The Glass Teat, or 'Television'

Miscellaneous Blather
#321

Joe Pera Talks With You. ‘A premature grandfather talks to you about things’ is how I’d describe this, but while that’s accurate, it doesn’t really communicate how gentle and beautiful it is, a more elegant comedy for a more civilised age, which is silly nostalgia, but the series is still wholesome and nice and at odds with large swathes of modern comedy.

The Eric Andre Show. At the other end of the scale, we have the absurd, surreal, energetic, and violently transgressive mockery of a talk show. As close to Jam as I’ve ever seen, there isn’t much in the way of straightforward humour, just about everything in each episode is more or less wrong in some way, which only makes it funnier.

2 Likes
#322

Only seen a few episodes of both shows, but they sound like very apt summations.

#323

Started watching Maniac when it showed up in my Netflix feed, but more because I’d remembered @OhBollox mentioning it. Very Black Mirror-ish, dystopian future stuck in the early 80’s. I f’ing love this so far, three episodes in.

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#324

“No I don’t fucking love Balderdash, Balderdash is bullshit.”

1 Like
#325

Speaking of Black Mirror, hoping to catch up in time for the premiere. Heard it will have an interactive element, sounds very cool.

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#326

Killing Eve. Half-way through at the moment, so far blackly funny, violent, beautiful, deadpan. Reminds me of Patriot in some ways, but without Patriot‘s coldness.

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#327

Made the mistake of finishing Maniac at work… these damn vents must be dusty, cause my allergies sure acted up there. Hands down, best show I’ve seen all year. h/t, @OhBollox

Might rewatch it, even, after I fire up the new season of Man in the High Castle.

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#328

I’m rewatching it. I have a ton of stuff to get watched and instead I’m rewatching Maniac and looking for the original series.

“I’m so clean you could use my piss as detergent.”

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#329

Haha, went looking for the original too, although they say it has little to nothing to do with the Netflix version. If you find it, let me know.

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#330

Will do.

Mayans M.C. I want to believe Kurt Sutter is a dark, misunderstood genius, but it might be the case that he’s just a fucking idiot. Mayans hits the ground running, and the plot is 3-4 betrayals deep at the end of the first episode. Just about everyone is looking to double-cross, or is in the process of double-crossing, someone else. The plot is needlessly labyrinthine, the characters regularly do stupid things which will inevitably be discovered because both the ‘plans’ and characters are stupid. Sons of Anarchy hit the point a few series in where it had done everything it could, and then spent several more doing those things again. Mayans is at that point now.

The Haunting of Hill House. Nothing to do with Jackson’s book, and not that good either, based on the first episode. It’s a shame it’s been billed as an ‘amazing’ horror series.

#331

Forever, on Amazon Prime. Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen are a married couple stuck in a rut.

13:34 into the first episode and I’ve concluded that these are the two most annoying fucking idiots on a planet awash with annoying fucking idiots.

In for a penny, in for a pound. They’ve got 12:16 to change my mind…

eta: Kudos to the writers, I’m halfway into the second episode and have to go to a meeting. Rudolph is still annoying, but Armisen has become… less so.

2 Likes
#332

I don’t mind rooting for the anti hero but I sometimes have a hard time getting in to shows where the main protagonist is completely unredeemable. I struggled with Sons of Anarchy because I initially had hopes that maybe Jax would turn his life around but I quickly realized I was supposed to be rooting for horrible, murderous, drug-dealing, gun-running bad guys the whole run and what I wasn’t rooting for was redemption but that my bad guys could out-murder the other equally horribly bad guys.

I can handle that for a movie, but for 4/5/6+ seasons? No thanks.

I have no interest in Mayans.

1 Like
#333

What do you get when you mix “Life of Brian” with a spoof on “Vikings?” Netflix’s “Norsemen.” I don’t know if it’s really good or really bad but I do get a Monty Python vibe from it and it has made me laugh.

3 Likes
#334

The second episode of Haunting at House on the Hill was immeasurably better than the first.

#335

Black Lightning. This is a fun little show; it’s not top-flight but it’s also better than I thought it would be. It’s a little amateurish at times, but I like the cheap feel better than an expensive failure.

The Deuce. Still superb. Second series resumes after several years, and there are so many good actors and performances I can’t list them all. It’s so seedy and grim, it’s marvellous.

#336

Seconded for The Duece - love everything about that except that it’s on HBO and I can’t watch it at work… on lunch… I swear…

2 Likes
#337

Channel Zero: Dream Door. A couple find a new door in their basement, and there is something old and familiar behind it that intrudes into their life. While some of the acting and writing has always been so-so, and the formula simple, every series of CZ has made great use of liminal and marginal places and spaces, and this is no different. Not only that, but it manages to be strange enough to produce dread, creating a dreamlike feel for some scenes, and imbuing others with cold reality. The first series was decent, but No-End House and Butcher’s Block were excellent, and this is quite good. Perhaps it’s a little too strange to ever be successful.

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#338

I just watched a scene in Daredevil season 3 that blew my mind. It was an 11.5 minute single shot prison riot/escape. After watching it, I read up on how it was done and some of the tricks they used; things like that could use a small documentary all on their own. Pretty cool.

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#339

Eleven and a half minutes? Wow! I’m impressed when they get up to 60 seconds. I’ll have to check that out

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#340

Haven’t watched Season 3 yet, but the prison riot scene in Season 2 was quite impressive all by itself.