Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Task - I didn't know much about this show, but I read a few good reviews and I (mostly) like Mark Ruffalo (sometimes he's bad, though. Like in Mickey 17. What the fuck was that??). I think he's best in lighter, fluffier roles (like 13 Going on 30!!! He's a 10 out of 10 in that! Just the perfect awkward, goofy love interest). This is another serious role, though, and I don't love it. I like the show, though. There's some really, really good stuff in it - Emilia Jones is unrecognizable and also incredible. *spoiler* The scene in which she is trying to turn in the kidnapped child without implicating herself is SO GOOD (the way he pops back up in her backseat. OMG!). I also love Ruffalo's character's backstory with his adopted kids - there's some deep emotional trauma in that family and they are doing a wonderful job exploring it all. I think they could have done an entire series just with this story instead of it being a subplot. The main story isn't all that interesting. I'm only 1/2 way through, and I'm only mildly interested in figuring out who the leak in the task force is. And I'm not interested at all in what happens to the guy that started this whole clusterfuck (but I do care about Jones' character and the little boy). They spend too much time trying to make us care about him, and it's weird. Overall, it's a 3 star show that could easily turn into a 5 star show if they keep focusing on character development and these more interesting subplots, so I'll keep watching and hope for that. There's also a TON of great supporting actresses that have very little to do, but might become more important later on (Margarita Levieva, Thuso Mbedu - who was actually given a terrific scene in the last episode I watched, Mireille Enos, Martha Plimpton, etc.). 

2. It: Welcome to Derry - I like a lot of Stephen King miniseries (The Stand  - both old and new, 11.22.63, The Outsider), so I was looking forward to this, in a way. BUT, and this is a big BUT, I'm not a fan of It. I don't really remember the original movie, but the new movies sucked. And I have the book on my To Read list, but I'm absolutely dreading it. Clowns just don't scare me. But I like the idea of the beginnings of this story and "It" being more of a mind-fuck. I'm 1/2 way through the series and it's...interesting? I guess that's the right word. I'm not fully loving it and some of it feels like a chore to sit through. I still don't find any of it scary - an evil flying baby comes out of a movie screen and kills people?? Not scary. Actually more laughable. But there's some creepy and gory stuff and I love some of the actors - Taylour Paige, specifically. OH AND MADEILINE STOWE looking as gorgeous as ever! Some of the kid actors are much better than others, but I shall not name names. Like I said, I'm not thrilled with it (It?), but it had a very strong ending and lead up to a season 2, though, so we'll see what happens in season 2, I guess. 

3. All's Fair - Sometimes I let curiosity get the best of me! This is supposed to be a terrible show, but I think all of Ryan Murphy shows are unfairly judged lately. And sometimes critics don't enjoy trashy television the same way a non-critic would. Like, sometimes it's not that serious! We just want to watch a show with cheesy dialogue, sexy people in overly complicated situations, killer wardrobes, etc., as just something we can zone out to after a stressful day of work. So, I went into this thinking I might actually enjoy it - especially because I like the cast (minus the Kardashian). Glenn Close! Naomi Watts (who used to be my favorite actress of all-time. She just doesn't get those juicy roles anymore though)! Niecy Nash-Betts!! Sarah Paulson!! I love them all so much! And they have some fantastic guest stars - Judith Light, Brooke Shields, Jennifer Jason Leigh - to name a few. BUT, the show is BAD. And not even close to the good kind of bad. It's painfully bad. The plot just *starts* - there is no character development whatsoever. And then they jump forward 10 years as if we are supposed to care that these characters succeeded. And the worst part about it is that it is attempting this whole "girl power"/calling every woman "queen" (kill me) type feminism, and yet in every single case they get, I agree with the man (*cries*). Like the woman who wants to divorce her husband because he has dementia??? WHAT THE FUCK? It's called "in sickness & in health", lady! You don't get to divorce him and take his money so you can fuck off and see the world. And when they blackmail the guy by threatening to release his sexual kinks??? Is that supposed to be feminism? Y'all need to be serious. It's all about incredibly rich women desperately trying to *stay* rich, whether they deserve to be or not isn't really relevant. The whole show is a disaster. There's also some incredibly serious stuff happening with the main characters that is just glossed over, like one of them is drugged and sexually assaulted, and another one is revealed to be a cutter, and then in the next scene they are back to being catty bitches. It's weird. 

4. Down Cemetery Road - *spoilers ahead* RUTH WILSON!! I will watch anything with her in it, but she's usually in great projects so it's a win win. But so far, this is kind of a dud. Like, it's not terrible, but I feel like I've watched this show before and none of the "twists" have actually been twists. I mean, it's very obvious that the dude following her is not the bad guy. And even more obvious that the friend invites himself in the house to "help her" is going to, in fact, attack her. If you didn't see that coming then you clearly don't watch a lot of tv. And OF COURSE she has to rely on the asshole that she hates to help her. It's all very in your face. I also think Emma Thompson is bad in this and that's not something I think I've ever said before. Her character is just such a cliche, her dialogue is rough, and that haircut is...something. But I love Ruth Wilson - she's so good. She just always feels very real to me. I'm about 1/2 way through this series, so maybe it will pick up, but I would advise giving it a miss for now. It's nothing new and it feels pointless. 

5. All Her Fault - *spoilers ahead* This series made me very angry because it is very addictive in that guilty pleasure sort of way, but the ending is SO BAD. So I feel like I wasted 8 hours of my life on this dumb-ass show. The cast is mostly innocent - except I think casting Jake Lacey in the husband role was a mistake because I instantly clocked him as "the bad guy". They try really hard to imply it could be others, but I was never convinced. But Sarah Snook is incredible - she's got the goods. She can carry a show and have the audience hang on her every word. And Dakota Fanning, Michael Pena, Jay Ellis, and Sophia Lillis all make the series watchable. I think they honestly could have cut all of the husband's family drama - once you know the twist, it makes all this drama make sense because it gives context into the type of person her husband is, but it dragged the series down every time. I did not care about the alcoholic sister or the disabled brother...move the story along! But I still enjoyed putting the pieces together, and kept hitting play for the next episode! It had me hooked! But the aforementioned ending is where the whole show falls apart. Again...*major spoilers so don't read if you haven't watched it yet*, the idea that a mom would have a baby, spend *at least* a day nurturing this baby in the hospital, taking pictures of it, etc., then after a horrific car accident the baby GETS SWITCHED (by her husband) and she wouldn't notice??? That's the dumbest plot twist in history! SHE WOULD NOTICE! INSTANTLY! Babies getting switched at the hospital (although rarely happen, especially nowadays) is an understandable "switch" because the mom might not have even seen the baby yet. Like you can just get handed someone else's baby and be told it's yours and you would just believe it. But to take YOUR baby home and then have it switched is insane. It's so fucking stupid. And the idea that this young woman would kidnap the child before even going to the police? They could just do a DNA test and realize that she's right. It just ruins the whole show. I hated it.