I just finished watching English Teacher, first season (renewed for a 2nd).
Of the main cast, the only one I recognize is Enrico Colantoni: Mathesar from Galaxy Quest, the photographer from Just Shoot Me, and just a ton of things. Sadly not a lot of meat to his role as principal here.
The basic premise is that the title character Evan is a gay guy. He teaches HS English in Austin (good) in Texas (bad). He’s got a semi-ex boyfriend, fellow teachers, etc. His primary friend is Gwen who is the most interesting character in the show. Side-by-side, Evan and Gwen are quite reminiscent of J.D. and Jordan from Scrubs. Eerie.
This show makes me glad that I’m not a (college) teacher anymore. I have a relative that quit teaching after COVID 'cause the students just didn’t care to do any work anymore. Something the show drives home.
It is sort of hit or miss. The first and 3rd episodes were so-so, but the 2nd was good. Etc.
One odd thing about the show is the music. It takes a classic 80s-ish tune and runs it during the opening and closing. Um, none of these teachers, let alone the students, were listening to this music in their teens. Why is this era of music here??? (I also found out thanks to subtitles that She Drives Me Crazy by the Fine Young Cannibals has some very different lyrics that what I was hearing.)
Given the dearth of actual comedies out there that are at all worth watching, this one makes the cut in relative terms. But it’s not going to compete with Hacks or any such thing.
We finished Towards Zero. A typical Agatha Christie wrap-up with everyone in the same room and the intrepid cop ferrets out the culprit. A good cast, but I don’t care for that sort of finish.
The guy who played the main character (and created the show) played Jack’s boyfriend in the revival of Will & Grace. I saw him interviewed someplace and he said the choice to portray an openly gay high school teacher in deeply red Texas was deliberate.
It would have been easier to set it in Atlanta where it is filmed. A much larger gay-friendly city. So I presumed that the Austin/Texas contrasting choice was for story purposes.
Finished up Bosch S3 last night. They introduced the Renee Ballard character, which may mean they are considering another series with her as the central protagonist.
I watched a few episodes of The Studio. Not loving it. Every character is so annoying that there’s no one to relate to or sympathize with. I really enjoy the guest stars on it, but it’s just a little too cringey for me. That said, I’ll probably watch one or two more episodes just in case it grows on me.
NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour kinda put me off this one. Not sure if I’m up for another rich-people-with-problems show this soon after the latest season of White Lotus. Let us know if it’s worth while after a few more episodes.
Breaking Bad the 1% version. I wasn’t sure that I’d find any sympathy for an out of work stockbroker. But Hamm saves it by showing contempt for the rich people that he used to belong to. It’s growing on me.
Thanks to all who recommended Ludwig. It was the most fun show my wife and I have watched together in a very long while. And in these political days fun is in very short supply and so appreciated!
Yes. very much so. I rewatch it regularly and appreciate some episodes more and more (Dennis is currently my favourite again, the episode where they are playing an online game, he shines so much, with him drinking too much and then his encounter with himself in the isolation tank).
The first season was theirs, and they were normal people. At the end of the season they were forced to take a celebrity on, I’m not sure if Danny was forced on them, or he had an interest. The characters aren’t really developed then.
In the second season Danny only had a limited amount of time to work with them, and did all his stuff all at once, and they worked around him. In this season the main characters are starting to form into their nasty selves, but Danny is still a normal person at this point.
In season three it comes together, the characters in that season are all pretty much formed and are who there are to this day. They get more exaggerated but the base is there, Charlie gets more stupid, Frank more Hedonistic, Dee a drunk punchy whore (also a bird), Mac just an idiot who think’s he is clever, and Dennis a psychopath.
I recommend people to start on Season 3, and go back at watch the first few seasons after a while as if they are a prelude. The characters are too normal to be THAT dark in the earlier seasons (especially Season 1).
I love the supporting characters, The Waitress (unnamed to this day), Rickety Cricket, Uncle Jack, The McPoyles, The ponderosas, Gail the snail, Artimes, Charlies Mom (RIP), Macs Mom, Macs Dad and even the rare ones knock it out of the park (Pepperjack always makes me smile, and Lil Kev did a hell of a one off appearance).
I thought we would watch a series called Unforgotten, a British series that’s now on Prime. When I clicked on it, it went directly to season five, which means we must have watched it at some point. But neither of us have any memory of it. An advantage of getting older?
Cassandra this is a German Netflix limited series. It’s about a “smart home” awakened by new owners after decades of being shut down.
It’s weird and disturbing, with plenty of flashbacks to the early '70s with the home builder’s family drama. Six episodes, so it’s not a heavy lift, I think the plot arc, the twists and turns, and the background of the home was interesting enough to look past some of the occasional character stupidity. The home includes very cool 70’s futuristic design.
No, her guess was totally wrong. The Outsider was OK, a bit draggy at times, a bit fuzzy on who did what to whom and when. Could have been tighter and dropped an episode or two.
Then we watched Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant ham it up in 2020’s HBO Max’s The Undoing, which was criticized by Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall at the time as being “… all extremely rote, like an expanded version of the mid-budget Nineties movie that would have starred Kidman and Grant at their respective heights of celebrity.”
… but there’s nothing wrong with that, Alan!
Anyway, Alan is correct, though I don’t share his pessimism. If you like “mid-budget Nineties movie(s)” (and, really, who doesn’t), you’ll enjoy this one. Nicole and Grant play a married couple, murder ensues, and the show plays through the consequences. Just like a mid-budget 90s flick.
Next up: The Staircase, also on HBO Max. Colin Firth gets in on the prestige mini-series game, let’s see what he does with the form.
