Category: TV Shows (Page 2 of 2)
Scavenger’s Reign is a lovely animated series. The animation is visually stunning. The music is creative, soothing and creepy, all at the same time. The plants and animals are completely alien. Nothing looks like anything on Earth, but it all looks like it could exist.
The plot is simple. People get stranded on an alien planet. Each person gets into some trouble while trying to get to the main spaceship. The series is more about an alien planet than it is about the characters. I found it very engaging.
Colin from Accounts didn’t sound like my kind of TV show, but I gave it a try. I’m not usually a fan of Australian comedies. Too many of the characters treat each other poorly and they can be too much. Like, too wacky, too dumb, too confident, whatever. Deadloch on Amazon Prime is one that I tried recently. Colin from Accounts isn’t like that at all.
The premise is that a Gen X guy and a Millennial woman meet over a dog that was hit by a car. How is that a supposed to be a comedy? The dog was seriously injured, and I thought that first episode might be the end of the show for me. Nothing was graphic and the visit to the veterinarian, the surgery and the dog are treated respectfully, but events around that are dark humor that was actually funny. It helps that the dog has Sparky’s cute good nature.
The main characters are what D & D would call chaotic neutral people trying to be good. Much of the comedy comes from the difference in ages and outlooks, but it isn’t stereotypical or cliched. It feels natural and plausible. Both characters are in an uncomfortable situations, but by trying to do the right thing, they are placed in awkward situations. They do the best they can, and it leads them along an interesting journey.
The supporting characters all feel like real people with a backstory. That it is an Australian production, means that a lot of little lifestyle details are different. You don’t get the American approach where it’s a waitress in a $3000 per month studio apartment or working class family in a squalid house.
Colin in Accounts is showing on Paramount +. I really enjoyed it. 8/10
One Piece is really entertaining. Yeah, everybody says that, but I was surprised. There are a few anime series I like, but it’s usually the silly stuff. I wouldn’t watch One Piece, Cowboy Bebop or Dragon Ball Z as anime. Making an anime into a TV show is even less likely to work out. The trailers weren’t enticing. I thought it would be some sappy Mexican kid moping around.
The Mexican kid, Iñaki Godoy, is convincing. He is stupidly optimistic, but has skills and attributes that make it plausible that everything always works out. The rest of the cast have charisma and believable quirks. The show is occasionally quite dark and violent.
One Piece is best viewed as adventure fantasy. Many people have powers that are beyond human, but the origin of the powers are explained if necessary. You just accept some of the fantasy elements. The level of technology is undefined and flexible. They use long ships and swords, but some people dress in suits or other modern clothing.
It’s a fun show and worth watching. 9/10.
I will explain what I mean by the silly anime that I’ve enjoyed.
Ghost Stories is hilarious because of how it was dubbed. They didn’t go with a direct translation, but said whatever they wanted to move the story along.
Girls und Panzer is a stupid premise that the creator to seriously. The girls attend a private school that is located on an aircraft carrier. One club at the school is “tankery”. The girls compete in tank battles against other private schools.
Upotte! is similar. Every student represents a type of rifle and attend an international private school that emphasizes shooting sports. The Swiss girl represents the Swiss Sig PE57 battle rifle. The American girl is an M16. Like that.
Like I said, I like mostly silly anime.
*The Legend of Vox Machina* isn’t like a typical dragons and fantasy TV show or anime. Those aren’t appealing because everyone is so dour or earnest. *The Legend of Vox Machina* is like a good game of Dungeons and Dragons if all the players were smart and witty. The characters are mostly irreverent and unconcerned about their own survival.
The animation, dialogue and plot are all well done. Even someone only mildly interested in the fantasy genre can enjoy it. There is quite a bit of swearing.
Robert Blake passed away at 90 years old. He was charged with murdering his wife, but was eventually acquitted. He knew you don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
We probably watched every episode of Barreta. I don’t imagine it holds up, but Electra Glide in Blue was an emotionally charged movie.
I will be surprised if History of the World Part II is very good. Mel Brooks is involved with the TV series, but his best movies are considered unacceptable by whomever is running our culture. Perhaps Mel Brooks can still bring the fun in these prudish times. The series airs tomorrow.
I’m a big fan of retro-futurism. In particular, how the people of the mid-20th century saw the future developing. *Popular Science* magazine and other magazines showed us the flying cars. I was eager for the TV show, *Hello Tomorrow!” to air on Apple TV+. When it did, it seemed familiar.
Sixty years ago, my parents bought property in Arizona for an area that was never developed. Hello Tomorrow! is set in that era and has interesting characters and engaging dialogue. It’s like they realized the show wasn’t going anywhere, so they thought, “Let’s add all the technology that was showing up in Popular Science at the time!”
The premise is that a developer is selling land on the Moon. It might be a sham, but the show follows the salesmen as they go city to city promoting the real estate in good faith and with plenty of enthusiasm. Robot delivery vans and flying cars are a mundane part of the *Leave It to Beaver* communities.
Change “Moon” to “Arizona” and remove the fantasy technology, and nothing about the show would change except it would be a period drama about traveling salesmen. None of the retro-futurism has been relevant to the plot.
I made it to episode 4, and have relegated the show to background television.
Two episodes in, and Star Trek: Picard is actually good. Since this is the third season, I was concerned that I’d have to wade through two crappy seasons for continuity. So far, the only character from prior seasons is a female Huggy Bear. You remember Huggy Bear, the black junkie from Starsky and Hutch. He was always tweaking, but aspired to be useful.
Picard and Riker go on a buddy trip to save Beverly Crush from the Hypnotoad ship. Picard and Riker retain great chemistry, and play up the over-the-hill angle with good natured humor.
In a nice touch, it isn’t just legacy characters, but their kids who show up.
They are up against a by-the-book captain who isn’t a bad guy, just doesn’t hold with the swashbuckling ways of Picard and Riker. Seven-of-Nine is his first officer. She was a better character when she was struggling with her Borg nature. Now, she’s more like everyone else.
I don’t know if Star Trek: Picard got better writers or a new show runner, but it’s actually a good show now, compared to the muddled show it started out as.
The Critical Drinker persuasively argues that Picard season 3 is a great TV.