Reviews
Of all the Star Treks, I feel TNG was the closest to the original Star Trek. I watched every episode and loved the Q and Borg episodes especially. It ran for a long time, and there were definitely some boring formulaic episodes, but there were also some ground breaking episodes that took the genre to the next level. Anyone who thinks it was not a great show simply does not understand sci-fi or at least sci-fi at the time.
I was never a fan of the original show, even though I was alive when it was airing, as it had such low production values. So for me, TNG was the first series produced as it was intended to be produced, and I think Bradbury's wife being soo involved in TNG exemplifies that she also thought he would have wanted TNG to be the new flagship.
"Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"
"Temba, his arms wide."
Enough said.
The couple who star in the show are highly professional Flippers, and they never seem to fail to make HUGE profits... even when it looks like its going to go upside down due to unexpected expenses.
I like that the guy is the construction person and the woman is the designer, its a good balance and their banter is particularly well done. The woman beats up on the guy almost every episode about spending too much to renovate, and I have no doubt that she is a handful IRL, but it appears to be part of the act on the show and sometimes she spends too much and gets ribbed by him as well.
Like a lot of flipper/renovation shows, it is formulaic and every house ends up with certain very similar things like quartz countertops and a farmers sink, but the houses they renovate are soo different that its interesting anyway.
They definitely take chances with houses that have issues and its fun watching how they figure out how to come out with a big profit and produce an amazing house that seems to always sell for list price within a day.
My only criticism is the overly gaudy "statging" decorations and furniture the woman uses for open houses. They are soooo fake looking. Cheesy fake fur every episode, an abundance of pink and other flashy colors that no one in their right mind would use in their house unless they were on a TV set. But it doesn't seem to stop people from buying the house, and despite the gaudy crap the houses do look great afterwards.
Set 14 years after the excellent 'The Bletchley Circle' series from a few years ago, this is not strickly about code breaking, but is instead about a cryptic serial killer that killed in England during the war and is now linked to killings in San Francisco. Two of the women in the original series go on a sluething adventure over the pond to solve the case.
The show focuses on the trials and tribulations of women after the war, expected to go back to their place as servants to men and give up the freedom and pride they found working at high levels during the war.
F that!
After the first episode, I'm not sure if the killer is supposed to be the Zodiac killer, but they are definitely leaning in that direction with taunting letters to the police and cryptic symbols and clues in the taunts. There is also speculation that the Zodiac was two people, one older and one younger, which may turn out to be the case with this show.
Who will the killer be and how will our heroines triumph in the face of misogyny, racism and murder?
Who knows.... but the killer might be Donald Trump. I wouldn't put it passed him.
This review contains spoilers. Click the text to reveal.
I was a big fan of the 1995 movie and even watched the original La Jette from 1964, which is far more weird and pychological. So when they made a series of it, I was all in.
The first season is great, kind of a remake of the movie but also different, maybe kind of like how the Sarah Connor Chronicles are similar to the Terminator movies but different (and far supirior). The woman who plays Dr. Cassandra Railly crushes me with her beauty every time she is on screen.
The second series got a little bumpy, and I felt that they switched writers at some point and I really didn't like the change to a more melodramatic writing style. I stopped watching, but eventually went back and watched the rest of season 2 even though I wasn't that into it.
I watched the first episode of season 3 and was again faced with the overly melodratic style, like a spanish novella had lots of bambinos with a hard sci-fi show. I dropped it like a rock. {cut to the character looking dramatically into the distance... having no doubt deep thoughts about the future of humanity}
So, season 4 rolls around, I'm brave, I checked it out yesterday, 3 episodes released at once, nice. And guess what?... its back to being like it was in the first season, much less pointless melodrama and much more action. I'm digging it again and already watched the first three episodes. Its good.
All in all though I can't give it more than 3 stars since there was so much crap in season 2, and although season 3 might have gotten better, I will never know... Staying away from that season like the plague!
I LOLed several times during the first episode, but its cheap superficial jokes, and there is a sense of dramatization to the show that makes you think there might be a laugh track running in the background. It feels fake. The fake commercials were funny and reminded me of the old Saturday Night Live, but the fake movie trailer was just not funny.
All in all she comes off like a whiny complainer, mostly because of her skreeetchy voice, which will definitely wake you up. I felt she should have concentrated more on current events, maybe more like Jim Jefferies is doing, instead of trying to be super funny all the time in a forced "I drank waaaaay too much coffee" kind of way.
The end part with the other rather annoying person from the Seth Meyers show was really annoying and I stopped watching the show. I'll check it out again but if it doesn't evolve into something more entertaining and less "Hey, I'm sitting on a couch now, amazing, right!!?" then I think it will be canceled.
The show starts off strong, but the complexity of the multiple killer plot seems to create a lot of issues for the writers and director, as the episodes get kind of cheesy as it progresses, like they are overwhelmed at just getting something on video. Several times an episode I found myself thinking... if I was directing, I would have done another take for that scene as it was below par.
The subplots are pointless and annoying distractions from the actual serial killer cases. The other Swedish cops are mostly crap, especially the weird guy and the espresso maker. The guy who plays Tyrell on Mr. Robot has a bit part, but there doesn't seem to be any other reaosn for him to be in the show besides being somewhat famous.
I think Nyquist is often glorified as a great actor due to "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" series, but this is in comparison to a Swedish acting standard and not a world standard, as I think he is an average actor at best. I think he should also be the poster child for no smoking ads as he died rather young from lung cancer. Its unclear what they are going to do for season 2 without him, but it looks like its back to New York so maybe no Swedes are needed.
The show switches back and forth from Swedish with subtitles to English and although that isnt too annoying, the fact that the American cop keeps saying "English, English!" is very annoying. Typical america a-hole druggie fascist cop. Would have been better to decide on one language.
The "hacktoring" as its called, when the young obvious fake tech wizard dude pretends to type fast and crack passwords, is as bad as it usually is in these types of shows. The zooming in on a photo to "enhance the resolution" is stupid, as it usually is in these types of shows. It all comes off very low budget, like it was filmed in the early 2000s.
The best part is the creativity of the serial killings. Its a great idea to have a mastermind and multiple killers. I'm sure this type of show has been done before, maybe Millenium was like this, but it was good to have variety. "Mother always said to try new things."
UPDATE: I dropped it near the end of the first season, the writing is just boring.
This review contains spoilers. Click the text to reveal.
Its a dark comedy mystery coming of age story that sometimes verges on a stupid comedy, but is fun often as well.
Premise: If you are a group of very average people, it is very hard to find a missing person who doesn't want to be found... and its even harder to murder someone... And it is near impossible to cover up your gross mishandling of the murder and the murder coverup.
The most interesting part of the series is how the experiences the four main characters go through eventually force them... for a lack of a better term... to grow up. Murder has a maturing effect it seems. Solid message for the kids, TBS.
This review contains spoilers. Click the text to reveal.
WOW, that is some serious reality. Excellent production values on a show that everyone in the US should be required to watch. Definitely makes you mad about the Police State that we are living in. Personally, I applaud everytime a cop is killed. War is war. They chose their side. And that side is "against the people."
LOST IN STAR WARS
The first episode is bad but it gets slightly better as the series progresses. The pseudo-science is rife. Like a sci-fi show written by English majors who don't like Sci-fi and looked up random science facts in an old Encyclopidia Britanica and then mis-interpreted them into a story plot while drinking copious cheap whiskey and eating Oreo cookies.
The several perplexing plot points slowly unfold with each episode, but its one of those weak plots where the writer creates illogical situations simply so other chaaracters can react in illogical ways so they aren't sitting around doing nothing. Like I've mentioned elsewhere, the original show wasn't good, it was just unique at the time and had females. Its melodrama. A soap opera. Its cheesy sci-fi. I'm much more of a hard sci-fi fan. There simply is no reason not to get the science right and still have a creative well written plot.
They obviously spent some serious money on this, too bad they didn't hire better writers. It could have been much better. The casting is bad in general. The star wars rip offs replete.
Will: Not a super genius in this version, kind of a dullard, Luke Skywalker (controls the robot weapon)
Mr R: Hardly the go getter that the character was in the old show and movie, more of a lone wolf, Obi Wan
Don West: Not a Major in military in this version, a criminal smuggler, Han Solo
Dr. Smith: Not a doctor in this version, Darth Vader (both helps and hurts the hero equally, Darth causes the death star to be blown up by releasing the plans to track the rebels, if you recall - called the Contagonist in Dramatica story theory, you can see Dr. Smith helping at times and hurting people at other times.)
There is no obvious Princess Leia, probably going to be Judy.
There is no obvious Chubaca, betting a lovable animal comes into the fold by the end of the season.
I'm going to watch the rest of the season, if for no other reason than to find out if Mrs. Robinson had an affair with a black man. Maybe the leader of the expidition. Inquiring minds want to know.
The Bad:
- You can crash land from space without so much as a case of whiplash.
- The only injury is caused by a large metal filing cabinet that for no reason is not bolted to the ship.
- Your ship can suddenly sink into the ice which inexplicably suddenly melts.
- But then the water refreezes in seconds as if on cue.
- Ice on top of a mountain has salinity, ie salt (the stupidest thing so far).
- If you are a scientist, you can crash land on an unknown planet and somehow know without any evidence that the tempurture will drop to 60 below.
- It can rain liquid water but its still so cold out that the same water refreezes nearly instantly on the ground.
- I in no way think the man playing the role of the father is fatherly. He's just wrong for the part. Bad casting.
- A dense lush forest just happens to abutt a super cold glacer. An arid desert is also nearby.
- Weird wormhole blackhole-like sparkly objects can suddenly pop up in space when you need to be lost for no other reason than its in the name of the show.
- In show Oreo commercials, several, they hold up the box to the camera like an advert and talk about them for about 30 seconds total.
- I'm pro females in shows. And I like Parker Posey "Starbucking" the Dr. Smith role. But the writing is soo juvinile. And why a fake Dr. Smith (can women not be Doctors)?? Why wouldn't she just have stayed with the guy who helped recue her, there was no reason to think a truck would be rolling by and see the flare, she would have died in the storm. And wow, her sister was dating the security guy and he didn't instantly notice it wasn't her?? [If the Earth was going to be hit by an extinction level event, and there was a lifeboat taking the chosen rich away to the new world (sickening christian allegory), there would be riots to get aboard. Security would have caught an imposter even with the correct chip. Even the inept TSA would have stopped her.]
- The robot doesn't speak AT ALL, except to inexplicably say "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!" moments after hearing 3 words of English. Horrible writing. Ruined an iconic aspect of the show.
- An alleged astrophysicist says: "we are trillions and trillions of light years away" - except the universe is only 156 billion light years wide.
- They completely ruined the theme song. I love the old theme song. It was catchy and fun. They butcher it with star-wars-esque brass bellowing like sick cows.
- The Jupiter 2 ship purely coinidentally looks like the Millenium Falcon.
- Its purely coincidental that the ship flies out of the ice cave as if it was the asteroid worm from Star Wars IV or the caves in Star Wars VII.
Good things:
- Scenery is cool even if illogical climate zones exist side by side
- There are many Jupiter spacecraft, which opens up a lot more possibilities for other survivors to add to the story (I could see a 'The 100'-like plot falling out of this set up fairly easily).
This review contains spoilers. Click the text to reveal.
Probably the best virtual reality show ever made. Its both a real world and a VR world show. Its not a cartoon. It goes back and forth. The virtual graphics are well done. The characters are strong and archtypical. The acting is good. There is even a bit of sexy to keep the young boys (I mean all boys of course) entertained.
The nuances the show runners are developing between the real world personas and the virtual personas is beautiful. The main character is warrior in the the virtual world, but a lonely downtrodden nerd in the real world. You can see the virtual world leaking out to influence the real world and its setting up the perfect Heroine's Journey story.
And I didn't even mention the neck cuff. You'll have to watch it to see how real the virtual world is going to get.