Welcome to my third annual top ten list where I cover both dramas and comedies in separate lists. I split these up for a very good reason: I have absolutely no ability to distinguish quality between a comedy and a drama. If you asked me to compare the fifth season of The Simpsons with the first season of The Sopranos, I would be utterly incapable of ranking them against each other. It's like two different languages for me. Plus, I tend to favor dramas whenever I do force myself to compare it and I just don't want to make a list with 15 of 20 shows being dramas. The fact is that dramas have more stakes and more stakes mean I have more investment in what happens, and that leads me to deeming a certain show better. I don't want to do that.
With that said, this is probably one of the first years where there would be a very real danger that I'd have more comedies than dramas in a top 20 list. I can't be certain of course. But I really struggled to create a top five for drama, partly because I just didn't feel passionate about five shows that were worthy of a top five ranking. I'd go through the list and sort of mentally note "top five," "back half of top ten," and "potential top ten show." For comedies, I legitimately had seven shows that I thought were worthy of a top five placement and for dramas, I ended up labeling a ton of shows as back half and not many in the top half.
Anyway, this is just an odd year to me at least. A fair number of shows that appear on most end of year lists were shows that I thought were good, not great - or great, but with glaring flaws. Some of those shows will make my list still. I've introduced this long enough, and so I'll get on with the post.
#10 Jane the Virgin - CW
Seasons 3-4 (20 episodes)
Model Episode: "Chapter 61"
Jane the Virgin wins out on the #10 spot for essentially two reasons: the first is that it has more episodes than the other shows I was considering and maintained quality in those extra episodes. You'd be surprised at how few episodes most of the seasons on this list have. 20 is by far the most of any show on this list. The network drama is dead, that is except if it airs on the CW. (With that said, this is the lone representative from that network and only one other show was seriously considered, but I do watch SEVEN shows from this network)
The second reason is that they handled a major death of a character in pretty much the best way possible. It is a little annoying that this character had to die simply because that was always the plan, BUT they did one of the more fairly smart narrative choices I've seen. They skipped ahead three years. Long enough to where the pain was mostly gone, but they still dealt with the death in a smart way and found a way to seamlessly put it into the story. The model episode above is one such example. I also included that episode because it is deals with the grandmother being an illegal immigrant in a thoughtful way.
#9 Fargo - FX
Season 3 (10 episodes)
Model Episode: "The Law of Non Contradiction"
Two years ago, season 2 of Fargo found its way on my list. It was the second best show on my list and really, it very easily could have been #1 on my list no problem. 2015's top ten dramas was an enormously and inconceivably stacked year. There is absolutely no way that the third season of Fargo would have made that list. The third season is a clear step down from the first two seasons in my opinion, but clearly it's still a very good show!
If I were to pinpoint my main two issues with this season, it would be the villain and the police chief. Both were played by wonderful actors who were in no way at fault. VM Varga, played brilliantly by David Thewlis, was an obnoxious villain in exactly the way the show intended. But he was too omniscient and too brazen. He knew everything and he would do everything in broad daylight. It makes you wonder how the fuck the guy has never been caught. He's not charming. He's not fun to watch. Basically, the way he acted was at odds with what happened. If it was revealed that it was all a ruse, that this guy was no master criminal, it would have made a lot more sense to me. And the police chief, as played by Shea Whigman, was the worst kind of plot device. He literally only existed because if he didn't, Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) would have figured out the whole thing in two episodes. So that's why it's all the way down to #9 for me.
#8 Stranger Things - Netflix
Season 2 (9 episodes)
Model Episode: "Chapter Six: The Spy"
Usually, when a season of television goes so off the rails as "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister" does, it would cost the show a spot here. I'm curious as to how I would rank this if it weren't for that episode to be honest. But I decided to keep it in because I admired the ambition and I do think it was a genuine need on a character basis for Eleven to have. The fact that it was largely not very good doesn't harm the show as much as it could have for those two reasons.
If I had to pretend that episode didn't exist - and for rewatch purposes I will - the second season is just as good as the first season. I have a few little quibbles with the show like Dustin's stupidity driving the plot instead of it making sense and the probably realistic but still irritating behavior of the boys towards Max. Overall though, it's thrilling. It probably peaks in Chapter Six, which makes the random detour in Chapter 7 all the more blunt and unwelcome. Still, I'm mostly along for the ride with this show and it's a pretty great ride.
#7 The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu
Season 1 (10 episodes)
Model Episode: "Late"
The Handmaid's Tale was a season of two halves. The first half was legitimate "best show of 2017" quality. The second half... would not be on this list at all. Thus, a tough conundrum for myself seeing as most shows more or less remain consistent throughout seasons. This season was somehow simultaneously great and makes me think a second season won't be very good. Because - having not read the book - apparently the show struggled when it deviated from the book and it deviated from the book largely in the 2nd half of the first season.
But that's next season. This season taught me that Alexis Bledel can act. No joke there. I didn't know she could before "Late" and now I at least know that she can with the right part. (I haven't seen Gilmore Girls so my opinion is based off her appearances in Sin City and Mad Men). Anyway the first half is fantastic. If I could, I'd probably edit the first season down to six or so episodes and then just pretend it was a great miniseries. Unfortunately the further expansion of the world building past what was in the book just left more questions than answers.
#6 FEUD: Bette and Joan - FX
Season 1 (8 episodes)
Model Episode: "And the Winner is...(The Oscars of 1963)"
I'm not sure that Feud would be on this list if it weren't for Susan Sarandon. I haven't seen that many Bette Davis movies and I am not familiar with how she acted in real life so I'm not exactly qualified to say this, but she seems to embody the spirit of Davis near perfectly. Jessica Lange isn't bad, but she's more or less competent. Where I can't imagine Davis being played by anybody else, I can fairly easily see somehow else playing Joan Crawford just as effectively. But I digress.
Anyway this is basically a classic feud, the perfect subject of what I imagine Ryan Murphy wants to do every season. Two enemies who are more alike than different who nonetheless let the few differences between them consume them and transfer it into hate. One big difference that is probably accurate but makes it very easy for me to take a side is that Crawford was more concerned about looking like a movie star and Davis was more concerned about the craft. The show was also able to use the time period to examine the sexism that contributed to their feud. And I can't forget about the wonderful work that Alfred Molina does as Robert Aldrich in this series.
#5 Legion - FX
Season 1 (8 Episodes)
Model Episode: "Chapter 5"
Calling Legion a comic book series - which it technically is - doesn't seem to do it justice. I don't say this because comic book series aren't capable of greatness, but the differences between this and, say Arrow, are so great that they don't seem to belong in the same genre. Legion is a commentary on mental illness disguised as an X-Men series. It is an expert use of the unreliable narrator, which I think is a very difficult point of view to capture in a way that's not endlessly frustrating. Our main character's mind is so unstable that we can't truly know what's real and what's not.
Like I said, that has the potential to be ridiculously frustrating, but it's all in the execution. Legion is something that couldn't have existed effectively 10 years ago. I've been watching Pushing Daisies, which aired on a major network and largely looked fake as shit. This series has some of the best special effects ever seen on TV. I can't imagine they have a large budget either. I have to give special props for the performance of Aubrey Plaza in this season. If you had any suspicions that her character on Parks and Rec was her not really acting, just watch this series and see her be amazing in it. Dan Stevens, a true bore in Downton Abbey, is also genuinely amazing here.
#4 The Leftovers - HBO
Season 3 (8 episodes)
Model Episode: "It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World"
It feels a bit weird for me to include The Leftovers here. I have typically been separated from the popular critical opinion on this show. I almost don't know what to do with myself now that I don't have to explain why this critically beloved show is off my list. I genuinely think a few things changed though. This is an altogether weaker year than normal for me. And The Leftovers cut the crap. They stopped focusing on the Guilty Remnant, a huge burden for me from fully embracing the show. Basically, in the first season there was the good parts of The Leftovers and the parts that I tolerated. In the second season, there were more good parts and still parts that I tolerated. There wasn't much that was just tolerated in the last season.
I still feel like I'm more down on this show than the people who love it, a weird thing to think since I placed it #4. I've always absolutely loved the episodes that was from the perspective of a single character ever since the show started. I believe the first ever one of those episodes featured Christopher Eccleston's character, Matt Jamison. So it's only fitting that my model episode in the last season is also focused on him. But in reality, most of the main characters get a comparable episode, even an unexpected one focused on a tertiary character, Kevin Garvey Sr.
#3 Alias Grace - CBC
Season 1 (6 episodes)
Model Episode: "Part 2"
Remember when I said that The Handmaid's Tale would stand a good chance of being near the top of my list if it was condensed into a 6 episode miniseries? Well, here's an example done right. Developed and written by former actor Sarah Polley - who seems to have stopped acting seven years ago at only 31-years-old despite being the lead in a fair number of movies, this series didn't have as much choice admittedly. Watch the series and you'll understand why it's a miniseries.
It's a little difficult to explain the appeal of Alias Grace because I want to share as little as possible. It's no spoiler that in the second episode, Alias Grace explores the difficulties of being a woman in the 19th century, even for a smart one who knows men are up to no good. I mean that's essentially what the whole series is about for the most part, but this one has a harder punch. The ending of the series is also bound to be at least a little divisive - at least for the people going in who haven't read the novel like myself. Like I said though, I'm purposefully sharing as little as possible here so you can experience it like I did.
#2 Better Call Saul - AMC
Season 3 (10 episodes)
Model Episode: "Chicanery"
Better Call Saul remains two different prequels and thus almost like watching two different shows. It works though because both characters are going through a moral deterioration. Granted, I probably would have come up with a different title, because it makes it sound like it's only Saul Goodman's show. It's also about Mike, the lovable cleaner for Gus Fring in Breaking Bad. Both of their worlds are getting closer and closer throughout the third season. I wonder if at any point, it will feel like the same show no matter whose perspective its from?
I obviously have no issue with the two different shows part of Better Call Saul since it is #2 on my list. The main conflict - and most emotionally engaging - remains Chuck vs Jimmy. And I think the series high occurs during "Chicanery" which is the courtroom episode of the third season. I'll be interested to see how many more seasons this show has in it, but they appear to be more than halfway done based purely off how Jimmy has slowly progressed into Saul.
#1 The Americans - FX
Season 5 (13 episodes)
Model Episode: "Dyatkovo"
Sigh. You know I really do want to put a different show here for once. I'm starting to approach fanboy territory. It's just I can't physically put another show here as long as The Americans remains at the top of its game. This show is just on my wavelength at all times. It didn't help that any show competing with The Americans for the #1 spot had less episodes. I feel compelled to give shows that have a harder responsibility - making more excellent episodes and following through with it - more props than shows that "just" need to make eight excellent ones. No worries though. The Americans only has one more season in it and I actually really do hope that it keeps the #1 spot.
Here's a fun fact. There have been two - TWO - shows that have been on my top ten for all 3 years of me doing this. The Americans has been #1 all three years. The other show? Jane the Virgin somehow. I'll feel some pressure to keep those streaks going for next year (I can't imagine The Americans not at least making an appearance even if it's not #1 again, but Jane the Virgin has its work cut out for it)
Honorable Mentions
Could Easily Be On This List
The Deuce - This show probably suffered most from not really having identifiable episodes to distinguish from each other. In making this list, I looked at standout episodes to determine a peak and with the exception of a shocking ending to one of them, the whole show just kind of morphed together for me.
MINDHUNTER - Call it the weak pilot effect. I was engaged in the pilot because of David Fincher's direction, but the show didn't really get interesting until episode two. There was just a whole lot of exposition to go through in the pilot episode that probably could have been condensed. Listen, my reasons for excluding these shows are flimsy as hell, but that's why they're on this section.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - It's sort of tough to grade a show like this against the rest of the shows since I'm only including 2017 episodes. So I'm not actually grading a full season, but the end of one and the beginning of another. You can see how that would be a negative towards landing on this list.
Just Didn't Have Enough Great Episodes
Big Little Lies - If I could pinpoint why this show didn't make my list, it's probably The Leftovers problem (pre-season 3 at least). Parts of it REALLY worked and other parts weren't all that compelling. Reese Witherspoon is very good in here, but her character just pales in comparison to the abuse storyline - well both abuse storylines. And she's not a minor part of the show!
Mr Robot - I kind of feel bad that I left season one off my top ten back in 2015 because I was truly as into Mr Robot as every other big fan. Then season two kind of left me cold. I thought season three was in an improvement, but I'm just not as into this show as I once was. This season weirdly peaks in the middle.
Game of Thrones - Oh boy. The tight narrative plotting of George RR Martin is nonexistent in this latest season and I say this as someone who got through half of the first book and gave up. I've never thought of Game of Thrones as a turn off your brain show, but it kind of is now. You just can't think too hard about anything happening or it falls apart for me. Certain individual one-on-one scenes still work as well as they always have and the battle scenes are amazing so it's got that going for it.
Other shows of note
These shows were never truly in consideration, but I feel they are good enough to be worth mentioning.
Sneaky Pete - Got a Justified hole in your heart? Well here's a show that's not as good, but the names involved alone should sell you on it: Bryan Cranston, Margo Martindale, Graham Yost is the showrunner.
The Crown - This show's greatest weakness is ironically the reverence it has for the crown, thus making it incapable of ever truly criticizing the principal players or analyzing them too deeply.
The Girlfriend Experience - The creators did something truly interesting this year and that's having 7 episodes following one person and 7 episodes following another story. It wasn't as good as the first season, but I admire the audacity.
That takes care of my top ten TV dramas for 2017. I'm sure there's a show you like that I did not mention and the chances are either don't watch that show or I didn't get a chance to watch it in time. For example - not that I think it would make my list - I am not caught up to Shameless at the moment so it wasn't considered.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
The Americans "The Midges"
"Should we tell Paige about this?"
Well, I'll say that The Americans achieved just about the most natural exposition-delivering device I've ever seen on television. In an obvious development between the relationship of Paige and her parents, Phillip and Elizabeth tell Paige an update on their latest mission. Not only is it an important plot point, but boy did I need that update. Sometimes these plots can be too dense for me to follow and having a literal newbie to this thing get it explained to her was helpful. Granted, this is certainly not the first show or movie to have characters deliver exposition to a "new" character, but I don't think I've ever seen it done where it was, you know, a plot development and the natural next point in a relationship.
Paige can only handle so much though, at least right now. I have absolutely no idea what the endgame plan is for Paige - she turns to Russia, she rejects her parents, she dies? - I feel like literally anything could happen at this point. Her parents tell her this to distract her from Matthew with the theory being that she'll be so concerned with their mission, Matthew will seem unimportant. Which is true and is what happened, but damn: Paige is going to be even more stressed out than before. (Hypothetically, imagining what her parents are doing could stress her out more though than getting told what they are doing, even if they aren't strictly telling her the whole truth.)
They tell her for obvious reasons. The potential problem, as Elizabeth and Phillip understand it, is literally life or death for Russians. They don't need to pretend at all here. They are genuinely trying to prevent a disaster from happening. It's also the next logical step in gaining Paige's trust. Share specific details about a mission after trying the whole "be as vague as possible" strategy.
Paige seems to be trusting her parents more too. She employs the thumb trick when evading Matthew's question about what's wrong with her (with a helpful update on the progress of Stan and Laurie Holden's relationship - still going strong, Stan's crazy about her). She finds it remarkably easy to lie, even though she feels gross doing it. Like I said, this could go in about a million different directions and I'm honestly not sure in which direction that will land.
Phillip and Elizabeth get a lead from Gabriel to go to Oklahoma to further investigate the bugs. I'm not entirely sure they made much progress. The bug is a type of midge that destroys grain, but they found that out from Gabriel. Randy, that poor, poor guy, said that it was a weed killer and that they shipped 400 eggs to a location we are not currently privy to. But honestly, it's possible it's just a weed killer. Then again, it was curious at how top secret the whole thing seemed to be, which would certainly indicate there's something to their worries.
We also find out more information about Alexei, the apparently main source of this season. He unexpectedly left the country without telling his son or wife. So he's probably a traitor to the USSR. That's not a surprise in the slightest but it does help explain why neither his son or wife are happy with their move. Once again, he talks shit on Russia again and Elizabeth manages to not immediately strangle him on the spot.
Unless I missed it before, we find more details about Tuan too. He's from Vietnam so he is definitely very angry with the US for damaging his country. He seems weirdly convinced that the US is definitely going to destroy the USSR, which I found odd. You'd think he would think the US would lose given whose side he is on. He has an extreme hatred of Alexei. Honestly, I think it's about time to place bets on who kills Alexei between him and Elizabeth. I'll take Elizabeth.
In Russia, Oleg is trying to avoid being a traitor in his country and it's unclear if he'll succumb, but for now he knows the Americans have something on him. He missed his meeting with a secret agent, but they found him and placed a tape of him in his pocket that would probably not go over too well with his superiors. At least it seemed like he was good at his job, sweet talking the grocery store manager into giving up her source for the good groceries. She definitely seems like she's going to rat that person out. Stay tuned for the extremely slow burn on: food corruption in Russia.
Lastly, Stan and Aderholt try with little success to talk to a man involved with the Amtorg Trading Corporation. Wikipedia is not very clear on what the organization does, but it seems as if it was mostly dead during this part of the Cold War and became extinct when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1988. So I have no idea how this is relevant. Again, slow burn of The Americans happening here.
Notes
- We got a very quick flashback to Phillip's childhood. Matthew Rhys did that thing where he just stares at a mirror and with his eyes alone you can tell what he's feeling. Honestly it was a quick enough flashback that I'm not entirely sure what that scene was about except to point out how poor he was when growing up. I expected flashbacks to be a recurring thing throughout the episode, but nope. Just that two minute flashback.
- MARTHA IS ALIVE. That is literally all we get. She's shopping at the same place Oleg is.
- More slow incremental progress on Mischa coming to America - He needs to go from Yugoslavia to Austria and his mom's source has gone to prison, so he's dealing with an unknown here. This guy seems perfectly willing to screw over Mischa.
- "You think it would be fair to put that burden on him?" Man Elizabeth is good. It's not that it would be wrong to tell him the truth, but THINK about how Matthew would feel? As if Elizabeth gives even a single shit about Matthew. I also thought Elizabeth gave some pretty bad advice to Paige about relationships, but I suppose it's not terrible advice in the spy business.
- Phillip somewhat agreed with Alexei about why Russia has such problems growing their own grain and Elizabeth responded with tenderness instead of lashing out. Those two are in a good place right now.
- Ok I can't be the only one who laughed at that final line right?
Playlist
"Old Flame" - Alabama - 1981 country song that accompanied some good ole fashioned banging
"More Than This" - Roxy Music - 1982 pop song that accompanied some good ole fashioned murdering
Well, I'll say that The Americans achieved just about the most natural exposition-delivering device I've ever seen on television. In an obvious development between the relationship of Paige and her parents, Phillip and Elizabeth tell Paige an update on their latest mission. Not only is it an important plot point, but boy did I need that update. Sometimes these plots can be too dense for me to follow and having a literal newbie to this thing get it explained to her was helpful. Granted, this is certainly not the first show or movie to have characters deliver exposition to a "new" character, but I don't think I've ever seen it done where it was, you know, a plot development and the natural next point in a relationship.
Paige can only handle so much though, at least right now. I have absolutely no idea what the endgame plan is for Paige - she turns to Russia, she rejects her parents, she dies? - I feel like literally anything could happen at this point. Her parents tell her this to distract her from Matthew with the theory being that she'll be so concerned with their mission, Matthew will seem unimportant. Which is true and is what happened, but damn: Paige is going to be even more stressed out than before. (Hypothetically, imagining what her parents are doing could stress her out more though than getting told what they are doing, even if they aren't strictly telling her the whole truth.)
They tell her for obvious reasons. The potential problem, as Elizabeth and Phillip understand it, is literally life or death for Russians. They don't need to pretend at all here. They are genuinely trying to prevent a disaster from happening. It's also the next logical step in gaining Paige's trust. Share specific details about a mission after trying the whole "be as vague as possible" strategy.
Paige seems to be trusting her parents more too. She employs the thumb trick when evading Matthew's question about what's wrong with her (with a helpful update on the progress of Stan and Laurie Holden's relationship - still going strong, Stan's crazy about her). She finds it remarkably easy to lie, even though she feels gross doing it. Like I said, this could go in about a million different directions and I'm honestly not sure in which direction that will land.
Phillip and Elizabeth get a lead from Gabriel to go to Oklahoma to further investigate the bugs. I'm not entirely sure they made much progress. The bug is a type of midge that destroys grain, but they found that out from Gabriel. Randy, that poor, poor guy, said that it was a weed killer and that they shipped 400 eggs to a location we are not currently privy to. But honestly, it's possible it's just a weed killer. Then again, it was curious at how top secret the whole thing seemed to be, which would certainly indicate there's something to their worries.
We also find out more information about Alexei, the apparently main source of this season. He unexpectedly left the country without telling his son or wife. So he's probably a traitor to the USSR. That's not a surprise in the slightest but it does help explain why neither his son or wife are happy with their move. Once again, he talks shit on Russia again and Elizabeth manages to not immediately strangle him on the spot.
Unless I missed it before, we find more details about Tuan too. He's from Vietnam so he is definitely very angry with the US for damaging his country. He seems weirdly convinced that the US is definitely going to destroy the USSR, which I found odd. You'd think he would think the US would lose given whose side he is on. He has an extreme hatred of Alexei. Honestly, I think it's about time to place bets on who kills Alexei between him and Elizabeth. I'll take Elizabeth.
In Russia, Oleg is trying to avoid being a traitor in his country and it's unclear if he'll succumb, but for now he knows the Americans have something on him. He missed his meeting with a secret agent, but they found him and placed a tape of him in his pocket that would probably not go over too well with his superiors. At least it seemed like he was good at his job, sweet talking the grocery store manager into giving up her source for the good groceries. She definitely seems like she's going to rat that person out. Stay tuned for the extremely slow burn on: food corruption in Russia.
Lastly, Stan and Aderholt try with little success to talk to a man involved with the Amtorg Trading Corporation. Wikipedia is not very clear on what the organization does, but it seems as if it was mostly dead during this part of the Cold War and became extinct when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1988. So I have no idea how this is relevant. Again, slow burn of The Americans happening here.
Notes
- We got a very quick flashback to Phillip's childhood. Matthew Rhys did that thing where he just stares at a mirror and with his eyes alone you can tell what he's feeling. Honestly it was a quick enough flashback that I'm not entirely sure what that scene was about except to point out how poor he was when growing up. I expected flashbacks to be a recurring thing throughout the episode, but nope. Just that two minute flashback.
- MARTHA IS ALIVE. That is literally all we get. She's shopping at the same place Oleg is.
- More slow incremental progress on Mischa coming to America - He needs to go from Yugoslavia to Austria and his mom's source has gone to prison, so he's dealing with an unknown here. This guy seems perfectly willing to screw over Mischa.
- "You think it would be fair to put that burden on him?" Man Elizabeth is good. It's not that it would be wrong to tell him the truth, but THINK about how Matthew would feel? As if Elizabeth gives even a single shit about Matthew. I also thought Elizabeth gave some pretty bad advice to Paige about relationships, but I suppose it's not terrible advice in the spy business.
- Phillip somewhat agreed with Alexei about why Russia has such problems growing their own grain and Elizabeth responded with tenderness instead of lashing out. Those two are in a good place right now.
- Ok I can't be the only one who laughed at that final line right?
Playlist
"Old Flame" - Alabama - 1981 country song that accompanied some good ole fashioned banging
"More Than This" - Roxy Music - 1982 pop song that accompanied some good ole fashioned murdering
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The Americans "Pests"
"They used to have a Lincoln. Now they have a Reagan"
Due to the nature of the Cold War, both the Russians and Americans are developing technology and toxins that would destroy the other side in unconventional ways. Usually in a war, it's relatively simple: shoot the other guy. Sure, it's more complicated than that and you still have to be creative in order to win, but you can be direct. Here both sides had to get extremely creative in ways to destroy the enemy.
In 1984 - at least in this particular show, which is usually based off facts - it's now a war on food. According to intel by the Russians delivered via Gabriel, the Americans are trying to infect food with a deadly pathogen. Phillip and Elizabeth are both aghast at this revelation, because it was understood that there were unspoken rules in this cold war. But if one side is willing to contaminate food - and let's face it the Russians are 100 percent also willing to do the same - then it leads nowhere good.
I confess: I really love Alexei Morozov. I am as certain as one can be that he is going to die, probably at the hands of a seething Elizabeth, but for now, I'm glad he's alive. He's got an infectious enthusiasm for all the options he has for food. He probably loves America as much as the most patriotic Americans. Anyway, this scene was kind of a rehash of last week's scene: he praises the food options, talks shit on Russia. We do find out his son, Pasha, really misses living in Russia. It's teenager talk, but he'd rather die there than live in America.
We also get a bit more backstory on Tuan, whose entirely family was murdered. It usually takes me two or three times to understand everything going on, but basically I don't actually know where Tuan is from and whether his country was bombed by Russia or America. Sorry. He had an earlier scene where he explained "he's one of them" because "have you seen what communists did to my country?" which implies that it was Russians, but I don't really know why he'd be spying for them if that were the case. Either way, there's his motivation. He also calls Pasha weak and that he can get him to do anything he wants. He's definitely a good addition to the cast.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth checks out a farm and sees... something. She doesn't know either. She breaks into a greenhouse and discovers crops as far as the eye can see. She's browsing through and eventually finds herself by a collection of crops with bugs everywhere. Literally everywhere. I got itchy just watching that scene. This seems to be proof enough that the Americans are tampering with the food. Whatever rules the Cold War had before, the goalposts have moved.
The Americans are breaking the unstated rules in other ways too. Stan and Oleg had a good rapport, understanding, and due to that, both were able to avoid a disaster. Oleg has moved to his home country, investigating fraud among the very rich - no real news on that yet - but the FBI has taken this as a sign that they need to turn him as an agent. This suddenly and dramatically lowered Oleg's odds of living past this decade. Stan is pissed at this, and understandably so. Oleg essentially just saved the fucking world and in return, he's going to get fucked. They are going to use his humanity against him.
In other Stan news, the pathetic grade school pining last episode has morphed into a full blown relationship with at least one great date. Due to the fact that the show talks about Stan's love life a ridiculous amount in these two episodes - like seriously who gives a fuck - and that she's played by Laurie Holden and, let's face it, she's out of his league - something tells me she's way more important than simple love interest would suggest.
The most obvious route to go is that she's an agent too, which would make sense. It'd be weird if they didn't tell the Jennings this though. But honestly, his dick already got him into hot water with Nina so that appears to be the way to make Stan vulnerable. Then again, remember how that ended. He ultimately chose his country. The show reminds us here that Stan is a good agent too. He notices that Paige is not happy. He loves the relationship between Paige and Matthew, but he picks up on her general "off-ness."
You know who does not love the relationship between those two? Phillip and Elizabeth. They are fucking terrified of it in fact. They have reason to worry. Paige and Matthew have progressed to boob-touching. I don't know if it's because the show has put me so effectively into Phillip and Elizabeth's shoes or what, but I do not feel comfortable watching those scenes. The making out is painfully realistic - natural, but very awkward looking for two teenagers - and that goes a long way towards making me want to move the fuck on to the next scene.
All things considered, they are taking it pretty well. The self-defense classes continue and they are going to start teaching her ways to not accidentally tell him things. The rubbing of the thumb and index finger seems particularly helpful if you want to calm down. Funny how that works. I might actually do that the next time I'm stressed. They apparently don't care if she has sex, which I find weird, but makes sense because of how they use sex for their job. In all, I do think this was a lesser episode of The Americans - but that's still pretty good for most shows.
Notes
- I've never actually taken self-defense classes and the creators attention to detail is good enough that I trust this is actually a technique, but the casually swinging your arms and hitting that target does not seem useful to me.
- Also, I think in TV (and movies of course), sound effects are added after production - what you hear is not necessarily what you would actually hear if you watched the scene being filmed in the background - and the strength with which she was swinging her arms was considerably weaker than the noise that was supposedly coming from her hitting the target. I don't know if I was the only one noticing that.
- IMDB informs me that Holden is in six episodes of this show. She's probably a more important character than Stan's last girlfriend (who was also considerably out of his league. Sorry Noah Emmerich)
- Interesting that this episode was written by the creators themselves. Usually more important things happen when creators write an episode. Oh well. It was directed by Chris Long, his second straight episode of the season.
- I suspect the people who found the digging scene boring will not like this episode either. Just a guess.
Due to the nature of the Cold War, both the Russians and Americans are developing technology and toxins that would destroy the other side in unconventional ways. Usually in a war, it's relatively simple: shoot the other guy. Sure, it's more complicated than that and you still have to be creative in order to win, but you can be direct. Here both sides had to get extremely creative in ways to destroy the enemy.
In 1984 - at least in this particular show, which is usually based off facts - it's now a war on food. According to intel by the Russians delivered via Gabriel, the Americans are trying to infect food with a deadly pathogen. Phillip and Elizabeth are both aghast at this revelation, because it was understood that there were unspoken rules in this cold war. But if one side is willing to contaminate food - and let's face it the Russians are 100 percent also willing to do the same - then it leads nowhere good.
I confess: I really love Alexei Morozov. I am as certain as one can be that he is going to die, probably at the hands of a seething Elizabeth, but for now, I'm glad he's alive. He's got an infectious enthusiasm for all the options he has for food. He probably loves America as much as the most patriotic Americans. Anyway, this scene was kind of a rehash of last week's scene: he praises the food options, talks shit on Russia. We do find out his son, Pasha, really misses living in Russia. It's teenager talk, but he'd rather die there than live in America.
We also get a bit more backstory on Tuan, whose entirely family was murdered. It usually takes me two or three times to understand everything going on, but basically I don't actually know where Tuan is from and whether his country was bombed by Russia or America. Sorry. He had an earlier scene where he explained "he's one of them" because "have you seen what communists did to my country?" which implies that it was Russians, but I don't really know why he'd be spying for them if that were the case. Either way, there's his motivation. He also calls Pasha weak and that he can get him to do anything he wants. He's definitely a good addition to the cast.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth checks out a farm and sees... something. She doesn't know either. She breaks into a greenhouse and discovers crops as far as the eye can see. She's browsing through and eventually finds herself by a collection of crops with bugs everywhere. Literally everywhere. I got itchy just watching that scene. This seems to be proof enough that the Americans are tampering with the food. Whatever rules the Cold War had before, the goalposts have moved.
The Americans are breaking the unstated rules in other ways too. Stan and Oleg had a good rapport, understanding, and due to that, both were able to avoid a disaster. Oleg has moved to his home country, investigating fraud among the very rich - no real news on that yet - but the FBI has taken this as a sign that they need to turn him as an agent. This suddenly and dramatically lowered Oleg's odds of living past this decade. Stan is pissed at this, and understandably so. Oleg essentially just saved the fucking world and in return, he's going to get fucked. They are going to use his humanity against him.
In other Stan news, the pathetic grade school pining last episode has morphed into a full blown relationship with at least one great date. Due to the fact that the show talks about Stan's love life a ridiculous amount in these two episodes - like seriously who gives a fuck - and that she's played by Laurie Holden and, let's face it, she's out of his league - something tells me she's way more important than simple love interest would suggest.
The most obvious route to go is that she's an agent too, which would make sense. It'd be weird if they didn't tell the Jennings this though. But honestly, his dick already got him into hot water with Nina so that appears to be the way to make Stan vulnerable. Then again, remember how that ended. He ultimately chose his country. The show reminds us here that Stan is a good agent too. He notices that Paige is not happy. He loves the relationship between Paige and Matthew, but he picks up on her general "off-ness."
You know who does not love the relationship between those two? Phillip and Elizabeth. They are fucking terrified of it in fact. They have reason to worry. Paige and Matthew have progressed to boob-touching. I don't know if it's because the show has put me so effectively into Phillip and Elizabeth's shoes or what, but I do not feel comfortable watching those scenes. The making out is painfully realistic - natural, but very awkward looking for two teenagers - and that goes a long way towards making me want to move the fuck on to the next scene.
All things considered, they are taking it pretty well. The self-defense classes continue and they are going to start teaching her ways to not accidentally tell him things. The rubbing of the thumb and index finger seems particularly helpful if you want to calm down. Funny how that works. I might actually do that the next time I'm stressed. They apparently don't care if she has sex, which I find weird, but makes sense because of how they use sex for their job. In all, I do think this was a lesser episode of The Americans - but that's still pretty good for most shows.
Notes
- I've never actually taken self-defense classes and the creators attention to detail is good enough that I trust this is actually a technique, but the casually swinging your arms and hitting that target does not seem useful to me.
- Also, I think in TV (and movies of course), sound effects are added after production - what you hear is not necessarily what you would actually hear if you watched the scene being filmed in the background - and the strength with which she was swinging her arms was considerably weaker than the noise that was supposedly coming from her hitting the target. I don't know if I was the only one noticing that.
- IMDB informs me that Holden is in six episodes of this show. She's probably a more important character than Stan's last girlfriend (who was also considerably out of his league. Sorry Noah Emmerich)
- Interesting that this episode was written by the creators themselves. Usually more important things happen when creators write an episode. Oh well. It was directed by Chris Long, his second straight episode of the season.
- I suspect the people who found the digging scene boring will not like this episode either. Just a guess.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
The Americans: "Amber Waves"
"Nothing scares those two." - Gabriel
"Everything scares those two." - Claudia
Welcome to the fifth season of The Americans, the greatest show currently on television. The show wastes no time in the premiere episode of the penultimate season. Here's a show completely unafraid to throw you into the proceedings with no context and little indication of what exactly this has to do with the show we love. It trusts the viewers to put the pieces together. That could lead to a slightly frustrating experience when first watching it, but believe me when you rewatch the show, you'll be grateful they didn't hold your hand. Also I'm bringing back my episodic reviews of The Americans. Obviously.
The fifth season starts with an unknown, later revealed to be Tuan Eckert. He befriends a lonely Russian transfer student, who can barely speak English. He clearly does not want to be there as being a Russian who can barely speak English in the middle of the Cold War is high on the list of undesirable places. Pasha plays son to Elizabeth and Phillip in this episode. For maximum confusion, he comes home to them and calls them mom and dad and to make matters weirder, both are wearing disguises. Actually, it would have been weirder if they weren't.
It seems clear that they are targeting the Russian transfer student because of his father. He hates the ever living shit out of Russia. I actually thought Elizabeth would strangle him on the spot. He also touts the beauty of being able to get food wherever you want in America. This dude is not long for this world. Anyway, he has something to do with agriculture. Russia's farming in the post-credits scene does... not look good. It looks like food within the Soviet Union would be an important plot point throughout this season. The Jennings cultivating (sorry) a source that is connected with agriculture and Oleg investigating food corruption.
Speaking of Oleg, this episode is just an introduction to his new digs. He decided to come home to comfort his mother, who has still not gotten over the death of her son. He is living in Moscow, specifically Lubyanka, which is the headquarters of KGB. His new boss seems nice. His boss (whose name I did not get) will be primarily investigating popular people who use bribery, extortion and such to take control of food. He believes it is the "chief threat against the Soviet Union." So we'll guess we'll be getting an inside look at the self-destruction of the Soviet Union for the rest of the series that's mostly just been hinted at so far.
Paige does not appear to have improved her relationship with her parents whatsoever since she saw her mother kill a mugger in front of her. She's having nightmares. Elizabeth's solution is to teach her basic self-defense. I'm not actually sure this will help her with her nightmares, but it's a good idea nonetheless given that they are spies. Neither parent wants her to be with Matthew, but that does not appear to deter her much.
Speaking of which, there's a really weird dynamic going on between the Beeman family and the Jennings family. Apparently, both Henry and Paige started eating with Stan on a semi-regular basis for dinner. Stan also just comes over with beer later in the night to discuss how great it is that Matthew has Paige. Stan is happy, because Matthew is happy and because he has a crush on a girl at the gym. Stan has never seemed like a high school boy more than there with his "I met someone" actually meaning "I handed her a cup of water."
Lastly, Gabriel gives them a job and the show sure takes its time with this job. It's a simple job, but it takes forever and is highly dangerous. I guess no job is truly simple if it's really dangerous. They figure out the location of William's body (from Gabriel) and dig it up. It is dug really fucking far into the ground. The show expresses this point by taking about 8 minutes for the digging scene alone, though I did not count. They eventually get to him and CUT OFF A PIECE OF HIS SKIN. Jesus. Poor William. He didn't want to give this disease to the Soviet Union because he knows what it can do, which is probably part of why he was willing to kill himself and yet it gets out anyway.
All is going well until, Hans falls into the hole and cuts his hand on William. Hans was a minor character with no character development, but the actor portrayed with a naive innocence that made him sympathetic. So I was sorry to see him go. He somewhat stupidly was delighted at how it didn't hurt and didn't realize that he was going to need to die. Like I said, the actor did a good job giving him a naive innocence that was obviously an intentional part of his character. He sure went out like an idiot though.
Notes
- Mischa is on the way to America. For an idea of how good The Americans are at this, there's a tense scene where he needs to get past airport security. Despite the fact that he's obviously getting past it, I still felt tense. Not to mention, as a person rooting for the Jennings to somehow get out of this and live happily ever after stop laughing at me, it's probably better if the son doesn't reach Phillip.
- Claudia and Gabriel are aware that Mischa is missing and think he might be visiting Philip. They do not tell Philip this. I'm sure this will go splendidly for all.
- There's a great shot when Oleg is with his mother. The camera zooms in on a picture of his brother, but in the background is a mirror with Oleg and his mother talking right above it. It's a good way of expressing that neither of them have put his death behind them.
- The AV Club review of this mentions that the, well, mention of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics places this episode around February 1984.
- Any bets on how quickly the Russian father dies? The Americans tends to zig when I expect it to zag, but I'd still find it hard to believe he makes it out of the season.
- I was promised more Henry. I do not actually care if Henry is confined to one scene for the rest of the series. But I was promised.
- "What's the right time?" - Elizabeth ponders to Phillip about when to go back to Russia. Yeah you guys are never stepping foot in that country again - I'm guessing.
- Paige is reading The New Hotel Hampshire by John Irving (1981), which appears to be a coming-of-age novel. I haven't read this book, but sometimes shows like to make points about the show with quick shots of books or TV series reflecting the characters' reality.
- RIP Hans
Soundtrack
- "That's Good" - Devo
- There also appeared to be a Russian sung version of "America the Beautiful"
"Everything scares those two." - Claudia
The fifth season starts with an unknown, later revealed to be Tuan Eckert. He befriends a lonely Russian transfer student, who can barely speak English. He clearly does not want to be there as being a Russian who can barely speak English in the middle of the Cold War is high on the list of undesirable places. Pasha plays son to Elizabeth and Phillip in this episode. For maximum confusion, he comes home to them and calls them mom and dad and to make matters weirder, both are wearing disguises. Actually, it would have been weirder if they weren't.
It seems clear that they are targeting the Russian transfer student because of his father. He hates the ever living shit out of Russia. I actually thought Elizabeth would strangle him on the spot. He also touts the beauty of being able to get food wherever you want in America. This dude is not long for this world. Anyway, he has something to do with agriculture. Russia's farming in the post-credits scene does... not look good. It looks like food within the Soviet Union would be an important plot point throughout this season. The Jennings cultivating (sorry) a source that is connected with agriculture and Oleg investigating food corruption.
Speaking of Oleg, this episode is just an introduction to his new digs. He decided to come home to comfort his mother, who has still not gotten over the death of her son. He is living in Moscow, specifically Lubyanka, which is the headquarters of KGB. His new boss seems nice. His boss (whose name I did not get) will be primarily investigating popular people who use bribery, extortion and such to take control of food. He believes it is the "chief threat against the Soviet Union." So we'll guess we'll be getting an inside look at the self-destruction of the Soviet Union for the rest of the series that's mostly just been hinted at so far.
Paige does not appear to have improved her relationship with her parents whatsoever since she saw her mother kill a mugger in front of her. She's having nightmares. Elizabeth's solution is to teach her basic self-defense. I'm not actually sure this will help her with her nightmares, but it's a good idea nonetheless given that they are spies. Neither parent wants her to be with Matthew, but that does not appear to deter her much.
Speaking of which, there's a really weird dynamic going on between the Beeman family and the Jennings family. Apparently, both Henry and Paige started eating with Stan on a semi-regular basis for dinner. Stan also just comes over with beer later in the night to discuss how great it is that Matthew has Paige. Stan is happy, because Matthew is happy and because he has a crush on a girl at the gym. Stan has never seemed like a high school boy more than there with his "I met someone" actually meaning "I handed her a cup of water."
Lastly, Gabriel gives them a job and the show sure takes its time with this job. It's a simple job, but it takes forever and is highly dangerous. I guess no job is truly simple if it's really dangerous. They figure out the location of William's body (from Gabriel) and dig it up. It is dug really fucking far into the ground. The show expresses this point by taking about 8 minutes for the digging scene alone, though I did not count. They eventually get to him and CUT OFF A PIECE OF HIS SKIN. Jesus. Poor William. He didn't want to give this disease to the Soviet Union because he knows what it can do, which is probably part of why he was willing to kill himself and yet it gets out anyway.
All is going well until, Hans falls into the hole and cuts his hand on William. Hans was a minor character with no character development, but the actor portrayed with a naive innocence that made him sympathetic. So I was sorry to see him go. He somewhat stupidly was delighted at how it didn't hurt and didn't realize that he was going to need to die. Like I said, the actor did a good job giving him a naive innocence that was obviously an intentional part of his character. He sure went out like an idiot though.
Notes
- Mischa is on the way to America. For an idea of how good The Americans are at this, there's a tense scene where he needs to get past airport security. Despite the fact that he's obviously getting past it, I still felt tense. Not to mention, as a person rooting for the Jennings to somehow get out of this and live happily ever after stop laughing at me, it's probably better if the son doesn't reach Phillip.
- Claudia and Gabriel are aware that Mischa is missing and think he might be visiting Philip. They do not tell Philip this. I'm sure this will go splendidly for all.
- There's a great shot when Oleg is with his mother. The camera zooms in on a picture of his brother, but in the background is a mirror with Oleg and his mother talking right above it. It's a good way of expressing that neither of them have put his death behind them.
- The AV Club review of this mentions that the, well, mention of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics places this episode around February 1984.
- Any bets on how quickly the Russian father dies? The Americans tends to zig when I expect it to zag, but I'd still find it hard to believe he makes it out of the season.
- I was promised more Henry. I do not actually care if Henry is confined to one scene for the rest of the series. But I was promised.
- "What's the right time?" - Elizabeth ponders to Phillip about when to go back to Russia. Yeah you guys are never stepping foot in that country again - I'm guessing.
- Paige is reading The New Hotel Hampshire by John Irving (1981), which appears to be a coming-of-age novel. I haven't read this book, but sometimes shows like to make points about the show with quick shots of books or TV series reflecting the characters' reality.
- RIP Hans
Soundtrack
- "That's Good" - Devo
- There also appeared to be a Russian sung version of "America the Beautiful"
Monday, February 6, 2017
Santa Clarita Diet Review
I haven't written a review in a while, and to be honest, I'm going try to write this one in 17 minutes so this might not be that great of a review. But I like time limits and I just finished the latest Netflix original television show, so let's give a shot.
Santa Clarita Diet is a wacky dark comedy, occasionally achieving moments of brilliance. At worst, you get to see Timothy Olyphant be generally hilarious and Drew Barrymore isn't far behind him. The premise of this show is somewhat insane. Sheila becomes undead - the how is never explained and that's probably for the better honestly - and quickly comes to rely on eating people for her main source of food.
Before she became a zombie, she lived a fairly boring life with her husband Joel. They love her each other and sell houses. Given their personalities, they didn't seem unhappy with their life, but there was certainly not a lot going on with their life. When she becomes undead, she reverts to her id. She gets what she wants when she wants it without much regard for the consequences. She's happier the way she is a zombie than she was as a suburban mom.
If there's one thing I wish this show did, it was to show us more of what Sheila was like when she was alive. She gets sick fairly early on and we don't see much sense of her personality beforehand. It would have been interesting to see the contrast. While Barrymore is charming and it's not that difficult to empathize with her, I feel I as an audience member would feel more of connection with her if I got a better sense of who she was before. As it stands, she has little self-regard for others in getting what she wants and I can certainly see how that may be an issue for some.
Of course, the standout is Olyphant. He's the reason I watched the show in the first place. He plays Joel quite a bit different than any of his other characters than I've seen. I feel like masters the intended tone of the series better than any of the other cast members. If you go into this series because of Olyphant, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the results.
I think the weak link of the cast member is Liv Hewson, the teenager daughter. She's fine as an actress, but something just feels slightly off about her character. She grows into the role as the season goes on. I do think her rebellious nature is a bit at odds with how the family appeared to be before this whole zombie thing started. I mean it didn't seem like they had any issues with her before - and I realize this a point of the show - but she very quickly embraces the rebellious nature in a way that should have indicated that the parents had problems with her about this before. So I guess I don't have a problem with Hewson, just how her character is generally written. That said, this wouldn't be the first TV show to have a comedy character in the pilot be different than how they end up writing her.
Skyler Gisondo, who fills out the remainder of the main cast, is very good as the geeky, awkward teenager boy who has a crush on Abby (the daughter). He plays it well, but he's also a hugely cliche character. I mean read that first sentence. Also he seems way smart in a way that only teenagers in movies and TV shows are: impossibly smart. I have never met anybody even remotely in the same league as this guy apparently is.
For It's Always Sunny fans, Mary Elizabeth Ellis has a fairly prominent recurring role as a neighbor and she's predictably hilarious. Her husband is a cop and the show gains some comedy out of both of their neighbors being cops. Portia de Rossi is also excellent later in the series that kind of shocked me. I only know her from Arrested Development - and while she's obviously good in that - I hadn't realized how good of a comedic actress she is until this role.
Well it's been 17 minutes and that means it's time to write my concluding paragraph. I enjoyed Santa Clarita Diet. I don't think it's a must-see comedy, but I found it really easy to binge so it seems well-suited to being on Netflix. It's well-acted and in a few episodes - specifically the seventh episode - it is almost perfect black comedy. (I was laughing at the seventh episode for nearly 30 straight minutes. It was that good.) I'd recommend this if you have nothing else to watch.
Grade - B+
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