Just finished catching up on the shows dropping today. All up to date with The Boys. While not at it's absolute best I'm still very much enjoying it and it finished on a big note going into next weeks final episode. Eager to see if they can finish it off with a strong conclusion.
Also watched the 10th episode of Rooster which upon finishing realised was the final episode of it's first season. I immediately checked if there is going to be a second (which there is) because I absolutely loved it. I was also pleased to read they have a clear idea of where they want to take it and ultimately how it will end. Fingers crossed they get the chance to do it all.
Just watched the Jamie Vardy Untold and as a fan of the Untold series (I’ve watched all of the American ones)… that was one of the best fair play! As someone who lived, breathed… and died football during my youth, I’d lost all love for the game by the time Leicester pulled off the miracle but even I as someone who’d actively detached from the game couldn’t escape the draw of that story when it happened. I was firmly on the outside though, just picking up bits and pieces from news stories and from conversations in work. Watching this and factually seeing how it all played out makes me wish I’d been back into football during that season… incredible story… only sport can prove the impossible.
@FuriousMachine Gonna have to second you on your Widow's Bay recommendation! What a great show thus far. It's funny you mention Castle Rock, because this definitely feels like that but with a humorous tone. I enjoyed that show for what it was as well, but it was incredibly uneven. The big episode with Sissy Spacek at the center in its first season was one hell of a standout, though. This one has been hit after hit with each episode so far.
I love the ideas they've come up with. The sea hag in particular I thought was a really cool concept. Episode 4 is equally weird and fun, so I hope you enjoyed that one as well even if it's on the less explanatory side compared to the other episodes. Really enjoying what Stephen Root has been doing with his character in particular so far as well. His character could've easily been a caricature, but I feel he's managed to already make him feel quite grounded and dimensional. Can't wait to see how the season unfolds!
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Finished some more seasons of TV over the last week as I continue my catching up on some of the TV I've missed over the last year or so... (I'm going to need a lot more time in the day to be able to watch everything I'd actually want to)
Pluribus - Season 1: Finally went ahead and called it a wrap on this one. This is by far the Gilligan project that's most up my alley, even if I did love the first three seasons of Better Call Saul in particular. I thought the season as a whole was very interesting in the places it went and I'm excited to see more when the sophomore season eventually comes. Rhea Seehorn was fantastic as expected as our likeably sarcastic protagonist, but Karolina Wydra was a great discovery. I'd seen her before in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where she, admittedly, made no impression, but she really is an incredible foil to Carol here. I do think the show has a bit of a mid-season slump where it hits a wall, but I think it recovered nicely in the final episodes. The strongest batch is still the first three by far however, and I hope Gilligan is able to recapture that level of quality more consistently in the next season.
The Comeback - Season 3: What a great swan song to an amazing show. Do I think it was up to par to the first two seasons? Not quite. I think it's their worst season, but a worst season in their terms is still great television. Lisa Kudrow nails the part of Valerie Cherish as she's done for the last two seasons. It's really her starring vehicle and, frankly, I'm not sure which actor could possibly play that part better than she does. She's easily in the Mount Rushmore of comedy performances as far as I'm concerned. It was delightful to see so many of the returning characters and where they're at in their lives currently, even if the loss of Mickey was a consistently sad turn of events throughout the season. The episode they dedicated to him as a tribute was a highlight however. I'm going to be incredibly annoyed if Kudrow doesn't win an Emmy for this performance of a lifetime once again...
Industry - Season 1: I've had to start this as a friend of mine has become obsessed with the show in its later seasons. It's not just him. I've heard only incredible stuff on the third and fourth season in particular. I went into this first season with low expectations knowing the show doesn't really ''get good'' until later, but I've already liked what I saw here. I can see why Marisa Abela and Myha'la Herrold have had their stars rise as a result of this show, because they're already instantly captiviating just in this first season. Do I understand any of the business lingo on display? Not really. Do I feel like I need to to enjoy whatever is going on? Also, not really. My one main complaint would be that the soundtrack is a bit too overpowering at times. I think the show could do with just letting the background be quiet more so than it lets it happen. It's distracting more often than not. Ken Leung is also great here however, and I'm excited to see what journey his character as well as the rest of the ensemble are about to go on for the rest of the show. A pleasant surprise!
@Tjuz Yeah, though I was thinking more of King's use of Castle Rock in his novels and novellas and not so much of the series, which I felt was fine but a huge missed opportunity and took a nosedive in season 2.
I 100% agree with your take on Stephen Root's character. Root has long been a welcome supporting actor in pretty much everything he's been in and it's fun when he manages to show off both his quirky side and his "serious" side in a project like this.
The Sea Hag was incredibly cool (and deliciously creepy). Loved it! I've fallen behind a bit, catching up with the end of The Boys, but I put that to bed last night so I'm ready to pick up with episode 4 of Widow's Bay this weekend, maybe.
Your take on Pluribus mirrors mine almost to a T, though the only Gilligan show I've seen for comparison is his work on The X-Files so this felt like an extension of that (and a welcome one at that, naturally)
@FuriousMachine Ah, fair enough. My only exposure to King's work is really through his adaptations, so that's why my mind instantly went to the TV show. I somewhat disagree the second season of Castle Rock took a nosedive, but it was definitely far from appointment television. I thought the second was easily a lot more focused however, while the first season was fun, but felt all over the place.
I haven't seen The Boys since its second season. It wasn't really for me, but I wonder what your reaction was like to the series finale? I've heard bits and pieces about how the final season has gone over with fans and the reception seemed... incredibly mixed, if not leaning on the negative side. Did it go over better for you or did it also feel like a missed opportunity?
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On a side note, anyone else also counting the days until the new season of Interview with the Vampire? I haven't been this excited for the release of a new season of any show in ages. I can't wait to see where they're going with the, frankly, ridiculous setup of this new season. The fact that it's only seven episodes pisses me off greatly, but I'll survive. I know some of you in here have seen the first two seasons and adored it them as much as I did, so I hope you'll be watching along weekly as well! And anyone else reading this who hasn't yet checked the show out, now's the time to catch up. The second season is one of the most impressive seasons of television I've ever had the pleasure to witness. Masterful package.
I'm also looking forward to see Star City, a spin-off of For All Mankind, premiering in the next few days. I was enamored with its origin show, but it has sadly gotten harder and harder to stay invested with each passing season. I'm about five episodes behind on its latest season and have been struggling to find the willpower to push myself to watch the next one. I hope this spin-off feels like a fresh start from a fresh perspective, which hopefully should inject some energy back into this flailing universe. Really wonder how they'll eventually tackle the later seasons where the storylines should become more intertwined though. It seems like a hard spin-off to pull off properly, especially when we know the later seasons of the show it's based on get worse and worse as they go along...
@Tjuz I quite enjoyed the final season of The Boys. It is probably the weakest of the bunch and it was time to wrap things up, but I enjoyed it all the same and felt quite satisfied with the ending.
@GirlVersusGame Yup, Spider-Noir launched here yesterday also, and just in time, as they will introduce ads to my subscription in June, prompting me to immediately cancel my subscription, which then expires on Saturday. I've seen the two first episodes so far and I love the visuals (I'm watching the black & white version), but the story hasn't really blown me away. Hopefully it will pick up in the coming episodes.
Spent my weekend binging season two of The Pitt. I think I liked it less than the first season overall? But it is still solid, just a very watchable, bingeable, show still. They had kinda done all they can really do with this concept in the first season, and so I am kinda glad they didn’t really seem to try and go out of their way to reinvent or outdo themselves in a way that would have lost the core of what made the first season good, but it does create a little bit of fatigue because we are seeing a lot of the same motions. Still throws some absolutely brutal emotional right hooks out of nowhere though and thankfully still doesn’t hold back on the commentary when it can organically crop up.
@Pizzamorg I really enjoyed it as well, and I totally agree that not trying to outdo the first season paid off. Structurally, it takes a different trajectory where instead of ramping everything up slowly to 11 by the final episode, the various crisis are pretty much sorted out by the third to second last episodes. I found this fascinating, as it really allows the aforementioned gut punches to hit hard but does leave the season feeling somewhat anti-climactic. Which sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does, because the character work is so strong, and the quieter pace and deep emotional beats, I think, remind the viewer what the show is really about. The commentary only exists to highlight the obstacles we humans continue to put between ourselves when we just need help, or desire to simply help someone else. I’m curious to see how they keep season 3 fresh.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” -C.S. Lewis
@Metonymy I started rewatching season one of the Pitt again as I wasn't really sure what to watch next, and it definitely gives me new found appreciation of season two weirdly, and it makes me wonder if I really should have just rewatched season one first.
Like there are chunks where season two just goes through motions we've already seen before, but there are a lot of call backs to season one which feel like very intentionally cyclical to feed into the wider themes of the systemic quagmire the American Healthcare system is, rather than just being fatigued repeats. I probably didn't give season two enough credit for that just because I had forgotten about what they were referencing.
That said, maybe it is because they had to build the foundations and push the narrative forwards simultaneously in season one, it does feel like season one is better paced. Feels like there is a lot more going on, it has a lot more to say, we're forced to sit in these individual weaving stories of the patients as they come in and out of the show. And I know some of this going away is just natural as you move into a new season, and some of it ties into simply the shift of thematic focus in season two, but it does make me think season two was just missing... something.
And maybe it is just because season two has a larger cast, but I feel like for how much character they fit in for the whole cast in just the first few episodes of season one, it is kinda weird to realise how many characters did not meaningfully move forwards in season two at all.
@Pizzamorg Giving the benefit of the doubt, I can’t help but wonder if the lack of momentum with some of the character arcs was ultimately an artistic decision to hammer home the themes of burnout that this season focused on. I don’t know. I do have very similar feelings to you in that season 2, while by no means a poor one, is missing that ‘something’ that season 1 had. I sure do appreciate a show that is able to keep an annual schedule and maintain this level of overall quality though! Feels like a lost art these days.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” -C.S. Lewis
@Metonymy I kinda feel season one "went for broke" as they had no idea if they were getting another season and really tried to get every drop out of the concept, whereas season two is a product of a show that was constructed with the mindset that there is plenty of road left, so they took a breath, and make more of a Robby centred story, that strips back on a lot of the other elements, as we build to season three and beyond. I kinda feel like season one would have been probably a lot more like two in terms of focus, scale, scope etc if they already had a three season order agreed, if you know what I mean.
@Pizzamorg That sounds very plausible. Well, I’m totally on board if they’re playing the long game. I thought I read something about winter for season 3, so that should keep things interesting.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” -C.S. Lewis
Finished my rewatch of season one of The Pitt. I feel differently about this season on a rewatch, and it is hard to know if it is because it is a rewatch that my feelings changed, or whether the issues I had with it this time around were always there, and I was just blinded to them originally because the emotional whirlwind of that first viewing experience sucked me in.
I still feel like season two was a weaker season overall. I feel like a lot of the supporting cast and individual patient stories were weaker, the emotions hit hard, but still not as hard as they did in season one. Yet, I dunno, I just can’t help but feel that season one was just sorta… messy. And some of that is of course by design, but I think to chalk it all to design is disingenuous.
Like, I really liked how the season starts, and I like how it closed, but I think there is a stretch towards the middle where this season really drags, and feels aimless. While the hour by hour design is a cool gimmick, and by all regards the show is very accurate with what it presents, there is a balancing act they have to find between keeping us interested through an entire shift, but also not cramming in so many disaster events and tear-jerking devastation that it becomes farcical.
An ER will have lulls, there’ll be stretches where it is just a bunch of people doing rounds, doing paperwork, waiting for results on things to come back but that isn’t very interesting, but since this is happening in real time and you’re cutting that stuff out, you have to find things to fill that space with. I just don’t think season one ever quite finds the balance, in a way I think season two did.
Season two seemed to understand that the quiet, more boring, moments are also the moments that create texture and authenticity. While there are plenty of silly moments in season two of The Pitt given its happening on a holiday weekend and not some random Monday, I still do think, it overall presented a more natural and organic day in an ER. And its willingness to find the time to catch their breath so its haymakers could be spread out and deployed in such a way that made the whole season so bingeable from end to end, even if it never quite reached season one’s high points at any point.
(But again, is that because season two was new to me? Would I have issues with the pacing of that season if I went back to it again? Especially as I already think it was a weaker season overall in terms of its narrative. Who knows.)
A bunch of the acting is kinda worse than I remembered too. I started to notice this even in season two, but going back to season one, I REALLY noticed it. A lot of the actors coming in as patients or as family members were not great, but even some of the core cast like Dana and Dr Mohan, like man, their acting was rough. Even Noah Wyle he is basically the best actor in the show by the default of the fact he is given the most to do, but like a lot of the cast, he sorta has three settings he just rotates between as each scene or moment requires, and when you notice it man is it distracting.
Another weird issue with season one, is how so much of it feels largely abandoned by season two. Maybe this is unavoidable when a show is leaping years, months, whatever it will be as we go into future seasons, but it also makes it hard to invest in interpersonal drama which has no resolution, and then isn’t picked up again by the seasons which follow, making huge parts of season one feel kinda of a waste of time on reflection.
This probably all sounds like I hated my rewatch, and that isn’t true. I still love how the show doesn’t hold your hand and drown you in exposition, how it trusts the audience's intelligence to keep up. The emotional haymakers still hit just as hard as they did the first time, even when I knew they were coming, I still couldn’t soften the blow. And any art that makes you feel something, moves you, well it is alright by me.
I also think season one really stands for things, in a way that was lessened in season two, and felt more cartoonish when it attempted it too. As someone who is probably considered liberal, who has no time for anti-vaxxers but am always willing to sit down with the vaccine hesitant as long as they are willing to listen, the challenging themes this tackles and how deftly, and maturely, they are navigated just makes this show truly gripping and truly special.
I am sure there are plenty out there who’ll say things like “keep politics out of the media I consume” (when they mean keep politics they don’t agree with out of the media consume, but alas), but I am sure, especially under Trump, it is a genuine battle for medical workers in the US every day just to offer their patients basic treatment.
Brainwashing medical misinformation has never been easier to find and be consumed by, systemic hatred feels like something the Trump regime practically celebrates at this point, a whole generation lost to Covid, and raised in toxic culture wars in a country where the poorest get poorer and the richest get richer. It adds to the authenticity for me that it faces those battles head on, and doesn’t just shy away from them for fear of offending a subset of the audience.
That is why I think there may be a billion medical dramas out there, but there is only one Pitt.
I finally subbed to Apple TV, time to watch all those shows people loved like three years ago! (haha)
(Although I have seen Pluribus, Silo, Hijack and is Severance one of theirs? Already)
First binge though, and the main reason I subbed, was Widow's Bay.
Feels like there has been a rise in the last decade of longform, prestige, horror shows. And despite being a horror nut, I’ve just never much enjoyed any of the ones I’ve seen. I’m not trying to be a contrarian here either, I just find these sorts of shows are often pretentious, miles up their own arse and ashamed of their own genre. Horror made for people who say “I don’t usually like horror” in the turn your nose up kind of way.
I think a big reason Widow’s Bay hits where those missed for me, is firstly it is a comedy - extremely dry and black as it may be - but it also clearly loves horror, and every episode feels like a loving celebration of different pockets of horror, without ever losing that prestige feeling the other shows had when it comes to construction, production value or performances.
Yes, there are still a few eyerolling tropes (is the real monster just our collective trauma thanks to life's chaotic randomness? Guess we gotta ask this again). But episodes centred around a trolley problem of killing a sweet old lady to potentially break a curse show how deftly these things can be deployed, when you embrace your genre and balance your tones.
And wedged between those moments of more serious "elevated" horror is a lot of other wonderful silliness that can exist in the wonderful world of horror. Whether it is fighting off a sea hag to make sure she doesn't kill you via sitting on your face or extended, edge of your seat, dripping in tension and dread chase sequences straight out of your favourite 80s Slasher, this has got a little of everything and it is always a joy to see where it will go next. The way it all so carefully and gradually builds over the course of the season is exquisite.
Even episodes that flash backwards land to standing ovation, and I wouldn't say this is always guaranteed, as I can think of plenty of horror stories that showed things and ruined the mystique of things. True fear is born from the unknown. A story is power, a monster contained within the torchlit whispers of teens on sleepovers can often be far more terrifying than whatever rubbery suit you can craft so the actor can jump out and say boo. Yet, each card Widow’s Bay deploys reveals a more elaborate trick than the last, without ever losing hold of what makes this show special, and when it does come time to face the true horrors directly and out in the light, it holds the line.
I’m not sure I can remember horror being so lovingly turned into gripping telly since probably Channel Zero, I remember getting to the end of No-End House and I cried and cried, it was powerful, it moved me, and it didn’t have to act like its horror parts were beneath them to achieve that. Take that Midnight Mass, more like Mid ight Ass amirite?
I also realise as I get older, I really do love stories where a location is a character, I feel like remarkably large amounts of shows and movies take place in faceless cities, with no tangible sense of place, but when place is the front and centre focus of every moment, I just feel it gives a story such tangible texture.
Finished The Outsider. Pure "prestige slop" to me. Why have anyone say anything directly to allow the plot to move, when every conversation can be twenty minutes long, with everyone speaking in riddles, and each gravelly whispered line can be intercut with them staring into space while white noise plays and we get drone shots of landscapes made to look "atmospheric" by having the whole show be tinted brown and grey?
Like if you like this stuff, genuinely, then fine, but I really feel like more people pretend to like this stuff because its vaguely arty and if you got them drunk and asked them honestly, they'd openly admit to you either they finished it and thought it was boring as piss, or dropped off after the first three episodes and pretended they watched the rest. And this stuff is bullet proof, cause people don't want to be outed, called immature or told they "didn't get it" so its just easier to say this kind of stuff is a masterpiece rather than be honest about it.
Oh, and the less said the better about how extremely anti-climactic it all is when the characters do finally embrace their reality and go after the monster.
This was utter tripe.
Might have been a great two hour movie, but in this format it drowns in self indulgent pretentious molasses.
Also on like a wider note, I realise I really hate supernatural stories with an audience power dynamic like this has. We, the audience, sorta know pretty early on something supernatural is going on, it is never explicitly stated, but the intention is clear. The core cast in the show though? They're still catching up to this realisation practically up until the last few episodes. I just don't see the fun, or the fulfilment, of spending the majority of a story waiting for the characters to catch up to where I have been basically since the story started. If they want to have characters come to conclusions so extremely slowly, the audience has to be kept in the dark with them to be effective.
Holy ****-balls! After much nudging and suggesting… and some arm-twisting… I finally convinced the missus to give America’s Team: The Gambler and his Cowboys a go Friday night and we just finished it this evening. ****ing incredible!
For some reason, while I can’t really get into any American sports, as a… erm sport… I love films, tv shows and documentaries about them. The missus and I absolutely loved The Last Dance and then The Dynasty in years gone by (both of which also took some arm-twisting of my poor missus) but this was even better. The last episode had us in absolute bits and if the Cowboys ever do go on to reach another Super Bowl… we’ll be watching our first, fully decked out with a lone star each. Mind blowingly good!
@psmr
Can’t say I’ve heard of it but then I’m very much out of the loop with TV shows, I’m currently watching BattleStar Galactica so that shows how up to date I am.
As for sports shows/films, they aren’t my bag but I did enjoy Friday Nights Lights a few years back so I agree with your lack of interest in that sport but enjoy sporting drama statement.
I have to say though, I don’t mind watching a good game of rounders
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