What TV Shows Are You Watching?

I can’t even say it’s a well-written show because how often characters will return to status quo and forget any type of progression they made. At this point, everyone makes the same psychological talking points about why they won’t fall for self-destructive cycles…as they continue to do it. Episodes that aren’t about the main cast’s various traumas falls back on tired cliches of “Hey wait, Hollywood is a cut-throat business and sometimes people do really bad things to get ahead!”

“Fish Out of Water” is the best episode on principle being all visual storytelling/gags without any insipid dialogue. I get really tired of people saying these same points about how this is good commentary considering the endless repeats in story and continuous safety-nets of plot devices. How can people even still sympathize with Bojack after he nearly performed…

Spoilers for Season 2

statutory rape?

Thank god Netflix has so many other shows out there. If you guys want a good cartoon from Netflix, the new Voltron is a pretty fun all-ages Space Opera.

I bounced off of Bojak the first time, because I was expecting a very different show. After everyone sang its praise, I gave it another shot and am somewhere in Season two (I think?). I enjoy it while I watch it, but don’t ever think about it when I’m not. I’m sure I’ll eventually catch up, It just depends on when I’m next bedridden and feeling emotionally masochistic.

Rick and Morty on the other hand, is currently the only show that I watch week to week instead of just waiting until the end of the season/series. It is the most my jam.

The first episode of the Orville was actually pretty good, and not nearly as satirical or as goofy as I thought it was going to be. Considering that I’ve never been a big fan of Seth McFarlane’s other shows, I was pleasantly surprised.

It definitely pays some serious homage to the Star Trek of the 1990s, specifically the Next Generation. If that kind of Trek is your jam, give it a watch. It’s nice that with “official” Trek going towards more of a serious and serialized format, the Orville is there to give people a more “traditional” episode of the week slice of science fiction.

I can’t agree personally with Voltron, it’s boring and predictable, everything is superficial.
Rick and Morty on the other hand is one of the best shows available to watch. It’s actually funny has, some amazing visual gags and the story and plot are crazy consistent and detailed in each show if you catch everything or watch episodes multiple times. Multiple episodes investigate real world issues in addition to philosophy and general social issues. While somehow being something you can relate to.

I remember watching episode 1 for the second time and was amazed at how many jokes and visual gags I missed in the chase scene.

Insecure is one of the best relationship shows that is both comedic and realistic.

3 Likes

That season 2 finale. They got me. I fell for it.

Such a great show.

2 Likes

I’ve been making my way through Netflix’s Marvel shows. LOVED Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Bit “meh” on The Ironfist. Gross Orientalism and some creative decisions that don’t make sense. I hope they do better things with the characters in The Defenders.

And my folks and I are about halfway through Longmire. It walks a pretty fine line between appropriative and respectful. I’d feel better if Lou Diamond Phillips’ character was the lead. The show itself is delightfully trashy. Lots of melodrama, sometimes plot holely, but some fun characters.

You know, I wouldn’t even mind orientalist themes and cultural appropriation (nearly as much) if it didn’t feel like junky plastic that gets tossed in the bin afterwards.

Even when they mess up, I think Longmire is trying to be respectful (which is more than I can say about Iron Fist). I have a friend who lives on a rez, and some of the issues the show tries to highlight are things she’s talked about. But they do mess up sometimes.

3 Likes

Rym likes the penis. The equus penis.

This…This is real. People made this show knowing full well what they were doing. Going through the first episode has been an absurd trip. Clash and conflict are definitely the theme going in, from classical strings crossing with terrible modern dialogue to 2000’s style animation interacting with “How to draw manga” amalgams.
It’s terrible, beyond a shadow of a doubt bad, but there is definitely to be some entertainment to be extracted from this mess.

1 Like

I don’t know I’m getting a very Boondocks for weebs vibe from it.

It’s basically Ghost Stories, except they’re serious, I’m 150% in.

At first, it seems like Koenig is out to satirize high society, and shows like Skins or Gossip Girl. After all, its characters are like caricatures of Donald Trump and his circle of status-obsessed businessmen. When I asked a Netflix representative whether the show is meant as a parody, he directed me to Neo Yokio’s production notes, which suggest Koenig is completely serious and heartfelt about his subject matter: “When I think about when I really would’ve liked this show, it’s all different eras of my life — my tween years, my quarter-life crisis years…” Koenig says. “I think there are a lot of layers to what’s happening, so [viewers] can appreciate it in different ways.”

He also compares Kaz Kaan to Batman’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne. “Deep down, the part I really love is that he’s a guy who wants to hang out at the café with his friends. He wants to go shopping. He’s heartbroken and dealing with his inner world,” says Koenig.

It is definitely worth a watch just for those reasons above. It’s dumb goofiness taken seriously. Angsty melodrama cast against rainbow-haired deformities. I’m going to keep watching it just to see them double down on clashing tones.

I would not recommend. It’s not bad enough to be “so bad it’s good” and is primarily bad on an execution/technical point of view. They are 50% knowing how bad at is, which is the worst you thing you can do for satire. So you don’t get stuff that’s driven by pure passion like The Room but you also don’t get something that’s clever either. I’d rather watch Mad Bull 34 over this any day of the week. Animation is atrociously lazy. Voice acting is pretty bad except for most of the stars and the two people who voice Lexy and Gottelib.

I read a Mary Sue article that said that this was like a 2017 Reality Bites and that’s…pretty accurate. Jaden Smith’s life of bewildered, philosophical, random musings is not interesting enough for a show even as an anime parody.

2 Likes

You don’t deserve a big Toblerone.

1 Like

Who puts Lil’ Pump in a tuxedo in an… anime, and expects to get away with It?

Holy shit, Jaden Smith is Kaz and Jude Law is Charles? This show is starting to make A LOT more sense.