Whatcha Bleedin' Watchin'?

[Foggle]

It's important to remember that David Lynch and Mark Frost had pretty much nothing to do with the original series after Laura's killer was apprehended (except for the series finale). Aside from introducing Super Nadine (who doesn't do much until the filler section), I don't think the show tried too hard to be weird until after they left. There's a certain naturalness to the bizarre mannerisms of characters like Dale and Jacoby that I think comes with the territory of Lynch's writing. I totally understand if you don't enjoy it but it's way different from something like Ben Horne's Civil War phase IMO.

If you liked Eraserhead you might like FWWM and The Return. I'd say the former feels very similar to his earlier work and the latter feels like a culmination of everything he's made to date.

[Avaitor]

Y: The Last Man update.

Hope this one works out!

[Avaitor]

I haven't had as much time to watch stuff as I'd like, to the point that I'm thinking of cutting more stuff from my schedule.

But I've found a little time to watch more of One Day at a Time. I watched the first season just before Jessica Jone's second started up, but never got around to picking up season 2 after that until now. I never thought much about the original- when I did my All in the Family watch a few years ago, I sampled some of Norman Lear's other shows, and it probably stood out the least for me. That said, this is easily one of the best multicam sitcoms in ages. It's big, broad, and not really subtle, but that's not a bad thing here. The acting and character writing feel authentic enough to make its tangent beats work, and it's also reliably funny in a way that a lot of other comedies today aren't. I'm glad that it got renewed, because I think there's a lot more to be done with the show.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I watched some of Cobra Kai. Not really sure what to feel about the show, because sometimes it works, and I like flipping the roles between Daniel and Johnny, but it just seems weird as a whole. That said, this scene hit me hard in the chest.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I watched some of Cobra Kai. Not really sure what to feel about the show, because sometimes it works, and I like flipping the roles between Daniel and Johnny, but it just seems weird as a whole. That said, this scene hit me hard in the chest.

I actually really enjoyed Cobra Kai. Granted, I had very low expectations for it, in that I was sure it would suck, but I was rather impressed with the quality of writing and acting here relative to the source material that it was working with. So even being half-way decent would be enough to win me over from that viewpoint, but as it stands it was a solid first season that manages to elevate the cheesy B-material material roots that it comes from into something a bit more heartfelt and nuanced while still retaining the same spirit of the original movie.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Watched some episodes of 13 Reasons Why. It's hilariously awful. They somehow made me glad that the main character committed suicide. Characters do mindbogglingly stupid things just to stretch the plot to 13 episodes a season. All the intended relationships come off as forced and all the platonic friendships accidentally have more sexual chemistry to them. Oh, and this happens.

[Avaitor]

Finally saw the finale for The Americans. I can't say that was what I was expecting, but it makes all the more sense for it to finish the way the show ran- as cold, tense, and dynamic as anything. It's a definite contender IMO.

[Avaitor]

I've been trying to watch The Leftovers on and off over the past few months, but work and other things kept getting in my way. I finally got around to finishing it earlier today, but I'm honestly surprised that I stuck around for so long, since I've never really been into it. The first season was especially dour, but that's what I've been told to expect. I just don't click with Lindelof's storytelling.

I do appreciate the way the series fleshed out its arc and characters without being as directly serialized as other shows in the post-Breaking Bad wake though. Individual episodes matter, and we need more of that in event TV.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So I discovered this old PBS/Nickelodeon show called Vegetable Soup from a Youtube reviewer, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how weird this is. It's such a shame that this is overlooked in Nickelodeon discussion, because it presents some topics and discussions that Nick hasn't touched in a while, or at least hasn't examined to this degree.

[Avaitor]

The recent news of the Deadwood movie reminds me that I really need to finally see the series already. I actually picked up the first 2 seasons for cheap ages ago, but they've been sitting unused in a bag of of other unused DVDs since I moved here. So now I'm trying to decide if I should finally use them or start the full Frasier watch-through I've been meaning to do. I should have plenty of time for Deadwood, since they just had a cast reading, so I don't expect the movie to come out any earlier than spring 2020.

Until then, I've been watching Nathan for You when I get the chance. The show is delightfully absurd. Most of Fielder's concepts crack me up, but it's really his commitment to everything that seals the show. It's not hard to feel that he believes in every concept he comes up with, and that his shortcomings are genuine(ly funny). That said, it doesn't seem like a great binge watch, so it's probably for the best that I can only catch an episode or two on my days off and when I catch up with my other shows.

[Avaitor]

In other news, this is a pretty good interview detailing the Netflix structure.

[Mustang]

It's been so long since I've watched anything new when it comes to anime (perhaps I'll try something new some day), but on the telly you can usually find me watching those cop show dramas. Right now it's mainly NCIS Los Angeles. I like the camaraderie of the characters and it makes me wish I had something similar at my work place. Not to mention that LL Cool J is the guy I try to model myself after. I'm not so sure I like Nia Long in the show though. Great lady and whatnot, but she doesn't fit with the crew.

The other show I watch heavily is Law & Order: SVU. I've always been a fan of the SVU series. I thought when Christopher Meloni left that the show would get stale but the series has been hitting closer to home with a lot of the cases resembling what goes on in the world.

I've also been binge watching Daredevil on Netflix as well. Great stuff.

[Dr. Insomniac]

New Doctor Who makes for a sort of refreshing debut, though I admit I actually miss Moffat.

[Avaitor]

Until this weekend, I honestly forgot that DW was still on. The last time I tried to watch it was a couple of Christmas specials ago, when my general reaction was "Why am I still watching this?" and turned it off after 5 minutes.

I did finally get around to finishing Nathan for You the other day, and "Finding Frances" in particular didn't disappoint. It's all at once a culmination of the show's ethics, combining outrageous concepts with a palpable heart and surprising craft behind it. If this is the series finale, and signs are pointing towards it, it's ending on a damn fine note.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Until this weekend, I honestly forgot that DW was still on. The last time I tried to watch it was a couple of Christmas specials ago, when my general reaction was "Why am I still watching this?" and turned it off after 5 minutes.

Oh don't be a sourpuss. I thought Series 10 ended on a high note.

As for what's been on Netflix, American Vandal's second season was interesting. It lacked some of the pluses season one had, but it did expand on some other things like how school outcasts could easily influence school society simply through a phone and some pictures. It wasn't nearly as funny as the first season, but it offered more ideas, and I don't know if that evened out. Kevin McClain in particular was a real work to dissect throughout the season.