Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Gen V - I enjoyed this show - not nearly as much as The Boys, but it's solidly entertaining. I think the only real issue that I have with it is that the cast is a little bland (especially compared to The Boys). They spend a lot of time with character development, but it just doesn't work for me because I still couldn't care less about any of them. I also think that it's a little too connected to The Boys. First, I would have NO IDEA what was going on if I hadn't seen it's predecessor, plus I feel like this story is going to bleed into it so if you don't watch it, the next season of The Boys might be confusing. I do think it's a little too dramatic and it feels like what The Umbrella Academy already did. They've also gone a little crazy with what's considered a "super power" (like the person who can change gender. How exactly is that a super power? They don't explain why they switch from male to female and vice versa in certain situations. Is one gender better at certain things??? I mean, the answer to that is yes, but they don't answer that question at all in this. Like, if you're going to go there then GO THERE. Take a stand, but I still wouldn't consider it a super power). I also just don't think that they would let someone who could perform mind control (even on other supes)...loose in the world?? If someone had that power, it's quite literally a threat to national security. I know I'm over-thinking it, and a lot of super powers could be used for evil (and therefore become villains), I just think that that super power would be considered one of the most dangerous and she would be monitored at all times. Anyway, I'm looking forward to more and hopefully the next season they can add a few more cast members that really elevate it. 

2. The Continental: From the World of John Wick - I honestly thought Hotel Artemis was supposed to be this show because there were so many talks about a spin-off and that movie was about a hotel of assassins. I was shocked that it was just a copy and that someone got ahead of it. Instead this official spin-off is a prequel, so at least it is something different. I'm a big fan of the John Wick universe and I was looking forward to this, but unfortunately, I didn't really like it. It's completely forgettable and Mel Gibson's performance is awful. He needs to stop acting (I think he can stick to directing, I guess, but he hasn't given a good performance probably since Ransom. Remember that movie?? It's great). His over-acting combined with the cartoonish accent (how is his NY accent this bad when he's FROM NY??? Just an hour outside of NYC - and very close to where I grew up. So I can say with authority that this accent is absolutely cringe), and the scene chewing, it just really ruins the whole thing for me. There's nothing special about the rest of the actors, either, and honestly, I think the casting is just weird. The younger version of Winston is nothing like Ian McShane at all - in presence, physicality, nor accent. Also, Ian McShane has looked at least 50 years old for the last 50 years (look it up!). It's just dumb. The first episode is...okay, they seemed like they were setting up for an interesting story, but then it just falls flat and I could barely pay attention to the second episode (kudos to the "Let's all go to the lobby" jingle - I instantly perked up from hearing it because it brought back a flood of memories). Also, the fight sequences and choreography are great (because OF COURSE THEY ARE IT'S IN THE JOHN WICK UNIVERSE). But the rest of it is very ugly - dull and yellow-toned. I did really like the opening credits - very retro 70s feeling. So I guess that's something. I think the episodes are too long and drawn out. I would have preferred 5 shorter, better paced episodes over these 3 extremely long slow episodes. I think it's safe to say that we've exhausted this franchise (I haven't even watched the most recent movie yet, but I have a good idea of what happens), so hopefully this is the end of it. 

3. Lessons in Chemistry - Let me start off by saying that the third episode of this series will DESTROY you. I wasn't expecting it, as I'm not familiar with the story and had not heard much about it from fellow film/tv lovers. The first two episodes are a little boring and I wasn't really sure how they were going to sustain a full series with this very expected plot. But then something happens at the end of the second episode that definitely surprised me, but THEN, the next episode *mini spoiler* is narrated by a dog - a dog who feels like he's failed his mission in life. It's soul-destroying. I cried. Multiple times. As far as the human story goes, as I said, there's not much that's holding my interest. I like Brie Larson a lot, and I think she's far better in stuff like this as opposed to big blockbuster stuff. I also LOVE Aja Naomi King (from How to Get Away with Murder). She's a terrific actress and deserves to have a starring role in something pronto (she was also great in The Birth of a Nation). I also feel extremely dumb because as I was watching this I kept thinking that the love interest guy looked exactly like Bill Pullman, but I didn't look it up until 3 episodes in to realize that his name is Lewis Pullman (i.e Bill's son). He was also in the new Top Gun movie, but I inexplicably didn't notice the resemblance then. Anyway, I'm interested in how the story is going to evolve after the shockingly devastating twist. They do a good job of making it feel real and grounded, because I honestly thought it was a true story. 

4. The Fall of the House of Usher - Mike Flanigan has been killing it with his Netflix horror shows - my favorite, I think, is The Haunting of Hill House, but I've really liked them all (I haven't seen the Midnight Club one, but I also didn't see anyone talk about it, so maybe it's not a good one?). I love that he uses the same cast, yet puts them in completely different roles. In particular, I'm a big fan of Kate Siegal, and she's great in this, but I would like to see her in something other than her husband's projects (and in a different genre than horror). She looks so hot in this, though, with the white hair - it suits her really well. I also love Carla Gugino - I think I've mentioned this before, but I was obsessed with the movie Son in Law (yes, the one with Pauly Shore), because I loved her so much when I was young. I thought she was, like, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen and I wanted to be like her. This also has Zach Gilford and Carl Lumbly (although Lumbly has been in a million things, he will always be Marcus Dixon from Alias to me. Love him.). I was a little underwhelmed by the first episode, but it definitely picks up with the second. And I'm soooo happy that ***major spoiler*** the youngest of his children dies first because that dude is a horrible actor and his character was the worst part of the whole show. The end of the second episode is STUNNING - and then it never slows down. Just one stunning scene after the next. The show is a bit of Succession if they were in the pharmaceutical business (and all died a horrible death), mixed with Edgar Allan Poe's beautiful darkness. It's a simple story of selling one's soul to the devil (literally) and the repercussions of that - it's all very expected, but I don't think the actual plot is the important part. It's the way the story is told that is important - and it's just a stunning piece of television. Each episode builds and builds on this tale of greed and lust for power, until it, quite literally, falls. I love the use of Poe's poetry in the last few episodes to really elevate the depth of the story. I still like Hill House better, but this is probably better made. 

5. Fellow Travelers - I like Matt Bomer enough, and I really want to like Jonathon Bailey (and I'm going to use this show to decide because I can't take Bridgerton seriously). I would love for Bomer to play a different role, but he seems to pick the same thing for every project. He's good at it, though. I definitely don't like Bailey with this American accent, but I think he's in the more challenging role and he does a decent job. I like that they are both political nerds who spend their day working in an office, but they both have defined six pack abs....sure, okay. I do appreciate the full-on sex scenes, though. I'm happy that most film/tv creators are pushing back on the anti-sex scene narrative that a very small but loud group seem to be offended by (one of the recent studies about young people wanting less sex in media interviewed people aged 10-24. Why the FUCK are we interviewing 10 year olds on sex in the media? And how is that not going to be obviously skewed against it? ANYWAY...) The absolute worst part of the show is the parts with them in their older makeup. Sorry, but the makeup is AWFUL. It looks so fake. Allison Williams with the fake neck wrinkles?! Hard to look at. Overall, I think this show is a little...blah. But I'm only 4 episodes in and I've heard that it gets really good, so I guess we'll see. I just feel like I've already seen this story before and they aren't doing anything to it to really grip me. It's still an important story and I do feel like most stories overlook the anti-gay part of the McCarthyism, instead the focus is on the anti-communism aspect, but it was very much anti-gay. And we are at the tipping point of repeating history with the anti-trans stuff happening.