Louis is renowned for tackling extremely challenging, emotive and provocative subjects, often using his dry wit, perceived innocence and curious charm to be accepted into obscure corners of society, teasing out honesty and trust in a way that only he could, and offering unique insights into ways of life most viewers could never imagine. Yet in this series, he is essentially taking the place of any old tv presenter, interviewing a standard mix of fairly ordinary famous people. Not to say he isn't good at it, but it's not really what I go to Louis Theroux for - he is selling himself short here and certainly seems to have lost his sense of ambition and adventure, which is fair enough; perhaps he feels he's done his time... each to his own - but not very compelling to watch.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill
(2022 TV Special)
Oh dear Bill
2 July 2022
Bill Burr, one of my favourite comedians. When he endorses these acts, I only pray that he's lying through his teeth and collecting his paycheck. Otherwise he's gone soft in the head.
Jimmy Carr, my other favourite comedian. Short set, great opportunity to showcase his wit, charm, intelligence and audience interaction. Instead he just reeled off a bunch of offensive one-liners without any context, and went away looking like a simpleton. Strange choice.
Ian Edwards was some welcome relief. Funny guy, good delivery.
And the band... oh... the band!!! That is one of the worst, most cringe pieces of television I've seen in a long time. The audience obviously agreed. That act has to cease immediately, they should all go back to their day jobs and reminisce about the time they were inexplicably on TV.
There were others, like women making standard sex/vagina jokes, but none worth commenting on.
Jimmy Carr, my other favourite comedian. Short set, great opportunity to showcase his wit, charm, intelligence and audience interaction. Instead he just reeled off a bunch of offensive one-liners without any context, and went away looking like a simpleton. Strange choice.
Ian Edwards was some welcome relief. Funny guy, good delivery.
And the band... oh... the band!!! That is one of the worst, most cringe pieces of television I've seen in a long time. The audience obviously agreed. That act has to cease immediately, they should all go back to their day jobs and reminisce about the time they were inexplicably on TV.
There were others, like women making standard sex/vagina jokes, but none worth commenting on.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
(2022)
Whoa, calm down!
25 June 2022
As a lifelong Star Wars fan who hated The Last Jedi, I completely understand what it is to have one of your lifelong heroes destroyed in a terrible film made by idiots. But my friends... this isn't that!!!
The series starts off slow, which actually makes for a great payoff, and I think a lot of reviews are either from people who got impatient and haven't watched the whole thing, or are subconsciously approaching the series with skepticism. Give it a chance, keep an open mind, and watch all 6 episodes. I think people romanticise the original trilogy and prequels as though they were written in some sort of incredibly complex and genius way, and if you believe that, nothing will ever live up to your expectations. They were amazing yes, they are my fave films of all time, but they are fairly straightforward action adventure stories with a battle between good vs evil, and a journey of self-discovery; for me, this series ticks those same boxes very well.
The series starts off slow, which actually makes for a great payoff, and I think a lot of reviews are either from people who got impatient and haven't watched the whole thing, or are subconsciously approaching the series with skepticism. Give it a chance, keep an open mind, and watch all 6 episodes. I think people romanticise the original trilogy and prequels as though they were written in some sort of incredibly complex and genius way, and if you believe that, nothing will ever live up to your expectations. They were amazing yes, they are my fave films of all time, but they are fairly straightforward action adventure stories with a battle between good vs evil, and a journey of self-discovery; for me, this series ticks those same boxes very well.
Ozark
(2017–2022)
Final nail in the coffin for Netflix
19 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I'm sure you can probably tell by looking at a sample of reviews sorted by date - this show used to be good, then slowly destroyed itself over the course of the final season, which this review focuses on.
Spoilers follow.
There are a couple of pivotal and exciting moments here and there (if you can handle the plot holes), but on reflection, about 90% of S4 consists of the same people driving around the same locations having the same conversations with the same people, occasionally pointing guns at each other if they get angry. Now don't get me wrong - I don't mind a bit of boring filler while I wait patiently for the payoff - but it's excessive, and the payoff never comes.
Throughout S4, we are still wading through the same main storyline - the Byrdes' struggle to navigate through the threats and killings of the big bad cartel. The problem is, it isn't shocking or scary anymore, and it just goes round and round in circles. It becomes mundane, boring and more like a soap opera - who cares which boss runs the cartel and who strikes a deal with who? It makes no difference anymore. Marty went to Mexico and needed to prove himself as a cartel hard nut - the slightest sign of weakness, we were told, and they'd overthrow him. Would he sink or swim? Oh, neither - he'll just be his apologetic bumbling self, then come back home next episode - end of storyline. Great. Ruth took revenge for her family, spent endless hours reflecting and reminiscing, cleaning her record, building a new life - would she finally make something of the Langmore name and legacy? Nope, she just gets killed by an angry Mexican woman we've barely met. Awesome. The sibling cartel bosses are starting to realise that all isn't as it seems with Javi's death - what is their plan for the Byrdes once they figure out they're being played? Oh, they actually don't figure it out. Wow. The kids have finally come to the realisation that their mother's a maniac, will they move against her? Escape? What will they do with their lives? Oh nothing, they'll just go back home. Cool. Marty gets told by countless characters, including his own children, that he's become downtrodden and blindly does Wendy's evil bidding, and by the end, he's starting to realise it himself - at what point will he resurrect his assertive self from earlier seasons, and finally stand up for himself and his children? Oh, never. Woop. Will Wendy succeed in getting lots of off-screen rich people (cue name dropping another random meaningless surname and saying "wow, you got them on board?") to do something complicated with a foundation so she could have influence over fictional politics that have no bearing on the show? Nobody cares. I could go on, but essentially every storyline is repetitive, drawn out, and eventually concludes in nothing.
Well, I was considering cancelling Netflix - thanks for making my mind up for me!
Spoilers follow.
There are a couple of pivotal and exciting moments here and there (if you can handle the plot holes), but on reflection, about 90% of S4 consists of the same people driving around the same locations having the same conversations with the same people, occasionally pointing guns at each other if they get angry. Now don't get me wrong - I don't mind a bit of boring filler while I wait patiently for the payoff - but it's excessive, and the payoff never comes.
Throughout S4, we are still wading through the same main storyline - the Byrdes' struggle to navigate through the threats and killings of the big bad cartel. The problem is, it isn't shocking or scary anymore, and it just goes round and round in circles. It becomes mundane, boring and more like a soap opera - who cares which boss runs the cartel and who strikes a deal with who? It makes no difference anymore. Marty went to Mexico and needed to prove himself as a cartel hard nut - the slightest sign of weakness, we were told, and they'd overthrow him. Would he sink or swim? Oh, neither - he'll just be his apologetic bumbling self, then come back home next episode - end of storyline. Great. Ruth took revenge for her family, spent endless hours reflecting and reminiscing, cleaning her record, building a new life - would she finally make something of the Langmore name and legacy? Nope, she just gets killed by an angry Mexican woman we've barely met. Awesome. The sibling cartel bosses are starting to realise that all isn't as it seems with Javi's death - what is their plan for the Byrdes once they figure out they're being played? Oh, they actually don't figure it out. Wow. The kids have finally come to the realisation that their mother's a maniac, will they move against her? Escape? What will they do with their lives? Oh nothing, they'll just go back home. Cool. Marty gets told by countless characters, including his own children, that he's become downtrodden and blindly does Wendy's evil bidding, and by the end, he's starting to realise it himself - at what point will he resurrect his assertive self from earlier seasons, and finally stand up for himself and his children? Oh, never. Woop. Will Wendy succeed in getting lots of off-screen rich people (cue name dropping another random meaningless surname and saying "wow, you got them on board?") to do something complicated with a foundation so she could have influence over fictional politics that have no bearing on the show? Nobody cares. I could go on, but essentially every storyline is repetitive, drawn out, and eventually concludes in nothing.
Well, I was considering cancelling Netflix - thanks for making my mind up for me!
Vigil
(2021– )
Written by a child?
27 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This drama is so full of laughable plot holes it should be sitting at the bottom of the ocean itself. I regularly watch Octonauts with my little boy and I must say it's much more realistic and has a more consistent and complex storyline.
Vigil starts off with a very promising first episode but quickly becomes aimless, badly written drivel on a submarine.
The navy are portrayed as a bunch of disorganised, hapless druggies with no sense of duty, discipline or respect for one another, bimbling about on the ocean, swearing at their commanding officers, and barely missing other ships. Just to be clear, I have no stake in the military, I take no offence at their portrayal - but it's just stupidly unrealistic to the point of being painful and unenjoyable to watch.
The main character is a terrible policewoman who spends most of the series having hysterical outbursts, disobeying direct orders, repeatedly putting herself and others in danger and accusing most of the main characters of murder.
The chief petty officer smuggles drugs on board, tries to deceive his commanding officer, is repeatedly insubordinate, gets hammered on his secret stash of booze and steals a GUN, runs around the submarine waving it around threatening to kill others, then to kill himself. He is apprehended, and clearly needs locking somewhere very secure - but all he has to do is be off duty, wear civvies, still has free unsupervised access to the entire ship, gets drafted in to help for no explicable reason, and is even portrayed as some sort of hero by the end.
There are many, many other catastrophic failings with this series but they are far too numerous to list here. Hopefully this gives you enough info to swerve it.
Vigil starts off with a very promising first episode but quickly becomes aimless, badly written drivel on a submarine.
The navy are portrayed as a bunch of disorganised, hapless druggies with no sense of duty, discipline or respect for one another, bimbling about on the ocean, swearing at their commanding officers, and barely missing other ships. Just to be clear, I have no stake in the military, I take no offence at their portrayal - but it's just stupidly unrealistic to the point of being painful and unenjoyable to watch.
The main character is a terrible policewoman who spends most of the series having hysterical outbursts, disobeying direct orders, repeatedly putting herself and others in danger and accusing most of the main characters of murder.
The chief petty officer smuggles drugs on board, tries to deceive his commanding officer, is repeatedly insubordinate, gets hammered on his secret stash of booze and steals a GUN, runs around the submarine waving it around threatening to kill others, then to kill himself. He is apprehended, and clearly needs locking somewhere very secure - but all he has to do is be off duty, wear civvies, still has free unsupervised access to the entire ship, gets drafted in to help for no explicable reason, and is even portrayed as some sort of hero by the end.
There are many, many other catastrophic failings with this series but they are far too numerous to list here. Hopefully this gives you enough info to swerve it.
The Mash Report
(2017–2020)
Glimpse of a dystopian future
26 January 2020
There are some snippets of actual comedy during a few brief parody news stories delivered by deadpan anchors, but these are short-lived and lost amongst the inane drivel of the host and his cronies.
It's hard to imagine a less funny "comedy" show. Incredibly patronising, 'outrage culture', woke indoctrination. This really is like state-issued Orwellian brainwashing, packaged as entertainment. Absolutely bizarre to watch!
The format is ripped from similar US programmes, with long, preachy monologues from a host that is revered and pandered to like some kind of god. Packaged as comedy to lure in unsuspecting viewers, the programme descends into a one-man soapbox tirade of outrage and disbelief at mainstream society and politics. Fortunately, in this country, this type of programme is an anomaly rather than the norm.
Format aside, the host is slow off the mark, and has a nasal, whiny voice and a complete inability to read an autocue without making it painfully obvious.
It's hard to imagine a less funny "comedy" show. Incredibly patronising, 'outrage culture', woke indoctrination. This really is like state-issued Orwellian brainwashing, packaged as entertainment. Absolutely bizarre to watch!
The format is ripped from similar US programmes, with long, preachy monologues from a host that is revered and pandered to like some kind of god. Packaged as comedy to lure in unsuspecting viewers, the programme descends into a one-man soapbox tirade of outrage and disbelief at mainstream society and politics. Fortunately, in this country, this type of programme is an anomaly rather than the norm.
Format aside, the host is slow off the mark, and has a nasal, whiny voice and a complete inability to read an autocue without making it painfully obvious.
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