Late to the party, but I wanted to finish Only Murders in the Building before I read your newsletter (and review). I agree, it was a very weak year. Like Oliver, the show seemed more interested in the Broadway show than with the murder. We guessed most of the twists right away (including who Ben was talking to in his dressing room and who killed him) so waiting for them to figure these things out was tedious. Also, Selena Gomez was a bit of a drag. Her general affectation is very flat, which normally works very well against The Martins, but this season her ennui made the character almost totally lifeless. Let's hope this was just a mid series slump and they come back with a strong (presumably) last season.
I thought Loki season 2 episode 1 was pretty good, pretty fun, especially everything with Ke Huy Quan and the ridiculous analog-tech stuff (love the massive duct attached to Mobius' space-suit) but I agree it was extremely plot-dense and full of techno-babble.
I don't mind continuing stories at all. They just have to be done by writers skillful enough to entertain the audience that doesn't do the homework while rewarding those that do.
The problem with Loki isn't Kang or the multiverse or whatever...
It's that it was so boring. Literally the first 15 minutes centered around bureaucrats arguing.
The worst part is, as you note, the writers "lost any grasp on what made Loki compelling enough to get his own series in the first place"
The ads for the first season showed President Loki grinning and saying "What did you expect?"
THAT's the charming rogue we want to see on screen every week.
Instead this show has given us a character who goes from confused to scared and back again...
I read on Bluesky (so I will not take credit for the insight), that someday Disney is going to regret how they handled two great franchises in Marvel and Star Wars. They should have treated them as jewels of the crown that should be treated with respect and trotted out yearly or so to keep them special, but instead they just constantly churned out sub-optimal content to the point where fans lost interest.
It reminds me of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" that was a surprise hit for ABC, so they started putting it on prime time almost every day of the week, and what was once a fun show you looked forward to became this ubiquitous thing that was on All. The. Time.
Yeah. I was able to figure out most things from context, but without watching Clone Wars or Rebels, but the series takes your investment in these characters as read.
I was able to appreciate the show on the level of "Jedi and lightsabers are cool", but I had a hard time understanding why I was supposed to care about any of the people on the screen.
I did not watch any of Clone Wars or Rebels. I watched a 15-minute recap video on YouTube and that gave me all the background I needed to enjoy Ahsoka. Which I did! Sure, it was an uneven season, but the high points were very fun and overall I liked it better than any Star Wars thing of recent memory except for Andor, which is still by far the best. I do agree it would have been nice to have a bit more of a stand-alone story, even if it set up future things. So, a mixed bag. But I'm excited for more Thrawn. The biggest bummer is that the great Ray Stevenson died, and we won't be able to see more of his character who was one of the best things about the show. And they're going to have to somehow write their way around his death, given they were clearly setting up something big for him to do in season 2.
I never got into the Clone Wars and Rebels shows, but I have enough background from friends talking about them all these years to have a basic idea of the characters. I enjoyed Ahsoka for what it was, and am looking forward to the next season.
As for Loki, I thought the premiere was a lot of fun (minus the weirdness whenever Jonathan Majors shows up)! I'm gonna enjoy it as much as Sylvie is going to enjoy McDonald's (okay, maybe I will like it much more than that).
I have not watched a second of the Clone Wars and Rebels, and while I understood the basic story of Ashoka fine, they assume you already know the characters and relationships and backstory.
So its sort of like starting to watch a tv show with season 4.
It didn't work for me because I guess they expected me to be invested in these characters without having to do the actual work of getting me invested in these characters, and I wasn't invested so by the end I didn't really care what happened to them.
Expecting ppl to have watched, say.., The Mandalorian to totally get another series, isn’t ideal but kind of understandable, but expecting ppl to watch 8 seasons of a cartoon to be able to watch a live action series is just too much
They’re deliberately reducing their potential audience, its absurd
But thanks for letting me know not to waste my time giving it a go
I watched the whole thing without having done any of the homework and was able to follow it and thought it was . . .okay? The thing is I can't tell how much of what I found lacking came from not having done the homework and how much were just flaws that were there regardless. I saw commenters who had watched all the cartoons complaining about some of the same stuff I did
Yes. I did zero homework and was able to follow the story. I am 100% with Alan that making everything connected and a continuing story is hurting the franchise. Perhaps I missed a few things but I wasn’t lost. However “middling” is how I would describe the series. I still enjoyed the action scenes and David Tennant’s voice work as a droid. Give it a whirl!
Not much to say on this, but once heard someone (might have been Alan?) describe the process of having to consume a universe of tv series to understand the current one was like all at once having to order 10 pizzas and eat them before ordering and eating the 11th.
Couldn't let the Legion of Superheroes reference pass unrecognized though I expect my memory of the comics from the 50s and 60s predates your probable interest in the reboot during the 80s. Always had a soft spot for Mon-el who in his 60s incarnation was not affected by the difficult to find (unless the plot required) kryptonite but rather the much more common lead. He always seemed to be Superboy-lite. Thanks for the throwback - though probably further than your reference intended.
Wait, Alan, you've only ever watched the first few episodes of BoJack?!
If that's the case, I highly, highly recommend you go back to it. The first few episodes actually DON'T do a very good job of showing what the creators would eventually be doing with it. Obviously this stuff is subjective, but I consider it one of the most rewarding TV series I've ever watched.
No, you misunderstood. I was dismissive of the first few episodes, stopped, and went back after my Twitter mentions were inundated with people insisting it got much better. And it did. It remains easily the best Netflix original of all time.
Ah, it read to me as you having gone back to watch Our Flag Means Death, but not that you'd done that with BoJack. I'm relieved to know I misunderstood. (And I was almost certain I'd read your writing about BoJack, which of course now makes more sense to me.)
I haven't seen Clone Wars and gave up on Rebels after about a season, so that's completely killed my enthusiasm to try Ahsoka. Star Wars and Marvel were a lot more fun when new films were events. Now they're just homework. Huge bummer. It's just too much to keep up with.
Agree that Only Murders seemed to lose a little energy this season. It seemed like they were trying out some work in a minor, melancholy key. It didn't help that the murder resolution ultimately involved a character we'd barely spent any time with. Would love to see the comic energy return in season 4.
My problem with Starstruck, beyond what you've pointed out, is that Jess is neither a good person nor an interesting character. Her motivations, when she has them, are all over the place. She has no goals or ambitions, is extremely prickly and she treats everyone badly.
This gets papered over because Rose Mateo is such a fun and engaging performer, but that only takes you so far. Eventually I realize there's no reason to root for her or for her relationship with Tom.
Speaking of Tom, he has a real Vincent Chase problem. He's supposed to be this big, popular movie star, but he's super low energy and has very little charisma. Sometimes, when I'm watching the show, I have to remind myself that he's supposed to a famous celebrity and not, say, a podiatrist.
So they are really going to do a Jedivengers movie? Ashoka and Ezra and Sabine and Grogu and Mando and Boba Fett and Bo-Katan and etc etc fighting Thrawn and zombie stormtroopers?
Good comments about "Starstruck"--it was great but stop. I was sorry that it was over but it ended nicely. We don't need another six eps of "will they or won't they?" but I like seeing these characters and they don't overstay their welcome.
Late to the party, but I wanted to finish Only Murders in the Building before I read your newsletter (and review). I agree, it was a very weak year. Like Oliver, the show seemed more interested in the Broadway show than with the murder. We guessed most of the twists right away (including who Ben was talking to in his dressing room and who killed him) so waiting for them to figure these things out was tedious. Also, Selena Gomez was a bit of a drag. Her general affectation is very flat, which normally works very well against The Martins, but this season her ennui made the character almost totally lifeless. Let's hope this was just a mid series slump and they come back with a strong (presumably) last season.
I thought Loki season 2 episode 1 was pretty good, pretty fun, especially everything with Ke Huy Quan and the ridiculous analog-tech stuff (love the massive duct attached to Mobius' space-suit) but I agree it was extremely plot-dense and full of techno-babble.
I don't mind continuing stories at all. They just have to be done by writers skillful enough to entertain the audience that doesn't do the homework while rewarding those that do.
The problem with Loki isn't Kang or the multiverse or whatever...
It's that it was so boring. Literally the first 15 minutes centered around bureaucrats arguing.
The worst part is, as you note, the writers "lost any grasp on what made Loki compelling enough to get his own series in the first place"
The ads for the first season showed President Loki grinning and saying "What did you expect?"
THAT's the charming rogue we want to see on screen every week.
Instead this show has given us a character who goes from confused to scared and back again...
I read on Bluesky (so I will not take credit for the insight), that someday Disney is going to regret how they handled two great franchises in Marvel and Star Wars. They should have treated them as jewels of the crown that should be treated with respect and trotted out yearly or so to keep them special, but instead they just constantly churned out sub-optimal content to the point where fans lost interest.
It reminds me of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" that was a surprise hit for ABC, so they started putting it on prime time almost every day of the week, and what was once a fun show you looked forward to became this ubiquitous thing that was on All. The. Time.
Iger has already said the tv output will slow down for these two franchises. I imagine a lot of the ideas in development will not move forward.
Can I just watch Ashoka (I’ve seen the Star Wars movies plus Mandalorian) or is there a bunch of homework I have to do first?
To fully appreciate it, you have to watch all of the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons. Which is not ideal in any way.
Yeah. I was able to figure out most things from context, but without watching Clone Wars or Rebels, but the series takes your investment in these characters as read.
I was able to appreciate the show on the level of "Jedi and lightsabers are cool", but I had a hard time understanding why I was supposed to care about any of the people on the screen.
I did not watch any of Clone Wars or Rebels. I watched a 15-minute recap video on YouTube and that gave me all the background I needed to enjoy Ahsoka. Which I did! Sure, it was an uneven season, but the high points were very fun and overall I liked it better than any Star Wars thing of recent memory except for Andor, which is still by far the best. I do agree it would have been nice to have a bit more of a stand-alone story, even if it set up future things. So, a mixed bag. But I'm excited for more Thrawn. The biggest bummer is that the great Ray Stevenson died, and we won't be able to see more of his character who was one of the best things about the show. And they're going to have to somehow write their way around his death, given they were clearly setting up something big for him to do in season 2.
Do you have a link to that video?
Just search on YouTube, there are tons of recap videos of everything you can imagine.
I never got into the Clone Wars and Rebels shows, but I have enough background from friends talking about them all these years to have a basic idea of the characters. I enjoyed Ahsoka for what it was, and am looking forward to the next season.
As for Loki, I thought the premiere was a lot of fun (minus the weirdness whenever Jonathan Majors shows up)! I'm gonna enjoy it as much as Sylvie is going to enjoy McDonald's (okay, maybe I will like it much more than that).
It’s absurd
Having to wade through 80 hours of another show to be able to watch this show
It’s why I’ve stopped watching Marvel since End Game
I just want to watch a movie not a chapter of a book
I have not watched a second of the Clone Wars and Rebels, and while I understood the basic story of Ashoka fine, they assume you already know the characters and relationships and backstory.
So its sort of like starting to watch a tv show with season 4.
It didn't work for me because I guess they expected me to be invested in these characters without having to do the actual work of getting me invested in these characters, and I wasn't invested so by the end I didn't really care what happened to them.
Expecting ppl to have watched, say.., The Mandalorian to totally get another series, isn’t ideal but kind of understandable, but expecting ppl to watch 8 seasons of a cartoon to be able to watch a live action series is just too much
They’re deliberately reducing their potential audience, its absurd
But thanks for letting me know not to waste my time giving it a go
Agree.
It wasn't awful, so I'm not saying don't watch it, but you're not really missing much if you do skip it.
I watched the whole thing without having done any of the homework and was able to follow it and thought it was . . .okay? The thing is I can't tell how much of what I found lacking came from not having done the homework and how much were just flaws that were there regardless. I saw commenters who had watched all the cartoons complaining about some of the same stuff I did
Yes. I did zero homework and was able to follow the story. I am 100% with Alan that making everything connected and a continuing story is hurting the franchise. Perhaps I missed a few things but I wasn’t lost. However “middling” is how I would describe the series. I still enjoyed the action scenes and David Tennant’s voice work as a droid. Give it a whirl!
Not much to say on this, but once heard someone (might have been Alan?) describe the process of having to consume a universe of tv series to understand the current one was like all at once having to order 10 pizzas and eat them before ordering and eating the 11th.
I don’t want to say goodbye to Jessie, but I’ll take as much Rose Matafeo as the universe will grant me.
Couldn't let the Legion of Superheroes reference pass unrecognized though I expect my memory of the comics from the 50s and 60s predates your probable interest in the reboot during the 80s. Always had a soft spot for Mon-el who in his 60s incarnation was not affected by the difficult to find (unless the plot required) kryptonite but rather the much more common lead. He always seemed to be Superboy-lite. Thanks for the throwback - though probably further than your reference intended.
Wait, Alan, you've only ever watched the first few episodes of BoJack?!
If that's the case, I highly, highly recommend you go back to it. The first few episodes actually DON'T do a very good job of showing what the creators would eventually be doing with it. Obviously this stuff is subjective, but I consider it one of the most rewarding TV series I've ever watched.
No, you misunderstood. I was dismissive of the first few episodes, stopped, and went back after my Twitter mentions were inundated with people insisting it got much better. And it did. It remains easily the best Netflix original of all time.
Ah, it read to me as you having gone back to watch Our Flag Means Death, but not that you'd done that with BoJack. I'm relieved to know I misunderstood. (And I was almost certain I'd read your writing about BoJack, which of course now makes more sense to me.)
Carry on.
I haven't seen Clone Wars and gave up on Rebels after about a season, so that's completely killed my enthusiasm to try Ahsoka. Star Wars and Marvel were a lot more fun when new films were events. Now they're just homework. Huge bummer. It's just too much to keep up with.
Agree that Only Murders seemed to lose a little energy this season. It seemed like they were trying out some work in a minor, melancholy key. It didn't help that the murder resolution ultimately involved a character we'd barely spent any time with. Would love to see the comic energy return in season 4.
My problem with Starstruck, beyond what you've pointed out, is that Jess is neither a good person nor an interesting character. Her motivations, when she has them, are all over the place. She has no goals or ambitions, is extremely prickly and she treats everyone badly.
This gets papered over because Rose Mateo is such a fun and engaging performer, but that only takes you so far. Eventually I realize there's no reason to root for her or for her relationship with Tom.
Speaking of Tom, he has a real Vincent Chase problem. He's supposed to be this big, popular movie star, but he's super low energy and has very little charisma. Sometimes, when I'm watching the show, I have to remind myself that he's supposed to a famous celebrity and not, say, a podiatrist.
Lupin: I'm sorry, but my reservoir of "suspension of disbelief" was used up in S1. Putting a wig and mustache on Omar Sy does not make him invisible.
Starstruck: Please end it after this season. No show needs to be continued just because it pulls in viewers.
Ahsoka: Some good action, but a story that barely held together without investing in the background.
So they are really going to do a Jedivengers movie? Ashoka and Ezra and Sabine and Grogu and Mando and Boba Fett and Bo-Katan and etc etc fighting Thrawn and zombie stormtroopers?
Good comments about "Starstruck"--it was great but stop. I was sorry that it was over but it ended nicely. We don't need another six eps of "will they or won't they?" but I like seeing these characters and they don't overstay their welcome.