The Wandavision gimmick kept me interested for about two and a half episodes before the dark subject matter just got too depressing to continue.
I didn’t watch it, but I remember threads about it:
I’ve been watching Ghosts (US version). It was a pleasant enough time killer. But now, halfway through Season 2, it’s becoming unbearable. Samantha keeps doing whatever the ghosts want, no matter how stupid it is and the plots are dependent on some sub-I Love Lucy scheme whose potential to backfire is obvious from the moment it’s mentioned (and ignored). I hope it improves, but I don’t see that as a likely scenario.
We watched it and liked it well enough. I saw that someone on another forum objected to the idea that she doesn’t just leave. I’m fine with that element; I’m fully prepared to believe that, either correctly or incorrectly, she doesn’t see it as a viable option. That said, I might have liked to see more exploration of “I can’t leave because…” stuff. She seems to dismiss it too easily, in my opinion. Just a couple more minutes of dialogue could have done it, really.
Things do take some messed-up turns as the story develops, with various complications and unintended consequences and whatnot. If you’ve seen Good Girls, there might be something of the same appeal in that respect. That is, assuming you liked Good Girls. I did, but then again, I like the whole deal of thinking a situation has gotten as messed up as it can possibly get, and then in the next episode, the writers find a way to mess it up even worse. I also like the dynamic between Annie Murphy’s character and her friend next door.
Three episodes into The Decameron (Netflix). A comedy set in Italy during the Black Death. Great production values, great cast, and well-defined characters. This isn’t “dark humor” as it seems to be defined today; it’s just funny. I’m really enjoying it.
Oh…and, hands down, the best opening credits design of the year.
I watched for awhile and finally decided I just didn’t like it enough to sit through any more of it. I stuck with it as long as I did because I like Annie Murphy.
I’m watching Bookie on Max. I’m enjoying it. Very funny.
I gave up after one episode. I didn’t find it funny and I the fake sitcom aspect didn’t seem to improve the drama.
I liked Kevin Can Fuck Himself a lot, especially for the satirical elements. The parody of the subgenre is vicious and delightful.
Just saw another episode. It used the “Oh, no! Not again!” ending, the Hallmark of badsitcons.
I’ve only seen a few minutes here and there of the US version, but it was enough to tell that the British version is far superior.
I struggled with this show at first, going in thinking it was a comedy, but once I settled into the tone of it I enjoyed it a lot more. And it had a satisfying ending. I 'd describe it, as others have said, not a comedy at all really, dark or otherwise, but a drama with elements of dark comedy.
Well, she’s aging really well. I thought at first that her and Ray Romano’s characters made an odd couple because I assumed he was much older than her. But I checked their ages: Kudrow is 61 and Romano is 67.
I enjoyed this show a lot too. But speaking of dark humor, and what exactly it is, I would disagree that this show was not dark humor. It’s a comedy set in Italy during the Black Death. People are literally laughing in the face of death. I don’t know if it’s necessary to spoiler this given the subject matter, but most of the main characters die during the show. In a comedy.
I came into this thread this morning to see if anyone else mentioned ‘The Terror’, an anthology series of which Netflix recently dropped the first season. I see a few others did mention it favorably. The first season is about the doomed Franklin expedition to try to find the Northwest Passage. I had heard there’s a supernatural aspect to it, but 2 episodes in there have only been hints of the supernatural. I would have been happy for it to have been a straight work of speculative historical fiction without supernatural elements, but, oh well. There’s enough creeping dread knowing everybody is doomed without throwing monsters or ghosts into the mix. Mother Nature is the most formidable monster of all. In any case it’s very well made, with great sets, production values and acting, IMO. Enjoying it.
Regarding Kevin Can F**k Himself - I think I’m out. I can’t stand the sitcom husband.
Italy’s version of The Canterbury Tales. I have wanted to watch this for some time just for the historical significance, but was turned off by the production value and dubbing from what little I saw.
But you guys liked it so I may dive back in!
It’s an American production. No dubbing if you are watching in English. And the production values are excellent. Are you thinking of the 1971 Italian film? But don’t watch it for its historical significance, any more than you would watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail for its.
I watched the first 2 episodes of ‘Prime Target’ on AppleTV. Maths prodigy investigating prime numbers gets targeted by mysterious forces and 3 letter agencies. Not sure I’ll stick with it though as they seem to want to kill off characters just as you’re starting to find out more about them. Somebody squeezed the location budget though, so it does look gorgeous in 4K.
Finally watched Season 2 of Schmigadoon!. I think S2 was even better than the first in terms of the sharpness of the songwriting in both parody and straightforward aspects. I laughed a lot and had fun spotting the various references to '60 and '70s shows.
A pity there won’t be a third season but the 80s and 90s era musicals would basically just be Andrew Lloyd Webber, Disney, a lot of jukebox musicals, and Rent.
Thanks, I’ll dive back in. The Canterbury Tales isn’t a banger, but I am glad I am familiar with it. I just wanted something similar with another countries popular medieval literature.
The teen and I are working our way through Secret Level right now. It’s an animated anthology series based on different games (D&D, Warhammer, and Pac-Man, among others). It’s got some really good animation and voice work. The standout for me so far is “New World: The Once and Future King” where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an egotistical king who washes up on a mystical island where he can’t die. It’s on Prime.
I think the sitcom/drama switching goes quite a distance toward helping characterize Kevin as a wholly unsympathetic, self-centered tool. And maybe it shows that he and Allison just live in two different worlds.
That said, I’m not going to defend it as one of the show’s better elements. Maybe it’s just the show runner and writers taking the easy way to get that characterization because a sitcom lets you go more “cartoonish.”