft melodies hovering over the bittersweet piano chords. She describes the recording as "a nod to that daily walk. Failed structures. Living in the remains of love."♦
