Snap Judgments

Finished up a bunch of series in the last six months, rocking 'em old school one episode a week because, you know, life and such. I find bingeing has ruined the viewing experience and the tide is turning in my favor. Here are 9 series, quick takes all to fit in this format because I care. A lot. Maybe too much.

Best of the lot has to be Hulu's remake Shogun, far exceeding my expectations above and beyond, a really magnificent, compelling epic. This time around, they managed to do it right. This is what major scale series and productions should be modeled upon. That it was so popular world-wide is major step in the right direction should they attempt something along these lines again. Hopefully, it's not a fluke. Showering it with Emmys is frosting on a beautiful cake.

Ripley on Netflix has to be one of most gorgeously shot shows 
on television probably ever and it's all in glorious black and white. Hah! Andrew Scott makes the lead character so creepily bland that's damn near hypnotic. This show is a slow burn and turned my stomach into knots, which is a good thing for a thriller.

Then there's 3 Body Problem, a show I expected to be similar to the sensational German series Dark from a few years ago. It missed that mark by a country mile, though it had its moments, enough to keep my interest to the end. However, glad to see Rosalind Chao get an overdue decent role after all this time.

Endings are notoriously difficult to pull off, "sticking the landing" as I like to say. (Who said it first? Was it Amelia Earhart?) If you can't manage the finale, it can sometimes negate what came before. Case in point: The Veil on Hulu. Five episodes of really taut story-telling leading up to a potentially smashing finale and...it goes right off the rails and limps off into the sunset. Fortunately, Elisabeth Moss saves the day once again, making this the best of this bunch. She's a goddamn jewel.

Under the Bridge, also on Hulu, had a decent wrap-up which actually rescued it from obscurity since it was two episodes too long, junked up with unnecessary sub-plots that proved there wasn't enough faith in the source material.

The worst show of the year thus far, Netfix's Eric could barely get out of the first episode without tripping over itself, particularly painful for me since I am a Cumberbitch and he was the only reason I stayed with it. He owes me one since what followed is a trash heap that I had hoped the last episode would at least give it some kind of redemption. Instead, it had to be the worst hour of television imaginable. I'm still holding my nose from this one.

Amazon Prime's Fallout is a better than your average bear post-apocalyptic show with enough twists to make it appear fresh when it's just another notch on the genre. But anything with Walton Goggins is worth your time and mine.

Also on Prime is Good Omens 2, a swell adaptation of a Terry Pratchett/ Neil Gaiman collaboration
about the relationship between an angel (Michael Sheen) and a demon (David Tennant). And Jon Hamm is a hoot as an amnesiac Gabriel.

The second season of AMC's Interview with the Vampire elevates it to a new level, setting the bulk of the story in a vampire theater. The role of Claudia, the young girl turned vamp who must spend eternity in the body of a child with adult sensibilities, was re-cast this season and the actress who portrays her, Delainey Hayles, is superb-fierce, compelling and ultimately heart-breaking.

As of this writing , I haven't finished the new season of The Bear, Dead Ringers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Lazarus project. I'll get to 'em, okay? What's the rush? Damn, you're pushy. I've got better things to do with my time besides watching TV like blog about watching TV...

Yikes. I'm a sad soul. What's it like outside these days?