14 Comments

Loved the part about new TV shows you didn't review for RS. Great newsletter, congratulations.

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Agreed, it's like science publishing it's failed results. Still important to understand shows that didn't resonate with you.

I also want to mention I've begun a fan of Servant. I like the fact that is a 30-minute thriller. The camera shots are always so interesting. The characters have grown on me, each so flawed. I'm in the middle of the last season and I've no idea what's actually happening with the "bad guys" but that's not the point, it's just interesting seeing new developments in the characters.

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The Poker Face scene with Charlie blinking at the front door had me in stitches. They've been very clever finding new ways to showcase her ability to spot a lie.

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I am still enjoying The Last of Us but it has been reliant so far on storytelling peaks and valleys, like every other ep has been great but the preceeding table setting is a bit of a drag (hopefully at least that means the next ep should be great). I found Jackson a bit underwhelming, and its frustrating this show is in such a hurry to move along, just like a video game. They introduce side characters, hint at their individual worlds, and then quickly move on from them. The fact that "3 months" have past and Joel's and Ellie's relationship showed no signs of having evolved until *after* Jackson was really weird. If I'm spending 3 months day in, day out, fighting for survival with the same individual, we'll develop a rapport by the end of month 2, I don't care who they are.

I certainly don't want more Walking Dead "let's spend each entire season in another doomed location" but I want a bit better world-building and character development. I am not watching this show just to see them get from Point A to Point B, I could actually care less about the Fireflies and their supposed vaccine Macguffin.

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They've done about as good as you can do with the source material. The weakness here overall is that the only real drama is going to be who lives/dies. It's a really great video game, but as complete piece of TV drama it's just okay.

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They've already chosen to deviate from or greatly embellish the source material multiple times, especially when the "narrative" limitations of the source material were clearly going to be detrimental to making satisfying TV. The show is expensive as hell to make, they've spent absurd amounts of money on these sets and getting the perfect location photography, so why not actually spend a bit more time on character development and world building? I didn't play the game but if I had I'd still want the TV version to be the best show it possibly could be, and the heart of that are these two main characters, not their quest to maybe possibly hopefully make a vaccine someday.

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I don't think I agree with this take (in terms of the source or about the show). It's not only about who lives/dies, so much as it is about trauma, grief, and hope. And a good dollop of 'people are the real monsters,' a staple of zombie content, and the lengths to which people go to survive or protect those they love. The showrunners have talked about this is a show about love, but not just in the good way. It's about how love can make us do terrible things, especially as it relates to in-groups and out-groups. There's way more than just death.

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This space has been covered significantly in 177 episodes of The Walking Dead and I tapped out after season 3. I won't go into spoiler territory, but I'm not sure this story has legs which became a problem for The Walking Dead.

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That's fair. I watched S1 of the Walking Dead and wanted nothing to do with the show beyond that. So I can appreciate that it must be tiresome to see those same themes run into the ground over 11 seasons, only to have New Shiny Zombie Show digging in similarly.

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Have to mention that your Party Down writing these last few weeks got me to rewatch the original show, so thanks for that. :)

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i knew this week’s episode of Poker Face would be better just from the opening shot and music alone. it still had some rough patches but it was a big improvement.

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I enjoyed this episode of Poker Face a lot too. Nick Nolte is great as the recluse. I also thought it was the best episode of Shrinking this week. Is that going to have another season?

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Watched the first episode of S3 Party Down and it surprised me by how good it was. Honestly, I had a hard time imagining how they'd make another season of this show without it being depressing and sad.

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I haven’t seen the latest episode of Poker Face but I concur with your opinion on The Last of Us. I felt unsure if I would stick with the show as zombies really aren’t my thing. But I feel invested enough in the characters that I am finally all in.

Thanks for the mini-reviews. They really do help!

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