Hot Takes: Is Captive the scariest show on Netflix?

Captive takes a terrifying look at the plight of those going through kidnapping ordeals.

A regular column in which members of the Herald's entertainment team rave about their current obsessions.

TV

I spent quite a bit of time over my Christmas holidays recuperating from a car accident. For the record, whiplash sucks. But that meant I had time to catch up on some solid TV streaming, and on that front, Netflix delivered the goods.

I started with Bojack Horseman (hilarious), moved on to wine doco Sour Grapes (worrying), and then ventured into cult doco Holy Hell (erm, wholly effing hell).

Then I discovered Captive, an eight-part doco series about people who have been held hostage, sometimes for years. It's bleak, brutal and harrowing. I watched the whole thing in two days. You could say it had a captive audience.

Food

I'm basically starving myself right now. Why? So I can participate fully in Meatstock, the "music and meat" festival being held at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland this weekend.

Yes, there's plenty to see and do at, and a tonne of bands to watch - after all, it bills itself as having the best selection of "bands, barbecues, beards, barbers, butchers, bourbon and beer".

I'm there for the food, and only the food. Texan ribs? Brazilian barbecue? Pulled pork? Sausages, steak and chicken? I want it all, and I want it now. Someone will need to roll me out of there.

Music

Finally, after a pretty quiet January, the labels have fired up, Apple Music is back in action and amazing new albums are being fired at us at the rate of several a week.

Heard Sampha's Process, Wiley's Godfather or Syd's Fin?

I could go on. Okay, I will. What about Jidenna's The Chief, Future's Future, Migos' Culture or Kehlani's SweetSexySavage?

I can't keep up, but my ears are loving it.

Games

Everything appears to be on hold in the gaming world as we wait for Nintendo's Switch to launch on March 3. Will the games be any good? Will it be as portable as it promises? Will my fat thumbs be able to navigate around those tiny controllers?

I'm biding my time until I can answer those questions by playing through Horizon Zero Dawn's excellent new open world on the Playstation 4.

Smashing giant robotic dinosaurs to bits has never been so much fun.