I had a very eclectic weekend with regards to media and entertainment. Between the Power Rangers movie and Collective Con I definitely traveled across the spectrum. I also binged on a little known TV Show called UnReal. I literally know no one who has even heard of this show, much less watched it.
Hulu recommended it to me a while back based on my watching Burning Love, the Bachelor/Bachelorette parody with many of my favorite comedians. UnReal is a Lifetime show that centers around the making of a Bachelor-type show. I know what you're thinking. It's on Lifetime. It's about a dating show. How good could it possibly be? The answer is that it's amazing. Yes, it's a soapy drama and there are definitely flaws, but the acting never feels forced or cheesy. The writing is on point…and the two leads? Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer? They play two of the most complex characters I've seen on TV in a while. They play Rachel and Quinn (respectively). As producers of Everlasting, it's their job to ensure that week after week the "show" pulls in the ratings. They lie and manipulate the contestants on the show into doing what they know will garner the biggest ratings. The writing as mentioned before is superb. The webs they weave show how predictable human behavior can be when presented with the right promises. In their professional lives they are at the top of their game, but the nuanced portrayals come into play when it comes to their personal lives and their personal ethics. Each has their own personal demons to face and they use that to their advantage more often than not. What I find the most interesting about this show it that even the smallest hint of drama can pack the biggest punch. You don't need crazy cat fights or name calling or having someone's life in peril all the time to give your audience a good drama. I think a lot of shows today forget that. If you're into soapy shows, then you're going to fall for UnReal and you're going to fall hard. Take away the previous perception you have of anything related to Lifetime. This is one of the best non-network TV shows in its genre being made right now. And for the love of everything…if you're already watching or watch because of this? Please tell me. I need someone to talk to about the end of Season 2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3314218/
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The Flash last night was downright magical. I went on Facebook to see if anyone else loved it as much as I did. I found a lot of hate, not just for musicals in general, but for this episode in particular. People said it was a rip off of Buffy (not really), that it was cheesy (so is the genre), and that the show itself in general was just awful.
I, for one, found it delightful. The crossover musical starts at the end of Supergirl where the Music Meister (played by Darren Criss) puts Supergirl under a spell and sends her to a 1940s inspired musical world. Moving into the Flash we see Barry watching Singing in the Rain as a coping mechanism for his breakup with Iris. He’s been staying with Cisco and Cisco finally convinces him to get off the couch and do something. Frankly the idea that they have down time in which the world is not about to end is entertaining on its own. After all, what hobbies to Superheroes have? Mon-El and Jean bring Supergirl to the Flash in an effort to save her. Of course, the Flash falls under the Music Meister’s spell as well, because let’s face it…there’s no episode without a little bit of obviousness. From the opening number where Kara is singing Moon River, to the musical number involving Cisco/Not Cisco and Wynn/Not Wynn, the entire episode feels like a musical. And it made me miss Glee. Part of the background fun were the reactions of the characters who were not speaking. I don’t want to give things away, but don’t forget to look behind people who are front and center. The best song of the episode though goes to the “Dads” in Barrowman, Martin, and Garber. These three and their older, more developed voices blow me away every time I hear them individually, but together they made magic. I came for the schmaltz. I came for the cheese. I came for the music. The Flash did not disappoint. I read another review where the writer said that they could do a musical episode every year and it wouldn’t be enough. I’m compelled to agree. I need more musical weekly shows. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend does an excellent job of providing this, but I still want more. I hope there are more people like me out there. Who loved the episode and were left being happy with the result. What did you think? Oh Sherlock, Sherlock what have you done to us all? Honestly. We're all addicts at this point. No, not addicts, something else. It's like an abusive relationship. You love it and you can't get enough of it. Then when it rips your heart out and stabs it to death you say "Well it's OK, remember all the joy and the good? It's not always like this." And so you go back again and again and you allow yourself to keep on taking the hits because you love it so much. It must love you for it to make you so happy so often. You can wrap it in the amazingly talented packages of Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch and we'll all follow them to the ends of the earth. The new episode that premiered on Sunday was exactly what you expected from an episode of Sherlock. It has always been interesting to me how a show can be predictable and unpredictable at the same time. This episode had Sherlock attempting to solve too many cases at once. It felt a little reminiscent of a previous episode. True to form, when the show punches you in the feels towards the end you realize that you always saw this coming even though you had no idea this was coming. Gatiss and Moffat are proving themselves to be the Whedons of the UK. They are the builders and the destroyers of worlds. They will steal your heart and then smash it into millions of pieces. Obviously all of these emotional reactions are in response to the quality of the work that the team behind Sherlock creates. Despite the fact that we end up having to wait years between seasons, we will always come back because we care about this world and these characters. That being said, if you haven't already been sucked in then I encourage you to run from their work at all costs. Who am I kidding? I AM an addict and I want everyone to be dragged down with me. When's the next episode?
Friday night I sat down to get a hefty dose of nostalgia by watching Fuller House. I loved coming back to these characters again.
Season Two opens with DJ finally having made her decision as to which guy she wanted to be with. Matt or Steve. All the kids are back and Kimmy’s husband/fiancée is getting a lot more screen time. The visits from the additional family members didn’t seem as contrived as they did the first season. At least, it certainly felt more organic to me. One of the things I’ve marveled at this season is the sheer size of the main and extended cast. They’ve given a lot more screen time to Fernando, Steve, and Matt as well as all the kids. Then, not only are there a ton of extras in certain scenes, but you’ve got the friends of the kids as well. Plus the addition of Jimmy Gibbler. Spoilers ahead after the break, don’t look unless you really want to know! When we return to the Tanner/Fuller household we find out that despite the fact that DJ has made her decision as to whom she wants to be with; the guys have already moved on to other women. Steve in a truly creepy move has found someone eerily similar to DJ whereas Matt has found someone younger and with more energy. As contrived as it seemed, it was nice to have a break from any actual drama and have all of them behave like adults about it. Despite DJs obvious (to the audience) disappointment, she is gracious and invites the new girlfriends into her home (and life to an extent). I love holiday episodes and this season is full of them. There’s a Halloween in which the family tries to out-spook the neighborhood. There’s a Thanksgiving episode in which unexpected guests cause shenanigans. Christmas and New Year's Eve are also covered. With the New Year's Eve episode being the season finale, it's probably one of the better episodes of the season. When it comes to the “cons” of the show? The product placement was absurd. Sure, there are the usual things like not covering the Apple on the Macbooks…but taking time out to discuss the McRib being back? It was crazy awkward. Some of the character development gets lost along the way in order to make room for others. While each person appears to be getting screen time in an effort to move along the plot, it’s becoming increasingly clear that they are pinning the hopes of the show on the middle child character of Max. His character does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the kid portion of the story-lines. The show is still very aware of its nostalgic roots and there were some highlights for this 90s survivor. That being said, the meta approach to calling out to the Olsen Twins again felt just as ridiculous as the last time they did it. We get it, they aren’t there, you’ve got to let it go. One of the highlights, however, was the episode in which they celebrated DJ’s birthday with New Kids on the Block. Admittedly I bought tickets to the upcoming tour. I did NOT react with the screaming fangirl jumping out of your skin reaction that DJ did though. That was one of my favorite episodes of the season, not so much for the NKOTB cameo (Danny got CREEPY), but because it seemed more natural. I’ve seen a lot of people complain that the show is boring or that the plot is terrible and blah blah blah. I would argue that it’s just that you’re no longer used to this kind of sitcom. The laugh tracks, the “ooos” and “aaahhhs” are what we all grew up on and are a huge part of the show. It reminds you that the audience is a character in the show with you. Aside from the occasional rushed comedic timing of Candace Cameron Bure, the episodes play out as though they were filmed 20 years ago. This is exactly the point. Netflix is making bank on nostalgia right now. Between Fuller House and Gilmore Girls, they have latched on to something deep within us…the child who doesn’t want to let go of the things that made us happy when we were growing up.
Before we really dig into any commentary or critique of any TV related items, you should know that I watch a lot of TV. Way more than I probably should. Probably more than is healthy. Most of my TV watching these days is due to my second job. I have a work-from-home gig that requires that I do data entry for several hours each night, so I end up watching TV to help pass the time a little better while I work. Because of this I tend to watch a wider variety of shows that most of the people I know. I’d give you the full list, but it’s downright embarrassing.
This week, however, in anticipation of the new Gilmore Girls that will be released I figured I should probably tell you about my undying love and devotion to this show. Like several of my favorite shows, I didn’t actually start watching Gilmore until a few seasons in to the show. Its’ first episode aired about six weeks after my Grandmother passed away in 2000 and I was 19, just started my second year of college and had very little interest in TV shows in general. A show about a quirky Mom and Daughter? Not even on my radar. Unless it was binge drinking, I had no use for it. I picked up the show in 2005 or so. Blockbuster (yes, Blockbuster) had the first few seasons on DVD and I picked it up. Generally my rule is that if a series that I’ve not seen makes it past season two, they must be doing something right. I inhaled these stories. The characters were dynamic and weird. They lived in the stereotypical small town in which I was desperate to live. I “got” Rory and I wanted to be Lorelai. I was Team Jess until I was Team Logan. Never Team Dean. Whiny lil shit (sorry Jared!). The relationship that these two characters had was one of the most well-crafted and beautiful stories of love that I had seen in a long time. I had already been dreaming of opening my own B&B and going back to school. Here were two people I could relate to! What I realized as the years have gone on is that the Gilmore Girls are my go-to show when I’m feeling sad. I know that sounds completely bonkers but I think that maybe if you’re reading this, you might understand. Something about the show and the characters and the town…it just makes me feel better. Even though it isn’t real, it somehow can reach through the gloom and pull me back out. I’ve watched the entire series at least three times through. Maybe four. That doesn’t include the time I convinced other people to watch it and joined them halfway to experience it with them. Then there are the Gilmore Guys who have created the most delightful homage to the show with their podcast. To say I am excited about the revival is an understatement. I’ve never stayed up for a Netflix release before. I will for this one. I may be the only one in the house awake to watch, but I won’t be alone. The girls will be with me. I know that I will love what they give us, it will be impossible not to. For a show that meant so much to me, to so many others...they simply cannot fail just by the simple virtue of being on our screens again. I've got my tissues ready. I'll see you on the other side of those four words. What shows speak to you? |