d83000 Reviews

A Gentleman in Moscow (2024)

What a waste

[5/10 · 9 May 2024]

While we're not, quite, finished with this mini-series yet we're far enough along to see where we're going.

There should be a solid eight stars across the board for this production but Hollywood's absolute need to follow DEI trend even when it could not, under any circumstances, produce anything but a ruinous outcome defies logic that even a child should be able to follow.

Good acting, good costuming, set design, etc that for no reason these totally out of place and time individuals of color populate the cast. This is reminiscent of casting Joey Bishop and other obviously white men as a Native Americans.

Frasier (2023– )

it should be better

[4/10 · 31 October 2023]

Sorry to say that this version just isn't up to scratch, comedy has been replaced with moronic behavior. I know this is the latest trend but having watched (more than once) "Cheers" and the original "Frasier" I've come to expect much better!

In my opinion the character of David Crane is a poor excuse for Eddie, the dog, and could be found missing from future episodes to the betterment of the show. Next, whomever has control of the laugh-track really needs to be instructed in what real comedy is. Every line can NOT be funny, gags need to be set and built up to and, if/when they work people will laugh without prompting. And, finally, the rest of the cast needs to be put on a regimen of smart pills. They can't all be that stupid.

I apologize to. Kelsey Grammer, I've enjoyed his work over the decades and honestly wish him well.

Jeopardy! Masters (2023– )

Very Engaging

[9/10 · 27 May 2023]

My wife and I were very pleased with this addition to the "Jeopardy" line-up and looked forward to each episode. The relaxed comradery of the contestants and Ken Jennings just added to the overall "watchability" of the show.

There was one point that we thought a distraction: the importance of the "daily doubles" to the contestants' score weighed too heavily on the outcome. This factor was evident in almost every run-away game where one contestant couldn't be toppled from first place without them doing something untoward with the final bet (which none did).

There needs, we feel, to be some adjustment to the format for this top level competition to remove the randomness of the daily doubles. Maybe make these squares 5,000 points or cap the bet at 5,000 (a difference without a distinction).

We look forward to the next iteration of "Jeopardy Masters".

Django (2022– )

Monochromatic Art

[2/10 · 3 March 2023]

Actually, I awarded this series a total of eight stars but I chose to use white ones for the last six as an homage to art.

If world famous paintings like "Black Cat at Midnight in a Coal Bin" tickles your fancy then you'll not want to miss a riveting second of this attempt at art. For me, however, I don't think I should have to sit in a completely dark room and strain my eyes to watch a made for TV series.

Once again the choice to record in visible light (because, well, we can now) was chosen over allowing the audience the opportunity to actually be able to follow the story instead of needing to guess who that shadow actually is and what is he (or she) doing. I threw in the towel after, roughly, fifteen minutes of this and moved on to something else.

Kaleidoscope (2023)

Disapointing

[4/10 · 13 January 2023]

The wife and I chose to watch the episodes in chronological order because stories start at the beginning, end at the finish, and should stay on the rails of time between the two. And, for my money, that's the way to watch this, if you choose.

The first few episodes showed great promise but soon a character appeared that, had the leader been as smart and cunning as we're supposed to believe, would have been rejected as becoming part of the crew. This flaw in the telling carried out the final episodes and really ruined the story.

Watch if you will but don't expect too much, we did and were left wanting.

The English (2022)

Excellent!

[9/10 · 13 November 2022]

When a powerful story, a consumate story teller, and a great cenimatic crew all come together you get some of the best video. A tale that can be viewed again and again.

I don't understand why I have to submit six hundred characters when, to be honest, what I've written above is way too much already. And here I sit at just under three hundred and still can't find enough words to hit the six hundred mark. Just remove this paragraph and post what I've written above or just ignor this whole thing and I'll never attempt to give another review. Fifty five characters to go so I'll say "Good night, all".

Rogue Heroes (2022–2024)

Excellent!

[9/10 · 1 November 2022]

I would have given this another star if they had made it into a returning series.

This is the best war series to come out in a long time but only 6 episodes just leaves the viewer wanting for more.

If there is a negative it's that too many scenes were just too dark to be able to see all the action but this has become a plague that has spread throughout the whole of the industry thanks to technology that allows for capturing an image with available light and, seemingly, directors and editors unable to realize that not everyone has a complete movie studio in their living room! But.....

Anyhow, GREAT SERIES and I highly recommend it if you're a fan of war stories.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

I can't tell if this is good or bad

[2/10 · 13 September 2022]

After squinting my way through three and a quarter episodes I just can not tell if this story is any good or not because half of the story is being told on a totally dark screen! I do not think my one year old Samsung Ultra High Definition television is to blame because I do not have this problem with other shows. I even turned out all the lights in the room and all adjacent rooms last night and still only got nothing but dim shadows.

No, I am not wasting my time trying to guess what is going on, I will just call it a black cat in a coal bin at midnight and leave it at that.

Sorry for the dark review (pun intended).

The Orville (2017–2022)

2 Great Seasons

[3/10 · 23 July 2022]

Then they just had to get woke. I don't understand why every show, now a days, just HAS to conform to some fringe formula.

So, it's like they say, "Get woke, lose viewers."

The Old Man (2022– )

Can't see

[3/10 · 17 June 2022]

After watching a totally black screen for almost the whole first half of the first episode I decided to move onto some thing I could actually see to watch.

The Rookie: Enervo (2022) Season 4, Episode 20

Almost Unwatchable

[2/10 · 2 May 2022]

These last 2 episodes are really too far off of the main story line. I've heard that this FBI trainee is, supposed to, be the lead in some upcoming show? Well, I'll pass on that one too.

Blue Bloods: Tangled Up in Blue (2022) Season 12, Episode 19

Gift Horses

[8/10 · 1 May 2022]

Jamie explains that the expression "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" refers to the Trojan Horse which is so totally wrong that the writers should be admonished for their stupidity. (Ignorance doesn't apply)

Just to set the record straight, the expression stems from the fact that a horse's age can be determined by looking at it's teeth (note to writers, teeth are, usually, found in the mouthal** regions of most critters). To do this to a horse that had just been gifted would be a faux pas.

**I just coined this word so you writers can us it now.

The Rookie: Simone (2022) Season 4, Episode 19

Good Episode

[6/10 · 25 April 2022]

Dick Wolf could take lessons from Alexi Hawley on how to shove left-wing talking points into a script even though none of them advanced the story line one bit.

Bravo Alexi!

Outer Range (2022– )

Turn on the lights

[5/10 · 16 April 2022]

Seems like it could be interesting but as I'm not going to sit in a totally dark room I can't see much of what's going on. It seems, once again, that the director thinks everyone has a complete theater room in their home just to watch TV.

Vikings: Valhalla (2022– )

Bad Cinematography

[5/10 · 6 March 2022]

The story line is good and the acting is good but the cinematography really drags the whole show down. This is a perfect example of the misuse of taping with only available light. Just because technology has advanced to the point where it can be done doesn't, necessarily, mean it should be done.

Either get a better camera man, director, or both and let us SEE the action instead of some vague gray on black shadows.

Severance (2022– )

psychobabble

[4/10 · 18 February 2022]

Actually, boring psychobabble. Go watch paint dry, for real excitement grass grow, or snow melt.

Getting to one-hundred-fifty characters on the first episode to qualify for a review just isn't possible! There wasn't enough content in the first episode!

Murderville (2022– )

Another one

[3/10 · 4 February 2022]

Oh, Gee, Yet Another Celebrity Show!

When you don't have a good idea anything will do so let's create another showcase for celebrities because the whole world hangs on their every life experience.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Not as Good

[3/10 · 20 November 2021]

If you've not read the books then sit back and enjoy a truly epic story that this series promises to be but don't read the book yet, wait till the series ends.

The first episode got many of names right and the color of the horses was correct, but the casting and portrayal of the main characters really was way off the books. They've also started the story disregarding the prequel "New Spring" that fills in Moraine's character and the whole story of the Aes Sedai. For instance, it would have explained who those women in red were and what they were doing to that False Dragon and why.

Then the casting of Moraine is just so wrong!!!! R. Jordan spent hundreds and hundreds of words over many instances describing her physical character and the actress just doesn't fit that picture. IMO the juxtaposition of her stature and appearance with the awesome power she wields is obviously an integral part of the story. Search on R. Jordan and have a look at the dusk jacket of "The Eye of the World" and you'll see what I mean.

All that said, I hope to enjoy this series and have to applaud the creator's visualization of Moraine's "weaves" and the trollocs.

Dig (2015)

What a waste of a good story

[3/10 · 20 February 2021]

I don't know what happened to this series, was it the writing, the director, or editing but they totally dropped the ball in the final half of the series! There are so many holes in the plot line even the Swiss wouldn't condone it.

I'd like to see the story done right but.....

Broke (I) (2020)

Bad, simply bad

[2/10 · 3 April 2020]

Yet another "family moves in because they're "broke". Yet another overused laugh track.