Summer is traditionally a time for outdoor fun in the sun.
For my wife and I, Summer is the time to binge-watch a lot of TV shows. You may think that this time should be better spent out in nature doing activities. But my wife and I have spent hundreds of hours relaxing on comfortable couches with wonderful entertainment and the enjoyment of each other's company.
Anyway, this summer we watched a number of shows. Rather than give full reviews for all of them, I thought I would round them all up here:
1. Obi-Wan Kenobi
This is one of the few shows I did a full review for. I loved this show! It felt like Episode III.5. While it did have some deficits in terms of its production, It has become one of my favorite parts of the Disney Star Wars productions. For my full review, click this link.
2. Stranger Things
This season of Stranger Things had some of the best and some of the worst moments of the series. Starting with the good, the "Dear Billy" episode was one of the most exciting moments of television I've seen all year. I completely understand why that Kate Bush song shot back up the charts. The intensity and terror of that episode might be a highlight of the entire series. The biggest problem that the season had was that it ran at least 4 simultaneous storylines, but only the main "Hawkins" story was consistently intersting. The other stories, especially the one in Russia, tended to drag. The "Road Trip" story had a fantastic moment early in the season, but that one also seemed tedious, especially with the addition stoner Argyle. I have never been a big fan of drug humor, but I found him such an annoyance.
I also had a problem with the big twist. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD. There is a big villain reveal that occurs at the end of the first volume of the season. My biggest problem with it is that they make the same mistake that Zack Snyder did with Watchmen. In both stories, the reveal of the villain is supposed to be a surprise. But the actor's performance beforehand is too creepy. There is already something sinister about the character. This takes away from the shock of the reveal. I wish they had handled it the way they did with Benjamin Linus in Lost. In that case, any suspicion that fell on that character had you questioning if he was really malevolent or if you were reading into his words and actions your own paranoia. END SPOILERS
With that beings said, I still found the show well-worth the time to watch. The were enough exciting and emotional moments that pulled me in. One of the show does incredibly well is tap into that feeling you find in movies like Goonies, Monster Squad, It: Chapter One, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In all of these, you have a group of kids who have to works together to fight evil. It parallels that feeling you have with your friends growing up where it feels like its you and your friends against the world.
I'd recommend this show.
3. Floor is Lava
This is a guilty pleasure show.
It takes the silliness of the children's game and combines it with an adult-sized obstacle course. This show was one of "COVID Shows," that my wife and I watched to distract ourselves from the worries of the lockdowns. If I had one complaint it is that the season was too short with only 5 episodes.
4. Ms. Marvel
People seemed to have extreme reactions to this series. This seems odd to me since it is a very middling show. Kamala Khan, like Kate Bishop, is more likable in the Disney+ show than in the comics. Iman Vellani does a good job of portraying her wide-eyed excitement over her new-found super powers. The first few episodes had a crazy visual energy that reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which I dig.
However the villains were not very compelling. Because of that, it doesn't really give Ms. Marvel a chance to really shine. Also there is a strange emphasis on food. There are more conversations about different types of food, how spicy it is, how much of it there is, than any show I've seen. There a times where the show seems more interested in "educating" the audience than entertaining them. This is my biggest problem with most Christian movies, because they put message over story. The story feels thin, like a movie script that got stretched out over six episodes.
Overall, it is slightly better than average.
5. The Terminal List.
This is a show about which I am conflicted. It is an incredibly well-made show. The production value is top-notch. This also has Chris Pratt's best performance in anything I have seen with him. He brings an intensity to his character I have never encountered with him. The story involves his character as a Navy SEAL who walks a bloody path of revenge.
My conflict is that the show is WAY too violent for me. The main character does some of the most cruel and torturous actions I have ever seen on film or TV (and I have seen some truly nasty stuff). This is supposed to be morally justified because these actions are against evil people. But there is something dark and insidious about the depths of violence that occur. The show was compelling enough for me to finish the first season, but I don't think I would return for a second. It was like the show 24 if it did not have censor.
6. The Sandman
I was never a big fan of the DC comic series on which it based, but I was amazed by the level of creativity found in Neil Gaiman's stories. The early issues particularly had a horror-bent to them that I found off-putting. However, the show is more enjoyable than the comic. Fans of the comic series may strongly disagree. But the show softens some of the harder edges while still being dark and sometimes horrific.
One of the things that the show does well is in handling an unlikeable protagonist. Too often I have seen shows try to get you to like an unlikeable character and fail. What Sandman does is show you what a jerk Morpheus is, but it is aware enough to understand that he is a jerk. But there is a core of goodness inside of him that you hope wins out over his aloof and arrogant nature. It helps that his antagonists are so powerful and evil. Boyd Holbrook's Corinthian was one the best TV performances I have seen this year. The production value is also top-notch as I felt often transported to strange and dark worlds.
The show's biggest problem is how it revels in immoral lifestyles and in lives lived contrary to the Gospel. If this is too much for the viewer, I would suggest avoiding it.
7. Locke and Key
The final season of Locke and Key was just released. I have loved this show since it came out, probably because I am huge fan of the comic on which it is based. The show does a great job of balancing the wonder and horror of the magic found at Keyhouse.
The final season felt more like an epilogue to the show. It was shorter than previous seasons and it went about tying up loose ends. The main villain was completely one-dimensional, but the actor's performance was completely menacing. Like Sandman it revels in some lifestyles incompatible with the Gospel. However, the storylines were creative and emotional. My biggest complaint of the show is that it would have characters stop and talk about their feelings in the middle of intense moments of action, which seemed completely silly to me. The final episode ends with an incredibly emotional catharsis followed by a real sense of closure.
8. Better Call Saul.
I had dropped out of this show around the second season, but I was still curious as to how the who story resolved. So I spent time with the last few episodes after getting caught up on the action. The final few episodes are amazing. The story resolution is incredibly well-directed and written. It is hard to write about without spoilers. But I will say that what makes the final episodes so good is that the main fate of the characters is a result of their choices. Jimmy is not a helpless fugitive. He uses all of his power to control his destiny. And his journey in the final episode is so well-written that I am glad I returned to see how it resolved. Also Rhea Seehorn gives a performance that is so restrained until the dam bursts. That seen is raw and powerful.
9. Only Murders in the Building
The second season has been fine, but not as good as the first season. Honestly, my favorite part is simply watching 2 of the 3 Amigos interacting and having fun. The show falls into the trap that a lot of mysteries shows do. At the end of most episodes, they tease a clue to the killer, but usually this turns out to be a red herring. This is common in most mysteries, but the teases at the end never seem to quite pay off the way you hope. Perhaps it will all be clear when the season ends soon.
10. The Orville: New Horizons
Besides Obi-Wan, this was my favorite show this summer. The Orville has been moved from Fox to Hulu and Disney+. The first few episodes this season had some shaky moments. Like the first season, a lot Seth MacFarlane's social commentary entered into the story in rather clumsy ways. But even still, I don't think it had the effect he desired. There was an episode that took place on a planet that outlawed abortion. As punishment the parents were placed into a room. I expected some prolonged physical torture. What happened was that a genetic composite of the two was presented as a hologram asking them why they were aborted. The main character is horrified. My reaction was, "Is that it?" Also in another episode, it seems that MacFarlane was promoting gender reassignment surgery for children. However, in the context of the story, the episode is actually demonstrating the dangers of surgically altering children against the nature in which they were conceived.
Having said all of that, as the season progressed, MacFarlane was able to present some wonderfully inventive science fiction. There is a time travel story that wrenched me in the gut the entire time and had me twisted in ethical knots. The stories were full of war and betrayal and consequences. And in that darkness, MacFarlane still finds an unwavering optimism in humanity that is core to its Star Trek inspirations. He did all of this while maintaining the show's strange and quirky tone. Somehow he made a guest appearance by Dolly Parton into a moment of supreme enlightenment for a recurring character's journey.
I hope the show gets enough views on Disney+ to warrant a third season. While I don't agree with everything MacFarlane has to say, he has created a strong and infectious piece of science fiction that I would like to continue to explore.
Thoughts?
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