I have been watching the new Paramount+ series School Spirits (not to be confused with School Spirits, or School Spirit.) It is a teen drama that is more or less Ghosts (British or American) with a murder mystery. Stars the karate bad girl from Cobra Kai. Kind of generic teen paranormal show, but not terrible, especially if you like the karate bad girl from Cobra Kai.
I’d been watching Running Man*, a Korean “suburban variety show” since I discovered it in 2015 and had watched it at least weekly, including catch up on old episodes until June of last year, when I watched episode 611 with Kpop rapper Mi Ran(i) as a guest.
*Running Man began in 2011, is one, possibly the longest running (no pun intended) variety show in Korea and has spawned several copycat shows throughout Asia.
Episode 611 had (and still has) me laughing out loud (as I’d often done with other episodes), but whenever I started watching episodes after that (they’re up to episode 644 as of 3/5/23), I can’t get into the newer episodes because the running joke in this episode was so perfect.
The setup. Mi Ran (‘na’ or 'ah" is sometimes added to a female’s name as a sign of affection) was fairly quiet during the first half of the show** and Ha Ha (referred to a Manegu because of his shaved head) tried to start a loveline between her and Se Chan in the bus on the way to their next destination.
**One of the hallmarks of the show is that the members, particularly Yue Jae Suk usually draw their guests into the show and make them shine.
Se Chan (rather rudely IMO) said that Mi Ran wasn’t his type and everyone thought the joke ended there.
However, when they got to their destination, the Ha Ha and Se Chan’s team couldn’t eat until they made someone on the other team hold up the Stop sign. They could only communicate with the other team with text messages.
This sets up the end of the Mi Ran running joke and the continuance of Ha Ha’s forced loveline:
https://youtu.be/3YUxMT6Vu4g?t=122
This is after they played a few more games and Ha Ha and Se Chan’s team was behind again and had to make the other team hold up the Stop sign:
https://youtu.be/3YUxMT6Vu4g?t=994
I haven’t completely given up on Running Man and something I’m sure I’ll return to watching episodes 612 on.
I watched the series a couple of years after I read the book and though I remembered the book as being “good”, at least I had enjoyed it, I really couldn’t remember the plot details, especially about Jeevan & Kirsten’s relationship though I knew it didn’t seem quite the same. Also, the book is not very long and I remember being surprised they were going to be able to make a limited series out of it. That being said, the series blew me away as one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It just has so many great character arcs, even those whose stories end at the beginning but still tie so many of the living characters together. The Hamlet play was the cherry on top.
I did re-read the book after - and the book was ok but the series was just so, so much more.
I think as a piece of storytelling, the TV series is better.
It’s twistier and the character connections are more compelling. But the book has this unique way of capturing a sense of simultaneous wonder and longing for the old world that I really do find myself thinking, “Wow, I’m in an age of fleeting miracles.”
The book makes me think of a metaphor for death. Looking back with a hazy memory and vague sense of gratitude for everything you will never have again.
I didn’t get that specific feeling from the TV series. The TV series didn’t make me think about my own life the way the book did. But I plan to rewatch the series. Maybe I will get something different on rewatch.
I started watching Station Eleven recently. I finished the series last night. What a terrific show. Both actresses who played Kirsten were exceptional. Character driven, yet intricately plotted, I found the series an excellent look at love, loss, redemption, and reconciliation in the ruins. I thought the finale to be one of the best pieces of TV I have ever seen.
I tried to watch Station Eleven but the timing of it being released during the pandemic made it a little hard to watch. I may go back to it later.
Is it a dystopia show? I’ve seen enough of those in my life to be unsure I want to watch any more.
While it takes place in a world where a pandemic has killed off the majority of the population, it’s not dystopian per se. It’s more a story about the relationships between the survivors.
Cool. That actually sounds interesting.
It’s much more hopeful than most dystopias. While there is loss, there is also family (found) and survival.
Even better.
It’s not that I necessarily avoid depressing stories. It’s just that sometimes I just can’t deal.
I’m watching The Last of Us right now and it’s a good show, but I’m tiring of the same old nihilistic post-apoc stories. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen em all. But you know you’re in for something different when Station Eleven opens its future timeline with a traveling theater troupe carrying the banner: Because survival is insufficient.
You guys are really making me want to watch it!
Just to be that guy, I’ll disagree a bit. It is in fact quite dystopian in a number of respects. It’s just that said dystopia is much more genuinely the setting rather than the point of the series.
But this I agree strongly with. It’s very much a hopeful dystopia. It’s like a person with PTSD that is making real progress in therapy 
.
Yeah that is basically it.
And even the people who die in the pandemic, you don’t feel too badly because their lives are shown to have meaning. It’s not about how they died, but who they are. It’s a dystopia, but not one meant to shock and horrify. It’s meant to make you ponder life’s big questions. And it does. I mean, I’m still thinking about it.
The book was even more optimistic, ending on an arguably saccharin note, whereas I think the TV series had a powerful and perfect conclusion without having to promise anything about the future.
One thing I love about HBO is they don’t beat shows to death. They just let them be exactly as long as they’re supposed to be and Station Eleven is a great example of that.
I’m rewatching James Burke’s excellent shows Connections and The Day The Universe Changed on the internet archive. Of course his examples of leading edge tech seem quaint now, but Burke is as an engaging host as one could ask for and the concepts are just as interesting today as they were back then.
I loved Connections! (I may still have the companion book around here somewhere.) I’ll have to go find the series on the interwebs.
Along with Connections, I’d like to find a way to watch the 1972 The Ascent of Man. Its companion book was the first hardcover book that I bought with my limited funds when I was in high school. Companion books almost make up for not having the actual show to watch. Yeah, I could order the DVD or get it at the library, but these forward-looking series suggest that eventually we’ll be able to watch anything anytime we want.
Connections and The Ascent of Man are available on the internet archive. To get you started:
We’re watching Waco, the miniseries about the Branch Davidians, based on a book written by one of the FBI agents who was a negotiator both there and at Ruby Ridge.