Saturday, October 15, 2016
Fall TV Roundup
Is Fall TV even really a thing any more? I know it still gets a cover in Entertainment Weekly, but Entertainment Weekly is itself now barely a thing. New TV's kind of year round now, guys. And a lot of it is not even on the TV.
So things we watched recently. Stranger Things, which was perfectly enjoyable but frankly way overhyped. I'm up for a Winona career renaissance as much as anyone, but let's not pretend that faithfully recreating the eighties is some sort of accomplishment. Frat parties do it all the time. Fun, though. And the kid with the speech impediment grew on me.
Lady Dynamite, in contrast, I hear no one talking about, and it was amazing. Really funny and weird and unique. And it had pugs. Like five hours of your life total; you won't regret it.
Unreal was also good. Had some strange Lifetimey tendencies, but that's probably to be expected. One of the few shows I can say actually would have benefited from more nudity. Strong acting, especially from Shiri Appleby, who starred in one of my favorite Lifetime movies of all time, Unstable (coincidence?), in which a woman with a history of mental illness is gaslighted by a guy who looks like a woodchuck and a low rent version of Elizabeth Rohm. Kathy Bates is in it, too. Oops, now I'm talking about the movie and not the show. Maybe watch the movie first?
And I'm getting pretty into Westworld, which is totally unexpected. My mom actually recommended it, if you can believe it. It's just atmospheric and strange in a way that nothing has been since Lost, except there's still the promise that it may ultimately make some kind of sense. Pretty violent, which is tough for me, but I spend most of the time I'm watching TV looking at my phone, anyway. Sir Anthony Hopkins is some pretty easy listening.
Is Fall TV even really a thing any more? I know it still gets a cover in Entertainment Weekly, but Entertainment Weekly is itself now barely a thing. New TV's kind of year round now, guys. And a lot of it is not even on the TV.
So things we watched recently. Stranger Things, which was perfectly enjoyable but frankly way overhyped. I'm up for a Winona career renaissance as much as anyone, but let's not pretend that faithfully recreating the eighties is some sort of accomplishment. Frat parties do it all the time. Fun, though. And the kid with the speech impediment grew on me.
Lady Dynamite, in contrast, I hear no one talking about, and it was amazing. Really funny and weird and unique. And it had pugs. Like five hours of your life total; you won't regret it.
Unreal was also good. Had some strange Lifetimey tendencies, but that's probably to be expected. One of the few shows I can say actually would have benefited from more nudity. Strong acting, especially from Shiri Appleby, who starred in one of my favorite Lifetime movies of all time, Unstable (coincidence?), in which a woman with a history of mental illness is gaslighted by a guy who looks like a woodchuck and a low rent version of Elizabeth Rohm. Kathy Bates is in it, too. Oops, now I'm talking about the movie and not the show. Maybe watch the movie first?
And I'm getting pretty into Westworld, which is totally unexpected. My mom actually recommended it, if you can believe it. It's just atmospheric and strange in a way that nothing has been since Lost, except there's still the promise that it may ultimately make some kind of sense. Pretty violent, which is tough for me, but I spend most of the time I'm watching TV looking at my phone, anyway. Sir Anthony Hopkins is some pretty easy listening.
