Naïve Old Fart 9,515 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 In that case...anything with David Thewlis is worth watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 3 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said: In that case...anything with David Thewlis is worth watching. Fargo Season 3! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,515 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 I've not seen FARGO, but it's Coen related, isn't it? Does he have a cleft asshole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rough cut 1,714 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Fargo is great. Edmilson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 22, 2022 Author Share Posted August 22, 2022 JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNHFan2000 2,957 Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Jay said: HAHAH. So true. can't wait!!!!! Soo excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNHFan2000 2,957 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Only Murders In The Building 2x10 - I Know Who Did It I will talk spoilers, sorry.... Wow this episode had everything. Comedy, drama, tension, great acting, great story, great reveals, great music. This was incredible!!!! Where to start.... The killer then. The whole party sequence was incredibly well done. I truly thought the moment Alice walked in, that she was the killer. And that moment she 'snapped' and stabbed Charles was unexpected. I was so into in, and the whole cast sold it very well, that I actually thought he was dying. But the moment we returned to the scene moments later, I figured out that Alice wasn't the killer. Especially when Cinda told Mabel she could have her own podcast and Poppy/Becky couldn't handle it anymore. Then when she started sneezing, it was clear. And the reason for why she did it I thought was very clever. Her whole life she felt like she wasn't noticed, she hated her life in Oklahoma, and set up a man (who was disgusting by the way) for her alleged murder. Then she went to Cinda to find a better life, but Cinda didn't make it any better. The reveal that she was actually in love with Krepps and they planned the whole thing together made a lot of sense. She is the killer, he is glitter guy. Then the ending So that's where Paul Rudd shows up. And first I laughed out loud, it was just so funny to see him. But then when he was on stage with Charles and Charles told him he knew what he did and that he had to stay away from her, I knew he was gonna die. Then when Mabel said 'A whole year without murders' it was even more obvious. Quite the bold move to kill Paul Rudd, after 1 minute. The whole setup for a third season is very well done. I can't wait. And I didn't even know that they already renewed the show. It's going to be interesting. To get more of Paul Rudd, in flashback scenes and such, will be fantastic. Few things that stood out in the episode for me. - The comedy bit of the trio before the main title was hilarious. With Charles not coming up with a plan. - The acting on this show is soo good. Not just the trio, but all the supporting cast. The party scene wouldn't have worked if even one of the actors was a bit less. Great stuff. I do hope we get to see more of Alice, Lucy & Cinda. They are all great characters. - All of them trying to get a confession out of Cinda was very funny. The slow motion and the tomato. Tina Fey really sold that as well. Loved it. - The music this episode was incredible. That end title with the singing!!!! Why is there only one cue released from the finale on the album? This really warrants more music. Small edit: The end title is added to itunes. https://music.apple.com/nz/album/only-murders-in-the-building-season-2-original-score/1640801263 I just love this show. Bring that 3rd season. Will surely stay in my top 10 series of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallguy 3,385 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 I just finished Sandman episode 6. Which I thought was the end. So as far as I'm concerned I'm getting 4 (right?) bonus episodes of Sandman! It was a mishmash of two of my favorite issues of Sandman and they did them perfectly. I'll enjoy what I can because it's sounding like this is the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivatee 327 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 The show is wonderful. If we do not get a S2, I will be sad but I enjoy what we have. It's a slow burn. The episode with Dream's sister and her work was very emotional. Especially *that* moment. JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,435 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Yeah, it's a pretty great show. For once, a Netflix adaptation of a nerdy/geek IP didn't suck, thanks to Gaiman's involvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 23, 2022 Author Share Posted August 23, 2022 Maybe we'll have to watch this thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivatee 327 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 I was not familiar with the subject matter going into it. I'm not familiar with much of Neil Gaiman's work, but I enjoyed Stardust, Good Omens, and his Doctor Who episode. I later learned that the Lucifer Morningstar in this series had the same comic roots as Tom Ellis' character in the show Lucifer. They were not able to resolve the universes together, so this interpretation stands alone, and the casting choice is delightful and not unprecedented (Dogma). And as someone who never read any of the Sandman comics, I have no issue with the gender swapping. I feel like they did a good job trying to get as much representation as possible. There seems like a lot of gay characters, but there are probably just as many hetero characters also, and neither side is exclusive to good vs evil. There's good gay and evil gay, but also good and evil hetero. It's inclusive. We need a S2 though. That was way too small of a Mark Hamill appearance. JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallguy 3,385 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 3 hours ago, Jay said: Maybe we'll have to watch this thing... There are worse things that you can see. By a lot. Keep in mind that it runs the gamut from sweet, mysterious, and whimsical to full on horror show. @Positivatee I was going to post that you don't need to know anything about the comics. The show started where the comic did and actually did not throw you into the deep end as much as the comic did. The gender / color swapping in 99.99% of the cases has not mattered. (I'm hedging my bet.) If it was a white dude in the comics now it's a ___ in the show. I didn't even complain with Constantine because a) there was precedent and b) they did such a great job. Let's face it, the comic was really "woke" even for 1990. The only place where I raised my eyebrows a little bit was during the most horrifying episode that is an adaptation of the most horrifying issue. There was one awful thing that they decided in a sea of horrors and depredations and violations that THIS was too far and we won't do it, and that was who gets "partnered" up with who. It's a real nightmare of an episode anyway. Maybe there's worse out there. I'm not a horror fan and this story has probably been magnified in my imagination with age. It's a great show. Watch it. Positivatee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 On 20/8/2022 at 1:46 AM, Naïve Old Fart said: I've not seen FARGO, but it's Coen related, isn't it? Does he have a cleft asshole? The Coens executive produce, but the show runner is Noah Hawley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 The Coens EP credit is a classic vanity credit. They've been very clear in the past that they have literally 0 involvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 Netflix released a deleted scene for The Sandman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,435 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 I just finished the show yesterday, including the bonus episodes. It's amazing how they manage to capture the feel of the books and Neil Gaiman's writing style, something that I thought it was impossible. It's not perfect, and you need to have tolerance for Gaiman's sense of humour, but overall it's a great adaptation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 4 hours ago, Disco Stu said: The Coens EP credit is a classic vanity credit. They've been very clear in the past that they have literally 0 involvement. That’s how I interpret any EP credit. Tallguy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 Only Murders In The Building 2x10 I Know Who Did It Nice finale to a nice season of television. Overall season 2 is not as good as season 1, but it's still better than a lot of other shows out there, and I have a feeling season 3 will be a return to more of the quality and storytelling style of season 1; I kinda feel like they know they made things too convoluted this season and will course-correct. We'll see! Lots of really funny moments in this episode - Martin & Short struggling to find words, the slow motion bit, the tomatoes bit, Howard's antics at the killer reveal party, etc etc. I think by the end of the episode I realized that the showrunners are clearly more interested in making a character-driven comedy show than a crime-solving drama with a really detailed murder plot to unravel, and I am totally OK with that! Spoiler The reveal that Poppy/Becky was the killer actually makes total sense, as does the fact that Kreps was her accomplice the whole time, and that Cinda was innocent (but still kind of a douche). Well done! I'm slightly curious to go back and watch this season some day and see if all the clue and red herrings throughout actually track by the end of things; Clearly the whole "14 Savage" / "14 Sandwich" thing is a bit forced, but everything else I can remember seems OK. The biggest disappointment of the season was EASILY the Alice character! I don't mean the character - she was great, I loved her and wanted to see more of her! It's how underutilized she was! She sat out 4 of the 10 episodes and just wasn't given enough to do. The reveal mid-way through the season that she was exploiting Mabel was never satisfyingly resolved in my book. I liked that after the climax, Oliver had a nice scene with his son, Charles had a nice scene with the make-up girl, and they both got a fancy-pants new Broadway show, but BOY, did Mabel/Alice deserve a wrap-up here too and just didn't get one. The brief scene of them painting over Mabel's mural wall didn't cut it. And one year later, why wasn't Alice at the premiere of the play? Did they break up? Bah! Overall, a great show, and very excited for Season 3! JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 I thought it was a slog and just completely ineptly written and planned. Gomez is one of the worst actors I’ve ever seen in a high production value show. I probably won’t be watching season 3. Complete 180 disappointment after an enjoyable season 1, in which I could tolerate Gomez because of the solid comedy writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 I thought Martin and Short had many more funny bits in season 2 than they had in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallguy 3,385 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Am I the only one who thought Gomez was on the better side of alright? (I haven't finished 2 yet.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 She was sexy as hell in the boxing match outfit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Not my type. There was nothing in this season to rival the performance of Nathan Lane in season 1 (one of my favorite performances of recent memory), nor the physical comedy of Steve Martin in the season 1 finale. Seriously, Gomez' entire demeanor and voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. As soon as she starts talking my instinct is to turn the TV off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said: the physical comedy of Steve Martin in the season 1 finale. What!? His slow motion bit in the season 2 finale was hilarious, especially when Short and Gomez joined in with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 I laughed! It was good comedy! Didn't come close to the awe-inspiring bit of Martin fighting against the drug in season 1. Anyway, my biggest issue is with the writing. The entire season felt completely unfocused and random plotwise, and the tone felt off to me all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 I watch it for the comedy and characters, not a well-thought-out murder plot. I mean, this season was full of red herrings and meaningless setups, like the matchbook with blood (or ketchup) on it, etc. For a while I concerned myself with these details, until I realized the showrunners care more about comedy and characters and less about these details, and I should do, and that really works for me. What doesn't work for me is when they mis-treat and under-utilize a character, like they did with Alice this season - that really disappointed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 Hacks (Season 2) I absolutely loved season 1 when it came out last year, and was very much looking forward to the second season - and it did not dissapoint! In many ways it was better, in fact, with the characters all being well established leading to a lot of good comfortable performances as well as newer stories that build of prior experiences we've seen. And the road trip angle most of the season had kept things fresh, inherently giving each episode its own freshness with new locations and such. In fact, about the only problem was the rushed ending, and the return to Vegas; The first 6 episodes covering the road trip were uniformly excellent, and I thought we were due for 4 more after that to mirror season 1's 4-episode length. I was quite surprised that there ended up only being 2 episodes left, and the arc of the season was very, very quickly rushed to the finish line in them. The whole "Debroah suing Ava" seemed seemed to end up not mattering much, and the effect that Deborah's new material had on her daughter was brushed over pretty quick. Still, a good season of telly, and I except season 3 will continue along the same level of quality! JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 Barry (Season 1) Not my first watch; I saw it when it came out and loved it, but this summer with Season 3 finally coming out after a long covid delay, we decided to re-watch the first 2 seasons to refresh our memories, which ended up being an extremely good decision! Not only because this show is so great that the first season was just as enjoyable to watch a second time as it was the first time, but also because season 3 makes just a ton of references to events from the first 2 seasons that we certainly would have forgotten the specifics of, so it really enriched the viewing experience of that season to rewatch the first ones just beforehand! Anyway, this season of television has to be one of the best constructed I've seen. It's very clear, especially on rewatch, that they had the entire arc completely planned out when they made it and weren't making things up episode to episode. Every individual episode does its own thing and moves the story along organically without the weight of anything coming hanging over it, but also as things conclude it all builds so well off of so many things that had been included in prior episodes before hand. It's the story of a hitman who doesn't want to be one any more, and ends up joining an acting class in Los Angeles after following a target to it. Bill Hader is terrific as Barry, and Henry WInkler is truly fantastic as the teacher. But also newcoming Sarah Goldberg really shines as a fellow student with real talent (and baggage of her own), the always-great Stephen Root is expectedly great as Barry's handler, the Yellow King from True Detective is get in a small roll as a Chechen mob boss, and the break-out star of the season is Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, a member of the Chechen mob. What a delight he is! It was funny to rewatch and realize some of the memorable moments I had been expecting had actually been from season 2, but the plot was just as I remembered. The whole ending at the cabin was just as devastating the second time around. This is just a great season of television! Barry (Season 2) It was nice to go immediately into this after finishing season 1. At various times, this exceeds the highs of season 1 with more comedy bits, new character development, and lots more NoHo Hank. But in retrospect now and on second watch, the overall story is a bit disjointed, especially compared to the expertly told story in season 1. That season can kind of be seen more as a long movie split up into 8 chapters, while this season seemed to more often kind of do its own thing for an episode, putting various stories on hold only to be picked up later. The big episode this season everyone remembers is the one with the karate girl, and I honestly found myself a little underwhelmed by it this time around, despite loving it the first time; I guess once the novelty of the experience is gone, the silliness of it all is more apparent? It was nice to go more into Barry's past this season and explore his war background and PTSD issues, but the storyline of NoHo Hank wanting to dispose of Esther and go back to 50/50 with Cristobol seemed to be stretched out longer that it had reason to, and the finale with Barry doing what he does was kind of jarring (I had honestly forgotten that was how this season ends, which was funny because I remembered EXACTLY how season 1 ended). I dunno, I guess even though my opinion of the season seems a little less the second time around than it did the first, I would still consider the show excellent and was very much looking forward to season 3. So let's see how that went.... Barry (Season 3) Man, I don't really know what to say about this season. I think it's telling that nobody else here seemed to really talk about it even though I'm sure a few people here watched it. It was dark, man, and not in a fun way. I guess what it comes down to is while the show has always featured a blend of drama and dark comedy, this season is shifted way more towards darkness and drama and less on comedy than the first two, which had relatively the same tone as each other. By the end of episode 2 (the shouting scene), I was honestly pretty turned off by the season, and really wondering if I was going to end up not liking it at all. Slowly as the weeks went on after that, I warmed up to it more. I liked that they delved into the homelives of all the various people Barry's actions over the past 2 seasons had affected, and Fuches continues to find new ways to be a real villain, maybe one of TV's best? But all of Sally's scenes seemed undercooked, the stuff with her TV show seemed too rushed and underdeveloped (though I really liked the actress from Eighth Grade who played her costar, too bad she wasn't given enough to do), though what she has to do in the final episode was interesting. The final ending was pretty good too I guess. I dunno, I guess overall the series is still very good, and I still look forward to season 4. Maybe the way this season put me through an emotional ride instead of just doing more of what it did in the first 2 seasons is a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted August 29, 2022 Author Share Posted August 29, 2022 The Staircase This is a good HBO Max original about the Kathleen Peterson murder (or accident - the show lets you decide) starring Toni Collette as Kathleen, Colin Firth as Michael, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sophie Turner, and Odessa Young as their kids, Rosemarie Dewitt (United States of Tara reunion!) as Kathleen's sister, Michael Stuhlbarg as the defense attorney, Parkey Posey and Cullen Moss as the prosecutors, and Juliette Binoche as the editor of the famous Netflix documentary about the case. The miniseries is eight hour-long episode that somewhat jump around in chronology, with Toni Collette appearing in re-creations of her last several months alive - and three different versions of how she might have died, and everybody else moving along from her death to a form of resolution some 16ish years later. I don't always like dark true crime stuff, but this one was actually very well done, especially the acting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,346 Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,435 Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 32 minutes ago, Roll the Bones said: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.T. Fixed. A24 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 1, 2022 Author Share Posted September 1, 2022 Ozark (Season 4, second part) This show really petered out at the end. I quite enjoyed the first 3 seasons, and liked the first half of season 4 enough that I was writing about each individual episode here. But boy, they didn't stick the landing, did they? In the end this final 4th season really feels like a normal 10 episode season (like the first three were) streeeeeeeeeetched out to 14 episodes and split in half because Netflix. The pacing, especially in these final 7 episodes, slowed down considerably and a lot of the storylines just weren't compelling or felt like total filler. Like Marty having to run the cartel, seeming like some giant thing, but just ending up being some 1 episode side mission. Or the ridiculous weight put on that car crash flash-forward that opened the season, only to be completely pointless and have zero impact or consequences when we catch up to it late in the season. And the final decisions the writers made about who gets to live and who dies were not all satisfactory (Ruth should have lived, some Byrds should have died), and the very final moment was laugh-out loud stupid. Oh well. Edmilson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Oh man, I really enjoyed this odd combination of screwball comedy, dark comedy, parody/satire, and actual thriller. I've never seen anything like it. Kristen Bell stars in a story that is like a mashup of The Woman in the Window, The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, Rear Window, and many others, and is very obvious about it all. The story is so absurd and full of cliches it does not even matter, what makes it all work is there's a layer of totally screwball, Airplane/Naked Gun-eque style absurd comedy peppered throughout the entire thing. It's nowhere near as fast-paced as those movies; There might only be 1 or 2 absurd bits in an entire half-house episode, but they always land extremely well, always timed just right. The show ends with a setup for a second season, I hope it gets one! It's on netflix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,192 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Sounds worth a try, if I ever get done with my current watch list (which isn't progressing much because of the Monkey Island replays). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 3 hours ago, Jay said: The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window That's a funny title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,003 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The first two episodes. Not sure what it has to do with Tolkien but as far as fan fiction goes it isn't bad. I certainly was engaged more by this than by The Hobbit movies, perhaps because it is all pretty much made up and I have no expectations whatsoever. At the very least you can see where the money went. I shall stick around for a bit to see where it goes. The music wasn't bad either. Against my better judgement, I don't hate this. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rough cut 1,714 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 7 hours ago, Jay said: The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window I hated it. 3 hours ago, crocodile said: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. /—-/ Against my better judgement, I don't hate this. Me too. I also didn’t hate this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,192 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 4 hours ago, crocodile said: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The first two episodes. Not sure what it has to do with Tolkien but as far as fan fiction goes it isn't bad. I certainly was engaged more by this than by The Hobbit movies, perhaps because it is all pretty much made up and I have no expectations whatsoever. At the very least you can see where the money went. I shall stick around for a bit to see where it goes. The music wasn't bad either. Against my better judgement, I don't hate this. I posted my more detailed comments in that other thread, but yes, so far it seems like it might be more successful than one could have hoped for. I do believe it has more to do with Tolkien than some will concede, because I'm there for the macroscopic (if you will) story arc, which should be mostly Tolkien's, and if the added characters and connecting plot tissue turns out to be uninteresting (but not too bad), I can simply not mind it and still enjoy the big picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephariel 451 Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Severance on Apple TV. Great series. Creative and conceptually amazing. Edmilson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSH 968 Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 On 28/08/2022 at 8:52 PM, Jay said: Barry (Season 1) Not my first watch; I saw it when it came out and loved it, but this summer with Season 3 finally coming out after a long covid delay, we decided to re-watch the first 2 seasons to refresh our memories, which ended up being an extremely good decision! Not only because this show is so great that the first season was just as enjoyable to watch a second time as it was the first time, but also because season 3 makes just a ton of references to events from the first 2 seasons that we certainly would have forgotten the specifics of, so it really enriched the viewing experience of that season to rewatch the first ones just beforehand! Anyway, this season of television has to be one of the best constructed I've seen. It's very clear, especially on rewatch, that they had the entire arc completely planned out when they made it and weren't making things up episode to episode. Every individual episode does its own thing and moves the story along organically without the weight of anything coming hanging over it, but also as things conclude it all builds so well off of so many things that had been included in prior episodes before hand. It's the story of a hitman who doesn't want to be one any more, and ends up joining an acting class in Los Angeles after following a target to it. Bill Hader is terrific as Barry, and Henry WInkler is truly fantastic as the teacher. But also newcoming Sarah Goldberg really shines as a fellow student with real talent (and baggage of her own), the always-great Stephen Root is expectedly great as Barry's handler, the Yellow King from True Detective is get in a small roll as a Chechen mob boss, and the break-out star of the season is Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, a member of the Chechen mob. What a delight he is! It was funny to rewatch and realize some of the memorable moments I had been expecting had actually been from season 2, but the plot was just as I remembered. The whole ending at the cabin was just as devastating the second time around. This is just a great season of television! Barry (Season 2) It was nice to go immediately into this after finishing season 1. At various times, this exceeds the highs of season 1 with more comedy bits, new character development, and lots more NoHo Hank. But in retrospect now and on second watch, the overall story is a bit disjointed, especially compared to the expertly told story in season 1. That season can kind of be seen more as a long movie split up into 8 chapters, while this season seemed to more often kind of do its own thing for an episode, putting various stories on hold only to be picked up later. The big episode this season everyone remembers is the one with the karate girl, and I honestly found myself a little underwhelmed by it this time around, despite loving it the first time; I guess once the novelty of the experience is gone, the silliness of it all is more apparent? It was nice to go more into Barry's past this season and explore his war background and PTSD issues, but the storyline of NoHo Hank wanting to dispose of Esther and go back to 50/50 with Cristobol seemed to be stretched out longer that it had reason to, and the finale with Barry doing what he does was kind of jarring (I had honestly forgotten that was how this season ends, which was funny because I remembered EXACTLY how season 1 ended). I dunno, I guess even though my opinion of the season seems a little less the second time around than it did the first, I would still consider the show excellent and was very much looking forward to season 3. So let's see how that went.... Barry (Season 3) Man, I don't really know what to say about this season. I think it's telling that nobody else here seemed to really talk about it even though I'm sure a few people here watched it. It was dark, man, and not in a fun way. I guess what it comes down to is while the show has always featured a blend of drama and dark comedy, this season is shifted way more towards darkness and drama and less on comedy than the first two, which had relatively the same tone as each other. By the end of episode 2 (the shouting scene), I was honestly pretty turned off by the season, and really wondering if I was going to end up not liking it at all. Slowly as the weeks went on after that, I warmed up to it more. I liked that they delved into the homelives of all the various people Barry's actions over the past 2 seasons had affected, and Fuches continues to find new ways to be a real villain, maybe one of TV's best? But all of Sally's scenes seemed undercooked, the stuff with her TV show seemed too rushed and underdeveloped (though I really liked the actress from Eighth Grade who played her costar, too bad she wasn't given enough to do), though what she has to do in the final episode was interesting. The final ending was pretty good too I guess. I dunno, I guess overall the series is still very good, and I still look forward to season 4. Maybe the way this season put me through an emotional ride instead of just doing more of what it did in the first 2 seasons is a good thing? I started watching this yesterday - triggered solely by this post of yours (I'd never heard of it) - and I'm already well into the second season. I'm loving it. Knowing so little about it, I was expecting it to be an all out comedy but, wow, I'm loving how intricately cross-genre this thing can be. It has so many standalone moments of hilarity and yet some genuine stone-cold brutality... but it's all still well grounded in the comedy. I also love/hate the short-form 30-min breadth of each instalment.... it really keeps you hooked. Bill Hader, Stephen Root and Henry Winkler are all superb and hilarious. Thanks for the recommendation, yet again! Jay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 I love that it truly lives right in the middle of the classic 45 minute drama and 22 minute comedy. Not only in run time but with the elements it takes from both. And yea, some of the dramatic moments pack a huge punch, like the season 1 finale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSH 968 Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 1 minute ago, Jay said: I love that it truly,lives right in the middle of the classic 45 minute drama and 22 minute comedy. Not only in run time but with the elements it takes from both. And yea, some of the dramatic moments pack a huge punch, like the season 1 finale. Yes, you're absolutely right. It's the sort of through-line drama that really benefits from that particular style of short episodic form. Will continue on Thursday after work. Like I said, loving so far, so thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 Wellington Paranormal This is the other spinoff from the What We Do In The Shadows movie, and it is delightful different from the more well-known one (What We Do In The Shadows TV). It's completely New Zealand made, so has quite a different humor style than an American or British comedy, and isn't even that similar to WWDITS TV either. It's a case-of-the-week show with almost no continuing stories at all; It's basically a funny X-Files. And they tackle a wide variety of paranormal activities, vampires, werewolves, witches, aliens, monsters, beasts, ghosts, dimensional portal, time travel, on and on and on. It's always pretty clever and amusing, largely because the two leads have great comedic chemistry together, and separately with the variety of guest actors. It might take a bit to settle into its humor style, and it doesn't strive to have as many laugh out of loud moments as many other modern comedies, but it becomes delightful in its own way before too long. Oh, and the possessed pants episode from season 4 is one of the funniest things the entire franchise has given us It has 4 seasons of 6 episodes and a Christmas special, and they're all on HBO Max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeping Strings 2,356 Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 I prefer WWDITS, but Wellington Paranormal is quite fun (it went out on Sky Comedy in the UK). Funny X-Files is spot-on ... actually, to me its theme music is so like The X-Files' that it stops just short of attracting the attention of copyright lawyers, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 Huh, that's an interesting observation, I don't think the theme music sounds like The X-Files theme at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivatee 327 Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 On 18/07/2022 at 5:45 PM, Brónach said: the second season of Primal is almost here! something has worked out! hurrah! And it's over. That ending... Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 Pam & Tommy This was quite the enjoyable nostalgia ride, similar to The People Vs OJ Simpson, but a lot more fun. The show not only gets into the lives Pam and Tommy had before making the tape and how its release affected them both separately, but also covers the guys who stole it in the first place and how they distributed it and all that. The juxtaposition of how easily video material can be spread these days compared to how it was done in the very infancy of the internet was really interesting, as was the public reaction to something like this happening compared to today's Only Fans world. Lily James and Sebastian Stan were both really good, and Seth Rogen & Nick Offerman as the guys who stole then distribute it were also really good. This was a lot of fun It's on Hulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 4,122 Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 I am one-third of the way through Orville New Horizons and holy mother of pearl I think I have a new favorite television show. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,515 Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Has anyone been watching THE CAPTURE? It's not half bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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