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millionreasonsI've watched a lot of TV this year. Other people got fit, did jigsaws, developed a hobby, got into baking. I watched TV:
Devs. Dreamy sci-fi in which Ron from Parks and Rec invents time travel to see his dead wife and daughter once again. What is known as high concept TV, it was nonetheless entertaining with its Russian spies, enigmatic (sulky) heroine, its rare Asian-American hero, the machinations of the Amazon-cum-Google tech firm and its false but happy ending.
Tales of the City. I watched all of it: Tales, More, and Further and then the Netflix series and now I know that Laura Linney is not the same person as Laura Dern. I preferred the TV show to the books, although the constant recasting of Michael was confusing (perhaps he was supposed to be the gayeveryman?) and some of the ridiculous plots stayed ridiculous (Jim Jones didn't die in Jamestown? And is kidnapping kids in San Fran?). The Netflix series was more expensive, glossy and PC and less entertaining/outrageous.
Ozark. More Laura Linney. She and Jason Bateman leave the bright lights and big city of Chicago for Missouri to launder money for a Mexican cartel who are hopping mad that Jason's dead business partner kept filching their money. Like Breaking Bad, but set in the Ozarks. BB was supposed to be the journey of a man from Mr Chips to Scarface, but in Ozark, Jason Bateman's Marty stayed mostly the same (persuasive, risk conscious, sneaky, passive aggressive) whereas Laura Linney's Wendy went from put-upon wife to absolute monster. By the end of S3, you'd need quite a few decapitated hands to count the number of people who lives they've ruined or inadvertently ended due to their interference in the local eco-system.
Two Weeks To Live. Fleabag meets Killing Eve. Maisie Williams, brought up as a survivalist by Fleabag's sister, mistakenly believes that the world iss ending in a fortnight, and so goes off to kill the gangster who killed her father, meeting some wacky characters in Margate and Herne Bay along the way.
Run. The sister from Marriage Story and Brendan Gleeson's son go on the run (natch) to try to escape their lives (him: failing inspirational speaker, her: bored wife and mom) by taking a train from Grand Central to Chicago. It runs out of steam (geddit) towards the end of the series but I enjoyed their shenanigans around the midwest.
The Mick. My pal![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
richardbajor made me watch this, literally posting me the DVDs and I'm glad he did so, not just because our internet broke down one day and we had nothing else to watch. Kaitlin Olsen, a.k.a Dee from It's Always In Sunny, plays white trash Micky, forced to look after her posh nephews and niece after her sister and husband flee the country due to tax evasion. Lots or rich/poor conflict, ridiculous situations, arson, doing terrible things for morally ambiguous reasons, and the wonderful Chip (Thomas Barbusca) who i hope goes onto bigger if not better things.
Schitt's Creek. A similar riches to rags trope as a rich family have to move to a one Starbucks town after their accountant runs off with all their money. At first, it's square posh pegs in an insular basic round hole of a town, but because that joke would have only worked over two to three series, the Roses settle down, make connections, open businesses, fall in love and it's oh so sweet but still bitchy 'n' camp. Fave episode is Moira and David trying to cook ("David, what does burning smell like?") and fave scene = Moira's wonderful rendition of Danny Boy at Bob from Bob's Garage's brother's funeral.
Upload. One ex-Parks and Rec writer makes a sitcom about the afterlife (The Good Place) for Netflix, another Parks and Rec writer creates a sitcom about the afterlife for Amazon. Upload posits thatafter you die, you can upload your memories into an avatar that your relatives can "visit" via VR. If that wasn't enough, there's also a heaven class system with the rich going to Lake View country club for constant buffets and golf and the poor just being a room which seems more like hell than heaven, a murder plot as we suspect that the main character has been bumped off rather than his self-driving car having an accident, as well as the shallow protagonist falling in love with the human who is his contact back in the real world.
House of Flowers. Starts off as a Mexican version of big budget, glossy American TV shows like Big Little Lies or Desperate Housewives and ends up as a sex farce in a florists. I'm here for it, obviously.
Talking Heads (reboot). These were broadcast in May but I was still watching them in September as I was just broken after some of the episodes, particularly An Ordinary Woman (incest), Her Big Chance (woman inadvertently starring in porn film), Playing Sandwiches (paedophilia), and The Outside Dog (woman realises she's married to a version of the Yorkshire ripper and she has no escape). Given the range of female talent on display, I was surprised to find that the one I liked the best was A Chip In The Sugar, starring Martin Freeman as a version of Alan Bennet in a tale of his fractious and funny relationship with his mother.
Devs. Dreamy sci-fi in which Ron from Parks and Rec invents time travel to see his dead wife and daughter once again. What is known as high concept TV, it was nonetheless entertaining with its Russian spies, enigmatic (sulky) heroine, its rare Asian-American hero, the machinations of the Amazon-cum-Google tech firm and its false but happy ending.
Tales of the City. I watched all of it: Tales, More, and Further and then the Netflix series and now I know that Laura Linney is not the same person as Laura Dern. I preferred the TV show to the books, although the constant recasting of Michael was confusing (perhaps he was supposed to be the gayeveryman?) and some of the ridiculous plots stayed ridiculous (Jim Jones didn't die in Jamestown? And is kidnapping kids in San Fran?). The Netflix series was more expensive, glossy and PC and less entertaining/outrageous.
Ozark. More Laura Linney. She and Jason Bateman leave the bright lights and big city of Chicago for Missouri to launder money for a Mexican cartel who are hopping mad that Jason's dead business partner kept filching their money. Like Breaking Bad, but set in the Ozarks. BB was supposed to be the journey of a man from Mr Chips to Scarface, but in Ozark, Jason Bateman's Marty stayed mostly the same (persuasive, risk conscious, sneaky, passive aggressive) whereas Laura Linney's Wendy went from put-upon wife to absolute monster. By the end of S3, you'd need quite a few decapitated hands to count the number of people who lives they've ruined or inadvertently ended due to their interference in the local eco-system.
Two Weeks To Live. Fleabag meets Killing Eve. Maisie Williams, brought up as a survivalist by Fleabag's sister, mistakenly believes that the world iss ending in a fortnight, and so goes off to kill the gangster who killed her father, meeting some wacky characters in Margate and Herne Bay along the way.
Run. The sister from Marriage Story and Brendan Gleeson's son go on the run (natch) to try to escape their lives (him: failing inspirational speaker, her: bored wife and mom) by taking a train from Grand Central to Chicago. It runs out of steam (geddit) towards the end of the series but I enjoyed their shenanigans around the midwest.
The Mick. My pal
richardbajor made me watch this, literally posting me the DVDs and I'm glad he did so, not just because our internet broke down one day and we had nothing else to watch. Kaitlin Olsen, a.k.a Dee from It's Always In Sunny, plays white trash Micky, forced to look after her posh nephews and niece after her sister and husband flee the country due to tax evasion. Lots or rich/poor conflict, ridiculous situations, arson, doing terrible things for morally ambiguous reasons, and the wonderful Chip (Thomas Barbusca) who i hope goes onto bigger if not better things.Schitt's Creek. A similar riches to rags trope as a rich family have to move to a one Starbucks town after their accountant runs off with all their money. At first, it's square posh pegs in an insular basic round hole of a town, but because that joke would have only worked over two to three series, the Roses settle down, make connections, open businesses, fall in love and it's oh so sweet but still bitchy 'n' camp. Fave episode is Moira and David trying to cook ("David, what does burning smell like?") and fave scene = Moira's wonderful rendition of Danny Boy at Bob from Bob's Garage's brother's funeral.
Upload. One ex-Parks and Rec writer makes a sitcom about the afterlife (The Good Place) for Netflix, another Parks and Rec writer creates a sitcom about the afterlife for Amazon. Upload posits thatafter you die, you can upload your memories into an avatar that your relatives can "visit" via VR. If that wasn't enough, there's also a heaven class system with the rich going to Lake View country club for constant buffets and golf and the poor just being a room which seems more like hell than heaven, a murder plot as we suspect that the main character has been bumped off rather than his self-driving car having an accident, as well as the shallow protagonist falling in love with the human who is his contact back in the real world.
House of Flowers. Starts off as a Mexican version of big budget, glossy American TV shows like Big Little Lies or Desperate Housewives and ends up as a sex farce in a florists. I'm here for it, obviously.
Talking Heads (reboot). These were broadcast in May but I was still watching them in September as I was just broken after some of the episodes, particularly An Ordinary Woman (incest), Her Big Chance (woman inadvertently starring in porn film), Playing Sandwiches (paedophilia), and The Outside Dog (woman realises she's married to a version of the Yorkshire ripper and she has no escape). Given the range of female talent on display, I was surprised to find that the one I liked the best was A Chip In The Sugar, starring Martin Freeman as a version of Alan Bennet in a tale of his fractious and funny relationship with his mother.
