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TV Series of Some Interest
Misérables, Les
French mini-series created by the same team that released Count of Monte Cristo with Depardieu. The classic novel (one of my favorites of all time) is huge in scope, story
and depth, and even this six hour version is lacking some details, but is amongst the best ones and comes second only to the 1934 version. Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread
out of hunger, finds himself in prison for 19 years due to his attempted escapes and acquires a nemesis in the form of the rigid Javert who has an over-developed passion for
justice. He is released full of hate and darkness, encounters a kind bishop that changes his life, adopts a miserable woman that had an exceedingly difficult life, then her
daughter who was exploited and abused by a despicable family, etc... do I really have go into the rich and well-known plot? This adaptation is mostly good with some flaws.
It is faithful to the book for the most part and has time to develop most of the sub-plots. Depardieu is good as always but seems a little tired relative to his other energetic
performances, and the casting for Fantine, Cosette, the Thénardier couple and a few other characters are all superb. The flaws: Except for the 1978 version with Perkins, I
have yet to see an adaptation that gets Javert right and here they use a wooden, overly-evil Malkovich who seems more intent on enunciating his French than in developing the
depth his character needs. The first part is too rushed and chopped and gives no sense of time passed, Marius is miscast and off-putting, the bishop is very miscast, the
Thénardier family is just a little too cartoonishly evil, and Eponine's character is also a tad miscast. I suppose my love for the novel makes me picky and that this series
is pretty good despite its casting flaws, but the 1934 version got most of this stuff right. Comparisons: The 1978 version with Perkins has a good Javert but a poor Valjean
and it leaves out or changes (or adds) too much of the story. You should also ignore the generally lifeless 1958 version with Gabin (even though it had a great Eponine and
a good Thernadier), the weak 1982 version with Ventura (that also lacks subtitles), the Hollywoodized 1935 version with Laughton, any of the overblown populist musical versions
including the unwatchable 2012 musical version, as well as the 1998 travesty that butchered the story and characters. Instead of all these watch this one, or the even better
1934 version by Bernard which won me over despite the fact that I generally prefer modern adaptations. In addition, if you love the book and just want to hang out with another
fan who thinks the modern world revolves around the book, watch Lelouch's self-conscious modernized 1995 version that plays like extended annotations on the book.
Our Boys
Israeli/HBO docu-drama mini-series about a very challenging event in Israeli history in 2014. There was a kidnapping by Arabs of three Jewish youths, a country-wide upheaval,
prayers and utmost concern while an extended search went on for the boys, and the final finding of the boys' dead bodies 2.5 weeks later, causing all of the country-wide upheaval to
turn, understandably, into mourning and hate. The event that is challenging is not the kidnapping itself, but the aftermath, and the actions of some Jewish youths who mistranslated
the country-wide emotional disturbance into a brutal terrible crime in revenge against a random Arab. The reason why I say that this is the focus is because Arabs commit horrible
crimes on purpose all the time, and the Jews do not. So it's therefore the act of revenge that requires close observation and meditation, not the act of animals that do this all the
time. This is the approach of this mini-series: It covers the murder by the Arabs in the first episode, then spends nine more episodes covering the reactions, the act of revenge, the
police investigation, the aftermath, and the reaction of the Arabs, all in minute and very meticulous detail. Actual footage is carefully mixed with reconstructed drama extremely well,
although many details were altered for dramatic effect or structural simplicity, the core of the story and the important details remain intact as far as I can tell, and careful detailed
research is combined with some unavoidable speculation. The actors are all incredibly good and everything feels authentic. Now, as I said, a good Jew that holds himself to higher
standards should wonder how such a thing could happen, and whether the film-makers' intentions were in this vein or not, the show delivers this opportunity and provides strongly
for this interpretation. Of course, the reaction to this series was predictable. The masses that blindly hate Israel and Jews use this as ammunition, and the overly-defensive right
attacked the show for being one-sided. Even Netanyahu, who along with almost everyone else in the country condemned the act of revenge, aggressively attacked this show. But all of
this is mostly misguided. Of course, by focusing so extensively on the act of revenge and by including the reaction and suffering of the Arabs, it provides ammunition to the
anti-Semites. And this is a somewhat valid critique. If it were me, in theory, I would have considered only showing the Jewish side of the revenge and skipped the Arabs, because
that is what needs to be contemplated. And this would have driven the point home. But this is not practical since one cannot examine the act without showing its repercussions as well.
In addition, this series doesn't skip the cause and context of the act like many news outlets; It devotes the first episode to it. In the end, haters will ignore this context just
like they always do and they hardly need this as ammunition to feed their hate. The important part, like many Jews did when this happened, is to face the shock and try to understand
how a Jew could do such a thing. Because Jews don't do this. And this is an emotion and a theme repeated in this series many times: The widespread disbelief by all Jews that something
like that could have been performed by a Jew. Even the mother of the killed Jews condemned the act of revenge and this is shown in this docu-drama. Sure the more fanatical factions
supported it. But most Jews were shocked. And this fact, together with the fear of repercussions, obviously caused the handling of this act to be heavily laden with many delicate
conflicting emotions, difficult responses, and a bit of political maneuvering which need to be examined and meditated on. And that's why I believe this show dived into so much detail
of the act, and why, despite the trouble that this mini-series caused, I am basically supportive.
Chernobyl
Hyped HBO docu-drama on the Chernobyl catastrophe, deserving of praise but at the same time, deeply flawed. All movies based on history are typically fact-checked and compared
to real events nowadays on the internet, and most historical shows have factual errors, and this show is no different in this sense. What does make this different is that this
mini-series is presented as factually true rather than 'inspired by real events and dramatized for effect', and also the argument that many of the factual errors in this case
are very important or basic and not just nitpicking details. Despite this, the show did many things extremely well. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert or to know the truth
obviously, but my opinion is based not only on many fact-checks on the internet made by people that were there, or by people that studied the event for years, but also on my
instincts while watching this show that some specific aspects felt inauthentic or implausible. First, the good: The dread, intense fear, and horrifying aspects of this event
are all captured very well, the show managing to depict the big picture as well as the small picture, and the stories about the individual people and their horrifying tragedies
amplify the bigger horror. The physics, and the way the event itself is explained from a scientific point of view is unanimously praised. The acting is superb, and the tiny
details in the sets, locations, the plant and the event itself all impress. The show also manages to portray many Russians as inspiringly stoic and heroic. At the same time, the
writers of this show were too desperate for clear villains and heroes. So, while there is general agreement that some of the managers of the plant were criminally negligent and
sloppy, the people who knew them didn't agree that they were necessarily bad people, and this show goes out of its way to make them despicable. As far as I can tell, it's not
so black and white. It's even worse with the Soviet government: While everyone agrees that the cover-ups, inefficiencies, oppressive control and corner-cutting production were
all big factors in this tragedy, that doesn't mean that you have to portray officials as evil villains that force civilians at gunpoint, and a KGB psychopath at every corner.
There is a big difference between inefficiency plus corruption, and evil. There is also a smaller problem with some of the heroes here, giving them too much credit. For example,
it has one man stand up against the Soviet empire in a dramatic court hearing, except this never happened. There are even fundamental things wrong with the way radiation is
portrayed here, which is at the core (sorry) of the story. The show doesn't separate between radioactive dust, and people that are dying of radioactivity, treating people like
they are infected with a contagious virus, and even I know that these are not the same. This alone means many of the scenes here are complete nonsense, but it also misinforms
the public and perpetuates a myth that has caused harm (e.g. not helping people exposed to radiation). There are many more errors, but these are the bigger problematic ones.
Actually, the one that bothered me personally the most for some reason, is that HBO just had to go Woke even here and take the credit away from dozens of male scientists and
give it all to a fictitious woman, who not only outsmarts everyone in the show, she also is above everyone else morally and is behind the (real) scientist's death-defying heroic
stand. So not only did they re-appropriate credit, they had to make men look bad compared to women... yet again. It's bad enough to create female characters that don't resemble
reality in fictional shows, but to do this to real-life heroes in the name of political-correctness is repulsive. To re-iterate: Mostly great; Deeply flawed.
John Adams
HBO mini-series focusing on the life of the second president of the USA. As opposed to Rome, this sticks to pedantic historical facts rather than adding entertaining
fiction with violence and sex. The casting and acting are superb across the board. The recreation of the period and the historical detail are magnificent and mostly
accurate as far as I can tell, like history books and pictures come to life. I almost got chills when I saw George Washington move. The execution is flawless; it's
the choice of subject matter and politically-correct characterizations that raise questions: John Adams allows for an unusual biopic and approach for exploring the
birth of the USA, his less-than-heroic behaviour and difficult personality presenting the opposite extreme of a whitewashed glamorization. His anger and stern personality
is not the problem, but the way they made him so whiny and dependent is problematic. The writers also went to questionably great lengths to make his wife as pivotal as
possible, undermining his achievements and personality even more in dozens of little ways. The writing feels forced as a result, distorted towards an agenda rather than
the truth. The first episode sets up the personality and feel of the period very well with a courtroom drama. The second episode is a riveting exploration of the politics
behind the declaration of independence. The poor third episode features some obvious personal bias by the writers against France who understandably depict them as decadent,
but also as childishly stupid. The rest of the episodes become increasingly more tedious and dull, focusing on pedantic politics or family drama, with some highlights
(the audience with King George being one riveting scene). All in all, besides the biased & flawed writing, it feels like a teaser of what might have been if they had only
explored the revolution as a whole with all of its colorful personalities and events instead of focusing on only one smaller aspect of it, Adams's contributions and
personality notwithstanding. Granted, it's a biopic and not a war movie, but it still feels like the focus was on a less interesting aspect of the revolution, especially
since the writers went out of their way to undermine him.
War And Peace (2016)
As with Les Misérables, War & Peace is a massive complex novel that seems almost impossible to get just right, and although there is a steady stream of adaptations, there are
almost always some characters or elements that feel wrong, due to the many vivid and varied characters in the novel, and the challenge of getting the tone, location and period
of the rich novel just right. Whereas Les Misérables got its definitive version early on by the French in 1934, with a valiant later attempt with Depardieu, this novel, I dare
say, has yet to see its definitive version. Single movie-length creations are all obviously butchered (War & Peace is the benchmark definition of a massive novel). The Russian
7 hour adaptation by Bondarchuk in the 60s features the most mind-boggling epic scale, war scenes, and authentic costumes, and has the huge advantage of being made by Russians,
thus giving it that crucial and unique Russian air, character and manner, and it features good casting for the most part. It is the closest thing to a definitive adaptation,
except that it is marred by old-school overly theatrical, stiff and dramatic acting and performances. The 1972 BBC adaptation with Anthony Hopkins is the most detailed (to a
fault) and true to the novel with its 15 hours, but the tone is somewhat too British, and the feel is sometimes too made-for-TV, especially with indoor scenes (outdoor scenes
are surprisingly epic for a 70s BBC production), and it also features some theatrical performances that fail to bring some characters to life, with a mixed bag for the casting.
Anthony Hopkins is superb as Pierre, and the rest range from good, to acceptable to poor (a bad Natasha). Which brings us to this 2016 BBC adaptation: At just over 6 hours, the
coverage is a nice compromise that keeps the story moving along without losing important things. Visually it is beautiful, the production is superb, and the cast do bring the
many characters to life. The problem is that they are not bringing them to life as the Russian characters that Tolstoy painted. For starters, they lack the Russian mentality
and personality, much much more than in the 1972 version. It's not just that they are 'not Russian'; Their behaviour as written by Tolstoy which the screenplay has them do,
very often does not match their characterizations as performed by the actors. There are also anachronisms, modern behaviours and dresses that don't go with attitudes of early
19th century Russian aristocracy. For example Lily James is a delightful Natasha, she just isn't a Russian 19th-century Natasha. And Paul Dano brings Pierre to life with
subtle sensitive acting, he's just way too modern. And the first few episodes feel much more like a Jane Austen novel with an emphasis on romantic drama rather than on the many
deeper Russian themes and characters of Tolstoy. Another example: The critical crisis when innocent Natasha is supposed to be swept away by the manipulative romantic gestures
of Anatole is all wrong here, simply because Anatole is too much of an obvious narcissistic trashy modern brat in this show with no subtlety and no old-school Russian poise
and confidence. So, while this is another close one that gets many things right and which is enjoyable (I admit I enjoyed this one the most), there are, once again, also many
things that feel off and wrong and I could not shake off this feeling of wrongness for the whole show. One needs to work on the actors mentality for adaptations like these, not
just on the costumes and the acting.
Escape at Dannemora
Impressively realistic and well acted 7-hour prison-escape thriller and drama based on a true story. It's like a long version of Escape From Alcatraz, only with much more color
and character, taking its time to build the characters and tell the detailed story. The attempted escape involved the help and very personal involvement of a prison
employee with severe personality defects, and it is this angle that gives the story its unique character. It is also acted by Patricia Arquette in one of those mind-boggling
performances where she transforms herself so completely and subtly, physically and behaviour-wise, that she loses herself completely in the role and becomes that person.
Its one flaw is that it is too realistic in the sense that the characters are thoroughly unlikeable, but they are acted so well, it is a compelling watch nevertheless.
Only since the primary characters are so morally warped and despicable, the thriller aspects of this show are not as strong, since a sane person should want them not
to succeed. The primary reasons, then, to watch this show, are the acting, the directing, and the story-telling. These are all done very nicely indeed, and are at the
level of The Wire. A must-see-once.
Night Of, The
HBO remake of the first season of the British "Criminal Justice", which I haven't watched. It is superbly reminiscent of The Wire in the sense that it goes for meticulous
detail, realism and authenticity when exploring a criminal case, while attempting to explore and enlighten a bigger theme: In this case, the idea that the justice system
often does not work. Not by using the cliched approach of real criminals going free, but the opposite: That of an innocent caught in the web of a complex system populated
by otherwise good, working people that just want to close the seemingly simple case and go home. Now I have seen hundreds of murder-mysteries in dozens of shows, many with
plots similar to this one, but almost none of them managed to do what this mini-series did in terms of transporting you into the story via realistic details, down-to-earth
characters, and a natural flow of developments. This is the huge strength of this series: The theme of mistakes in the justice system, although not presenting anything new
to anyone that isn't naive, is demonstrated very clearly to the point of being morally thought-provoking. And most of the characters are superb, especially Bill Camp as the
subtly efficient and quietly manipulative detective, and John Turturro as the cheap lawyer who is torn between his self-serving money-grabbing agenda, and his conviction
that this is a case like no other that needs an honest and hard-working approach. There are flaws, albeit minor, but they accumulate: After a few episodes, too much time
is spent as a cliched prison movie straight out of Oz with implausible developments as the prisoner deteriorates all too fast. Riz Ahmed is good at first, albeit seems
overly medicated and subdued, but when it's time to act tough, he just becomes catatonic and detached for the rest of the show, bringing to mind Rami Malek. As a
murder-mystery for the audience to solve, the show doesn't work, simply because it presents a solution out of left field. As a court-room drama it's not bad however,
although many of them take way too long to pursue obvious investigations that could bring the truth to light, and this seems contrived just to allow the drama to unfold.
But, the above strengths still make it very watchable, well-done and fascinating. So, I'm going to classify this as must-see-once.
Unbelievable
Truthfully, I was getting ready to hate this one before it even started, expecting a crude Wokefest given its topic and timing. But it surprised me, and is actually very well
done. It's a true-crime mini-series based on the true story of a very clever and careful serial-rapist, the law-enforcement hunt for this man, and the very tragic story of one
teenage girl who was handled poorly by the police until she retracted her story. I am the last person to let even traces of a Woke agenda off the hook, but this one was done 100%
the right way, and I found this a touching and gripping story, so credit is due. Of course, some aspects of the story were probably altered, but, if this was done, it didn't
lose its realism, and there was no preaching, barring a couple of realistic rants, and any criticism of men was done fairly and realistically. Perhaps the women here were all
portrayed as super detectives, but I didn't mind. Some male policemen were useless and insensitive, and others were helpful, and husbands and bosses were not bad guys. Again,
all done fairly and realistically. It is also a nicely done police-procedural drama-thriller, and the exhaustive investigate work was solidly written and made fascinating.
But it's the drama of the victims that stays with you, without hitting you over the head with a hammer. Kudos.
Kidding
Based on both seasons.
We didn't need Jim Carrey in a TV series to remind us that TV has become something else entirely in the past decade. But the real star of this show is one of the producers/directors.
This constantly surprising quirky comedy has Michel Gondry's fingerprints all over it. It is about a Mr. Rogers-esque star of a children's show that has been influencing
generations of children all over the world for decades, becoming a living legend. But his personal life leaves a lot to be desired, to say the least. This Showtime show
doesn't just take the easy way of portraying a monster behind the scenes of a children's show, but does something much more interesting than that: It portrays a man who
really lives and breathes everything that he represents in the children's show; all of the light-hearted, kind, gentle behaviour and morals, his mind constantly in a
musical fantasy world, despite all of the dark, depressing, crazy and rude world of violence, death, kinks and dementia. Except that some of it is also bubbling inside him,
being repressed as best he can, causing outbursts of insanity. And nothing hurts him more than a death of his own child. Carrey portrays this complex man beautifully.
The show explores his mind, his world, family, co-workers and friends using imagination, inner-fantasy, dreams, light magical realism, and even the children's show serves
as a reflection of his inner turmoil. The writing loves to play around, constantly introducing strange people, props and flashbacks that seem tangential to the story, then
connecting the dots in surprising ways much later. The family that helps him and manages him try to maintain the delicate and very commercial empire that they built around this
man, but it's a losing battle. The first handful of episodes are jarring and somewhat clunky, with light quirky comedy and material for children mixed with trashy shock-tactics
of rampant sexual situations and violence, like a bastard child of Gondry and wild Showtime trash. And it often tries too hard to be edgy by juxtaposing a children's show, child
actors and a childish man with lots of trashy sex. And the quirkiness does undermine the drama, albeit in interesting ways. But it gradually melds together and finds a much
better balance, becoming a very unique, quirky and interesting dramedy. It often feels off, like too many people pulling in different directions and adding clashing tones,
but it's one-of-a-kind.
Around the World in 80 Days
Four and a half hour mini-series of this classic Jules Verne story, and definitely the better version when compared to Niven's and Jackie Chan's versions, but not without
its flaws. Phileas Fogg is a pedantic, punctual and stiff English gentleman who takes on a wager that he can travel the globe in 80 days. He hires Passepartout, a French
butler with previous employment in a circus, one day before he leaves. There is suspicion that Fogg may have robbed a bank before leaving, using the trip as a ruse,
and, of course, everything goes wrong throughout the journey, forcing them to improvise and spend a lot of money to find alternate transportation, while surviving
the Alps, Indian kidnappers, a Chinese emperor, a Jesse James shootout, and so on. A princess saved from death in India provides the romantic interest. Pierce Brosnan
as Fogg is quite good, but a bit distracting, Eric Idle as Passepartout sports a silly Pythonesque accent and seems miscast but at least makes the role entertaining,
Ustinov as the detective is also a bit too silly and bumbling, but the romantic angle is boosted and handled very well as Fogg has to handle intruding emotions.
Another flaw is that the writers added extra adventures and meetings with historical celebrities, some of which are entertaining but many of which detract from the
realism (a gun showdown with Jesse James? c'mon!). They also made Passepartout too much of a womanizer. The first episode is slow and very flawed, but the third
episode is exciting even if you know the ending. In short, most certainly not the definitive version, but quite good nevertheless despite its flaws.
Jane Eyre (1983)
I watched this one after the 2006 version, and this was a breath of fresh air. All of the flaws of that adaptation were corrected by this one, replacing it with only
minor flaws of its own. The story flows in this one without obvious gaps and strange behaviour. The childhood drama isn't cartoonish and is balanced by humanity
and personality. And even the dialogue is much more rich, eloquent and elegant than the 2006 adaptation. Timothy Dalton is Rochester, in a performance that brought
some mixed reviews. His stage presence and acting talents are beyond reproach, and he only falters a bit with his gentler side, chemistry and emotional attachment to Jane.
His good looks are also at odds with the book that describes an ugly man. Zelah Clarke as Jane is passable to good, but the chemistry problem affects her as well.
The production is above-average for an 80s BBC production. In short, a very good adaptation and this is the preferable one to get if you love the book, but it is
not without its minor flaws.
Thief
Based on the single season.
An FX take on the caper series, one of three in the same year. Like The Shield, this features multiple ongoing plot-lines, developments that sometimes border
on the incredulous but remain intense and mostly believable, and powerful lead performances. A group of professional thieves get entangled with the Chinese Mob,
crooked cops, the FBI, etc. while dealing with family and girlfriend issues and pulling off complex jobs. A special point of interest is the unique, tense relationship
between the black leader and his white step-daughter. The Shield had more interesting characters but the only real flaw in this great series is that it was cancelled
after only 6 episodes, all the massively building story-lines ending abruptly. Could have been great if not for the cancellation.
Fauda
Based on the first two seasons.
A good Israeli terrorist-thriller series snatched by Netflix. It is about an ongoing war between undercover operatives on the Israeli side that specialize in infiltrating
Arabs as Arabs while taking down terrorists, and various terrorist elements on the Arab-Palestinian side. But this is not a regular espionage and terrorist thriller since,
given the nature of the war between close neighbors, it very often involves the families on both sides, and, in this series, it soon resembles a feud much more than a war,
with one kill leading to a personal revenge-kill on the other side and so on ad-infinitum. Not that the show equates one side with the other, nor does it take sides nor even
compare them; This show goes out of its way to avoid politics, and this is one of its disappointments. It is a straight-ahead thriller, a pretty good one, with gritty realism
and tension that sometimes goes through the roof, but this is all it is. Of course, this won't stop reviewers from getting on their soap-box just because it involves this
controversial war and most audiences will leave the show with what they had when they came in. So any review that mentions politics is going to be purely the reviewer's fault.
But, as mentioned, this is a disappointment, since a show covering this scene could have done so much more, rocked the boat, presented arguments from both sides, raised dozens
of questions, had their characters debate each other even while fighting the war, etc. And none of this ever happens for even one second.
I found myself comparing this one often to 24: As with 24, it features ongoing escalating national dangers, acts of terror, desperate acts of military tactics with agents from both
sides often going rogue as things escalate beyond control while becoming personal, forcing them to break the rules and do whatever is needed. As opposed to 24 however, it does not have
the silly gimmick of 24-hours, the constant need to cram ridiculous twists and crises in a ridiculous amount of time, the constant implausible hi-tech hacks and infiltrations, etc. As
such this show is very much superior to 24 with its gritty realism and down-to-earth tactics and plot developments. On the other hand, it also lacks cleverness most of the time. The
methods, while somewhat realistic, repeatedly involve getting suspects to talk using various psychological pressures or tortures, the infiltration is temporary undercover work passing
as Arabs for a short time (which doesn't always work), and the war is just brutal action and kills that sometimes deteriorate to fauda/chaos (although it is nowhere near showing the
actual level of barbarism that goes on). While this may be somewhat realistic, it's not going to exercise your mental faculties, only your nerves. In fact, often it's quite the
opposite as they seem to miss many basic tactics such as covering the back door to stop escapes, and tapping phones of family members. So the show is good, but not compellingly
impressive. As far as the personal drama is concerned, it is also minimally solid in the first season, and doesn't reach the levels of, say, Engrenages. But both sides are
presented as three dimensional humans with solid (but not compelling) personalities. The second season improves over the first in many ways however, also in terms of complex
Palestinian factions that fight with each other, and also in terms of a larger cast, so that it doesn't feel like the world is depending on three or four people. In the end,
however, it is what it is: A strong, pretty realistic, above-average action-thriller that will fit the bill for many thriller junkies, but also a big missed opportunity. It
aimed small and achieved it pretty well. But it has also reduced a heated and complex war to a feud and to a merely good action thriller.
Elizabeth I
HBO/Channel4 four-hour historical mini-series on The Virgin Queen. It's interesting to note the widely different screen productions on the Tudor family, especially
in the characterization. Reviewers often criticize historical accuracy in the plot details, but the personalities and motivations are always wide open for interpretation.
This series covers mostly the latter years of Elizabeth's reign, her various lovers, intrigue with the doomed Mary Queen of Scots, war with Spain, and the many ups
and downs with the overly young and stupid Earl of Essex. Helen Mirren as Elizabeth is stupendously complex and alive with many depths, yet I have big problems with
the characterization. In this series, Elizabeth is basically an articulate 50 year old high-school drama queen, running from one emotional outburst to another in full
view of her council, public and court, yelling threats of death at anyone and everyone on an emotional high, and assigning power to foolish young men just because
she felt a twinge in her heart, or crotch as it may be. I can't pretend to be an expert on behaviour in the 16th century, but one would expect nobility to have a
minimal level of restraint, poise, elegance and reserve. Not to mention that it makes it hard to understand how the country flourished under such a hysterical woman.
That said, it is a tribute to the writers and Mirren that the character is still very complex, fascinating and watchable. Jeremy Irons is also superb as usual.
The series is also almost purely from her point of view mostly from inside the palace, and we don't see any wars or much of anyone else's life. The costumes and sets
look great, but even they can't compete with Shekhar Kapur visual's spectacle. There is also nasty gore when it comes to executions. In short, very watchable and
interesting, but it loses to the stiff competition of Kapur/Blanchett's version.
Luther
Based on the first two seasons.
A British cop show that grabs you and forces you to pay attention. Intelligent, intense and, like many British shows, it boasts a strong personality and a fearless
edge that most US shows lack. And this is very important in a show about a loose-cannon detective in charge of extreme murders and serial killers. Idris Elba (The Wire)
provides most of the character and intensity on this one, managing to elevate and distract from the flaws of the show. Similarities to Dirty Harry include the intensity,
and a strong sense of principles and moral justice that is even stronger than his respect for the law and dedication to his job. He also has a dangerous, near-suicidal
edge as with Riggs from Lethal Weapon that compels him to confront the criminal and murderers with a mixture of strategy and fearless recklessness. The writing mixes
episodic murderers and criminals, each episode offering a very different variation and, usually, an intense criminal, with some two-parters as well as character arcs
dealing with his relationships with co-workers, bosses, ex-wife, ex wife's new boyfriend, and a murderess that managed to evade him but continues to have a strange
ongoing relationship with him. This last one provides for fascinating developments that alternate between interesting and ridiculous, with questionable conflicting
motives and she is used too often as a contrived plot device to save some situations. In addition, characters sometimes do implausibly extreme things just for
melodramatic effect, as if the writers wanted to keep pushing the envelope but pushed it too far. Another flaw is the occasional omniscience of Luther who sometimes
tends to guess motives and movements correctly and immediately as if by magic. One glaring example is how they managed to filter a phone call amongst thousands just
by looking for something 'weird'. Other examples is his over-confidence in his psychological theories and predictions when provoking a psychopath to a frenzy.
But there is no denying the greatness of everything else, it's just a shame that the scattered implausibilities keep distracting from the immersive and dark
entertainment. This show never insults its audience, but it needs a bit more discipline in the writing.
Mechanism, The
Based on the first two seasons.
In some ways, José Padilha is the David Simon of Brazil, having created the superb 'Elite Squad' double-movie about a special SWAT-esque police force in Rio fighting both
gangs and corruption, and then this show about global corruption in the whole of Brazil. (He also produced the show 'Narcos' covering Escobar and drug business in the
Americas.) This show combined with 'Elite Squad' reminded me of 'The Wire', the circle constantly expanding, and, like 'The Wire', the first season takes several episodes
to get off the ground with its intricate detail. It differs, however, in that all of these movies and shows he makes are based on actual events and not just inspired by
individual true stories. Also, this show is much bigger in scope, covering corruption in many huge corporations and politicians in the whole of Brazil. It tells the story
behind Operation Car Wash, a true investigation that resulted in literally thousands of warrants and hundreds of arrests that go all the way to the very top. Although
the show claims to have modified some details for dramatic effect, the names can be matched to actual people and the core of the true story, presumably, is still there.
The obsessed detectives in this show have to resort to sometimes mind-boggling games, very clever creativity, and some not-quite-legal tricks to bypass the ubiquitous
corruption, and if it weren't based on a true story I would think it implausible. I did not find it as compelling as 'The Wire' for some reason, but it was a gripping,
comparable watch nevertheless, with intricate detail and educational complex revelations as to how a system can be so thoroughly corrupt and undefeatable despite miracles,
and creative, iron-willed investigators.
Hot Zone, The
Based on the first two seasons.
Based on real events involving the spread of frightening viruses, but greatly fictionalized and dramatized in its details and characters. The first season covers ebola, the
second covers anthrax. The first season tells of the first encounters with ebola in Africa in the 70s as a backdrop, but primarily tells the story of an ebola strain that
emerged in the USA in 1989. Again, the basic story and main events are based on true history, but the details in the screenplay are fiction. This first season does a good
job with the dread and terror of the various characters involved, as well as the detailed scientific investigations and the tension involved as new details were uncovered,
with plenty of unknowns. I learned a lot from this docudrama even though the drama is fiction, and the drama is well done. There are some clunky and obnoxious aspects in
the screenplay though: One is the awkward and misplaced injections of moralizing rants about the handling of AIDS seemingly for no reason other than the writers to preach
their views on this subject. Another is the Woke injections of the treatment of a woman in the workplace even though the actual woman involved in this story said in an
interview explicitly that she suffered no such treatments. Also, they give her full credit for the findings and make the men inferior even though, in real life, the story
is very different. But, overall, it is a good, thrilling and educational show.
The second season covers an outbreak of anthrax in Russia in 1979 in the introduction, but then focuses exclusively on the anthrax attacks that followed 9/11, using 9/11
as a further dramatic backdrop for the drama. Once again, the primary events in this story are all true and I learned a lot from this show, and the fictional drama is
pretty effective. But I had a big problem with the characterization of the supposed perpetrator of the attacks. In real life, the alleged perpetrator was accused but
no solid evidence was given, and the accusations were contested, and this show not only runs with him as the attacker, it also portrays him in a way that doesn't ring
true. The actor that portrays him is superb, but the writing depicts him more like someone's projected fantasy of a deranged person rather than a real person. I was
not convinced in the least.
Caliphate
Based on the single season.
An extremely tense thriller/drama from Sweden about the Islamic State (ISIS), terrorism and their methods for using radicalized teenage girls or indoctrinating them.
One of the plot lines involves a disillusioned Swedish woman living in the heart of ISIS with her baby, and her husband who is a core member of the terrorists, and
her harrowing efforts to get herself out of the clutches of ISIS and back to Sweden. She contacts the Swedish Security Service who use her to help their anti-terrorist
efforts. The increasing dangers she finds herself in keep growing to truly distressing proportions. Another plot-line involves the Swedish Security Service, their
investigations, internal tensions and betrayals, and their race against time to fight imminent terrorist attacks. This is a bit 24-esque with its portrayal of perhaps
too-well organized, efficient and capable terrorists, but it's relatively a lot more realistic nevertheless. A third plot-line involves some Arab teenage girls that get
caught up in their own emotions over their newfound religion and Muslim misinformation on the internet, and get caught in the web of ISIS, their recruitment scouts,
manipulations and grooming tactics. It's generally very well done with tension that sometimes goes through the roof, but it has a few flaws. Some minor spoilers follow:
First there is a plot twist with the Swedish Security Service management which is revealed in the final episode which doesn't make sense since much could have been avoided
if there was basic communication of need-to-know information or better handling of the crises and the information. Second, agencies should know better by now that
radicalized teenagers are not reliable and are not necessarily waiting to be saved. Their decisions when it comes to handling them, including after they are returned
to Sweden, were obviously idiotic. Everyone knows you don't trust brainwashed people. Finally, you should know that the ending is harsh.
Queen's Gambit, The
An unexpectedly super-popular mini-series that somehow managed to make chess more popular again. Seeing as the protagonist heroine is female, I was expecting a feminist fantasy.
Although it is a fantasy in the sense that no such female super-player existed with this crazy amount of skill and wins, it is much better than I expected and quite an interesting,
enjoyable show. It tells the tale of a prodigy orphan with a troubled family life and bad experiences in the orphanage as she battles a drug addiction while rapidly rising
the ranks of the chess world. However, it makes the common mistake of pushing her skills to super-hero territory. Take Judit Polgár as an example, the undisputed top female
chess player of all time: She did beat many world champions but didn't win the world championship, and she had many draws and losses in many tournaments. Everyone has losses,
even world champions with decades of experience sometimes lose to people with a qualitatively lower rank. This severely damages the realism of this show. But there are also
several other elements that balance this out and make this an interesting watch and character study. First, it doesn't shy away from the notorious egos and eccentric behaviours
of chess masters, giving her ego and character problems as well for a more interesting and human character study. It also allows many men to contribute to her growth, usually
a feminist no-no. Other flaws, however, include a bias against fathers, all 3-4 of the fathers shown or mentioned in this show being cruel or hopelessly irresponsible. Also,
she has too much composure while being addicted to alcohol and drugs for most of the show. In the end, however, despite all the above pros and cons, I found it an interesting,
involving watch, and they did an amazing job making chess exciting without sacrificing technical authenticity (Garry Kasparov was a consultant). And they avoided making Russians
into bad guys, which is admirable.
Cobra Kai
Based on the first three seasons.
I always thought Karate Kid to be a great movie for juveniles and young teens, but mere cheesy fun for adults, with some great moments despite the cheese. This TV show's
greatest feat is to reproduce every aspect of the movie including the cheese, the fun, sloppy fights, the tone and warm human moments, and it manages to balance just the
right minimal amount of nostalgia with plenty of new material just perfectly. The clash between harsher 80s posturing and energy that often crosses the border into cruelty,
and the new-generation's overly sensitive youth, is great fun and handled nicely. It is easily the Karate Kid for the new generation, and a must-see for fans of the old movies.
In the movies, almost no character was completely bad, just misled, lost or swept away by the adrenaline, power and violence of karate. It's the same with this show, and
it even messes with your head beautifully by making the Johnny character the protagonist instead of the antagonist, and Daniel sometimes turns out to be the closed-minded
unforgiving one, based on his past bad experiences. They combine hot-headedness with contemplative regret and humanity, showing superbly complex human behaviour very nicely,
and their interactions, posturing and bickering on this show are often priceless. In this show, these two characters raise and train a new generation of teenagers on karate
with the clashing ideologies of defense-only Miyagi karate versus the macho Cobra Kai dojo that not only gives angry teenagers an outlet but also gives many bullied nerds
their confidence. This clash erupts in frequent inter-dojo street-battles, in the best tradition of cheesy kung-fu movies, American style. The show gradually bring back as
many of the characters from the movies as it can, including the only possible irredeemably evil character from the movies, and the stakes and violence are raised in season
two and three, but without forgetting the Miyagi-esque gently inspiring moments as well. I'm happy they didn't try to re-imagine Karate Kid like so many cash-ins nowadays,
and the subtle modernizations were welcome and done very well. I enjoyed all of it, the cheese notwithstanding, just like the original movie.
End of the F***ing World, The
Based on both seasons.
Despite the descriptions of this series, this is not a teen-show, nor is it about serial killers. It's a drama, black comedy and romance, involving very broken people in
messed up situations, and it just happens to feature teenagers as its anti-hero protagonists. Both are dead inside for different reasons. The young man is showing advanced
signs of being a psychopathic killer and he assumes that's what he is, and the young lady is constantly rude and lashes out at everyone. They find each other, and proceed to
embark on very strange adventures out in the world involving other messed up people, which, of course, forces them to face themselves. There are no cliches or feel-good developments,
and the writing is unpredictable. More importantly, the writing is very solid, and except for one ironic coincidence, if features very natural developments and reactions given
their characters and odd situations. Episodes are a short 20 minutes, with a continuous story-line, and given its eight episodes per season, this is a very easy and quick watch,
like two 2.5 hour movies. The only flaw is that the characters are not that interesting once you get past their broken and harsh facades. A show can have unlikeable characters,
but here there doesn't seem to anything there beyond their toxic personalities, since they are very dead inside and act like it too. But it was a solid, entertaining, and fascinating
(short) watch nevertheless.
Justified
Based on the first two and a half seasons.
A very good show from FX with naturally flowing developments and multiple story arcs reminiscent of The Shield. The character development is unbalanced however.
Raylan (Olyphant) is an old school marshal and lawman in a modern world that applies justice by allowing other people to draw first before he shoots them dead,
talks straight and honest, refuses to play games, or gives them 24 hours to leave town. To give this approach some reality, they transfer him to a small district
in Kentucky that also happens to be his hometown, where the bad guys are local pot and drug dealers, rednecks, white supremacy freaks, and moonshine-swilling petty
criminals. Since the district is so remote, the marshal gets to perform random local police work as well. In short, it's an excuse to transport a Western to the modern
world. His father is a hardened criminal and so is his friend Boyd (Walton Goggins in top form again), and many of the characters are very smart, terse and practical,
making the dialogue and developments a pleasure to watch. Every season tends to feature small crises as well as slowly building arcs with the bad guy of the year,
and the writing is consistently good. As mentioned though, the character development is the weaker aspect. If I compare this to The Shield, every character in
that show was three-dimensional and every story and character there was compelling. Whereas here, once they set up the character of Raylan, he doesn't really
go anywhere interesting and is just there to catch bad guys as a mere two-dimensional sheriff, and Boyd Crowder, on the other hand, is given so many extreme
personality and outlook changes, that you get whiplash watching him and it starts feeling unrealistic. The rest aren't really interesting, although there are some
characters like Arlo Givens, or Mags Bennett in season two, that stand out with their three-dimensions. It's really mostly about the twists and turns, the deceptions,
plotting, crimes and trickery, violence, personal agendas versus friendship and family, and the gun battles. The show is very watchable and entertaining, although
it always feels just this side of great, and, in season three they add one too many deceptions, agendas and twists, losing the superb realism of the first two seasons.
Das Boot
Das Boot, as most people know, is a war movie about the experience of WWII submariners living and fighting in the old but very tough u-boat that is starting to become outdated
thanks to new Allied technology. It's WWII from the German side, and you would think that sympathy would be impossible, but the experienced officers distance themselves from
the Nazis and 'bloated' or 'unrealistic' leadership, and the whole crew suffer so much, that it just becomes a gripping movie about soldiers doing their job under unusually
hellish circumstances. This review is not for the superb movie, or even for the mini-series version, but a comparison of the series to the Director's Cut version. To wit, there
are at least three versions of this movie: A theatrical 2+ hour cut that always felt butchered and lacking in key scenes even though it was the first version I saw. The superb
3+ hour Director's Cut which features perfect editing and pacing, with all the key scenes, mood and buildup intact. And then there is the 5-hour 'original uncut' version
that was viewed in Germany as a TV series. It adds many more scenes of daily life in the U-boat, mood-setting dialogue, lots more camaraderie, most of it very raunchy (too
over the top in my opinion), extended scenes, and so on. But you won't miss anything important unless you think that living with these submariners for longer will add to
your experience. In other words, the pacing suffers and it becomes more of an interesting experience rather an exciting war movie, and only die-hard fans of the movie version
should check it out.
Mr Inbetween
Based on all three seasons.
A different kind of (Australian) crime show by FX. Ray is a legendary, efficient street-thug, or hit-man for hire, but he tries to balance this violent world with his family
life and friends, including his little daughter. It's not exactly Sopranos, albeit it made me think of that show sometimes. There is no syndicate or an emphasis on mostly
animalistic criminal behaviour; This man is complex, and there is a delicate balance between gentle fatherhood, his roles as boyfriend and family member, and his ruthless
life of crime, killing even innocent people. The show doesn't resort to making him a moral person out for revenge, or fighting other criminals; He does also kill innocents.
Episodes vary, sometimes between touching drama, and ultra-violence or very dark crime within the same episode. The writing and episode lengths are very tight, as efficient
and concise as our protagonist, and very masculine without requiring constant action. It's much more of a character study than plot driven, since many plot elements involving
crime are usually solved very quickly with efficient violence. But it's the characters and family interactions that will maintain interest longer beyond the impressive crime
and action.
The first season is relative weak and short but mildly interesting. First episodes merely feature short crime 'assignments' that he has to deal with and short interactions
with his family, and his character doesn't really emerge for a while. The two-part finale also uses an impossible sequence of coincidences, breaking the realism. There is
also a lack of consequences to his actions, each episode being too self contained. The second season is by far the strongest, featuring many superb character-development
episodes, dark and intense episodes, and interesting challenges in crime, and creative, efficient solutions. The third season is a mix of the first and second seasons: Some
episodes are only mildly interesting, self-contained missions and quirky behaviour, others have strong character development. An interesting, almost-great show.
Narcos: México
Based on the first two seasons and a bit of the third.
This spin-off of Narcos (which was originally intended to be a part of that show) is actually superior to that one. Not that the production or acting or realism are better; they
are at the same level in that regard. The show is better in one simple way: The characters on both sides of the war use their brains rather than just brute force and money.
They use strategy, creative ideas, quick thinking, thorough homework, scheming, politics, clever leverage, and there is also actual police-work, investigation and amazingly
difficult work to try to work-around a deeply corrupt country rather than just waging a frantic brutal war as in Narcos. So, although the characters are above-average but
not amazing, the story-telling is much more interesting. This show tells the Mexican side of the American drug-war, from the chaotic beginnings of bickering dealers and
independent marijuana growers in the 70s, to the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel, the 'federation' brought together by the super-boss Félix Gallardo, and his meteoric, ambitious
and cleverly scheming rise to power until his greed and ambition gradually become his undoing. The third season, as with Narcos, explores the aftermath with a hodge-podge of
stories. Although the subject matter of yet another drug-war is not my favorite subject and the characters are not that gripping, it's well done and interesting material
nevertheless, in terms of thrills as well as history, and a compelling one-time watch for two seasons.
Man Seeking Woman
Based on all three seasons.
This isn't a fantasy or sci-fi show per se, more like a cutesy 'surreal' comedy about relationships where every little thing is taken to an imaginative fun extreme and which
often uses fantasy and sci-fi to poke fun at things. For example an unwanted and awkward date becomes a date with a literal troll, every text message in a new relationship
becomes a literal global crisis in the presidential/military situation room, or a text-hostage-situation, a challenging relationship issue becomes a training session with
a kung-fu sifu, and a fight becomes a battle between giant mecha-robots. This is all done very well and is great fun, and although the relationships and relationship problems are
cliched and not really insightful, this technique of fantasy exaggeration is often very creative and actually makes it all quite touching, evoking very familiar life issues
via surrealism. And it's also just fun to see what they come up with next. Most of the comedy is from the guy's point of view, along with his juvenile minded bro-buddy,
and much of the comedy at first is quite raunchy and juvenile, but the show also varies things a lot and plays around from other points of view, including girlfriends and
parents. A lot of the first season involves the woes of a single awkward guy who just can't seem to get a girl, but then it becomes more about longer relationships as he
matures. The third season loses some steam but is still good fun. Altogether, despite the juvenile aspects, a very enjoyable watch from start to finish with a colorful imagination.
Good Fight, The
Based on the first three seasons.
A spin-off from The Good Wife, and a slightly different show with a different focus in each season, as well as different pros and cons. In fact, I would describe it as something
in between the legal-oriented Good Wife and the satirical and political BrainDead (without the sci-fi), and the result is actually better than those two shows, but with its own
flaws. Two characters from The Good Wife find themselves ruined after a scam and scandal involving their family, and are forced to try to pick up the pieces in a new law firm
with a different approach and people. The first season is the most similar to Good Wife with a combination of complex family scandal drama and an impressive legal playground with
a rich variety of interesting cases and very creative and playful use of the law. The writing is sharper than ever. But the comedy is also better and more pronounced, emphasizing
the new crazy world and rules of society, the writing becoming really creative with its wild stories and cases and the sharp-witted and entertaining methods by which they attack
the constant stream of problems, cases and wild situations. There are many, many colorful characters, many of them highly intelligent and eccentric, especially amongst the guest
stars that make the cases that much more entertaining and challenging. The second season adds more politics to the mix but increases the 'crazy world' satire with the addition of
a killer running around killing lawyers. The third season dives head first into politics, craziness and extremism.
The show is often attacked for its politics. The first season is the most balanced and least political, even less so than The Good Wife. There are hot-topic issues like censorship
and terrorism and crooked corporations, and there is a liberal bent, plenty of race issues, a firm with a crusade against police brutality, and it casts women in power everywhere,
but it's almost never heavy-handed or preachy. Unlike The Good Wife, this show shows its writers seemingly have moved beyond their agenda, at least at first, and is just interested
in making an entertaining and witty show. I enjoyed it. Actually, the one thing that did bother me was the repeated strange writing flaw of not finishing the story or case, often
presenting a move that they think is a fait accompli, despite obvious missing pieces. For example, very often towards the end of the case they bring in a last-minute witness that
provides seemingly damning testimony, and suddenly we skip to the post-win celebration making me feel like I missed a few scenes, except that the witness is hardly reliable and
could have been attacked by the other side easily. Or, as another example, they are supposed to be solving the legal problem of handling abusive language in a social-media platform,
then they solve one case with a clever tactic, but the thousands of others are never handled, and the episode ends as if the whole thing is solved. Or other similar sudden happy
endings that feel shoehorned in, including season endings that don't close the story-lines. Another flaw is that the cases very often deal with large corporations that are going
after the little people, and the lawyers always find some convenient evidence and win even though it is not clear at all at first that the corporations are in the wrong. So there
are politics here in the writing as well as a dishonest portrayal of lawyering in order to make the protagonists into heroes. But, overall, these are just flaws in an otherwise
entertaining show.
The Trump bashing and ranting starts to take off in season two amidst the craziness of a world gone mad. The entertainment factor also goes up though, as the situations get funnier
and crazier and the characters have to find creative ways to deal with the madness. Whether one votes for Trump or not, one must agree that Trump could use at least some bashing
(as long as it's accurate and not used for a political agenda). However they lose this impartiality somewhere mid-season-two. Even the protagonists, and many of the lawyers start
ranting often against Trump, and many of the twisted or exaggerated news stories about him are presented at face value. The sense of an agenda starts taking over gradually and
the balance is slowly lost, but the entertainment factor is still high, making for a mixed bag. It's like they tried to make a satire but frequently crossed the line into ranting.
There's also an amusing irony: They cast a 'token black man' who voted for Trump to be the voice of the conservatives, although he is always drowned out by everyone else. Also,
some of the agenda is subtle: There are frequent attacks on the alt-right (rightfully so), but never any mention of the extreme left, which is very revealing.
This becomes much worse in season three, though the entertainment factor, wit, and comedic situations still kept me watching, with gradually decreasing enjoyment. Several characters
decide to fight the madness by beating them at their own games, breaking the law, using low tactics, lies, even violence. Once again, this feels like its meant to be a satire
about some liberals going completely rabid under Trump, except that the show has several of its usually level-headed protagonists adopt this new attitude in multiple plot-lines,
ranting and preaching about the necessity of it, justifying it repeatedly, and there's a new loud-mouthed crude lawyer whom some of the lawyers have to deal with, once again by
adopting more extreme tactics. So the satire is lost and it feels more and more like a pushed agenda. If Antifa wrote a comedy, I imagine the result wouldn't be much different
than this third season. So, despite the witty entertainment, this is where I got tired of watching.
True Detective
Based on the first season and most of the second.
This is an example of how character can elevate a pretty ordinary detective series and serial-killer thriller to something much greater (at least in the first season). As with
Homicide, this show focuses on the people, their character, interaction, chemistry and dialogue, and the murder-mystery and detective-work become more of a backdrop. And it's
a good thing too, because, if you think about it, the serial-killer case in the first season is pretty messy and too far-fetched involving a ridiculous cult conspiracy with
slight suggestions of a potential supernatural element, and the detective work tends to wander amongst many tangents, leaving some plot-lines hanging. But since the focus
is more on character-development and how they work together, you don't notice as much. It also helps that the two protagonists in the first season are top-tier character
actors, with the always-reliable and colorful Woody Harrelson, and a solid McConaughey. They both get a juicy role of broken people, one more than the other, driven to find
the killer, getting on each others nerves but also balancing out each other's flaws and skills to make a solid team. The case takes place over a few decades, tying together
old unsolved cases with current murders, and expanding further even after they think they solved it. Their dialogue and chemistry ranges from grippingly tense and fascinating,
to pretentiously empty attempts at meaningful statements, but even this is part of McConaughey's broken character who has dug a hole for himself. The detective work involves
a lot of systematic work following obscure leads and instincts, slowly opening up the clues with sheer persistence, which is good, but it also leads to many dangling plot-lines
and they break way too many laws to get critical information they need, slightly reducing plausibility. Overall, I found the first season a gripping watch, very strong
in terms of character development, but overrated as a detective thriller. The second season, however, gets overwhelmed with the writer's pretensions and loses its vision,
resulting in a very dead season that features unnatural characters that never come to life, convoluted multiple plot-lines that are almost impossible to follow, and uninteresting
crimes and people.
Young Doctor's Notebook, A
Based on both seasons.
Although labelled a comedy, this is by Bulgakov. Which means pitch-black old-school-Russian satire and comedy coating a core of misery. This is a short, compact series based on
short stories by Bulgakov about a young Moscow doctor banished to the middle of nowhere to practice medicine. The local peasants have no understanding of disease and how to handle
their syphilis epidemic, tools are blunt which makes for disturbing amputations, there is nothing to do except listen to strangely obsessive 'anecdotes' from the dentist or
have awkward sexual releases with the local nurse who is built like an ox, and the doctor develops a painful disease which leads him into a horrible morphine addiction. Where
is the comedy, you ask? The doctor finds it in making fun of his own incompetence, and the story is told from the point of view of the doctor as an older man, who literally
revisits his youth and interacts with him in near-surreal ways. Some gory scenes require a strong stomach and some may find the mix of extreme misery and comedy disorienting.
Definitely a unique show that captures the Bulgakov spirit.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John le Carré's book gets a quality BBC mini-series treatment with top-quality actors (including Alec Guinness and Ian Richardson). Spy-craft has never been this dense
and intelligent. In fact, at times it is too intelligent, assuming too much of the audience. The complex plot and extremely subtle dialog is challenging enough, but
the extensive unexplained spy-craft jargon, strange narrative structure of flashbacks that seems to go out of its way to put distance between pieces of the puzzle,
and some unexplained developments, all make it impossible not to miss plot points and details. That said, what remains is still fascinating after it starts to tie itself
together after a few episodes. The characters somehow manage to be both phlegmatic and full of personality, their dynamics are rich, the dialogue is fiercely intelligent,
and the spy-craft is meticulous. The plot is about finding a mole in MI6 during the Cold War, a retired spy called in to lead the investigation, and the various clues and
pieces of the puzzle from different periods. But it's really about the plot development, details and characters. A must-see-once for fans of John le Carré or audiences that
like their spy-craft a mostly cerebral and talky affair, realistic and intelligent. But the slow pace and other flaws mentioned above are a hurdle for what is otherwise
a standard spy story told in a dense and intelligent way.
Decalogue
A ten-part mini-series by Kieslowski based on the Ten Commandments, each episode loosely related to one of the cardinal sins, telling a story with a twist on morality to
provoke thought and explore humanity's dilemmas, ethical hardships and questions. If this sounds heavy, then you would be right. But it offers at least two rewards:
One involves the little ethical twists presented in each thematic episode: God vs. all knowing computations and science, our relationship with parents and the line
between parents and other important people in our life, murder vs. capital punishment, puppy love and romantic innocence vs. cynicism, carefree people vs. the woes
of ownership, etc. The other is the series taken as a whole rather than the sum of its parts, which offers an interesting experience of humanity. A mysterious stranger
with piercing eyes appears every time one of the characters is about to step over a line, and most of the events take place in the same apartment complex.
But, although fascinating, this is not the masterpiece that lives up to its reputation: There are 3-4 superb episodes (especially the first one dealing with God which
rivals Bergman at his best), two duds, and the rest are merely OK, sometimes going on too long for a story based on a single idea, and other times wandering into
slow-moving melodrama and pointlessly depressed characters. Definitely worth watching at least once though and considered a major classic by art-house circles.
In Treatment
Based on the first two seasons.
HBO transports the format and writing of an Israeli drama show on therapy to the USA, and produces something superb (despite the show having about 15 producers).
A therapist and four of his patients fill five episodes a week, with the personal life and mind of the therapist both complementing the sessions with his patients,
and filling up a fifth episode as he discusses his life and thoughts with his own therapist and friend. Borders between doctor and patient are constantly crossed
as the discussions and intense emotions take personal turns, and even the doctor's firm rules and willpower can't always keep things under control. Most of the show
takes place in the therapist's room, with events narrated by the patients, but if you think this would result in a boring show, you are making a big mistake. The writing
and acting are simply perfect and deeply impressive. Minute actions and words are used to build depth of character and consistent, detailed personalities, without
having the show or the therapist point everything out, allowing the audience to observe much for themselves, and leading me to wonder whether the sessions weren't taken
from real-life. That said, some of the patients aren't always as fascinating as others, the therapist annoyingly and repeatedly is attracted to the neurotic selfish
sluts (something that should be explored more with his therapist), and sometimes the self-absorbed neurotic monologues can get dreary, but three things keep the show
interesting: The fact that you can skip specific patients if you really need to, the overall story arc of the therapist himself, allowing you to sometimes focus on how
the patient is affecting the doctor instead of the other way around, and the way the writers ensure that every week there is some crisis, breakthrough or revelation
(which is not realistic but it would be boring otherwise). The sleazy sexcapades narrated by the desperately slutty patient of the season don't hurt either I suppose.
Each season takes time to sink its hooks, seeing as it takes 15 episodes to get three episodes going per patient, but the buildup is still interesting, there
are always at least some interesting personalities, and the rewards of the investment are very good, not to mention that it becomes addictive fast. But this, and
the fact that the stories are narrated, may explain why it isn't a big instant hit despite the superb writing and acting. I don't feel it's a re-watchable
show, but it's a must-see while it's on (until you get your fill of other people's therapy). The first season is slightly more intense and interesting than the second
but both are good. A fascinating and brave counterpoint to the plague of reality-shows.
Nowhere Man
Based on the single season.
Correctly praised as the American 'Prisoner', this show features cleverly written plots about paranoia, powerful government agencies and an individual's
struggle to maintain his identity and discover the truth, peeling away layer after layer of deception. The acting and direction is stunningly good, and some episodes
are brilliant. But some severe flaws lower this show's ratings: Typically with such complex multi-layered shows and movies, writers don't bother to think things through
and concentrate on introducing plot twists rather than on coherence. This show starts off extremely well and features some brilliant stand-alone episodes, but taken
as a whole the motivations contradict each other, the deception seems to swerve in different directions with no consistency, and the resolution in the last episode
fails logically, ascribing ridiculously complex machinations to simple goals that could have been dealt with using much simpler methods. Also, the show resorts
to sci-fi in some episodes, undermining the intensity of the show with incredulous James Bond-like over-the-top thrillers, and a lot of the technology is unrealistic.
This is still a grippingly fascinating show, but The Prisoner did this better.
Night Manager, The
It's been a while since the BBC did a series based on John le Carré's work. This one is not a cold-war dense espionage story with moody spies however, but a straight-ahead
thriller, albeit a solid one. Hiddleston is an ex-army man working as a hotel manager who becomes involved with an international arms-dealing ring of criminals and some
British agents on their tail. Hugh Laurie acts against type as a bad guy, and although he is good, he doesn't raise quite enough authoritative malice for the role. Most
of the series features dangerous, tense undercover work, and there is Bond-esque affairs and personal involvement with women in danger, as well as typical Le Carré
inter-agency complications and politics. It is good, tense, and very watchable, but not overwhelmingly impressive or compelling. If this were a 90s or 2000s thriller
movie, it would have been above-average but not a classic. It is also very reminiscent and familiar in its plotting, comparable to movies like 'License to Kill'. But
the extra time it takes to build the plot and characters for six hours does allow for more audience involvement.
Bodyguard
Created by the same writer/team behind Line of Duty, this has similar strengths and weaknesses, only condensed into a 6-part mini-series. It's about an ex-soldier
turned to law-enforcement working in a 'Protection Branch' of the police service. After a harrowing encounter with a suicide bomber, he is assigned to protect a minister
with very strong views on government interference in security. He is torn between his clashing political views and his duty as a bodyguard, and a personal involvement
makes things even more complicated. For the first three episodes this is a top-notch thriller, a master-class that combines thrills, extremely well-directed tension,
some action, as well as good drama and character development. I was ready to embrace this as some of the best thriller material in many years. But then come the
fourth and fifth episodes which turn so incredibly convoluted with so many (implausible) plot elements, that it's impossibly to figure out what is happening. Thankfully,
the sixth episode explains everything from the previous two episodes, if you think about it really hard and pay close attention. Unfortunately, the sixth episode also
sinks the show with very rushed and implausible endings to the plot lines, as well as a plot twist that makes no sense whatsoever on many levels. This is one of those
plots that sounds good theoretically and logically if a computer were to analyze the logic behind each plot element, but which is completely unrealistic and convoluted.
Disappointing.
Utopia
Based on both seasons.
Demented, eccentric and brutal conspiracy thriller from Britain that is unlike anything else. Don't be fooled by the genre and title though; this is not science-fiction,
and does not involve any kind of utopia, except one as envisioned by sociopaths. This is also one of the most unpredictable shows I've ever seen, and it continues its
ongoing stream of psychotic logic throughout both seasons, and it is this unpredictable madness, if nothing else, that will keep you watching. The conspiracy involves
flu pandemics, both fake and real, and very extreme plots to control the world's overpopulation problem with genetics. There's a brilliant scientist, a group of powerful
people above any international law that go around murdering and torturing anyone with a blink of an eye, including children if it will serve their purpose, and a group
of eccentric youngsters that formed a club around a graphic novel that they believe reflects reality. Murder and mayhem and torture fly unchecked and rampant in this show,
because so many of the people involved (possibly including the writers) are psychotic. In fact, it feels that this show would have you believe that being a sociopathic
murderer is contagious, as long as you become involved in a problem as big as the overpopulation of the planet. Anything can happen in this show, and anyone can get killed,
or come back to life after being presumed dead, and everyone else is running, or being blackmailed, or chasing, or trying to hide from people that will stop at nothing and
who seem to be monitoring everything, anywhere. All that said, I can't say that it was particularly realistic in the slightest. As mentioned, there are too many psychotics,
and people's reactions are a bit too fearful and passive taking into account that it all seems to boil down to a handful of people in power, and some of the weird murderers
are only partially intimidating because they are sociopaths, but the murders are almost always so unexpected, and the tone is very twisted, clever and eccentric, so it kinda
works in a crazy way, especially thanks to its relentless pace of continuous twists and unexpected violence and alliances. So, despite the lack of realism in the characters
and plotting, it is definitely material for a cult show and very entertaining in a demented way.
Episodes
Based on all five seasons.
David Crane delivers another funny show full of sexual misadventures bringing to mind his still superior 'Dream On', except that this is a satire on the TV show business, and, as
with his experiment in 'The Class', this features a continuous story-line. This British-US co-production is a very addictive balance of satire, wit, relationship drama, and trashy sex
and flings. The satire pokes fun at the TV industry, including how remakes of British shows get derailed by manipulative executives and narcissistic TV stars, as well as by affairs.
The funny awkwardness of the first season effectively demonstrates what shows like The Office were lacking: Punchlines. Whereas those shows thought the embarrassments in themselves
were funny, this one writes actual jokes around similar situations. The wit is the usual Crane-level of hilarity. There is a surprisingly realistic relationship between the married
British writers that have been imported to the US, and it portrays all the effects of a soul-sucking and sexually-casual environment, making one think that this is based
on real-life experience. Tasmin Grieg (Black Books) is the best thing about the show, but their chemistry together and sarcastic lines work very well as well. Matt LeBlanc does
a surprisingly great turn in a role that is basically a destructive and narcissistic version of himself, finally shucking 'Joey' off for a much wittier and juicier role.
And the sex is rampant, including affairs between selfish bosses and their damaged assistants, as well as immoral actors and fans ruining marriages. What does all this add up to?
As mentioned, it is very addictive and fun and definitely worth watching, but it doesn't exactly achieve greatness, although it's right on the border. Perhaps it's the incongruous
blend of relationship realism with over-the-top cheapening sex and big-penis gags that take it down a few notches, as well as the many cartoonish support characters that chew
the scenery. Still lots of fun though.
Lovesick
Based on all three seasons.
Very reminiscent of Coupling, but nowhere near the same level of brilliance. It does involve four or five close single friends, as well as that anything-goes approach to humor
on sexual misadventures and relationships going horribly bad. But it does also feature a lot of heartfelt real drama. At first the balance between the wild raunchy humor and
the touching drama is somewhat even, but the drama does increasingly take over gradually during the course of three short seasons. At the center is that old chestnut of two
people in love who can never get together due to a series of obstacles, some of them self-made. They stretch this will-they-or-won't-they relationship and love triangle drama
a bit too much, but it does keep you watching til the end. The male characters involve an often used trio (Friends?) of awkward geekier guy, superficial playboy, and sensitive
guy. The title (not the original title for the show) has a double meaning referring also to the search for love, and also to the fact that one of them discovers he has an STD
and has to reach out to all the women he knew in the past (for some unknown reason he has to go back years), reawakening many old feelings, awkward funny situations, and
complications. It also makes the show rely primarily on flashbacks, and this gets a bit tedious as well as makes the timeline a bit difficult to track. Altogether, however, this
is a pretty watchable and enjoyable show, with a nice balance of good drama and fun humor.
Catastrophe
Based on all four seasons.
Nicely balanced comedy that is not as sociopathic and mean-spirited as Fleabag, nor is it a cutesy romantic-comedy sitcom, but somewhere in between, featuring a horny
couple with some personality issues which keep society at arm's length, but who found each other and have a genuinely caring attraction for each other, keeping them together
despite everything. A case of instant animal-attraction between a visiting American and an Irish woman creates a catastrophic pregnancy, and they decide to try to make
it work. Their friends stir the pot with even bigger character flaws and horny raunchy escapades. And the man's immoral job in a pharmaceutical company add to the roller
coaster. The comedy loves to cross the border back and forth repeatedly between raunchiness mixed with anti-social behaviour, and back to sane human intimacy, but always
keeping it real and funny. The writers aren't just out to shock and titillate, but to explore a rocky relationship, horny warts and all, including mean but short-lived
fights. Although, beware, the woman is a dozen times more selfish than the man and this can sometimes be off-putting, and the comedy does love to pile on the raunch. The
first two seasons are very funny and perfect for binge-watching. As with many shows of this kind (especially 'Episodes') that feature a realistic relationship at the
center, the writers and audience become increasingly invested in the characters and therefore the relationship gets increasingly more focus over the comedy, but it's still
good and very watchable. The fourth season sometimes gets a little lost with sitcom plots having the character do silly things to create drama, as well as awkward short
injections of politics, but it's not bad either. Fun for the inner jerks in all of us, and nicely balanced, but not for trigger-happy delicate people.
Dead to Me
Based on the first two seasons.
I didn't expect to like this much but it was a nice little surprise and very watchable. It's a dark comedy and dramedy about dark secrets involving death and an unusual
friendship between two women, and it is quite well written in the first season. Applegate is very good as a widow with an anger problem and a lack of closure with her
dead husband, and Cardellini is sexy but an emotional cause for chaos. Each episode provides new well-written reveals or small twists in either the mystery, friendship
or extended family, and it would be impossible to describe the story without spoilers. As opposed to many other shows that attempt this kind of thing though, the writers
do a great job keeping it realistic and both darkly amusing as well as very addictively watchable. The first season is not a great classic, but it is solid entertainment
and well acted and written. The second season, however, feels like they didn't have a clear handle on it this time, with ridiculous implausible twists right at the
beginning, as well as an ongoing new secret involving a double-standard where women can get away with murder literally just because they are emotional, and white men
are always bad even when they commit much smaller crimes.
New Tricks
Based on the first two seasons.
An episodic murder-mystery show that is overflowing with character and fun writing, and is possibly the best of its kind. The setup is great: A female detective who messed
up on the job is assigned a new job in the basement handling ex-detectives that try to close very old and unsolved cold-cases as a kind of PR stunt that is not expected to yield
actual results. She puts together a team of grizzly, flawed, quirky but talented retired detectives, and, to everyone's surprise they start solving cases, thanks to
modern forensics and DNA tests combined with their talent, experience and knowledge. For the team, the show casts veteran British character-actors and each of them instantly
bring their characters to life and take them in all sorts of directions. Their camaraderie, playful teasing and interaction with the stricter and younger boss, as well as the
generation gap, all add great light comedy and character to the show, and the good writing gives them a lot to play with. In addition, this provides the show with a plentiful
source for satire and interesting dynamics by comparing the generations via the age-gap, as well as via the crimes that were committed in another time and age, their different
approaches to police procedures, attitudes towards women and authority, and reliance on old-school police work and personal skills rather than on technology. Thus, this
show also comes off a much better version of Life on Mars without resorting to sci-fi or action-cliches. The mysteries are also quite solid. In short, for what it is, it's
a very good show and worth catching whenever it's on (but its episodic format and lack of arcs make it inherently limited).
Jonathan Creek
Based on the first two seasons.
Yup, it's another British murder-mystery series, except, rather than wallowing in drama or lurid murders, this one is loads of fun. Jonathan is a brainy, quiet young man
who loves brain-teasers and who applies his devious, clever mind to devise magic tricks for a celebrity magician who handles all of that showmanship and publicity nonsense.
An investigative journalist, AKA a garrulous, practical-minded and very nosy woman who uses mysterious murders to further her writing career, uses him and his skills to solve
baffling mysteries. There are several variations on the locked-room mystery, as well as other seemingly impossible feats of crime with even more baffling odd clues.
Their clash of personalities and their sexual attraction provide for comedy and a lot of teasing with a delicious wit by the writers, and the mysteries really get one's brain
going trying to solve them before they do, always with just enough clues to let one come up with radical possibilities. Unfortunately, the solutions often involve some
convoluted plan or bizarre coincidence, which, although logically feasible, never seem plausible, especially when many of the crimes could have been committed with much
simpler devices. In other words, this show treats murders like elaborate magic tricks which are fun to try to figure out, but which are not quite realistic. Still, the characters
and puzzles are good fun. And, for Doctor Who fans, three Doctors and couple of companions make appearances here.
Wentworth
Based on the first three seasons and a bit of the fourth.
It's amazing how often multiple movies come out at the same time featuring a similar setting or premise. This Australian women-in-prison show came out at the same time as
'Orange Is The New Black', except it is miles better and harder than that marshmallow show about soft prisoners in a country-club prison, and definitely better and more
realistic than the over-the-top trash of 'Oz'. This one is full of strong personalities, and the majority of the prisoners are screw-ups and/or hardened criminals, not fluffy
healthy people in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a good thing. At the center, however, is Bea, who brings to mind Breaking Bad. She makes a desperate decision,
then spends a few seasons gradually becoming more hardened and dangerous than everyone else combined. There is constant prison intimidation and violence and back-stabbing
schemes and plots, but the show's strength is in how it finds a human angle for even the most vicious crazies, and brings every character to life in three dimensions. There
is plenty of drama, as well as drama and political games between the guards, officials and other workers in the prison. In addition to the usual prison violence and plotting,
there is a female angle that is used well, their broken characters merged with, for example, motherhood drama, within this unusual setting, the writers keeping them all very
human rather than just chess pieces in a game of violence. It all comes together in a nice balance of tense thrills, scheming and drama with strong characters. If you like
prison thriller-dramas, then consider this a must-watch. I am not the biggest fan of constant animalistic scheming and battles for supremacy, with even the guards and governors
taking part in the cruelty, but the characters, danger, well-written thrills and drama do keep one watching, especially in the strongly balanced first season. When one of the
officials turns out to be a bigger psychopath than the prisoners, however, it started wearing thin for me, and in season four it all became too unrealistic. If you're into this
sort of thing though, by all means check it out, as it is well done.
Unforgotten
Based on the first two seasons.
It's another British murder-mystery series. This one is slightly reminiscent of 'Happy Valley' with its season-long developing and ever-expanding mysteries and stories,
and the heavy focus on people and drama over thrills or gruesome murders. Also the theme is slightly different from other shows of this kind, a theme that gives it
its heavy emotional weight: The cases are very old ones, decades old, starting with an unexpected human skeleton, with the investigations uncovering past sins
and crimes, and very deeply buried emotions and guilt, often amongst old people that have changed since then as human beings. Old secrets are uncovered not in the
cheap thriller way with easy heroes and villains, but with subtle writing and deep character work, portraying the criminals as deeply affected human beings that
have grown old with their burdens. Not that this show neglects the police-work; far from it. The investigations are meticulous, detailed, involving and even
exciting at times. But the fly in the ointment is the liberal slant. It's pre-Woke and not obnoxious as in later shows, but still peppered throughout with a
slanted viewpoint of the world that feels like a constant poke in the ribs by someone with an agenda. The acting, mysteries, classy drama, and character-work
are all nicely done however, with powerfully emotional denouements.
Billions
Based on the first two seasons and a bit of the third.
Sharks, power games, greed, revenge, power, manipulations, agendas, aggression, one-upmanship, playing dirty, politics and money, lots of it, along with more financial
jargon than you can shake a hedge fund at. That pretty much sums up this show. It's a battle of wits and power between the US attorney's office, especially one Chuck Rhoades,
and a tycoon hedge fund king Bobby Axelrod, made complicated and personal by the fact that Chuck's wife is Bobby's best friend and employee. There is not a loophole, dirty
trick, manipulation, financial machine-gun or legal hammer that they won't use against each other. It's basically a feud or vendetta made with money and power. This would
make for an entertaining, intense show, except for the fact that everyone around them is also a shark at different degrees, each with their agendas and power games and greed.
All interactions between characters are utilitarian, calculating and aggressive as if they were all playing from the same Machiavellian playbook. The women behave like men,
and even spousal relationships almost always feel utilitarian and manipulative, and I am not even referring to the S&M sex scenes. Which makes this show entertaining, but
quite one-dimensional. Even Dexter had more humanity than this. The financial thrills and games are sometimes too advanced for the non-savvy, but mostly they do a pretty
good job in making thrills and plots out of financial cut-throat business. The power games are sometimes all too convenient when they find leverage against their opponents
whenever needed, but most of the time it's actually quite clever. And this is what kept me watching despite the aforementioned big flaw. But it really needed more humanity
and more realistic characters with more than just one drive and character trait at varying degrees. (Interestingly, this has a writer by the name of Sorkin, and brings to
mind other shows with characters that all seem to come from the same stable...). Season two shows both an improvement and a decline: The writers improve somewhat, and on
some episodes the characters show a bit more humanity (only to go right back to being calculating sharks in the next episode). And then they introduce a new character
who seems to be interested in more human things, but then she turns out to be the biggest shark of them all, an annoyingly entitled & robotic one, possibly combined with
Aspergers. It also doesn't help that she is a casting stunt from PC hell, a 'non-binary' character, and even her enemies, for some absurd unknown reason, respect her
demands to use 'them' and 'their' pronouns even behind her back. Despite her young age, she somehow knows more about everything than everyone else despite not having any
life experience, a typically ridiculous fantasy PC move. And worst of all, due to the incorrect use of pronouns, the dialogue sometimes becomes very difficult to understand
since you can never figure out who they are actually talking about. And that's when I lost patience with the show, notwithstanding its entertainment value.
Jack Ryan
Based on the first two seasons.
Based on Tom Clancy's super-spy who has both a fighting marine background and a sharp eye for research, intelligence and connecting the dots. This show attempts to emulate
Clancy's realistic and detailed story-telling but is much more action-thriller than the usual Clancy material. Each season tells a different crisis where Ryan connects
the dots and promptly finds himself in the thick of things with lots of action and fast-paced espionage. The first season features a smart terrorist with ambitious plans
that surpass Bin Laden, the second covers current controversial issues in Venezuela with deeply corrupt politics and mass state-run violence. Many reviews of the second
season are politically motivated. Both seasons are watchable and entertaining but the characters are mostly bland and not so interesting, and the writing is full of
implausibilities, mostly in the last few episodes of the season, bringing to mind '24', although not quite as preposterous as that show. Terrorists use convoluted plans
and unnecessary super-weapons when simpler ones could have worked, and some plot threads are left dangling. And in the second season, agents go rogue and behave like an
unstoppable Rambo with the actual CIA nowhere to be seen. Some episodes are quite good, including, ironically, the ones covering side-plots that barely have anything to
do with the primary plot; other episodes are comparable to a very average, flawed, popcorn thriller movie.
Peaky Blinders
Based on the first two seasons.
This British answer to Boardwalk Empire is the better of the two, without the flaws of that show. It also takes place in the 1920s, only in Birmingham, and it traces the rise
of a criminal gang of ex-soldiers and an extended family led by a young ambitious man who is strong on strategy. It even has them shipping alcohol to Canada for the prohibition
mobs in the US. This show, like Boardwalk, features rich visual settings and historical detail, except here, the protagonists are quite interesting and well cast, the writing
is good, and the pace is superb. Each season explores a couple of ambitious plots to expand, while matters escalate with rival gangs, or with the law, as Tom tries to think his
way out of his unravelling plans, while expanding his power. A brutal inspector (the always reliable Sam Neill) is called in by Churchill to take care of the escalating problem
that has now become political, and it soon becomes personal, with escalating power games between them, and revenge. During the first gripping season, the writing is superb, and
the escalation between the idealistic but brutal cop and Tom is excellent and compelling, up until the ending which sees a couple of questionable personality twists. The second
season is still entertaining and well made, but is less interesting for me personally since it becomes just another war between criminal gangs and various insane personalities,
and the law this time is just another unrealistically insane criminal as well, as if the writers wanted us to take sides with the murdering Tom by pitting him against a corrupt
cop. I never really found gang wars that interesting. It also features Tom Hardy chewing the scenery in a highly colorful but unrealistic role of an insane Jew. For fans of
mob series, however, this comes strongly recommended.
Brotherhood
Based on all three seasons.
Showtime's answer to Sopranos featuring an extended Irish family running a neighbourhood in Rhode Island. One brother is a complex politician with principles, but is not
above bending rules to achieve more power to do more good. The other brother (an intense Jason Isaacs as always) is practically a psychopath criminal with a good brain,
and a soft spot for his family and lover, but with a temper and sadistic streak. There's a pushy, manipulative but very much in denial mother, an incompetent brother, a
cousin fresh off the boat from Ireland trying to be accepted by the family, a bulldog of a man running the local mob, and many more. Except for Isaacs, the show is not
as colorful as Sopranos but it holds its own. Where this improves over Sopranos, however, is in its shades of grey and the handful of characters that do have principles
but who feel under pressure to compromise them every week. This, as well as the complex dual-brother relationship, makes the show more consistently watchable than
Sopranos. That said, there is plenty of brutal violence and rampant criminality as well as graphic sexual-content straight out of an HBO show. Flaws in the writing are
subtle, but involve frequent sloppiness in its treatment of consequences and consistent characterization. People tend to forget significant events at the writers'
whims until the season endings, criminals get away with very sloppy jobs that the law could easily pin on them, and characters keep inexplicably switching a bit too often
between conflicting forms of behaviour. These are subtle however, and do not detract too much from this otherwise quite good show.
A very popular British police procedural series consisting of 6 mini-series and 3 TV movies over 15 years, all revolving around the same female detective, featuring
Helen Mirren in a career-defining performance. This show paved the way for female detectives in entertainment. It starts off with a classic mini-series that combines an
investigation of a serial killer that gradually develops its tension and frustration while, at the same time, she has to contend with an all-male team of underling cops
that doesn't want a woman replacing and undermining their team-mate and friend. Although I am allergic to feminist agendas that usually portray men with broad chauvinistic
strokes, this first entry does a good and realistic job with the material. In addition, the story uniquely focuses on collecting evidence rather than on a mystery
killer. Other stand-outs are: The third entry dealing with pedophilia and abuse of teenage rent-boys which is the darkest of the lot; the sixth entry which features one
of the best stories of the series, involving a Bosnian refugee and Serbian war criminals in the UK; and the last entry, which packs a powerful punch character-development
wise, with Mirren as a broken-down alcoholic detective one step away from retirement, with a father on his deathbed and an emotional case of a missing girl. It's just a
pity that the rest of the characters as well as the plot developments in this last entry are all over the place, but as far as Mirren's character is concerned, it is
a masterpiece of writing and acting. The rest of the episodes are much more mediocre, and even implausible at times, and their 3.5-hour length don't help matters. But
the last episode makes the journey worthwhile. Also good for viewers that enjoy a more detailed and gradually developing investigation rather than the rushed ones we usually
get from other episodic shows in this genre.
Yellowstone
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Montana. Massive wide-open vistas and landscapes. A ranch the size of a country. Old & rich founder-power with Kevin Costner as the patriarch. Angry Native Americans in
a neighboring reservation. All adding up to a show about a family run like a ranch-mafia, cowboy drama and violence, dirty politics, power games, and cut-throat business.
For most of the first season, this is all done very well with every character a fleshy three-dimensional complex personality. Except that almost everyone is a bad person,
almost everyone is motivated by selfishness and greed and violence, and murder is rampant for the flimsiest reasons, so there is practically no one to root for. Given the
superb acting, three-dimensional characterizations, story-telling and locations however, the show is still a solid watch, and even the car-wreck of a character that is the
evil and very broken Beth Dutton is entertainingly watchable because of this. However, even the couple of characters that do try to stay out of the cut-throat tactics,
politics, murder and violence walking a tight-rope between the two sides, eventually are wrecked by the writers towards the end of the first season with puzzling about-turns
that don't make sense compared to everything they did and said before. The writers also keep adding new random crises in absurd proportions, sometimes several per day,
instead of just developing the main plot-lines. Both of these factors undermine the show towards the end of the first season, demonstrating writers with a quota of twists
and turns rather than writers confident in a natural development of their story and characters. And this gets worse in the second season when they have the characters jump
jarringly from one extreme to the other, reminding me of 'Justified'. They just stop making sense as humans beings and become cogs in a constantly twisting plot. Finally,
in season two, as with so many TV shows of this period, they commit the final-straw sin of hopping on the Woke bandwagon and preaching about the evil white man, and that's
when I had enough. Not that white men haven't done evil, but using history as a psychological weapon against current random white men just to try to evoke a guilt trip and
forward your own selfish goals and to vent your frustration is a tired and despicable tactic, and whitewashing the other side of the conflict is hypocritical as well.
Everything else about the show was very good however, so it's a pity. A prime example of a good show killed by commercialism, both in terms of artificial thrill-quotas
as well as trendy politics.
Manhunt
Based on both seasons.
The USA can't let any of their serial killers go without turning them into celebrities and making multiple movies about each one. Thankfully, this show is about the hunt
and not about the killers. It's about the careful, detailed investigative and forensic work by special, obsessive individuals in the FBI; It's also about the planning
that goes into capturing the killer once he has been identified, as well as the ecosystem and politics surrounding such high-profile cases. This is a dramatization, which
means it is based on real-life and very notorious cases, but is not necessarily accurate, taking liberties with the timeline, events and credits. I have no idea how much
of it is accurate, but since I knew it wasn't a documentary I only cared if it was a story well-told. The first season covers the hunt for the Unabomber, especially the
unusual and fascinating linguistic profiling that was used to find him, and the second season covers the Atlanta Olympics Bomber.
The first season starts poorly for a couple of episodes with very badly done jumping between timelines, ego-stroking characterizations and demonizations within the FBI,
and blatant ripping off of the movie Manhunter. By the fourth episode however, it became very interesting and it is possibly the only show that managed to convince me
that profiling could actually be useful, because this one was based on careful study and research of details (linguistic), rather than just basing it on generic
pop-psychology and personal projections of personality categories. It explained how they did it very clearly in every step of way, and I found it fascinating. The hunt
and work into getting a conviction was also quite good, but the meetings between the profiler and the Unabomber felt too staged.
The second season is much more solid than the first in terms of story-telling (again, regardless of how accurate this is, it is a good story with good characters). It
doesn't have the unique profiling methods, but it does feature, once again, a detail-oriented and obsessive investigator, this time into the mechanics of bombs. And,
once again, he has to fight his bosses every step of the way. The strongest story this time, though, may be the one of Richard Jewell, who was falsely accused and made
into a scapegoat by the media AND the FBI. His story was also covered by a Clint Eastwood movie.
Atypical
Based on the first three seasons.
A charming ensemble dramedy with an autistic teenager at the center. There's Sam, trying to figure what he wants or can achieve while dealing with his many social problems
and challenges that go beyond the usual teenage-in-high-school social problems. There's his younger snarky sister who both teases him all the time and protects and helps
him in any way she can, his protective but complex parents who are going through a rough patch in their marriage, and his best friend Zahid from the appliance store who
is a comedian and way too confident and charming to be a nerd, and who is always full of practical and funny advice. Romantic entanglements are even more of a minefield,
and Sam, with his autism, struggles to find highly unusual relationships with unusual girls by following rapidly changing rules. His obsession with Antarctica and penguins
serve for many thoughtful metaphors on life in nicely written coming-of-age explorations. As mentioned, this is not just a teenage dramedy or a drama about autism, but an
ensemble, each of the characters adding great color and character to the show, and the reviewers complaining that the parents and their infidelity drama steal much of the
focus of the show, are missing the point of an ensemble. Jennifer Jason Leigh, as she has done so many times in her career, portrays a broken person that makes big mistakes,
provoking many misguided reviewers to just tag her as an unwatchable unlikeable character. Only that this is the primary drive of the show: Everyone here makes mistakes
repeatedly, and much of the touching drama is in how they try to repair the damage as best they can. But the comedy is also delightful, and the characters are all well-drawn
and interact superbly. For it's genre, it's not quite at the level of Freaks and Greeks, but is within the same vicinity and is very watchable, human, warm and enjoyable, as
well as funny. It's also nice to see a show in this day and age where men aren't belittled or are the only ones making big mistakes. The second season tries to too hard to be
cute at times, but the third season is as good as the first.
Sneaky Pete
Based on the first two seasons.
Con-man thriller TV show modelled after 'Better Call Saul'. I.e. it doesn't have the style, class, charm and wit of the British 'Hustle' (the ultimate old-school con-man TV show),
and goes for constant improvised cons, violence, manipulations, things going wrong, lies within lies, crooked sleaze-bag crime, and fast thinking, as everything constantly gets
more and more complicated and goes wrong in dozens of ways. The set-up revolves a con-man fresh from prison who hides from criminal elements by pretending to be part of another
man's family. Except that the family business involves jail bail bonds, which gets the family in trouble with various criminal elements, and the various family members all have
a tendency to keep secrets from each other, adding many layers of complications. This is in addition to the big con that Pete is planning, which also happens to target other
con-men who are planning their own cons. So this is a world where practically everyone lies and manipulates, often with several improvised lies within lies, and different
lies to different people. Needless to say, it is highly challenging to keep track of everything. On the one hand this has a dense, fast pace and is very entertaining and is
generally well written; On the other hand the amount of lies and people that are lying simply stops becoming plausible after a while. This evidently also turned out to be an
impossible challenge for the writers as well, as I will explain below when describing the seasons. Finally, character development is either weak or non-existent, the show
focusing primarily on the constant fast-paced and multi-layered developments and thrills, rather than on letting the characters breathe and develop. So in summary, it is a
highly entertaining show, but lacks that extra dimension that would give it depth.
The first season is a tension-filled thrill ride from start to finish with an almost unbelievable amount of complications. Although it does raise the question often of why
he doesn't simply move on to simpler solutions to his primary problem. The finale also features a twist that doesn't work out in terms of coincidence and an outcome that
could not possibly have been predicted with enough confidence. The second season adds a new story and con while building on some of the unclosed plot-lines of the previous
season, and it also adds more personal family stories, which is good. But it is so dense and features so many twists, that I simply couldn't keep track of the many points of
view. So after it was done and I saw the final twist, I re-watched some episodes, and that's when I saw that the writers aren't in control. Taking into account the final plot
twists, suddenly some of the behaviour of the characters no longer makes any sense, and plot-holes emerge. So, in other words, it's entertaining only as long as you don't
obsess over the details and don't think everything through from the many different points of view.
Americans, The
Based on the first two seasons.
The FX formula on how to write an entertaining thriller series finds another colorful topic to cover: The Illegals Program of the KGB that set up deep undercover agents
in the US posing as 100% married Americans for decades complete with children born in the US. Entertainment that covers the Cold War nowadays would be considered a historical
series at best, or passé at worst, and this paranoia would seem far-fetched to some, except for the fact that this Illegals Program actually existed and, unbelievably, such
spies were arrested even in 2010! FX delivers another show with a good balance of thrills, action, sex, escalating stakes, complex and ongoing story arcs, and, best of all,
three-dimensional characters in very unusual circumstances. Half of the show covers ongoing missions, collecting information, turning people in key positions that could
provide them with information, uncovering plots by the CIA or FBI, and so on, and these power-games are constantly going on between both sides, sometimes even applying pressure
on the same double-agent from both sides, turning them into triple-agents and so on. The means that the games undercover agents use are often extreme, using sex, murder, violence,
blackmail or, most often, just plain deceit, even going as far as marrying insecure people to get what they need. All of this going on for decades obviously affects their 'fake'
family and their own psyches in radical ways, and that's where the other, more interesting, half of the series focuses: What happens when a fake married couple live together
for two decades, have kids, and fall for each other, even while using sex and lies daily to complete missions? And what can be done with the kids who think they are 100% American?
Even old flames complicate matters. Americans that have been turned also find themselves under constant pressure from their work as well as from their internal doubts. The
writers keep everyone extremely busy, perhaps even too busy, new missions being assigned every week, and new crises erupting from a dozen directions at once. On the one hand,
this keeps things entertaining, on the other, it may stretch plausibility just a bit at times. Another minor problem is the casting of the protagonist couple which is very weak,
seeing as there is nothing remotely Russian about their behaviour, speech, reactions or looks. There is also doubt as to how they could keep talking about their missions at home
without ever being overheard dozens of times by their children. Such minor flaws and others accumulate and affect plausibility keeping the show from becoming really great.
But, all this aside, it's definitely an above-average and entertaining series.
Money Heist
Based on the first three seasons.
Entertaining Spanish heist series that is good fun but not great. At first it seems rather shaky, what with the seemingly misguided concept of a single heist that takes two seasons,
and strange behaviour from the thieves. But this is one of those shows that improves with time. A master-plan soon emerges, and a very unusual and extremely ambitious heist.
But this no Die Hard. The thieves are a ragtag collection of social rejects and unstable criminals, not a professional gang of efficient soldiers. But they got together
to attempt this never-been-done-before heist that will take a couple of weeks to pull off, with months of pre-training, and years of pre-thinking and planning, so it's
anyone's guess what will happen. This approach is both a strength and weakness of the show. On the one hand, the unstable nature of the characters brings unpredictability
and more character to a genre that typically uses cold professionals. On the other hand, while watching this show I was continuously puzzled as to why a man with such a
carefully planned heist would employ unstable people. Either way, audiences that complain about their behaviour are missing the point. In addition to the mistakes and mess-ups
caused by some of the temperamental thieves, the heist does go wrong in several other ways, but that is to be expected in this genre and it is part of the entertainment and
tension. The continuous story-line starts right away with the heist, but uses many ongoing short flashbacks to fill in character details as well as the many elements of the plan
and its many contingency details. Thus, tension is maintained from start to finish. The various characters vary from fun to dull to psychotic, and most of them aren't very
likeable, so the many personal dramas that take place during the character-shaping furnace that is this heist are not as strong as they could be. But the heist and the plan
are generally good, barring some smaller details that don't hold up and a tad of dependence on the police doing some far-fetched things. The first two seasons cover a single
heist, and the third and fourth a second larger heist with even more at stake. In summary: There is both good and weak here, but the good outweighs the flaws for a generally
entertaining watch.
Bridge, The
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Quality Danish-Swedish co-production of a cop-show with complex season-long cases. The Bridge refers to a long bridge that joins the two countries, and the cases involve
crimes, criminals and victims from both countries, necessitating co-operation between two police-forces and partnering detectives from either side. Thus the show explores
some themes of culture-clash and rivalry. But the much more unique aspect is the fact that the Swedish detective has Asperger. Her Swedish coworkers are used to her
rudeness, social awkwardness, high-efficiency and extraordinary mental faculties, but her Danish partners have to learn how to work with her. Before watching this,
I doubted that they could make a rude and robotic detective work, but they use her like Star Trek used Vulcans: Not only by giving her a genius intellect that proves very
useful in her work, but by exploring how healthy humans react to her and how they try to learn to work or live with her. This produces both a strong human interest
and light comedy. It also helps that the actress is very good at it, and her supporting actors are all solid as well. As for the cases, they typically involve socially-aware
intelligent killers or terrorists of some kind, trying to make social statements with extreme crimes, similar to Se7en except without the religion. As the crimes
accumulate, the police find themselves in a race to catch up with the devious criminals' and their plots. Uniquely, many of the victims or witnesses are explored
by introducing them and their families way before they become involved in the case, and the writers slowly weave their threads together. In short, there is much
of interest here for a cop-show. The first season is quite good, introducing the characters and featuring a strong case involving a 'Truth Terrorist'. The second
season is still pretty good but less compelling, with a convoluted eco-terrorist conspiracy, and an over-emotional Danish cop-partner to compensate for her lack of emotions.
Obviously, the US can never let go of anything to do with serial killers, and promptly made an inferior copy of the show which I will not bother watching.
Missing, The
Based on the first season.
A mystery series done right, with intriguing developments, good planning, solid writing and good actors. The mystery in this case is a missing child and it takes a whole
season and 8 years to solve it. What's special about this mystery series is that it isn't just a detective show or police-procedural, but also a drama about the parents that lost
their kid, and their relentless efforts to solve the mystery themselves. Thus, it combines the resources of the police force with some above-the-law frantic actions of parents
to follow minute clues, red-herrings and developments, with breaks of several years in between when the case goes stale, only to wake up again thanks to another obscure clue.
The show weaves two primary timelines 8-years apart, with the same characters 8 years later returning to give it another shot, and their tense past and secrets slowly unfold as
the first timeline develops in parallel. Visual clues regarding their changed appearances keep you clear on which timeline you are watching, and the revelations are carefully
planned, raising more questions while others are answered, for an almost-satisfactory finale. Although the season ties all the threads together and solves the mystery with a solid
solution, for some reason it appended a very misguided twist after the real ending, presumably to allow for a second season, except that the second season covers a completely
new case. Also, the pacing will be slow for people used to other mystery and detective shows, unless you tune in to what it is trying to achieve with its human angle and complex,
realistic developments. Altogether, a solid show for what it is if we ignore the final few minutes of the first season, and which may be more compelling for some than others, but
it is a good one-time watch regardless.
Shameless
Based on the first three seasons.
A dramedy about a very, very dysfunctional family, British style. This show finds outrageous new ways for the various members to screw up or to find themselves in hilariously
warped situations. It's about a Manchester family of six children, each one of them with various mental issues, their unapologetically drunk and immoral father, and
an extended family of horny neighbors, criminal friends, crazy brothers, and a parade of very flawed boyfriends, girlfriends, crazy ex-wives, medicated new wives, demented
grandparents and so on. What makes this show great however, is that they are all real people in real situations, and the writers don't make them dumb, and underneath their
immoral, irresponsible, anarchical, selfish and horny behaviour there is a good heart, except that it doesn't stop them from constantly doing terribly warped things, and
shamelessly at that. So most are definitely not nice people, and they are constant screw-ups, but they have the smarts to find devious solutions to the problems they cause,
and when the going gets rough, they help each other. This is a delicate balance, and the show plays it very well, at least for the first three seasons. They are all also very
convincing, and you feel you are really watching a working-class family and neighbourhood. The father sometimes feels like a version of Ozzy Osbourne, except less spaced out.
The shenanigans and anarchy include a lot of rampant sex with anyone at any time, improvised schemes to get money or goods (even stealing from the milkman), pregnancies,
wild adventures with the local angry drug dealers, closet-homosexuality, angry ex-spouses that keep popping up, and much more, mixed together with good drama. Fun and well
done, for what it is.
Riches, The
Based on both seasons.
Another compelling watch by FX. The concept is superb and lends itself to be enjoyed at multiple levels: A family of Irish Travellers in the US, the American-Irish
version of gypsies, are portrayed here as compulsive con-men and criminals, living off other people by stealing everything in sight with a bagful of cons and tricks.
The whole family works as a team, including wife and children, and are proud of their heritage, skills and ideology, seeing the rest of the world as inferior 'buffers'.
When this family finds itself outed from their camp, they seize the first chance they get (a very improbable and coincidental one), to steal the American Dream by posing
as a recently-deceased rich couple, taking over their new house and jobs, and sending their kids to school. This derogatory portrayal aside, what the show does here
with the concept is satirize the life of work, neighbours, family and school as seen through the eyes of liars that bluff their way through it. It also finds entertainment
in a family of anti-heroes, and thrilling tension in the things that constantly go wrong with their increasingly complicated web of lies. Their gypsy past and enemies
also keep interrupting their stolen bliss, leading to constant crises. Izzard and Driver lead a great cast, and the writing is, for the most part, quite solid and addictive.
One flaw though, is in the disbelief that they are getting away with so much bluster and improvised nonsense, especially when it comes to things like pretending to be
a skilled lawyer in a firm full of lawyers. That part doesn't always work so well, but the character development is superb, spurred by the constant existential crises
of living a lie and living the kind of life they always despised.
The first season is very addictive and contains a lot of compelling character development, despite the sloppy cons and lies. The second season, however, suddenly
swerves into chaos, as the writers drop about one hundred crises on them at once, several per episode, adding more and more ridiculous twists and turns and neglecting
the characters as well as previous developments, and making a total mess of the Dale character, until it suddenly stops mid-season with very unsatisfying multiple cliffhangers.
In short, the first season is pretty good and a compelling one-time watch, but it is not enough and is flawed, and the show could have developed but didn't.
Babylon Berlin
Based on the first season and most of the second.
Unique German sprawling period thriller and drama with many, many characters, that takes place in the Weimar Republic, that chaotic period between the two World Wars when
Germany was both floundering under the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, as well as exploding in several new directions, wavering chaotically between poverty and prosperity.
Hyperinflation suddenly gives way to the Golden Twenties, with spurts of economic growth as well as liberal experimental music and arts, paralleling the Roaring Twenties in the
US before it all came crashing down. Politics in Germany were even more chaotic, with Communist factions raising armies of followers and violent protests, splitting between the
Trotskyites and Stalin's supporters, while, at the other extreme, paramilitaries and monarchists and other right-wing factions illegally created their own armies despite the
Versailles Treaty, which eventually led to the rise of Hitler. In between these two extremes were the authorities that tried to keep law and order amidst all this chaos,
including policemen (the primary protagonists of this show), torn between the various ideals and movements, as well as the average citizens struggling to make ends meet while
partying hard at extravagant parties. On top of all this was the new wave of criminals that exploited the chaos. It is this unique and complex historical era and society that
this show portrays with impressive attention to detail and scores of characters. The sets, costumes, outdoor recreations of the era, as well as the politics, are all impressively
detailed and authentic to my untrained eye, successfully bringing to life movies and images from the era. It is not without its share of mistakes and anachronisms obviously,
but these are minor. The music, for example, is often way too modern, as are the ubiquitous progressive attitudes towards gender-benders and cross-dressing, obviously
transplanted from today's trends.
The story-telling is good, but not as impressive as the historical detail, and it has its share of flaws. The fact that it covers so many characters means that it takes a long
time to get going, and can be confusing and overwhelming. But the writing also makes it unnecessarily difficult, showing scenes that only make sense many episodes later. The
second season is better than the first in terms of thrills and pacing. Also, it has its characters survive certain death way too many times using implausible miracles of
survival over and over. I found the characters and thriller plots above-average, but not compelling. In other words, the primary reason to see this is for the historical
detail and recreation of an interesting era, but, in terms of story-telling, your mileage may vary, but you should find this above-average and interesting at the very least.
Take, The
Replace Tom Hardy in this mini-series with anyone else, and the show would just be an ordinary crime thriller with family drama and plenty of backstabbing, kinda
like a Sopranos without Gandolfini. But Hardy is so electrifying in this, he doesn't just carry the show, he makes it. His role is a despicable sociopath
who only turns on the charm when he is about to kill you. He is part of a criminal hierarchy, except his violent whims, street-smarts, and supremely independent
attitude doesn't let him get far in the ranks, and keeps getting him in trouble. His friend Jimmy is smarter, and one day Jimmy finds himself promoted and forced to
leave his unreliable friend behind, which triggers a series of escalating acts of backstabbing conspiracy and personal revenge that also involves rape, and ultimately
affects their wives and children leading even them to desperate and violent acts. There are only four episodes that span a whole decade, making the whole thing feel
like a highlight reel of key scenes in a longer series, especially when compared to similar but much longer and drawn-out TV series. On the other hand, it tells its story
concisely and ends, leaving one feeling as if punched multiple times in the gut by a stranger with a very nasty personality.
Musketeers, The
Based on the first season.
There is plenty of material in Dumas's many books to fill a couple of seasons of superb swashbuckling adventure. Unfortunately, the approach in this series is to only
use the books as a starting point for raw plot elements, starting with the characters from the novels, the writers creating their own stories, and inserting as many plot ideas
from the novels as possible. The result is a mixed bag: The adventures are entertaining, with a light touch and plenty of sword-fighting action. The casting is superb,
as are the production values, presenting a very lively version of this setting and with good subtle chemistry amongst the musketeers. Trouble follows them wherever they go,
in their various jobs of 'policemen', 'secret-service-men', detectives and spies, and even their wild loves and flings are fraught with schemes and secrets. Their bravery,
laid-back approach to death, charm, personalities, and devotion to fun violence and adventure are all there. But there are a few major flaws: The anachronistic attitudes to
things such as slavery and women, the tediously politically-correct and realism-challenged approach of making women into fierce warriors and assassins, the limited episodic
structure where each 1-hour episode neatly resolves all conflicts only to start a new adventure next time, and the lack of character development. Although there is an ongoing
antagonism with the Cardinal and some larger story book-ending the seasons, the format is a crisis-of-the week, and the show doesn't really offer anything more than the
swashbuckling entertainment and never takes the time to build-up anything, albeit its fun in short bursts.
House of Saddam
HBO and the BBC team up once again for another historical mini-series, this one more recent. I (and, I suspect, most people) do not know enough about Saddam to gauge
its authenticity in terms of personality and motivation, but the history seems well researched and sometimes even revealing. The structure of this series is strange
but interesting: a 'lesser-known' greatest hits in the life of Saddam Hussein. It offers four episodes from four key periods in his life, skipping the stuff everyone
knows, and portraying the events purely from his and his family's point of view. These periods include his rise to power with terror and the beginnings of the war with Iran,
the escalation of the politics and war with Kuwait, post Gulf War events including his deteriorating relationships and dealings with his now traitorous son-in-laws,
and finally, his life in hiding from the US troops during Bush's invasion of Iraq. Throughout, there is plenty of family drama and tension, especially with his erratic
and bestial son Uday, and his domineering mother. His friends and commanders also live a roller-coaster life due to his suspicions and brutal, unpredictable treatment
based on paranoia. The acting is superb, and Yigal Naor, an Israeli, leads with a strong commanding presence as Saddam. Minor flaws include: The short greatest-hits
approach described above. The typically racist American approach to casting, with every actor coming from a different country, assuming that no one can tell the difference
even between Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern and Asian. The constant feeling that HBO is trying to turn Saddam into a dramatized Soprano or Godfather. And the fact that, like
the Sopranos, he just isn't very interesting at the end of the day, simply using brutish, unintelligent, power-hungry, paranoid methods, and the show doesn't really get into
their heads and offer insights. In episode three, Saddam suddenly becomes a powerfully manipulative Godfather and carefully pulls strings to achieve his vengeful goals,
but it doesn't seem to match his behaviour in the rest of episodes. Still, it's a compelling one-time watch and may fill in some historical blanks as far as events go.
Shtisel
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Israeli drama taking place within the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) circles in Jerusalem, revolving around one family and its extended social circle. It's a delicate drama involving
sometimes difficult family ties, broken loves and aspirations, and so on, within the unique lifestyle and viewpoint of Haredim. At least that's what it thinks. In the vast majority
of movies and shows I've seen that depict this world, the approach is usually either critical or mocking, with a deep lack of understanding of this world. This show at least
approaches the Haredi world with a delicate and non-judgmental touch and just attempts to portray this life as it is. For this it deserves points, and the drama is subtle, deep,
and very touching. Unfortunately, the accuracy is a very mixed bag and the heart of Haredi life is almost largely ignored or paid mere lip-service, making this one very non-authentic.
For starters, it feels like there are at least two writers, one of them with a Haredi background, but the last word seems to be controlled by people who have no clue what goes
on in the Haredi world and they constantly inject plot developments and behaviours that simply would never happen in this world. They took ideas from their world and transplanted
them into the Haredi drama and it simply doesn't work. So although there are many many details that are authentic, every 2 minutes there is another absurd element or dialogue
that takes one out of the story and characters. Of course, this will only apply to people that know the Haredi world well. For those that don't, they will be none the wiser
and the drama will be delicately moving. Another problem, as mentioned before, is the missing heart of Haredi life. Tora-learning is paid lip-service here and the vast majority
of the show focuses on family drama, whereas in real life, it is a huge element in these people's lives that pre-occupies minds, brings joy and great effort, and which affects life and
alters behaviour and dialogue in many many subtle ways, even when they are not learning. Same with family events, holidays, Sabbath, etc. These are all minimized and barely exist in
this show. Which, as mentioned, means this show has missed the point of the Haredi world it is portraying. Imagine if somebody made a show about passionate/tortured artists, yet
almost never showed them painting or talking about their art and spent 99% of the show's time on their family dramas. That's what this felt like. This show would have been so much
better if it didn't involve the Haredi world, since, otherwise, the drama and acting are very well done.
Patrick Melrose
This mini-series is much more of a showcase for incredible acting, and a portrayal of a very, very broken man with pervasive misery, rather than for delivering a strong story.
It is based on a series of autobiographical books which I have not read. Benedict Cumberbatch is the primary reason to see this, in one of those career-defining towering
performances. The screenplay challenges him with every acrobatic emotional (as well as some physical) extremity, and he dives into this character with virtuosity. It tells the
episodic tale of a broken man in various stages of his life, from abused child to free-fall drug-addict, to a broken and struggling family man, to multiple attempts at redemption.
Unfortunately, as mentioned, the story falters, since it is imbued often with one-dimensional misery or cruelty, and every abusive character in this series comes off as
one-dimensional. It feels like it is highlighting only the misery and cruelty, and all parents, as well as all members of the aristocracy, are barely human in this series,
which makes it feel like the viewpoint of the world strictly from the eyes of a very traumatized and bitter, broken person. Which, as stated, provides for powerful emotions
and performances, but not for good (supporting) character and plot development. Not having read the books, I do not know if they, too, are so single-minded and miserable.
Also, ignore the many reviews that see this as merely a movie about a drug-addict, since they obviously only saw one episode.
Thick of It, The
Based on the first two and a half seasons.
Often described as the modern version of 'Yes Minister', and is actually somewhere in between that show and 'The Office'. It manages to blend the political intelligence
and wit of the former with the awkward realism and crudity of the latter without resorting to cringing embarrassments and overly stupid and obnoxious characters.
Malcolm Tucker is the PM's enforcer who whips the Ministers and their media spin doctors into shape and he is as testy, brutal, and creatively foul-mouthed as they come.
This is the opposite of West Wing, in the sense that the day-to-day politics depicted in this show are far from that imaginary liberal embrace of ideals, constructive
debates and lofty goals, and is, instead, the daily handling of petty arguments, the constant spinning of minute faux-pas made worse by miscommunication, agendas,
human flaws and incompetence, and the constant fear of the media and public that tend to make mountains out of molehills. Ministers come and go on this show, but
the civil servants, spin doctors and Tucker keep flaying each other's skins over these soul-destroying time-wasters. The comedy is not the laugh-out-loud sharp wit
and satire of Yes Minister, but derives from the constant ways that things go wrong and the brutality and colorful language that ensues. It also features many
obscure culture-references, and swearing that is so eccentrically colorful at times, you have to think about it, assuming the fast-pace gives you time to do this.
As such, I find it less classic and compelling than Yes Minister, but still quite an entertaining watch.
Into the West
A 6-part, 10 hour Western mini-series produced by Spielberg. The series spans a period of 65 years from 1825 to 1890 at the height of the expansion in the American West,
and the climax of the wars between settlers and natives. Two fictional families (white and native) provide the dramatic anchor amidst the many historical facts and figures,
their many descendants and relatives scattering in various locations and taking part in many historical events, much like the Holocaust and War and Remembrance series did
with WWII. This comparison is not a superficial one, because, by the end of the series, I felt I had watched a gradual Holocaust of Native Americans by white men, who not
only committed countless massacres and systematic genocide, but also forced them into ghettos (reservations) with increasingly poor terms, and even launched aggressive
educational campaigns against their children to force assimilation and kill their culture, and all this only a handful of decades before the Nazis. Much of this is not
new by now, but the series does a good job in its historical detail, and presents it as a continuous story instead of scattered facts, with a watchable, but not compelling,
family saga as its glue. The Wheelers frequently cross paths and marry with the Lakota tribe and family, bringing to mind Dances with Wolves. Other comparisons: Centennial
was bigger in scope but didn't focus on the war with the natives as much, and Little Big Man managed to do a lot in its shorter length, but wasn't as comprehensive in its
historical detail. This show takes its time to become good however, slowly building its many characters, hopping and skipping between years and characters, and only becoming
compelling towards the end. Another flaw is in how every white man except the Wheeler family members seems to be evil, how many Wheelers were saints compared to their peers,
and every native is a noble fighter, all of which stinks of political correctness. But there is no denying history, quotes, and the many massacres of women and children.
Sons of Anarchy
Based on the first two seasons and most of season three.
Fans of gangster shows like Sopranos and Brotherhood should feel right at home with this one. It's a show about bikers that choose to live a wild life with some elements
of the old West, including violence, rough lifestyles, freedom (whatever that means), crime, and Anarchy (that's Anarchy as a social structure of free individuals without
a government, not general anarchy). Kurt Sutter, who also wrote and produced for The Shield, is in charge of this one. Except that it's not as disciplined as The Shield
and there isn't really anyone to root for, or any shades of grey in this one. The motorcycle club, despite its Anarchism, has a loose hierarchy of the original founders,
'prospects' with reduced privileges, 'nomads', and several charters. They run several legitimate businesses as well as criminal ones, their primary source being gun-running
via their IRA sources. At first, they seem to have a policy of avoiding drugs, especially drugs and violence in their home-town of Charming, but this is soon dropped
as matters keep escalating with rival gangs and interests. There is also an internal conflict between Clay, the leader, who prefers brute-force tactics and gun-running,
and Jax, son of a killed founder with other ideals who didn't see a future in increasingly chaotic and uncontrollable crime. But these ideas of reform are never even raised
for the first three seasons, and are soon forgotten as Jax gets involved in the endless violence, leading me to believe it was only an attempt by the writers to gain sympathy.
The show still tries to make us take sides by giving the club family ties, loyalties, friendships, a moral code for friends, and, mostly, by pitting the club against
even more evil gangs and rivals. But the club still lets loose with plenty of gratuitous violence, shocking brutality, and bad decisions, which makes this just another
show about animals fighting animals (which means you don't really care who wins), albeit it is an addictive and colorful one with above-average writing. Another entertaining
violent show by FX.
Any show that chooses and manages to snag Ron Perlman as a main character deserves points for that alone. Perlman as Clay is not as colorful as I expected, but is definitely
very solid and enjoyable. Katey Sagal, surprisingly, outdoes him as the matriarch of the club. The rest are good. But it's the writers' attitude towards outsiders that needs
work, with everyone in law-enforcement seemingly powerless, incompetent, bent, or psychotic. The club doesn't seem to have even minimal policies and habits that will keep
them out of jail or that would keep so many of them alive, and it becomes increasingly improbable that they can get away with what they are doing. The lack of cleverness
in their crime also makes things less enjoyable. Federal agents are even killed without repercussions, which makes a later event, that causes one of them to go on the run
for killing an IRA agent arrested by the Feds, laughably inconsistent.
As mentioned, the writing is not as disciplined relative to The Shield, and characters switch allegiances often or alternate between smart and glaringly poor decisions at the
writers whims. One glaring example is when two characters decide to kill a close fellow member and friend just because he was carrying a wire in his phone, not even
considering the painfully obvious idea that he was unaware of the wire. In season two, all long-time conflicts are dropped all too easily just because a fellow member
is raped, and so on. But the majority of the writing is quite good, and is character-driven, unpredictable, and not afraid to kill off main characters. Season one is
entertaining and violent, season two is probably the best season with intense and relentless fast-paced developments, although they just seem to be running from one
crisis to another, and season three drops the ball with too much far-fetched and convoluted writing, and endless pulp violence and gang complications.
Godless
7-hour Western that combines old-school style Western film-making and story, with a new-school inclusive collection of characters. But don't go away just yet. It does this
fairly and justifies it with good writing and a plausible setup without resorting to revisionism. It uses the classic Western showdown story where good folk and a stubborn
sheriff expect a bad guy and his gang to come to town, and the movie slowly raises the tension while letting us get to know the characters. We've seen this story many times
before. The difference here is that the town is mostly populated by widows after almost all their husbands died in a tragic mine accident. And no, the widows don't suddenly
become wonder-women gun-fighters or handle it only on their own. There is also an aging sheriff, a gung-ho young man who is a budding gunslinger, a rogue criminal, and many
more. They are all three dimensional people. I could have done without the lesbian though and her love story since it just seems stuck in there for the PC crowd. The other
difference is that this is a series, not a movie, therefore it takes its time to explore the characters and town very well before the inevitable showdown. The rich cast of
characters and personalities, not the story, are what make this series very watchable. So don't watch this if you are expecting lots of action. Jeff Daniels plays against
type as a scary bad guy with a very warped sense of justice, family and religion, and he does it well. This is so old school, the ending features mythical, almost impossible
gun-fighting, but it combines this with sudden unexpected brutality and deaths as well. In short, it's an interesting and carefully-written updated Western that is a solid
and entertaining watch. I wouldn't call it a classic, but it's definitely worth checking out.
Broken Trail
3-hour Western directed by Walter Hill, starring Robert Duvall with a similar tone and narrative to Lonesome Dove. Prentice drafts his nephew on a tense financial deal
to deliver a herd of horses from Oregon to Wyoming. They have a wide variety of encounters and adventures along the way, all low-key and realistic, including the main
plot involving 5 Chinese girls forced into prostitution that they rescue from a despicable horse thief. A whore with a heart of lead isn't happy with the loss of her
new toys and sends a murderous man after the slowly expanding group of cowboys and their proteges. The tone is somewhere between Deadwood and old-school Westerns,
featuring a gritty, harsh and wonderfully detailed recreation of the Wild West, but led by near-idealistic moral heroes that rescue the maidens. The story takes
its time and lacks greatness, but this is one of those movies that holds you in its grip with sheer professionalism and solid craftsmanship, with both superb direction
and acting.
Kingdom (2014)
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
This is about an extended family of MMA fighters, their girlfriends, exes, friends, other fighters, parents, etc. Although there are snippets of realistic fights,
especially in the finale, the primary focus is testosterone-fuelled drama, if you can imagine that. Almost all of the characters here are screw-ups, from guys with
uncontrollable fits of anger or self-destructive binges, to wired shenanigans, drug or chemical abuse, to guys that are plain bad with relationships. There is also
one mother who is a drug-addict and prostitute. The story isn't much to write home about, but the realism, acting and character work are all very strong, each
character a very three-dimensional person. I know guys like this, and even a fighter that resembles this. With this show, you really feel like you are getting to
hang out with this wild family. It's simply a question of whether you would want to. Personally, I don't find this kind of people interesting, but the show is
undeniably well done and others should find a lot to enjoy here. However, the character development does turn somewhat chaotic at the end of season one and start
of season two as they behave in strange inconsistent ways without any explanation.
Vikings
Based on the first two seasons.
I am not going to pretend to know anything about the historical accuracy of this series; All I expect it to do, at the very least, is to transport me to a different plausible
time and culture. This is about Nordic pagans, led mostly by the mythical Ragnar, that discover how to sail across oceans, and their ambitions, thirst for battle, and lust
for conquest take them to violent raids, wars and adventures in England and France (and many more countries later on in history). Villages led by Earls and populated by (mostly)
free men and women gather together, form flimsy alliances in order to wage war on neighbouring kingdoms, barely long enough to pause the fighting amongst themselves.
This show features some cultural scenes of pagan rituals and celebrations, sacrifices to Nordic gods, shifting friendships and alliances, family dynamics, a bunch of drama
with various wives, children and loves, all of which have to live this war-mongering lifestyle whether they like it or not, including some warrior women and various family
members and friends each with their own ambitions. But the majority of the series revolves around raids, invasions, wars, pillaging, back-stabbing enemies and kings,
and many, many battles.
Lately, historical TV shows tend to grab a few youngsters that look like they just took some time off posting on their twitter account in order to dress up in costumes and get
their paycheck. This series starts off on weak, wobbly legs for the first handful of episodes, then, thankfully, the actors grow into their roles and bring them to life, and
the production and direction gradually iron out some of the sillier elements (but not all of them). Again, although the internet is full of accusations of historical inaccuracies,
I am only interested in whether the society makes sense. Some bad stuff: A wife objects to a rape (but not to murder) in the beginning of the show by killing the rapist, and
suddenly by magic, rape is never mentioned again for the rest of the show in an act of cowardice by the producers. There is a very silly pre-occupation with threesomes as if
the writer assumes every Viking male is a closet homosexual, but thankfully this is soon thrown away as well. Women have modern makeup and shaved legs (of course). Women object
to their men having flings while on raids even though they are pagans, and their priests act very suspiciously like Christians. And the first season features an Earl who is
a blatantly unjust leader and parasite on his village, and it is difficult to understand why they don't get rid of him. That's the bad. The good includes the great battle scenes,
the wild attitudes and lust for raids and battle, addictive ongoing developments in the form of many internal wars and flimsy alliances, and some different approaches to justice
and religion. Overall, although the show becomes quite entertaining and even addictive, it remains one of those things where you keep watching for its entertainment value, but
keep hoping that they will do something more interesting. According to this show, the Vikings are quite dumb, and for all their gung-ho fearless approach to war, they never
really make interesting plans, think of basic things like leaving protection for their home village, or double-cross their allies without protecting themselves first, and their
villagers are massacred so many times, I fail to see how there can be anyone left. Somehow, new Vikings keep appearing in the village. Also, Ragnar is portrayed as a petulant
wild bad-boy with a lust for war, and is therefore not really interesting either. All in all, the Viking society, at least in this series, act exactly like a bunch of rat
parasites, raiding neighbours, murdering everyone in sight that isn't Viking, as well as killing each other, disloyal to everyone and anyone, turning traitor on any whim, and
back again, and there's nary a wise man in sight. Which is why, like I said, it fails to become really interesting, and eventually I stopped watching.
Compared to Black Sails, this has more consistent writing and characters and doesn't have the silly softcore porn, but it also is inferior in terms of interesting developments,
story-writing and characters.
Black Sails
Based on the first two seasons.
Starz hasn't been known for its tasteful period-series so far, embracing trash, softcore-porn, extra violence, over-the-top catty behaviour, anachronisms, and as much
gratuitous depravity as possible. And so it seems most appropriate for them to tackle a pirate series, and I was actually looking forward to a show that made pirates ugly
and barbaric for a change, rather than the charming rogues of Hollywood-past. And indeed it starts off very well, barring a few cheaply titillating sex scenes that lower
the quality, promising great things thanks to many colorful characters and complex writing. The show tells the story of many true-life pirates from the golden age of pirating in
the early 1700s, all flocking to the real-life 'pirate republic' of Nassau, where corrupt government and controlling democratic gangs of pirates eventually led to anarchy.
Here the many pirates keep stirring the pot with conflicting agendas and shifting alliances, with a potential huge treasure changing the game repeatedly. Amongst all this,
is the complex character of Captain Flint from Treasure Island who is led by visions much grander than his suspicious and wild colleagues. His crew is accompanied by the
clever and manipulative John Silver who is always led by self-interest. As mentioned, this evolves wonderfully at first, but then it unravels. The writers keep adding more
and more developments and shifting motivations in an attempt to constantly keep the audience on its toes, and already towards the end of the first season, the characters
shift one time too many and stop making sense. This becomes worse in the second season, as characters flip sides so often based on whims, unconvincing speeches or random actions,
or just based on a weak writer's contrivances, that they cease to make any sense and the show becomes unwatchable. Also, the constant injection of titillating nudity, sex,
lesbians, threesomes, whores and whatnot constantly cheapen the show with too-obvious attempts at drawing in a horny audience, and thus undermine the writing even further.
In Spartacus, Raimi's involvement, the strong drama and characters, and the gore, made it worthwhile and entertaining trash. This one just keeps shooting itself in the foot
with sloppy writing that feels like it has been forced to constantly inject a quota of character-development twists per episode and softcore sex scenes. And then there's the
even more obvious gay-mafia control that manages to turn no less than three of its main heterosexual characters gay within two seasons, even though it may conflict with
what happened before (not to mention Robert Louis Stevenson turning over in his grave). And finally, political correctness rears its ugly head yet again by putting a woman
in charge of pirates. Granted, she does so against their will, but many of their attitudes to her feel way too anachronistic.
So on the one hand this show offers a great cast, strong characters, and complex writing, but then it throws it all away on cheap trash and sloppy management. The good is so good that
it's easy to imagine this show being great while watching it, but all this potential is thrown away. There have been plenty of shows that became great without forced fast-pacing
contrived twists and blatantly titillating sex scenes, so all these recent shows that feel the need for it evidently have no confidence in their material. Frustrating, to say the least.
Over There
Based on the single season.
If you're going to make a show about something controversial that is happening right now to many people, it is bound to be nit-picked to death and attacked for many
personal reasons. And that is what happened to this above-average show about the war in Iraq. But the show wisely takes no political sides and doesn't even hint at
anti-war or pro-war statements. The show is about the soldiers, the human angle as men are faced with a variety of situations, some of them very incidental to the war,
and some having to do with culture clash or their families left at home. The characters and personalities are pretty good, the writing and stories are grim and
realistic, as long as you can ignore some insignificant details. The first episode is bad, and there is another episode that falters when it forces some feminist
agenda on an Arab woman and then adds some gratuitous lesbian sex, and the show becomes less interesting when it focuses on the family drama back home with
cheating alcoholic spouses, but the rest is all quite good, with some thought-provoking episodes. Suicide bombers, children and families used in war, chaotic
waves of insurgency, booby traps and mines, various other cultural time-bombs, wounds and deaths, as well as family issues made worse due to the distance, all
make the soldiers' lives quite difficult and this show explores all of this grimly and thoughtfully. A pretty good show from FX, but don't expect Band of Brothers in Iraq though.
Tour of Duty
Based on most of the first season.
Come to think of it, war TV series are quite rare, especially ones that deal in day-to-day combat inside a war zone. This 80s series on Vietnam can be surprisingly good
in scattered episodes, dealing with a wide variety of issues and elements of the Vietnam War. It combines war action and drama, and tries to have it both ways with both honest
dealings with death, as well as heroism and speeches made by the idealistic soldiers. Therefore the episodes vary from the more complex issues to do with Vietnamese
as both foe and friend, to less interesting life-lessons learned per episode. Guest stars routinely join to shake up and challenge the tight-knit platoon, only to get killed,
while the seasoned soldiers survive through their experience and practical skills. This sometimes gets a bit formulaic, the handful of primary protagonists somehow surviving
throughout everything, which kinda hurts the realism. But it is still a very watchable show, with episodes ranging from routine to intense. Issues covered include anything
from tunnel warfare, friends dying from stupid mistakes, the USO, reporters, officers with various agendas, intense sieges, repetitive ambushes, high-risk rescue operations,
re-education of Vietnamese, double-agents and the inability to tell between friend and foe, and so on. Although quality varies and the show is episodic, it is above-average
overall.
Unit, The
Based on the first season.
A military TV show about the most elite of all US special forces, based on an autobiographical book, with writing from David Mamet and the involvement of Shawn Ryan from
The Shield. Sounds extremely promising doesn't it? And it doesn't disappoint in many areas. As compared to the other realistic military TV show that came out at the same time
'Over There', it has some advantages and disadvantages: This show, too, mixes missions, army experiences and camaraderie, with dramas at home concerning the wives, who not
only have to deal with their husbands' dangerous careers, they also have to maintain secrets under strict penalties and repercussions. The missions and action in this show
are thrilling, smart, gritty and impressively professional, creative and disciplined, but they are also episodic and the soldiers' seeming expertise in every subject raises
incredulity. How can the same people be the best at shooting, combat, hostage situations, disarming nuclear bombs, protecting government officials, spy games, diplomacy,
taking apart satellites, running a submarine, building MacGyver gadgets to escape from a prison, etc etc. It's not just their abilities that are implausible, it's also that
they are sent on all of these varied missions. It's as if this were an updated, much less cheesy version of The A Team. Then there are the home dramas that feel
shoe-horned in just to appease the feminists, with the initial drama dealing with their unique challenging lifestyles being of moderate interest, but then deteriorating into
affairs, and then, when that runs out of steam, into completely irrelevant stories with business deals and con men. In summary, this is a very watchable action show with
some smart writing and sharp thrills, but it's also slightly overrated, with some flaws and a limited episodic structure.
Holocaust
A mini-series drama telling the tale of a Jewish family during the Holocaust along with their friends and enemies, and, on the other side, some Nazis involved in escalating
and engineering the extermination of the Jews. The biggest problem I have with most drama shows and movies about the Holocaust is that they usually revolve around secular
Jews that don't live as Jews. I mean, if something as horrible as the Holocaust happened to Jews because they were Jews, one would think it would be important to explore
what it is that makes Jews Jewish. This show is no exception in that regard, compounded by the problem that most of the Jewish cast are very non-Jewish, and that one of
the main protagonists and love stories involve an intermarriage. There's even a laughable Jewish marriage ceremony where, the way the film-makers made this, the Rabbi
married himself (and not the groom) to the bride. Also, although this show explores many terrible events and Nazi cruelty and violence on a personal level, the work camps
are strangely portrayed relatively lightly rather than the hell-holes they were. On the other hand, a strong aspect of this show is the Jews' reactions to the gradually
increasing violence, their denials and lack of belief in the fact that their own neighbours and friends are turning against them with such hate or detachment. Ironically,
an even stronger aspect is the Nazi side of the story, exploring a difficult character in the form of a despicable German man who is basically human and 'gentle', yet
finds himself coldly engineering the deaths of millions of people due to various social, personal and career pressures. The SS mentality, justification or denial of
their terrible crimes reaches a fascinating peak of dark psychological dementia in this movie. Then again, the mentality of the German people at the time who welcomed
Hitler as a savior of their lost pride is ignored, and this is a slight flaw. The narrative scatters the family, getting them involved in various true historical events
such as the Night of Broken Glass, the Warsaw uprising, the partisan movement in Russia, the Sobibor escape, etc, thus serving as a partial history lesson. In summary,
this is a strong drama with flaws, worth watching, but maybe only once. The uniqueness of Schindler's List is that it found a new and interesting way to approach this
topic, but if you are looking for a straightforward Holocaust drama, this is above average and better than tripe like The Pianist, only with reservations.
Count of Monte Cristo, The
A not-bad French 7-hour adaptation that gives this rich, complex classic the time it deserves. The first episode of four starts out quite badly however:
The imprisonment and all the critical events that traumatize and setup the Count's character are rushed through in a rapid mess of flashbacks, without registering
any passion or interest. Depardieu is a great actor but seems completely miscast here, too big and strong as a prisoner, and lacking introversion and broodiness
as the Count. When his plots of revenge and social games start however, this series changes into a superb and fascinating tale, amongst the best French period dramas,
faithfully exploring all the rich detail of the book. The changed Hollywood ending, however, is nothing short of repulsive and trite. In short, the best Dumas
adaptation so far with an exquisitely beautiful soundtrack, pulled down by two very disappointing bookends.
Shooting the Past
I see this as a kind of non-erotic variation on the One Thousand and One Nights structure, where a woman is under pressure to come up with interesting stories to distract
and interest her overlord. In this case, she tells stories using a massive collection of millions of photographs, and she is trying to convince a property developer who
insists on closing down and splitting up the photograph collection in order to build something else in its place. The employees at the photography library are all highly
eccentric, making his job that much harder, with one especially odd, aggressive and caustic man called Oswald (a superb Timothy Spall) who always thinks ahead by making obscure
connections, and who knows how to find the exact appropriate photograph for every occasion. The employees go head-to-head with the business-man as the deadline approaches,
using their photographs to bring stories alive, trying to sell to various buyers or to find ways to convince the developer not to shut them down by digging into his background.
For three episodes the show is quite mesmerizing thanks to the acting, the mysterious behaviour of Oswald, and the charming photographs, except the photographic coincidences
pile up, and ending is pretty weak.
Psychoville
Based on both seasons.
From half of the team behind League of Gentlemen comes this highly entertaining black comedy and horror spoof. There is much more story this time rather than the more
sketch-oriented and very bizarre League, and Pemberton and Shearsmith once again act in several roles, including a kind of reprise of the mother-son team of serial killers.
Except that everyone in this show either seems to be a killer, is a killer, thinks of killing or finds themselves involved in killing, and they all happen to be a very colorful
ensemble of freaks, hence the name of the show. There's a very angry clown Mr. Jolly who lost a hand and who is still performing for kids, only when the parents mistake him for
Mr. Jelly that is; there's a nasty, blind, wart-covered man with an extensive doll collection who hires a black man Tealeaf as his assistant; Dawn French is a psycho who thinks
her doll is her baby, there's a dwarf who may have psychic abilities acting in a Snow-White play in love with a dumb-blonde acting as Snow White, a fat loser with an unhealthy
relationship with his mother and with an obsession over serial killers, and more. The show is one long story with constantly surprising twists and turns, as people usually turn
out to be someone else or harboring big secrets, and major characters often get killed. It also references dozens of movies, usually Hitchcock or horror movies, and there is even
an episode filmed in one long take in the vein of Rope. So although it is a spoof and kinda wears thin in the second season, it brings its own unique sense of black humor, funny
characters and a very entertaining story arc.
Wallander (UK)
Based on the first two seasons.
Given the UK's seeming insatiability for murder mysteries and detective personalities, I suppose that if the British would ever stoop to remake some other country's TV show,
it would be one about a popular Swedish detective. This is based on a series of novels by Henning Mankell that were adapted several times in Sweden, but this UK show, in
my opinion, is better than the recent Swedish production on several levels: First and foremost, it features the always dependable Kenneth Branagh in the titular role
and gives him a lot to chew on. The detective here is very close to burning out every day, his experience, drive for uncovering truth, helping people and solving mysteries,
and his addiction to his work, all keep him on the job, but his fatigue, loneliness, family issues, and the fact that he gets too close to the cases and often gets emotionally
burned by them, bring him down into doom and gloom. The murders here are often nasty, bizarre and baffling, involving some seriously sick criminals with a wide range of motives,
often paralleling some personal crises or social issue like racism, abuse of children, or murdering the elderly. In addition, as opposed to the Swedish TV show that went for
more team-work, this features more indomitable talent and insights by Wallander himself. Like that show, the mysteries are episodic, developing in stand-alone feature-length
movies, but the (heaps of) character development is ongoing. Also, this one opted to respect its sources by keeping the location, culture, names and signs all in Swedish,
despite its English-speaking British cast. Great for people that enjoy a darker and gloomier detective series than the usual British mystery fare.
Chicago Code, The
Based on the single season.
Shawn Ryan's short-lived attempt at another cop-show after The Shield, this one not as successful, but still interesting. Whereas The Shield featured corrupt
policemen, this one goes for a straight-as-a-ruler super-cop and his ex-partner who is now the superintendent, both driven to fight corruption in Chicago's
political system, primarily in the form of Ronin Gibbons, a very slippery Alderman with ties to the Irish mob. This story arc isn't as prominent as you would
expect, with most of the episodes focusing on some police-work-of-the-week that often happens to involve Gibbons and the Irish mob in various ways. Some personal
dramas also make an appearance, but aren't interesting as with The Shield. There is also more action, which each episode unrealistically featuring several car
chases and gunfights to make the show more entertaining. One of the biggest problems, though, is with the casting and acting. Many of the protagonists and guest
stars seem to have been cast for looks over personality and plausibility in their roles, and the result is often quite flat. As an example, compare Glenn Close's
work, her character's battle with corruption, and strong personality in The Shield, to Jennifer Beals prettiness but complete lack of authority on this one. The
writing towards the end also feels overly convenient in order to close the season with some satisfaction, and the awkward back-stories with a narrative feel tacked
on. In short, a flawed show that feels very compromised when compared to Ryan's other work (perhaps due to this being handled by Fox instead of F/X?). But it is
still better than several other shows given Ryan's writing that presents some intense cat-and-mouse political games and developing complexities.
House M.D.
Based on most of the first season and several scattered episodes.
Dr. Gregory House M.D. (a superb and surprisingly intense Hugh Laurie) is the undeniable star of this medical show. He is a brilliant diagnostician working for a hospital
with a team of younger assistant diagnosticians who are assigned all of the challenging and mysterious cases. This aspect of the show is like a medical CSI, except it feels
much more realistic. The heavy medical jargon is balanced by well-placed layman descriptions and special effects to teach us about obscure medical facts, diseases and cures.
The even bigger aspect of this show however, is House's personality. He is not merely challenged when it comes to people skills, he is simply too misanthropic to care.
He loves the mystery, adopting cases aggressively that show promise of challenge, and then doesn't rest until he has solved it, thus saving many lives. The rest of
the cases, all involving humdrum diseases, get ignored or scoffed at, and the patients are sometimes even made fun of. His boss's continuous attempts to make him do his
time at the walk-in clinic thus produces the comic relief of the show, as he repeatedly comes up with various ways to avoid this work, or has fun with the suffering
patients. Brutal truth is always his policy, sometimes resulting in steam-rolled lives, but other times producing life-saving solutions as the patients and their families
are forced to realize what they are up against and what they are doing wrong. Another of his policies is that patients always lie. So he usually doesn't bother talking
with them, studying their symptoms from his office, sending people to break into their homes to find possible causes of their ailments, or tricking the patients to receive
treatments they don't want. All of this results in a very difficult man, but his life-saving results are so undeniable that most of the management and staff simply have no
choice but to tolerate him as best they can. Obvious parallels to Sherlock Holmes or Hawkeye Pierce can be drawn.
Unfortunately, the structure is episodic and even formulaic. But this is the best episodic and repetitive show you are likely to see. Practically every episode starts with
a person becoming sick with strange symptoms, House makes several attempts at diagnoses, some of them wrong, some of them needing adjustment, until the final conclusion
where everything clicks together and he finds the solution. He often makes extremely difficult decisions that nobody else wants to make, such as trying out two possible
solutions on two different babies, knowing that one will die, in order to save 5 more babies. He constantly rants about the need to do something even in the face of doubt,
uncertain diagnoses, and lack of proof, but sometimes he is also too confident and aggressive in his educated guesses, and has to be tempered by the staff as best they
can. His leg injury, limp and addiction to pain medication provide recurring dramas, as do some recurring characters, and his troubled relationship with the management.
But otherwise, the show is episodic, with every mystery solved and closed in time for the end of the episode. The writers keep pulling out the most obscure diseases they
can find, and have House stumble along the way to a solution using ambiguous or a partial list or symptoms, sometimes causing damage along the way. This is what I mean by
formulaic, and yet it's amazing how much mileage this show gets out of it. House is riveting also due to the acting and also thanks to the intelligent writing, and the
writers keep coming up with fascinating cases, scary decisions, amusing shenanigans and patients in the clinic for House to abuse, and the occasional character-building
drama.
Northern Exposure
Based on the first two seasons and most of the third.
A very warm show about a New York Jewish doctor who finds himself in the middle of nowhere in a small Alaskan town full of eccentric characters. This is a show about a town
where nothing interesting happens yet life is never boring. The characters are colorful, fun and lovable, the writing is intelligent, the drama is creative without going for
anything ridiculous, and the result is often a little heart-warming magic. Quirk, personality, little unusual dramas and even touches of magical realism all make this show
the unique memorable phenomenon that it is. And the more you watch it, the more you feel like you are hanging out with real people and you look forward to doing so.
Amusing, magical, warm, real and gentle for the first two short seasons, then the third season tries to over-extend itself to 22 episodes and it shows. On the one hand, it
does grow increasingly milder and easier to shrug off, Chris becomes more pretentious and Maggie becomes annoyingly neurotic, childish and selfish. But it is always a pleasant
watch, and even when the characters inch towards the over-quirky and neurotic, the writing usually finds something amusingly insightful to say about them, and Adam is a great
addition in season three.
Call the Midwife
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
In many ways, this show is a medical drama, except there is no hospital and it's a lot more personal and warm. This is a human drama about a group of midwives in the
poor East End of London in the 50s. The BBC reproduces this period with detail, and, thankfully, doesn't inject any revisionism or gender politics that a typical US
production would have stooped to. The midwives are mostly nuns and live in a convent, together with some atheistic or less... monastic midwives, one of which is surprised
to find herself in a convent. Episodes cover several story-lines, dealing with various crises or dramas that emerge from their profession, as well as personal dramas, other
community work they find themselves performing with the nuns, and plenty of character development. The stories are based on real-life memoirs. The many characters are
all very fleshed out and colorful, and Miranda Hart steals the show with a funny but much less silly role than in her 'Miranda' series. The men in the show are mostly
harmless, and there is no male bashing despite this being kind of a 'chick-flick' show. Quite the opposite. In short, quite good for what it is.
Lark Rise to Candleford
Based on the first season.
Actually surprisingly good for a 'chick flick' period drama. I call this a chick flick because of three reasons: The men are strictly in supporting roles, the drama is gentle
and concerns itself mostly with typically 'female' concerns, and, in this show, the micro-world of two neighbouring towns is practically run only by women. On the other hand,
the writing is quite balanced and is not misandrist as one would expect in this day and age, allowing men their dignity and personality, even though they always give in to their
women and women almost always get the last word. Laura has come of age and has taken her first job in the market town a few miles away, which is a step up from the very intimate
village where she grew up. Her job is at a post-office run by a self-assured woman, who also happens to be an old flame of the local married magistrate even though he is in a
different social class and married to an upper-class lady from London. Many other members of the towns and community get time to shine, including Dawn French as an overly happy
and irresponsible mother, two spinster busybodies who run a clothes shop, Laura's Dad with his pride and outspoken leftist views, an old couple that run a beekeeping business,
and an old outspoken housekeeper. The drama flows through a wide variety of different issues, sub-plots and small crises, always with warmth and down-to-earth gentleness.
The attitudes and the ubiquitous feminine control are questionably anachronistic, but this can be overlooked. Light, but warm viewing.
Tales of the Unexpected
Based on the first two seasons.
Another classic anthology, this one with Roald Dahl at the helm (at least for the first couple of years), and as with the Ray Bradbury anthology, the quality is more consistent
as a result with a strong writer in control. This doesn't cover science-fiction or horror however, except in the sense that it contains some horror situations involving murder
and strange happenings, and even these are often heavily tinged with black humor. The tales are quite varied, perhaps with recurring themes of ironic revenge between
spouses, but they also cover simple tales of irony, or tense situations that end with a twist, noir-esque crimes, murder gone bad, strange situations with eccentric people,
black comedy, and so on. As with American anthologies, the cast includes many British stars and the acting is generally solid and colorful. Episodes are 25 minutes long, and
the quality ranges from average to excellent, with the majority of episodes offering at least something of interest, if not with the twist ending, then with tense, intriguing
little details that build-up well. Some episodes are only average but they don't outstay their welcome thanks to their short length. In short, definitely an above-average
anthology and worth checking out for fans of this style. After the first two seasons, the quality deteriorated without Dahl as the writer.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Based on most of the first season and some scattered episodes.
I can only guess the extent of the effect and influence this pioneering anthology show had since the 50s when it was aired, but there is no denying its quality that holds
up even today, even more so than the Twilight Zone. The genres covered are mysteries, crimes, suspense thrillers, capers, etc. often with a surprise twist at the end,
some of them involving a black sense of humor. The quality is quite consistently good relative to other anthologies, probably because of the firm hand of Hitchcock who
knows all about quality and solid writing. The best aspect of this show is actually the introductions and epilogues by Hitchcock himself, who appears out of his trademarked
silhouette, introducing or commenting on the episode with delightfully droll, dry and wry humor. His sponsors are constantly the target of subtle and playful humor as he
bookends the advertisements with humor, and constantly makes fun of the sensitive audiences' and censors' sense of morality by changing dark, tragic or violent endings
into obviously ridiculous happier ones by adding his own endings in his epilogues ('the criminal was promptly caught and is now paying for his crimes in jail'). Seasons
contain an unusually high amount of episodes (around 40). I'm not a big fan of anthologies, but this is definitely amongst the best and it holds up quite well.
NewsRadio
Based on the first one and a half seasons and many scattered episodes.
Office sitcom based in a news radio station with fun, very colorful characters and sharp writing. The light but inventive and fast-paced comedy is about anything
from rats in the office to secret affairs, and the characters are subtly drawn, likeable and charmingly performed. There's a smart but weak-willed director that
everyone takes advantage of, an amusing eccentric boss (Stephen Root), difficult anchor men, a crazy secretary, and Joe Rogan from Fear Factor and UFC does a
funny turn as an aggressive wizard technician. Above-average comedy with sharp dialogue and humor, the sharp actors are obviously having fun with it, and the writing
is entertainingly colorful. Not overwhelmingly great, but always fun to watch while it's on.
TURN: Washington's Spies
Based on the first two seasons.
The American Revolution, surprisingly, isn't covered often. This one approaches it from the point of view of some spies, and it starts early on in October 1776
when things were really heating up after the British recaptured New York from George Washington's rebel army. A ring of spies slowly forms to help Washington with useful
information after his defeat, one who is a farmer and son of a magistrate who is loyal to the King and who lives in a community/town of Setauket which is controlled by
the British. I am not a historian and cannot comment on the historical accuracy of this show, so I approached it only on plausibility and whether it was interesting and
entertaining. The first season is quite weak: After a strong setup and interesting, complex characters, it feels like the writers and characters are mostly treading water
with minutiae, or constantly inventing new minor crises for each episode to fill that episode with 'content', while the real plot is happening elsewhere. For example,
there's a whole episode spent on a decision to use gravestones for defense (it is never clear why they would even be efficient or needed), provoking the town to near-mutiny,
and they spend days agonizing over ten gravestones when they could have found a much faster and easier alternative. And the majority of the show takes place in a small town
where a cruel British officer becomes obsessed with petty intrigue and power-games, thus greatly reducing the scope of this story. This is worsened by the constant injection
of tawdry affairs and love triangles (with liberated women and shaved legs of course). Motivations are often murky, ephemeral or overly-complicated that feel more like
writers contrivances than human behaviour. The opening music theme is terrible, and, of course, the Americans continue the childish tradition of making most of the British
into evil characters, rather than portraying them as soldiers protecting their country's investments.
The second season improves and expands the scope or the story as well as the characters and comes up with proper thrilling story-lines, as well as complex dynamics and twists.
But I still found myself not enjoying the show even though it seemed like it was well done. I concluded that it was a variety of issues: The primary one being that all of the
characters seem to be motivated by lust, greed, pride, sadism or fear, and there seemed to be no idealism in sight despite the fact that there was a new nation at stake. Even
Washington's characterization felt like a narcissist and I did not understand why they were following his leadership, and one episode even assigns him dementia. Thus, they all
run around putting out fires or starting them mostly without contemplation, seemingly causing the war over personal grudges or desires. One woman even gets four male competitors,
two from each side, leaning dangerously close to soap-operatics. Now I don't prescribe to the notion that history and past figures are all romantic and idealistic, but without
even some idealism, what are they fighting for? That said, there is much to admire in this show and it may appeal more to others. Having failed to grab me after two seasons
though, I gave up.
24: Live Another Day
A quick cash-in riding on the original for some extra money, or does this mini-series revisitation have something new to offer? The only thing new here
is the 12-hour format, which by itself instantly improves the show by not forcing the writers to keep coming up with ridiculous padding, extensions and sub-plots.
Unfortunately, this isn't enough and the rest is uninspired rehashing of plot elements used ad-nauseam in several previous seasons. It is thrilling and serves the
usual breakneck pacing and endless twists from previous seasons, but this is superficial and unrealistic entertainment at best. Once again the CIA/CTU has more
double-agents and security holes than a sieve, terrorists are some random non-denominational hi-tech wizards with a quota of hot chicks in their ranks as well
as double-agents in every agency up to the white house, one crisis solved only leads to another bigger one from other gangs of terrorists who coincidentally hatch
their plan on the same day, computer hacking and surveillance is practically instant, and so on. Still, the momentum and thrills keep you watching and entertained
'til the end.
David Copperfield (1999)
BBC production of this classic novel with many stars in small roles. It was Dickens's favorite novel, featuring many autobiographical elements, and is probably also my favorite
novel of his. It is a saga about David, who is thrown about by fate between many different happy and abusive homes, and gets to know both good and wicked people of all sorts,
all of which also continue to make his adult life complicated and full of ups and downs. It features several classic characters, including Uriah Heep, a humble and devious crook.
This series' biggest problem is its short length, the sprawling story compacted and abridged so much, that the show feels more like a highlight reel containing climaxes of
each chapter, giving its audience whiplash rather taking the time to tell the story and its gradually growing developments. Another issue is the broadly drawn black or white
characters in the first half. Otherwise, this is passably warm entertainment and serves as a reminder of the original and better story with all of its details.
Foyle's War
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Quality British historical detective series set during WWII that has lasted for a surprising amount of time. It's quality over quantity, with only scattered episodes
over the years, each episode a feature-length movie. Foyle (a superb Michael Kitchen) is a highly principled and determined Detective Chief who wishes he were
contributing to the war, and ends up fighting the war in a completely different theatre: Those crimes at home that persist despite the war, or, more frequently,
the unique crimes created because of the war. Crimes involving German and Italian citizens, racism, looting, side-effects of fear or spying activities, and people
that think they can get away with it because there is war. The unique setting provides for a lot of unique moral challenges and situations, and Foyle's personality
balances strict law-abiding principles with humanism. The period details are superb from what I can tell, the acting is wonderful and it features top quality guest
stars as well. The length of each episode means that it may be a bit slow-moving for some, especially when compared to other detective shows, but it also allows for
more color, character and immersive detail. The structure is episodic with one or two mysteries per episode, although there is some minor character development as well.
The writing is subtle and the mysteries are well conceived and handled. In summary, although it didn't compel me to keep watching for too long, there is a lot to
praise and enjoy here, and it is definitely one of those shows worth catching when it's on TV.
Lewis
Based on the first two seasons.
A spin-off of Inspector Morse, that venerable and long-running British detective series, featuring the crotchety and snobbish Morse's more laid-back assistant Lewis, who has
now taken over and is given an intelligent, easygoing and sharp young detective partner-assistant of his own. The British really love their detectives, as is evident by
the many literary figures as well as the many mystery TV series including the various incarnations of Sherlock and Agatha Christie's heroes, Morse, Foyle, Frost and others.
But whereas the Americans increasingly veer towards action, lurid murders and serial killers, or flashy CSI work, the British stick to what they do best: Depth of character,
complex mysteries, and sharp police-work. The star of this series, in my opinion, is the refinement in the wit, character and intelligence, leading some to claim this as a superior
spin-off. The acting is superb as well, featuring complex personalities that slowly emerge amidst the feature-length murder-mysteries. Practically all of the mysteries involve
members of Oxford University in one way or another, making you wonder how there could be anyone left in the university after so many years, and the charming city is featured
often as well. The murders unfold slowly but always with interesting details and developments that stay several steps ahead of both the detectives and the audience, resulting
in surprises for both us and the detectives. Although this may be more realistic in a sense, personally, I prefer it when we are given more clues to chew on earlier in the game,
and the murderers don't always convince as murderers here, the writers often emphasizing the (sometimes convoluted) mystery over psychology. Still, it is a quality, intelligent
and enjoyable series, peppered often with literary quotes and references to enhance the intellectual enjoyment.
Nurse Jackie
Based on the first two seasons and bits of the third.
It took me a while to try this popular show and, as a character-study of a messed-up nurse, this is everything they said it was. The superb Edie Falco is a very dedicated and
whip-smart nurse who is good at her job but who has a badly messed-up personal life. A no-nonsense lady, who, as opposed to Dr. House, really cares for her suffering patients,
although when patients and co-workers rub her developed sense of justice the wrong way, she has no problem breaking laws and morality to deliver swift justice. She is a
fascinating character and resembles real-life nurses in a good way. It's her personal life that is the trouble: A severe drug-problem with medications that she takes for her
bad back, which obviously overflows into both her professional and personal life, as well as a greedy ongoing affair with a co-worker even though she seems to have the perfect
family and kids waiting at home. The steady stream of typical little hospital dramas adds dimensions to this continuous character drama, as well as a handful of colorful
supporting characters and their dramas: From the rich female talented doctor who feels like a medically trained Samantha from Sex and the City, to the spoiled young-white-male
doctor, gay nurses, a newbie female nurse who grows a lot during the show, etc. It's fun, funny and dramatic and a solid watch for a couple of seasons at least, but her personal
problems are a hurdle since she not only does nothing to try to make things better, she even constantly digs deeper holes and the writers let her constantly get away with it.
So after a while I got tired of watching.
Ripping Yarns
Based on both seasons.
Michael Palin's Blackadder featuring this most likeable of Pythons in dual roles per episode, each episode spoofing a cliched period-story. Episode story-lines include
a coming-of-age boy-in-a-harsh-British-boarding-school story where teachers get spanked and the master of the school is a haughty teenage bully, a prisoner-of-war story
featuring a man who attempts to escape 560 times, a Hammer-style horror story about an evil claw and fun diseases, a murder-mystery where everyone seems to have done it, etc.
The humor feels like half of the Python canons are firing (Terry Jones co-wrote), but the episode-long stories dilute the Pythonesque energetic madness. A fun, entertaining
but diluted Monty Python followup.
Fresh Meat
Based on the first two and half seasons.
Another rudely honest, uniquely funny and quirky comedy by the team behind Peep Show, only this time featuring a more varied and colorful group of youngsters in their
first year of university. As with Peep Show, they are all awkward and horny schlimazels that constantly find themselves in various social misadventures often
revolving around sex, awkward flings, unrequited lust and the like, but there are also plenty of hilarious situations concerning the dorm-house they are all sharing.
Each character is fully fleshed out, complex and very unique as only the British can do, from the arrogant, foul-mouthed and posh-minded brat, to a sexually-aggressive
street-smart drug-addict girl, the hilariously bizarre Howard, and a couple of lovebirds that constantly find new ways to pile up more and more awkward obstacles between
them. The humor is quite unique with constantly unexpected dialogue, making this a potential cult show for bohemian teenagers.
Lilyhammer
Based on the first season.
The Norwegians kidnap a Sopranos character and put him in a show with Norwegians, boosting the tourist trade. Just kidding. A New-York mobster rats out his new despicable boss
and opts to hide out in a remote Norwegian town he saw during the olympics. He soon finds that his mobster skills come in very useful even in this town, and bullies his way
through the bureaucracy and the local condescending difficult people, collecting a small gang of friends that have no problem with immoral dealings. The local family-oriented
police force have no idea what to do with him. A very watchable comedy about personalities and culture-clash that you can just kick back and enjoy. The story-lines are continuous,
and in some ways, I enjoyed this more than The Sopranos, although it is a very different show obviously. It's nothing amazing, and the writers tend to use luck, coincidence and
easy solutions for everything, but it's still very watchable.
Due South
Based on most of the first season.
Charming Canadian cop dramedy, or, more correctly, a series about a very upstanding, polite, skilled, confident but naive Canadian Mountie stuck in Chicago with a cynical
policeman, whom he helps to solve crimes. It's a bit like a Canadian Crocodile Dundee, if Dundee were a virtuous law-man with a high sense of morality and justice.
There are episodic mysteries, great camaraderie and chemistry between the two polar opposites working together, some fish-out-of-water comedy where charm and upright behaviour
often wins the day, with episodes that range from silly but well-written fun, to more serious-minded drama and action. Although it's not terribly realistic, what with him being
out of his jurisdiction and getting away with a bit too much do-gooder actions even against Chicago crime and finding convenient solutions for everything, but the writing
is top-notch, amusing, witty and fun, and the actors are charming. Nothing ground-shaking, but good to watch when it's on. And they also get to make fun of how Americans
view Canadians.
Lipstick on Your Collar
I do believe Dennis Potter has actually created a romantic comedy. Of course, not in the typical Hollywood style though, and it's still very much Potter, but the overall
mood is light-hearted with a happy ending, which is unusual for Potter. This six-parter revolves around a circle of people during the 50s: The various eccentric
military officers and clerks at the War Office against the backdrop of the Suez crisis, one of the wives who happens to be a blonde bombshell everyone drools over,
the sadly broken Welsh couple one of the clerks is staying with, an American girl who likes literature and theatre, and a pathetic old organist who becomes obsessed
over the blonde. The show keeps things interesting from the first to the last minute with superb characterizations and many clashes of personalities, balancing
comedy, misery, romance and drama very well. This includes crushes, broken marriages, human despair, funny first dates, British political existentialism, humorous
clashes between military discipline and eccentric flippancy, and sudden outbreaks of song and dance. As opposed to Pennies from Heaven though, this musical lip-syncing
doesn't become repetitive or overused and is even quite amusing. Entertaining and rich, but light.
Californication
Based on the first three seasons.
Hank Moody is a writer in California, pining for his soul-mate woman and daughter, but finding himself addicted to dozens of various other women who seem to throw themselves
at his feet. He also has a stunted career and occasional writer's block. At first, this seems like a Dream On clone (without the hilarious comedy), both shows featuring
a writer who has an endless series of outrageous sexual escapades yet pines for a family that barely tolerates him. But this show soon grows into its own, developing
character and ongoing, season-long dramedy story-lines punctuated by outrageous sex. Hank has a strong, caustic, sarcastic, vulgar, but charming and easy-going personality
and weak willpower; the other main characters include his woman who both loves and hates him, a sullen, annoying, rocker teenage daughter, a horny agent and his amazingly
open-minded horny wife, a repulsively vicious 16 year Lolita brat, and others. The show is addictive for a while, it gets points for personality and allowing a complex male
character to dominate the show, and it successfully combines vulgarity, cheap outrageousness, entertainment, sophistication and wit, thus becoming the show Desperate
Housewives wished it were. Flaws include some over-reliance on sex and vulgarity, and the fact that most of the females don't feel or behave like real women, but more
like characters in male fantasies, ridiculously forgiving, open and sexually hooked on Moody. Fun and well-written for the first two seasons, but not re-watchable. However,
the third season made me feel I was watching a bunch of embarrassingly pathetic white-bread folk acting like trailer trash in a filthy soap for sex-obsessed juveniles, and
the women lose all semblance to reality. Enough is enough.
Hung
Based on all three seasons.
Only HBO would pick up a show that tells the tale of a well-endowed man who becomes a gigolo. I wasn't sure what to expect, and this could have gone wrong in so
many ways, but the writers did a very good job making this a well-balanced human interest dramedy while still stroking the obvious entertaining gimmick.
Ray Drecker is a man down on his luck with only one marketable talent. He befriends another loser at a motivational conference, a female poet who, after her
very short initial disgust, agrees to pimp him with some unusual marketing tricks. His neurotic ex-wife who divorced him for money, his twin goth kids,
a sociopathic business-woman, an annoying lawyer neighbour and his horny wife, and various clients with issues, all fill this series with color. The writing
balances the perspective from both the female and male sides very well, and it creates three-dimensional people in absurd situations that develop realistically.
Like Californication, this draws viewers in for the sex, but keeps them watching for the characters. The first two seasons are decently watchable and amusing, but
nothing more. The third season turns towards the ridiculous, piling on the improbable adventures and mishaps as they keep on trying to make their business
partnership of pimp and gigolo successful by way of a center for women's happiness and orgasms, except they encounter a real pimp, a ruthless businesswoman,
complications with friends and family, and competition in the form of cheeky and immoral crazy youngsters. The third season is schlocky, but entertaining.
Simpsons, The
Based on most of the first seven seasons and some scattered episodes.
A landmark in animation TV, pioneering adult-friendly cartoon entertainment for the whole family. Homer Simpson is an idiotic, childish but lovable dunderhead
who loves beer and all forms of food, has a job overseeing safety at the local nuclear power plant despite the fact that he has no clue what an atom is,
and although he loves his family, his hollow brain often gets him and his family into trouble. His loving wife Marge is a sensible super-mom, holding everything together,
his son Bart is a Dennis the Menace troublemaker, and his daughter Lisa is a precocious, responsible, bleeding-heart genius. His neighbour is an insufferably perfect
religious man, his boss is an evil tycoon, his beer-mates are losers, his wife's sisters are evil, hairy, chain-smokers, etc.
The voice artists are the best part of this show, featuring perfectly hilarious and by-now classically recognizable voices. The plots and writing vary greatly,
ranging from mild or dull to brilliantly hilarious. Often-used gimmicks are a wide variety of guest celebrity voice-stars, the spoofing of other movies, and a cartoon
within the cartoon featuring an over-the-top violent splatter version of Tom and Jerry. The show is also credited with featuring the first classic dysfunctional
family but that credit goes to Married With Children and the family is too loving to be truly dysfunctional. Although this is another misandrist show featuring
dumb men and smart women, the truth is that Homer and Bart get the vast majority of the laughs so this is irrelevant. Besides the uneven writing, another flaw
(especially during the first few seasons) is the tendency to wrap everything together at the end of the episode into a moral lesson, sometimes even becoming preachy.
Most seem to agree that the first two seasons were weak and mostly unfunny, the peak being seasons 3-8 and everything after that taking a nosedive. But the
writing is so uneven that not only does every season shift both up or down in quality, it even varies between episodes. That said, the best season by far
would probably be season six, followed by season four.
Middle, The
Based on the first season and most of the second.
What do you know. A family-friendly, and the cleanest sitcom yet that is actually also funny, in this day and age. They haven't made one like this since... well you
know. There's nothing new and fresh here but the characters are all simply fun and warm with great comic timing. It's about a simple family in a simple town in the
middle of America. Heaton's character in 'Everybody Loves Raymond' was an obnoxiously angry mom but here she finds a good fun balance as an exasperated over-worked
mom that loves her family. Thankfully, the husband is not an idiot for once. Neil Flynn from Scrubs is funny as always with perfect timing. Then there's an over-the-top
lazy teenage dude who thinks everything is lame, the charming Sue Heck who has the unfortunate curse of always being overlooked, invisible and a shlimazel, but she
makes up for it with cheery enthusiasm, and then there's Brick, the odd young bookworm with more quirks than you can shake a stick at (*whisper* 'shake a stick').
The Mom has a job selling cars which she is not very good at, but most of the comedy revolves around the constant clash between parents and kids. The show strikes
a great balance between quirky dysfunction and warm family, leaving you with a well-earned smile at the end of every episode. Some episodes are hilarious, some
are average and silly, it doesn't have brilliantly hilarious scenes as in 'Everybody Loves Raymond' but neither does it have an Achilles Heel, and it's always good
light fun.
Last Man Standing
Based on the first three seasons.
An old-school sitcom in almost all senses of the term. It is purely episodic (but with ongoing character development), there is a laugh track (or at least a 'live audience'
that laughs loud at every single joke every other second), it has 20+ episodes per season, and it features a couple of protagonists who are not quite politically correct.
This is all a good thing, and the laughing audience never really bothered me. Tim Allen improves greatly on his previous 'Home Improvement' sitcom, with sharper humor that
avoids the dumb-man-smart-wife cliches. He is a married man with three daughters instead of sons this time: One had a kid when she was a teenager and is staying with her
parents, another is a dumb & easy airhead but great fun, and the third is a smart but aggressive tomboy who makes her father proud. Everyone has their heart in the right
place even when they are taunting and insulting each other, so there is nice interactions between them and it's not just put-downs and wisecracks. There is also work comedy
at the 'Outdoor Man' store where he works, and great teasing banter between workers, as well as with neighbors that love racial humor. In season two, politics are featured
constantly but they are inserted into the show in a fun way by having different characters adopt different viewpoints and having them clash or make fun of each other
(especially the obnoxious 'woke' young father of the baby). And Tim also often rants about the current situation in a work 'vlog' as a short pseudo stand-up routine.
There is a good balance between different kinds of humor. Some of it is very lightweight, some is hilarious and sharp, and the estrogen-heavy characters are often balanced
by the frequent male-oriented humor. I prefer it when the humor doesn't rely on broadly dumb characters and this one has two of these as primary characters, but there is
lots of funny stuff here nevertheless. Altogether this is a solid and funny sitcom that you may not rush to own and re-watch, but which you will probably watch whenever
it is on TV. Good stuff.
Everybody Loves Raymond
Based on the first three seasons, the fifth and sixth seasons and many scattered episodes.
A good but unoriginal, very funny but not particularly sharp sitcom about a dysfunctional family. The show gets its laughs mainly from two things: Colorful characters
you can relate to and often outrageously funny situations inspired from real life. The dumb, weak-willed husband and bossy wife has been done many times before, as has
the constantly bickering and cruelly teasing couple as in Married With Children (the grandparents in this case), but the comedy is very good nevertheless. The writing
manages to do something unique that is not present in most other sitcoms: It adds a little painful real-life awkwardness and some touching moments under the comedy, making
the characters feel real even when they are being extremely childish. And this often makes the laughs even stronger when cranky situations explode with funny lines and silly
behaviour. That said, this kind of show greatly depends on its characters and here lies the problem: All five primary personalities have seemingly repulsive dysfunctions, but
they all find the comedic angle to their characters except one: Frank is the cynical selfish jerk of a grandfather but he gets the majority of the laughs with sarcastic retorts,
Marie is an overbearing grandmother (modeled after Mother Jefferson) who uses her cooking and power over her children to control everyone with passive-aggressive behaviour,
with barbs and guilt-trips hidden even in her so-called mother's love, Robert is the giant mopey Eeyore who is jealous of Raymond for getting all the attention and success,
Raymond meanders between very funny, annoyingly dumb male stereotype and a pathetic childish wuss, and Deborah is a straightforward arrogant, angry, selfish, hypocritical
bitch wife who throws tantrums, beats up her husband, destroys people's property, terrorizes her husband and uses sex as a weapon, and she plays this all naturally, thereby
making the comedy screech to a halt every time she appears on screen. In short, a fun and funny but flawed show practically ruined by one character. To be honest, Raymond,
too, can get annoying often with his ridiculously stupid behaviour, and her demands and complaints are therefore often justified, but the constant arguing between idiot and bitch,
and the cowering and boot-licking from his end, can all become quite tiresome after a while. Still, there is enough good comedy here to keep one watching for quite a while
despite the flaws. It can even be side-splitting funny at times.
This is one show that actually improved gradually over the years, with the first two seasons being unworthy and weak, and the peak occurring more or less during its sixth year.
Start with the middle three seasons (4-6).
Lucky Louie
Based on the single season.
HBO's sitcom doesn't feature anything new except vulgarity, with a poor, bickering but loving couple that can be compared to Honeymooners, a typically
extremely idiotic man and a smarter woman (although she's pretty clueless as well), and some random friends and neighbours, including a stoned eccentric
energetic brother who sometimes seems to be modeled after Kramer from Seinfeld. The result is a very mixed bag. It's got a heart behind all the nastiness
and the loving couple are good people, thus shifting the vulgarity and constant tension into comedy. The raunch allows for biting comedy with hard edges
and extreme subjects (sex, foul-mouthed friends, slut daughter, racism, etc) that you won't be able to see anywhere else, but also often feels
shoehorned in just for the shock value. The acting isn't too natural, the writing varies a lot in quality and laughs, and characters range from hilarious
to forced. In summary: A mixed bag, but the loud laughs generally outweigh the weaker aspects.
Louie
Based on the first two seasons.
After the short-lived Lucky Louie sitcom on HBO, Louis C.K. picks up where he left off, this time on FX (that allows him a surprisingly free hand), and develops
his own brand of comedy. It's a blend of brutal honesty, awkward situations, vulgarity, and downright funny humor that can only come from honesty. Similar to
Curb Your Enthusiasm mixed with Seinfeld, this series features Louis C.K. in a role parallel to his own life dealing with life's little strange adventures, mixed
with segments of his stand-up routine, his shared custody and life with his two kids, and various celebrity guest appearances. Appropriately, Ricky Gervais
appears as his doctor-friend who can't stop making bad jokes about Louis contracting horrible diseases. Some of this stuff is too witlessly crass and filthy
for my taste, and other stuff just falls flat in its over-the-top and unrealistic awkwardness or in its constantly depressing darkness, but every once in a while,
Louis hits gold with a gut-busting scene of honest-to-life brilliant comedy. There's a scene where a druggie neighbour calls him a huge bummer, and that's what
some of this feels like: misanthropic desperate humor from a depressed and vulgar comic that sees darkness in everything, but, when he finds something witty
to say about his situation, the material shines. It's just a pity that the hit ratio is so low, but these moments make watching the show somewhat worthwhile.
Several episodes even drop the comedy for the most part and focus on the bummer drama making this one very unusual comedy to say the least. Titus did the
brutal honesty thing with better balance.
Kominsky Method, The
Based on all three seasons.
Chuck Lorre tries his hand at a dramedy without a laugh-track or sitcom format and the results are very good, something warm, subtle, touching and funny in the vein of
shows like 'Men of a Certain Age' or 'As Time Goes By'. It also features an astounding array of a-list actors. Sandy (Michael Douglas) is an aging actor's coach with
broken dreams, and Norman (Alan Arkin) is his cantankerous agent with a wife that everyone loves. The show is about 70-somethings, the ridiculous humilities of aging
as your body falls apart, and being surrounded by terminally sick or dying friends. There is both drama and comedy, the story-line is continuous, and Douglas and
Arkin are superb together, like a slightly different Odd Couple. Some of the supporting characters include a daughter that manages his actor's studio, and Norman's
daughter who is a very broken drug-addict. How much enjoyment you will get out of this depends on how you feel about the subject matter, but there is no denying
the masterful acting and very real and funny writing. The third and final season is a weird one however, as if new writers took over the show, got rid of Arkin,
and rewrote forced quirks into most characters without understanding them at all, breaking almost everything.
Edge of Darkness
An unusual and interesting British thriller mini-series. A policeman's activist daughter is killed under suspicious circumstances, leading to an investigation by her
deteriorating father who uncovers complex machinations, politics, conspiracies and crimes, all revolving around nuclear power and various government policies. Alliances
and enemies grow increasingly unclear, as he networks with the law, politicians, powerful business, a charming and lively CIA agent provocateur, and an extreme
environmental activist group. Good writing, acting and directing, although the writing sometimes straddles the border between complex and convoluted and the story
takes a long while to gather momentum.
River
Six-part British detective mini-series and character study. It's a mixed bag, with a lot to enjoy. Stellan Skarsgård is superb as a very broken, mentally-damaged, but
gifted detective investigating the death of his partner. There are two primary aspects to this show: The mystery, and the character-study. The latter is by far the best
part, although the mental problems are taken too far for a fully functioning detective. As his behaviour is so extremely erratic and unstable, it becomes increasingly
implausible that the people around him would allow him to continue everything that he is doing, regardless of his skills. Still, there are many subtle depths here that
are of interest, and both River and the people around him are all superbly acted and fascinating. It's no 'Singing Detective' though (a possible inspiration). The mystery
fares somewhat less well, employing the recent BBC trend to pile on crime after crime into the same mystery and making everyone around the detective involved in one way
or another as the convoluted (and very dark) conspiracy is uncovered, until it falls apart in a messy cloud of preposterousness. The overall approach here, however, is
very subtle and intelligent, too subtle in fact, as I found myself pausing often to try to figure out what just happened and often concluded that the show left out
important details. Still, towards the end it's easier to figure it out, except that when you do, you realize the outrageousness of the story. It is also a very emotional
show, with a wide range of emotions flaring constantly. So, altogether, as I said, a mixed bag. The good is very good, but whether you'll enjoy this depends on your
ability to separate the good from the weaker.
Bourne Identity, The
3 hour 80s mini-series based on the Ludlum novel, and an improvement over the 2002 movie unless you prefer an emphasis on action and higher budgets.
Bourne is fished out of the sea without a memory, trying to piece together the clues of his past which seem to include assassinations, large sums of money,
spy-craft, a fascination with killing and various other skills. This series sticks much closer to the complex and more detailed books and takes its time
developing character, situations and relationships, making it superior to the movies, but pretty TV stars like Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith don't sell a spy
thriller and danger as much as we'd like. Mostly good and entertaining, but lacks greatness.
Boston Public
Based on the first season.
David Kelley does to education what he did for law and serves his typical over-the-top but well written drama, this time in a high-school. He collects every issue
related to education known to man and condenses them in one school, with week after week presenting tragedies, crises, deaths, fights, racism, violence, as well as
funny and outrageous situations, heaping it all on the shoulders of the faculty. Since many of the issues are real, this makes the show compelling, but the dense packaging
and a dose of unrealistic sensationalism may turn viewers off. Kelley is also extremely good in raising challenging situations with grey areas that make you think what you
would do in the same situation. For example, a teacher fires a gun with blanks to get the students' attention, a teacher has sex with a student under forgiving
circumstances, a fat female student is encouraged to wrestle, one student makes a hit-list of people he'd like to kill, etc. The cast, except for two unfortunately
boring main characters, is mostly outstanding in that they are all different and colorful, making this an ensemble show. A good drama that keeps you watching,
it's just a pity there isn't more comedy or strong, addictive characters.
Treme
Based on the first season.
David Simon's follow-up to The Wire is a different, but still extremely well-written show, with only one or two common themes. The topic is New Orleans three months
after Katrina. The show is several things: It is a sympathetic look at Katrina victims, a love-letter to New Orleans the city, a post-disaster drama of the kind
you usually don't see in disaster movies because it takes place three months after, an exposé of a corrupted or inefficient system causing the average man on
the street to suffer (this aspect is similar to The Wire), and it is a complex character-driven drama. Various characters are used to paint this tapestry of New Orleans:
A life-loving, musician, party-animal DJ, a passionate teacher-cum-writer (John Goodman) that tends to be very opinionated about everything New Orleans, a woman
and her lawyer searching for her brother who was lost in the prison system after Katrina, a female chef and her struggles to run a business and make great New Orleans food
while the city is still in shambles, a Creole trying to maintain various New Orleans traditions while fighting with the police, their families, and various musicians
and support actors. There is a lot of music, culture and food, with many scenes just allowing the musicians to play complete songs, and there is a pervasive love for the
city even though the disaster and the various government branches keep undermining them. The writing is top-notch and realistic, and the acting is great. The only caveat
with this show depends on whether you feel some kind of link with these people, the city, or the music, or whether you enjoy watching a show that is purely about simple
people and character arcs without what is normally considered entertainment values. Personally, I found it a good watch and flawless relative to what it was trying to do,
but not compelling. Others will undoubtedly like it much more.
Ray Donovan
Based on the first two seasons.
Although the description makes this show sound like a detective or lawyer or problem-solver for L.A. celebrities, it's actually a family-mobster-style of a show without the mob.
It's about a very very screwed up family somehow involved in an incredulous amount of crimes and murders, consistently screwing everything up time and again and making things
worse. Ray works for some big-shots and celebrities that somehow constantly find themselves in need of his bullying tactics involving blackmail and cover-ups, but his teenage
kids or older brothers always seem to get themselves in even bigger trouble, while Ray's father, whom he hates, is out of jail and making everything that much worse, so all
he does every day is prioritize between multiple crises. Which is why this show is never believable. It never breathes, and just keeps generating more and more crises. It's
telling that the seasons endings, and some episode endings, merely involve some kind of release from the tension. Ray isn't likeable, his job is worse than a maid, cleaning
up after despicable people, and the rest of the characters are basically animals as well that can always be relied upon to do the wrong thing or to be abused by someone else.
Thus, the show keeps generating its thrills and complications, but there's never anyone to root for, or much character development beyond making some of them victims of
sexual abuse so that they'll mess things up even more, so you're likely to be more interested watching animals in a safari. Law-enforcement is non-existent, with only
a couple of individual FBI agents stirring the pot, except they have their own corrupt agendas and everyone seems to be getting away with everything all too easily. The
women are even more implausible, most of them passive, submissive and dependent, sticking by their man no matter what he does or says, even when their men treat them like
disposable trash and sex-toys. Which is puzzling given the female writer, although this does improve in the second season. Still, despite all this, the show can be quite
entertaining as pulp violence and trash, the variety of good actors help, and the constant plot developments are somewhat addictive... for a while.
Sopranos, The
Based on the first two seasons and some scattered episodes.
Take The Godfather, extract only the family drama elements and turn it into pulp, mix it with the gritty street-crime of Goodfellas and a dose of Analyze This
and you have Sopranos. It's a show about a family of mafiosos where you can watch a capo eat breakfast, curse out his kids who are having problems with school,
then go out to strangle someone, deal with mafia politics and work out his psychological problems with a shrink. Sometimes it feels like a stretched-out, inferior
TV version of Scorsese crime movies, other times it wallows in dysfunctional family pulp-soap drama, but the combination often results in something new: A complex
and rich drama about the life of a mafia family man. Typically for HBO, this show demands an investment with its interweaving season-long story-lines and many
colorful characters, and it rewards the persistent viewer. It does wander aimlessly at times and the seasons gradually become more soapish, but its also offers
colorful, entertaining writing, one highlight being an unusual relationship with a borderline, evil and manipulative grandmother. Overall, this is a good show,
with great acting (Gandolfini deserves every praise) and complex writing, but there's something monotonous and aimlessly unstructured about it that makes me
lose interest. Maybe it's the fact that there's no-one to root for or to sympathize with. Unlike the humanity of the Godfather, or the style of Goodfellas, this
is just a bunch of animals cursing and fighting each other day after day and I struggled to maintain interest when this was all the show has to offer. This was
my reaction when it first came out and I hold by it, despite the fact that this became a much-loved classic. It has its good points with the strong acting,
personalities and a more realistic, dirty, gritty approach to mobsters, and I was entertained by the show for a while for these reasons. But it says a lot about
society when this kind of limited trashy pulp-entertainment and uninteresting animalistic behaviour somehow makes for a top-ten TV show of all time.
Strike Back
Based on the first two seasons.
British spy-action series that, like 24, emphasizes intense action and thrills. Unlike 24, the structure is two episodes per mission, with a villain of the season appearing
in several missions for a final confrontation at the end. This avoids the convoluted writing of 24 and the need to extend a crisis way past the point of plausibility.
The majority of missions seem to involve a risky rescue, but there are plenty of other tasks, especially in season two, involving bombs, infiltration and terrorists.
The base is a secretive 'Section 20' of MI6, and, like 24, has plenty of traitors. Unlike 24 however, even the good guys are quite incompetent and keep failing to back up
their agents, which gives the agents more chances to turn macho and take matters into their own hands.
The first season is quite good and maintains a high level of plausibility as well as intense situations, with the agent finding himself in extremely dangerous situations
attempting rescues. It's an action series that provides three entertaining and intense movie-length missions. The second season practically becomes a different show.
The lead is replaced with two wise-cracking action-heroes, one American, and has them constantly against impossible odds, they somehow always manage to get out on top,
surviving wounds and platoons of enemies, even literally catching bombs and kicking grenades around, and, the show suddenly decides to provide a constant stream of hot
chicks, nudity and steamy sex scenes to keep the testosterone flowing during lulls. In short, although the action is still very entertaining, well done and fun, it loses
its realism and merely becomes a show for guys that need a testosterone fix.
Hell on Wheels
Based on the first two seasons.
Western that takes place in the true wild west in mostly uncharted territories, where men are attempting to build the first railroad tracks across the nation from East to West.
The show blends fictional characters with real ones. There's a greedy businessman backed by politicians running the whole project, helped by an idealistic surveyor and his wife.
It takes place right after the civil war, so tensions are still extremely high between Southerners and Union soldiers, as well as between the newly freed slaves and their former
owners, not to mention the wild and hated Irish immigrants, and the angry natives waging war against the invaders. All of these people find themselves in the same place, most of them
working together for desperately needed wages, the monumental task of building the railroad moving forward painfully step by step together with all the expected logistical challenges.
Altogether, a hellhole with constant violence and tensions. The show starts off very well, with pretty strong characters and a sense of the time and place. Unfortunately, the writers
drop the ball towards the end of the first season and throughout the second season by taking most of the characters off the rails to unnatural places. Everyone suddenly starts behaving
inconsistently and unrealistically, and one can't help but feel that the writers have sacrificed their characters just so that they can give them more artificial sins and problems
to deal with. Two of the most fleshy and colorful characters, The Swede (Heyerdahl) and the Reverend (Noonan) are simply made 'insane' and given random nasty things to do to add
to the problems. What a waste. It also doesn't help that the writers keep dipping into racism and race wars over and over, and that the protagonist is pretty bland in terms of
character even though he is given a lot to work with. In summary, there's a lot of good here, but not enough disciplined writing.
Generation Kill
A collaborative mini-series on the war in Iraq. The source is a Rolling Stone reporter's first-hand view of the war from when he attached himself to a marine battalion
during the first few weeks of the invasion. Evan Wright, together with the Wire/Corner writing team of Simon and Burns wrote the series, the show was directed
by notable British TV directors, and produced by HBO. Military advisers were used also as actors and audiences. The result? A realistic, well written series
that is more like early Homicide than The Wire, in the sense that it sacrifices insight and entertainment for realism. The jargon is so heavy I couldn't
understand half of what they were saying even with subtitles. It takes several episodes to get to recognize any of the beefy soldiers as personalities.
The view of the chain of command, military tactics, and how it all affects different people with different levels of competence and willpower fares better,
and this is the most interesting aspect of the show. But some of the dialogue seems artificial: some feels like quotes and notes, and a lot feels like soapbox
and rants, mouthpieces for the writers. The soldiers behaviour often feels way over the top, with extreme bloodthirstiness or crassness (making sexual remarks about
a little girl?) as well as extreme bleeding-hearts that absurdly rant or protest about mistreatment of people during the war while obeying orders and killing civilians
due to stupid mistakes. That said, the battle scenes are extremely well done, and the acting is superb. In short, a mixed bag, a very well made series in many ways,
but also not particularly rewarding, entertaining, dramatic or insightful.
Snowfall
Based on the first two seasons.
When I read that this was about emergence of crack cocaine and the drug explosion in the 80s, I thought: Not another drug crime TV show. But this was made by FX,
which very often makes top-notch thrillers and crime dramas and is more consistent than HBO. Now, the way I see it, there are at least three ways to make organized
crime shows interesting: Either make the criminals extra smart and about more than just crime (like The Godfather), or make it about law-enforcement and other associated
entities (The Wire), or about non-criminals that get sucked into the crime world. Because if the show is just going to be about the endless cycle of violence, revenge,
back-stabbing drama and fragile alliances, then I lose interest very fast and just wish they would all kill each other quicker and get it over with. When it's only
about rival criminals, unless you are a sociopath, there is no one to root for. This show seems to start with some regular folk that woke up on the wrong side of
crime one day, except it shoots itself in the foot by making them instant hardened criminals, choosing a life of hard crime the same way they choose which socks to
put on in the morning. Which makes them unrelatable. And the way they get into it and are quickly accepted by other criminals just feels way too easy. And then it's
all typical, uninteresting gang activities from then on. One interesting aspect, however, is the CIA involvement in the drug business in order to help fund the
Nicaraguan anti-Communist revolution, which is real history. Now, I can accept that individual CIA agents would abuse their power to make drug deals for personal
gain, or that the CIA itself would ignore drug-related crimes and even help cover-up crimes. But this show would have you believe the CIA agents officially and
actively participated in and enabled drug-deals, which is somewhat far-fetched. It may have happened, but I remain skeptical. But what really bothers me about this
is that the show portrays an interesting character in the form of a very capable and creative CIA agent with certain borders that he won't cross, but who, in the
end, just behaves like another drug connection and criminal. So, over time, I lost interest there as well. The ongoing story arcs involving criminals and crime
are typically dynamic and colorful for FX, but you would have to be into this type of thing, and as I said, I am not. The final point of interest of this show,
therefore, is the internal drama this causes with the criminals' family and friends, and this is nicely done, but it is secondary to the main plotting. In short,
this show has several points of interest, but they are very limited in terms of involvement.
Top Boy
Based on the first two seasons.
British, gritty, small-street-crime drama about a local slum neighborhood and its circle of drug-dealers and pushers, as well as the young, neglected pre-teen children that
get pulled into the criminal circle to do work for them. Often compared to The Wire because of its gritty realism, but this show doesn't cover law enforcement or any big themes
and social commentary, so that comparison is wrong. Simple crime shows with an endless cycle of mindless violence, crimes, back-stabbing and one-upmanship usually don't interest
me, but this show has two things going for it in its first season: The drama involving some basically good kids being tempted and pulled in to the circle of crime and living one
step away from becoming criminals is a compelling one, and the plotting is very tightly written for a brisk, tense, four-episode season. By the second season, however, these
youths are already one step closer and the season focuses primarily on the endless crime between the various players in the neighborhood, so I was much less interested.
Note that this show was picked up six years later by Netflix for new and longer seasons, but reviews claim that this is a very different show, so don't confuse the Netflix
era with the earlier seasons.
Gangs of London
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
England is now notorious for being a haven for international crime, but this show takes that to the next level. Mobs and gangs from many countries and ethnic groups seem to
clash more often than cooperate in this ultra-violent crime series. Things get especially chaotic after a central figure in the London crime family is killed, and the son goes
out for vengeance. I was expecting yet another mob-crime TV series, but if you have watched The Raid movies and know about Gareth Evans, you will understand when I say that
this is primarily about the mind-blowing violent carnage, extended action, and mind-boggling skilled direction of seamless scenes of violence. This one may not have the
martial-arts skills of The Raid, but it makes up for it in its variety of violence, whether it is fast and dirty street-fighting, brutally gory fights with any weapons they
can find, professional mercenary assaults, chaotic massacres, gun-mad gangs in intense gun fights, and torture. Unfortunately, it also has some similar flaws to The Raid 2.
For starters, the physicality is impossible, with people that keep going even after massive damage, and in one episode after literally taking dozens of bullets to the torso.
The battles also are sometimes so massive and exposed to the public, that it seems impossible that there are no nation-wide repercussions. The biggest flaw though is the poor
writing when it comes to characters: People are constantly making decisions that make no sense, actions that harm their own business or agenda, and making alliances with the
most improbable people. One person becomes an ally, friend and more after the other person sends a psychopath after their kids. Many others side with obviously unstable or
unreliable elements instead of close friends or family they know are loyal. One character massacres families in one episode, then says "we don't kill children" three episodes
later. An undercover cop doesn't seem to have a goal or exit beyond just surviving and fighting, even after he has obviously enough evidence to put everyone away. Professional
mercenaries take their tagged dog with them on a mission. Etc etc. On top of it all, almost all the characters don't have any personality, they just differ in their agendas
and ruthlessness, play their power moves and rarely come off as fleshy humans. Compare this to a show like Sopranos (not that there is anyone to root for in any of these shows).
In short, this feels like pieces on a sprawling chess board in a sloppy game of violent chess with incredible action and carnage.
Queen of the South
Based on the first one-and-a-half seasons.
It's time for another crime-mob TV series. This one is modelled after Scarface, only with a very extended rise-to-power story of a woman who started from less than nothing as a
money-exchanger and disposable mule for drugs. It's a day-to-day struggle just to survive amongst the many ruthless South American cartels working in Mexico and the southern
States of America. It doesn't have the personality of Scarface however, with most of the characters here being quite flat and merely functional, serving as chess pieces in an
elaborate and continuous thrilling game of power and violence. In the TV fantasy world, women have taken over everything and do everything better than men, from prison dramas
to engineers to computer hacking, so why not make women take over the cartels as well I suppose? But don't worry, this show is only interested in thrills not wokefulness.
Every episode features one or more crises and thrilling dangerous situations, while the big bosses play their games of one-upmanship, revenge and grabs for power, the little
criminals caught up in this world are also featured trying to survive, some with more ambition than others. Putting aside the flat characters, for most of the first season
this is a thrilling and addictive ride. Cracks start to appear towards the end however as the writers become sloppy and have too many people make ridiculous decisions just
to serve the plot and thrill quota. Instead of working harder on plots that revolve around characters, they keep the thrills coming at the expense of plausibility, time and
again. I kept getting surprised that such obviously flimsy manipulations worked on cynical and experienced criminals, and even our heroine starts wavering back and forth with
conflicting motivations. It doesn't have the color and character of Sopranos or Brotherhood, and it doesn't have the realism of Narcos. But it does offer entertaining and
gripping, thrilling crime drama, for a while, so in a way it has an advantage over Sopranos by offering thrilling strategies and use of brain-matter over mere animalistic
behaviour. The fatal flaw, however, is the lack of character work, both by the actors and by the writers.
Shark
Based on most of the first season.
Think of this one as Law and Order with personality. The personality in this case, is James Woods. He plays the role of a sharp, successful, immoral defense attorney who
makes a terrible mistake that causes a death, then switches sides to the prosecution, bringing all of his aggressive talent to the DA's office to help prosecute criminals
with high-priced lawyers. The structure is episodic, with one case per episode which is usually interesting and pretty well argued, but not quite at the level of The
Practice. One flaw here is that his bullying tactics seem to work too well too often. The heart of this show belongs to his relationship with his smart teenage daughter,
who, at first, is too perfect, but causes him to remember his morals and humanity time and time again while he is caught up with winning. Over the course of the first
season, she then makes more typical teenage mistakes and rebellious acts, making the relationship more natural and complex. This could have easily been cliched or corny,
but the writers do a nice job on this character arc. All in all, above average and very watchable, but not brilliant.
Spooks
Based on the first four seasons.
Although the only thing this British show has in common with 24 is the fast-paced spy vs. terrorist tech-thrills, comparisons are revealing: The spy-plots are episodic
and are therefore resolved too neatly and quickly as opposed to the season-long arcs of 24, on the other hand they avoid the convoluted, unbelievable and forced plotting
of that show due to its rigid structure. Strangely, the less interesting personal story-lines involving lovers, family, co-worker tension and treachery are what span
multiple episodes. The spy-craft is obviously somewhat glitzy and aimed to thrill, but this show consistently retains a level of detail, realism, subtlety, and surprise
and is much more dialogue-oriented than 24. Plots involve a wide variety of threats to national security as well as internal politics between MI-5 and MI-6 and American
liaisons. And, like Blakes 7, this show isn't afraid to kill its characters suddenly and shockingly. In short, a pretty good show full of surprises and variety, worth
watching despite flaws, but the most limiting aspect is its episodic and compressed structure which doesn't work as well with this kind of material. Also, episodes
vary greatly in quality.
The first season starts shakily with a couple of unconvincing villains, but soon finds its ground with some surprising and intense developments. Good thrills, excluding
some details that don't bear close scrutiny. The second season provides a similar mix of good and bad episodes, with some laughably bad computer-oriented details,
some cheating that unfairly tricks the audience, and some very intense and gripping episodes. The third season is the best of the three, but also presents the usual
mix of moderately good, weak, flawed, and intense episodes. Three main characters are replaced with actors that look like models, which doesn't help plausibility, there
is a bit too much bleeding-heart drama and sudden pangs of conscience, another poorly written computer-related episode, some ongoing drama with personal relationships,
and a couple of superb episodes. Overall, the episodic structure is holding this show back and big issues are solved too neatly and quickly now to suspend disbelief,
but the show remains quite watchable and entertaining. The fourth season is once again an improvement, demonstrating that this show is slowly ironing out its kinks,
only they are doing it way too slowly. Most of the episodes in this one (except perhaps the finale and one other episodes featuring highly implausible masterminds)
are quite solid with thrilling spy-craft and dense plotting. Once again, however, they are rushed and end all-too neatly. Once again, the show is highly watchable
and entertaining, but not compelling, and is lacking that extra element or depth that would make it brilliant.
Centennial
Huge, ambitious mini-series that tells the tale of a fictional town in Colorado, tracing its 200 year history through the lives of individuals,
from its Native American roots until modern times. It starts with traders/trappers first visiting the land and building relationships with the natives,
then moves on to the first settlers, the army, the wave of settlers and entrepreneurs, the war with the natives, the development of a city and its local
rich men, and the developmental issues faced by modern generations with ancient family ties. All episodes and people are linked, giving an unbroken chain
of history and familial generations. The first 5 episodes are superb, with unforgettable, powerful characters (Pasquinel being an inspired standout),
a fascinating, complex relationship with the natives who are portrayed very sympathetically, and a tense, chaotic deterioration of diplomacy. Unfortunately, it
then runs out of inspirational steam and settles into typical, unmemorable Western tales of settler disputes, ranches, cowboys, con-men, Indians, murders and sheriffs.
But when the final episode ties it all together, you get a rich historical feel and attachment for the city. Other minor flaws include the distracting
makeup and overly-groomed hairdos (Chamberlain's hair is ridiculous), and some environmental preaching.
Six Wives of Henry VIII, The
Slightly overrated but intermittently interesting and sometimes brilliant historical production by the BBC. One 90-minute episode for each wife of the King,
which sometimes provides too little or too much time, depending on the complexity of the tale. The biggest problem with this show is that the first two
episodes are poor, and the last episode is relatively weak. Catherine of Aragon is poorly acted (terrible accent and bad melodramatic outbursts) and too
full of plodding court minutia and petty power games. Anne Boleyn's story is marred by terrible incompleteness, dealing mostly with her downfall and
not a very insightful interpretation at that. A much better version would be Anne of the Thousand Days. Jane Seymour's superb story is full of heart and
gets the character drama arc moving on a strong roll. Anne of Cleves is largely a silly comic story about a disastrous alliance with a disgusted German
noblewoman, but also surprises with intelligence and some hidden depths. Catherine Howard provides more good character development for the King, and portrays
her as a wicked child in over her head. And finally, Catherine Parr's episode is a scatter-shot, sometimes interesting, but relatively weak episode that deals
with the King's final and most practical marriage and death. The King's character arc is the strongest aspect of the show, acted superbly by Keith Michell
as he develops from aggressive, lustful and vain, to increasingly gentle, lonely, bitter but still vain. Machinations and historical details fill the show
as well as the drama of his relationships. Sets are typically cheap, costumes are pretty good, makeup is weak, the casting is mostly good with some exceptions,
much effort was made for the actors to visually match their historical portraits, and the historical accuracy is superb. Overall, a mixed bag but definitely
worth a watch.
QB VII
Mini-series based on a Leon Uris book which was loosely based on real events that happened to him after he wrote Exodus. The centerpiece of this film is the two-
hour courtroom drama over a man accused of being a doctor in a concentration camp who performed cruel experiments on Jews without anaesthetic, including the removal
of testicles and ovaries. The case actually involves the accused suing the writer for libel and this would be somewhat implausible if not for the fact that it
actually happened. The real-life doctor in this case was Dr. Wladislaw Dering. The courtroom battle is fascinating stuff, and Anthony Hopkins gives a superb
performance as always as the accused man. Unfortunately, the series also involves 3 hours of mostly uninteresting back-stories, dramas and soap, telling the tale
of the doctor since his escape from Poland, and his life as an altruistic but strangely driven doctor, as well as the life of the self-destructive writer
who had a messy love life and a loathing for his Jewish identity until he finally grew up and decided to write about the Holocaust. The setup adds only minimal
impact to the courtroom drama, it meanders and goes on too long, albeit it does include some location shooting in Israel, concentration camps and Holocaust
footage. Worth watching once.
Veronica Mars
Based on the first two seasons.
Lately, confident women on the screen are usually synonymous with bitches, and the casting sacrifices personality and brains for attitude, sexy bodies or political
correctness, but on this occasion they actually get it right. The only flaw with Veronica's personality is that she may be too confident and is lacking in
vulnerabilities. Touted as the new Buffy, this very well written show boasts another high school drama with a kick-ass heroine, only this time it's a clever Nancy
Drew working with her PI father, both solving cases using wit, creativity, fast-thinking, resourcefulness and a few well-placed connections. The mysteries she solves
include anything from a secret admirer or missing dog, to con-jobs, fraud, blackmail, and the murder of her best friend. Episodic stories mix with season-long arcs
and the longer mysteries develop periodically without being overly drawn out. Kristen Bell together with the top-notch writing are the stars of this good show. The
only flaws are the unrealistic amount of conspiracies, secrets, back-stabbings, crimes and dramas that exist in this teenage world, the emphasis on teenagers, and
the fact that there is almost never any sense of danger. A very interesting show that keeps you watching but doesn't cross the border into compelling greatness as
Buffy did, needing more pathos and danger instead of more complex crimes. I suppose this would be a greater show if I were in the target younger audience, but the
writers are so good they elevated the teenagers into something adults can watch and enjoy.
The second season actually increases the complexity, fast-paced developments and snappish dialogue with slightly increased humor and this is both good and bad. The
show becomes more mentally challenging what with the season-long detailed developments, the writing that never spells everything out for you, and the fast-pace, but
it also becomes more unrealistic and convoluted with a weak ending. This is by far the most crime-ridden community on the planet, and even a simple theft may involve
a frame-up by an angry gang member seeking revenge, a corrupt teacher, a libel case, as well as a complex method for sneaking out the loot. In summary, as long as you
can check realism at the door, this is a very interesting show. Although I haven't seen the third and last season, most fans seem to agree that it takes a nose-dive
with its episodic structure and different personality. Overall, the mysterious extremely low ratings the show got and the tone of many internet reviews reek of some
kind of campaign to sink this obviously good show.
Love Soup
Based on the first season.
A dramedy from the writer of One Foot in the Grave, and it shows. Similar to that show, it starts with a subtle portrait and gently humorous character study, then piles on
the outrageous situations and awkward indignities in order to get their inevitably funny reactions as the seemingly only sensible people in the world. The writing is more
polished however, and it adds one deeper layer by making the theme about hopeless dreams of romance in a world where everyone seems to be bonkers. The lovely Tamsin Greig
is given plenty to do here as the sensible but introverted woman with many little human insecurities and anxieties, hoping that a normal guy would show up one day, painfully
tip-toeing through the minefield of a crazy society in the meantime. An American reserved and intellectual comedy-writer provides the male counterpart to this character, and
the delicate concept of this show is that they don't meet, amplifying the longing tension with a simple but clever plot device. And so the show manages to combine real and
three-dimensional characters with crazy dating and sexual shenanigans and funny situations that rapidly spiral out of control, with a non-event serving as romance. Nothing
brilliant, but a pleasant watch.
Forsyte Saga, The
Based on both seasons.
I approached this remake without having read the classic series of novels or watching the 1967 series which is generally regarded as being superior and an important
television event. Since most complaints about this series seems to be on how it suffers in comparison, I suppose a fresh view on it wouldn't hurt. The saga is a sprawling
period drama taking place over three generations from 1870 to 1920 in England. The theme is generally about old-school respectability, stodgy and closed nouveau-riche upper-class
families, versus following your heart. The vast majority of this story follows a very bad marriage (and its aftermath) between a stiff and awkward man from the rich Forsyte
family, and a poor woman who was pressured into it. Soames is a 'Man of Property', who treats his wife as such, making a doomed marriage even worse when he turns obsessive.
Her inevitable affair doesn't improve matters obviously. Even their next generation of doomed lovers suffers from this nasty feud, as he is unable to let go. In parallel,
there is the story of another Forsyte man who left his fortune, unhappy wife, and family to pursue his love with the governess. This all sounds like a period-soap-opera,
and sometimes it does feel like one, especially towards the second half of the series, but if anything, this is a soap with depth of character, restraint, good acting and
production values, and with somewhat interesting themes. The character arcs in the first half are particularly compelling especially thanks to an uncle, who is wise enough
to seek out and create peace and warmth where he can make it, amongst the 'refugees' of the family feud. Quite good first half, weaker second.
Brigada
15-part Russian mini-series about a tight criminal gang of ex-soldiers that quickly rise through the ranks from petty violence to organized and powerful crime-lords,
developing complex connections and relationships with the law, mafia and politicians. It doesn't have the grand themes of Godfather, or Scorsese's style, and the
criminals, despite their charming and colorful personalities, are just incorrigible and calculating criminals and are therefore not too likeable, but this is part
of its realism. The writing doesn't spell everything out, assuming intelligence in the audience, and each episode is rich with complex developments, violence and drama.
Friendship is put to the test, love and a unique and surprisingly good marriage are also strained, with many complex machinations, back-stabbings, assassination attempts,
and rivalries keeping things interesting. The small budget and limited amount of actors make this feel a bit too small at times, and the methods the criminals use
aren't always clear, but the biggest problem for me is the lack of a grander theme or style. Takashi Miike and others made dozens of these kinds of movies, with
wild young gang members turning to professional criminals as they grow up, straining their friendships, and this is just a longer and more involving Russian version
of this genre. However, if you like realistic, down-to-earth mafia movies and want to see a Russian angle, definitely pick this up. Superb acting, realistic fighting,
plausible writing, bad subtitles.
Murder One
Based on the first season.
Legal and courtroom drama series that isn't written by David Kelley for a change. Ted Hoffman is a fascinating but difficult idealistic lawyer, noble and
unflappable but strict, demanding and inflexible. This works much better here for Bochco than in NYPD Blue thanks to Benzali and the writing. The show
starts with an increasingly complicated murder mystery as well as some misguided, uninteresting episodic cases, but soon drops the episodic writing in favor
of the grand mystery, drama and scheming, filling most of the season with one long story arc. The show develops cat-and-mouse games between lawyers and a
seemingly psychotic, intelligent and unpredictable Richard Cross, many interesting twists and developments as more facts are uncovered, and some drama
as the case becomes a big event which causes tension in the family. Unfortunately, the ending is disappointingly pulled from the left field and isn't
satisfying, but the trip is worth it.
Police Squad!
Based on the single season.
Short-lived precursor to the Naked Gun movie series by the same team that brought you Airplane, etc. Too good for television of the time, with their usual
rapid-fire and deadpan silly jokes, puns and sight gags, demanding attention from the viewer. Frank Drebin is the bumbling yet extremely lucky
detective out to solve cliched mysteries. Running gags include guest stars who never survive the beginning credits, a god-like shoe-shiner who seems to
know everything about everything and is happy to share his knowledge for money, faceless Al who is too tall to fit in the frame, a cruel and perverted
forensic scientist, and the hilarious end credits where actors fake a freeze-frame. Some gags were re-used in the movies, some jokes fall flat and the
timing seems a bit off sometimes, but it's very entertaining overall.
Based on all four seasons.
A slightly overrated, internationally popular British show with Rowan Atkinson in four different roles during four different times in history ranging from the medieval to WWI.
The Black Adder is an arrogant, self-serving, conniving, sarcastic but witty man who is always out to conspire or weasel his way out of something. The exception is the first
inferior series where he acts as a wormy, whimpering character. He is always accompanied by Baldrick, who possibly has a negative IQ rating, and serves as a punching bag for
the Adder's cruelty and insults as well as to make the rest of the characters seem intelligent by comparison. Mostly enjoyable sharp-edged caustic humor with historical
satire but I was disappointed with the amount of humor derived from simply insulting the whole cast of over-the-top idiotic characters repeatedly. Inventive and entertaining,
but the characters come off as clownish instead of sharply funny.
Ground Floor
Based on both seasons.
An obvious attempt at reproducing Scrubs from the maker of Scrubs, this time in an office setting. Instead of newbie scrubs in training versus a cynical cruel management,
there's the top floor of an investment company with workaholic employees working for a harsh, sharp-tongued, always-dependably hilarious John McGinley, versus the lowly
maintenance and IT people on the ground floor. The trouble is, a young promising employee from the top floor is now dating a girl from the ground floor, bringing the two
worlds together. The first few episodes are shaky, but it soon finds its footing and tone, the humor starts off as a mixed bag, but soon improves. It's not as good as
the first two seasons of Scrubs with its colorful variety of characters and fresh humor, and it does have some of that Scrubs-esque tone of trying too hard to be cute
and silly, but it's definitely much better than the annoyingly over-the-top silly later seasons of Scrubs. McGinley is the primary reason to watch this, but Rory Scovel
also stands out as the funny, awkward but fearless ground-floor employee with an unhealthy crush for his co-worker, hating the top floor as a result. The rest of the
cast do well, making this an above-average sitcom worth watching once.
Ranch, The
Based on the first season and most of the second.
I was ready to rip into this show from the start just for having the dumb overgrown boy-toy Ashton Kutcher in it, but I soon realized he was perfectly cast as a dumb
overgrown boy-toy. He even bravely sets himself up as the butt of everyone's jokes and is actually funny on his own terms as a foil for the rest of the cast. But it is
Sam Elliott that is the anchor here, as a cantankerous, outdated, stubborn but level-headed owner of a ranch with an allergy to talking and intimacy. The rest of the cast
are all very good as well. This is actually a dramedy pretending to be a sitcom. The jokes (along with audience laughter) range from quite funny to average amusement,
and the comedy aspect is fun but nothing to write home about. But the drama adds a welcome extra dimension, deepening both the characters as well as the laughs. This is
about two immature boys working at a ranch for a difficult aging father, an estranged mother that can't stay away for too long, and their various friends, rapidly
changing lovers and relationships. The drama includes a lot of love-triangle shenanigans, son-father tensions, many crises with relationships, business and the ranch,
and so on, liberally sprinkled with touching moments and character development. Sometimes it's a bit too much, what with a constant stream of crises and endless relationship
woes, but in general this is quite enjoyably watchable, with the drama continuing seamlessly even between episodes. It's nothing amazing, but it's above-average, watchable,
even addictive stuff.
Norsemen
Based on the first two seasons.
Pitch-black Norwegian comedic take and spoof on shows like the Vikings, with some gags on Braveheart, Game of Thrones, etc. After a first couple of really funny episodes,
the tone settles into, basically, 'The Office' style of awkward humor with childish leaders, only involving Ragnar and Freyja in the 8th century, some with cringe-inducing
neurotic behaviour over raping and pillaging, with some gore and surprising Game of Thrones-style deaths thrown in. This is not for the faint-of-heart or easily-triggered
however, with many jokes over rape and 'defiling'. It's as blackly funny as it sounds, and although The Office is not my favorite type of humor, the setting and spoofing
makes it funnier. A slave complains over the unhygienic practice of urinating on him, a woman happily gains a stronger husband when a warrior splits her previous husband
in half, an effeminate leader tries to convert his warrior village into an art-installation, and the 'lawmaker' instructs a humiliated woman about her rights to not be
placed in a pigsty, etc. Obviously, it embraces anachronisms, with most of the humor consisting of modern-minded people dealing with commonplace raping and pillaging.
The first season is better than the second, with the second season diving much more into an Office vibe with an endlessly obnoxious leader.
Corner Gas
Based on the first two seasons.
Hit Canadian sitcom (not many of them, are there?), sometimes dubbed the Canadian Seinfeld. Not because of the similarity in characters or location, since it deals with
simple hick Canadian folk in a tiny town where nothing happens, but because the comedy is about little nothings and the kind of amusing and amused people that have nothing
better to do. It starts strong with a sharp wit, delicious sarcasm, fun surprising dialog, and dry humor, but then rapidly starts relying on more and more silliness from
the hick locals. So whereas Seinfeld had the cartoonish Kramer, this one has a whole bunch of silly & dumb hicks, their characters taken unrealistically over-the-top for
some easy laughs. It's still fun and amusing though, despite inconsistent quality in the writing, but lightly so and in a cute way rather than with the wit that it
promised in the first few episodes. The ensemble of characters is its strength, ranging from the comedian Brent, the city-girl Lucy who doesn't fit in and who somehow
keeps finding her foot in her mouth, Brent's constantly angry and ranting father and the strong personality that is his mother, the amusingly incompetent and bored police
partners, the dumb Hank, and best of all, the cynical Wanda who finds herself wasting her intelligence in such a limited location where nothing happens.
Homicide: Life on the Street
Based on the first three seasons.
A show that broke TV show conventions by going for gritty realism. A team of homicide detectives are the stars of this show as we accompany these characters during
their day-to-day work, conversations, office dramas, crises, and personal issues. The murders are always seen after-the-fact, there are no car chases and Hollywood action
and we see the plots unfold through the detectives' eyes. Office politics and personal dramas are thrown in as well. The effect is often a show that is both dull and
interesting at the same time, as we live the life of a homicide detective, never doubting its authenticity, and get to know all the characters well. Every few episodes,
the drama reaches an intense peak and a brilliant, fascinating episode is born.
The first season is mostly dull and focuses too much on the mundane and the wandering banter between the cops. The plots and everything else takes a backdrop to the characters,
which, although strong and very well acted, aren't colorful and varied enough to keep things interesting and create friction. The second season finds a better balance
but is too short with only four episodes.
The good third season reaches a balanced peak with the producers pushing for more romance, drama and episodic mysteries but the show retains its gritty feel and
character-driven drama arcs. The downward trend of episodic, less realistic drama continues however and according to some fans, thanks to too many cast changes,
season 5 and onwards loses the character-driven realistic brilliance and becomes just another episodic overblown drama with flat characters.
Corner, The
An HBO mini-series written by the writers of The Wire, telling the tale of a drug-infested black neighbourhood and its occupants, focusing mostly on one family.
Drug-addicts and drug-dealers wallow in their addictions and depressing life-styles, occasionally actively fighting their troubles but mostly making bad decisions.
Like The Wire, this is gritty, very realistic, well written, and it takes its time, but is not as rewarding. As far as portraying it how it is without resorting to
glamorizing or cliches, this gets extremely high marks. However, if the intention was to generate sympathy for these thieves, criminals and addicts, then the show
is a failure, their life mostly being undermined by their bad decisions, selfishness and spoiled attitudes. The only insight I got from the show is that poverty
has almost nothing to do with it. Still, it's very well acted, directed and written and serves well as a morality play.
Nirvana in Fire
Based on the first season (54eps).
Talky Chinese historical thriller and drama with a bit of wire-fu action. It's similar to Count of Monte Cristo in the sense of complex and lengthy plotting and scheming,
playing very methodical political games towards the goal of restoring justice. It takes place in the fourth century, and tells the tale of a hard-hitting betrayal by a
network of corrupted officials that caused the wrongful execution of a whole army of loyal soldiers and several suicides. One survivor, with an altered appearance due to
a poison, making him unrecognizable, comes back 13 years later to the capital to restore truth and justice. He arrives as a respected scholar and leader of an influential
pugilist alliance, and proceeds to systematically undermine and manipulate the immoral and corrupt factions in the emperor's hierarchy of princes and ministers, while
strengthening the sidelined moral people and uncovering buried secrets carefully at just the right time in order to achieve his long-term goals. The plotting and scheming and
manipulating, the many agendas by the dozens of intelligent characters, and the many crises that erupt due to his rocking the boat, take up the majority of the show, hence
the dialogue-heavy writing. It is roughly 80% scheming, manipulating and discussions, 15% dramedy, and 5% action. This show requires a lot of patience as it builds its story
and its plot very methodically and slowly over its very lengthy runtime of 40 hours (54 episodes in a single season!). The story-line is continuous, even cutting scenes in
half to be continued in the next episode. There is a buildup and several climactic pay-offs, but it requires high attention to detail, and patience. The fighting and action
is mostly the usual modern-day uninteresting wire-fu, i.e. minimally trained actors made to look 'cool' with very unsubtle gravity-denying wires, flying, impossible moves,
many rapid cuts, stunt-men, speed-ups and slow-downs. There is no joy of the kung-fu skills here, only fantasy action and fake camera tricks. But since this is ubiquitous
in many kung-fu movies I don't count flying skills as fantasy anymore. There is also one single intense battle scene in episode 44, but this show is not about that. The
focus is on the complicated scheming, and the battle of wills and cleverness between the many dozens of smart characters.
The story at first involves minor scheming, uninteresting banal banter and light drama, but as the stakes are raised and the pieces start coming together, the drama becomes more
powerful and intense. This happens in gradually increasing peaks over the whole season. I.e. The first couple of episodes are very confusing as dozens of characters are introduced
in a whirlwind pace, then there's slow detailed setting-up, plotting and light banter with only a handful of good dramatic moments, and this is stretched out very methodically for
the first 20 episodes or so as it sets things up realistically, which almost made me give up and stop watching as it didn't look like it was going anywhere. The plotting is
meticulous, but the pace is too slow. Gradually, the minutiae and tiny goals that only seem to be chipping away ineffectively at a massive hierarchy of people, serve as a base for
larger moves and stakes. Things start building up and coming together, there is a first important showdown at around episode 20, then in the mid 20s, things starts to flow nicely and
build up all the way to the final episode 54, with a few peaks and troughs. Characters, too, grow very slowly and gradually, starting as flat chess pieces, and grow to become fleshed
out passionate people with different personalities. Altogether, I was impressed by the superb acting, meticulous plotting and the massive unified story, as well as the strong drama
in the latter half of the season. But the pace and length is a hurdle and a challenge, and I wouldn't call this a masterpiece, just a solid, interesting and meticulously told story.
Audiences that appreciate this kind of detailed plotting should enjoy it more. Followed by a less successful second season (another 40 hour movie) which I didn't watch.
Six Flying Dragons
Based on the first ten episodes.
I briefly checked this out only because it shared a writer with the strong 'Arthdal Chronicles'. Although this contains similar complex political plotting, it is a different
kind of beast. For one thing, it doesn't have the huge budget and has a strong made-for-TV feel. It is also purely historical drama and intrigue with some action, and no fantasy.
Loosely based on historical figures, it tells a very detailed story of a revolution to establish a new dynasty and alternate government to the one then ruled by tyranny and corrupt
officials. Interestingly, the revolution is driven and plotted by students and thinkers, and an alliance with some of the military. The show takes its time and then some, starting
from some of the major players as kids, and not only telling the story in tiny careful steps as part of a massive plan, it also often gets side-tracked in many political power-games
and scheming amongst the many scores of characters. In between, there is some welcome but slow character development and a romance or two. Some of the intrigue is clever, some is
just convoluted and heavy-going. Even more so than with other long Korean/Chinese historical drama series I've seen, this show makes it extremely difficult to follow the details.
It jumps right in to minutiae and dozens of characters in episode one as if it's already episode ten. Many details are rushed through as if the director decided it would be too
boring to film every scene properly. There are flashbacks within flashbacks, and often it's not even clear that we flashed back until later. It took me several episodes just to
start getting my bearings and even then it was difficult. There is some pretty good sword action. The tone is not quite right though, shifting from comical scenes, exaggerated
theatrical acting and light comedy to dark cruelty in the blink of an eye, and the budding romance feels like the director was trying to inappropriately inject some of that popular
fluffy Korean romantic-comedy stuff into the show. But every time I was ready to give up, the story became a little more interesting as it slowly gathered momentum, and the characters
a bit more involving, but it's simply too much effort for not enough reward. It was pretty interesting and for all I know, the show really takes off after ten episodes or more (it has
fifty), but I didn't feel like investing more effort at that point.
Ozark
Based on the first season and scattered episodes of the second.
Interesting, sharp, but overrated crime drama/thriller. Comparisons to Breaking Bad have been made, but don't be fooled. Just because it involves a tough family-man in
over his head with escalating crime, using his wits to play games with powerful criminal elements, that doesn't make it similar. Breaking Bad had a regular man 'going bad'
and hiding his drug-making activities from his normal family. Whereas here we have a whole criminal family that just goes along with criminal activities to do with laundering
money for the mob, just in order to make money. In other words, this is just about criminals fighting other criminals. The human angle and character development was the most
interesting aspect of Breaking Bad, whereas this show copies my least favorite aspect: The constant scheming and manipulating and criminal and violent games between multiple
criminal elements with different agendas, all of which soon becomes convoluted with contrived motivations and minutiae. You can see this also in the ridiculous setup where a
family-man and his scheming family move to a quiet lake region in Missouri and within a short time they are somehow up against a whole family of vicious criminals, another
local redneck drug family, crooked criminal politicians, not one but two mobs, and even an psycho homosexual FBI agent that somehow gets away with crimes. Some details are
also highly flawed, such as the fact that a drug-family relies on only a single and inefficient outlet for all their drugs and refuses to consider alternatives to the point
of murder. That said, the writing is very edgy and gripping at times, and the dialogue is razor-sharp. The real flaw, however, is that it has a poor grip on its characters
and doesn't know how to create realistic people, and everyone is so thoroughly unlikeable to boot. In every other episode I found myself asking the same questions: 'why on
earth would they agree to do that?' after someone is convinced by yet another very unconvincing talk. Add to this the seemingly psychotic and very implausible behaviour of all
the characters that constantly turn even on their own personal interests, family and friends. It's like the writers are sociopaths that don't know how to write personalities
and characters, only criminal and calculating agendas. The characters never really worked for me and, as mentioned, are annoying to watch: The dad is a very morally confusing
and confused person, the mom is a repulsively selfish human being, they never get along or work together, and yet they stay together for completely unknown reasons, the
daughter is obnoxious and does really strange self-damaging things, and the son is a pure sociopath. There are no relationships, only alliances. Once again, the writing and
dialogue is sharp and the plotting is full of thrilling dangerous and clever games, and this kept me watching for a while, but this good stuff constantly leaks out of the
holes that are its non-characters.
Narcos
Based on the first season and scattered episodes of the second.
Once again, the West loves its super-criminals so much it turns them into celebrities, and repeatedly into entertainment. How come there are no shows about people that
changed the world for the better? Too boring, I suppose. In any case, this is Netflix's quality production series that tells the tale of Pablo Escobar and his aftermath.
It explores the explosion of the drug industry (especially cocaine) in South America and its massive imports into North America, the various cartels, the incredible
power that Escobar wielded that managed to bring a whole country and its government to its knees to the point where the government became an impotent laughing stock,
and the war that was waged against him by local police, agencies, militia and the US for so many years, the law in South America having no choice but to go to extremes
and turn to rampant killings just in order to make minimal headway. The production, location shooting, casting, and even the languages used are all superb, and transport
you to the place and time extremely well. The approach is obviously inspired by Scorsese, using a very informative narrator to fill in the gaps and explain the sprawling
story with its many characters, while the more entertaining, dramatic and violent scenes are displayed on screen. But unlike Scorsese, the characters are not colorfully
interesting, and Escobar and most others are portrayed simply as dull, very practical and relentless killers with barely any personality. I suppose this is a good thing
since it doesn't glorify them, but it doesn't help make the show interesting. There are no grand themes as in the Godfather, no juicy characters like in Sopranos, no
clever machinations, just brutal and effective techniques and policies, throwing either mountains of money or brutal force at any and all problems, and even the law-enforcement
is often reduced to brute-force killing machines, so there aren't much by way of police-procedures and creative police-work like in The Wire. The characters and story-telling
are mostly merely functional and matter-of-fact, escalating back and forth with simple techniques of money and brutality until one side wins. It all seems quite brainless
and the story-telling plows through tons of historical detail, often without bringing it to life. There is a lot of politics and many scary ways that a government can be
brought to its knees however, and this helps make it more interesting. Although the story is inspired by true events, Netflix warns up-front that some details and characters
were changed, so one is wary about taking this as a documentary, but I'm guessing that the core story and events are true enough to be informative. All in all, it's a show
that is produced very well and it will appeal to crime-fans that don't expect anything clever, but I found my attention wandering quite quickly and often. An endless and
escalating cycle of killing from two sides of a war, both with only average intelligence, can only get you so far.
Deuce, The
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
David Simon seems to be into exploring subcultures in realistic depth and great detail. It can be argued that Homicide was the world of policemen, The Wire the world of
drugs and hoods, Treme was the city of New Orleans with all of its rich life, music and people, and this show is about the world of prostitution and porn in New York City
in the 70s and 80s. It covers the life of streetwalkers, pimps, their complicated on-off relationship with law-enforcement, the various types of johns and perverts, the mob
with its fingers in the prostitution and bar businesses, the crimes, the peep shows, sex stores, XXX cinema, early pornographers and their juggling act with the laws, the
move into whorehouses, the sudden transformation of porn into a culture and a socially acceptable thing, the exploration of pornographers and forays into art, etc etc.
Amidst it all we also get the lives of people that are just living in these neighborhood and trying to make a living working together with the jungle of mobsters, pimps and
whores, including a barman and a university student. Be warned that this will transport you back into the 70s and into the lives of New York low-lives in graphic detail and
utmost realism. For those that lived it, this will provide nostalgia. Also be warned that this doesn't have the cat-n-mouse thrills of The Wire. But it is very similar to The
Wire in the sense of a broad tapestry of very real characters in great detail, and their stories and troubles will emerge slowly over time to create an immersive experience.
But, whereas after watching The Wire's complete season you were left feeling educated as well, I can't say that this offers much that is new and eye-opening. In terms of sex,
as usual with HBO, the first few episodes contain very graphic detail to draw an audience, stretching the previous limits of even HBO, but then they tone it down (only
relatively) later on. Except that most of the graphic detail is male genitalia, and the gay subculture and relationships for some reason gets more sex screen time than the
straight ones. So the bias is clear. The characters are real and their stories are somewhat interesting, and the world is impeccably detailed, but there's only so much interest
that sleaze and low-lives could generate.
Knick, The
Based on the first season.
A quality medical/hospital drama by Soderbergh. The format is similar to other shows in the genre, except that it contains more continuous story arcs and character development
than usual, and it takes place during the early 1900s. It looks and feels historically accurate, and the medical jargon, equipment and procedures are at the high level of a
top-notch season of ER. Which means that the doctors here are performing primitive surgeries, scary experiments and butcher jobs, even though they are all cutting-edge for
their time. Of course, audiences may look at these procedures with horrified condescension, but I think today's doctors are identical in everything except knowledge. They are
still performing brutal procedures without understanding consequences, and becoming arrogant about it just like the doctors from 1900, and they are still performing the wrong,
or unnecessary procedures and prescribing dangerous medications for the wrong reasons or for no reason. And I have no doubt that in a few decades, there will be another show
that explores the horrors and drama of 2015 surgery procedures. That said, the show is very good, assuming you enjoy this genre. In addition to the expected wide variety of
dramas with patients, the doctor's personal lives, or lack thereof, there is also an exploration of rampant racism when a black doctor joins the staff, and the ongoing problems
of their chief surgeon being addicted to cocaine and other drugs that were all legal at the time, and which were even held as standard medication in the hospital. There is also
a mercenary 'ambulance driver' who turns it into a business, illegal abortions, and other similar phenomena of the period. One small flaw is the electronic soundtrack that never
really goes with the time period and causes a weird disconnect effect. And also, you have to be into this genre to begin with. If you like this sort of thing though, it's recommended.
Barney Miller
Based on the first season.
Above-average, neglected 70s sitcom situated mostly in a police precinct. Barney is the captain, but this is an ensemble show, with the great Abe Vigoda in a comic role,
the dry quips of Jack Soo, and many others, some of them cops, others supporting family members. Most of the episodes take place in the precinct itself and the guest
stars are various colorful criminals or other people in law enforcement. The writing is witty, dry and sharp, providing the cast with fun quips and dialogue,
and the human angle, like with Taxi, comes from getting to know the criminals and their various colorful personalities or little life-dramas. Mostly light but good fun.
Avengers, The
Based on some scattered episodes from all 9 seasons.
Classic British crime/spy show from the 60s that is still entertaining today. Separated into at least three or more distinct periods with a different tone
and style, much like Doctor Who. It also lost many of its earliest episodes like Doctor Who did. But, unlike that show, this one seemed to change and revolve
around the female side-kick who rapidly got promoted to partner. It started in black and white, with John Steed, the unflappable, quick-witted, charming, flirty,
fast-on-his-feet crime-fighter-cum-secret-agent, starting off as a mysterious crime-fighting secondary character, quickly evolving into a gentlemanly spy protagonist.
This show ran during the same period as the early James Bond movies, and even shared women with them. But although it featured entertaining action, charm,
and spy-tech, the focus, at first, was more on wit, panache, brainy spy procedures and cat-and-mouse games, evolving into more outrageous, campy action and sci-fi.
Decades before the female-heroine ass-kickers trend of modern TV shows, this show boasted a tough and capable female partner who could fight, make snappy
comebacks, flirt and pull off any spy maneuver dependably. She also wore notorious outfits often made of black leather.
The first 4 seasons were relatively more serious and stiff, featuring crime-drama and thrilling mysteries, but always playful in its spy-craft, and witty or
flirty in its characters. The strongest point during this period was by far the writing, dialogue and wit, featuring clever and fast-moving developments,
Sherlock Holmes like deductions, and mystery-solving denouements. Although it took a while to settle down with its choice of sidekicks, Honor Blackman is
usually associated with this period.
With the introduction of the ever-popular Emma Peel (named after the phrase 'M-ale appeal'), the show also increased its budget, started showing in the USA,
and turned to color after a year. The writing and atmosphere changed with a much bigger emphasis on entertainment in the form of camp, outrageous plots like
ticket collectors with schemes to take over the country, bizarre situations, sci-fi elements like invisibility and machines that miniaturize or send criminals
back in time, or just plain strange fun like the ability to pull out a whistling steaming tea-kettle from a bag. The writing is less dense and clever relative
to previous seasons, and the intelligence of the characters is now sacrificed for the plot and action, but it is still interesting, creating a good balance
between campy entertainment, silly but inventive plots, thrilling spy-craft and clever mysteries.
Presumably, mass popularity was due to Emma Peel as the show didn't survive her departure for long. Although the fanboys are right and Emma Peel had special
charm, looks and personality, there was much more to the show besides her and she was only part of the show for a third of its running time. The last season
featured a capable but relatively less charming and less experienced Tara King, more flirts but less chemistry, and more of the typically fun spy yarns and
action with liberal doses of silliness. Good, but a step down.
The show underwent a brief revival in the 70s with the underrated "The New Avengers". The chemistry was lacking, the flirts were lame, a male sidekick was
too wooden, but the writing went back to the solid early years with dense, thrilling spy-craft and mystery that doesn't assume stupidity in the audience. They
also started shooting more on location, giving the show less of a studio feel.
Crazy Ones, The
Based on the single season.
David Kelley tries a shorter-format sitcom on a new topic for him: Advertising (with an obvious reference to 'Mad Men'). But although the topic is new, the humor and characters
are rehashed: Robin Williams acts as the almost-has-been king of advertising surrounded by up and coming youngsters, obviously modeled after Denny Crane from Boston Legal.
And then there is a gossiping slut secretary copied-pasted from Ally Mcbeal, and several stories and situations that Kelley has used before with the usual silly humor that
has adults sometimes behaving like neurotic kids. The pairing of Robin Williams with the quick-witted Sarah Michelle Gellar as his daughter is nice though. The show starts very
shakily, feeling very much like a tired shtick, as Kelley does his rehashed stuff and a tired Robin tries to find a place for his same-old improvisations in the sitcom format
and within the goofy characters. After several episodes the characters start finding their place and gain some dimensions though. The episodes range from overly silly to passable
fluffy entertainment to the occasional more meaty dramedy and character development, but very often it feels like Kelley is cramming his previously-used 45 minute material into
a 20 minute sitcom without leaving the jokes and characters room to breathe. Passably good only because of the actors that sometimes succeed in making something entertaining of it.
Boston Legal
Based on the first two seasons.
Yet another legal dramedy from David Kelley, this one based on some strong characters from the last season of The Practice. Denny Crane (Shatner) is an aging,
philandering, arrogant, right-wing, chauvinist super-lawyer mostly riding on his reputation but still with many tricks up his sleeve, Alan Shore is a brilliant,
complex and unconventional but rebellious, trouble-making lawyer who sleeps with everyone in the office, there's a marine, uptight, Ken-doll look-alike male in
an ironic counterpoint to Ally's Barbie doll Georgia, and several secondary female characters. In other words, this is the male-oriented version of Ally McBeal with
complete casting counterparts. The legal cases range from the typically outrageously entertaining or sensationalist, to serious political-oriented cases where
Kelley sometimes gets on his liberal soapbox or presents interesting discussions. Compared to his other shows, this feels like Kelley on auto-pilot, copying some
elements and cases from Mcbeal without the fresher comedy, it is inferior to Practice in its legal and dramatic realism, and unbalanced by a heavy and preachy
left-wing bias as opposed to previous shows where Kelley excelled in presenting both sides. But, it also sees Kelley having looser fun with a show, with
whimsical and outrageous writing that is both entertaining as well as silly and unfocused. Shatner makes a strong, interesting comeback.
The first few episodes are brilliant. Extremely refreshing strong male characters who aren't afraid of women, unconventional and outrageous comedy based
on personalities, wit and good acting, and some interesting cases and discussions. Within a few episodes however, this show goes bad. Denny Crane is turned
into a pathetic, silly man who couldn't convince a judge his shoelaces were untied. Cases are solved in ridiculous ways, the liberal preaching becomes too
annoying in a couple of episodes, and the comedy becomes too silly. In other words, a sudden swerve to the worst of Ally McBeal. This show does to chauvinism
what All in the Family did to racism: it makes it too pathetic to be funny, with forced quirk and cheekiness taken over-the-top to the point of unfunny silliness.
The second season gradually recovers, reining in a lot of the silliness, developing fleshier, less cartoonish characters but also introducing one outrageous and ridiculous
plot element or case after another. The preaching grows worse and worse however, the legal cases are no longer balanced, and the judgements are always ridiculous.
Overall, a show with wildly fluctuating quality that is generally quite entertaining but with several near-fatal flaws.
Rubicon
Based on the single season.
The pilot looks like it's going to be a paranoid thriller with near-surreal proportions of conspiracy and paranoia, a world where wild conspiracy is the norm of life.
But then it swerves into a normal spy thriller a la Three Days of the Condor, where intelligence analysts that normally sit in the office, suddenly find themselves
in actual danger under a convoluted conspiracy. This show is several things: A 24-like thriller where the analyst team provide intel for an assassination and then have
to track down a terrorist that is sent as retaliation, except it doesn't have the action of 24. The second part is the conspiracy that is slowly being uncovered
piece by piece by Will Travers, at first with endless layers of clues and mysterious dangers that don't mean anything, until the pieces start falling into place.
This partially redeems itself by the end of the season, but for the first half, it's like some conspiracy freaks took over the show and bombarded it with convoluted
details that can't see the forest for the trees. In line with this show being a paranoid-nerd-spy show, the intelligence is high, but the realism flies out the window
at times, and the character development is poor. For some reason, a man working for intelligence is surprised when he is being followed and bugged, character development
is restricted only to things that can distract them from their work, like a minor drug-addiction problem that never makes any sense, and messages are sent in the most
obscure methods possible just to feed the conspiracy state of mind. The ending of the single season solves the mysteries, but doesn't quite provide closure. In short,
a mixed bag, maybe worth watching once for fans of shows like Nowhere Man.
One Foot in the Grave
Based on the first three seasons.
A British precursor to Curb Your Enthusiasm featuring a cantankerous old man forced into early retirement and his sarcastic, frustrated and bitter interactions with
everybody around him while life keeps throwing one curve ball after another at him. At first, the humor revolves around a man not used to staying around the house
all day and dealing with senior citizens or society's attitude towards them, but soon afterwards, the show's formula focuses on outrageous situations like dead cats
in the freezer, snakes in the bedroom and naked models, with things going terribly wrong compounded by Victor's detrimental reactions and fate's quirks and ironies.
The humor relies a lot on Victor's perfectly acted rants, raves, flabbergasted reactions, and lack of patience, but the situations themselves are so brilliantly set up
that they raise the show into higher quality comedy. The writers have a knack for coming up with ridiculous but realistic situations, and they experiment often with
different structures and kinds of humor. The first season is funny but not extraordinary, the second season features many truly hilarious moments, and the third
season is weaker.
Good Guys, The
Based on most of the single season.
If you're tired of all the ultra-serious cop series that keep coming out, and are harboring any nostalgia for the 70s when cop-shows were about irresponsible action and fun, then
this may be up your alley. An uptight cop (Colin Hanks channeling his father) that prefers working according to rules and who get himself in trouble by criticizing people,
is partnered with a has-been hero who breaks every rule in the book, hates computers and uses them to scratch his back, and acts based on macho-instinct. They are assigned the
most minor crimes available that nobody else wants, except that somehow they always turn out to lead to major crimes. Either that, or their irresponsible behaviour somehow
escalates the crime. Having friends in the police force and getting results only barely manage to help them avoid getting fired. Cue lots of buddy-cop friendships and banter, a
lot of hitting on every hot woman they meet, car chases, explosions, shoot-outs, etc. You know the drill, except it's kinda tongue-in-cheek, played strictly for comedy and not
for realism. Some tension with ex-girlfriends provide a minimum of ongoing character development, but the structure is episodic crime of the week. Nothing great, but it's fun.
Sledge Hammer!
Based on many scattered episodes from both seasons.
Feels like they were aiming for a Naked Gun style TV comedy series, but what they got, thanks to the actors and writers, is part entertaining spoof on action movies
and action heroes with hilarious one-liners, and part silly cartoon-characters and slapstick. Sledge is an over-the-top action hero cop who regularly gets suspended every week,
talks to his gun, and solves everything with his gun including fixing broken machines and getting suicidal people off the ledge. He is an unapologetic chauvinist,
gets excited over gratuitous violence, and will shoot even jay-walkers if they ignore him. Damn he's fun. He is partnered with a female cop who learns to live with
his faults, and she is no slouch in fights either. Criminals are cartoonish and played for laughs, and much comedy is made over how he makes his chief's life miserable.
Although one would think this kind of humor can only last for a few episodes, the writers squeeze everything they can out of this material, finding hilarious new ways to
use a gun or to abuse criminals, and adding judges, lawyers, and internal affairs cops to butt heads with him, and adding an endless stream of quotable one-liners to balance
out the silliness. In the weaker season two they add more silly and fantasy elements. Fun, if taken for what it is and taken in small doses.
League of Gentlemen, The
Based on the first season and some scattered episodes.
Unique and insane British show that is part sketch-show like Monty Python, part bizarre sitcom. The setting is a British town of 'Royston Vasey' occupied by
a large variety of highly eccentric characters (acted mostly by the same three talented people in very convincing costumes). Some are recurring, others are
one-offs for episodic sketches. Recurring characters include the serial killing pig-nosed strange owners of the 'Local Shop' who play bizarre sadistic games
on anyone who isn't local, a man staying with an OCD couple with psychotic twin daughters and a collection of toads, Barbara the transsexual taxi driver who
constantly describes his life and surgeries in graphic detail, a job-centre run by an overbearing instructor who wants to keep her trainees out of a job so
she can keep training them, a butcher that deals with secret deliveries of unknown packages, the constant extreme abuse of animals in gross ways by various
characters, and many more. Like most shows of this ilk, the result is a mixed bag of laughs, entertainment, silliness and boredom, but the overall effect of
this show is quite originally zany. For fans of extreme British shows like Python, Young Ones, Bottom, Goodies, et al, the only thing these have in common is
that they are unique and have a very weird sense of humor.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Based on the first two seasons and some scattered episodes.
Although this stars the co-creator and writer of Seinfeld, only the writing style and subject matter (comedy about nothing) is similar, the actual show being more like
the offspring of The Office and Fawlty Towers with elements of One Foot in the Grave. Larry David acts as himself in a life that parallels his own, only here he is a
cantankerous, annoying man who always says or does something stupid only to have it bite back later in an ironic way. The acting feels partially improvised and everyone
on the show acts their own characters, so it feels a little like a reality show, but the ironic situations are carefully scripted. The result is a mixed bag, with many
of the episodes leaning towards the painful embarrassment of The Office rather than the brilliant hilarious rudeness of Fawlty Towers, but it serves both. The writing
grows increasingly raunchy and outrageous, putting David in many wacky situations without losing its basic sense of reality, and letting him make everything consistently
worse until the final payoff where it all comes together. Although I'm not a fan of this type of humor that is so prevalent nowadays, and the way everyone neurotically
make mountains out of molehills often gets annoying, but this is probably the best show of its kind, and the payoffs at the end make it a fun watch.
Undeclared
Based on most of the single season.
I guess lightning doesn't strike twice. This is a follow-up to Freaks and Geeks sharing much of the same crew, except it takes place in college, and it's more of
a standard sitcom without the more dramatic elements of Freaks, and with shorter episodes. There are some moments here and there that make it slightly above-average, but
otherwise it's just a mildly funny sitcom. A group of freshmen start their adventures in college, discovering many things about life and love, with the addition of Steve's
dad who is recently divorced and who is tagging along for the fun thanks to some personal crises. There are a bunch of geeks and awkward teenagers starting to learn how to be
adults, and who don't know yet what to do with their new freedoms. But there are also the hot guys and girls that seem to have no problem hopping from one bed to another,
making the less popular but more thoughtful youngsters' lives more frustrating.
Sybil
Three-hour mini-series (basically a long TV movie) based on the true case of Shirley Ardell Mason who supposedly had sixteen personalities thanks to a traumatic childhood.
This adaptation stars Sally Field in a career-making portrayal, and is a psychological drama filmed practically in the style of a 70s horror movie as the shrink digs
into her dark past and works for years to try to merge her personalities. The movie starts with a chance discovery by the shrink after a visit to the hospital, during a period
when her personalities grow more chaotic and uncontrollable, causing very awkward encounters with children at her teaching job, her neighbour-lover, and her father's new
wife. Field gets to act out every emotion in the book, and the movie is frantically talky, and while she doesn't completely lose herself in the role, it's a good job.
Of course, it's not possible to judge how accurate this behaviour is without knowing someone with MPD (which I don't), but her revelations felt a bit too engineered
by writers for my taste, who injected these insights into her babbling just for the audiences.
Rich Man, Poor Man
Classic 70s epic mini-series and family saga with a young Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte. They act as two brothers with polar-opposite personalities, one an ambitious, upright
and logical business-man who very gradually allows his focused ambition to wreck his life, and another as a physical, wild, impulsive man who ignores his noble heart and better
judgement and always gets himself in big trouble. They are sons of a hard German father with a dark past, and a depressed and uptight mother. Their saga, adventures and
character development (spanning decades after WWII) are consistently interesting throughout the series, and the show explores many social and psychological themes. It doesn't
resort to cheap soap dramatics like others of its kind and era, and the acting is good, especially by Nolte. Flaws are some tendencies to melodrama and constant puzzlingly bad
decisions by the characters. I can't say I was very impressed, but, overall, this is an above-average series that stands up rather well and is quite watchable.
Wallander
Based on most of the first season.
Swedish detective series based on a series of popular crime novels and the Wallander character by Henning Mankell. The novels had all been adapted previously into several
movies and short-lived TV series in Sweden. This show combines material from the novels as well as new material suggested by the author. I can't claim any familiarity with
this world, but I was expecting more personality than what this show offered. Wallander is a burnt-out detective with a colorful past, including some traumatic events and bad
personal decisions, who is working in a medium-sized town. His relationship with his daughter is rocky, and the fact that she joined the police force and is working with him is
much cause for tension. As portrayed in this series, he is somewhat unstable, and has bouts of anger and impatience, but no more than many people. Although intelligent, the
mysteries are actually solved more by teamwork than any talent, eccentricities or brilliance on his part, although he does, at times, contribute unique insights. So he didn't
make much of an impact on me. The murder mysteries, however, often involve twisted killers with various motivations and lurid events, and are often unpredictable and usually
pretty well written, sometimes containing social commentary on current issues in Sweden. Some of the mysteries were shown as movies in cinemas, the rest are strictly TV movies,
and the quality varies a little as well. The mysteries are strictly episodic, but the character development is ongoing. Either way, I don't see what the fuss is about. Watchable
and solid detective series, but nothing really stands out.
Broadchurch
Based on the first season.
British crime-detective-show, with a season-long mystery and murder-case. The setting is a small town where everyone knows each other, and the worst crime is usually drunk-driving
or drugs. The various reactions to a murder in their midst is the best aspect of this show, exploring several of the locals that were connected to the victim or their family in one way
or another, including the local paper, priest and several business-people. An outsider detective going through a bad period finds himself straddled with the case, using the locals to
help him investigate. A meticulous investigation uncovers other secrets, leading to several red-herrings, shaking up the town over and over as too many rocks are turned over. It's
all done quite well, especially the drama, although the investigation is down-to-earth and realistic, and is therefore never too exciting, and the ending is not quite satisfactory
on a few levels.
Southland
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Yet another cop show. It's hard to imagine a cop-show doing anything new at this point, or surpassing The Shield or The Wire, and this one doesn't even seem to want
to be unique, just to provide solid writing and characters with realism. It deals with the day-to-day life of a police squad, their work that varies from humdrum
calls from annoying people to violent shoot-outs, their personal lives and how they are affected by their jobs. Many shows did this before. This one is above-average,
but features nothing compelling. The writing seems to mix realism with implausible entertainment. Cases and problems don't tend to develop naturally on this show, and
instead almost always seem to climax into violence right away for some closure and entertainment at the end of the episode. There are some developments that span
multiple episodes, but these are exceptions. The character development is OK, but, once again, not compelling. Episodes typically interweave quite a lot of cases
per episode, making the show feel fast-paced, perhaps too fast-paced, as characters and developments don't get to breathe enough. It starts off shakily (the writing
in addition to the cameras), but soon stabilizes in the middle of the first season. Not bad, not great.
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
BBC docudrama blending a documentary narration with the dramatization of the most important events and people in the era of the Roman Empire. 6 episodes, each taking
place in a different period cover the rise of the people against the senate, civil war under Ceasar, Nero's reign, the Jewish rebellion/war, the strengthening
of Christianity under Constantine and the first major fall of the Empire. The reconstructions are very well done, the historical details seem mostly OK with
a few exceptions, the acting is good but sometimes superficial or over-the-top, and the stories are interesting, exploring the main reasons and backgrounds for
each event. Flaws include the fact that it covers highlights of 500 years in 6 episodes, making the series feel like a best-of compilation rather than anything deep,
and some characters, behaviours and events don't always have a ring of truth to them. Better than the soapy I, Claudius but complementary in terms of scope.
Bleak House
8 hour superb adaptation of the sprawling novel by Charles Dickens. The huge story covers dozens of characters, each with their own stories and dramas, their lives
intertwining and often revolving around Bleak House and a long legal battle over its inheritance and conflicting wills. Good and evil characters clash, and it builds up
to high drama that flirts but doesn't cross the border into soap. This adaptation offers flawless and strong performances, even by Gillian Anderson. My only
problem is that I am not a big fan of Dickens as he tends to get lost in insignificant details, light drama and slow development. This adaptation is similar,
taking several hours to gain momentum, but when it does, it never lets go.
Traffik
I didn't like Soderbergh's remake, finding it mostly dull, implausible, PC and even preachy, and I expected this mini-series to be better. It is better, but is not
without its flaws as well. The goal seems to be to explore the world of drugs from the farmers, traffickers and suppliers to the users, politicians and law enforcers.
It does this by telling a few stories that intertwine as the characters' paths cross. The Pakistan story shows a poor farmer who consistently chooses a life of crime
to support his family and gets himself entangled with a local powerful drug trafficker. This story is filmed superbly on location and really gives you a good feel
of this world, but the protagonist lacks depth and the writing seems to want to generate more sympathy than it deserves just because the man is poor. Then there's the
drug lord who gets arrested and his housewife takes over his business so that she can keep her valuable paintings. This is as implausible and disaffecting as the
movie version. The double-story of the British minister who is inspecting Pakistan to approve financial aid while he discovers his daughter is hooked on heroin
is much more involving and interesting, but Julia Ormond seems to be phoning it in in her role as a drug-addict. In short, a mixed bag, with both great and weak
elements, some good drama and gritty, complex realism but also a sense of a point that got lost in translation.
Boardwalk Empire
Based on the first season.
HBO's shtick is starting to feel old hat in this competent, visually-sumptuous but uninspired crime series. HBO has a talent for reproducing historical periods and it
seems to have crossed this gift with an obvious attempt to reproduce The Sopranos. The result is a series about the criminal explosion in the 20s during prohibition, focusing
on Atlantic City but also covering the extended criminal network in New York and Chicago, with celebrity criminals like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano shown during the start of
their careers. But it seems that all of the hard work was invested in the detailed reproduction of the era, including sets, clothes, songs, dances, shows, cars, furniture,
attitudes and even women with natural-looking breasts. The writing, on the other hand, is competent but mechanical and uninspired and it never manages to bring the characters
to life. Steve Buscemi is always fun, but casting him as a crime-lord with a complicated heart who is meant to carry a show is a bit of a stretch. Other characters, like
Margaret Schroeder, simply never make any sense. The developments are the usual and endless twists and turns of criminal one-upmanship spliced with drama involving
friendship, ambitions, betrayals and the many wives and lovers, most of which are abused, used or neglected in one way or another. There isn't an honest man in sight, women
are all conniving, and law enforcement consists of a single obsessed and angry man who never gets anywhere because the rest of the force is either corrupt or incompetent. But the
writers are not content with that and choose to turn him into a religious freak because, in this world of criminals and sex, you can't be religious if you aren't twisted.
The pace is somewhat slow, but the writers pepper every episode with enough shocking violence, sex or graphic nudity in an obvious attempt to retain its audience. The end
result is eventual boredom that seems inexplicable considering the complexity and visual richness on screen. But it's worth a shot if you can't get enough of crime shows or if
you like 20s props.
Smiley's People
BBC's follow-up to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, based on another novel by John Le Carré and also featuring Alec Guinness. It's another moody, cerebral spy game, once again
bringing Smiley out of retirement to investigate the murder of an old spy and cover up any obsolete cold war remnants that may emerge from the event and surrounding scandals.
As compared to Tinker Tailor, this one has more field work (not action), and is less densely cerebral and difficult, and the story just isn't as interesting, involving a lot
of personal drama made complex by cold-war leftovers and a seeming drive to make everything as complicated as possible. It's mostly detective work as performed by spies,
and, with a few alterations, could have easily become a series about a PI investigating the death of an old friend. That said, the acting and dialogue is superb.
Often boring due to the story itself, but still watchable and interesting.
Heist
Based on the single season.
Ocean Eleven, the TV series. A group of professional burglars and criminals get together to pull a big caper involving multiple jewelry stores,
but before they can pull that off, they need to get cash, equipment, and information as well as deal with distractions, cops, policemen, other criminals
and their personal lives. The action and crime elements are pretty good and quite entertaining, albeit unoriginal and mostly stolen from other movies,
the banter is fun, the acting is OK. Each episode covers a new challenge before the big heist, but overall this is one long story arc development. The show
was building a good momentum when it was brutally cancelled mid-season and ended with a cliff-hanger and many open threads.
ER
Based on most of the first season and many scattered episodes.
The king of the hospital shows featuring emergency-room drama with intense medical action and technical jargon, character drama and slowly increasing soap drama.
It started off pretty strong with a good balance of character, exciting technical medical procedures, patient crises, and drama. The actors were all good, the
approach in general was to avoid too much sentimentality, offering medical know-how and great guest stars as patients, each with their personal story, but always
serving as a forge for the personalities of the doctors and nurses. The intense schedules and challenges of the ER room were explored, the doctors dealing with
relatively small personal dramas in the seconds or minutes between the never-ending stream of life-threatening crises, challenges and intense medical action.
But even during the first few seasons, the show was mostly episodic and didn't push too many boundaries, staying within predictable range and offering only mediocre
character story arcs. Then the drama deteriorated into soap after a few seasons, the cast was replaced, and the stories became more desperate, at first moving
the medical action out into the streets and then into other countries. Amazingly, it held on for dear life for fifteen seasons even though it deteriorated
after about 4-5 years. However, there were always the special individual episodes that managed to transcend the formula and deliver something intense or profound,
and very special mention must be given to one of the best hours in TV history: Love's Labor Lost, a devastating and unforgettable tragedy of an episode.
State of Play
Six-part British thriller reminiscent of All the President's Men in the way resourceful journalists uncover detail after detail of a complex government plot,
and work hard to put all the pieces together with corroborations. In this case, the first triggers are the murder of a black boy under suspicious circumstances,
and the sudden death of a government employee, the energetic team of journalists encountering one twist after another as the cast of participants grows and
constantly change their stories, uncovering rotten links between big business and the government. The buildup and writing is superb, but the sloppiness grows
until the final twist which ruins everything and is obviously not thought through very well.
As Time Goes By
Based on the first two seasons.
Boasting a couple of the most nuanced actors in England, this light, warm and intelligent comedy explores a renewed relationship between two old, I mean older, people
who had a stunted romance 38 years ago and who are now cynical, wiser, crotchety but slowly warming to each other again. Despite this description however, this
is never soap or sappy romance, and it wins you over with very realistic, fleshy, subtle and witty writing and acting. Another plus is the fact this is an ongoing story arc
with developing characters rather than an episodic drama. A unique, subtle, witty, enjoyable but soft-edged show
Goodies, The
Based on the first season.
A trio of inventive Brits from the same school as Monty Python star as a group who will do 'anything, anytime'. They are hired to save the crown jewels, improve the image of
policemen, babysit a strange girl, take over the post-office, etc. The comedy is a mix of slapstick, anything-goes, cartoonish antics, and some witty dialog, with an emphasis
on the absurdly impossible such as the group putting the whole nation to sleep or attempting to pull Great Britain 5 miles into the Atlantic. This earned them the reputation
of being surreal but the show is more inventively cartoonish than satirical, albeit entertaining in their own way. Crazy, silly fun that could only have come out of the 70s.
Derry Girls
Based on the first two seasons.
Rough & tumble Irish comedy with slightly over-the-top characters, most of them teenage girls. This is not just a comedy for teenagers however, and it has the energetic chaotic
atmosphere of The Commitments. If compared to Father Ted, this one is less over-the-top and silly, and relatively funnier, with some moments being laugh-out-loud hilarious
thanks to the manic delivery. The gaggle of teenage girls are a mixture of energy, horniness and constant panic, often bringing disaster to whatever they do, and they are
joined by a British teenage male cousin who is as out of place as anyone, and he is the brunt of many jabs by the rough Irish girls. Their Catholic school is run by a hilarious
very anti-social cursing nun, bringing to mind Father Ted, and their parents are... parents. It's set in the 90s during the Troubles with the IRA but this is neither here nor
there and seems to have very minimal effect on the comedy. Above-average good wild fun.
Porridge
Based on the first two seasons.
A setup in a prison designed to give Ronnie Barker and his fans as many foils for his wise-cracks as possible: His fellow inmates include various crazy or soft-minded
criminals, as well as a naive youngster who is in prison for the first time. The guards include a strict, barking, military officer, and a good-natured but
weak-willed and easily manipulated older guard. Barker, as Norman Stanley Fletcher, always has a biting, sarcastic and witty remark up his sleeve as he tries
to make his life in prison a more enjoyable stay. The episodes explore a colorful variety of story-lines, from trying to have a frustrating day alone in a prison cell,
to clever con-games with other inmates and guards. The humor ranges from mildly amusing and entertaining, to sharp and hilarious but rude one-liners such as when
Fletcher is told that the warden had to use rough prison toilet paper and he responds with 'that should wipe the smile off his face'. A slightly above-average Britcom.
Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
Based on the first season and most of the third season.
Classic sitcom that was praised as a feminist breakthrough because it features an independent woman in the lead role dealing with modern life on her own.
She works in a male-dominated second-class news-room, is single and lives alone, has neurotic or obnoxious female friends and has to deal with dating and several
interested men. Although nowadays this would bring to mind a chick flick about a neurotic woman, this show is actually charming and light, featuring a very
likeable lead character that tries to please everyone while remaining strong. The comedy mostly involves her interactions with a pushy but warm boss, an arrogant
but amusingly incompetent anchorman, and her neighbours: a neurotic but sharply sarcastic single woman and an aggressive married woman. Starts out strong and
witty with superbly entertaining guest characters, but rapidly becomes mild after half a season. Later episodes vary as well, and the show mostly grabs you
with its addictively charming characters and wit, but it generally lacks an inspired, hard or unusual edge. Light fun.
Seinfeld
Based on the first season and many scattered episodes.
Watchers of this extremely hyped show tend to split into two camps: Those that are rabidly fanatical about what they think is the greatest sitcom of all time and those
that get bored. The show is about... nothing. Seinfeld and friends go through their daily lives, making comedy about mundane things like finding your car in the
parking lot, taking showers and going to work. In between the sitcom comedy, Seinfeld does his stand-up routine which is usually funnier than the actual show.
Seinfeld is good as a stand-up comedian but in a show he's, at best, mildly funny. The supporting characters are better (although Kramer is too cartoonish) but
the show as a whole seems too self-aware and even full of itself. The uniqueness of this show is that it focuses on selfish, petty-minded, manipulative people that
make every little event into a complicated game, and somehow they make it all funny. Frankly, I don't see what the fuss is all about either way. It's clever at times,
occasionally boring, and only moderately amusing the rest of the time.
Frasier
Based on the first season and many scattered episodes.
An amusing but overrated show, and an improved spin-off of Cheers, featuring relatively intelligent writing and sharp dialogue for an American show. The lead character
is a highbrow, arrogant, radio psychiatrist who has to deal with his blue-collar father who lives with him, his British nurse, his eccentric uppity brother Niles, and
a dog. The humor usually revolves around misunderstandings and the clash of these personalities all having to live under the same roof. It may feel pretentious or hard to
get into at first, but these characters grow on you after a while until it reaches the stage where you sit back to enjoy the unusual, light and sharp wit every time
the show is on. Mildly amusing at best, but with a charm of its own.
Odd Couple, The
Based on most of the first season.
One of the more popular incarnations of this comedy setup, after the many theatrical runs and the great movie with Matthau/Lemmon. This sitcom features a pretty good duo
of Randall and Klugman as the two divorced men living together, one a neat-freak, pedantic hypochondriac, the other a loudmouthed, randy, unorganized slob. Their
opposite personalities in this series often cross the border into cartoonishly artificial, but they are still quite funny. They stick together because they need
each other to balance out their deficiencies, but they get in each other's way and annoy each other so much, that they are constantly fighting or threatening to
break up. This kind of setup makes for a certain kind of comedy, and tends to wear out its welcome for me after a while, especially with the repetitive plot-lines
that feature one of them ruining yet another date or carefully laid-out plan for the other. Generally amusing and full of personality, but limited.
Dick Van Dyke Show, The
Based on most of the first season.
An old-school classic sitcom from the 60s that is so wholesome, soft, funny and well-done, that it's impossible not to like. The show is so soft and ordinary however,
that it's mostly for families, or people who want harmless, light fun without a sharp edge in sight. It's like a skeleton or template for all sitcoms. Dick Van Dyke
lends his charm and talent for comedy, timing, and physical clowning in his role as Rob Petrie, a writer for a comedy show. He is married to the equally charming
Mary Tyler Moore, has an annoying but cute and eccentric kid, and works with a man who can only talk in sarcastic one-liners and zingers, and a sharp-tongued woman
who is one of the guys. As usual for a sitcom, the stories involve anything from home crises, family and marital misunderstandings, to workplace confusion, with the
occasional musical act or slapstick from Van Dyke. The writing is pretty sharp and surprisingly funny even today but always very light and family-oriented.
Modern Love
Based on the first two seasons.
An anthology of short, touching, real stories involving love, often under unusual circumstances or slight twists that make the romance interesting and involving,
all based on a New York magazine column. Given the title, location and the year of this release, as well as the picture-title sequence of the series, I was expecting
a Woke-fest of slimy proportions. Imagine my surprise when, for the first six episodes at least, this was nothing of the sort and told involving stories of hetero
love and dating, often leaving you with a warm fuzzy feeling, with real characters and without sentiment, trash or sex. I just wish we didn't keep getting shows where
one is always made aware of the 'PC diversity-algorithm version 4.0' used by the casting company resulting in endless statistically improbable couples and low chemistry.
Some examples of stories: The first episode is probably the best involving a stoic perceptive doorman that looks out for his tenant and her dating woes. The third
is a character study of a woman with a severe psychological problem trying to date, and even with this story it was easy to sympathize. The sixth controversial episode
involves a girl with daddy-issues and the episode tricks you as it involves a different kind of love, but it works in its own subtle and very risky way. The seventh
episode is where the inevitable happens, telling the tale of two gay men trying to adopt a baby from an obnoxious narcissist activist. The only nice thing I can say
is that at least it didn't overtly preach. The final episode of the season gets a bit overly sentimental. The second season starts with a couple of good ones, especially
a hilarious one with Kit Harington trying unsuccessfully to reproduce Before Sunrise in a modern pandemic world, but then the season falls apart as if they handed the
reigns to a younger team of producers in order to make it more relevant, Woke and modern, losing its heart in the process.
Remington Steele
Based on most of the first season.
Laura Holt (Zimbalist) is a talented detective suffering from the world's general bias against women in such roles, so she invents a fictional male figurehead for her
company. Remington Steele (Brosnan), a suave con man with a criminal past, uses the fictional role once for his own ends, only to find that their combined talents help
solve problems faster, and that each get something out of the arrangement. Trouble is, there is mutual attraction and sexual tension, combined with the fact that they just
don't get along with each other, with Laura bossing him around behind the scenes, and Remington stealing the credit or sometimes using the arrangement for his own selfish
goals. This setup provides for endless fun, banter, character clashes, sexual tension, etc. helped by the irony of real-life parallel circumstances as Brosnan gradually
took over the show which was supposed to be mostly hers, and also greatly helped by some very good writing. The mysteries are creative, complex and witty, the dialogue
is sharp, the comedy is fun, and the acting is great. The only big flaw is the sitcom approach: the repetitive and very formulaic episodic structure and a lack of
experimentation, story or character arcs. This show was responsible for Brosnan losing an earlier entry into the James Bond franchise, and the slightly inferior clone:
Moonlighting.
Goliath
Based on the first two seasons.
David Kelley tries a different format for another law-oriented series, this time playing the long game with one case per season and a continuous story arc, focusing
primarily on the characters and development details. Similar in some ways to True Detective, the actual court case plot in this show's first season is not the star
of the show and is actually quite ordinary (especially for Kelley), and the focus is on the characters. Billy Bob Thornton is an alcoholic and gifted lawyer who used
to play with the big boys before forcefully losing his status, and is now a down-on-his-luck small-time lawyer. When a case falls in his lap that involves a massive
corporation and his former law firm, he steps up to do battle against the Goliaths despite all the odds against him. It's about crooked businessmen and powerful
dangerous criminals versus a dogged, creative, quiet single man and his ad-hoc team of oddball assistants. Kelley can do characters quite well when he puts his mind
to it, and here this is combined with creative legal one-upmanship and a battle of wits. Flaws include the weak ending and closer, and also the way that these people
react to obvious dangers as if they are untouchable and know that they have plot armor. The criminals seem to have unlimited power one episode, then take a step back
when it's time for them to lose. Season one is a good watch nevertheless, but not amazing. Season two, however, is like a completely different show. The battle of
legal wits is replaced with a freak show of deranged criminals, gore, torture, perverted fetishes, murders and weirdos. The Goliath in this case is a ruthless Mexican
cartel and its network. It's entertaining at first, albeit lacking wit and most of what made the first season gripping, but then towards the end it completely unravels
into unrealistic nonsense, contradictory motivations, and bad writing that prioritizes shock over sense.
Casanova
Dennis Potter's mini-series based on the writings, life and times of Giovanni Casanova, the most famous of hedonists. Potter chooses to explore this man in his usual
fashion by weaving together memories while Casanova is undergoing an ordeal, in this case, his imprisonment. Casanova finds himself going mad in a terrible prison
as he plans his escape, thinking back to the women he seduced, the women that stole his heart, and his various adventures with the occult, society and men in power.
Snippets of his life after prison are also weaved together with the memories, fantasies and dreams. I must admit to being somewhat disappointed, expecting insight
and a compelling portrait to come out of this structure, seeing as this is Dennis Potter's work, but the result is just a slightly above-average dramatic biopic.
The casting is superb, although the passionate acting does sometimes get somewhat overwrought, and the production and feel of the show is quite good. The biggest
flaw is the very repetitive overuse of the same flashbacks, each episode augmenting this sin. In short, an interesting drama, but not great.
Succession
Based on the first two seasons.
Overrated but well-done trash TV, and the equivalent of junk-food. As with junk food, it's hard to stop watching, but leaves a constant bad taste in your mouth.
Not just because of the nasty behaviour on display, but because of the junk ingredients in the writing. The addictive mechanisms and qualities are the same as
with soap-opera. Its immense popularity is a tribute to the poor taste of this generation, which includes shows like 'Oz' and 'Sopranos'. There is no denying
its strong story-telling and acting however. It's about a powerful billionaire business-man patriarch and his spoiled rich children all vying for power in
their father's kingdom. Every character has an agenda of their own, and the scheming and back-stabbing are endless. It's very comparable to 'Billions',
except this show is much trashier, with every single character behaving and talking and treating each other like vipers, even amongst family. It's also
comparable to 'Yellowstone' that came out in the same year with another evil rich patriarch and a slew of scheming children and characters (it's always amazing how
similar-themed movies come out at the same time), except that was also much more interesting and the setting was more unique. This just features common-variety
jerks and narcissistic spoiled rich brats in business. Yawn. Not that these people don't exist, but a show filled with exclusively these characters that always
behave this way 100% of the time is a problem. It's worse than inhuman, it's unrealistic. I can't imagine how this business stayed up and running this long (think
of Trump's business attempts). This show has absolutely zero honor, character, moral sense, or any form of even fake polite behaviour, nevermind any kind of human
relationship, and the HBO-style sex acts are all sleazy. The characters only seem to differ from each other primarily in their agendas. I watched it for the twists
and turns in the story, but, as I said, it's just tasty junk food.
Orange Is The New Black
Based on the first season.
From the creator behind Weeds comes another dramedy series about a criminal housewife, or, in this case, an ordinary young woman who finds herself involved with a criminal element.
She finds herself in jail thanks to a wild lesbian fling ten years earlier with a drug dealer, much to the horror of her current male fiancé. This one is much better than
Weeds thanks to an ensemble of colorful female prisoner characters that are presented with all their flaws and rough looks, warts and all, and it is also very different
with its approach to its protagonist making her quite unlikeable in her self-obsessed behaviour. The writers develop both the characters and story, as the relationships in the jail
grow increasingly complicated and tense, blending multiple prisoner back-stories with jail drama, lesbian shenanigans, tensions with the guards, and shifting prisoner alliances.
It also involves plenty of nudity, lesbian sex and horny guards, bordering on women-in-prison exploitation. It features good actresses and it can easily hook you if you're into
this kind of thing. That said, I am not sure what female prisons are really like, but this show portrays it like a high-school with a dorm where the prisoners are basically free
to roam around in different rooms without guards and even to the yard and back, except they can't leave the premises. Seeing as many of the prisoners are murderers and some are
quite unstable, I find it very hard to believe that a prison like this could function. Also, for most of the first season, the tension is girly stuff: Prisoners constantly back
off with only harsh words, and the worst they do to each other is deny food or companionship. Their nightmare is to be sent to 'solitary', where they sit in a lit locked room and
talk freely through a vent to their fellow prisoners. In other words their solitary is a real prison, and yet our protagonist breaks down after only one day there. Talk about
laughably weak prison characters... So on the one hand this has edgy female characters, on the other hand it features a strangely light jail setting, chick-and-lesbian-drama, and
mostly marshmallow prisoners.
Marco Polo
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
An epic series with a lot of potential, but it doesn't quite come to life and seems to lack inspiration. It takes place in the kingdom of Kublai Khan at the peak
of Mongolian power when the Khans have practically taken all of China (among other things). Marco Polo, the Venetian adventurer, finds himself abandoned in Kublai's
court as a servant, but quickly rises in favor due to his gifts of speech, respect and perception. War, betrayal and many shifting alliances keep them all on their toes.
The show has superb locations and a rich production, and is beautiful to look at. But the writing and vision are lacking. I do not know enough to critique this
one for historical accuracy, but the show definitely suffers from many obvious anachronisms. The women here reach the fantasy proportions of Xenia, with petite-skinny
women taking down male warriors three times their size in wrestling as well as kung-fu, and bedding their men like aggressive Amazons. The show also employs many
kung-fu cliches, and the fact that everyone speaks accented English makes it feel often like a dubbed second-rate kung-fu flick. The culture is so 'alien', that it
makes it that much more difficult to ignore the ubiquitous English spoken with a variety of unnatural accents. Add to all this lots of gratuitous nudity and sex that
is too obviously inserted for titillation, and it's difficult to take this show seriously. The plot and character development ranges from moderately interesting to
muddled. Kublai Khan is made into a petulant, immature and limited man who seems to achieve most things only thanks to his wife and the foreigner's help. This is no
Shogun, which also dealt with a lucky foreigner gaining favor in a brutal foreign land, except there, there was respect for Japanese intelligence. This show also
lacks intelligent characters, most of them saying what's on their mind instead of thinking things through or being careful, which is strange in a royal court with so
much politics. In summary, the show is visually superb and has epic moments and episodes, especially in the season finales, but is held down by pedestrian writing,
borrowed cliches, cheapening exploitation, unnatural dialog, anachronistic behaviour and feminist fantasy. It doesn't embrace its exploitation like Spartacus, nor
does it offer inspired and intelligent characters and writing, so it's neither here nor there.
Roots
A companion piece to Centennial in the sense that it explores an unbroken chain of family generations to provide a sense of history. Only in this case, the viewpoint
is entirely African-American, starting with an African tribe and the proud Kunta Kinte as he is kidnapped and shipped as a slave on a horrible sea-voyage, his refusal
to be broken by white men, the family he raises in America, the dramas of his children's children, and so on, the revolution and civil war portrayed as mere rumors
and stories as far as most black men were concerned, and the emancipation being a long painful process. Historically, the book this is based on was undermined,
and doesn't have much to offer. There isn't much in the way of insight and gripping drama either, since the approach is too simplistic, with almost every black
person being an idealistic good person, the African village is the cleanest Eden you have ever seen, and only the white people are given some variety and complexity
in their evil, with even the more benign ones supporting the evil in one way or another. For a historical saga however, it's a moderately entertaining story, and can
serve as a good method to link black people to their historical roots despite its fictional details. Overrated, but not bad.
Extras
Based on the first season.
The makers of The Office deliver another comedy based on pain, awkwardness and embarrassment, only better balanced this time. Ricky Gervais occasionally does his usual
scenes where he shoves his foot in his mouth then follows with his knee, thigh and hip, but he is relatively normal and socially adept compared to some of the characters
here, among the worst being the celebrities who make episodic cameos and surprisingly let themselves be ridiculed or exposed sometimes to brutal extents. The show is about
extras on movie sets constantly pretending to be more than they are, trying desperately to get friendly with actors and producers to get a line, or in the case of
the female, to get herself a boyfriend. Once again, political correctness is abused, with the main characters getting themselves in trouble with gays, women, blacks,
Christians, the handicapped, etc. Sporadically funny, painful, a scathing satire or dull.
West Wing
Based on the first and third seasons.
An intelligent TV series overpowered by its clever writer. The show is about a liberal/Democrat president of the USA and his staff, and their daily work running the country
and dealing with some interpersonal dramas. The shows are fast-paced, often using its trademarked walking-down-long-corridors-arguing-politics-accompanied-by-rapid-banter
scenes. There is subtle, clever humor, a slew of well-acted clever characters, and the president is performed by the powerful presence of Martin Sheen. And yet, for some
reason I tire of the episodes after a while, because the clever writer over-powers the show and doesn't let the characters and situations breathe naturally. All the characters
are too similar to each other and equally clever, serving as mouthpieces for the writer rather than forming an ensemble of characters, and the show revolves too much around the
writing and dialogue without letting individual charm and personality through. The politics tend to get too liberal, PC, smug and self-righteous as well. A challenging,
interesting but throttled show.
Newsroom, The
Based on the first season.
It makes sense for Sorkin to set his next dramedy in a newsroom, seeing as all of his shows are basically soap-boxes for his political opinions. In any case, it fares better
than Sports Night and Studio 60 simply because of the more natural setting for this kind of thing, and the quality is closer to West Wing. The first episode starts with a bang,
as a celebrity news anchor declares his controversial opinion on the woeful state of the US public and its media, and he is promptly manipulated by very supportive producers into
rethinking the news show and room into something idealistically liberal over which they can be proud, unhampered by ratings and commercial bias. Of course, the powers that be
don't take this too well. Discussions on current issues both live and in the office, are weaved with office and media politics, as well as personal dramas, quirky personalities
and complicated office romances. At times, I thought that this was a Sorkin show done right, with the characters coming off more as individuals this time, with a good balance of
intelligent discussions and personal drama. And some scenes truly soar as everything clicks together. But it's really a mixed bag. For every brilliant portrayal of a team of
personalities working hard against the world towards their ideals, there are a couple of scenes featuring Sorkin drama at its worst: Unnatural rapid-fire dialogue that feels
like the director is standing over the actors with a metronome, setting a rhythm rather than letting them talk like human beings. And many scenes where Sorkin, once again, uses
them all as his mouthpieces to rant (mostly against Republicans). He even makes the news anchor a Republican in name only, then has him frequently preach against Republicans.
It also doesn't help that many of the issues are current, obscure and ephemeral, making this feel like a talk-show pretending to be a drama series. Nor that, as part of this
idealistic news manifesto, they decide to make the news anchor unabashedly state his opinions live and preach to the world, thus giving Sorkin a bigger soap-box. In short,
a mixed bag, but worth watching for Sorkin fans.
Never Have I Ever
Based on the first season.
By the same writer as The Mindy Project, but this teen comedy is miles better. Devi is an Indian-American teenage girl having the usual problems with a strict traditional mother
and awkward high-school experiences, and it doesn't help that she and her best friends are the dorks of the class. To make it all worse, her loving father recently died.
This has the usual teenage drama, crushes, attempts to have sex, and parent problems, but it's above average thanks to a charming cast, nice writing with a perfect balance
of comedy and touching drama, and the point of view of a dork in school is always preferable to the usual ridiculous teenage fare. Plus, there is the clash of Indian and
American culture, and the writer does a great job extracting comedy from that. Thankfully it doesn't play the tired racism card. One inventive aspect is using John McEnroe
as the narrator, and using an older white tennis champion commentator also known for his temper to narrate a comedy about an Indian teenage girl with a temper from her point
of view with extra sarcastic comments is surprisingly funny at times, although they don't use him as much as they could have. The characters are fun and sweet, and some lines
are even drop-dead hilarious with perfect delivery, but in general this is just a fun, light comedy.
Dharma & Greg
Based on the first season.
TV doesn't get much more cutesy, light and fluffy than this. Dharma is a perky, happy, laid-back daughter of hippy parents, Greg is a down-to-earth lawyer son of
waspy, stern, traditional parents. They meet, fall in love and get married on a whim in the first episode, then live through the consequences for the rest of this
sitcom. There's a clash of interests or viewpoints in every episode, but cuteness and love saves the day. Thus, this becomes the sitcom equivalent of a romantic
comedy and chick-flick. As you can imagine, this show isn't for everyone. Personally, I enjoyed some of it as the comedy can get quite funny at times, but the
characters are too broadly drawn and cute to really have any impact. Light fun at best.
This Is Us
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
This one is definitely not for cynics. It's a very emotional drama, even a tearjerker sometimes, with a feel-good approach that often crosses the border to schmaltz,
featuring very real and relatable people that have flaws and troubles, but a good heart. The drama involves a family of 'triplets', their parents, friends and extended
family, each very different from the other, but held by very strong family ties and an emotional past. Current events with the grown-up triplets are always paralleled
with events in the past while they were growing up, to give each story emotional weight, showing the start and end of each little story or crisis that spans a generation
or more. Thus, flashbacks are used heavily to add to the drama and add richness to the character development. Sometimes this works beautifully, like in the pilot episode
(and others), sometimes it comes over as a manipulative tearjerker or schmaltz, sometimes it combines both together. The writers are definitely pushing buttons, but they
do this very well. Sometimes the characters are very endearing and grippingly real, sometimes they become drama queens. But non-cynical watchers will most likely enjoy
most of the episodes despite some sappy moments. But this show is completely lacking in subtlety. It will deliver story-lines like 'man finds his long lost biological
father only to find out he has cancer' which, on-paper, sounds like a corny tearjerker, but the writers and characters will pull this off beautifully and make it involving
anyways. Characters will often fix problems by saying exactly the right words or emotional speech. But, in between this syrupy stuff, you will get some strong character
development and drama. It is also not a show for binge-watching, which, like candy, is best taken in small doses. So, overall, a very mixed bag in desperate need of
subtlety, but it should, and does, appeal greatly to the right audience. According to reviews, this show went increasingly Woke in subsequent seasons and I am not surprised.
Shows that wear their emotions crudely on their sleeve like this are bound to go that way. But this review is based only on the first season.
30 Rock
Based on the first season.
Over-hyped but kinda fun sitcom written by Tina Fey from SNL, and it shows. It's about the writers and actors behind a sketch show, and the weekly woes of running
the show plagued by prima-donna insane actors, various personal crises, a complicated power-boss (a fun Alec Baldwin), and a gaggle of quirky, fussy writers. The show's
strengths include the roller-coaster fun interactions and power games between Tina (the show's producer) and Baldwin as her boss, and the occasional snappy dialogue.
But this isn't always as witty or fleshy as shows like Episodes or NewsRadio, simply because the approach to most of the characters is very broad, especially most
of the guys, and the cast mostly come off as caricatures or silly 'types' from sketches rather than real people. This weakens the sitcom, which is almost a sketch-show
in disguise. A mixed bag, with fun comedy and banter constantly giving way to mere silly fun, and the quality of the episodes vary. An amusing show that could have been more.
Men Behaving Badly
Based on the first, second and fifth seasons.
Over-the-top stupid and crude men versus reasonably smart and practical women. Two male flat-mates, a nurse girlfriend and the upstairs sexy neighbour everyone wants to have
sex with interact in this British comedy that mixes wit, boorish behaviour, absurdity and silliness, and repulsive hygiene. The result is a mixed bag. There are funny
insights into relationships and some witty banter as well as weak sexist, misandrist humor that only gets its laughs out of portraying men as having an IQ of 15 and eating pizza
out of a garbage can. If the gender roles were reversed and we would see smart men treating dumb women like children and smacking them around it would never air.
The flat-mate's character also doesn't always work when he is at times ridiculously dumb or sharply cynical according to the writer's whim. Later seasons relied even more on
stupidity and are wilder, but the first season features a different, weaker actor as the flat-mate.
Worst Week of My Life, The
Based on the first season.
A British answer to Meet the Parents, a sitcom with a continuous storyline where everything seems to be going wrong for a man about to be married. Some are funny,
many are just rude or embarrassingly cringe-worthy, and some are dumb, like somehow managing to throw a dog into a cement mixer without noticing. The in-law parents
are superb and the best things about this show: Geoffrey Whitehead is a stern judge showing his disapproval and annoyance in very subtle ways, and the mother is
a hysterical perfectionist who seems more obsessed over minutiae than real crises. The psychotic stalking ex-lover is cartoonishly over-the-top, even going so
far as to drug and rape men. Episodes usually build-up towards a few great punchlines as the set-ups build and then topple together, but things go so badly for him,
that after a few episodes it just becomes depressing and you feel sorry for him. Funny only if you enjoy cartoonish, outrageous and implausible humor, otherwise it's
just moderate fun.
Raising Hope
Based on the first season.
The cuter second-cousin of My Name is Earl. I.e. the humor is still broad and silly and involves poor white-trash, but is more fun. Jimmy is a loser 21 year old
who impregnates a cute serial-killer and gets stuck with her baby. His father cleans pools and gardens for rich folk, while his mother cleans their homes. Both
are practical optimists and get along great, but they aren't too happy with having to help the hopeless Jimmy and his baby. They all have to live in a home
belonging to the senile grandmother, and much comedy is made over her constant awkward and embarrassing behaviour like assuming her grandson is her husband,
running outside naked, shooting holes in the walls, or scotch-taping her face for a face-lift. Another large portion of the comedy involves lots of outrageously
irresponsible parenting by everyone involved. There's Jimmy's crush, a quirky ukulele-playing baby-sitter who also takes care of dogs and old people, Jimmy's
insane grocery co-workers, and so on. Amusing stuff that grows on you, with occasional hilarious moments, but too silly to be great.
Keeping Up Appearances
Based on the first season and some scattered episodes.
The definitive Britcom about snobbery and superficiality revolving around the overpowering Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "bouquet") and her long-suffering family.
Hyacinth is desperate to escape her working-class roots, acting fastidious about rules and etiquette, keeping up appearances at all costs, harassing her husband
who has the patience of Job, and hiding her family of lecherous father, slut sister and dirty bum of a brother-in-law out of embarrassment. Funny, but
somewhat single-note humor.
Bottom
Based on scattered episodes from several seasons.
An outrageous, over-the-top, one-of-a-kind British comedy by the makers of Young Ones featuring two of the most endearingly repulsive social outcasts.
Edward Elizabeth Hitler (no relation) has a drinking problem and loves to smash things up, Richard Richard is desperate to get rid of his virginity
but is too greasy, creepy and annoying to ever get close. They live together and frequently fight, hurting each other in surprisingly violent bursts of
craziness. Toilet humor and male juvenile behaviour at its absolute worst, but the over-the-top treatment gets belly-laughs. Not for weak stomachs.
Green Wing
Based on the first season.
British silly comedy that feels like an over-the-top, edgy spoof of Scrubs. This show features similar sets of characters: The young juvenile ones that
are in charge of patient's lives but still play pranks on each other and act like kids in high-school, and the older scary management that tend to be somewhat
psychotic and neurotic. Except that here they take it to extremes. Michelle Gomez steals the show and enjoys herself being as over-the-top as possible, except that
her scenes are more jaw-dropping outrageous and silly rather than funny. The always reliable Tamsin Greig is funny as always but she isn't given much to do and can't
really elevate this show above its silliness. And Mark Heap seems to be channelling John Cleese at his most over-the-top twitchy and neurotic. Everyone wants someone
in the hospital that they can't have and go to great lengths to get them. There is lots of fun raunch and juvenile horny behaviour, and many scenes feel like they
are improvising the silliness in attempts to outdo or provoke each other. In short, they are definitely having fun with this one, and it is fun to watch, but it's
very silly indeed, with loads of broad juvenile humor.
Good Life, The
Based on the first season.
Classic British comedy about an adorable, energetic couple that decide to leave the rat-race and try to become self-sufficient by growing their own produce and farm-animals
in their back-yard in the middle of the city. Their amused neighbour and his annoyed uptight wife add to the comedy. Cute and playful comedy but nothing ground-shaking.
Spin City
Based on most of the first season.
A limited, cute, but very mild sitcom with Michael J. Fox in the role of a deputy mayor in charge of a staff that has to constantly cover-up for things the
dim-witted mayor has done wrong, especially insensitive remarks to the public. This shares the spotlight with the usual workplace sitcom comedy involving
their personal lives and romances. The fact that the deputy is sleeping with an aggressive reporter and that they have to constantly lie to the neurotic
press secretary to get him to lie to the public, only makes things more complicated. The wacky but light-hearted workplace comedy makes the show feel like
a political version of Newsradio only with less wit and color, and the repetitive political plot-lines result in some mildly amusing episodes at best.
Hill Street Blues
Based on most of the first season.
Yet another cop show that is being praised as the best cop show on Earth. This one is somewhere between Starsky & Hutch and Homicide: The tone, light comedic
touches, whimsical writing and action, and some exaggerated characters put it firmly in the 80s, but the pioneering approach of using an ensemble of actors,
dense writing, relatively more realism, and multiple interweaving plot-lines is what gave it a reputation as being ahead of its time. Each episode covers a
couple of crime-catching thrills, a tiny bit of action, many various comedic vignettes, and some ongoing jokes such as when the maniacal Belker keeps arresting
a pick-pocketer, biting him, then arguing with mom on the phone while the criminal sniggers. But the focus of the show is on the many colorful characters,
rather than on police procedures, from the respected, strict and hard-working Furillo, to the cartoonish, militant, weapon-crazy Hunter. Dialog, character,
conflict, interaction with each other or with screamingly neurotic ex-wives, dealing with personal fears, flaws, ideals or alcoholism are all emphasized so
that you care for the main characters, especially when they are in danger or even die. Very good for its time, especially for character development, but its
non-edgy 80s tone keeps it in the moderately entertaining zone, and I do prefer my cop-shows with more crime fighting.
Big Love
Based on the first season.
HBO tackles polygamy in the form of an extended family drama. Bill has a booming business and three wives in three homes who share him using a schedule. He is an outcast
of the separationist Mormon compounds due to his secular ambitions, and also of the rest of his community for illegally practicing polygamy. He therefore keeps his
lifestyle a secret. The show doesn't feel realistic however and is very unflattering to Mormons who are depicted either as criminal, sociopathic religious leaders,
annoying fundamentalists, or basically secular people whose religion consists mostly of having multiple wives. Polygamy also gets a bad rep (but this is probably realistic)
due to the hardships of supporting multiple women financially and emotionally while they bicker amongst themselves. I.e. estrogen overload.
The show has its share of "who cares" soap opera moments and it does take quite a few episodes to really get interesting, but it hooks you in with good writing
and season-long multiple story arcs, with slowly building crises and difficult situations. When the leaders turn into mafiosos and criminal elements intrude
into the big Mormon family, it starts turning into a ridiculously unrealistic Sopranos clone. Moderately interesting and entertaining, but not amazingly so.
Twist of Fate (AKA Pursuit)
A mini-series, inspired by some true facts, about a Nazi who escapes the aftermath of WWII by getting plastic surgery and hiding in a concentration camp as a Jew.
He soon gets caught up with the Zionists however and finds himself in Israel, rising in the ranks. Consequences finally catch up with him many years later. Interesting,
but far-fetched drama. Interestingly, the true story that inspired this one was probably Ulrich Schnaft's story. That story was both more interesting and realistic
and much less dramatized (no heroics, Nazi camps, elaborate cover-ups, and Jewish families, and he ended up betraying Israel which he only served for practical reasons).
The true story puts a new perspective on this drama, but also undermines it with its portrayal of a Nazi's heroics.
Human Target (DC)
Based on the first season.
Action-junkies should definitely check this one out, especially the ones nostalgic for preposterous but fun 80s shows like The A-Team. An ex-assassin turned good-guy,
works in a specialized job protecting people by putting them in danger. This isn't as clever as it sounds and is just another way of saying that he is over-confident
in his abilities and puts his clients up as targets so that he can flush out the bad guys. This over-confidence is obviously justified when he has every skill known
to man, and is better at it than everyone else, even when against impossible odds and scores of professionals, as well as somehow seeming to know everything
about everything. The structure is mostly episodic client-of-the-week. He teams up with an ex-FBI agent, and a very gifted and eccentric wild man, and watching the
snappy banter and creative solutions to problems is the main reason for the fun of this show. One person always seems to have more tech resources and hacking
skills than the whole unit of 24 put together, and, of course, there's a parade of hot chicks, some of which can beat him up or hack their way into any computer. This
is the kind of show that makes James Bond look realistic, and Die Hard is just gritty and down-to-earth next to this one. But the rapid pace, great action and banter
keep it entertaining.
Ripper Street
Based on the first season.
Another year, another British detective & murder series. There were Jack the Ripper references in the modern-day Whitechapel, but this one takes place a few months
after the actual murders in the 19th Century. Although the show isn't about the Ripper murders, the detective, Reid, is based on the actual detective involved in the Ripper
investigations who supposedly made use of some advanced forensic techniques for the time. The city and the police are only just starting to recover from the fear
of their celebrity serial-killer, especially given the fact that he was never caught, and the detective, his family and professional acquaintances are all still
trying to move on, licking their wounds while the press pounce on every murder as a potential comeback. This is the backdrop of the series, but the actual episodes
cover a murder-of-the-week format involving various crimes and violent people, often somehow connected to the local whorehouse. This episodic structure is limiting,
and the character development is slow and minimal. That said, the BBC once again exercise their gift for historical details and research and this is the strength of the show,
as well as the elegant language (which is much more natural and elegant than what was used in Deadwood). Unlike the historical detective series Foyle's War, however,
this one is less laid back with relatively more violence and thrilling nick-of-time climaxes, and even some flashy forensics. Although Reid pioneered some use of science
in police-work, and I am not a historical expert, I felt that the show was constantly trying to reproduce the modern-day detective shows, police-work and crime with
19th-century replacements. As such, this show's Reid thinks and works too much like a modern cop to feel authentic (although it's not as bad as Murdoch Mysteries). In
summary, generally good historical setting and detail with some subtle anachronisms, good acting, but a limited episodic structure and not-so-interesting characters,
makes for an only slightly above-average murder series.
Skam
Based on the first season and bits of the second.
The gold standard for meaningful teen dramas is 'Freaks and Geeks'. This Norwegian hit is not quite at that level, but it deserves its reputation, albeit its target audience
and focus is much more limited. As opposed to the many American teenage soap-operas with rich model-teenagers getting into ridiculous adult dramas and scandals, this features
actual teens in realistic interactions and dramas. It doesn't have the scope and balance of Freaks & Geeks however which embraced their whole lives, as this one focuses
exclusively on relationships and sex (at a realistic level). As such, it feels targeted at teenage girls. The actors are all superb and the writing is even better however,
with short episodes in ongoing stories, each season seen from a different girl's point of view but always a continuous story, and usually leading up to several crises
which are resolved in surprisingly clever, realistic and satisfying ways.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Based on the first season.
Cutesy sitcom from another SNL alumnus, this one set in a police station where everyone is basically a caricature from a sketch rather than a three-dimensional person.
There's Andy Samberg as a wise-cracking, immature super-detective, a tough girl who is always aggressive, the weird girl, a warm-hearted geek who doesn't know how nerdy
he is, a huge black man with a fluffy-soft personality, and Andre Braugher acts against type as a gay man in a comedy, except he plays it as the strict chief of the
precinct and the straight man to everyone else's silliness. It's not as bad as it sounds, and it varies from funny to silly, the cast having light fun in a wide
variety of situations. Mildly entertaining.
Still Game
Based on the first season.
Scottish sitcom with a pair of Scottish comedians acting as old men living in a crappy part of town and who have nothing better to do all day than smart-mouth everyone
and everything, collect meager pensions, and deal with a wide variety of eccentric locals. There isn't more of a setup than that, allowing the sitcom to explore
whatever story it wants, from dealing with a neighbour's death who owes everyone something, to a tentative romance that gets in the way of their friendship, to
inviting a huge old pal over in order to clean up the town of vandalizing youngsters. The humor ranges from very light chuckles, to the occasional inspired hilarity,
and in between the jokes, they manage to find a bit of pathos with their various friendships. Overall, an above-average and entertaining show, but nothing great despite
its cult following. The main barrier to this show, however, will probably be the thick accents, and even with subtitles some dialect may not be understood.
Good Wife, The
Based on most of the first two seasons.
Over-hyped, flawed but quality legal series that starts weak for the first half-season, then grows in complexity. Obviously stolen from the Clinton headlines, the setup
is a good wife who endured humiliation from her politician husband after a scandal involving corruption and sleazy affairs. She tries to recover her dignity going back to
work as a lawyer in a high-priced law firm, but is constantly hounded by repercussions of her husband's scandal and far-reaching political connections. Although this setup
may make it sound like a feminist show, it doesn't resort to male-bashing. It is feminist in the sense of female empowerment however, with a woman in every level and job
generally outdoing her male peers, even as a private investigator. Putting that aside, the show starts weakly with bland characters and an episodic case-of-the-week format
designed just for her to solve and win where others have failed, but then the characters grow more complex and loosen up, as the many story-arcs emerge, and the cases per
week also become more interesting. There are complex politics at the office with financial failures forcing the partners to make big changes and decisions. There
are the almost-ridiculously complex political machinations of her husband as he tries to get back on his feet, that somehow also become involved in the majority of the
cases she handles, either via help gotten through their many connections, the conflicting agendas, or angry political opposition. And there are the various personal dramas:
Her love interest at the office, the many flings of her fiercely private, bisexual private investigator, her tense relationship with her husband, and various problems with
her two teenage children. All this keeps things moving at an interesting pace greatly helped by some tricky cases, and lots and lots of legal jargon and tricks. One of this
show's strengths is the creativity with its legal playground. That said, one of its primary flaws is the fact that it is dishonest and unrealistic, seeing as the majority of
the cases has her defend innocent people (and winning most of the time), just to give the audience something to root for. Where there's smoke there's fire, and this show
would have you believe that the vast majority of people requiring high-priced defense lawyers are innocent people being abused by the system. Even when she finally defends
a real murderer and wins, the writers have him come back in a second episode to get his just desserts in jail, as if they can't let their audience think that she fights for
bad guys in her line of work. So basically, this show doesn't treat its audience as mature adults and just provides an 'empowered woman' to root for. Also, this show, while
watchable, suffers when compared to The Practice. The characters there were blue-collar and fleshy rather than botoxed and rich, their clients were often evil, and the cases
involved a great balance that presented both sides strongly with interesting issues, rather than setting up bad guys vs good guys (and handing our heroine most of the good guys).
In summary, over-hyped and very flawed, but still watchable.
Suits
Based on the first season.
A suitable title for a show about superficial and smug lawyers. These are the kinds of lawyers that everyone hates, using any means to win, including not-quite-legal tricks,
always playing games of one-upmanship and strutting around, except that this show makes them the protagonists and wants us to like them because they have witty banter and
the lawsuits are not ours. Well it does work, but only up to a point. This show is about gloating lawyers who, at first, get into trouble when faced with a challenging case
or legal problem, then always find a way to beat it in time for a gloating ending. It also involves some office politics, fiercely competitive games even between co-workers, some
complicated romances, and the story of one young hot-shot who becomes a lawyer without passing the bar. That last part is actually a big weakness, seeing as he was hired
willingly by a lawyer who seems to have no problem risking his career for some young guy he never met carrying a briefcase full of weed. Another stupidity in the setup
is that this show should actually be classified under superhero fantasy, seeing as the hot-shot youngster has a superpower that doesn't exist: Remembering every word he
ever read and being able to understand, use and quote anything within seconds (that's not how photographic memory works in case you were wondering). All that nonsense aside,
the banter is fun and quick, and the cases are fast-paced. It all depends on how much smugness you can take before you had enough. Other legal shows feature lawyers pulling
tricks out of their hats that are cleverer than this, but this show loves to emphasize anything remotely clever that it does, over and over, just like its characters. The
character development, as you can imagine from the above description, is there but minimal, since there is only so much you can do with smugness and constant one-upmanship.
A mixed bag, overrated, but mildly fun.
Vis a Vis (AKA Locked Up)
Based on the first season.
Yet another women-in-prison TV series that emerged over a couple of years, this one from Spain and made by some of the people behind Money Heist. Frankly, this genre is
a bit over-saturated by now. But putting that aside, this one is relatively lesser and also different from 'Orange is the New Black' and 'Wentworth'. It's different in the
sense that this is more thriller-plot oriented with hidden stolen loot, and prisoners engineering things on the outside from inside prison, attempted escapes, and whatnot.
It's lesser, because the characters here are not as strong as those two shows, and definitely less solidly written. The character behaviour is all over the place: One
episode they are enemies, then friends, then enemies again over and over in a loop, they constantly reveal really stupid things to each other that get them in big trouble,
and even the guards behave with each other in strangely personal and unprofessional ways, with outbursts of confessional drama. The prison is under-staffed even when
prisoners go wild, and for some reason they allow a male doctor to strip-search and dictate anything and everything to do with female prisoners in a room alone. In short,
the writing is messy, but it is not without its entertainment value, with many things going on all the time, and the density of the thrills sometimes bringing to mind
'24'. But it's that kind of prison show, focusing more on the plot than on the characters. It's not great, but it's pretty entertaining.
Third Watch
Based on most of the first season.
An ER clone, and not a bad one. The biggest difference is that this show wants to have it all, combining cop show, paramedic show and fire-fighter show, revolving around a
small, inbreeding group of people that deal with life and death every day as well as their various personal dramas. The acting and characterization are above average and
make the show very watchable week after week, and of course, the multiple sensational crises and police action every week help make it entertaining, sometimes even riveting.
But there are no story arcs, and crimes are solved very easily week after week, and the character development kinda slides from one thing to another rather than sticking
to compelling character arcs, which of course can get soapy at times, especially when everyone starts sleeping with everyone else. Still, as a weekly show, it's not only
watchable but can even get quite good in some episodes. The writing, however, is about two steps down from ER, lacking that show's medical know-how and scattered
brilliant episodes. In short, pretty good, and very watchable here and there when it's on, but not great.
Whitechapel
Based on the first two seasons.
Now here's a British murder series that should appeal to many Americans, given its preoccupation with historical serial killers. The first season covers a case of a modern
Jack the Ripper copycat, complete with the same false clues and confusing conspiracy theories. The second season features a crime gang that is bringing the Kray Brothers legend
back to life in order to gain respect and control the city. The third season covers the Ratcliff Highway murders, and so on. A young detective favored by the bigwigs and planned
for fast-track promotion finds himself in over his head when he is assigned these cases as well as the job of leading much more seasoned detectives. An enthusiastic crime
historian is used for advice by the police, and the cases become a race against time as they investigate the crimes using historical facts as well as the usual forensics and
detective work. Cases take up a whole season, but the seasons are short. The characters are acceptably good, the writing ranges from OK to mediocre, using the occasional
lazy or coincidental solution. Nothing great, nothing really bad, but it should appeal mostly to the crime-history buffs.
Slings and Arrows
Based on the first season.
A niche Canadian dramedy about the theatre that found many fans, but may not appeal to people without a minimal theatrical or Shakespearean background. The first 6-part season
tells the tale of a theatre going through many changes, trying to stage a new version of Hamlet. The cast and events parallel many details of Hamlet, so it helps to know
it well. But the story can also stand on its own: Oliver, the artistic director meets with a ridiculous accident, this causing the mad Geoffrey Tennant to come back to the
site of his past triumphs and humiliations, who is now also haunted by his ex-mentor Oliver. As if death wasn't enough, evil and commercial-minded managers, clueless
middle-management, selfish, neurotic, bitter actors and actresses and various personal complications all threaten to derail the production, but they stick to it and try
to work out their various issues while trying to figure out a way to make the production successful. The writing is quite good, but for the first half, it is difficult
to get into a show populated with self-obsessed actors and managers, full of theatre in-jokes. It all accumulates and improves in the second half however, and the many
parallels and references to Hamlet are interestingly done.
Benny Hill Show, The
Based on scattered episodes from several seasons.
A long-running and very popular British variety show run by Benny Hill who sings, mimics celebrities, performs sketches, naughty comedy or silly slapstick.
As with any show of this type, there are hits and misses and good and bad years. Most famous for political incorrectness in the form of bawdy comedy and misogyny
but this is an unfair reputation as he is making fun of men, dirty men and silly fantasies of men all the time. The slapstick is where he shines, usually speeding up
a comedic sketch, dressing up in hundreds of different costumes and personalities. Low-brow, silly, entertaining comedy with frequent moments of brilliance.
How I Met Your Mother
Based on most of the first season.
A successful Friends clone involving a group of 20-30 year old friends having silly life-adventures, and helping or hindering each other in their various romantic
liaisons. Barney is the most entertaining character, a bachelor with endless crazy ideas, rules and games for achieving his next one-night-stand or adventure, and
there are the repeated attempts at a relationship between two of the friends, like in Friends. The comedy is light but fun, featuring writing that is a bit less crazy
and silly than Friends, but maintaining the same fluffy and entertaining tone that feels a bit less childish. The 'gimmick' here is that the episodes are actually
stories told in the future to some teenagers about how he met their mother, which usually doesn't add anything to the show, but they have fun with new twists on
this theme in some episodes. Light and fluffy fun while it's on TV, but nothing really stands out.
Home Improvement
Based on the first season and scattered episodes.
Another one of those stand-up-comedian-as-lead-actor sitcoms, and yet another in the long line of shows that became popular since the Honeymooners, where the
husband is a dimwit and the wife is sensible and can do no wrong. This show's uniqueness includes the show within the show about tools and Tim's love
for building, tweaking or fixing things, often with disastrous results. Another entertaining aspect is the blatant celebration of all things male
(more power!) and chauvinism and this would be a strong point if not for the fact that the show uses every opportunity to show how childish,
idiotic, irresponsible and impractical all male behaviour is. In other words, this is almost like the American version of Men Behaving Badly.
The banter and arguments between man and wife is often quite funny and even edgy, without things ever turning nasty (although the husband
always ends up apologizing for a happy ending), the kids (all male) are wild and delight in tormenting their younger brother, and there is some balance
in the form of a wise but eccentric male neighbour (his face always hidden by a fence) whose advice is always twisted into something funny.
Entertaining and amusing but limited, mostly repeating the same plot device of husband screwing things up or making things worse with his home
improvement ideas.
Lonesome Dove
Over-praised Western mini-series. The special aspect of this series is its hard and gritty approach, with not-so-moral protagonists, violence, harshness,
stubborn characters, prostitution, and many deaths of various causes. In other words, this is truly a wild West with attention to detail and gritty characters.
On the other hand, it takes forever to set up these characters in a dull first-part, and then it meanders through various episodic adventures as the ex-rangers
decide to take a long cattle drive from Texas to Montana, and it only gets somewhat interesting halfway through. Also, the characters may be hard-edged, but they
lack energy or development, giving the whole series a laid-back, resigned-to-fate, mythical atmosphere. The adventures often lead to deaths, including
marauding Indians, murdering horse-thieves, vicious nature, and an evil outlaw, while everyone longs for the love that got away, or shares male bonding moments
with subtle looks and few words. The second half is pretty good, but Deadwood is much better. Duvall is good, and Tommy Lee Jones seems to have rewritten his
part in this series for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
Cosby Show, The
Based on the half of the first season and scattered episodes.
A throwback to the innocent family-oriented sitcoms of the old days but with modern family problems and featuring an all-black, well-off family for a change.
The comedy revolves around family issues, children, growing up, headstrong teenagers, light clashes between husband and wife, etc. in a variety of situations.
If anyone can make clean family comedy fun, its Bill Cosby. But the cuteness, values-oriented writing, impeccable parenting and well-adjusted kids kinda gets
old after a while, and the comedy slightly steps back over the seasons in favor of preaching. The show often plays it too straight and frequently feels that
it's all about role models, or a community motivational speech in sitcom clothes. Cosby ranges from hilarious to OK, the older sister is too bland, the rest
are acceptable. Overall, this is cute, light fun but nothing more.
Four Kings
Based on the single season.
A Friends-type comedy about four 20-something guys that live together in a huge apartment inherited from their grandmother. They're of the age where they're still
outgrowing the fratboy mentality but halfway towards maturity, and their chemistry and friendship work well. The male-oriented humor is light, offering fun banter,
some chuckles and light laughs, but not much else. Fun to catch while it's on but they pulled the plug on this one very fast.
Worst Week
Based on the single season.
Americanized remake/rewrite of Worst Week of My Life with some interesting adjustments: The man doesn't carry the brunt of the catastrophes and mishaps this time, his
bride-to-be is more loving and supportive which is good, and the in-laws are eventually made into co-conspirators as things go wrong for them as well. This allows the
writers to come up with more accidents and misunderstandings without heaping it all on one man, but even so, it just becomes ridiculous after a few episodes, with
everything becoming very predictable as anything that can imaginably go wrong, does. This kind of outrageous slapstick simply can't work for more than a few episodes
as plausibility goes out the window pretty fast, then it just becomes too silly. The actors are all well chosen, likeable and fleshy so that we sympathize with what
is happening, but the writers make the groom too dumb and impossibly clumsy just to make him cause more accidents. For example, how on earth can anyone confuse a pot
in a kitchen for a urinal in a bathroom even if it is dark? Entertaining and funny at first, but soon becomes more and more tiresome and predictable, cramming
three incredibly bad weeks into a single season instead of one week like they did in the UK. It's sometimes like a slightly better version of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em,
or an over-stretched sequel of Meet the Parents, and it makes you appreciate the writer's control and grounding in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The original British version
is better, but that's no surprise.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The
Based on half of the first season and scattered episodes.
Will Smith is a loose, charming, unsophisticated, trouble-making street-youth that finds himself living with his rich, spoiled, and uptight aunt,
uncle, British butler, cousins and celebrities in Bel-Air. Almost all of the comedy and writing revolves around this simple setup and clash of personalities,
making this classic 90s show very limited, but Smith's charm makes it fun. The show walks a fine line between catering to Smith's ego (where he can almost do no wrong)
and balancing the rest of the fun characters. There are also some touching family moments and cliched social messages about racism and black awareness. Fun but limited.
Thin Blue Line, The
Based on the first season.
Rowan Atkinson as an anal retentive police chief trying to manage his team of mostly weak-willed policemen. He also has to deal with his frustrated wife who works as a sergeant
in the same station and whom he treats with cold or finicky logic, while competing with the local CID detective squad led by a loud-mouthed braggart. Delivers some really
hilarious scenes, but is mostly mediocre or bland humor, especially when it concerns the other cast members. Not Atkinson's best stuff.
Friends
Based on many scattered episodes from many seasons.
An overrated but often funny comedy about 6 friends. There's a spoiled rich girl, a neat freak, a ditzy hippy, and the men: an unlucky, suffering
professor, a confident, fun-loving ladies-man, and an odd comedian. They become friends, lovers, ex-lovers, spouses, ex-friends, and lovers again, etc.
They're all pretty and handsome, nothing truly challenging ever happens so they make drama out of stupid little things and behave like children with
endless immature hangups, superficiality and hysterical behaviour. It's a world where adults behave like teenage girls. This kind of approach would
normally produce a silly chick-flick if not for the good character interaction and occasionally hilarious humor. A silly show saved and made popular
by its talented, funny writers and fun actors, but you can't get too much quality out of 30 year olds behaving like teens.
NYPD Blue
Based on most of the first season.
Another one of those pioneering shows that became popular due to its cutting-edge approach, but the actual product is not as exciting, especially compared to some
current shows. The best things about this cop show are the ongoing story arcs, the development of characters and plots over multiple episodes, the harsher and more realistic
language and characters, and the way some plot-lines don't end happily. The writing isn't always great however, with some subtle cracks showing where realism is
sacrificed towards a writer's goal of making the characters seem more capable and indestructible than they ever could be. This shows itself most blatantly in the first
season's main character of John Kelly who always takes the moral high-road, never makes mistakes and always preaches to everyone else - all of which gets boring after
a while. Ironically, Caruso is touted as the main cause of the first season's greatness but I found his acting more blandly acceptable than anything special.
That said, it's still a medium-to-good cop show, but one that has been superseded many times over by The Shield or even Homicide.
Dad's Army
Based on the first and third seasons.
Classic and popular British comedy about a group of old men and army rejects forming a defense force during WWII in England. The comedy revolves around the pompous
commander and his troupe of colorful characters, some with old-age problems and personal lives, habits or day jobs they prioritize over the silly rigmarole of army life.
The sergeant tries to make real soldiers out of them for his glory but is also let down by his own weaknesses. Most of the comedy comes from the obviously inept and
under-equipped men trying to act like real soldiers. Gentle but charming comedy that's always good for a few chuckles. The first two black and white seasons are relatively
weaker but it hits its prime soon after that.
Klovn
Based on the first season.
'The Danish version of Curb Your Enthusiasm' is a precise description of this one. Frank is the jerk who constantly gets himself in trouble with everyday embarrassments
and outrageous situations that he somehow always worsens with his childish behaviour. The protagonist here, compared to Curb, is relatively more naive and childish rather
than a complete jerk, and his behaviour stems more often than not from stupid choices. His misadventures include anything from giving in to pressure to inject heroin into
his friend, to finding himself stealing a car after turning down its stereo volume and being chased by the owners, to being caught by his wife outside of a whorehouse where
he took his father to get his first blowjob. It's somewhat funny if you like this kind of stuff. But, personally, I'm really sick of this awkward-humor sitcom
format that has been done to death in so many shows, and worse: the man here is yet another idiot man-child while his wife is always the sensible one who treats his every
request with disrespect. So this is only amusing if you can get past the tired misandry.
My Name Is Earl
Based on most of the first season.
Another cartoonish comedy in the vein of Arrested Development, Malcolm in the Middle, etc. where the characters are so broadly drawn, they make kiddy comic books look
realistic. But there are still mild laughs to be had in this komedy of karma. A dumb, laid-back, trashy redneck finds out that life keeps dealing him bad cards because of
all the bad things he has done in his life, so he decides to correct them one by one. He makes a long list, and tries to find creative ways to fix his past, sometimes
with unexpected results, improvised adjustments, or eye-opening developments. His entourage includes his brother who has the mentality of a 3 year old, his vixen-cum-trashy
ex-wife, her really laid-back black husband, and a Latina maid-friend from the motel they stay at. That's the high concept of this show with an episodic, creative but limited
structure. Some episodes are mildly amusing and entertaining, especially when they make good use of irony, the rest are too silly, relying too much on trash-slacker humor and
the overly-dumb brother character. Light and silly, but unique.
Malcolm in the Middle
Based on the first season.
A smart kid grows up with a dumb but funny dad, a control-freak mom, and three highly problematic brothers. It's the dysfunctional family story again, told through the eyes
of an intelligent kid who finds himself in the most outrageous situations wherever the family goes. Mischief, danger, disaster, destruction and scatological humor fly
while the mom tries to hold everything together. It's amusing, cartoonish, sometimes hilarious, but the narration from the point of view of a kid makes me lose interest
after a while. Sometimes feels like a live-action Simpsons.
Aliens in America
Based on the single season.
Light 'Everybody Hates Chris' type comedy clone featuring an unpopular kid in high-school whose life becomes even worse when a Pakistani exchange student moves in
with his family. The show makes fun of American ignorance, stereotypes and stupidity when it comes to foreigners, but with a soft touch, always keeping the humor
light. Adhir Kalyan is charming, very likeable and fun as the Pakistani, but he shares the spotlight with typical high-school shenanigans, popularity contests,
insecurity crises, cruel and superficial kids, etc. The parents are annoying cliches of bossy mom and stupid dad. In other words, another lightly amusing, ordinary,
somewhat cartoonish high-school comedy that also hops on the annoying trend of ending each episode with a little life-lesson.
Three's Company
Based on most of the first two seasons.
Another popular show copied from the British and 'Americanized'. Two young female flat-mates find a strange man in their bathtub and make him their flat-mate when
they learn he can cook. In order to get the landlord to accept him, they pretend he's gay. This is the setup, the humor revolving around various amusing situations,
misunderstandings, flirts, sexual innuendo, teases and insults, a lot of slapstick and physical comedy, the fact that one of the flat-mates is an extremely dumb
blonde, and the landlords: an older couple consisting of a stingy man who is tired of his wife, and a horny wife who always wants attention (a precursor to Married
with Children). This isn't sophisticated stuff to say the least, but it's funny nevertheless, mostly for people that enjoy simple but entertaining laughs in shows like
Friends or Everybody Loves Raymond, with some physical comedy added on.
Doc Martin
Based on the first two seasons.
British dramedy about a city doctor that leaves London after a career-killing phobia rears its head, and goes to live in the village where he grew up, to work there as the town
doctor. Except that his personality is stiff, rude, abrupt, brutally honest, and generally challenged on any social level. Almost all the locals range from eccentric to downright
insane, and this clash between intolerant doctor and barmy locals provide the never-ending comedy. Various ongoing personal problems and love interests supply the drama.
The villagers include a gaggle of giggling teenage girls, an angry ex-schoolteacher with cancer, a highly insecure policeman, his strong-willed aunt with family secrets,
and a man who talks to a six-foot imaginary squirrel. He hires an impossibly irritating and incompetent receptionist in season one who is such an over-the-top brat, she makes
the season hard to watch since it's implausible that he would keep her around for any reason, but she is replaced in season two with someone a little more acceptable.
And so it goes, each episode with a new handful of personal or medical crises created by various eccentricities, while the doctor forges on exasperatedly. This is no House,
since the writing tends much more towards over-the-top eccentricities and quirky comedy, but it is acceptably watchable and moderately enjoyable on its own terms.
Superstore
Based on the first season and scattered episodes of the second.
A mixed bag of a work-based sitcom with different types of humor, this one taking place exclusively in a superstore, at times reminiscent of 'Are you Being Served',
except that this is like the American Walmart version and is much more modern. Some characters are realistic, fun and funny, like Scrubs, others are over-the-top dumb
or impossibly socially awkward and clueless. It's the same thing with scenes. So the show is partially an above-average sitcom, partially a show modelled after all those
Office clones that attempt to get cheap laughs using ridiculously stupid or over-the-top awkward behaviour. Sometimes this works, like with Dina, the super-aggressive, strict
and socially-rude assistant manager who gets most of the laughs. With some other characters it's merely silly, but the primary protagonists are regular people with
moderately funny situations. The cast is so diverse, they even surprisingly include an eager-to-please, open-minded, but socially awkward devout Christian manager.
This show is episodic and covers many plot-lines but always stays within the store. Moderately fun.
King of Queens, The
Based on most of the first season and several scattered episodes.
Yet another married-couple sitcom, repeating the same formula that has been used for 50 years. This couple is blue-collar, live in Queens, and has taken in a highly
eccentric father-in-law. The husband and wife are amusing and fun in a down-to-earth way, but the show has so many annoying cliches: The worst is that the husband
is an idiotic man-child yet again while the wife is mostly a normal person with some typical female neuroses, and bossy or manipulative behaviour. The writing resorts
to the repeated formula of husband doing something extremely stupid and childish and trying to hide it from his wife, while the cartoonishly annoying father-in-law makes
it worse. When this insulting and misandrist cliche isn't going on, or when they aren't having a realistic but unfunny argument, the show can actually be quite funny
thanks to the actors' charm and funny situations. But they really need to stop making these things - it's beyond tired.
American Crime Story
Based on the first season and one episode of the second.
Another collaboration between FX and Ryan Murphy, so it does have elements of sensationalism and social satire, but the creators and writers bring a much better balance this time
without going over-the-top. It's a docu-drama, each season featuring another real-life infamous crime in America, exploring and recreating it in depth with famous actors and
carefully researched writing, often focusing on the sensationalist aspects, but also fleshing out the developments with just enough detail, as well as adding speculative
dramatizations. The first season covers the infamous O. J. Simpson murder and trial together with the social circus surrounding it, and the emotional responses also due
to it involving a popular celebrity, and also due to the defense which turned it into a racial issue and got the whole nation worked up just in order to get the murderer
acquitted. It serves as a good detailed reminder of the deep flaws in American society, and why the justice system doesn't work. The second season covers the Versace murder
but is so trashy and sensationalist right from the start that I stopped watching. The third season is supposed to cover the Clinton scandal, another over-exposed crime with
sensationalist elements. We get the idea, Murphy. I feel no need to continue watching.
Young Ones, The
Based on the first season.
A unique, over-the-top British show about four college students living together and getting into trouble. One is a vandal punk, another a suicidal hippy,
Mike is slightly more serious, and Rik is a hyperactive rock fan. They never study, their Russian landlord and his family keep popping up to extract rent,
and crazy things keep happening to them like finding an atom bomb in the kitchen, getting decapitated, finding oil under the cellar, being trapped in a flood
and having cannibalistic urges, talking furniture, etc. In other words, this show is zany, unreal, madcap, utterly unique frat-boy humor, but often feels much more
out-of-control than truly funny.
Sex Education
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
Nobody does raunchy sex comedy like the British. It's not just about the very frank and comical raunch, but they also brings the characters to life, this show being
particularly good at the touching drama in between the sexual shenanigans and light comedy. This is a teen sex dramedy with a twist: One of the students has a sex therapist
mother that brings endless awkward moments to his personal life and broken sex life, except he finds out that he is actually quite good at solving other teenagers' sexual
problems. So he teams up with a cynical girl at school to provide sexual advice at his school. Being a modern show, of course the 'diversity' is maximal, both in terms of
casting as well as sexual orientation, family structures, and a wide variety of sex acts and fetishes. But it's not overdone in the first season, and, more importantly,
it doesn't preach, it just runs with it and focuses on the relationships and comedy. By the second season though, it became too much for me with constant scenes and attitudes
that are hard on the eyes and ears. Even a porn site has the good taste and basic common sense to know that its target audiences are separated, and that the method of
'everything for everybody in one place' is not a viable solution. An ironic thought. But that aside, the first season does the relationship stuff quite well, with solid
character work and character arcs, a great balance of touching scenes, comedy and raunch. In the second season however, they not only overdo the diversity, they also
overdo the love triangles, with everyone shifting partners often until you can't take any relationship seriously anymore.
Lie to Me
Based on most of the first season.
Yet another technical crime-solving episodic show with a high concept: Reading body language and micro-expressions as a means of solving crimes, problems and mysteries.
This one features Tim Roth as the protagonist and main character, promising another potential House, and his personality does indeed give the show an edge, except he
seems better suited as a bad guy. Shawn Ryan is on the producer credit list, but not as a writer, and this didn't turn out to be of importance. The writing is episodic
mystery (or mysteries) of the week, which limits the show, and the arcs are limited to minimal character development. In short, the structure is like House.
The problem here is that the use of this concept is a mix of fact and fantasy, and you can tell when the show is lying to you. Body language can be revealing,
but not as neatly, easily and conveniently as this show would have you believe. Some of the writing makes it difficult for our heroic body-language-readers
with false clues and bad conclusions, but these are minor exceptions. The majority of cases are solved with a mix of cleverness and implausible convenience,
psycho-gobbledygook, and contrivances. The readings also often feel simplistic, and the micro-expressions are emphasized and made obvious for us dumb audiences.
In short, a mixed bag, interesting for a few episodes, and only minimally entertaining for the rest.
MacGyver
Based on most of the first season and some scattered episodes.
Amidst the trend of 80s super and unusual spies/crime-fighters like Knight Rider and A-Team, MacGyver stands out: Although the A-Team used the gimmick of building
weapons with miscellaneous found objects first, MacGyver took this to a whole new level, in essence creating a show about inventiveness and using the mind as a
weapon. He consistently refuses to carry guns, using only a swiss-army knife and anything he can find to achieve his goals and save the day. This was so impressively
demonstrated, the word MacGyver has become a common verb. The show also boasts a firm base in science and facts. But all this isn't as good as it sounds: For one
thing, that's like saying that a movie is based on a book. Just because there are real facts involved, it doesn't make the stunt plausible. For example, using a
water hose to lift and move a rock doesn't provide support for the rocks on top of it, and squashing the barrel of a flare pistol to create a rocket thruster is obviously
very questionable. Other times, the setup seems contrived just to show off an overly complicated trick, and then there is the whole idea that he can always find what
he needs on the scene and that the tricks always work for him. But there is no denying a lot of the inventiveness of this show. The plots are very varied, and Macgyver
fights anything from Burmese drug lords to con men, hit men, racists, foreign armies, and lab disasters, working for the government, the Phoenix Foundation or a friend.
As with its peers, the show is cheesy and features a parade of terribly realized 'foreigners' and actors, but Richard Dean Anderson is OK, there are some great episodes
and the MacGyver moments make it somewhat worthwhile. Some interesting trivia: Terry Nation of Doctor Who fame produced and wrote some of the episodes.
Numb3rs
Based on most of the first season.
Yet another episodic CSI clone but with a gimmick: Criminal cases are solved with the help of math in various ways. Detective work and forensics combine forces with academic
minds, solving crimes as though they were puzzles with the help of equations. Although this sounds interesting, it doesn't take long to realize that this is a gimmick
even before seeing this show. I expected some flashy, superficial use of equations and mathematical jargon that neatly solve cases in the nick of time, and that's
more or less what I got. Mathematical models for highly complex situations are plucked out of thin air that somehow always fit, some parameters are chosen all too quickly,
that not only always end up correct in most of the cases, but also somehow give the crime-solvers enough confidence to deduce that errors must be in the facts and not in the
math, despite their own often used claim that they are dealing with probabilities, and conclusions or predictions are made in relatively very little time. In addition,
mathematical concepts are often raised to make it appear that the math is solving the crime, but when you really think about it, most of the important parts of the puzzle
are actually solved using common sense and the equations are only there as academic exercises. The show is even worse when it veers into computer jargon or tries to give
the mathematician unsurpassed and unrealistic skills in every field imaginable just because he has a brain. All that said, there are two things that make this show watchable:
One is that the writers did the best they could to make this mentally interesting. They raise possible applications of real math, show interesting parallels between reality
and real mathematical concepts, and generally imbue the show with an academic air of mental gymnastics. In other words, despite the complete lack of realism, the show
has a brain. The other thing about the show is the inclusion of celebrity family and academic friends that lend the show all of its humanity and color, including Judd
Hirsch as the father and an increasingly great Peter MacNicol as the eccentric physicist that gives the show much needed snippets of humor.
Burn Notice
Based on the first season.
A US spy is given 'burn notice' for mysterious reasons, and he finds himself abandoned, discredited and controlled by forces in the US government to the point that he is
unable to find a new job. So he takes on tricky jobs in Miami helping friends or clients that find themselves in big trouble with criminal elements, including various mobs,
professional criminals and drug cartels. His ex-spy, ex-IRA, trigger-happy super-hot ex-girlfriend (Gabrielle Anwar) and another ex-spy (Bruce Campbell) help him with his
cases, and his mother, who lives in Miami, makes his life difficult. Half of the cases appeal to him and his samaritan heart, so he takes them on as a favor, even though
it means tackling incredibly dangerous opponents. Yes, this show is never believable and is as ridiculous as the above description sounds. In addition, the hero
is quite bland, and Bruce Campbell doesn't do much, although his hordes of fans are obviously calling this a cult show for no good reason. But the main appeal
of this show is its inventiveness and the fact that he has to solve these challenges with low-tech brainpower alone given the fact that he has no money or government
backing. Cellphones are overused, there are improvised MacGyver-esque solutions, and many con-jobs and clever setups are employed as well. This alone makes the show
watchable, there's welcome light humor, and of course, Gabrielle is a pleasure to look at. The structure is mostly episodic case-of-the-week, and there is a story arc
concerning his attempts to track down who burned him and why. But this arc progresses one painfully tiny step at a time and every time he gets something it only turns
out to be more convoluted than before, so you soon realize this is just a red herring and audience manipulation, ignore it, and focus on the weekly cases. Passable,
light entertainment.
Moonlighting
Based on scattered episodes of the first two seasons.
The TV show that launched Bruce Willis's career right before he appeared in Die Hard. Cybill Shepherd is an ex-model down on her financial luck, who discovers she owns
a failing detective agency run by the wisecracking Willis. They agree to team up after they discover they work together well, with Cybill motivating Bruce to work
harder with a mixture of sexual tension, financial threats, and plain old bossing around, but they both instantly develop a love/hate relationship with each other.
Cases pop up and are solved one per episode, often involving some kind of twist as their clients aren't who they claim to be, and usually ending with some thrilling
action. The show is formulaic in other ways as well, with Cybill starting off annoyed over something, Bruce firing off smart-alecky retorts and jokes that only
make things worse, leading to many arguments, until they ease off for a happy ending. The bickering is sometimes funny due to their personality clash and Bruce's
wisecracks, frequently repetitive, and sometimes annoying, making their performance feel one-dimensional at times. The strictly episodic structure is also a flaw
and their relationship almost never changed until they got together and then the ratings dropped. But it's generally a mildly fun mixture of thrills, personality
clashes and madcap, silly comedy. The show was famous for sometimes breaking the fourth wall, with Bruce and Cybill referring to the screenwriters and the audience,
and some episodes experimented with references to literature classics. Also arguably an inferior Remington Steele clone since it copied the setup of female boss
detective and arrogant scoundrel male employee.
City of Men
Based on most of all four seasons.
Although technically a spin-off of the movie City of God, this is a very different creation. It's a very loose ongoing series that focuses on 'ordinary life' in the favella,
the Brazil crime-ridden slum, centering on two eleven-year-olds as they grow older over a period of four years. Each rapid-paced 30-minute episode tells a little tale or adventure
involving anything from deals and shaky friendships made with the local machine-gun-toting gangs, attempts at getting together with girls, interactions with the richer folk in
the nearby neighbourhood (which may as well be a different country), and their many schemes, efforts or cons to try to make a buck. It starts interestingly with a gritty feel
of a documentary as you get the feel for this way of life, then keeps getting looser, less interesting, and more playful and sillier with its stories and little adventures.
Some episodes feature a life-lesson without it getting preachy, others just have fun with pickups, friends, schemes and parties and numerous little crises caused by the warring
gangs, invading police, gun battles, and general chaotic lifestyle.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Based on most of the first season.
What this show offers beyond the typical American police-procedural shows like Law & Order and CSI is humor and more fun character development. This, evidently, is enough to make
this show that much more popular and keep it going for a couple of decades. But there are dozens of British detective shows with more character, color and humor so this is relative
praise. This strictly episodic show features a group of very sharp and witty NCIS investigators as they solve one case after another all of which involve the navy in one way or another.
The cases vary greatly from murder to petty crimes, to attacks on the president, secret agents, terrorists, sabotage, and the just plain strange. The real star, beyond the rapid-paced
case-solving forensics and detective work and sheer creativity, is the fun witty banter between them. Flirts, teases, jokes, and good-natured critique and insults fly fast. The
cases are solved all too rapidly and conveniently obviously, with just the right obscure forensic evidence found with just the right amount of effort, in time for the end of the episode.
It's fun, but limited.
Boomtown
Based on half of the first season.
An overrated cop show with a gimmick: Crimes are explored through the eyes of several participants, including policemen, detectives, a lawyer, a reporter, a
paramedic, various criminals and other involved people. I expected a Rashomon-like approach or at least contrasting perspectives, but instead got a poorly
implemented gimmick. If you take any cop show and separate the scenes involving each individual character then add chapter titles, you'd get this show,
and the show wouldn't gain anything from it except to make the plot needlessly non-linear. It also gets distracting and tiresome after a while. The
focus, at first, is mostly on crime-fighting plots and police procedures as if it were trying to create a variation on the Law and Order franchise, but
since the editing revolves around the people, it becomes increasingly more dramatic with snippets of personal dramas and flashbacks that explore even temporary
characters' pasts. Sometimes this strikes a good balance with the action, but the episodic nature of these dramas and the lack of compelling story arcs don't let
this grow either. In short, a weakly structured and mediocre, gimmick cop show that is only sporadically entertaining. The Wire took the concept of capturing a
complete picture of crime miles ahead of this.
I, Cladius
A historical BBC mini-series covering the beginnings of the Roman Empire period from Augustus to Nero from the point of view of Claudius. Some of the details are based on fact,
others on speculation or non-authoritative historical sources (for example the poisoning of various members of the Imperial family by Livia). This in itself may or may not
put off history buffs but the real problem in my eyes is the simplified and sensationalist approach to characterization. Augustus seems like a nice guy but not a ruler,
Claudius is idealized, Livia is demonized, Nero is a buffoon, Caligula is too obviously insane, etc. Any historically alleged sensationalist events are explored gleefully
as fact and depicted over-the-top in tabloid fashion. The drama, especially in the first half of the series, often wallows in soap rather than insight.
The lack of scenery, grand scale, insight, or Shakespearean dialog doesn't help matters either. All that said however, the series is sometimes interesting and Caligula
(John Hurt) livens up the show.
Borgen
Based on the first season.
Danish political drama that features a female prime-minister, mostly episodic political crises in the vein of West Wing, and season-long character development in the form of some
family drama and the love interests of a reporter. The quality of the episodes varies: Some feature interesting crises and political machinations, where the problem usually grows
increasingly hopeless before someone figures out a desperate or manipulative solution. Other episodes are weak and uninteresting. Her relationship with her husband provides some
OK but not-quite-compelling drama, however, the reporter character and her various love interests and problems are badly written and chaotic. The political solutions sometimes feel
contrived, with her opponents conveniently caving in at the last moment for no compelling reason, and the intelligence of the show is acceptable but not as impressive as with
West Wing. In short, a barely above-average political show.
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Based on several scattered episodes from a few seasons.
I was never a big fan of Agatha Christie's mysteries, finding many of them contrived, convoluted, coincidental or all of the above. Several mysteries involve two or more crimes
coincidentally performed during the same event, Christie typically carefully builds the clues and motives so that they point to multiple suspects, and although we can figure out
scattered methods and motives, we are none the wiser regarding the big picture and who actually did it, simply because Poirot usually holds back one critical clue or detail
that only he knows and reveals at the grand denouement. And then, when all is revealed, the coincidences, psychological plot flaws and convolutions often threaten to unravel
the whole story. In short, I rarely felt satisfied at the end of an Agatha Christie's story, and the denouement scene in front of all of the suspects at the end of every mystery
tends to become repetitive. Still, there is fun to be had with the puzzles, and some mysteries are better than others. This show contains definitive adaptations of probably
most of her Poirot stories, and actually manages to improve on the novels thanks to David Suchet's definitive and charming performance as the finicky, strange, pedantic
but brilliant and charming detective. He does to Poirot what Jeremy Brett did to Sherlock Holmes. In fact, he brings the character to life perhaps even better than Christie
ever did. The production values, settings and acting are also usually very good. But the mysteries contain the flaws I mentioned above, although 'Five Little Pigs' is one enjoyable
exception I found where Christie mostly plays fair. Episodes were typically hour-long, with feature-length TV movies devoted to the more notable and complex novels.
Matador
Based on most of all four seasons.
Danish classic serial drama and saga spanning 20 years, taking place during the 1930s and 40s. Similar to Heimat in some ways but more intimate, realistic, and less formal, this
is a very detailed and well-written series with dozens of characters that manages to have a sense of irony, justice and high-drama, but also a true-to-life approach. The heart
of the story is the clash of the conservative rich elite that have been throttling a growing town, and a newcomer entrepreneur with a strict moral discipline and strong work
ethic who starts by opening a competitive clothes store opposite the elitist monopolizing store run by snobs. He brings his own financial resourcefulness after being shunned
by the local bank who is in cahoots with the local elitist rich, and slowly builds an empire. The show balances lots of wheeling and dealing, politics, many many story-lines
involving various family dramas, births, deaths, affairs, romances, and the many clashes between the two families or opposing political social circles, all strained much further
by WWII and the occupation of the Nazis. Although it can get a bit soapy and it does move quite slowly throughout it's 27-hour running time, the rich cast of characters, good writing
and the detailed family saga did and should appeal to many. Although I tuned out after a while, I can appreciate its qualities.
Cranford
This mini-series should be referenced in the dictionary under 'chick-flick'. Based on three stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, this is another Victorian female-oriented drama
that is not as soapish and overwrought as Wives and Daughters, but still lacking the deeper themes of North & South. It's a complex, rich tapestry of characters and stories,
taking place in a town called Cranford where spinsters, old maids, widows, maids, and noblewomen reign, and men are only there to do the carpentry, doctoring, hunting, serve as
love objects, or just get in the way of the women and their habits. Gossip and propriety have been let loose and have grown rampant like a plague, but the series doesn't look
down on this, and instead portrays their lives with sympathy, respect, class and depth and allows each and every one of them to emerge as complex, often eccentric
or charming characters. An endless stream of medical emergencies or deaths provide the drama, that is when they aren't undergoing a crisis involving a rare piece of lace
swallowed by a cat, or yelling at men for bringing progress into their quiet town. The actresses and actors are all top notch, and bring the many characters to life
with all their humor and pathos. The stories are so numerous they seem like vignettes, but it does eventually build up for a somewhat satisfying finale. The long journey
severely tested the patience of my testosterone however.
Only Fools and Horses
Based on the first and third seasons.
An overrated classic Britcom about a streetwise, show-off con-man and his younger, slower, more inhibited brother who wheel and deal and try to make quick money with dodgy
goods or schemes every episode while trying to impress the women. They live with their grandfather and bicker constantly. It's amusing and somewhat witty at times, but isn't as
clever as its reputation, relying too often on cheap laughs, insults or obviously dumb behaviour, and the laughs are scarce since you can see the punchlines coming most of the
time. Most seem to adore this show however (its rated #1 in England) and it feels inspired by Steptoe and Son - but I don't particularly enjoy the characters. Needs more charisma.
How to Make It in America
Based on the first season.
To compare anything to Entourage is to sink a show, and this show, although a mild and unexciting dramedy, does not deserve that. Two average twenty-somethings in New York
have aspirations for actualizing the American dream. To this end they come up with half-cooked plans for making money via clothes, combining energy, street-hustle,
luck and stubbornness to reach their goals. It doesn't always go their way though and they have to improvise, adjust, or go back to the drawing board to deal with
numerous challenges and obstacles. They acquire money from various sources including their rent money, an ex-con cousin, and a Jewish friend, and their dreams inch
forward painfully slowly while they deal with their love-lives or ex-girlfriends in their spare time. Although unexciting, this remains very watchable because it
is kept real and the guys are giving it their best. There is no glamor, and although the ex-con angle involves criminals, nothing outrageous happens. Watchable but mild.
Miranda
Based on the first two seasons.
Normally I wouldn't imagine myself enjoying a show with a comedienne who acts as an obnoxiously awkward, immature, irrevocably silly, socially challenged and horny loser
with a penchant for revealing icky details about herself in public or falling over objects. But it's a big compliment to Miranda Hart that she manages to make a lot
of this silly material funny thanks to great comic timing and a down-to-earth disarming personality. I mean if she were even the slightest bit smug, this would never work.
That said, the comedy in this series varies greatly, and ranges from the dumb predictable jokes, broad physical comedy and characters, over-the-top silliness and even
some fart jokes, to energetic fun, inspired funny reactions, snarky honesty, self-deprecating humor, fun silliness, and sometimes even rolling-on-the-floor hilarious
awkward behaviour. In short, it's a kind of not-quite-chick-flick show that will most likely polarize audiences depending on how her personality strikes you and whether
you can get over the more silly bits. The episodes revolve around the big-boned and clumsy Miranda, her petite friend and manager at her joke-shop, her crush on the hunk chef
at the restaurant, her mother who desperately tries to get her married and who leads all-too-active sex life, and various other very colorful friends. The first season favors
the dumb stuff a bit too often, but the second season improves a lot, and that's when I decided to quit while they were ahead.
Vicar of Dibley, The
Based on the first season and some scattered episodes.
Dawn French is the new Vicar of Dibley, a small town full of eccentric characters who are at first shocked to see a woman running their church. Dawn French is a lively,
boisterous but very warm character and one would expect this show to be full of feminist tirades or hard-edged comedy, but disappointingly, it's a very gentle, run-of-the-mill,
moderately amusing comedy about how she interacts with her dumb, strange or insane parishioners and the day-to-day issues that rise in a small village. Warm, amusing but mild.
Father Ted
Based on the first season.
Three priests, one violent alcoholic with a penchant for cursing and punching people, one fairly normal, and the other incredibly idiotic, are assigned to a tiny island
in Ireland in the middle of nowhere with nothing interesting going on. A very pushy housekeeper forces them to drink tea and take walks, and they are visited regularly by nuns
and people with very strange personalities. The acting is over-the-top and the situations and dialog very silly. Delivers amusing antics, and the cursing deviant priest
is always good for a few chuckles, but it's too silly in general.
Pillars of the Earth
Mini-series based on the popular historical novel by Ken Follett which I haven't read. Unfortunately, the series, although interesting, fails to compel, mainly due to very
poor characterizations. This epic story takes place in 12th century England, when the only heir to the throne dies mysteriously and leaves chaos, war and power games as the the
next potential heir becomes a disputed issue and opposing alliances are formed. But the real meat of the story focuses on the town of Kingsbridge and uses the project of building
a new magnificent cathedral even in the midst of poverty, brutality and war, as a metaphor for human perseverance and aspiration. This only becomes clear towards the end though,
the rest of the series focusing on nastiness, evil people, conspiracies, extreme selfishness and raw ambition, with barely a couple of likeable people in the whole show.
The scores of characters and plot developments would take too long to summarize, so suffice it to say that this is an epic story. But McShane as a Machiavellian 'priest'
is cartoonish and so obvious in his motivations and ambition that he never convinces, especially when he punishes himself before God or conspires with other people who
still see him as a holy man for some reason. Sewell as Tom Builder seems stoned and phones it in. Several other characters and their motivations are crudely drawn and don't
make sense. Some developments feel disjointed or rushed, and others fail to make sense. For example, why did burning down the church allow them to stay and build a new one?
They could have kept the old church and rebuilt it, or built a new one next to it for food and lodging in just the same way. And why would Bigod become so obsessed with
stopping the building when it is obviously a petty matter and he had much more ambitious schemes on his plate? The settings are nicely done, the story had lots of potential,
but this series failed to grab me.
Elizabeth R
A BBC 70s production similar to Six Wives of Henry VIII dealing with the life of Queen Elizabeth I. It starts with the sickly child King Edward VI who leaves a mess behind
after his death, with succession disputes and only female heirs. It follows her imprisonment and battle for the throne with Queen Mary I, her endless pressures to marry,
her various loves, the war with Spain and Mary Queen of Scots, and so on, until her death. The production is limited and theatrical, even a bit more so than Six Wives,
with pretty good costumes, but weak makeup, and limited outdoor scenes. The writing and dialogue is formal and rich, but not poetically Shakespearean. Some actors (such
as Slater as Mary I) act overly theatrical and stilted, and this mars the show, as well as the many lengthy scenes that are simply not consequential or compelling.
The first episode also assumes too much knowledge in its audience and its narrative is therefore confusing. Some episodes and scenes are better than others, and
Glenda Jackson is quite good as a stern, intelligent and strong-willed queen. Overall, it should appeal only to audiences that enjoy low-budget theatrical productions
and talky historically-accurate series. I thought it needed a lot of editing and more naturalism.
Karaoke
Dennis Potter's swan-song, featuring more interweaving layers as in Singing Detective, only not as tightly woven or interesting this time. The concept of Karaoke
as a pre-destined script for people who want to sing is used as a metaphor as well as a plot device. Daniel Feeld is a writer for TV whose writings lately seem to
have bled into reality. People around him start to use lines from his script, characters appear with the same names and backgrounds, and suddenly, the people involved
in creating the TV show find that the themes in the screenplay can be applied to their real lives. Feeld, in the meantime, is battling a rapidly degenerating stomach
disease, drawing chilling parallels with Potter's life at the time of writing. The metaphysical explorations of a writer's relationship to his subject matter,
created reality, and the question of whether art imitates life or vice versa make this an interesting series. On the other hand, it takes half the show just to
get off the ground, and the actual story (shown in snippets) is not so interesting. Good acting and colorful characters, interesting themes, but not constructed so well.
Equalizer, The
Based on most of the first season.
80s episodic action-thriller show (some early work by the producer of 24) with a neat concept: An ex-spy with a guilty conscience and a talent for solving big dangerous problems
decides to retire and lend his talent to people in need. He works as a volunteer, hero and samaritan to anyone in over their heads in danger from various criminal elements
where no help is forthcoming from the police. He tackles anything from stalkers that haven't broken any laws, to corrupt cops, to kidnappings, to normal people somehow
getting entangled with killers, criminal gangs, mobs, or deadly spies. The writing varies greatly from silly and implausible 80s action and huge problems solved all-too-neatly
at the end of every episode, to some occasionally sharper episodes with clever problem solving and quick thinking. Edward Woodward in the role of McCall carries and makes
the show, however, oozing personality and confident authority, and you have no problem believing he doesn't care about his life and that handling dangerous criminals is
peanuts compared to his previous life work. Episodic, with limited writing skills, and highly implausible neat solutions, but still quite entertaining.
Action
Based on the single season.
Before Extras came along, there was this short-lived comedy series that brutally satirized the cut-throat and sleazy business of Hollywood. Peter Dragon is a
Bruckheimer-like producer of mindless but successful action movies with a nasty personality backed by arrogance. His last movie flopped and his new movie that is
supposed to save his career brings one disaster, crisis, failure and outrageous situation after another. He finds himself working with a Jewish writer whom he hates,
he hires a prostitute, his actor is a junkie, his actress turns up fat, etc. Although the season is a continuous story, each episode deals with Hollywood from
different angles, including scandals and ridiculous gossip, to cut-throat business, sleazy deals for product placement, prima donnas, gay politics, publicity cover-ups,
abuse of writers, and sexual or exploitative relationships, all handled with brutally cold rudeness and crudity. The show is mostly for watchers of Hollywood gossip
as it throws scores of nasty references to celebrities, and even surprises with celebrity cameos in shocking and inappropriate roles (e.g. Sandra Bullock as a slut).
Moderately entertaining and occasionally witty, but, like Arrested Development, it is much less funny and clever than it thinks it is.
Cheers
Based on most of the first season.
Classic but overrated and typically 80s sitcom with colorful characters and an audience that laughs at every phrase of dialog. The setting is a bar where everyone
is like a family. Lead characters include the skirt-chasing, shallow owner, a snobbish, chatterbox swot of a woman, another waitress who is a spitfire, sometimes
abrasive single-mother, and a slow-witted pushover ex-baseball-coach. The writing is amusing with occasionally hilarious episodes, but is generally mild and
the female lead tends to get annoying. One standout is the funny love/hate attraction between the shallow owner and the snob who both can't stand each
other yet can't stop flirting and insulting each other to no end.
ZeroZeroZero
Based on the single season.
A slightly different crime show that makes for a change from these series featuring endless cycles of mindless violence between rival gangs. This one has its mind on a bigger
story, one involving a very important shipment of drugs in which everyone has very high stakes. This includes the supplier, a Mexican cartel dealing with an ambitious special-forces
corrupt soldier. The second story involves a rich business-man broker and his two older children that are in the midst of a big crisis and must deliver the shipment to save
their business. And finally, there's the Italian mob dealing with an ongoing internal feud and as well as back-stabbing between family members. The first and third stories
involve the usual violence and scheming, except with a high quota of ruthless brutality. The corrupt special-forces soldiers are truly brutal in their no-holds-barred and highly
ambitious methods to build themselves an empire and army in record time. But it's the middle story that interested me the most, except it became outlandish with its adventures
involving a ship lost at sea and Jihadist smugglers in the desert, piling on the coincidences and artificial twists. For the most part, it is a pretty involving story, even
though everyone is evil. But the writing has severe flaws. For one thing, I find it impossible to believe that one shipment could make or break so many powerful mobs and businesses.
If that were the case, they would be falling like flies. And even if this one was so special, why would they put all their eggs in one basket? And then there are the crazy lengths
the brokers went to while trying to get their shipment delivered. Once again, what kind of mega-business relies on a single shipment? And then there is the Italian mobster who
flipped sides in an extreme way with nary an explanation. And the fact that there was no response from the government or law enforcement in Mexico to the openly aggressive
tactics. In summary, some points of interest, but deeply flawed.
Wire in the Blood
Based on most of the first two seasons.
One can really overdose on all of these murder-mystery shows, as well as on its sub-genre of serial-killers and the detectives and profilers chasing them. It's a very crowded
genre and this British show doesn't add much that is new. A socially-challenged psychologist is hired by the police to help them catch unusual murderers and serial killers.
Cases usually take two episodes, and are therefore movie-length. There's a largely uninteresting relationship with a female cop, as well as with his trainee-students, and,
like with many American shows, the cases often involve their personal and professional lives and the people they know. If they focused more on his character it could have
been more interesting, but his quirks and eccentricities, and his problems when interacting with people seem to come and go on the writers' whims. The writing varies:
Some deductions and insights can be pretty brilliant, others repeat the same problems that plague most of these shows: Wild speculation that leads to instant results,
or insights that he could never have gotten from the measly clues. In the first episode, he introduces himself to the policemen saying that his work is largely speculative.
The writers should have taken a page out their own book. But there is the occasional good writing that is reminiscent of the benchmark in this genre: Cracker. And they
do allow him to make some mistakes here and there, so it's not a complete waste of time. Be warned though that the killers and violence can get quite grisly and dark.
In short, too influenced by American shows, and mostly formulaic, albeit with enough strong moments and good acting to make it above-average.
Millennium
Based on most of the first season.
By the makers and writers of X-Files comes this study in evil and murder. Frank Black is a psychic ex-FBI who specialized in profiling and catching serial killers
but is now doing it for personal reasons. He also works for an ultra-professional mysterious agency named Millennium that consults for law-enforcement. The show
is dark, heavy, serious, violent and moody, but unfortunately, it is also monotonous and the episodic nature of the show doesn't help. Whereas X-Files had
variety, this just features one uninspired brooding story after another involving a twisted killer. Some stories border on the supernatural, featuring cults
and religious freaks and the procedural detective work element is undermined by the psychic deus-ex-machinas. It muses on evil and twisted psychology but never
digs into anything properly. Watchable but uninspired.
Office, The
Based on both seasons.
A very unique show that gets its so-called laughs not by being funny but by being painful, awkward, embarrassing and annoying, portraying the worst of
familiar cringe-inducing office behaviour. The show is filmed with shaky cameras, the actors are always aware of the camera and seem to be improvising, all this
lending a realistic feel to the happenings. The manager is an overly confident character who thinks he's funny, efficient and popular but in reality is barely tolerated,
and annoys or embarrasses his employees daily as they try to make the office productive despite him. His assistant is a childish, uptight strange teenager who thinks he's
a tough army man, the secretary is constantly harassed and a victim of crass male behaviour, and several other characters fill this dysfunctional office.
Back-stabbings, childish teasing, jealousy, womanizing, bureaucracy and other issues develop awkward and tense atmospheres until things break down.
The first season tends to get dull often. The second season becomes much more brutal and gripping after a merger emphasizes the problems with the manager's tactics.
A painful show but masochistically addictive.
Strangers With Candy
Based on the first season.
After a pilot that is jaw-droppingly bizarre, this unfunny but cult TV show merely settles for the oddball and crass, mixing There's Something About Mary frat-boy
toilet-humor with twisted teenagers in high-school Southparkian comedy and a dash of Zucker-Abrahams zaniness. Jerri is a 47 year old ex-drug addict that tries to
pick up her life where she left it 32 years ago... in high-school. She has to deal with the usual teenage problems like popularity, homecoming queen jealousy,
snitching, homework, parents, etc. only from the perspective of a trashy drug-abuser straight out of a John Waters movie. The teachers and parents are off-the-wall
eccentric and even surreal, taking showers in their offices, sitting horribly frozen in their chairs like a corpse, and saying what their subconscious wants
instead of what they are thinking. The plots are over-the-top silly involving things like informing on a fellow student for being a retard, the humor is extremely
politically incorrect and deliberately offensive, joking about racism one second and uterus scraping the next. A show with a logic of its own that must be seen to be believed.
A-Team, The
Based on most of the first season and some scattered episodes.
It doesn't get more 80s than this. Silly action-comedy with colorful male characters, an old-school hurrah for testosterone, no character development, and an unrelenting
emphasis on action-entertainment. The A-Team is a group of four outlandish, problematic but very capable ex-soldiers on the run from the law due to a misunderstanding. They
evade the law while accepting various challenging missions from anyone with some money or a good cause. John 'Hannibal' Smith is the quick-witted leader with a talent
for disguises. "Howling Mad" Murdock is insane as a hobby, has a talent for piloting and machinery, and lives in an insane asylum which he has to break out of to
go on missions. 'Faceman' Peck is a charmer and con-man who acquires anything the team needs, and then, of course, there's Mr. T as the bad-ass, muscle-man "Bad Attitude"
Baracus who has to be drugged to go on plane trips and is kind to children. They fight small armies, cults, gangs, terrorists or criminals, get the equipment they need
using improvisation, build some weapons on the fly, yet somehow never kill or even seriously injure anyone. Colorful and silly entertainment that ranges from mildly
fun to stupid fun. I wasn't even drawn to this as a kid, but it's an OK time-waster mostly due to the actors having fun.
Pride and Prejudice
Often praised as the definitive version of the classic novel by Jane Austen but I feel this to be over-eager. The novel is the archetype of
romantic comedy, boasting strong characters and superb dialogue, and explores themes of pride as an obstacle to relationships. A country family
with five unwed daughters, a marriage-obsessed mother, some bumbling suitors and a moody, arrogant rich man create their own obstacles towards
the ultimate goal of marriage in a comedy of manners. Although the screenplay is faithful to the novel in many of its details, it's the
characterizations that are flawed, most being pushed indelicately over-the-top. Lizzie is a little too smug to be likeable in the end, Darcy is
too angry and full of contempt. Mrs. Bennet is annoying and Mr. Collins is comical without inhabiting a real person. Still, this is a fairly
good adaptation, but for perfect casting, rich production values and even some welcome, judicious editing, see the 2005 movie version.
Jesus of Nazareth
I suppose this would be an impressive mini-series for Christian believers, seeing as it is a mostly reverent adaptation of the New Testament. But what can it
offer the rest of us? It adds no insight, no interesting characterizations, takes no risks, and just tells the story faithfully from its seemingly single source.
Jewish sources and viewpoints on Jesus by the rabbis of the time are obviously non-existent. The casting is full of stars and superb actors, the production is quite
good and faultless, it tells the story comprehensively and carefully from the beginning to the end, including his birth and teachings, as if the New Testament was
a screenplay. But it is pedestrian and superficial, like a family-friendly picture book to accompany the New Testament, and therefore doesn't have anything to say,
only to show.
Mayor of Casterbridge, The (2003)
A&E 3 hour mini-series based on the Thomas Hardy classic and great novel that deals with an angry, bitter and proud man who keeps ruining his life.
I can't help but compare this version to the superb Dennis Potter version and this one suffers greatly as a result. The actors are mediocre at best,
some of them miscast, and the most critical one, the Mayor himself, doesn't have the depth needed to fill the shoes of such a complex man who needs
to be both angry and sympathetic at the same time. I don't feel that the film-makers understood the characters and scenes, and in such a moving tragedy
and deep character study such as this, all of these flaws are fatal. Even the relatively higher production values do the opposite of helping this
version, the original capturing the rural and poor lifestyles more convincingly. In short, a weak series made impressive only because of the
story it is based on. Watch Potter's version instead.
IT Crowd, The
Based on the first season.
Nerd and computer humor is a rich source of endless hilarity which hits close to work, as demonstrated by the likes of Dilbert. So I was extremely disappointed when a
show popped up that allegedly revolves around IT people, yet is so broadly drawn that it bears almost no resemblance to the world of IT. Computer geeks may be
highly eccentric and socially challenged, but they are not stupid, neither are they the cartoon characters that this show makes them out to be. Two hopeless
IT losers work in a hellish basement from which they give tech support that consists mainly of telling people to plug their computers in. A girl who knows nothing
about computers is sent to manage them, and together, they try to make their way through life, dating and work crises. A good setup, but the writing is so stupid
and over-the-top that the show and the characters are more cartoonish than funny. Things like a goth kept prisoner in the server room, synchronized PMS amongst tech-men
and German cannibals don't improve matters, but I must admit that the show is so over-the-top and silly that it generates some laughs. By the creator of Father Ted, and
it shows.
GLOW
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
A TV series about a female 'wrestling' show in the 80s didn't sound like it would be interesting to me. In addition I expected unsubtle 80s retro and PC revisionism. Much
to my surprise this was quite a lot of fun for quite a few episodes. A group of women from many different backgrounds gather and bond to create a new female version
of wrestling entertainment under the direction of a rough and insecure (but three-dimensional) male director that grows on you, embracing the offensive stereotypes and
cheesy trashy soap drama of the 'wrestling' world, and just having fun with it, while giving it their all. The costumes, sets, attitudes and music are done extremely well
and it all takes you back to the 80s, big time. The women slowly adjust to their new outrageous jobs and figure out what they are creating while they are doing it, and the
show is fun, nostalgic and with plenty of colorful personalities. Once the wrestling starts getting more serious and becomes a big part of the show, and once their personal
lives become more dramatic and soapy, it gets somewhat less interesting. Still, I had fun for a while.
How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)
Based on the first season.
Often described as a light-hearted, comedic, gen-Z teenager version of Breaking Bad in terms of its concept, which is somewhat appropriate, but the tone is perhaps closer to
Weeds. A couple of tech-head unpopular teenagers who are bad at social life and worse at dating, start an online drug-selling business without really thinking things through,
and success brings escalation, but soon things get out of control as they make unsavory connections with criminals. Albeit the 'serious' criminals are the ridiculously
unrealistic type you only meet in comedies. In between, they also have to deal with the usual high-school crushes and annoying jocks, most of their life lived through
cellphones and gaming. They are complete amateurs, and the show has fun with things going out of control mainly due to a lack of experience or foresight despite their
tech-oriented brains. It's not bad, nothing great, though its nicely made and good for its intended audience.
Bates Motel
Based on the first season.
Telling the back-story of a classic and popular serial killer may seem like a commercially good idea, especially after Dexter proved the success of serial killers on TV,
but it is misguided. The mystery of Norman Bates is always going to be much more interesting than what any TV writers can come up with, and padding it out to a series simply
can't work. That said, there are some elements that are interesting and pretty well done in this show, some that are bland, and some that are just bad. Norman Bates is a
teenager here, acted nicely by Freddie Highmore with a good balance of sensitivity, emotional behaviour and a dark, obsessive side. He just moved into the motel with his
mother, and there's a black sheep of the family in the shape of a rebellious, angry brother. The heart is Norman's very unhealthy relationship with his mother, obviously.
There is too much closeness, too much dependency, smothering, and a very suspicious view at females, especially after a bad fling with a superficial teenage girl who uses
him. A lot of this is done quite well, except that most of it is ordinary teenage woe and wouldn't turn someone into a serial killer. And with this, the show cheats, by
making him already a repressed and emotionally-challenged killer to begin with. So those expecting an 'origin' story will be disappointed. Evidently, this show posits that
killers are born, not made. And then there is the poor aspect of this show, turning the town they live in into a fantasy land of criminals, where everyone and her dad seems
to be involved in crime involving drugs or the sex trade. Murders are a dime a dozen, and the Bates family's lives keep getting more and more complicated to ridiculous
proportions. In summary, it's a mixed bag, and there is some entertainment value, but there is nothing compelling here thanks to much misguided commercial exploitation
and silly padding in an attempt to make it more thrilling.
Bored to Death
Based on the first season.
A slowly improving show that maintains the tone of Curb of Your Enthusiasm, but features a more Woody-Allen-loser type of protagonist rather than a Seinfeld-jerk
personality. Jason Schwartzman (who looks like Roman Polanski's nephew), acts as a pot-smoking slacker pining for his ex-girlfriend who decides to post an ad
for amateur private investigation services. He turns out to be pretty good at it, but usually not with the outcome he expects. His neuroses compels him to
befriend or hit on both his clients and perps, his eccentric boss (a funny Ted Danson) keeps calling him for help with his latest outrageous crisis, while his
cartoonist friend, who is always hungry for sex from his controlling wife, assists. The situations and adventures include things like a Russian romantic criminal,
angry skateboarders and hiding a herpes sore. Not as well structured as Curb, and tends to remain mostly uneventful, but it gets a little funnier with every episode.
Newhart
Based on scattered episodes of the first two seasons.
80s sitcom with Bob Newhart, funnier than his 70s shrink sitcom, but only mildly so and once again with broadly-drawn characters. The setup involves a city couple that
moves to a small town in Vermont, taking over a historical inn. The local, colorful and eccentric folk provide fodder for the ongoing misadventures and comedy. They include
their staff that consists of a simple-minded caretaker who doesn't seem to know much about anything, and a spoiled heiress who for some reason works as their maid.
There's also the slick-talking, lying owner of a burger joint, and three rednecks called Larry, Darryl and Darryl with strange hobbies. Besides the fact that their staff
doesn't seem capable of doing anything, the inn never seems to take up much of their time as they always find other things to do like hosting a TV show. That aside,
and the fact that the locals seem more like cartoon characters than anything resembling reality, there are several amusing moments per episode and it's kinda fun.
Mildly.
Epic 80s series about the American Civil War split into three mini-series totalling 24 hours. The first series covers the era leading up to the war, the rising tensions
between North and South revolving around the issues of slavery and financial independence, during the period when the US was stealing Texas from fellow colonialists in Mexico.
The second series (the best of the lot) covers the war itself, and the very poor third mini-series covers the reconstruction after the war. The majority of the show covers
the drama of two extended families from both north and south, after two men from each household became life-long friends at West Point, only to find themselves at opposite
sides of the war years later. Different family members represent the many different kinds of viewpoints at the time, leading to backstabbing feuds, enemies, romances, and friendships.
So, in between the historical details, figures and events, and the many social upheavals and issues of the day, we get a grand family drama that frequently becomes very soapy.
There's a slut-bitch of a sister who schemes and uses every advantage she can find straight out of a very bad soap opera, as well as some 100% evil characters, and saintly
characters without flaws. In between these cardboard characters, there are the much more interesting characters of Orry (Swayze), a proud Southern man who finds his ideals and
more moderate views challenged despite his good treatment of slaves, as well as his friend in the North who sometimes finds it difficult to be so close with a slave-owning friend.
Also, and thankfully, this is not a liberal love-fest, with Kirstie Alley as a fanatic abolitionist who puts her family often in danger, and even an angry black man who takes his
violent reactions too far. There is also some battle tactics, politics, profiteering schemes, lots of romance, personal feuds, military drama, action, and more. In summary, this
is an awkward mix of bad soap opera, good historical drama, and both good and bad characters, which can easily alternate several times in the same episode from trash to epic saga.
As such, it reminded me of the series Winds of War/War and Remembrance, also due to its improvement in the second series, and also due to its mix of banality and epic history, but,
unlike War and Remembrance, it did not recover enough, nor favor its better elements enough, to emerge a classic.
Winds of War, The
80s epic mini-series based on Wouk's novel revolving around an extended family during WWII. This series covers the period from Hitler's expansions until Pearl Harbor.
The narration has several family members, friends, lovers and in-laws drift all over the world due to circumstances or personal drives, finding themselves taking part
in many historical events while the world leaders plan and discuss the future. The father is an American naval officer and his perceptive eye catches the attention
of Roosevelt who sends him to attempt an agreement with Hitler and Mussolini, a son gets involved with a Jewish family in Europe who soon find themselves wandering
between countries trying to escape the conquering Germans, and the writing all-too-often takes advantage of hindsight to make its heroes seem all-knowing. Thus, the
series attempts an epic drama that explores WWII through personal viewpoints and lives. While the historical backdrop, the many political and military discussions,
and some war-related scenes are strong, the biggest problem here is that the balance is all off. All too often, the show feels like the cast of Dynasty has been
transported into a WWII movie with a couple of especially despicable and selfish female characters that contribute to the soapy drama involving a love triangle as
well as a love quadrangle. Also, most of the acting is merely adequate, and the characterizations simplistic, which means mostly uninteresting characters. Bellamy
is very good as Roosevelt, Churchill gets a nice representation, Mitchum as the father of the extended family is his usual dry self, and Hitler gets a badly cartoonish
and over-the-top performance. In short, an epic series that is too flawed to enjoy. The sequel War and Remembrance is a huge improvement.
Blackeyes
A Dennis Potter TV series dealing with the war of the genders, exploitation of women and celebrities, and the implications of creating and manipulating fictional
people by writers. Blackeyes is a model, a doll pushed around and manipulated by everyone. On one level, Blackeyes is in a dramatic tabloid-esque story of a model's
life gone down the drain. On another level, she is a fictional character created by a literary eccentric writer who makes her do slutty things. On another level,
other characters in the TV series all want a piece of her and seem to be able to manipulate the story for their own purposes, one man projecting his romantic
fantasies on her, another exploiting her seemingly wanton character and beautiful body, and an exasperated female character seeing herself in Blackeyes, exploited
and abused as she was in her childhood. And on yet another level, the narrator comments, spits, laughs, influences and yells at all the goings on. Who is really
in charge and who will Blackeyes choose? This is another complex Potter creation with many interweaving layers, but unfortunately it is extremely drawn out, without
enough material to keep it interesting for four episodes.
Spaced
Based on most of both seasons.
British cult comedy featuring Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes of Shaun of the Dead fame doing what they know best: making a comedy about losers that relies heavily on
spoofs and pop-culture references. Tim is a failing cartoonist, Daisy is a failing writer, they pretend to be a couple in order to rent a good flat with a moody landlady
and a tortured artist as a neighbour. Together with the weapon-crazy Mike and other friends, they imagine crazy adventures out of mundane circumstances. The comedy is mostly
understated and revels in spoofs or obscure references with eccentric and surprising turns, resulting in a kind of creative laid-back comedy for lazy slackers on
drugs. I appreciate the unique charms of this show, but, once you get past this uniqueness, the comedy is merely mild, and most of the spoofs and references don't
really add much except to give movie geeks a chance to show off their movie knowledge. Some are funny, some are used to enhance the situations, but the rest are
mere recreations or movie quotes that add nothing to the show. So unlike the rabid fans, I found it mildly entertaining at best.
WKRP in Cincinnati
Based on most of the first season and some scattered episodes.
A precursor to NewsRadio from 1978 with a similar ensemble of colorful characters and a laid-back, silly but fun, inventive attitude. The humor isn't as witty or
sharp though, relative to NewsRadio, but there's still fun to be had. WKRP is a failing radio station run by an incompetent, easy-going, conservative manager who
fears the owner of the station: his mother. Andy Travis joins them to try to turn things around by making it a rock-n-roll station, but the various incompetent
or strange employees make this plan difficult. Dr. Johnny Fever is the permanently baked but cool DJ, Venus Flytrap is a black DJ dressed like a pimp, the sales
manager is arrogant and incompetent, the news director is a nervous conspiracy-freak geek, and the receptionist is a blonde bombshell everyone lusts after with some
surprising smarts behind her looks. Only mildly amusing, but the colorful cast and writing provide a consistent level of entertainment.
Bangkok Hilton
4.5 hour Australian mini-series with Denholm Elliott, and a young Weaving and Kidman. The story reminds one of Midnight Express, except this one has Kidman imprisoned
in Thailand and facing death by machine gun because she unknowingly carried heroin for a friendly stranger. The story is turned into a longer epic by adding a back-story
about her lost father, a lawyer who had political, military and personal problems after WWII and who had a brief love affair with her mother, and now finds himself
facing his personal demons with his daughter's deathly troubles who has to attempt more drastic solutions. It's moderately well written and acted, and it's a good
yarn while its on, but it's not compelling.
Veep
Based on the first season.
Although not strictly a remake, this is HBO importing Iannucci to America and asking him to write more of the same of his brand of political humor from 'The Thick Of It',
except that not only is it adjusted for America, but also watered down and dumbed down. Which is a surprise for HBO. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, doing her usual self-deprecating
terrible person thing, is the vice-president, and seems to spend her whole career dealing with tiny stupid molehill crises over stupid mistakes or public perception issues
that escalate into mountains, until her tense foul-mouthed team finally get a grip on things, kinda. In short, it's the same approach to politics as 'The Thick Of It',
except that the problems are sillier, and the insults are miles away from the creativity of that show. It still has its really funny moments though, and is watchable
when nothing better is on. But why go for the watered-down version?
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The
Based on most of the first season.
HBO and the BBC collaborate again, this time on some detective novels set in Botswana. The time-honored setup of an amateur female detective is used again, only this
time in Africa with all its quirks and laid-back simplicity of country-life. The mysteries and detective work are acceptable and realistic but nothing at the level
of Sherlock Holmes or Monk, or even the cleverness of Veronica Mars. The tone is light, with dangers being solved quickly and cleverly by the fearless and confident
woman, and the personalities are quite rich. One flaw is the fake accents and the occasional inability by the protagonists to convince us that they aren't city-girls.
Another flaw is the slight misandrist agenda that makes a point of including a cheating/deceiving/sleazy man in every episode while the women are all saints. HBO has proven
their flexibility by making a soft-edged show for a change, but the gay mafia strikes again with the injection of a token gay hair-dresser even in a tiny town in
Botswana, and there is not a single token white man in sight. The structure is mostly episodic and, overall, the show is only moderately entertaining and light.
And Then There Were None
I'm not a fan of Agatha Christie, finding her mysteries and her characters' motivations and actions way too convoluted to be realistic and interesting. But her many fans should
find this adaptation interesting. It's a three-hour mini-series that expands on all of the character's backgrounds and personalities, emphasizing their conflicting emotions
and psychological cover-ups rather than just tell the story of the murder-mystery. You know the story: Ten people are invited to an island under very mysterious circumstances.
Murders and accusations fly, and all the characters suspect each other, desperately trying to figure out the mystery while finding themselves trapped on the island. The cast
is star-studded and very solid, and the production quality is top-notch. Some may find it slow due to the new emphasis, but I found that this made it more interesting.
I'm Alan Partridge
Based on the first season.
Actually the missing link between Basil Fawlty and Ricky Gervais in The Office, this features another obnoxious protagonist in a sitcom that is, at times, a funny show
about a really annoying tosser. He doesn't stop talking, full of himself and seemingly unable to resist sharing every bit of rubbish that comes to his head. He often
says the wrong things, or insults everyone around him without realizing it, he is a weak-willed sycophant when it suits him, and a rude wanker when it doesn't.
Alan Partridge is a loser who used to be in television but nobody liked his show or ideas, and now he is on the radio during the graveyard shift. His long suffering
personal assistant does everything for him, and the staff at the travel motel where he stays try to stifle their disgust and laughter whenever he appears. Often
it gets too annoying to be funny, but sometimes it hits the right balance and is quite funny.
Mind of the Married Man, The
Based on the first season.
HBO's Sex and the City for men, and actually a second attempt at this kind of show, after the much, much superior Dream On. There are several immature, sex-obsessed
co-workers here who hang out, share their wife-problems with typical guy-oriented commentary, or discuss (show off) their latest sexcapades, thoughts and fantasies.
Now, I know a few men that behave like this some of the time, so this gets points over Manchild in the realism department, but it made several big mistakes: The emphasis
is all warped, with these kinds of chats employing a small part of a typical guy's social life, but taking up 100% of this show. It also focuses only on the unlikeable or
pathetic breed of men, and tellingly, the one good husband and seemingly healthy male in the show is given no time whatsoever. This may work if it were actually funny
but, as opposed to Manchild, you'd be lucky to get one chuckle per episode, the majority of the time spent on exploring the life of one pathetic man who is a pathological
liar even though he is too weak-willed to actually do something bad, or good, driven purely by childish fear and lust. So the bottom line is that this isn't Sex and the
City, but just another in the long line of Raymond-esque sitcoms that depend on pathetic man and a henpecking, condescending, sometimes mean wife for comedy, and a poor
one at that. This gets some points for amusing dialogue and for approaching some modern men's innermost thoughts with honesty, and trying to make a male-oriented show with
ongoing character development and season-long character building, but it's mostly a failure.
Maude
Based on several scattered episodes.
A spin-off of All in the Family featuring a female mirror image of Archie Bunker: A militant, ranting, liberal, opinionated, angry feminist who constantly rants, threatens
people who don't agree with her, bullies people into her worldview and makes comedy in between. It's better than All in the Family and a little bit more subtle, but,
being written by Norman Lear, it is frequently issue-heavy, and the episodes with soapbox ranting or stereotypical straw men (both the dumb conservative neighbour and
the foaming liberal) tend to get annoying rather than funny, despite the shoehorned laugh track. The most notorious episode was one that dealt with abortion back in 1972.
Bea Arthur is good in her role and a strong character, and there is still entertaining amusement in between the rants and soapbox agendas, but her constant headstrong,
bullying attitude can get tiresome. At least Lear lightened up for Jeffersons.
Honeymooners, The
Based on many scattered episodes from the classic (fourth) season.
An overrated but amusing pioneering classic that is still popular due to its important cultural icon status. Ralph Kramden is a boorish, chauvinistic, dunderhead,
big-mouthed bus driver married to a sensible but nagging housewife. His neighbours are a childish, eccentric sewer worker and his wife, and all are suffering in poverty,
trying to come up with silly schemes to make money or to live a better life. The quintessential sitcom, even setting the pattern for stupid man vs. sensible woman,
and although the personalities clash, argue, trick and manipulate each other, there is always a light atmosphere and the feeling that they love each other.
The wife's wise-cracking stabs at Ralph are the funniest aspect of the show and the characters are fleshy and fun, but most of everything else is too predictable,
the punchlines telegraphed miles ahead and the jokes often becoming too silly.
Gavin & Stacey
Based on the first season.
A romantic comedy with a bland romantic center surrounded by an eccentric and quirky circle of socially-impaired and horny friends, and nervous, quirky relatives.
So it's actually the couple that feel like supporting actors or sane foils for the mad comic ensemble. Gavin met Stacey over the phone through business, and the show covers
their first meeting and build-up towards the marriage and its aftermath, with sexual clashes or various complications between their neurotic friends and family.
Some of the mess involves nervous parents, a friend having constantly cheap sexual flings with Stacey's best friend, the fact that Stacey got engaged five times before,
and a culture clash between the English and Welsh families. It's mildly amusing, but nothing more.
Mozart in the Jungle
Based on the first season.
Classical music dramedy, New York style. Which means lots of sex shenanigans and neurotic behaviour, eccentric people, pretentious artists, drugs, a city full of assorted
nuts and desperately empty people, and some classical music taking a backdrop to this saga that seems more suited to a rock-band. The show is based on a book and real-life
memoirs by an oboist in NY. It starts with the changing of the guard in the New York Philharmonic, from an old-school maestro (McDowell) to a passionate rock-star Latino
who sees inspiration in almost anything. His wife is worshipped by many but is an insufferably pretentious and angry 'artist'. Hailey is an amateur oboist dreaming of playing
in the Philharmonic, and the new conductor hires her in one of his inspirational fits, bringing on the wrath of his lead oboist. Her on-off boyfriend is a dancer in Julliard,
there's an altruistic slut in the orchestra sleeping with everyone to help or connect with them, and, thanks to the new conductor, eccentric whims are given free reign. The
show is a mix of insufferably pretentious artists, moments of whimsical inspiration, quirky city-comedy, and unfocused trashy drama. Much like the conductor, despite some
amusing moments and quirks, this disperses its energies in wasteful wankery and loses its soul.
Kings
Based on the single season.
This is one of those shows where all they had was a good concept, without bothering to develop any of its potential. In this show we get an alternate reality where the
modern world is run by kings and religious guidance. Unfortunately, the writers show a complete lack of imagination by duplicating the US except with a king instead of a
president, and most of the show up until the last few episodes could have worked exactly the same with a president as chief executive. And as far as the religious aspects
are concerned, the writing is as bad as it gets, with a complete lack of basic understanding at best, or with laughably stupid or offensive writing at worst. The actors
supposedly are believers, but treat and talk to or about God as if he were a tool that can provide favors if they're lucky, or something that gets in their way.
I suppose they think it is a whimsical and petty Greek god. But then why refer to biblical names and places? The most telling episode involves a court case where they
argue that because a man has everything working out too well for him, this proves that he is a traitor and a fake because there cannot be such coincidence, and yet
the whole show they pay lip service to God's will and ascribe events to providence. Taking into account the above, the show should be complete garbage, but Ian McShane
is a big plus and is riveting, and the Machiavellian intrigue in the first half is good, drawing you in for the rest of the season. Although even that deteriorates
to chaotic writing and messy character development in the second half. In addition, the actor who plays David acts out every emotion by looking constipated. So, in summary,
only just barely interesting with very poor writing, and a very disappointing waste of an idea.
After Life
Based on the first two seasons.
I am definitely not a fan of Ricky Gervais's brand of humor but I tried this one anyways. It is thankfully somewhat different then his usual humor based on cringe, awkward
and rude human interactions. It is about a man grieving for his dead wife who has turned into an extremely bitter and depressed person, taking out his brutally bitter viewpoint
on everyone around him as an alternative to suicide. It doesn't sound like a comedy, although it does try to be one. I found this show to be extremely manic-depressive, with
jarring highs and lows, scenes that switch suddenly from one mood or approach to another. I also found his character to be intolerable for the first few episodes, using grief
as an excuse to be the complete jerk he must always have been. After a couple of episodes, cracks starting appearing of humanity, honest and lovely moments between characters,
but then it was right back to the crass, rude, over-the-top obnoxiousness. And the the season one finale becomes jarringly overly sentimental. It was quite a roller coaster.
I'd classify this as a failed attempt at a character study dramedy, with sudden moments of human insight and empathy for the grieving process marred by crass attempts at humor.
The second season seems more human and stable for a while with more realistic characters and a character arc one can tune into, but even this season can't help but insert
over-the-top rude and crass attempts at humor with a ridiculously aggressive and obnoxious fratboy psychologist and a scatological neighbour. They got the second finale just
right though. In short, the very definition of a mixed-bag. This one is almost impossible to enjoy, but it does have many nice moments.
Fleabag
Based on both seasons.
Often compared to Miranda, and this show indeed owes its approach to that show, except that it's much dirtier and much more mean-spirited. In other words, it features
an awkward woman surrounded by various dysfunctional friends and family, and she always breaks the fourth wall, commenting to the audience even in the middle of a conversation
while the rest of the cast continue obliviously. But, as opposed to Miranda, this features a very unlikeable protagonist with an extremely broken personality, and the show
goes out of its way to include as much dirty and cheap sexual content as possible along with various other warped behaviour. 'Fleabag' is a narcissistic slut with the social graces
of a sociopath, except she is recovering from the death of her best friend. She sleeps with almost every man she meets, especially the ones that disgust or creep her out.
Her sister is an extremely neurotic and high-strung woman who is only content when things are miserable. Her step-mom is an evil catty woman straight out of a cartoon,
and her father tries to bear all of these broken women with as much patience as he can, only he is usually at a loss for words.
The first season is quite weak and chaotic, and an audience that only watches a few episodes from this season won't understand why it became popular. 50% of it feels like
you're watching a car-crash of a woman, with entertainment value similar to a car crash. 40% is awkward uncomfortable situations, mean-spirited interactions, and juvenile dirty
sex scenes that are added constantly for the shock value, and the rest is humor. The finale suddenly swerves and becomes a character-study drama of a dysfunctional person.
The second season is much better, now that the show found its footing as a dramedy about a very dysfunctional family, and as a black comedy. The characters and plot developments
are chaotic however, as befitting such a collection of broken people I suppose. Except that it's not as interesting or as deep as it thinks it is. Blackly entertaining, but
also very overrated.
Oz
Based on most of the first season and some scattered episodes.
In-your-face brutality and nastiness in the form of a male prison drama. Hispanics, blacks, Nazis, Muslim militants, Sicilians, outcasts, gays, and guards always clash,
fight, murder, rape, and switch sides in every episode while the main characters try to come to terms with various crises. The male nudity and constant rape, is
as explicit as TV ever got and the events are usually unpredictable, the writers having no qualms about killing off any character on the show at any time in gory ways.
While this is all very entertaining in a cruel and over-the-top way, it starts getting repetitive and there is only so much murder, double-crossings and rapes you can watch.
Also, the drama gradually becomes more melodramatic and over-the-top, and the way the prison is run is very unrealistic. To top it off, there is the extremely annoying
pseudo-philosophy and idiotic narration spouted out between scenes by a strange character in a rotating chair. A junk show to tune in to once in a while for outrageous
entertainment.
Poldark
Based on the first two seasons.
Period drama/romance. I have not read the books nor seen the 1970s series so the review will be based only on this show's merits. Some have compared this to a bodice-ripper
or soap drama, but this is unfair, although, specifically, it does have characterization flaws which I will describe. In fact, this show goes out of its way to avoid being
a 'bodice-ripper' and focuses on the rich story and numerous plot developments. It's about an ex-soldier come back home from the American Revolutionary War to find his love has moved
on and his family land and inheritance are falling apart. With new ideals learned during the war, he tries to build a new life and business involving some neglected mines,
but he has to fight every step of the way, opposed by greedy local business-men as well as many difficult family dramas and crises. The story keeps going (it is based on a
series of books) with many developments over many years, with business crises, troubles with the law, family disagreements leading to minor feuds, dealings with smugglers,
diseases killing off friends and family, love triangles, forbidden romances, etc, etc. The story is rich and quite good, and although some moments during the first season
may be labelled a chick-flick, the show as a whole is a rich period drama. There are two flaws however: The characterizations are too black & white, and there is an anachronistic
liberal streak running through the show that probably caused the first problem as well. Ross Poldark is a bleeding heart liberal idealist, loves the poor, hates the rich,
often moralizes and has a temper. For the first season he is made to be the perfect chick-flick hunk, removing his shirt often, and always on the side of poor simple folk.
The poor are mostly good people, and even when they aren't, this liberal show makes endless excuses for them and Poldark preaches forgiveness for anything they do even murder,
just because they are poor. Almost all the rich people, on the other hand, are despicable and one-dimensional characters. Especially his nemesis, who seems to do nothing in his
life but concoct one scheme after another to make Ross's life miserable. Such simplistic characterizations holds the show down from otherwise soaring as a great period drama.
Towards the end of the second season characters start adding more layers and become more interesting, but by then it's too little too late. There is still much to enjoy here
though, as mentioned, since the stories and period setting and cinematography are all superb. And there is always Eleanor Tomlinson who steals the show with her wonderful
charm and personality as the scullery maid who catches Ross's (and the audience's) heart. A mixed bag, but worth a watch.
Lethal Weapon
Based on the first season.
As with any show that is a copycat, cash-in, sequel or reboot, it can't be judged on its own terms but in comparison to the original. That's the price you pay. The four movies
that this show is based on were perfect for what they were. The characters were lots and lots of fun and the casting was perfect, the action was thrilling, chaotic, over-the-top but
still relatively realistic. As such, the movies are one of those things that don't require a remake, and a remake should be unwelcome. For the first few episodes of this show, almost
everything is inferior except perhaps some of the writing which manages to capture the fun and chaotic action. But the actors are the biggest problem. Damon Wayans is the biggest
offender, never inhabiting the role, usually looking like he is in a comedy sketch rather than in a three-dimensional character. Whereas Glover made his character very human with
both pathos and a delicious sense of humor, Wayans is just having fun, and his portrayal is the greatest flaw in this show. Crawford as Riggs does much better, but is relatively
bland and can't hold a candle to Gibson. His character arc is more interesting than his portrayal. But if you put that aside, he is acceptable and sometimes pretty enjoyable on
his own terms. This show is mostly episodic with an outrageous crime of the week always leading to chaotic action as Riggs dives head first into the action, regardless of risk
to himself and others and massive damage to property. The character development is ongoing, with a story arc hovering in the background involving Riggs's dead wife (a copy of Monk),
except this arc and pathos is exploited in practically every episode. Some episodes are very average, others are better. Another flaw besides the characterization and episodic
structure is that many episodes make use of ridiculously impossible stunts, or they walk away from too many crazy falls, undermining the realism. This becomes worse towards the end
of season one and start of season two, and starts feeling like a cartoon. So, altogether, a mixed bag, especially when compared to the originals. I was about to give up after a few
episodes, but the fun writing kept me watching anyways for a whole season despite the flaws.
I Know This Much Is True
Mark Ruffalo in a double role as twins in a heavy mini-series drama. One of them is schizophrenic with increasingly worsening symptoms and self-destructive behaviour, leading
to a horrifying violent crisis. The other is a long-suffering man burdened not only with his brother, but a cursed life with an endless string of tragedies, family crises and
guilt over bad decisions. In terms of acting, realism and production values, this drama is impeccable and even superb, with Ruffalo giving one of those lifetime performances
involving also physical change. But although the show starts realistically, albeit bleakly and heavily, the story piles on so many bad things in each episode that it eventually
becomes ridiculous and loses its realism. Furthermore, I don't see the point of watching somebody having a very bad life and dealing with it badly; I could simply watch some
people I know in real life. I was wondering if this is a modern version of Job, except the book of Job kept the tragedies very short and spent most of its time discussing the
religious and philosophical meaning and consequences of suffering, whereas this show is the opposite: It spends most of its time depicting bad things and the characters don't
have anything interesting to say about it. In the final episode, some tentative revelations and epiphanies are reached, but by then it almost feels out of place, and too little
too late.
Shetland
Based on the first two short seasons.
Strictly average, but mildly enjoyable, British, murder-mystery series. There is no eccentric or brilliant protagonist, just an ordinary but very capable detective with a heart,
giving the mysteries a bit more of a human touch. The mysteries span two episodes, giving the story time to fill out with just enough details without going on for too long. The only
thing that makes this one somewhat unique is the location, taking place in the northern islands of Scotland. The mystery development doesn't really give one enough clues to churn
over and try to figure it out early. Instead, it adds many, many red herrings and sub-plots, muddying the waters a lot as more and more secrets are uncovered, not all of them
related to the mystery, until the final sudden reveal. So we are basically figuring things out along with the detective as the many stories unfold.
Life
Based on most of the first season.
The cop-show genre is so overcrowded it's very difficult to get interested in anything new unless it's truly extraordinary. This one is OK, but not special enough.
It's mostly episodic murder-of-the-week mystery, with a slow-moving grand convoluted mystery involving the detective himself as he slowly collects scattered clues.
The uniqueness here is that the detective has just been released from 12 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, which has done some extreme things to his personality.
He is a strange mixture of Zen mind-over-matter focus, and unstable emotions leading to law-breaking eruptions, especially when cases become similar to his own frame-up.
His focus makes him highly observant, but he is also a loose-cannon, causing much consternation to his partner and boss. Sometimes it's a little hokey, others it's interesting
and gives the show a slight edge. The episodic structure doesn't help.
Law and Order
Based on half of the third season and several scattered episodes.
A long-running, pioneering episodic show that mixes cop show with courtroom drama. The show is purely episodic, lacks story arcs and never progresses, and features
very flat characters without character development. The strength of the show lies in its mystery plots and fast-moving detective work by both the police and the lawyers.
Episodes almost always follow the same formula where a sensational killing and detective work leads to an arrest, then in the second half the lawyers find more evidence
that changes the story or even the accused. One-dimensional and formulaic, but entertaining if you happen to catch it on TV. This franchise can also be seen as the
precursor to the dry & forensic TV shows a la CSI and its dozens of clones, except this one is more plausible and relies less on flashy jargon/gadgets and more
on plain ol' police and investigative work.
Perfect Strangers
Poliakoff's follow-up to 'Shooting the Past' covers similar themes of little stories, the past, and family connections all coming alive through old photographs, this time in the form
of a family drama rather than a thriller. The setting is a ridiculously massive and complicated family gathering, organized meticulously, the many estranged relatives, some of
which never met each other, coming together awkwardly for arranged one-on-one meetings, parties, and presentations by an archivist who put together photographs to connect them
together with mysterious threads and give them a sense of their past and their relatives' unknown and adventurous backgrounds. This event is guaranteed to evoke nightmares
to those that dread family gatherings, where people that aren't meant to be together are forced together, with frequent flaunting of dirty laundry. The mini-series is sprawling
and tends to wander a lot this way and that way, painting an extended family portrait through characters and memories, warts and all. It will be either entrancing or tedious
depending on how much you enjoy these types of things.
Downton Abbey
Based on the first season.
Somewhere in between a period drama in the vein of Jane Austen, and a soap opera like Dallas. The writing frequently hops back and forth between these two incompatible
genres. Lord Crawley is the lord of the country estate Downton Abbey, and when his heirs die on the Titanic, it means that a lowly Manchester lawyer cousin will inherit,
much to the consternation of most of the noble family. His mother, the manipulative, catty, conservative, conspiring dowager, tries to fix matters so that they go her way.
The other half of this show involves the many servants and their various dramas: A timid maid, a cook that is slowly going blind, the quietly suffering Mr Bates, the evil
homosexual who is always causing trouble and trying to get Bates kicked out, and so on. The attempts and rivalry between the daughters that all need to be married off
provide more soap as well as Austenite dramedy, and the benevolent Lord is there to take the high road and settle matters between all of these tiresome bickerings and dramatics.
All of this takes place before and during WWI, with good historical detail but some anachronistic behaviour between the masters and servants. In summary, as mentioned earlier,
this is a strange mixed bag of quality drama and tiresome catty soap, and it's therefore impossible to enjoy fully.
Inbetweeners, The
Based on most of all three seasons.
Yet another teenage sex comedy about geeks trying to get laid, this one British featuring four friends that, although they distant themselves from the cartoonish freaks
in the school, they are too awkward, socially challenged and disgusting to hang out with the rest. Freaks and Geeks this isn't, but neither is it the over-the-top melodramatic
and unrealistic Skins, but that's not saying much. For every funny joke and entertaining situation, there is another juvenile silly one involving bodily functions and fluids, and
their social awkwardness frequently veers into implausibly comic just to get more comedy out of their embarrassments. The show, with the exception of Will's character, falls
into the common mistake of assuming that just because geeks are awkward, they also have to be cartoonishly stupid and unaware of their mistakes. So this one is like a British
Farrelly Brothers and mostly for people that enjoy teenage toilet humor. Humor is made of their various abuses in school, their attempts at fitting in and being cool, and their
good-natured attitude about it all, but also about vomit, sluts, testicles hanging out, a pedophiliac teacher, farting and unexpected nudity, Jay's endless boasting and lies
about filthy things he did to girls, masturbation, sperm, an embarrassing lack of knowledge about sex, and so on. Sometimes funny, mostly juvenile.
Peep Show
Based on the first two seasons.
Like an internalized Curb Your Enthusiasm, this one features the inner thoughts of two losers and their ongoing attempts to get laid and enjoy life, and we get to hear
their thoughts and endless stream of insecurities as a form of comedy. This sort of thing that makes comedy out of brutal honesty can only be pulled off by the British,
obviously, and it's a specialized series that will only appeal to a certain kind of person, probably guys that want to feel relatively better about themselves. The
two twenty-somethings are an office-worker and an unemployed musician that share a flat. They chase after anything female with pathetically desperate behaviour, causing
them more trouble and embarrassments than successes, and their social awkwardness and personality clashes don't help matters either. Acting is a bit weak and stiff,
and the characters are a bit too over-the-top stupid and pathetic, but there is some laughs, fun and empathy.
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Based on the full first season and some of the second.
I liked Krysten Ritter in Jessica Jones, and this earlier sitcom seems to suggest her being typecast as a messed-up New York irresponsible neurotic. Except that here it is
over-the-top narcissism just for fun. A small-town naive girl moves to New York with hopes and dreams, but not only are these shortly crushed, but she finds herself living
with the biggest bitch on the block. Alcohol-induced slutty behaviour and ruining other people's lives just for giggles are just the beginning. This show goes so far as to
produce several episodes that were left un-aired, including things like sleeping with underage guys, mentally-challenged guys, and playing practical jokes involving a murder.
Other shenanigans include helping her father cheat, exploiting a foster-child, and taking over a company with sheer attitude. A pervert neighbor and a stalker are friends,
as is James Van Der Beek as a narcissistic version of himself spoofing his popularity after Dawson's Creek. The humor is not so much witty-funny as train-wreck-funny, and
it won't appeal to some. Entertaining, for a short while.
Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The
Based on the first two seasons.
Set in the 50s, this features a Jewish female comedienne trying to make it in the world of comedy after her husband leaves her. Although this description may set off warning
bells of yet another revisionist feminist PC period-show, this is actually not the case and it's other things that trip up the show. Miriam "Midge" Maisel is a quick-witted,
energetic, recently-married woman trying to support her husband, when the world falls out from under her feet. During the chaos, she finds she has a talent for stand-up.
Her JAP-world amongst well-off but very high-strung Jewish parents is contrasted often with the dingy, shabby and rough world of underground stand-up, and this leads to much
comedy as her very poor and constantly angry female manager (a delightfully colorful Alex Borstein who is the best thing about the show) keeps coming up against Miriam's other
life that looks like a world of fantasy and neurotic madness. Secrets, stand-up, show-biz misadventures and family dramedy are combined.
The stand-up and her career, which is the heart of the show, is the fatal flaw. It is a glaring anachronism that makes it impossible to take the show seriously. She combines
very crude and rude self-deprecating humor Louis CK style (which I only partially enjoy), and angry rant-humor (which I don't enjoy) in the 50s! But it's not a matter of whether
I like this brand of comedy; the problem is that she goes straight into it as if it were the most natural thing to do at that time, and the 50s crowds simply clap and laugh.
To assume that everyone in a crowd from that time would not only not walk out, but even enjoy such low-brow humor, distasteful personal rants, and rampant filth with such equanimity
is to be completely blind to the huge differences in attitudes of historical generations. The show even takes great pains to show other comedians of the time with authentic styles
of comedy for the time, which makes her anachronistic comedy stand out even more. Granted, she does get arrested at first, but even this is quickly forgotten. Another huge
problem is that her character is completely unbelievable. To come from her background where her whole life she is careful of social graces, politeness and faux-pas, and then
to suddenly curse like a sailor and riff on the raunchiest of subjects without even blinking an eye, simply doesn't work. She even attacks people in the audience at a personal
level, clashing completely with her regular personality. So this whole angle severely undermines the show. As far as the Jewish angle is concerned, the attitude towards Judaism
here is very reform/modern and about as far removed from the real thing as possible, and most of the actors are obviously not Jewish. So they could replace this angle with, say,
a WASP family, and just change some props and words and it wouldn't have been much different.
The series shows much better taste and plausibility with all the support characters and her interactions with the people around her. The characters are colorful and become more and
more fun as the show progresses. There is also a fun celebration of the 50s and many of its quirks. And the stand-up is slightly toned down over time, making the second season much
better. But although this side of the show keeps you watching, it's simply not enough with such an unbelievable character and anachronism at the center. And then the second season
finale ends on a note that takes Miriam's selfish side to a more extreme level, making her a despicable character. Which is when I decided I had enough.
Sharp Objects
8-part drama about a very dysfunctional family, some broken people and a broken town. Hovering in the background is a murder-mystery and the story of a reporter who comes back to her
home town to investigate and write a piece about the murders, but this is secondary to the drama and the mystery doesn't offer clues to solve. The drama takes its time, too
much time in fact, but it does build a detailed intimate portrait of the people involved and the town, especially our protagonist, whose state of mind is constantly explored
using brief glimpses of mysterious traumatic memories that are masterfully blended into the story. At the center is a very broken mother-daughter relationship, full of heavy
baggage, made worse by the tension of the murders in the town and her younger sister who is acting out her own problems. As a drama and character study, this is quite good.
As a story and murder-mystery, it not only moves too slowly, but the final episode piles on the melodrama, as well as the amount of extreme illogical behaviour and deep
character flaws in multiple people, and then one final incredulous twist, all of which undermine the story.
Goldbergs, The
Based on scattered episodes of the first season.
I wasn't expecting a light family sitcom, but this ended up being a throwback to shows like Cosby Show, Wonder Years, Everybody Hates Chris, etc. and nostalgia doesn't just make
an appearance, it's the core of the show. It's based on the creator's real family videos and memories from the 80s. There's an overbearing mom who smothers her kids to truly
embarrassing proportions, appearing everywhere and trying to control everything, ignoring the fact they aren't small children anymore. The dad is a typical clueless sitcom
moron who calls everyone else a moron, but has a good heart. There's the two unstable teenagers, a cool grandfather who encourages their bad behaviour, and a nerdy kid that
videos everything. There's plenty of dysfunction and amusing things that get way out of hand, but every episode ends with a lesson learned, very often by the parents. And
it takes place in the 80s where everything was obnoxiously colorful, energetic and simpler. In short, some funny moments, lots of cliches, making this a somewhat weak sitcom,
but it could amuse the family or the nostalgic in short bursts.
Power
Based on the first season.
A crime-show modelled after Sopranos, Brotherhood, et al, with season-long story arcs and multiple plot-lines, including drama and complications involving various
family-members and lovers. This extended crime network consists mostly of blacks and Latinos, and at the center is a solid partnership between two old friends
that are currently at the top of a city-wide drug-distribution network, but also under pressure from the larger cartels. In addition, 'Ghost' is getting more involved
with a legal front, a very successful night-club, and is beginning to have plans to move away from the drug world. The FBI is indirectly on their tail, and one
of the agents is a past love, the one that got away. This is the setup, leading to complications, suspected back-stabbers, mysterious hits from unknown competition,
affairs and family tensions, wild girl-friends, and high-stake business deals. The writing and acting is above-average, and the actors have a presence, and it should appeal
to its target audience. Except that there really isn't anything that is clever here. For example, their flailing attempts at tracking down their competition is just a
series of wild shots in the dark, and they just keep making bad guesses or bad decisions. Not that all criminals need to be smart, but it doesn't make the show too
interesting. In addition, one of the main plot-lines in the first season involves Ghost's secret and escalating affair with the FBI agent who is trying to track him
down (a contrived coincidence), except he doesn't know what she is up to (there is no reason why she is keeping her job a secret), and she doesn't know who he is
(an even more impossible contrivance since she knows everyone he works with and everything they do yet somehow never saw or got a description of him). And then there
is the glamorizing of the criminal life, and a higher-than-usual level of flashy and boring materialism. In summary, slightly above-average, but a mixed bag and mostly weak.
Gomorra
Based on the first season.
Overrated Italian gritty mafia series with lots of violence. The realistic violence and the acting are both very good, and the writing makes use of multiple ongoing plot-lines.
Unfortunately, this is no Godfather or Goodfellas or even Sopranos. For one thing, the characters are all one-dimensional and lacking an ounce of charm. Not that gangsters
should all be fun to be around, but everyone here is dull to watch. A more serious problem is that most of them are dumb hotheads. They keep a cycle of violence going which
can't possibly be good for business, and they lash out and murder anyone on whims instead of thinking things through. This causes damage to the entertainment value of the show
in two ways: Since most of the characters are dumb and almost never come up with interesting plans and only know how to use brute force for everything, the show becomes dumb
and uninteresting. And it also makes the likelihood of this mafia's survival increasingly implausible. This also isn't helped by the puzzling fact that this mafia doesn't seem
to have any connections with law enforcement or politicians that help get them out of trouble. In addition, most of their business is just drug-dealing like some corner
gangsters. The first half of the first season is pretty bad, depicting a hothead cycle of violence amongst competing drug-gangs. The second half becomes more interesting
as things become more complex, with the wife and problematic son taking over, trying to make new deals, and with betrayal amongst their ranks. But they are still largely
unthinking reactionary brutes that keep causing damage to their own business, which doesn't provide much incentive to keep watching.
Rectify
Based on the first season.
It starts well, with a man being released from jail after spending two decades in death row, going through several appeals, only to be released based on ambiguous DNA evidence.
The show is about how a man from such isolation and extreme psychological state could possibly re-integrate into society. It leaves the question of whether he really committed
murder unanswered and ambiguous, dangling a did-he-or-didn't-he over the audience and then moves on to the drama and character study. The numbness, the psychological
prison that suddenly serves no purpose, the lack of tools with which to handle freedom and people, the lack of human interaction for so long only to be inundated with so
many people that have different opinions on him, his loving family, the big wide open world that has modernized, etc. Trouble is, while this can work as a mood piece in
a movie, a TV series needs more. After a couple of episodes, it settles into a repeat-cycle where nothing really happens, and it's just drama about how he deals with
the world and how the world deals with him, while the mystery is pretty much abandoned. Pretty soon it just feels pointless and uninteresting, despite the good acting.
You're the Worst
Based on the first two seasons.
I'm not sure I ever saw a show with so much potential deteriorate so fast in so many ways. The first few episodes are deliciously refreshing, edgy and funny: Two single, toxic
anti-social but smart losers cross paths and tentatively get together in the loosest sense of the word, slowly getting addicted to each other's company even though they hate
everything remotely resembling normalcy or romance. Being an American show, I expected their rudeness and bad behaviour to be made into something cute rather than staying true
to their characters and getting by on wit like a good British show would do (e.g. Black Books). And indeed it eventually succumbs to reducing their characters' rudeness into
lovable quirks, but, for the first few episodes, it delivers superb comedy and wit. And then, rapidly, the supporting characters become caricatures, the protagonist lose their
realism as the writers desperately try to find inconsistent behaviour shifts with which to keep them occupied, they resort to some rom-com cliches, episodes increasingly feature
some of them behaving like obnoxious 14-year old girly rich slutty brats on cocaine that only text and gossip all day, and this combined with the overly silly behavioural
quirks reminded me of a bad season of Scrubs. Even the graphic sexual content is wild at first, then too desperate. Way to take the express-lane to shark-jumping, guys.
Good Doctor, The
Based on the first season.
It's been a couple of years, so I suppose it's time for another episodic hospital drama. This one is an obvious attempt to repeat the success of House M.D., created by some of
the same people. Only instead of a complex, harsh, but brilliant, truthful personality, this show replaces him with a young man with autism, a simpler personality, but also harshly
honest and brilliant with his diagnoses. The hospital hires him after some internal pressure in a risk-taking move, and they try to work around his challenging interpersonal
problems while enjoying his unusual ability to make very difficult diagnoses based on many details, while coming up with unusual and obscure solutions to problems. The acting is
superb and convincing, as far as I can tell. I am not going to pretend to know whether this portrayal is authentic, but there is a wide spectrum of people with this condition with
varying functional levels, and they don't shy away from making him difficult to handle as well as being often impossibly direct with patients (which is, again, an obvious excuse
to create a Dr House version 2). I do find the treatment of his brilliance and seemingly flawless mental acrobatics which he can apply to any problem a bit too much like a convenient
super-power. Aren't people with autism supposed to be much more rigid than this with more requirements for structure and preparation? Can they really adapt to such a pressured,
dynamic and rapidly changing environment like an emergency room? As I said, I don't know, but it felt a bit wrong. Also, some of his communication difficulties seem to disappear gradually
with every episode, as if the writers couldn't stick to writing such a difficult person for long. But all this may be due to a lack of knowledge on my part. There is some PC preaching
in the second half of the first season but this only makes short appearances. The real flaw here is that this show wears its emotions on its sleeves. The usual hospital dramas in this
show, where hundreds of life-altering decisions are made every day by both doctors and patients, don't have the class and depth of shows like House M.D. or even E.R., and the emotions
are always pushed forward like a sad puppy, complete with musical cues. That said, it still works on quite a few episodes and generates some strong drama, but in other episodes it just
feels like emotional manipulation, melodrama or soap. I am not surprised that reviews complained about later seasons. The first season is still pretty watchable, however, especially
thanks to the acting, and there are several interesting hospital dramas and dilemmas.
Genius
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
Season-long biopics of geniuses. At least that's how it starts, with the first watchable season covering Einstein's life, loves and work. The second much weaker season covers
Picasso, and although an artist, I suppose his many groundbreaking inventions in painting qualify as genius. The third season goes Woke and covers Aretha Franklin, as if good
singing is somehow 'genius'. The approach, even in the first season, is hit-n-miss. It is full of detail, given its ten episodes, but also full of biopic cliches. The history
is good, and the second half of the first season is a lot stronger than the first in terms of story-telling, since it dives into politics and bigger issues than just his
philandering. But the character and biopic highlights feel cliched, and I feel I learned nothing new about the man himself beyond the popular aspects that we hear about all
the time, his behaviour simply conforming with his superficial public image. There is no subtlety here; the writing feels like its merely checking boxes. But the history got
interesting so I kept watching. There is also a problem with actors constantly faking heavy accents in English instead of speaking German/Spanish/French where appropriate.
It's distracting, and even English without an accent would have worked better. The second season piled on the biopic cliches and portrayed a man who is an uninteresting trite
egotist. So I got tired of it after a few episodes. He may have been that kind of person for all I know, but I doubt they couldn't have found more interesting details to
explore with better writing.
Detectorists
Based on the first season.
Light and gentle drama with some humor about friendships and relationships, revolving around two friends and their hobby. They roam fields with metal detectors hoping to find
treasure, but mostly just collecting ring-pulls and metal junk, partaking in activities of a tiny club of like-minded hobbyists, occasionally feuding with rival clubs for
rights over a field, but mostly its about hanging out together, dealing with relationship issues or talking about things as insignificant as a discarded ring-pull. This
show isn't going to rock your boat or make you laugh out loud; It's mostly for an audience that wants to hang out with normal, three-dimensional folk and watch a harmless,
pleasant show.
Parenthood
Based on scattered episodes of the first season.
Actually the second time the movie was expanded into a TV series. The Steve Martin movie was good for what it is, it said what it had to say and was done. To expand a dramedy about
parenting into a series can only mean a lot of padding and extended drama, and would only appeal to a certain crowd. And that's what this show is like: A dramedy about an extended
family with a wide variety of parenting and kid problems, some of them loosely inspired by the characters in the movie. Some of it is good, some is bland and falls in the 'who-cares'
category, some involves hokey cliches and uninspired drama. There are several teenagers with the usual teenager problems, a kid with Asperger, one irresponsible adult suddenly finds
himself with a five-year-old kid, etc. But a frequent problem with this show is that most of the parents seem to be high-strung, dealing with issues using yelling, immature behaviour,
nervous neurotic behaviour, lots of blabbering, and so on, making mountains out of molehills and treating the kids like bombs that are always about to explode. Some episodes are
better than others and the show does have its moments, but who needs this when we all have our own families to watch.
Kim's Convenience
Based on the first season.
Very light Canadian sitcom involving a Korean family and their convenience store. As with many films of this kind, much of the comedy revolves around the clash between old-school,
stricter, immigrant parents, and an overly sensitive new generation. But this light show has its heart in the right place for all of its characters, nicely blending lightly
touching moments with comedy, or sitcom cliches. Not knowing Korean culture, I may be wrong, but much of the writing seems to be a Western person's projection of their own
culture on Koreans, using regular Western sitcom material on a Korean family with broken English. And although most (not all) of the cast for the family is Korean, the accents
and broken English feel overdone just for laughs. So some aspects of this show feel clunky. But despite this, every few scenes there's one with surprise laugh-out-loud moments
and lines, and the dynamic between the characters is mild fun.
Master of None
Based on the first season.
I have no idea why this is compared to Louie often since this is almost the complete opposite kind of comedy. It's cutesy and silly, sometimes sweet, often bland, with an annoying
PC streak running through it and very soft edges. It's a millennial comedy, with the tone changing from episode to episode. Sometimes it's juvenile friends stuff like a silly
episode of Scrubs where the 20 year olds acts like little girls, other times it's a rom-com, a dramedy about relationships, a comedy about race issues (with a very soft touch).
There is some direct honesty, but it's handled softly. Sometimes it's amusing, sometimes it's kinda cute, but most of the time it's pretty bland. Aziz Ansari is the comedian at
the center with a soft positive and gung-ho outlook on life, except this softness also leads him to make drama over silly nothings. His friends include various girls, and a
giant man-child. Very little fun to be had, but there is some here and there.
Too Old to Die Young
Based on the single season.
This is basically Nicolas Winding Refn re-imagining and expanding his 'Only God Forgives' film to 13 hours with slightly fewer bizarre and otherworldly elements. Instead
of Thailand, the sex business and perverts getting brutal extreme justice from a human god of vengeance, we get L.A. and Mexico, the cartels, drugs and sex trafficking
businesses, and some corrupt cops. And this time, there is not one, but a group of people out to mete final justice to any and all perverts, traffickers and rapists,
including two broken, corrupt law-enforcement people looking for a higher purpose in life, backed by a new-age spiritualist that has visions, and one Mexican woman
who sees herself as the High Priestess of Death. The first few episodes feel like an average crime movie plot stretched out to four times its normal duration thanks
to Refn's trademarked constant use of heavy pauses between every line and scene, slow takes, a loud, mostly electronic soundtrack that gets top billing, and an emphasis
on atmosphere. He also uses his usual neon palette to paint many of the scenes into an urban, synthetic, soulless, modern, neo-noir hellhole. This snail pacing may have
worked in a 90 minute movie that goes for an atmospheric experience, but is a big hurdle in a 13-hour series. Thankfully, the story becomes increasingly interesting with
every episode and eventually elevates itself beyond an average crime show with its insane characters, and a typically Refn sense of some merciless higher powers of nihilism
and justice battling it out. It is also very brutal in the last few episodes, and no character is spared, as both the criminals and the justice-seekers escalate their
violence with no end in sight. As with 'Only God Forgives' there is also an incestuous mother-son relationship, although this develops into a strange and very perverse
sexual role-play. Unfortunately, Refn is also one of those directors that gets his characters to act catatonic and detached, which on the one hand aids in the feeling of
people in a fate not of their making, but which also makes them quite uninteresting. In summary, a mixed bag, with both interesting and tiresome aspects.
Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany
Technically one long movie typically viewed as a mini-series of movies, and also the first series of three, this series clocking in at about 14 hours. The second series,
at 25 hours, holds the record for 'Longest Film Commercially Shown In Its Entirety'. This is a dramatic series with meticulous historical detail, with various small and big
historical changes seen through the eyes of a remote village and its many occupants. It this sense, it is similar to Centennial but smaller in scope, and to Yimou's 'To Live',
except that movie rushed through history using highlights of deaths, births and marriages and this movie takes its time with everything in between, it is perhaps also similar
to Siberiada, except this is less artsy, and finally, it can also be compared to 1900.
The series covers the period after WWI in 1919 and ends in 1982. It tells the tale of many characters that grow up in a village so remote, it seems to be lagging behind a few
decades in terms of progress. The village slowly grows into a proper town as technology and social changes start to reach them. A woman named Maria seems to be the heart of
the story, and although the movie takes place mostly in this town, some of the characters spread out to Berlin or America, only to come back to their birthplace, bringing
change with them. History is explored via minutiae and long-distance echoes and effects without actually seeing the big events themselves. New technology, new ideas, social
attitudes and behaviours, music and dress, war, Nazism, etc. are all experienced from afar, depending on how powerful their effect was at the time. The many people's lives,
loves, personalities and dramas are all explored via vignettes, the family tree constantly growing, ending in a nostalgic episode that ties it all together.
For the first few episodes, the series is too fractured, the dialogue is unnatural, and the whole thing feels stodgy and theatrical rather than involving. It takes a long
time to get to know the many characters, and the movie starts with vignettes, skipping years here and there, slowly gathering momentum. There is a peak of involvement
during the middle episodes of the rise of Nazism and WWII, and then it winds down again into fractured vignettes. In short, this series requires an investment, the payoff
is not that great and it lacks grand themes or sweeping drama, but this is still somewhat quality drama with rich historical detail and will appeal to an audience that
appreciate this sort of thing.
Noble House
The second adaptation produced by James Clavell based on his own huge novel. At first, this seems like it's going to be the modernized business version of Shogun:
Large corporations battle for power and control in Honk Kong against a backdrop of somewhat alien cultural rules. The Tai Pan is under attack by both local
aggressive competition and an outsider attempting a takeover. Various women, love affairs and natural disasters complicate matters further. The business wars,
plots and machinations combined with Clavell's typical attention to cultural detail would make for good entertainment, but the modern setting isn't as interesting,
and the biggest plot device regarding a half-coin that gives the bearer power is contrived and weak. The real problem however, is that all this rich and shameless
backstabbing and plotting veers dangerously close to soap-opera Dynasty land, and when the series starts focusing on the love affairs, it falls right into soap land
along with its terribly corny soundtrack. A mixed bag, and most definitely not on a par with Shogun.
Warrior
Based on the first season and a bit of the second.
By one of the creators of Banshee, and it shows. This is only somewhat better than that show, and that isn't saying much. The setting is purportedly 1868 San Francisco
in Chinatown, right after the civil war, and during a time of brutal gang wars, as well as rising hatred for the wave of immigrant Chinese taking jobs. A martial-arts
warrior fresh from China is flung right in the middle of everything, and he makes heavy use of his fighting skills, whether to fight for the gang that forcefully
adopted him, or to fight the angry and tough Irish. Amidst it all, there are many politicians and businessmen that try to make use of the wars in Chinatown for their
own benefit, as well as a whorehouse that plays its own game. Almost everyone is criminal and violent, including the anti-hero protagonist and some women, and even
the policeman in charge is corrupt, criminal and violent. I say purportedly 1868, because this show has so many anachronisms, it feels like a fantasy or comic book.
I was never transported to that period for even a second, whether it is their language, idioms, cursing, attitudes, behaviour, dress-codes, etc. The women's wardrobe
is an amusing combination of period dress and Victoria Secret underwear or fetish-sex-store props. The feel of the show, especially during the first few episodes, is
like Bruce Campbell doing a 70s chopsocky film, with extra sex and brutal violence. It's fanboyish, attempting to emulate Bruce Lee, except without the good-guys-bad-guys
scenario, and with extra horny wise-cracks and 21st century cursing. It has a ridiculous quota of softcore sex scenes in every episode, and the fighting is more martial
than art. Koji as the protagonist is not much in terms of personality, but he definitely has training and skills, but, to my untrained eyes, he doesn't have the balance,
precision and discipline to make it look powerful or graceful. His nemesis (Joe Taslim), on the other hand, definitely has all of the above. So the fights may not be
amazing, but they are quite good nevertheless, especially for a TV show. It started poor, and I was ready to quit watching after a couple of episodes, but every time I
almost quit, the show stepped up and improved continuously for the first season as the plotting kicked in and they starting getting invested in the character and plot
more than the nudity and fratboy fight-club behaviour. The plotting becomes serviceable and rich, but still felt like a forgettable 80s action b-movie, though many of
the motivations of some characters seemed mindlessly self-destructive just to get more fights going, and the protagonist never uses his brain for even one second.
Eventually it peaked at the end of season one as 'watchable pulp'.
Schitt's Creek
Based on the first season.
Labelled the Canadian 'Arrested Development', and I can see why, although a show would have to work hard to be as terrible as that over-the-top cartoonish terrible show.
This one tones it down a little and is a bit more fun, and it doesn't feature the horribly annoying narration. The sitcom setup in this one is a rich, high-strung, extremely
spoiled family of four highly materialistic and narcissistic city-folk, suddenly finding themselves broke and forced to live in a hick town called Schitt's Creek which they
once bought as a joke. The comedy revolves around their neurotic and high-strung antics and ridiculous interactions with the simple folk who are about as close to them as
aliens from Mars. At first, the comedy is over-the-top, shrill, with very broadly-drawn characters, but the writers soon find a slightly better tone, giving them a tiny bit
of depth and personality, but still keeping the characters exaggerated and silly, with frequently annoying drama-queen behaviour. When they start learning how to mingle with
the town folk, their 'romantic' interests resemble bored and horny breeding experiments rather than anything human, especially with the almost-OCD gay 'pan-sexual' son. It's
two-thirds annoying or silly, one-third funny.
Victoria
Based on the first two seasons.
Yet another anachronistic, modernized and liberal 'period drama', only this one is not a total loss and has its points of interest. It does suffer heavily from being released
at the same time as the vastly superior 'The Crown' however, like a teenager trying to emulate a much more mature and sophisticated adult. Like The Crown, this is a biopic of
a queen with a long and rich reign, by way of her family dramas as well as her handling of many of the country's crises and complex politics. It seems to want to emulate Downton
Abbey however, by portraying the drama of both the upstairs royalty in parallel to the many downstairs servants of the palace with their personal dramas, as well as their
interactions with the royal family. The overall quality of this show's writing actually improved with time, starting as a laughably bad anachronistic teenage soap opera, and
slowly adding more interesting layers and depths to the characters with every episode, after the first four episodes that is. This constant improvement is what kept me watching
past that horrible beginning. But throughout the show, all of its good character work is constantly undermined by several factors: Anachronisms galore, mainly to do with modern
liberal and feminist attitudes, as well as a laughable lack of decorum surrounding the queen. I found myself constantly laughing at how dozens of visitors to the palace simply
walked in on the queen's personal chambers to have very informal chats or confrontations with her, as if she were their friend 'Queen Vicky'. Her frequent wandering around the
country alone is no less amusing. But it's the feminist and liberal agenda that really gets on one's nerves, every episode staging a confrontation with some hopelessly boorish
family member or politician in order to allow a character to give a liberal speech about their wrong attitude, whether it is their views on women, servants, slaves, or Tories.
Not only is is distractingly anachronistic, it's like an obnoxious barking dog that keeps barking in the middle of an otherwise not-bad show. I felt myself wondering often
why on Earth this was called the 'Victorian age' trying to figure out what was 'Victorian' about it (by its current definition). Of course, as usual with this kind of show,
they give all the credit to Ada Lovelace and push Babbage to the sidelines of his own inventions. The second season even injects a fantasy homosexual relationship between
two well-known historical characters without a care, and has even its most conservative characters accept it with understanding. Note that I am not criticizing the show for
its historical inaccuracies, which many have already pointed out (who are much better than I at history). All I cared about was whether this show transports me to the period
or not. All that said, as I said earlier, many of the primary characters do grow to be quite interesting and endearing, even if many others around them only serve as
one-dimensional foils for the liberal agenda and revisionism.
Girls
Based on the first one and a half seasons.
HBO does a Sex and the City for the New Yorker millennial generation with a heavy emphasis on awkward, flippantly-perverse sex, and narcissistic, spoiled behaviour,
coupled with a more realistic and unglamorous approach to girls, without even the pseudo-glitz of SatC, and the result is not pretty. But it does have its share of amusements,
with very fleshy three-dimensional characters, and even a heart, perhaps thanks to the involvement of Apatow. It also makes a point of repeatedly displaying chubby naked
bodies every chance it gets. Four 20-something female friends share their lives, apartments, and ups and downs in their many disastrous relationships. Each one is a complex
character that cannot be described in a single sentence, and this is one of the main strengths of this show. Despite their complexity, however, it can't be said that they
are interesting enough to watch extensively, and they will quickly wear out their welcome with their self-obsessed lives, lazy and spoiled approach to jobs and relationships,
and their bored tendency to fill their lives with drama like drama queens rather than with actual meaning. As an example, every time they broke up with loves and friends
(which happened very often), it took me a while to realize they had actually broken up, as it was difficult for me to understand how people can give up on everything so
absolutely and quickly, and over such banalities. The low-key comedy revolves mainly around their messed-up lives, relationships and flings, and the comedy lacks wit,
but is often amusing nevertheless, at least during the first season. Dunham is the writer as well as the primary character in the show, and she makes sure to exploit the
situation by writing a parade of hunks to fall for her, have sex scenes with her, and compliment her every chance she gets. This sacrificing of realism to hormones is another
of its flaws. The many sex scenes are often unsexy or even disgusting or awkward, but with some of the scenes, that is the point. Another flaw is that the primary male character
of Adam seems like an amalgam of a few elements that don't go together. I.e. one can see his many character traits including those of sensitive guy and cruel creepy pervert
as being drawn from life, but not all together. The second season just becomes tiresomely trashy, spoiled and histrionic until you can't stand to look at them anymore.
In short, a mixed bag, with more bad than good.
Blue Mountain State
Based on the first season.
Unapologetically crass and dumb, this show takes a page out of American Pie, Animal House, Porky's, and so on, and makes a TV series out of it. Except that it doesn't have
charming nerds as protagonists, or the quirky characters that made Animal House a success. This is the pure frat-boy and jock version of those movies. Sure, there are
endless parties, drugs, egos, and alcohol, but this is all about the daily outrageous misadventures brought on only by the fact that everyone is too horny, dumb and full of
testosterone to say no to anything. Episodes deal with painful ways to pass drug-tests, horny grandmothers of teachers that can help them get passing grades, 'virgin' girlfriends
that will do anything to get their jock in shape for the game, sex toys and sexual diseases, rings lost at stripper bars, mythical wars with the lacrosse team, a cougar with
a fetish for urine, and so on, including of course everything to do with body fluids and functions. Booger makes an appropriate sleazy appearance as a father pushing his
daughter onto one of the athletes. Each episode tries to outdo the other much like the football stars themselves. It is what it is, serving very limited entertainment
strictly for people with an excess of testosterone that want to stop thinking for a while.
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