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Good Omens (2019)
Season 1 was great.. Season 2 not so much.
Huge fan of Pratchett and Gaiman here. Season 1 did not disappoint. 10/10. The show was clever and fun. The story line was suitable for children and adults. The main characters were a group of kids ... but the writing was so clever that adults are also fully engaged. STELLAR SHOW.
I was so excited to see a Season 2!!!
Sadly ... Season 2 was disappointing. This season has become yet another Amazon propaganda piece where diversity is prized above plot or artistic value and we get saddled with characters who don't ring true.
The Angel in a wheelchair? I'm disabled. I like to see representation. But an ANGEL? Why wouldn't she just get divine healing? A human character in a wheelchair ... ok ... that makes sense. But if you're going to give us a powerful angel who can do miracles ... we need some backstory as to why no one did a healing miracle. Feels like she was just written as "we need to show a powerful character in a wheelchair". But did you, really?
Season 2 also felt contrived that nearly EVERY couple is gay or trans. Except for the token straight couple. Yes, the lesbian shop keepers are cute. Their story arc makes sense. Their characters ring true. But another couple felt like: "Oh we need to show a trans person who goes by they/them in a relationship". Not forwarding the plot or deepening characterizations.
I would let children watch it ... nothing too outrageous ... but it lost the innocent fun of Season 1.
I fear some ppl will feel Season 2 isn't suitable for kids b/c they just want to watch a show without having it become a "teaching moment" about trans rights. And I can't blame them. Not every show needs to be "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Sometimes we want to just relax and enjoy a good story.
The last thing is the end. It ends on a cliffhanger that is clearly the set-up for Season 3. Many shows do this ... but it was jarring. I liked that Season 1 had a proper ending ... and Season 2 was a happy surprise.
Now if feels like we're being manipulated. Season 2 wasn't that good but we HAVE to watch Season 3 to find out what happens. It's a cheap trick that a truly great show (Like Season 1) wouldn't need.
Pose (2018)
Hooked on Pose!
So far I've only seen the pilot ... but I'm hooked! It's definitely a "dancer" show ... i.e. you will like it if you're a dancer and it helps if you grew-up in the 80s. But Pose is more than that, too. Yes its about gay/trans characters but the story line speaks to all people who are "different" and can never fit in with main stream.And of course LOVE the dancer character b/c many dancers -gay or not- literally starve and sacrifice everything for dance. So its validating to see a character like that in a show. I like all the characters and can't wait to see where the show takes them. Some of their stories are tragic ... yet the show has excitement and glamor and never falls into pathos. You can definitely see how RuPaul drag races is an outgrowth of this ball culture. Pose has a raw glamour that I love. Great show!
Star Trek: Discovery: Battle at the Binary Stars (2017)
Plot holes big enough to fly a shuttle through
Some reviewers imply that everyone who hates this show (and we are legion) is simply too stuck on the TOS to appreciate change.
So let's be clear - this episode has plot holes large enough to fly a space-shuttle through. It's not only bad star trek ... it's just plain bad. Plays more like an anime show with no plot line but chicks fighting and explosions. Yet without the charm of animation.
But don't take my word ... here is a little test to see if you will like this this show: please choose A or B
(Ahem) You need to do an extraction mission which involves going behind enemy lines to take a dangerous klingon. So you:
a} put together a well-armed tactical team with your best sharp-shooter and special ops personnel, plus a med tech to tranq the prisoner and a communications specialist to coordinate the mission.
b} You send the middle-aged lady captain and the science officer armed with nothing more than hand phasers (eek! who's running the ship with the captain gone???)
OK, if you picked B, you will like this show. If you picked A, congratulations you deserve better entertainment. Watch Battlestar Galactica and Caprica if you want to see dark warlike future done well.
Star Trek: Discovery: Choose Your Pain (2017)
The Episode which made me abandon ship
I wanted to love this show. I'm really hungry for a good sci fi series ... sadly after watching this episode I had to "choose my pain" and abandon ship. SPOILERS (sorry but I have to mention these things)
1. in this episode we learn that Captain Lorca once abandoned ship and killed his whole crew to "save" them from a fate worse than death. This "Keyser Soze solution" plays well on an shadowy underworld crime boss ... but not so well on a Star Fleet captain. Kirk would have gone down fighting. Picard would have orchestrated a clever feint and sacrificed himself so that some of the crew might survive. We liked these captains. They were NOBLE. Lorca is a scumbag. BattleStar Galactica gave us dark, imperfect characters ... but they did it well. The moral ambiguities were painted with a fine brush so that I loved and understood even the most awful characters. If only Discovery had writers of that calibre!
2. Saru. You would think that his history of being a "prey" species would give him a sense of empathy and compassion. Not so much. An admiral has commanded that the Tardigrade should be preserved. The Doctor has warned that the exploitation of this living being is causing it medical harm. Yet Saru is willing to kill the Taridigrade (and thus endanger the whole ship) just to rescue one man. Huh??? It makes no sense logically ... why endanger the lives of hundreds to save one? Plus it makes Saru a scumbag, too. He is willing to kill a living being just to exploit it as a navigation device?
3. The Tardigrade. OK it's an intergalactic truffle-hunting boar ... cool. But it was fierce enough to destroy a starship ... yet now it's so docile it will allow itself to be killed by beings bent on exploiting it? It's adverse to light. So why does it allow itself to be placed in a brightly lit chamber?
4. Tilly. At first you like her socially-inept self depreciation. Its sweet. But at a certain point it's over-done and starts to grate on the nerves. Doesn't she ever shut up?
5. Paul & The Doctor. OK cool. We got gay a gay couple in space. But why not show their relationship develop over time? Instead we just get "here's two bitchy gay guys" see how inclusive we are?
6. The Klingons. You can't go backwards - not even in a Prequel. ST TNG gave us a whole story arc developing the Klingons as an interesting and complex society. Now they are presented as 1-dimensional monsters and religious zealots. I don't like to politicize TV shows ... but it calls to mind the current western attitudes toward Islamic terrorist groups. Yawn. Caprica was a great prequel to BattleStar Galactica - it never violated the premise of the original show but instead gave a plausible history and context. STD is an epic fail on this score. We had a really cool Klingon culture developed in TNG. Why violate that? You can still make them enemy combatants without totally screwing it up.
This series is just wrong. It's full of plot holes ... WHY is Captain Lorca in a shuttle so close to Klingon space during war time? At least give us a compelling reason why he was out there with a target painted on his back. Is that too much to ask?
In the pilot episode, WHY do Captain Georgiou and Michael Burnham attempt to take the Klingon Captain without proper back-up? It's just stupid. Captain Giorgiou would have sent a special tactics TEAM on such a mission ... not gone herself with one other woman (who's a science officer - not a weapons expert!) Who writes this crap and expects us to swallow it?
So it goes. Illogical plot devices, unlikable characters. Totally incongruous with earlier Star Trek. UGH! (facepalm)
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Disappointing - Discovery loses the spirit of Star Trek
The original Star Trek was about human progress, exploration and written by some of the best sci fi writers around. Yes there were fights and battles but the Prime Directive set a tone of peace and non-exploitation. TNG stayed true to the Prime Directive and added the acting skills of Patrick Stewart plus the whole Klingon culture was developed. And Q.
STD betrays this legacy. I'm up to episode 5 and losing hope. The tone is war-like with none of the celebration of humanity's progress which is the basis of ST's identity. It's OK to harm and exploit a new species for "the war effort"...??? huh? This is not the Star Trek I know and love. And if they wanted to do "dark" ... they failed on that, too. BSG was very dark but a great show. STD is too stupid and shallow to be dark. The Klingons are re-cast as monstrous one dimensional "bad guys". Their scenes and costuming are actually painful to watch. The star fleet characters do stupid things that no one with two brain cells to rub together would do. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief on some of the science fiction bits ... but it's a stretch to ask me to believe star fleet officers would be moronically stupid. This series seems like more of a pro-war propaganda film than Star Trek. I like the main character and premise - 3 stars for that - but what a sad disappointment and betrayal of the Star Trek legacy.
Dear White People (2014)
Interesting look at a complex issue
I'm truly puzzled by the bad reviews and ire this movie garnered. It deals with some very complex issues - for example: is having on-campus housing which is exclusively for black students segregation or culturally aware? "Dear White People" isn't great film-making ... but it tackles difficult issues which are NOT black and white (pun intended) ... but rather many shades of gray. Some reviewers slammed the movie for being racist. Huh? People want to live in a bubble and pretend racism no longer exists. The pictures of real life "black-face parties" on various college campuses which rolled on the ending credits show that racism is alive and well -just more insidious since we are supposed to be "past" it. "Dear White People" isn't racist ... but it is about racism. I think most of the bad reviews were from people who didn't like their "racism is no longer an issue" bubble burst. The movie was a bit heavy-handed in places but I liked the characters. I enjoyed the sense of irony and humor.
Young & Hungry (2014)
Funny if you can get past the total UNreality & 2 broke girls knock-off
First-off, Young & Hungry is a shameless knock-off of 2 Broke Girls but it lacks the sharp edge of 2 Broke Girls. I find myself watching Young & Hungry because it is a harmless, feel-good piece of comedic fluff. The characters are quirky and like-able. The sits of the sit-com are funny.
BUT ...
I have actually worked the jobs depicted in this series (private cook, cleaning staff, etc.) and these jobs SUCK. Often being a private cook means sacrificing your own social life to work split shifts and generally be available on nights, weekends, and any other time the employers are having a social occasion. Add to that an incredible amount of stress b/c I have never met a quirky likable millionaire like the boss on this show.
If I block-out the reality of working as domestic help for the uber-rich ... I can have a few mindless laughs and pretend its all in good fun. I sort of hate myself for liking this show at all ... but until 2 Broke Girls comes out with their new season ... it's all I got.
Crossbones (2014)
Brilliant writing and acting - wish there was MORE
Crossbones features brilliant twists of plot and amazing dialog (Teach's speech prior to battle, etc.) Superb performances by Malkovitch and Coyle. The premise of this show accurately touches upon real history. It reaches beyond the shallow pirate "formula fiction" to reference the revolutionary and anarchist spirit that pervaded places like Freeport, Bahamas in the 1700s. This fictional Blackbeard rules through astute political savvy and even a sort of freedom fighter revolutionary idealism. The Puritans were not the only ones who wished to throw off the yoke of British Imperial rule. The "pirates" were anti- Puritans who shared a similar but more anarchistic (and more fun?) revolutionary zeal. As written for this show, Blackbeard's character is complex and Malkovitch portrays all the conflicts and inconsistencies of the character masterfully. It is a pleasure to see a great actor do justice to a well-written character. It is a pleasure to view a truly WELL WRITTEN show. It is the rare TV show which one needs to actually THINK to follow the plot twists.
Deducted 2 stars from an otherwise perfect show b/c some of the characters were not as well realized or acted as the 2 leads. With such exceptional characters in the lead roles
a couple lesser characters noticeably fell short. Also the wardrobe was not as well-done as I have come to expect from historical shows (frex Musketeers although not as well-written does a fantastic job with wardrobe).
WHY did they cancel this show after only 1 season? That seems a CRIME. Thankfully the end was not as painful as Firefly
they manage to wrap-up 1 story arc so you are left feeling almost satisfied
but I would have liked to have seen MORE SEASONS!!!!
The Musketeers (2014)
Great costumes and sets - disappointing story lines
On the plus side: superb costumes and sets. Great fight choreography. From a female's perspective: hot guys! It is entertaining but it could have been so much more! On the minus side: I have read all the Dumas novels: Three Musketeers, 20 Years After, 10 Years Later, Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask. There is enough great material in Dumas to make any multi-season TV series. Why in the world would some no-name BBC writers think they could do better than Dumas? The plots are over-done and contrived whereas the original Dumas stories never strained the reader's credulity. The Fronde uprising reduced to a simple jewelry heist? Why would the writers take something deep and complex and dumb it down to trivial TV formula tripe? How sad this series wasted hot actors and great characters on dumbed-down TV formula plots when they could have used real history and the original Dumas stories to make a really epic series.