midworld_traveller Reviews

Unforgotten (2015– )

A great addition to the ranks of crime fiction tv.

[8/10 · 21 March 2021]

I'm so glad to be watching the first few episodes of season 4, since I wasn't sure it would be renewed. This show is a treat to watch for the quality of acting from the main cast to the peripheral characters. The dialogue as written sometimes wavers for the sake of exposition, but the delivery is faithfully nailed every single scene.

There's a formula to these, but with enough diversity not to get old... four or five suspects come under scrutiny in a recently unearthed cold case, within the first two episodes, and the consequences of the investigation turns their lives inside out whether they are guilty or not. The passion which the team brings to unearthing truth at every turn is compelling, and not without consequences of their own. Despite the formula it stays interesting because every character has a background as expected, but also a foreground; a life built after point zero that is now at risk.

It's clever, intense and surprisingly warm. Not perfect, but really really watchable.

Big Sky (2020–2023)

Terrible. In a really watchable sort of way.

[6/10 · 20 March 2021]

Maybe it's the great quality of the cast, or the fact that I can't get enough lunatic serial criminals in my fiction, but despite its many, many flaws I watched this entire series with quite a bit of enjoyment. Much of it was the sort of enjoyment where you pick out the flaws with the satisfaction of knowing you could be a much better lunatic serial kidnapper/killer than anyone portrayed on screen, but still.

The principal flaws being: nothing anyone did made sense. None of it. Everyone's motivations were completely baffling at nearly every stage (except in Marilee's final scene, which, while not wholly rational, was impressively efficient). By the fifth episode I was openly hooting at the screen and pointing like a badly behaved monkey at the zoo. Enjoyable!

The writing wasn't always the best (the two main protagonist acresses suffered greatly from this) and the scene editing was choppy. People popping back to the main street office for a five minute chat before arriving back at the 'remote location where sex trafficking victims are stored' two or three times an episode (in Montanna which I assume is ... y'know ... big). Eventually you just roll your eyes and resolve to ignore it, along with the relevant/not relevant/relevant again love triangle. Character arcs were dropped... the sisters disappeared so completely I assume they were kidnapped again.

Yet it was bizarre enough to keep me rivetted. What would Rick and Ronald do next? Would it make any sense? Would it buggery! Would I enjoy it? Deeply!

I'm giving it 6 stars; it may be four stars more than it deserved, but Ronald reminded us to be kind (when he wasn't screaming at terrified kids).

Resident Alien (2021– )

A show about acceptance (and destroying humanity).

[8/10 · 15 March 2021]

There's so much going on in this show that you can't quite catch it all in a review... the genre mash-up is just the start of it. It's also one of those shows, like Northern Exposure, that relies on a character ensemble to complete a picture of a town and every one has their own issue or arc; yet if it needed Alan Tudyk to carry it by virtue of hilarious one-liners and insane alien antics, he'd do so with no problem whatsoever. His interactions with Max alone are priceless nuggets of comedic one-upmanship. It's tempting to believe the actors write the script themselves with 'having fun' being their top priority.

Sheriff Mike and Deputy Liv need their own spin-off series. Assuming Harry doesn't succeed in his mission, that is.

Clarice (2021)

Not the crown jewel of the franchise, but watchable.

[7/10 · 12 March 2021]

So if you forget the legend upon which this show is built, you are left with a good proceedural Gvt. Agency show, which is rare in these days of formulaic episodic cop propaganda; yes, they're borrowing heavily from the legend just by making the show, but it does make for a certain interesting undercurrent to everything.

The cast works well, the script isn't nearly as bad as the reviews suggest, nor is the production quality in any way lacking (I think everyone was hoping for film quality attention being paid to every detail, which isn't feasible, unless you're watching Hannibal, which raised the bar to an astonishing degree). A few less moth flashbacks, and we're good. My only strong complaint is the butchery done to Catherine Martin's character, and I don't know where that storyline is going, so I'm trying to reserve judgement.

Had to laugh at Clarice needing a better psychiatrist.

The Stand (2020–2021)

Not all it could be. Not as bad as I expected.

[4/10 · 6 January 2021]

I'm writing this a mere two episodes in. I'm saving the rest to marathon, and not merely to treasure a King adaptation. There's just too much hopping about to enjoy this at a one-episode-a-week pace, but that doesn't mean it's unwatchable by any means.

The story begins in the middle (adding another layer of irony to calling the first episode 'The End') and sticks there, moved forward hardly at all, while taking a backstory approach, and doing that in a 'non-linear' way, ensuring that even those of us who've reread the book often are left trying to adjust. In the series' defense, they've managed to do this while maintaining all the atmosphere and dread of the plague, but I'm not sure that we're sharing the character's journey as coherently as we should be to care about their individual arcs. That's the main gripe, though, and if you've read any other reviews, you know that already.

The cast seems great. They've even massacred Frannie again, as is tradition. Otherwise, for a book that's incredibly character driven they've done a fair job at representing the core group, at least those seen in episodes 1 & 2. I'm particularly enjoying Harold played at peak creepsome by Owen Teague; Jovan Adepo is great as Larry, and no one has grated on me badly (even my disdain for Frannie was more about the writing than the actress). I'm in love with the visuals, the cinematography is of a fantastic standard; they've brought locations that readers of the book know well absolutely to life.

Obviously, a two episode review is an incomplete review. I'll come back with an edit later, but I wanted to say 'give it a chance ... I am' because there's enough about this show that doesn't suck to shore up the bits and pieces that do.

The West Wing: The Supremes (2004) Season 5, Episode 17

"Jed Bartlet! From New Hampshire! Had an idea!"

[10/10 · 3 January 2021]

The fifth season of The West Wing is all over the shop, quality-wise, as the writers flounder post-Sorkin, and barring a couple of high points, don't find their feet properly IMO until the emergence of the Santos campaign in season 6... but no matter the complaints viewers might have holding it in comparison against the other seasons, 'The Supremes' shines forth as a beacon of West Wing spirit, humour, idealism and energy.

Glenn Close and William Fitchner aren't merely individually classy actors, but spark together in exactly the right way for the episode and the dialogue they're given, slotting perfectly into the West Wing convention of excellent peripheral casting choices. Milo O'Shea cracks me up as Chief Justice Ashland, new face Rylan Pierce has a role to play that isn't just irritation to Josh or Donna (and thus to the viewer) and is actually enjoyable, and the main cast are unlimbered from darker themes and conflicts. Two Cathedrals is the pinnacle of the show, but doesn't really work as a stand-alone episode. If I ever wanted to introduce someone to the show, I'd show them The Supremes.

Castle Rock (2018–2019)

Season 2 is my laughing place

[7/10 · 14 December 2019]

I like my tv shows weird, atmospheric and unafraid of a slow burn, but even I had to admit that season 1 suffered pacing issues (although it did bring the weird atmosphere in spades). I came for the King Easter eggs, I stayed for the cast and intriguing story line... but I really expected season 2 to suffer in comparison and go for extra lazing pacing without the hook of season 1's mystery Shawshank inmate.

Instead, they upped their game and introduced a character whose appearance excitedly made me say a word she wouldn't have approved of at all, and if the entire show had been Annie's story-line I might even had changed my rating to a 10 and forgiven season 1 all it's noodling about. However, the intersection her story, Pop Merrill's family, and Castle Rock's historical occupants doesn't have the tension you'd want... at least, not yet. I have 4 episodes to go, so I might be adjusting the rating yet again but at the moment I can only think the 400 year old satanists are a bunch of dirty birdies and will probably suffer the consequences of trying to quell Annie's pre-installed demons.

The Crown (2016–2023)

I did not expect to be interested, and ended up riveted.

[8/10 · 9 December 2019]

My position on the Monarchy has always been benign indifference. I don't hate them, I don't collect plates with their faces on. They exist in the background of my life, with little relevance to it, and do not require or provoke much in the way of a personal opinion from me. So when episode one started because Netflix thinks it needs to make choices in my life that I am not necessarily okay with it making, I only began watching because my hands were full and I couldn't turn it off. By the time that episode ended, I'd texted my husband that we'd be watching The Crown that night, so I didn't end up a mad number of episodes ahead of him when he finally caved and started watching it, too.

The first, immediate impression is how well it works as a period(s) piece. All the pageantry and mannerisms keep the royals seemingly rooted in the past, but outside the palace the atmosphere rarely belies the unfolding events. The second effect was being unaccountably heartbroken to realise we wouldn't get much of King George VI, as portrayed by Jared Harris (and later, equally delighted that he had a couple more episodes and decent flashback cameos).

The series isn't perfect, there are moments when it's like watching a soap opera with royalty in it... but the casting, atmosphere, attention to detail and choice of focus of events have been absolutely on point. But from the moment John Lithgow turns up as Winston Churchill, you abandon the idea of marathoning The Good Place for a second time, and quietly surrender to the inevitability of 3 seasons of watching something both strangely familiar and oddly outlandish. I am still not a Royalist, but I am a good deal better informed about my country's political history and the context between it and the royal household, and more likely to remember there are actual humans behind the headlines.

Bokeh (I) (2017)

I could have just scrolled through Tumblr.

[3/10 · 14 July 2019]

Gorgeous scenery, atmospheric urban abandonment, artsy shots of a pretty girl in a prairie-esque field. This is all Bokeh had to offer, and I could have spent ten minutes scrolling my long-neglected Tumblr account and enjoyed the aesthetic without weathering the aggravating couple who seemed intent on trying to ruin my enjoyment of a decent apocalypse.

I suppose a nod should be made to the metaphor - their relationships is as empty as the world in which they awaken. The guy apparently sees the end of the world as a photo opportunity, and refuses to address the hypothetical 'what might have happened to everybody' discussion that his girlfriend rather passively tries to kick-start every so often. Because he doesn't want his apocalypse littered with awkward questions. Let's just go shopping, babe.

She is 'deeper', although heaven forbid she actually express her concerns to her partner in anything other than a series of increasingly sad poses. She might have witnessed something relevant, but doesn't bother to discuss it, unless this happens off-screen (the editing is choppy). She misses her family, her home, feels isolated and estranged from God, and is stranded with Mr. 'I dunno babe...shopping tho'. She checks her notifications every day, just in case someone she loves is out there. This is at least realistic, and I wondered if her boyfriend was actually a psychopath when he messaged her with a picture of the 'winter sky' they could look forward to and got her all excited for a single notification in her tray. Probably I'm supposed to think the irony of a guy who looks at everything and sees nothing is clever. Hardly surprising this was a precipitating factor in her suicide.

A number of people have described this as a thinker's film. I disagree. It's almost the opposite... the filmmakers have gone out of their way to subvert every consideration of the nature of the world and it's ending, in favour of some nice views and a treatise of the uselessness of humans to one another in a crisis.

Bokeh could have had intimacy and panic and confusion and, perhaps, even aesthetically passive hopelessness with a point, but with nothing to live for, it couldn't be bothered to live.

Mr. Mercedes (2017–2019)

5 episodes in: so far, exquisite adaptation

[9/10 · 16 September 2017]

It's fantastic that this adaptation has allowed the relatively slow unfolding of Brady Hartsfield's dance with Bill Hodges to simmer at more or less the same pace as the book; watching two people's lives revolving around one another at a distance is mesmerising, even before the inclusion of Hartsfield's moments of lethal tantruming.

The casting is terrific, the peripheral characters are used well, and there's an energising undercurrent in that everyone seems more interesting when viewed through the lens of Hartsfield or Hodges... what perceived slight or threat has Hartsfield sensed from them, what use can they be to opening up the investigation for Bill? As for the horror, it's sordid and nasty, and very human. The inclusion of the twisted relationship between Hartfsield and his mother is unsettling in the extreme, more so because of the sense that his mother has shaped him into this person who has grown almost beyond her ability to manipulate... he's her victim, but she's now obliviously trapped in reliance on a very dangerous person, creating a morbidly fascinating relationship that often has the viewer near sympathy for both of them, but then expertly throws you back into disgust.

There's a lot of waning interest because of the pace, but for me it's ramping up with every seemingly innocuous scene. It's almost like the series is taking the time to tell us a story, rather than spoon feed us distraction. This is how I like my TV; weird, suspenseful, full of potential, with an excellent cast, attention to detail, music well used and no sense of having a scheduler with a clipboard and stopwatch directing every scene.

The Dark Tower (2017)

One more time around the wheel

[7/10 · 14 September 2017]

Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are deservedly cemented in my mind as Roland and Walter from here on out... they and Tom Taylor saved this film from being a meh five-star offering. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but I loved it because as a fan of the books, I was getting a tantalisingly convincing window onto Mid-World. It was extremely faithful in atmosphere and visualisation. I also enjoyed the hell out of the gunfights, thought that the Taheen were well done, loved the small nods to the books that were scattered throughout. Plenty to love!

The stripped-down plot and changes were inevitable, although it was hard not to begrudge every minute that could have added a bit more back-story, or hint of the canon. The ending suffered from the film's apparent need not to hold us up for too long... choppily edited into a montage of all-manner-of-things-were-well, including orchestra burst and the sun back-lighting the Tower.

Not the worst ending in cinematic history, certainly... but it left me with a lack of closure, principally because after multiple iterations of the same quest, Roland carrying the Horn of Eld on his back strongly hints that this is not just a mishmash of our go-round-the-wheel that we know as Constant Readers, but a different iteration altogether, perhaps the last one, Roland's redemption. And for that to be acceptable, I would need a lot more information than was handled in a 95 minute film...

... it'd probably take, like, at least seven books.