BY SERA ULUSOY (MAN/IV) sera.ulusoy@ug.bilkent.edu.tr

Because of my relatively busy schedule, I have recently found myself almost completely isolated from any kind of activity that involves novels, movies or TV shows. My life basically revolves around my schoolwork, part-time jobs, and—most importantly—master’s degree applications. Now, it may not seem as “crazy” as I have made it sound; however, do not underestimate the amount of effort you have to put into those applications—especially if you are trying to get into one of the “good” programs. You have to take the GMAT or the GRE (or sometimes even both); write your personal statements; obtain letters of recommendation from your college professors and your former employers; maintain or, if possible, increase your GPA; and on top of it all, make sure to meet the deadline of the first round of applications—which is, for most programs, halfway through January 2015—for if you miss it, chances are, all the places at the schools you want to get into will be filled by the time you are trying to make the deadline for the second round of applications. Oh, and lest I forget, whether or not you took the TOEFL is irrelevant if you are applying to universities in the United Kingdom, since almost all of them require an IELTS score. Hence, you have to deal with the IELTS as well as all of your exams. This is actually not a problem, except that it is hard to find a suitable date to take the IELTS, for the reason that most of the dates happen to conflict with the exams at school.

But please do not deem the above remarks complaints. I actually love the fact that I am this busy; the mere fact that my mind is constantly occupied with relatively important concerns like these makes me feel more content about my life—as there is very little room in my mind to contemplate trivial things, which is especially good for someone who has the tendency to get worried about such matters—and my prospective future as a student at one of the programs I am applying to keeps me exceedingly excited and in high spirits.

My sole purpose in writing about my busy schedule was to tell you about my current state; that in fact I have very little time to watch TV or participate in certain other recreational activities—though I still do have an active social life, I have cut out watching movies and TV for the most part. But this has certainly limited my knowledge of the new TV series that began in the fall. Obviously, this is not a significant problem. However, it seems strange to me that I haven’t had the chance to watch any of these new shows, except for “Gotham” and “Tyrant”— which actually started in June, so that they have already finished airing the first season. Therefore, since I haven’t been able to keep up with most of the recent shows, I wanted to mention two that I have had the chance to watch.

The first one I want to talk about is “Tyrant.” “Tyrant” is—in my opinion—a must-watch show. It is set in a fictional country called Abbudin in the Middle East and revolves around Bassam Al-Fayeed—portrayed by a very beguiling Adam Rayner—and his new life in Abbudin, having permanently returned from the States to his “home” following the death of his father, the former king of Abbudin. The show is produced by the creators of “Homeland,” so some critics claim that there is some resemblance between the two. However, as a viewer of both, I have to say that “Tyrant” has intrigued me somewhat more than “Homeland” ever did. Much of this is owing to the actors, for I suppose I find Claire Danes a little dull as an actress—though I am aware that my opinion does not count for much, as she has already received awards for her acting skills. Though “Tyrant” was initially criticized for depicting things such as sexual abuse of women in the region a little too graphically, I have found those scenes to be quite realistic, and I think they work well for the series. But the best part about the show, I must say, is the fact that it does not portray a Middle Eastern country to be as horrible as such countries appear in most other shows. I mean, it is not depicted as a very modern, European-like country, but it shows some elements of hope in regard to the developing mindset of some citizens of Abbudin, which ultimately reflects the realities of parts of the Middle East, albeit not the entire region. Having finished watching the first season of “Tyrant,” I cannot wait for it to return for another 13-episode season, set to begin in the summer of 2015.

The second show I would like to recommend for you to watch is “Gotham.” The show basically tells us the story of little Bruce Wayne and James Gordon, who happens to be investigating the death of Bruce’s, a.k.a. future-Batman’s, parents. It is a TV series based on DC Comics characters—which I have to say I find much more sophisticatedly developed than those of Marvel—and it stars Ben McKenzie as James Gordon. In it, we get to learn all about our beloved Batman and some of his “friends and nemeses,” including Selina Kyle. How much more fascinating could it get?

If you haven’t already started watching the above TV series, I suggest you do so.