'Picard' and 'The Mandalorian' end, Betty Gilpin and Keri Russell rule 'Mrs. Davis' and 'The Diplomat,' plus 'Somebody Somewhere,' 'The Mandalorian,' 'Succession' & 'Barry'
I can't handle all of these shows. Besides must-see Succession, now we have Barry and Somebody, both which I have to see since I've seen all seasons. I'm also watching Lasso and Maisel and Dave. I love Keri but who has the time to watch everything?
This season of Picard was something I didn't know I needed and probably mostly because it was just fun to see these characters back on screen again. ST:TNG got my through high school and college back when the only time shifted viewing was on VCR. Great bit of nostalgia.
• I kept expecting to see Agnes though. But I'm guessing all of season two was ignored or didn't happen.
• A changed Worf was a highlight for sure and a very real LOL when he said "swords are fun".
• A smiling Data - with a real human smile - was also something I didn't know I wanted to see.
But at curtain call, I was a bit sad with the certainty that this will probably be for-reals-this-time the last time I see these characters together. Fun ride though!
The beginning of Mrs. Davis is just so wild and still not even close to being the wildest intro to a Lindelof show. Only watched one but loving it so far, feels the perfect time for an AI show to debut as well.
I am loving Mrs. Davis. The show is about so many things that your head might explode (and some heads do explode!): the role of faith and belief in the world of A.I., about storytelling, about gender dynamics, about love. You can write, make movies or TV shows about any of those topics and it would be interesting. This show is trying to do all of it, and I mean ALL of it in 8 episodes. It is also a show about serious things that doesn't take itself seriously (at all!). I wrote my own review here:
You have convinced me to start Somebody Somewhere tonight instead of Daisy Jones, which I was feeling lukewarm about. My evening is looking up, thank you!
Reading up thread about too many shows. Man, it’s like books. A. You can’t watch it all. B. You definitely shouldn’t juggle too many shows at the same time! I keep a list. I will watch *some* shows once a week, but many I watch out of time. That’s just the reality of TV today.
I liked The Mandalorian fine. It’s not a great show. But I like the world and characters. Having said that, I agree with you that getting back to an adventure per week is for the best.
Other shows winding down: Abbott Elementary (so damned good! With What We Do in the Shadows on hiatus, I will rank Abbott Elementary the best comedy on TV.), Rain Dogs is wrapping on Monday night. It took a dark turn. I am not sure how I feel about it. The acting is incredible but the last few episodes have been relentlessly bleak.
I am definitely planning to check out Mrs. Davis and The Diplomat but I am going to have to wait until a slot opens up.
Mrs. Davis absolutely rules. It occasionally dips into too broad (example from the beginning of the first episode: I laughed a lot at the “NOT PARIS” title card, but then the “OBVIOUSLY” felt like too much), but for the most part it’s funny, exciting and meaningful all at once. And Gilpin is just fantastic - although she’s shown her star power many times over in previous projects, this one feels utterly perfect for her. Her reaction to Wiley asking about driving through the donut destroyed me.
Without saying much, there’s a reveal at the end of one of the currently-released episodes that was fascinating, and I absolutely love the direction it’s taken the show. Definitely feels of a part with Lindelof’s other projects, despite being more overtly comedic and him not being the showrunner. But also four episodes the first week remains too many, and that’s especially noticeable with this one where episode 3 would have been a great cliffhanger.
Was hoping The Diplomat would be a more cerebral drama. Everyone is good in it but not my sort of show. Mrs. Davis sounds like a lot to digest, I feel like I'm going to need to be well-rested for that.
I rarely find a misplaced idea or object in Succession, but I highly doubt there would have been fish tacos ever at any Roy event, let alone this semi-wake for Logan. But it was a funny Gerri line!
As you stated Picard season 3 was a little messy in the details but boy when it clicked the feels were real and powerful. The only thing that came close for me in recent memory was the Amazon Prime Kids in the Hall reboot. Hearing that theme song and seeing how they all aged was part Time Machine and part reality check. Just to be clear I do enjoy new and original content too but there’s no denying the power of the things that meant a lot to you in your adolescence.
My wife asked, “You would rather watch this silly show than spend time with me?”
Nuns, AI and suspected nihilists won the first round.
I have chosen….wisely
I can't handle all of these shows. Besides must-see Succession, now we have Barry and Somebody, both which I have to see since I've seen all seasons. I'm also watching Lasso and Maisel and Dave. I love Keri but who has the time to watch everything?
This season of Picard was something I didn't know I needed and probably mostly because it was just fun to see these characters back on screen again. ST:TNG got my through high school and college back when the only time shifted viewing was on VCR. Great bit of nostalgia.
• I kept expecting to see Agnes though. But I'm guessing all of season two was ignored or didn't happen.
• A changed Worf was a highlight for sure and a very real LOL when he said "swords are fun".
• A smiling Data - with a real human smile - was also something I didn't know I wanted to see.
But at curtain call, I was a bit sad with the certainty that this will probably be for-reals-this-time the last time I see these characters together. Fun ride though!
The beginning of Mrs. Davis is just so wild and still not even close to being the wildest intro to a Lindelof show. Only watched one but loving it so far, feels the perfect time for an AI show to debut as well.
I am loving Mrs. Davis. The show is about so many things that your head might explode (and some heads do explode!): the role of faith and belief in the world of A.I., about storytelling, about gender dynamics, about love. You can write, make movies or TV shows about any of those topics and it would be interesting. This show is trying to do all of it, and I mean ALL of it in 8 episodes. It is also a show about serious things that doesn't take itself seriously (at all!). I wrote my own review here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/manulopez/p/mrs-davis-ai-and-the-place-of-religion?r=2buies&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
You have convinced me to start Somebody Somewhere tonight instead of Daisy Jones, which I was feeling lukewarm about. My evening is looking up, thank you!
What’s “Dad TV?” Have you written about this anywhere? Want to read!
Alan, any thoughts about the recently completed 2nd season of Abbott Elementary?
Reading up thread about too many shows. Man, it’s like books. A. You can’t watch it all. B. You definitely shouldn’t juggle too many shows at the same time! I keep a list. I will watch *some* shows once a week, but many I watch out of time. That’s just the reality of TV today.
I liked The Mandalorian fine. It’s not a great show. But I like the world and characters. Having said that, I agree with you that getting back to an adventure per week is for the best.
Other shows winding down: Abbott Elementary (so damned good! With What We Do in the Shadows on hiatus, I will rank Abbott Elementary the best comedy on TV.), Rain Dogs is wrapping on Monday night. It took a dark turn. I am not sure how I feel about it. The acting is incredible but the last few episodes have been relentlessly bleak.
I am definitely planning to check out Mrs. Davis and The Diplomat but I am going to have to wait until a slot opens up.
Mrs. Davis absolutely rules. It occasionally dips into too broad (example from the beginning of the first episode: I laughed a lot at the “NOT PARIS” title card, but then the “OBVIOUSLY” felt like too much), but for the most part it’s funny, exciting and meaningful all at once. And Gilpin is just fantastic - although she’s shown her star power many times over in previous projects, this one feels utterly perfect for her. Her reaction to Wiley asking about driving through the donut destroyed me.
Without saying much, there’s a reveal at the end of one of the currently-released episodes that was fascinating, and I absolutely love the direction it’s taken the show. Definitely feels of a part with Lindelof’s other projects, despite being more overtly comedic and him not being the showrunner. But also four episodes the first week remains too many, and that’s especially noticeable with this one where episode 3 would have been a great cliffhanger.
Was hoping The Diplomat would be a more cerebral drama. Everyone is good in it but not my sort of show. Mrs. Davis sounds like a lot to digest, I feel like I'm going to need to be well-rested for that.
63 minutes of Ted Lasso is mostly 63 good minutes but I wish that the episodes were cut in half and the season was twice as long.
I rarely find a misplaced idea or object in Succession, but I highly doubt there would have been fish tacos ever at any Roy event, let alone this semi-wake for Logan. But it was a funny Gerri line!
Alan - I watched the series finale with you (DS9), how do you think this compared?
As you stated Picard season 3 was a little messy in the details but boy when it clicked the feels were real and powerful. The only thing that came close for me in recent memory was the Amazon Prime Kids in the Hall reboot. Hearing that theme song and seeing how they all aged was part Time Machine and part reality check. Just to be clear I do enjoy new and original content too but there’s no denying the power of the things that meant a lot to you in your adolescence.
Looking forward to watching all of Picard S3 now that it’s all out. That feels more entertaining to me than whatever Mando had going on this season.